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/nb930402

Text File | 1993-04-02 | 78KB | 1,732 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

CD-ROM Drive Performance Improver 04/02/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Lucid Corporation has
announced Lightning CD, a CD cache that the company says can improve
CD-ROM drive performance as much as 1000 percent by moving
frequently used information from the compact drive to the computer's
RAM, or volatile memory.

The company says Lighting CD was designed specifically for CD-ROM
drives and applications. While CD-ROM discs are ideal for holding
the large amounts of data associated with multimedia files, they are
slower at accessing that information than a conventional hard drive.
Lucid says the Lightning CD intelligent disc cache copies the
frequently used data to the computer memory, where it can be
accessed much more quickly.

Lucid says Lightning CD also reduces video pauses, reading ahead and
copying the next section of information from the CD to the cache.
Once it's installed, Lightning CD automatically identifies the
installed hardware and optimizes the disk cache configuration. The
read-ahead feature can be customized by the user for their
particular CD application. Cache size, amount of memory shared, and
target disks cached are also user adjustable. Lightning CD can be
loaded into high DOS memory, leaving conventional memory available
for applications.

Buyers of Lightning CD also get five utility programs. Those include
a screen blanker, a keyboard and screen accelerator, a file
management utility called Tree Delete, and Disk Watch, a disk
activity monitoring program. Lucid spokesperson David Hayden told
Newsbytes Disk Watch displays a number in the upper right corner of
the screen to indicate read/write to the cache or the disk. Tree
delete, says Hayden, allows deletion of complete directories,
including any sub-directories. To avoid accidental deletion, the
program asks the user for confirmation before deleting any files.

Lightning CD, a DOS-based product which supports Windows, uses 56
kilobytes of system memory. The company recommends at least 2MB of
installed memory. The program has a suggested retail price of
$99.95.

(Jim Mallory/19930401/Press contact: David Hayden, Lucid Corp,
214-994-8100, ext 1551; Reader contact: Lucid Corporation,
214-994-8100 or 800-925-8243)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00002)

Radius, Portrait Display In Pivot Licensing Deal 04/02/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Hoping to
expand sales of its proprietary Pivot technology, Radius has
signed a technology licensing agreement with Portrait Display
Labs.

According to Radius, under the terms of the deal, Portrait Display
will use Radius' Pivot technology to develop and market monitors
designed specifically for IBM and compatible PCs running Microsoft
Windows. The monitors will then be offered under Portrait Display's
own trademark.

Portrait monitors display data in a vertical format, while
landscape monitors display data in a horizontal format. Portrait
products are seen as being particularly useful in such applications
as word processing and desktop publishing where the whole page
can be displayed.

Radius maintains that it has developed proprietary technology that
enables a single monitor to work in both portrait and landscape
orientations by allowing the screen to "pivot" to either mode -
the Pivot line of monitors.

In announcing the deal, Mary Coleman, Radius' vice president
of marketing, said: "The increasing popularity of our line of Pivot
display products has given us the opportunity to license the
proprietary technology behind the product to complementary
third-party companies."

Portrait Display Labs was founded in late 1992 to focus on portrait
and combination portrait/landscape monitors for the PC market. The
company is set to ship its first product in May.

In January, Newsbytes reported that Radius had announced losses
of $713,000 for the first quarter. The company attributed them
in part to a change in its accounting system. However, sales of
high-end color and systems level products increased. Also, sales
of the Color Pivot declined due to unavailability as the company
was in a "product transition."

Previously, Radius reported earnings of $2.15 million in its
first quarter last year, and $147,000 in the previous quarter.

Just two weeks ago Newsbytes reported that Radius had
announced the new Precisioncolor 24x interface card for the
Macintosh and its new 20-inch, Trinitron-based Intellicolor
Display/20.

At the time, the company claimed that the Precisioncolor 24x
interface is first to make full use of the seven-inch Macintosh
Nubus form factor introduced by Apple Computer on the Macintosh
Centris 610 computer. Radius says the card provides 24-bit
video and graphics acceleration at a variety of resolutions, uses
less power and produces less heat than conventional cards.

(Ian Stokell/19930401/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
408-954-6828, Radius)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00003)

Pro CD $50 National Phone and Address Database 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- A business phone
directory on CD-ROM is nothing new, but Marblehead,
Massachusetts-based Pro CD has gone the extra mile and not only
brought the price down below $50 but also put full mailing
addresses on the same CD-ROM and made it easy to copy mailing
lists off to use in word processing, database, or contact
management programs. The new ProPhone Business + One CD-ROM
contains seven million listings and will be priced at $249 after
July 1.

Although this MS-DOS-compatible disc doesn't contain all the
business phone numbers and addresses for the entire US, it does
contain the vast majority of large businesses and could be a
powerful and inexpensive marketing tool for a variety of users.

Data is searchable using Pro CD's own search software and
available search fields include: zip code, city, state, and area
code. The results of a search can be exported as ASCII comma
delimited files of any size for use in a wide variety of
programs.

According to Mr. Jim Bryant, the founder and president of Pro CD,
his company, unlike the publishers of Yellow Pages, is concerned
not with advertisers, but with the businesses and people who
actually use the listings so they strive to make their CD-ROMs
more user friendly.

To put things in perspective, the early CD-ROM compilations of
current telephone directories such as the six-state Fast Track
CD-ROM published by NYNEX, contained far fewer listings, couldn't
be easily used to download lists, and cost $10,000.

Other such lists, are available at more reasonable initial costs,
but the publishers have software locks on the lists and you have
to pay extra for mailing labels or free access to the
information.

Pro CD offers phone-list CD-ROMs at similar reasonable costs, but
this is the first with full file export capabilities and complete
mailing addresses.

(John McCormick/19930401/Press Contact: Jim Bryant, Pro CD, Inc.,
617-631-9200 x234 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00004)

Canadian Firm Licenses CellularVision Technology 04/02/93
FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- CellularVision
has announced that WIC Western International Communications
Ltd., of Vancouver, has been granted the rights to use
CellularVision's technology to provide broadcasting, data
transmission, and telecommunications services in Canada.

WIC is asking the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) for use of the broadcast spectrum from 27.5 to
29.5 gigahertz. The company will provide, or license other
operators to provide, television services and possibly other
offerings such as telephone service and data transmission using
the technology.

CellularVision works somewhat like cellular telephony, but
transmits video, voice, and data over microwave frequencies
previously reserved for point-to-point commercial links and very
little used, according to CellularVision.

Among other things, said Douglas Holtby, president and chief
executive of WIC, the technology would make possible 200-channel
television service, complete with the option to order up specific
programs at specific times using a simple device somewhat like a
TV remote control or the movie selector found in some hotel
rooms.

CellularVision claims its technology provides better quality than
cable, and Holtby noted that unlike direct broadcast satellite
television, the CellularVision system can carry local as well as
national and international services.

Other services such as telephony, video teleconferencing, and
interactive programming are also possible. WIC's ability to offer
any of these services depends on the approval of the CRTC, the
national regulator of broadcasting and telecommunications, and
the need for that approval means that "I would think we're
looking at a year or two before we would have some of this in
operation," Holtby said.

WIC is the second licensee of the technology in North America:
CellularVision of New York, a subsidiary of CellularVision, holds
a license to provide services in the greater New York
metropolitan area. Currently, some 1,000 homes in Brighton Beach,
New York, subscribe to the CellularVision service.

WIC owns eight television and 11 radio stations across Canada and
is the licensee in Western Canada for "Home Theatre" pay
television. The company also holds 50 percent of The Family
Channel and 51 percent of Canadian Satellite Communications Inc.,
(Cancom).

(Grant Buckler/19930401/Press Contact: Douglas Holtby, WIC,
604-687-2844; Kristina La Morgese or Herb Corbin, KCS&A Public
Relations for CellularVision, 212-682-6565 ext. 224 or 200)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00005)

Sun, Elvis To Offer Wireless Products In '94 04/02/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Russian company Elvis+,
in which Sun Microsystems has purchased a 10% stake, plans
to start mass production of wireless modems in early 1994.

Elvis+ (pronounced "Elvis Plus" and translates to Electronic
Computer and Information Systems), a startup from Zelenograd,
the former center of Soviet military electronics, will develop
and produce wireless modems capable of working up to 12
kilometers from a computer. Sun Microsystems, in exchange for
its financial help and equipment, will get exclusive rights
to use the technology.

In March, Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) first
announced it was developing handheld computers for satellite
communication with Elvis+.

Elvis+ was founded by Dr. Alexander (Sasha) Galitsky, a
wireless communications expert and chief designer of
Russian communication satellites for the country's space
program.

Both Sun and Elvis+ have expressed a need to see a modern
communication network emerge in Russia and the planned wireless
network could be a part of the new communication
infrastructure.

However, the planned wireless communication network, called
"nomadic computing" by Sun representatives, is unrelated to the
recent announcement of Sun's movement into the field of hand
held wireless personal digital assistant (PDA) devices. Sun
revealed earlier this year that it was forming First Person, a
new company in Palo Alto, California, to continue development
work on consumer devices to integrate digital data.

Sun representatives have insisted there is no relation between
First Person and the wireless communication being developed for
the company's workstation computers.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Linda Rohrbough/19930402/Press Contact:
Carrie Dillon, Sun, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Elvis Plus, Alexander Sokolov, phone [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00006)

Russia-Denmark Fiber Cable Complete 04/02/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- A fiber cable project, linking
Denmark and Russia across the Baltic Sea, is complete, two weeks
ahead of schedule.

The 1260-kilometer cable was installed by the British STC
Submarine Systems Company, on the order of Telecom Denmark and
Intertelecom, the owner of all the long distance trunk lines in
Russia. The US$126 million financing was provided for the
project by European banks at preferential rates in a 15-year loan.

Two modern international phone exchanges have been built in
Moscow and one in St Petersbourg to handle the traffic through
the new cable.

The line is to become operational in two to four weeks. This will
mean international direct dial facilities will be offered
to up to 16 million phone subscribers in Russia, on a
24 hour-a-day basis.

Moscow phone subscribers now can direct-dial international
calls in non-prime time only.

Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper has reported that after the
introduction of the service, prices are to rise to
"international levels," which means, in effect, 3-5 times
higher than now. Moscow city phone network officials provided
no comments on this article.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Eugene Peskin/19930402)


(CORRECTION)(BUSINESS)(BOS)(00007)

Correction - 21st Computer City Opens, $1B Sales Projected 04/02/93
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Newsbytes
misspelled the name of Chairman John Roach in a story with
this headline which ran April 1. The correct spelling is Roach.

(Wendy Woods/19930402)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00008)

Acer 1st To Ship DOS 6 Installed On PCs 04/02/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Acer says it
is the first to begin shipping the new MS-DOS 6.0, released by
Microsoft Tuesday with its IBM compatible personal computer
(PC) line.

Acer says its Acerpower 486e, its Acer Acros and Acerpac
desktop PCs, Aceranyware notebook computers, and Acerframe
servers all now come with the new version of the DOS operating
system. The company ships its computer line with the operating
system pre-installed and said it began installing DOS 6.0 in
PCs for shipment early this week. Acer expects DOS 6.0 to be
attractive to users because of the built-in compression offered
in the operating system which can double a user's hard disk
storage space.

Microsoft said over 400 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
have signed up to begin offering MS-DOS 6.0 with their computer
systems and MS-DOS 6.0 will be the dominant DOS version on new
machines by May of this year.

Acer America is a subsidiary of The Acer Group and claims to
have a distribution network of over 10,000 dealers
in 70 countries, including distribution in consumer retail
outlets. The company boasts it can turn out one million
computers per year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930402/Press Contact: Rebecca Hurst, Acer,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public contact 800-733-
2237)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00009)

Australia - Telecom Trying To Sell Discovery 04/02/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Telecom Australia is trying
to get rid of its dial-up information service Discovery. It has
tried various methods over the years to revitalize the service but
for at least the last year has appeared to give up.

Discovery was launched originally as Viatel, but never achieved
critical mass, and apart from a core of loyal business users, no
longer has enough users to justify its existence.

Much of the staff has gone, as have many of the services. It
started life with great expectations for home banking, travel
bookings, and electronic mail, but in most cases these were
either not accepted by the market, or migrated to other
delivery systems. CompuServe has been available in Australia
for a couple of years now, and although quite expensive (more
than US$25 per hour) has created a modest (and growing) user
base.

Since the second carrier Optus started business, Telecom has
been converting loss-making groups to profit or getting rid of
them. Observers believe that it may have to sell Discovery for
little more than a token sum.

(Paul Zucker/19930402)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00010)

Intel's Smart Video Recorder Add-On Card Intro'd 04/02/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Intel is
making good on its promise to move into the consumer retail
market with its first retail video add-on card for IBM and
compatible personal computer (PC) users. Called the Smart Video
Recorder, the company says the product can record and save
motion video in a single step.

The video input to the Smart Video Recorder can come from laser
disks, video cameras, or video cassette recorders (VCRs) and
playback can be accomplished using Intel's Indeo video software
technology under Microsoft Windows, the company said. Indeo,
Intel's video compression/decompression software or "codec," is
used to capture the video and Indeo automatically adjusts the
video playback to accommodate the processing power of the
computer in question.

Intel is emphasizing the fact that Indeo plays back better
quality video with faster PC processors and is pointing at its
new Pentium central processing unit (CPU). The Pentium is the
next generation processor expected to be introduced in PCs
in May or early June of this year.

The Smart Video Recorder is based on the Intel i750 video
processor chip. The i750 is the compression/decompression
engine for Intel's digital video interactive (DVI) technology
geared toward the storage, manipulation, and display of what
Intel terms as "natural" or "rich" forms of data. The
technology has as its goal to transfer analog video and image
data to a digital format where it can be manipulated by a
computer.

The Smart Video Recorder product comes with software valued at
$800, Intel said, including Microsoft's Video for Windows and
is retail priced at $699.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930402/Press Contact: Sara Killingsworth,
Intel, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00011)

Hong Kong - Low Cost ISDN Videoconferencing 04/02/93
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Hongkong Telecom CSL
announced recently that its VideoNet service now supports ISDN
connections to 12 major international markets.

VideoNet customers can use Hongkong Telecom's ISDN service to host
their videoconferences on a dial-up basis at rates that are
affordable to a wider range of users.

A seminar was held by the company to introduce multinational
companies to the benefits of international videoconferencing
as an alternative to business travel. More than 100 senior
executives attended the event.

"There is a growing appeal of videoconferencing as a business
communications tool," Steve Dickinson, general manager of advanced
communications services, Hongkong Telecom CSL, told Newsbytes.
"It is no longer something that only large companies can afford."

"The equipment has become dramatically cheaper over the past two
years, while ISDN puts high-grade transmission within the budget of
any forward-looking company," he said.

"Using switched digital service or ISDN, a videoconference between
Hong Kong and the US would cost only $28.30 a minute for a single
64 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) channel," said Mr Dickinson.
"Compared to the cost of flying just one executive to the US,
VideoNet works out cheaper by at least a factor of 10."

At the VideoNet seminar, a live link with one of VideoNet's
equipment suppliers, PictureTel International Corporation of
Boston, and with General Motors in Australia, was designed to
show potential customers how VideoNet can enhance communications
at all levels of a business enterprise. It provides a friendly and
productive means of tying an organization together both locally
and on an international scale.

"VideoNet gives you all the benefits of a business trip, but without
the disadvantages of expensive airfares, hotel accommodation and jet-
lag," said Mr Dickinson. "It improves communications, enhances
productivity, provides instant access to key people and information,
and gives managers the ability to make informed decisions faster."

In addition to bringing widely spread offices together, VideoNet also
offers a cost-effective method of staying in touch with suppliers and
customers - key groups that Dickinson believes no organization
can afford to neglect.

It is estimated that more than 20,000 videoconferencing systems are
installed worldwide today. The potential market, according to
Mr Dickinson, is huge, particularly entrepreneurial companies that
are becoming more regional in terms of operations.

"Since Hongkong Telecom CSL introduced VideoNet in 1992, we have
tailored our services to suit market needs at every level," he said.
"VideoNet is a one-stop shop for videoconferencing solutions that can
be adapted for companies large and small."

(Brett Cameron/19930402/Press Contact: Caroline Chung HKTCSL, Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00012)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

IEEE Spectrum for April has an advanced technology report on the
use of high-temperature (about 100 degrees Kelvin) thin-film
semiconductors in microwave circuits. There is also a description
of new circular beam semiconductor lasers with a very narrow
angle of divergence. These factors combine to make the new lasers
much better for fiber optic and optical storage circuits.

Information Week for the 29th of March looks at new IBM head
Louis Gerstner. Although not a computer techie, Mr. Gerstner, who
got his M.B.A. from IBM-influenced Harvard Business School, is a
strong supporter of applying information technology to business
problems and is said to be a quick study. He pioneered computer
imaging of bills while he was at American Express.

Computerworld for the 29th reports that PCs are selling so well
that IBM has a $1 billion order backlog for its ThinkPad 700
notebook computers; Apple Quadra servers and PowerBooks are also
on back order; the wait for some Compaq computers is about a
month; AST Research has an eight-week backlog; and other
companies have similar delivery problems due to component
shortfalls.

Communicationsweek dated March 29 says beta testers are reporting
that Microsoft's NT SQL server outperforms structured query
language relational database servers for Unix and OS/2. Database
performance is key to the sort of business applications the
powerful new operating system is targeting.

Computer Reseller News for the week of the 29th carries a front
page story that blames some of the PC order backlog on false
orders which it says are flooding the system and masking the true
level of user demand. Customers desperate for computers are
placing orders through multiple resellers, then buying from the
first to actually deliver. CRN also says Microsoft will price SQL
at about $1,500 versus nearly $10,000 for similar packages from
other vendors.

(John McCormick/19930402/)


(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

Editorial - A Big Week In Computing 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- (Editor's Note: John
McCormick had so many opinions about so much this week, we have
had to cram them into a single editorial.)

Cable TV. The good news out of the FCC is that "basic" cable TV
rates will be rolled back 10 percent or more. The bad news is
that the agency didn't define "basic" or freeze the current
"basic" packages, so cable companies are free to cut basic
channels even further than they cut their prices. I bet some
genius will quickly realize that the best (most profitable) move
is to offer only the religious, home shopping, and other free
unscrambled satellite services in the basic package.

FAA. Apparently top officials at the FAA don't think a nationwide
computerized traffic control system is very important. It seems
that massive delays and cost overruns are partially due to the
fact that no one was watching what the contractors were doing.
Remind me to cancel that flight to Dulles.

IBM. Now that Akers has stopped breaking hearts in New York, I
wonder if IBM made the right move by linking IBM products to
cigarettes even indirectly? Cigarettes are in trouble because
they aren't good for you, despite continuing claims of the
industry. Is IBM in so much trouble that its situation is
comparable?

That may be the message most clearly sent by choosing a world-
class tobacco salesman with no computer experience to head
troubled Big Blue. It was also a gutsy move only a few days after
HBO aired its "Barbarians at the Gate" movie about the takeover
of RJR Nabisco (which Gerstner headed from 1989 until now).

IBM got into trouble for three reasons:

First, Akers spoke but apparently seldom if ever listened.

Second, IBM spoke but seldom if ever listened. A 600-pound gorilla
does what it wants but might also ignore important warnings.

Third, the best products were never brought to market.

Now there is a new guy at the top who may just listen, but the
question is, will he understand? Some people think that the top
decision maker in a computer business should have some technical
background that fits him for making tough choices.

It reminds me of a friend of mine who invests in high-tech stocks
but knows nothing about them. He keeps telling me that OS/2 is
great, but he only reads IBM ads and has never tried installing
the 20-plus disk monster on 1,500 PCs. He doesn't even own a
computer. I told him to sell IBM at 100 but he rode it down to
about 65 before unloading.

Virtually every columnist and editor has come out with their own
example of True Blue but non-Armonk ideas that were ignored at
headquarters. My favorite is the award-winning user interface for
OS/2 that makes it easily accessible to visually impaired
workers. The big bosses told its designer to turn over his work
to another division which promptly hid it in favor of their less
useful system.

By the way, have you seen Big Blue's latest TV commercial? It
tells viewers that IBM is the place to go for good business
advice but may have hit a sour note with viewers by saying that
IBM can help while showing a light bulb. To me, that suggested
the question: "How many IBM'ers does it take to screw in a light
bulb?"

The Word From Redmond. Bill Gates recently advised IBM to break
up into pieces and stop trying to do everything; of course, Mr.
Gates' company, Microsoft, has already strictly limited its own
product areas, only striving to dominate operating system and
applications software sales while mostly ignoring hardware.

He didn't deny having being approached to head IBM himself but
one wonders what a $5 million signing bonus would have meant to a
multi-billionaire. I would have dearly loved to been able to
listen in if there really were discussions between the IBM Board
and Mr. Gates.

Personally, I think Bill is just waiting for IBM to break into
small enough pieces that he can comfortably buy the three biggest
letters in the computer industry for himself.

I can't wait to see if marriage mellows his competitive edge.

Intel. Will the Pentium name backfire? What set me to wondering
was the comment of a computer store owner who thought it was a
competitor to Intel's line of microprocessors, one from another
company rather than a logical move up from the 486. If he made
the mistake, will buyers seeing all the "Intel Inside"
commercials hesitate over non-existent questions over potential
incompatibilities?

Open Government. It took a wee bit longer, but the new members of
Congress have finally joined the Clinton Administration in
watering down their BIG changes to the point where the old guard
could safely ignore them.

To the surprise of virtually no one inside the Beltway, when the
freshmen members of Congress finally released their proposed
changes to reform government there were no threats to the
entrenched Washington-style perks, the likes of which haven't
been seen since the Roman Senate was last in session.

Meanwhile, many people missed the fact that a vital open
government initiative has also lost most of its teeth in its
travels through Congress. Last year some Congressmen wanted to
make all non-classified government data available to everyone
with a PC via a Government Printing Office super gateway.

That one didn't pass, and this year's bill only makes it legal
for agencies to "voluntarily" give up their power by making their
records available to the people who paid for them in the first
place. Any bets on how forthcoming they will be? Anyone surprised
that the people who won't even give up free airport parking
privileges are unwilling to force bureaucrats to open up
government?

Perot. By the way, H. Ross Perot has really started to unload on
Clinton, so we may be looking forward to a real high-tech
campaign in '96.

(John McCormick/19930402)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00014)

The Enabled Computer 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
by John McCormick. The Enabled Computer is a regular Newsbytes
feature covering news and important product information relating
to high technology aids for the disabled.

Training for Disabled Workers

Computer training can cover everything from computer operation to
social skills and literacy training. Special programs for the
disabled fall into two major classes - those teaching how to use
computers despite disabilities or teaching social skills and
those which teach conventional computer skills but are themselves
specially designed for the disabled.

In this column we will look at sources of training materials in a
variety of media such as audio tapes and Braille for computer-
related tasks, as well as computer-based training programs for a
wide range of topics, both computer-related and non-task-
oriented.

These programs are certainly of interest to disabled individuals,
but The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it important
for some companies also.

The ADA places no legal obligation on employers to teach
learning-disabled employees to read, cognitively impaired workers
to count money, or any worker to learn to type - UNLESS the
company already provides similar training for other workers.

The horrible decline in US education which results in high
schools now routinely graduating semi-literates has made such
training more common every year and a growing number of companies
in this country are providing such basic skills training as
literacy and money management. Those employers are to be
applauded for their efforts, but they can't ignore disabled
workers so they will have to provide equal educational
opportunities for deaf or blind employees.

Braille documents and audio recordings are the most common
traditional methods of presenting training materials for disabled
workers because visual impairments are the biggest barrier to the
use of standard books or documentation.

Computer-aided training is particularly useful for cognitive-
impaired employees because such programs display the patience
necessary in some situations.

Reading-impaired (as opposed to visually impaired) individuals
may greatly benefit from dual-media instruction materials - for
instance, dyslexics will be able to cover material much more
quickly if printed text or on-screen materials are echoed by
audio recordings or speech synthesis software and hardware.

Since Braille conversion capabilities needed to convert printed
computer documentation into an accessible media are rather
expensive, they won't be practical for a business's special
operations manuals, but it isn't difficult to locate someone
capable of reading a manual out loud for taping.

Actually, Braille is losing ground in the blind community anyway.

Christopher Gray, in The Braille Forum, January, 1993, article
"Should We Modify the Braille Code," says that "Fewer and fewer
students are learning Braille in today's school and
rehabilitation settings. Fewer and fewer teachers are being given
the skills to help those students who insist upon it to learn
Braille."

Generally speaking, audio recordings and speech synthesis
software seem to be the best route to go unless Braille
publications already exist - especially when other non-impaired
users might also benefit from using the tapes but would almost
certainly not know Braille.

Included below is a listing of sources of existing accessible
documents and groups which convert text to accessible form upon
request.

American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., P.O. Box 6085,
Louisville, KY 40206, 502-895-2405 or 800-223-1839.

Computer-Related Books in Accessible Media, including Braille,
large type, audio tapes, and computer programs.

Aristo Computers Inc., 6700 SW 105th Avenue, Suite 307,
Beaverton, OR 97005, 503-626-6333

DOS Helper is an on-line help program for MS-DOS Versions 2.0
through 3.3 The program is menu-driven and can be run either
independently or as a memory-resident program. A feature is
included, permitting the user to create up to six help screens
for other application programs. DOS Helper requires at least 128K
of memory and one disk drive. $35.

ComputAbility Corporation, 40000 Grand River, Suite 109, Novi,
MI 48375, 800-433-8872 or 313-477-6720

Keyboarding with One Hand is a program that instructs and drills
an individual with use of only one hand in efficient keyboarding.
The program allows full print-out. Keyboarding with One Hand
consists of instruction material and a series of practice drills.
$150. PC and Apple II.

Fliptrack Learning Systems, 999 Main, Suite 200 ABDA, Glen Ellyn,
IL 60137, 708-790-1117 or 800-222-3547

FlipTrack Learning Tapes are a series of audio "how to" courses
for the computer user. These tutorials cover everything from "How
to Use an IBM-PC" to "Using MS-DOS" to a wide variety of
instruction in popular word processing and software packages.
Although these tapes were not developed specifically for disabled
persons, they are helpful for persons who have difficulties
reading or handling printed materials. Most courses for DOS-
based computers are tone-indexed. $90 to $200. Apple II,
Macintosh, and PCs.

Glencoe/Gregg McGraw-Hill, 13955 Manchester Road, Manchester,
MO 63011, 800-334-7344

Keyboarding for the Physically Handicapped is a touch-typing
tutorial program for people with disabilities which provides the
user with many options for combinations of fingers on either or
both hands to be used during typing. Each option contains a chart
showing which fingers to use for the home-row keys and which to
use to reach other keys. The program is available for the Apple
II series with 128K, the IBM-PC, and the TRS-80 Model III or IV.
$440.

Learn PC, 5101 Highway 55, Minneapolis, MN 55422, 800-532-7672
or 612-544-4500

Learn-PC is a personal computer training system. It uses a
combination of printed manuals, videotapes, and practice software
to instruct users in various computer programs. The training
videos include closed captioning. Learn-PC programs are available
for basic computer literacy, DOS, dBASE III and IV, Lotus 1-2-3,
and WordPerfect. Various prices.

Sunburst Communications, 101 Castleton Street, Pleasantville,
NY 10570, 800-628-8897 or 914-747-3310

Type to Learn is a program to teach keyboarding skills to
students of any age or learning-impaired adults and is intended
for use by teachers in training setting rather than by
individuals, so it includes a teacher management system for
controlling options and keeping progress records. Generally, when
a mistake is made, the student is shown how to correct it and
there is no penalty. A textbook and a grade book disk are
available. $75.

Talking Computers Inc., 140 Little Falls Street, Suite 205,
Falls Church, VA 22046, 703-241-8224

Talk-to-Me Tutorial Cassettes are a series of instructional audio
cassettes to help beginning and intermediate computer users learn
to use popular software programs. The taped courses were designed
by a blind computer programmer for visually impaired users but
are suitable for anyone interested in learning the programs.

The series includes tutorials on MS-DOS, Word Perfect, dBASE, and
Lotus 1-2-3. The MS-DOS tutorial is priced at $69. For $75, the
user can get the MS-DOS tutorial plus Artic Primer or Vert
Primer, cassette courses on operating these voice-output computer
access systems. The Word Perfect and Lotus 1-2-3 tutorials are
priced at $75 apiece; the dBASE tutorial is $129.95.

Note: A full list of current APH computer-related publication
titles is carried on The Enabled Computer BBS at 814-277-6337
(8N1) along with a large number of other disabilities-related
files.

(John McCormick/19930402/Press Contact: John McCormick, SYSOP,
814-277-6337 BBS)


(EDITORIAL)(IBM)(LAX)(00015)

 ****Editorial - MS-DOS 6.0 Will Break All Sales Records 04/02/93
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- By Linda
Rohrbough. Industry analysts say visions of MS-DOS 7.0, hinted
at by Bill Gates at his satellite introduction of MS-DOS 6.0 last
Tuesday, are pumping the blood of investors who are buying
Microsoft's stock. While DOS 7.0 certainly sounds interesting,
anyone who was at one of the satellite sites can tell you DOS 6.0
has greater market potential than any analyst has said.

How can I say that? Easy. I was at the satellite broadcast
and I saw hundreds of jaded computer users leave the
auditorium, pushing and shoving to get in line, just to buy DOS
6.0 from the Egghead representatives in the lobby as soon as
Bill Gates started the question and answer period. I've never
seen so much dead earnest from user group people before.

You've got to understand the user group mentality. User group
people don't come to buy software, they come to get a free
copy. They're used to getting free copies of software from
vendors at presentations and it's difficult to get them to
purchase anything.

So why were they so eager? Disk space. Everyone's short on hard
disk space and hard disk drives are ridiculously expensive. And
Bill Gates, by making the brash move of switching off the power
during the compression operation in the presentation, convinced
these people who understand how the computer works that MS-DOS
6.0 compression is safe. Anyone who understands how computers
work knows how potentially dangerous Gates act was to the
presentation. After all, user group people have seen lots of
systems lock up and crash and presentations fail.

Gates move was enough proof to convince the user group people
and the hardware vendors are jumping at the chance to get DOS
6.0 on machines they're shipping. Hardware, once you've
invested in it as a vendor, can become an albatross around your
neck as fast as this business moves. DOS 6.0 means these
hardware vendors can use hard disk drives they've already
invested in and systems they've already built, yet sell users
on more disk space. Acer told me they were loading DOS 6.0 on
their computers for shipment before DOS 6.0 was officially
announced.

We're going to see a lot more of that, so hang on to your hats.
I'm predicting MS-DOS 6.0 will break all sales records and will
turn out to be the biggest success story in computing history.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930402)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00016)

 ****IBM, Microsoft To Be Banned From GSA Schedule? 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- A federal government
office without IBM computers and Microsoft software? Unthinkable?
Perhaps, but that is what the future could hold if the feud
between the biggest players in the computer industry and the
General Services Administration continues and these companies'
products are dropped from the GSA Schedule.

The GSA Microcomputer Contract Schedule, better known as just The
Schedule or the MAS (multiple-award schedule), is where most
government agencies look to buy small quantities of personal
computer hardware and software - small by federal government
standards that is! Actually the annual on-schedule sales amount
to a tremendous market for resellers and manufacturers alike.

This contract has grown in importance this year and last
because the total failure to negotiate a Desktop IV contract has
left the Pentagon and other agency buyers with no other way to
buy most modern microcomputers and software other than off the
GSA Schedule where pre-negotiated contract conditions and maximum
prices are ready for any agency to use without further legal
procurement work.

What is happening right now is that the GSA has escalated an
ongoing feud with several large companies that supply products to
the vendors who actually negotiate contracts with the GSA and
deliver products to government buyers. The GSA wants a great deal
of information about how these large companies do business,
including such highly confidential details about their sales
strategies as how much they charge other buyers and the precise
details of contracts with major customers.

The manufacturers and software publishers contend that contract
prices will always be fair to the government because of
competition between vendors and the ability to purchase in the
open market. Therefore they refuse to make their marketing
secrets available to the government.

The vendors contend that since they are the ones negotiating the
contracts there is no need for manufacturers to supply this
information. In many cases these vendors' entire business depends
on selling to the government so this leaves them caught in the
middle of a very sticky situation because if a company like IBM
or Microsoft refuses to deliver confidential sales data to the
GSA then the agency can drop those products from contract
negotiations.

According to a report by The Washington Post, that is exactly what
happened earlier this week when the GSA removed a number of major
software programs and computers from the multiple-award schedule
now being negotiated. The contract will be in force for the next
year and while it is possible for an agency to buy products on
the open market, they are hampered by a lot of red tape and
procurement regulations.

IBM and Microsoft in particular say that they couldn't comply
with the GSA's demands even if they wanted to because they do not
sell direct to end users and thus don't have much of the
information which has been requested.

The final chapter has yet to be written and cooler heads may yet
prevail before these major product lines are finally eliminated
from the Schedule. In point of fact, the GSA has already lost two
rounds in federal appeals courts when a judge ruled that the
agency's disclosure demands were unrealistically broad and
burdensome then later refused the Justice Department's request
that the decision be reconsidered.

(John McCormick/19930402/)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00017)

MacTV Schedule for April 1 Through 9 04/02/93
MARLOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- MacTV, the
daily one-hour satellite computer product news program broadcast
every day on Galaxy 6, Channel 22 starting at 8 am Eastern
time. Some shows are also broadcast on the Mind Extension
University cable channel.

Previously broadcast programs are available at $9.95 plus $3
Shipping.

MacTV Schedule for April 1-2, 1993

Thursday, April 1, 1993: Intro to Cross-platform, a report on
file transfer and translation; MacLinkPlus/PC, the complete
answer for Macintosh/PC file exchanges; SoftPC Family, how to get
your Macintosh to run DOS/Windows software; PC Exchange, how to
get DOS/Windows files to your Macintosh; PathFinder, how to
connect Ethernet and LocalTalk networks; MacTOPS 3.1, the total
answer for file sharing/translation.

Friday, April 2, 1993: Ofoto 2.0, automatic, easy-to-use, one-
step scanning; Image Assistant, how to customize, improve, and
retouch images; Persuasion 2.1: Printing, a report on
Persuasion's output capabilities; Apple Color Printer, a report
on this printer's features; Darwin's Dilemma 2.0, an enjoyable
game about "eccentric" evolution; Pnotoshop 2.01, how to use the
image editing tools in this software.

MacTV Schedule for April 5-9, 1993

Monday, April 5, 1993: Microsoft Office, a foremost Macintosh
business solution; TopDown 3.5, help via a tool for
charting/diagramming; LetterWorks Products, prewritten documents
for your use; Apple LaserWriter Pro, a report on the 600DPI
LaserWriter Pro; Word 5.1: Print Envelopes, a report from an
expert on this function.

Tuesday, April 6, 1993: PowerBooks/180, Apple's newest product,
in depth; Cases for PowerBook, strong plastic products to protect
the PowerBooks; PBTools, how to make your PowerBook powerful
indeed; LapTrack, a sure way to document time and expenses;
PowerPrint, myriad printing selections for the Macintosh;
PowerPort, the quickest internal fax/modem available for the
PowerBook.

Wednesday, April 7, 1993: Apple's Newest Printers, a report on
the differing functions of these printers; WordPerfect 2.1,
advanced software for word processing; Word 5.1: Overview, the
newest version, with many new tools; LetraStudio 2.0, how to be
creative with layouts/typefaces; MacTools, a quick overview of
data recovery and disk utilities.

Thursday, April 8, 1993: DeltaGraph Professional, how this
software is used for charts/graphs; Computer Curmudgeon, the
newest offering from one computer author; QuicKeys2 [SQUARED],
customized shortcuts for the keyboard and commands; Miracle
Piano, learn to play music the easy, fun way; Kid Desk, how to
keep the kiddies away from your work.

Friday, April 9, 1993: Asante line: Ethernet, a quick look at
products for Asante Ethernet; System 7.1: File sharing, more on
this System 7 function; Networking Products, how to find errors
and manage traffic; Status Mac, the complete report on Macintosh
networking; FileMaker Pro 2.0, how to either share or use FM Pro
files via a network.

(John McCormick/19930402/Press Contact: Wayne Mohr, Executive
Producer PCTV and MacTV, 603-863-9322)


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

IBM Canada To Spin Off Mf'g Subsidiary 04/02/93
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- IBM Canada Ltd., has
announced plans to turn its Toronto manufacturing operations into
a separate subsidiary that will supply other companies as well as
IBM.

The Toronto plant, which makes various computer components, will
become a separate company with a new name and logo. The name has
not yet been determined, IBM Canada spokesman Mike Quinn said,
and employees of the new organization are being asked for their
ideas.

IBM Canada's Toronto manufacturing operations account for about a
third of the company's exports, which were just under C$4 billion
last year. The other major IBM manufacturing operation in Canada
is in Bromont, Quebec. That plant will remain a part of IBM
Canada, Quinn said.

All of the roughly 900 employees now working in the Toronto
operations will be offered jobs with the new company, IBM Canada
said.

The Toronto plant currently makes power systems, computer memory
products, and Personal Computer Memory Card Interface Association
(PCMCIA) option cards. Quinn said it may well expand into other
product lines depending on the demand from new customers.

IBM Canada is expected to remain a major customer of the newly
independent operation, Quinn said, but the company will be free
to pursue other business, including sales to IBM competitors, and
expects its growth to come on that front.

According to IBM officials, the new spinoff will be one of
Canada's largest electronics manufacturing firms.

(Grant Buckler/19930402/Press Contact: Mike Quinn, IBM Canada,
416-474-3900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

IBM Cutting Jobs in Minnesota, Florida 04/02/93
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- IBM has
confirmed job cuts in this Minneapolis/St. Paul suburb and in
Boca Raton, Florida. The reductions in full-time jobs total
between 1,100 and 1,200, with a number of temporary positions
also being cut.

IBM's Adstar disk-drive manufacturing unit will cut about 700
regular jobs in Rochester in the next year as it shifts
manufacturing to other sites, an IBM spokeswoman confirmed. A
number of temporary positions are also being eliminated -- one
published report said 1,200 such jobs will disappear, but the
spokeswoman could not confirm that number.

Adstar represents only part of IBM's manufacturing operations in
Rochester. The site also manufactures the company's AS/400
minicomputers. AS/400 operations will not be affected by the
cuts, the spokeswoman said, but she could not say whether the
Adstar unit will retain any operations in Rochester.

In Boca Raton, between 400 and 500 jobs are to disappear, out of
a total of about 3,700. Company spokesman Michael Barry confirmed
that IBM will try to cut as many of these jobs as possible
through voluntary means, but expects to have to resort to
layoffs, which will begin after April 30, to meet the target.

The Boca Raton plant makes personal computers.

Also, IBM is moving its Latin American personal computer
operation from Mount Pleasant, New York, to Boca Raton. That
operation includes about 35 jobs in finance, marketing, and
planning, Barry said. About 20 employees are expected to follow
their jobs from New York to Boca Raton, and the remaining
positions will be offered to IBM employees in Boca Raton. This
move is to be completed by September.

IBM has said it plans to cut some 25,000 jobs, representing about
eight percent of its worldwide payroll, by the end of this year.
This comes on top of extensive jobs cuts in the past three years.

Earlier in the week, IBM announced job cuts in its mainframe
manufacturing operations in upstate New York.

(Grant Buckler/19930402/Press Contact: Jim Ruderman, IBM, 914-
765-6631; Michael Barry, IBM, 407-443-0005)


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

International Telecom Update 04/02/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Trends of Western
investment and purchasing of Third World telecom assets remain
in place.

MTC Electronics Technologies Co. Ltd., of Canada signed its joint
venture to engage in telecom services and manufacturing
throughout that vast country. Previously, rumors were flying it
might be excluded from the market, which it has been fighting to
serve for years.

The new deal, in which it holds a 51 percent interest, is with
China's Satellite Launching, Tracking, and Control Central, a
unit of the government, and a Hong Kong-based investment company.
The 25-year venture will work in digital cellular and paging,
satellite-delivered long distance, and the manufacture of digital
cellular equipment. Its first system will be in the capital of
Beijing. CSLTCC will get the frequencies and cooperation with
local networks, while MTC will get the equipment as well as
provide management and training. MTC and the Hong Kong group will
both provide capital. The venture still needs government
approvals, but CSLTCC is a unit of the government so that's not
expected to be a problem. The company's stock rose 20 percent in
price after the deal was announced.

When MTC first began negotiating, it was one of the newest
companies in the market. Now the Chinese market is highly
competitive and technologically advanced, with Siemens of
Germany and AT&T of the US having joint ventures to build their
finest devices there. Ericsson of Sweden is also a player in
China, and will now make versions of its AXE cellular switch
in Nanjing, holding 52 percent of the venture's equity.

Two deals were signed in the Muslim world. Malaysia's Sapura
Holdings won contracts with the Sultanate of Brunei to install 9
new telephone exchanges with over 43,000 lines by August, 1994.
Brunei's oil revenues make it among the world's richest nations.
Turkey is not nearly so rich, and is having big trouble
privatizing its economy. The Netas telephone equipment unit,
already 51 percent owned by Northern Telecom of Canada, was to
have had 20 percent sold to local investors, but only 7 percent
could be sold due to low interest. The government now says it
will sell the remaining stake to foreign interests.

In Europe, Sprint said it would begin operations at its
Bulgarian venture April 15. The new link to Sprintnet will cover
Sofia and three other cities by the end of June, with Sprint
owning 60 percent. Foreign companies are said to be the primary
customers for the venture.

Bulgaria is also looking to sign $300 million in contracts to
modernize its total phone network with Siemens of Germany,
Ericsson of Sweden, Alcatel of France and Northern Telecom of
Canada winning the bids.

In the Czech republic, the western portion of the former
Czechoslovakia, AT&T bought a majority stake in a distributor
called Telenet. The company will be renamed AT&T Business
Communications Systems. Telenet, which has no relation to the
Sprint network which formerly held that name, has annual sales of
about $2 million. A local engineer, Jan Madara, will continue to
run the business.

Also in Europe, to no one's surprise, BellSouth's RAM
Netherlands start-up said it signed a deal with Ericsson of
Sweden for Mobitex-standard equipment needed for a radio data
network in that country. Ericsson valued the contract at $15
million. It's part of a continent-wide network BellSouth is
working to create.

Finally, in Latin America, Brazil stocks are off on new fears
concerning privatization, which is due to eventually lead to a
sell-off of that nation's Telebras phone network. Some of
Telebras is already in private hands, and its stock bucked the
trend. And US media companies, seeing the success Southwestern
Bell has had with the TelMex phone network, say they want to make
a bid for Mexican media outlets due to be privatized next.

Paramount and Capital Cities/ABC are looking to join an investor
group aimed at buying two TV channels, the nation's leading daily
paper and a movie theater chain. The two US companies would own
nearly half the resulting company.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930402/Press Contact: Peter Verrengia, for
MTC, 212-265-9150; Ericsson, Kathy Egan, 212/685-4030; AT&T, Sue
Fleming, 201/581-5619)


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

Ameritech Signs Alliance With Novell 04/02/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Ameritech, which
has been the most aggressive of the regional Bell companies in
restructuring and rolling out digital services under ISDN
standards, announced an alliance with Novell, the leader in LAN
operating system software.

Under the deal, Ameritech's services and Novell's products will
become tightly integrated, with Novell resellers offering one-
stop shopping for companies with multiple local networks.
Resellers will be able to offer Ameritech data services for
connecting wide-area networking products like Novell's NetWare
MultiProtocol Routers and NetWare LAN Links.

The first service covered by the plan is Ameritech ISDN Direct,
which opens as a pilot offering May 1 in Chicago. The company
said it now offers ISDN service throughout the city of Chicago,
and by the end of 1993, it will offer the service in its other
major metropolitan areas. The company has also been active in
selling frame relay and SMDS services, and has demonstrated tight
links with WilTel's national frame relay network.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930402/Press Contact: Jeff Smith, Ameritech,
708-248-2138; Steve Genova, Novell, 408-473-8381)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Broadcast Networks Win Rerun Rights 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- The notorious "fin-
syn" rules, which prevent broadcast networks like ABC from owning
rights to the entertainment shows they broadcast, will be phased
out by the Federal Communications Commission. The re-run
syndication market is estimated to be worth $5 billion, and that
figure could grow significantly as new multimedia markets are
found in education and games.

The move comes at a crucial time for the industry. Some top
shows, like "Star Trek: The Next Generation," are now being shown
through syndication, not through the networks. An estimated one-
fourth of broadcast network affiliates are not profitable,
according to the industry's National Association of Broadcasters'
trade group. And a major feature of the upcoming NAB trade show
in Las Vegas will be a multimedia exhibition and conference, as
broadcasters search for new markets and new uses of their
broadcast capacity.

Under the new rules, networks would still be required to sell
syndication rights to a second, syndicating company, which would
license reruns, but the networks could maintain a financial
interest in the shows and draw revenue from the syndication
agreements. Once the rules are lifted, which could be in as
little as two years, the networks and studios could be free to
merge.

Back in the early days of Hollywood, movie studios like MGM were
often owned by theater chains like Loew's. When the government
severed the link between production and distribution, many of the
great studios faded. The "fin-syn" rules, passed in 1970,
extended that break to television. But in recent years the
developing cable industry has had close links between production
and distribution, with major operators like TCI and Time-Warner
owning big pieces of broadcast producers like Turner Broadcasting
System, owners of CNN.

The "fin-syn" debate has long been a political tug-of-war within
the industry. In 1991 the rules were relaxed, but networks
objected, wanting more control than they were offered. Last fall,
a US court, prodded by the networks, ordered the FCC to justify
why it hadn't just junked the rules. Program producers say that
without "fin-syn" they'll be shut out of network access, and the
battle isn't over. Producers Harry and Linda Thomason are close
friends of President Clinton, having slept in the White House on
the night after his inauguration. Clinton has two appointments
coming to the commission, but the decision was made on a 3-0
vote.

Reaction was swift and predictable. Jack Valenti, who represents
325 producers, directors, writers and allied groups, attacked the
new rules as anti-competitive. CBS called the new rules
inadequate, because they will not be allowed to produce their own
shows. Capital Cities/ABC said it was grateful for the move,
saying it will ultimately benefit the American people. Stock
analysts, especially arbitrageurs, contemplated mergers between
movie studio companies like Paramount and networks like NBC.
Paramount shares were among the big winners in stock trading
after the decision was announced. However, most US studios are
now owned by Japanese companies -- Universal is owned by
Matsushita, Columbia by Sony -- and foreigners are not allowed to
own US TV licenses. So any moves are expected to happen slowly.

In the end, some observers say, the success of syndicated shows
like "Star Trek" and cable-provided shows like "Mystery Science
Theater 3000" seem to demonstrate that the old rules are
obsolete, that producers will find many outlets even if they're
shut out of the networks, and that networks will lose their
viewers unless they bring in the best programming regardless of
cost or financial arrangements. Time Warner and Walt Disney, the
two largest US-owned movie studios, already own their own cable
networks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930402/Press Contact: FCC Press, 202-632-
5050)


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

Reaction To New Cable Regulation 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- While the
reregulation rules approved by the Federal Communications
Commission represented a compromise of sorts, reaction to them
was predictable.

James P. Mooney, president of the National Cable Television
Association, was appalled. He said, "At minimum, it appears that
these rules will make it very difficult for us to satisfy the
expectations of our subscribers," adding the group would consider
a lawsuit if it thinks the FCC's authority under the 1992 Cable
Reregulation Act has been exceeded. Continental Cable Chairman
Amos Hostetter, the third largest operator after TCI and Time-
Warner, issued a similar statement, predicting a $1 billion loss
of revenue for the industry which "could seriously impede" the
introduction of new technology. Consumer groups were
disappointed, believing the rules won't require the estimated 30
percent rate roll-back they think is mandated by the act.

Under the new rules, however, there is no guarantee that your
cable bill will drop, although published reports indicate that
as many as 75 percent of the nation's 57 million cable
subscribers will see rate cuts of at least 10 percent. FCC
benchmarks have yet to be made public, and only rates that exceed
the benchmarks can be cut, by a maximum of 10 percent. But the
rollback could be bigger, if your bill went up after October, or
if under the new FCC benchmarks it's decided that the cable
company is taking too big a profit from something like your
remote control. The October-December increases are definitely
being rolled back, however, and new rules may increase roll-backs
on companies which exceed the benchmarks by over 10 percent. The
FCC also passed rules to ensure competitors to cable, including
direct broadcast satellite systems like Hughes' DirecTv, phone
companies, and individual satellite dish owners, have the ability
to buy programming.

But nothing will happen immediately. The benchmarks must be
published. Rates are frozen for at least 4 days as rules are
finalized. After the rules are made final, local governments must
register with the FCC to seek rate-setting authority. Cable
companies could make deals with local governments to keep their
high rates based on a promise to install new technology.

There are still other shoes to drop. The FCC will start accepting
complaints on the price of "expanded basic" packages this summer,
which include all popular channels like FCC. An order for lower
rates could follow, and refunds follow.

The rules could be made moot by the courts, of course. Time
Warner and Turner Broadcasting, among others, have already filed
court challenges to the law. In the short run, however, many
cable TV stocks took a hit after the regulations were announced,
with bellwether Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), losing 10 percent
of its value.

Speaking of TCI, that company did issue a statement claiming it
has the internal cash flow necessary to upgrade most of its
systems to new technology, capable of carrying 500-750 channels,
within the next four years. TCI is planning to upgrade its system
using digital compression techniques, although it acknowledged
the new regulations could "create turmoil" in planning for the
upgrade. TCI, like the rest of the industry, called the FCC rules
on cable rates "unduly harsh" and "in some respects punitive."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930402/Press Contact: FCC Press, 202-632-
5050' NCTA, Peggy Laramie, 202-775-3629; Continental Cablevision
Henry James, 617/742-9500)


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

MCI Wins Major Financial Contract 04/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- MCI was selected to
provide digital connections across the US, Canada and Mexico
by the Multilateral Initiative, a consortium of 32 carriers. The
service was formerly provided by AT&T.

MCI will offer its Digital Passage service to the consortium and
sign individual agreements extending up to 25 years. "The demand
to exchange information globally has pushed the rapid deployment
of digital technology from point-to-point pathways to worldwide
communications networks," said Seth Blumenfeld, president
of MCI International, in a press statement.

Analysts estimate the contracts could be worth tens of millions
of dollars, and it continues a growing pattern by large companies
to seek a single point of contact, and a single contract, for all
telecom services. British Telecom's Syncordia unit, which
recently won the business of British Petroleum, was created to
exploit just this opportunity. Other companies feel that global
alliances are the best way to go. AT&T and Sprint have been
signing alliance agreements with individual overseas phone
companies, and AT&T itself is seem to have the best chance of
competing with BT as a single-source of global service. Some
analysts feel that as few as 3-4 alliances will be formed in
time, limiting the potential number of worldwide carriers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930402/Press Contact: Pam Small, MCI, 202-
887-3000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00025)

 ****IBM To Spin Off 4 Plants In Europe? 04/02/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- IBM has announced plans to
reorganize four of its European manufacturing plans in order,
Newsbytes has learned, to prepare them to bid for third-party
contracts, as well as the longer-term possibility of spinning
them off as separate entities.

The four plants, the storage manufacturing facility in Havant
(England), the printer facility in Jarfalla (Sweden), the computer
plant in Valencia (Spain), and mainframe computer plant in
Montpelier (France), will all have their accounts treated
separately within IBM's main accounts, which will mean that
much of the company cost overheads will be removed from their
profit and loss/balance sheets.

Howard Meredith, a senior research analyst with Romtec market
research, told Newsbytes that he viewed the preparations for spin-off
at the four facilities as a continuation of what has been happening
within IBM for some time. He cited the example of the Lexmark
(printer), IPCC and Ambra (PC) divisions as earlier examples. "They
will (now) have to compete on the open market," he said.

Jeremy Davies, a director of Context market research, said that the
idea of the spin-offs "makes total sense," in the context of the
general bid to cut costs within IBM. "It sounds in keeping with their
strategy of competing generally," he told Newsbytes.

Steve Walker, marketing programs manager within IBM UK, told Newsbytes
that the preparations are a long-term affair. "It's not the sort of
thing you do overnight," he said. The immediate aim of the changes to
the divisions' accounts is, he added, to enable them to bid for
external (non-IBM) business.

Between them, the four plants employ around 4,800 staff. Some sources
have suggested that as much as 25 percent of the staffing levels could
be cut in a bid to make the divisions more cost-effective.

(Steve Gold/19930402)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

Artisoft Ships LANtastic 5.0 04/02/93
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- One of the fastest
growing segments in the computer industry is networking and
within that area, peer-to-peer network operating systems are
a hot item, not least because of the publicity generated by
Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups product. However, one of
the industry leaders that dominates the high-end of the
peer-to-peer market is Artisoft's LANtastic. Now the company
has announced the shipping of version 5.0.

Peer-to-peer network operating systems are favored by small
companies and departmental local area network (LANs) because
of their low cost, their easy administration, and the fact that
they do not need a dedicated server. It used to be that you had
to give up a lot of features if you invested in a peer-to-peer
as opposed to a full networking product, such as Novell's
industry-leading NetWare. At the high end of the peer-to-peer
market though, that is no longer the case. Some products offer
many functions and features found in their more expensive
counterparts.

According Artisoft, some of the new features in version 5.0
of LANtastic include "multiplatform connectivity for corporate
workgroups as well as enhanced network administrations,
extended security and improved printing capabilities."

Also cited as significant by the company are: global resources
that redirect drive and printer connections to other servers;
bridged NetWare, Unix NFS, OS/2 HPFS, WORM (write-once,
read-many) and other non-DOS drives; a routable NetBIOS that
joins multiple networks through IEEE compliant routers,
including an IPX (Internetworking Packet Exchange) routing
option; and delayed despooling that allows large files to be
printed at low traffic times.

Also, a new LANtastic for Windows scrapbook feature
facilitates the exchange of text, graphics and audio
information across the network, says the company.

The company says that LANtastic now offers multiplatform
connectivity for NetWare, TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) and Macintosh systems. It allows
up to 500 users of IBM-compatible computers to connect and
share information and peripheral devices.

Support for multiple platforms and the ability to handle a
large number of users were previously features only found
in dedicated server-based network operating systems.

(Ian Stokell/19930402/Press Contact: Joe Stunkard,
602-670-7145, Artisoft Inc.)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

Conner Eyes Restructuring 04/02/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Conner
Peripherals is claiming that lower drive prices and a change
in capacity demand will lead to the company posting lower
earnings for its first quarter, 1993.

According to the company, "continued weakness in demand and
price declines for disk drives, as well as a shortfall in orders
from its European distributor, will adversely affect its results
of operations in the first quarter."

Conner says that the actual operating results would actually
"depend on expense levels or other charges incurred in the quarter."
According to the company it is currently evaluating "various
restructuring alternatives to reduce costs and that any such
actions could result in additional charges to the quarter."

Kevin Burr, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that,
"We don't know if we will take a restructuring at this point.
We are still investigating the best way to downsize our
company, and to reduce our costs. We will know more in the
next two to three weeks."

In answer to a Newsbytes' question as to whether layoffs would
be considered, Burr said, "In terms of layoffs, obviously as
part of restructuring, if that's what we decide to do. We are
looking at a number of alternatives to reduce costs, including
a reduction in force. Certainly there are areas where there is
a duplication of resources resulting from the acquisition of
Archive, where we will take action."

In announcing the lower-than-expected earnings, Finis Conner,
chief executive officer of Conner Peripherals, said, "The market
for our disk drive products is currently being affected by a variety
of factors. Ongoing price competition and excess capacity in the
industry has caused customers to defer purchases and reduce lead
times for purchase orders."

The increased demand for high capacity drives is also being
blamed. "In addition, the transition in demand from disk drives
with capacities of 120 megabytes (MB) and below, to products
with capacities of 170MB and higher is accelerating, resulting in
significantly lower demand for lower capacity products. In this
environment, we were particularly affected by a deferral of orders
by our major European distributor at the end of the quarter," said
Conner. "We are currently in discussions with this distributor and
are evaluating a restructuring of our relationship in order to
improve our control and leadership in this channel."

In terms of hard drive capacity, Burr told Newsbytes, "The
transition (in demand) that has taken place....was much faster
than anyone had anticipated, and was much faster than the
industry had experienced historically."

(Ian Stokell/19930402/Press Contact: Kevin Burr,
408-456-3134, Conner Peripherals Inc.)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00028)

UK - Unrest In Dealer Channel, Call For Unity 04/02/93
WILMSLOW, CHESHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Systems Direct, the
computer reseller and support specialist, has called for dealers to
unite and end the secrecy and division that manufacturers have over
profit margins. The aim of the campaign, the reseller claims, is to
work towards better profit margins from manufacturers, so allowing the
dealer channel to offer better service and support to its customers.

Austin Ambrose, Systems Direct's marketing director, said that, with
some manufacturers cutting profit margins in a bid to remain
competitive, there is a lot of unrest in the dealer channel.

"We've had competition, secrecy and skirmishing between dealers for
the last decade, and where has it got us? The channel is caught in a
perpetual boom-and-bust cycle. I believe this cycle could be broken by
unity and sharing of information within the channel," he said.

Ambrose's idea for a dealer unity on margins campaign was sparked off
after reading an article by a Japanese company which, when it won a
major account, invited its competitors in order to explain how it won
the contract.

"By sharing information, dealers can better fulfill customers' needs
and create more opportunities for themselves. For example, if you
supply a company but can't provide one particular resource, contract
another dealer in as a third party," he said, adding that united
dealers are a lot more effective in lobbying manufacturers for
competitive prices. This, he said, gives dealers a fair margin.

One idea that Ambrose has is to set up a series of regional forums
with the express idea of exchanging information. "For example,
bulletin boards or regular dealer meetings. I'm inviting dealers to
contact me and begin a frank open exchange of information," he said.

(Steve Gold/19930402/Press & Public Contact: Systems Direct - Tel:
0625-548339)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00029)

UK - Elonex 32-Bit Graphical Workstations 04/02/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Elonex has unveiled a new range of
32-bit workstations aimed at competing with the likes of Apple and Sun
in the high-end, RISC marketplace. The new GS-400 series, which are
Intel processor-based, have been designated the "special products
group" by the direct-sell company.

"We've built our success on designing and manufacturing industry
standard computers for the mainstream business user," explained the
Demetre Cheras, Elonex's systems director, who added that they are all
Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) machines.

He went on to add that, despite this general approach by the company,
there are several niche markets "that we consider would find our
build-to-order, high-quality-at-low-cost formula a very attractive
proposition too."

"The special products group comprises a number of hardware solutions
codeveloped with technology leaders such as Intel, that have been
designed to address those markets," he said.

Two models initially comprise the GS-400 series, the GS-433 and 466,
based around 33 megahertz (MHz) 486DX and 66MHz 486DX2 processors
respectively. Memory on the machines has been tuned to optimize system
performance, with both systems featuring high resolution local bus
graphics for intensive video applications.

According to Elonex, the inclusion of onboard small computer systems
interface (SCSI) and three expansion slots (twin EISA and single ISA),
allows for easy external and internal expansion. Both machines sport
an integral digital sound system for the growing business audio
marketplace for applications.

Pricing on the machines starts at UKP 2,475 for the GS-433, and UKP
300 more for the GS-466. For the money, buyers get 8 megabytes (MB) of
memory and a 170MB hard disk, plus a 14-inch color monitor.

(Steve Gold/19930402/Press & Public Contact: Elonex - Tel: 081-452-
4444)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Intel's $1Bil Plant Set For New Mexico 04/02/93
RIO RANCHO, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A., 1993 APR 2 (NB) -- Intel said
it decided to build its next computer chip manufacturing
facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico where a family with an
income of $18,000 a year can own a home.

While Intel didn't say it was moving out of California, the
company did point out it was joining a number of former California
companies in building the estimated $1 billion facility in Rio
Rancho.

Intel, now the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, has
need for expanded production facilities to meet the increasing
demand for its microprocessor and components products.
Production of the new Pentium or P5 was bumped to this year to
meet demand for the i486 central processing unit (CPU) chip, as
Intel said it simply couldn't meet the demand for both chips
with the same manufacturing facilities.

In October of last year Intel announced it would spend $400
million and create 250 jobs in expanding manufacturing
facilities in Santa Clara, California. This move to New Mexico
on the part of the manufacturing giant might surprise
California state officials, who bid for Intel's new
manufacturing plant along with Colorado, Texas, Arizona,
Oregon, Utah, and New Mexico. It won't surprise California
residents in Santa Clara, where the average price of single-
family home in 1991 was estimated at $256,700 compared to the
starter home price in Rio Rancho of $40,000.

Fourteen other companies have opened facilities in Rio Rancho
in 1992 and community officials say the number of jobs in the
area has quadrupled.

Andrew Grove, Intel's president, promised consumers in January
of this year lower prices and new products and it appears the
company will start by lowering its manufacturing overhead.
Intel will save over $60 million alone in industrial revenue
tax incentives, according to Rio Rancho, New Mexico's economic
development head Mark Lautman. The company's largest
manufacturing plant is already located in Rio Rancho with 2,400
employees and the addition of this new plant is expected to
create 1,000 new jobs in the area.

The expansion is beginning immediately, Intel said, and the new
facility will add over 1.3 million-square-feet to the site.
Included on site will be 140,000-square-feet of "clean room"
where cleanliness requirements are more stringent than a
hospital operating room and even the air is filtered. Actual
production is scheduled to begin in 1995. Chips produced at the
site will be made on 8-inch diameter wafers and the circuit
lines on chips made in this new factory area will be 0.40
microns in width. (One micron is equal to 1/1,000,000th of a
meter, or 1/22,400th of an inch).

Part of the attraction in choosing the site was in the
estimated speed of getting the new manufacturing facility open
as experienced contracting personnel have already built in Rio
Rancho. Lautman says Intel's estimated "time to revenue" on
this facility has been cut down to a single year, meaning the
plant can be built and operational in that time frame. Actual
production is scheduled to begin in 1995.

Intel officials say the company will spend a total of $1.6
billion on expansion company wide this year, more than any
computer chip manufacturer has ever spend on production
facilities in a single year. The company reported 1992 revenues
of $5.84 billion, the highest in the company's history and up
22 percent from 1991.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930402/Press Contact: Howard High, Intel,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Mark Lautman, Rio Rancho
EDC, 505-892-9200)