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/nb112393

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(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00001)

 ****Canadian Computer Show - Portable Boom Heralded 11/23/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Look for more powerful
notebooks computers with longer-lasting batteries and Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slots as the
standard for expansion.

And you can expect a growing number of "road warriors" to rely on
these systems as their primary PCs. This was the word from speakers
at the Canadian Computer Show and Conference here in Toronto.

Hiroyuki Furokawa, vice-president of new products for the computer
systems group at Toshiba America Information Systems, kicked off the
conference's first day, which had portable computing as its theme.

Furokawa said that today's most powerful microprocessors will soon
be built into notebook computers. He also said two pieces of
equipment will become widespread standards on portable machines:
PCMCIA slots and compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) drives.

According to Furokawa, new processors that use less power, and
memory chips that are also less power-hungry, will join forces with
new battery technology to make next year's notebooks run longer on a
single charge, Furokawa added.

He pointed to lithium ion batteries -- Toshiba was recently among
the first to launch a notebook using this new battery design --
which will offer about 1.9 times the battery life that can be had
from a nickel cadmium battery of the same weight. (Nickel metal
hydride falls between the two, lasting about 1.2 times as long as an
equivalent-weight nickel cadmium battery.)

Furokawa made his projections concrete by describing the new
notebooks of 1994. A notebook computer will be built around an 80486
microprocessor with power-saving technology, come with a hard disk
drive that holds from 500 megabytes (MB) to one gigabyte (GB) of
data storage, and have 8MB of memory with advanced caching, he said.

Coming in a package weighing less than seven pounds, the unit will
have an active-matrix color screen, wireless communications
capabilities, PCMCIA (personal computer memory card international
association) slots, sound and animation capabilities, as well as a
local area network (LAN) connection.

A subnotebook due next year will have four to eight MB of memory,
a 500MB hard disk, an active-matrix color screen, and about a six-
hour battery life, Furokawa forecast.

Later, Tom Villani, director of marketing for mobile networked
solutions at AT&T's NCR unit, focused on how people will use the
technology for "nomadic computing." He said there are already 24
million "road warriors" -- people who work on the move with
technology's aid -- in the United States alone, plus another 37
million who work from home or from some locations outside the
office.

But Villani also said that technology is by means all that is needed
to let people work on the move. Organizations have to adapt to make
use of the technology, he said. "You have to empower the employee."

In AT&T's own experience, Villani said, people resist the change
that true mobile computing can bring. "Middle managers are the
worst," he noted. "They think somebody's taking something away from
them." People have to learn new ways of managing to cope with an age
in which subordinates may rarely be in the office, he added.

But he said that the economics at least are on the side of mobile
computing. In the 1960s, Villani recalled, the average salary in an
office setting was in the range of $16,000 to $18,000, and giving an
employee a dumb terminal link to a mainframe could easily cost
$60,000 all told. Today, the salaries average $60,000, and the cost
of a complete mobile office is about $5,000, he said.

The speakers agreed that portable computing is the major growth area
in personal computing today. By the end of 1995, Villani forecast,
one in two personal computers will be portable.

(Grant Buckler/19931123)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00002)

Canadian Computer Show - 80486-Based Notebook Debuts 11/23/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Europak International,
a Canadian notebook computer manufacturer, rolled out a new notebook
computer line that uses Intel's 80486 microprocessor and comes with
assorted upmarket features at the Canadian Computer Show here in
Toronto.

Europak's Eurocom 8200 is meant to serve as a customer's only
computer, replacing the desktop machine thanks to a docking station
that brings the unit added capabilities such as four expansion slots
and two drive bays. Two of the slots are 32-bit VESA local-bus
slots.

The 8200's microprocessor is upgradeable by the user, according to
Janusz Rydel, marketing manager at EuroPak. A small panel just
behind the computer's keyboard provides access so one can snap one
chip out and snap another in.

The basic setup has four megabytes (MB) of memory, which can be
expanded to 20 MB. A 128K-byte static RAM cache is optional. EuroPak
offers a choice of monochrome, dual-scan passive-matrix color, or
active-matrix color screens, all meeting the VGA display standard.
Available hard disk drives range from 80 to 340 MB. The unit also
comes with a 128K-byte flash BIOS, which the company said will make
it easy to upgrade in future.

The 8.5-by-11-by-two-inch unit weighs about 6.7 pounds with battery
pack, company officials said. With a monochrome screen it can run
five hours on a battery charge, they added, while color models will
run for about two and a half hours.

Prices start at about C$2,000 for a unit with an 80486SX
microprocessor, 4MB of memory, and a 120MB hard drive, Rydel told
Newsbytes, adding that EuroPak, which has been in business for about
eight years, is actively selling the machines in the United States
and Europe as well as Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19931123/Press Contact: Anna Korutowska, 613-224-
6122)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00003)

Viking Office Products Sets Up Shop In Australia 11/23/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- US office supplies company
Viking has opened in Australia, and like many US ideas transplanted
to other countries, it may revolutionize the way people expect to
buy their office supplies. Viking already operates in Europe.

Direct ordering is not a common way of buying office products in
Australia -- most people tend to order from their local office
supply shop. Not only is Viking offering an alternative to this, but
claims to be offering significant price reductions as well.

The entire operation is being operated from a central warehouse and
order-taking site in Sydney. Orders will be delivered next day to
main centers along the eastern coast, and a day later to other
areas. Orders of AUS$50 (US$33) and more are delivered free, and
orders below this are delivered for $4.95.

Payment is taken via credit card or 30-day account for most buyers.
As an extra incentive to buy, all products come with at least a
years warranty and 30-day free trial. If you don't like the goods,
the company claims they will be collected free and your account
credited immediately.

Here are some samples of Viking's pricing: Economy copier paper for
$3.99 (US$2.66) per ream; 3M high density diskette $2.99 (US$1.99);
letter-sized sheets of copier labels $21.74 (US$14.40) per hundred;
and genuine LaserJet IIP toner cartridges for $147.68 (US$98).

Viking told Newsbytes that it has no intention of selling computer
equipment other than consumables, but it does sell a small range of
fax machines, answering machines and photocopiers. It also sells a
range of furniture which it may expand, depending on demand.

Spokesperson Alan Very said that he was also considering adding
coffee-break consumables to the existing list of "must haves" which
includes toilet paper.

(Paul Zucker/19931123)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00004)

Andataco Ports Apple Mac Emulation Software To DEC 3000 11/23/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 18 (NB) -- San Diego, California-
based Andataco has signed a strategic agreement with Maynard,
Massachusetts-based Digital Equipment to port the Liken Apple Mac
emulation software to the DEC Alpha AXP platform. Other versions of
Liken currently available allow let standard Macintosh applications
software run on Sun, Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series 700, and IBM
RS/6000 workstations.

The current single-user price for a copy of Liken is $299 and the
software will let five models of the Alpha AXP Unix workstation run
the majority of popular Mac applications programs on the powerful
workstations, the company claims.

The new version of Liken, which is being created just for the
Digital Unix platform, will also run as a client/server application
for Alpha AXP servers including the desktop DEC 2000 Model 300 to
the DEC 10000 enterprise computing server systems.

Besides emulating an Apple Mac, the Liken software will let the DEC
systems easily connect to existing or future Macintosh networks or
individual computers.

(John McCormick/19931123/Press Contact: Steven W. McAllister,
Andataco, 619-453-9191)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00005)

Sequoia Publishing Announces Updated PC Pocket Book 11/23/93
LAS VEGAS. NEVADA. U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Sequoia Publishing
claims that its revised Pocket Ref, a $14-95 320-page PC reference
book, is not just another PC reference book to add to the hundreds
already published. The reason, the company claims, is that the book
is logically structured and, as it's only 3.2 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
big, it really does slip into the pocket.

Kathy Hodack, marketing representative for the Littleton, Colorado-
based company, told Newsbytes at Comdex last week that the book
sells to all types of PC professionals, ranging from home users to
business users.

"We first published the book back in 1991. Since then, it's become a
best seller in our lists. It contains a wealth of industry phone
numbers, plus a history of PC technology," Hodack explained.

Sequoia is keen to get its book onto the desks of as many PC users
as possible. To this end, the company is offering companies the
chance to pay from $10 (for the die costs) and 13 cents per book
extra to have their details printed on the cover. Offering the book
as a customer thank-you is a good way of getting your company
noticed, Sequoia officials said.

According to Hodack, a deal for Australian distribution of the book
has just been signed with Senjoe Limited, a Terrigal, New South
Wales-based company.

(Steve Gold/19931112/Press & Public Contact: Sequoia - Tel: 303-972-
4167; Fax: [phone]; Australian Contact: Senjoe Pty - Tel: +61-
43-85-1711; [phone])


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

Wordperfect Bundles Legal Software With WP 6.0 11/23/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation has
announced it will bundle some legal software with its recently
launched Wordperfect 6.0 word processor.

Bundled with the word processing package will be Jurisoft
CompareRite 5.0, CAPS Personal 1.0 and Jurisoft Directconnect 2.0.
The four programs are designed to work together, allowing the legal
professional to utilize the other programs without leaving
Wordperfect, the company claims.

The bundle will be available for Windows and for DOS-based systems
in early December 1993, and will have an upgrade price of $199 for
users of earlier versions of Wordperfect and $229 for users of
competitive word processing programs. Windows users will also
receive a bonus disk which contains legal templates, LEXIS access
macros and the WESTLAW/Wordperfect integration.

CompareRite performs "redlining", a term used to describe the
process of making changes in a document but retaining the original
text with strikeout marks (usually slashes or dashes) to show what
is being changed.

CAPS Personal 1.0 is a document assembly tool that uses master
documents imported from Wordperfect to create intelligent document
templates that generate customized documents and sending them to
Wordperfect for final editing, printing, and storage.

Directconnect 2.0 installs a Jurisoft Button Bar in Wordperfect to
provide the integration between Wordperfect and legal tools such as
Jurisoft's Legal Toolbox, CAPS Personal, and Lexis/Nexis research
software. Directconnect was first introduced in June of this year as a
companion product for Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS.

Wordperfect has tools designed specifically for legal professionals,
such as pleading macro, watermarks, and a table of authorities. It
also has outlining capabilities.

(Jim Mallory/19931123/Press Contact: Ken Merritt, Wordperfect
Corporation, Tel: [phone]; Reader contact: Wordperfect
Corporation, Tel: [phone]; Fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00007)

Canadian Product Launch Update 11/23/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 NOV 23 (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: the DECpc XL and new
software from WordPerfect and Borland.

Digital Equipment of Canada, in Toronto, unveiled the DECpc XL line
of PCs with 486, Pentium, and Alpha processors (Newsbytes, Nov 8).
Prices start at C$3,500 for a standard configuration 433DX with
eight megabytes (MB) of memory, 340-MB SCSI hard drive, 3.5-inch
diskette drive, S3-928 PCI video card, one MB of video memory, and
Microsoft's MS-DOS and Windows software. Digital Canada has not yet
announced prices for the other three models in the new line.

Quantity shipments of the 486-based models are due to start in
December. The XL 560 will be available from December 15, and the XL
560 from early January. The Alpha upgrade card will ship by mid-
1994, the company said.

WordPerfect brought its Main Street line of consumer software
(Newsbytes, Nov 18) to Canada at the Canadian Computer Show, which
is taking place this week in Toronto. A total of 12 products are to
be introduced in the first quarter of 1994, the company said.

WordPerfect has also joined with Borland International in
introducing the Borland Office 2.0 software suite (Newsbytes, Nov
16) -- which includes WordPerfect's word processing software -- to
the Canadian market. Canadian prices were not immediately available.

(Grant Buckler/19931123/Press Contact: David Paolini, Digital
Canada, Tel: [phone]; Blake Stowell, WordPerfect, Tel: 801-228-
5063; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00008)

Canadian Computer Show - A PDA Perspective 11/23/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Personal digital
assistants (PDAs) still have maturing to do, but they will be
important products in the next few years, visitors to the Canadian
Computer Show and Conference here in Toronto were told.

Craig Hustadt, former general manager of marketing and planning for
Sharp Electronics of Canada, said that PDAs have been getting a
rough ride in the press. He admitted, however, there is a reason for
that: Manufacturers, he said, "have a very big and ugly habit and
that is to over-promise and under-deliver."

"And if they would only learn to under-promise and over-deliver, I
think the press would probably be kinder to them," he added.

Hustadt said that there are some problems with today's PDAs, partly
because today's technology simply can't deliver everything buyers
would like in a package as small as they want at a price they want
to pay.

He questioned the complaint that PDAs are overpriced, asking
rhetorically where else one would find all the capabilities of a PDA
for less than $1,000.

On the other hand, he agreed with another common criticism: that the
handwriting recognition technology available today is not good
enough. While PDAs may achieve from 65 to 95 percent accuracy in
translating handwriting, Hustadt said, optical character recognition
typically delivers better than 99 percent -- and that still means
that on a page with 2,000 characters, there will typically be about
20 errors.

"PDA devices require assistance from software houses," Hustadt
said, explaining that software developers need to write
applications that can use the context in which data is entered to
make intelligent guesses about what entries are likely to be, thus
making up for the deficiencies of today's handwriting recognition.

Another problem facing the infant market, he said, is the
proliferation of pen-based operating systems. "What we need is a
winner," Hustadt said, because application developers lack the
resources to write to the myriad platforms now on the market.

Commenting on the various PDAs now on the market, Hustadt had
most praise for the Zoomer being marketed by Tandy and Casio, saying
that it was "designed with the customer in mind."

He said that Sharp's recently launched PT-9000 is powerful but may
have to wait for customer acceptance due to its size, which is
larger than that of many PDAs.

(Grant Buckler/19931123)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00009)

First Third Pty Developer Products For GEOS 2.0 Ship 11/23/93
DAVIS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- The Association of
GEOS Developers (AGD) has announced that the first third-party
applications for the GEOS 2.0 operating system are now available.

AGD says their members have been working on a variety of
applications for the GEOS operating system developed by Berkeley,
California-based Geoworks. The first application to come to market
is Maze Runner, a shareware game developed by LesInk Products in
Huntsville, Alabama. Maze Runner can be downloaded from Geoworks
libraries on America Online, GEnie, or Compuserve.

Lysle Shields III, a supporter of GEOS on the Commodore computer and
one of the programmers at LesInk Products, says he expects LesInk
will produce a multiple game package shortly that will run on PC
compatibles and personal data assistants (PDA's) such as Zoomer that
will include both shareware and commercial releases of a number of
popular games.

LesInk says that additional products are currently being beta tested
by AGD's product testing department. Beta testing is the final step
in working out any bugs in a software product before it ships.

The GEOS operating system has been adopted by several PDA makers
because of its adaptability to system resources. With the
availability of GEOS for IBM-compatible PCs users of palmtop devices
will be able to create files on either platform and transport the
information to the other platform without the need for any type
conversion.

Geoworks also publishes Ensemble 2.0, a software productivity suite
that includes word processing, a flatfile database, drawing and
spreadsheet software.

AGD is a non-profit corporation that offers membership to all
supporters of GEOS. The group offers its members substantial
discounts on a variety of products and is active on America Online,
Genie, and Compuserve subscription-based online information
services.

(Jim Mallory/19931123/Press and public contact: Geoworks, 510-644-
0883)


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

Virtual Reality Stock Trading Coming Of Age 11/23/93
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Imagine trading
stocks by putting on glasses and a glove, reaching out and grabbing
one of many colored bars representing 100 shares and placing the
shares in your open portfolio. That is what's coming, according to
Avatar Partners of Boulder Creek, California.

Avatar has announced a marketing agreement with Data Broadcasting
Corporation (DBC) for vrTrader, a software package that allows users
to enter a virtual world of stocks complete with sounds, colors and
movement. While vrTrader doesn't allow users to buy and sell stocks
by picking them up in the virtual reality world, that is the next
step.

The system works by connecting a PC to a DBC Signal Receiver, which
brings in real-time data from a cable television connection, and FM
radio signal, or even direct via satellite. The stocks are then
presented to the user as three dimensional objects with graphics and
text around them.

Each stock is a color coded pole coming out of the ground of an area
resembling a three-dimensional football field. Each pole can grow,
spin, blink or emit a sound that indicates the movement of that
security.

Up to 300 stocks can be viewed from a choice of over 9,500 from the
NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ exchanges. The overall scene is a startling
visual picture of a subscriber's portfolio in action at any given
moment of the trading day. The software further updates related
factors, like the existence of recent news reports.

Maurice Doucet, one of the two founding partners of Avatar Partners,
told Newsbytes that the big concern in making the stock market fully
electronic is the loss of the visual elements that now make up the
trading. "How do you see the traders on the floor with an electronic
stock market? You still can, if the market is in a virtual reality
setting," he said.

Doucet says he can foresee a completely virtual stock market where
traders are all represented by virtual forms moving in and out and
trading by exchanging virtual objects. The auditory element allows
for a user to be alerted by a sound coming from the direction of the
stock that has passed a pre-set threshold, for example.

The software supports most high-tech hardware so stocks may also be
displayed on a television screen or on a projection system as well,
company officials added.

The virtual reality version of vrTrader is rather expensive,
Newsbytes notes, with $1,995 required for the software plus
additional costs for the DBC receiver and the VR equipment.

For those who would like the experience without the expense, the
company is planning a Windows version of the software for individual
users that will cost under $700 and will be available in February of
next year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931123/Press Contact: Julie Craig, Data
Broadcasting, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Legent Intros New LAN Backup & Recovery 11/23/93
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Legent Corp.,
has introduced Enterprise Storage Manager (ESM) for managing
enterprise file servers, designed to provide both local and
off-site backup and recovery for LAN (local area network)-
based servers connected to MVS/ESA mainframes.

According to the company, ESM features a new dual backup
architecture that backs up LANs to local compressed disk storage
on the LAN as a "hot spare" and to the mainframe for long-term
storage.

Kathy Shuman, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that the
system resides on a LAN-based server. "The company has traditionally
been strong in the MVS-mainframe area, so as our customers move to
the client-server environment, we are helping them to do that," she
said.

Phil Carrai, vice president of Legent's Resource Management unit,
said that, "today, over 85 percent of all LAN servers are not backed
up. Enterprise Storage Manager meets the needs of large
organizations to quickly recover lost data using the inexpensive
medium of LAN disks, while providing the capability to use tape
storage on the mainframe for archiving and disaster recovery," he
said.

ESM uses a dual backup strategy that backs up each LAN server to
both compressed disk storage on other local servers and to the data
center over existing telecommunications links. The data stored on
the LAN can be restored "quickly and automatically," according to
the company. ESM also transmits a second copy of the backup data to
a mainframe where it is stored on tape.

According to Legent, ESM is the first deployment of its exclusive
binary object technology, which allows for the management of
unlimited amounts of data. The technology is claimed to provide
automatic elimination of duplicate files during the backup process
at the server, site and enterprise level. In addition, it can
reportedly determine which data have been changed and which remain
static, and backs up only the data with changes.

Jim Woodhill, chief product architect for ESM, said that, "unlike
other technologies, ESM has a LAN-centric rather than a mainframe-
centric design. LAN storage is growing too rapidly for a mainframe-
centric approach to be viable in the 1990s. Large organizations want
centralized control and data vaulting, but need the bulk of the
actual processing to be done out on the LANwhere the MIPS and DASD
(Direct Access Storage Device) are cheap."

The initial release of the product supports OS/2, with plans to
support Novell NetWare and Windows NT in 1994. ESM supports OS/2-
based file servers running LAN Manager or LAN Server network
operating systems connected via OS/2 Communications Manager or DCA
CommServer to MVS/ESA mainframe environments.

The company says that ESM will be available as a controlled release
in December, 1993, with general availability scheduled for April
1994. ESM pricing starts at $30,000 and is based on the number of
customer LANs and the amount of storage associated with each.

(Ian Stokell/19931123/Press Contact: Kathy Shuman, 703-708-3118,
Legent Corp.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00012)

Ex-Apple CEO John Sculley Left Company With Millions 11/23/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- John Sculley
walked away from Apple Computer last month with millions, according
to preliminary documents released by Apple to the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Sculley, who left Apple in the midst of turmoil
on October 14, a Friday, joined New York- based Spectrum Information
Technologies the following Monday.

Apple representatives have stressed the numbers in the preliminary
proxy statement sent to shareholders are not final and won't be
finalized until the company's annual meeting scheduled for January
16, 1994.

However, Newsbytes notes that the statement reveals Sculley will
probably receive $1 million in severance pay, an annual salary of $1
million and a bonus of $412,000 for 1993. In addition to all this,
he will receive $750,000 in pay as a consultant to Apple for a year,
and can exercise about $2.24 million in stock options.

And in addition to all this, Apple is buying Sculley's home in
Woodside, California for fair market value, picking up his moving
expenses to Greenwich, Connecticut, and buying his Lear jet.

Rumors are Sculley was forced out due to Apple's sagging bottom line
and those rumors have been fueled by a former board of directors
member who has filed suit against Apple. However, until recently
Sculley was known internally at Apple as "Teflon John," according to
Newsbytes' sources who said that nothing bad ever seemed to "stick"
to him.

Other sources said that Sculley is pulling $1 million annually in
his new chief executive officer (CEO) post at Spectrum. Sculley is
also credited for some internal cleanup at Spectrum with the
resignations of key executives this month, cost cutting measures,
the settlement of a class-action suit brought against the company by
its shareholders, the purchase of Yield TechniGlobalmoval, and a
deal with US Robotics for its wireless modem technology.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931123/Press Contact: Kate Paisley, Apple
Computer, 408-974-5453, fax [phone]; Dae Chang, Spectrum, 516-
627-8992 x136)


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

Hayes, Cardinal End Patent Litigation 11/23/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- The communications
industry has decided to stop fighting over patents and get back to
making products. Newsbytes has learned that, at about the same time
when Spectrum and Microcom ended their patent battle, Hayes and
Cardinal were ending theirs.

The settlement between Hayes and Cardinal involved Hayes' '302
patent for an escape sequence with guard time, a standard feature on
many modems which allows users to hit the Escape key to reach a
command menu for uploading, downloading, and performing other
functions.

Hayes sued for patent infringement in May, 1991, and Cardinal had
been planning to challenge the patent based on "obviousness," the
idea being that such escape sequences have been common features on
communications systems since the invention of the telegraph in the
1830s.

Under the settlement, announced at the beginning of November,
Cardinal agreed to pay Hayes' attorneys fees, acknowledge Hayes'
patent, and license the technology. Hayes says it now has 40
licensing arrangements or settlements regarding its patent.

Newsbytes had earlier reported that Spectrum Information
Technologies and Microcom settled their patent dispute, which
involved Spectrum's claims that Microcom's MNP 10 error-correction
scheme violated Spectrum's patent on SPCL, another error-correction
scheme used in wireless modems. That agreement involved a cross-
licensing of patent rights and a business alliance.

Hayes also announced it has joined the growing price war on PC Card
modems under PCMCIA standards, shaving $100 off the price of its
Optima 144 + Fax 144, to $399. The unit supports all modem speeds to
14,400 bits per second as well as 9,600/14,400 bps faxes and the
V.42bis data compression and error correction system.

According to Hayes, the personal computer memory card international
association (PCMCIA) type II modem also supports the Hayes AutoSync
system, a modem system that allows an asynchronous modem hook up to
a distant synchronous modem.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931123/Press Contact: Beth Malanoski, Hayes,
404-840-6824)


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

 ****Microsoft Shipping MAPI Developer's Tools 11/23/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has announced it is now shipping the beta version of the
software developer's kit (SDK) for its Messaging Application
Programming Interface (MAPI) version 1.0.

MAPI is a standard set of application programming interfaces for
Microsoft Windows that enables software developers to write
messaging and workgroup applications for Microsoft Windows and
Microsoft Windows NT. It provides interfaces for front-end client
applications and back-end messaging systems. A MAPI-capable
application on the front end can operate seamlessly with any MAPI-
capable back-end system.

This allows users to choose the best of each to fit their needs with
the assurance that the two will work together smoothly. For example
a user can communicate through MAPI with users of various local area
network (LAN) messaging systems such as Microsoft Mail or Novell
Mail Handling System (MHS), public e-mail systems such as AT&T
Easylink or Compuserve, or host-based systems such as IBM Profs.

All the user has to do is create electronic mail and select the
addressees. MAPI allows the mail to be delivered regardless of the
e-mail systems in use by the sender and recipients.

Microsoft says that more than 80 developers are working on various
back-end services for MAPI applications and another 70 independent
software vendors have expressed their intentions to develop MAPI
applications. Microsoft competitor Wordperfect has also committed to
the MAPI standard.

According to Eldon Greenwood, product marketing director for
Wordperfect Office, Wordperfect 6.0 for Windows and Wordperfect
InForms utilize simple MAPI as a mail-enabling technology. He says
that MAPI support will also be embedded into WordPerfect Office.

Microsoft says that MAPI 1.0 will be included in future versions of
Windows and will also be available on the new Microsoft Developer
Network Level II CD-ROM subscription service in January 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19931123/Press contact: Beverley Flower, Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft Corp, 206-882-
8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00015)

IBM's DB2 Version 3 Scheduled To Ship December 17 11/23/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- In a major
upgrade to its DB2 relational database for mainframes, IBM is adding
a series of enhancements meant to boost data availability, reduce
the time needed for performing complex queries, and increase
connectivity across distributed multivendor client/server
environments.

During an interview with Newsbytes, Tom Lockwood, DB2 brand manager,
said that the DB2 Version 3 will be delivered December 17. DB2
Performance Monitor (DB2PM) Version 3, a new release of IBM's
performance analysis tool for DB2, is scheduled to ship at the same
time.

New features in DB2 Version 3 include multi-site update, partition
independence, and hardware and software compression/decompression,
Lockwood told Newsbytes. DB2PM Version 3 supports the enhancements
in DB2 Version 3, and brings additional functionality geared to ease
of use.

The new multi-site update in DB2 is designed to assure data recovery
and integrity across multiple relational databases in the event of
system or network failure before updates have been completed, the
DB2 brand manager said.

The update capability is made possible by IBM's latest
implementation of DRDA (distributed relational database
architecture), a client/server architecture aimed at allowing remote
relational data to be accessed across IBM and non-IBM platforms.

The new partition independence feature lets users work on one
partition of a table space or index space without locking out other
partitions. The enhancement speeds up database administration, while
also improving concurrent database access, especially for queries
involving large amounts of data, according to Lockwood.

Version 3 is the first edition of DB2 to include built-in data
compression/decompression, Lockwood told Newsbytes. "Third-party
vendors did provide (compression/decompression) tools for previous
releases (of DB/2). But (these tools) were not an integrated piece
of DB2.  And they did not take advantage of hardware compression,
which shows (particularly) promising performance measurements," he
said.

According to Lockwood, the built-in compression/decompression system
is yielding strong benefits in data utilization as well as I/0
(input/output) performance. Lockwood told Newsbytes that customers
can select between hardware or software compression, depending on
the hardware requirements of the particular site.

A total of 15 third-party vendors have announced support for DB2
Version 3 and its implementation of DRDA, he explained.

DRDA was first used at the mainframe level in DB2 Version 3 Release
2. Other implementations of DB2 -- including DB2/6000, a recently
released client/server edition for the AIX operating system, and
DB2/2, a client/server implementation for OS/2 -- are also based on
DRDA. DB2/6000 and DB2/2 "are both implementing DRDA Level 1, and
are working hard to implement DRDA Level 2," Lockwood said.

In the future, DRDA will be available for clients running Microsoft
Windows, DOS, and multivendor non-IBM Unix operating systems, he
added.

At Unix Expo in September, Janet Perna, IBM's director of database
technology, and Lucia Mikasa, section manager, CSO Information
Management, for Hewlett-Packard, told Newsbytes that IBM and HP are
targeting HP-UX on HP 9000 workstations for the first port of DB2 to
a non-IBM platform.

"Windows and DOS (client implementations of DRDA) will be coming
within the next year," Lockwood told Newsbytes this week.

Lockwood also said that the partition independence feature in DB2
Version 3 for the mainframe permits database maintenance or I/O
operations to be performed on parallel partitions of a table space,
rather than serially on individual partitions, as in the past. When
I/O operations are carried out in parallel, query response time can
be significantly reduced, he claimed.

In another enhancement, DB2 Version 3 offers a substantial increase
in the number of concurrently active distributed connections
available to database clients. Up to 10,000 connections are now
permitted, he said.

The DB2 Performance Monitor will be improved in Release 3 with a new
online history of near-term DB2 performance, expanded customization
capabilities, and an "explain" facility that uses plain English to
describe both static and dynamic SQL (standard query language).

Third-party vendors that have announced support for DB2 Version 3
include BMC Software, Bachman Information Systems, Boole & Babbage,
CDB Software, Candle Corp., Compuware, Landmark Systems, Platinum
Technology, Optima Software, Princeton Softech, Programart, the SAS
Institute, and Tone Software.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931123/Reader contact: IBM, tel [phone];
Press contacts: Amy Palladino, GCI for IBM, tel [phone];
Barbara Cerf, IBM, tel [phone]; Molly Morgan, IBM, tel 914-642-
5886)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00016)

NIST Moves To Make ISDN Available To Small Businesses 11/23/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- In a move to improve
small business access to the communications highway being proposed
by the Clinton Administration, a joint government-industry group has
targeted the complex wiring needs of offices which need to connect
to Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN, a telecommunications
network standard that supports voice and data transmissions on the
same line.

The ISDN system is seen by many large and small businesses as the
telecoms wave of the future when it comes to advanced
communications, but its acceptance has been greatly slowed by the
fact that most installations are targeted at large companies. NIUF,
the North American ISDN Users' Forum, a joint government and
industry group, is working to change that.

NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly
the National Bureau of Standards), is the division of the Commerce
Department charged with advancing technology's acceptance in US
companies and often works with industry groups to advance acceptance
of standards.

The NIUF has formed a Wiring and Powering Working Group to develop
guidelines for those who install ISDN wiring for residential and
small business customers.

Connecting to the ISDN system can be a complex technical task and
most information relating to the process is, according to the NIST,
incomplete. This means that only larger companies which have their
own sophisticated telecommunications engineers, or which can afford
to hire high-priced telecom consultants, can currently enjoy the
benefits of ISDN.

As Newsbytes reported on November 12, Communicationsweek for the 8th
of November reported that on a national basis, ISDN is gaining
ground as far as increasing availability from service providers, but
this isn't resulting in more ISDN-compatible installations, because
less than one percent of ISDN-capable lines actually meet ISDN
standards. That report indicated that there are only a few thousand
Bell Communications Research National ISDN-1 standard lines
installed in the US

(John McCormick/19931123/Press Contact: Anne Enright Shepherd,
NIST, 301-975-4858 or Internet [e-mail])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00017)

Extraordinary Sales of MS-Office 4.0 At Hong Kong Launch 11/23/93
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 23RD NOV 1993 -- Demand for the new Microsoft
Office 4.0 suite of applications proved so strong that nearly half
the 1,125 people who attended the Hong Kong launch bought the
product on the spot, company executives have revealed.

In one of the territory's most up-beat product launches, live jazz
helped presenters to convey the message that synergy is achieved
when Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Mail are used as an
integrated suite rather than as standalone applications.

Telephone registrations sold out the Microsoft Office 4.0 in Concert
event well before the closing date. More than 100 callers who were
too late to register accepted places at a follow-up seminar,
Switching from DOS to Windows with Office, which starts today at the
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

"Microsoft Office 4.0 has generated a fantastic level of interest
both with existing Microsoft customers and users of competitive
products," explained Amanda Young, application products manager of
Microsoft Hong Kong Ltd. "The launch filled the Lyric Theatre to
capacity and the next day calls on our Product Support and
Information hotlines more than doubled with people asking for more
information about Office, she said."

According to Young, approximately a third of the people who attended
the launch were users of competing products. The rest were mainly
users of individual Microsoft applications, or users of Office 3.0
who intend to upgrade.

Attendees at the launch were given a sneak preview of the Chinese
version of Microsoft Office 4.0 which is planned for availability
early next year. Development is also underway to produce Japanese,
Korean and Thai language editions.

(Keith Cameron/19931123/Press Contact: Amanda Young (Microsoft):
[phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00018)

Elimination of Microsoft Charges Welcomed in Hong Kong 11/23/93
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 23RD NOV 1993 -- The decision by Microsoft to
make its client networking software available at no extra cost to
all customers that run networks based on Microsoft LAN Manager,
Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server or
Microsoft for Workgroups.

"Customers told us that the process of acquiring client software for
our networking servers was complex. We have therefore moved to a
consistent price structure for our networking platforms to make it
as easy and straight-forward as possible for our customers,"
explained Steve Tsiu, System Products Manager at Microsoft Hong Kong.

The full set of Microsoft network clients, including the Remote
Access Services software, is available in the Microsoft Network
Client Pack (formerly known as the Microsoft Workgroup Connection).
According to Microsoft, this software collection enables PCs to run
in all popular network environments.

Since multiple network protocols, including NetBEUI, TCP/IP and
IPX/SPX, are supported, Microsoft Network Client Pack software
allows simultaneous communication with Microsoft LAN Manager,
Windows NT, NT Advanced Server and NetWare servers.

This facilitates smooth transition from older networking
environments such as LAN Manager or NetWare and new generation
Windows NT-based networks, the company claims.

(Keith Cameron/19931123/Press Contact: Steve Tsiu (Microsoft): +852-
804 4261)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00019)

ODS Adds Fiber To Infinity Hubs, Provides Hubs For RSNAnet 11/22/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 22 (NB) -- Optical Data Systems
(ODS), has added single mode fiber optic capabilities to its
Ethernet and Token Ring modules, transceivers and adapter card
lines. The company has also announced that it will supply
intelligent switching hubs for the RSNAnet for the 79th
annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
in
Chicago November 28 through December 3, 1993.

According to the company, the fiber optic capability upgrade allows
Ethernet 10BaseFL transmission distances to more than double from
2,000 meters for multi-mode fiber to a maximum of 4,572 meters for
single-mode fiber. The company also says that the Token Ring
distances increase from 2,700 meters with multi-mode fiber to a
maximum of 32,000 meters for single mode.

The capability is reportedly available on any ODS product with
multi-mode fiber optics and is also available as a retrofit to
any existing ODS multi-mode product in the field.

Announcing the expanded capabilities, Terry Gaston, vice president
of marketing for ODS, said: "Single mode fiber capabilities can
allow customers to do away with expensive leased T1 lines running
Token Ring and Ethernet networks in lieu of cheaper single mode
fiber optic lines."

Continued Gaston, "This allows campus-type and geographically
dispersed sites to set up metropolitan area networks (MANs) and
wide area networks (WANs) via single mode fiber. This also allows
full bandwidth 16Mbps Token Ring and 10Mbps Ethernet performance
versus a maximum of 1.544 Mbps over T1 lines.

The bottom line is that single mode fiber can substantially increase
performance of networks currently constrained by T1 lines and can
increase transmission distances on networks currently utilizing
multi-mode fiber."

The company says that the targeted user for single mode technology
is sites that are using T1 lines to tie together Ethernet or Token
Ring networks because of distance limitations and sites that have
installed or are installing single mode fiber either as a
requirement or as a future wiring capability consideration.

ODS claims that the Infinity Hub product line, announced in January,
1993, represents a significant advance in intelligent hub
technology, including port switching, high density modules, superior
RMON-based network management, and seamless integration of multiple
networking standards -- Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI (fiber
distributed data interface) and ATM.

The RSNA meeting will be held in Chicago's McCormick Place, and is
expected to draw over 50,000 attendees and 600 exhibitors. It is
billed as "the largest medical meeting in the world."

According to ODS, the RSNAnet will reportedly use Infinity hubs
running FDDI operating at 100 Mbps and Ethernet running at 10Mbps.
The company says it will also provide ODS Ethernet management and
user module cards and ODS/Wellfleet integrated Link Node Ethernet-
to-FDDI routers.

Gaston said that ODS is extremely pleased to be involved with
the RSNA meeting. "Medical imaging is a vitally important, rapidly
changing field that requires very high performance networking
equipment," he said.

(Ian Stokell/19931122/Press Contact: Terry Bazzoon,
214-234-6400, Optical Data Systems Inc.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00020)

Aldus ships Freehand 4.0 For Mac 11/23/93
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced it is now shipping release 4.0 of Aldus Freehand for
the Apple Computer Macintosh.

The company says that the new release is a major upgrade, and
includes enhanced text controls, intuitive color controls, a
streamlined user interface, extensive graphic capabilities, and
multi-page layout functions. According to Lorene Lee, Aldus product
marketing manager, the changes will provide graphics professionals a
broader set of readily accessible tools that replicate a natural way
of working.

The revised user interface replaces almost all of Freehand's dialog
boxes with floating palettes that position tools for quicker access,
while providing real-time numerical feedback and a greater
maximization of workspace.

There is also a new pasteboard that allows users to layout multiple
pages in any combination of sizes and orientations and move text and
objects between pages. Aldus says that will let users create,
combine, review, and color-separate all from a single file.

Version 4.0 allows users to type directly into their design,
eliminating the need to use a dialog box for text entry. They can
also create columns and rows, link text blocks, wrap text around or
inside objects of any shape, drag and drop tabs right into the
design, and use professional track kerning.

New custom color features allow the user to mix, then drag and drop
color from wells in the enhanced Color and Tints palettes right into
their design, even into objects that are not selected. Aldus claims
that graduated and radial fills are now easier, and the new palettes
allow for automatic mixing, defining, and naming saved colors and
tints.

Aldus has included editable Freehand EPS files and built-in editable
arrowheads, a polygon tool for drawing stars and regular polygons,
and a calligraphic pen mode with a variable nib width and angle for
use with pressure sensitive tablets.

Aldus Freehand 4.0 for the Apple Mac runs under System 6.0.7 or
System 7. Aldus recommends any Mac IIci series or greater, a
Powerbook or Mac Quadra, at least 8 megabytes (MB) of memory, a
mouse or drawing digitizing tablet with stylus, and a 120MB hard
drive. The product has a suggested retail price of $595. Registered
users of earlier versions of Freehand can upgrade for $150.

(Jim Mallory/19931123/Press contact: Belinda Young, Aldus Corp,
206-386-8819; Reader contact: Aldus Corp, 206-628-2320)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

MCI Signs to Help Cable Company Develop Phone Service 11/23/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- MCI will work with
Jones Intercable on two trials linking phone and cable service on
Jones' cable systems, the telecoms giant has announced.

Plans call for the first test to take place in Alexandria, Virginia,
where a Bell Atlantic network upgrade, with the stated intention of
competing with Jones' cable system there, became the focus of a
court case resulting in Bell Atlantic's winning the right to enter
the cable business throughout its service territory, on First
Amendment grounds. A few months after that decision came, Bell
Atlantic announced plans to buy TCI, the nation's largest cable
operator.

MCI spokesman Kevin Inda told Newsbytes that in his company's
Alexandria trial, "50 MCI and Jones employees will test the
technology," using equipment supplied by Scientific/Atlanta.

"We'll just put another phone into the house and let them send long
distance calls over Jones' cable system to MCI," he said, adding
that the Jones cable will carry calls to an MCI switch for
transmission over its long distance network.

Far more interesting, to MCI, is what will happen next. Assuming the
technology proves out, MCI and Jones will launch a market test of
their joint phone-cable service in the Chicago area. Inda said the
company hopes to get 1,000 people to sign-up for the service, which
will include local as well as long-distance phone services.

"Illinois is one of four states that allows full and open
competition for local phone service," he explained.

A Bell Atlantic spokesman called the MCI-Jones link "expected" and
renewed the industry's call for "regulatory parity" with cable
companies. It could win that, based on a bill recently offered by
Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, which would allow
cable companies to offer phone service and phone companies to offer
cable service.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931123/Press Contact: Kevin Inda, MCI, 202-887-
3000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00022)

 ****Ambra Targets Power Users With PCI-Based Pentium PCs 11/23/93
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Ambra Computer,
the US IBM spinoff launched last August, has announced a new line of
Pentium computers based on the PCI local bus.

As with Ambra's opening series of 16 models, which ranged from
notebooks to a tower PC, the new PCI-based machines are highly
customizable, and targeted at the budget-conscious enhanced or
"power" user, according to Craig Conrad, a company spokesperson.

At the low end of the new Ambra DP60 PCI lineup is a machine that
offers a 60 megahertz (MHz) superscalar Pentium processor, a 340
megabyte (MB) hard drive, 8 MB of memory, a 256 kilobyte processor
cache, a 3.5-inch diskette drive, seven expansion slots, six storage
bays, a PCI graphics accelerator, and a 14-inch Super VGA color
monitor. Also included are MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, a mouse, and a
keyboard, for a total price of $2,799.

Of the DP60's seven slots, four conform to the Industry Standard
Architecture (ISA, or the AT bus), two are PCI slots, and one is a
hybrid PCI and ISA slot.

A high-end model, priced at $3,499, substitutes a 440 MB hard drive
and 15-inch flat-square monitor, while adding a double-speed CD-ROM
(compact disc - read only memory) drive and Diamond Viper PCI
graphics accelerator complete with 2 MB of video-random access
memory (VRAM).

"In our ads and press releases, we always provide you with a couple
of sample configurations," Conrad explained to Newsbytes, adding:
"But every model is completely made to order. What we're really
offering are base units that you can build all the way up to what
you want."

Among the Ambra models shipped so far, the addition of 9600 Kbps and
14.4 Mbps fax modems has proven quite popular, Conrad said. "Various
network cards, such as Ethernet or token ring, are also sometimes
applicable," he told Newsbytes.

Ambra also is also offering customers a list of 26 software packages
that can be "hotloaded" to the user's system. Hotloading refers to
the practice of loading a package onto a PC's hard disk at the pre-
installation stage during manufacture. Hotloading a program is a lot
faster than ordinary floppy disk-based installation routines, since
data can be fed at high speed straight on to the hard disk bus.

Hotloadable selections available for customer selection include
Quicken, Corel Draw, Borland Quattro Pro, Microsoft Excel,
WordPerfect, and Word, to name a few. Many other packages are
available from Ambra in traditional retail style.

Other options for the DP60 PCI systems include a 17-inch color
monitor (separately priced at $1,740), as well as 120 and 240MB tape
backup devices, and up to 128MB of memory.

Adding a double-speed compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive
and Diamond Viper's PCI graphics accelerator with 2MB of
video random-access memory (VRAM), and substituting a 440MB hard
drive and 15-inch flat square color monitor brings the price to
$3,499.

To appeal to its audience of power users, Ambra plans to keep
refreshing its product line with the latest technologies, Conrad
said. The initial set of 16 models, introduced in August, offered
the VESA bus, which was then the hottest PC architecture on the

In the future, Ambra plans to stick to its strategy of selling
affordable, customizable configurations to enhanced users. "I
think you'll see some pretty aggressive PCI configurations coming
out of Ambra in the first quarter, perhaps using PCI SCSI adapters,
for example, matched to the appropriate hard drives," Conrad told
Newsbytes.

Ambra is also taking a hard look at up-to-the-minute trends in
graphics cards and CD-ROM drives. "Hopefully, we'll be offering a
triple-speed CD-ROM drive in the first quarter," he said.

David Middleton, president of Ambra, told Newsbytes he expects the
Pentium to move into the mainstream of the PC market faster than
previous new processors, largely because PC manufacturers are not
demanding a large price premium for the new chip.

The new Pentium-based machine, for instance, is priced at about $500
more than a 66-megahertz 486DX2 system, Middleton said, and that
simply reflects the difference in the cost of the processor chips
and supporting circuitry.

Middleton said that the PCI bus offers higher performance than the
existing VL bus backed by the Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA), though he allowed that the speed of the VL bus
depends largely on the implementation. Another advantage of the PCI
bus, Middleton said, is that cards configure themselves when added
to the system.

(Grant Buckler & Jacqueline Emigh/19931123/Reader contact: tel 800-
25-AMBRA; Press contacts: Craig Conrad, Ambra Computer Corp., tel
919-713-1550; Steve Hopley or Anne Marie Clark, Cunningham
Communication for Ambra, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00023)

 ****Lotus Adds CDPD Prong To Wireless Messaging Strategy 11/23/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- In a move that
adds a third prong to Lotus' wireless messaging strategy, Lotus and
McCaw Cellular Communications have announced their intentions to
work together to provide wireless communications solutions based on
Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) technology.

The move fulfills many of Lotus' connectivity expert Larry Crume's
predictions about wireless technology made at Comdex Fall last week.
The technology will also, Newsbytes notes, allow Lotus Notes users
to "replicate" their files over the fast (9,600 bits per second)
data pathway of CDPD technology, rather than rely on conventional
analog cellular modem links, assuming Lotus supports Notes
technology in products stemming from the technology link-up.

"There will be a product coming out of this. That's the purpose. But
right now, all we're announcing is a statement of direction. There
are no specific products," explained Glenn Kaufman, business
development and product manager in Lotus' Mobile Computing Group,
during an interview with Newsbytes.

Lotus forged a similar agreement for two-way messaging with RAM
Mobile Data more than a year ago, pointed out Kaufman. The
relationship with RAM resulted in the release of Wireless cc:Mail in
September.

Lotus has also announced a Skytel gateway to Notes for one-way
messaging, Kaufman added. "One-way and two-way messaging are both
important components of Lotus' messaging strategy," Newsbytes was
told.

Kaufman explained that McCaw, a major player in cellular telephony,
is interested in becoming a leader in CDPD, a technology designed to
convert unused cellular radio channels into packet networks running
data at 19,200 bits-per-second (bps). "We felt it was important to
get out there early with them," he commented.

McCaw and RAM both concentrate on the horizontal messaging market, a
strategy that complements Lotus' leadership role in local area
network (LAN)-based messaging, he said.

"This is by no means a retrenchment with RAM. We're very happy with
RAM. RAM has a product here today, and we think that's very
important," he remarked.

Like Lotus' earlier pact with RAM, the agreement with McCaw will
allow both parties to explore and leverage one another's technology
and marketing capabilities, Kaufman maintained. The announcement
also represents an endorsement by Lotus of McCaw's CDPD technology.

The CDPD architecture supports multiple protocols, meaning that
existing applications require few modifications to use CDPD, Lotus
officials stated in making the announcement.

"We will benefit one day by being able to offer our customers CDPD
connectivity," Kaufman told Newsbytes. "We can certainly increase
traffic over McCaw's network, and we can provide a very efficient
means for McCaw to access our installed base."

Lotus is not yet ready to say whether the CDPD product that emerges
from the deal with McCaw will be based on Notes, cc:Mail, or either
of these two current messaging offerings from Lotus, according to
Kaufman.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931123/Press contacts: David Grip or Victor
Cruz, McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

Wireless Standards Group Approves AT Command Set 11/23/93
BROOKDALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- The wireless
modem standards committee of the Portable Computer and
Communications Association approved a standard interface for
wireless modems based on the "AT" command set used by wired modems.
Extensions of the command set were also adopted, using the same
scheme.

What this means is that wireless packet networks like ARDIS and RAM
Mobile Data, as well as the Cellular Digital Packet Data, or CDPD,
being installed by McCaw and others on current analog cellular
networks, will respond to the same set of commands.

The committee which made the recommendation was chaired by Bill
Frezza of Ericsson GE. His group plans to complete its technical
work and submit a final specification to the full PCCA for formal
adoption before the end of the year.

Founding president Andy Seybold noted in a prepared statement that,
before this, "software vendors had to choose among a dozen or more
interfaces to wireless modems."
"The PCCA standard not only provides a single vendor independent
interface but it relieves software developers of the burden of
choosing a network," added Rodney Hilton, Manager of Connectivity at
ARDIS.

Among the members of the PCCA, a non-profit trade association,
are networks like ARDIS, Bell Mobility ARDIS of Canada, the
RadioMail gateway and RAM Mobile Data, chip companies like Intel
and Advanced Micro Devices, software companies like Microsoft,
Traveling Software and Wildsoft, and Motorola, the dominant force
in wireless communications.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931123/Press Contact: Andy Seybold, PCCA,
408/338-0924, FAX [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00025)

 ****Former Board Member Eisenstat Settles With Apple 11/23/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Apple Computer's
vocal former board of directors member, Albert A. Eisenstat, has
been stalled in his pursuit of a lawsuit that claimed his
compensation in leaving the company was too low. Eisenstat's
position was eliminated as part of the restructuring at Apple
announced this summer under which 2,500 employees lost their jobs.

As part of the suit, Eisenstat claimed he and former chief
executive officer (CEO) John Sculley were forced out by former chief
operations officer (COO) Michael Spindler who now holds the CEO
slot. The suit appeared to be aimed at embarrassing Apple, which was
already suffering from apparent turmoil with millions in losses, a
class action shareholder suit filed against company executives, and
the overt job hunting John Sculley was doing via interviews with
major publications.

63-year-old Eisenstat joined Apple in 1980 as general counsel and
corporate secretary, was promoted to executive vice president in
1987, and subsequently appointed to the board of directors in 1985.

Apple's contention has been that Eisenstat was generously
compensated as one of the highest paid executives in Silicon Valley.
His salary in 1992 was $749,164 and he received an additional
$760,000 in bonuses between 1990 and 1992. He also owns a number of
shares of Apple stock and has stock options as well, Apple
representatives said.

Eisenstat's suit has been dismissed with prejudice, meaning the
former Apple board member has no further recourse. In a stinging
announcement, Apple said mediation determined that the allegations
contained in Eisenstat's complaint "were not supported by the
facts."

Apple representatives are not disclosing whether or not the
severance package Eisenstat has settled for now is the same as the
one offered when he was originally laid off or a better offer. The
company said the only statement it will make is the package is
commensurate with Eisenstat's years of service and position within
the company.

In addition, John Sculley's exiting benefits were recently disclosed
in a preliminary proxy statement aimed at company shareholders,
revealing the former CEO will walk away with millions.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931123/Press Contact: Kate Paisley, Apple
Computer, 408-974-5453, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00026)

 ****Next/Sunsoft Team Up Against Microsoft's Windows NT 11/23/93
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- Unix vendors
Sunsoft and Next Computer have announced a partnership to bring
Next's object oriented operating system to the Sun hardware
platform. Sunsoft has said it will bring a $10 million investment to
the deal, while Nextstep says it will contribute its object-oriented
technology expertise.

Next and Sun are concerned about software giant Microsoft, whose
Windows NT graphical operating system is threatening to move in on
the Unix marketplace. Last week at the computer trade show Comdex
Fall, analyst David Card from International Data Corporation (IDC)
said that the Unix world needs to watch out for NT.

Microsoft's marketing of Windows NT as a combination of the best of
the PC, workstation, and minicomputer worlds combined is a major
threat to the Unix market, especially within the next 18-24 months.

Next had its own hardware platform, a sleek black box workstation
called the Nextstep, but was forced to shut down manufacturing of
the hardware and decided to focus exclusively on development of the
operating system. Next has been looking for an infusion of cash
since its major investor, Canon, appeared to pull out earlier this
year. However, Next officials claim all is well between the two
companies.

This summer, Next announced a version of its operating system for
Intel 486- and Pentium-based personal computers (PCs). The most
recent release of the Next operating system, version 3.2 announced
in October, includes the capability to run DOS and Windows
applications via integration with Softpc from Insignia Solutions of
Mountain View, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931123/Press Contact: Karen Gordon, Hi-Tech
Communications, tel [phone] ext 227, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

Fujitsu To Merge With Hal Computer Systems 11/23/93
CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- A little over two
years after taking a sizeable share of Hal Computer Systems, Fujitsu
has now swallowed up the company and turned it into a wholly owned
subsidiary.

Under the terms of the "merger" agreement, Hal will serve as the
"principal development center for advanced 64-bit open systems
hardware and for operating systems products for the Fujitsu group of
companies."

Pam Sloane, spokesperson for Hal, told Newsbytes to: "expect Hal to
announce products in the near future. They are very excited about
that. (The merger) is probably so that (Fujitsu) can play a stronger
role as the product is closer to announcement."

Concerning products under development, Sloane said that they consist
of: "a family of high performance systems -- both hardware and
software. What is significant about these systems is that they are
based on SPARC version 9 64-bit architectures."

Hal Computer Systems was founded in 1990. Fujitsu originally bought
into Hal in August, 1991, as reported by Newsbytes. At the time,
Fujitsu reportedly obtained a 44 percent share of the company for an
initial financial commitment of $40.2 million.

Announcing the deal, Scott Metcalf, president of Hal, said: "This
agreement is good for Fujitsu and Hal's employees because Hal now
assumes an expanded development responsibility with greater
importance to Fujitsu's open systems strategy."

"The agreement insures that Hal will continue to contribute to
exciting and challenging projects, and that we can benefit from the
success of the products we develop," he added.

T. Tsuchimoto, a member of the HaL board of directors and an
executive of Fujitsu Limited, commented, "We have great expectations
for the products under development at Hal. This merger illustrates
Fujitsu's ongoing efforts to focus our expenditures on open systems"

Concluded Sloane to Newsbytes: "We are not saying at this time when
Hal will be announcing these products. They have been under
development and that development is progressing very well. It will
be in the near future."

(Ian Stokell/19931123/Press Contact: Pam Sloane, 408-379-7000 ext
1413, Hal Computer Systems)


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

NetFrame's Concerto Allows Multiple O/S On Superserver 11/23/93
MILTPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- NetFrame has
begun shipments of its Concerto software, designed to allow shrink-
wrapped NetWare and Unix SVR4.2 to run concurrently in the same
NetFrame superserver.

Paul Gross, a spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
Concerto only works on NetFrame's superservers because of the
multiprocessor architecture.

"Concerto is an internal messaging system within the NetFrame. The
NetFrame superserver is like a local area network (LAN) within a box.
Concerto is the connections between the various components within
that LAN. It is the message-passing scheme, which allows all of the
different parts of the network to coexist with one another."

Continued Gross, "Because NetFrame has this unique architecture,
called MPSA (Multi-Processor Parallel Server Architecture), it
can create a messaging scheme such as Concerto, with the end
benefit that you can run multiple different types of operating
systems at the same time. NetFrame is the only company
that allows that to happen."

Announcing the shipments, Enzo Torresi, president and chief
executive officer of NetFrame Systems, said: "Concerto has generated
a lot of interest from current as well as potential customers.
NetFrame is the only company that offers customers an Open
Application Environment, which lets them run the applications they
need -- regardless of operating system. Companies can quickly add
Concerto in conjunction with a 486 or Pentium-based application
processor to a NetFrame superserver."

Newsbytes questioned Gross as to how the system works. He replied
that, when NetWare is running at the main system processor, it is
possible to have Application Processors, which in effect are
application servers within the NetFrame superserver.

"At the moment, one of those Application Processors may have
UnixWare running on it and running an independent version of Oracle
or some database, or another application, or a NetWare Loadable
Module (NLM)," he said.

NetFrame's Concerto is available for Unix or NetWare at $1,995.
NetFrame says that its servers superservers, which start at $14,950
for a three-processor superserver, are expandable to ten processors
with up to 240 gigabytes (GB) of mass storage.

"At some point we will be able to run more than two operating
systems -- NetWare and Unix -- such as NetWare, NT, Unix, whatever,"
Gross told Newsbytes.

(Ian Stokell/19931123/Press Contact: Paul Gross, 408-383-4515,
NetFrame Systems)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

OEM Keyboard-Maker NMB Enters Retail Market 11/23/93
CHATSWORTH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- NMB
Technologies, a supplier of keyboards to the OEM (original equipment
manufacturing) market, has decided to enter the retail channel with
the introduction of its new Professional Series keyboard. The
company's first retailing partner is CompUSA.

Susan Shippey, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that:
"CompUSA saw the demand for the Professional Series keyboard. They
asked NMB to fill that shelf space with those keyboards because of
the high quality, and they knew they wanted a high quality keyboard
on the shelves."

Concerning future plans for NMB in this arena, Shippey told
Newsbytes that, "they will be getting new retailing partners. It
doesn't end with CompUSA. They also anticipate a new series to enter
the retail market, and that will be the Value Series keyboard."

Announcing the company's entry into the retail market, Myron D.
Jones, president of NMB, said: "This is an exciting new channel for
our products, and we are confident that our experience and expertise
in the OEM marketplace will help provide a solid foundation in the
retail arena."

The company says that the Professional Series keyboard features
AT/PS-2 output for system compatibility, and the famous mechanical
keyswitch that includes an audible "click" sound at the make point.
The keyboard carries a manufacturers' suggested retail price of $80
and comes with a three-year warranty. NMB also claims that its
products are the only standalone keyboards to receive Novell network
compatibility approval.

"They will remain in contact with their OEM customers. One of the
reasons they did hold back on retail for so long is because they
didn't want to step on any of their (OEM) customers' toes," Shippey
said.

(Ian Stokell/19931123/Press Contact: Susan Shippey, 818-889-9100,
Capital Relations Inc., for NMB Technologies)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00030)

Business Card Reader Software Bundled With Scanner 11/23/93
CARROLLTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 23 (NB) -- NISCA says it will
bundle Names&Numbers, a business card reader software program for
Microsoft Windows 3.1 , with its NISCAN Page portable scanner
through the end of the year at no extra cost.

Names&Numbers has a suggested retail price of $149 when purchased
alone. After the first of the year owners of NISCAN Page scanners
can purchase Names&Numbers for about $99.

NISCAN Page is a 400 dot per inch (dpi) gray scale scanner that is
powered by a NiCad (nickel cadmium) rechargeable battery pack
similar to those used in notebook and laptop computers. The unit
also comes with an AC adapter/charger. NISCAN Page connects to the
PC through the serial port and requires no interface card, allowing
it to be used with notebook computer as well as desktop systems.

NISCA spokesperson Bo Willyard told Newsbytes that the NISCAN Page
is a sheet feed scanner but can be converted to handheld use for
documents such as books by snapping off the base and moving the
scanner across the page. It includes a TWAIN source that gives the
user compatibility with a variety of Windows 3.1 applications.

NISCAN Page comes with Words&Pictures software, which integrates
image-capturing and editing, optical character reader (OCR) and fax-
on-the-fly capabilities.

Willyard claims that Names&Numbers is an ideal tool for easily
capturing information from business cards for use in contact
managers and database applications without having to re-key the
information.

In use, Names&Numbers automatically recognizes the information and
categorizes the field such as company name, address, telephone
number, and contact for most business cards. If desired, the program
can also save the card as a graphic image.

Willyard told Newsbytes that NISCAN Page has a suggested retail
price of $799, making the street price (the actual price you can buy
a product for) in the $580 to $600 range.

(Jim Mallory/19931123/Press and reader contact: NISCA Inc, 214-242-
9696 or 800-466-9096, fax [phone])