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/nb930122

Text File | 1993-01-22 | 77KB | 1,688 lines

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00001)

Australia - Compaq Predicts Success In 1993, Despite Dell 01/22/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Australia's
managing director, Ian Penman, has predicted that 1993 will see
continued strong growth in the PC market due to the ongoing downward
pressure on PC prices, competition to provide services, and the
continuing resurgence of name brands.

"The pressure on pricing will continue this year, with Compaq leading
the charge to provide the best quality products and support services,
all at very competitive prices," Penman said. He claimed that the
customer will increasingly choose his brand on more than just
technology for a price. "The customer is looking increasingly at
the support and services that are available as a differentiator
in the decision-making process."

Dell Computer is due to start Australian operations in a week and
says it has Compaq firmly in its sights. Compaq doesn't deny this,
but in interviews given to Australian PC press it has downplayed
the possible effect, suggesting that Dell will compete more with
the "high class clone" machines. Dell is to sell only by direct
marketing techniques, bypassing resellers. Penman said, "While
some manufacturers have introduced new methods of distributing
their products, Compaq believes that the traditional PC dealer
and mass market retailers will continue to be the most attractive
place for most users to buy their PCs. These channels offer the
widest service and support coverage as well as a one-stop shop for
hardware, software, and peripherals."

He said Compaq has in excess of 250 authorized reseller outlets,
40 accredited systems centers, 800 reseller sales personnel, and 450
reseller service and support personnel throughout Australia. Compaq
has recently put a great deal of emphasis on its stringent
accreditation process, citing many cases where dealers were refused
stock because they were not accredited to sell it. IDC's analyst

Graham Penn told Newsbytes that this was "all very well, but they'll
soon relax those rules when it starts affecting their sales."

(Paul Zucker/19930122)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00002)

Multi-lingual Subtitler For Films Developed 01/22/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- The Centre for Development of
Advanced Computing (CDAC) has made watching movies that much more
pleasant. No longer is it necessary to sit yawning through a foreign
film, because the dialogues are incomprehensible. The Pune-based
research organization's latest offering makes watching foreign
language programs a breeze.

Called LIPS (Language Independent Program Subtitles), it allows
viewers to watch movies with subtitles in the language of their
choice. This makes it possible for Doordarshan (the government-
owned television network), for instance, to broadcast a program
centrally. The program can then be viewed in all regions with their
language subtitles.

The LIPS technology keeps the multilingual subtitles in a part of the
video not normally visible on TV. The LIPS receiver then decodes the
subtitle for the desired language and overlays it on the video.

Subtitles have to be created manually. But to speed up the process
CDAC has introduced the LIPS Creation station. This allows a person,
working at home, to create subtitles for a movie in a week. Subtitles
in all languages can be created simultaneously and then merged with
the original video using the LIPS merging station. There is enough
"invisible space" in the cassette to allow subtitles of up to 10
languages.

CDAC people are currently deliberating with Doordarshan for the
telecast of "Salaam Bombay" (an award-winning film about the
life of street children in Bombay). The National Film
Development Corporation (NFDC is also a government organization that
encourages the making of quality films, among other things) has
created digital subtitles in Tamil, Marathi, Oriya and Bengali.

The technology is still at the testing stage and will be available
only to Doordarshan. The receiving stations too will not be available
commercially. Only DD regional centres will have access to them. This
will enable telecast with subtitles in the language of the region.

CDAC, is planning to make the receiver an integral part of every home.
This will allow one to watch programs with subtitles of one's choice.
The receive will cost around Rs 5,000 ($167) to Rs 8,000 ($267). That,
though, is still in the future. The spokesperson claimed that if the
system is to be sold for home use the size of the receiver has to be
reduced. Asked if they were contacting satellite television
broadcasters, they replied that since they were just testing the
technology they have not thought of anybody but Doordarshan. But
satellite TV can use the technology. Mr Mohan Thambe of CDAC said
they have applied for patents abroad.

CDAC was set up as a mission to pursue advanced computing projects and
successfully developed a parallel processing-based supercomputer,
Param, which is now in commercial production.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930118)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEL)(00003)

India - DEC Affiliate Intros Alpha Range 01/22/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- The first of Digital's 64-bit
RISC machines are in India. Digital Equipment India Ltd. (DEIL), DEC's
subsidiary in India, has introduced the DEC AXP series of workstations
and servers, which are based on Alpha AXP, Digital's first
microprocessor with a full RISC implementation and "no operating
system bias."

Alpha was launched three months ago and has found place in the
Guiness Book of World Records as the fastest chip built.

Products launched include both desktop workstations and servers.
Among them is the DEC 3000/400 AXP which operates at 133 MHz and
DEC 3000/500 AXP which has a clock speed of 160 MHz. On the mid
range, there is DEC 4000 AXP, which is positioned as a departmental
server. The high-end begins with the multiprocessor DEC 7000 AXP
which is positioned as a data center server. However, DEIL is not
immediately marketing the mainframe class Alpha machines like
DEC AXP 10000 as they fall above the Composite Theoretical
Performance (CTP) limits prescribed by the American government.

With the Alpha-based DEC AXP machines, DEIL is addressing both the
486 EISA market as well as the market for midrange Unix servers
priced at Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. On the low end, DEIL is offering
3000/400 at a little below Rs 13 lakh. By mid 1993, an EISA-based
AXP system running Windows NT priced at Rs 8 lakh is also expected
to be launched.

DEIL is offering a choice of three operating systems on the Alpha
machines: OSF/1, Open VMS, and the upcoming Windows NT. A choice
of standards including Posix, SQL, TCP/IP, OSI and ANSI, are also
provided besides a choice of hardware interconnects such as
EISA, SCSI-2, Turbochannel, VME, Ethernet, Futurebus and FDDI.

DEIL claims that over 2000 applications are available on Alpha
platform.

The high-end MIPS/Unix machines sold by DEIL will compare with
low-end Alpha machines. "We are offering upgrade paths to Alpha
to our Unix customers," says Kapil Jain, general manager, marketing,
DEIL. Though DEIL will continue supporting its earlier RISC/Unix
machines, the strategy seems to be to persuade its customers to
migrate to Alpha machines.

DEIL has already sold an AXP 3000/400 workstation to Britania
Industries Ltd.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930120)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEL)(00004)

India - Tata-IBM Venture Offers AS/400, RS/6000 01/22/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Tata Information Systems Ltd.
(TISL) has finally put speculation to rest. The IBM-Tata joint
venture has announced its entry into the high-end minicomputer
and workstation market by launching IBM's best-selling mini range
AS/400 and RISC/Unix machine RS/6000.

TISL's menu includes the entire AS/400 range which is an array of
fourteen models. This includes single CPU entry-level minis with
12 terminals to 4 CPU machines with as many as 2,500 terminals
and disk storage capacities up to 124 gigabytes.

The models are categorized into three different families. The
low-end 9402 models, whose price varies between Rs 40 lakh to
50 lakh, are being positioned as central or departmental servers
for large organizations. The 9404 family is the midrange and
comprises four models, priced upwards of Rs 60 lakh. The 9406
family has eight models many of which are mainframe-class machines
priced up to Rs 2 crore.

All models come with IBM's proprietary OS/400 operating system,
and a RDBMS. Facilities like communication support, connectivity
to RS/6000, DEC and HP systems and office automation applications
like Officevision, and a document imaging system are some of the
other highlights.

Introduced in 1988, AS/400 installations worldwide are more
than 200,000 now.

The more recent RS/6000 range of 10 models include desktops,
desksides as also mounted systems. The highlight of the RS/6000
is AIX, IBM's version of Unix. Improvements are in terms of
memory scrubbing and bit scattering functions. The low-end RS/6000
models are slightly more powerful than the 486 EISA machines.
The high-end machines fall into the supermini category with
performance levels exceeding 25 Mflops. Prices vary from Rs
0 lakh to a crore.

TISL is targetting AS/400 primarily at manufacturers. Banking,
financial services and the service industry are some of the
other markets. With increasing competition, TISL has its eye
on the market for public interface systems, which is likely to
open up. The RS/6000 is being targeted both at the commercial and
technical segments. With the twin range, TISL will be vying for a
market estimated at Rs 500 crore over the next one year. The
company has already picked up a Rs 30-lakh order for an AS/400.

Many see TISL's timing of the announcement of these two products
as a tactical move. Even though Anal Jain, vice president, marketing,
TISL stresses, "We have been working on this for sometime now and
we are prepared for the launch." Though TISL is taking over the
marketing and distribution of AS/400 and RS/6000, IBM's Singapore
operations, which have so far been marketing these systems in India,
will not cease to operate, at least not in the near future. "We
will be working together and present a common interface," says
Jain. Even pricing will be the same, as TISL is importing
complete systems.

Now that the Bull-affiliate PSI Data Systems Ltd., is also selling a
RS/6000 machine under its brand name, would that mean any alliance
between the two companies? "PSI is not selling a machine of the
RS/6000 range. It is just a system based on RS/6000 technology
due to the agreement between Bull and IBM," clarifies Jain, "We
will be competing with their DPX-2 like with any other machine."

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930120)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00005)

Russian High-Tech Hermits Hit The Scene 01/22/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Poisk ("Quest"), a weekly Moscow
newspaper, has reshaped its Computermarket monthly supplement.
Rather than continually highlight the ubiquitous IBM PC clones,
Poisk's reporting team has chosen Russian supercomputers as a
hot topic to contrast the chilly Russian winter.

The report says Russian researchers have managed to sustain R&D in
three key supercomputer arenas: traditional vector-pipeline
architectures, novel massively parallel structures, and "non-Vons,"
exotic machines departing radically from classic Von-Neumann style
computing.

Dr. Boris Babayan's group works on an Elbrus 3-1 dual-processor
configuration which offers 1 GFLOPS (one billion floating point
operations per second) peak performance; three pilot sites for Elbrus
software beta-testing have been selected among the most prestigious
nuclear research centers in the Arzamas-16 and Chelyabinsk-70
military research cities. "We know how to optimize instruction-level
parallelism; more than that, we managed to prove Elbrus 3-1 has the
maximum performance attainable for a given hardware platform," Dr.
Babayan states.

"Our cooperation with Sun Microsystems helps us to keep afloat in
supercomputer business," he adds. "The architectural novelties offered
for Elbrus require the best componentry available worldwide; the same is
true for Sun workstations."

The post-SPARC instruction set-level architecture for Sun Microsystems
may become "Elbrus-3 flavored." Elbrus-3's multiprocessor sibling of
Elbrus 3-1 is based on two key concepts -- pipelining and "very wide
instruction word." 10 GFLOPS peak performance is the target for
16-processor Elbrus 3.

This objective seems closely linked with the envisioned success of
the SPARC-Elbrus project featuring 5 million transistors on a single
chip. The prototyping phase for this mammoth chip may begin in
late 1993.

One more project mentioned in Poisk/Computermarket feature
report is the ES 1191 mainframe, the latest Russian attempt to
develop the IBM 30XX clone-breaking 1GFLOPS barrier before 1995.
Persey Research Center in Moscow faces tough chip design problems
with 1191, according to the Poisk report.

The MPP (module parallel processors) niche is more densely populated.
Here only two teams -- one in Moscow and one in Taganrog, Southern
Russia -- pursue indigenous chip design philosophy while numerous
smaller teams with a signal processing background claim to use
Intel i860 and transputer-based designs.

This massive PR campaign by Poisk and other mass media has a
visible objective -- to get the Russian government to pour more
rubles down the pipeline. "Our government stays short-sighted,
missing the real chance to join the supercomputer race. The federal R&D
program is the only appropriate framework for advancing supercomputer
business in Russia... We are ready and willing to apply de-facto world
standards that exist in this area," Professor Vladimir Mel'nikov said.

Dr. Boris Shabanov, sharing his senior colleague's position, adds: "Elbrus
and Elektronika SS BIS [supercomputers] are the most promising
developments. MPP-type architectures should also be supported as we
approach European partners, in Germany and elsewhere."

The monthly computer section in Poisk, a weekly owned by
the Russian Academy of Sciences, is compiled and edited by Mikhail
Dubrovsky, a technology reporter and editor.

(Alexandre Giglavyi & Kirill Tchashchin/19930115)


(NEWS)(IBM)(MOW)(00006)

Russia: IBM In Banking Contract 01/22/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- IBM Russia has won a
contract with the Central Bank to supply a complete banking system
for one of the Siberian regions during 1993-95.

The contract, for an undisclosed sum, calls for the installation
of an IBM-based banking hardware and software system in the Central
Bank's branch in Irkutsk region, Siberia. The company did not discuss
the project's completion time, stating that this will be a test site.
Its success will determine whether further decisions on the banking
contacts are made.

Legal discrepancies and the lack of an established legal base were also
quoted as reasons for the unknown time frame for the project.

As the first step, IBM will reportedly supply two AS/400s to the local
clearing center, and one more to the Russian-Asian Commercial Bank, also
in Irkutsk.

In separate news, IBM representatives have announced that
IBM Russia will no longer be reporting to IBM Trade Development. IBM
Eastern Europe will be responsible for the company's Russian affairs
starting this year.

Company representatives claimed that last year was successful for the
company's Russian business.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930122)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00007)

Apple, Fujitsu Talk Multimedia 01/22/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Apple Computer and Fujitsu are
reportedly hammering out a deal to share Apple's multimedia
software on Fujitsu's computers. Both firms are also reportedly
engaged in creating industry standards for multimedia software,
according to the Nikkei newspaper and the Nikkan Kogyo
newspaper.

Apple Computer and Fujitsu have no public comments
on this issue. However, the newspapers report that they are
discussing the possibility of having Macintosh software on
Fujitsu's large-scale general purpose computers. The possible
agreement may call for Apple to license its multimedia platform
software, Quicktime, to Fujitsu. Any agreement is expected to cover
a wide range of multimedia software issues.

Currently, Apple Computer is developing multimedia computers and
devices with a multiple number of Japanese firms including Toshiba,
Sony, and Sharp.

An informed Newsbytes source says details of the agreement with Fujitsu
are expected to be unveiled early February when Apple Computer's
Chairman John Sculley visits Tokyo for MacWorld Expo. Both firms'
recent talks also include Fujitsu's support of Macintosh maintenance
through Fujitsu's Japanese dealer shops. Apple Computer (Japan) has
already been providing the maintenance services through its dealers
including Canon.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei newspaper says Fujitsu is preparing to
use Quicktime in its new CD-ROM drive, code-named "Silver Stone."
The CD-ROM is slated to be sold for Fujitsu's multimedia PC
the FM-Towns. This implies that users may be able to use Macintosh
software on Fujitsu's PCs in the future.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930122/Press Contact: Apple
Computer, Tokyo, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

Japan - Dell Breaks Price Barrier With $780 PC 01/22/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Dell Computer (Japan) has shocked
the Japanese PC industry with its latest series of ultra-cheap personal
computers. All these PCs are DOS/V-compatible, and the most
low-priced version costs only $780.

Dell Computer's $780 PC is called the 333s/L and it is based on a
33-megahertz 80386SX processor. Although the release of this PC
was predicted a couple of weeks ago, its appearance seems to have caught
the industry by surprise. This PC is about half the price of Compaq's
and IBM Japan's latest DOS/V PCs.

Dell Computer (Japan) has released 13 low-cost personal computers.
These PCs include notebook-type 80386SL-based PC, the 320SLi, which
costs 248,000 yen ($1,980). The 80486-based PC is sold at only
152,000 yen ($1,200).

The major reason for this low price is Dell's low cost distribution.
The distribution cost for the average computer firm is about
30 percent of the retail price of a machine. Dell Computer is spending
only about 19 percent, according to Dell President Michael Dell.
Dell's PCs are sold through direct mail order in Japan. Maintenance
service will also be provided by Dell Computer.

These news PCs are equipped with DOS/V and some popular application
such as Lotus 1-2-3. The PCs are manufactured at Dell's plants in
Texas and Ireland, and upon receipt of purchase orders from customers,
Dell ships the PCs to Japan where there is no import tax on computers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930122/Press Contact: Del Computer,
Tokyo, [phone])


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

 ****Inside A Windows For Workgroups Seminar 01/22/93
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Microsoft's
Windows For Workgroups came to Colorado Springs this week as part of
a sweep across the country, and about 400 local consultants, system
integrators and other interested parties got to see Microsoft's
newest Windows products. The three-hour seminar is laced with occasional
humor to keep one's interest, and provides an opportunity to see what
all the hoopla is about.

The attendees at the seminar were from companies both big and small,
about half are on a network, and the majority were already using
Windows 3.1. Microsoft Technical Marketing Manager Tom Jaffee, the
presenter at the Colorado Springs seminar, told Newsbytes that this
crowd was fairly typical in its make-up compared to other seminars he
has given on WFW, although there were often more people from very
small or very large organizations.

Like Windows, Windows for Workgroups (WFW) is not an operating
system, and still needs DOS to run. That's not true of the
still-to-come Windows NT. What WFW is, is an extension of Windows
3.1 that adds networking capabilities, electronic mail capabilities
within the network, and scheduling. Jaffee said that Microsoft
Mail is the foundation for workgroup computing and when you see it
in use, it's obvious why.

Jaffee uses two large projection screens for easy viewing without
neck-craning to demonstrate how users can send electronic mail,
attach files, sort waiting mail by priority or date, and reply. He
also demonstrates the ease of scheduling a meeting involving
co-workers, with the Scheduling+ module automatically checking the
schedule of everyone, finding a time and date available to all, and
putting the meeting on everyone's schedule.

Users who bought their hardware a few years ago will be happy to
learn that, with a few limitations, WFW will work just fine on a
286-based system, so long as it has 5 megabytes or more of RAM.
Jaffee said performance tests indicate that a 286 with lots of RAM
will outperform a 386 with less system memory. However, 286 users
can't share their info with other users in standard mode. You can
even use an XT-class machine as a WFW workstation, but you won't be
able to load windows or share local resources.

Microsoft seems to have positioned WFW as a competitor to
peer-to-peer networks like those from Novell and Artisoft. There
isn't any advertising yet that compares WFW with other
products, but the buzz seems to be that Microsoft might be
waiting until the ongoing Federal Trade Commission announces
whether it plans sanctions before Microsoft makes a serious
attempt to grab the networking brass ring.

(Jim Mallory/19930121)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Sigma Designs Monitor; Multimedia Kit 01/22/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Sigma Designs has
created a new, 20-inch color monitor, the ColorMax 20T, which is
different from most other monitors in that it is a single
frequency monitor and not a multi-sync monitor.

Sigma Designs personnel told Newsbytes that they have encountered
many potential customers who are not happy with the visual
performance of the multi-sync monitors and would like to purchase
a single frequency monitor that is optimized for that frequency. The
ColorMax 20T is Sigma's answer.

The monitor is based on a Sony Trinitron tube with a 0.31 mm pixel
pitch resolution. The monitor will only work with video cards that
can supply it with 1024 by 768 pixels at a 75 Hz vertical refresh
rate and a 60 KHz horizontal refresh rate. If a particular graphics
card can supply these three frequencies, it should have no
trouble working with the new monitor, Sigma claims. Sigma Designs
makes such a card, the ColorMax Turbo.

Like Sigma's ColorMax 15 and ColorMax 17 monitors, this newest
member of the family meets with the Swedish MPR II standard for low
emissivity. Sigma spokespeople told Newsbytes that one of the
company's current policies is not to ship monitors that fail to meet
with those specifications.

The ColorMax 20T should be available on February 1, 1993. It will
retail for $2499. The ColorMax Turbo board is shipping now for the
Macintosh and it retails for $999.

The second introduction is a new multimedia kit for the PC. Sigma
Designs has taken its multimedia card, the WinStorm board, and
bundled it with an internal CD-ROM drive, all the necessary cabling,
and a collection of software worth $1000, into what it is calling "The
WinStorm CD-ROM kit."

The software that is contained in the package includes Compton's
Multimedia Encyclopedia, Kodak's Photo CD Access Software, a Photo
Sampler, Broderbund's Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? the
deluxe edition, Asymetrix's Multimedia Make Your Point, Animotion's
MCS MusicRacks, and Midisoft's Multimedia Music Library.

The complete kit retails for $1199 and is available now.

(Naor Wallach/19930120/Press Contact: Laura Taylor, Sigma Designs,
510-770-2647/Public Contact: Sigma Designs, 510-770-0100)


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

Fast WAN Router From Netronix 01/22/93
PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Netronix has
announced a new router that it claims is one of the fastest in
supporting wide area networking (WAN) links: TokenMaster 5000.

Its main advance over previous models is that it supports up to
four T-1 links at significantly higher data rates of 3 Mbps each.
This high performance is due to the presence of a new integrated
circuit from Stac Electronics. The new Stac 9706 data compression
chip allows the Netronix router to get the data from the LAN,
compress it, and transmit it across the T1 link while achieving
greater than T1 data rates.

A similarly equipped Netronix router needs to be present on the
other side of the T1 link for this whole set-up to work. Netronix has
had previous experience with chips from Stac Electronics. The
company's other routers also have Stac chips performing compression
on the WAN links. However, the TokenMaster 5000 relies on the new
chip.

Company personnel told Newsbytes that Stac's older chips could
not keep up with multiple T1 links at full data rates. Stac
developed this new chip in consultation with Netronix and
especially to meet Netronix's needs. Netronix performed as
a beta test site for Stac Electronics during the testing period for
the new chip. Now that the chip is ready, Netronix is making it
available to customers in the TokenMaster 5000. Netronix officers
further told Newsbytes that they do not believe the requirement
for two TokenMasters on both ends of the line is unique. According
to the company, every WAN router vendor will only sell a customer
a two router set-up.

Netronix is shipping beta versions of the TokenMaster 5000 to
selected sites. The testing has been successful so Netronix expects
to begin shipments of the device by mid-February. A TokenMaster 5000
configured with three links and the compression chip will retail for
$5990.

(Naor Wallach/19930119/Press Contact: Chuck Byers, Hayes/Gardiner PR
for Netronix, 408-988-3545/Public Contact: Netronix, 707-769-3300)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00012)

New For Mac - Intercon UUCP Product 01/22/93
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Intercon Systems has
reached an agreement with ICE Engineering of Witmore Lake, Michigan
which allows Intercon to license ICE's Macintosh-based UUCP product.
This product will be called UUCP/Connect by Intercon and will be sold
and supported by Intercon.

UUCP/Connect provides a UUCP G level protocol access to Macintosh
computers. This is especially useful to Macintosh users who are not
on a network with Unix users but still would like to take advantage
of Internet services. Until now the only way to accomplish this would
be to get a complete Unix-like communications package which would have
NFS, TCP/IP and other features that a Mac user may not particularly
want or need. With UUCP/Connect, that same user can now purchase a
package that provides only those functions they want.

Intercon believes the product rounds out its line of communications
offerings.

UUCP/Connect offer the user file copying by using the UUCP G
protocol. It also offers e-mail delivery and notification to the
user through the Apple menu. There is also a mail reader, and an
electronic news reader. Finally, the package offers modem control
features for any Hayes-compatible modem and VT102, VT320 and TTY
terminal emulations.

There are two levels of the package available. Single users are
offered the UUCP/Connect Client version which retails for $295.
For a network of Macintoshes Intercon is selling the UUCP/Connect
Host version for $395. Bundles for 10, 25, 50, and
100 users are also available.

(Naor Wallach/19930119/Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Woolf Media
Relations for Intercon, 415-508-1554/Public Contact: Intercon, 703-
709-9890)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00013)

 ****Smart Copier Machine Translates Languages 01/22/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Japan's major office equipment
maker Ricoh has a first. The company has developed a copying machine
that automatically translates English words into Japanese.

Ricoh's latest copying machine is called the Imagio. The
translation software is called "Tanyaku-man" which means "a word
translator." The Imagio was developed last year and is currently sold
Japan as an "intelligent copying machine." It can not only copy but,
when connected with a personal computer, will print out data files.
Also, it can be used as a fax machine.

The language translation features works as follows. A translation
software disk is inserted into the disk drive of the Imagio. The
software has an English dictionary of about 37,000 words. Use is
simply a matter of copying an English document. The Imagio prints
out the Japanese translation for each English word that is registered
in its English dictionary.

Ricoh says it takes about 2 minutes to print out a 700-word English
document. The machine's scanner reads printed documents including
newspapers and books.

The retail price of this system is rather expensive -- the
copying machine costs 980,000 yen ($7,850), and the software and
adaptor cost 430,000 yen ($3,450). Ricoh will ship the
software and adaptor at the end of March.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930120/Press Contact: Ricoh, +81-3-
3479-3014)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(PAR)(00014)

Alcatel Grabs Thailand, Pakistan Contracts 01/22/93
PARIS, FRANCE 1993 JAN 22 (NB) --Alcatel-Alsthom's Communications
division has won two contracts for public telecommunications
in Asia.

In Thailand, the Paris-based telecom and engineering
giant has won a contract to install 250 optical and hertzian
transmission connections, as part of large overhaul of that
country's public network. The contract is worth 400 million French
francs ($74.4 million) to the French telecommunications manufacturer,
which is working hard to build up its market share in Asia.

Alcatel will continue to seek other contracts under the Thai
renovation, company sources say, and is reportedly well-placed
with Thai Telephone and Telegraph.

In Pakistan, Alcatel has grabbed a contract for 140,000 new
lines. The contract is worth 300 million French francs ($55.5
million). Pakistan is not planning the major overhaul of its
network that Thailand has initiated, but further contracts for
renovation are expected to be up for grabs there in the near future.

Alcatel is betting heavily on growth in Asia. The company now has
contracts in Malaysia, Vietnam, and India as well. However the
company is expected to suffer some setbacks in China, where the decay
of diplomatic relations between France and the People's Republic
is likely to cost it some contracts. It is possible that Germany's
Siemens, which recently picked up a Chinese telecom contract, will
pick up the slack left by the decay in relations between France
and mainland China.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930120/Press Contact: Jean-Claude Olmi, 10,
rue Latecoerel 78141 Velizy, France


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(PAR)(00015)

Siemens Division-Ameritech In Networking Accord 01/22/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) --Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, a
division of the Munich, Germany-based Siemens, AG, announced an
agreement yesterday with the American telecom operator Ameritech
to provide intelligent networking technology to the US company.

Siemens Stromberg-Carlson will sell Ameritech its Advanced
Intelligent Network 0.1 Service Switching Points for central office
switching systems. Siemens Stromberg Carlson's technology allows
new intelligent networking services to be delivered faster, a
spokesman for the Boca Raton, Florida-based company said.
The value of the sale was not announced.

The system will be used on all systems installed or on
order throughout the five states in which Ameritech operates
phone services.

Siemens Stromberg-Carlson is 50 percent owned by the German
electronics giant Siemens. The rest of the company is owned
by the English company GEC, itself 50 percent owned by Siemens. The
company manufactures central office digital switching systems, packet
switching systems and transmission equipment. Siemens Stromberg-Carlson
is the third-largest equipment supplier to the US public
telecommunications networks.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930122/Press Contact:Alice Andors, Siemens
Stromberg-Carlson Boca Raton, Florida tel [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(PAR)(00016)

Cap Gemini Sogeti To Create Next Software 01/22/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) --Cap Gemini Sogeti America, a
division of the Paris, France-based software and services company,
has an agreement with Steve Jobs' Next Computer to provide
customized software for Next clients.

The New York, NY-based CGS America will work in tandem with
Next when the computer manufacturer sells a system, offering
specialized software designed to the customer's specifications.
CGS will also act a systems integrator for the client if necessary.

The collaboration between Next and CGS will concern large-scale
company systems, which are CGS' strongest area. The two companies
are targeting finance and insurance companies for the collaboration.
No financial information was released about the agreement.

The French CGS is second in the world in software and services
sales, after the American Electronic Data Systems. But while CGS
is Europe's largest, its market share in the US remains relatively
small.

In an American marketing campaign this year, CGS has also made similar
agreements for specific systems with IBM, DEC, and several
other US computer manufacturers.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930122)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

Unisys Reports Profits On Quarter, Year 01/22/93
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Just when it
seemed none of the old guard of computer companies could make
money, Unisys has reported a profit for its fourth quarter
and 1992. The company saw a slight decline in overall revenues,
but substantial gains in the growth areas of Unix systems,
software, and services.

Unisys is shifting its emphasis into those growth areas, said
company spokesman Peter Hynes, and its Unix workstations,
personal computing, service, and consulting business now accounts
for about $3 billion of its revenues, while traditional mainframe
sales and maintenance make up about $3.5 billion. The former
category is likely to be bigger than the mainframe and
maintenance business soon, Hynes said.

However, the company also reported double-digit growth in sales
of its A Series and 2200 Series mainframes. Tom Willmott,
vice-president of the Boston-based consulting firm Aberdeen
Group, said the A Series machines are "running counter to all
industry claims about mainframe death."

In the year ended Dec. 31, Unisys had revenues of $8.42 billion,
down from $8.70 billion in 1991. Net income was $361.2 million or
$1.40 per share. That compared with a net loss of $1.4 billion or
$9.37 per common share, in 1991.

The 1992 net income included a 36-cents-per-share tax benefit
from operating loss carry-forwards. The 1991 loss included a
special charge of $1.2 billion.

In the fourth quarter, Unisys recorded net income of $139.2
million or 58 cents per share on revenues of $2.26 billion. This
compared with net income of $80.5 million on revenues of $2.46
billion in the fourth quarter of 1991. Results for the fourth
quarter of 1992 included 15 cents per share from the tax benefits
of operating loss carry-forwards.

Unisys said commercial orders in the United States were higher in
the fourth quarter, but a decline in orders from Europe and Japan
and to its Paramax defense products subsidiary resulting in an
overall order decline.

Paramax has been hurt by defense cutbacks, Hynes admitted, but
Unisys hopes to make the business grow again by shifting its
focus to supplying civilian areas of government. Paramax is
developing air traffic control systems, postal terminals, and
weather radar systems.

While revenues were down in 1992, company officials said their
revenues from Unix systems posted strong growth, as did sales of
software and services.

In 1993, officials said, the company plans to build on a growing
services capability, speed up the sale of open systems technology
to its existing mainframe customers, and emphasize
interoperability with other vendors' products as well as
client/server computing technology.

The company also said its 1993 business plans assume revenue will
be about the same as in 1992. Hynes said Unisys expects continued
weakness in Europe and Japan. He added that while the company is
not counting on significant revenue growth this year, it does
expect profits to rise.

Willmott said Unisys has handled market changes well so far, and
its greatest problem may be convincing prospective new customers
that it can avoid the problems most other old-guard mainframe
vendors have encountered.

(Grant Buckler/19930121/Press Contact: Peter Hynes, Unisys,
215-986-6948)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

IBM Canada Profitable In 1992 01/22/93
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Close on the heels
of its parent company's first-ever quarterly operating loss, IBM
Canada Ltd., has announced a return to profitability. After losing
C$17 million in 1991, the subsidiary has logged net income of
C$800,000 in the year ended Dec. 31, 1992.

IBM Canada's 1992 revenues were C$6.76 billion, up from C$6.25
billion in 1991. These figures include revenues from
majority-owned subsidiaries, including ISM Information Systems
Management Ltd., ExperComp Services Ltd., Nulogix Technical
Services Inc., PC ServicePartners Inc., and Polar Bear Software
Corp., IBM Canada officials said.

The net income figure includes before-tax, one-time charges of
C$165 million, mainly related to the restructuring plans
announced by the parent company in December.

Bob Waite, director of communications at IBM Canada, said the
company was able to do better than its parent firm this year
mostly because of its smaller size. "You can turn an organization
around perhaps a bit more quickly if you have smaller, more
agile work force."

He added that IBM Canada started restructuring earlier than its
parent in the United States, partly because the Canadian economy
slipped into recession earlier and deeper than the US. And he
gave some of the credit to IBM Canada's management.

IBM Canada reported 15 percent growth in its domestic marketing
and services business, and said it did particularly well in
services and software. Services and software now make up 52
percent of IBM Canada's revenue, officials said, versus 39
percent three years ago.

The company also said it shipped record volumes of personal
computers in the fourth quarter, and credited a rash of new
models introduced in the early fall.

(Grant Buckler/19930122/Press Contact: Bob Waite, IBM Canada,
416-474-3048; Mike Quinn, IBM Canada, 416-474-3900)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00019)

CA Has RISC Deal With IBM, New VAR Program 01/22/93
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Computer
Associates International has announced it will bring its
CA-Unicenter systems management software to IBM's RISC
System/6000 computers. The company also announced a new support
program for CA-Unicenter and other software, and reported strong
revenue and profit growth in its third fiscal quarter.

CA announced a deal with IBM under which it will adapt
CA-Unicenter to run on the AIX version of the Unix operating
system used on the RS/6000 workstations and servers, saying this
would make it the only vendor to provide such software for IBM's
three proprietary mainframe operating systems (MVS, VM, and VSE),
OS/2, AIX, and other Unix systems.

The announcement is "the logical next step" in the company's
strategy of offering systems management capability across many
different hardware systems, said Sanjay Kumar, senior
vice-president, during a conference call with analysts and
reporters.

CA normally delivers software for a new platform within a year of
announcing it, Kumar said, and "we would hope that we can beat
that" with the RS/6000 version of Unicenter.

While CA will do the development work, IBM will be involved in
joint marketing and sales of CA-Unicenter for the RS/6000. The
new release will work with CA-Unicenter on other hardware, the
company said.

Computer Associates also announced changes in its support program
for Unix systems users. The company said it is doubling the
number of its client service representatives, whose job is to
work with existing users of its software. It is also setting up a
new operating division to license software through new
distribution channels, such as hardware resellers.

Third, CA is shifting responsibility for sales of its PC products
from a separate micro sales operation into its primary sales
division. The company said this would facilitate corporate-wide
licensing of software and make it easier for its people to help
clients downsize from mainframe to personal computer software.

The company also announced its financial results for the third
quarter, ended Dec. 31. CA reported net income of $80.21 million,
up 54 percent from $54.22 million in the same quarter last year.
Revenues rose some 20 percent, from $419.01 million to $501.53
million.

"We are obviously extremely pleased," Kumar said, adding that the
results were "better than we expected."

(Grant Buckler/19930122/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391)


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

Triumvirate Replaces Miller At Wang 01/22/93
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Richard W.
Miller will leave the post of chairman and chief executive
officer of Wang Laboratories, Inc. In a move presented as a
cost-cutting measure, Miller will be replaced by a triumvirate of
three top executives.

Wang's new corporate executive office consists of Michael F. Mee,
chairman and chief financial officer; Donald P. Casey, president
and chief development officer; and Joseph M. Tucci, president and
chief executive officer. All three were executive vice
presidents reporting to Miller.

Mee is responsible for finance and administration, Casey for
research and development and Tucci for operations. The new
organization is effective immediately. Miller will remain on
Wang's board of directors.

Analyst Tom Willmott, vice-president of The Aberdeen Group in
Boston, said the move reflects a sad state of affairs at Wang.
The company that was once a leader in minicomputers and office
automation is "still flopping around like a bluefish on the
dock," he said.

While it is understandable the company would feel it could not
afford Miller, Willmott said, the question is whether it can
afford a trio of top executives who among them are earning close
to $1.5 million per year.

He also suggested Miller's departure had something to do with the
apparent failure so far of a strategy of focusing the company on
image processing technology. The last quarter of 1992 was a
watershed for Wang because it finally shipped image processing
hardware based on IBM's RISC System/6000 workstations, as well as
new software tools. The company's next quarterly results will
show whether the image-processing strategy is finally bearing
fruit, Willmott said.

Miller, 52, became chief executive of Wang in 1989, and took over
the title of chairman after founder An Wang died last year.

Mee, Casey and Tucci were all recruited at Wang by Miller and
recently joined him in an operations group to handle the
company's reorganization under Chapter 11 of US Bankruptcy Law.

Mee, 50, joined Wang in January 1990 as executive vice president
and chief financial officer. Previously, he had been
vice-president of finance and chief financial officer at Norton
Co. Tucci, 44, joined Wang as executive vice president,
operations in August 1990 from Unisys Corp., where he was
president of US Information Systems. Casey, 46, arrived at Wang
in September 1991 as executive vice-president and chief
development officer from Lotus Development Corp., where he was
vice-president responsible for spreadsheet development and
marketing. Casey had previously worked at Apple Computer and
IBM.

(Grant Buckler/19930122/Press Contact: Frank Ryan, Wang,
508-967-7038; Ed Pignone, Wang, 508-967-4917)


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

Canada - ISM Reports Revenue Up, Profit Down 01/22/93
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- ISM Information
Systems Management Corp., Canada's largest computer services and
outsourcing firm, has reported 31-percent growth in revenues in
fiscal 1992. The company's net income was down, however, due
largely to poor results and restructuring in Alberta and central
Ontario.

ISM earned net income of C$507,000, or three cents per share, on
revenues of C$379.9 million in the year ended Dec. 31. This
included losses of 14 cents per share for Alberta and the central
region (which includes Toronto and southwestern Ontario) and a
nine cents-per-share write-off for restructuring in those areas,
company officials said.

Because of changes in the company in 1991, the comparative
figures provided are for the last six months of 1991, annualized.
Earnings were eight cents per share for that period.

Ray Lancashire, a spokesman for the company, said poor results in
the two regions were offset by strong performance in British
Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the company
federal-government business.

He blamed problems in Ontario primarily on a general economic
slump in that province, adding that the loss of one major
customer -- the Canadian subsidiary of an American firm that
chose to move its computing operations south of the border --
contributed.

In Alberta, ISM's poor performance through most of 1992 was due
largely to a lack of presence in the province, Lancashire said.
In mid-December, the company formed a partnership with Telus, the
holding company for the telephone company serving the province.
As a result of that deal, Lancashire said, the new ISM-Alberta
organization will "definitely" be profitable in 1993.

Prospects for central Ontario are harder to predict, he said.

(Grant Buckler/19930122/Press Contact: Jane Mowat or Ray
Lancashire, ISM, 416-351-6301 or 306-781-5331)


(EDITORIAL)(IBM)(ATL)(00022)

Editorial: Warning to John Akers 01/22/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
The best thing Ronald Reagan did for me was turn me into a
gambler. I'd always avoided horses, sports betting, and even
lotteries, but when they let me set up an Individual Retirement
Account, tax-free, I stashed some cash with a discount broker and
started to play.

I play stocks. There's more information on the horses, and the
bookies take less vigorish, which they call trading commission.
Sometimes I've won, as on Apple, Coca-Cola, even Caesar's World.
Sometimes I've lost, as on Sequent Computer, BellSouth, and JP
Morgan. I usually go for assets I think are undervalued, big
companies at the bottom of their trading ranges.

Recently I took a flyer on IBM, at $48 per share. Currently I'm
"under water" as they say in the stock betting game. IBM was down
to $46.37 yesterday, and Microsoft's market value was higher.
Needless to say I'm not a happy camper. What all analysts now
demand, and what this shareholder demands, is that IBM Chairman
John Akers take radical steps to reinvent his company and get at
least part of it back on the fast track, where it will be worth
something. Or else.

It's worth mentioning that this, in the past, was IBM's genius.
In 1914, Thomas Watson Sr. took over an unfocused office
equipment conglomerate called the Computing-Tabulating-Recording
Company, or CTR. He renamed it IBM, and found in its diverse
product line one great jewel, a tabulating machine based on punch
cards. Watson bet his company on punch cards, and was rewarded
when the New Deal demanded huge increases in information
collection and analysis. (Much as Medicare, decades later, made
Ross Perot.)

By the late 1940s IBM was a sizable, though not a giant company,
the unquestioned leader in its field. But Watson's son, Thomas
Watson Jr., again bet the whole bankroll on a new, untried
technology, building the first IBM computer. At the time, punch
cards were still faster and more reliable, but they were
mechanical. Watson Jr. knew that, because they relied on
electrical connections, computers could and would one day
supplant them. Needless to say, he was right.

There is a cost to being a risk-taker. In his book, "Father, Son
& Co," Watson Jr. admits that problems in creating the IBM 360
mainframe in the 1960s cost his brother Dick the chance to become
chairman and, maybe, helped end his life prematurely in overwork,
shame, and bitterness. But when you ride the fastest horses,
you're going to get thrown sometimes -- those are the breaks.
There is no safe route.

When PCs came on the scene, IBM forgot the lesson. It ceded
control of the market to outsiders Intel and Microsoft, because
it had been late to the party and wanted some fast, easy profit.
It became calcified, with layers and layers of bureaucrats like
John Akers, men who weren't even fit to shine Tom Watson's shoes,
believing they had a sacred right to the business because they
had the letters IBM on their boxes. By the time Akers figured out
the game, with the PS/2 Micro Channel bus and OS/2 operating
system, it was too late. The parade had passed IBM by.

Now the widows and orphans, the safe stock buyers who took their
IBM holdings as a matter of faith, and made its annual
shareholders meeting seem like church services, have sold out at
a loss to folks like me. We have no illusions, we have no
patience, and we have no loyalty. When Akers' team comes up for
re-election this year, we're going to vote no.

And I conclude with this warning to John Akers. Get out now,
while you still have your pension, and some honor. Find a risk-
taker, even someone willing to break up the company, or we fast-
buck artists will find one for you. One who won't be gentle. One
who'll throw you and your whole incompetent crowd out on its
ears, without stock options, without pensions, fighting lawsuits
for malfeasance until you're wearing signs reading "Will Work for
Food."

Our numbers are growing. That's the way it is with public
companies. Once you start losing money, there's blood in the
water, and the sharks start circling. I'm just a little shark,
but I'm hungry.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930122)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

Bell Earnings Continue On Track 01/22/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Phone company
earnings continue to come in. So far they're all positive,
showing modest gains over a year ago, and within analysts'
estimates. This despite only modest growth in the number of
access lines or call volumes, indicating a slow-growing economy.

NYNEX earned $1.31 billion, doubling last year's figures, despite
the fact that total sales were actually down slightly. Bell
Atlantic earned $1.34 billion for the year, with revenues
slightly higher at $12.6 billion. US West decided to expense its
future obligations for retiree health and life benefits,
reporting a net loss of $614 million on sales of $10.2 billion,
down from $10.5 billion a year ago. Generally, the large phone
companies continue to benefit from automation, cutting employee
numbers while sales remain either stable or slightly higher. And
cellular service revenues continue to grow rapidly for all the
companies, promising future profits.

The stable, even improving outlook has encouraged the companies
to continue their automation investments. Trumpeting such
investments will be key to maintaining the trend toward
deregulation under President Clinton, analysts say. US West,
which invested $2.4 billion in its network last year, said it
will put another $2.2 billion into improvements this year. NYNEX
will work with Philips Electronics of the Netherlands on a new
screen telephone system, which will be able to display text while
voices add more instructions. That phone will be available next
year. And Ameritech said it will buy Service Switching Points
from Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, for use on EWSD switches it has
bought for use in its five-state area. The SSPs will help it
provide Advanced Intelligent Network services like Multi-Location
Extension Dialing and Outgoing Call Restriction to its business
customers. And Cincinnati Bell said its CBIS unit won a $12.8
million contract to sell order processing software to the
Australian Overseas Telephone Corp., operator of the former
Telecom Australia monopoly in that nation. Telecom will install
the order processing system under the name AXIS.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930122/Press Contact: Cincinnati Bell, John
Pratt, 513/723-3669; Siemens, Alice Andors, 407-994-7433)


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

Fourth Wave In Motorola Messaging Software Deal 01/22/93
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Fourth Wave
Technologies of Detroit signed an important alliance with
Motorola's Customer Owned Paging Operation, a unit of its Paging
Products Group. Under the deal, Fourth Wave will link its Wireless
Application Programming Interfaces or WAPI, which works under Microsoft
Windows, with Motorola's wireless paging hardware systems.

The two companies will first develop versions of Motorola's Alert
Central system under Microsoft Windows and Windows/NT. It's
aimed at companies with manufacturing and processing operations,
facilities management, security monitoring, hospital
communications and automatic dispatching. Alarm companies, for
instance, can be alerted of break-ins as soon as they happen,
without having to wait for a security guard to call the alarm
company.

Steve Spiro, director of Motorola's Customer Owned Paging
Operation, called the deal a marriage between on-site wireless
technology and the Windows applications environment in offices.

The Windows versions of Alert Central and other products from the
alliance will all be based on Fourth Wave's Windows wireless
messaging architecture and Wireless Application Programming
Interfaces. This means companies with local area networks can
link applications like personal information managers (PIMs), mail
systems, and LAN management tools to Motorola's paging networks,
allowing for automatic alerts of employees when they have mail,
need to go to appointments, or need to fix their LANs.

Fourth Wave is best known for its wireless communication software
products like WinBeep and WinBeep for Networks, which also
support shared modems and phone books through programs like
Microsoft Mail and Lotus cc:Mail.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930122/Press Contact: Motorola, Steven
Sparks, 407/364-3281; Fourth Wave Technologies, Tim Hudson,
313/362-2288)


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

 ****High-Speed Modem "Standard" Developed As V.Fast Founders 01/22/93
CIRENCESTER, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) --
Because of continuing frustration with the slow development of
the proposed V.Fast high speed modem standard, no less than 18
companies on both sides of the Atlantic are behind an interim
standard known as V.32terbo.

While V.Fast will push data transmission speeds to 28,800 bits
per second, the proposed standard has been echoing around the
meetings CCITT international telecom standards committee for the
last 18 months. Sources in the modem manufacturing community
suggest that modems featuring the technology are still almost a
year away.

Part of the problem with V.Fast is the totally new transmission
technology involved. V.32terbo, on the other hand, takes the
existing V.32Bis (14,400 bps) standard and enhances it to take
advantage of the digital telephone circuits to which many phone
users on both sides of the Atlantic now have access.

V.32terbo pushes V.32Bis to support 16,800 and 19,200 bps data
transmission speeds. Bob Jones, Sonix Communications' managing
director, told Newsbytes that the standard is not CCITT approved,
but has gathered support from a wide cross-section of the modem
and general communications community.

Sonix is just one of the companies getting behind the V.terbo
standard. Other companies endorsing V.32terbo include AT&T
Paradyne, Com 1, CXR Telecom, Dataflex Design, Data Race, Global
Village Communications, Multitech, Natsemi, Nokia Datacomms,
Phylon and Xircom.

While the V.32Bis transmission standard is technically complex,
the technology works by "sampling" the signal in an X-Y graphical
format, creating a series of "constellation points." The number
of constellation points is limited by the bandwidth of the
telephone network, as defined by the standard.

Because the V.32Bis standard was defined in the last decade, when
the majority of telephone circuits were analogue in nature,
today's digital networks support a much higher bandwidth.
V.32terbo increases the number of constellation points -- samples,
in effect -- so increasing the amount of data that can be
transmitted over the link.

"It's existing technology that has been enhanced to take
advantage of the better lines available today. On some
transatlantic calls, we acknowledge that V.32terbo modems will
fall back to 14,400 bps speeds or lower, but where the circuit
bandwidth is available, v.32terbo will push the speed up," Jones
said.

Sonix's range of modems, launched late last year at the
Telecommunications Manager's Association (TMA) show in Brighton,
England, are software-upgradable. Jones told Newsbytes existing
users of his company's modems will be offered the chance to
upgrade to V.32terbo as soon as the V.32terbo modems become
available.

"I'm not giving any precise dates for the introduction of a
V.32terbo modem from ourselves, but we will be first to market in
the UK," he said.

To support the new standard, the 18 companies concerned are
working on getting a bulletin board system up and running to
promote V.32terbo to interested parties and, if course, third-
party modem manufacturers.

(Steve Gold/19930122/Press & Public Contact: Sonix Communications
- Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00026)

SCO Intros Japanese Open Desktop, Elects CEO 01/22/93
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Unix is
often regarded as the driving force behind open systems and
client/server corporate networking environments. The high
potential for Unix sales in the Japanese market has been
addressed with Santa Cruz Operation's (SCO's) introduction of
SCO Nihongo Open Desktop, a Japanese-language version of SCO
Open Desktop. Also, the company has also elected Lars Turndal,
currently senior vice president and managing director, as
president and chief executive officer.

SCO Open Desktop is designed as an operating environment for
386/486-based workstations and servers. It was first introduced
in January 1990 and combines SCO Unix System with a graphical
user interface. According to the company it offers comprehensive
networking for interoperability with multiple vendor platforms,
and DOS services in a unified, open systems environment.

In announcing the product, the company said that SCO Nihongo
Open Desktop enables "industry and government to build
client-server computing networks with cost-effective,
industry-standard hardware."

Sam Spadafora, SCO's senior vice president, worldwide sales and
general manager, Americas and Northeast Asia, said of the product,
"SCO Nihongo Open Desktop is the first operating environment that
enables Japan's business and government to gain the full benefits
of important international trends such as downsizing,
client-server computing, and open systems. Japanese-language
customers who want to take advantage of these trends can now
benefit from the lower hardware costs, the proven reliability, and
the protection of computing investments that SCO Open Desktop
has been delivering for years in other international markets."

The company says that SCO Nihongo Open Desktop features all the
capabilities of the English-language version of SCO Open Desktop
2.0, along with a range of services designed specifically for
Japanese-language users. It runs on all industry-standard 386/486
computers based on ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), EISA
(Extended ISA), and MCA (Micro Channel Architecture), including
the new Japanese OADG standard machines.

Both character-based and graphical X Window System applications
that rely on the input and display of Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji
characters, are supported. The system includes Japanese-language
input, editing, printing and terminal- emulator facilities. It also
includes support for standard Japanese keyboards and standard
printers.

SCO Nihongo Open Desktop will be available on March 1.

In addition to selecting Lars Turndal as president and CEO, SCO's
board also restructured the company's management team. Among
other board decisions were: the election of Jim Harris, currently
president and chief executive officer, as chairman of the board;
and the promotion of Doug Michels, currently executive vice
president, to the newly created position of executive vice
president, chief technical officer.

According to SCO, Turndal, 56, has more than three decades of
experience in the computer industry, including 19 years in
general management. He has held senior international management
positions with Sperry Univac, Digital Equipment, MSI Data,
Memorex and Burroughs. Prior to joining SCO in September
1988, he was the senior vice president, international at MSI,
which produces portable data collection equipment. Before
that he was president of Memorex Corp.'s international group.
A native of Sweden, he holds a degree in electronics.

"The successful companies of the '90s will be those that can
promote stable profitability within an environment of change,"
said Turndal. "In the future, in addition to serving our existing
customers, I believe that our growth will come primarily from
product development, strategic partnerships and alliances, and
through acquisitions."

(Ian Stokell/19930122/Press Contact: Zee Zaballos,
408-427-7156, The Santa Cruz Operation Inc.)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00027)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 01/22/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

The January premier issue of Wired tackles military combat
simulations, sex in media, looks at the Inslaw case, and
carries an editorial on "What's Wrong with HDTV."

PC World for February contains a special 84-page multimedia and
tests 25 high-performance PCs looking for the best value.

The January/February issue of Networking Management Europe looks
at the impact of the EC on networking and vice versa.

i.T. for January (formerly Canadian Data Systems) looks at what
happens to the information systems departments when two large
companies merge - specifically the Molson and Carling O'Keefe
brewing company merger.

The Office for January has a slew of buyer's guides for
everything from shredders to facsimile systems.

Networking Management for December reviews broadband packet in a
cover story subtitled "The Future of Broadband Here."

Management Information Systems Quarterly (University of Minnesota
and The Society for Information Management) explores the need for
a unified code of ethical standards for information systems
professionals and the relationship between the CEO and CIO.

Workstation News for February looks at Tryonics which sells
"mature" (used) H-P systems and questions whether distributed
computing maximizes network resources.

Government Computer News dated January 18 describes a new message
net planned by the Department of Defense and has a buyer's guide
to GUI spreadsheets.

Communicationsweek for the week of the 18th describes the AT&T,
StrataCom and Cisco asynchronous transfer mode alliance.

Network World for the 18th looks at possible pitfalls in
migrating to 32-bit operating systems.

Informationweek dated January 18 looks at Clinton's high-tech
urge and says there are strings attached to corporate use of
wireless communications.

February's Boardwatch Magazine shows how to send and receive e-
mail over Internet through CompuServe, American Online, and
GEnie.

Macworld for February explores PowerBook upgrades.

Computerworld for the week of January 18 says Cisco will market a
faster router.

Computer Reseller News for the 18th says that the software
industry is at a critical software stage where pricing pressure
is forcing changes.

(John McCormick/19930122)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00028)

 ****Microsoft Will Ship Maintenance Fix For Project 01/22/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation says it will shortly release a maintenance fix for
Microsoft Project 3.0 which will repair five problems with the project
management program.

Microsoft spokesperson Erin Carney told Newsbytes the changes being
made with the maintenance release shouldn't be considered bugs or
changes that most general users have to have. She said two of the
modifications affect only to non-US users. The others generally
apply to "very heavy users that have very specific circumstances."

One fix changes the start of the work week from Sunday to Monday,
which is more standard for non-US users, according to Carney.
Another changes the method of numbering weeks for non-US customers.
There's also a change for file sharing resource pools to correct the
problem intensive users with limited system memory have had.

A change is also being made in the roll-up feature that changes the
Gantt palette setting, so the user can change the appearance of the
rolled-up milestones to create multiple roll-up formats. Finally,
Paste Link will allow the user to paste a percent complete value
from another Windows application. Presently such a value can only be
pasted from within Project.

Asked if many complaints had been received, Carney told Newsbytes
"In the sheer volume of calls it was pretty low, but they
(developers) heard the same thing more than once, so it became an
issue." Carney said that because of the relatively few complaints
received, users who think they need the fix will have to request it
by calling Microsoft's toll-free number. The free disk is expected
to be ready to ship by the second week of February.

Microsoft Project 3.0 shipped in March of 1992, and has a suggested
retail price of $695. Carney said the company will probably release
version 4.0 of the Windows-based program before the end of the year.

(Jim Mallory/19930122/Press contact: Erin Carney, Microsoft,
206-936-9308; Reader contact: 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00029)

SEMATECH Tools Reduce Space Needed On Silicon Chips 01/22/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Researchers at the Texas
research consortium SEMATECH say they have developed tools for
computer chip makers that will reduce by half the space between
circuits on a silicon chip.

SEMATECH is a research consortium of 11 US chip companies and the
Department of Defense.

The Sematech announcement says the new tools will allow more
circuits to fit on a chip in less space, providing the ability to
increase power and speed. Sematech says the development enhances
the competitiveness of the domestic chip industry.

Sematech Chief Executive Officer William Spencer says the
technology can lead to greater market share and higher employment.
"We feel we should be able to extend the US semiconductor lead in
areas such as microprocessors, automotive electronics, computers, and
application-specific semiconductors."

Until now US chipmakers have had to rely on imported equipment to
produce chips with circuits that are .35 microns apart. That's
about 200 times thinner than a human hair. The current standard is
 .8 microns. Sematech says it has been working on the .35 micron
technology since 1987, when the consortium was formed. About $600
million has gone into shrinking circuit spacing.

However, don't look for any immediate changes as a result of the
development. SEMATECH says it will take at least two years for any
products to appear that use the technology. However, the
organization is not resting on its laurels. With about $400 million
remaining in its budget for shrinking circuit spacing, the group
is aiming for a .25 micron spacing by the end of 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19930122/Press contact: William Spencer, Sematech,
512-356-3500)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00030)

 ****IBM Software Execs Still Bullish On OS/2 01/22/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Despite its parent
company's record losses, the president of IBM's Personal Software
Products (PSP) division is optimistic -- even bullish -- about
the future.

In a briefing at the Winter Windows & OS/2 Conference in San Jose,
California, division president, Lee Reiswig, reflected on the
successes of the division's most visible product, OS/2, and
outlined plans for the coming year as OS/2 version 2.1 continues
in beta testing. "We've come a long way in the last year,"
Reiswig said.

OS/2 2.0 began shipping in March of 1992. By the end of the year,
IBM had shipped more than two million copies. Also by the end of
1992, more than 1,200 OS/2 32-bit applications from more than 500
vendors were shipping, and major software developers such as Lotus
Development Corporation had committed to moving entire product
lines to the OS/2 platform.

Reiswig declined to give an exact date for the shipment of OS/2
version 2.1, saying only "we'll ship it when it's ready," but
adding that he expected that to be "in the near future."

John Patrick, vice president of marketing and sales for the
Personal Software Products division, discussed an aggressive
advertising plan for OS/2 that includes an increased budget,
product-specific -- rather than image-oriented -- advertising,
and an emphasis on trade publications rather than business
publications.

PSP's sales and marketing efforts will also be bolstered by brand
management teams for each major product line. These teams work
closely with engineering to ensure customer concerns are met and
make decisions about distribution channels and marketing. Patrick
also described PSP's enhanced developer services program, which
provides easier access for corporate developers. He was
enthusiastic about the addition this week of John Osborne, previously
with Zenith Data Systems, as director of sales for PSP's US
business, a new position.

A discussion of IBM's position in the personal software market
wouldn't be complete without mentioning Microsoft, which many
believe is poised to de-throne IBM. Patrick described the Personal
Software Products division's positioning against Microsoft. IBM
has the experience (with such issues as security) to help
big users successfully manage large, networked systems, while
Microsoft approaches networking from the perspective of the desktop.

"We are the future of IBM," Reiswig said in response to a question
about the impact of its parent company's troubles on his division.
Many people may be asking how IBM can afford to increase spending
on so many aspects of OS/2 and other PSP products. Reiswig's reply:
"How can we not?"

OS/2 is an advanced operating system for 32-bit personal computers
that enables users to run DOS, Windows and OS/2 applications.

(Audrey Kalman/19930122)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00031)

Next Reports 1st Profit, 10% Growth In '92 01/22/93
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- Next Computer
has reported its first quarterly operating profit, along with
a 1992 growth rate more than double the figure for the total
workstation market.

The profitability achieved in the fourth quarter resulted from
increased revenues, higher gross margins and reduced expenses,
officials said in a newly released financial summary.

Annual revenues for the year tallied $140 million, a 10% increase
over the 1991 amount. North American revenues were especially
strong, rising 36% in 1992 to a sum of $98 million. In contrast,
the overall workstation market grew only 4.8% for the year,
according to statistics from Dataquest cited in the report.

Next added to its base of large customers in 1992, stated Steve
Jobs, chairman and CEO. One new customer is a currency and
commodities trading company that is designing a new trading floor
entirely around the object-oriented NextStep environment. The
customer, AIG Trading Corp., will include Nextmail in the system.

Other large users include Chrysler, Wiltel, McCaw Cellular, Bozel,
Mount Clemens Hospital, First National Bank of Chicago, and Swiss
Bank Corp., Jobs said. One of these customers is already using
NextStep on more than 1,000 desktops, and several others plan
desktop deployments in the multithousands over the next 12 to 24
months.

NextStep is targeted at medium-sized as well as large corporations.
The software can be used to build custom applications, and is
also available off the shelf.

As previously reported in Newsbytes, a year ago, Next announced an
unprecedented growth spurt of 443% for 1991, and attributed the
rise in part to a shift in marketing focus from higher education to
business and government.

At that time, the company also announced a crossplatform port of
NextStep from Next computers to 486-based IBM-compatible PCs.
Today, a company spokesperson told Newsbytes that NextStep 486 is
scheduled for release in June.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930122; Press contact: Allison Thomas
Associates, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00032)

 ****CDs Enter Realm Of Telecom With New Philips Venture 01/22/93
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- After marketing
Compact Disk Interactive (CD-I) technology as a mainstream
consumer product for the last few years, Philips has decided it's
time for the vertical market to have a go with the system. The
troubled Dutch electronics giant has announced that Tele CD --
telephone-based CD-I -- will be with us this summer.

CD-I is an interactive version of the CD-ROM (compact disk read
only memory) system jointly developed by Philips and Sony in the
mid-1990s. CD-ROM involves the recording of several hundred
megabytes of data onto a single compact disk -- the "Interactive"
side allows rapid access to video digital data, introducing full-
motion imaging to the end product.

Tele-CD extends this concept to embrace a telephone link. The
link will allow consumers to view CD-I disks as if they were a
full motion "on demand" catalogue and, where necessary, interface
to a home shopping and information computer by a phone/modem
link.

Announcing Tele CD in Amsterdam, Jolle van der Drift, the
managing director CD-Matics, one of Philips' two privately owned
partners in the Tele CD product, said that the technology extends
CD-I into the realm of telecommunications.

Newsbytes understands that Tele CD will be available in two
versions -- using existing CD-I/CD-ROM disks and using recordable
CD-I/CD-ROM disks. The recordable aspect of the disks
introduces the possibility that data can be transmitted over the
telephone line. The downside of this is that, because of the
limitations of the telephone network, real time transmissions
will be limited to single video frames.

Plans call for Philips to sell a Tele CD adapter for most CD-I
players for around 200 Dutch Guilders ($360) this summer. CD-I
players cost around $800 in Europe.

(Steve Gold/19930122)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00033)

AST Credits PC Sales With 91% Income Increase 01/22/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 22 (NB) -- The holiday
season, it was predicted, would show marked increases in personal
computer sales and that prediction is being bolstered by
reports from AST. The company is reporting record revenues and
credits the increase to strong demand for desktop, notebook,
and server personal computers (PCs).

The company said revenue for its second quarter, ending January
2, 1993, was $346.3 million and net income was up 91 percent
compared to the company's first quarter.

Revenue rose 45 percent from the $239.1 million reported for
the same quarter a year earlier and net income increased to
$14.6 million from the $7.6 million reported in the first
quarter. Year-to-date revenues are up 45 percent over the same
period last year to $632.7 million.

AST said North American sales were up 48 percent over last year
and 23 percent over the company's first quarter. Sales were
$202.1 million with nearly $50 million of those sales in the
company's fast growing consumer channel market.

International sales were up 71 percent to $144.2 million from
$102.8 million the year before. European revenues rose 33
percent and Pacific Rim revenues were up 52 percent compared to
the prior-year quarter, AST maintains. The company also boasted
opening its 16th international subsidiary in Singapore.

AST has been ranked number 431 of Fortune Magazine's 500
largest industrial companies. However, PC sales were up for
everyone, including IBM, who reported losses of $5 billion for
fiscal 1992, said its PC unit sales were up 50 percent in the
same period as well.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930122/Press Contact: Emory Epperson, AST
Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])