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/nb930406

Text File | 1993-04-06 | 74KB | 1,635 lines

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00001)

Japanese Join Motorola's Iridium Project 04/06/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- 20 Japanese firms are in a
joint venture as part of Motorola's Iridium project, which aims to
create a global mobile phone network based on space satellites.

The Japanese Iridium contingency includes: Daini Denden (DDI),
Kyocera, Sony, Ushio Electric, SECOM, Mitsubishi Trading, Mitsui
Bussan and Sumitomo Trading. The new firm will be created at
the end of this month, and its first meeting will be held on
April 27.

The new firm hopes to start the service in 1997 and will be
called "Japan Iridium." The total capitalization will be
15 billion yen ($130 million), over 50% of which will be paid
by DDI and its subsidiary phone firms. Twenty to 25 percent
will be come from five other firms including Kyocera and Sony,
and the rest will be paid by conglomerates and financial
firms. The total capitalization is expected to be doubled
by the end of next year.

DDI has been active in the Iridium project. The firm
participated in an Iridium investors' forum held in Switzerland
in January. It is expected that the new Japanese firm
will develop mobile phone devices and their sales, as well as
support Japanese users.

The Iridium project calls for the launch of 66 space satellites
as a worldwide telecom base by Motorola and participating firms.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930405/Press Contact: DDI, +81-3-
3221-9526, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00002)

Japanese Chipmakers Increase Production 04/06/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Increasing worldwide demand
for computer memory chips has prompted major Japanese
chipmakers to ramp up production.

Mitsubishi Electric will increase production of 16-megabit
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. New production lines
are been created that will output about 250,000 units of the
chips per year. Mitsubishi will reportedly spend 5 to 6
billion yen (around $48 million) for these new production lines.

Mitsubishi will also change the 4-megabit DRAM production lines
at its Saijyo, Japan plant to 16-megabit DRAM production.
These more powerful memory devices are in demand for
workstations and personal computers in Japan as well as in the US.

Meanwhile, NEC will increase production of 4-megabit and
16-megabit DRAMs, from 7.7 million units to 9 million units per
year by the end of this year. These chips are mainly used in
personal computers, which indicates that demand for PCs is
increasing.

Fujitsu, another major Japanese computer chipmaker, is planning
to create a large-scale research and development in a suburb of
Tokyo. It will be the largest R & D center for the firm. To start,
Fujitsu will produce a prototype 256-megabit DRAM chip
and ASICs (application specific ICs) at this plant. About 900
people will work at this center, which will open in 1996.

Fujitsu expects its first financial deficit for the firm's history
in fiscal 1992.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930405/Press Contact: Mitsubishi
Electric, [phone], Fax, [phone], NEC, +81-3-3451-
2974, Fujitsu, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00003)

Computing In Uzbekistan 04/06/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- A recent issue of the Tashkent,
Uzbekistan-based "Wet Paint" electronic magazine provides
a current review of the PC market in the former Soviet Asian
republic of Uzbekistan. The demand for computers and
peripherals is strong, it claims.

The soaring demand has led to higher prices than in
Russia -- the same PC could cost in rubles the equivalent of
$150 to $250 US dollars more in Tashkent than in Moscow. The
magazine quotes a number of reasons for this: difficulty of
payments to and from Russia, problems with hard currency,
customs taxes, and high delivery expense.

Local firms, the report, says, are also "rigging" the market
in order to get 40-50% profit margin for their operations.

It is worth noting that 386-based machines are hot properties
in Tashkent, and at least 6 firms are selling them to
customers. 486-based machines are not a factor there yet.

The situation is getting more complicated since several
CIS state-owned computer manufacturers stopped making
low cost, low class ex-Soviet XT-compatibles. For example,
Byelorussian Minsk VTI Company has discontinued its ES-1841,
ES-1842, and ES-1843 line. These cheap machines have held
a stable market share in the ex-Soviet republics. The new
generation of CIS-made computers (ES-1851, ES-1849, ES-1863)
is more modern but their price in Tashkent is said to be
prohibitively high.

Tashkent may ultimately be the scene of a battle between Western
and South Asian hardware firms. While computer giants Apple,
IBM, Compaq, Digital Equipment, ATronic, and others, are
not reaching this Asian region of the former USSR, others are.
Low-cost PCs assembled by Asian companies from Singapore,
Malaysia, Hongkong, Taiwan are being sold there. Several
middle-range US firms are also trying to enter the local
market through Uzbek partners and joint ventures. Trans
Ameritech Enterprises is working with the local Nuron LTD
company, SATS has its Serveko joint venture in Tashkent.
Last month was marked by the visit of Apple representatives.
The magazine claims that in Uzbekistan, Apple computers are
unknown even to the local experts.

IBM also has a business partner in the region called PO
"Uzinformtranssystem."

According to the magazine, the Uzbek market could be won by
those firms offering guarantees, more software, and more
service for a lower price, and that the types and models of
computers matter little to buyers.

(Eugene Peskin & Kirill Tchashchin/19930405/Press Contact:
Wet Paint, phone/fax: [phone]; e-mail:
[e-mail])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00004)

Symantec Completes Private Placement Of $25M Notes 04/06/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Symantec
has completed a private placement of $25,000,000 of 7.75-percent
convertible subordinated notes due on February 28, 2001.

According to the company, the notes are convertible into common
stock at $12 a share. The company says that the proceeds from
the offering will be used for "working capital."

The investors are Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York,
as Trustee for a Commingled Pension Trust Fund, and The
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Donaldson, Lufkin
& Jenrette Securities Corporation acted as agent.

Symantec has been busy lately. A week ago Newsbytes reported
that the company had announced several new versions of its
Norton range of utility products for DOS, just in time for the
introduction of Microsoft's MS-DOS 6.0. At the time the company
said that the new versions had all been updated to handle the data
compression facility seen in DOS 6.0. The products include: Norton
Backup 2.2 for DOS, The Norton Desktop version 2.2 for Windows
(NDW), The Norton Desktop for Windows Network Menuing Admin
Pack version 2.2, and The Norton Utilities version 7.0.

In March Newsbytes reported that Symantec had signed an
exclusive agreement with Future Systems Solutions
to market Norton Speedcache+ 4.0, an all-in-one cache for
hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and removable media drives
in both DOS and Windows.

However, all has not been free-sailing for the company. Also
in March Newsbytes reported that Symantec executives,
President and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Eubanks, and
Executive Vice President Gene Wang had been indicted by a
California grand jury to stand trial on charges of theft of
trade secrets from competing software developer Borland
International.

Wang left Borland September 1 of last year to enter the
employment of Symantec, and two days after his departure
Borland officials filed criminal charges. The homes and offices
of Wang and Eubanks were searched by police in connection with
the alleged theft of trade secrets.

(Ian Stokell/19930405/Press Contact: Jackie Brinker,
408-446-7490, Symantec)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00005)

Adobe Ships Photoshop For Windows 2.5 04/06/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Adobe
Systems has begun shipping its Adobe Photoshop version 2.5
software for the Windows platform.

According to Adobe, the program was developed concurrently
with the same version for the Macintosh. The two versions are
claimed to be fully file-compatible and offer an identical
feature set.

The products are being marketed towards designers,
photographers and other graphics professionals who would
use Adobe Photoshop software to manipulate any combination of
continuous-tone, bitmapped, grayscale or color images, either
scanned in or computer-generated.

The company also says that users can edit and reposition any
portion of an image and import and export a wide variety of
graphics formats including Encapsulated PostScript and Adobe
Illustrator. The program also provides a number of special
effects filters and 16-million-color paint capability.

Adobe Photoshop also provides on-screen color editing of
CMYK four-color process images. The company also says that
PostScript Level 2 device-independent color support gives
users "consistent' color on compatible devices.

The company says that some of the new features common to
Adobe Photoshop version 2.5 for the Windows and Macintosh
platforms are: new "dodge" and "burn" tools that allow users
to selectively lighten and darken portions of an image; a
variations feature that allows users to correction the color
by selecting a variety of preview options; and a new "Quick
Mask" feature that allows users to view and edit masks using
tool box controls.

System requirements for running version 2.5 include: an Intel
386- or 486-based personal computer running DOS 5.0 or
greater and Windows 3.1; four megabytes of RAM; a color VGA,
Super VGA, 16-bit or 24-bit display adapter and compatible
Windows environment-supported monitor; and a mouse or
compatible pointing device.

Adobe Photoshop 2.5 for Windows is now available and is
priced at $895.

Only a week ago, Newsbytes reported that Adobe had signed
a deal a limited-time bundling deal that offers a free copy
of Adobe Photoshop Limited Edition image-editing software
with each Macintosh-compatible HP ScanJet IIc scanner
shipped through September 30.

(Ian Stokell/19930405/Press Contact: LaVon Peck,
415/962-2730, Adobe Systems Inc.)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00006)

Indian Firm To Automate Insurance Company 04/06/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Mastek of Bombay, India,
has received a letter of intent to act as a systems consultant
to the Hong Leong Assurance Sendirian Berhad (Life Division), a major
insurance company in Southeast Asia, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.
The company's worldwide revenue is more than $30 million.

Under the terms of the contract, valued at over Rs 120 million
(around $4 million), Mastek will help the company develop and
implement a new IT strategy based on state-of-the-art open
systems and relational database technology. According to a
company press release, the system will integrate most of the
functions of the Life Insurance business including new business,
policyholder servicing, claims processing, agency management
procedures, and loan administration, as well as key operations such
as valuation, accounting, and reinsurance. Among the benefits of the
system is the availability of up-to-date management information
for analysis and forecasting.

Mastek is one of the leading software houses in India with nine
branches throughout the country, an offshore development center at
Bombay exclusively for exports, and a R&D centre at Pune for
developing products for the international market.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930405)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00007)

UK - Largest Re-engineering Project 04/06/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 APR 7 (NB) -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
has successfully completed one of the largest re-engineering projects
in the UK, for Sun Life Assurance Society plc (SLAS).

Dave Nelson, the SLAS spokesperson, said TCS managed to complete the
project three months ahead of schedule on the request of the
UK-based company. SLAS has now successfully implemented the first
major system unit-linked pensions system, and it will implement
other systems during the current year.

Three years ago, TCS had bagged a software contract from SLAS, which
involved migration of SLAS's mission critical systems from a
CDC mainframe to one of IBM make. The project commenced when SLAS
realized that existing hardware would not be able to support the
long-term needs of the company.

The total cost of the project is 30 million pounds. TCS' share came to
around 9 million pounds. SLAS is one of the top five life insurance
companies in the UK with an asset base of 10 billion pounds, and a
staff strength of over 3,500.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930405)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00008)

India - Digital Scraps Investment Plans 04/06/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC) of the US has backed out of its earlier proposal to take a
50 percent equity stake in the public sector computer company
CMC Ltd.

Newsbytes had earlier reported on the US giant's plans to take an
equity stake in the company. This was one among the many proposals
being considered by the CMC management to bring in much-needed cash
into the beleaguered company. CMC Chairman Krishnan Kutty had
then said the offer was submitted a few months ago and his company was
likely to take a decision after announcing the results for financial
1992-93.

However, senior DEC officials said though there was such a proposal
last year, it was more like an exploratory survey looking at the
possibility of a tie-up with the Indian company.

They claim no negotiations were conducted. "We felt that the CMC is
not too serious about the deal," they added. DEC, the officials say,
had withdrawn the proposal last year.

DEC, which was initially excited about the government PSU
disinvestment policy, was looking at forging a strategic alliance
with CMC to generate greater business. Moreover, it was also keen on
CMC's system integration abilities which it thought could be used for
Digital's worldwide operations.

Another plus for the possible deal was that a majority of CMC
personnel were accustomed to work on Digital system platforms. CMC
has been facing problems since last year. High inventories and
declining business have led to a resource crunch.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930405)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

British Telecom's Syncordia Takes On British Petroleum 04/06/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- BT's Syncordia operation,
designed to be a pan-European telecom service provider, appears
to be reaping benefits for the company. Syncordia has just
announced it has won its first major contract to run British
Petroleum's (BP's) communications network.

Terms of the contract call for BT to assume control of most of
BP's European and international datacom services. This will
include, Newsbytes understands, all of BP's North Sea
communications network.

The BP communications network in the North Sea is quite complex.
Unlike other areas of the world, the North Sea has a large number
of oil rigs with major communications requirements. For this
reason, traditional satellite communications are too expensive,
so the oil industry has developed a tropospheric scatter
communication systems.

Tropospheric scatter involves bouncing VHF and UHF radio signals
"over the horizon" off the troposphere layer of the atmosphere.
The technology, developed in the 1970s, is now well refined
but is still very much unique to the North Sea oil and gas
exploration areas.

Announcing the deal, Rob McLeod, Syncordia's European sales
director, said that the company plans to offer a wide variety of
datacom services to BP, including data, messaging, video and
standard voice communications

Although this is the first major contract of its type to be won
by Syncordia, BT officials have not placed a figure on the
five-year deal. They expect, however, to gain other contracts of
this type, since the oil and gas exploration industry spends around
UKP 300 million a year on communications.

(Steve Gold/19930406)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00010)

UK - Vodafone Slipping 04/06/93
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Vodafone has
revealed its first quarter gross and net subscription levels,
which reveal that large quantities of subscribers are leaving the
network, even though several tens of thousands of new subscribers
are signing on the dotted line.

During the first quarter of 1993, Vodafone reports signing up
92,775 new subscribers to its analogue mobile phone network. Net
new connections, however, were 43,911, meaning that almost 49,000
existing subscribers left the network.

Until a few years ago, the "churn" rate for mobile phones hovered
around the 25 percent mark. This was caused by subscribers
coming to the end of their contract with their service provider
and, since hardware purchases are subsidized by the commissions
on contracts, electing to sign up again as a "new subscriber" on
a different number.

The fact that the churn rate is more than 50 percent, even for
Vodafone, the market leader, is a reflection of how badly the
recession has hit the mobile phone marketplace, which is still
seen as a luxury rather than a commodity business market.

Gerry Whent, Vodafone's chief executive, said that the number of
new subscribers joining the network has significantly increased
owing to the "consumer tariffs" announced late last year. Whent
said that the Lowcall tariff, which involves paying a reduced
subscription but higher usage rates, has been a great success.

(Steve Gold/19930406/Press & Public Contact: Vodafone - Tel:
0635-33251)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00011)

Germany - Phone Cards Employed Against Racism 04/06/93
BONN, GERMANY, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Propaganda is alive and well in
Germany although, 50 years on from the days when the Nazis
employed it to promote racism, today's government is using it to
turn the tide of public opinion against the appalling concept.

Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), the state-controlled telecom
company, has announced it is issuing a set of pre-paid phone
cards to promote anti-racism. The move comes as recession-hit
Germany has experienced a worrying number of attacks on
foreigners, owing to rising unemployment, even among native
Germans.

The cards bear the stark legend, "There is no room for
xenophobia here," as well as human chain, the logo of the anti-
racism campaign which has been active for the past year.

According to the Reuter news service, 2,200 people were injured
and 17 people were killed in racist attacks during 1992.

At last month's CeBIT computer fair, held in Hannover, Newsbytes
noted that DBT had introduced colorful designs to its "smart
card" phone cards, as compared against the bleak black and white
cards of just a few years ago.

(Steve Gold/19930406)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

Rapid Cellular Phone Growth Predicted In Europe 04/06/93
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Jorma Ollila, the president
of Nokia, has predicted that digital mobile phones will be
responsible for making mobile phones a boom industry of the
1990s.

Speaking from his company's Finnish headquarters about the rapid
growth in the technology in Germany, notably the introduction of
the E-Plus networks over the next year, he acknowledged that
Nokia had secured contracts for the networks, but added that he
expects more orders to be forthcoming.

Ollila said that the E-Plus network contract is worth more than
DM 150 million ($250 million) to the company. He said that the
technology used by the E-Plus differs from that of the groupe
special mobile (GSM) digital phone systems in use in other
European countries in that it uses 1,800 megahertz (MHz) compared
with the 900 MHz transmissions of GSM.

Sari Baldauf, head of Nokia's cellular technology division, said
that he did not expect the DECT system to impinge on sales of GSM
phone, as the technology is aimed at different markets.

"I do not think it will affect demand for GSM, Operators will
segment their products to different clients... it will actually
include new user group," she said.

(Steve Gold/19930406)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00013)

Tiny ISDN Card Developed By NTT 04/06/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Japan's major telecommunication
firm NTT has developed an ISDN (integrated services digital
network) card, which includes all the necessary features for
personal computers to hook into ISDN telecom lines. The card is
the size of a credit card and is about a 20th the size of the
firm's existing ISDN board. NTT will release the card this
summer.

NTT's latest ISDN IC card measures only 54.0 x 85.6 x 5.0 mm,
and weighs 33g. This is extremely small compared to the
firm's ISDN board. This small size was possible due to NTT's
advanced network interface LSI technology which enabled
the LSI to be very small and light, and to consume little
electricity. The card has a 512K byte ROM (read-only memory).

The ISDN IC card is based on the Japanese IC memory card standard
called JEIDA (Japan Electronics Industry Development Association)
V.4 and V.4.1. It can be used on any personal computers that
support this standard.

The ISDN IC card supports two B channels of INS Net64, which
is NTT's ISDN network. Also, the card supports 8 logic
packet modes for B and D signals. The data control and the
processing jobs are done by the processors on this card,
taking the load off the personal computers. Also, with a
slight modification, this IC card can process G4 fax
protocols and advanced application programs, the company says.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930405/Press Contact: NTT, +81-3-
3509-5035, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00014)

"Virtual Reality" Educational Software 04/06/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- When you get
closer to the roaring lion, even the roaring gets louder in the
new Animal Adventure, what's called a "virtual reality"
educational software product from Knowledge Adventure.
The company says its two new titles are the first of their
kind.

The new titles are version 2.0 of Isaac Asimov's Science
Adventure and Animal Adventure. Science Adventure has the
distinction of being the last project the famous science
fiction writer worked on before his death last year.

Bill Gross, Knowledge Adventure company president, said the
addition of virtual reality capability to the new titles allows
learning to be accomplished by experience. Children can learn
about animals by browsing around their habitat with the
accompanying sights and sounds, and information about science
is imparted via full-motion videos of scientific developments,
animations, and simulations where the user controls the
experience.

Animal Adventure offers over 100 mammals, reptiles, fish, sea
creatures, birds, and insects. Sections on ecology and
endangered animals are also included. Users can enter and move
around in an animal's habitat as well as moving around the
animals themselves. The company says information on the
species, senses, diet, predators, life span, habitat, range,
and social habits for each animal is included.

Science Adventure Version 2.0 is focused on landmark
discoveries in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology,
technology ecology, and astronomy. Virtual corridors that
branch off into various areas of science allow users to wander
around and view various subjects at will. Interactive
simulations of planetary motion, molecular motion, acoustic
music, sound wave simulation, and a simulation contrasting the
Kelvin, Fahrenheit, and Celsius temperature scales allow users
to interactively experiment with each simulation. A map of the
plant allows users to click on any location and see the
scientific discoveries that occurred there.

Both products offer full-motion video, support for 256-color
display, and stereophonic musical instrument digital interface
(MIDI) sound. System requirements include a video graphics
monitor and a hard disk drive, although a mouse and a sound
card are recommended. Knowledge Adventure has prided itself on
offering software to users with the advantages of compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) via its compression technology, but
without requiring a CD-ROM drive. These two titles, however,
are being offered both on CD-ROM and on floppy disks. The CD-
ROM version of each product is $79.95 and the floppy disk
version is $59.95.

La Cresenta, California-based Knowledge Adventure has recently
been honored with the Best Elementary Education Program and
Best Secondary Education Program by the Software Publishers
Association for its Dinosaur Adventure and Science Adventure
titles.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930405/Press Contact: Lynda Orban, Knowledge
Adventure, tel [phone] ext 122, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00015)

Hongkong - Data General Imaging For Open Systems 04/06/93
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1993 APR 5 (NB) -- Data General Hong
Kong recently introduced the AV Image line of document imaging
products. Designed for open systems, the new products allow
users to utilize a variety of desktop clients, networks,
and databases and to integrate imaging with existing business
applications.

"AV Image helps our customers to access a wide range of features at
a more affordable cost," said William Zastrow, vice president of
networking and office systems, Data General Corporation.

The AV Image standard package includes the WIN-Track Document
Manager and AV Image Viewer. Two options, DB Links and AV
Imagiser Toolkit are also available. AV Image can access a
variety of customer applications where document archiving
and records of forms management is required, such as
paper-intensive government, law or financial services
environments.

AV image is based on an SQL client-server architecture and runs
on MS-Windows PCs, OSF/Motif Workstations, or X terminals
networked to a relational database on an AViiON Unix-based
server. AV Image runs over Novell NetWare or TCP/IP networks,
with support for Sybase, Oracle, Ingress, Informix or Progress
databases using the DB Link option.

For smaller user environments, (less than 20 users), AV
image includes a Paradox PC database engine with networked
multi-user file management on the AViiON server.

WIN-Track is a Window-based universal document manager for image
documents or other application objects. With WIN-Track, users can
create, scan index delete search, edit mail, and print documents and
images.

Using a unique combination of image overview files and CCITT Group
4 Tiled compression, the AV Image Viewer can view and zoom
thousands of images from multiple documents in rapid succession
without decompression. For example, 100 full-screen zoomed
images can be viewed in less than 17 seconds. Where whole images
are not required for viewing, AV Image is not subject to disk
access, network bandwidth or PC memory contention problems
common to most other imaging systems, Data General contends.

The AV Imagizer, a developers tool kit sold separately, is a
programmer-level package which includes run-time "C" libraries,
dynamic link libraries, and documentation for value-added
retailers (VARs) and system integrators to facilitate the
modification and image-enabling of existing business or
office applications.

Zastrow said that it is pointless to waste valuable resources on
purchasing a new database and designing a new application when
adding to the functionality of existing applications is so
simple.

"With AV Image and the AV Imagizer Toolkit, we are able to offer our
customers complete imaging solutions," he proclaimed.

The AV Image products compliment those already available from Data
General's imaging VARs. These are aimed at customers with
more specialized requirements such as advanced workflow,
computer output to laser disk (COLD), intelligent optical
character recognition (OCR), scanning and editing of large
engineering drawings, support for special peripherals and
backfile conversion services.

AV Image products will be available in Asia this quarter. Economical
5, 20 and 100-user packs will also be available.

(Brett Cameron/19930405/Press Contact: Daniel Ng, Data General Asia
North, Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00016)

New E-mail Links In Japan 04/06/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- NEC and Fujitsu have
interconnected their personal computer-based telecommunication
networks, making it possible for a million users to
exchange electronic mail. A similar event has also taken place
at the AT&T Jens network with NTT's networks.

NEC's PC-VAN and Fujitsu's Nifty-serve have been exploring
an interconnection for a long time. Amazingly, PC-VAN
has about 530,000 registered users and Nifty-serve has about
460,000 users, meaning there will be over a million people
affected.

Both networks are connected under the international standard
message handling system (MHS) protocol, which is also backed up by
the Japanese Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications. The Ministry
has allocated electronic-mail names to these networks. PC-VAN
is addressed as PCVAN, and Nifty-serve is addressed as FENICS.
It is expected that these two major networks will connect with
other personal computer-based networks in the future.

Meanwhile, Japan ENS AT&T's Jens network has also interconnected
with NTT's NTTPC Communications network under the WTSC
international protocol. Users of both networks, both in the
US and overseas, can now exchange electronic mail.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930406/Press Contact: NEC PC-VAN,
 [phone], Fax, [phone], Japan ENS AT&T, +81-3-5561-
3488)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00017)

Electronic Arts, Children's TV Workshop Launch Kid Venture 04/06/93
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Electronic
Arts (EA), known for its computer games and the Children's
Television Workshop (CTW), famous for the educational kids
program Sesame Street, have formed a partnership to develop
software titles for children. EA Kids, a division of Electronic
Arts will publish the interactive electronic products that
result from the relationship.

EA Kids started work last year, according to Senior Vice
President Stewart Bonn and is introducing its first three new
titles April 15, 1993. EA Kids is focused on development of
software for kids ages three to fourteen that can be used on
computers, video game machines, compact disc read-only memory
(CD-ROM), and the still-to-be-introduced 3DO Interactive
Multiplayer. The titles developed in conjunction with CTW will
feature the characters from Sesame Street, the company said.

The three new titles to be introduced this month are for the
IBM and compatible personal computer (PC) platform. They are
Scooter's Magic Castle, Ping & Cooky's Coo Coo Zoo, and Jake
and Jennifer Eagle in the Eagle Eye Mysteries. Bonn told
Newsbytes EA Kids are trying to under-promise and over-deliver
so consumers feel they get good value for their money. Each
title offers a lot for children to do and some portions can
even be used as "lapware," meaning a child sits on his or her
parent's lap and the two can play together. As expected, each
title offers 256 colors, animation, sounds, and music.

Of special interest are the titles EA Kids is working on for
the 3DO Multiplayer, a reduced instruction set computing
(RISC)-based box to set on a television set. Introduced by 3DO
President and EA founder Tripp Hawkins, the Multiplayer was
dubbed the "VCR" of the 90s when it was previewed at the
Consumer Electronics Show in January of this year. Panasonic is
one of the companies expected to introduce its version of the
Multiplayer this summer, which uses the compact disc (CD)
format.

EA Kids representatives told Newsbytes the company will
concentrate on the IBM platform under DOS first, then move to
the Macintosh, then to the compact disc read-only memory (CD-
ROM) the 3DO uses. The 3DO titles will have to be different
because the 3DO planned for release by Panasonic does not have
a mouse, but instead has an interface much like the one used in
the Sega Genesis home entertainment system. The fact that users
will be sitting much farther away than they do with a computer
and that there's no mouse automatically makes changes required,
Bonn said.

While no details as to the financial arrangements EA made with
non-profit CTW have been released, Bonn told Newsbytes titles
resulting from the relationship are expected in several months
to a year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930405/Press Contact: Rachel Hassard,
Electronic Arts, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Ellen
Morgenstern, Children's Television Workshop, 212-875-6434)


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

Modem Market Update 04/06/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- New technology in
the PC modem market doesn't stay new for long, and price wars are
now being extended to the 14,400 bit/second fax-modem market.

The best demonstration of this truth comes from Hayes
Microcomputer Products, one of the market leaders. The
company got into trouble in the late 1980s for failing to
recognize the reality of price wars, but re-tooled with an
engineering focus and new mass-market divisions like Practical
Peripherals.

The company's latest move is a modem line called Accura, designed
for computer specialty stores and superstores, and aggressively
priced. The top of the line 14,400 bit/second data and six-page-
per-minute fax product, dubbed the Accura 144 + Fax144, retails
for $339. Street prices are expected to be 10-20 percent lower.
The Accura line comes with Smartcom EZ data software and Smartcom
Fax software. They also come with a two-year limited
performance warrantee. It offers MNP 5 data compression as well
as V.42bis, and follows the V.32bis error-correction protocol, as
well as industry standards extending backward to 300 bit/seconds.

The technology frontier in the modem market, for the last year,
has been the PCMCIA standard, known as the "PC Card." PC Cards
are about the size of a few credit cards stacked one-on-another,
and the PCMCIA Type II standard allows such cards to act as
modems, LAN adapters, or other discrete devices, as well as
memory cards. The rush is on to push this technology toward high-
end fast modems, even in advance of there being a large installed
base of PCMCIA Type II connectors on laptop computers.

Piiceon is just the latest into this market, with its
"Dispatcher" series. Like the Hayes Accura, it runs data or fax
traffic at 14,400 bits/second, the equivalent of 6 blank pages
per minute. The list price of the top-of-the-line product is
$549. The big difference is at the low-end 2,400 bit/second
level, where the Piiceon retails for $399, against $79 for an
equivalent Hayes Accura box-type modem. One other difference,
beyond the form factor, is that the Piiceon product supports MNP
10, which Piiceon says makes it "cellular ready." The MNP 10
technology includes a scheme to continually re-check the quality
of a connection and maximize throughput, something not found in
earlier versions of the protocol, according to Microcom. The
product is already being shipped for Toshiba's "E-slot" notebook
computers, which include support for PCMCIA Type II devices.

The mixture of voice, fax and modem technologies in the same
devices represents another new opportunity being pursued by
Commetrex Corp., a start-up formed by former executives from
DCA, Hayes and Natural MicroSystems in Atlanta. Their first
product is MultiFax, software which adds fax capabilities to
Natural Microsystems' VBX voice boards. The idea is that
companies could add fax to voice mail without adding hardware.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930406/Press Contact: Hayes, Beth McElvain,
404-840-9200; Piiceon, Jeff Chapman, 800-366-2983; Martin
Lippmen, Commetrex, 404-564-5522)


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

Teleconferencing Just Got Cheaper 04/06/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Compression
Labs fired another shot in the continuing war for market share
in the videoconferencing systems business by cutting service and
installation prices on its flagship Eclipse product line. The
company claims its prices are now one-fourth those for comparable
systems. Installation, on-site maintenance and software
enhancements on its three-year contracts now cost just $3,200.

Compression Labs competes in the videoconferencing market most
closely with PictureTel. In the market's early days, Compression
Labs held the high-end of the market, for systems requiring
digital lines of 384,000 bits/second and faster, while PictureTel
held the lower-end, with systems running on lines as slow as
64,000 bits/second. Those lines have since blurred, with both
companies competing within each others' niche.

CLI cut its service prices, it said, because Eclipse is designed
to be serviced remotely, using a built-in modem and simple on-
screen messages. Remote service means fewer calls from repair
people. The whole thing is shipped fully assembled and plugs in
with two cables. The company also signed alliances with Norstan
Communications of Maple Grove, Minnesota and Granada Electronic
Service Group of Burlington, Massachusetts to offer next-day
installation and maintenance, when necessary, throughout the
U=S and Canada.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930406/Press Contact: Compression Labs
William Russell, 408/922-5565)


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

Nokia Licenses GSM Digital Cellular Technology 04/06/93
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Just days after
winning the contract to build Germany's E-Plus digital cellular
technology, Nokia of Finland cross-licensed its GSM digital
cellular technology with Motorola of the US. The E-Plus network
works at 1.8 GHz of frequency and higher, twice that of US
networks.

GSM, which stands for Global System for Mobile Communications in
English or Groupe Speciale Mobile in French, is the main digital
cellular standard in Europe, and is related to the Time Division
Multiple Access, or TDMA, scheme, being installed in some US
systems. Most GSM networks, which could offer continent-wide
roaming, work at frequencies around 900 MHz, half that of the E-
Plus network.

Nokia's big contract, worth 150 million DM, or $100 million, is
with the E-Plus consortium headed by Thyssen and Veba of Germany,
along with BellSouth of the US and Vodafone of the United
Kingdom. Deliveries start in May with service starting early next
year in Berlin and Leipzig, covering 88 percent of Germany's five
eastern provinces, formerly known as East Germany, by the end of
1995, and extending nationwide by the end of 1997.

The Motorola deal cross-licenses all Nokia and Motorola GSM
cellular patents. At a practical level, the two companies will
begin making Motorola's GSM base stations compatible with Nokia's
DX200 GSM switches. For Motorola, this means it now has cross-
licensing agreements with all leading makers of GSM equipment, so
Motorola's GSM base stations can get the widest possible market.

For Nokia, which makes its own radio base stations, the deal also
means it can sell switches to systems that use Motorola radio
equipment. If the German system expands with Motorola radios, for
instance, which is possible, Nokia can still get in on the switch
contracts.

Still unclear is what this deal may mean for PCN networks
generally. If frequency-agile cellular phones are produced which
can reach between the standard frequencies of around 900 MHz and
the PCN frequencies of E-1, starting at 1.8 GHz, then it could
make continent-wide roaming possible between PCN and standard
cellular networks. That will not be the case immediately, Nokia
officials say. E-1 is aimed as a replacement in eastern Germany
for standard wired service, which will cost billions of dollars
to install.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930406/Press Contact: Judy SooHoo, Motorola
708-632-4474)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00021)

Editorial - Telecom Naivity 04/06/93
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- The Asian region has
been extraordinarily lucky in terms of telecommunications.
Paradoxically, countries in the region are fortunate because
they do not have vast copper networks planted in the ground, as
is the case in Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA. Probably
for the first time, countries considered Third World by some
people are innovating telecommunications services not dreamed
of by the traditional stalwarts in the developed nations.

The lack of communications infrastructures has meant that new
networks can be implemented which utilize the absolute latest
in digital switching and fiber optics wide band technology. The
cost of establishing these high-tech networks is far less than
the old traditional methods and the thinking behind the
implementations can be creative rather than pre-emptive when it
comes to advanced network services.

Hongkong, Singapore, and to a lesser extent Australia, vie for
the leading regional position in domestic and international
telecommunications, with Hongkong winning the race in most
cases, but not all. Australia, for instance, has the largest
single mobile phone network in the world when measured
geographically.

For years Hongkong has had the highest installation of fax
machines per business line and per capita in the world outside
Japan. This has resulted in a number of useful and novel fax
services being innovated in the territory. It is interesting to
watch the previously superior Western nations clamor for
information about the experiences of the smaller territory.

But, as is often the case with technology, large egos are
commonplace and some technical whiz kids, no matter where they
come from, believe they know it all. It is then that the
mistakes do not creep in, they pour in.

One of the most bizarre telecommunications "features" in the
region is available for all to hear on the great Australian
international telephone service. Someone not so brilliant in
Australian and Overseas Telecommunication Corporation decided
that it would be very friendly if a recorded voice message
informed the caller that the "overseas number you are calling
is engaged. Please call again in a few minutes," instead of
hearing the normal engaged tone.

Sounds fair, doesn't it, because engaged tones can sound
different around the world. But how does any fax machine sort
out that the line is engaged? I haven't seen a fax machine yet
that includes voice recognition in its error handling! And of
course the same applies to all data communication connections
across the telephone network.

With a classical computer system, people see them as a new tool
and expect to be trained, but personal telecommunications is an
entirely different game.

Everybody who uses a telephone takes it for granted. It is
nothing new and it is not, nor should be, a complicated
device to use. Even those who have lived in remote areas where
telephones were previously a rarity, do not fear the device and
most know how to use it.

And that simplicity is a fundamental problem when it comes to
the introduction of "all singing, all dancing" digital
telephone systems. Even telephones with an automatic dial
memory bank are a problem - inevitably one can remember the
memory bank numbers of most frequently called friends or
business associates, but because one is no longer dialling
their actual telephone number, outside the office you are lost.

Unfortunately the eccentric telecommunications systems designer
is in his element these days and seemingly hundreds of
strangely impractical but terribly intelligent backroom boys
are jumping out of their computerized hiding places, right into
the cutting edge of digital voice services which real people
are supposed to use -- the same real people who could not begin
to understand the backroom technocrats when they were safely
closeted away designing computer systems.

On the surface many of these digital services appear to be a
great idea but be warned - it takes a massive amount of
thought, or a long period of trial and error, or both, to put
these systems together. And there is no one competent to ask
about the designs because so little experience exists anywhere.
Of course there are dozens of theorists, but few with any real
hands-on feel.

A good example is the commonplace offering of a multi-use line
in the home. That is a line which will carry at least a dual
purpose and handle, say, a fax number and a voice number. It
seems like a very convenient arrangement but be careful that
you realize what you are getting.

Usually it is not a multiplexed line, which means that the two
functions may be handled simultaneously. This will be available
when all domestic lines are wired with fiber optic cable and
appropriate signal distribution equipment is installed.

Until that time, unless you opt to pay a premium for an
integrated services digital network (ISDN) connection (also a
bypassed technology) it is unlikely that you will have more
than a dual, but not parallel use of your telephone line. If
you receive many faxes, then your voice facility will be
unavailable for that period of time.

Call Waiting, the facility which gives you a little beep if
someone is trying to get through on your line when it is in
use, also sounds useful but in some circumstances can be a
disaster. One of the problems with this facility is that when
someone is trying to call you, and you are on the line, the
Call Waiting facility continues to give your second caller the
ringing tone.

My personal experience with this facility was that I had to
tell all likely callers that if my phone rang continuously and
it appeared as though no-one was home, some was in fact home
but unable to interrupt the call he or she was taking at the
time. Therefore they should either hang on, or call back in a
few minutes.

Brilliant! A little more depth of thought on the practical
issues of this facility and perhaps the technical whiz kid who
devised it would have come up with a time out which then
transmitted the engaged signal to the second caller, or a
recorded message would be nice.

Another problem with Call Waiting is that the line is not
satisfactory for data because the beeps can cause a data
connection to drop out without warning. Even occasional faxes
can have questionable results. The telecommunications
authorities will tell you this when you install it, but at that
time you may not be considering data communications.

Because of the relatively low rental cost these days in most
locations, my recommendation would be to install an additional
line rather than Call Waiting or a dual number line. It will
cause you much less hassle in the long run.

Call intercept and redirect can be a problem also. Telecom
Australia offer a call diversion and answering which sounds
like a great facility, but not always. My wife's cousin works
from home and uses this facility frequently. He was out the
other day, working on a big project on which he managed to
secure a major sale for the first leg.

He wanted to call his wife back at his home office, but what
happened? His call was answered by the telecom answering
service and he could not redivert and thus call his wife from
an outside phone. Ridiculous, but true.

And senior executives everywhere should be very wary of
replacing their front-line telephone answering people with
touchtone driven recorded voices. It will be a long while
before these systems have matured and common sense prevails.
The hardware and the software is reliable enough, but that
isn't the problem. It is what the over enthusiast technocrat,
or office manager would-be technocrat does with the facility.

Singapore-based information technologist and hardware
innovator, Al Shurgalla, was down in Florida a while back. He
saw an advertisement from a multi-faceted trading conglomerate
(which shall remain nameless) for a particular disk drive he was
anxious to acquire. Calling the number in the ad he was
confronted by a recorded voice listing menu of options and
asking him to select one by pressing one of the touch tone keys
on his handset.

Not knowing precisely which division would handle the
specialized product he wanted, Al had to wend his way down and
up menus of recorded voices for forty-five minutes before a
human finally picked up the phone! Needless to say, one of Mr
Shurgalla's strong traits was perseverance. Someone less
patient would have hung up and the company would have lost the
sale.

Telecom Australia, the domestic operation of AOTC, is one of
the worst examples I have ever experienced. When one calls a
Telecom office for whatever reason, one is subjected to a
series of recorded messages all of which make excuses for the
call not being answered by a human.

This idea, though abysmal, is commonplace within many
organizations today. But some "brilliant" person in Telecom
decided that the waiting time should be used for promoting
various telecommunications products and services.

It is incongruous hearing Telecom expound the virtues of novel
services when it obviously does not have the capacity to handle
enquiry calls, let alone anything new. But what really
got to me was when one of the advertisements, which are
cycled rather untactfully about every five minutes, asks: "Do
you ever wonder what calls you might be missing while you are
on the phone?"

On that and a number of other occasions, I was left hanging on
the line for half an hour or more listening to the inane
publicity and the frequent apologies -- hardly a confidence
booster in Australian Telecom and its ability to provide
efficient services.

OPTUS, the first competition ever for Australian Telecom, does
not have a network in the ground and it is somewhat hamstrung
because of that. All it can do is rather limply offer
competitive rates for IDD and STD calls.

Lost sales directly from this type of circumstance must be
frequent, but I think that the poor public image of a company
brought about by the eradication of the human touch will have
far more serious long term effect on any company. Think about
it deeply before you implement or you may be left wondering why
your profits have fallen off.

(Keith Cameron/19930326)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00022)

Microsoft To Host OLE Developers Conf 04/06/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation will host the first Windows OLE developers
conference on May 3-5 at the Washington State Convention
and Trade Center in Seattle.

One of the highlights of the conference will be the closing session,
in which Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will talk about the
significance of OLE (object linking and embedding) and its impact on
software development. OLE is Microsoft's technology for embedding
objects such as a video file in another file such as a text
document, linking the two files together.

Microsoft says attendees at the three-day conference will receive
in-depth guidelines for developing advanced OLE 2.0 applications for
Windows as well as have the opportunity to meet and ask questions of
the chief architects of OLE 2.0. The conference will include
break-out tracks and Q&A panels to answer specific, detailed
technical questions. There will also be live demonstrations of
third-party applications that incorporate OLE 2.0's features such as
in-place activation, automation, and drag and drop. Microsoft
spokesperson Beverley Flower told Newsbytes the conference fee is
$795 if registration is postmarked not later than April 16th, and
$845 after that date.

Last week more than 200 developers and MIS professionals attended
Microsoft's SNA conference for Windows NT, where they participated
in detailed discussions about Microsoft's SNA Server technology and
the Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA) SNA application
program interfaces.

Microsoft says the SNA Server technology for Windows NT is a key
part of its client-server product family, which connects products
such as Microsoft Mail and Microsoft SQL Server to IBM host-based
mail and database systems. It also offers PC users access to IBM
host computing with the same user interface of desktop PCs. The
company says SNA Server for Windows NT is scheduled to be available
shortly after Windows NT ships. That product will have its public
debut at the Windows World trade show next month and is expected to
ship a few weeks later.

(Jim Mallory/19930406/Press contact: Beverley Flower, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact for conference info: 800-421-2388 in
the US; 415-5543-5847 in Canada and international)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

Dell Intros Another Notebook PC 04/06/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corporation
added to its notebook line this week with the announcement of its
325SLi notebook personal computer.

The new system weighs 3.6 pounds, measures 11 inches wide by 7.75
inches deep, and is 1.25 inches high when closed. The monochrome
system is powered by an Intel 386SL microprocessor running at 25
megahertz (MHz), and incorporates 16 kilobytes (K) of memory cache.
Powered by a rechargable nickel-metal-hydride battery, the 325SLi
includes one 3.5-inch, 1.44MB floppy drive, a 60MB IDE internal hard
drive with a 19 millisecond access time, and a built-in Dell
keyboard mouse. The system ships with MS-DOS 5.0 and Microsoft
Windows 3.1 already installed on the hard drive.

The company says the battery will power the unit for up to
four hours without the use of the built-in power management
features. The 325SLi has a base price of $1,499, and can also
be configured with 4MB of system memory and hard drives of 80,
120, or 200MB. The systems with the larger hard drives carry
price tags of $1,799, $1,899, and $2,099 respectively.
System memory can be upgraded to as much as 10MB.

The 325SLi is based on Dell's 320SLi, a similar system that runs at
20 MHz, and uses a VGA-compatible 9.5-inch diagonally measured
liquid crystal display monitor which supports up to 640 by 480
resolution with a contrast ratio of 12:1. Simultaneous use of an
external monitor is supported, and the built-in keyboard mouse uses
the function and cursor keys to emulate a mouse. The system has a
PCMCIA slot for the use of one of the credit-card sized expansion
devices such as a data/FAX modem, network adapter, SCSI adapter,
additional I/O port or mass storage device. A math co-processor is
supported and the flash memory allows the unit's BIOS (basic
input/output system) to be upgraded from Dell's bulletin board
service or from a diskette.

Dell provides 24-hour toll free telephone support and a one-year,
next business day on-site service contract.

(Jim Mallory/19930406/Press contact: Dean Kline, Dell Computer,
512-343-3782; Reader contact: Dell Computer, 800-289-3355)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00024)

Microsoft Mouse In Space 04/06/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- When the space
shuttle Discovery launches it will carry a mouse that doesn't move
around on its own and doesn't eat or drink, but has met all the
requirements for space travel including the ability to work in zero
gravity.

This mouse is not the furry rodent type, but a Microsoft Ballpoint
mouse used with personal computers. Microsoft says the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected the Microsoft
BallPoint mouse for use on Discovery based on its product design,
which did not require any modification for use in zero gravity. The
BallPoint mouse will be attached to the Payload and General Support
Computer (PGSC) -- a modified IBM PC-compatible Grid laptop computer
running the space shuttle's primary scientific project, called the
Atmospheric Laboratory for Science and Applications (ATLAS 2).

This flight, referred to by NASA as STS-56, also is the first space
shuttle mission to use the Microsoft Windows operating system on the
PGSC. Windows is an operating system with a graphical user
interface that utilizes an input device like the BallPoint mouse to
control characters on the computer display screen.

According to Microsoft both the BallPoint mouse and Windows
will become standard technologies on PGSC for future shuttle
flights. "The BallPoint mouse withstood rigorous pre-flight
certification and testing, including everything from off-gas
emissions to safety and reliability, to be selected for use
in space. The design of BallPoint mouse, particularly the
breakaway mounting, made it acceptable to the crew and safe
for the other equipment. However, the main advantage was that
we did not need to modify the device to keep the trackball
from floating in zero-G," said Patrick O. Wilson, project
engineer, payload and general support computer, Johnson
Space Center, NASA.

Historically, NASA has encountered problems working with computer
mice in space. Early uses of traditional desktop mice required
astronauts to stand in foot restraints to work on mouse-equipped
workstations, as zero gravity sent the user floating in the opposite
direction of the mouse. In 1991, NASA experimented with four
portable input devices in space. Each of these devices required
modification to keep the trackball from floating loose inside the
ball cavity, causing a loss of control and accuracy.

Microsoft says NASA began testing the Microsoft BallPoint mouse in
the fall of 1992. The design of the BallPoint mouse, which included
G-force considerations early in development, eliminates ball
flotation by allowing the trackball to remain positively engaged
against the rotary encoders.

(Jim Mallory/19930406/Press contact: Collins Hemingway, Microsoft
Corp.,206/882-8080)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00025)

Update - Kensington's Notebook KeyPad 04/06/93
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Newsbytes has
obtained additional information on the upgrade of Kensington's
NoteBook KeyPad for the Apple Computer Macintosh, first
reported yesterday.

In an interview with Newsbytes, a company spokesperson said that
the new Adding Machine Software for NoteBook KeyPad was developed
in association with Ernst & Young, and contains several features
not found in the software of competing external keyboards for
PowerBook.

The new ADB passthrough that is also part of the upgrade lets the
user attach an extra ADB device, such as a mouse, in addition to
the keyboard.

NoteBook KeyPad was the first product of its kind on the market,
according to the spokesperson. In the keyboard's original,
hardware-only form, data could be displayed only by using an
outside program, such as the calculator utility in the Mac
operating system.

A few months after KeyPad's introduction, competitors started to
come forward with external keypads equipped with software.
However, the competitors' products offer adding machine
functionality only, and do not act as calculators, she stated.

The new software from Kensington also brings adding machine
features not present in the other programs, she noted. The
software enables the "plus" key to be programmed to automatically
calculate percentages and taxes, and then add these numbers to the
current total. Standard "plus" and "double zero" capabilities are
also incorporated.

The help function in the Adding Machine Software appears in a way
that is somewhat similar to Balloon Help, she said. Yet unlike
Balloon Help, which can pop up in a fashion that covers the work
being performed, the Adding Machine Software help shows up in a
window on the right-hand side of the screen. The window can then
be positioned by the user anywhere on the display.

The software also offers auditory feedback. One cash register
sound is programmable to represent either an entry or a subtotal.
A fuller and more robust cash register sound represents a total.
The user has the option of turning off the sounds.

Kensington developed the new ADB passthrough because the PowerBook
comes with only one ADB port. Many customers prefer to use a mouse
in place of the trackball built into PowerBook, according to the
spokesperson. The new connector allows the keyboard to be used in
conjunction with a mouse or any other ADB device.

The connector offers the same functionality as a traditional Y
adapter. However, it is shaped like a square, made of highly
tooled plastic, and without the visible cabling that characterizes
the Y adapter.

The upgraded NoteBook KeyPad is available now for $149.95, and the
original, hardware-only version has been reduced in price to
$119.95, as reported yesterday.

In addition, Kensington is planning to release the Adding Machine
Software this week as a stand-alone product. Priced at $49.95, the
software runs on PowerBooks as well as desktop Macs running System
6.0.4 or higher.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930406/Press contact: Mary Shank, Kensington,
tel 415, 572-2700, ext 3328)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00026)

NetWorth, Newport Systems In Bridge licensing Deal 04/06/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- NetWorth and
Newport Systems Solutions (NSS) have signed an agreement that
calls for NetWorth to license NSS' LAN2LAN/MPR's MAC Layer
Bridge (MLB) software for use in its Series 4000 Local Ethernet
Bridge.

Larry Stephenson, president and chief executive officer of
Newport Systems, told Newsbytes, "We feel that NetWorth
has got a well-positioned product in their NetWare Application
Engine - I think they are going to rename it Network Application
Engine (which is PC-based). All of our products are PC-based
networking products, so we see this as a significant step forward
for our company, as well as NetWorth, primarily because we can
prove once and for all that you can get the same performance,
or better, with PC-based routers and bridges as you would with
proprietary boxes."

Although complete details of the agreement were not disclosed,
Stephenson also said: "LAN2LAN/MPR's MLB software allows the
Series 4000 Local Ethernet Bridge to be sold into non-NetWare
environments."

The ability to bring a bridging platform to market quickly was an
an important concern, according to Mark Calkins, Networth vice
president of marketing. "NetWorth wanted to partner with a
company with bridging expertise," he said.

The NSS software licensed by NetWorth supports 802.2, 802.3,
Ethernet II and Ethernet SNAP LANs (local area networks). The
company also says that it supports a local control console
interface which can manage all remotely connected bridges using
the same software.

According to the company, NetWorth's Series 4000 Local
Ethernet Bridge can filter more than 29,000 64-byte Ethernet
packets per second, with a forwarding rate of approximately
11,600 packets per second. NE2000 drivers are fully supported.

Newport Systems Solutions has also certified the NetWorth
NetWare Application Engine (NAE) as a platform for NSS's
LAN2LAN/Mega, and LAN2LAN/Mega with Compression, routers.
The company says that the NAE can also serve as a platform for
NSS' Asynchronous Communications Interface and X.25
Communications Interface for Novell's NetWare Asynchronous
Communications Services (NACS) and NetWare for SAA,
Qualified Logical Link Control products.

(Ian Stokell/19930406/Press Contact: Kerry Wood,
214-929-1700, NetWorth Inc.; or Larry Stephenson,
714-752-1511, Newport Systems Solutions)


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

MICOM, Vitek In LAN Internetwork Marketing Deal 04/06/93
SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- MICOM
Communications has signed a marketing agreement with value-
added distributor Vitek Systems Distribution.

Under terms of the deal, Vitek will offer MICOM's Data/Voice
Integration (DVI) product, NetRunner, to over 5,000 local
area network (LAN) resellers nationwide.

Richard Borden, spokesman for MICOM, told Newsbytes that
the deal is an important one for the company. "We have been
very strong in the distribution of data communications products.
And now we have a new LAN internetworking product line that
requires an additional channel of LAN resellers. We see the
relationship with Vitek as being a key step in the success of
our LAN internetworking products, particularly NetRunner. It
allows us to reach certain LAN channels that we were not into
before."

According to the company, NetRunner allows remote LAN traffic
to "rideshare" with voice, fax and data over one rented line
between offices. By combining communications over a low-speed
line already transferring LAN traffic, multiple line costs are
eliminated and phone calls and fax documents are sent for free
to remote locations.

In announcing the deal, John Rouse, MICOM vice president, sales
and marketing, said: "The MICOM/Vitek partnership will provide
new opportunities for MICOM in the very important LAN reseller
market. Vitek will further develop the market for the industry's
only remote LAN bridge that transfers voice, fax, and data with
LAN traffic to remote offices while saving money."

Just this week, Newsbytes' Hong Kong bureau reported that
International Telecommunications Services (ITS) had been
appointed distributor for the range of MICOM Communications'
data communications products in the Asia Pacific region. Terms
of that agreement call for ITS to sell and market Micom's
new generation of Marathon data/voice servers, NetRunner
data/voice internetwork nodes, LAN bridges, remote terminal
servers, statistical multiplexers and X.25 pads and switches.

(Ian Stokell/19930406/Press Contact: Sharon Martin or Richard
S. Borden, 805-583-8600, MICOM Communications Corp.)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Microsoft, Intel, General Instruments In Cable Pact 04/06/93
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- The Holy
Grail in the computer industry is to penetrate the mass
consumer market in the way consumer electronic appliances such
as the television and the telephone have done. The newest set
of players jockeying for this consumer mass market are Intel,
Microsoft, and General Instruments which are talking about
a partnership to develop a computerized cable television box.

Microsoft's involvement in the trio shouldn't come as a
surprise, as co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Bill
Gates has made no secret of his ambition to get a computerized
television in every home. Microsoft has already introduced
Modular Windows, a version of its graphical user interface
(GUI) Windows which is available on the Tandy video
information system (VIS). It uses compact discs (CDs) and looks
very much like a video cassette recorder (VCR).

However, Microsoft's possible involvement in the cable industry
became evident when it unexpectedly appeared as a vendor at one
of the cable industry's largest trade shows, the Western Cable
Show in Anaheim, California in early December of last year. A
technology demonstration of how interactive television might
look using a modified version of Modular Windows was presented
at the show in the Gerald Communications booth. Gerald
Communications is a subsidiary of Chicago-based General
Instruments. Microsoft's presence was also felt recently at
Demo '93 in Palm Springs where a modified version of Modular
Windows was demonstrated as the control panel of a home
interactive system.

The company has also been talking with Time Warner as well as
other companies about two-way television. Newsbytes reported
last month Gates had responded to a Time Warner proposal
concerning a deal which would begin with 5,000 Florida
residents as the guinea pigs to the interactive system
beginning next spring.

None of the three companies, Intel, Microsoft, nor General
Instruments, are saying much about the talks concerning the
cable box idea. Microsoft representatives told Newsbytes that
while Microsoft has made no secret about its interest in the
cable industry, the reports concerning development of an
intelligent cable converter to allow consumers to control
access to television listings and more are all simply
speculative.

Jim Barthold of Gerald Communications said there are
certainly talks between the three companies but nothing
more concrete than the technology demonstrations already shown
at trade shows has been finalized and no time frame for
finalizing plans has been discussed.

One interesting side note is Prodigy was also at the Western
Cable show in the same booth as Microsoft and Gerald
Communications. Barthold said while he didn't know much about
Prodigy, one of the repeated comments at the show was how fast
Prodigy was when delivered via cable. "I'm not familiar with
Prodigy via computer, but it just zipped right along on cable,"
Barthold said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930406/Press Contact: Beth Herrele, Wagoner
Edstrom for Microsoft, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Jim
Barthold, Gerald Communications, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

Artisoft/CYMA In Medical Bundling Deal 04/06/93
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Peer-to-peer
network operating systems are especially useful for small office
environments where a dedicated file server is not required.
Targeting the niche markets of accounting and medical offices,
Artisoft has signed a bundling deal with CYMA Systems.

The deal calls for the bundling of LANtastic NodeRunner 2000/C
DOS Starter Kits with CYMA's accounting and medical software
packages at special, limited-time pricing for Artisoft and CYMA
resellers. The offer is available immediately through CYMA and
expires on June 30, 1993.

Joe Stunkard, spokesman for Artisoft, told Newsbytes that
the deal creates "the opportunity now for both CYMA and Artisoft
resellers to provide a total solution to accounting and medical
software needs. Resellers will now be able to go to CYMA to get
this bundle and be able to offer it as a package to prospective
clients. As far as Artisoft is concerned, it is a good opportunity
to become more involved in these two key vertical markets."

In announcing the deal, Dave Hallmen, Artisoft's vice president
of sales and marketing, said: "This unique agreement will allow
Artisoft's resellers to reap the benefits of the growing
opportunities in the accounting and medical arenas, while CYMA's
resellers will be able to bring the advantages of peer-to-peer
networking to their strong customer base."

According to the companies, five different software bundles
will be available to Artisoft and CYMA resellers. A number of
CYMA software products will be bundled with Artisoft's
LANtastic NodeRunner 2000/C DOS Starter Kits: Medical
Practice Management II MPM; MPM II/data base dimension
(MPM/dbd); Professional Accounting Series III PAS; PAS III
Client Accounting; and General Business System II GBS.

LANtastic Network Starter Kits offer the hardware and
software necessary for installing a local area network for
two PCs: the LANtastic peer-to-peer network operating
system software with support for up to 500 users, two
LANtastic NodeRunner 2000/C network boards, cabling, and
documentation.

The companies say that additional LANtastic Ethernet Add-On
Kits will also be offered separately at special pricing.

Speaking of the special pricing, Greg Vokoun, CYMA's vice
president of product development, said: "The special pricing on
these bundles is seen as a way to underwrite the costs of a
reseller's entry into the lucrative world of peer-to-peer
networking."

The companies also say that the promotion is being offered
through June 30, 1993, although it is "subject to change without
further notice." The special pricing will remain in effect only
on orders placed on or before June 30, 1993.

(Ian Stokell/19930406/Press Contact: Joe Stunkard,
602-670-7145, Artisoft Inc.)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00030)

XSoft Intros Rooms For X Windows 04/06/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 6 (NB) -- Xerox's XSoft
has introduced Rooms for X Windows, a new Unix-based version
of its Rooms for Windows utility software.

According to the company, Rooms for X Windows helps users
organize their work through the use of multiple desktops or
"rooms," each customized for particular projects or tasks with
the applications and files they need.

The product works with such Unix-based graphical user
interfaces (GUIs) as Sun Microsystems' Open Look and OSF Motif,
in the X Windows environment.

XSoft has also announced, what it is calling, "an aggressive new
trial plan for high-volume distribution" of Rooms for X Windows.
The company intends to leverage its strategic relationships with
the QUALiX Group and Sun Microsystems, to provide Rooms for X
Windows free of charge for an initial trial basis to workstation
users. The program then lets users register for the product after
they have had a chance to experience it first-hand.

The QUALiX Group is offering the product through its mail server
on-line service. Users can download the entire application from
the service and try the software at no cost for 30 days. After the
initial trial period, users can register and receive full product
documentation and access to XSoft's toll-free technical support
services by paying a $40 registration fee.

Beginning in July, Rooms for X Windows will also be included in
the SunSoft Catalyst CDWare CD Volume 5 shipped with Sun
SPARCstations, with the same 30-day trial and registration
conditions.

In announcing the product, Patricia Giberson, general manager
for the XSoft Tools and Utilities Group, said: "Increasing demand
for productivity tools, combined with the evolution of the GUI,
is driving the development of more innovative methods of
managing information on the desktop. We believe that our
distribution method with QUALiX and Sun will reach a very
large market of end users and give them the unique advantage of
seeing its real benefits in their day-to-day use before they need
to make a purchasing decision."

According to the company, Rooms for X Windows gives users
multiple desktops, allowing them to divide their files and
applications into groups. Each desktop is arranged according to
the users' personal style and includes the tools they need. The
product also saves time by automatically opening all files, window
placements and applications at the same point they were
previously left by the user.

Common tools such as a clock and calculator are made accessible
through the Overlay Room, which automatically distributes all
resident objects to each of the user's Rooms. Files and applications
can be placed in separate Rooms, or shared among multiple ones.

(Ian Stokell/19930406/Press Contact: Carey Welsh,
415-813-7268, XSoft; or Maria Gagliardi Amundson,
415-363-0982, A&R Partners)