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/nb930104

Text File | 1993-01-04 | 70KB | 1,512 lines

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00001)

Australia: IDC Predicts Strong LAN E-Mail Growth 01/04/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- A study by IDC Australia
estimates that the number of local area network electronic mail
(LAN e-mail) server and node licences will grow by 500 percent
from 1991 to 1995.

The report says the effects of falling prices, increased PC
performance, and shifts from midrange to local area networks, have
created a burgeoning market for electronic mail over the next three
years.

The report, "The Australian LAN-based Electronic Mail Market
1991-1995," estimates that there were 2,500 server licenses and
58,000 node licenses shipped in Australia in 1991. IDC analysts
Lyn Cridland said, "LAN-based e-mail has become a key market
focus over the past couple of years. As LANs replace midrange
computer hosts LAN e-mail platforms will become an integral part
of many organizations. We expect the major vendors will pursue
strategies to lure mainframe e-mail users into migrating to LANs."

The report says that Microsoft and Lotus dominate the market with
around two thirds between them. Strong marketing thrusts are
believed to have helped them double their market share in just a
year. Windows and OS/2 markets are expected to underpin further
strong growth.

Cridland said she expects the market to differentiate as existing
products mature and new ones enter. The report is available from
IDC for AUS$2000 (US$1350).

(Paul Zucker/19921231/Contact Lyn Cridland at IDC
Australia on phone +_61-2-9225300 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00002)

Australia: Windows World Set For July 1-3 1993 01/04/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Windows World conference
and expo will be held over three days from 1-3 July 1993 in the
Darling Harbour center in Sydney. The show has been rescheduled,
bringing it forward from the original August dates.

"Windows World Conference and Expo has shown such a large increase
in the number of exhibitors that we have had to find extra space,"
said Yvonne Glover, general manager of IDG Communications Expo
Division. "In order to accommodate all potential exhibitors we've
had to move from the conference center at Darling Harbour into hall
four of the complex. The earlier dates were necessary to obtain
the venue. Ultimately it's the visitors who win as they'll get to
see hundreds of Windows-related product."

Microsoft is the show's major exhibitor, and is sponsoring the
conference program. In addition it will bring in international
speakers for the event.

Network World 1993 will also move to the same dates and venue, and
will run in conjunction with the Novell Networking Forum. (The Expo
Division of IDG Communications has taken over the management of the
event, though Novell is the major sponsor of the event.)

The conference programs for both shows will feature sessions for
corporate and departmental managers as well as information systems
executives and systems builders.

Topics will cover a wide range of issues based on feedback from
prior shows. The very popular developer's forum, for example, has
been expanded for 1993. Potential exhibitors are invited to contact \
IDG Australia.

(Paul Zucker/19921231/Contact Yvonne Glover at IDG
Australia on phone [phone] or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: Management System For ISDN 01/04/93
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Telecom Australia has
developed a computer-based management system for its ISDN
(integrated services digital network) products. The system was
developed by Telecom's Information Technology Group to improve
customer service and internal control.

Telecom claims to be the first national carrier to introduce an IT
system to reduce ISDN system faults. Australia's ISDN system is
available across the country and offers voice, text, data and video
to increasing numbers of users ranging from government to industry.
Telecom spokesperson Brian Lovelock said Telecom looked around the
world for an ISDN management system but when it failed to find one,
it decided to build one.

One ISDN user, the Australian Securities Commission (ASC), complained
to Telecom in the early days of ISDN that the 99.3 percent system
availability was unacceptable and now reports that availability
has risen to 99.9 percent. Telecom says this is directly attributable
to the new management system.

ASC's John Stephen said, "We are now sufficiently confident about
ISDN that we're moving all dedicated data services to ISDN. We've
found better response times, faster fault detection, and improved
system management."

The system is called ICOM - ISDN Customer Operations and Maintenance.
It allows total management of local call and user-to-user charging,
fault reporting, network performance, and many elements of service
provision. It was designed to avoid task duplication within Telecom.
The alarm system can analyze fault trends enabling more appropriate
preventative maintenance to be planned.

Future development will involve pre-sales forecasting, which should
allow the network to be ready for anticipated growth and new
installations.

(Paul Zucker/19921231/Contact Mark Wolff at Telecom
Australia on phone [phone] or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00004)

Computer Freedom, Privacy Conference Slated 01/04/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Bruce
Koball, general chair of the third annual Computers, Freedom,
and Privacy Conference (CFP-3), has announced that Nicholas
Johnson, Willis H. Ware, John Perry Barlow, and Cliff Stoll
will serve as featured speakers for this year's event. The
conference will be held March 9th through 12th at San Francisco
Airport Marriott Hotel in Burlingame, California.

Nicholas Johnson was appointed head of the Federal Communications
Commission by President Johnson in 1966 and served a seven-year term.
He has been a visiting professor of law at the College of Law at the
University of Iowa since 1981 and is currently co-director of the
Institute for Health, Behavior and Environmental Policy at the
University of Ohio.

Willis H. Ware was appointed by President Ford to the Privacy
Protection Study Commission. He chaired the "HEW committee"
whose report was the foundation for the Federal Privacy Act of
1974. Dr. Ware is a member of the National Academy of Engineering,
a fellow of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers, and
a fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science.

John Perry Barlow is a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, a lyricist
for the Grateful Dead, and a co-founder of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation. He writes and lectures on subjects related to digital
technology and society, and is a contributing editor to numerous
publications.

Cliff Stoll, a PhD in planetary science, is best known for tracking a
computer intruder across international networks in 1987, a story told
in his book, "The Cuckoo's Egg," which was also featured in a Nova
television production. He has appeared before Congress to testify
on computer intrusion and the possibility of electronic terrorism
and espionage.

CFP-3 begins with a day of tutorials on aspects of issues related to
telecommunication policies and practices. The tutorials include:
"Information Use in the Private Sector" given by Jack Reed, Information
Resource Service Company, Diane Terry, TransUnion Corp., and Dan
Jones, D.Y. Jones & Assoc; "Access to Government Information" - James
Love, director, Taxpayer Assets Project; "Exploring the Internet -- a
guided journey" - Mark Graham, Pandora Systems and Tim Pozar, Late
Night Software; "Civil Liberties Implications of Computer Searches &
Seizures" - Mike Godwin, staff counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation;
"Telecommunications Fraud" - Donald P. Delaney, senior investigator,
New York State Police; "SysLaw" - Lance Rose, attorney and author;
and "Private Sector Marketplace and Workplace Privacy" - Ernest A.
Kallman, Bentley College and H. Jeff Smith, Georgetown University.

The main conference also features a single-track three-day series
of panel discussions. The panels include: "Electronic Democracy" -
Chair: Jim Warren; "Censorship and Free Speech on the Networks" -
Barbara Simons, IBM; "The Hand That Wields the Gavel" - Don Ingraham,
asst. district attorney, Alameda County, CA; "International Data Flow" -
George Trubow, John Marshall Law School; "Gender Issues in Computing
and Telecommunications" - Judi Clark, Bay Area Women in
Telecommunications; "Digital Telephony and Crypto Policy" - John
Podesta, Podesta and Associates; and "Electronic Voting -- Threats to
Democracy" - Rebecca Mercuri, University of Pennsylvania.

Bruce Koball, CFP chair, told Newsbytes, "Following in the footsteps
of the first two CFP conferences, CFP '93 promises to be a significant
event, gathering experts, advocates and interested individuals to
discuss timely and important issues. From electronic democracy to the
confidentiality of medical records to the growth of computer networks,
CFP'93 will cover a broad spectrum of topics that will affect our
society in ways that are still being revealed. It's an event that
shouldn't be missed."

The registration fee for the conference and tutorials is $600
(separately the conference is $405 and tutorials $195). Savings
are available through early registration ($435 if by February 8th;
$520 by March 8th).

Koball told Newsbytes that limited funds are available for
registration scholarships for students, law enforcement officials,
"hackers," and others who could not attend the conference without
such assistance.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19930104)


(EDITORIAL)(IBM)(NYC)(00005)

Editorial: R&D Torch Must Be Kept Burning 01/04/93
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- By John F. and
Barbara E. McMullen. The national press gave attention to President-elect
Clinton's off-the-cuff response to the announcement of IBM's cuts
in research but, when Clinton backed off somewhat from his "That's
exactly what we don't want them to do," the matter seemed to pass
from our attention.

It should pass neither from our attention nor from that of the incoming
administration. IBM's cuts in the research area are only the tip of the
iceberg. Until the break-up of AT&T and the seeming dissolution of IBM,
some of the major pure research accomplishments in technology came out
of these firms. Within the last 5 years, IBM has won two Nobel prizes.
AT&T's Bell Labs has made numerous contributions to technology: the
transistor, the integrated circuit (Nobel Prize in 1956), first computer
animation, pioneer in computer chess-playing, first digital sound
synthesis, Unix operating system, C programming language, to name a
few.

Much of this research done in these laboratories has not had immediate
benefit to the sponsoring corporation but has had long-range benefits
to the computer community, the US economy, and the entire world. Such
a statement is obvious in the case of the transistor and the integrated
circuit; it was the digital sound synthesis that begat the use of
computers in music and it was computer animation that revolutionized
the way motion pictures are made.

While these breakthroughs may not have brought great direct benefit to
AT&T, they spawned entire industries.

It is not just the reduction in research dollars that is the great
concern -- IBM's cutting of $1 billion dollars from the R&D budget
will still have it spending $8 billion worldwide on research. It is
rather the concentration on "applied research" rather than "pure
research."

The way of doing things at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center
has changed dramatically. Researchers are now told to find a sponsor
for a research project. Projects must now have paybacks to the firm
to be considered (this change in direction has caused a number of
IBM research veterans to choose early retirement rather than adapt.)

One can not blame the IBMs, AT&Ts, Digitals and others who have
chosen to substantially withdraw from pure research. When economic
conditions permitted it, these firms carried the R&D of the nation.
It is too much to expect them under present conditions to continue
to underwrite such efforts. Analysts express concern about the future
of IBM and Digital. AT&T is a new company, trying to make the
transition from a telephone operating company to a computer and
communications developer and supplier.

If not these firms, then who? There has long been substantial opposition
to a partnership of government and industry in research for commercial
purposes. When it appeared that the director of the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was moving too far into the civilian
sector, President Bush fired him.

Clinton, on the other hand, has supported such activities. In "Putting
People First," the campaign book authored by Clinton and Vice
President-elect Gore, there is specific reference to this issue.
"We will create a civilian advanced technology agency modeled after
the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The agency will increase our commercial R&D spending and will focus
its efforts in crucial new industries such as biotechnology, robotics,
high-speed computing, and environmental technology." (p. 145)

While Clinton does not say how such activities will be accomplished,
the reference at least indicates some understanding of the need for
focus on R&D. At a time that America must regain competitiveness,
we can not fall back even further. Other countries such as Japan
have heavily funded government research activities. The Japanese
mode may not be the best for the United States but there must be
government focus on the problem and leadership in finding a solution.

As we move closer to a Clinton administration, we see the forces of
reality closing on the president-elect's budget and growth plans. We
see economists and politicians urging the holding back of this or
that plan, the deferring of others, the moderation of still others.
In this climate, we must insure that the focus on the stimulation
of R&D is not lost in the shuffle.

Leaders in the computer and communications industries must speak out.
We must develop the basis for products that will drive our economy
in the 21st Century -- that can only be done through pure research.

IBM may well concern itself only with R&D that will bring benefit in the
short-term. The United States cannot!

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19930104)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(PAR)(00006)

Olivetti Faces Third Straight Year of Losses 01/04/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Italian computermaker Ing. C.
Olivetti & Co., SpA expects to face "heavy losses" for 1992, according
to Corrado Passera, managing director of the Ivrea, Italy-based
company.

In an interview given in the last week of December, Passera
admitted that the company would face an operating loss of lira
300-350 billion ($214-245 million) for 1992, and an extraordinary
charge of 300 billion lira to cover the company's share of the social
charges for the 5,000 employees who were given early retirement last
year.

In 1991, Olivetti lost lira 459.8 billion ($383 million at the
time, given the then higher value of the Italian lira which was
devalued last September).

Sales fell 8 percent last year, to lira 8.0 trillion ($5.7
billion) from lira 8.7 trillion. In 1991 they had fallen 4.5
percent.

All computer manufacturers have suffered in the past three years, but
analysts say that Olivetti has suffered particularly from the lack of
a hot product.

In 1989, Olivetti had about a 14 percent share of the European
personal computer market, according to Gordan Curran, director of
Infocorps in Paris. A year later, that fell to about 11 percent, and
by the end of 1992, total market share should be closer to 5-6
percent, Curran predicts.

Olivetti's most recent, and most innovative product is a kind of
personal companion called the Quaderno, which means notebook in
Italian. It is a small, light hand-held computer, like the PDAs
(personal digital assistants) which are hitting the US market, used
to carry phone numbers and schedules. Olivetti is the first company
to bring a product like this to market in Europe, and it is being
sold at a competitive price, analysts say. But analysts have decried
its use of a slow microprocessor -- equivalent to the 8086.

"Some think the Quaderno will take off when Olivetti puts a faster
chip inside it," Curran adds, "but by the time it does, there may be
important competing products."

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930104)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(PAR)(00007)

Italian Telecom Restructuring Finally Underway 01/04/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Since World War II, making a phone
call from Rome to New York involved the cooperative -- or not so
cooperative -- efforts of three separate companies. One ran the
local network, another connected the call to the international service,
and then the international service put the call through to the US.
Last week all that changed.

After ten years of promises, the Italian government has finally put
order into the country's fragmented and tangled telecom service.
On December 29, the Italian government took the first definitive
step toward creating a single telecom network for all kinds of
telecommunications services, a network to be run by one company.

Until last week, when you made a local call in Italy, it was
handled by the state-controlled Societa Italiana per l'Esercizio
delle Telecommunicazioni, p.A., or (the SIP). The SIP also provides
datacom services and leased lines.

If you wanted to call Milan from Rome, a section of the Postal
Ministry called the Azienda di Stato per il Servizio delle
Telecommunicazioni (the ASST) handled that. The ASST has often been
cited by Italian labor analysts as having a record low for
productivity, and that helps explain why one often had to dial five
times to reach Milan from Rome.

And, if you called New York from Rome, the state-controlled
Italcable, SpA handled the international network.

To make matters more complicated -- if they could be -- the SIP and
Italcable are controlled by a state-owned holding called Societa
Finanziaria Telefonica, p.A. (or STET).

Last week the Italian government put all these eggs into one
basket. The ASST -- the Postal Ministry part -- came under the control
of a new company that will ultimately run Italy's entire telecom
network. The new company is called Iritel, SpA. It is still state-owned,
through the national holding company for state industry IRI, but it
will ultimately control all three parts of the national telecoms
network.

"This is what we have been waiting for," says Roberto Preti, a director
at STET. "Finally we can run the network the way we want to."

Analysts say that having a single network manager could save
billions for Italian consumers, who currently pay the second-highest
telephone rates in the European Community. (Greece is first).

The problem is that the Italian government hasn't made up its
mind to agree with Preti. The government might let STET run the
network, or it might give the network to the SIP. A Ministerial
Committee is currently working to decide.

Meanwhile, the SIP is guarding its monopoly of datacom services. Despite
last year's EC directive that deregulates all European datacom,
allowing a plurality of suppliers to compete with the national PTTs,
the Italian government is currently drafting a law that would assure
SIP the lion's share of Italy's $1.1 billion datacom market.

Competitors are certain to pressure the EC for intervention. The
losers in the resulting dispute are expected to be Italian datacom
users, who will pay the SIP's high tariffs until the dispute is
settled in an EC court.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/010493)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00008)

UK - Network Firm Sonix Gets Distributor 01/04/93
DISS, NORFOLK, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Sonix, the specialist
connectivity company launched by industry veteran Bob Jones late last
year, has signed its first distributor, Midwich Thame, to handle
its products in the retail world.

The move is significant for Sonix, which since its launch two months
ago, has relied on direct sales for its initial revenue. Terms of the
distribution agreement call for Midwich Thame to handle Arpeggio,
Sonix's Ethernet bridge unit.

The Arpeggio is itself interesting, since it contains integrated
services digital network (ISDN) technology used as a back-up
over ISDN circuits to the Ethernet link or even, according to
Jones, as a direct Ethernet-compatible ISDN link.

Midwich Thame will also handle Sonix's range of high speed modems.

Why the decision to sign with Sonix, given the profusion of
network/connectivity products currently on the market? According to
Nick Pye, Midwich Thame's managing director, the decision is due to
Sonix's support for migration paths for end users.

"The product line is an integrated range which offers the customer an
effective migration path towards ISDN connectivity. We were impressed
with the pricing policy and the innovative development of the
products," he said.

Pye says Jones' track record in connectivity will ensure the success
of Sonix in the longer term. "We're looking forward to a long and
mutually rewarding relationship," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920104/Press & Public Contact: Midwich Thame - Tel:
0379-644131; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

Norway, Philippines, South Korea In Global Packet Data Net 01/04/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- British Telecom has expanded its
Global Network Services (GNS) range of managed data network services
to include Norway, the Philippines, and South Korea.

The network expansion increases BT's "end-to-end" packet data network
(PDN) service, which includes local country support, to include 28
countries. Plans call for a number of other countries in European and
its surrounding areas -- Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Hungary,
Luxembourg, Poland and Russia -- to be brought under the GNS service
umbrella this year. A number of other country networks, notably in the
Asia Pacific and Latin American regions will also be brought into
service.

The move is significant since, as well as offering international
countries single-company support of their PDN service requirements,
smaller customers outside of the UK have an alternative to their local
telecom company for the provision of PDN services.

This is particularly important where the local telecom company is
state-controlled. All too frequently, "state controlled" is a byword
for high pricing. In Europe, for example, state telecom companies
have been criticized for charging two or three times the rates that
profitable US companies charge for similar distance PDN services.

Announcing this current crop of network expansions, Peter Morley, BT's
GNS marketing manager, said that his company is responding quickly to
the increasing need for multinational companies to gather data and
information from their worldwide business operations.

"By the end of 1993, we plan to extend GNS into Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, Columbia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Panama, South
Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Venezuela," he said.

(Steve Gold/19930104/Press Contact: Jenny Bailey Associates - Tel:
081-394-2515; Public Contact: [toll free] 0800-282444)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00010)

UK - Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.4 For DOS Ships 01/04/93
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Lotus Development UK
is shipping 1-2-3 Release 3.4 for DOS, its latest revision of the
computer industry's veteran PC spreadsheet package.

Lotus is making some impressive claims for the package. According to
industry standard benchmarks, Lotus claims that Release 3.4 for DOS
delivers up to a 50 percent speed and efficiency improvements.

Release 3.4 incorporates Lotus' Smarticon technology, which supports
"one click" access to frequently used spreadsheet commands, including
multi-page operations. Several other new features include a new set
of installation routines, new 3D graph types, new table graph types,
macro trace, setting sheets and a new set of Datalens drivers.

Andrew Wyatt, Lotus UK's DOS and Mac spreadsheets product manager,
reports that the company's revenue share of the DOS spreadsheet market
topped the 80 percent mark in the third quarter of 1992. He also said
that the company is committed to maintaining and increasing this share
by what he calls "a zealous focus on performance, usability and
compatibility."

"Spreadsheet users will now be able to utilize the advanced functions
of our multi-page spreadsheet with performance unparalleled in any
other DOS spreadsheet," he said.

Release 3.4 of 1-2-3 for DOS requires an 80286-based or better PC
equipped with one megabyte (MB) of system memory, a hard disk plus DOS
3.0 or higher. For a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) display,
the memory requirements rise to 1.5MB.

The package ships immediately at UKP 475, with site licenses available
at UKP 380, though licenses exclude system disks and documentation. An
upgrade for existing users of 1-2-3 for DOS will cost UKP 99.

Lotus has also included 1-2-3 Release 3.4 for DOS with its DOS Bonus
Pack promotion. This allows existing users to obtain a copy of
Freelance Graphics for DOS for UKP 99 when upgrading to Release 3.4.
If users elect to buy the bonus pack, they also get a free copy of
Magellan, Lotus' file management package.

Bonus Pack upgraders also qualify for a complimentary copy of the
Lotus Chequebook, a discount voucher book for a variety of computer
hardware and services from companies such as Canon, Hewlett-Packard,
Polaroid, and Tektronix.

(Steve Gold/19920104/Press & Public Contact: Lotus UK - Tel: 0784-
455445)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00011)

UK Cable TV Phone Service Gets First Customer 01/04/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JAN 4 (NB) -- Alternative supply telephone
companies are still rare in the UK, so it's big news when a cable
TV/phone company manages to persuade a business to sign up for
telephone service. This is what Videotron has done in London -- it's
signed up its first business for local and long distance phone
service.

Videotron, which supplies telephone services to the Lewisham and
Catford areas of London using fiber optic cabling, has signed Select
Cellular Services, a company which (ironically) specializes in the
supply of mobile phones.

According to Peter Borrows, managing director of Select Cellular, the
cost savings over British Telecom's lines are significant. "I wanted
the installation done out of office hours to remove any disruption to
my business and this was arranged by Videotron," he explained. BT, in
contrast, does not normally supply and fit phone lines outside of
office hours.

Borrows said that he is now looking forward to call savings of between
10 and 15 percent over using BT lines.

Videotron is actually a contractor supplier for Mercury
Communications' telephone services. Videotron is unlike the Mercury
indirect service, which is similar to MCI and Sprint long distance
service in the US, in that it still requires the local loop and calls
to be supplied and service by the main telecom company -- British Telecom.
The Videotron link means that phone users can dispense totally with
British Telecom circuits, and are given a standard line wholly by
Videotron/Mercury.

Line rental and call savings average out at 10 percent. Videotron is
also offering an extra five percent saving on calls if the customer
subscribes to cable TV over the fiber optic link as well.

Videotron is the cable operator licensed by the British Government to
supply local and long distance phone service to several boroughs of
London. The company currently claims to supply more than 70,000
customers with over 30 channels of entertainment.

(Steve Gold/19920104/Press & Public Contact: Videotron - Tel: 081-
852-0123; fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00012)

UK - High-Speed Serial Port Card 01/04/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 JAN 4 (NB) -- SEG Communications is shipping
a high-speed serial port card for the PC for just UKP 35-00.

The card is actually a twin port unit, though SEG is not
advertising the fact, should it have to revert to single port
cards if supplies run out.

"We're making a profit on the card, and we can supply it at 35
pounds," explained Mike Spalter, SEG's sales director, replying to
questions on pricing. Newsbytes notes that US Robotics will charge UKP
95 for its soon-to-ship twin 16550 serial port card, which itself is
still around UKP 54 cheaper than the Hayes enhanced serial port (ESP)
card.

"I think you have to realize that the US Robotics card is a premium
product which high speed modem users really need. The Hayes ESP card
is more than a twin high speed serial port card, but our card is
available at a fraction of the price," Spalter told Newsbytes.

Specifically, the SEG high speed serial port card includes 16550AN
chips to support high speed data transfers. According to Spalter, the
eight-bit card is fully configurable and, for DIY enthusiasts, SEG is
offering the 16550AN chips on their own for UKP 15.

The 16550 chipset allows the serial port to handle large quantities of
data without placing a heavy load on the PC's microprocessor.

This is important, particularly on 80286 and slower 386SX-based PCs,
or machines running Microsoft Windows, which places a heavy load on
system resources owing to its graphical nature. On conventional serial
ports, the finite limit for data transmissions is around the 9,600
bits per second (bps) mark -- if a modem transmits data faster than
this to the PC, the benefit is frequently lost, since data to and from
the PC's serial port is slowed down.

SEG is best known as a supplier of a range of modems to end users at
low prices. The company, which handles the Dataphone range of modems,
specializes in budget and high speed modems. The high speed serial
port card is an interesting diversification for the company.

(Steve Gold/19920104/Press & Public Contact: SEG Communications - Tel:
081-959-3377; Fax: [phone]; Email on the Internet:
[e-mail])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00013)

 ****Study Finds Ongoing Concern Over Computers And Privacy 01/04/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Nearly four
Americans in five are worried about computers invading their
privacy, and about two thirds think computer use will have to be
restricted in the future to preserve personal privacy, according
to a survey commissioned by Equifax Inc., a company that provides
financial and credit information.

Carried out by Louis Harris and Associates in June, the survey is
the second annual update to The Equifax Report on Consumers in
the Information Age, a major study undertaken in 1990.

Harris interviewed 1,254 Americans 18 years old or older about
privacy, the effect of computers on society, and access to consumer
data in public records.

Of those surveyed, 78 percent expressed concern about threats to
personal privacy. This number remains virtually unchanged from
the past two years. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they
expect protection of personal privacy will get worse by the year
2000.

The majority of those surveyed said it is all right for companies
to check their credit records in cases such as credit
applications and job applications. But 67 percent agreed with the
statement that "if privacy is to be preserved, the use of
computers must be sharply restricted in the future."

A spokesman for Equifax, David Mooney, said the surveys over the
past three years have shown little or no change in public views
about privacy issues. However, he said, concerns are considerably
more widespread than they were in the late 1970s.

(Grant Buckler/19930101/Press Contact: John Ford or David Mooney,
Equifax, 404-885-8309)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00014)

Program Fools Judges Into Thinking It's A Person 01/04/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- New Yorker Joseph
Weintraub has won top honors at the Loebner Prize competition for
"thinking" computers for the second year running. Or rather,
Weintraub's program won the competition, by fooling two of eight
judges into thinking it was a person.

This year's competition, like last year's, was a restricted
competition in which the judges conversed with a mixture of
computer programs and humans about a limited range of subjects.
The judges had to guess which were the computers and which the
humans.

Weintraub's program "Men vs. Women" won the competition this year
by carrying on a human-like conversation about relations between
the sexes. Last year, his program "Whimsical Conversation" fooled
half the judges into thinking it was a person.

The prize for the limited competition is a bronze medal and
$2,000.

At some undetermined date in the future, a spokeswoman said, the
organizers plan to hold a competition in which computers will be
expected to talk about any subject that comes up. When a computer
program fools a majority of judges on those terms, it will win
the grand prize of $100,000 and the competition will end.

The contest is based on the suggestion by British mathematician
Alan Turing that a computer could be considered to think when its
conversation was indistinguishable from that of a human. However,
we are not there yet -- in the recent competition, the real people
still scored higher than any of the computers.

Next year's competition is scheduled for September 21, and
entries must be submitted to the Cambridge Center for Behavioral
Studies, 11 Waterhouse St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, by
August 1.

(Grant Buckler/19930104/Press Contact: Dr. Robert Epstein,
Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, 617-876-2716 or
619-436-4400, fax [phone] or 619-436-4490; Joseph Weintraub,
718-429-4922 or 212-465-2873; Public Contact: Cambridge Center
for Behavioral Studies, 617-491-9020)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00015)

Flat-Panel Tariffs Blocked By Court 01/04/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- The late 1991 decision
to impose massive 60-percent import tariffs on active matrix computer
screens used on high-end laptops and projection systems caused some
companies to move their entire computer assembly operations overseas
because completed computers were not subject to the punitive
import duties. It remains to be seen whether any of those jobs will
return after last week's US Court of International Trade
decision to void the tariff based on its determination that the
International Trade Commission had misread the law.

In September of 1991 the International Trade Commission, a part
of the US Government charged with regulating unfair trade
practices, determined that US manufacturers of the flat-panel
displays had been greatly harmed by low-priced imports from Far
Eastern manufacturers, and consequently imposed a 62.7% tariff on
imported screens. At the time, this raised the cost of such
screens to computer manufacturers from about $2,000 to close to
$3,000.

Unfortunately for US computer firms, there was at that time no
US-based maker of the screens except for one company which
built military quality displays for fighter aircraft at a price
in the tens-of-thousands of dollars each.

Faced with this disastrous new pricing environment where foreign
competitors could import completed computers without paying any
additional tariff because it only applied to components, some
US manufacturers, namely Compaq and Apple Computer, moved some
assembly operations out of the country, according to the Washington
Post. These firms continued to protest the tariff as eventually,
according to a report in the Washington Post, did Optical Imaging
Systems, the only current US builder of such screens.

There is a lot at stake here because these high resolution flat-
panel displays could be used to build televisions as well as
computer-related displays if the price can be brought low enough.

As Douglas Kilarski, editor-in-chief of the industry publication
Reseller World told Newsbytes, the cost is currently very high
partially because the panels are quite delicate and the reject
rate during manufacturing is very high.

(John McCormick/19930104)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00016)

Inventor Of The Year Sought 01/04/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- The Intellectual
Property Owners, a nonprofit trade association, is looking for a
few good inventions -- specifically they want your nominations for
the group's 1993 Inventor of the Year Award. Last year's winners
were a team of IBM inventors who are credited with the invention
of Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) and previous winners
included Burt Rutan, Robert Jarvik, and Paul MacCready.

The winner of the current search will receive his or her award at
a ceremony in Washington this April.

Nominees are sought from all areas of private, government, and
industry provided they "epitomize the American traditions of
technological leadership and Yankee ingenuity," according to the
IPO announcement.

Inventors will be eligible if the invention is: covered by a US
Patent; was wither patented or became commercially available in
1992; and was made in the US. Citizenship of the inventor is
not mentioned.

Nominations must by postmarked by February 19 and forms may be
obtained from the IPO office at 1255 23rd St., N.W., Suite 850,
Washington, DC 20037.

(John McCormick/19930104/Press Contact: Herbert Wamsley, IPO,
202-466-2396, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00017)

Iomega Offers Mac Floptical Drive, IBM Tape Drive 01/04/93
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., JAN 4 (NB) -- Iomega Corporation has announced a
version of its Floptical Drive for Apple Computer Macintosh systems,
a transportable Bernoulli drive for Mac computers, and a parallel
port tape drive for IBM-compatible systems.

The 3.5-inch Mac external Floptical drive, like its IBM-compatible
sibling, can hold 21 megabytes of data on a single disk. Iomega
says the drive is compatible with the Mac Plus and later Macintosh
computers, and is immediately available. The company expects the
street price to be about $399.

Iomega spokesperson Cara O'Sullivan told Newsbytes the company doesn't
presently plan to introduce an internal model of the Floptical drive
for the Mac, although it does have an internal model for
IBM-compatibles. It's downward compatible with Apple's SuperDrive 1.44MB
floppy disks.

The system comes with a bootable 21MB floptical disk with System 7
and shareware, plus a SCSI (small computer system interface) cable and
manuals.

Iomega is also introducing a tape drive designated the Tape250 and a
transportable multidisk Bernoulli transportable drive called the
MultiDisk 150 Mac. The Bernoulli is a 150MB capacity external
removable media drive which connects to the Mac via a SCSI cable. The
new system can read and write disks of 35, 65, 105 and 150MB and is
downward compatible with existing Bernoulli products. O'Sullivan
told Newsbytes the drive will have a street price of about $799.

O'Sullivan said the new Tape250 QIC-80 drive connects to the
parallel port of IBM-compatible personal computers, and will work
with desktop, PS/2, notebook and portable systems to provide up
to 250MB of data per tape with data compression software which is
included. Uncompressed maximum data capacity is 120MB. No
controller or interface card is required, making the drive easily
portable to different systems for backup or data storage purposes.
It connects with the included cable or any standard parallel printer
cable up to 15 feet in length, and has a suggested retail price of
$548. Central Point backup software is included. The system will
read QIC-80 or Irwin-formatted tapes.

(Jim Mallory/19930104/Press contact: Cara O'Sullivan, Iomega
Corporation, 801-778-3712; Reader contact: Iomega Corporation,
800-777-6179)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00018)

Weather Service Buys New Computer System 01/04/93
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- PRC, a McLean,
Virginia-based systems integrator, has received a $226 million
contract to supply an automated data collection system to the
National Weather Service. The Washington Post reports that this
increased automation could lead to as much as a 16 percent staff
reduction, but while taxpayers may never see any such benefit,
the improved data collection efficiency could well improve the
speed and accuracy of forecasts.

PRC, located on Planning Research Drive, already has large
ongoing government contracts with the US Patent & Trademark
Office worth $455 million for imaging systems; another Patent
and Trademark contract for $166 million to help build an automated
patent search system; a Navy contract for engineering data management
worth $155 million over a five-year period; and a GSA contract
worth $76 million over five years.

According to Systems & Network Integration, other recent awards
to PRC include a $63 million contract with the Navy, $37 million
for imaging systems for the Army, and an EPA contract worth
another $35 million.

The company, which employs about seven-thousand people and works
mostly on government contracts, manufacturing systems, and real
estate-related systems, is a subsidiary of toolmaker Black &
Decker and had a systems integration-related income of nearly
$300 million in 1991.

(John McCormick/19930104/Press Contact: PCR, 703-556-1000)


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

US Robotics Plans Second Public Offer 01/04/93
SKOKIE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- US Robotics said
it will make a second public shareholding of 2.5 million shares,
following its initial public offering in October, 1991. The
company is listed on the NASDAQ over-the-counter exchange, and at
its recent selling price of $22, the company might be expected to
raise $44 million through the offering. About 1.5 million shares
are also being sold by existing company shareholders.

US Robotics is one of the leading suppliers of PC modems,
mostly the HST Courier line and Telebase portable modems. The
company also owns an operation in the United Kingdom. Last year,
company officials told Newsbytes USR would be investing heavily
in new technologies and production capacity during 1993,
especially in the portable modem/connectivity field.

Hambrecht & Quist Inc., Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities
Corp, and Volpe, Welty & Co. will co-manage the offering.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930104/Press Contact: Ross W. Manire, U.S.
Robotics, 708-933-5116)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00020)

 ****Man Says Cellular Phones Kill 01/04/93
MADEIRA BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- A six-month old
lawsuit now going through discovery in Florida has sent shivers through
the wireless telephone industry.

The suit, filed in a Pinellas County, Florida state court by
David Reynard of Madeira Beach, Florida against NEC America,
alleges that an NEC cellular phone killed his wife, Susan
Reynard, who died of a malignant tumor last May. Pinellas County
includes the city of Clearwater. Reynard charges that microwaves
emanating from the phone's antenna caused the tumor.

An NEC America lawyer contacted by Newsbytes said, "We're not in a
position to comment on it, because it's in litigation," but the
same lawyer had told other reporters the company will vigorously
defend itself. An outside law firm in Tampa, Florida, Medina &
Pitisci, is handling the case for NEC. An assistant for partner
Lee Pitisci says that he's handling it as an insurance defense
case. The firm also does workers compensation and personal
injury work. The case has not yet been scheduled for trial and is
still in discovery.

The case is going to revolve around a few key issues. First, there
will be the matter of frequency waves emitted through a cellular
phone antenna. Today's cellular phones work at around 900 MHz, not
commonly considered a microwave frequency. Second, how powerful are the
waves received by phone users? Third, do these waves constitute a
hazard? In other words, could they have caused the cancer?
Fourth, can the waves be avoided? Finally, was the maker of the
phone aware of the hazard and ignored it?

Most people in the industry contacted by Newsbytes doubt whether Mr.
Reynard has much of a case. But the news of the case has sent a chill
through the equipment industry, where engineers will doubtless be put
to work measuring radiation from cellular antennae.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930104/Press Contact: Medina & Pitisci, 813-
228-9233; NEC America, 214-907-4000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00021)

Microsoft Cuts 16-Bit Fortran Compiler Price 01/04/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JAN 4 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has cut the price of its Fortran version 5.1 compiler
from $450 to $149 for developers and $99 for students and academics.

The company said it has reduced the price in order to make Fortran
programming for the Windows platform accessible to a broader
audience of scientists, students and academics, according to Dilip
Wagle, Microsoft's Fortran product manager.

Included with the compiler is the QuickWin library, which allows
programmers to port their 16-bit applications for DOS to the Windows
environment with little or no modification of the source code.
Fortran 5.1 also supports the development of Windows dynamic link
libraries (DDL's) for inclusion in mixed-language applications, like
those written in Microsoft C or Visual Basic. DDLs can also be used
as repositories for Fortran algorithms that are shared by multiple
Windows-based applications.

The program includes support for ANSi 77 and various VAX, IBM and
Microsoft extensions. Support for the IBM and VAX extensions allows
porting from an IBM mainframe or VAX environment to Windows.

Fortran 5.1 includes the CodeView debugger, online help, the Source
Browser, and the Programmer's Workbench. Technical support for the
program is available on Compuserve, through the Microsoft Download
Service, and via Microsoft-provided telephone support.

(Jim Mallory/19930104/Press contact: Liz Sidnam, Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00022)

Air Force PC Contract Voided; Zenith Data "Shocked" 01/04/93
GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Zenith Data Systems
(ZDS) said it was "surprised and shocked" after the General Services
Administration decided to void a $740 million personal computer
contract which had been awarded to ZDS three months earlier.
However, one company official said the company is still optimistic.

Called Desktop IV, the Air Force contract has been plagued by
controversy since it was award to Austin, Texas-based CompuAdd
Computer Corporation and Sysorex Information Systems of Falls
Church, VA. ZDS and other unsuccessful bidders protested that
award. The GSA reviewed the challenges, voided the CompuAdd award,
and gave the contract to ZDS on rebid. That award in turn was
protested by CompuAdd and other bidders. One contention of
challengers is that such a large government contract should not be
awarded to a foreign-owned company. ZDS is owned by the French
company Cie des Machines Bull. Protesters also said they had not had
adequate time to refine their bids.

The GSA made its latest decision in a 53-page ruling last week, but
declined to disclose its contents until today in order to give
lawyers for all parties involved time to review the ruling and
determine what proprietary information should be excluded before the
ruling is made public. The GSA reportedly scrapped the Zenith
contract because it did not agree with the Air Force that a dual
award had been properly considered. It also was concerned that an
adequate number of the PCs could be made in the US.

According to ZDS Federal Systems Vice President Tom Buchsbaum, "Now
that we've seen the ruling and the avenues it offers to the Air
Force, our confidence is restored that ultimately we're going to win
this thing."

Buchsbaum said ZDS is puzzled by the board's ruling that some of the
monitors that ZDS intended to supply under the contract did not
comply with the Trade Agreements Act. "We're certain that our monitors
meet and exceed the legal requirements." He said ZDS intends to
appeal that aspect of th ruling, and is working to determine what
the best course of action will be. "There's no question in our mind
that we'll win on this one."

So far GSA has not said whether it would accept new bids on the
contract or cancel it and proceed to Desktop V. In Paris, French
Trade and Industry Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn said he was still
hopeful that ZDS would eventually win at least part of the contract,
which calls for 300,000 personal computers for the Air Force.

Ironically, Desktop IV is the first PC contract to be awarded under
what was supposed to be an expedited bid process.

(Jim Mallory/19930104/Press contact: John Bace, Zenith Data Systems,
708-808-4855, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

CompuAdd's Color Notebook PCs 01/04/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- CompuAdd Express, the
direct marketing arm of CompuAdd, has announced two new 486-based
notebook computers, one of them a color system.

Both systems are powered by a 25 megahertz (MHz) Cyrix CX486SLC
microprocessor, have a built-in group 3, 9600 bit-per-second (bps)
fax and 2400 bps/data modem, trackball, and 120-megabyte (MB) hard
disk drive. The color notebook, called the 425Color, comes with 8MB
of system memory, or RAM and sells for $2,795. Both systems measure
8.625 by 11.625 by 2 inches, and include one 9-pin serial port and
one 25-pin parallel port. CompuAdd Express spokesperson Ernie Wood
told Newsbytes both systems would be shipping by the end of the
week.

The monochrome system, labeled the 425xl comes with 4MB of RAM and
is priced at $1,995. Memory upgrades are available for both systems
to 20MB, with the SIMM upgrade being installed in a compartment at
the back of the notebook. The 425Color uses a passive matrix liquid
crystal display (LCD) display that measures 8.5 inches diagonally.
The monochrome unit has a 9.5-inch 64-grayscale display. Both
displays have 640 by 480 resolution and can simultaneously power an
external 800 by 600 resolution VGA monitor. Brightness and contrast
controls are provided, and a universal power adapter for use with
domestic or European power sources is included. The battery can be
charged while in the unit or with an optional external charger which
can charge two batteries simultaneously.

CompuAdd Express says the 425Color can run for two hours on its
battery, while the 425xl has three hours of battery life. The
display and drives are automatically powered down when the lid is
closed. Both units weigh 6.3 pounds including the NiCad battery and
include a high density 3.5-inch internal floppy drive. Windows 3.1,
MS-DOS 5.1, LotusWorks 3.0, fax/modem software, and a special
software program for online technical support are included. Both
systems come with built-in virus protection and include a carrying
case.

The company has also announced a support program they call "Remote
Rescue" which allows technical support staffers to dial into the
customers system, diagnose hardware and setup problems, and
configure the system. All CompuAdd Express desktop and notebook
systems now include the necessary software to support Remote Rescue.
The customer must have a modem that communicates at at least 2400
baud.

CompuAdd Express offers a 30-day money back guarantee or exchange,
and a one year warranty covering replacement or repair of defective
hardware.

(Jim Mallory/19930104/Press contact: Ernest Wood, CompuAdd Express,
512-219-2820; Reader contact: CompuAdd Express, 512-219-2800, fax
512-219-2898)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00024)

New for PC: IconAuthor 5.0 Multimedia Authoring Package 01/04/93
NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- AimTech Corp.,
has released an object-oriented upgrade to the Windows edition of
its IconAuthor multimedia authoring software.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Kim Majer, director of product
marketing, said that IconAuthor 5.0 replaces the Smart Text
Editor in Version 4.0 with a new Smart Object Editor. Other new
capabilities include a graphical debugger and support for digital
video, outside word processing packages, and PenWindows.

Majer stressed that the new Smart Object Editor brings the
ability to create list boxes, radio buttons, and other elements
of the Windows GUI, in addition to the text, graphics and
multimedia generated by the package in the past.

The Smart Object Editor is based on OLE (object linking and
embedding), Majer told Newsbytes. The graphics, text and
multimedia objects created in the editor remain "live," letting
the user manipulate multiple objects simultaneously at run time,
she added. "We've always offered sound, animation and video
capabilities, but before, you could only work with one form of
multimedia at a time," she commented.

The text objects in IconAuthor 5.0 support user input from
popular word processing programs as well as from PenWindows,
according to the product marketing director. Text files from the
word processing packages can be imported into the Smart Object
Editor in either ASCII or RTF (rich text format).

Majer emphasized, as well, that Version 5.0 allows applications
to be developed for three types of digital video: Intel's DVI
(digital video interactive), Fluent's Fluency family, and
Microsoft Video for Windows. It can also be used with analog video
devices supported by earlier editions of IconAuthor. "In the
future, the Windows edition will support development for
QuickTime, too," she disclosed.

The new graphical debugger in IconAuthor 5.0, IAScope, lets the
user take visual walkthroughs of applications under development,
viewing problems as they materialize, she explained.

Majer informed Newsbytes that many of the improvements in
IconAuthor 5.0 are based on comments from users at the product's
35 beta sites. "For example, the Smart Object Editor emerged in
part out of users' needs to develop applications that are
recognizably Windows-based," she illustrated.

The newly added support for the ASCII and RTF file format permits
the inclusion of documentation and other text from sources
outside IconAuthor, she noted. "The authors of the text don't
necessarily need to know IconAuthor at all," she maintained.
The developer can link the imported text files to text, graphic
and multimedia files produced within IconAuthor.

IconAuthor 5.0 is priced at $4,995, a fee that includes a four-
day training course and one year of technical support. Discounts
are being offered to educators, course developers, and resellers.
Existing customers can upgrade for $350 before March 1 or $500
after March 1.

The program requires a 386-based or higher IBM-compatible PC, MS-
DOS 3.1 or later, Microsoft Windows 3.0 or 3.1, and a CGA, EGA,
VGA or Super VGA graphics board. In addition, 1 MB of RAM is
needed for 16-color graphics and 2 MB of RAM for 256-color
graphics.

Other editions of IconAuthor are available for OSF/Motif-based
Unix platforms and Digital Equipment Corp.'s VAX/VMS environment.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930104; Press contact: Marianne Rigo,
Brodeur & Partners for AimTech Corp., tel [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00025)

New For Unix: UC630 Scanner For X Windows 01/04/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- This month,
UMax will start to ship X Windows-based imaging software with its
award-winning UC630 flatbed color scanner, furthering a company
foray into the Unix scanning market that began last fall.

"The Core," the package being bundled with the UC630, is an
interactive toolset from Core Software Technology (CST) that
integrates raster and vector imaging under a Motif GUI (graphical
user interface).

A company spokesperson told Newsbytes that up to now, the 600 dpi
(dots per inch) UC630 scanner has been available only with Image-
In imaging software for IBM-compatible PCs and Photoshop for
Macs. In September, though, UMax started to bundle a Unix-based
imaging program from Pectronix Software with two higher-end
scanners, the 800 dpi UC 840 and 1200 dpi UC 1200.

"We've been discovering a wide range of Unix applications out
there," the spokesperson commented. The Core is aimed, in
particular, at image scanning for GIS (geographic information
systems), medical, and desktop publishing applications, she added.
These areas are receiving wide use on Unix workstations as a
result of requirements for storage and high speed, she explained.

The UC630, bundled with The Core, is priced at $1,795. The
package provides interactive image manipulation, file browsing,
on-line help, and a User Extension for end-user customization. A
series of companion products, available separately, includes
application development tools as well as upgrade modules for
specialized imaging functions.

The spokesperson noted that the Core is now the only Unix-based
imaging software that can be used with the UC 630, a device
ranked second only to the UC 1200 by PC Magazine in a recent
evaluation of ten scanners from various vendors. "We haven't
been working with any other (imaging software) companies to
develop an interface," she disclosed.

Until UMax started to ship the UC 840 and UC 1200 with Pectronix
software last fall, the company's high resolution scanners
operated exclusively with PCs and Macintoshes, she said. "We may
be bundling the Core product with our higher end scanners at some
later date," she revealed.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930194; Press contact: Yvonne Lynott for
UMax, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00026)

New For PC: High Res, Transportable 10" Monitor 01/04/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- ETC Computer
has a 10-inch color monitor that packs the high resolution and
advanced features of larger competitors into a pint-sized,
transportable unit.

Kent Huang, company president, told Newsbytes that the Model CD-
1035 is ideal for the laptop or notebook user who needs a better
quality display than the screen built into the portable PC, and
for the home or office where desk space is limited.

The 20-pound miniature VGA monitor is light enough to lug, he
said. The PC-compatible device can also be cart-mounted along
with other computer components for transport between offices in
the same building.

Available in Europe and the Asia Pacific for several years, the
Model CD-1035 is now beginning to be used by major US-based
organizations, he said. Rocky Mountain National Bank is
installing the monitor at teller windows.

Johnson & Johnson is including the display as part of its Bedside
Care System, a high-end PC-based medical records system designed
to be moved between hospital rooms.

Other users are employing the CD-1035 for roving displays of
computerized sales presentations, training sessions, and video
demos, he stated.

"Many manufacturers have responded to the popularity of graphical
user interfaces (GUIs) with 15-inch or larger screens. Few have
produced smaller high-quality displays. Consequently, the CD-
1035 is in very high demand," the company president commented.

Priced at $649, the CD-1035 operates with AT-compatible as well
as PS/2 computers. Maximum resolution is 1024 by 768 interlaced.
Power consumption is 60W or less. Controls for power, contrast
and brightness are located on a front panel.

Other capabilities include a non-glare screen, 0.26 mm dot pitch,
vertical frequencies of 52Hz to 90Hz, and horizontal frequencies
of 31.5KHz, 32.5KHz, and 35.5 KHz.

ETC Computer is the newly established US subsidiary of the
Taiwan-based ETC Group, a trio of manufacturing firms that
produce 10-, 14- and 15-inch monitors, systems, and auxiliary
components and supplies. ETC's European sales and service office
is located in Dusseldorf, Germany.

"Our monitors offer the latest high performance features at a
fraction of the cost of any other monitor in the industry. We
design and build all the components ourselves, assuring that
every ETC monitor conforms to the most demanding specifications,"
Huang said.

Additional models, now available in the US as well as Europe and
the Asia Pacific, include three new microprocessor-controlled
monitors and a pair of low-emission units.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930104; Reader contact: ETC Computer Inc.,
tel [phone]; Press contact: Peak Public Relations for ETC,
tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00027)

 ****Multimedia To Grow To $25 Billion By 1998 01/04/92
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- The multimedia
explosion will continue unabated according to Market Intelligence.
The research company predicts that multimedia hardware and software
sales worldwide will nearly quintuple over the next six years.

The company predicts that the market will grow from $5 billion
in 1992 to more than $24 billion in 1998. That represents a 25
percent compound annual growth rate. Growth will accelerate
in the mid-1990s, peaking at over 40 percent during the 1993-95
period, before flattening late in the decade.

The report, titled: "World Multimedia Hardware and Software
Markets," also estimates that video products will increase from
four percent of the total market in 1992 to more than 20 percent
of a much larger market by 1999. Authoring software will grow
from a six percent to an 11 percent share in the same period.

According to the report, interactive video will appear on public
networks over the next decade. Multimedia will increasingly
become an integral part of proliferating networks as the ability
to send voice and video across both local and wide area networks
increases.

Amy Arnell, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that
recent price reductions are likely to spur more rapid market
development and use. She said that multimedia use will increase
as prices continue to drop. The report states that nothing can
bring prices down further and faster than an emerging mass
market.

The multimedia market has initially disappointed early
predictions of rapid consumer success, mainly because of the
high cost of hardware. The report says that, currently, corporate
users and educators have employed multimedia mainly for
training and presentations.

Arnell told Newsbytes that the company comes up with a
report such as this after, "basically contacting all of the major
players in the market, both hardware and software. (We) talk
to them, ask them what is going on now, and what they see
going on in the future."

The companies are also asked what products they are developing,
said Arnell, as well as, "how they see their revenues growing,
how they see prices declining, who is using their equipment and
software, and what are they using it for."

She said that more than 100 companies were contacted for
the report, and that 170 are actually listed in it.

(Ian Stokell/19930104/Press Contact: Amy Arnell, Market
Intelligence, 415-961-9000)


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

 ****Everex To Cut More Staff? 01/04/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Everex is
planning to cut another 200 staff. The cuts follow months of
restructuring and layoffs.

The company has been hard-hit by the intense PC hardware
price war between the major industry players: Compaq
Computer, Dell Computer, and even IBM. Lower prices have
cut huge slices out of profit margins for many companies.

As reported by Newsbytes in December, estimated losses for
Everex for the fiscal year ended August 2, 1992, were between
$80 and $120 million on sales of $503 million.

The Associated Press reports that the company plans another
200 additional layoffs as part of a broad restructuring effort,
leaving the company with 900 employees. Everex had 1,850
workers as recently as June.

AP also reports that company founder and President Steve Hui
has resigned. He will be replaced by Jack Kenney of Kenney
Associates in Oakland, California. No reason was given for the
resignation.

Newsbytes also reported in December that Harold Clark,
president and chief operating officer, and Dave Zacarias, chief
financial officer, had both resigned.

Reports in local newspapers had Everex laying off 250 staff in
October, and as many as 250 in November.

The last round of official layoffs from Everex took place on
September 15, as reported by Newsbytes. At the time the
company said it planned to reduce its worldwide workforce by
about 12 percent, or 250 people. As many as 500 more may
have gone in October/November.

Anne Butler, spokesperson for Everex, who has since left the
company, in September told Newsbytes that the layoffs were
"worldwide....but the bulk of the people work here in Fremont
so I'm sure the bulk of the reductions will be here." The
workforce reductions in September followed a similar move in
early August.

At the time Butler told Newsbytes that "there are no plans
(for further reductions). "The key factor here is that prices are
continuing to drop, and as gross margins in the industry continue
to drop, we need to trim operating expenses. So we don't have any
plans at this time....but we'll do what we have to do."

No one was available for comment at Everex by Newsbytes
deadline.

(Ian Stokell/19921207/Press Contact: Mike Walen, Everex
Systems, 800-821-0806)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00029)

Rasterops' Offers Fast, Dye-Sublimation Printer 01/04/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Rasterops
is shipping a new version of its Correctprint dye-sublimation
printer, the Correctprint 300i, which it says is several times
faster, offers a more accurate color range, more memory, and
will work with Macintosh, Windows, DOS, and Unix computers.

The new 300i can process images up to six times faster, the
company said. Like its predecessor, the Correctprint 300, it
has a includes a 33 megahertz (MHz) MIPS reduced instruction
set computing (RISC) raster image processor (RIP) on its
controller board to accelerate the speed of printing large 24-
bit image files.

The dye-sublimation printers from Rasterops are geared toward
giving the user the same colors as the ones they see on their
computer screen. The 300i also supports the Rasterops
Correctcolor Management System (RCCMS) and the RasterOps
Correctcolor Calibrator, software to allow users to calibrate
the printer to the computer so they get WYSIWYG (what you see
is what you get).

Rasterops says the 300i still prints at 300 dots-per-inch with
a four color cyan-magenta-yellow-black (CMYK) four-color
process, but offers an expanded and more accurate color range.
A monochrome ribbon is also available for gray scale printing,
the company added.

The printer also has an increased memory capacity of 36
megabytes (MB) and offers improved connectivity in network
environments such as Ethertalk and Localtalk for faster
throughput -- an important feature when printing large, full-
color images.

Support for a wider array of small computer system interface
(SCSI) drives for permanent font storage and support for
composite fonts, such as the Japanese-language font Kanji, is
included as well as improved serial-port transfer for IBM-
compatible personal computers. TCP/IP support has also been
added so the printer can be used in Unix environments.

The Correctprint 300, when introduced in early 1991, was
$10,999, but the 300i is retail priced at $9,999. Rasterops
says the 300i also offers the least expensive consumables
such as ribbons, paper, and transparency stock of any like-
printer available, and comes with a 30-day, "no questions
asked" guarantee.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930104/Press Contact: Michele Janin,
Cunningham Communication for Rasterops, tel [phone], fax
408-982-0403; Public Contact 800-729-2656)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

Solitec Buys MacFriends 01/04/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 4 (NB) -- Solitec is
buying a second hardware company -- Portland, Oregon-based
Compumart, doing business as Macfriends. Macfriends' affiliate,
Mountain View Leasing, was also included in the purchase, which
Solitec says is part of its attempt to diversify.

This is the company's second purchase in less than two months.
The first was the November, 1992 acquisition of Service Plus
Technology, a San Jose, California electronics distributor
focusing on networking and communication products.

Solitec, with annual revenues last year of $3.5 million, is a
Santa Clara-based, publicly held manufacturer of semiconductor
production equipment. Macfriends is much larger, with unaudited
revenues of $25 million in 1992 and boasts it is one of the
largest direct marketing distributors focused on Macintosh
computer users.

Solitec has managed the purchase through proceeds of a $1
million short term loan and issued an aggregate of 464,444
shares of its common stock in the acquisitions and the
subsequent restructuring of certain Compumart debentures,
according to company president, Joe McDowell.

McDowell also said Solitec also issued warrants having a four
year term and an exercise price of $1-1/8, to purchase up to
142,587 shares of Solitec's common stock depending on the
future performance of Compumart and contingent on continued
services of its management. Solitec had approximately 3.2
million shares outstanding after the acquisitions, the company
added.

Just for the record, Compumart is not the same the Texas-based
computer hardware dealer, also known as Compumart, which the
Business Software Alliance (BSA) filed suit against last summer
charging software copyright infringement.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930104/Press Contact: Partha Sarathy,
Solitec, tel [phone], fax [phone])