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/nb930129

Text File | 1993-01-29 | 69KB | 1,563 lines

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00001)

Banyan Invests In Beyond 01/29/93
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Banyan has
chosen to participate in a round of financing for Beyond Inc., maker
of BeyondMail, a rules-based workflow software product.

Banyan officers, believing BeyondMail is a major force for the
future, say people will buy network operating systems based on how
well they run BeyondMail. Consequently, the company wants Vines
to be the best platform for running BeyondMail.

Banyan officers tell Newsbytes that they have a definite strategy
for improving Vines over the next few releases in order to work
better with BeyondMail. They would not say more than that.

BeyondMail relies on mail transport services that are part of
every network operating system to route information to users
in specific sequences set up by the site. An example is an
accounts payable department in which different people need to
sign an authorization to issue a check. BeyondMail could be
used to generate the authorization slips and then route them
through the chain of authorizations needed, culminating at the
workstation of the person who prints the checks.

BeyondMail allows this kind of workflow to be set up via the use of
tables. These tables can be set up globally for certain operations
and also created by individuals with specific needs.

Banyan has chosen to invest $500,000 in the company. This amount
gives Banyan an equity position of less than 5% in Beyond. Other
companies that have also invested in Beyond include Novell and
a host of venture capital firms. Banyan officials told Newsbytes
that Banyan was the catalyst that brought Beyond to Novell's
attention. These same sources hinted to Newsbytes that Banyan was
the company that suggested to Novell that it invest a similar amount
of money in Beyond. The total amount of money raised by Beyond in
this round was $6.6 million.

Banyan reports it isn't seeking control of the company. There are
no Banyan officers on Beyond's board of directors.

(Naor Wallach/19930129/Press Contact: Joann Anderson, Copithorne &
Bellows for Banyan, 617-252-0606/Public Contact: Banyan, 508-898-
1000)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

SyQuest Consortium Insures Drive Compatibility 01/29/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- SyQuest, seeking
to ensure that its removable drive cartridges work interchangably
with every one of its VARs' (value-added reseller) equipment,
has formed a consortium to promote cartridge interchangability
among the different drive makers.

Each SyQuest cartridge and each drive mechanism that SyQuest
ships should be completely interchangable with any other, since they
are identical. Differences that crop up are directly related to
software drivers that SyQuest VARs develop. SyQuest has already
taken the step of offering a free utility that will try to mount any
cartridge on any other drive.

Today, very few people experience interchangability problems.
SyQuest officials did not have specifics but were offering numbers
in the 5% and lower range.

SyQuest has commissioned the author of its free utility
to write a set of specifications and a test validation tool. This
document and two tools (SCSI Probe is also included in the package)
are available on a single diskette to any of SyQuest's VARs or
software developers. When a VAR or software developer writes a
new driver that meets the guidelines, testing will be done with
the validation tool and the results will be passed onto SyQuest.
SyQuest will then place that driver and its maker on a list
of validated and approved drivers that it will maintain.

Customers will be able to call SyQuest for a list of approved
drives and drivers. Although there are no specific requirements
that SyQuest VARs join this consortium, the benefits are obvious.

SyQuest is considering development of a seal that interested VARs
will be able to place on their drives which will show buyers that
theirs is compatible with the rest.

The new guidelines take into account both the 44 MB cartridges
and the newer 88 MB cartridges. There are over 9 million
cartridges in use today, SyQuest officers tell Newsbytes.

SyQuest has involved five vendors in the initial comment
period on this specification. The company is planning to gather
all interested parties for a feedback session within the
next 30 days. After that, the specifications will be considered
complete and the validation list will be started.

(Naor Wallach/19930129/Press Contact: Michelle Mihalick, Neale-May
& Partners for SyQuest, 415-328-5555)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00003)

Big Moscow Hotel Loses Phones 01/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- The prestigious Radisson-
Slavianskaya hotel offered the usual luxurious accommodations,
fine food, and impeccable service, but some guests are also
getting an extra benefit -- heavily discounted cellular phone
access -- due to the failure of the hotel's regular phone service.

Hotel representatives blamed the phone problem, which has existed
for a week now, on a cable break but have no estimate on when
it will be repaired.

Hotel representatives were quoted as saying that damage to their
reputation is very high, but they have no way to influence Moscow's
cable repair department. The large hotel has only eight phone
lines at the business center, and is renting cellular phones to its
guests at a substantial discount.

In addition to guests, some 80 businesses renting space in the
hotel are also affected by the service break, including the newly
registered Moscow press club.

The least expensive room in the Radisson-Slavianskaya costs US$215
per night with suites reaching US$700 mark.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930128)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00004)

New For PC - DacEasy Order Entry Software 01/29/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- DacEasy, a company
known for its inexpensive and easy to use accounting programs, has
expanded its line of small business programs to include DacEasy
Order Entry. The $200 program is especially suitable for use with
notebook computers because the included OrderLINK software
automatically transfers sales data from portable computers to a
desktop.

DacEasy says that the automated order transfer feature,
useful for sales calls, is unique. Order entry software is
essentially a sophisticated, specialized database program which
is used to enter customer orders.

DacEasy Order Entry tracks sales people's quotes, orders, and
returns; offers online customer service information about
inventory and order status; does line item cost analysis;
maintains list of alternative products for out of stock items,
and produces daily reports and shipping labels.

The program requires a hard disk and runs under MS-DOS. A
network version is available.

(John McCormick/19930126/Press and Consumer Contact: Susan
Morrow, DacEasy, 214-248-0305.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEL)(00005)

3D Program To Design Industrial Plants 01/29/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Tata Consulting Engineers
(TCE) of Bangalore has entered into a marketing tie-up with SST
India Pvt. Ltd, a Hyderabad-based software company, to market
Tata-Cape, its 3-dimensional package for industrial plant
layout and piping design.

The tie-up between TCE and SST India also extends to the latter's
parent company SST Inc., based in California, USA. SST will
market the software worldwide. Tata-Cape (computer-aided piping
engineering) is a DOS-based piping design package for
petrochemicals, fertilizers, and nuclear plants

"The market for industrial plant layout and piping software, in
India, is estimated at Rs 5 crore (over $1.6 million) this year," says
V. Jagan, director, SST India Ltd. He says Tata-Cape is the
first indigenous package developed of its kind. To address
international markets, TCE is in the process of porting the package to
Windows.

Jagan claims that Tata-Cape has an edge, in terms of functionality,
over similar packages offered by Intergraph and Computervision
presently. With a price ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, he
feels that Tata-Cape is also more cost-competitive.

SST specializes in marketing computer-aided-engineering (CAE) products
such as CAEPIPE for piping analysis. The company's client profile
includes General Electric, Westinghouse, ABB, and British
Petroleum, among others. Besides CAE products, SST India Ltd.,
offers professional courses in industrial and plant design fields
with its clientele mostly large public sector companies.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930126)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00006)

Japan - IC Card-type Fax Modem Debuts From Omron 01/29/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Osaka-based major electronic
firm Omron says it has developed an IC card-type, small-size fax
modem. Despite the size, it supports fast, error-free data
transmission. The actual release date of this product is March 22,
but sample product is currently available.

Omron's IC card-size fax modem is called the MD24XCA, and it is
based on both Japanese and US industry standards. Also, this
fax modem is based on the IC card standard, PCMCIA 2.0 (Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association), allowing it to
be inserted into the IC memory card port of a personal computer.

The product operates on IBM's notebook-type personal computers.
But depending on sales, Omron may release modified versions for
other notebook-type personal computers with IC card ports.

This IC card-type fax modem supports a data transmission speed of
2,400 bits per second and CCITT V.42bis MNP Class 5. It is
extremely lightweight, weighing only 32 grams. The total system
including connectors weighs 60g. The retail price is 69,800 yen
($560).

This fax modem is powered directly by the personal computer to
which it is attached.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930127/Press Contact: Omron, +81-3-
3436-7139, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00007)

Japan - Low-cost Answering Fax Adaptor 01/29/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Fujitsu has released a low-cost
answering fax adaptor which is "smart" enough to send faxes on
demand through an incoming phone call.

Small enough to be placed on a desk, the unit is also relatively
cheap at only 168,000 yen ($1,350). This is less than existing
devices.

Fujitsu's latest answering fax adaptor measures 19.5 x 25.5 x
6.0 cm. The device can store a maximum of 5 pages of an A4-size
document in its memory.

Users need only to connect the device to a regular fax machine,
and feed the documents into the memory of the device. When the
device receives a call from a caller's fax machine, it
automatically faxes the information stored in its memory.

The answering fax adaptor has been gaining popularity recently in
Japan. However, due to its average price of 2 million yen
($16,000) range, only banks and securities firms have been able
to afford them. Although the features of this unit are slightly
limited compared with existing counterparts, Fujitsu's answering fax
adaptor is expected to appeal to potential customers because
of the price. The device is expected to be used by a number of
information providers, such as news agencies, real estate agencies,
and tourist services.

Fujitsu's fax adaptor can also provide voice information. It
accepts 15 seconds of voice recording. The device can be also
be connected to a free dial system and NTT's Dial Q2 telephone
service.

Fujitsu, anticipating market reaction, plans to ship only
3,000 units for the initial year.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930126/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-
3215-5236, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00008)

OS/2 2.1 Beta 01/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- OS/2 version 2.1,
which is due to be released in the spring, is apparently now in
the final stages of beta testing because copies have already
filtered down to journalists. The 32-bit operating system
provides full preemptive multitasking which permits users to run
32-bit OS/2 applications at the same time as MS-DOS and Windows
3.1 programs.

Some programs, particularly databases, operate much more
quickly under OS/2 because of the ability to run background
processes efficiently.

One of the major enhancements of version 2.1 is the support for
standard-mode Windows 3.1 programs

The beta documentation is skimpy because it is only being sent to
those who already have version 2.0, but despite the fact that it
can be installed over an existing 2.0 installation, the beta
version comes on 28 high density 3.5-inch floppy diskettes if you
include all the disks which carry drivers.

These new drivers include support for 256-color SVGA, high-speed
printers, and a number of CD-ROM drives. 2.1 beta includes all
enhancements included in the OS/2 2.0 ServicePak, including the
32-bit graphics engine.

A full installation will require about 32 megabytes of hard disk
space.

The beta version includes enhanced support for pen-based and
multimedia applications and advanced power management (for
portables).

This is a pretty stable beta release, especially with the new
IBM feature called "Crash Protection" and can be used not just
for testing but for most work except, as IBM warns, "mission-
critical" applications.

OS/2, originally developed by IBM and Microsoft, is a very
powerful operating system with many advanced features but it was
not initially marketed or priced as aggressively as Microsoft
Windows and, reportedly because it was initially released in a
crippled 286-compatible version, Microsoft developed Windows 3
which now sells about 1 million copies each month (many bundled
with new computers and therefore perhaps not really used).

OS/2 2.0, which was released last March, has sold about 2 million
copies in the past year. The 2.0 and 2.1 are 32-bit operating
systems and will only run on 386SX or more powerful processors.

Although OS/2 places considerably heavier demands on computer
hardware, many business users find its true multitasking features
and ability to link to mainframe installations to be worthwhile.

Most observers view OS/2 as technically far more advanced than
Windows, however Windows has a big lead in the market and already
includes more features than most users really need.

There are hundreds of OS/2 business programs on the market, most
of which are also available in MS-DOS or Windows versions, but in
some cases the OS/2 version is more powerful because the
operating environment permits a more efficient use of computer
resources.

(John McCormick/19930127/)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(PAR)(00009)

France - Alcatel Alsthom 1992 Net Income Up 12% 01/29/93
PARIS, FRANCE 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Alcatel Alsthom, the
Paris-based communications, energy, and transport systems group,
said after a meeting of its board of directors that its 1992
net income should be up 12 percent from the year earlier.

That would indicate a net of around 6.9 billion French francs
(1.38 billion US dollars), up from the 6.18 billion francs Alcatel
earned in 1991, one of the highest profits in French industry.
In the first six months of last year, Alcatel had a profit of 3.11
billion francs, up 20 percent from the year-earlier period.

The company did not estimate 1992 sales. For the first nine months
of the year, however, they totaled 117.5 billion francs, up 6
percent from the like period in 1991.

Final results for 1992 will be available in April, the company said.

Despite the gains in 1992, Pierre Suard, Alcatel's chairman and
chief executive officer, said that 1993 had begun in a difficult
economic climate that is not expected to improve during the
current fiscal year. But he said that the group should nonetheless
maintain its 1993 net income at 1992 levels, due in large part
to its current order book.

Alcatel has a number of major international contracts in the
telecommunications business, where it is No. 1 in the world.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930128/Press Contact: Jean-Paul
Chapon, Alcatel Alsthom, tel. [phone], fax. [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(PAR)(00010)

France - Cap Gemini Profit Plummets 01/29/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Cap Gemini Sogeti, the French
software and services group, said that its consolidated net
profit plunged 92 percent last year, to 45 million francs
(9 million US dollars).

The result, based on provisional figures, compares with profit of
585 million francs in 1991. Cap Gemini said results were depressed
because of the continuing overall economic slump in most of the
countries where it does business, a continuing crisis in the computer
business that has increased competition, and a radical reorganization
of the company itself which Cap Gemini said was "costly both in
time and additional investments."

Cap Gemini said that 338 million francs of restructuring costs and
117 million francs to reimburse a convertible bond weighed on
results. These were only partly offset by a 318 million franc gain
realized by selling the company's Paris headquarters to its parent,
Sogeti.

Following minority interests, Cap Gemini had a net loss of 80
million francs.

The company's sales grew by 19 percent last year, to 12 billion francs.
However, it said this gain was attributable to the acquisitions of
Volmac of the Netherlands and Sweden's Programator.

Cap Gemini said that its restructuring program would begin to
bear fruit in 1994, but that for the current year "the economic
environment hardly permits us to hope for a spectacular improvement"
over the 1992 results.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930128/Press Contact: Catherine Tomain,
Cap Gemini Sogeti, 11 rue de Tilsitt, 75017 Paris, tel. [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00011)

"Akers Watched It Happen" 01/29/93
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- A senior IBM
executive, speaking to Newsbytes under the promise of anonymity,
said that, while outgoing CEO John Akers was not responsible
for the decline in IBM's fortunes, it was appropriate that he be
replaced.

The executive told Newsbytes, "Akers, Kuehler and Metz certainly did
not cause all of the problems that have affected IBM but they
bear the burden of them occurring on their watch -- it's similar
to Jimmy Carter and Iran. He had to bear the brunt of an action
that he did not cause." (Jack D. Kuehler was the president and
number two man in the organization to Akers. He is being moved to
vice chairman of the board. Frank Metz, senior vice president/finance
and planning, the number three man will retire on February 1st and
be replaced by Paul Rizzo).

The executive said morale at IBM appears to be intact despite
the climate of uncertainty over the last few months. He adds, "It had
become obvious that the dividend would be reduced and that would
have major impact on our stockholders and those analysts that
judge our performance."

The executive told Newsbytes is that prevailing thought is that
the successor to Akers will come from outside the company.
"This is a departure from the feeling a very short time ago and
reflects the greater influence that our outside directors now
have."

"Personally, I hope that the new CEO, should he come from the outside,
will not totally savage the IBM culture. We have just done a study
that shows that the immediate cost of severance layoffs is no
less than an early retirement package given to an employee.
There is, therefore, no immediate short-term cost benefit to
abandoning our full employment tradition although there is,
of course, a long term saving."

On the bright side, he said, the fourth quarter produced the
biggest personal computer sales period in IBM's history. Its
new color laptop has "proven to be both technologically innovative and
cost competitive. Our PS/ValuePoint line has proven to be very
competitive. We feel that we are on the right track in our PC
line and that that segment of the business will continue to grow."

A seven-member committee of the board of directors, under the
direction of James E. Burke, former chief executive of Johnson
& Johnson, has been charged with selecting a new CEO within 90
days. Others on the committee include Thomas A. Murphy,
chairman of Capital Cities/ABC; Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr., retired
chairman of the Bechtel Group; Harold Brown, ex-Secretary of
Defense; Nannerl O. Keohane, incoming president of Duke
University; Thomas F. Frist, Jr., chairman of Hospital Corp. of
America; and J. Richard Munro, chairman of the executive committee of
Time Warner Inc.'s board of directors.

Names mentioned in early speculation as possible candidates for the
CEO job include Jack F. Welsh, chairman, General Electric;
John Sculley, chairman, Apple Computer; George M.C. Fisher,
chairman, Motorola, and present IBM executives Robert J. LaBant,
Ned C. Lautenbach, M. Bernard Puckett, James A. Cannavino,
Nicholas M. Donofrio and Ellen M. Hancock.

Until recently, IBM insiders had told Newsbytes that LaBant and
Lautenbach were considered the prime candidates to be Akers'
successor. The Newsbytes source now says, however, that the
composition of the search committee as totally from outside of
IBM indicates a desire by the board to go outside the firm for a
new leader.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19930129)


(EDITORIAL)(IBM)(ATL)(00012)

Editorial: After Akers - Model IBM After Lexmark 01/29/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
Last week I wrote an editorial calling on IBM to fire chairman
John Akers. This week he announced he's leaving, although he
claims he wasn't pushed, that he just offered a resignation which
was accepted.

However it happened, I'm left with some responsibility to detail
what should happen next. I don't think Akers left because I said
he should, and I have no reason to believe IBM's board will
either listen or respond to what I'm writing now. But my 100
shares give me a soapbox, so here goes.

In the movie "City Slicker," Curley, played by Jack Palance, told
Mitch, played by Bill Crystal, that the secret to life was one
thing -- figure it out and stick to it. That was the genius of
Thomas Watson, Sr. and Jr. Each found one thing IBM could do
which no one else could do, and put everything into it. In the
1910s, it was the punch card. In the 1940s, it was the computer.
It may be that IBM's board has no idea what that one thing is for
the 1990s. If so, admit it, and let someone else try.

How? Simple. Break up IBM. The knowledge of being executed in the
morning can concentrate the mind wonderfully. A fine example of
this principle in action is Lexmark. That used to be IBM's
low-end printer subsidiary. Before it was spun off, it was a drag
on profits. Now it's highly profitable. There are indications
that IBM is already considering this with some of its units --
the high-end printer division is now called Pennant. Follow the
Nike ad -- Just Do It.

There are lots of pieces of IBM which could do well if allowed
to find their own way. IBM World Trade could become a trading
giant on the order of Japan's Mitsubishi. IBM might turn a real
dollar in multimedia, if that group were forced to turn a
profit or die. IBM has made real strides in parallel processing
and superconductivity. What could they do with the discipline
of a bottom line to push them? Even IBM's mainframe operation
might do better if it wasn't having profits drained by other
divisions.

In those areas where IBM's stuff isn't top-notch, or where the
managers can't cut the mustard, they'll either go under or get
bought out. Fine by me. But those areas where IBM is top-notch
could turn into new IBMs. One thing I'm certain of -- my stock in a
lot of little IBMs is bound to be worth more than the $49 per
share the whole thing is worth right now.

There are some things I liked about the old IBM. The vaunted "no-
layoff" policy was great when the company was growing and people
were expected to perform. More important was the personal caring
top management gave its employees, something which was lost
decades ago. Back in 1939, for instance, Watson Sr. planned a big
blow-out at the New York World's Fair, an "IBM Day" with
employees filling the park. One train carrying workers crashed. A
lot of people were killed, many more injured. Watson didn't
cancel the day, and he personally made certain that the victims
got the best of care.

At its best, IBM was really about personal responsibility, a
philosophy that started at the top. If that's brought back,
they'll do fine.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930128)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00013)

India - Floppy Disk Industry Distress 01/29/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Even as PC sales are growing,
domestic manufacturers of floppy diskettes are facing extinction
due to dumping, smuggling, and under-invoiced import of disks.

According to the Electronic Component Industries Association,
of the 14 producers of floppies who had invested about Rs
50 crore ($ 16 million), only four are functioning today. And
even these at reduced capacities.

For example, the Moser Baer (I) Ltd., unit has the potential to
produce a million pieces per annum, but is making half the number.

Ironically, the floppy disk manufacturers blame liberalization
for the sad state of affairs. Due to the opening up of the
economy, traders are no longer restricted from importing floppies.
This has been misused by some dealers who buy floppies from
countries like Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. They get
under-invoiced bills and pay a lower customs tariff. This enables
traders to sell at almost 50 percent less than locally made
floppies. So while a pack of 10 floppies may be priced at Rs
1,200 ($40) by local manufacturers, the dealers sell the
same product for Rs 800 ($27).

This kind of bungling was not possible prior to the reforms
because imports of diskettes were channeled through the
government-owned ET&T.

At times these people also declare lesser number of pieces than
actually in the consignment, says a producer. Charges of
large-scale smuggling via the Nepal border are also being
levelled. Says Sanat Kumar, sales manager, Moser Baer, "Our
cost price is equal to the selling price of these traders."

Over 1.2 to 1.5 million diskettes out of a demand of 5 million
diskettes is being met by the imported variety.

Other factors which go towards hiking the price of domestic Indian
floppies include excise levy which stands at roughly 27 percent
in place of the 17.25 percent for other items. Imported brands
have another trump card. Their packaging is much better than
the Indian variety. Added to this, is the psyche which makes
people opt for a foreign product rather than a domestic one.

Indian manufacturers are keen on selling internally since
realization is quite low in exports. The export market is dicey
since the 5 1/4-inch FDDs are becoming obsolete and are being
replaced by the 3.5-inch type. In India, however, this type is
still used.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930128)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00014)

India - Compaq, Samsung Sell Notebooks 01/29/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Unicorp Industries Ltd., a
Delhi-based company, has tied-up with Samsung Electronics, South
Korea, to market the Samsung Notemaster 386 S/25. The agreement
is for merchandising notebooks for a year and then manufacturing
them, said S.P. Rajguru, vice-president (operations) at Unicorp.

The company has sold 200 units in the six months since Notemaster
debuted. It hopes to sell another 1,000 pieces this year. The
2.6 kg portable costs approximately Rs 1.3 lakh ($4300).

Rajguru estimates the market for notebooks to be around 4,000
systems a year. And it is expected to grow at the rate of 40 percent
per year. If the cost difference between a PC and a notebook
were to fall to 10-15 percent, the demand for notebooks can be
expected to rise, he said.

That is only possible if the budget further loosens restrictions.
Industry pundits expect customs tax to fall by 25-30 percent.
Rumors also abound about notebooks being allowed in without
cost in freight (CIF) restrictions. If this were to happen,
prices of notebooks would be expected to come down sharply.

Compaq, through its tie-up with Microland, has already introduced
last month one model of its Contour notebook. And, last week,
Wipro Infotech launched its own notebook computer, signalling
that notebooks might form a serious business soon in India,
unlike the laptops that were skipped by the Indian market.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930128)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00015)

Russian Rocket To Launch Iridium Satellites 01/29/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Moscow-based Khrunichev factory
has announced a US$200 million agreement with Motorola to launch
three rockets with Iridium satellites.

The agreement, according to the company's announcement, was signed in
Switzerland between Khrunichev factory, Lockheed-Khrunichev joint
venture, and Motorola.

The companies claim they can override existing COCOM export control
restrictions currently prohibiting the import of high-tech
communications equipment, like satellites, into the former
Soviet Union.

The Khrunichev factory is a large assembly site for the heavy Proton
launchers.

According to the report, the Russian Ministry of Defence is considering
building or renewing one of of its launching sites at Plesetsk in
the Russian Far North in connection with this contract.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930129/Press Contact: Khrunichev factory,
phone [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(MOW)(00016)

Russian Parliament Improves Copyright Law 01/29/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- The Russian government has
issued the first hearing of a copyright law which fully
complies with the Bern convention. Its absence has long been
the biggest obstacle blocking the entry of Western companies
into the Russian intellectual property market.

The law completely liquidates the state's ability to manipulate
authors' rights. The law declares that the state will no longer
interfere in relations between author and publishers, including
foreign ones, relieving creative people from the burden of
bureaucratic red tape.

The law is expected to pass the second parliament hearing on February
20, 1993.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930129)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00017)

Australia - Dell Launches Target IBM, Compaq 01/29/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Michael Dell has launched
the Australian subsidiary of his company, predicting that it
will set new standards for customer service.

He said the move Down Under had been delayed a number of times
over the years as effort was instead put into other markets such
as Europe, but that "as Australia is the second largest PC
market in the Asia-Pacific region, after Japan," the move is due.

This is the seventeenth international Dell subsidiary, and comes
just a week after the Japanese company was launched. Dell said
his company was experiencing dramatic growth throughout the world,
and he expected a similar trend in Australia. Sales for the
third quarter of 1993 were up 149 percent over the prior year.
This was 176 percent higher for large accounts (which represent
48 percent of sales) and 138 percent up for medium and small
business accounts (38 percent of sales).

Value-added resellers (VARs) account for 13 percent of sales
worldwide, though Dell has decided to only sell by direct
marketing in Australia for the foreseeable future.

Dell said he was entering at a time of great shake-out in the
Australian marketplace. "700 of the 3000 Australian PC dealers
went out of business last year." He predicted that Dell
would succeed because it could capitalize on market forces
that worked against the traditional manufacturer-distributor-dealer
chain. He said by eliminating two steps he could not only sell
machines cheaper, but make more profit than companies like
Compaq.

He said some advantages he had in selling in Australia
included: reliability of supply, good infrastructure (phone and
transport system); an educated market (as open to new technology
as the US); and an increasing comfort in buying over the phone and
getting support the same way.

Dell is offering its new range of 18 i486 machines, which will
initially be sourced from Austin, then from the Irish manufacturing
plant. He said it was likely that Dell will later establish an
Asian manufacturing facility.

Typical prices are: the 486/L low-profile PC from AUS$2495 ex tax
(around US$1660); the 486/T tower system from AUS$3848 ex tax
(around US$2500). Standard configuration for all machines is 4MB
of RAM, 120MB hard disk, one disk drive, Windows, mouse, and
super-VGA graphics and monitor.

Delivery on the systems is guaranteed within seven days.

Dell expects to be able to handle more than 90 percent of user
problems over the phone. The company offers lifetime telephone
support and a guaranteed 5-minute maximum hold-time but
has appointed a third-party service organization for next-day field
service under the two-year warranty. It also offers a 30-day
money-back satisfaction guarantee and a three-year guarantee to
fix any compatibility problems on added hardware.

Ads are to appear in the business and computer press from today,
though Dell has dismissed TV and radio as unnecessary and not
offering a return on cost. Even the popular press is seen as
wrong for Dell as it wants buyers who already know what they
want and expect from a PC.

All telephone sales, support and shipping will be handled from
Dell's Sydney headquarters, just across the highway from Apple.

(Paul Zucker/19930129)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00018)

The Enabled Computer 01/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

Think powerful software is expensive? Think again, Hexagon
programs for the visually impaired cost less than $40.

Hexagon software works in a very sophisticated manner, the only
place it falls down is in the way it magnifies characters in
large blocks rather than by using a smoothed typeface. But for the
price it is a real bargain.

Big for WordPerfect is a memory resident program which works only
with WordPerfect and because it is application-specific, Big
recognizes what you are doing. Instead of just magnifying the
text around the cursor location, the software reformats the
information depending on whether one is entering text, looking
at the file directory, or a menu of options.

In the Reveal Codes mode, Big for WordPerfect displays small
portions of four different parts of the screen: the portion of
the document near the cursor (top half of screen); the Reveal
Codes separator line; the code around the highlighted text
(bottom half of screen); and the bottom line which displays
position and page information.

When displaying the file screen (F5), Big for WordPerfect
recognizes this mode and magnifies the information about the
highlighted file and the command (retrieve, copy, delete, etc.)
options which are normally displayed on the bottom line.

In the default mode messages are magnified so much that
individual words must be wrapped on the screen and the characters
are very rough-appearing blocks.

Despite the coarse appearance of the characters at large
magnifications, Big for WordPerfect can be a valuable tool for
those using this very popular word processor because the
magnification can be instantly changed back to the standard 80-
character by 25-line display.

Version 1.1 of Big for WordPerfect offers 24- and 32-bit fonts
for screen display.

Big for WordPerfect works with WordPerfect 5.0 or 5.1 or
LetterPerfect and, with some video cards, will work with 4.2, but
the publisher warns that Big for WordPerfect doesn't work well
with that older version and I can report from my tests that it
does not work with version 4.1.

Installation of Big for WordPerfect is just a matter of copying
BigWP.EXE and BigWPTSR.EXE to some directory from which
WordPerfect can normally be started.

The documentation is provided in large print, and can also be
accessed online in the BigWP.DOC file.

Hexagon also sells Big for 1-2-3 which, in my opinion, actually
works better than Big for WordPerfect because a spreadsheet is
cell-oriented and thus better suited to piecemeal magnification
than a word processor. This isn't a problem peculiar to Big for
WordPerfect, all very large character screen magnification
programs can make a word processor more difficult to use.

Lotus slash commands worked as usual in Big for 1-2-3 and were
displayed in magnified form when the menu was activated, but
switching to the crowded Lotus Help screen switched the display
mode back to that of the background application.

Big for 1-2-3 does not load Lotus automatically, instead it is a
memory resident program which automatically recognizes when the
user starts 1-2-3.

Big uses about 30 kilobytes of memory when loaded, whether it is
being used or not.

Removing Big is simple, just run it a second time.

Unlike Big for WordPerfect, Big for 1-2-3 puts all of its
magnified text in one portion of the screen.

Big uses 12 lines for its display at the bottom of your screen.
To prevent any conflict, you should tell 1-2-3 not to use this
area. The best way to do this is to divide the screen up into two
horizontal window panes and have 1-2-3 use the top one only.

A few keys have special meaning to Big. These keys are Ctrl L, R,
U, D, U, B, and S. (The letters are abbreviations for the
commands Left, Right, Up, Down, Bottom, and Status.) When any of
these keys are pressed, they are interpreted by Big and are NOT
passed through to 1-2-3.

These keys have no meaning to 1-2-3, so you shouldn't need them.
However, these missing keys could be a problem if you left Big
active even outside of 1-2-3. Although you can change these hot
keys to some combination not used by any of your software, it is
better to remove Big from memory whenever you are not using 1-2-
3.

Removal is accomplished automatically by running Big.EXE again,
but this may not work unless Big for 1-2-3 was the last TSR
(terminate and stay resident, or memory resident) program loaded.

This potential problem can be avoided by building a simple batch
file to start 1-2-3.

If the BAT file contains lines to first load Big into memory,
then start 1-2-3, and finally run Big again, this is what will
happen. Big for 1-2-3 will load; Lotus 1-2-3 will then start and
Big will immediately recognize that the spreadsheet program is
activate and will begin magnifying selected portions of the
screen; then when the user quits Lotus the rest of the BAT file
executes, automatically removing the TSR from memory.

You can also pause Big's operation (eliminate magnification)
without removing it from memory by pressing the Ctrl-D keys or
reactivate it by pressing Ctrl-U.

Big for WordPerfect and Big for 1-2-3 cost $39 each and the
company also has some other fine programs, including a stand-
alone large text editor (B-Edit) which I will describe in a later
column.

Hexagon Products, P.O. Box 1295, Park Ridge, IL 60068-1295, 708-
692-3355. 76064,1776 (CompuServe e-mail address).

Updates

The Enabled Computer BBS at 814-277-6476 is up and running with
files relating to the ADA and lists of computer-related products
for the disabled (we don't sell them, just list them).

Over the holidays when Newsbytes was suspended I was finishing up
my TAB/Windcrest (McGraw-Hill) book, "Computers and the Americans
with Disabilities Act: A Manager's Guide." Looks like it will see
the bookstores in June or July.

(John McCormick/19930129/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00019)

Roundup: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 01/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

PC Magazine's cover stories for the February 9, 1993, issue
include: a survey of 17,000 subscribers who rate PC vendors on
service and reliability; comparison of FrameMaker and
QuarkXPress, new entrants into high-end desktop publishing; with
Aldus PageMaker and Ventura Publisher; testing of 43 Ethernet
adapter cards by PC Labs; a review of four network schedulers;
and the featured article, "Supercharging Your Apps," which
describes 48 third-party software products, or add-ins, that will
boost the productivity of spreadsheets and/or word processors
such as Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Word, and WordPerfect.

Computerworld for January 25, 1993, features articles on the
competition between Borland International and Microsoft for
information systems managers' upgrading of networked database
management systems; how the high-tech industry hopes the Clinton
Administration (especially Vice President Gore) will focus on the
need for a high-speed nationwide digital information highway;
Wal-Mart's installation of Hughes Network Systems' LAN Advantage,
due for April completion, to keep it ahead of its competitors;
and the problems Microsoft is having with the introduction
of Windows NT.

In its January 25, 1993, issue, Computer Reseller News' top three
articles are: Microsoft's Windows NT training program for
resellers; Microsoft's discussions with the Federal Trade
Commission; and interviews with top FTC officials Mary Azcuenaga
and Mary Lou Steptoe about what takes place during and after an
investigation of alleged antitrust violations.

Communications Week dated January 25, 1993, features five cover
articles. Leading off is a report on the alleged problems
currently ongoing within the Open Software Foundation's
Distributed Management Environment; next is Oracle's
shipping of beta application-development software to customers as
well as its expected early spring announcement of some 14 new
products; third is an analysis of IBM's worsening woes; a fourth
reports on the scheduled January 26 introduction of IBM's OS/2
Communications Manager upgrade; and the fifth article details the
purchase of 2,500 wireless LANs by Younkers Inc.

Major articles in Network World for January 25, 1993, are IBM's
expected announcement next week, at ComNet '93 in Washington, DC,
of its new version of AIX SystemView NetView/6000; the strategies
planned by T-1 vendors for use of the Asynchronous Transfer Mode;
the competition between the two groups supporting 100M/bits-per-
second Ethernet; the announcement of the Infonet-Microsoft
agreement on using Microsoft Windows NT to expand Infonet's LAN
service's management capabilities; and the changes in MCI
Communications Corp.'s dedicated access charges, which are
keeping some consumers from realizing an expected (up to 20
percent) savings with MCI's new Access Pricing Plan.

(John McCormick/19930129)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00020)

Durable Goods Numbers Up - Economy Surges 01/29/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Although anecdotal
evidence about recent strength in the economy was viewed
skeptically by many analysts, today's Commerce Department figures
on durable goods orders for December were up 9.1 percent, a
dramatic jump in orders for big ticket products including
appliances, cars, electronics, and computers, which are designed
to be used for several years.

Because of their cost, durable goods orders are considered a good
measure of consumer and business confidence, while the purchases
themselves indicate an increase in production in the
manufacturing sector.

Durable goods orders for all of 1992 were up 4.1 percent over the
previous year, and December's number was the highest since July
of 1991.

After removing the most volatile segment of durable goods orders
from the numbers, the base increase was still a strong 5.5
percent.

Personal income and spending numbers for January were also
released today. Spending was down 0.2 percent in December and
economists expect today's numbers to be up about 0.4 percent.

Actual numbers were stronger with personal income jumping a full
one percent and spending up a full half-percent.

In another move that raised hopes in the financial community,
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan announced his
support for President Clinton's deficit reduction plans and said
that the Fed will aggressively respond to any downturns in the
economy.

Despite reasonably high levels of consumer confidence which have
nevertheless shown a slight downturn lately, the economy appears
to be growing at a relatively strong pace but this upturn is not
resulting in a major increase in hiring. Rather than hiring new
full-time workers and taking on what amounts to a long-term
obligation, many businesses are increasing productivity by using
more part-time or temporary workers and by paying overtime to present
workers.

(John McCormick/19930129/)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00021)

Stern To Leave CEO Post At Northern Telecom 01/29/93
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Paul Stern will
give up his post as chief executive officer of Northern Telecom
March 1, four years to the day after assuming it. Jean
Monty, now Northern's president and formerly chairman and chief
executive of Bell Canada, will be the new chief executive.

Stern is to remain as non-executive chairman of Northern, while
taking up a new position as a visiting executive professor at The
Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school,
in Philadelphia.

A statement from Northern Telecom said Stern had asked for the
change so that he could accept the Pennsylvania appointment and
pursue other "outside interests."

However, some concerns about his management may have contributed.
Since Monty was brought in from Bell in October, 1992, there has
been speculation Stern was on the way out.

Eamon Hoey, a Toronto-based telecommunications consultant, said
Monty's appointment would be good for Northern because of his
telephone-company experience. Monty has "more background in the
carrier side of the house" than Stern, Hoey said.

He added that there has been "some indication" that the regional
Bell operating companies in the United States were not happy with
the quality of Northern Telecom products recently or with the
company's ability to meet delivery targets.

Any problems the company has had were not reflected in its latest
financial results. Earlier in the week, Northern reported record
revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter and the year 1992.

In the year ended December 31, Northern's revenues were US$8.41
billion, up three percent from US$8.18 billion in 1991. Net
earnings applicable to common shares increased eight percent to
US$536 million from US$497 million.

In the fourth quarter, Northern had net earnings of US$253
million on revenues of US$2.54 billion. Earnings were up 24
percent from US$204 million in the last quarter of 1991, while
revenues rose 10 percent from US$2.31 billion last year.

Stern joined Northern's board of directors in April, 1988, was
appointed vice-chairman and chief executive in March, 1989, and
become chairman in April, 1990.

(Grant Buckler/19930129/Press Contact: John Strimas, Northern
Telecom, 416-566-3138; Robert J. O'Brien, Northern Telecom,
703-712-8526)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00022)

BCE Logs Record Results, Chairman Retires 01/29/93
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- J.V. Raymond Cyr is
retiring as chairman of the board of Canada's largest company,
BCE, Inc. Unlike another technology-industry chairman who stepped
down a few days before him, Cyr seems clearly to be quitting
while he is ahead.

His company, which controls communications equipment maker
Northern Telecom Ltd., and the country's largest regional
telephone company, Bell Canada, reported 1992 net earnings of
C$1,390 million, up 4.6 percent from 1991's C$1,329 million.
Revenues rose 4.5 percent, to C$20.8 billion from C$19.9 billion.

Earnings per share were C$4.21 in 1992, up from C$4.01 in 1991.
The revenue and earnings-per-share figures were both records for
the company, officials said.

Higher profits at Bell Canada and Northern Telecom contributed to
BCE's gains in 1992. They were offset somewhat by the losses of
Montreal Trust, which stemmed largely from the financial firm's
investments in the troubled Toronto-based developer Olympia &
York and other real-estate interests.

The company said Cyr, who is 58, would remain as non-executive
chairman of Bell Canada, BCE Mobile Communications, and Telesat
Canada, and as chairman of BCE's Canadian Telecom group. He will
also remain on the board of directors of some of the company's
subsidiaries. Meanwhile, Cyr plans to devote more time to
personal and community projects, the company said.

Cyr's departure seems to be a case of knowing when the job is
done and the time has come to move on, said Eamon Hoey, a
Toronto-based telecommunications consultant.

Hoey said Cyr has had a difficult job at BCE -- refocusing the
company on its core telecommunications business after a series of
acquisitions in the 1980s took it into areas such as natural
resources and financial services. With that job mostly finished,
Hoey said, Cyr is ready to turn to something new.

He added that Cyr is "still a young man.... I think he's going to
pop up somewhere else."

Lynton R. Wilson, chairman and chief executive of BCE, will
assume the chairman's title on April 1.

(Grant Buckler/19930129/Press Contact: Bernard Gregoire, BCE,
514-499-7070)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00023)

New Jersey Passes High Tech Wiretap Law 01/29/93
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Governor
James Florio has signed a revision to New Jersey's 1969 wire tapping
bill to permit the interception of messages transmitted via new
communications and computer equipment.

The new law, which loosens regulations concerning the tapping of public
telephones, allows the interception of messages transmitted computer-to-
computer and via facsimile and beeper equipment -- technologies that were
not in widespread use when the 1969 law was enacted.

Florio said "Crime isn't just a guy with a gun anymore. It can be the
person sitting behind the computer or using electronic equipment.
It's high-tech and well-equipped, and law enforcement must be too."

Interception of electronic communications has become a growing tool of
law enforcement. In 1992, announcing the indictment of 5 New Yorkers
for alleged computer intrusion, Otto G. Obermaier, US Attorney
for the Southern District of New York, said that this investigation
was "the first investigative use of court-authorized wiretaps to
obtain conversations and data transmissions of computer hackers."

He added that this procedure was essential to the investigation
and that "It demonstrates the federal government's ability to deal
with criminal conduct as it moves into new technological areas."

Two of those indicted have since pled guilty to charges and members
of Obermaier's staff have told Newsbytes that the conviction would
not have been possible without the interception of data transmission.

In the announcement of the New Jersey law, there was much focus on the
use of both advanced communications devices and pay telephones by drug
dealers. Drug dealers have been implicated in New York state in both PBX
and cellular phone fraud as means of hiding telephone calls which might
provide evidence of wrong-doing.

In describing the importance of wiretaps as crime-fighting tools,
Florio pointed to the success of wiretaps in the past. From 1986
to 1991, courts issued 747 orders authorizing wiretaps in 341
investigations. During that period, wiretaps resulted in 1,860
indictments, 90 percent of which were successfully prosecuted.
Of these cases, the largest number of indictments were for drug
crimes, with 1,306 stemming from narcotics offenses. Gambling
offenses were second, with 348 indictments.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19930129)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

IBM Ready To License PenDOS 2.0 01/29/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- IBM
Personal Software Products Division has announced it is ready to
license PenDOS 2.0. IBM acquired exclusive rights to resell and
sublicense the pen-computing extensions to the DOS operating
system from its developer, Communication Intelligence Corp., of
Redwood Shores, California, last September.

PenDOS 2.0 supports more than one hundred existing mouse-aware
DOS applications without modification, and provides support for
development of new pen applications, IBM said.

A spokeswoman for IBM, who asked not to be named, said the IBM-
CIC agreement gives IBM the exclusive right to sign new licenses
for PenDOS, while existing licensees will retain their licenses
with CIC.

CIC launched PenDOS 2.0 last July. NCR and NEC are among the
existing licensees.

PenDOS 2.0 is an extension to the DOS operating system which
permits pen input to existing DOS applications. It also opens up
possibilities for applications designed for a pen interface, such
as signature verification, graphics design, and annotation of
documents.

One of the new features of PenDOS is a base set of gestures
common across IBM pen systems. In addition to mouse emulation and
text input, the gestures can be used to invoke functions such as
cutting, copying or deleting a highlighted area, while a special
Gesture Macro Editor allows users to map gestures to different
functions or keystrokes. To enable text and special keystroke
input, a "soft" keyboard is also provided.

PenDOS 2.0 currently offers soft keyboard layouts and CIC's
Handwriter Recognition System support for seven languages,
including English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese
(Katakana, Hiragana, and Kanji characters).

According to IBM, an adaptive trainer lets users train the
handwriting recognition to their particular writing styles.
Signature verification software is also available.

IBM sells pen-based computers of its own as part of the Thinkpad
portable line. These are supplied with PenPoint, another pen-
based operating system from Go Corporation of California. The
spokeswoman said IBM's relationship with Go "is good and will
continue" but added that this would not rule out supplying PenDOS
with the Thinkpad machines, though IBM is not doing so at present
or saying it necessarily will do so.

(Grant Buckler/19930129/Press Contact: Rob Crawley, IBM, 914-
642-5364; Linda Simon, Jennings & Company for IBM, 914-251-5950)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(PAR)(00025)

Further Price Cuts Seen for European PCS 01/29/93
PARIS, FRANCE, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- After a year in which PC prices
plunged by about 50 percent, PC makers are likely to drop their
prices by as much as 20 percent more this year, according to
InfoCorp Europe.

The Paris-based market research concern, a unit of Computer
Intelligence, La Jolla, California, said that the price cuts,
combined with technology advances, will accelerate the replacement
of already-installed PCs as well as increase penetration of the
small business market. This should create many new players in the
market even as some established companies, bowed by competitive
pressures, drop out.

The result will be a market in which the very large and the very
small players slug it out, InfoCorp said, while mid-sized PC makers
that cannot reach a critical mass of sales may be squeezed out.

InfoCorp's market share figures underline the increased competition
in PCs. IBM remained Europe's largest PC maker, with 13.5 percent
of the market last year, down from 15.6 percent in 1991, followed by
Apple and Compaq, both with 8.5 percent, then Italy's Ing. C. Olivetti
& Co. SpA, with 6.4 percent and Germany's Vobis AG with 4.5 percent.
No name computers, once virtually unheard-of in Europe, accounted last
year for 9.5 percent of the market, up from 8.1 percent in 1991.

(Andrew Rosenbaum/19930129/Press Contact: Christine Do,
InfoCorp Europe, 12 boulevard des Iles, 92441 Issy
-les-Moulineaux Cedex, France tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00026)

Lotus Annual Revenue Up, Quarter Down 01/29/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Lotus
Development's results for the year and quarter ended December 31
show an increase in annual revenues despite a small revenue drop
in the fourth quarter. Net income was up substantially thanks
largely to sale of Lotus' interest in Sybase, Inc., but operating
income was down in both the year and the quarter.

Lotus' net income for 1992 rose 87 percent to $80.4 million, or
$1.87 per share, from $43.1 million, or 98 cents per share, in
1991. However, this figure includes a pre-tax gain of $49.7
million from the sale of Sybase securities and a $15 million pre-
tax restructuring charge. The 1991 results included a $23 million
restructuring charge. When the restructuring charges and Sybase
proceeds are excluded, Lotus had net income of $57.2 million or
$1.33 per share in 1992, down seven percent from $61.7 million or
$1.40 per share in 1991.

Lotus' 1992 revenue was up nine percent to $900.1 million from
$828.9 million in 1991.

For the fourth quarter, Lotus reported net income of $14.6
million, or 35 cents per share, up 152 percent from earnings of
$5.8 million, or 14 cents per share, in last year's corresponding
quarter. The 1992 fourth quarter included a $15 million gain from
sales of Sybase securities, offset by a $15 million restructuring
charge. The 1991 fourth quarter included the $23 million
restructuring charge. With these items factored out, fourth-
quarter 1992 figures remain the same, but 1991 net income was
$24.4 million, or 56 cents per share, so net income was down 40
percent in the quarter.

Fourth quarter revenue totalled $246 million, a one percent drop
from revenue of $249.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1991.

Company spokesman Bryan Simmons said the drop in net income was
due to "marketing expenses associated with our aggressive efforts
to grow our share of the Windows market and the communications
market."

He said those efforts have borne fruit, claiming that Lotus'
sales of Windows applications are growing faster than the Windows
software market as a whole. However, he would not provide
specific figures.

Lotus formerly held about a 15 percent interest in Sybase,
Simmons said. That is now reduced to about five percent. Simmons
said he could not comment on whether the company plans to sell
the remaining stake.

(Grant Buckler/19930129/Press Contact: Bryan Simmons, Lotus
Development, 617-693-1697)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

AT&T Reports Record Earnings 01/29/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Despite losing
market share in its long distance business, AT&T became the
second most profitable company in the US. Exxon remains the most
profitable US company.

AT&T's total profit, $1 billion on $17.5 billion in revenue, was
up 57 percent from the same period a year ago. For the year AT&T
earned $3.8 billion, far higher than the $522 million of 1991.

Best of all, the feat was achieved despite the fact that revenues
from long distance were actually down, by 0.7 percent. Product
sales rose 20 percent, helped by the sale of network switches to
major phone companies around the world, and higher operating
profits from its NCR computer division. Results were also helped
by good results in financing, with the company's Universal Card
credit and calling card boasting 16 million users. During the
quarter the company was also taken off "credit watch" lists from
major bond-rating agencies, having been placed there after it
raised billions to buy NCR. All this was achieved despite AT&T's
decision to put up to $3.8 billion into McCaw Cellular
Communications.

The news, which was in line with analysts expectations and led to
a small drop in the price of AT&T stock, was in sharp contrast to
IBM's loss of $5 billion for 1992, and marked a complete reversal
of roles for the two high-tech giants. Five years ago it was AT&T
which was reeling, locked into a monopolistic corporate culture
and failing in the computer business, while IBM was riding high
with both its computer lines and new telecommunications equipment
from its Rolm unit. Today, AT&T stock is riding higher than that
of IBM, and so are its prospects, with a "vision" of wireless
communication based on its personal communicator and cellular
data transmissions.

Chairman Robert Allen's new goal is to get half of his company's
revenues from outside the US. Its latest move in that direction
is a 70 percent interest in a new joint venture with Tesla a.s.
of Prague, in the Czech republic. Initially AT&T Prague will sell
AT&T digital switches for the local market, focusing on adapting
it to local standards.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930129)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00028)

Ohio Bell Wants To Offer Telephone Video Services 01/29/93
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Ameritech, which won
"incentive regulation" for its Michigan Bell unit last year, now
wants it for its Ohio Bell operation, and is offering a new deal
in order to get it. Ohio Bell has offered to freeze rates for
residential customers in exchange for permission to set its own
rates for information services, including video services. The
move will be made formally in a proposal to the Public Utilities
Commission of Ohio in about two months.

The deal is not quite as good as it appears, since the costs of
providing basic phone service are declining with automation. But
the kicker in the Ohio Bell plan is a commitment to invest $3
billion in fiber phone lines and new switches.

As an indication of what could happen if Ohio regulators go along
with it, Michigan Bell demonstrated a distance learning program
in Sterling Heights which uses fiber cable and digital switches
like those Ohio wants to buy. The service, called ThinkLink,
offers access to special interactive programming selected by
teachers to back up their curricula, with students using their
remote controls to respond. It is, however, a pilot project,
costing just $2 per month plus usage charges. Michigan Bell
officials explicitly praised the Michigan Telecommunications Act
of 1991, the law giving the company regulatory flexibility, for
helping make the project possible.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930129)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

Lines Drawn In McCaw-Bell Dispute 01/29/93
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- McCaw Cellular
Communications has attacked a petition from Bell Atlantic Mobile,
Southwestern Bell and NYNEX challenging its right to sell part of
itself to AT&T.

The petition claims that the investment puts AT&T back into the
local telephone business, something it's prevented from entering
by the 1982 decree breaking up the Bell System. McCaw's response
is that AT&T is only buying a minority stake, that the alliance
is still being negotiated, and that it's in full compliance with
Federal Communications Commission regulations. A press statement
goes on to call the petition "self-serving."

In fact, the Bell Atlantic petition is similar in concept to a
court case filed by AT&T last year. After failing to win FCC
approval to stop filing details on its special deals with big
customers, it filed a court case to force MCI and other
competitors to make similar filings. So far, that strategy has
worked, with the US Court of Appeals recently ruling in AT&T's
favor. In the new petition, the local phone companies want badly
to get into the long distance business and manufacturing, with
Bell Atlantic admitting that if it had greater power, it would
have no problem with the AT&T-McCaw deal. It is unclear how
regulators will respond to the Bell Atlantic petition, however,
since the FCC is presently operating with only three of five
commissioners.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930129/Press Contact: McCaw Cellular
Communications Bob Ratliffe, 206/828-8685)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00030)

New For Networks - Wollongong Pathway Access 2.1.1 01/29/93
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Wollongong Europe has
unveiled Pathway Access 2.11 for DOS/Windows and the Apple Computer
Macintosh. The package is a logical progression of previous
versions, which the company claims is running on more than
100,000 personal computers.

Pathway Access 2.1.1 allows users to connect remote TCP/IP hosts
to PCs over local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs)
and telephone/modem connections.

Announcing the package, Peter Vekinis, Wollongong Europe's
marketing communications manager, said that it will be promoted
in the UK through the company's distributors -- GEC and Frontline
-- as well as telesales operations. In the rest of Europe, he said,
the bulk of sales will be through dealers.

The software consists of Windows and Mac applications based on
Wollongong's TCP/IP layer. It provides a common user interface
for Windows and Macintosh platforms that features "point and click"
Telnet, FTP, and network printing services.

V2.1.1 has expanded the terminal emulations to include Tektronix
4105 and 4010, as well as VT340/VT240 terminals. This is in
addition to the DEC VT100 to VT3300 plus 3270 terminal emulations
supported by earlier versions.

European pricing for Pathway Access 2.1.1 has been set at $485.
The advanced terminal emulation pack costs an extra $340, while
the runtime edition will sell for $265.

Paul Spears, Wollongong's general manager, said that sales of
earlier versions of Pathway Access had gone well. He told
Newsbytes that he expects to see the new version sell well.

(Steve Gold/19930103/Press & Public Contact: Wollongong Europe -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00031)

Microsoft Cuts Some European Prices 01/29/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Microsoft says it
will reduce the price of some of its best-selling applications
software in Europe beginning February 1.

The announcement came just two months after Newsbytes reported that
the company said it had no plans to cut its European software
prices. That statement was in response to an announcement by Lotus
Corporation that it would reduce its European prices. The Lotus
announcement raised investor concerns about a price war between the
two companies.

According to market research firm Dane Bosworth Europeans pay as
much as 90 percent more than US buyers, supposedly because of the
additional cost of adapting programs to the different languages and
countries. Prices vary considerably from country to country. While
Microsoft does not reveal sales figures, industry watchers estimate
that the company's sales reached $1 billion during 1992.

Microsoft Executive VP of Worldwide Sales and Support Steve Ballmer
said the cuts will range from unchanged in some countries to 22
percent elsewhere. He said it is difficult to predict what the
price changes will do to revenues or earnings. No changes are
expected in Italy or Spain, while Excel is being reduced about 10
percent in France, and Office about 22 percent. Similar adjustments
are being made in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In
Germany Excel was reduced about 16 percent and Office about 19
percent. A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes the products
affected include Excel, Access, Powerpoint, Foxpro, Word, and
Microsoft Office. The spokesperson said the cuts are also in
conjunction with the Microsoft Select program reported earlier
this week by Newsbytes.

Ballmer said Microsoft is seeking to diminish pricing differentials,
further complicated by constant changes in currency exchange rates.
Local language versions of Word, Excel, Access and Microsoft Office,
will be pegged at about 1.6 percent above the US price for the
product.

Ballmer said the cuts are a one-time adjustment. "Don't expect us to
do it every two months. This stuff's not going to move with every
change in currency prices."

(Jim Mallory/19930129/Press contact: Katy Ehrlich, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00032)

Dell Names New Operations Executive 01/29/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 29 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
created a new position to oversee operational planning, supply
chain management, new product introductions, operations strategic
planning and distribution.

Dr. Christopher Gopal is Dell's new vice president of operations,
strategy and re-engineering, joining the company with 20 years of
operations management experience including several high-tech and
computer manufacturing firms. He will report to Scott Flaig,
Dell's senior vice president of worldwide operations.

Dell spokesperson Jennifer Powers told Newsbytes the position was
created in order to make sure the company's manufacturing operations
were as efficient as possible. "As we continue to grow and
distribute worldwide, it's becoming more important to make sure our
distribution is as effective as it can be." The responsibilities
being taken over by Gopal were previously spread across several
other Dell management positions.

Powers said creation of the new position does not signal any
significant change in direction for the company. "It's not a shift
in direction, but I would anticipate there would be some change in
processes in the interests of efficiency." No closing or
consolidation of manufacturing facilities or changes in staffing are
anticipated, Powers told Newsbytes.

Dr. Gopal holds a PhD in Strategic Management and Production &
Operations Management from the University of Southern California,
and an undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from
Bangalore University in India. He received an MBA from the Cranfield
School of Management in England, and has co-authored two books.

(Jim Mallory/19930129/Press contact: Jennifer Powers, Dell Computer,
512-794-4100; Reader contact: 800-289-3355)