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/nb110593

Text File | 1993-11-05 | 73KB | 1,666 lines

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00001)

Nat'l Semi/NEC Aim To Bring Telecommuting To Japan 11/05/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- After last
week's announcement of a networking product partnership with
networking software maker Novell, National Semiconductor has
announced a deal with NEC. The companies hope they can make the
electronic highway more available to the Japanese and
eventually bring telecommuting to Japan.

Keith Kolerus, president of National Semiconductor Japan,
explained, "The standardized Ethernet networking capability
that NEC and National will be making available to the Japanese
market through this semiconductor technology partnership will
have a major impact on day-to-day life. Many business
productivity tools that we take for granted in the US, like e-
mail, PC-based faxing, data/file transfers and online
information databases, soon will be commonly available in
offices throughout Japan.

"Once networking is more common, the ability to link up to
office resources from home or remote locations also will become
more prevalent. Then, the option of 'telecommuting' or working
out of the home may become an accepted alternative to today's
long commutes."

International Data Corporation claims personal computer (PC)
use and the local area network (LAN) market in Japan is at
least 2-3 years behind the United States. Dropping Japanese PC
prices, the availability of laptop and notebook computers that
are more practical for the Japanese, and the development of
Japanese-language and user-friendly PC and network operating
systems are driving the growth.

According to market research firm Dataquest, the Japanese
Ethernet market will double from current levels of about $200
million to over $400 million by 1997. IDC claims the number of
networked PCs in Japan will jump from 6.7 percent to 12
percent by 1996.

National Semiconductor, a major supplier of Ethernet components
with an estimated 60 percent of the US market, sees itself in a
role more adjacent to the consumer than in the past. The
company has already started to distribute communication
products through retail channels directly to consumers instead
of merely supplying components.

The agreement between the National and NEC brings National
closer to the Japanese consumer as well. It includes joint
product development of a low-power, high-speed Ethernet
controller dubbed the Sonic-T and a buy/resell arrangement for
National Semiconductor's family of Ethernet LAN products. NEC
will market these products under the NEC logo in Japan.

National also expressed hope that this relationship will open
new doors for both companies to cooperate on other high-tech
projects.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931104/Press Contact: Steve Bauer, National
Semiconductor, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Joany
Winkler, NEC, 415-965-6495)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00002)

UK - Apricot CD-ROM-Based Dealer Service 11/05/93
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Apricot has announced a free
of charge, easy-to-use service, for all its resellers, known as the
Insight CD-ROM (compact disc - read only memory) disc. According to
James Blackledge, marketing director with Apricot, the disc is
designed to assist dealers in improving the quality of information
provided to the customer.

Plans call for the disc to be updated on a quarterly basis. The
first issue of the disc, which contains a wide range of technical
information on the company's products, technical support and third
party services, has just been mailed out to dealers.

The disc offers information on all Apricot hardware and
software products, electronic bulletins on product
developments from Apricot, Infocus, a directory of services
available from Apricot and other third-party service
providers, and more.

The minimum system required to run the Insight CD-ROM disc is an
80386-based PC running Windows 3.1 or later, with 4MB of memory, 1MB
of hard disk space, VGA monitor and a CD-ROM drive.

(Steve Gold/19931103/Press & Public Contact: Apricot Computers -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00003)

Japan - TDK To Enter Optical Disc Market 11/05/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Japan's TDK will sell
optical discs, supplied by Kyoto-based Kyocera, in
December.

TDK will sell 3.5-inch optical discs with a capacity of
128 megabytes for a retail price of 7,900 yen ($79). Some
5,000 to 6,000 optical discs will be supplied to TDK per
month.

Kyocera is currently manufacturing 15,000 to 20,000 optical
discs at its Shiga plant per month.

TDK, best known for its magnetic media including audio
and video tapes, may be hiring Kyocera as a stop-gap measure,
since the firm is building its own production line for
optical discs at its Chikuma plant in Nagano prefecture. However,
this is a prototype production line and TDK needs to invest more
money into the facility before it starts quantity production. TDK
estimates that current world demand for the optical discs is
around 100,000 units per month, and the market is still immature.

Other Japanese firms such as Konica are getting supplies
of optical discs from Mitsubishi Kasei on an OEM basis in
order to avoid the risk in facility investment.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931104/Press Contact: TDK, +81-3-
3278-5235, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

UK - Crosscomm Next Generation RISC-Based Routers 11/05/93
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Crosscomm UK, the
joint venture networking company established earlier this year by
Tricom and Crosscomm in the US, has announced the release of a new
generation of reduced instruction set computing (RISC)-based
routers.

Using multiple switching engines, the company claims that the ILAN
XL80 and 20 routers solve the long-standing reliability problems
that are caused by a single point of failure.

The company argues that reliability is the biggest issue for
companies migrating their IBM/SNA (Systems Network Architecture)
applications to client/server networks. By using up to eight
switching engines, rather than the usual one, the ILAN XL range is
able to maintain nonstop networking, even in the event of a
switching failure, the company claims.

Crosscomm UK claims that these are the first products available to
be developed specifically for non-stop corporate networking in
IBM/SNA environments.

According to Crosscomm, the non-stop networking capabilities of the
high-end ILAN XL80 and midrange XL20 routers mean that users will
not be disrupted by SNA or other protocol session loss; network
maintenance; changes; line congestions; line faults and other common
network events that can bring routers to a halt.

"More than anything, IBM customers need non-stop networking
technology that is easy to maintain, easy to use, offers the highest
performance and is positioned for accepting future technologies. If
the router stops while running mission-critical networks, business
stops and revenue plus profits are lost. The ILAN XL routers are t e
first to address these problems," explained Tad Witkowicz, president
and CEO of Crosscom Corporation.

The ILN XL80 is available immediately with a list price of UKP
15,000, depending on system configuration. The XL20, meanwhile,
costs from UKP 10,000 upwards.

(Steve Gold/19931104/Press & Public Contact: Crosscomm UK - Tel:
[phone])


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

Japan - TV-PC Converter From Computer Technica 11/05/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Computer Technica has developed a
color TV screen converter for personal computers which enables
a regular color TV set to be used as a computer display. It
costs 75,000 yen ($750).

Computer Technica's TV converter, called the RGB Scan Converter,
has an automatic switching feature which allows it to change to
RGB mode when hooked up to a personal computer. When the PC is
not on, it can be used as a regular television set.

The device is flat, shaped like a book, and weighs only
470g with the internal battery, making it portable.
It supports a 640 x 400 pixel mode as well as a 640 x 480
pixel mode. The device can be connected to NEC's PC-9801,
IBM PCs, Fujitsu's PC and Apple's Macintosh series, which
support the 13-inch screen mode. Computer Technica has
applied original technology to stop blinking on the
screen, enabling it to display computer data quite
clearly, the company reports. There is also an automatic
mode selection feature which adjusts the screen mode for
each personal computer.

Computer Technica is aiming this device at corporate use who
would want to use it for presentation of new products or at
seminars. The firm aims to sell 5,000 units for the
first year.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931102/Press Contact: Computer
Technica, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00006)

 ****Apple Forced To Recall All Newtons Sold In Australia 11/05/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Apple Computer Australia has
been forced to recall and modify all Newton personal assistant
computers sold in Australia. The problem is the tone-dialling
feature.

Austel, the Australian telecommunications regulatory body,
discovered that Newtons have a tone-dialling feature, a
feature they hadn't authorized. The tones are not electrically
connected to the phone system, but are simply played through
the internal speaker and picked up by the telephone handset.
Nonetheless, Austel can and did force the recall as a result.

Apple has requested the return of all 6000 Newtons sold
before the problem was discovered. Apple will pay for
courier transport both ways, and claims a two-day
turnaround. The procedure simply consists of reprogramming
the Newton firmware, and disabling the function.

The Sharp version of the Newton is said to be unaffected by
the recall, though Apple said this is not surprising as it
claims that Sharp is unable to ship product until 1994 anyway.

The Newton is still on sale, and there is only a short delay
in replacing stock in the channel with the modified version.

The move by Austel seems strange to many observers as
tone-dialing watches, calculators, and keypads have been for
sale for many years around the country, for as little as US$6.

(Paul Zucker/19931105)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00007)

US High Technology Research Grants Awarded 11/05/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Fifty businesses,
universities, and research laboratories expect to receive money
from the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
under high-technology research grants announced yesterday in 4th-
Round NIST Advanced Technology Program Awards. Commerce Secretary
Ronald H. Brown announced 29 separate awards but the
funding will depend on whether the money actually becomes
available to the NIST.

Just last week President Clinton signed legislation boosting
funding for the program from $68 million in fiscal year 1993 to
$200 million this year. These technology development awards to
companies pursuing high-risk research and development are an
important part of the new administration's technology strategy
which calls for NIST project funding to increase to $750 million
annually by 1997.

This number isn't as big as it seems at first because of cuts in
defense research funding, but although some of the research will
eventually have military applications, it is focused on consumer-
and manufacturing-related research which should have an even
more direct impact on US competitiveness and local economies.

Research projects to be funded by the NIST program range from
biotechnology to computer-related research. Some of the announced
awards include:

Advanced Power Technology, of Bend, Oregon expects to receive
funding for research into manufacturing processes related to
production of very high power MOS (metal-oxide semiconductor)
which would be used in high-power solid-state switches.

Micron Optics, in Atlanta, Georgia will conduct research into
tunable optical filters using ferroelectric liquid crystals which
would form a part of a high-speed switching system for optical
fiber networks using about $1.8 million in federal funds.

The Beaverton, Oregon-based American Display Consortium will get
$6.4 million that will go toward research into manufacturing
color flat-panel computer and video displays.

Wayne, New Jersey's Thomas Electronics will get about $700
thousand to develop a new barium dispenser cathode for flat-panel
displays.

Another $2 million will go to FED Corporation in North Carolina's
Research Triangle Park for the development of large-scale flat-
panel displays based on arrays of field emitters.

Wilmington, Delaware's Hercules corporation will also do display-
related research using $1.6 million to develop a method of
optically aligning liquid crystals in the display manufacturing
process. The new system will make use of polarized light to
increase display yield and lower costs.

Perception, a Farmington Hills, Minnesota-based company, will get
about $1.2 million to develop a standardized set of algorithms
that will allow industrial robots to model images in three-
dimensions.

Hughes Aircraft Company will get $1.2 million to develop a new
mounting technology for gallium arsenide monolithic integrated
circuits for microwave wireless communications systems.

Kurzweil Applied Intelligence of Waltham, Massachusetts will get
$1.77 million to produce a speech recognition system for personal
computers based on the use of natural language instructions.
Natural language is the use of artificial intelligence to let
computer users give commands using their own terminology rather
than a rigidly defined set of specific computer commands.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., Camarillo, California, will get $2
million to work on a project that may develop low-power gallium
arsenide (GaAs) integrated circuits which may lead to 500
megahertz microprocessors. The entire research project is
expected to cost about $8.3 million.

IBM expects to receive about $2 million to develop new conductive
polymers which may be used to replace metallic solder in
electrical circuits and another $4 million to produce a high-
performance optical bus that will be used to link clusters of
microcomputers.

MicroFab Technologies will get a grant to develop ink-jet
printing technology into a way to apply solder droplets to
electronic circuit boards.

Other grants related to the computer industry include other flat-
panel display developments and the programming of a Chinese
language pen computer interface.

None of these grants will cover the entire cost of the research
or development projects.

(John McCormick/19931105/Press Contact: Michael Baum, NIST, 301-
975-2762 or [e-mail])


(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00008)

The Enabled Computer 11/05/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- By John McCormick.
The Enabled Computer is a regular Newsbytes feature covering
news and important product information relating to high
technology aids for the disabled.

This issue follows up on the previous column where I addressed a
reader's question about setting up a computer workstation for a
visually impaired individual.

Since the writer didn't provide any information about what the
user would be writing I specified a business-type word processor
setup using WordPerfect and Hexagon Product's BIG for WordPerfect
in the earlier column.

The major reason for selecting WordPerfect is the popularity of
that word processor which means that learning it will put a
person in a good position when they encounter it in a workplace.
Sure it has hundreds of features, but like an exotic camera, they
need not be used, so it really isn't that difficult to learn
unless you ask it to do complex tasks.

The same would apply to an equally powerful word processor like
WordStar except that its command structure is not as widely
accepted in businesses. Add to that the fact that older versions
of these sophisticated programs can often be found floating
around at a substantial discount and they can be a real bargain
packed with features that may come in handy some day.

But what if the person only needs a very basic editor and will
never need to apply keyboard skills in a business
environment?

If that is the case then another Hexagon product, B-EDIT might
fill the bill for this user. The $40 editor includes all basic
word processor features such as block copy and even has a spell
checker, but doesn't have any real printer support so it is best
suited for programming or very basic writing.

On the other hand, to turn this simple editor into a word
processor only requires the addition of a print formatter to
produce acceptable printed output. Hexagon used to include this
tool in the form of the B-PRINT program which I believe is still
included with the $40 B-EDIT.

B-PRINT uses the old WordStar-style dot commands inserted into
plain ASCII text files for formatting. B-EDIT itself outputs
plain ASCII suitable for manipulation by the separate B-PRINT
program or any other text application as well as for speech
synthesis software.

Hexagon Products, P.O. Box 1295, Park Ridge, IL 60068, 708-692-
3355.

On a similar topic, Manchester, Vermont's AI Squared has just
announced the release of a new low-vision software product for
PCs.

The $495 VisAbility is designed to take scanned images and
magnify them on a PC screen up to 32 times. Besides manual
control, the software offers automatic scanning of entire pages or
columns and the enlarged images can either fill the entire screen
or just a window.

Enlarged text output is also available at magnifications of up to
eight times for those documents in which one needs to read hard
copy, while printed forms are also supported with a
fill-in-the-blank editing feature for both text and signatures.

I haven't seen this product but AI Squared has a good reputation
and I expect that it will work as advertised. To use VisAbility
you will need a VGA graphics computer with a minimum of 2
megabytes of memory and a Hewlett-Packard compatible scanner.

A mouse is highly recommended and an HP or PostScript (inkjet or
laser) printer is needed to print out the enlarged text.

AI Squared, P.O. Box 669, Manchester Center, VT 05255, 802-362-
3612.

(John McCormick/19931105/)


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

Review of: Pararena 2.0, game for Macintosh 11/05/93

Runs on: Macintosh

From: Casady & Greene ,22734 Portola Dr., Salinas, CA
93908-1119, 408-484-9228

Price: $49.95

PUMA rating: 3.25 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for NEWSBYTES by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A sports simulation game that requires hand/eye
coordination. Some simple strategies need to be developed
to become really good.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Pararena (pronounced pair-a-reena) is a simulation of a
futuristic sports game in which you take on one side and the
computer supplies you with a range of opponents on the other
side. The game seems to rely on such diverse influences as soccer,
football, roller derby, and skateboarding.

Basically, you and one opponent are placed in a saucer-shaped
arena. You both wear protective equipment and carry a shield.
You stand on a round thing that looks like a skateboard.
Each of you has a goal which is marked by two posts. A ball
is fired along the rim of the saucer and you need to go and
catch it. Whoever catches the ball, needs to skate to their
goal and throw the ball in there.

The opponent is trying to you from accomplishing this, of
course. The score is kept using two digital readouts and
that determines who wins.

There are a few more rules that add a bit to the complexity, but
essentially that is all there is to game play. The trick is
for you to get comfortable controlling your character using
the mouse and to learn to handle the effects of the three
dimensional surface in which your character is operating.

The game comes on one diskette and is accompanied by a
registration card and a 6-page manual. The manual is pretty
skimpy on details which means that you will be constantly
learning from observation. For instance, once you capture
the ball, you can only hold on to it for a certain length
of time. If you do not take a shot within that time period,
you are charged a foul and the ball is released. Nowhere
is this described in the documentation.

There are several levels to this game. For instance, you have
your choice of playing against one of six different opponents.
Each of the opponents has a different style of play and
are ranked in order of difficulty. You also select the league
level. This mainly affects the size of your goal (your
opponent's goals always stay the same small size). Finally,
you can choose to play practice games or go for a tournament
in which you can win trophies and other prizes.

In addition to level of difficulty, the game offers you other
ways to customize the game. There are settings on the sound
effects, replays, announcements, and other factors.
You can also get a statistical summary of how you are doing.

I found this an easy game to learn, but very difficult
to master.

The first opponent is called Simple George and he truly fits
that description. It takes almost no effort at all to learn
how to defeat him. This is not true of the others. By the
time you are ready to play Ms. Teak, you have a very good
shot at winning the tournament. Since each opponent has a
different style of play, your playing technique must change
with each one, which is part of the fun.

Let me tell you that trying to knock Heavy Otto off
his course can be a bruising experience!

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 4 The game runs smoothly and without any glitches.

USEFULNESS: 4 I spent altogether more hours than I should have
trying to figure out what strategy to use against these guys.
Some of the battles were tough!

MANUAL: 2 It is rather sparse. More information would help the
customer understand what's going on.

AVAILABILITY: 3 Available from mail order and software stores.
There is no toll-free number for technical support.

(Naor Wallach/19930901/Judy Frey, Casady & Greene)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(SFO)(00010)

Review of: Time Riders in American History, PC Edutainment 11/05/93

Runs on: PC Compatibles

From: The Learning Company, 6493 Kaiser Dr, Fremont, CA94555,
800-852-2255, 510-792-2101

Price: $59.95

PUMA rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for NEWSBYTES by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A great game that teaches you American history. Has a
unique twist in a really absorbing story line full of
surprises that keep you glued to your chair.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Over the past few years, one category of computer program has
skyrocketed in sales and breadth of offerings. This is the
"edutainment" category. Edutainment products are really
educational offerings disguised as games. In the last year
alone I can think of some half dozen or more reviews of
such games that I personally have done. With Time Riders
in American History, I have found an edutainment program
that I believe is head and shoulders above the rest in
this category.

The program comes in both 3.5" and 5.25" floppies. There are
four of the former and seven of latter in the box. Also in
the box is a Project Handbook which contains all the
information necessary to install the game and play it.
It also contains a wealth of background information on
the scenario and some additional tidbits that will prove
useful as you start playing the game.

In the game, you play the role of the Team Leader of the
Time Riders group. The organizer of the team is a mysterious,
rich person called The Benefactor. The Benefactor is concerned
with doing good deeds and helping others out. The main opponent
is a guy called Thanatopsis Dread who runs a company called
DreadCo. It seems that Dread wants to rule the world.
To accomplish this, he has decided to take over the main
communications satellite and start sending out scrambled and
false news messages. By keeping the world confused, Dread will
eventually work his way into becoming ruler of the world.

The Benefactor realizes what is happening when Dread's
satellite captures the communications satellite and he
immediately springs to action by calling the Time Riders
team together. His instructions to you are to continuously
stop the false transmissions. This will keep Dread busy and
will buy time for the Benefactor to put together a rocket
that will release the communications satellite.

The headlines that Dread transmits all have to do with events in
American history between the years of 1492 and 1908. Although
the event is scrambled, there is always some truth in each
Dread transmission which allows you to get started on tracking
the correct versions. Your team is comprised of Josh, Amanda,
and Kat.

Amanda is an expert at operating what is essentially a
database of events. By using her expertise, you can
narrow down the event's time. To do this you go to her room.
That's where the machine is located. The machine offers you
three sets of dials. The first allows for the selection of
an era, the second set is for the selection of a period,
and the third set is for the selection of an actual year.
While you fiddle with the knobs, a display above the dials
will show information regarding the dial selections.

One of the nice features here is that although the dials do not
change, the information does. And further, it seems to
be keyed to the actual task at hand. This helps keep up
interest in the game.

Josh is your second helper. Like Amanda he is an expert at
operating a machine and stands ready to assist you. His
specialty is geography. His machine will allow you to locate
the exact place where the real event occurred. And just like
Amanda's time machine, there is a series of steps that you
need to take to get to the locations desired.

When you first turn the machine on, you are placed in a
regional map of the United States. By using a special button
you can move the cursor to the different regions. Pressing
the selection button while in a region will take you to a
closeup map of that region in order to select the state.
A state selection will bring up a screen of information
about that state.

Once you have identified the year and place of the event,
you are ready to use KAT. KAT stands for Knowledge Access
Terminal and in reality she is a droid. One of her special
gifts is the ability to go into the Time Tube to a certain
location in time. There she contacts witnesses and gathers
information. The information is presented to you in a series
of vignettes when the proper buttons on the Time Tube are
pressed. If you send KAT to the right location and time,
she will bring back a lot of information about the person
or event of interest. If you send her astray, she will
bring back a lot of information that will not make sense
for that event, but will be interesting nonetheless.

Once you have all of the data, you must access the Biodata
machine and identify the real person involved in the event.
The Biodata machine is again a multistep process but the
end result is a portrait of the person and a brief
biography including more information about the event
in question.

When you have all of the data, your personal communicator
is used to link the proper information to Dread's satellite.
Should you have the proper information, Dread's transmission
will cease and be replaced by the proper event description.

An example of the kinds of misinformation that Dread is using
to gain control of the world can be instructive here. "Boogie
Board Dread Spins Declaration of Independence While
Skateboarding." As you work through this example you will
find that the correct event was the writing of the
Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson in 1776.

Your task is to keep correcting the botched up headlines
that you see, and in the process one can learn a lot about
the different events and time periods.

The graphics are superb and truly enhance the information
presented.

But this is not all that this game provides. You see, every
time you fix a headline, you get a little closer to foiling
Dread's scheme. So, of course, Dread has to react to you in
some way. In other games in this genre, all that normally
happens is that you are told that you have won after a set
number of successes. This game is done differently. Nowhere
can you find any mention of how many headlines you need to
fix. Instead, after every so many successes, you are presented
with a little animated vignette that moves the storyline along.

For instance, there is a tug of war between you and Dread
as he comes to realize what is happening and takes
countermeasures. During this portion of the program we get
to meet other interesting characters and see a whole range
of animated sequences.

There is one last piece of machinery that I will mention.
In your "locker," you will find a video camera. If you want
to review the storyline at any point, you can use it to
view only those animated sequences that you have seen.
This is a fun way to get back into the story if you had
to exit the program and could not come back for a little
while. It is also useful in getting the sense of what is
happening if you lose track.

The Learning Company has thrown other little twists in
to keep your interest. For instance, in Amanda's room, on
the bookshelves, is a painting. Pay close attention to it
during your visits throughout the game.

There are several hints strewn throughout the game that make
me believe that this game is simply the first in a prospective
series. For instance, when you start the game and the team
is being formed, The Benefactor looks at the resumes of
two other team members who are not chosen due to various
reasons. Perhaps they will appear in a different game?
Also, at the conclusion of the game, part of the finale
is Dread leaving the message "I will be back!"

As you can probably tell, I really liked this game.
The unique features that it sports are enough to elevate
it above and beyond all of the other games that I have had
the pleasure of reviewing recently. Although this game is
directed at ten-year-olds, it is my belief that people
from 10 to adult will enjoy playing this game and learning
from it. I certainly did.

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 4 Game play is quick and smooth. The animated
sequences are smooth.

USEFULNESS: 4 This program stands head and shoulders above
most of the competition within this category of games.

MANUAL: 4 All of the information needed is presented in a
logical and consistent manner. There are plenty of examples
and other material that helps in understanding the game
situation.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Available from mail order and software stores.
The Learning Company maintains a toll-free number for support.

(Naor Wallach/19930924)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00011)

US Economy Unexpectedly Strong 11/05/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Although readers would
be forgiven if they looked at this week's worldwide stock market
plunge and thought that it indicated problems for the US and
world economies, the exact opposite happens to be true - the
stock market is falling precisely because the economy is showing
the first strong signs of strength. Today's employment
report showed an unexpectedly strong increase in employment
across the board and led to fears that the Federal Reserve Board
would increase interest rates to compensate.

The US economy has been very slowly growing for about one year
now, but the increase in the number of full-time jobs has been
mostly confined to the service sector and hasn't resulted in a
major surge in computer or software purchases as would be
expected in a strong growth environment.

This month's employment numbers showed an increase in
manufacturing jobs and in the number of work hours which are
essential to really fuel a rapid recovery in the rest of the
economy.

A close look at the Commerce Department report shows that despite
the 177,000 increase in jobs, nearly 70,000 were only temporary
jobs, but the bond market shrugged that off in early trading,
focusing instead on the 30,000 new high-paying construction jobs
and 12,000 new manufacturing jobs which were added to the economy
last month.

Earlier this week good retail sales numbers in the US spurred
investor expectations that the US would soon move to tighten
the money supply to combat inflation and prevent overheating
of the economy. This led to a surge in interest rates
and a resulting drop in bond prices.

If the economy really is heating up, then all segments of the
computer and telecommunications industries will also experience
increased sales and profits and the rest of the world may also
experience a surge in their economies.

Although this is not the first time during this very slow
recovery that interest rates have backed up and employment
numbers have shown a positive trend, there are a number of other
indicators simultaneously showing that the US economy is
starting to grow at a faster rate.

Roy Blumburg of CNBC's Wall Street Bureau reported this morning
that semiconductor companies' stock prices were especially strong
as they did not experience their usual summer slowdown and showed
good long-term strength.

(John McCormick/19931105/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00012)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 11/05/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

November's PC World carries a point-by-point comparison of
Windows NT and OS/2, the competing 32-bit operating systems from
Microsoft and IBM, and finds that both are slow, memory-hungry,
but exceptionally stable and although not suitable for stand-
alone use, make good multiuser systems.

Computerworld for the week of November 1 says that IBM has
decided to support rival Microsoft's NT operating system on its
PowerPC computers despite the fact that NT is a direct competitor
of IBM's own OS/2 and WorkPlace OS software.

Network World dated November 1 says that Digital Equipment (DEC)
is pushing into the ATM or asynchronous transfer mode market with
13 new products announced at the European INTEROP trade show.
ATM, which has nothing to do with bank teller machines, is a
popular high-speed data transfer system.

This week's Infoworld says that IBM is targeting corporate
downsizing efforts by porting its popular mainframe DB2 database
software to the RISC (reduced instruction set code) RS/6000
workstation computer. The software, which costs as little as
$2,000, can manage 512 gigabytes of data on the AIX (Unix) based
computers.

(John McCormick/19931105/)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00013)

Canadian Cellular Firm Cutting Back 11/05/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Rogers Cantel Mobile
Communications Inc., the national cellular carrier, has announced
plans to cut 350 to 400 people from its payroll, saying the cuts
are needed to adapt to changes in the cellular market.

The market for cellular telephones is evolving from one made up
mainly of business users to one in which ordinary consumers play
a large part, said David Gergacz, president of Cantel. That means
a growing market, but it also means the average customer will use
the service less. Thus Cantel needs a leaner cost structure to
serve this market, Gergacz told Newsbytes.

The company is tightening its belt by consolidating
infrastructure and back office functions from its four regions
across the country to a single national operation, Gergacz said.
For instance, instead of a vice-president of engineering for each
region, there will be one for the whole country. At the same
time, he said, Cantel will put more of a regional emphasis on
marketing and sales.

Between 350 and 400 employees will be told within the next few
weeks that their jobs will disappear. That works out to about 14
percent of the company's present work force.

The company may also close, sell, or franchise some of the 47
service centers it owns across Canada.

Gergacz said the move is in preparation for where he expects the
market to go, not a reaction to current troubles, and he
maintained that with the cost-cutting behind it Cantel will be
well placed for the future. "Our company is still growing very
rapidly," he said.

The company recently reported its third-quarter financial
results, chalking up an operating profit of C$54.9 million in the
three months ended Sept. 30. With a special provision of C$75.3
million for restructuring, plus other factors, the final loss was
C$84.5 million, or 90 cents a share. That compares with a
C$22.4-million loss in the same quarter of 1992. Revenue in the
quarter rose to C$159.2 million from C$135.1 million in the
year-earlier quarter.

In the nine months ended Sept. 30, Cantel lost C$138.6 million
compared with C$113.8 million in the same period of 1992.
Operating loss was C$129.4 million, up from C$89.8 million.

(Grant Buckler/19931105/Press Contact: David Gergacz, Rogers
Cantel, 416-440-1400)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00014)

Clinton Health Care Plan Available Online 11/05/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- While the President
and First Lady are traveling around the country handing out
summary copies of their Health Care Plan to various libraries,
you don't necessarily have to wait for them to personally get
around to your local area before you can get a look at the entire
plan -- it is also available electronically from a number of
sources.

Fans of the Internet will already know that virtually everything
is available some place on that vast network, but many readers
many not realize just how all-inclusive that database can be. One
of the more popular file areas on the Internet and the bulletin
board systems which carry Internet files, are government
documents and press releases from the White House, including many
documents related to the proposed changes to US health care
programs.

GEnie's WhiteHouse forum contains the National Health Plan, The
President's Report to the American People on Health Security, and
the Health Security Act Legislation, while files in the Internet
forum carry a summary of the plan as provided by The White House.

But not everyone has access either directly to the Internet or
any of the commercial or private BBS which carry Internet and
White House files, so one enterprising Virginia company,
Washington Business Information of Arlington, is offering the
entire 1,342-page Health Security Act in ASCII file format on two
3.5-inch IBM compatible diskettes for only $39.

This company is following in a long line of other Washington-area
businesses which try to profit from reselling public information
in another format, but in this case the cost is very reasonable
and having such information in computer format is certainly much
more useful than having to work your way through the massive
printed documents available from the Government Printing Office.

(John McCormick/19931105/Press Contact: Denise Elliott,
Washington Business Information, 703-247-3418)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00015)

Computer City Campaign Aimed At Ailing Children 11/05/93
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- A non-profit
organization has announced Computer City Supercenters will help in
its efforts to make dreams come true for critically and chronically
ill children.

The Dream Factory spokesperson Denis Heavrin told Newsbytes
Computer City Supercenters will sponsor a nationwide "Name The
Elf" contest as part of a "Dare To Dream" program. "Name The Elf"
coloring books will be available for $1.99 in the Computer City
outlets across the country, with proceeds going to The Dream
Factory. The computer seller says some of its vendors will also
donate a portion of the profits from the sale of their products or
donate hardware and software to the "Dare to Dream" program.

Computer City spokesperson Mieke Henderson told Newsbytes the
company will also distribute more than 800,000 Dream Factory
brochures through their outlets in 21 markets nationwide. The
brochure explains how the program started, lists The Dream
Factory's board of directors, and explains how to start a local Dream
Factory chapter.

The Dream Factory was started in 1980 when Hopkinsville, Kentucky
businessman Charles Henault decided he wanted to do something to
help children in his town who were critically ill. "When I saw a
television program about a policeman in Philadelphia who helped
children in his city, I had to do it," says Henault.

Henault says more than 90 percent of the funds raised go to
fulfilling the wishes of what the organization calls "our
dream children." Those wishes include trips to Disney
World, a visit to one of The Dream Factory's "Camp Rainbows"
or the chance to meet a famous celebrity. One child received
his special wish, a pink electric wheelchair. Heavrin told
Newsbytes the group operates two Camp Rainbow week-long
summer camps for critically ill children. One facility is in
Missouri and the other is in Tennessee.

(Jim Mallory/19931105/Press contact: Mieke Henderson, Tandy Corp,
817-347-7624, Denis Heavrin, The Dream Factory, 502-584-3928 or
800-456-7556)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

Compuadd Reorganization Approved, May Merge With Zeos 11/05/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Compuadd Computer
corporation has received formal approval to emerge from bankruptcy
and may merge with PC maker Zeos International or another firm.

The reorganization plan was approved by the company's unsecured
creditors just five months after the compute reseller sought
protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code when it
couldn't reach an agreement with landlords and suppliers after it
closed more than 100 retail outlets.

Compuadd spokesperson John Pope told Newsbytes that the
company is having preliminary discussions with "about half a dozen
companies" including Minneapolis, Minnesota-based personal
computer maker Zeos International regarding a possible merger. In a
prepared statement, ZEOS Chairman Gregory Herrick called the
discussions "exciting but very preliminary." Herrick said no terms
have been reached, and the talks might go on for some time.

The Compuadd reorganization plan calls for creation of a five-person
board of directors and issuance of 75 percent of the company's
stock to unsecured creditors. CompuAdd founder and CEO Bill
Hayden will get 20 percent of the stock and the remaining five
percent will be reserved for issuance to management and
employees.

Compuadd President Rick Krause says the company is resilient and
has a loyal customer base. "With Chapter 11 behind us, Compuadd's
new mission is to leverage 11 years as a direct marketing leader to
provide the best combination of product, price, delivery, service and
support in the industry."

Compuadd continued to operate while under Chapter 11 protection
and shipped new systems, expanded its service offering and
honored all product warranties. When the retail outlets closed,
calls were automatically redirected to Compuadd's headquarters.

(Jim Mallory/19931105/Press contact: John Pope, Compuadd, 512-
250-2000 or Chuck Henderson, Zeos International, 612-623-9614)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Second Major Online Service Goes Public -- Telescan 11/05/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Telescan Inc., became
the second online firm to go public today, winning a listing on
the National Association of Securities Dealer NASDAQ market under
the symbol TSCN.

While America Online, which has been public for some time, is
well known to online service users and stands as the third-
largest consumer online service, Telescan is almost invisible, in
part by design. It operates online services on what might be
called an OEM basis, handling the details for others' services.

It first made its name handling stock listings and orders for
Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab & Co., and other brokerage
firms. Those services now have over 80,000 subscribers among
them. The fast-moving nature of those files helped the company
tune its systems.

Another major Telescan operation is called Knowledge Express, an
online system used by universities and the federal government for
technology transfers. It features a proprietary plain English
query system called relevant/optimal search, a feature which has
been extended throughout Telescan's system.

Recently Telescan has gotten into the business of providing
customized online services for trade groups and publishers. Among
the ventures here are the American Institute of Architects'
AIAOnline, Editor & Publisher Online, and BPI Communication's Online
featuring the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine and other
titles. Finally, Telescan runs online networks for other
businesses dedicated to online services, notably Enterpreneurs
Online. It also owns the Computer Sports Network, which runs
baseball and tournament golf leagues.

So far, half-a-dozen brokerages have signed as market makers in
the stock, including Sanders Morris Mundy, Paragon Securities,
Herzog Heine Geduld, N AIB Securities, Troster Singer, and WM
Frankel Securities.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931105/Press Contact: Telescan, Richard Ames,
713-952-1060)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Latest on Paramount - BellSouth 11/05/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- After weeks where it
was reportedly near its own bid for Paramount, BellSouth was
reportedly close to buying out Liberty Media's stock in QVC, and
participating in its Paramount bid, according to press reports.

BellSouth said it could neither confirm nor deny the reports, and
a spokesman told Newsbytes she did not anticipate release of any
press releases November 5.

The New York Times reported that BellSouth is expected to put $2
billion into the QVC bid, helping Barry Diller to trump a
competing bid from Viacom and its head, Sumner Redstone. In
recent weeks, as the price being bid for Paramount passed $10
billion, many analysts have begun saying that the winner in this
battle will be a loser, and that the assets -- which include the
Prentice Hall computer book publishing operation -- aren't worth
the price. Both bids are also hurt this week by a falling stock
market -- equity prices have been falling in line with bond
prices, which in turn are falling because of indication economic
activity is picking up, raising inflation fears.

If BellSouth takes out Liberty Media's QVC interest, it also
takes the legs out of Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone's major
argument against his rival, namely that it represents an attempt
by Liberty Media head John Malone to monopolize the cable
industry. Malone is presently merging Liberty into his parent TCI
cable operation, and merging TCI in turn into Bell Atlantic, the
regional Bell for the mid-Atlantic states.

Viacom, meanwhile, said it received commitments for a $4.5
billion credit line in its bid, and added the loan was
oversubscribed. Both QVC Network Inc., and Viacom Inc., have made
tender offers of $80 cash for 51 percent of Paramount shares,
with plans to buy the rest of the company for stock. But few
shares have been tendered so far, with most large holders
expecting an even higher bid from QVC, perhaps as high as $88
per share. Viacom's partners in its bid include Blockbuster
Entertainment and NYNEX, but major ratings' services have lowered
their ratings on its debt anyway, raising its cost.

If the bidding gets too rich for Viacom, it retains the option to
take 20 percent of Paramount and a $100 million break-up fee.
That "lock-up" agreement is said to be worth about $350 million.
While QVC has filed suit to block that agreement, and that suit
is due to be heard in Delaware November 16, Redstone could always
negotiate with Diller to honor the agreement in return for his
backing down. The bidding war for Paramount began in September
when Viacom and Paramount announced a friendly merger, and
accelerated when QVC launched its unfriendly tender offer a few
weeks ago.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931105)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

PacTel Spin-Off Moving Ahead 11/05/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Pacific
Telesis Group directors have moved quickly to finish the split
between their wired and wireless operations, setting a $1.2-
billion public stock offering in their new wireless company,
PacTel Corp.

The California Public Utilities Commission, in a split decision,
approved the spin-off, but set some tough conditions. It wants
Pacific Telesis to pay consumers $41.3 million for their
investments in the cellular operation, said the company could not
sell more than 2.24 percent of the new company to any single
party, prohibited non-compete agreements between the spin-off and
the parent, and insisted on a financial plan within 60 days.

Opponents of the plan also said they'll challenge it in court,
meaning it may be impossible for PacTel to forge alliances in
advance of the sale of 200 MHz in new frequencies for microwave-
based wireless services, called PCNs, next year.

Perhaps more troubling, many analysts have turned thumbs-down on
the deal, with Kidder Peabody & Co., Smith Barney Shearson Inc.,
and Goldman Sachs dropping their ratings on the company's stock.
Speculation has arisen that the new PacTel might make a quick
takeover candidate, with AT&T the most likely acquirer, although
that is prohibited by the commission's order.

PacTel Chairman Sam Ginn, however, has bet his career on the
spin-off. In a press statement he claimed "the commission sent a
strong signal that California is open for business." Ginn will
move to the wireless unit after the spin-off, with Pacific Bell
head Phil Quigley taking the wireline businesses, and relations
between the two men have reportedly turned frosty as they
prepared for their new roles. Ginn has claimed the spin-off would
result in new wireless jobs in California, but most wireless
equipment is made by Motorola and Ericsson in other states while
jobs in operations are spread throughout the country.

In other news involving regional Bell companies, Ameritech filed
a suit in Detroit, seeking to overturn the 1984 Cable Act's
provisions against its participation in the cable business within
its region. Bell Atlantic won a ruling on an identical suit,
filed on First Amendment grounds, from a Virginia court, but that
ruling was not extended beyond its territory. And NYNEX agreed to
sell its AGS Computers unit, hoping to raise cash to invest in
wireless systems.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931105/Press Contact: Michael Runzler,
Pacific Telesis, 415-394-3643)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Cox Denies Southwestern Bell Cable Deal 11/05/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Cox Enterprises is
denying a report in its own flagship newspaper it will take a $1
million investment from Southwestern Bell in its cable
operations. "There is no deal," spokesman Dave Anderson told
Newsbytes. "I won't deny there have been discussions, and the
author of the story," Charles Haddad, "knows that."

Haddad wrote on November 4 that Southwestern Bell would invest
over $1 billion in Cox, which the company would use to double the
size of its cable system, the sixth-largest in the industry with
1.7 million subscribers. Southwestern Bell has been silent in the
big "data superhighway" bidding so far, although it did agree to
buy a Washington, DC-area cable operator, Hauser
Communications, last year.

Since reducing debt following the acquisition of its formerly
publicly traded Cox Communications television unit in the 1980s,
Cox has recently become more aggressive under Chairman James Cox
Kennedy, a grandson of company founder James Cox, who was a
three-term Ohio governor early in the century and the Democrats'
1920 candidate for President. Cox has an alliance with BellSouth,
the local regional Bell, to enter the audiotex business, and
invested $500 million in QVC's bid for Paramount. The company
owns 17 daily newspapers, 24 cable television systems, 20 radio
and television stations and an automobile auction business. Cox
and Southwestern Bell are already partners in cable ventures in
the United Kingdom.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931105/Press Contact: Cox Enterprises, Dave
Anderson, 404-843-5855)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

Geac Buys Another Australian Company 11/05/93
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Geac Computer Corp.
Ltd., has announced the purchase of another Australian company.
The Canadian firm paid an undisclosed amount for Convergent
Solutions Pty. ltd., a supplier of manufacturing and distribution
software with annual revenues of about $4 million, Geac
spokeswoman Heidi Riffert said.

Convergent supplies software called Tims, and has some 70
customers primarily in New South Wales, officials said.

It is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Geac, and one of
several this year in Australia. In October, the company acquired
Datamark International Ltd., of New Zealand and its subsidiary
Dmark International Pty., Ltd., of Australia.

In May, Geac bought MAI (UK) Ltd., and Tekserv Computer
Services, both of Hemel Hempstead, UK, and NBI Canada Inc., a
network reseller in Toronto. Computer Library Services
International (Australia) Pty. Ltd., a Melbourne, Australia,
software distributor, was acquired in April.

In March, Geac bought Mentat Computer Systems Pty. Ltd., an
Australian maker of manufacturing software. At the same time, the
company picked up Concord Management Systems Inc., of Tampa,
Florida, which makes software for construction companies.

The largest part of Geac's revenues comes from library automation
systems, but the company also produces vertical-market software
for the financial sector, hotels, property management, and
distribution, as well as construction and manufacturing.

(Grant Buckler/19931105/Press Contact: Heidi Riffert, Geac,
905-475-0525)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00022)

Germany - Grundig, Exabyte In Mammoth Chip Venture 11/05/93
MUNICH, GERMANY, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Grundig has announced the joint
development of a new high capacity DRAM (dynamic random access
memory) chip with Exabyte, the US IC (integrated circuit)
specialist.

According to Grundig, which is majority-owned by Philips of the
Netherlands, plans call for the giant capacity DRAM chip, known as
the Mammoth series, to be jointly marketed in volume by the end of
1994, when it ships.

The main aim of the chip, said Grundig officials, was to service the
growing need for data protection devices. Mammoth has been adapted,
the company claims, to work as a battery-backed data storage device
that is protected from external influent. Grundig says its has
developed a commercial scanner for the chips.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931105/Press & Public Contact: Grundig - Tel: +49-
89-62280)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00023)

Germany - Computer Sciences Diversifies 11/05/93
MUNICH, GERMANY, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Computer Sciences Gmbh, the
German defense computing specialist and subsidiary of Computer
Sciences Corporation of the US, has announced it is
diversifying into the civilian computing marketplace. The
reason is falling demand for the company's services in
the defence arena, company officials said.

Plans for call for future business activities to be expanded
in the areas of trade, transport and sales, in the
manufacturing sector, and in the public and private
services sector.

The company claims that is has been adopting the strategy of going
for civilian computing market growth over the last year. During
the 1992/93 financial year, the company's turnover went to DM 26
million, from DM 19 million a year earlier, a rise of around 37
percent.

According to Friedrich Froeschl, the company's managing director,
this result is all the more remarkable, as Computer Sciences
now looks to be on target for profitability, after 12 years of
losses.

Froeschl added that, as a result of this turnaround for the
company's fortunes, the parent firm, Computer Sciences Corporation
of the US, plans to invest around DM 100 million in German
operations, a situation that would have been unthinkable just a few
years ago.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931105)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00024)

Finland - Computer 2000 Subsidiary Profits Up 150% 11/05/93
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Computer 2000 Oy, the Finnish
subsidiary of Computer 2000, the pan-European computer distributor
with its headquarters in Germany, has reported a massive increase in
sales over the last financial year.

During the 1992/93 financial year, which ended on September 30,
Computer 2000 Oy reported sales of FM 302 million, an increase of
approximately 147 percent on financial year 1991/92. According to
company officials, this puts the firm into the top ten computer
company category for Finland.

Officials are not resting on their laurels. They claim that their
1993/94 target has been set at DM 400 million, a figure that many
industry experts claim is pushing the envelope, but is just about
achievable, given the company's track record in recent years.

Newsbytes notes that the company's ebullience is attributable to the
fact that recently it became a distributor for Apple Computer in
Finland, enabling it to become a distributor for the Apple Mac and
all Apple peripherals across the country. This fact, company
officials claim, will enable them to take on more staff. Currently,
Computer 2000 Oy employs around 80.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931105/Press & Public Contact: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00025)

UK - Hutchison Pulls Plug On Rabbit CT-2 Phone Net 11/05/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Hutchison Whampoa, the Far
Eastern parent company to Hutchison Telecom in the UK, has decided
to pull the plug on its Rabbit CT-2 (cordless telephone type 2)
public network in the UK.

CT-2 is the digital equivalent of the analogue cordless phones that
millions of people have installed in their homes. A CT-2 phone can
be used as a digital cordless phone, provided the user has a bought
a private base station and plugged it in, either at home or in the
office.

Of the four companies (Ferranti, Mercury, Phonepoint and Hutchison
Rabbit) that have launched their CT-2 public networks, only Rabbit
has maintained its presence in the market until now. The buy-in
costs of a Rabbit phone are around UKP100 for a GPT-made handset and
a modest monthly subscription of UKP9-99 per month plus call charges
similar to those of a payphone.

Private base stations can be purchased for around the UKP100 mark.
Recently, Motorola entered the CT-2 market with its own phone, the
Silverlink, which can also be used on the Rabbit network.

Hutchison Whampoa claims that the closure of the Rabbit CT-2 network
at the end of December forms part of its long-term plan for UK
telephony and follows an in-depth review of these operations over
the last month.

Existing subscribers to the Rabbit network are to be offered a
choice of what Hutchison calls "generous options" ranging from a
straight cash buyback of the hardware, to a voucher entitling them
to a free DCS-1800 digital mobile phone, when the Hutchison DCS-1800
network is launched early next year. Other options include a voice
mailbox plus pager system or a free cellular phone with discounted
sign-up and subscriptions for the first year.

In parallel with the closure of the Rabbit network, Hutchison will
be selling off its mobile data division, which has been on hold in
the UK for some time.

In announcing the closures, Hutchison is claiming that this in no
way affects the development or the future of its CT-2 networking in
Hong Kong, which it says is progressing satisfactorily. The HK
service now has more than 70,000 subscribers, the company claims,
after just a year and a half of operation.

Hans Snook, group managing director of Hutchison Telecoms UK, said
that he is disappointed that, despite the technological success of
the CT-2 system, the Rabbit service was unable to "attract
sufficient subscribers to cover operating costs." He adds,
"We are totally confident for the future success in our PC
business and continued growth for cellular reselling and our
paging business."

Snook lashed out at the manufacturers in his network closure
statement, blaming "lack of timely support from various electronics
and telecom product manufacturers" in offering a good range of
affordable handsets and home base stations.

"This was a key contributing factor to the slow take-up of
subscribers, as was our own inability -- as a sole operator -- to
properly educate the market on the cost-effective benefits that
telepoint provides and as proven by the successful take-up of the
service in Hong Kong," he said.

(Steve Gold/19931105/Press & Public Contact: Hutchison Telecom -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


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

 ****Microsoft DOS 6.0 May Face Lawsuit 11/05/93
ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- A Roswell, New
Mexico-based accountant and computer consultant says Microsoft
Corporation may face a class action lawsuit over the problems users
are experiencing with the DOS 6.0 Doublespace compression utility.
He also alleges Microsoft Corporation attempted to "buy off" the
California man who commissioned him to survey Doublespace users
to determine the extent of the alleged problem.

William Golden told Newsbytes he has been commissioned by DOS
6.0 user William Ty to survey DOS 6.0 users. Ty reportedly lost
valuable data as a result of Doublespace problems. Golden said he
has posted electronic mail messages on one online service and
received more than 60 responses in two days. He said about half of
those may be legitimate complaints.

Golden told Newsbytes he plans to post similar messages on
Compuserve and America Online this weekend. The Compuserve
request for information is expected to appear in the IBM and
Stacker forums. Stac Electronics publishes a competitive
data compression utility, Stacker, and has recently clashed
in the courts with Microsoft, with suits and countersuits
flying over the trade secrets involved.

Stac reported in October that its year to date income had dropped
95 percent. It blamed the litigation with Microsoft partially
for that.

Golden claims Microsoft offered Ty $5,000 in Microsoft products and
asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement if he dropped the
issue. Golden says Ty alleges that he has voluminous
correspondence and lengthy phone calls with Microsoft regarding
his problem, and says Microsoft had Ty send his hard drive to
Microsoft for evaluation.

Reports of problems with Doublespace have repeatedly surfaced in
support forums on several online services. Microsoft told Newsbytes
that they have been unable to reproduce most of the reported
problems and others were related to the application being used. This
week Microsoft announced DOS 6.2 which is supposed to solve the
problems with Doublespace. The documentation that accompanies a
utility program released earlier for DOS 6.0 by Microsoft includes
some corrections to the Doublespace portion of the DOS 6.0
technical reference manual.

Microsoft has said that most user DOS 6.0 problems received by its
technical support staff fall into three categories: user setup
problems, difficulty with DOS 6.0 memory management utility
Memmaker, and Doublespace.

Newsbytes was unable to contact a Microsoft spokesperson prior to
its press deadline.

(Jim Mallory/19931105/Press contact: William Golden, Nationwide
Business Systems, 505-622-1100; Microsoft Public Relations, 206-
882-8080)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)

Symantec Norton Desktop 3.0 For Windows 11/05/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Symantec
has introduced Norton Desktop 3.0 for Windows, a set of utilities and
productivity tools for the Microsoft Windows graphical user
environment.

Christiane Petite, spokesperson for Symantec, told Newsbytes
that new enhancement to version 3.0 includes new productivity
tools -- FileAssist, Day Planner, and Script Maker -- a new
on-line tutorial and "Treasure Chest" help, new Control Center
configuration console (which was not on the old version),
"and new network features and an add-on network menuing
program." Added Petite, "The Norton Desktop for
Windows Network Menuing Admin Pack is $295 per server."

According to the company, the new version offers "the latest
diagnostic/repair, backup and anti-virus technology. New features
include: Norton Disk Doctor, which fixes problems under WIndows
without having to exit to DOS; Speed Disk, which optimizes hard
disk performance in order to maximize speed under WIndows;
FileAssist, which reportedly enhances Windows' common dialogs,
allows access to file management tools, and supports long file
name descriptions; and Day Planner, and all-in-one appointment
calendar, to-do list and address/phone book.

The company says that Norton Antivirus 3.0 for Windows provides
round-the-clock virus protection, features a faster scanning
engine, detects over 2,300 known viruses, and has the new ability
to detect unknown viruses.

Norton Backup 3.0 for Windows allows user to automate the
backing up of data with a "new easy, step-by-step '1-2-3 Go'
interface," claims the company. The utility supports more
media than in the previous version including server shared tape
drives and Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) backup
devices.

A new Control Center feature provides a centralized "push button"
console for making changes to the desktop and for configuring all
program options. Users can customize pull-down menus, drive
icons, background colors, and tool bars. The Center's interface
graphically demonstrates the changes before they are made.

Version 3.0 can be installed either on the network, or as a
workstation-based application with extensive feature support
for all major network operating systems, including Novell's
NetWare, Banyan Vines, Microsoft's LAN Manager and Windows
for Workgroups, and Artisoft's LANtastic.

Petite told Newsbytes that Norton Desktop 3.0 for Windows and
the Admin pack add-in product are available now. Version 3.0 is
priced at $179. Registered users can upgrade for $49.

Version 3.0 requires a 386SX-based PC or higher, Windows 3.1 or
better, MS-DOS 3.3 or higher, at least four megabytes (MB) of RAM,
15MB of hard disk space for full installation, as well as a VGA,
XGA, SVGA or 8514/A video card and mouse, which are recommended.

(Ian Stokell/19931105/Press Contact: Ana Shannon,
310-449-4140, Symantec)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00028)

Cisco Systems Sales Up 90% 11/05/93
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- As a further
indication that networking, and especially internetworking products
that hook together individual networks, is the place to be, Cisco
Systems Inc., has reported first quarter results ended October 24,
1993. Net sales were $248,457,000, and net income was
$63,485,000, or $0.48 per share.

The company says that this compares to net sales of $126,379,000
and net income of $33,243,000, or $0.26 per share in the same
period last year, and are increases of 97 percent, 91 percent, and
85 percent, respectively.

In announcing the results, John Morgridge, president and CEO of
Cisco, said: "Cisco was pleased with the level of business for the
quarter, which was highlighted by a number of new business
partnerships, including the company's first acquisition. In
September Cisco acquired Crescendo Communications, forming the
Cisco Workgroup Business Unit. The technology acquired from
Crescendo will be a key element in providing complete switching,
hubbing, and routing solutions to this part of our market."

The licensing deal with IBM was also a highlight. "Two other items
of significance during the quarter were Cisco's signing of an
agreement with IBM to license IBM's APPN (Advanced Peer-to-Peer
Networking) technology for integration into our products, and the
nomination of two new members to our board."

In September Newsbytes reported on Cisco's agreement to acquire
Crescendo Communications Inc., a privately held, networking
company. Under terms of the deal, Cisco agreed to acquire all of
the outstanding stock and assume all the outstanding employee
stock options and warrants of Crescendo in exchange for
2,000,000 shares of Cisco common stock.

In August Newsbytes reported that Cisco entered into a "strategic
partnership," in order to ensure compatibility between routers
from Cisco Novell's NetWare network operating system products.
At the time, the companies said that the first phase calls for
Novell to certify that Cisco routers support all necessary IPX
(Internetwork Packet Exchange) router functionality. It will also
entail Cisco implementing Novell's NetWare Link Services Protocol
(NLSP) to improve internetwork performance and scalability.

Cisco is a leading supplier of multimedia and multiprotocol routers,
bridges, workgroup systems, and communication servers.

(Ian Stokell/19931105/Press Contact: Jeff Paine,
415-903-7191, Cisco Systems Inc.)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00029)

Germany - Too Many Software Developers 11/05/93
MUNICH, GERMANY, 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Alldata, the German software
house, has announced plans to consolidate its software development
resources. The company blames the fact that there is a surplus of
software development resources over demand in Germany at the moment,
a situation that it claims is unlikely to improve over the next few
years.

Hans Joachim Erhardt, Alldata's chairman, said that the net result
of this situation over the last year has been a general downturn in
the cost of software development which, although good for consumers,
could cause problems in the longer term as the market rate of DM 70
(around $45) per hour was below cost in many cases.

Erhardt attributed the excess supply of software development
resources as due to a sudden influx of new entrants to the market.
He said that recent entry of Daimler-Benz subsidiary Daimler-Benz
InterServices (Debis) AG of Berlin had made problems worse.

He claimed that, even though DBI could afford to stomach losses in
the short term, it could not afford to continue offering its
services below cost in the longer term.

According to Erhardt, Alldata plans to merge its three computer
centers bought from Treuhandanstalt in the new federal states. This,
he said, will cut the company's payroll from more than 1,100 to
around 670. In parallel with the cost reduction, he said, income
from software development is expected to fall by around 20 percent
to around DM 190 million this year.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931105/Press & Public Contact: Alldata - Tel: +49-
89-455105)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Software Execs To Battle In Airplanes Over Las Vegas 11/05/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 5 (NB) -- Software company
executives Philippe Kahn of Borland and Ed Esber of Creative
Labs, among others, will be flying real planes but
participating in simulated dogfights in the skies over Las
Vegas, Nevada during the world's largest computer trade show
Comdex November 15-19.

Nearly 50 executives from software companies are going up in
Marchetti SF 260 aircraft over the Las Vegas desert to fight it
out. The executives will be flying out of the North Las Vegas
Air Terminal and the event includes training, flying, scoring,
and video documentation from Air Combat USA of Fullerton,
California.

Mike Blackstone, the founder of Air Combat USA and a pilot for
16 years with American Airlines, came up with the idea of
allowing aviators the chance to experience real air-to-air
combat without having to join the military. All of the action
is videotaped from three different cameras mounted in the
cockpit of the aircraft while a gunsight-mounted camera
confirms each "kill."

Everything is real except the bullets, according to Air
Combat officials, who said smoke even comes out of the
plane that is hit. The bullets are simulated via a
patented tracking system that uses microwaves. Would-be
participants do not need a pilot's license or previous flying
experience, as they go up with an experienced pilot.

Air Combat has 30 sites in cities nationwide, claims its planes
are maintained to the strictest FAA standards, and says over
7,000 have participated without a single incident. The company
said Spectrum Holobyte's programmers went up in Air Combat
planes to experience dog fights before writing the popular
combat simulation game Falcon 3.0.

The event is being organized by Softbank, a company produces a
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), Softbank On Hand,
containing software titles that users can try out and then
purchase by phone. The participants are from companies who have
allowed Softbank to distribute their software titles. Software
executives will begin flying Sunday afternoon, November 14, and
will continue throughout the week, company officials said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931105/Press Contact: Patrick Crisp,
Alexander Communications for Softbank, tel [phone], fax
415-92309863; Air Combat, 800-522-7590)