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/nb930421

Text File | 1993-04-21 | 66KB | 1,550 lines

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00001)

Russia - Comms Infrastructure Conference Opens 04/21/93
ST PETERSBOURG, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- The International
conference on "The Modernization of the Communications
Infrastructure in the Russian Republic and Other Newly
Independent Countries" has opened in St Petersbourg.

The city mayor turned out to greet the meeting of
communications bosses from the former Soviet Union.

The conference audience includes chiefs of regional
communications companies, equipment suppliers, and
representatives of international companies. It is jointly
organized by the Russian communications ministry, the
Regional Communications Alliance, the International
Telecommunications Union's committee, and the Admerca
consulting company.

The meeting's main goal is to provide substantial additional
information to the decision makers in the various regions
of the former Soviet Union, which operate a still divided
phone network. It also hopes to attract additional foreign
investments for planned phone communications projects,
according to conference managers.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930420/Press contact: Russian
Communications Ministry press service, phone
[phone], 201-6945)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00002)

India - NEC Intros Multisync Monitors 04/21/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Japanese computer and
communications giant, NEC, has brought out a multisync flat
generation FG series of monitors.

The four multisync FG series - comprising the 3FG, 4FG, 5FG,
and 6FG monitors - feature high contrast flat-square screens.
All these, except the 3FG model, incorporate AccuColor Control
and NEC's advanced digital control (ADC) system. The monitors
boast large display areas, color control capabilities, and low
emission. Capabilities include a paper-like cathode ray tube
(CRT) with flicker-free refresh rates of 70 hertz (Hz).

The FG series is optimized for graphical user interface-based
applications. The AccuColor control system allows users to
control their computing environment, thus reducing
trial-and-error adjustments and rework.

Designed for 24-bit and 32-bit color applications, it can match
the on-screen color to an output device independently of the
computer or application. It also enables the user to match
on-screen colors with those delivered by their printers, other
monitors, service bureau's output, or color standards. On the
MultiSync 4FG, 5FG, and 6FG monitors, AccuColor Control is
accessed through NEC's ADC system. Users can vary the red,
green, and blue settings in adjusting the on-screen color.

These monitors provide a polished, flat-square CRT to take
advantage of multimedia capabilities on Windows 3.1.
Flicker-free refresh rates of 70 Hz and above are possible,
as well as increased resolutions of up to 1024 by 768 on the
15-inch monitors and 1280 by 1024 on the larger monitors.
While 3FG offers a display area of 15-inches, 5FG and 6FG
have 17-inch and 21-inch screens respectively.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930419)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00003)

India - Ouch! Software For Dental Management 04/21/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Bombay-based Softlink
Exports has introduced Ouch!, a software system designed for
dental management.

The package takes care of client medical records, doctors' work
records, appointment schedules, and patient teeth chart-records.
It also keeps a graphical record of patients' sets of teeth for
visual inspection.

Ouch! handles accounts and prepares user-defined bills and
prescriptions. It also computes charges for bridges, extractions,
and fillings. Accounts receivables, calculation of charges, and
on-line printing of instructions to patients are also handled.

The software also keeps a patient register, an appointment
schedule, and does label printing. Details of various treatments,
medical histories and dental histories is also maintained
on-line. It is priced at Rs 9,000 (around $300).

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930419)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00004)

More Shares Available In Indian Telephone Industries 04/21/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- More shares have
become available in Indian Telephone Industries (ITI). The
total represents another five percent of its Rs 88 crore
equity (around $29.3 million).

During the first two rounds of share offerings in 1991-92,
20 percent of the shares were sold at an average price of
Rs 49.95 a share (around $1.7). In December 1992, another five
percent of its shares were offered for sale of which only 1.14
percent were sold at an average price of Rs 107.80 (around $3.6).

Enjoying a market monopoly for so long, ITI is facing competition
due to the liberalized policies of the government. To gear up to
the changing complexion of the market, ITI needs to modernize
its existing units and trim, or redeploy, its surplus work force.

Started in 1948, ITI now manufactures a wide range of electronic
and electro-mechanical switching equipment, transmission
equipment and telephone instruments, including cordless
telephones.

The company has eight units in different parts of the country.
Its foreign collaborators include Alcatel of France, Siemens of
Germany, FACE of Italy, NEC of Japan, NKT of Denmark, AT&T
Phillips of Holland, Kokusai of Japan, and Hughes Network
System of the US.

ITI recorded a turnover of Rs 1,084 crore (around $361 million)
in 1992-93, a rise of 11 percent over the previous year. During
the same period, profits went up by 60 percent to Rs 57.23
crore (around $19.10 million). However, performance was
lacking on the profit margins front. Operating profit declined
to 22 percent in 1990-91 and declined further to 14 percent in
1991-92, from a high of 31.5 percent in 1986-87.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930419)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00005)

NAB Show - Silicon Graphics Now Deals Direct 04/21/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Perhaps the
biggest computer story of the 1993 National Association of
Broadcasters' show was Silicon Graphics Inc's (SGI) decision
to step from behind the curtain of its software developer
and meet the industry at its own booth.

SGI graphics supercomputers, which work under Unix, have long
been the power behind standard broadcast post-production
products like Chyrons and Wavefronts. But now SGI is dealing
with the industry directly, through a new effort called "Silicon
Studio."

Silicon Studio is a complete set of offerings aimed at TV, video,
and film producers. Featured is a new video server, called the
Challenge, with 16 gigabytes (GB) of main storage, capable of
handling up to 30 hours of uncompressed on-line video.

Also new from SGI are: Galileo Video, which provides video
input, output, and effects for all of SGI's Indigo systems; Cosmo
Compress, a real-time JPEG compression and decompression
option for Indigo computers; and Sirius Video, a digital video
option board which provides broadcast-quality video on the
company's high-end boxes. All these products should ship by
the end of September.

But that's not all. The company also worked with 15 of its major
video product partners to integrate their offerings into the
Silicon Studio framework. And it signed a deal with its major
video customer, Industrial Light & Magic, to produce high-end
graphics under the label JEDI.

"A new economics is coming about," said David Bagshaw, the
company's vice president of marketing. For the first time
desktop-based computers offer a real alternative in terms of
quality, and a huge advantage in price, against single-purpose,
proprietary machines from traditional suppliers like Quantel.
Silicon Studio lets producers treat video effects like those in
"Terminator 2" the same way publishers treat PageMaker files,
passing them across a network, moving them from servers to
clients, editing or creating effects almost at will.

Steve Ursenbach, the company's vice president of applications,
said the Silicon Studio concept emerged from a 15-month
development process called the "Boulder Experience," after the
Colorado city where key meetings were held. Perhaps the most
important of the new links is with Avid Technology, whose
on-line editing suites based on the Apple Macintosh have become
very popular. Avid will have an SGI-version based version of its
Media Composer by the end of the year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: Carl Furry,
Silicon Graphics, 415-390-3365)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

NAB Show - HP Moving Into Broadcast Market 04/21/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Hewlett Packard
told the press at the National Association of Broadcasters' show
it is making a major effort to win a share of the broadcast and
broadcast production market. The announcement sets the stage for
a price war in Unix-based workstations which could dramatically
change how shows are produced, and the basic cost of production.

At this NAB show, HP introduced only a limited number of
products, aimed at projecting a high-quality image to broadcast
professionals. Among the new products are things like analog-
digital converters, a quality analyzer for correcting colors in
post-production houses, and a ghost simulator which helps TV
and cable engineers test their signals for problems and design
circuits to correct them. In fact, as James Olson, general
manager of the new Video Communications Division, explained,
these products harken back to some of Bill Hewlett and David
Packard's first contracts, test equipment used by Walt Disney in
the production of "Fantasia." He called it an interesting irony
that HP decided to re-enter the video marketplace the same year
Disney re-released "Fantasia" to the videocassette market.

But throughout his half-hour talk, Olson emphasized that these
products are just the opening wedge of the HP industry strategy.
The company has quietly been setting up strategic alliances with
companies like Magni Systems of Beaverton, Oregon, to crack
the multimedia market. The best-known of these ventures are a
deal with AT&T and Zenith to produce high definition television
encoders, and one to produce interactive TV boxes for TV
Answer.

In answer to a question from Newsbytes concerning Apple
Chairman John Sculley's call that the industry offer interactive
services instead of HDTV, Olson said the TV Answer devices
could be easily changed to offer interactivity with regular
VHF or UHF frequencies. During the show, in fact, TV Answer
announced a venture in which it will work with the Public
Broadcasting System to add interactivity to PBS programs,
although that will work with the Interactive Television and
Data Services, or ITDS, frequency licenses the Federal
Communications Commission is presently in the process
of awarding.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: John Minck,
Hewlett-Packard, 415-857-2060)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00007)

NAB Show - CBS News Enters Clip Market 04/21/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- CBS News has
begun licensing its huge video archive for use in multimedia
CD-ROMs and other productions. It began the search for such
customers at the Multimedia World section of the National
Association of Broadcasters' show.

Doug McKinney, director-archives at CBS News, could barely
contain his glee by the second day of the show. "If just one-
tenth of the contacts we've made here show real interest, our
only problem will be finding the people to fill the orders," he
told Newsbytes.

A rate card obtained by Newsbytes shows a wide variety of prices
for footage, ranging from a low of $900 per minute for use of
archive material in the home video, CD-ROM, government, film
festival, public or religious broadcasting markets, to as much
as $2,700 per minute for using the archives in the theatrical
market. There are also charges of $50 per hour for retrieving
the material.

Turner Broadcasting is currently a leading provider of clip
material, and NBC has tried to find new markets for its services
with NBC Desktop News, a customized version of its NBC and
CNBC feeds. But CD-ROM developers contacted by Newsbytes at
the show expressed great interest in the CBS News stand,
considering it the "Tiffany" of the networks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: Doug McKinney,
CBS News, 212-975-5387; public contact: 212-975-2875;
FAX: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

 ****NAB Show - FCC Chair Says Radio Market Saturated 04/21/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- In an address
at the National Association of Broadcasters' convention, interim
Federal Communications Commission Chairman James Quello
suggested that the US radio market is over-saturated, and
proposed a moratorium on allocating more licenses, as well as
a preference for existing broadcasters in rolling out digital
technology.

Quello, who has been on the FCC since 1974, when he was
appointed by then-President Nixon to a Democratic-reserved
seat, was a 27-year veteran of the radio business, rising to
become vice president and general manager of WJR radio in
Detroit. He joked about his advanced years with an audience
of radio people - his career pre-dated television - and also
bragged on his group's implementation of cable reregulation
before setting off on his main topic.

According to the NAB, about half of all radio stations today are
losing money. "We must do something about it!" Quello said. "I'm
afraid that in the FCC's quest for competition and diversity, we
have over-saturated the market with radio stations." He added
that the remaining profitable stations face a host of new
challengers, including cable-fed radio and proposed satellite-
delivered radio. He asked his audience to create standards for
the delivery of digital AM radio quickly, so it can be offered
ahead of the licensing of any satellite-delivered systems.

"Your competitors will not stand idly by," he warned, but, "as
long as I am a member of this Commission, you have a champion
of free, terrestrial broadcasting." He even offered to look at the
Commission's systems of fines for radio stations violating FCC
rules, so small stations will not be thrown off the air.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: FCC Press,
202-632-5050)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

NAB Show - NewTek Intros A New Video Toaster 04/21/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- In two booths,
one in the main show hall and one in the adjoining Multimedia
World center, NewTek announced a new version of its famed
Video Toaster, the Video Toaster 4000.

The new model is based on the new Commodore Amiga 4000, but
company spokesmen ranging from vice president Paul Montgomery
to product demonstrators including former "Star Trek: The Next
Generation" actor Wil Wheaton emphasized that the software has
been completely updated.

The new Toaster has a switcher with four video inputs and three
internal digital sources, close to 300 video effects, an integrated
graphics loader, a 24-bit character generator, and a new paint
system.

The Toaster also runs LightWave 3D, a three-dimensional modeling,
rendering and animation system, and ToasterPaint, a video paint
system. The company announced that Lightwave will be used to
create graphic effects for Steven Spielberg's "seaQuest DSV,"
debuting this fall on NBC. The Toaster also works with local area
networks, including Novell NetWare, meaning it can be the video
element in a corporate network.

Huge crowds and big talk have become something of a tradition
with NewTek since it introduced the Toaster in 1990. This year
was no exception. At Multimedia World, a host of small companies
offered Toaster enhancement software, harder, and training,
amidst hand-painted signs seldom seen at major shows since the
1970s. Said Montgomery. "Since 1990 we've formed a new
industry - Personal Video Production. What we represent is
the end of this show."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: Donetta Colboch,
NewTek, 800-847-6111)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

NAB Show - Quantel Soldiers On 04/21/93
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Amidst all the
excitement about digital video production and standards-based
products ranging from the Silicon Graphics Indigo through the
Apple Macintosh to the Amiga-based NewTek Video Toaster,
Quantel soldiers on.

Quantel, which is based in Berkshire, England, remains a leader
in producing video editors with names like the Harry, which sell
for up to $750,000 each. While they are all computer-based,
they are also proprietary. At this show, the company introduced
a simpler version of its off-line editor called the Micro Henry,
a tapeless on-air presentation product called Clipbox, and
improvements to its digital compositor - known as Hal - as well
as its on-line editor, Henry.

The company remains quite formidable in its market because it
gives broadcasters precisely what they want. Its Paintbox
graphics workstation is hugely popular, not only in video but
in publishing, for its super high resolution images.

US spokesman Dominic Lunney told Newsbytes that the company
has no worries about competitors like Silicon Graphics - which
can undercut its prices by a factor of 10 - or NewTek - whose
Toasters may cost one-hundredth as much.

"A general purpose system is compromised," he insisted. "A guy
who invests in a hardware platform can be toast when the
hardware changes. We're dedicated to maintaining our buyers'
investment as the hardware changes."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: Howard Sherman,
Quantel, 212-777-4711; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00011)

NEC Posts Large Profit 04/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- NEC is already demonstrating
its recovery from the worldwide economic slump, which has been
plaguing the electronics industry.

The firm expects to show 2.8 times more sales profit for fiscal
1993, which ends in March 1994. According to the company, this
is due to its major restructuring plan.

NEC expects to post a 50 billion yen ($450 million) sales profit
for fiscal 1993. This is 32 billion yen ($290 million) more than
that of fiscal 1992. It also expects to show a profit in the net
sales base, gaining 10 billion yen ($90 million).

This comes at a time when a slow economy has dealt a severe
blow to the industry, with many electronics firms suffering.

As part of its restructuring, the firm has cut facility
investment by 50 billion yen, and will spend 140 billion yen
($1.27 million). Also, the firm does not expect to have to spend
so much supporting its affiliate firms this fiscal year, due to
the recovery of their financial situations.

However, NEC Home Electronics, an NEC subsidiary, did show
a serious loss. The deficit was around 16 billion yen ($145
million) for fiscal 1992, which ended in this May. The firm
hopes that will be reduced to eight billion yen for fiscal 1993.

The restructuring plan for NEC's subsidiary in the US is also
going well.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930421/Press Contact: NEC,
[phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00012)

Japan - Canon Bubble-Jet Printer Production To Rise 04/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Due to increased sales,
Canon's plans to increase production of its bubble-jet
printers. The firm also plans to shift production to overseas
plants.

Canon's bubble-jet printers are currently sold for Apple's
Macintosh computer and NEC's PC-9801. Also, it has recently
been used on IBM's notebook-type personal computer the
ThinkPad.

The company claims that it is the quality letters and
easy-to-use features that have led to the printers increased
popularity.

Canon has decided to increase production from the current
2.3 million units to 3.5 million units for the first half of
this fiscal year.

Reportedly, 85 percent of the bubble-jet printers are sold
in the US and Europe.

Canon manufactures the bubble-jet printers at its domestic
plants in Ibaraki, Ami, Fukushima, and Shiga. Also, the firm
is producing them at its Thai plant. In order to overcome
the rapid appreciation of the Japanese yen, Canon plans to
increase production at the Thai plant from 50,000 units to
80,000 units per month.

Also, Canon plans to produce the bubble-jet printers at Italy's
Olivetti-Canon Industry, which is a joint venture firm of
Olivetti and Canon.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930421/Press Contact:
Canon, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00013)

Japan - 286 CPU Accelerator Creates 32-bit PC 04/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Tokyo-based PC peripheral
equipment maker, ABM, claims it has developed a one-chip CPU
(central processing unit) accelerator, which will power up a
286-based 16-bit personal computer to a 32-bit computer.

ABM's accelerator chip - called the A2486C-25 - is a 486
processor. It is also compatible with an 80286 processor. It
is claimed that this accelerator can be used with almost any
286-based system, including the NEC PC-9801, Epson, and IBM
and compatibles.

The company claims that the accelerator increases the PC
processing speed up to two to three times. The size of the
accelerator chip is that of a 286 processor.

ABM is preparing to release a sample chip at 39,000 yen
($355) in this May. The firm plans to produce only 5,000 units
per month to start. ABM is also accepting OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) production of the chip.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930421/Press Contact: ABM,
[phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00014)

Baseball Stats Now On CD-ROM 04/21/93
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Baseball fans love
statistics, and many of them can quote batting averages, times at
bat and all kinds of numbers for their favorite players through the
years. Now an Oregon-based company has put all that information,
plus images of players, teams and ballparks, and even sound clips
of some of the game's most memorable moments on a CD-ROM disk.

Creative Multimedia is offering Total Baseball 1993 Edition: 1871-
1992, a CD-ROM disk for both IBM-compatible and Apple Macintosh
systems that gives fans access to the entire statistical record of
major league baseball from its inception in 1871 through the 1992
season, including the league playoffs and the World Series.

The company says the disk includes 2,300 pages of statistics and
articles, more than 600 photos and images of players, teams, and
ballparks, and 20 sound-clips of some of the game's most
memorable moments. The 1993 version updates the 92 edition,
which was introduced last June.

CMC says it has given the program a new look, cutting out about
300 pages by reformatting the way the statistics are displayed
and eliminating the Fielding Register. Player fielding statistics
have been combined with the individual player's offensive stats.
The company has also added 10 more sound clips of what it calls
"baseballs most memorable moments" over last year's program,
as well as more than 100 new color and black-and-white photos,
including Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Mel Ott, and Cy Young, as well
as current stars.

The company says consistency has been brought to the entire body
of statistics by applying a technique called Sabermetrics - a
combination of SABR (for the Society for American Baseball
Research) and metrics for the measuring role of the statistics
involved. That has changed some player's standings in certain
categories, as have some of the stats used to compile relative
rankings in a given category. In addition to individual player
records, the program also includes a list of the top 100 All-Time
Leaders by Lifetime and Single Season categories, winners of
Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, Cy Young winners
and Hall of Famers, as well as a variety of team rosters.

Some of the new sound clips this year include famed sportscaster
Red Barber, who died last year, recreating a game on radio by
taking game action from a ticker tape machine; Dick Sisler's 10th
inning 1950 home run that won the National League pennant for the
Philadelphia Phillies; and Goose Goslin's two out, ninth inning hit
that won the 1935 World Series for the Detroit Tigers. Other
sound highlights include Willie Mays deep center field catch in
the opening game of the 1954 World Series, and Reggie Jackson's
three run homer in the '77 series.

Owners of last year's Total Baseball version on CD-ROM can
upgrade for $33.99 including shipping and handling. The suggested
list price for new buyers is $69.99. IBM-compatible PC users will
need DOS 3.1 or later, 500 kilobytes (KB) of system memory, VGA
or better video, and a sound board. Users of Apple Computer's
Macintosh systems need System 6.0.5 or better and at least two
megabytes (MB) of memory. For color displays, you need an
eight-bit color display with 32-bit QuickDraw.

CMC says this year's version of Total Baseball more closely links
images and sound. When one of the 16 out of 20 photos that have a
related photo is selected, the photo automatically appears and
remains on screen while the sound clip is playing. If the user
elects to view a player photo, a selection box on the screen
indicates a sound clip is available. Each sound clip is accompanied
by a full-text transcription which displays as the sound plays. The
image and sound files are stored in uncompressed form, which CMC
says enhances performance.

The user can also print the stored images on either a
Hewlett-Packard Laserjet II or an Epson 24-pin dot matrix printer,
as well as printers which are compatible with those standards.

(Jim Mallory/19930421/Press contact: Bill Warner, Alliance
Consulting for CMC, 503-452-5921; Reader contact: CMC,
503-241-4351)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

Dell Intros New Multimedia Systems 04/21/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
expanded its multimedia PC line to 13 different systems with the
announcement of seven new members of the line. The company also
announced five new Business Starter PCs.

The new PCs combine factory-installed hardware options with
pre-installed software, with prices starting at $1,899 for the
multimedia systems and Business Starter systems beginning at
$1,199.

Dell Marketing VP Tom Martin says the new systems were designed
to meet specific customer needs and to offer interactive learning
environments for students and children. The new multimedia PCs
are designed for home, home office, or small- to medium-sized
businesses, according to Dell.

All the new multimedia systems include Dell's high speed local
bus video and can be upgraded to Intel's Pentium microprocessor
when it becomes available, probably in early 1994.

Base configuration includes 4 megabytes (MB) of system memory,
an 80MB or 120MB hard drive, one 3.5-inch floppy drive, a Super
VGA or VGA 800 color monitor, 1MB of video DRAM, 16-bit Sound
Blaster sound card, an internal Panasonic CD-ROM drive, external
speakers, a Dell mouse, and a microphone.

Users can select from a variety of software, include CD-ROM-
based programs such as Microsoft Bookshelf for Windows, Lotus
1-2-3 CD, and  the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book CD which
Newsbytes reported on  previously.

The new Business Starter PCs are available in both desktop and
notebook models. Software includes Microsoft Works, Lotus
Organizer, Quicken 2.0 for Windows, the Microsoft Entertainment
Pack, After Dark, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, and a Dell mouse.
All the software is installed at the factory.

System configurations for the Business Starter PCs include 4MB
of system memory, and an 80MB or 120MB hard drive. Buyers can
select 386 or 486-based systems with 25 or 33 megahertz (MHz)
processors.

(Jim Mallory/19930421/Press contact:Dean Kline, Dell Computer,
512-794-4100) Reader contact: Dell Computer, 800-289-3355 or
512-338-4400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

 ****Compaq 1Qtr Sales/Earnings Double 04/21/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
has announced its first quarter financial results. The company
says its sales and earnings doubled, while the number of
units shipped tripled over the same period last year.

Compaq says it achieved record sales of $1.6 billion, a 106 percent
increase over the $783 million it reported for the same period in
1992. Net income was up to $102 million, a 126 percent increase
over last year. Per share earnings were reported at $1.23, up 132
percent. The company said that is due in part to fewer shares.

Compaq spokesperson John Sweney told Newsbytes Compaq has
had a stock buyback program in place for about two years. In 1991
the company had about 91 million shares of common outstanding.
After buybacks, there are now about 83 million shares outstanding.

Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer said the company's performance
in the first quarter was driven by record demand, with the customer
base spread over a broad base that included Fortune 1000
companies, government and educational accounts, small businesses,
and individual purchasers.

Pfeiffer said the company has been able to drive down operating
expenses as a percent of revenue to a record low 13.4 percent.
"With worldwide unit volumes more than triple what they were
in the first quarter of 1992, and expenses firmly under control,
we are successfully executing a strategy that is driving the
entire industry," he said in a prepared statement.

In early March Compaq introduced 39 new PC models, the
company's biggest rollout since last June. Pfeiffer said those
desktop and notebook PCs are in very high demand and are putting
pressure on the competition, but have also created a reseller
order backlog. "Our challenge is to sustain our growth and maintain
our focus on improved profitability by closely managing our gross
margins and tightly controlling expenses.

Compaq recently reorganized its field offices, consolidating its
eight regional US areas to five, and transferring administrative
duties of the field offices to headquarters. Sweney said about
150 employees lost their jobs in that shakeup, but the company
hired about 100 new employees with different skills.

Newsbytes also reported recently that Compaq and Microsoft
have entered into a formal agreement for joint development of
products by the two companies. The announcement was short on
specific information about products the two companies would
work on, but Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Pfeiffer
emphasized plug-and-play products when they spoke to
reporters in a teleconference from Washington, DC.

(Jim Mallory/19930421/Press contact: Debra Globe, Compaq
Computer, 713-374-0484; Reader contact: 800-345-1518)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00017)

New Graphics File Conversion Pkg For Windows 04/21/93
BROOKFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- One of the
most popular products for screen captures and file conversions
is Hijaak from Inset Systems. The company now says it has
released a new version, Hijaak Pro 2.0 for Windows, which
offers increased speed, an improved user interface, conversion
to new graphics formats, and TWAIN support.

The company says significant portions of the product were
rewritten with performance in mind, especially in making,
opening, and loading files faster. Scrolling and zooming has
also been improved, the company said.

Besides the myriad of other file formats Hijaak supports, the
company said it will also allow images from a Kodak Photo
compact disc (CD) to be loaded directly from the CD-ROM
drive and then saved in one of Hijaak's supported formats. The
Aldus Graphic Import Filter specification is also supported so
import filters can be shared between Pagemaker, Freehand,
Word for Windows, Amipro, and Powerpoint.

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression is also
built into Hijaak Pro 2.0 allowing the ability to view, read,
and write JPEG files with up to 200-to-one compression ratios.
Support for the Sun Unix workstation raster format and the
IOCA format used on IBM mainframe and AS/400 computers
allow the transfer of files created on those computers.

Support for TWAIN, the image specification for documents is
built in to Hijaak Pro 2.0, Inset added. TWAIN is a cross-
platform standard for the purpose of compatibility between
applications and input devices such as frame grabbers, image
databases, and scanners. Inset said version 2.0 of Hijaak can
directly import an image from one of these sources and save
the image in any raster format the product supports.

A new Hijaak Browser is included with Hijaak Pro 2.0 and
allows users to see thumbnail views of images. Once a user
double clicks on an image, Hijaak Pro will launch and the
image will be loaded, the company said.

Hijaak Pro 2.0 will ship in June, company sources said, at a
retail price of $169. Registered users of Hijaak for Windows
may upgrade to Hijaak Pro 2.0 for a shipping and handling fee
by calling the company toll-free to be placed on the upgrade
list.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930421/Press Contact: Wendy Schulman,
Inset Systems, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact (to upgrade) 800-374-6738)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00018)

Nikon Shipping Coolscan Scanner In US 04/21/93
MELVILLE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Nikon Electronic
Imaging has begun shipping the Coolscan 35-millimeter  (mm)
film scanner in the United States. The scanner is available in
both external and internal versions for IBM and compatible PCs
and Apple Macintosh computers.

The unit can scan either negatives or 35mm slides, a
spokeswoman for the company said. It captures 24 bits per pixel
at resolution up to 2,700 dots-per-inch (dpi), and scans both
color and black-and-white material in a single pass, according
to the vendor.

The internal version fits in any half-height drive bay and runs
off the computer's power supply. The external version measures
5.8- by 13- by 1.8-inches, Nikon said. Both versions work with the
Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), and the PC versions are
supplied with a SCSI adapter and cable (SCSI adapters are
standard on the Macintosh).

The units are supplied with software which Nikon said makes
them easy to use for novices or experts. According to the
company, there are applications for the devices in many
industries.

The internal Coolscan lists for $2,195, and the external version
for $2,495. Both will be available through national distributors
and Nikon dealers, company officials said.

(Grant Buckler/19930421/Press Contact: Helene Cohen-Smith,
Greenstone Roberts for Nikon, 516-249-3366)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00019)

DECUS US Plans Transition 04/21/93
SHREWSBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- The
United States chapter of the Digital Equipment Computer Users
Society (DECUS) is planning a transition over the next few months
in response to the changing face of computing. The second-largest
user group in the industry has already begun planning moves to
adapt to a world in which most computer users work with
multiple hardware and software platforms.

The transition will take place in three stages, said Mary
Oskirko, DECUS United States' marketing communications manager.
The final results are difficult to predict right now, she said,
because DECUS wants those planning the transition to approach it
with an open mind rather than preconceived notions about how the
final result will look.

The first phase, already under way and continuing through May, is
to study the changing computer industry and the role DECUS can
play in it. The group is planning a two-and-a-half-day "future
scenarios conference" at which participants will hear from
industry pundits and possibly futurists about where the computer
industry is heading. They will then try to come up with proposals
for the future shape of DECUS. DECUS members, along with senior
management of their companies and officials of Digital Equipment,
will participate.

DECUS members will get a chance to comment on the proposals at
the group's national symposium in Atlanta at the end of May,
Oskirko said, and DECUS will then begin planning the transition.
The planning is expected to last through the summer, with the
final stage - actual changes - beginning in September and due
to be completed by the group's 1994 spring national event in New
Orleans in May of next year.

DECUS US Chapter currently has about 50,000 members.

(Grant Buckler/19930421/Press Contact: Mary Oskirko,
DECUS US, 508-841-3584)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00020)

 ****DEC Adds Alpha AXP Workstation Models 04/21/93
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has added three new workstation models to its
Alpha AXP line of systems, along with new graphics software
and a parallel-processing approach aimed at letting groups of
Alpha workstations do the work of costlier supercomputers.

Digital also announced the availability of R4000 daughter-card
upgrades for its DECstation family of workstations and servers.

The new top of the Alpha AXP workstation line is the DEC 3000
Model 500X AXP, which DEC claimed is the industry's fastest
workstation. With a 200-megahertz (MHz) central processor,
the new workstation is aimed at customers with demanding
technical applications. Fully configured, the new system is
priced from $69,995 and is available now, DEC said.

This machine uses the same 200-MHz Alpha chip found in
DEC's 10000 AXP mainframe, launched last fall. Company
spokesman David Bouffard said production yields of the
200-MHz chip have been twice as good as expected, enabling
early introduction of a workstation using it.

Pete Stillwaggon, of DEC Alpha personal systems marketing, said
the 500X AXP is very like the Model 500 AXP launched last fall,
except for the faster chip (the 500 AXP has a 150-MHz
processor) and certain support circuitry. The new model also has
five, rather than six, expansion slots because of the need for a
larger cooling fan, he said.

Digital officials said the new DEC 3000 Model 300 AXP workstation
offers the best price/performance of any workstation in the
industry. It is intended to appeal to cost-conscious customers who
need high-performance two-dimensional (2D) and entry-level
three-dimensional (3D) capabilities as well as expandability,
according to the vendor.

Priced under $10,000 with 32 megabytes (MB) of memory, a
426MB disk, and either a greyscale or color display, the new
workstation is due to be available in May with both DEC OSF/1
AXP and OpenVMS AXP operating systems.

At the bottom end of its Alpha workstation line, DEC has added
the DEC 3000 Model 300L AXP, priced at $4,995. It will be
available with both OSF/1 AXP and OpenVMS AXP in May.

While this unit is in the same price range as personal computers,
it will not necessarily compete directly with them, Bouffard
said. DEC plans to introduce an Alpha-based PC that will run
Microsoft's Windows NT operating system at the Spring
Comdex show in Atlanta at the end of May, and has not yet
decided whether to offer NT on the 300L, he said.

Digital also unveiled various 3D graphics hardware and
software for Alpha AXP systems running DEC OSF/1 AXP and
OpenVMS AXP. The products include Digital's PXG line of
graphics hardware subsystems; DEC's Open3D graphics software,
which supports various standard application programming
interfaces (APIs); Kubota Pacific Computer's Denali line of
graphics subsystems for visualization and image processing;
Nth Portable Graphics Language software from Nth Portable
Graphics that will simplify porting of graphics applications
from Iris workstations; and a graphics upgrade program that
will let customers move from the PXG+ and PXG Turbo+ graphics
accelerators to new models for the difference in cost between
the models.

The Alpha AXP Workstation Farms Program is a bid for the
business of users looking to downsize from supercomputers or
mainframes. A workstation farm is a collection of systems in
a local area network interconnected as a distributed batch
server or parallel server for compute-intensive programs.
Digital unveiled custom-designed parallel technology and a
High Performance Computing Expertise Center (HPCEC) to go
after this market.

Workstations in such a farm are less tightly-coupled than
machines in Digital's old VAXcluster systems, which tied VAX
minicomputers together to offer mainframe-like power. The
machines can perform workstation tasks during the day and
run compute-intensive jobs at night, Bouffard said.

Finally, Digital unveiled R4000 daughter-card upgrades for its
DECstation workstations and DECsystem servers, designed to
upgrade the older machines to the latest technology.

(Grant Buckler/19930421/Press Contact: Glen M. Zimmerman,
Digital, 508-493-9857; David J. Bouffard, Digital,
415-617-3500)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00021)

Concurrent Offers Upgrade Deal, Plans Sales Shuffle 04/21/93
OCEANPORT, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Concurrent
Computer is responding to a competitive market for reduced
instruction-set computing (RISC) systems with a special
upgrade offer and plans to reorganize its worldwide sales force.

Concurrent said its Series 7000 Investment Protection Program
(IPP) will let customers buy and install a new Concurrent Series
7000 system now, and then order a compatible upgrade to a new
system to be introduced this fall. Customers will pay just the
difference between the price of the Series 7000 System and the
new machine, which for a low-end system would be minimal,
company officials said.

The program takes effect immediately and ends August 31.
Customers must agree to take delivery of the new-generation
system by March 31, 1994.

Company spokesman Michael Stugrin said the program is meant
to help the company avoid losing sales as customers wait for
the new systems, and to meet customers' immediate needs.

Concurrent said the new system due this fall will use
150-megahertz (MHz) MIPS Technologies R4400 processors
and will be one of the first available system implementations
of  those chips. It will offer source-level and input/output
compatibility with Concurrent's Series 7000 system, the
company said. The new system will run the same version of
Concurrent's RTU (Real-Time Unix) operating system as the
Series 7000.

The Series 7000 system ranges in price from $14,000 to
$70,000, depending on the number of processors and other
components.

Concurrent also said it plans to expand, upgrade, and
re-deploy its worldwide sales force.

The changes will result in about a 10 percent net expansion
of the sales force, Stugrin said, but, "we expect that there
will be some people leaving" as priorities are shifted.

Concurrent will emphasize Europe and the western United
States in building up its sales force, Stugrin said. The Pacific
Rim will also be affected. The changes are expected to be
completed by the end of May.

The company said that the over past six months it has been
strengthening its industry and product marketing and
professional services staffs.

(Grant Buckler/19930421/Press Contact: Michael A. Stugrin,
Concurrent, 908-870-5888)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00022)

Wordperfect Intros Solaris 2.x Version Of Wordperfect 04/21/93
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Hot on the
heels of announcing plans to ship an interim version of the
Solaris version of its word processor, Wordperfect has
announced it is porting Wordperfect for Unix over to the Solaris
2.x environment on SPARC-based workstations.

According to Gordon Mella, Unix product marketing manager with
Wordperfect, WP 5.1 for Solaris 2.x will include a graphical
version based on the Open Software Foundation's Motif graphical
user interface (GUI), as well as the expected character-based
version.

"With the momentum of Solaris 2.x, we feel the timing is right
for a Wordperfect 5.2 release," he explained, adding that, as
Solaris becomes more popular, the company wants its customers
who use the Solaris operating system, to have the most
up-to-date word processing technology.

Wordperfect has revealed that Wordperfect is also developing
another version of its word processor of the same name that
supports the "Open Look" user interface.

The company remains coy on the subject of pricing and precise
availability of the Solaris 2.x version of Wordperfect. Sources
close to the company suggest that the package will ship
during the third quarter of the year.

(Steve Gold/19930421/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect
UK - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00023)

UK - Epson Enhances LQ-570 Dot Matrix Printer 04/21/93
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Epson
UK has announced it is enhancing the LQ-570 dot matrix printer
with the addition of a faster printer speed. The new printer,
which will continue to be sold at UKP339, is known as the
LQ-570+.

Draft print speeds have been boosted from 220 to 269 characters-
per-second (cps), while LQ runs at 90 cps, up from the 72 cps
recorded on the original printer. Noise levels on the internally
redesigned printer have been cut considerably, down to 47 dB(A).

Other features of the LQ-570+ include, what Epson calls,
"advanced paper handling" facilities, the ability to handle paper
from multiple sources without physically having to switch
from fan-fold to cut-sheet feeders. The LQ-570+ also includes
two extra scalable fonts.

Announcing the enhanced printer, Robert Clark, Epson UK's
product manager for impact printers, said that the LQ-570+
demonstrates the company's commitment to offering good
value for money in the general dot matrix printer market.

"By not increasing the retail price over that of the LQ-570,
we are set to regain share in an area of market that is very
price sensitive," he said.

(Steve Gold/19930421/Press & Public Contact: Epson UK -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00024)

UK - Elonex Launches New Families Of PCs 04/21/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Elonex has revealed
that, such was the success of its Office PC range, launched late
last year, that the company has developed two more bundled
software PC families, the Entry-level Solutions range and the
Power Solutions range.

The Office PC range was a series of 486-based machines
pre-loaded with Microsoft Office, These two new ranges are
similar cooperative efforts between the direct-sell PC
specialist and Microsoft.

The Entry-level Solutions range consists of a variety of PCs
pre-loaded with MS-DOS 6.0, Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Works
for Windows. The Power Solutions series, meanwhile, come
pre-loaded with MS-DOS 6.0, Windows 3.1, Word for Windows
2.0, Excel 4.0, and Access 1.0.

Elonex claims that pricing on the machines is highly competitive,
citing the example of a 25 megahertz (MHz) 486SX-based
Entry-level unit with 4 megabytes (MB) of memory and an 85MB
hard disk at UKP1,040. A similarly-configured Power Solutions
system costs UKP1,305, with a larger, 170MB hard disk. Both
machines come with a 1MB SVGA graphics card and 14-inch
SVGA monitor.

Israel Wetrin, Elonex's managing director, said that the new
machine packages were developed in conjunction with Microsoft
and proved to be enormously popular with PC buyers. He claims
that, at UKP1,305 for the Power Solutions range machine, the
bundle costs less than the retail price of the software on its own.

"The inclusion of the Access database, as well as the top-selling
word processor and spreadsheet packages means that, for the
first time, we can meet virtually any business computing
requirement with a single ready-to-run solution," he said.

(Steve Gold/19930421/Press & Public Contact: Elonex -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00025)

IPC Information Systems Enters Japanese Market 04/21/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- IPC Information Systems,
which claims to be the world's leading supplier of financial
voice trading systems, has appointed Telecomet International
to handle its products in Japan.

An agreement between the two companies was signed in Tokyo
by Richard Kleinknecht, IPC's chairman and CEO, and Noboro
Ohyama, Telecomet International's president. Terms of the
agreement call for Telecomet to market the Tradenet, Tradenet
MX and the Series II dealerboard systems, as well as the
Centremax II electronic key phone system, to financial services
companies throughout Japan.

"Japan is a very important market for our products," Kleinknecht
explained, adding that IPC already has a number of customers in
the Tokyo area. "We expect to considerably expand this client
base," he said.

So what attracted the two companies together? According to
Kleinknecht, both companies are remarkably similar. "We both
have a strong presence in the financial community, and both
have global operations with an emphasis in Asia, the US and
Europe," he said.

Ohyama said that he has high hopes for the Japanese market.
"The Japanese market is far more open today for the
international trade of goods and services," he said, adding
that he believes that the business environment will be
favorable towards Telecomet.

(Steve Gold/19930421/Press & Public Contact -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

Supermac Earns Strong, Company Doubles R&D Spending 04/21/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Supermac
is on the upswing again, with reports of a 74 percent increase
in sales and a 75 percent increase in net income for its first
quarter of 1993.

While Supermac says demand for the company's color publishing
and digital video products are strong, it has also been cutting
prices and says it is increasing its investment in research and
development to double what it did a year ago.

The company says sales were $43.7 million, up from $25.2
million in the same quarter last year. Net income rose 75
percent to $2.1 million compared with $1.2 million in the year
ago quarter. Since the company first went public in May of last
year, it has been reporting increases in volume and profits.
Once geared exclusively toward the Macintosh market,
Supermac has expanded into the enormous Microsoft Windows
market with its add-on video and graphics accelerator boards.

Michael McConnell, president and chief executive officer at
Supermac said shipments were strong in all product categories.
McConnell specifically credits original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) shipments of Supermac products to Apple Computer and
increased licensing revenues, as well as other sales, for the
boost in revenues this quarter.

Investments in research and development (R&D) to facilitate the
introduction of new products has more than doubled, according
to company sources. The company has boosted R&D spending from
$1.7 million or 6.8 percent of revenues in the year ago quarter
to $3.6 million this quarter, or 8.2 percent of revenues.

Supermac feels it is ahead of the market, but said it sees
increased investment in R&D as a means to stay there. "As we
have indicated before, steady introduction of new products is
the key to staying ahead of the market. We continue to increase
our investment in ongoing product development in order to turn
R&D projects into marketable products," said McConnell.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930421/Press Contact: James Heisch,
Supermac, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

 ****Newsbytes Wins 5th Award For Excellence 04/21/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Newsbytes
News Network has been honored "Best Online Publication" by
the Computer Press Association, which annually honors top
journalists who excel in their coverage of the information
industries. This is Newsbytes' fifth award in this category
over the years and comes as Newsbytes marks its 10th
anniversary as the world's most comprehensive source of
daily computer and telecommunications industry news.

Newsbytes, represented by Los Angeles Bureau Chief Linda Rohrbough,
received the award at the Computer Press Awards' annual luncheon,
held at Tavern On the Green in New York City. Citizen America
and The Computer Press Association have sponsored the
Computer Press Awards since 1985. As the oldest and most
distinguished writing competition of its kind, it allows journalists
to  be recognized by their peers.

A record 1,100 entries in the competition's 21 categories were
evaluated by 60 judges. Judges chose one winner and two equal
runners up per category based on criteria including creativity,
presentation, clarity, accuracy and significance to the audiences.

Newsbytes presented for an award its coverage of COMDEX Fall in
November, 1992, an event attended by several Newsbytes reporters
under the leadership of Linda Rohrbough, crew chief.

The judges, John Dodge, executive editor at PC Week, and Ed Foster,
editor at Infoworld, wrote, "The purpose and value of the
Newsbytes News Network is clear and measurable, producing 7,200
news stories a year, Newsbytes is relentless in its pursuit of
clear, timely material. Newsbytes is also a valuable background
resource with easy searching facilities to its vast database of
news stories."

Newsbytes has been published continuously since 1983, compiling
a database of more than 40,000 news stories. A staff of 19 US
and international reporters cover issues related to the computer
and telecommunications industries worldwide. The reports are
published on-line on GEnie, Ziffnet, America Online, Applelink,
BIX, Dialog, Newsnet, BBSes, and via Internet by Clarinet. There
are over 152 newspapers, magazines, and other media which
publish or redistribute the news. Newsbytes reports at least
30 stories each weekday.

Here is the complete list of winners and runners up for the
Eighth Annual Computer Press Awards.

News Story in General Interest Publication

WINNER:  "On the Spot," John Wilke, The Wall Street Journal

RUNNERS UP:  "Compaq:  The Making of a Comeback," Catherine Arnst
and Stephanie Forest, Business Week; "Operation Desert Sneak," Gina
Smith and Katie Rabin, San Francisco Examiner

News Story in Computer Publication

WINNER:  "Scam!," Roberta Furger and Mike Hogan, PC World

RUNNERS UP:  "CA Business Policies Anger Some Large Shops," Johanna
Ambrosio, Computerworld; "DISA to Services:  Apocalypse Now," Bob
Brewin, Federal Computer Week

Feature in General Interest Publication

WINNER:  "Deconstructing The Computer Industry," John Verity,
Business Week

RUNNERS UP:  "Bottom Fishing," Michael Allen, The Wall Street
Journal; "Interactive Television," Michael Antonoff, Popular
Science Magazine

Feature in Computer Publication

WINNER:  "America's Shame:  Separate Realities, and Official Word,"
Charles Piller and Morton Kondracke, Macworld; Liza Weiman
and Cheryl England, editors

RUNNERS UP:  "E-Mail Snooping," Jeffrey Rothfeder, Rochelle Garner
and Lewis D'Vorkin, Corporate Computing; "It's All Right Now,"
Richard Rapaport, David Bunnel  and Eric Nee, Upside

Computer Related Opinion or Editorial

WINNER:  "Conspicuous Consumer:  Smart Company, Foolish Choices,"
Deborah Branscum and Charles Barrett, Macworld

RUNNERS UP:  "PCs are PCs, and TVs are TVs, And Nary the Twain Shall
Meet," John C. Dvorak, PC/Computing; "The FBI Wants to Tap
NewMedia

Hardware Product Review

WINNER:  "What's The Right Size?" Bill Catchings and Marftware
Plafs," Dek Steve Fox, PC World

RUNNERS UP:  "The Future is Now:  ObjectVision Brings a View of
What's to Come," Jack W. Crenshaw, Windows Tech Journal

Computer Newspaper, Circulation Less Than 100,000

WINNER:  Computer Retail Week

RUNNER UP:  Government Computer News; MacWEEK

Computer Newspaper, Circulation More Than 100,000

WINNER:  Computerworld

RUNNERS UP:  Electronic Engineering Times; PC Week

Computer Magazine, Circulation Less than 100,000

WINNER:  CIO Magazine

RUNNER UP:  NewMedia Magazine; VARBusiness

Computer Magazine, Circulation More Than 100,000

WINNER:  Macworld

RUNNERS UP:  BYTE; PC Magazine

Rookie of the Year

WINNER:  Windows Tech Journal

RUNNER UP:  Corporate Computing Magazine

Computer Newsletter

WINNER:  Rel-EAST

RUNNERS UP:  LaserJet Journal; P.C. Letter

On-Line Publication

WINNER:  Newsbytes News Network

RUNNER UP:  The Computer Club

NonFiction Computer Book

WINNER:  Privacy For Sale:  How Computerization Has Made Everyone's
Private Life an Open Secret, Jeffrey Rothfeder and Robert Bender

RUNNERS UP:  The Computer Industry Almanac 1992, Egil and Karen
Jullussen; The Hacker Crackdown:  Law & Disorder on the Electronic
Frontier, Bruce Sterling and Betsy Mitchell

Introductory How-To-Book - Systems

WINNER:  Danny Goodman's Macintosh Handbook - Featuring System 7,
Danny Goodman and Richard Saul Wurman, Bantam Electronic Publishing

RUNNERS UP:  PCs For Dummies, Dan Gookin and Andy Rathbone;
Van Wolverton's Guide to Dos 5, Van Wolverton, Debra Miller and
Steve Lambert

Introductory How-To-Book - Software

WINNER:  Windows 3.1 Programming for Mere Mortals, Woody Leonhard,
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.

RUNNERS UP:  Pagemaker 4:  An Easy Desk Reference, Robin Williams;
WordPerfect for Dummies, Dan Gookin, Sandy Blackthorn and John
Kilcullen

Advanced How-To-Book - Systems

WINNER:  Macworld Music and Sound Bible, Christopher Yavelow and
               Jeremy Judson, IDG Books

RUNNERS UP:  Dos 5, Alfred Glossbrenner and Debra Miller;
Undocumented Windows, Andrew Schulman, David Maxey and
Matt Pietrek

Advanced How-To-Book - Software

WINNER:  Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines, Apple Computer Inc.,
Addison-Wesley Publishing

RUNNERS UP:  Moving from C  to C++, Greg Perry; Windows API Bible:
The Definitive Programmer's  Reference, Mitchell Waite and James
L. Conger, Waite Group Press

Radio Program

WINNER:  Horizons:  Push Button Magic, Harriet Baskas, Marcie
Sillman and Donna Limerick, National Public Radio

RUNNERS UP:  The Personal Computer Show, Joe King, Hank Kee and
Dave Burstein, WBAI-FM; Software/Hardtalk with John C. Dvorak, John
C. Dvorak, Maureen McGinley and John Moss

Best Computer Columnist

WINNER:  Bill Machrone, PC Magazine

RUNNERS UP:  Steven Levy, Macworld; Andy Ihnatko, MacUser

(Newsbytes/19930421/Press Contact: Citizen America Corp.
Earle Roddy, 310-453-0614)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00028)

 ****Sun Intros Four New Multiprocessing Workstations 04/21/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- At a
press conference in Boston today, Sun announced a multiprocessing
workstation claimed to be the fastest desktop computer in the
industry, along with the lowest-cost multiprocessor system on
the market, two more multiprocessing computers, and a
development kit for the recently announced Solaris 2.2
operating system.

The high-end model in the new family, the 50 megahertz (MHz)
Model 51, will be based on the new, 50 MHz SuperSparc+
microprocessor from Texas Instruments, also unveiled at the
press conference.

Others in the new multiprocessing family include the midrange
Model 40 and Model 402MP, based on 40-MHz multiprocessing
chips, and the entry-level Model 30LC, a 30-MHz multiprocessing
system priced at only $15,995.

In a series of side-by-side demonstrations, officials showed
journalists how the multiprocessing systems will bring immediate
productivity gains by running multiple applications and some
single applications more than twice as fast as competitive single-
processor systems.

Users will experience immediate productivity gains, especially in
multitasking, by operating existing applications on the new
machines, according to Sun's Bob Pearson.

Future applications developed with the newly announced MP
Developer Early Access Kit will bring even greater speed,
because these applications will take advantage of the
multithreading capabilities in Solaris 2.2, Pearson added.

Mario Dalcanto, director of technical and industrial market
development for Sun, mentioned graphics, multimedia, and CAD
(computer-aided design) as some of the areas that can benefit
most from multiprocessing.

At the close of the press conference, Dalcanto told Newsbytes
that some applications benefit individually from multiprocessing
by running one operation, such as graphics, on one processor and
another operation, such as input/output, on another.

Phil Campbell, Sparc marketing manager for Texas Instruments,
said at the briefing that TI will introduce an even faster
multiprocessing chip set, the SuperSparc II, some time next
year. Many other vendors, including Cray, are also using TI's
multiprocessors, he added.

At the end of the briefing, he told Newsbytes that TI will
introduce a faster version of the SuperSparc+ prior to the
announcement of SuperSparc II.

Paul F. Henderson, director of marketing for SunPro, told
Newsbytes that the new developer kit for Solaris 2.2 will
ship towards the end of the year.

The first applications for Solaris 2.2 will be released around
the same time, though, because developers have been working
with an earlier version of the kit, he stated.

Also at the press conference, Sparc announced price cuts on the
Sparcstation 10 Model 41, Model 512MP, and Model 54 of up to 21
percent.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930421/Press contacts:  Robert Manetta, Sun,
tel [phone]; Pattie Walters, SunPro, tel [phone];
Vicki Ferrando, Hi-Tech Communications for Sun, tel [phone],
ext 259; Emily Cohen, Hi-Tech Communications for SunPro, tel 415-
904-7000; Donna Coletti and Nancy Greer, Texas Instruments, tel
[phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

Microsoft/Warner Execs To Head New Media Vision Division 04/21/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Multimedia
add-on hardware developer Media Vision has announced it is
forming a new software publishing division called Media Vision
Multimedia Publishing and has hired top level executives from
Microsoft and Warner New Media to head the new venture.

Media Vision says it believes it can successfully advance into
the software end of multimedia as it can leverage its
experience gained in hardware development in designing the
software. The company currently offers sound and CD-ROM
hardware for both Macintosh and IBM-compatible personal
computers. Products already in established distribution
channels mean the company already has a conduits for its
multimedia software products, company officials added.

Min Yee, formerly vice president of Microsoft's multimedia
division and publisher of Microsoft Press, and Stan Cornyn,
founder and former president and chief executive officer of
Warner New Media, are to serve as executive vice presidents in
the new multimedia software company. Yee was responsible for
the creation of the multimedia personal computer (MPC) standard
for personal computers adopted in 1991. In addition, Yee lead
and was part of the teams that developed the first software
titles for the MPC standard including "Bookshelf for Windows,"
"Voyager's Beethoven," the movie guide  "Cinemania, Musical
Instruments," and Microsoft's multimedia encyclopedia
"Encarta."

Cornyn founded Warner New Media in 1985. Warner New Media has
produced multimedia CD-ROM applications such as  Time
Magazine's "Desert Storm" and a three-disc set of Mozart's opera,
"The Magic Flute." Cornyn is also credited with directing a
cross-platform authoring system to convert Time-Warner
publications such as "The View from Earth" to CD-ROM.

Media Vision says the new Multimedia Publishing group will
develop entertainment and educational software titles for
both the Macintosh and IBM-compatible PC platforms on
CD-ROM. Consumers can expect to see the first product
offerings from this division in time for the Christmas this
year, the company added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930421/Press Contact: Abigail Johnson,
Roeder-Johnson, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00030)

Russia - Free Software Champion Speaks At Conference 04/21/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 21 (NB) -- Richard F. Stallman, the founder
of the GNU project, addressed a Russian audience at the FreeSoft'93
conference in Moscow. The speech was devoted to the reasons
for Stallman's passionate struggle for free software and the
prospects for the Free Software Foundation, which recently opened
a branch in Russia.

Stallman himself seems to be the mixture of a computer wizard and
a missionary - long-haired and a staunch advocate of free programs
for everybody at no cost. His first concern in Moscow was about
getting access to his electronic-mail, as his electronic messages
were forwarded from US to one of the Relcom network computers
and at first tended to disappear somewhere in the depths of
the Moscow backbone.

Stallman explained the listeners that "free software can be
distinguished from proprietary software at three different
levels: the first level is when people simply run the program
and do not look inside; the second level is when they want to
change the program; and the third level is when somebody
wants to make real improvements to the software". According
to Stallman, at all three levels proprietary software results
in indirect losses to society - of both a material and
psychological nature.

The first goal of the GNU project was to create free operational
system which the people can use right away. "If you have a
computer, you need an operational system. Here comes the devil
and he says: I will give you this pretty software you need so
much, but you should promise not to give it to your friends. When
GNU will be completed users will not be tempted to strike a deal
with the devil -- they will say: No, I have free system already.
And then they can start developing their own free programs".

Ex-Soviet Unix programmers as well as many their Western
colleagues regard GNU software as a real alternative to costly
commercial system software.

The crusader against commercial software has said a few strong
words about Unix System Laboratories, claiming USL to be "the
greatest enemy of the free software on the Earth". USL had its
booth at the conference in order to present its products.

The Free Software Foundation has recently opened a branch in
Russia. GNU is an acronym which spelling out as "GNU's Not Unix".
It stands for the project to develop a Unix-like open operation
system.

(Eugene Peskin & Kirill Tchashchin/19930421)