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/nb930204

Text File | 1993-02-04 | 62KB | 1,382 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00001)

Object World Opens In Boston 02/04/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Object World Boston,
the first East Coast edition of a show for business managers as
well as developers, is underway at the John B. Hynes
Auditorium, starting three days of talks and show floor activities
centered around the emerging arena of object-oriented (OO)
programming.

Taking the spotlight was a keynote speech by Willem P.
Roelanddts, vice president and general manager of Hewlett-Packard's
Computer Systems Organization. In "The Object World That Awaits
You," Roelandts presented arriving attendees with an overview of
how object-oriented programming is allowing rapid development of
applications that can be easily ported between platforms and scaled
to fit almost any environment.

Today, Mitchell Kertzman, chairman and CEO of Powersoft
Corporation, will bring object-oriented programming into the
future with a second keynote. In "Computing's Brave New World:
Client/Server and Object Orientation as the Trend of the 1990s and
Beyond," Kertzman will describe an upcoming generation of software
development tools that will bridge the gap between traditional
programming and windowed GUIs (graphical user interfaces).

Throughout the three days, show visitors can take their pack from
a range of some 40 conference sessions that are divided into three
categories of technical complexity. The Business of Objects track
covers such basic topics as "Application Development Environments,"
"Object Essentials," and "Deploying Distributed Systems: Issues
and Perspectives."

In a second track, "Technology of Objects," attendees are finding
such offerings as "Class Libraries Compared," "Implementing
Persistent Objects," and "Case Study: Comparative Assessment of
Methods."

"The Boston University Software Developer's Track," a third track
just added to Object World this year, deals in depth with the
intricacies of C++ programming. Subjects include "C++ Gotchas,"
"Moving from C to C++: Managing the Transition," and "Advanced C++
Programming Styles: Using C++ As a Higher-Level Language."

The show floor at Object World is arrayed with booths with
approximately 30 luminaries in the "OO" (object-oriented) arena,
ranging from Hewlett-Packard to CenterLine Software and from
Powersoft to Digitalk.

Object World, an event cosponsored by World Expo Corporation, the
Object Management Group, and Boston University Corporate Computing
Center, will return to Boston in 1994.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930203; Press contact: Christine Krajewski,
World Expo Corporation, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00002)

 ****Windows Software Hot In 1992, Says Dataquest 02/04/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Sales of
application software for the Microsoft Windows operating
environment have increased a whopping 238 percent in 1992,
according to a survey released by Dataquest.

"The success of Windows continued to overwhelm vendors and end
users alike," said Bill Kesselring, industry analyst for
Dataquest.

Of all software applications, the top five vendors, Microsoft,
Lotus, Wordperfect, Borland, and Symantec controlled 74 percent
of the market in 1992. Dataquest estimates are Microsoft's
revenue for software applications nearly doubled, from
$1,693,200,000 in 1991 to $3,378,900,000 in 1992. Dataquest
estimated total revenue for software applications was up 60
percent over 1991 to an all time high of $7,634,500,000 in
1992.

Kesselring says the top vendors keep "devouring" competition
through acquisition. Borland said in a recent announcement
software was becoming a commodity and Dataquest says price wars
were started in the fierce competition between the top vendors.
"The market is undoubtedly consolidating as fewer and fewer
vendors can afford to compete. At the same time, the personal
computer software market is segmenting into finite areas,
allowing for niche players to exist and etch out a living,"
Kesselring added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930203/Press Contact: Paul Wheaton,
Dataquest, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Ericsson Scores $70M Japanese Contract 02/04/93
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Ericsson has secured a $70
million contract with Kansai Digital Phone Company (KDP) in Japan.
Terms of the contract call for the Swedish telecom giant to supply
equipment to expand the Japanese digital mobile phone network in the
Osaka region.

According to KDP, sales of cellular phones are expected to rocket over
the next few years, rising to 13 million by the end of the decade,
with the bulk of them being digital phones.

Ericsson claims that, since the liberalization of the Japanese
telecom marketplace in the late 1980s, demand for digital mobile
phones has soared on the back of falling hardware prices. The take-up
of digital mobile phones elsewhere in the world over the last few
years has meant that prices of hardware have fallen.

KDP is one of three companies offering digital phone service in Japan.
Newsbytes notes that Ericsson has contracts with the other two
companies -- Central Japan Digital of Nagoya and Tokyo Digital of
Tokyo.

(Steve Gold/19930203)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00004)

BT Urges Liberalization Of EC Phone Marketplace 02/04/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- British Telecom (BT) has called
for the same liberalization that has taken place in the UK telecom
marketplace to be extended to the European Community (EC). In a report
just out, BT has called the EC telecom monopolies "a dangerous
anachronism."

The move is ironic, Newsbytes notes, since BT was a vociferous
opponent of the liberalization of the UK telecom market which took
place in the 1980s. BT still has the lion's share of the telecom
market in the UK.

Interestingly, BT is asking the European Commission to impose an open
telecom market by 1995 to comply with the Treaty of Rome. In the
report, BT notes: "It is for those opposing competition to justify why
it should not prevail in telecommunications as it does in almost all
other sectors."

BT argues that the EC, itself a proponent of liberal market policies,
has not practiced what it preaches. The EC, Newsbytes notes, was one
of the main organizations lobbying the British Government to
liberalize the UK telecom market in the 1980s.

BT stands a good chance of getting its voice heard in the EC since
Sir Leon Brittan, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) was, until
quite recently, the Competition Minister for the EC. In addition,
Britain currently holds the chair in the EC.

Analysts note that Brittan's successor, Karel van Miert, who has taken
up his new position in the last month, is not as staunchly in favor of
a liberalized telecom market in Europe as was Brittan. Press sources
have quoted him as saying that he favors a soft approach to
the problem of state monopolies.

Whatever happens, the effects of the formal BT request are bound to be
felt over the coming weeks, particularly since van Miert has only been
in office less than a month.

(Steve Gold/19930203)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00005)

Boost For East Germany's Telecom Infrastructure 02/04/93
BONN, GERMANY, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT),
the state-controlled telecom operation in Germany, has been given the
go-ahead on an DM 11 million (around $7.2 million) plan to invest
heavily in the former East German telecom network.

According to Helmut Ricke, DBT's chairman, the aim is still 850,000
extra phone lines in Eastern Germany during 1993. This will cost, he
said, about DM 11 million.

DBT is currently embarked on the final stages of its 1992 plan to
install 750,000 new lines in Eastern Germany. Although private
companies have invested heavily in the region, he note, the telecom
infrastructure remains starved of investment.

With Ricke's plan given the go-ahead, Eastern German cities will
have the same level of access to trunk and international phone
lines as their West German counterparts by the end of 1993.
The major problem facing DBT, however, are the urban and
rural areas of Eastern Germany, many of which are still using
post-war rotary telephone exchange technology.

(Steve Gold/19930203)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00006)

Storagetek's Unix Network Data Storage Manager 02/04/93
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Storage
Technology Corporation (Storagetek) has announced a hardware/software
combination that is designed to simplify the management of
data stored on network servers and workstation running under the
Unix operating system.

Storagetek Chairman Ryal Poppa says the new product, NearNet, will
allow networked personal computers to use the same storage
technology the company has been selling to mainframe and
minicomputer users. "Research shows that the amount of data stored
on desktop computers exceeds the amount found in large data centers
and is growing faster. We believe NearNet will provide customers
with a cost-effective means of protecting this information without
burdening the knowledge workers who use workstations," Poppa said.

Also announced was LibraryStation, a software product that enables
NearNet and other clients to share a Nearlink 4400 Automated
Cartridge System (ACS), called a library. Storagetek's automated
tape libraries use robotic technology to store and retrieve magnetic
tapes on which computer data is stored.

Initially NearNet will support Unix systems from Sun Microsystems,
Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Intergraph, IBM, and
Silicon Graphics. NearNet connects to the servers and workstations
through an Ethernet local area network (LAN) or the higher-speed
Fiber Distributed Data Interchange (FDDI).

The system consists of the NearNet storage management unit and
software. Commands are sent to the ACS via the LAN, with a single
NearNet system controlling as many as eight cartridge tape drives.
An optional software package provides disk space management and
migration services at the workstation level by automatically moving
inactive files to the library. Optional automatic back-up and restore
software is also available. The company says the cost of an average
configuration is about $200,000.

(Jim Mallory/19930203/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815; Reader contact: Storagetek, 303-673-5151)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00007)

Newest CD-ROMs Offer Proverbs, Jokes, Ocean Mapping 02/04/93
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Three new
NISC titles are aimed at business and dinner speakers, while
another pair are science-oriented oceanographic bibliographies.

Fred Durr, Publisher, NISC, told Newsbytes that because he was
dissatisfied with the other products on the market, his company
has been working for two and one-half years on a new search
engine ROMWright which is now being used on NISC titles, which
run on MS-DOS machines equipped with CD-ROM drives.

ROMWright is not available for purchase, but can be used on other
company's discs which are published by NISC.

New mainstream titles include Proverbs & Quotes For All
Occasions, which offers "The Prentice Hall Encyclopedia of World
Proverbs: A Treasury of Wit and Wisdom Through the Ages" and
"What A Piece of Work is Man!: Camp's Unfamiliar Quotations from
2,000 B.C. to the Present." Price is $59, $39 until March 31.

"25,001 Jokes, Anecdotes, & Funny Quotes" contains jokes,
riddles, short stories, and so forth in 1,000 topic areas. Price
is $99, $69 until March 31.

"Speaker's Lifetime Treasury on CD-ROM" includes hundreds of
megabytes of more stories, facts, and quotations geared to the
needs of public speakers. Price is $129, $99 until March 31.

Oceanographic & Marine Resources, volumes I and II, include
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic
survey data dating from the early 1800s and more than 110,000
abstracts and citations from 1976 to present from the
Oceanographic Literature Review, as well as other databases.

The Oceanographic & Marine Resources discs cost from $445 to $970
each.

All titles are for MS-DOS systems and Mr. Durr told Newsbytes
that these new titles will be available in about 30 days.

National Information Services Corporation publishes a wide range
of titles ranging from abstracts and bibliographies for scientists to
popularly priced discs for average users.

(John McCormick/19930203/Press and Consumer Contact: Fred Durr,
NISC, 410-243-0797 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

Informix Gets ISO 9000 Certification In UK & Germany 02/04/93
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Obtaining
ISO 9000 certification is becoming increasingly important for
companies hoping to be competitive in the European arena, as
many businesses require it as part of their original contract
proposals. Informix Software's Customer Services Division
has been awarded the international ISO 9002 certification
(equivalent to BS 5750 part 2) in the United Kingdom and
Germany by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).

ISO 9000 is an external standard for quality management that is
governed by the National Accreditation Council for Certification
Bodies (NACCB). ISO 9000 places strict requirements on the
company's quality system and suppliers must also meet these
standards. ISO 9000 is externally assessed by officially
recognized bodies such as LRQA.

The company claims that the award demonstrates that Informix
Customer Services, which includes consultancy, training,
porting, maintenance management and support, adheres to
"high-level, strict quality procedures giving customers greater
responsiveness through increased productivity and efficiency."

In announcing the receipt of the certification, Anna Hipkiss,
director of customer services at Informix UK, said: "More than
anything else, it makes good business sense to invest time and
resource in customer service. These days most major corporate
customers demand ISO 9000 certification and the process
focuses attention on what business is really all about -- serving
the customer. We also find out from the customer how easy it
is to do business with us -- this is invaluable feedback."

The certification was applied for in July 1992 and was awarded
at the first attempt in December. In obtaining the certification
Informix Customer Services Divisions in both countries had to
undergo an "intensive" review by LRQA. According to Informix,
this entailed documenting every task that impacts customer
relationships, implementing qualitative systems to carry out
those tasks, and defining control mechanisms to meet the quality
standards.

Concluded Hipkiss, "The fact that we were able to achieve ISO
9002 in less than six months and be approved the first time
proves the quality of our existing systems. But this is only the
beginning, we will be monitored at six monthly intervals for
9002 and will be seeking 9001 certification for our consultancy
business in June of this year."

Newsbytes has reported on a number of other vendors earning
ISO 9000 certification recently.

In December, 1992, Newsbytes reported that mass data storage
company Exabyte had earned the International Standards
Organization certification for its service and repair facility in
Cumbernauld, Scotland. The Scottish plant opened in June 1990,
and provides subsystem repair, service, and refurbishment. The
certification process began in February 1992. Exabyte's Boulder,
Colorado, facility is also being evaluated for a similar
certification.

In October, 1992, Newsbytes reported that Maxtor's
Singapore manufacturing and repair operation was awarded
ISO 9002 certification.

(Ian Stokell/19930302/Press Contact: Jaye Prosser,
415/926-6316, Informix Software)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00009)

Japan To Study "Intelligent Manufacturing" 02/04/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Development of a next-
generation intelligent manufacturing system is slated to
get underway soon, led by the Japanese Ministry of
International Trade and Industry, but with the participation
of a number of other countries.

The project, called the Intelligent Manufacturing System, will
have the participation of a whopping 140 organizations and firms from
various countries and regions of the US, Canada, EC and
Australia. Participants will study the development of advanced
manufacturing machinery and systems, including those based on
an AI (artificial intelligence) computer which designs and
manufactures products. Such systems can be designed to
self-recover in case of failure or malfunction, MITI says.

The project aims to solve current manufacturing problems such
as the scarcity of engineers and the escalating development
costs of manufacturing.

Participating Japanese firms and organizations are Toyo
Engineering, Toyota Motor, Tokyo University and Kyoto University.

Each country is helping to fund this project to the tune of
about 100 to 200 million yen (around $1.2 million) each. The
Japanese government will pay a total of 1 billion yen ($8 million).
The project will start in 1994 and last for 10 years.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930204)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00010)

Japan - Talking, Recordable Word Processor 02/04/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Toshiba has developed a Japanese
word processor which supports sound recording and also
provides a user with instructions in a synthetic voice. This is
the first Japanese word processor to offer sound recording and
voice features.

Toshiba's dedicated machine is called the "Rupo JW01" and is part
of the firm's best-selling Rupo family. Sound recording is
accomplished through a built-in microphone and saved to the
unit's memory via typed words.

The Rupo is equipped with a backlit-type LCD display, a 3.5-inch
floppy disk, an RS232C slot, a speaker and an outline-font printer.
It is also equipped with an artificial intelligence-based
200,000-word dictionary. Moreover, it can be used as an English
word processor because it is equipped with an English word
spelling check program, which checks 65,000 words. Standard
business organizing programs such as a scheduler and an
address book are also included in the software.

The word processor weighs 3.6 kg, which is slightly heavy but
traditionally termed a "luggable." The cost is 170,000 yen ($1,360).

Toshiba has released another high-end version of this word
processor equipped with Lotus 1-2-3 and an MS-DOS conversion
program. Users will be able to share file with MS-DOS-
based personal computers. This high-end version costs 285,000
yen ($2,280).

Toshiba's Rupo series has been a best-seller in Japan. Some
3.4 million units were sold as of December 1992.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930204/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-
3457-2100)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

Georgia PSC Staff Rules on N11 02/04/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- The staff of the
Georgia Public Service Commission has asked that, instead of
trying to dole out scarce numbers like 311, 211, and 511 for
use in local information services, it will try and find a way to
create more numbers.

The debate over the so-called N11 numbers has been swirling for
nearly a year, since Cox Enterprises, owner of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, asked Southern Bell to let it offer
information services, for a fee, to anyone who calls 511.
Southern Bell itself collects money for directory assistance
calls to 411, and local governments collect taxes for maintaining
emergency service accesses via 911. Last month, in fact, the 911
system passed its 25th anniversary. Late last year, Florida's
regulators gave Cox the right to use 511 in Palm Beach, on an
experimental basis, and services using that number are due to go
online this month.

After Cox called Southern Bell in Atlanta, however, the phone
company called the PSC, and it decided to proceed with a formal
procedure to create rules for the exchange. Southern Bell made a
formal proposal on N11 in July, asking that a lottery be used to
give out the numbers. After a detour in Washington, where the
Federal Communications Commission ruled that the state did indeed
have the authority to deal with the N11 issue, about a dozen
companies asked for rights to the numbers. Trouble was, there
were only 5 numbers available, 6 if the 611 number used in some
areas for local service is added.

So the PSC staff has asked that more numbers be created.
Applicants for the numbers would be divided into tiers, based on
their willingness to pay the $60,000 down payment. Southern Bell
would be allowed to charge for service, plus 10 cents for the
first five minutes and 2 cents for each additional minute on each
call. No more than 5 companies would share a line at that price,
while those paying less might be lumped together with as many as
100 other service providers. The only content restrictions
proposed on the services are the same as with 976 recordings,
meaning nothing even hinting at sex will be allowed.

Jim McKnight of Cox Enterprises noted to Newsbytes that without
numbers like N11, there is no way to offer audiotex services on a
local basis. The 976 exchange is limited to recordings, and the
900 exchange is national. All other calls, like the newspaper's
own 222-2000 service, must be free. In its filing, Cox noted that
it had gotten 12 million calls in the last year at 222-2000, but
guessed the number of calls would drop sharply if the company
started charging for the service. Georgia PSC staffers found that
the number of calls to 411, the directory assistance line,
dropped sharply each time the price for calling was raised.

David Burgess, director of rates and research for the Georgia
PSC, helped prepare the staff report, agreed with McKnight's
account. "The only successful service offered on pay per call is
directory assistance, at 411. Services like 976 and 900 on a
local basis have not been tremendous successes. The parties
believe N11 might break that barrier and render a successful pay
per call service."

The range of an N11 call would be strictly limited, Burgess
noted. Atlanta is unique for its large local calling area, but
some counties have three or four such areas, and each would have
a separate set of N11 providers under the current rules. "Some
parties asked for statewide offering of the numbers. But that
narrows the number of providers -- there could only be 5
statewide."

Besides Cox Enterprises, a number of audiotex service providers
asked for N11 numbers. So did American City Business Journals
Inc., owner of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a business
weekly. Because both of the city's major business news outlets
are party to the N11 proceeding, it has received no local
publicity.

This morning at 10 AM, Burgess and other staff members were
sworn-in at a hearing room in the PSC. The five commissioners,
four Democrats and one Republican elected last fall, will then
take the case under advisement, and might ask the parties for
more legal briefs. A decision could come down some 30 days after
that.

While the case has received little public attention, Burgess
said, it has gotten a lot of attention from industry insiders.
"Everyone in the nation, including the FCC, has been in contact
with us to monitor these proceedings. What we determine should be
a blueprint for what happens elsewhere. But right now, there's
very little public input."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930204/Press Contact: Georgia PSC, Harriett
Van Norte, 404-656-4537)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(ATL)(00012)

Powerbooks Get More Powerful -- Messaging Via SkyTel 02/04/93
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- SkyTel has
introduced support for Update!, a program from Ex Machina of
Brooklyn which offers delivery of wireless messaging to Apple
PowerBook via Motorola NewsStream receivers.

Update! can allow the transfer of data directly into calendar,
spreadsheet, database and other applications. The new software
provides a wireless mailbox into which full-text messages are
delivered via SkyTel and its affiliates. It works with dozens of
applications from other software developers, including Microsoft
Excel, FileMaker Pro, and Easy Alarms.

The companies said that more than 200 other software developers
and publishers under both Microsoft Window 3.1 and Apple Computer's
Macintosh System 7 have already implemented or announced links to
Ex Machina's Notify!, introduced in January 1992. which enables
business applications to deliver messages and data to via paging
systems. These include industry leaders such as Microsoft,
WordPerfect, and Symantec. The NewsStream receiver can store up to
32,000 bytes of data when it's not attached to a computer. The
product is priced at $149, as is Notify!, and a network version
costs $499.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930204/Press Contact: David Allen, for
SkyTel, 212-614-5163; David S. Rose, Ex Machina, 718-965-0309;
Ken Countess, Motorola, 407-364-3940; Public Contacts: SkyTel,
800-SKY-USER; Ex Machina, 800-238-4738)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

IntelliLink Supports Lotus Organizer 02/04/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- IntelliLink,
a program designed to link data between desktop PCs and handheld
organizers, said it now offers direct support for Lotus
Organizer, an integrated organizer program for desktops similar
to Day-Runner calendars which includes time management, address
book and note functions.

IntelliLink is designed to solve a problem faced by many
businesspeople, the lack of a link between their organizers and
the kind of data they collect and use outside the office. Many
executives and salespeople, in fact, continue to take paper
organizers, like pocket Day Timers, on the road with them even if
they have vast databases on contacts and scheduling on their
desktop machines. That is partly due to difficulties with the
user interface of some organizers, and partly due to the
difficulty of transferring information between organizers and
desktop units because of different file formats. IntelliLink
addresses the file format problem, while new pen-based organizers
like the Sharp Wizard OZ-9600 are designed to address the problem
of the user interface.

Among the desktop file formats now supported by IntelliLink are
those for Lotus 1-2-3 and Ami Pro, Microsoft, Excel, Borland's
dBASE and Paradox. Among the organizers it presently supports are
the HP 95LX from Hewlett-Packard, the Casio BOSS, Sharp Wizard,
Psion Series 3, and Radio Shack EC-345. Support for other
palmtops is said to be forthcoming. The program is accessed
through the Microsoft Windows Program Manager, and coordinates
desktop and travel calendaring and planning without compromising
the software utilities already resident in the palmtops.
IntelliLink carries a suggested retail price of about $100, and
requires 2-4 megabytes of memory, and Microsoft Windows 3.0 and
higher.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930203/Press Contact: Victor Cruz, McGlinchey
and Paul, 617/862-4514; IntelliLink, Karen Young, 603-888-0666)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00014)

Australia Bans Microwave Pay-TV 02/04/93
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- The Australian government has
made yet another policy change with regard to proposed pay-TV
services in Australia. It now says narrow-cast microwave
services won't be allowed.

At first it was going to be four high-power satellite-delivered
channels that would require simple decoder boxes and a small home
dish. Then the government decided Australia would be the first
country to have digitally compressed and encoded TV with tens of
channels squeezed into the space of four. Then they said the
market would be allowed to find its own level, and within certain
constraints, service providers would be able to determine the
best delivery mechanism.

Now it has stepped in to announce that narrow-cast
microwave-delivered pay-TV won't be granted licences after all,
despite promises to Broadcom that it would be issued licenses to do
just that. Broadcom has recently turned down an offer from Packer's
Nine network to buy the licence, and it claims that threats were
then made that Broadcom would be stopped.

Other players upset that satellite delivery wouldn't be first off
the rank include the satellite operator Optus and the national
broadcaster ABC. Optus recently lost one of the two satellites it
was to use for TV. It didn't actually lose it, as Hughes and the
Chinese government didn't get a chance to hand it over -- it was
destroyed in the launch phase.

Insiders say Optus and ABC have been "squealing" to the government,
fearing that the public will never pay the expected US$1000 plus
for a satellite receiving system if a much cheaper microwave
system is already available. One disadvantage of the microwave
delivery system is that it would only service the larger urban
areas, and not the far-flung homesteads and cattle stations of
the outback.

(Paul Zucker/19930204)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00015)

Australia - Lexmark Buys Laser Maker 02/04/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- US laser printer manufacturer
Lexmark has jumped to the number two spot in Australia by buying
local manufacturer Gestetner Lasers. This was a subsidiary of the
international Gestetner PLC which was created when Gestetner bought
local manufacturer Impact Printers.

Lexmark will now manufacture some machines locally, and inherits
second place in the market after Hewlett-Packard. It is believed
that some locally built machines will be exported to the Asia
Pacific area. At present Lexmark is in 32 countries in the region.
It isn't known if the new exports will be US Lexmark designs or
locally designed models.

Lexmark said it won't need to make any staff redundant, though
most duplicated departments would merge. Since both manufacturers
have an established dealer network, it is expected that these will
now offer both Lexmark and Gestetner models.

No price for the purchase has been announced but it is rumoured to
be around US$8M. Speakers for both companies said the new
arrangement made a lot of sense in the current tight market.

(Paul Zucker/19930204)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00016)

Australia - Compaq Sued 02/04/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- A leading Australian PC
manufacturer, Osborne, is taking Compaq to court over comments made by
Compaq's managing director, Ian Penman, late last year. Penman was
introducing Compaq's new warranty policy at a press conference when
the comments were allegedly made.

While neither party has publicly stated what the comments were,
press present on the day believe Osborne may be accusing Penman of
stating that Osborne hadn't properly costed its five-year warranty,
and in fact wouldn't be able to afford to honor it in years to
come.

They say Penman at first obliquely referred to another company
and its warranty, but then got more specific. Penman said he
had meticulously costed his warranty and handed a copy of the
company's budget to "PC Week" staff to prove his point. (PC Week
subsequently told Newsbytes that it was very pleased to have
been handed a document loaded with so much of Compaq's business
plan and targets for 1993).

The hearing is before the New South Wales State Supreme Court on
February 19, where Osborne will allege "that false and misleading
representations have been made against Osborne regarding its products
and services." It is believed other parties have been named in the
action. The action is being taken under the state Fair Trading Act.
It isn't known what damages Osborne will seek.

(Paul Zucker/19930204)


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

Australia - Qantas IT Staff Waiting For Cutbacks 02/04/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- After a year or more of
becoming leaner and more efficient, the computer staff of Australia's
airline Qantas are now facing another round of cutbacks. Qantas
has recently merged with domestic carrier Australian, and has
had a major shareholding taken by British Airways.

At present there are 746 IT (information Technology) staff at
the two airlines, and it is expected that around 160 of these jobs
will go in the next two years. The Australian Council of Trade Unions
is considering the effect of these cuts and will shortly present a
submission to Qantas with its suggestions as to how the cuts could
best be handled. Qantas says it hopes some of the staff can be
absorbed into other areas.

Meanwhile, both Qantas and Australian operate their own travel and
tour operator companies and some of these may also merge, causing
more redundancies.

(Paul Zucker/19930204)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00018)

 ****Editorial - Radio Frequency and Cellular Damage 02/04/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- By John McCormick.
Do cellular phones cause cancer? Personally I don't know if radio
waves cause cancer and frankly, no one else does either -- yet.
Could they cause cancer? Certainly they could!

If it were true that cellular phone antennas created nothing,
merely existed passively in a pervasive electromagnetic field,
then it still wouldn't be true that EMF doesn't cause cancer, it
might merely be that it contributes to a tendency to get cancer.
What would be true in that case would be that cellular phones
don't contribute to the danger any more than pocket pagers, which
transmit nothing and therefore DO exist passively in the
environment.

But, unfortunately for that argument, cellular antennas do create
something when they are transmitting, they create a new radio
frequency electromagnetic field (EMF).

The actual situation is that in very close proximity to the human
head a cellular phone antenna produces an extremely powerful EMF
with unknown biological effects. In the overall scheme of things, a
one watt power level is very small, but we must remember that the
field strength is inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between the point of generation and the point where the
field strength is being measured.

Using a cellular phone held against your head is not the same
thing as having a dozen television and radio stations in your
general area.

For example, a 50,000 watt radio station transmitter 20 miles
from your home is 1,267,204 times further away from your head
than a cellular antenna and the station's ambient EMF is 50,000
watts divided by 1,605,805,977,600 (the distance in inches
squared). That means that the EMF field at your head caused by
the 50,000 watt radio station is about 0.00000000313 times as
strong as the one created by a cellular telephone antenna that is
only one inch from your skull.

Transmission lobes will have a small effect increasing or
decreasing the signal strength caused by both antennas, but the
important factor is the dramatic difference in strength.

Here we are encountering the opposite side of the same situation
that faced companies and consumers when the government
automatically banned any substance (unless there was a big lobby
promoting it) that caused cancer in rats in any concentration.
That led to what some saw as ridiculous cases where a substance
which humans only encounter by the microgram was fed to rats by
pounds and kilograms.

But with cellular phones, we are the rats, receiving millions of
times higher doses from cellular phones than we do from
television transmitters.

So what about a car phone, is the risk comparable? No.

If cellular phones can cause cancer, why haven't we noticed it
with CB radios and car phones? Perhaps we have and the results
have just been missed in the general statistical background,
after all, those antennas are far enough away that their
emissions radiate the entire body -- who can say what a particular
case of cancer is caused by?

Ignoring any interference and subsequent signal strength
reduction caused by the metal in the car, a cellular antenna on
the back window (the internal cable doesn't count much because it
is shielded and radiates very little) is about 6 feet away from
the driver, or 72 inches, making the signal strength at your body
about five thousand times less than that associated with a hand-
held unit.

So am I saying that cellular phones do cause cancer? No, I am not
because I just don't know, but I do know that there is no
credible scientific body of knowledge proving that they don't.

I have noted the remarkable number of cancer cases among
policemen who carried "live" radar guns pointed against their
thighs for hours every day and the mounting evidence that the
fields generated by power lines and even computer monitors cause
damage to humans.

I also vividly remember climbing into a Radome structure housing
a powerful radar antenna back in the 60s and seeing all the
safety notices and interlocks which prevented any chance of a
human getting near the antenna when it was transmitting signals.

Electromagnetic radiation is still a relatively mysterious
phenomena despite Maxwell's equations and we have a lot to learn
about how it affects biological organisms.

Gamma rays, radio waves, visible light, and even the extremely
low frequency radiation caused by the 50/60 cycle current in our
houses are all just different wavelengths of EMF and we already
know that ultraviolet exposure can cause skin cancer; gamma
radiation causes cancer or even rapid death in high doses; and
low frequency radiation from power lines has been implicated in
leukemia cases.

Is it beyond the realm of possibility that radio signals which
differ only in frequency from these other transmissions could
also cause cancer?

Although the cellular industry will certainly try to convince
everyone that their units pose no hazard, I seem to remember that
the tobacco industry is still lobbying on behalf of their
products, the only legally available substance in the US which
is widely believed to cause death when used as intended.

Let me repeat that I am not saying that cellular phones cause any
human health problems, just that the evidence is still not
convincing either way and all that means is that we just don't
know yet.

(Editor's Note: John McCormick majored in physics, took A's in
chemistry, and is currently a Certified Radiologic Monitor for
the State of Pennsylvania.)

(John McCormick/19930204)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00019)

Dell Says SEC Investigation Not Done 02/04/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Dell Computer
said yesterday that a story carried by some news wire services
earlier this week stating that Dell's earnings for previous
financial periods would not have to be restated, is erroneous.

The story appeared after Dell held a telephone conference with
financial analysts to inform them that the company had received SEC
approval to proceed with a planned four million share offering as
long as it disclosed the impact of the hedging under
market-to-market accounting procedures.

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.

Asked by Newsbytes earlier this week if the SEC investigation was
now behind the company, Dell spokesperson Roger Rydell said, "It
does, from the standpoint of them making it clear to us what they
would like to see reported. We have already footnoted to their
satisfaction our newly amended prospectus on the stock offering.
We're moving onward and upward, and now have their go-ahead to
continue with the offering. We're very pleased." The Newsbytes
story reported that the SEC is continuing its inquiry
into the financial impact of Dell's currency trading.

Dell said it has filed supplemental information with the SEC about
its foreign currency transactions and expects to include later
year-end information.

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


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00020)

Nokia To Sell To Latin America 02/04/93
LARGO, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Nokia Mobile Phones says
it has created a new business unit that will specialize in selling
cellular phone service into the rapidly developing market in Latin
America.

The company says it signed distribution agreements with cellular
operators in Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Paraguay. Osmo
Hautanen, presently vice president of sales and marketing for Nokia
Mobile Phones, will assume the job of general manager and vice
president of sales for Latin America. Hautanen's headquarters will
remain at Nokia's Largo, Florida offices.

Nokia has also created an Americas management council that will
manage all business issues and provide more focus on the Americas.
Hautanen will be a member of that group.

The company recently started production of cellular phones at its
newly established joint venture facility with Tandy in Fort Worth,
Texas.

(Jim Mallory/19930204/Press contact: Colleen O'Connor, Nokia Mobile
Phones, 813-536-5553; Reader contact: Nokia, 813-536-5553)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

 ****FTC Probe Of Microsoft May End Soon 02/04/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- The Federal Trade
Commission's probe into the possibility that Microsoft Corporation
engages in anti-competitive practices could come to a close as early
as tomorrow.

A FTC spokesperson said late yesterday that the five commissioners
are scheduled to meet on Friday, but would not discuss the agenda or
even acknowledge that Microsoft is being investigated.

Microsoft has said that the FTC began an investigation into alleged
anti-competitive behavior in June 1990. Since then neither the
commission nor Microsoft has said much, except for the software
giant to acknowledge that it is cooperating in the
investigation. That has mostly meant providing records.

The investigation reportedly focused initially on an alleged
anticompetitive horizontal agreement between IBM and Microsoft,
although the two companies are no longer allies since IBM is
marketing a competitive operating system, OS/2.

Since the probe started, several companies have expressed their
dissatisfaction with the company to members of the press, and
apparently to the FTC also.

One of the issues apparently involves the licensing of MS-DOS, the
predominant disk operating system for IBM-compatible personal
computers. Microsoft licenses MS-DOS to hardware manufacturers and
charges a fee for each machine shipped, even if it is not
accompanied by a copy of DOS. It also does not authorize licensees
to sell DOS as a separate item.

Industry watchers estimate that MS-DOS runs on more than 100 million
personal computers worldwide, with an additional 20 million copies
sold annually. Microsoft does not make its sales figures
public.

The lack of information has frustrated both Wall Street investors
and reporters. If the FTC does make an announcement tomorrow and
it's unfavorable, it could adversely affect Microsoft's stock
prices. It's conceivable that the commission could split up
Microsoft in a manner similar to what happened to the Bell
system a few years ago, but industry watchers seem to think
that is unlikely.

(Jim Mallory/19930204/Press contact: Microsoft Corporation,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00022)

IBM, NY Firm Work On Image Production Software 02/04/93
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- IBM's
research division has announced plans to work with R/Greenberg
Associates of New York to develop advanced digital image
production techniques for the IBM Power Visualization System
(PVS).

The deal is aimed at developing a set of software for use in
image production in areas such as broadcasting, entertainment,
film, publishing, and advertising. According to the companies,
the software is meant to adapt to different standards of these
diverse industries, all of which are evolving their own imaging
tools.

The PVS is a supercomputer with parallel-processing architecture
that allows very rapid processing of large amounts of
digital-image information.

In January, IBM announced a deal with Laser-Pacific Media Corp.,
a Hollywood-based supplier of film, video, and digital sound
post-production services for movies and television, to develop
video compression technology using the PVS.

One of the systems has been installed at R/Greenberg, IBM
spokesman Dennis Arvay said, and will be integrated into a
network with Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, and
IBM workstations, as well as Apple Macintosh computers.

Some of R/Greenberg Associates' proprietary software will be
adapted to the IBM system.

Both companies will probably market products resulting from the
work, Arvay said. No information was available on when such
products might be ready, but Arvay said some components have
already been completed.

R/Greenberg provides such services as design, production, and
post-production to broadcasters, filmmakers, publishers, and
others.

(Grant Buckler/19930203/Press Contact: Dennis Arvay, IBM,
914-945-3471; Lisa Smith, R/Greenberg, 212-239-6767)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)

Lotus Consulting Acquires San Francisco Firm 02/04/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Lotus
Development's Consulting Services Group has acquired San
Francisco-based Vanguard Business Solutions, Inc. Vanguard is a
25-employee firm that consults on client/server technology for
large companies.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. A spokesman for
Lotus said all of Vanguard's management and consulting staff will
remain with the firm, noting that the consultants are the firm's
"greatest asset."

Vanguard helps set up systems using distributed computing
technologies along with workflow management and business process
re-engineering. Its clients include Kodak, General Electric, Koch
Industries, Glaxo, 3M, and Bank of America.

The acquisition brings three-year-old Lotus Consulting Services
to about 250 employees, with offices in the United States,
Europe, Australia, and Canada. A large part of the firm's growth
has been through acquisitions, including purchases in the United
States, Canada, and Germany within the past year, the spokesman
said.

Lotus Consulting Services, a unit of software developer Lotus
Development Corp., focuses on projects involving workflow
analysis and business systems development. Lotus' Notes
work-group software plays a central role, and last year's
European acquisition involved one or Europe's largest Notes
resellers.

(Grant Buckler/19930204/Press Contact: Ian Richmond, Lotus
Consulting Services, 416-365-7117; Shelly Eckenroth or Victor
Cruz, McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)


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

Canada - Commodore Offers Server, Color Notebook 02/04/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Commodore Business
Machines Ltd. has introduced a network server using the Intel
486DX processor, and a color notebook computer. Both
announcements are for the Canadian market only; the machines are
not being offered in the United States.

The Commodore T486-50c has a 50-megahertz 486DX processor, five
bays for disk or tape drives, eight 16-bit Industry Standard
Architecture (ISA) expansion slots, and a 250-watt power supply.
There is also a socket to accept Intel's forthcoming Overdrive
upgrade chips.

The T486-50c is certified as a Novell NetWare local area network
(LAN) file server, according to Commodore.

Tom Shepherd, director of marketing at Commodore's Canadian
headquarters, said the server is aimed mainly at the education
market. "We probably won't sell a ton of them into the business
community," he admitted, but he said Commodore has installed a
number of networks in schools and the servers will fit well with
that market.

Commodore's other new product is a color notebook computer, the
486SX-LTC, which weighs 5.7 pounds and uses a 25-megahertz Intel
486SX chip. It comes with four megabytes of memory, upgradable to
a maximum of 12 megabytes, an 80-megabyte hard drive, a 3.5-inch
diskette drive, and a Personal Computer Memory Card Interface
Association (PCMCIA) slot for memory cards or peripherals.

Shepherd said Commodore is seeking to build a full line of
notebook computers. The market for color machines is small at the
moment, he said, and mainly includes sales people and others who
make presentations on the road. But in the long term, Shepherd
said, color is likely to become more and more popular.

Prices for the T486-50c server begin at C$3,299. The list price
for the 486SX-LTC in its basic configuration is C$4,295.

(Grant Buckler/19930204/Press Contact: Tom Shepherd, Commodore
Business Machines, 416-499-4292 ext. 215)


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

IBM Forms Parallel Processing Business Unit 02/04/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- IBM has formed
Power Parallel Systems, a business unit focusing on reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) and parallel processing systems.

The announcement came along with IBM's launch this week of a
string of new models in its RISC System/6000 line of workstations
and servers and the first parallel processing supercomputer to
come out of its Highly Parallel Supercomputing Systems
Laboratory.

The new unit will combine IBM's Enterprise Systems line of
business with its Advanced Workstations and Systems (AWS)
operation. It will be jointly run by Irving Wladawsky-Berger,
general manager of Power Parallel Systems, and Philip D. Hester,
vice-president of systems and technology for AWS.

IBM described Power Parallel Systems as an "independent business
unit with separate financial objectives and measurements,"
effective February 2. A spokeswoman for the company said this is
not exactly the same status as that of other units such as the
IBM Personal Computer Co., but was not able to provide further
details by Newsbytes' deadline today.

(Grant Buckler/19930204/Press Contact: Marta Decker, IBM,
914-642-5467)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00026)

Telus, Toronto Cable Company Look To UK 02/04/93
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Telus Corp., the
holding company for the telephone carrier serving the province of
Alberta, has an agreement in principle with Toronto-based CUC
Broadcasting Ltd., to develop cable and telephone services in the
area around London, England.

CUC is a cable television operator which already has several
franchises in the London area, explained Ron Liepert, a spokesman
for Telus. He said the regulatory regime in the United Kingdom
allows for cable and telephone companies to work jointly in ways
that are not permitted in Canada, and the deal offers a way for
Telus to explore new service offerings.

In the UK, a cable television operator can also provide local
telephone service. CUC would contract with one of the national
carriers -- British Telecom or Mercury -- for national network
services, said Juris Silkans, a spokesman for CUC. "There's just
tremendous growth potential for telephones in the UK," Silkans
said.

The details of the agreement have not been worked out yet,
Liepert said. It may be a 50-50 joint venture, or some other
breakdown between the two companies. Telus expects to invest
about C$126 million in the project over five years. Detailed
negotiations are under way and the firms expect to complete the
deal this spring.

It is the first international venture outside the telephone
business for Telus, and the company's first activity in the UK
Telus has a telecommunications consulting operation in the United
States and has done some work in Asia, Liepert said.

(Grant Buckler/19930204/Press Contact: Ron Liepert, Telus, 403-
498-7329; Juris Silkans, CUC Broadcasting, 416-292-2919)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

Syquest Warns Nomai Cartridges Will Void Warranty 02/04/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Syquest is
again warning users cartridges manufactured by French start-up
company Nomai in its removable Winchester hard disk drives can
have potentially damaging effects, and the company is now saying
it will not consider use of Nomai cartridges "normal use and
service" under its warranty of the drives.

Syquest is fighting through the legal system to attempt to
prevent Nomai from marketing cartridges compatible with the
drives and has gotten two court orders to try to prevent the
sale of the cartridges -- orders which it says Nomai is ignoring.

Syquest claims a former consultant, now Nomai's director of
technology, stole its trade secrets.

Nomai's president told Newsbytes that Syquest is simply attempting
to maintain a monopoly on the removable Winchester cartridge
market. Syquest filed a suit against Nomai before the
cartridges for the Syquest SQ555 and SQ5110 drives became
available for sale, claiming the cartridges were unsafe for the
drives and for data.

When asked how the company obtained the Nomai cartridge,
Syquest Chief Financial Officer Michael Perez said Nomai
offered samples for testing to Syquest sales representatives
during a visit to the French plant before the compatible
cartridges shipped. The cartridge was then brought back and
tested by Syquest.

However, Syquest says no one can produce a Syquest-compatible
cartridge without violating or in some way using the company's
trade secrets, even if the cartridge works with the drive. The
company said it feels it has a strong patent and trademark
position as well.

Syed H. Iftikar, chairman, president and chief executive
officer of Syquest said: "We have invested over 10 years of
effort and over $30 million of investors' money to develop our
leadership position in removable Winchester disk cartridges and
associated drives.

"We intend to use the full extent of the legal process here and
abroad to protect our customer base against potentially
damaging and deceptive products and to safeguard our 10 years
of research in removable cartridge disk drives against
misappropriation. We will relentlessly pursue offending parties
worldwide."

Like all hard disk drives, Syquest drives and cartridges are
built to very tight tolerances. The read/write head floating
on the cushion of air created by the spinning hard disk platter
has been likened to a Boeing 747 maintaining a constant flying
altitude of one yard (one meter) over the earth.

However, Syquest says its cartridges are unique because its
SQ400 cartridges must be freely interchangable with any of
some 700,000 Syquest drives produced since 1988, and Syquest
SQ800 cartridges must be freely interchangeable with any
Syquest SQ5110 drives produced since 1991.

Syquest is encouraging customers to call special numbers it has
set up for customer support on the issue.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930204/Press Contact: Joel Levine, Syquest,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Marc Frouin, Nomai, tel
011-33-33-89-1600, fax [phone]; Syquest Public
Contact Numbers, US 800-245-2278, France (1) 46 14 82 76,
Germany (0) 751-560500, UK 0800 526 559)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00028)

UK - Autocad Release 12 For IBM RS/6000 02/04/93
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Autodesk has
announced that Autodesk Release 12 for the IBM RISC family of
workstations (RS/6000 series) is being shipped.

The package is based on the IBM AIX 3.2 operating system (AIX is
IBM's brand of Unix) and, as such, is designed to run on the
RS/6000 Model 220, 320, 320H and 520 series.

"The combination of Autocad R12 and the RS/6000 is an important
one for our customers, many of whom are interested in IBM as
their platform of choice," explained John Goodman, Autodesk's
Autocad product manager.

According to Goodman, the package allows users to open files and
share resources across a network. The package can run in a multi-
tasking environment, allowing several "windows" to be open at the
same time.

The suggested retail price on Autocad R12 has been set at UKP
2,500. In use, the software supports the OSF's Motif user
interface, including dialogues and menus, and sports a user-
customizable tool bar.

(Steve Gold/19930204/Press & Public Contact: Autodesk - Tel:
0483-303322)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00029)

Row Breaks Out Over V.Terbo Modem Technology 02/04/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- The modem manufacturers
involved with the proposed V.Fast high speed modem standard
have issued a statement which aims to "clarify" the situation
regarding the planned V.32terbo modem technology.

As reported last month by Newsbytes, a group of 18 modem
manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic have pooled their
resources and are in the process of introducing an extension
technology to the CCITT's V.32Bis modem standard.

The extension, known as V.32terbo, pushes the 14,400 bits per
second (bps) standard to 16,800 and 19,200 bps. According to Bob
Jones, managing director with Sonix, one of the two UK modem
manufacturers in the V.32terbo consortium, the proposal is not
CCITT "authorized" (the CCITT is the international telecom
regulatory committee), but can be implemented in modems within a
matter of months, rather than wait until early next year, when
V.Fast modems are expected to appear.

In a statement issued in London and Washington, on behalf of Cray
Communications, Hayes, Microcom, Motorola, Rockwell and SAT of
France, the CCITT/V.Fast companies, which claim more than 75
percent of the modem marketplace, reaffirmed their support for
V.Fast and rejected the proposals for the V.32terbo "standard."

"We're trying to get through to customers that it doesn't pay to
go for V.32terbo when V.Fast offers so much. I really don't see
that a 30 percent advance in modem speed is worth that much when
V.Fast pushes data transmissions to 28,800 bps," Bill Pechey,
Hayes' Northern European technical manager, told Newsbytes.

Pechey, who is on the CCITT V.Fast study group, said that his
personal view was that V.32terbo will not work over standard
phone lines, owing to the signal to noise ratios available over
the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

"I see V.32terbo as something of a proprietary protocol for the
companies supporting the technology. That isn't viable today. We
released our own simplex high-speed modem system in the 1980s
when we thought it appropriate, but that was then," he said.

"Today, customers need standards to adhere to. If you compare
V.32terbo with V.Fast, it's obvious that V.Fast is a lot faster,
but requires six decibels less bandwidth," he added.

In response to Pechey's comments, Jones told Newsbytes that he
does not see V.32terbo as a competitive to V.Fast. "If anything,
it's a stepping stone to the V.Fast technology," he said.

Jones went on to say that the advantage of V.terbo is that the
technology can be implemented in modems within a matter of weeks
or months. He also discounted accusations that the interim
high-speed modem technology would cause confusion among modem
users.

"I don't think that will be the case. V.Fast will be an excellent
technology when it arrives, but I don't think that users are
happy about waiting for another year," he said.

(Steve Gold/19930204)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00030)

New Prepress Tool - Aldus TrapWise For Windows 02/04/93
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 4 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
says it is now shipping software for Windows that will allow
prepress professionals to spot and process color trapping on
color conforming encapsulated Postscript files.

Aldus spokesperson Brad Stevens explained to Newsbytes that Color
trapping is the process which keeps adjacent colors from overlapping
or separating. Traditionally performed by a person called a stripper
in manual printing operations, TrapWise performs the necessary
adjustments automatically for computer-generated work.

Called Trapwise, the program is designed for use by service bureaus,
prepress houses, commercial print ships, in-plant production
departments, and publishing operations. The program was formerly
marketed under the name RipPrep by Graphic Edge. Aldus acquired the
rights to the program last year.

The company says TrapWise traps almost any object within a
color-conforming EPS file, producing precision traps for both
process and spot color printing by handling all three color ink
scenarios - spot to spot, spot to process, and process to process.
It will also handle complex trapping situations such as graduated
fills, very small text, and several intersecting colors. TrapWise
can be used on jobs using up to eight inks, and also manages the
prepress workflow. Operators can create predefined, customized sets
of trapping configurations for use on particular jobs and paper
stocks much like a word processing operator creating a standard
document format and re-using it.

Aldus says TrapWise can trap files produced from any computer
platform that creates color-conforming EPS files, including
Macintosh, Windows and Unix. Once processed, the resulting EPS pages
can be output to any Postscript-compatible device including
imagesetters, platesetters, and printing presses. Trapped files can
also be passed to other Macintosh or Windows applications for
further processing, such as Aldus' PressWise.

The program is currently shipping in the US and Canada, and carries
a suggested retail price of $4,995. Registered owners of RipPrep
will automatically receive free copy of the program. Aldus says it
expects to ship a Macintosh version in mid-1993.

Recommended system configuration includes Windows 3.1 or later, a 66
megahertz (MHz) 486-based personal computer with 24 megabytes(MB) of
system memory, a 200 MB hard drive, a color monitor, and a mouse.
However, TrapWise will run on a 33 MHz 486-based system with 12 MB
of RAM.

(Jim Mallory/19930204/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus,
206-628-2361; Reader contact: Aldus Corporation, 206-628-5739)