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/nb930202

Text File | 1993-02-02 | 64KB | 1,420 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00001)

Easel Workbench For PC Gains Tools 02/02/93
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Easel
Corporation has announced an new version of its Easel Workbench
applications development environment, equipped with object-oriented
development tools that the company claims will make it easier to build
client/server applications.

The integrated suite of tools in Easel Workbench 2.0 includes a layout
editor, attribute editor, text and vector drawing editors, source-
level debugger, and incremental compiler, according to Easel
officials. The system is "very visual," company spokesman Douglas
Clauson said, allowing programmers to do much of the work of creating
an application by pointing and clicking with a mouse.

Developers can select tools, objects, and source-code modules
from an object-based "parts catalog" to put together
client/server applications, according to Easel. A new
what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) menu editor lets
developers construct menus and action bars visually.

Another new feature is the fact that all compilation of code now
takes place in the background, so developers can keep working
while large applications compile.

Easel Workbench 2.0 is available now in two versions. The SQL
Edition is meant for creating applications that use the
Structured Query Language (SQL) standard for access to databases.
The Corporate Edition includes the SQL Edition plus other
client/server options for distributed presentation, peer-to-peer
communication, and transaction processing.

The software is available for IBM's OS/2 operating system and for
Microsoft's Windows operating environment. List prices are $5,995
for SQL Edition for OS/2, $3,995 for SQL Edition for Windows,
$10,900 for Corporate Edition for OS/2, and $9,900 for Corporate
Edition for Windows. A Corporate Edition for the DOS operating
system without Windows is also available, for $7,900.

Present users of Easel Workbench will get upgrades free except
for a shipping and handling charge if they are under maintenance
contracts, Clauson said.

(Grant Buckler/19930202/Press Contact: Douglas Clauson, Easel,
617-221-3088, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00002)

Low-Cost External Data Fax/Modem For PC 02/02/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Integrating
fax capabilities with data transfer services is becoming
increasingly popular. The Complete PC is addressing the low
end of the PC market by introducing the Complete Modem Plus
External, a combination data/fax modem that includes
RapidFAX for Windows and MS-DOS. It carries a suggested
retail price of $149 and a seven-year warranty.

William F.X. Grubb, president of The Complete PC, said, "With our
internally developed and supported RapidFAX for Windows and
DOS software, anyone can easily send and receive faxes from
within Windows or DOS applications. RapidFAX is easy to use,
feature-rich, and enables the user to fax from all major software
programs. RapidFAX will be sold stand-alone at a suggested retail
price of $79."

According to the company, the Complete Modem Plus External is
a compact external unit weighing less than eight ounces that
combines a 2400 bits-per-second (bps) data modem and 9600
bps Group III fax capability at an entry-level price point.

Juli Godsil, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that, "We normally, with most of our products, target small
businesses and home offices, but with this portable product
we are also targeting corporate America."

The Complete Modem Plus External will also ship with BitCom
communications software for data modem use, RapidFAX for
Windows (for faxing from Windows 3.0 or higher applications),
and RapidFAX for MS-DOS. The company says that the BitCom
software provides V.42bis, and MNP-5 error correction and data
compression.

The product operates directly through a PC serial port. Users
simply plug in the device and install the software.

The company says that the Complete Modem Plus External
requires an IBM XT/AT or higher (or 100 percent compatible)
system. Minimum requirements are 512 kilobytes of RAM, a hard
disk drive, DSDD or high-capacity 5.25-inch flexible disk drive,
and a VGA/EGA/CGA or Hercules-compatible graphics adapter.
It also needs a standard analog telephone line with RJ-11 or
RJ-14 connection.

The company is also working on a Mac version which will be released
next quarter.

(Ian Stokell/19930202/Press Contact: Juli Godsil or Jeff
Krump, 408-434-0145, The Complete PC)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00003)

UK - Mercury Slashes Private Circuit Rentals 02/02/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Mercury has cut the rental costs
of its "Fibrelink" private circuits to Europe, Canada and the US.
Fibrelink is Mercury's name for its 64,000, N x 64,000 and two million
bits per second (bps) data circuits.

Basic price reductions amount to around 15 percent in annual rental
terms. Two discount schemes push this discount rate, respectively, to
20 and 32 percent, depending on how much the customer spends on
private circuits.

To qualify for the higher rate discounts, customers must spend a lot,
Newsbytes notes. The discounts are based on customers' combined
annualized expenditure on European and US circuits. Companies spending
more than UKP 90,000 a year qualify for 5 percent discount, while
those spending more than UKP 270,000 qualify for a 12 percent
discount, over and above the basic 15 percent discounted rates.

According to Mercury, the result of the price changes is that Mercury
customers can save between 10 and 20 percent compared to British
Telecom's lines.

"It's always been Mercury's objective to have a very simple private
circuit tariff structure," explained Phil Mehrtens, manager of
Mercury's private circuits product group. "We have a single half-
circuit price with no extra fees for connection or local loop on
fixed-term contracts," he added.

Examples cited by Mercury include a 384,000 bps circuit to the US
which used to cost UKP 112,000 and now cost UKP 73,820 , a reduction
of 34 percent. A customer already spending more than UKP 270,000 on
European and North American circuits will pay UKP 112,640 for a new
768,000 bps circuit to Germany, compared to UKP 132,000, a reduction
of 15 percent.

(Steve Gold/19930202/Press Contact: Mercury Press Office - Tel: 071-
528-2547)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00004)

UK - Cray Communications' 2-Hour Maintenance 02/02/93
WATFORD, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Cray
Communications (no relation to the supercomputer maker) has
enhanced two of its services to customers. The first enhancement
is the introduction of a "guaranteed fix time" for site visits.
The second is the introduction of a standard two-hour
call period.

The first enhancement is, according to Cray, the first of its type in
the computer industry. The new service revolves around a maintenance
agreement which is based on the time taken to restore service , as
opposed to the time taken for an engineer to respond to a call and
arrive on site.

The second enhancement offers a two-hour response time as a standard
option for its on-site maintenance service. Cray claims that this
level of service has previously only been available as a special
option to customers.

Announcing the enhancements, David Thackeray, Cray's service marketing
manager, said that they have been made possible because the company's
field service organization is so strong. "We're now able to offer the
best response time service in the industry with a two hour response as
a standard option," he said.

Cray Communications may be an unfamiliar name to Newsbytes readers.
The company was formed in September last year following the
acquisition of Dowty's information technology (IT) division by Cray
Electronics. Its services range from the supply of computers and
software, to the installation of IT products, including modems and
general communication devices.

(Steve Gold/19930202/Press & Public Contact: Cray Communications -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

Madge Fastmac Plus Software Speeds LANs 02/02/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- "Throughput" is
an important part of any network device. Madge Networks has
introduced new software that enables users to achieve, what the
company claims, is the fastest available throughput on any Token
Ring adapter card.

Called Fastmac Plus, the new software runs within the Texas
Instruments (TI) Eagle and Super Eagle Token Ring chipsets. The
company claims that it "achieves unprecedented speed for packet
processing on network servers, routers, bridges, and analyzer
applications."

Madge's existing Fastmac software is incorporated within
software drivers for all Madge's TI-based network cards. The
company claims that Fastmac enables users to achieve
performance "three to four times higher" than TI's TurboMAC
software. Fastmac Plus increases performance to over 30,000
frames per second - which represents a further 250 percent
improvement over the company's existing Fastmac software.

The company's existing Fastmac-based drivers for Novell NetWare-
based servers and routers, along with drivers conforming to
Microsoft's NDIS (Network Device Interface Specification),
will be updated to incorporate the new Fastmac Plus software.

The new Fastmac Plus drivers will be distributed free of charge
as a software upgrade to Madge users via the company's bulletin
board system.

Stephen Thomas, vice president of product and technology for Madge,
said: "With the ability to provide throughput over 30,000 frames
per second, Fastmac Plus gives users of enterprise-critical LANs
(local area networks) the power to reach the theoretical limits of
16 megabits-per-second (Mbps)."

The fastest speed possible on conventional Ethernet LANs is
10Mbps.

The company says that the existing Fastmac software has been
licensed by a number of networking vendors including Cabletron,
Cisco, Fibermux, Hewlett-Packard, SynOptics, Wandel & Golterman,
and Wellfleet.

Madge claims that its NDIS drivers based on Fastmac Plus for IBM
LAN Server and Microsoft LAN Manager networks will be available
in the third quarter of this year.

In June, 1992, Newsbytes reported that Madge was releasing two
new Token Ring products -- an intelligent hub called SmartCAU
and a high performance stand-alone bridge.

(Ian Stokell/19930202/Press Contact: Marina Donovan,
408-383-1420; or Teresa Camera, 408-383-1418, both of
Madge Networks)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00006)

Moscow - Comtek Show April 26-30 02/02/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Crocus of Moscow and Comtek of
Wilmington, Connecticut in the US, have announced participants and show
dates for the Spring Comtek Computer Show in Moscow. Plans call for
the show, which runs from the 26th to the 30th of April, 1993, to
span two halls of the Second Pavilion of the Expocentre Exhibition
Complex, Krasnaya Presnya, in Moscow.

The event is third in an annual series of shows that attracts the
major computer vendors to the CIS and Russia. According to the show
organizers, the event has already attracted a long list of
participants: Borland, Dell, Microsoft, Computer Associates,
IBM, Siemens Nixdorf, Soft-Tronic, Sun, Lotus, Autodesk, Merisel,
Sequent, and Star Electronics.

Ironically, despite the "new companies" theme of the show, all but one
of the participants -- Dell -- has an existing and established
presence in Russia. Dell is trying to break into the Russian
market using its Polish operation.

Exhibition space does not come cheaply, even in Moscow. According to
Crocus, a stand at the show will set companies back a hefty US$390 per
square meter. That perhaps explains why the event still has some
unfilled spaces.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930202/Press & Public contact: Crocus Inc, phone +7
095 126-2504, 126-2873; fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00007)

IBM Sues Kyocera For Alleged BIOS Infringements 02/02/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- IBM has taken out a lawsuit against
Kyocera, the internationally known electronics company. The lawsuit
alleges that the Japanese company has infringed on the copyright of
IBM's basic input output system (BIOS), the chipset that forms the
heart of a computer other than the main processor.

Kyocera has stated publicly that it refutes the charges. Company
officials claim that, since the BIOS code was developed in-house by
Kyocera, it cannot be a copy of the IBM BIOS.

The IBM lawsuit was actually filed on January 26 in the District Court
in Tokyo. In it, Big Blue asks Kyocera to pay 18.7 billion yen
(around $150 million) for the alleged infringements.

Reports suggest that IBM has been suspicious about Kyocera's BIOS code
for almost three years. News reports also suggest that both companies
have been actively discussing the matter for some time, but that these
discussions have broken down in recent times.

The BIOS of a computer is usually a silicon chip that contains
software that determines what a computer can do without referring to
software, either on a floppy or a hard disk. On the IBM PC, for
example, the BIOS contains all the program code needed to control the
keyboard, display, disk drives, as well as serial port links. On the
PC, the BIOS chipset interfaces with the disk operating system (DOS)
that usually comes on disk, so that DOS can be upgraded where
necessary.

Newsbytes notes that Kyocera first began producing PCs in the early
1980s on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis. It was
only as recently as 1989 that Kyocera began producing PCs under its
own brand name, allowing the company to become an industry name in
Europe as well as Japan.

Recently, Kyocera has been generating around $45 million a year from
sales of its PCs on a worldwide basis.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930202/Press Contact: IBM Japan, +81-
3-3586-1111, Kyocera, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(BOS)(00008)

EPA Looks At Energy Savings For Software, Components, Printers 02/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- The US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has officially announced the addition of
printer, software, and component producers to its Energy Star
Program for reducing PC energy consumption.

Accounting for a substantial percentage of all laser printers sold
in the US, the members of Energy Star's newly established Printers
category include Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Lexmark, Bull
Italia, Kyocera, and Dataproducts. Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and
Compaq also participate in Energy Star through a separate Computers
and Monitors category.

Intel, Cyrix, Phoenix, and SystemSoft, makers of a product billed
as the first power management software for the desktop, are among
the 11 members of a new Allies category, an entity that extends the
program to software developers and component manufacturers.

Companies in the new printers category have pledged to introduce
printers that can automatically reduce power consumed when not in
use. The EPA predicts that this move will cut down electrical
consumption by 30 to 60% per unit, saving a grand total of $450
million on electricity bills each year.

The new program allies have promised not only to promote energy
efficiency in their own products, but to encourage manufacturers to
develop products that qualify for Energy Star.

SystemSoft, one of the new Allies, produces pmSOFT, a program that
shuts down the CPU, disk drives, communications ports, and other PC
system components when not in use and also allows for direct user
control of peripheral devices.

The current version of pmSOFT includes three levels of system
monitoring: APM Idle, Doze, and Sleep. These modes provide 25 percent,
27 percent, and 56 percent power savings, respectively, according to a
company spokesperson.

Launched last summer, Energy Star seeks the voluntary cooperation of
the PC industry in bringing out desktop products that will "power
down" when not in use. IBM, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, DEC, NCR,
Smith Corona, and Zenith were the first participants. The program was
then expanded in December to include monitors as well as computers.

Aside from the original participants, members of the Computers and
Monitors category now include Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics,
Unisys, NEC, AST Research, Acer America, Hyundai, Nanao USA, American
Megatrends, EMPac International, Idek, Micronics, and Outbound
Systems.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930202/Press contacts: Brian Johnson, EPA, tel
202-223-9114; Karen Cummings, SystemSoft, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00009)

India - Novell, Onward In Joint Venture 02/02/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Novell has teamed up with Onward
Technologies in Bombay to form a joint venture company (50/50
percent owned) known as Onward Novell Software India.

The aim of the new company is to provide engineering support, as well
as expand education, service, and channel support for Novell's
products in the Indian computer marketplace.

According to Novell, the new company will allow Novell to service its
customers more responsively, expanding its relationships with
customers in the Indian sub-continent.

"Onward's leadership in the increasingly important Indian software
industry makes the company an ideal partner for helping Novell better
serve customers," explained Kanwal Rekhi, Novell's vice president.

Onward has been the primary distributor of Novell products in India
since 1991. The company also provides vertical computer systems built
around computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering
technology.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930202)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00010)

Texas Instruments Cuts 875 Jobs 02/02/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Despite reporting a profit
of $247 million in 1992, Texas Instruments says it will cut 875 jobs,
mostly in its Defense Systems and Electronics Groups, as part of a
continuing cost reduction program.

The company said that some of the employees losing their jobs will
come from the semiconductor group's military products operations and
some from the Information Technology Group.

The defense group, located in Dallas and with subsidiary operations in
Lewisville, McKinney, and Sherman, will lose 435 positions. Five
positions will be lost in Ridgecrest, California.

Semiconductor operations in the Midland-Odessa area will account for
380 of the lost positions. Semiconductor operations headquarters will
remain in Midland but manufacturing operations will be consolidated
into other TI facilities. Information Technology will cut 35 employees
at its Hunt Valley, Maryland processor automations systems office, and
25 in the Dallas office.

TI spokesperson Terri West told Newsbytes that about half of the
employees being cut will depart this week, while the remainder will be
spread out over the remainder of the year. "We wanted to give the
employees as much notice as possible," she said.

The Hunt Valley operation writes software for migrating realtime
data from the factory floor to higher MIS levels, such as for
numerical control systems.

West said most of the cuts were in the defense group. "That business
has remained profitable despite reductions in defense business.
Unfortunately, the cuts must be made for TI to remain competitive,"
she said, adding that job cuts will affect both hourly and salaried
workers.

The employees will receive separation pay, extended insurance
protection, and educational reimbursement benefits as well as
outplacement assistance provided by professional consultants.

(Jim Mallory/19930202/Press contact: Terri West, TI, 214-995-3481)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Microsoft Ships Office For Windows On CD-ROM 02/02/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Microsoft
says it is now shipping the compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM)
version of Microsoft Office for Windows.

Microsoft Office is a software package for Windows that includes
Microsoft Word version 2.0 word processing, Microsoft Excel version
4.0 spreadsheet, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation graphics version
3.0, and Microsoft Mail version 3.0 Workstation License.

The new CD-ROM version includes all of the documentation online, as
well as a new integrated installation program that sets up all the
programs at once. Microsoft says the advantage of getting Office for
Windows on a CD-ROM disk is that all the documentation is contained
on the disk instead of in the form of bound manuals. The special
installation sequence has also been added to the disk-based version
of Office for Windows.

Although a relatively new technology for personal computers, CD-ROMs,
according to the research firm Freeman Associates in its "CD-ROM Drive
Forecast," are installed in a base of 3 million computers
and are expected to jump to nearly 10 million with five years.

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

Microsoft claims that the integrated installation procedure also saves
some hard disk space, since only one copy of any files shared by the
different applications is installed. The company is also touting the
time savings of the installation program.

While installation times vary with computer systems, the company
points out that if just 20 minutes were saved in the installation
process, a large installation base with 100 workstations could save
more than 30 hours of installation time. Microsoft Office on CD-ROM
has a suggested retail price of $750. A Mac CD-ROM version of Office
is also available.

Microsoft spokesperson Gaby Adam told Newsbytes that present users of
Microsoft Office 3.0 can upgrade to the CD-ROM version 4.0 for $29.

(Jim Mallory/19930202/Press Contact: Gaby Adam, 206-637-9097;
Reader contact: Microsoft, 800-426-9400


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

 ****Zeos Subnotebook 02/02/93
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Zeos
International has announced a new subnotebook personal computer
which weighs less than four pounds and starts at $1,495.

Zeos Chairman Greg Herrick said that the new system, dubbed "Contenda,"
is intended to compete head to head with other subnotebook product
offerings such as Dell Computer's 320SLi and Gateway 2000's
Handbook. "We consider the Contenda to be one generation ahead
of our competitors' product," he said.

The Contenda is powered by an Intel 386SL microprocessor running at
25 megahertz (MHz). It ships standard with 2 megabytes (MB) of
system memory and an 80MB hard disk, a VGA backlit display screen,
and a built-in trackball, located in the upper right corner of the
keyboard.

The trackball is about the same diameter as one of the keys. Optional
memory expansion can increase the random access memory (RAM) to as
much as 10MB. Like most notebooks, the 10-key pad is embedded, or
combined with alpha keys, with a NumLock key activating the numeric
functions. The system weighs just under four pounds. The company
claims that a battery will last up to four hours when using the built-
in power management features.

The Gateway 2000 subnotebook referred to by Herrick runs on a Chips
and Technologies 80186 chip, and the Dell 320SLi uses a 386SL chip
running at 20 MHz. An optional internal fax/modem is available, and
the unit has external serial and parallel ports, as well as a video
port that will drive an external VGA color monitor.

Zeos spokesperson Rick Apple told Newsbytes that a system configured
with 4MB of system memory, an 80MB hard drive, a carrying case, an
extra nickel metal hydride battery, an internal fax modem, an external
floppy drive, and Microsoft DOS, Windows, and Lotus Organizer would
sell for $1,995.

(Jim Mallory/19930202/Press contact: Rick Apple, Zeos Int'l,
800-423-5891)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00013)

Cray's Rollwagen Tapped For Commerce Job 02/02/93
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Supercomputer maker
Cray Research's chairman has been tapped by President Bill Clinton
as Deputy Secretary of Commerce, second in command to US Commerce
Department Secretary Ron Brown.

John A. Rollwagen resigned his position as chairman, chief executive
officer and Cray Research board member in order to accept the
government job, and has already been succeeded by John F. Carlson,
Cray's president and chief operating officer. Carlson, 56, joined
Cray Research in 1976 and has held the positions of treasurer, vice
president of finance, executive vice president, and chief financial
officer.

President Clinton has given the Commerce Department the task of
leading the drive to restore global competitiveness of the US.
Rollwagen will serve as the deputy to Clinton's newly appointed
Commerce Secretary, former Democratic Party chairman Ron Brown. Brown
has already embarrassed the Clinton administration once when he
nearly allowed special interest groups to put on a lavish party for
him.

Rollwagen was instrumental in building Cray Research into the
world's largest manufacturer of supercomputers, although that
position is presently under attack by rivals in the US and Japan.

Speaking about Rollwagen, Carlson said he was sorry to see his
friend leave the company. "His leadership has been instrumental in
our growth and success throughout the last 17 years." Carlson also
said he was enthusiastic and excited by the fact that the new
administration "is attracting proven domestic and international
business leaders like John to their team."

Lester T. Davis replaced Carlson as chief operating officer. Davis
was formerly executive vice president and general manager of Cray's
supercomputer operations. Robert H. Ewald, 45, executive vice
president, will assume Davis' responsibilities.

Don F Whiting, vice president of customer services, was elected
executive vice president of customer services, and will report to
Ewald. Whiting joined Cray Research in 1976.

(Jim Mallory/19930202/Press contact: Frank Parisi, Cray Research,
612-683-7130)


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

Microsoft Ships Foxpro Upgrade 02/02/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Microsoft says it
is now shipping Foxpro version 2.5 for Windows and DOS. The
announcement was made just hours after Borland International
announced it is starting to ship its Windows version of Paradox.

Microsoft says the Foxpro database system will operate as much as
three times faster in multi-user and multi-table operations than its
predecessor version 2.0, and three times faster than Paradox.
Microsoft reportedly got those comparisons from an independent
research company it commissioned to perform benchmark testing.

The graphics-based Windows version of Foxpro is a 32-bit
application, and takes advantage of the enhanced mode of Windows.
Users can integrate their Foxpro 2.5 data with other applications
such as Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet or Microsoft Word word
processing by using dynamic data exchange (DDE). Charts, photos,
and even video can be included in the database using object linking
and embedding (OLE).

Existing applications created in earlier versions of FoxPro will run
under the new version, according to the company, and it's also
compatible with dBASE III and dBASE III Plus, and extends dBASE IV.
The company says "little or no relearning and programming" is
necessary.

Taking a page from Microsoft's book, Borland introduced Paradox for
Windows with a price tag of $139.95 through April 30, 1993. "We
are in a tough database war with Microsoft, and today we have fired
a powerful shot with the launch of Paradox for Windows at an
unheard-of-price," said Borland chairman Philippe Kahn.
Microsoft offered its relational database program Access for $99
when it was introduced a few weeks ago. That introductory offer
expired January 31st, and Access now carries a $495 price tag.

Microsoft spokesperson Cindy McKendry told Newsbytes that the company
is also offering a special upgrade offer for users of competitive
products such as dBASE, Paradox, Clipper, R:Base, and its own Access
product. Users of those programs, and some others, can move to FoxPro
for $199. Readers should contact Microsoft for specific trade-in
details. New buyers of FoxPro will see a $495 suggested retail price
on FoxPro 2.5, with additional machine licenses available for $425. If
you have an older version of FoxPro,purchased before June 1, 1992, you
can upgrade for $99 until April 30. If you bought FoxPro after June
1st, your upgrade is free.

While it may seem that Microsoft is competing with itself in
marketing Access and FoxPro, McKendry told Newsbytes that's not the
case. While both products are relational databases, McKendry says
Access is ideal for a client/server application, used as a front end
for products such as SQL Server. FoxPro will probably appeal to
users who already have large databases built in an X-Base product.
"New users, or users new to databases, will probably go to
Access," according to McKendry.

The DOS-based version of FoxPro 2.5 is text-based, and does not
include features such as OLE and DDE, and does not take advantage of
the features of Windows. It also doesn't offer a text editor,
drag-and-drop, a report writer, screen generator, or a label maker.

(Jim Mallory/19930202/Press contact: Cindy McKendry, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Reader contact: Microsoft,
800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00015)

 ****Dell Doubles 4Q Sales 02/02/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Dell Computer says it
expects its fourth quarter sales results will be up more than 100
percent over the same period last year. That makes the fourth
consecutive quarter the company has reported similar sales growth
over the same period the previous year.

Sales revenues for the quarter are expected to be about $615
million, with revenue for the complete year estimated at more than
$2 billion.

Dell Chairman Michael Dell said he is pleased with the underlying
strength of the business. "We had some initial problems ramping up
shipments of our new products quickly enough to meet customer
demand. As a result, we were not able to take advantage of all the
revenue opportunity we had in the quarter," he said. Dell praised
his company's suppliers in working with Dell to resolve the supply
issues.

In a telephone news conference, Dell Chief Financial Officer Tom
Meredith said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will
not require the company to restate results for fiscal year 92 or 93
because of the company's past practice of hedging foreign currencies
for profit. Meredith told reporters the SEC has granted approval to
proceed with a planned four million share offering as long as the
company discloses the impact of the hedging under market-to-market
accounting. The price of the offering isn't expected to be set until
March.

According to Meredith, Dell's earnings would have been $0.03 per
share higher in the past 23 months under market-to-market
accounting, which requires currency hedging gains or losses to be
recorded each quarter rather than deferred.

In the first nine months of FY 93 Dell shareholders have earned
$1.81 per share. Shares earned $1.41 in FY 92.

As reported earlier by Newsbytes, the SEC began looking into Dell's
accounting methods after a financial analyst raised questions about
the company's foreign exchange transactions. At the time, the
company disputed the analyst's claims that its foreign exchange
practices were unorthodox and potentially speculative. The company
is still considering legal action against the analyst.

Michael Dell said that the outlook for the first quarter and for the
complete FY 94 year remains about the same, but declined to be more
specific. "What we can tell you is that our momentum is strong and
that our business remains healthy," he said.

The SEC is reportedly continuing its inquiry into the financial
impact of Dell's currency trading but Dell spokesperson Roger Rydell
told Newsbytes the company feels the matter is now behind them.
"We've already footnoted to their satisfaction our newly amended
prospectus on the stock offering," he told Newsbytes.

(Jim Mallory/19930202/Press Contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer,
512-794-4100; Reader Contact: Dell Computer, 512-794-4238)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Centel Posts Loss 02/02/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Maybe Centel
officials knew what they were doing in agreeing to be bought-out
by Sprint after all.

The company said it posted a loss for the fourth quarter, $1.4
million, on revenues of $304.5 million. That did include a one-
time charge of $9.5 million covering early retirement of debt. A
year ago it earned $24.4 million. The company noted that the 1991
results were buoyed by a gain of $13.7 million from the sale of
half its Omaha, Nebraska cellular network, but even when
extraordinary items are taken out on both sides operating
earnings were still down over $2 million, from $10.7 million a
year ago to $8.4 million this year.

Centel fought a bitter battle with many shareholders over its
merger into Sprint Corp., apparently winning approval of the
merger by a narrow margin. The plan is due to be final by the end
of this quarter, leaving Centel shareholders with 35 percent of
the new Sprint.

Sprint, meanwhile, asked the Federal Communications Commission to
double the amount of time holders of toll-free numbers have to
switch carriers without incurring termination charges. The FCC
had set a 90-day "fresh look" period, once the 800-exchange
numbers become portable on May 1. Portability means you can
change carriers without changing phone numbers.

Before this, carriers controlled entire phone exchanges, so that a 950
number on the 800 exchange is instantly identifiable as being handled
by MCI, for instance. AT&T, which holds the bulk of the market,
opposes the extension. Sprint also said it will spend $100 million per
year over the next five years on Synchronous Optical Network, or
SONET, transmission gear, with over a dozen long distance routes due
for construction by the end of 1994, capable of carrying interactive
television and other high-bandwidth activities. Sprint also plans to
extend its SONET network to Europe and the Pacific Rim.

In other earnings news, DSC Communications continued its comeback by
reporting $13.1 million in earnings for the three months ending in
December, with revenue up over 43 percent to $162.7 million. DSC had
been hit hard in 1991 by a software bug in one of its signal transfer
points which caused service outages on both coasts, and by Motorola's
decision to enter a cellular equipment joint-venture with Northern
Telecom -- Motorola had been a major re-seller of DSC cellular
switches. And America Online said it earned $1.2 million during the
quarter ending in December, on revenues of $9.3 million. The company
is the only publicly traded consumer online service, and thought to be
the fourth-largest player in that market.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930202/Press Contact: Lennert J. Leader,
America Online, 703-448-8700; DSC, Terry Adams, 214/519-4358;
Centel, William White, 312-399-2745)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Gore's Dream Goes To The Labs 02/02/93
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- The
telecommunications industry has taken the first step toward making the
campaign promise of Vice President Al Gore -- an "information
superhighway" -- a reality. The Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency, or DARPA, formed a group headed by Bellcore, the research arm
of the regional Bell companies, to look into the complex problem.

The Optical Networks Technology Consortium has an initial budget
of $14 million, half from DARPA. Its chief research goal is
developing a laboratory prototype of an all-fiber network on
which emerging concepts being developed by the consortium members
can be tested.

On the prototype, Columbia University and Northern Telecom will work
on network architectures and control, Hewlett-Packard and the Lawrence
Livermore Laboratories will work on broadband applications, General
Motors' Hughes Aircraft unit will work on technologies that
combine analog and digital signals, Rockwell will work on integrated
circuit arrays, and United Technologies will work on switches.

Bellcore President George Heilmeier said the consortium will
improve the technology base and systems experience needed to
support the Gore initiative. By working together, costs can be
contained, he added. Bellcore itself will focus on developing and
testing efficient network technologies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930202/Press Contact: Cynthia Lucenius,
Bellcore, 201-740-6468)


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

Prodigy Kills Sex Chat 02/02/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Prodigy has
closed down a service called "frank discussion" after what it
termed complaints about sexually explicit messages.

Such things have happened many times before, as when
Fundamentalists and gay-rights activists started arguing on a
health board, or anti-semitic messages were posted, then attacked
by B'nai B'rith, or when Prodigy users were stopped from
complaining about price increases.

The company's director of market programs and communications,
Geoffrey Moore, defended the latest shutdown, saying Prodigy is
a "publisher," and the forum on alternative lifestyles had become
an explicit pick-up service with some unprintable messages.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930202)


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

Cellular Cancer Scare Recedes 02/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- The industry and the
government promise to look into it, but for now the scare over a
claimed link between cellular phones and brain cancer seems to be
receding.

Companies like Motorola whose stock was hammered last week by
claims of such a link, reported in Newsbytes January 4, began
making up the lost ground as their stocks traded up on February
1. International companies like Vodafone whose shares were also
hit began coming back, as stock players began looking for
bargains.

The medical community also provided its verdict, calling
untrue claims by Florida widower David Reynard that less than a
watt of 900 MHz waves, concentrated close to the ear in an antenna,
represents a health hazard. No proof of a link exists, most
physicians contacted by the media noted, and cancer has many
causes. The incidence of brain cancer in particular may not be
rising as the Reynard suit claims, because more cancers are being
caught in medical scans and autopsies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930202)


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

ComNet Show Preview 02/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- A year ago the
communications industry met in Washington amid technological
uncertainty but political certainty. At this week's meeting, that
will be reversed.

Uncertainty is the order of the day on the political front, as
President Clinton has yet to indicate a direction for
communications regulation through the appointment of a new FCC
chairman. While last year, most of the phone company
representatives at the meeting talked confidently of having local
regulation lifted as competition came on-line, the talk is now of
whether the government will seek to play a role in moving the
wired networks toward higher capacity and lower profit margins.

The moves made by phone companies into wireless technologies also
seem to be backfiring. Health scares aside, growth may be peaking
in the US, as it peaked in the UK a few years ago, observers say.
While there is great hope that data customers will take up the slack,
the sales costs on those contracts are high, with the required
systems expertise required in short supply.

On the product side, however, the delivery of video information
over the existing infrastructure is becoming more and more
certain. Videoconferencing is being followed by broadcast-quality
applications, often over copper wire. Any service which can be
delivered over a local area network should be transportable over
the phone network, and at a modest cost. Highlights include
PictureTel's new M-800 Multipoint Bridge, which could allow for
240 people to share a videoconference, or 100 different calls to
be supported simultaneously. Octocom Systems, which said
recently it will be merged into Telebit, will be showing a new
Windows-based network management system called Montage and a
19,200 bit/second modem called Allegro.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930202/Press Contact: Ron Taylor,
PictureTel, 508-762-5178; Octocomm, Kimberly Tierney, 508-441-
2181)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00021)

Oracle To Pay $24 Mil To Settle Suits 02/02/93
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- The class action
suits against Oracle that drew so much attention because of court room
battles between case-hungry attorneys are being settled, according to
Oracle. The company is admitting no wrong-doing but will make five
installment payments amounting to a total of about $24 million to
settle the suits.

The class action suits drew much attention as lawyers were apparently
so enthusiastic in attempting to attract litigation-minded
shareholders to use their services that it disrupted a May hearing.
Name-calling and other behavior at the hearing motivated US District
Judge Vaughn Walker to order sealed competitive bids from each firm.

About 20 suits were filed between February and March 1990 by
stockholders after the company's stock plunged 31 percent following
an announcement of low first-quarter earnings. Allegations have
been made that six company officers enjoyed huge profits by
selling 645,000 common shares before the disclosure, a charge
that Oracle has consistently denied.

The 11-lawyer firm of Lowey, Dannenberg, Bemporad, Brachtl &
Selinger, which specializes in securities and corporate finance,
was selected by the judge to head the class action securities
suits against Oracle.

Oracle has more money now to pay the settlement. The maker of
cross-platform database software surprised analysts by
reporting $33 million in its second quarter of 1993, an
increase of 147 percent over the same quarter the year before.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930202/Press Contact: Chris Shilakes,
Oracle, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00022)

 ****PC Price Wars Hurt ALR, 1Q Losses Near $1 Mil 02/02/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Advanced Logic
Research (ALR) is announcing new products and losses. The
company personal computer (PC) price wars have hurt the ALR,
which has reported a first quarter loss of $915,000.

ALR said its first quarter 1993 revenue is down 14 percent, and
income is down $1.3 million compared to last year. Sales to
distributors and national retail organizations ("aggregators")
are down. However, the company said things would have been
worse had it not been for an increase of 28 percent in
international sales compared to last year.

The company has admitted that the PC price wars are eroding its profit
margins from ALR's 22 percent in the same quarter a year ago to 15
percent in the first quarter of fiscal 1993 and 13 percent in its last
quarter. Similar reports are coming from IBM, which reported PC sales
were up 50 percent in the same period, but income was still down. Some
PC manufacturers are winning, such as AST which recently reported a 91
percent increase in net income in the same period.

ALR has lost money despite a 25 percent decline in operating
expenses in the first quarter compared to the year-ago quarter
and a 27 percent decline over the prior quarter ended September
30, 1992.

The company, despite the losses, is expanding its product line
by introducing a new series of 486 PCs it is calling the
Evolution IV and two multimedia PCs based on the Evolution
products.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930202/Press Contact: Ron Sipkovich,
Advanced Logic Research, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00023)

WordPerfect Ships DataPerfect 2.3 Relational Database 02/02/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- With all the hype
surrounding the upcoming Windows-based database management
system slug-fest, let's not forget that there are far more DOS
users than Windows users. Recognizing the likely DOS demand,
WordPerfect is finally shipping version 2.3 of its DOS-based
menu-driven relational database, DataPerfect.

According to the company, DataPerfect 2.3 enables users to
create "fully relational applications" without requiring them
to know a programming language.

In announcing the product, Carl Hansen, DataPerfect product
director at WordPerfect, said: "Although DataPerfect provides
advanced information management, users don't have to be
programmers to create powerful applications. Both new and
experienced users can simply follow menu directions to create
powerful relational database applications."

New DataPerfect 2.3 enhancements include a new data-retrieval
menuing system, new report options, diagnostic and data
ordering utilities, phone dialing capabilities, an optional
transaction log feature, along with increased mathematical and
financial analysis capabilities.

The company claims that the menu system allows a database
definer to customize front-end menus and a number of submenus
for each database. Users can also run reports from menu
selections, launch shell macros, or go directly into specific
panels.

DataPerfect also offers password protection for menu items.
The company says that, using menu security features, database
definers also control to what extent users can create, edit,
and delete records.

Two new utilities will come with the product: DPDiagnostics,
which detects errors in database applications and sends error
messages to a file that can be read on screen or printed; and
DPOrder, which allows users to organize and reorder report and
panel lists for specific databases.

The company says that the optional "Transaction Log" feature
allows users to export all the information in a database to a
single transaction log. Also, a new report option, the "Quick
Merge Define" feature, lets users create WordPerfect 5.0 or 5.1
secondary merge files with named fields.

Networking is an increasingly important capability for any
new application, but especially relational databases. According
to Wordperfect, DataPerfect gives networked users concurrent
access to the same record.

The company says that users see modifications to the record as
they are made by other users and receive on-screen notification
that the record has changed. According to WordPerfect, the
product requires no special network installation and can support
as many users as network operating systems will allow.

Concerning networking, Hansen said: "DataPerfect's network
power far surpasses the network performance of other database
products."

DataPerfect 2.3 retails in the United States for $495. However,
it can be purchased for $195 for a limited time using a coupon
provided in the DataPerfect Test Drive Kit. The Test Drive Kit
includes the 10 vertical applications shipping with DataPerfect
2.3 and is available free to customers through WordPerfect Corp.
Also, registered DataPerfect users can upgrade to DataPerfect
2.3 for $89. Those who purchase DataPerfect 2.2 between
September 1, 1992, and March 1, 1993, can upgrade free of charge.
Additionally, licensed WordPerfect users can buy DataPerfect 2.3
for $129.

The company is also initiating a competitive trade-up program
which will allow customers using selected competing database
packages to trade up to DataPerfect 2.3 for $129. The program
runs through March 31, 1993.

(Ian Stokell/19930202/Press Contact: Linda Berlin,
801/228-5014, WordPerfect Corp.)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00024)

Banyan Systems 1992 Income Up 183% 02/02/93
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Anyone
not convinced that corporate networking is anything less than
one of the biggest growth markets in the computer industry
need look no further than Banyan Systems' 1992 annual
results for proof. For the year ending December 31, 1992,
Banyan reported net income of $8,234,000, up 183 percent
over net income of $2,910,000 for 1991.

Banyan is a major player in the network operating system
(NOS) market with its flagship VINES product. The company
is one of the big three NOS vendors, competing with Novell's
NetWare and Microsoft's LAN Manager. NetWare is
the undisputed "king" when it comes to NOS, controlling
between 65 and 70 percent of the installed base.

According to Banyan, net income per share for 1992 was $0.50
per share, compared to $0.19 per share in 1991. Revenues for
1992 totalled $113.5 million as compared to $100.1 million in
1991.

The figures also showed another interesting trend within the
computer industry -- the declining revenue to be had from
hardware, in favor of increased revenue from software. The
company said that software revenues for 1992 increased 30
percent to $75.5 million, while hardware revenues declined
23 percent to $23.3 million. Support services revenues also
increased 25 percent to $14.7 million.

Banyan also reported fourth quarter 1992 net income of
$2,924,000 or $0.16 per share, up 76 percent from $1,658,000
or $.11 per share in the fourth quarter of 1991. Total revenues
for the three months ending December 31, 1992 increased to
$30.6 million from $27.2 million in the comparable period in
1991. Software revenues increased 28 percent to $21.7 million
for the fourth quarter of 1992, compared to $17.0 million for
the same period in 1991.

The company said that revenues in North America totaled $91.2
million in 1992, as compared to $76.6 million in 1991. North
American software revenues increased 38 percent to $58.2
million in 1992 from $42.1 million in 1991.

Internationally, the company is also doing well. Total
international revenues were reported as $22.3 million in 1992,
as compared to $23.5 million in 1991. International software
revenues increased to $17.3 million in 1992, up from $15.9
million in 1991.

With maybe one eye on Novell's upcoming NetWare 4.0, Banyan's
David C. Mahone, chairman and CEO, said: "While the company is
pleased with the success of 1992, Banyan anticipates continued
competitive challenges in this dynamic enterprise networking
marketplace. Tempered by caution, we look forward to continued
growth in 1993."

Many consider Banyan's VINES as being most appropriate
for server-to-server operations and local area network
internetworking. Novell's new NetWare 4.0 is reported to
go some way in addressing the current enterprise-wide
shortcomings of NetWare 3.11.

(Ian Stokell/19930202/Press Contact: Siobhan Carroll or Lucia
Graziano, 508-898-1000, Banyan Systems Inc.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00025)

Trio Of New PCs From Unisys 02/02/93
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Unisys has
launched three personal computers with features aimed at selling them
to users of Microsoft Windows and local area networks (LANs). The
machines include high-performance Super VGA display controllers and
accelerators, and one model comes with an Ethernet LAN interface on
the system board.

The PW2 Advantage series PCs are also designed so they can be
upgraded to Intel Corp.'s upcoming Pentium processors (also known
as 586 chips).

One of the models, the PW2 Advantage Plus 4333, is meant to be
used as a network workstation. It has an Intel 486DX processor
running at 33 megahertz, three expansion slots, and four
megabytes of memory expandable to 128 megabytes. A variety of
hard disk drives using the Small Computer Systems Interface
(SCSI) are available, and a 3.5-inch diskette drive is standard.

The 4333's central processor socket will accept Intel's Overdrive
processor, a version of the Pentium chip designed for upgrading
machines with earlier Intel processors, company spokesman Oliver
Picher said.

A 4333 with no hard drive has a list price of $2,899. With a
240-megabyte hard drive the machine costs $3,599. This model is
available now.

The Advantage Plus 4666 contains a 66-megahertz Intel 486DX2
chip, six expansion slots, and eight megabytes of memory
expandable to 128 megabytes. A variety of SCSI disk drive options
are available and a 3.5-inch diskette drive is standard.

The 4666 has its central processor on a processor card which may
be replaced with a card containing the Pentium chip in future,
Picher said. The existing processor card also has a socket for
the Overdrive chip, he added, offering users a choice of two
upgrade paths.

The 4666 does not have a network interface built in but it is
offered as an optional expansion card.

A 4666 with no hard drive lists for $3,499. WIth a 340-megabyte
hard drive, the machine is $4,799.

The third model, the Advantage Plus 4668, is similar to the 4666
but has eight rather than six expansion slots. Without hard
drive, it costs $4,799; with a 525-megabyte hard drive the price
is $5,999.

The 4666 and 4668 models are intended mainly as network servers,
Picher said.

The 4333 and 4666 are available now, and the 4668 will be
available in March, according to Unisys.

(Grant Buckler/19930201/Press Contact: Oliver Picher, Unisys,
215-986-5367)


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

Wang Reports Net Profit, But Operating Loss 02/02/93
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Wang Laboratories,
struggling to emerge from Chapter 11 protection under US
bankruptcy law, has reported a small net profit in its second quarter.
The profit comes from foreign exchange adjustments related to Wang's
reorganization, however, and the company lost money on regular
operations in the quarter.

In the quarter ended Dec. 31, Wang had an operating loss of $6
million on revenues of $351.2 million. After a $19.4 million gain
on foreign exchange adjustments, the company reported a net
profit of $400,000. In the same period a year earlier, Wang
earned a $7.8 million profit on significantly higher revenues of
$500.7 million.

For the six months ended Dec. 31, Wang reported a net loss of
$66.2 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with a net loss of
$16.6 million, or 10 cents per share, for the same period last
year. Six-month revenues were $711.2 million, compared with
revenues of $961.8 million in the same period last year.

Wang officials said that second quarter results reflect the impact of
ongoing cost reductions and restructuring actions begun earlier
in the fiscal year. The results were also affected by continued
lower margins due to worldwide price pressures and a shift in
customer demand to lower-priced products.

Revenue for the second quarter and first six months reflect
seasonally strong buying by US government customers. Wang
predicted revenues for the 1993 fiscal year will be in the range
of $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion.

(Grant Buckler/19930202/Press Contact: Frank Ryan, Wang,
508-967-7038; Ed Pignone, Wang, 508-967-4912)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

 ****IBM Launches RS/6000s, Parallel System 02/02/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- IBM has launched
its anticipated parallel processing computer, as well as several
new workstations and servers in its RISC System/6000 line.

The new SP1 parallel processing system is the first product from
IBM's Highly Parallel Supercomputing Systems Laboratory. It can
contain from eight to 64 RS/6000 processors, and is meant for the
sort of heavy number-crunching jobs traditionally reserved for
supercomputers, such as seismic exploration, fluid dynamics, and
computational chemistry. IBM rates the new machine's performance
at eight billion floating point operations per second
(gigaflops).

The SP1 will be available in late October, IBM said, with prices
starting at $312,000.

The announcements also include three technical workstations: the
Powerstations 355, 365, and 375. Meant for electrical design work
such as chip design or simulation, the Powerstations range in
base price from $15,995 to $25,225 and will be available in late
February, the company said.

The PowerStation M20 is meant to be used as an integrated
graphics workstations on local-area networks and in universities.
According to IBM it is the lowest-priced two-dimensional color
graphics system available, with prices starting at $3,995.
Availability is set for late March.

IBM also launched the Xstation 150, an X terminal meant for use
on local area networks. It is priced at $5,539 and is due to ship
in late March.

Several new servers also joined the RS/6000 line. The Power
Network Dataserver supports the Network File Server (NFS)
standard and IBM said it will support as many as 200 clients. The
system provides unusually high data throughput, according to the
company. Prices start at $177,600 and shipment is planned for
April 30.

Three new models available as workstations or as servers become
the highest-performance members of the RS/6000 line. The
Powerstation and Powerserver 360 and 370 are designed to sit on
or beside a desk, and use 50 megahertz (MHz) and 62MHz RS/6000
processors respectively. The 570 is a desk-side system with a
50-megahertz processor with two gigabytes of disk storage and a
compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive as standard
equipment.

The Powerstation/Powerserver 360 and 370 are priced at $19,715
and $25,715 respectively and are due to ship at the end of
February. The 570 has a $45,472 price tag and is slated for
availability February 19.

IBM also enhanced its Powerserver 970B and 980B, adding an
expanded 64K-byte data cache, a 32K-byte instruction cache, and
two 80-megabyte-per-second input/output interfaces as standard
equipment. These systems also come with a 1.44MB 3.5-inch diskette
drive, a CD-ROM drive, a 5GB tape drive, four 1GB hard drives, and a
Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI-2) controller.

The Powerstation/Powerserver 580, launched last September, has
been enhanced with the addition of a CD-ROM drive as standard
equipment, and a choice of 2.3-gigabyte or five-gigabyte tape
drives are available as options.

A choice of graphics adapters have been announced as options for
the Powerstation and Powerserver 220. IBM also added a 200MB disk
drive to the standard equipment supplied with the model 220W.

New graphics adapters include the Gt31, a two-dimensional
graphics adapter meant for applications such as desktop
publishing and electrical computer-aided design (CAD), and the
Gt4E, a three-dimensional graphics adapter aimed at jobs such as
mechanical CAD, architectural design, and solid modelling.

The GTO 01i and 02i are new members of the Power GTO family of
graphics subsystems. The 6091-19i is a new 19-inch,
high-resolution color monitor offering resolution up to 1,280 by
1,024 in four different resolution modes.

The announcements also included two new network interfaces. The
5086 Ethernet Communication Attachment lets an RS/6000 running
IBM's CATIA Version 3.2.3 or higher CAD software act as an
application server for multiple 5086 graphics processors via an
Ethernet LAN. The 6098 Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
device attaches the IBM 6098 Channel Control Unit to a 100-
megabit-per-second FDDI network.

IBM also launched the LS/380L, an eight-millimeter tape library
offering 270 gigabytes of storage intended for archival or
backup.

(Grant Buckler/19930202/Press Contact: Gregory Golden, IBM, 914-
642-5463)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

 ****Red Ink Savages Olivetti's Annual Results 02/02/93
IVREA, ITALY, 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Olivetti has revealed that it
experienced an operating loss of between 300 and 350 billion lire in
its full year to December 31, 1992.

Speaking with reporters at a trade conference in Switzerland, company
chairman, Carlo De Benedetti, said that the losses were reported on an
annual turnover of 8,025 billion lire -- slightly ahead of his own
expectations.

Detailed analysis of the figures was not forthcoming, as De Benedetti
said that he had to agree the precise figures at a company board
meeting which is due later next month.

In 1992, Olivetti reported a loss of 459.8 billion lire on a turnover
of 8,600 billion lire. 1992's figures then, represent an improvement
for the company, even if annual turnover has fallen. Part of the
reason, Newsbytes notes, seems to be due to the continuing cost
reductions in the staffing area that the company is continually
making. At the end of 1992, Olivetti employed 40,500 staff -- down
6,300 from the 46,800 on the company payroll at the beginning of the
year. Plans call for Olivetti to trim this still further down to
37,000 by the end of this year.

(Steve Gold/19930202)


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

 ****Former LAPD Chief Gates To Design Video Game 02/02/93
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Former Los
Angeles police chief Daryl Gates is expanding to software
development. "The Chief" is teaming up with game software
developer Sierra On-Line to design the next version of the
company's Police Quest series.

Sierra says that Gates has proposed a design for next Police Quest
version, which is to be about a present-day Los Angeles Police
Department (LAPD) detective tracking down the source of a
seemingly random set of murders.

"I want to give computer users the opportunity to see what it's like
to be a cop in LA. I want to show the day-to-day pressures officers
face and provide an accurate picture of the dangers and difficulties
they encounter in trying to solve a crime," said Gates.

Sierra says the game will draw heavily on Gates' 43 years in
the LAPD with by-the-book procedures, real world pressures,
photo-realistic backgrounds, and video-captured actors.

Chief Gates received national attention during the LA riots
that followed the verdict in the jury trial of LAPD officers in
the Rodney King case. Gates resigned his post as LAPD Chief
amid controversy but has continued in public life as a talk
show host. Gates hosts an afternoon talk show on KFI AM radio
640 in Los Angeles.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930202/Press Contact: Bill Linn, Sierra On-
Line, tel [phone] ext 504, fax [phone])


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

 ****Toshiba Dealer Rebates On Satellite Notebooks 02/02/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 2 (NB) -- Hoping to gain at least
a temporary advantage in the fiercely competitive notebook computer
market, the Computer Systems Division of Toshiba America Information
Systems has announced a dealer rebate program for all Satellite
notebook computers. The rebates will result in estimated street
prices ranging from $1,100 to $2,600 for the six-model series.

In parallel with the rebate scheme, Toshiba has also announced an 80
megabyte version of the T1800 model.

Steve Lair, vice president of marketing for the Computer Systems
Division, said that actual rebates will vary according to
model and dealer participation.

Estimated street price examples for the Satellite Series are
predicted to include: the T1800 with a 60MB hard drive, down
from between $1,300-$1,450 to $1,100-$1,250; the T1800 with
a 80MB at between $1,250-$1,400; the T1850 with a 80MB drive,
down from between $1,650-$1,800 to between $1,500-$1,650;
and the T1850C with a 80MB hard drive, down from between
$2,350-$2,600 to between $2,150-$2,400.

The T1800 features a 20 megahertz (MHz) 386SX CPU (central
processing unit) with a 60MB or 80MB hard disk drive and 2MB
of RAM, which is expandable to 10MB. The T1850 has a 25MHz
386SX CPU with a choice of an 80MB or 120MB hard disk drive
and 4MB RAM, which is expandable to 12MB. Both come standard
with a 9.5-inch monochrome LCD (liquid crystal display) screen
with 64 gray scales.

(Ian Stokell/19930202/Press Contact: Howard Emerson,
714-583-3925, Toshiba America Information Systems)