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/nb101993

Text File | 1993-10-19 | 67KB | 1,511 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00001)

Canadian Product Launch Update 10/19/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- This regular
feature, appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further
details for the Canadian market on announcements by international
companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week:
Commodore's Amiga CD32.

Commodore Business Machines Ltd. of Toronto launched the Amiga
CD32 (Newsbytes, September 13), a 32-bit game console with a
double-speed compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive, which
its parent company launched at the Amiga World show in California
in mid-September.

(Grant Buckler/19931018/Press Contact: Ray Prachun, Commodore,
416-499-4292 ext. 211)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00002)

Japan - Portable CD-G Player, Upgraded Data Discman 10/19/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Sony's affiliate, Aiwa, has
developed a portable CD-Graphic player that will retail for 26,000
yen ($260). Sony has released an upgraded version of its electronic
book player, Data Discman, which can be used on a personal computer
through an RS-232C port. The new Discman is selling for 69,000 yen
($690) in Japan.

Aiwa's portable CD-G player, the XP-80G, looks like Sony's portable
CD Walkman. However the device has sockets that allow it to be connected
to a digital echo microphone and a television set. This portable
CD-G player can also be used as a regular CD player.

Meanwhile, Sony has developed a powerful version of its electronic
book player the Data Discman. The latest version is equipped with
a 16-bit microprocessor chip and a backlit-type 4.4-inch display.
With the chip, the operating speed is about 2.5 times faster than
that of the previous versions. Also, with the larger display, the
text size on the screen is larger.

The new Data Discman is equipped with an RS-232C socket for
connection of the device to a personal computer. The Data Discman
supports pictures, voice and sounds and has gradually been gaining
in popularity in Japan. Over 150 software titles including dictionaries
and travel guides are now available for the Data Discman.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931013/Press Contact: Aiwa, +81-3-
3827-2370, Sony, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00003)

Australia's Software Problems Blamed For Govt Losses 10/19/93
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Alleged faults within
computer systems operated by the Australian Department of
Employment, Education and Training (DEET) have led to almost AUS$4M in
social security overpayments, according to David Ives, computer
editor of the Canberra Times newspaper.

Ives wrote a one-page article on the story in his computer section in
the paper this week. He described how a method of dealing with
overpayments activated a glitch in the software that caused additional
payments to be sent to recipients who had already been overpaid. He
said that DEET sources suggest that $4M is quite possibly just the
tip of the iceberg and the real figure could be many times that amount.

Based on documents sent to the Canberra Times and to individual
members of parliament, the article also claims that DEET departmental
management had been aware of the software problems since 1990, but
little had been done to rectify them. Another area allegedly open to
fraud is the Jobstart scheme which is jointly administered by DEET
and the department of social security. By registering bogus clients
and employers, the potential exists for fraudulent use of the Jobstart
system, according to Ives.

(Computer Daily News and Paul Zucker/19931014)


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

IBM Japan Launches Open Client Server Group 10/19/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- IBM Japan has announced that it
will create a non-profit organization, Open Client Server Promotion
Group, or OSPG, to seek ways to unify development of various advanced
systems.

IBM Japan will provide members with access to multimedia technologies
and the latest information on its computers. The OSPG will be launched
at the end of November.

IBM Japan expects 50 firms and organizations will join this
group and has formally extended an invitation to as Fujitsu, NEC,
and Hitachi to be among them.

The group will be divided into five research divisions:
decentralized transaction processing, message processing, object
oriented processing, information warehouse and open networking.

The annual participation fee is 500,000 yen ($5,000), which
includes the cost of membership into one research division. Members
need to pay an additional 150,000 yen ($1,500) to join other research
divisions.

IBM Japan has been encouraging an open policy regarding its
technologies. One example is its Open Architecture Developers
Group which has been providing technical information on
personal computers to the member firms in order to encourage the
development of IBM-compatible personal computers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931014/Press Contact: IBM Japan, +81-
3-3586-1111, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00005)

Japan - Optical Disk Breakthroughs 10/19/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Hitachi reports that it has
developed an optical disk drive that is able to store three times more
data compared to existing optical disk drives. It is based on the
European ECMA industry standard. Matsushita Electric has also developed
an optical disk with larger data storage capacity.

Hitachi's latest optical disk drive, the OD152S/D-1, is based on
the "Mark-edge" method. This 5.25-inch read-write drive can store
a whopping 2 gigabytes of data, according to Hitachi --
three times more than current optical disk drives. The cost of
the unit is 400,000 yen ($4,000).

Meanwhile, Matsushita Electric has developed its own optical disk
technology to increase data storage. The firm has applied a
red-type semiconductor laser, an industry first, to reduce the
noise level on the disk. Engineers report that this method allows
30 percent more data to be written on the optical disk.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931014/Press Contact: Hitachi, +81-
3-3258-2057, Fax, [phone], Matsushita Electric, +81-3-3578-
1237, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

Gene Amdahl, Mainframe Evangelist 10/19/93
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Gene Amdahl was in
Hong Kong to open the Asian headquarters for his company Andor
International recently. He brought with him an almost evangelistic
message on mainframes.

The South China Morning Post reports that Amdahl said that mainframes
are far from dinosaurs. "The mainframe is by far the most complex
of computing vehicles and, as such, it had to wait longer in
the technology revolution for the technology to reach a point to
produce a really economical mainframe system. And that time is
approximately now," he said.

Amdahl talked about Andor International, his latest venture which
currently has only one product, the CacheXchange, which boosts mainframe
performance by providing disk caching and dual copy facilities. He said
that Andor's prototype "mainframe on a board" ran at about 10 million
instructions per second (MIPS) and produced one-third of the heat
generated by the average PC. By the time it is released, the firm
should be able to improve the performance to 40 to 50 MIPS which will
make it a desktop mainframe, he suggested.

Andor's Asian arm will be a joint venture with local partners. The
subsidiary has sales and marketing rights for Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

(Keith Cameron/19931014)


(CORRECTION)(APPLE)(LAX)(00007)

Correction - Eisenstat Name 10/19/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- In recent
stories concerning Apple Computer executives, Newsbytes has
been spelling name of the former executive vice president and
member of the board of directors who resigned last month as Albert
'Einstat.' We have since learned the correct spelling is Albert
'Eisenstat.' We apologize for any inconvenience this may have
caused.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931019)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00008)

Sanyo Restructures 10/19/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Sanyo Electric will halt
development of new workstations, and will shift the PC production to
its affiliate firm. These are two measures in Sanyo's restructuring
plan, designed to relocate 1,150 employees and ride out the slow
economy.

Sanyo will shift 1,150 employees to other departments or
affiliate firms and will transfer personal computer production
to its affiliate firm "Sanai Kogyo" in Gumma Prefecture.

Sanyo is also planning to create a PC production plant in Mexico next
spring. PCs created at the new plant will be shipped to the US or
the European market. This measure is expected to bypass the high price
of Japanese labor and production.

Under these plans, Sanyo will transfer about 500 employees
from the PC-related division to other divisions such as home
electronics and semiconductors. 1,150 employees are expected to be
affected in total in this restructuring plan.

Sanyo's workstation development department will be closed but
the firm will continue to manufacture current workstation models.
Also, Sanyo will continue its OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
supply of workstations to NEC and others.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931019/Press Contact: Sanyo, +81-3-
3837-6206, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

Compaq Offers Windows PM Alternative 10/19/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has announced a graphical interface to replace the
familiar Microsoft Windows Program Manager. The new product is
called TabWorks, and every Compaq desktop PC and Contura laptop
will have it installed at the factory.

TabWorks was designed for Compaq by XSoft, a division of Xerox
Corporation and uses a three-ring binder metaphor. "It looks like
a Daytimer," Compaq spokesperson Nora Hahn told Newsbytes. Compaq
says it has the exclusive worldwide marketing rights to TabWorks
for one year. The product is compatible with MS-DOS, Microsoft
Windows, and MS Windows-based applications.

Hahn said TabWorks allows the user to assign file names to
documents that are longer than the eight-character DOS limitation
that applies to Windows files. The user assigns names to
graphical Tabs. Clicking on a tab displays user-named pages.
Icons representing documents and applications are grouped on each
page. Clicking on a document icon launches the associated icon,
and files can be moved to another tab of page using drag-and-
drop.

The icons representing frequently used applications of documents
can be assigned to a button strip that is always visible, for
quick launching, and a task switcher is also available to move
between running applications.

In addition to installing TabWorks on all its desktop PCs and the
entire Contura notebook line, Compaq is offering TabWorks as a
stand-alone product. It will have a suggested retail price of $69,
but will sell for $49 through December 31, 1993.

(Jim Mallory/19931019/Press contact: Nora Hahn, Compaq, 713-374-
8316; Reader contact: Compaq Computer Corporation, 713-370-0670,
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00010)

Teleglobe To Spin Off Memotec 10/19/93
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Memotec, the
company that bought satellite communications carrier Teleglobe
Canada from the federal government in 1987, will re-emerge from
Teleglobe under its old name. Teleglobe Inc., the new name that
the former Memotec Data Inc., took on in the spring of 1991, has
announced plans to sell shares in a newly formed Memotec
Communications Inc., to the public.

The new Memotec will comprise the same networking technology
operations that made up Memotec Data up to 1985, when the company
acquired two insurance software firms, said Claude Seguin,
vice-president of finance and chief financial officer. The
insurance operations remain with Teleglobe for the time being,
but Seguin said the company does not see them as part of its core
business and is interested in spinning them off as well.

The new Memotec will take with it 340 of Teleglobe's roughly
2,000 employees, Seguin said.

Teleglobe does not plan to keep any stake in the spun-off
Memotec, he added. Financial details of the offering are due to
be released around the end of November. An underwriting group of
several Montreal- and Toronto-based securities firms has been set
up.

Teleglobe Canada, the key operating unit of Teleglobe Inc.,
provides satellite communications services linking Canada to
countries overseas. It retains a monopoly on providing those
services, though it is required to sell capacity to certain other
companies that are permitted to resell services. Its rates
continue to be regulated by the federal government.

The divestiture of Memotec seems to follow from a 1992 power
struggle in which William McKenzie, former president of Memotec,
lost the helm to Charles Sirois, a Montreal businessman with the
backing of Bell Canada, the country's largest phone company. He
became chief executive July 1, 1992. Sirois' group said it wanted
the company to focus on global telecommunications.

(Grant Buckler/19931019/Press Contact: Claude Seguin, Teleglobe,
514-868-7974)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00011)

Merisel To Distribute IBM ValuePoint 10/19/93
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- IBM Personal
Computer Co. has named Merisel Inc., one of the major personal
computer distributors in the United States, to handle its
PS/ValuePoint and ThinkPad lines.

Merisel, which already sells other IBM PC products, said it will
begin shipping the machines immediately. However, Merisel may
have trouble doing that with some models, since IBM is widely
reported to be having trouble meeting demand, especially for
certain models in the ThinkPad line of notebook computers.

The distribution deal closely follows IBM's announcement of
several new ValuePoint models, and it falls close to the first
anniversary of IBM's launch of the desktop line, which is aimed
at price-conscious buyers.

Jim McGann, manager of value business at IBM, told Newsbytes the
company's objectives for the ValuePoint line remain the same as
when it appeared a year ago. There are three, he said: to offer a
high-value machine; to do so at a price competitive with IBM's
major desktop competitors, Dell Computer and Compaq
Computer Corp.; and to become a reliable supplier. Alluding to
the supply problems, McGann said the third objective has been
"the most difficult," but said IBM expects to resolve its
ValuePoint order backlog by the end of November.

(Grant Buckler/19931019/Press Contact: Cathy Quattrocchi,
Merisel, 310-615-1230; Bill Amanna, IBM, 914-766-3317)


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

Sculley Faces Spectrum Credibility Gap 10/19/93
MANHASSET, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Spectrum
Information Technologies, the company former Apple Computer
chairman John Sculley now heads, holds some interesting patents
but continues to have credibility problems.

Spectrum holds patents on a series of connectors between cellular
phones and modems, which can mimic dial tones and other signals
that tell a wired modem what's going on around it. The company
also patented a "forward error-control protocol" for wireless
modems called SPCL, and has applied for patents on a technology
which can let a cellular operator distinguish between data and
voice calls.

But the company has been accused of inflated claims, stock
touting and misrepresenting analysts' views in its press
releases. For instance, when the company announced its patent
application for the technology on distinguishing voice from data,
its press release quoted extensively from Strategic Telemedia's
Mark Plakias, who insisted to Newsbytes he was not endorsing the
company's patent claims.

Some analysts consider Spectrum's claims on its patents overly
broad. While the company holds valid patents on the technology
contained in its Axcell and Axsys connectors, it has claimed in a
lawsuit against Data Race Inc., of San Antonio that its patent
covers any cellular phone-modem connection. While it holds valid
patents on its SPCL error-control protocol, it has claimed in a
lawsuit against Microcom Inc., of Massachusetts that its patent
covers any error-control protocol used in a wireless environment.
The company has also used commercials on channels like CNBC to
tout its stock, which is traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the
symbol SPCL.

Perhaps most damaging to its credibility were Spectrum's claims,
after licensing its technology to AT&T, that the agreement would
be worth "hundreds of millions" to the company. The stock ran up
to $13 per share from $3, but fell back again. The claims have
since become subject of a shareholder rights' suit.

But, under former chairman, now vice chairman, Peter Caserta,
Spectrum had also won some important victories. In addition to
signing its license deal with AT&T, the company signed licenses
with Megahertz, NEC America, Rockwell International and Apex
Data. It even became an authorized supplier for IBM's portable
computer line. After losing nearly $10 million for the year
ending in June, the company reported a small profit in its most
recent quarter. As a result, the company's stock price had begun
recovering, and the hiring of Sculley took the stock to the $11
per share mark once again. It fell to about $10 in early trade
October 19.

In a TV interview on the CNBC cable channel, Sculley acknowledged
the problems and promised to run a "squeaky clean" company.
Sculley, who ran Pepsico before moving to the West Coast to join
Apple, has kept his home in Greenwich, Connecticut and had been
on the East Coast for months before the Spectrum announcement was
made. Sculley said he only made the decision to go to Spectrum
over the weekend, and first became intrigued with the company
after Caserta demonstrated the company's technology to him using
the Apple Newton.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931019/Press Contact: Peter Rosenthall,
Howard J. Rubenstein Associates for Spectrum, 212-489-6900)


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

BellSouth Quietly Closing TUG Gateway 10/19/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- BellSouth is
quietly closing its Transtext Universal Gateway, known as TUG,
six years after opening it.

When first proposed, TUG was seen as an easy-to-use link between
major services like CompuServe and modem users in the Southeast.
Local information providers were also invited to join the
gateway, and some did earn money from their participation. But
the gateway, like other gateways sponsored by other regional Bell
companies, were basically seen as a way around the prohibition
against Bell companies owning information products. That ban has
since been overturned by the courts. TUG was also hampered by
rules which required that, if a Bell company wanted to set up a
gateway, it had to have separate equipment in each local calling
area. As a result, TUG was never active outside Atlanta.

While the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was for a time a part of
TUG, it later went to its own Atlanta Access service.

Meanwhile, BellSouth and Cox are partners in a new "N11" service
in Atlanta, through which callers can call the number 511 and
hear information from the newspaper for 50 cents for 5 minutes,
a low price compared to other pay-per-call services. Georgia
regulators want to monitor the financial performance of the
511 service as they consider a BellSouth petition to offer
other such numbers. The first reports on it are due within a
few weeks.

BellSouth said TUG will close in about 60 days.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931019/Press Contact: Larry Stevens,
BellSouth, 404-249-2832)


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

Microsoft Office 4.0 10/19/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Microsoft has
introduced version 4.0 of its Microsoft Office software suite
that includes Microsoft Word word processor, Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet, Microsoft Powerpoint presentation graphics,
Microsoft Access database, and a workstation license for
Microsoft Mail.

Microsoft held with its tradition of rolling out products in a
big way, hiring New York's Hudson Theater at the Hotel Macklow
for the announcement as well as beaming the show via satellite
downlink to an audience the company estimated at over 50,000
people worldwide. The announcement was really four product
rollouts, since Microsoft was also premiering new versions of
Excel, Word and Powerpoint.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Office 4 represents a major
shift in the way people will be using desktop applications. "Just
as the move from MS-DOS-based applications to graphical
applications resulted in new levels of usability and
productivity, we believe the move from the current generation of
applications to the new world of information-centric applications
will result in tremendous increases in user productivity."

Pete Higgins, Microsoft senior VP of desktop applications, said
the company had three goals in developing Office 4. "We wanted to
move beyond current standards in ease of use, integration, and
customization. With IntelliSense technology, we've made the
individual applications in Office dramatically easier to use."

IntelliSense attempts to sense what it is the user is trying to
do and produce the desired result. Microsoft says the 100 most
common tasks performed by users can now be accomplished in a
single step. IntelliSense will automatically correct common
typing and misspelling, and can format an entire document in a
single step. Excel 5.0, part of Microsoft Office, has a tipWizard
feature that offers tips on how to get the current task done
faster, and Powerpoint 4.0's Autocontent Wizard helps the user
develop appropriate content for a presentation.

Eight of the nine menu title bars are identical and are located
in the same position to access applications, and two-thirds of
the toolbar icons are the same and located in the same position
across the various Office applications for consistency. There are
also shortcut menus that appear at the click of the right mouse
button.

All of the Office components share the spelling checker, custom
user dictionary, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Query Tool, equation
editor, clip art gallery, font effects, graphics filters, setup,
and text conversion filters. Office uses Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE) 2.0 to share information among the applications.
OLE allows the user to edit objects such as a spreadsheet chart
within another application such as the word processor without
leaving the document, then drag and drop objects across
applications. It's also easier now to insert objects.

In addition to the productivity applications in Office, Microsoft
has also included Microsoft Office Manager (MOM), a tool with a
customizable toolbar that contains icons to launch or switch
between applications. MOM also has an uninstall feature that
cleans up files associated with applications the user decides he
or she doesn't want.

Two versions of Office are being offered. Microsoft Office
Standard for Windows includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the
Microsoft Mail license. Microsoft Office Professional includes
all of those plus Access. A Macintosh version of the standard
version is also available, and files created for either platform
are cross-compatible. Office for the Mac is expected to ship in
the first half of 1994. Microsoft says it is working on 32-bit
versions of the Office applications that will run on Windows NT.
Intel-based versions of Word and Excel are scheduled to ship in
the second quarter of 1994, with Digital Alpha AXT and MIPS
versions scheduled for the third quarter of 94. Other platform-
specific versions are scheduled for next year also. Microsoft
said Office will be available in more than two dozen languages.

Microsoft said it will continue to offer no-cost standard support
for all its desktop applications from 6AM to 6PM PDT. Evening and
weekend support is available for $2 per minute, $25 per incident,
or $195 for an annual support subscription.

Office 4 has a suggested retail price of $750, and Office
Professional is priced at $899. Users of any Office application
can upgrade through February 1, 1994 to Office Standard for $259.
Users of competitive programs can switch to Office for $299
during the same period.

Various installation options are available to meet the available
disk space and memory configurations of laptop and desktop
systems. Minimum requirements include 16.5 megabytes (MB) of disk
space and 4MB of memory.

(Jim Mallory/19931019/Press contact: Marianne Allison, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Reader contact: Microsoft,
206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00015)

Franklin Puts Mayo Clinic Experts On ROM-Card 10/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Mount Holly, New
Jersey-based Franklin Electronic Publishers, which made its name
by producing electronic Bibles and dictionaries, both foreign
language and English-English dictionaries, has announced that it
will produce a ROM-card version of the popular William Morrow &
Co.'s "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" for use in Franklin's
Digital Book System (DBS-2).

A Book-of-the-Month Club main selection, the family home health
guide carrying the name of the famous Rochester, Minnesota-based
Mayo Clinic, contains more than 1,000 print pages covering
detailed descriptions of common diseases, self-help information,
first aid tips, and, important for anyone who ever talked with a
doctor, a large glossary explaining many of the common terms used
by physicians and other health care professionals.

Although Franklin says that it has an exclusive license to
publish the book, this is a bit misleading because that license
only applies to the proprietary Franklin DBS-2 reader.

Actually, other companies publish similar home medical references
for other systems and Interactive Ventures produces a Sony
Electronic Publishing version of the same Mayo Clinic book in
Macintosh-compatible CD-ROM version.

In addition to this consumer-oriented health book, Franklin also
publishes medical reference materials for its DBS-2 multimedia
player. Both the well-known Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) and
The Merck Manual are available on ROM-cards. These books are seen
in many bookstores and are considered both physicians' reference
books and books for non-professionals who wish to have access to
the most advanced references available.

Consumer versions of the Digital Book player, priced at about
$100, are already on the market along with a number of general
interest titles. The PocketView matchbook-size ROM-card
cartridges can be accessed and even written to by PCs through a
serial port built into the Digital Book DBS-2 reader and special
technology built into the cartridges themselves.

The Franklin device is a competitor of portable CD-ROM and
Minidisk players which cost much more and have battery
lives measured in a few hours. Battery life for the Digital
Book is nearly 60 hours - the equivalent of several months
of normal use.

Having a capacity of more than 200 megabytes, the IC-ROM cards
used by Digital Books can store a massive amount of text as well
as sounds and still or motion graphics.

(John McCormick/19931019/Press Contact: Mindy Fendrick, Franklin,
609-261-4800)


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

Dell Desktop PCs For "Techno-boomers" 10/19/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Dell Computer
Corporation has announced a new line of its Dimension PCs
designed for what the company calls the "techno-boomer," the
small office or home office user who wants a good value for the
money spent and can upgrade as new technology becomes available.

Pricing for the new Dimension systems starts at $1,230 with a
color monitor. Dell says the new systems will begin shipping in
early November in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

The new systems are all Intel 486SX or DX-based, with clock
speeds from 25 megahertz (MHz) to 66MHz; have system memory, or
RAM, up to 64 megabytes (MB); and include 1MB of video RAM and
local bus graphics. The PCs are upgradable to use Intel's Pentium
Overdrive technology, and external cache of 128K or 256K can be
added. Options include tape backup devices, fax/data modems, and
CD-ROM drives that support Photo CD.

Dell has also introduced some tower models of its Dimension XPS
line which incorporate six external drive bays and use Intel
486DX2 microprocessors running at 50 or 66 MHz. The XPS tower
models have a minimum of 8MB of RAM and are upgradable to use
Pentium chips. Options include factory-installed CD-ROM drives,
sound cards, and amplified speakers. XPS tower prices start at
$2,149 with an Ultrascan color monitor. The XPS line was launched
as desktop systems in August.

Dell systems come with one year of next-business-day onsite
support, unlimited around the clock telephone support with
guaranteed five-minute response, and a 30-day money-back
guarantee.

(Jim Mallory/19931019/Press contact: Kellie Leonard, Dell, 512-
728-4100; Reader contact: Dell Computer Corporation, 512-728-4400
or 800-289-3355, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00017)

CASE World/Objex Conference Opens Today In Boston 10/19/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- CASE World, an
annual conference and expo newly enhanced with an Objex component,
opens today at the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The event will feature three days of keynotes, seminars, and special
presentations, plus two days of product presentations and show
floor browsing, with advanced application development technology as
a unifying theme.

The new Objex Conference & Exposition consists of three separate
conferences: Object Methods, Languages & Environment, and
Commercial Applications & Results.

The CASE World Conference & Exposition covers another four areas:
Client/Server & Open Systems, Enterprise CASE, Software
Engineering, and Business & Software Re-Engineering.

Produced by Digital Consulting Inc., the dual-purpose show boasts
12 industry co-sponsors: IBM, Digital, Unisys, Price Waterhouse,
Texas Instruments, Integral, LBMS, IntelliCorp, Interactive
Development Environments, Information Engineering Systems Corp.,
KnowledgeWare, and Popkin Software & Systems.

Activities begin this morning with a pair of talks apiece by the
two conference chairs. Ed Yourdon, chairman of CASE World, will
present "An Overview of CASE World," plus a lecture on "The State
of CASE."

John Coad, chairman of Objex, will deliver "Objects 101," along
with "OOA + OOD + OOP: A Live Example, from Concept to Code."

This evening at 6:00, Fran Tarkenton, CEO of KnowledgeWare, will
give a special guest presentation entitled "Unnatural Acts -
Kicking the Complacency Habit in Your Organization."

Other special presentations to be offered over the next three days
include "What the Old Goats Know," "The Great Debate: O-O (Object-
Oriented) Development," "The Steps to Client/Server Computing,"
"Look Out Pandora! Opening the Box on Corporate Politics," "Re-
Engineering IS (Information Systems) for Business Process
Innovation," and "The Effects of CASE on the Politics of
Information Management."

Like the special presentations, the more than 100 keynotes and
seminars happening at the conference range from the business-
oriented to the highly technical.

Sample topics include "The Real Cost of Doing Business as Usual,"
"The Promise of Object-Oriented Environments," "How to Screw Up
Your Methodology," "Software Engineering: What's Hot and What's
Not," "A Layered Approach to Class Libraries," and "Writing High
Performance Smalltalk Programs."

On the exhibition floor, more than 140 companies will be displaying
their wares, including such names as Hewlett-Packard, Informix,
Oracle, Ernst & Young, and Next.

A series of "Real World Product Presentations," featuring products
from a dozen vendors, will take place Tuesday and Wednesday from
2:00 to 2:50 p.m.

Conference hours are Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and
Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. The show floor
will be open from noon to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and from 10:30 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931019/Reader and press contact: Digital
Consulting Inc., tel [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00018)

Apple's New PhotoFinish Bundled With UMax Color Scanner 10/19/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Apple Computer's
PhotoFinish, a new photo publishing software package being
unveiled this week, is being included with the UMax UC630 color
scanner.

A UMax spokesperson told Newsbytes that UMax is the first scanner
vendor to bundle PhotoFinish, a product that provides image
browsing, a drag-and-drop capability for direct placement of
photos, automated tools for image adjustment, and real time
"adjustment preview" that lets the user experiment with results.

Apple's PhotoFinish is also equipped with AppleScript, a scripting
language for automating repetitive tasks, and JPEG image
compression for saving disk space, she said.

Priced at $999 and available immediately, the UC630LE/MAC bundle
includes Adobe's PhotoShop LE for image editing as well as the
UC630 color scanner and PhotoFinish. PhotoFinish accepts PhotoShop
plug-in modules for import, export, and special effects.

The UC630 color scanner is a 24-bit, 600 dpi (dot-per-inch) flatbed
color scanner with a hardware resolution of 600-by-300 dpi,
according to the spokesperson. Resolution is enhanced to 1200-by-
1200 dpi through software interpolation, she noted.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931019/Reader contact: UMax, tel [phone];
Press contact: Yvonne Lynott for UMax, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

ATI Technologies Makes IPO 10/19/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- ATI Technologies
Inc., a maker of graphics enhancements and modems for personal
computers, has announced an initial public offering of its stock
in Canada.

Common shares of the company are to be offered in all Canadian
provinces. The offering is not registered for sale in the United
States. A company spokesman said the stock is likely to be listed
on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

ATI makes graphics accelerator boards for PCs and sells
chips used to boost graphics performance. Earlier this week, IBM
announced its use of ATI's Mach32AX graphics accelerator chip in
its new Pentium-based PS/ValuePoint machine, the P60/D. ATI also
sells data and facsimile modems.

ATI has its manufacturing operations in Thornhill, Ontario, near
Toronto, an operating subsidiary in Munich, and sales offices in
Los Angeles and San Jose, California.

(Grant Buckler/19931019/Press Contact: Lance McIntosh, ATI
Technologies, 905-882-2600 ext. 8306)


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

New Chips From IBM, DEC 10/19/93
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Both Digital
Equipment Corporation and IBM have announced additions to
their most advanced microprocessor lines.

IBM announced first production of the PowerPC 603 chip, a
low-power member of the PowerPC line that resulted from an
alliance of IBM, Motorola Corp., and Apple Computer.

Samples of the 603 are now being delivered to selected customers,
said Jim Smith, a spokesman for IBM Microelectronics in Somers,
New York. Volume production is expected in 1994, he added.

With lower power consumption than the 601 chip used in current
PowerPC-based systems from IBM and Apple, the 603 will be aimed
mainly at the portable computer market. Like the 601, it is being
manufactured at an IBM plant in Burlington, Vermont.

Digital announced two new versions of its Alpha AXP processor,
boosting the top speed of the Alpha design to 275 megahertz
(MHz). The new versions of the DECchip 21064 run at 225 and 275
MHz, joining existing versions at 150, 175, and 200 MHz.

DEC said samples of the new chips are to be available in
December, and they will ship in quantity in July, 1994. In
quantities of 5,000, the 225-MHz chip will sell for $877 and the
275-MHz version for $1,442.

Like earlier Alpha chips, the new processors will be made at DEC
plants in Hudson, Massachusetts, and South Queensferry, Scotland.
However, unlike the slower chips, they will use a new
0.50-micron, 3.3-volt, four-layer metal complementary metal-oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing process. The older chips are
made using a 0.68-micron CMOS process, DEC said.

Under a second-source agreement announced earlier, Japanese
semiconductor manufacturer Mitsubishi will also make the Alpha
chips.

(Grant Buckler/19931019/Press Contact: Jim Smith, IBM
Microelectronics, 914-892-5389; Lisa Lipson, DEC, 508-568-4352;
Patricia McGloin, DEC, 508-568-5102)


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

Novell Intros Personal NetWare 10/19/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Novell has
announced the much-touted Personal NetWare, marketed as a major
upgrade to the outgunned NetWare Lite 1.1 peer-to-peer network
operating system (NOS).

Novell claims that Personal NetWare "provides unmatched, low-cost
networking technology for DOS and MS Windows users to share
resources such as files, printers, and CD-ROMs," as well as such
network applications as electronic-mail and database packages.

Personal NetWare will be available by the end of 1993. Novell
also claims that it "provides seamless integration with NetWare
through a consistent user interface across all NetWare networks,
a  single network view, simplified network administration,
increased security, and desktop management from any computer
on the network."

Peer-to-peer NOS products are increasing in popularity as more
small companies and departments seek to link their computers,
printers and peripherals. Peer-to-peer products allow users to
connect up resources without the need for a dedicated server. All
nodes on the network can be either a client, a server, or both.
In that way everyone's hard drives, for example, can be accessed by
everyone else. This makes expensive resources such as hard drives,
printers and CD-ROMs accessible to everyone.

Newsbytes notes that peer-to-peer NOS products bring with them
their own problems though. They are more problematic from a
security viewpoint, and they make backing up vital data more
complex, because it can be dispersed over a wide number of hard
drives. They also lack some of the advanced features and
connectivity capabilities of dedicated-server NOS products.

In announcing the new product, Richard King, executive vice
president and general manager, NetWare Systems Group, said:
"Personal NetWare was designed for customers who need entry-
level networking, as well as for NetWare customers who need to
extend network resources to the desktop. Personal NetWare
provides customers with a growth path in the  NetWare family as
their networking needs increase."

Personal NetWare uses the same Universal NetWare client as
NetWare 2.x, 3.x and 4.x. The company says that this provides a
common interface to view and access services and resources of
NetWare, as well as Personal NetWare.

Novell claims that Personal NetWare is the only peer-to-peer NOS
that provides users with a distributed and replicated resource
directory  which is similar to Novell's NetWare Directory Services.
This provides users and administrators with a single network view,
and allows users to access all available network services and
resources through a single login.

The product includes a Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP) agent and Novell's Network Management Responder (NMR).
The company also says it will be managed as one system under
the umbrella of Novell's NetWare Distributed Management Services
(NDMS).

It also includes auto-reconnect functionality, claims Novell. If a
server is turned off or removed from the network, users can access
remaining resources without interruption. When a resource comes
back on line, it is dynamically reconnected to the workgroup.

Personal NetWare will carry a single-user price of $99  and a
five-user price of $395. A 90-day upgrade price exists for NetWare
Lite and DR DOS users of $39.95.

The company also says that localized versions will begin to appear
in  German, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese about six weeks
after the first shipments in the United States.

(Ian Stokell/19931019/Press Contact: Roberta Alfred,
408-970-1478, Novell Inc.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00022)

AST PowerExec 4/33SL PC Notebooks 10/19/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- The trend towards
upgradable computer systems is not just confined to the desktop
market. There is also increased demand from portable computer
users. Now AST Research has introduced the PowerExec 4/33SL
upgradable notebook computer.

The system includes a 33 megahertz (MHz) Intel 486SL
microprocessor and accommodates either a Type II or two Type II
PCMCIA cards. The system is available in thin film transistor (TFT)
ColorPlus and monochrome versions, priced at $4,370 for the
ColorPlus model and at $2,700 for the monochrome model.

In announcing the new products, Dan Sheppard, director of product
marketing, said: "The performance increase of the 33MHz processor
gives mobile professionals the power they need to efficiently
execute a range of high-level computing tasks."

Battery power management is claimed to be a big benefit of the
new notebooks. According to the company, the PowerExec 4/33SL
incorporates the power saving aspects of the i486SL
microprocessor with AST's proprietary power conservation
technology to ensure users maximum battery life.

AST claims that its power management features "learn" the user's
work habits and adjust the system accordingly. Heuristic
algorithms monitor the user's work habits to learn when to
power-off idle peripherals and adjust system operation. Other
power management features include the "SmartSleep" enhanced
suspend state that the company says saves a mirror image of
memory to the hard disk drive and automatically shuts off the
system after a specified period of inactivity. There is also a
Suspend/Resume mode that shuts down all computer functions
except for main memory.

According to the company, the system's power management features,
combined with a 12-cell nickel metal hydride battery give users up
to six hours of uninterrupted computing time. Battery recharge time
is claimed to be 60 minutes with the system off, and 90 minutes
while the system is being used. A battery hot swap capability is also
featured, which allows users to change batteries without turning
the system off.

The PowerExec 4/33SL offers RAM memory expansion to 32MB and
removable hard disk drives with up to 340MB capacity. The company
says that the removable drives can also be used in a desktop system
via AST's drive bay adapter.

The notebooks also feature an upgradable display which allows
users to upgrade from monochrome to active matrix color screens.

Current PowerExec 4/25SL users can upgrade their systems to a
33MHz processor with AST's 4/33SL upgrade kit. The
factory-installed upgrade kit includes an Intel 486 33MHz
microprocessor, and 4MB RAM with one Type III and two Type II
PCMCIA connectors.

Standard features in the PowerExec 4/33SL include 4MB RAM, a
200MB hard disk drive, a 1.44MB floppy disk drive; and AST's
SmartPoint cableless trackball that connects directly below the
space bar.

Both the ColorPlus and monochrome versions feature 9.5-inch
diagonal displays. The company says that the 6.9-pound PowerExec
4/33SL ColorPlus provides up to 256 simultaneous colors with
640 by 480 pixel resolution. The PowerExec 4/33SL, weighs in at
5.9 pounds and supports 64 shades of gray at 640 by 480. Both
systems support simultaneous external video. The notebooks are
covered by a one-year warranty.

(Ian Stokell/19931019/Press Contact: Donna Kather,
714-727-7943, AST Research Inc.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00023)

Claris Posts Record 4Qtr Revenues 10/19/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Apple
Computer's Claris subsidiary has announced record revenues
for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, ended September 24, 1993.

Claris said net revenues for the fourth quarter were $42.7 million,
a 51 percent increase over the same quarter of 1992. For fiscal
1993, net revenues were $154.4 million, a 48 percent increase
over the $104.3 million recorded in fiscal 1992.

International sales continued to increase as a proportion of Claris'
overall business, said the company, amounting to 43 percent of
total for both the fourth quarter and the 1993 fiscal year.

In announcing the financial results, Daniel L. Eilers, Claris
president and chief executive officer, said: "1993 marked our
successful entry into the Windows marketplace. ClarisWorks and
FileMaker Pro gained share, won awards and set new standards
for usability. In addition, our investments in Japan and Germany
are paying off with dramatic growth."

In discussing plans for 1994, he said that Claris plans
to launch a new cross-platform family of business graphics
packages and bring to market products for Apple's coming PowerPC.

As reported by Newsbytes, Claris has introduced a number of
products in the past month or so.

In the middle of September the company introduced the multimedia
screen saver collection for the Windows platform, called Imaginaria.
According to the company, the program offers 11 animated
transition screens and 15 "surrealistic story modules," ranging from
a primeval jungle complete with dinosaurs, to a trip into a dark,
haunted attic.

At the beginning of September, Newsbytes reported that Claris
had announced the shipment of its FileMaker Pro 2.1 for Windows
and Macintosh cross-platform database. The company said at the
time that the new version offers expanded peer-to-peer networking
support.

(Ian Stokell/19931019/Press Contact: Steve Ruddock,
408-987-7202, Claris)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00024)

AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 10/19/93
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- By John Hastings.
(Editor's Note: We are switching to the American Computer Exchange
rather than the Boston Computer Exchange for a weekly list of
used computer prices on Newsbytes. The AMCOEX begins monthly with a
market analysis -- this is the October analysis. Tables of used
computer prices follow below.)

Many people feel an analogy exists between the transportation industry
at the turn of this century and the computer industry of the last
decade. As the story goes, the corporate mainframe computer was
analogous to the railroads. Efficient, but inflexible. The micro
computer is analogous to the automobile. Catering to the needs of
the individual, it is relatively inexpensive and extremely flexible.
Just as the automobile decimated the passenger train business,
the PC has diminished the roll of the mainframe.

Railroads and mainframes will continue to serve a purpose,
but they will never return to the heyday they once knew.

In the early 1900's, dozens of auto makers struggled for
market share. But names like Pierce-Arrow and Reo gave way.
Ultimately, only the Big Three survived. Many feel the computer
industry is undergoing the same type of consolidation.

During the first ten years of the existence of the
automobile, there was no used car market. Today, every car dealer
handles trade-ins. Many feel the same will soon be true with computer
dealers. This is the first year where the majority of computers sold
will be used to replace existing systems.

As many experts in the computer industry understand, software
drives hardware sales. Regardless of how advanced the hardware is, if
software applications are not available, the hardware will not sell.
NeXT Computer ceased its hardware production because few software
developers produced applications for their machines. For Apple
Computer, it is a good news/bad news situation. The good news - there
are currently 40% more applications available for the Macintosh
computer than for Windows computers. The bad news - at the current
rate of increase, the number of Windows applications will equal the
number of Macintosh applications within the next six months.

The point may become moot, however, during the next six
months when IBM and Apple begin marketing there new computers based
on the PowerPC CPU chips. It is expected that these computers will be
able to run both Macintosh and Windows applications. The new CPU chip
reportedly has more power than the 586 generation Pentium chip at a
lower price than the mainstream 486 chip.  In a recent demonstration,
a Macintosh using the PowerPC chip was shown to handle some
applications up to 30 times faster than a 486 PC. It is likely the
software will need to be modified to achieve this level of
performance on the new chip. If the majority of software vendors are
willing to make these modifications, the new systems may be a big
hit.

Apple Computer has delayed the planned introduction of its
PowerPC based computer. It had hoped to announce the new system in
January, which is the tenth anniversary of the Macintosh. However,
limited supplies of the new CPU chip have force a postponement until
March. One advantage of the postponement may be a faster computer.
Currently, the 66 MHz version of the chip is the most powerful. By
March, an 80 MHz version may be available.

Apple Computer is replacing its 25 MHz PowerBook 160 with the
new 33 MHz PowerBook 165. A little over a year ago, a 33MHz 68030 CPU
was considered one of the fastest in the Macintosh lineup. Soon, it
may be the slowest that Apple offers.

This "need for speed" may soon be put to good use with new
extensions to the Macintosh operating system. One extension will
allow for voice-independent speech recognition. Previous speech
recognition systems were voice-dependent, requiring the speaker to
train the system for each voice. The other extension, called
PlainTalk, provides text-to-speech conversion. While text-to-speech
is not new, past incarnations were slow and erratic. The voices did
not sound natural. The new system provides extremely smooth speech
with both male and female voices available.

No other computer peripheral has held its value in the used
market better than the color monitor, especially the large 17" to 20"
models. The supply in the used market is slim because most people
keep these monitors when they upgrade to new computers. The demand is
increasing as many realize the productivity gains possible when using
Windows applications with larger screens. Some users have a problem
with the size and weight of the largest screens. These problems may
soon be solved with new active matrix color screens. These are the
same screens used in color notebook computers. Prices have fallen to
the point where they are becoming feasible as large, thin desktop
screens.

        The following prices are for October 4, 1993.

                           Average        Average

                                Buyer's Seller's

 Machine                        Bid     Ask     Close   Change

  IBM PS/2 Model 30/286 20M     300     525     350     -75

 IBM PS/2 Model 50Z 30M         300     650     400     -25

 IBM PS/2 Model 70 120M         600     900     775     +50

 IBM PS/2 Model 80 70M          550     850     600     -25

 IBM ThinkPad300                1250    1650    1375    -75

 IBM ThinkPad700                2100    2700    2200    -150

 AST 286/12, 40M                275     675     350     -50

 AST 386/20, 80M                550     950     725     +50

 Dell 325SX, 50M                400     800     700     +50

 Dell 386/20, 120M              800     1200    825     -100

 Gateway 286/16, 40M            350     600     375     -75

 Gateway 386SX/20, 80M          600     950     675     -50

 Gateway 386/25, 80M            600     1000    725     -50

 Clone AT 40 Mg                 250     550     350     -100

 Clone Notebook 286, 40 MB      350     750     600     +50

 Clone Notebook 386SX, 40MB     500     1050    725     -50

 Clone 386/SX 40M, VGA          450     950     600     **

 Clone 386/25 80M, VGA          650     1150    725     +25

 Clone 386/33 80M, VGA          750     1250    825     **

 Clone 486/25 120M, VGA         800     1450    1000    +75

 Compaq SLT/286 20M             400     800     400     -50

 Compaq LTE 286 40M             400     775     500     -100

 Compaq Portable III 40M        250     650     375     **

 Compaq Deskpro 286 40M         250     650     300     -100

 Compaq Deskpro386/20e 100M     600     900     775     -50

 Macintosh SE 20M               450     750     525     **

 Macintosh SE/30 40M            600     900     700     -50

 Macintosh II 40M               600     1150    825     -50

 Macintosh IIcx 80M             800     1300    925     -75

 Macintosh IIci 80M             1200    1600    1425    -125

 PowerBook 100 4/20             700     1100    800     -100

 PowerBook 140 4/40             900     1400    1100    **

 PowerBook 170 4/40             1100    1700    1325    -100

 LaserWriter IINT               700     1300    875     -25

 Toshiba 1200XE                 300     650     375     -50

 Toshiba 1600                   300     700     350     -75

 Toshiba 2200 SX 60MB           800     1300    825     -50

 Toshiba T-3100SX  100MB        500     900     600     -100

 Toshiba 5200 100MB             900     1400    1227    -75

 HP LaserJet II                 400     850     650     -100

 HP LaserJet IIP                325     950     575     -50

 HP LaserJet III                750     1200    1025    **

John Hastings is the president of the American Computer
Exchange Corporation. The American Computer Exchange matches buyers
and sellers of used microcomputer equipment. For more information
contact the American Computer Exchange Corporation at [phone].

(AMCOEX/19931019)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00025)

Reelmagic Kit Offers High Res Movies On 386 PCs 10/19/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Sigma Designs
has announced its Reelmagic Compact Disc Read-only Memory (CD-
ROM) Upgrade Kit to upgrade IBM compatible personal computers
(PCs) to Multimedia PCs. The company also claims the kit will
be able to play movies in the VideoCD format on a PC.

While the company offers several CD-ROM upgrade kits, Sigma
says this one is different as it offers the first, low-cost,
technology to play back full-motion video with orchestrated 16-
bit sound on 386/25 SX or DX PCs. In this way, users can adapt
their 386 PCs to play movies in VideoCD format on their
computer monitors, which offer much clearer and sharper images
than a television set.

Sigma Designs claims movie titles are slated for later this
year in VideoCD, but Newsbytes was unable to discover from
Sigma representatives who is planning to release these movies.
The VideoCD standard has been backed by a consortium of
hardware manufacturers including C-Cube, Philips, JVC,
Goldstar, Commodore, and Samsung. However, no VideoCD players
are available and there have been no announcements as to when
the players will be available.

Philips, part of the consortium, announced a deal with
Paramount under which CD movies for its for its Compact Disc
Interactive (CD-I) player (that connects to a television set)
will be available this month. Newsbytes asked Philips
representative David Elliot if those movies would play on a
VideoCD compatible device and Elliot said he didn't know.
Philips hasn't pursued specifics about VideoCD since it is
still in its infancy, Elliot said.

Sigma representatives said the issue here is that full-motion,
high-resolution video can be displayed on a 386-based PC and
not so much who will deliver movies in a format that can play
on the Reelmagic hardware. Newsbytes was left with the
impression Sigma hopes to set the standard with its hardware.

The high resolution of which Sigma is boasting comes from a
daughterboard controller, available either in the kit or
separately, that makes the PC capable of displays with 32,768
colors at resolutions of up to 1024 by 768 at 30 frames per
second (fps) -- the same playback speed used with today's home
TV, but with a much better image. The Reelmagic controller
attaches to the video graphics array (VGA) feature connector
found on almost all VGA and Super VGA (SVGA) display
controllers, so it can display all 32,768 colors on even a
basic 16-color VGA card.

Newsbytes asked Sigma Designs what movies would be released,
but the company officials didn't know any specifics.

In addition, a version of the kit ships with one Activision
game and several Aris titles. They are: Activision's Return to
Zork adventure game; Video Cube, a game to unscramble images to
solve a puzzle; MPC Wizard for correction of any
incompatibilities with an MPC computer; Best of Mediaclips, a
collection of over 120 images and sounds; and Worldview, a disc
of images, sounds, and motion video.

The Reelmagic industry standard architecture (ISA) stand-alone
controller bundled with Activision's Return to Zork is retail
priced at $449. The ReelMagic CD-ROM Upgrade Kit has a list
price of $849 and includes an MPC Level 2 CD-ROM drive, the
Reelmagic controller, four premiere entertainment and
educational titles, a demo CD-ROM, an installation disk,
Windows and DOS drivers, and documentation. Reelmagic says it
offers an extended five-year warranty and covers the CD-ROM
drive with a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

The Reelmagic controller will begin shipping at the end of
October 1993 and the Reelmagic CD-ROM Upgrade Kit will ship in
November 1993, Sigma added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931015/Press Contact: Letty Dupuy, Sigma
Designs, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact,
800-845-8086)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00026)

Cheat At Computer Games With New Utility For Mac, PCs 10/19/93
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- If you've ever
had an overwhelming desire to cheat at a computer game, here's
your chance. Baseline Publishing has announced Axis The
Gamecheater, a utility designed to give you the ability to
bamboozle your favorite game.

What kind of cheating can be done? Well the game cannot be
modified, but the variables in a game can be manipulated. So by
pressing a hot key you can add points, lives, or whatever to
the game you're currently playing. For example, in Prince Of
Persia from Broderbund, the goal is to rescue the princess in a
certain amount of time. You have the resources of time, health,
and lives to accomplish the rescue. Baseline Marketing Director
Howard Zimmerman said Gamecheater allows you to press a hot key
and add time in increments of five minutes, add units of health
so you can take a lot more blows in a fight, and additional
lives.

Zimmerman said the best part of the product is the reaction on
the part of people who first hear about it. "Most people say,
'What a cool idea,'" Zimmerman added.

The program is memory resident and works in the background.
Over 50 games are supported, including Prince of Persia,
Lemmings, Hellcats, PGA Tour Golf, Spectre & Spectre Supreme,
Dogs of War, Simcity, A-Train, and more.

Both Macintosh and IBM compatible personal computer (PC)
versions are available. The Macintosh version will run on any
Macintosh from a Mac Plus to a Powerbook as long as there is 1
megabyte (MB) or more of memory and System 6.0.7 or higher is
running. The program is also System 7 friendly, Baseline added.

On a PC, the game needs at least a 286 microprocessor with 640
kilobytes of random access memory (RAM) and a 3.5-inch floppy
disk drive. However, the program can be obtained on 5.25-inch
disks upon request.

Retail price of Axis The Gamecheater is $69.95 on the PC and
$59.95 on the Macintosh. The company says the product is
available through major software retailers via distributors
such as Merisel and Baker & Taylor.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931019/Press Contact: Howard Zimmerman,
Baseline Publishing, tel [phone] or 800-926-9677, fax 901-
682-9691)


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

US West Teams Up For Russian Cellular Phone Venture 10/19/93
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- US West has
teamed up with DAL Telecom, United Telecom, and Vartelecom, three
Russian electronics and communications companies, in a project to
offer analog cellular phone services in the Eastern region of Russia.

Plans call for the as-yet unnamed joint venture company to acquire
the rights to existing digital mobile telecom services in the
region. The idea is that the whole of the Eastern region of Russia
will be criss-crossed with several networks of cellular services,
all of which will be interconnected.

Currently, the global system for mobile (GSM) communications
services which operate in the Khabarovskii Krai, Kamchatskaya
Oblast, and the Amurskaya Oblast regions are not yet interconnected.

Unusually, plans call for the new analog cellular services to be
based on the American Mobile Phone System (AMPS) technology, rather
than the Total Access Communications System (TACS) technology seen
in Moscow and imported from Europe.

In the US, William Bobb II, US West's vice president, said that he
is extremely pleased to see his company on the leading edge of the
introduction of cellular telephony into the Russian Federation.
"With our new partners, we are excited about the opportunity to
participate in the modernization of the telephone infrastructure in
the Russian Far East," he said.

(Sylvia Dennis/19930819/Press & Public Contact: US West - Tel:
303/793-6500)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00028)

France To Invest $1,200 Million Into Groupe Bull 10/19/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- After weeks of rumors, the
French Government has confirmed plans to invest around $1,200
million into Groupe Bull, the troubled French computer manufacturer.

Almost immediately, the French Government flew into a storm of
controversy, as the news spotlight swung over to Brussels, waiting
for the European Commission (EC) to announce a full-blown
investigation. Officials with the EC, however, have refused to
comment on the matter yet.

According to Gerard Longuet, the French industry minister, the idea
behind the cash injection is to prepare the company for sale, so
regaining the $280 million that the French Government has invested
in Groupe Bull to date.

"Bull must be put back on its feet in order to become, as quickly as
possible, a profitable enterprise, more efficient, more mobile,
better able to serve its clients," he said.

Longuet added that the extra cash investment into Groupe Bull was
the start of an intense program to privatize several French state-
owned companies, so realizing the investments made of the years. The
aim of the program is to eventually sell off the 20-plus
state-owned and controlled companies which the French Government
has acquired over the last decade.

French media sources, meanwhile, suggest that Rhone Poulenc will be
the second company to be sold off by the government. France
has a 43 percent stake in the media manufacturer, making it
relatively easy to sell off the shares in a matter of weeks.

Longuet has gone on record as saying that he plans for Bernard
Pache, the current chairman of Bull, to be replaced by Jean-Marie
Descarpentries, the former chairman of the French divisions of the
Metal Box group.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931019/Press & Public Contact: Groupe Bull - Tel:
[phone])


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

German Telecom Privatization Under Threat 10/19/93
BONN, WEST GERMANY, 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- The German coalition
Government has gone on record as saying that plans for the
privatization of Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), in preparation
for the opening up of the market in 1997/98, as per the European
Commission's directive on telecom services, is now in jeopardy.

According to Elmar Mueller, the deputy chairman of the German
Government's telecom committee, said that he is bitterly
disappointed in the outcome of the privatization project.

The stumbling block appears to have been the opposition, the Social
Democrats, who have gone on record as stating they are against
privatizing any of Germany's state-run operations, regardless of
EC mandates on the matter.

Mueller said that, regardless of what reconciliations the Government
put forward, the SPD came up with more new demands. The net effect
of this had been to stifle any possible privatization, he added.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931019)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00030)

 ****Wordperfect-Microsoft Settlement Expected Today 10/19/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 OCT 19 (NB) -- Newsbytes has learned
that an out-of-court settlement is expected today in the short-
lived lawsuit filed by Wordperfect Corporation against Microsoft
regarding which company's word processing software is the most
popular in the world.

At issue is the phrase "most popular," and the lawsuit is in
response to a recent Microsoft ad campaign which WP says
violates US federal trademark statutes prohibiting false and
deceptive claims. Also at stake is an estimated $1.6 billion
dollars in worldwide software sales for 1993, according to one
Newsbytes source.

WP says there are two accepted industry standards for the
popularity of a software product - the total installed base and
the total units sold. The two numbers differ because the total
number of packages sold includes those still in the distribution
channel. WP quotes data from the Massachusetts-based
International Data Corporation (IDC) and analysis by the Software
Publishers Association (SPA) to support their claim that
Wordperfect is the leader by both measurements.

Wordperfect and Microsoft attorneys were reportedly drafting an
announcement at Newsbytes press deadline that would remove the
phrase "most popular" from Microsoft's ads. "Microsoft's
attorneys are wanting to settle and settle quickly," a
Wordperfect source told Newsbytes. WP had not asked for
monetary damages.

Winner of the "most popular" category is important to Wordperfect.
Corporate Communications Specialist Ken Merritt told Newsbytes
"The world's most popular word processor title influences
customers, your advertising, and what type message you're getting
across. When people perceive you have the most popular word
processor, they are more apt to buy it." Another reason "most
popular" is important to WP is because it is releasing its
Wordperfect 6.0 for Windows today.

"We take our leadership position seriously and will not allow
competitors to make false claims that can be misleading to both
existing and potential customers," says WP Senior VP of Sales
and Marketing Ad Rietveld.

WP says it has sold more than 14 million copies of
Wordperfect, citing SPA's first quarter 1993 analysis. It also
claims its total user base is twice that of Microsoft Word,
quoting Santa Clara, California-based Infocorp's 1993 Market
Model. It also cites a July 1993 Computerworld survey that had 62
percent of the respondants using Wordperfect software while 26
percent used Microsoft Word.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes the company doesn't
dispute that WP has sold more DOS-based word processing
packages but says in the past 18 months Word for all platforms
has outsold Wordperfect worldwide. That was the basis for
Microsoft's "most popular" claim.

(Jim Mallory/19931019/Press contact: Ken Merritt, WPCorp, 801-
228-5059)