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/nb930106

Text File | 1993-01-06 | 59KB | 1,322 lines

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(PAR)(00001)

Surge of Multimedia Sales Expected in Europe 01/06/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Sales of multimedia computer
equipment are expected to surge to $4 billion by the end of 1994,
more than tripling according to the Paris-based Infocorp Europe
senior analyst, Benjamin Phister.

Phister sees this same market more than doubling after 1994,
reaching a value of $10 billion by 1996.

Europe is a good market for multimedia products, because most
computer sales are to businesses, which are eager to keep up
with the latest technology.

And improved technology will be the principal force behind the surge
in sales, Phister says. "In a few years, the very idea of multimedia
will disappear from the vocabulary of computing," Phister says. "All
of these features which we now refer to as multimedia will become
standard."

The Infocorp Europe report lists three major technology changes that
will lead to the jump in multimedia sales. CD-ROMs will operate
at much faster speeds. Then digital video is expected to improve
radically in quality. Finally, standards for multimedia technology
are becoming widely accepted in the industry worldwide.

And all of this technology will be available at a much lower price.
With an economic upturn expected in Europe by 1994, companies can be
expected to invest in multimedia technology which offers credible,
clear-cut advantages, Phister adds.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930701/Press Contact: Christine Do, InfoCorp
Europe, 12 Boulevard des Iles, 92441 Issy-les-Moulineaux cedex,
tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(PAR)(00002)

Alcatel Wins Exchange Contract In Ukraine 01/06/93
Paris, France, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- A division of the Paris-based
Alcatel-Alsthom, SA -- the world's largest manufacturer of
telecommunications equipment -- has won one of the first contracts awarded
by the government of the Ukraine for the restructuring of its antiquated
public network.

Alcatel-CIT has won the contract, which in itself is only a small
one for the installation of two 25,000-line telephone exchanges
worth a mere 25 million French francs ($5 million).

But analysts noted that the move gave Alcatel a secure foothold in
one of the most rapidly developing, and cash-rich markets in Eastern
Europe. All of the world's largest telecom suppliers are fighting
tooth and nail for contracts in Eastern Europe that they wouldn't
cast an eye on elsewhere. They are eager to grab off market share in
a region that holds great promise for the future.

The Ukraine, for example, intends to triple its number of telephone
lines in the next five years, going from the current 8 million to 24
million.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930105/Press Contact: Cornelia Schaerer, Alcatel
Alsthom, SA 54, rue de la Boetie, 75008 Paris, France tel 331
-40761345)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00003)

New For Mac: Quickeys Test Drive 01/06/93
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Some companies
distribute demo disks which show how their products work but don't
allow interaction by the user. But CE Software is now shipping a
special edition of its Quickeys product that is fully interactive.

Quickeys allows users to establish shortcuts, or macros, for popular
programs from Microsoft, Aldus, Claris, Quark, and Adobe. The
company says the only limitations on Quickeys Test Drive is a
six-month use time limit and limitation of the number of each type
of shortcut that can be available at any given time.

Ford Goodman, CE executive VP, says the company encourages Quickeys
Test Drive users to copy and distribute the program. Each time a
Test Drive user upgrades to the regular program, the reseller who
made the original copy will receive a payment based on the estimated
profit margin the dealer would generate if the sale were made
direct. The reseller also benefits by being able to offer free
software as a buying incentive for hardware.

The program also includes Instant Quickeys, designed to help a
novice computer user set up shortcuts automatically. There's also a
"savings calculator" that displays the return on a user's investment
based on his usage of shortcuts.

(Jim Mallory/19930105/Press contact: Sue Nail, CE Software,
515-224-1995, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00004)

Seiko Cuts Prices On Color Printers 01/06/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Seiko is
reducing prices and says users can buy their Personal
Colorpoint PSE color thermal image transfer printer for the
same price as a color inkjet or bubblejet printer. The company
also announced a less-than-$10,000 Postscript language
compatible dye-sublimation printer.

The new price for the Seiko Personal Colorpoint PSE printer is
$2,999, a thousand dollar reduction from the company's former
$3,999 price point. The company says this is the first time a
Postscript language-compatible color thermal transfer printer
has broken the $3,000 price barrier.

Seiko says it plans by lowering the price, to put its color
printer in direct competition with printers such as the
Hewlett-Packard (HP) PaintJet XL300, IBM Lexmark Color
Jetprinter PS 4079, and Apple Computer's newly announced
bubblejet-type printer. The advantage of the thermal process is
the color doesn't smear or fade, the quality of output is
better, it's a faster process, and offers a lower cost per
printed page.

Craig Lynar, director of marketing for Seiko Instruments' Color
Graphics Group, said in a prepared statement: "It is an inkjet
vendor's worst nightmare to go head-to-head with thermal
transfer."

Seiko especially wants to take on the HP Paintjet XL300, and
says in comparison the PSE is priced $500 lower, prints twice
as fast, and produces prints that are up to six times less
expensive.

The Personal ColorPoint PSE will be demonstrated at the San
Francisco, California Macworld Exposition, January 6 - 9, 1993
at the Moscone Center in booth 233.

The company will also be demonstrating its dye-sublimation
printer, the Professional Colorpoint PSH, which it just reduced
in price to $9,999. Dye-sublimation printers are known for
their photographic-like color images.

Seiko says its dye-sublimation printer offers maximum a
printable area of 8.53 inches x 11.93 inches, which enables
users to create extra large "full bleed" prints that fill an
entire 8.5 inch x 11 inch area. Like the Rasterops Correctprint
300i, the Seiko printer also has a reduced instruction set
computing (RISC) for processing, which allows for faster image
printing. Software upgrades for the Seiko are also available
via flash read only memory (ROMs), which is reprogrammable
read-only-memory chips-that will allow users to upgrade the PSH
with new features and enhancements.

Rasterops has also lowered the price of its similar dye-
sublimation printer to $9,999 and will be demonstrating it at
the Macworld Exposition as well.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930105/Press Contact: Cheryl Landman, Seiko
Instruments, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00005)

 ****Most PC Buyers Say They Made Poor Choices 01/06/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- According to a study
conducted by a Dallas-based sales and marketing firm, nearly all PC
buyers say they should have been more careful in their purchase.

That's the result of a survey of 1,000 buyers of IBM-compatible PCs
in the last six months conducted by Channel Marketing Corporation.
Channel's David Goldstein says that ninety percent of the survey's
respondents wished had made different choices when buying their
system. He says the major reason cited by the buyers was the
additional cost that would have been involved. The survey was
commissioned by a major PC manufacturer, but Goldstein declined to
identify his client.

Most subjects in the study said they would have saved
significant sums of money if their PCs had been purchased with the
desired features. All interviewees had purchased a new
computer and monitor over the previous six months.

Goldstein says that the survey indicates that a majority of PC
buyers are returning to their dealer to upgrade their system, if
that's possible. Sometimes it isn't.

Goldstein cites five specific areas in which he says the respondents
to the survey said they would have made different choices. Sixty-two
percent of those surveyed said they wished the system they purchased
had more expansion capability. Often the buyer wanted to add a game
adapter, modem, tape backup unit, or a CD-ROM.

Forty-eight percent wished they had bought a better quality monitor.
After using a graphics application or playing games, the buyers
found that the .39 or .51 dot pitch displays often sold with a
system proved to be disappointing. Monitors use a shadow mask ( a
piece of metal with holes punched in it) to keep the electron beams
from overlapping so that only the desired picture element (pixel) is
illuminated by any given electron beam. The distance between the
holes is the dot pitch. The smaller the dot pitch, the crisper the
image.

About the same number of buyers, 47 percent, found they should have
installed more system memory, or RAM (random access memory). Many
systems come with one or two megabytes (MB) or memory. That's not
enough to run Windows, which requires a minimum of four megabytes
and should have eight if you want to have more than one file open at
a time. Graphics applications require more RAM than do text-based
applications.

"So 4 MB is the minimum required," he remarked. Some users
ascertained that the memory that came with their PCs had to be
replaced, not merely augmented, to upgrade the systems, rendering
the installed memory useless.

Fourth on the regret list is not buying a large enough hard drive.
Thirty-nine percent of the respondents said they should have bought
more file storage capacity. Many programs now coming to market
require so much space to store their program files that the
once-standard 20MB hard drive is no longer adequate. An additional
factor is that graphics files require large amounts of storage
space. Again, this grievance cropped up most frequently among users of
Windows applications, which generally take up 5 to 8 MB of hard
disk space. One respondent in the survey bemoaned the fact that
his Star Trek game eats up 7 MB on the hard drive.

The final item on the wish list showed that 36 percent of the buyers
surveyed wished they had added a second floppy drive. Most systems
shipping today come with one 3.5-inch floppy drive. Older systems
equipped with hard drives usually had one 5.25-inch floppy drive,
and buyers are finding that they need both. That's particularly
true of second-time buyers who want to use their older software that
came on the larger size disk, while new software usually comes on
the smaller floppy. Some software manufacturers ship their products
with both disk sizes included or let you specify which size disk you
prefer.

Goldstein told Newsbytes that it wasn't the fault of the reseller
that the systems proved to be inadequate. He said the buyers would
pleased with the purchases overall, but wished they had known more
about what they needed. He also stressed that the skills of the
reseller were not lacking. Goldstein told Newsbytes that the buyers
admitted that the salespersons told them they would need more
memory, or disk space, or a different monitor, but the buyer thought
it was a ploy to get him or her to spend more money.

Goldstein's advice to potential buyers is twofold. He recommends
that buyers consider not only what they will be using their computer
for when its purchased, but what the user might want to use it for
in the next couple of years. He also recommends that buyers
understand exactly how their new PC can be upgraded if it has to be
retrofitted.

(Jim Mallory & Jacqueline Emigh/19930105/Press contact: David Goldstein,
Channel Marketing Corporation, 214-239-3305, X214; tel [phone];
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00006)

Apple, Net Vendors Create AppleTalk Forum 01/06/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Apple Computer
has teamed up with Novell, 3Com Corp., Cayman Systems, Shiva Corp.,
Cisco Systems, Wellfleet Communications, and FCR Software Inc., to
establish the AppleTalk Networking Forum (ANF), a group dedicated
to defining and promoting interoperable networking technology.

ANF's charter, now in the draft stages, calls for originating
technology that advances AppleTalk networking and internetworking,
reducing incompatibilities between vendors' products, and
conducting cooperative research as new networking challenges
appear, according to Jay Batson, ANF spokesperson and product
manager for Cayman Systems.

The charter will be carried out through a series of bylaws, still
being finalized, that will provide a formalized structure for
standards development and democratic mechanisms for conflict
resolution, Batson said in an interview with Newsbytes.

"The encapsulation of AppleTalk into TCP/IP was the subject that
brought this group to life. But we're leaving the charter
explicitly open, because we believe that as time goes by any number
of other issues will present themselves, in areas such as
multimedia and broadband networking technologies, for example,"
Batson told Newsbytes.

Prior to the formation of ANF, some of the group's members were
working within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) on the
issue of encapsulating, or "tunneling," AppleTalk into the TCP/IP
internetworking protocol, noted Batson. "The problem was that
we didn't have a cohesive forum," he commented.

Because the Internet receives US government funding, some
officials were reluctant to deal with AppleTalk, Apple's
proprietary networking protocol, he elaborated. "There's always
been some kind of conflict in the minds of people who run the
Internet as to whether or not they ought to be taking part in
activities that are commercially oriented," he told Newsbytes.

"Apple can certainly do whatever it wants with its own protocol.
But Apple, like the rest of us, wants (multivendor equipment) to be
able to work together. This new organization encompasses all the
participating vendors, including the people who own the protocol,"
he remarked.

In addition, ANF is designed to be more highly structured than
IETF, he continued. "We'll be establishing technical committees
with procedures that can be used to get their work out through the
organization and approved as part of actual standards," Batson
explained.

ANF participation is open to all AppleTalk networking vendors, as
well as to users who are interested in AppleTalk. Membership
packets are expected to be available by the end of January.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930106/Press contact: Marcie Lascher, Cayman
Systems, tel [phone]; Reader contact: ANF, tel [phone])


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

CORRECTION: System 7 Cross-Platform Document Retrieval 01/06/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Apple
representatives have clarified to Newsbytes that the
Macintosh Easy Open 1.0 Developer's Kit requires System 7.1. Apple
representatives said Easy Open will work with System 7.0 or System
7.01, however, the company is strongly recommending users upgrade to
System 7.01 to use Easy Open.

Newsbytes apologizes for any inconvenience this inaccuracy may have
caused. The original story was dated January 5, 1993.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930106/Press Contact: Cindy McCaffrey, Apple, tel
408-974-1578, fax [phone]; Public Contact, APDA, US 800-282-2732,
Canada 800-637-0029, Other Countries 716-871-6555)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00008)

India Cancels US Supercomputer Purchase 01/06/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Vexed by protracted negotiations,
the Indian government has called off the purchase of a supercomputer
from the United States for the Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
located in Bangalore, and has approved a cost-effective alternative
plan to meet the computing demands of the institute.

Institute director C. N. R. Rao said the government has approved a new
configuration of supercomputer for the institute. "We will not have a
Cray YMP as originally planned, but a cluster of computers which will
be connected to about 150 workstations all over the campus."

He said this network of a variety of computers would cost only Rs 20
crore ($6.7 million) against the Rs 25 crore ($8.33 million) demanded
for the Cray machine) and will be more advantageous.

The government's decision to drop the purchase of the YMP brings down
the curtain on a deal which has dragged on for eight years. A
committee headed by Prof Rao had initially selected the Cray XMP,
before the more powerful YMP was considered.

A Rs 2.5 crore ($0.83 million) building was constructed to house the
computer. The front-end computers for the Cray, the Cyber 992 and the
Vax 8810, were also installed to develop and test programs in the
meantime.

The negotiations, however, continued interminably between the US
administration and the government of India in view of the various
conditions insisted upon by the former.

(C.T. Mahabarat/19930106)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEL)(00009)

India: Dispute Over Apple Logo Resolved 01/06/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- The three-year-old dispute between
Apple Computer and India's Apple Industries Ltd., over the use of
its logo and name "Apple," was resolved amicably, claims Atul
Nishar, chairman and managing director of Apple Industries, one
of the largest computer training chains in the country.

According to the terms of the settlement, the Indian company will
continue to use the logo and also the name "Apple" as part of its
corporate name. Thus, Apple Industries would carry on all its non-
computer related business under the brand name Apple.

However, in view of the expected entry of Apple Computer Inc., into
India soon, Apple Industries has decided to give a new trading style
to its computer education business. Apple is planning to come out with
a new brand name for the trading style in one and a half years, Mr
Nishar said.

Apple Industries currently has a network of 105 computer education
centers all over the country. The number is expected to go up to 130
by the end of March.

Meanwhile, the company is diversifying into granite exports. It plans
to set up a 100 percent export-oriented unit for the purpose in
Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 60 crore ($20 million). The project is
expected to take off toward the end of next year. Exports would be
mainly to Italy, Germany, France and to the US.

(C.T. Mahabarat/19930106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00010)

Microsoft Appoints India Reseller 01/06/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Summit Information Technologies
Pvt Ltd, a New Delhi-based software company, has been appointed a value
added reseller by Microsoft Corporation. The move is to promote
software development efforts on Windows.

According to this arrangement, Summit will be able to sell the latest
versions of Windows along with its own Indica -- an Indian language
publishing software. Summit plans to market the Indica package along
with Windows in an effort to promote the legal use of Windows software.

Summit, one of the first companies in India to start software
development on Windows 3.x, is presently working on Arabic and Urdu
languages for Windows and is trying to add more features to Indica
including a spelling checker for Indian languages.

Other products planned by the company on Windows include software in
the area of connectivity and public access databases.

(C.T. Mahabarat/19930106)


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

 ****GECCO Computer Ceases Operations 01/06/93
TEMPE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Newsbytes has learned
that GECCO Computer has ceased operations and one source said its
assets have been seized by First Interstate Bank of Mesa.

The direct marketer, formed in 1989 by owner John Thomas, is located
at 1325 W. 21st St, Tempe, Arizona. The company markets its own
brand of PCs through the mail, advertising in trade magazines.

The Phoenix, Arizona Better Business Bureau told Newsbytes that on
December 31st, 1992 Thomas informed the bureau that the firm had
ceased operations and the secured assets of the company had been
seized by GECCO's creditors.

Thomas told the BBB that consumers who had used a credit card to
order merchandise might be able to arrange a cancellation of their
charges through the credit card company. The BBB spokesperson said
that consumers could file a complaint with the bureau, but said that
Thomas told them he would "probably not respond to the complaints."
At least one previous complaint filed with the BBB had not been
answered by Thomas.

Steve Tseffos, press secretary for the Arizona Attorney General,
told Newsbytes that there's probably little recourse for buyers who
paid by check. If GECCO files for bankruptcy, consumers who have
sent money and have not had their product shipped should be listed
as creditors by GECCO in their bankruptcy petition. They would
eventually be notified of the bankruptcy proceedings by the US
Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix. Otherwise the Attorney General's Office
says it probably can't help. "Unless they're being investigated for
fraud, there's not much we can do," Tseffos told Newsbytes. He
recommends that persons with orders outstanding contact an attorney
to determine their rights and to explore the possibilities of civil
litigation.

Administrative Services Manager Jim McLaughlin in the Arizona State
Treasurer's Office told Newsbytes that the state has a recent law
that requires telemarketers to post a $25,000 bond, however the
state has no such requirement for Arizona companies selling products
through the mail.

Better Business Bureaus operate in most metropolitan areas, and
consumers are encouraged to check with them before placing orders
for merchandise. While the bureau cannot guarantee performance of a
company, a record of unanswered complaints may be an indicator of
the company's attitude towards consumers. The bureaus also offer
mediation service to resolve problems between companies and consumers,
although participation is voluntary on the part of companies.

(Jim Mallory/19930105)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00012)

New For Windows: Microsoft Office Now On CD-ROM 01/06/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced that a CD-ROM version of its Office for Windows program is
now available on CD-ROM disk.

Office for Windows is a suite of business applications that includes
the word processing program Microsoft Word version 2.0, Microsoft's
spreadsheet Excel version 4.0, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation
graphics, and Microsoft Mail 3.0.

Microsoft says the advantage of getting Office for Windows on a
CD-ROM disk is that all the documentation is contained on the disk
instead of in the form of bound manuals. The program also has an
integrated installation procedure that allows all of the
applications to be installed in one sequence. The special
installation sequence has also been added to the disk-based version
of Office for Windows.

Microsoft spokesperson Gaby Adam told Newsbytes that the CD-ROM
version of Office for Windows has a suggested retail price of $750.

Although a relatively new technology for personal computers, the
research firm Freeman Associates estimates in its CD-ROM Drive
Forecast that the installed base of CD-ROM enabled computers is
already almost 3 million, and is expected to jump to nearly 10
million with five years.

Microsoft's VP of Desktop Applications Pete Higgins says the change
to an integrated installation process and putting the documentation
online is in response to feedback from customers. The company also
points out that the on-line references eliminate about 11 pounds of
paper used for the manuals and reference guides for the floppy disk
version of the program.

Microsoft says the integrated installation procedure also saves some
hard disk space, since only one copy of any files shared by the
different applications is installed. The company is also touting the
time savings of the installation program. While installation times
vary with computer systems, the company points out that if just 20
minutes were saved in the installation process, a large installation
base with 100 workstations could save more than 30 hours of
installation time.

(Jim Mallory/19930106/Press contact: Monica Harrington, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft, 800-426-9400 or
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00013)

Zeos's 20 New PCs Replace Old Desktop Line 01/06/93
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Zeos International
announced a line of 20 new i486-based personal computers today,
saying the new systems will replace the company's present desktop
models.

Zeos says the new computers are priced up to 18 percent less than
their predecessors, and will incorporate VESA standard local bus
technology, new video options, and a new high-speed local bus IDE
hard disk drive interface.

The new systems are based on Intel Corporation's 80486SX, DX and DX2
microprocessors, with models running at 25, 33, 50 and 66 megahertz
(MHz). Each processor is available in four standard model
configurations, ranging from an entry level 486SX 25MHz system with
2 megabytes (MB) of system memory, or RAM (random access memory) and
an 85 MB hard drive for $1,395 to a 486DX2 66 MHz system with 16MB
of RAM and a 340 MB hard drive for $2,995.

The entry level systems will include one floppy drive and a
monochrome monitor, while the top end systems will come with two
floppy drives and color displays. Zeos says the average price
reduction across the standard product line is $350, with actual
reductions ranging from $125 to $700 over the old models. The
company is also offering a high speed graphics interface which it
says can raise the performance of Windows as much as four times, for
an additional $149.

Gregg Herrick, Zeos chairman and CEO, says the company recently
completed the consolidation of its PC operations from five buildings
into a single facility in order to streamline operations, and will
soon be sending out a mass mailing to over 350,000 customers and
prospective customers. An updated phone system has also been
installed to handle customer support and inquiries.

Zeos says the streamlining of its operations has also cut the lead
time to fill orders, with one week being the target for order
shipments. It will also be expanding its "Computers Now!" program
which allows shipment of certain standard configurations the same
day the order is received.

(Jim Mallory/19930106/Press contact: Rick Apple, Zeos International,
612-623-9614; Reader contact: Zeos International, 800-423-5891)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00014)

 ****875 Everex Employees Still On Job 01/06/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JAN 6 (NB) -- More information
has become available concerning Everex Systems's filing for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Mike Walen, spokesman for Everex, told Newsbytes that there are
now 875 employees left with the company, down from as many as
1,850 in June. Concerning future layoffs, Walen said: "There is no
number planned. If the question is 'Do we think that the business
will continue to be downsized?' It is first of all a decision to be
made by the court now. But it is likely."

Walen said that the immediate plans for the company involve
"several appearances in bankruptcy court to get a lot of procedural
issues resolved. Which would then lead into bigger issues on how
to do different things with the business, and what should be done.
There will be several recommendations made and we have to wait
for the court's disposition."

In response to a question concerning the status of current research
and development operations, Walen said that, "Essentially
everything is on hold right now. All the decisions are made by the
court at this point. There is a lot of information to be presented,
digested, and then responses to come back. It could be a couple of
weeks before we get anything coming back out that is of any
substance to tell people about."

According to Walen, Everex still intends to manufacture
hardware. "We expect to be [involved in manufacturing]. We've
said before that a lot needs to be outsourced. That is just in
keeping with what is going on in the industry. But we do expect
to still have some manufacturing."

Concerning support for systems already purchased, Walen said
that the company still expects to offer support. However, whether
it would be in-house or outsourced he could not say. "I don't have
those answers. That now becomes a decision of the court," he told
Newsbytes.

A number of company executives have resigned their positions
with the company, including founder and President Steve Hui.
According to Walen, Hui voluntarily resigned.

Newsbytes reported back in December that Harold Clark,
president and chief operating officer, and Dave Zacarias, chief
financial officer, had both resigned. They were replaced by
Jack Kenney and Jack Kirby. Said Walen, "The chief executive
officer and the CFO, who came on board effective December 28,
are turnaround crisis management people. They are here with
a purpose."

Everex has been posting sizeable financial losses and cutting
staff for some time. Newsbytes reported in December that
estimated losses for Everex for the fiscal year ended August 2,
1992, were between $80 and $120 million on sales of $503
million.

The company is a major casualty of the fierce 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.
Companies such as Everex, which depend on PC sales for most
of their income, have been especially hard hit.

Under Chapter 11 the company can continue operating and
attempt to seek financial support. Chapter 11 protects it from
lawsuits from creditors in the meantime.

(Ian Stokell/19920106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00015)

Senior DEC Exec Smith Leaving 01/06/93
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- John F. Smith,
senior vice-president of operations at Digital Equipment Corp.,
and once considered a potential successor to founder Kenneth
Olsen, is leaving the company.

When Olsen retired as president and chief executive of DEC last
fall, Smith was one of only two senior vice-presidents reporting
to him. But the president's job went to Robert Palmer, a
manufacturing vice-president.

As Newsbytes reported in late December, Palmer has restructured
the company into nine business units, all reporting directly to
him. The heads of five of those units were named in December;
Smith was not among them.

Smith's present position will disappear when he leaves the
company, officials said. The date of his departure has not been
set, but will probably be late in the first quarter, according to
company spokeswoman Nikki Richardson.

A statement from the company said Smith's departure was not
related to Palmer's getting the top job. Richardson said Smith
had "been looking forward to retirement for some time." He is 57
years old.

Smith joined Digital in 1958, a year after Olsen founded the
company.

(Grant Buckler/19930106/Press Contact: Nikki Richardson, Digital
Equipment, 508-493-6369; Jeffry Gibson, Digital Equipment,
508-493-6865)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Develcon Employees Offered Stake In Company 01/06/93
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- A company run
by management of Develcon Electronics Ltd., and owned by the
firm's employees is to acquire some of the company's debt from a
provincial government agency, ending up with about 50 percent of
the communications equipment maker.

Develcon managers have filed a proposal with the Saskatchewan
Securities Commission and are hoping for approval within days to
acquire C$2.4 million of debt from the Saskatchewan Economic
Development Corp. (SEDCO), one of the company's major creditors,
corporate secretary Audrey Schneider said. All of the company's
95 employees will be offered a chance to buy shares in the new
holding company.

The deal will reduce but not eliminate Develcon's debt to SEDCO,
Schneider added.

In the fiscal year ended August 31, 1991, Develcon lost C$1.32
million, down from a C$2.07-million loss in the previous year.
Revenues were C$9.11 million, down from C$9.74 million. Results
for fiscal 1992 are due later in January, Schneider said.

Develcon sells networking equipment such as wiring hubs and
bridges.

(Grant Buckler/19930106/Press Contact: Audrey Schneider,
Develcon, 306-933-3300, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00017)

New For PC - Word For Word Update 01/06/93
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Mastersoft has
announced it is now shipping an update to its Word For Word
Professional program.

WFW is a document conversion utility which converts documents
created in one word processing, spreadsheet, or database application
to a format which is compatible with a different application, while
retaining formatting. The company also publishes a Windows version
of the program. The new DOS version and the Windows version
reported by Newsbytes earlier are both designated as version 5.2.

The DOS version of WFW can perform conversion for more than 100
applications, with the new release adding support for Ami Pro 3.0,
Legacy, Wordstar for Windows, PFS: First Choice, Microsoft Excel for
the Mac and IBM-compatibles through release 4.0, and Microsoft Word
for the Mac release 5.0.

The DOS-based program now also supports seven Windows-based formats,
including Ami Pro, Framemaker, Legacy, Windows Write, Word for
Widows, Professional Write Plus, Wordperfect for Windows, and
Wordstar for Windows.

Registered owners of any single-user WFW product can get the upgrade
to WFW or the WFW Windows version for $39.95 plus shipping. Owners
of the three-user network version can upgrade to WFW for either DOS
or Windows for $79.95. Special pricing is available from the company
for registered users of networks with more users. The suggested
retail price for new buyers of either edition is $149.

(Jim Mallory/19930106/Press contact: Robert Caplan, Mastersoft,
602-277-0900, fax [phone]; Reader contact: Mastersoft,
602-277-0800, fax [phone])


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

Iridium Gets Go Ahead 01/06/93
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Motorola has
decided to go ahead with its Iridium system despite questions
about its viability. The $3.4 billion project, which would put 77
satellites in low-Earth orbit to deliver the equivalent of
cellular phone service worldwide, is facing increasing pressure
from competitors.

TRW, for instance, is offering a competing network called
Odyssey, with just 12 satellites, and a group led by Loral has a
concept called Globalstar which will compete with Iridium for
needed frequency licenses. Motorola itself says it will take 15%
of Iridium and has already reportedly put $100 million into the
concept, where it will be prime contractor.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930106)


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

AT&T Cuts Videophone Price 01/06/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- AT&T will cut the
price of its Videophone 2500 by a third, to $999. While the
phone, which was announced early last year but shipped in the
fall, initially drew wide praise from observers, and interest in
it was high, only about 10,000 have been sold so far, say some
analysts.

There are a few problems with buying the new AT&T unit even at
its lower price, observers note. For one thing, one must still
have a similar phone at each end before a video conversation
can take place. Second, the US phone system is undergoing a slow
transition from analog to digital service -- the AT&T phone is
analog. Third, early versions of the Compression Labs algorithm
used to compress pictures on the phone did not draw high praise.
That problem has been addressed in succeeding versions.

Finally, and most important, GEC-Marconi of the United Kingdom
introduced their own $750 videophone unit, and MCI will start
selling it under the MCI label in the US this year. The picture
quality on the two units is considered comparable, and MCI will
also offer quantity discounts.

Perhaps the most important problem is the first, and to address
it AT&T is seeding the market with videophones that phone owners
can call. AT&T will soon start renting its units overnight
and installing booths at its Phone Center stores, where people
can use them for a fee. The company also has contracts with about
150 hotels around the country, where the phone will be installed
in lobbies and business centers. AT&T is working hard to open new
international markets, with deliveries to start this month.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930106/Press Contact: Ray Zardetto, AT&T,
201-606-2454; MCI, Kate Fralin, 703-415-6941)


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

Cirrus Logic's New Compact Modem Chip Set 01/06/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Cirrus Logic
announced a new data-fax-voice chip set for portable computers,
the CL-MD9624EC2. The new chip set supports both error-correction
and data compression as well as regular data pump functions, and
takes just two chips.

The chip set can be used in PCMCIA PC Card systems, which are
no bigger than a credit card, and runs at up to 2,400 bits/second
with regular data, 4 blank pages per minute in fax mode.
Answering machine and remote access are also supported. There is
also firmware on the chip which can cut manufacturing costs by
reducing the need for software development and debugging.

PC Card products have been very exciting to the trade, but have
yet to reach a mass market in large part because they're
expensive. While a regular 2,400 data and 4 page per minute fax
modem could cost $200 at retail, even PC Card memory cards can
cost $300 for a few megabytes of storage. Boosters of the
technology claim that prices will fall quickly, however.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930106/Press Contact: Cirrus Logic, Joe
Fowler, 510/226-2239)


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

AT&T, Novell In Strategic Partnership 01/06/93
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Following hard on
Novell's purchase of AT&T's Unix operating systems unit, AT&T and
Novell have formed a strategic partnership in the area of
computer-telephone integration. The two companies' name for the
integration is Telephony Services.

The first product based on the alliance, the Telephony Server
Network Loadable Module, will link LANs using Novell's NetWare
operating system to AT&T Definity PBXs. This link between
computer networks and business switches will let people use
common phone features, like auto-dialing, conference calling,
and message management, in combination with information stored
in the computer network.

Telephony Services for NetWare will also include an AT&T
application called PassageWay to let customers speed-dial and
take notes on each phone call. Notes from previous conversations
will also become available in future calls. The aim of the two
companies is to extend this kind of system to areas like
electronic mail, fax transmissions and voice mail.

The two companies will also co-develop Application Programming
Interfaces, or APIs, designed to be loaded on network servers,
which allow other companies to integrate telephone services into
computer networks, or develop additional applications. The two
companies emphasized theirs is a non-exclusive agreement, and
that it will result in an open platform. AT&T's NCR unit, for
instance, is planning to provide support to its StarGroup
software product line. Delivery of the Telephony Support NLM and
APIs is expected in the second half of 1993. The two companies
hope that all computers and PBXs will, in time, be linked to one
another via the interface.

At a press conference linked to other reporters via a conference
call, AT&T officials called the deal a step in its move toward
multimedia desktops.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930106/Press Contact: Novell, Kelli
Christensen, 801-429-5933; AT&T, Laura Williams, 908-658-2604)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

UK: BT, Mercury In Phone Charges Battle 01/06/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Yet another price war has broken
out between Mercury and British Telecom on the international call
charges front.

Just as the New Year started, British Telecom announced that cheap
rate band one international calls (calls to Western Europe) were being
cut by about a quarter, allowing residential customers to talk for
four minutes for under UKP 1-00.

Mercury has responded by abolishing the prime time (3pm to 5pm
weekdays) rates to the US, Canada and group five countries (the
Bahamas, Caymans, Virgin Islands etc). At the same time, Mercury has
brought Canada within the scope of its US frequent caller pricing
program.

The Mercury price changes mean that customers calling the US and
Canada during the old prime time rate will pay standard rate charges,
a saving of between 9.4 and 13.7 percent, Mercury claims. In the
case of group five countries, call savings are 7.6 percent.

The Mercury move is significant, since the prime period was introduced
by BT in the early 1980s as a way of preventing a network traffic jam
at peak times (3/5pm in the UK, 10am/12pm in the US East Coast time
zone). BT has always maintained that the prime rate was a necessary
method of preventing all calls being made at once.

According to Christine Holgate, Mercury's manager of consumer
marketing, the US/Canadian price shuffles have been introduced as a
result of the enormous success of the company's "Happy Hour" promotion
of late 1992, under which 6pm to 8pm weekday calls to the US and
Canada were half price.

The Mercury price changes take effect on January 8 and,
according to Holgate, further money-saving offers for Mercury
subscribers will be announced later in the New Year.

(Steve Gold/19930106/Press & Public Contact: Mercury Communications -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

France: Financial Times, Questel Call It Quits 01/06/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Following hard on the heels of
opening its Paris office, the Financial Times (FT) Profile online
service has announced it will end its distribution arrangement with
Questel from the end of January, 1993.

According to FT Profile, the breakup with Questel is by "mutual
agreement," since they both "recognize that there strategic directions
have begun to diverge."

Both companies have said that they plan to work closely together to
ensure that all Questel customers who access the FT Profile service
via the gateway will be able to continue to access the service without
interruption. Newsbytes understands that this will involve Questel's
subscribers taking out a separate subscription to FT Profile and
accessing the service via the French packet data network (PDN).

Announcing the changes, Jim McLaughlin, FT Profile's international
sales manager, said that both companies have enjoyed an excellent
relationship. "We're continuing to examine other areas of co-operation
and look forward to finding new ways to jointly offer our services to
the French market," he said.

(Steve Gold/19930105/Press & Public Contact: FT Information Services -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00024)

India: New Ventures for Inmarsat Terminals 01/06/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- India is witnessing a spurt of
activity in the field of maritime satellite communication. ITI
Equatorial Satcom Ltd., a joint venture between Indian Telephone
Industries and Equatorial Satcom Ltd., will manufacture terminals
capable of receiving Inmarsat signals in the country.

This follows the setting up of the Inmarsat (Maritime Satellite
Communications) A earth station at Arvi, in Maharashtra. The
Inmarsat C earth station is expected to become operational by April
1993.

The Bangalore-based ITI Equatorial Satcom Ltd., will manufacture
Inmarsat A terminals, in collaboration with Mobile Telesystems of
the US. The firm says shipping companies and government agencies like
the Intelligence Bureau (IB) will find the terminals useful.

Initially, ITI Equatorial Satcom will manufacture only 50 Inmarsat A
terminals.

The company is already manufacturing very small aperture terminals
(VSAT) in technical collaboration with Equatorial Communications
Company in the US. VSATs are being used by Nicnet (National Informatics
Centre Network, a database communication network mainly meant for
government departments) and the Remote Area Business Message Network
(RABMN) for communication in remote areas.

Another venture to produce Inmarsat-C terminals is on the cards.
Hughes Network Systems Ltd., US, is looking for an Indian partner to
fabricate Inmarsat-C terminals. Hughes has a 100 percent export-
oriented unit in Delhi for development of communications software.

Inmarsat-C uses two-way inexpensive terminals for global messaging and
data communication though at a slower rate of 1200 bps. Initially,
Indian Space Research Organization was slated to develop indigenous
terminals for Inmarsat.

(C.T. Mahabarat/19930106)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00025)

UK: Lotus Leaves Notes At Oasis 01/06/93
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Lotus Development
Corporation has announced that Oasis, a management consultancy
company, has joined the Lotus business partners program as a
strategic system consultant for Notes, the company's groupware
package.

So what does this mean to existing and potential Notes users? Plans
call for Oasis to advise clients and implement Notes within large
organizations. Lotus claims that Oasis has worked closely with Action
Technologies, one of the US pioneers in workflow technology.

According to Ian Benson, managing consultant and heard of Oasis'
laboratory for business design, Oasis will offer a range of
consultancy services to allow companies taking Notes on board, from
the design and analysis stage to managing systems integration.

"In today's business climate, companies are trying to squeeze
performance improvements out of their business through process
redesign. There is increasing pressure on businesses to build less
formal structures and technology is expected to support these new
interactions. Notes is able to support these informal, ad-hoc
processes and is a catalyst for change," he said.

Sally Hood, Lotus' business partner program manager, said that the
vast majority of companies are cautious about investing in technology
unless there are immediate cost savings or performance improvements.

"Notes has now had a chance to prove its pedigree and has achieved
critical mass, because companies can point to tangible productivity
gains," she said.

Lotus Notes is the computer industry's first groupware package. The
package enables groups of users to communicate shared information
across geographic and organizational boundaries. In use, Notes allows
business information -- text, numerical data, photographs and graphics
-- to be shared across a network.

(Steve Gold/19930105/Press & Public Contact: James King, Oasis - Tel:
0628-770600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00026)

UK: The ABCs Of Selling LANs To Schools 01/06/93
ABERYSTWYTH, DYFED, WALES, 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- ABC Systems and
Development has signed ICL and Technology PLC to act as a distributor
for its LAN Admin packages to schools and colleges in the UK.

ABC claims that LAN Admin is ABC's Windows-based application that,
when used with Microsoft LAN Manager, simplifies network
administration.

In the educational market-place, ICL's hardware is sold into schools
and educational establishments. Technology PLC works with ICL staffers
to service the educational market and, according to Dave Cummings,
Technology PLC's marketing manager, the trend in schools and colleges
is to give students access to the industry standard hardware and
software they will encounter in later life.

"For this reason, many educational establishments now have large PC
networks which are used for both teaching and administrative
purposes," he said.

"The only drawback is the control and administration of a large system
-- a job that normally falls onto the hard pressed teaching staff
rather than a dedicated network manager. LAN Admin simplifies this
task while also providing a high degree of network security and is
therefore the ideal solution," he added.

The ICL/Technology PLC distribution arrangement for ABC is an
exclusive deal. This will, ABC claims, allow ICL to boost its current
10 percent market share in the educational sector to become a market
leader.

(Steve Gold/19930106/Press & Public Contact: ABC Systems - Tel: 0970-
625515; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00027)

Macworld: Apple's New Low Priced, Ergo Keyboard, Mouse 01/06/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) --
Apple has announced two new products aimed at ergonomics at
Macworld in San Francisco, California -- the Apple Adjustable
Keyboard and the Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II.

The new keyboard is hinged so it is in two sections. Users can
adjust to an angle that is right for them. The human wrist is
designed so the wrist muscles are twisted if the hand is held
flat in front. The correct angle, which doesn't twist the
carpal muscle in the wrist is one in which the hands are
slanted slightly upward.

Apple says the right and left halves of the industry-standard
alphanumeric keyboard can be split up to 30 degrees. Adjustable
feet control the keyboard's slope and height and detachable
palm rests provide a contoured surface for resting the hands,
which can reduce stress on the neck and shoulder muscles and
may minimize wrist-flexing.

The keyboard has 111 keys, including 15 function keys, an 18-
key numeric keypad, and sound keys to control the volume, mute
and record operations used in multimedia applications. A
separate extended keypad can be placed on either side of the
keyboard and has 15 function keys, six special screen-editing
keys, four arrow keys arranged in an inverted-T layout, and an
18-key numeric keypad.

At $219, the Adjustable Keyboard is much less expensive than
other ergonomic keyboards which can cost $800 or more and comes
with a palm rest and the separate extended keypad. It will work
with any Macintosh, plugging directly in the Apple Desktop Bus
port (ADB), but requires operating System Software 6.0.7 or
later.

The new Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II has been elongated with a
rounded shape Apple says fits the contours of the hand and
supports the palm. A large button at the tip of the Apple
Desktop Bus Mouse II lets more than one finger do the clicking
and is convenient for large or small hands to reach, Apple
said.

A tracking ball is located in the front of the mouse so the
cursor can be precisely controlled with the fingertips rather
than wrist or hand movements. The Mouse II is also energy
efficient, so it can be used with the Macintosh Powerbook
notebook-sized computers and it can also be connected directly
to any Macintosh computer through the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB)
or daisy-chained from the Apple keyboard or another ADB device.

Apple says the Mouse II will replace its current mouse and in
February 1993 it will be bundled with computer systems and sold
separately for a retail price of $79.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930106/Press Contact: Marianne L. Lettieri,
Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

Macworld: Apple Newest Peripherals, Lower Prices 01/06/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Apple is
entering the peripheral price wars with price reductions on
printers and scanners at the Macworld show in San Francisco,
California. The company has also announced two new laser
printers, introduced a new color matching software product, and
a 24-bit color scanner and software.

The products effected by the price cuts are the Personal
Laserwriter NTR, Apple Onescanner, Laserwriter IIf, Laserwriter
IIg, and while reductions were from 17 to 41 percent, the
largest reduction was on the Laserwriter IIg, from $3,909 to
$2,309.

The Apple optical scanner, Onescanner, went from $1,179 to
$949, the Laserwriter IIf was reduced from $2,999 to $1,869,
and the Personal Laserwriter NTR dropped from $1,989 to $1,649.

The company is also attempting to address the problem of color
matching between an optical scanner, the monitor, and the
printer with its new Colorsync software product. An extension
of the Macintosh operating system, Colorsync will come on a
disk with the Apple Onescanner and the Apple Color Printer.

Colorsync is designed synchronize color between devices that do
not have the same color range, so the user gets consistent
color. Apple says the software provides a consistent measure of
the color range of each manufacturer's display, scanner or
printer and based on those measurements (called device
profiles), the Colorsync software synchronizes the color
capabilities between two or more devices.

Apple says it plans to license Colorsync to third-party
developers for inclusion in color peripherals and applications.
Software and hardware manufacturers Aldus, Fractal Design,
Rasterops and Scitex have all announced commitments to
Colorsync and have plans to incorporate the operating system
technology into new products.

Rasterops also announced support for Eficolor, another color
matching system from EFI, in addition to Colorsync in its
Rasterops Correctcolor Management System (RCCMS). The color
matching RCCMS technology works with the company's
Correctcolor/20T calibrated monitor and the new Correctprint
300i dye-sublimation color printer.

Apple's new color scanner, the Apple Color Onescanner, offers
24-bit color scanning and comes with Ofoto 2.0, scanning
software developed by Apple in conjunction with the Greenbrae,
California-headquartered Light Source Incorporated. Apple says
the software has an autoscan feature the user may select which
adjusts for the user brightness, contrast, straightens and
crops images, and even adjusts images for the printer or output
device being used.

More experienced users can set the scanning themselves and use
new features such as: highlight/shadow control; color cast
correction to remove problems such as an orange tone caused by
poor lighting conditions; image focusing to sharpen pictures
that are slightly out of focus; and automatic adjustment for
ink spreading on the paper, called printer-specific sharpening.

Apple said the scanner has a custom-designed lens so scanning
sharpness is maintained at the edges as well as the middle of
the scanning bed, color-correcting application specific
integrated circuit (ASIC), which adjusts data on the fly to
produce more vibrant and accurate colors; motors designed to
minimize mechanical vibration and specially designed color
sensors, which enable more precise scans and color registration
for sharper and clearer images; and single-pass scanning that
lets the user see the image as it's being scanned.

Caere's Omnipage optical character recognition products will
work with the Apple Color Onescanner. Graphics can be scanned
directly into Adobe Photoshop using the scanner with the
addition of a $99 Scantastic ps plug-in from a company called
Second Glance, Apple added.

The Color Onescanner is retail priced at $1,349.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930106/Press Contact: Apple Computer, Kate
Paisley for Colorsync tel [phone], fax [phone]; Renee
Courington, Rasterops, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact, Caere 800-535-7226, Second Glance 714-855-2331)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Sega To Bring Virtual Reality Home 01/06/93
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) -- Sega of
America is planning a virtual reality (VR) peripheral for its
16-bit Genesis game system targeted at Christmas 1993. The unit
is called "Virtua Sega."

The company says it plans to bring VR to the home to allow users
to experience a feeling of total immersion into a virtual world by
using 360-degree, three-dimensional stereo-optic vision and
depth perception. A 32-bit driving game, Virtua Racing is
already implementing some of the VR technology which has
been used by NASA and the military for research and
training, Sega said.

Virtua Sega is planned for shipment in the Fall of 1993 and
will come with one VR software title. Four titles are planned
for release in 1993 and will feature shooting, flying, driving,
and fantasy action.

Sega has been boasting about its success with its recent
release of "Sonic, The Hedgehog 2," a new version of its popular
arcade game featuring a fast, spinning, blue comic-style
Hedgehog character named Sonic. The company had orders for
40,000 copies of the game before its release and expected to
sell over 1 million copies during the Christmas 1992 season.

It also released a compact disc read-only (CD-ROM) peripheral
for the Sega Genesis game system and games on CD that include
video clips as part of the game.

Sega of America is a wholly owned subsidiary of the $1.6
billion Sega Enterprises of Japan.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930106/Press Contact: Sega, tel 415-508-
2800, fax [phone]; Kris Gilbert, Manning, Selvage & Lee
for Sega, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

 ****Miller Freeman Acquires M&T Publishing 01/06/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 6 (NB) --
Consolidation is the name of the game in the magazine publishing
market as well as other computer-related industries. Trade
show promoter and publisher, Miller Freeman Inc., has acquired
M & T Publishing, a San Mateo, California-based company that
publishes such computer magazines as Dr. Dobb's Journal,
Microsoft Systems Journal, LAN Technology, and DBMS, from
Markt & Technik, the firm's Munich-Germany based parent
company.

Other M&T activities involved in the deal include M&T Books, book
publishing, M&T Direct sales operation, and an international
advertising sales representation business.

Marshall W. Freeman, Miller's president and chief executive
officer, said: "Miller Freeman's ongoing strategy is to continue
strong growth in the high-tech field."

According to the company, M&T's magazines and international
advertising sales representation business will be integrated into
Miller's High Tech Division. M&T Books will become an imprint
of Miller Freeman's book publishing operation.

Donald A. Pazour, vice president of Miller, and head of the
High-Tech Division, said: "M&T has been publishing high-quality
magazines and books for the past 10 years. We are looking
forward to incorporating these publications into Miller Freeman,
so our advertisers and readers will have the best possible choices
for their marketing and information needs."

Miller Freeman Inc., based in San Francisco, is a wholly owned
subsidiary of London-based United Newspapers PLC. It publishes
42 specialized interest magazines. Other publications already
offered by the company include LAN Magazine, Computer Language,
Unix Review, AI Expert, Database Programming & Design, and
Mathematics Journal.

Miller Freeman recently acquired the Windows and OS/2 Show
as well as Cadence magazine.

The company's computer-related trade shows include Dexpo,
Computer Security and Exposition, Embedded Systems Conference
and Exposition, and Software Development Conference and
Exposition.

(Ian Stokell/19930106/Press Contact: M&T Publishing,
415-358-9500)