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/nb930507

Text File | 1993-05-07 | 91KB | 1,971 lines

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00001)

Boca Research To Acquire The Complete PC 05/07/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Florida-based
modem and memory card manufacturer Boca Research has signed a
letter of intent to acquire The Complete PC, a privately held
San Jose corporation. The Complete PC offers a line of all-in-
one communication and imaging products such as
fax/modem/answering machine cards for the IBM and compatible
personal computer (PC) market.

Competition has increased for both companies with the entry of
large companies such as National Semiconductor into the
communication peripheral market. Last October, National
Semiconductor announced the Tyin 2000 add-on card for PCs which
offers sound, modem, fax, and voice mail capability for less
than $300.

Both Boca and The Complete PC have expressed optimism that the
merger will benefit both. Boca's president and chief executive
officer (CEO) said the acquisition of The Complete PC will
offer expanding opportunities for Boca computer peripheral
products in the retail channel, where The Complete PC has
successfully penetrated. Neither Boca or The Complete PC
representatives available to comment on how much Boca will pay
for The Complete PC by Newsbytes' deadline.

Boca recently went public in February of this year, offering
1,250,000 shares and raising an estimated $13.6 million. The
company's stock closed down 3/4 at 12 5/8 yesterday, but is up
slightly after the announcement of its purchase of The Complete
PC.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930506/Press Contact: Bill Grub, The
Complete PC, tel [phone]; Gail Blackburn, Boca Research,
407-997-6227)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00002)

The Enabled Computer By John McCormick 05/07/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
information relating to high technology aids for the disabled.

Did you drive to work this morning? If so, how long did you spend
in transit and just how relaxing was that trip?

Once you got to the office, did you send or read faxes, talk to
people on the telephone, or use a computer? Is there any real
reason you couldn't have done all of those things from home?

The chances are that, if you counted all the commuting time and
costs involved, you would discover that driving to work is not
only stressful, expensive, and environmentally unfriendly, it is
also an affront to common sense.

Although this column is for the disabled, telecommuting is not
just a disabled workers' issue, many individuals would prefer to
live and work in small towns while pulling down a top EDP
professional's salaries but telecommuting growth in the past 10
years has not matched the needs of workers, the environment, or
the advances of technology.

Most of the delay has been due to a strange corporate mindset
that, despite clear evidence to the contrary, still views
unsupervised workers as lazy workers. Why else would a company
which already relies heavily on e-mail, office memos, and
telephone conferences, insist that workers read that mail and
make those phone calls sitting in a high-cost office instead of
from home?

A Los Angeles City Hall telecommuting project created in response
to the need to reduce commuting as mandated by the Regulation XV
of the South Coast Air Quality Management District has shown that
productivity has increased by as much as 3 percent, giving the
lie to worries about daytime TV watching and time "wasted"
(wasted??) playing with the children.

Telecommuting has resulted in savings totalling $5,000 a month
for just the LA County Assessor's office alone, with a double-
digit worker productivity increase. (Information from the December
9, 1991, Los Angeles Business Journal.)

Fortunately for everyone, including the stockholders whose
companies are now paying sky-high skyscraper office rents, the
Americans with Disabilities Act will help pry open the anti-
telecommuting corporate mindset.

Companies will be forced to reconsider their entire telecommuting
policies when bedridden computer experts begin suing employers to
force them to show just why a programmer has to be able to
commute 3 hours a day just to sit at a PC in an office in order
to churn out code and exchange e-mail, faxes, and phone calls
with management and colleagues.

Programming is often a solitary task anyway, best accomplished
without distractions, and since files must be exchanged with
co-workers electronically, what difference does it make
whether this is done by passing disks, moving data over a local
area network between different offices in the same building, or
using a high-speed modem?

The extra costs of having people work from home are a problem
only if companies make them a problem.

When an office PC cost $10,000 and high-speed data transmission
required dedicated telephone lines, then telecommuting could
result in a significant expense to the company, but today a
powerful computer complete with a CD-ROM drive for accessing
massive databases and a 9600 bit-per-second or even faster modem
will all come in a $2,000 package.

Fax and e-mail capabilities can be added for only a few more
dollars, and the fax could be accessible even to blind workers
because of the latest developments in fax to text conversion
software.

Companies would have to buy almost the exact same equipment for
workers who came into the office and in addition would have to
pay for heat, light, office space, coffee machines, and parking
spaces, all of which home-based employees would probably supply
for themselves at no cost to the business and with absolutely no
burden to the home-based workers.

Another non-issue is the question of who would be responsible for
the hardware. Managers who say this poses a major problem are
only using it as a smoke screen since they must realize that the
very same employee would be able to destroy computers just as
easily by spilling coffee on them in the office as he or she
could at home. The worker would be considered liable in the
office or at home, so what is the difference?

Responsible workers also work responsibly at home and
irresponsible workers shouldn't be hired anyway whether for the
office or as telecommuters.

Security of confidential data is another non-issue. If an
employee is loyal and honest then the information is just as safe
at home as in an office setting, perhaps more so because
industrial espionage can easily target an office and often breach
security by infiltrating a cleaning crew, but would find it more
difficult to locate telecommuters and would be less likely to
want to face legal consequences of invading a home.

Also, a dishonest employee can easily copy and remove information
from the most secure office so letting workers telecommute will
make no difference on that score.

Security depends on loyalty and training, not physical barriers.
Consider that the Central Intelligence Agency has strict rules
against removing magnetic media from any office. This rule works
very well and few computer files are ever compromised by
accident, but since workers aren't searched, the security still
depends entirely on workers' honesty, not on the mere fact that
there is a rule.

The final argument most managers resort to when opposing
telecommuting is that home-based workers may not always be
available or reliable because they may decide to goof off or
something may happen in the home setting to disrupt work. Again,
if the worker is a good employee this will be no problem and we
all know that many office workers waste a great deal of time,
often due to such management insanity as having to attend ill-
conceived and poorly managed meetings.

Recent experiences with the deteriorating infrastructures in
Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill., not to mention the Trade
Center bombing in NYC, have shown the wisdom of not putting all
your workers in one downtown location so having more home based
workers may actually improve a company's overall productivity and
provide an important cushion against local business disruption.

In the strangest twist, many of the very managers who think that
people can't be trusted to work independently at home are already
part-time telecommuters themselves, although most of them don't
realize that that is what they are doing.

What else do you call it when a manager or executive carries a
laptop computer home or along on a business trip, phones the
office to check on the progress of a project, or answers a pager.
Junior executives are expected to routinely work at home nights
and over weekends if they want to get ahead.

That is all telecommuting is, taking work home - but instead of
doing a work at the office during normal business hours and as
much or more at home at other times, telecommuters do most of
their work at home and some (or none) at the office.

There has been little mention of disabilities in this particular
column simply because many disabled workers need no special
hardware or software to be able to do productive work. The mere
ability to work without struggling with the daily commute is all
that many need to become fully participating members of society.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is based on information found in the
author's forthcoming 400-page book "Computers and the Americans with
Disabilities Act: A Manager's Guide," July 1993, Windcrest/McGraw
Hill (book number 4422), $23 paperback ISBN 0-8306-4445-8.

(John McCormick/19930507/Press Contact: John McCormick, The
Enabled Computer BBS, 814-277-6337)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00003)

MacTV Schedule for May 10-31 05/07/93
MARLOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- MacTV, the
daily one-hour satellite computer product news program broadcast
every day on Galaxy 6, Channel 22 starting at 8 a.m. Eastern
time. Some shows are also broadcast on the Mind Extension
University cable channel.

MacTV is scheduled to change its satellite station as of June 1,
1993; it will be on Galaxy 7, Channel 10, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. -
9 a.m. Eastern Time. Call 1-800-800-6912 for information on how
to get it in your area.

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

Monday, May 10, 1993: Now Up-to-Date 2.0, gives you a calendar
with pre-existing lists; DateBook, another way to manage your
time efficiently; ACT!, a third time management program to view;
Apple's Modular Comp, how to pick the right machine for your
needs; Tessarae, a "top ten" game; SpreadBase, the very first
modeling tool that is category-based.

Tuesday, May 11, 1993: Photoshop 2.5, a report on many more of
its fine functions; Color-It!, an undemanding program for image
editing and painting; Gallery Effects, image enhancement made
automatic; Sys 7.1: Appl. & Mem., how to get better performance
through memory allocation; Word 5.1: Tabs & Links, yet another
detailed look at this program.

Wednesday, May 12, 1993: Hard Drive Prob./Sol., what can go wrong
and possible remedies; Safe & Sound, software that keeps your
disk analyzed and fixed with no upkeep; Redux 1.63, easy, error-
free backup software; Norton Utilities, you really need to have
this one; SyQuest Removable, a dependable, "most-wanted" storage
application; MacEKG II, one way to find out what could be wrong
and fix it.

Thursday, May 13, 1993: Asante Ethernet Solution, a quick scan of
this line of products; System 7.1: Filesharing, a report on this
software feature; Networking Products, error detection and
"traffic" management; Status Mac, FileMaker Pro 2.0, how to use
and/or share FM Pro files on a network.

Friday, May 14, 1993: Macintosh LC III, more power to this one
computer family; Hard Shell Cases, easy-to-carry, lightweight,
rugged computer cases; Anti-Virus, finds, guards against, and
eliminates viruses; World Atlas, an almanac, atlas, and fact book
all in one; Expert Astronomer, the universe (or at least our
galaxy) seen from any vantage point; EndNote Plus/EndLink, how to
produce and reference a bibliography; Apple StyleWriter II, a
review of the newest inkjet printer.

Monday, May 17, 1993: WordPerfect Works, the newest package
integration software; FileMaker Pro 2.0, another look at this
well-liked flat-file database; PayCheck, what every small
business should have for payroll needs; Legal LetterWorks, pre-
existing legal forms - 165 in all; Home Computing/Apple, a short
talk with one who knows the industry well; Swamp Gas Visits USA,
geography taught by an otherworldly being.

Tuesday, May 18, 1993: Apple's PowerBook Line, a look at portable
Macs; On The Road, how to use faxes and print while traveling;
Inline Sync, allows file synchronization between two Macs;
PowerPrint, a myriad of Mac printer selections; Nisus Compact, a
concentrated word processing format.

Wednesday, May 19, 1993: Upgrading Your Mac, what to ask and what
to decide; Rocket/RocketShare, combined software for your Mac,
Turbo 040, performs like a Quadra, inexpensively; Ethernet
Tutorial, shows you Ethernet and what it's good for; Installing
Software, what to look for in System 7; WriteNow 3.0, how to use
style sheets in your documents; FileMaker Pro 2.0, ways to steer
through your database easily.

Thursday, May 20, 1993: In Control, the newest version of this
list manager; TouchBASE 2.0, helps you find your business and/or
personal contacts; Timeslips III, efficient billing for your time
and services; Start Up Folder Items, start your Mac and get to
these immediately; QuickMail 2.6, an overall look at this total
E-mail solution; Word 5.1: Lists/Bullets, more of the ongoing.
comprehensive software review.

Friday, May 21, 1993: Photoshop 2.5, the top program for photo
design and production; Director, the multimedia communications'
standard; Electric Image, the film industry's choice for
animation software; Centris 650, more in our ongoing report on
this latest Mac; Fontek, digital fonts you may want.

Monday, May 24, 1993: PageMaker 5.0, what's better and what's
just been introduced; Dimensions, how to improve artwork within
FreeHand and/or Illustrator; Disc/File Compression, details on
this impressive feature; After Dark & M.A.D., interesting ways to
customize your screen savers; ClarisWorks, once you see it you
may not want anything else; Computer Curmudgeon, a report on a
new computer book.

Tuesday, May 25, 1993: FrameMaker, expert publishing on all
levels; Nisus, complete, feature-filled word processing; Word
5.1: Letterhead, more of our ongoing detailed report on this
software; Commentary: HyperCard, where it's going and what you
might get; QuicKeys2 [squared], shortcuts for commands, and a
customized keyboard; Now Up-to-Date 2.0, "to-do" lists in a
calendar.

Wednesday, May 26, 1993: QuickTime, a first look at this
unequaled communication; Premiere 2.0, how to create and
manipulate QuickTime movies; Action!, add interaction, movement,
and sounds to your presentations; AppleCD 300, the latest CD-ROM
drive; FontStudio 2.0, lets you create typefaces or change what
you already have.

Thursday, May 27, 1993: PowerBookDuo 230, details on this amazing
new Mac; PowerLink Presentor, presentation platform for the
PowerBook Duos; LetterPerfect, sturdy, low-cost, and easy to use;
PBTools, get the power and lose the "junk;" MacLuggage PBs, ways
to keep your PowerBook secure while traveling; Word 5.1: Tables,
hints on how to use this feature.

Friday, May 28, 1993: Now Utilities 4.0, seven ways to enhance
your system in one package; DiskTop, the best, and oldest finder
utility; ON Location, lets you rapidly locate and look at files;
Print Dialogue Box, things to know when you print documents;
SuperATM, the newest ATM improvement; MacTools, a quick look at
disk utilities and data recovery.

Monday, May 31, 1993: Apple Color OneScanner, what to use it for
and how it works; Ofoto 2.0, easy-to-use, automated scanning;
Expert Color Paint, professional features in inexpensive package;
Out of This World; a fantastic adventure game, loaded with
action; Voice Impact/Pro, at last you can give sounds to your
Mac; SoundEdit Pro, a "must have" to record and edit sounds.

(John McCormick/19930507/Press Contact: Wayne Mohr, Executive
Producer PCTV and MacTV, 603-863-9322)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00004)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 05/07/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Computerworld dated May 3 looks at the quagmire of non-standards
in wireless communications plaguing the virtual office market
and says the Motorola MoNet (now Mobile Networks Integration)
technology currently in beta testing faces a major battle in its
attempt to "glue" the market together. Incompatible protocols,
lack of applications, security limitations, and narrow bandwidths
are restricting growth in the field and there is no sign of an
and to the confusion anytime soon. One problem: McCaw Cellular is
focused on vertical applications.

Network World for the first week of May also reports on the
Motorola wireless technology which that publication says will
"simplify sign-on to network services and allow mobile users to
transparently send data and messages." MoNet reportedly supports
a uniform billing method and X.500 directory services.

May's IEEE Spectrum turns its spotlight on the real threat of
virus attacks and in a feature article provides a detailed
analysis of the actual incidence of these near mythical creations
of computer vandals. The most common PC viruses encountered in
1992 were Stoned, Form, Joshi, 1813, Michelangelo, and Cascade,
in that order. "Complete eradication of all viruses is
impossible," according to the article, but it also concludes that
they actually constitute a minor threat with most infections
coming from only a very few of the 1500 known viruses.

June's Unixworld carries an interesting feature on buying and
selling used computers, with a focus on powerful workstations.
The article looks at making purchases through dealers and brokers
and says sales are picking up while prices plunge. Sample prices
listed include 2-year-old Apple Quadra 900s which listed for
$9,000 new selling for under $4,000 used.

(John McCormick/19930507/)


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

America Online Supports Personal Librarian 05/07/93
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- America Online
has selected Personal Library Software's text-retrieval program
as the core search technology for its online services.

The Personal Librarian search algorithms will make it easier for
America Online subscribers to find quick, relevant answers to
text inquiries while using the service, the company says.
"The power, performance and simplicity of Personal Librarian
were convincing," said Steve Case, president of America Online.
"PLS will enable us to offer our members more extensive search
and retrieval functionality without compromising the graphical,
intuitive look and feel of our services."

"Online is an environment that allows our search heuristics to
really shine," said Matthew Koll, president and CEO of PLS.
"We're very pleased to have this opportunity to work with America
Online, a company that's built a reputation for innovation and
success in consumer online services."

America Online offers subscribers a wide variety of services,
including electronic mail, conferencing, news, sports, weather,
stock quotes, software, computing support and online classes.

Personal Library Software offers text-retrieval and document
management software combining intelligent retrieval techniques
with the flexibility of graphical user interfaces. Personal
Librarian manages large databases of text and images using a
"natural language" approach to search and retrieval. PLS markets
its Personal Librarian family of products on a variety of platforms,
including Macintosh, MS-Windows/DOS, UNIX, and VMS.

In other news, Personal Library Software is also developing
AppleSearch-compatible products for major client and server
platforms, including Unix and MS-Windows. AppleSearch, Apple
Computer's new workgroup information search and retrieval product,
consists of an AppleSearch server, built upon the PLS search engine
technology, linked to Apple's intuitive Macintosh client.

"Today's businesses are run on a combination of text, images and
structured data, and on a broad range of computer systems," said
Jim Groff, senior director of Network Servers and Services at
Apple's Enterprise Systems Division. "In putting together our
AppleSearch strategy, we saw great advantage in PLS's track record
of innovation in the field of text-based search and retrieval. And
we are enthusiastic about the work PLS is doing today to create an
integrated information environment that will benefit users of all
kinds."

Personal Library Software has also been licensed to Grolier
Electronic Publishing for use in electronic publishing products,
including CD-ROMs. The company's newest interactive multimedia
publication, The 1993 Guinness Multimedia Disc of Records, is
the first to be based on the new software platform.

(Wendy Woods/19930507/Press Contact: Bill Bennett, Hill and
Knowlton, 408/496-6511)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

US Anti-Software Piracy Actions Applauded 05/06/93
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- The Business Software
Alliance (BSA), a trade group representing major software publishers
in their worldwide fight against software theft, has strongly
applauded the United States' actions under Special 301 Provisions
against countries with inadequate copyright protection.

The US Administration's decisions on possible trade sanctions, and
periodic reviews of copyright protection laws and enforcement
practices in specific countries, were announced under the Special 301
provisions of the 1988 US Trade Act.

Special 301 authorizes the United States to impose trade sanctions
against countries which conduct unfair trade practices, including the
insufficient protection of intellectual property.

In addition, the BSA strongly urged the US Government to adopt tough
guidelines in evaluating the progress of countries which pose
significant problems for the software industry, particularly Taiwan
where software theft continues to thrive.

As part of its decision, the USTR included the Republic of Korea on
the Priority Watch List and Spain on the Watch List as two of the
countries posing the largest risk to the software industry. Losses due
to software theft in Korea in 1991 exceeded $315 million, with 88
percent of software illegally copied.

Taiwan was also placed on the Priority Watch List, with a deadline of
31 July, 1993 for a specific action plan to be drawn up by the Taiwan
Government. Losses to the software industry in Taiwan are estimated by
the BSA to be $585 million annually.

"Because software piracy is still rampant, Taiwan in particular should
be required to make additional changes by the 31 July deadline," said
Alix Parlour, vice president of the BSA for Asia. "We are hopeful that
the USTR recognizes its critical role in evaluating progress.

"These actions will enable the US Government to closely scrutinize
efforts by these countries, particularly Korea and Taiwan, to ensure
that plans to strengthen intellectual protection are adopted and
enforced."

Thirty countries were designated by the USTR in the Special 301
categories, some of which were selected for periodic reviews,
including Spain and Korea. In this new review process, USTR will
examine the progress made by a specific date which will not be
announced publicly.

Other countries that also pose significant problems for the software
industry include Thailand, where the lack of statutory protection for
software is responsible for a 99 percent theft rate and losses of
$49 million, and India. Both were designated as one of three Priority
Foreign Countries.

The USTR will review the progress made by the Thai Government and if
the progress is not satisfactory, the USTR could retaliate by
initiating immediate trade sanctions against Thailand.

The PRC and the Philippines were placed on the Watch List. The PRC is
estimated to have cost the software industry at least $225 million in
1992 through theft, while weak copyright laws and ineffective
enforcement were responsible for losses of $25 million in the
Philippines last year.

Ms Parlour said that the BSA is hopeful that the USTR's efforts will
lead to adoption of stronger copyright protection and vigilant
enforcement campaigns against software theft which generates losses to
the industry of up to $12 billion each year.

(Brett Cameron/19930506/Press Contact: Alix Parlour (BSA): Tel: +852-
804 4240;HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

Texas Instruments Attacks Compaq In Australia 05/07/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has
made significant price reductions across its TravelMate 4000
range in Australia, saying it is taking on established Compaq
and Toshiba markets.

MD Carl Hampel said that since they were launched, the 486
notebooks had been aimed at carefully chosen vertical markets,
with the company building a reputation as a "boutique" supplier.
"This was so successful we now need to move into general markets
if we are to expand business further. "

He said healthy sales allowed the company to reduce prices by up
to 20 percent, making them even more competitive. The range goes
from the 25MHz WinSLC/25 at AUS$3290 to the 40MHz Win DX/40 color
notebook for AUS$7590. "This latest round of price reductions
makes every model the price leader in its market segment. A good
example is our DX2/50 which has been independently tested as the
fastest notebook available. Even machines with a nominally faster
clock speed have failed to meet its throughput under bench testing."

IDC shows Toshiba as leader in Australian notebook sales with 29.2
percent, ahead of Compaq at 20.5 percent.

Dell has just released its new 320SLi and 325SLi slimlne notebook
models in Australia. With 2M of RAM and 120MB hard disks, the
machines are AUS$3100 and AUS$3500 respectively (around US$2170
and US$2450).

(Paul Zucker/19930507)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00008)

Artisoft Australian MD Promoted To US Post 05/07/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Managing director of
Artisoft Australia, Robin Balsdon, has been promoted to a position
with Artisoft's main US office. The company is best known for
its LANtastic peer-to-peer networking software and hardware.
Artisoft's Melbourne office manager, David Thrum, will take over
as general manager for Artisoft Australia.

Balsdon opened the Australian office of Artisoft just over a year
ago, and appointed Merisel as a co-distributor of the products.
Since then sales have increased dramatically. He will become
director, Artisoft International Sales, and will be responsible
for expanding LANTastic's market share in non-US markets.
In particular he will concentrate on new markets such as Africa,
South America, Asia/Pacific, China and Eastern Europe.

At present Artisoft has three international offices and 70
distributors in various countries.

Jack Schoof, chairman and CEO of Artisoft, said, "We aim to
develop our international business to the point where sales
outside the US are on a par with US domestic sales. I feel
confident from Mr Balsdon's track record in Australia that he
will help us achieve this goal in this newly created position."

Balsdon said, "This is a great opportunity for me personally and
an exciting period for Artisoft. I am very much looking forward
to the challenge of tackling areas such as Japan and Eastern Europe
where there is huge potential growth in the networking arena."

Artisoft claims that Novell has issued the following estimates of
LAN operating system market shares in Australia: Novell 60
percent; LANTastic 11 percent; LAN Server 8 percent; LAN Manager
5 percent.

(Paul Zucker/19930507)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00009)

Hutchison-AT&T, Microsoft In E-Mail Alliance 05/07/93
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Hutchison-AT&T Network
Services and Microsoft Hong Kong have announced a strategic alliance
that will make electronic mail a more versatile, economical,
and accessible service for business and personal communication.

Using interface software developed by the two companies, users of
Microsoft Mail, the world's best-selling electronic mail software for
personal computers and networks, will be able to access AT&T EasyLink,
the world's largest and most comprehensive commercial electronic
messaging service.

"This alliance reflects our vision of 'communication anytime,
anywhere,'" said John Kyriaco, managing director, Hutchison AT&T
Network Services. "By signing up for AT&T Mail, Microsoft Mail users
here can now communicate with more than 20 million private and public
mail users around the world."

Said Laurie Kan, country manager of Microsoft Hong Kong: "This is a
breakthrough for e-mail users. The combination of Microsoft Mail and a
global messaging solution from Hutchison-AT&T will dramatically expand
the use and reach of office e-mail, delivering on our vision of
'Information at your fingertips.'"

To encourage greater use of the electronic messaging medium, the two
companies are running a promotion which allows Microsoft Mail users to
sign up for AT&T Mail between now and the end of the year
subscription-free, paying usage charges only. Microsoft Mail users
interested in getting free access to AT&T Mail should contact
Hutchison AT&T Network Services directly.

With the new interface software users of Microsoft Mail 3.0 for local
area networks (LANs) and its stand-alone Remote Mail Client product can
now enjoy seamless access to AT&T Mail. Hong Kong companies will thus
be able to combine LAN- based messaging with public messaging to
integrate remote sites and workers easily and economically and can
extend the communication net to include mobile workers and business
partners as well.

Through the AT&T Mail service, Microsoft Mail users can reach other
Microsoft Mail users, a full range of private mail systems such as IBM
PROFS and DEC All-in-One, and more than 40 public e-mail services
around the world, including Internet and Compuserve.

Microsoft Mail users will also be able to reach correspondents without
access to e-mail through the ability of EasyLink to deliver messages
directly to fax machines, telex and postal services.

Hutchison-AT&T Network Services (HANS), with the local strength and
global capability of Hutchison Telecom and AT&T, is Hong Kong's
leading international value-added services provider and a source for
international telecommunication gateway services.

HANS provides the global messaging service of AT&T EasyLink, including
enhanced facsimile, public and private electronic mail, and electronic
data interchange. Through the EasyLink network, fax and telex messages
travel the world securely, providing cost-effective solutions for
business.

HANS also provides packet switched data services, on-line information
services and customized solutions. HANS clients include large
multinational corporations and major associations.

(Brett Cameron/19930506/Press Contact: Maggie Wong, Hutchison-AT&T,
Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00010)

Review of - Approaching Zero 05/07/93

From: Random House, 201 E. 50th St., New York, NY 10022, 212-572-
2245

Price: $21.50

PUMA rating: 3.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana Blankenhorn 05/07/93

Summary: Approaching Zero: The Extraordinary Underworld of
Hackers, Phreakers, Virus Writers and Keyboard Criminals, by
Bryan Clough and Paul Mungo, is the best book yet on viruses and
computer crime.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Most computer crime books either take the side of the cops or the
robbers. They're black-and-white, like crime books generally.

Journalist Paul Mungo is different. He recognizes the quixotic
idealism of "phone phreakers" like John Draper, alias "Captain
Crunch," idealism which led to the creation of the first PCs. He
also recognizes, perhaps because co-author Bryan Clough of New
Scotland Yard also recognizes, that cops aren't perfect, that
they can make mountains out of molehills in pursuit of publicity,
and that everyone involved in every case is terribly human.
Despite that realism, this book remains on the side of the cops.

Mingo and Clough have a fine, glib writing style which makes this
book very fun to read. They detail all the best-known cases in
computer virus and hacking history, including the least-biased
retelling yet of Newsbytes UK bureau chief Steve Gold's
adventures in the computer underworld, and his subsequent
appearances before the authorities. In fact, the scariest part of
this book for me is how many of the "anti-heroes" in this book
I'm personally acquainted with, from Steve Gold to John Draper to
adventure games publisher Steve Jackson, whom I served as a
reporter for the Rice Thresher, our college newspaper, in the
mid-1970s.

There are only two places where I think the authors went off-
track in their narrative, and I suspect editors are responsible
for both instances. Near the end of Chapter One is a cogent
discussion of how the word "hacker" moved from its original
meaning of elegant, almost musical program-authorship to computer
criminal -- this smells to me like the work of a good tech
editor. The last chapter, "The Future of Cyberspace," indicates
that viruses are multiplying faster than cockroaches, in many
different countries, and protection from their attacks is
impossible. My problem here is simply there is no set-up for the
chapter -- it reads like an after-thought. This seems more the
work of Random House, which uses a digitized cockroach on the
cover and at the front of every chapter to represent the
"intelligent bugs" virus writers and computer crackers introduce
to the systems they infest.

These two quibbles aside, and I think I'd have made the same
editing decisions myself, this is the computer crime book you can
give to anyone, whether a college nerd whose sympathies are with
hackers or a friend who works in law enforcement. The
explanations of the technology are simple and elegant, the
stories are told with verve and humor, the lessons are clear and
unmistakable. I'd even give it to my mother, except she's blind
and will have to wait for the "Books on Tape" version. Might I
suggest they get Douglas Adams to read it?

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 3.5 A tour de force with only minor hitches when the
editors must have their way.

USEFULNESS: 3.5 No word on how to protect yourself from computer
crime, but wisdom on hearing the warnings of computer security
"experts."

MANUAL: 3.5 Fine writing, readable by English or American
readers.

AVAILABILITY: 3.5 At better book stores near you.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930329/Press Contact: Becky Simpson, Random
House, 212-572-2141)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00011)

Japan To Set Up Int'l Standard On Multimedia 05/07/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- The Japanese Ministry of
International Trade and Industry (MITI) plans to create
an international standard for multimedia devices.
The Ministry will gather representatives from electronics
and software firms to discuss the specification of multimedia
devices within a couple of weeks.

The Japanese Ministry's steering committee is being called
Multi-media International Standardization Study Committee,
and it is due to assemble for the first time at the end of
May. Member firms may include audio-visual equipment
makers, computer makers, office equipment makers, computer
software makers, music software makers and university professors.
The actual list of the member firms are still being withheld,
but it is expected to include such big names as NEC, Fujitsu,
Matsushita, Sharp and Sony.

MITI wants to create a tentative standard for multimedia
products by this fall which it will then submit to the
International Electric Standardization Conference in Sydney
this November.

Multimedia devices are booming  in the Japanese market,
but the devices all adhere to different standards, making it
impossible for the devices to exchange data or display the
various formats of voice, text, and motion pictures.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930507)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

International Telecom Update  05/07/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- After the deal-
making, talk has turned in telecom circles to how to finance the
world's network upgrades.

In Hong Kong, the Hutchison Whampoa group did a placement of
stock worth HK$4.48 billion, or US$640 million. That sounds big,
but it was half the figure expected, and the company will need
more money next year to finance its investments in China proper.
After the placement, Chairman Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings
Ltd. still owns 39 percent of the company. He denied that Chinese
investors took any of the new stock.

Elsewhere in China, financial links continue to be forged with
Taiwan. APT Satellite Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong, a consortium for
launching satellites started by two Chinese state-owned firms,
won $10 million in investments from two Taiwanese companies with
links to the government there. Considering the historical enmity
between those two governments, it is a very hopeful sign for
regional peace through profit.

Also in Asia, Intellicall of Dallas, Texas said it has a $20
million contract to sell pay telephones and management equipment
to P.T. Centralindo Panoa Sakti of Indonesia, which won a
concession from the government-owned phone company to provide
public phones in Java and Bali. It's the first contract for
Intellicall in the Pacific Rim.

Debate is growing in Germany over privatizing the Deutsche
Bundespost Telekom to help finance needed improvements to the
networks in the former East Germany. Talks with opposition Social
Democrats on privatization resume May 14, and the head of DBT is
urging quick action.

DBT's competitor in digital GSM cellular telephony, Mannesmann
Mobilfunk, signed contracts worth up to $475 million with
Ericsson to supply equipment. The D2 network already has 200,000
subscribers, only nine months after beginning operations. It was
a big week for the Swedish company all around, as it won a GSM
equipment contract worth $68.5 million with the Turkish PTT, a
$130 million contract for its AXE switches with Thai Telephone
and Telecommunication of Thailand, and a $23 million order from
CANTV of Venezuela, which is controlled by GTE of the US.

Elsewhere in Europe, the financial news was grim. Ascom of
Switzerland will lay off another 1,000 people, following a huge
loss blamed on bad financial controls. A letter to shareholders 5
weeks before the loss announcement predicted a profit, which sank
investor confidence further and will make it harder for the
company to return to profitability. Philips of Holland also said
it is doing poorly, mainly due to the German recession. Price
wars followed the falling market last year, hitting many
companies hard.

Also, the probe into Italy's state-owned phone system is
widening. It's part of a continuing probe into government
corruption which has already taken down the government. Top
officials of the ASST firm have been arrested and more could
follow, as officials investigate how trillions of lire earmarked
toward upgrading that nation's network were in fact spent. ASST
is now part of the IRI state conglomerate after a total
reorganization of the nation's telephone system. Prosecutors say
the telephone system, like other institutions where civil
servants reported to politicians, was "awash" in bribes.

Finally, in the Western hemisphere, talk has turned to finding
equity for Latin American companies in both Mexico and the US.
Mexico's economy has stalled as its NAFTA trade pact with Canada
and the US faces big trouble in ratification, but the nation's
stock exchange remains a great place to raise cash. By listing
other Latin companies, the Mexico City bolsa would also become
more independent, a financial center in its own right. Telebras
of Brazil, Telefonica of Argentina and Chile's Compania de
Telefonos are reportedly all expressing interest in the idea. The
Chilean company is already listed in New York, and other Latin
companies are also looking to tap into that market for capital,
as they bid to improve their infrastructures.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930507/Press Contact: Ericsson, Kathy Egan,
212/685-4030


(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00013)

Editorial -  Computers and Education 05/07/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Comes now respected
Los Angeles Times writer Michael Schrage, warning taxpayers to
watch out for the computer industry's move to sell multimedia
into schools. "Computers are irrelevant to the quality of
education," he writes, urging school districts to ignore them in
favor of getting better teachers.

Having studied the question recently, I'm here to tell Schrage
he's half-right. And half-baked.

Initially, I was in full agreement  with Schrage, because it's
true. Computers alone won't do diddly-squat for the schools.
Districts which spent millions on PCs in  the 80s wasted their
money. Without a coherent plan on what the machines are to be
used for, any money spent on machines is a dead loss.

But computers can create a revolution in education. They can
utterly change the way learning is done, at every grade level.
Instead of having teachers at the front of a room, giving lessons
and tests based on a static curriculum, some school districts now
let kids with computers handle large projects embodying needed
lessons, the teachers moving among groups of kids to help one-on-
one as problems come up. No more "sage on the stage." It's the
"guide on the side." No more curriculum directed by bureaucrats,
or teachers for that matter. Learning should be directed by
students themselves.

Sounds crazy, but it works. Sharon Carver is proving it works, at
an inner-city school affiliated with the University of Rochester.
When at-risk and special-ed youngsters are mainstreamed through
such schools, as they can be with computers, she says, the cost
to taxpayers is no more than what they're paying now, even given
the cost of the equipment.

But here's the problem, and Schrage diagnoses it brilliantly.
Salesmen are pushing "multimedia" as a school district solution,
and some school districts are buying it, thinking that by buying
fancier computers with niftier software they can keep teaching
the old way and kids will suddenly want to learn. That won't
work. The real key is networking. Network each classroom so the
teacher can direct lessons on concepts. Network the classrooms
together to eliminate paperwork. Link the schools to the Internet
so kids can explore the world under teacher guidance.

And here's the most important point. Teach the teachers and
reform the curriculum. Get rid of the walls between subjects and
disciplines. Create projects embodying all the curriculum's
goals, projects kids and teachers can work on together. Then get
out of the kids' way as much as possible. They really do want to
learn. Our society just beats that desire out of them.

Schrage's right about one more thing. The tools needed for this
revolution aren't the ones being sold as "educational
multimedia." They're the same tools that have changed our
offices, tools like NetWare, Microsoft Windows, QuickTime and
HyperCard.

For thousands of years, learning has meant a building and a
teacher at the front of a room, followed by tests. As we've
learned in business, it doesn't have to be that way. By applying
the lessons of our offices to those of our kids, we can transform
their lives.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930507)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00014)

Telus, Toronto Cable Firm Cement UK Cable Deal 05/07/93
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Telus Corp., the
holding company for AGT, the telephone company serving Alberta,
has completed its deal with Toronto-based CUC Broadcasting Ltd.
The two firms plan to offer cable and telephone services in the
area around London, England.

CUC already has six cable franchises in the London area, reaching
more than 620,000 households. The company is Canada's sixth
largest cable television operator.

Telus spokesman Ron Liepert said regulations in the United
Kingdom allow for cable and telephone companies to work together
in ways not permitted in Canada, so the deal offers a way for
Telus to explore new service offerings.

Whereas Canada prohibits telephone companies from entering the
cable business and cable companies from providing phone service,
the UK allows cable television operators to provide local
telephone service. CUC would contract with one of the national
carriers for country-wide network services, said Juris Silkans, a
CUC spokesman. "There's just tremendous growth potential for
telephones in the UK," Silkans said.

Officials of Telus said they plan to spend about C$126 million on
the project over the next five years.

It is Telus' first venture in the UK, and its first
international project outside the telephone business. Telus has a
telecommunications consulting operation in the United States and
has done some work in Asia.

(Grant Buckler/19930507/Press Contact: Judy Williams, Telus,
403-530-3990; Juris Silkans, CUC Broadcasting, 416-292-2919)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00015)

Unitel, AT&T Sue Stentor, MCI Over Network Patents 05/07/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- In the latest stage
of an ongoing battle between two cross-border telecommunications
partnerships, Canada's Unitel Communications and US-based
AT&T have a filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Stentor
and MCI.

Stentor is the consortium of Canada's established regional
telephone companies; MCI is an American long-distance carrier.
Unitel is a Canadian data communications and long-distance
carrier.

Unitel and AT&T are accusing Stentor and MCI of infringing four
AT&T patents covering intelligent network services. The four
patents, which are among 10 over which AT&T is already suing MCI
in the US, are licensed to Unitel in Canada.

Stephanie MacKendrick, a spokeswoman for Unitel in Toronto, said
her company and AT&T are seeking unspecified punitive and
exemplary damages from the two defendants, along with a permanent
injunction barring Stentor from using the allegedly infringing
MCI technology in Canada.

Unitel and AT&T announced a deal in January that gave Unitel the
right to use certain AT&T technology to provide virtual private
network services in Canada. The agreement also set up joint
marketing of such services by the two companies, and gave AT&T a
20-percent stake in Unitel.

That deal followed an agreement between Stentor and MCI, signed
last September, that gave Stentor rights to similar intelligent
network technology developed by MCI. That deal did not involve an
equity position in Stentor for MCI.

This is not the first sign of trouble between the two
partnerships. Last November, AT&T protested to American federal
regulators that MCI's cooperation with Stentor violated US
rules against exclusive deals between US and foreign carriers.
AT&T also told Stentor and MCI at that time that their use of
MCI's network services in Canada and between Canada and the US
would infringe AT&T's Canadian patents, according to Unitel
officials.

In January, AT&T filed a suit against MCI in a US court,
claiming infringement of 10 patents on intelligent network
features. The four patents under dispute in Canada are among
those 10, MacKendrick said.

Stentor officials could not be reached for comment by Newsbytes'
deadline.

(Grant Buckler/19930507/Press Contact: Stephanie MacKendrick,
Unitel, 416-345-2482)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00016)

 ****Broadway Shows To Get Online Database For Touring 05/07/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- While computers
have been used in Broadway theater for some time to control
sound and lighting effects, the latest advance is Stage Specs
II, an online database of the hundreds of theaters in the US
where touring Broadway shows perform.

The League of American theaters and Producers is funding the
planned Stage Specs II online system which will offer specific
information about each theater's specifications, contact information
of key personnel at the theater, and even an Autocad three-dimensional
rendering of each theater.

The database is an offshoot of the Stage Specs guide to
theaters, first published in 1990, that details theater
information and is considered "must reading" for managers and
technicians involved in every musical and play that goes out on
the road. David Bosboom, the system operator of the Stage Specs
bulletin board service (BBS) said, "It used to be that when you
were going to a new theater, you quickly tried to think of a
buddy who'd been there that you could call." Bosboom maintains
there are hundreds of facts needed to tour a show at a theater
including what kind of equipment the theater has, the number of
dressing rooms, the distance from the stage floor to the grid
above, the width of the stage, who is the owner, the manager,
the carpenter, and so on.

Stage Specs II will offer 400 items of information on each of
375 theaters nationwide. The new version offers 30 percent
more information than the first version of Stage Specs, which
sold 1,300 copies.

While Stage Specs II is being readied for publication, Bosboom
says this will be the last edition as the BBS will become the
source for the most current information. Callers will be able
to select a theater, then download two pages of information on
that theater. Bosboom said the first page will have the theater
dimensions and contact information for critical people such as
booking agents and theater managers. Also on the first page
will be a three-dimensional drawing that offers a bird's eye
view of the actual space. The second page will detail specific
information such as the equipment available, the number of
dressing rooms, according to Bosboom.

While users can download information, Bosboom hopes to the
information available for view online and to also offer a fax
back service to those who don't have access to a computer and
modem.

The three-dimensional view is being done with Autocad, which
was donated to the project by developer Autodesk. Bosboom said
eventual plans for the electronic version include information
that is so specific that shows can take an Autocad rendition of
the set they built for the show and place it in the actual
theater to which they're traveling to see if it fits before
ever setting foot on site. Bosboom says now scenic designers
face the expensive and time consuming process of physically
placing the set design in each theater and making modifications
on site if it doesn't fit.

Plans for the BBS include electronic mail for theater industry
personnel. Bosboom says he hopes to tie in with the Medianet in
San Diego as well as New York-based Rime (Relaynet
International Message Exchange) where theater, film, and
television people exchange electronic mail messages concerning
industry issues.

Stage Specs II is expected to be available from The League of
American theaters and Producers in June for $95 and purchase of
the book comes with a one year free subscription to the Stage
Specs BBS. The BBS is expected to be fully functional in July
of this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930507/Press Contact: Diana Cantu, Stage
Specs, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Stage Specs BBS 914-
337-9070; Stage Specs II information is available from The
League of American theaters and Producers, 226 W 47th St, New
York, NY 10036, Atten: Road Resources Department)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00017)

Kaleida Offers Scriptx As Multimedia Standard 05/07/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- In
response to an open request Interactive Multimedia Association
(IMA) for technology from which to develop a standard for
multimedia, Kaleida Labs has offered Scriptx, its multimedia,
object-oriented scripting language. Kaleida says a uniform
standard is holding the industry back and the company is hoping
Scriptx's design will be adopted.

Scriptx is designed for the playback of multimedia on a variety
of personal computer platforms, workstations, personal digital
assistants, and consumer electronic products. Kaleida, a joint
effort between Apple and IBM, maintains Scriptx is still under
development and is not releasing any details as to the
product's release or other products under development.

According to Scott Swix, standards engineer at Kaleida,
detailed specifications of Scriptx were provided to the IMA in
answer to its call for technology including descriptions of
object classes that Scriptx will use and a description of the
architecture of the product.

The IMA, a multimedia trade association with over 200 member
companies, made three requests for technology (RFTs) recently
as part of its Compatibility Project. Those requests included a
universal scripting language, multimedia services, and
multimedia data exchange. Kaleida said it has only responded to
the multimedia scripting language request.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930507/Press Contact: Kim Criswell, Criswell
Communications, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00018)

Multimedia Cable Nets Planned 05/07/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Instant Video
Technologies reports it has teamed up with I-NET to design and
implement multimedia networks for the cable television industry.

The company's patented, "Instant Video" technology involves transmission
of video/audio in a single "burst transmission" in a fraction of the
"real time" normally associated with viewing or listening to it,
according to Wayne Van Dyck, chairman and chief executive
officer of Instant Video. "Instant Video intends to develop and
commercialize its technologies and patents through a program of
strategic partnerships with major companies in communications,
broadcasting, cable television, computer and consumer electronic
arenas. The teaming agreement announced today with I-NET is a
significant first partnership for our company as we begin to
implement our program."

I-NET Inc., headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a privately held
company engaged in the merging of imaging and network technologies
in support of the design, integration and installation of wide
area networks. Clients include Westinghouse, Enron Oil, the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Kennedy Space Center.
Mr. Gary Irving, program director for Imaging Systems of I-NET, stated:
"This teaming agreement with Instant Video provides I-NET with an
outstanding opportunity to continue to penetrate the emerging interactive
multi-media marketplace in concert with an exciting, well-positioned
young company."

I-NET will provide IVT with engineering, project management and
installation support as IVT contracts to design, engineer, and build
interactive networks utilizing IVT's patented technology.
IVT and I-NET will negotiate a subcontract agreement as each such
contract is presented, the two sides said.

(Wendy Woods/19930507/Press Contact: Instant Video Technologies,
Wayne Van Dyck, 415/391-4455; I-NET Inc., Bethesda, Gary Irving,
301/564-6874)


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00019)

Review of - Swamp Gas and Swamp Gas Visits Europe, FOR MAC 05/07/93

Runs on: Macintoshes

From: Inline Design, 308 Main St., Lakeville, CT 06039 603-435-4995

Price: Swamp Gas - $49.95; Swamp Gas Visits Europe - $59.95

PUMA rating: 4 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for NEWSBYTES by: Naor Wallach

Summary: A pair of games that are fun to play and that teach
you geography.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Swamp Gas and Swamp Gas Visits Europe are two instances of a
program that helps teach geography to children ages six and up.
The two programs are very similar and differ only in the
geographical areas that they cover.

Each program comes on two diskettes with versions of the
program for color and B&W Macintoshes. There is also a
brief users manual.

There is a minor difference in the installation procedures
between the two programs. The original Swamp Gas had you pick
which files you needed directly from the diskettes while Swamp
Gas Visits Europe uses Apple's Installer to do essentially
the same thing.

The name Swamp Gas originated from the top secret investigation
that the United States Government conducted into a flurry of
sightings of unidentified flying objects in the 1950s. In their
conclusions, the government stated that the objects were weather
balloons, plastic dinnerware, exotic birds, strange cloud
formations, or ... swamp gas!

The games are played similarly. Up to four players, or teams of
players, can participate in the game and they play against each
other. Each player gets to choose his or her spacecraft and are
then dropped off from the mother ship somewhere in the middle of
the territory that is to be investigated. Each player is given
a mission to visit a certain number of locations within the
targeted area. The game can be tailored to the knowledge level
of the children with the selection of the number of locations
that need to be visited and the kinds of locations that they
are.

For instance, in the simplest level, a player is asked to visit
US states and countries in Europe. At a higher level, capitals
are included. At the next higher level the players are required
to visit certain landmarks and so on up the difficulty chain.

In addition to this difficulty selection it is also possible
to activate a random "Close encounter." These encounters are
actually trivia questions about the areas being visited (i.e.
US or Europe).

The spaceships are shown on a map of the area that is being played.
The map of the US has each state in a different color as are
each country in the European game. Within each political entity,
certain locations are depicted with icons. The icons are either
of a building - to denote a city - a landscape scene, or an
obelisk for a monument of some kind. The iconized locations
are connected to each other with faint grey lines. Not all
the icons are connected to all the other icons directly.
Travel is only possible between the icons that are connected
with a grey line.

To move from location to location the player clicks on the next
location in the direction desired.

When a player reaches a location that is a part of his goal,
that player is asked a question about the location. For
instance, upon entering New York for the first time, the program
might ask the player to identify the state capital. The program
also shows four possible answers. Of course only one of the
answers is correct. If the player presses the mouse button
on the right answer, a little Swamp Gas creature pops up and
says "Correct" and play continues. If a mistake is made,
the Swamp Gas creature pops up and sighs "Wrong."
The player's spaceship is moved back to the location from which
it came, and it's the next player's turn.

The game is timed. If you do not complete your itinerary within
the allotted time, the game is over. The idea is to get to every
location in the shortest amount of time. Once you have completed
your itinerary, you are given a set of bonus points based on
how much time was left on your clock. That score is kept in a
best of day and best ever displays that can be shown at any time.

There is another feature to the game that is designed to help
maintain interest. Once all the players have completed play,
the game offers you the option of playing another round,
quitting, or entering the Alien Arcade. Each Alien Arcade has
three arcade games built into it which are sure to draw the
kids into trying them out. These arcade games are the program's
way of rewarding the children for learning.

There are two different sets of three games in each of the
Swamp Gasses. So, if you have both games, the children won't
get bored too easily. The arcade games are based on popular
arcade games and are relatively easy to master.

In the course of my review I played the game myself, against
other adults, and with several children of various ages.
Universally, the game was liked. While everyone recognized
the educational aspects of the programs, none were turned off
by it. Quite the opposite happened, in fact. Both the children
and the adults commented on how well the program operated
and on how much they felt they were learning just by moving
around the target areas. The different options on the level
of difficulty added enough spice to the games that the adults
did not get bored too easily, while the eight year olds
could still handle the game and have fun with it.

The arcade games at the end were definitely more of a hit with
the younger set than with the adults.

I spoke with Inline Design and found out that they are not
planning any more games along these lines at this time. That
is a shame as it is easy to see how this game can be quickly
and easily expanded to cover Asia and Africa as well. The game
is current in its political boundaries -- the European map
shows the European set of countries that broke off from the
USSR and also reflects the division of Yugoslavia into the
various countries.

There are, however, some oddities. For instance, Serbia is not
shown - what is located at that area is called Yugoslavia.
Also the separation of Czechoslovakia into two countries is
not yet reflected in the game. I guess no one can keep up with
the rapid changes occurring in the world today!

There were no technical glitches. There was enough humor and
fun to these games that I enjoyed playing this game over and over.

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 4 This is an entertaining educational game yet
manages to teach geography.

USEFULNESS: 4 Apart from some minor glitches in the presentation
of the rapidly evolving Europe, this game is accurate
and fun. Some of the kids that helped me review it wanted
to go back to it on several occasions.

MANUAL: 4 It is brief but contains all of the information needed.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Available from mail order and software stores.
These games are also being highlighted by several of the mail
order catalogs that I receive.

(Naor Wallach/19930418/Darryl Peck, Inline Design, 308 Main St.,
Lakeville, CT 06039 203-435-4995)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)

Microsoft Upgrades MS Word For DOS 05/07/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- In simultaneous
announcements across the world, Microsoft announced that it
will soon release an upgrade to its popular word processing program
for DOS, Microsoft Word.

MS Word For DOS Version 6 was announced in Australia, Canada,
Germany, the United Kingdom and the US yesterday, and the company
said the new version will be available in 10 languages worldwide,
including Australian English, British English, French,
French-Canadian, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Word For DOS is a text-based program used by millions of personal
computer users who haven't made the switch to Windows yet. However,
it you upgrade to Word 6.0 for DOS and later switch to Windows, you
don't have to pay full price for the Windows edition. A Microsoft
spokesperson told Newsbytes that under a dual license concept,
users of Word for DOS 6.0 will receive a "fulfillment card" with the
software that will entitle them to upgrade to Word For Windows 6.0 at
no cost by sending in the card or calling the customer service number
listed on the card.

Word For DOS version 5.0 was released in November 1988, and Microsoft
released version 5.5 two years later. The program has received a
number of awards including PC World magazine's Best Buy in 1991, PC
Magazine's Editor's Choice award in 1990, and Germany's Stiftung
Warentest's Best Word Processor recognition in 1991.

Microsoft Senior VP of Desktop Applications Pete Higgins says that
while there is a shift away from character-based word processing
programs as users move to the Windows and Macintosh platforms, users
still need to support a mix of platforms. "We designed version 6.0 as
a great upgrade for current users of Word for MS-DOS who still need a
character-based word processor that requires minimum disk space and
can run well on a 80286 or a low-end 80386 microprocessor machine."

Features of the new edition include drag and drop editing, tables,
support for TrueType fonts, and automatic bullets. There's a new
high-resolution print preview mode, and the menu structure is more
consistent with other Microsoft programs like Excel and Powerpoint.

The new Table tool allows the user to insert a table of information
in his or her word processing document in one step, while Automatic
Bullets allow adding bullets or numbers to selected text. Bullets are
symbols used to draw attention to specific items in a document.

Microsoft has also implemented drag and drop editing, a feature first
introduced in Word for the Mac and Word for Windows that allows text
to be selected then moved to another location or deleted with a few
mouse clicks.

The new release now supports TrueType fonts, and a feature called New
Ribbon gives one-click access to common formatting functions such as
changing fonts, indenting or unindenting, and selecting text formats
such as bold, italic, or underlined.

Word For DOS 6.0 also incorporates Grammatik, the grammar checking
program purchased recently by Microsoft, and a Print Preview mode
allows the user to magnify the document image up to 200 percent.
Print Merge Helper is a step-by-step guide to creating mail merge,
and the user can now select special symbols and foreign language
characters from a single palette.

Also included is a multilingual spelling checker that can check the
spelling of a document that is prepared in more than one language,
making the check in a single pass. A Line and Border tool frames
tables and text, and an integrated outlining tool makes the
organizing of long documents easier. Microsoft says it has also added
new macro capabilities that make it easier to create envelopes and
mailing labels in most popular sizes.

There's also a Word 5.0 Transition aid that explains the differences
between version 5 and the new release, and Help for Wordperfect
guides Wordperfect users in performing their tasks in Word 6.0. The
program also includes improved file conversion tools to convert from
formats such as Word for Windows, Word for the Mac, Wordperfect,
Multimate, Displaywrite, and Wordstar.

System requirements for Word for DOS 6.0 include at least 384
kilobytes (K) of system memory (Microsoft recommends 512K), and a
minimum of 1.5 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space for the minimum
installation (full install needs 5.5MB).

The new version has a suggested retail price of $495, but licensees
of any previous version can upgrade for $99 until the end of
September. After then it will cost you $129 to upgrade. The company
says it will release license packs later in the year in 20 and 100
unit quantities, and an academic version will be available for $99.
Word for DOS 6.0 is expected to ship by the end of May.

(Jim Mallory/19930507/Press contact: Lisa Matchette, Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft, 800-426-9400 or
206-882-8080)


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

Cray Computer Loses $11.5M In 1Q 05/07/93
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Cray Computer
Corporation says it sustained a net loss of more than $11.5 million
in the first quarter of 1993. That's $0.47 per share, but less than
the $13.94 million ($0.58 per share) loss reported for the same
period last year.

Cray's Chief Financial Officer William Skolout says the loss was less
than the previous year primarily due to reduced research and
development costs for the Cray-3 supercomputer. Skolout says the
company had a cash position of about $19.5 million at the end of the
quarter, slightly better than expected. Cray had said that if it did
not sell one of its gallium arsenide-based supercomputers it would
run out of money this summer.

That may not happen however, since the company seems to be very close
to delivering the first Cray-3 to the National Center for Atmospheric
Research (NCAR) which is presently engaged in site preparation for a
mid-May delivery of a demonstration and evaluation unit. NCAR is
currently running applications on the Cray-3 remotely while Cray
works on improving performance and functionality of the system.

Cray's financial statement for the first quarter shows all its
assets, including cash and short-term investments; other current
assets; property, plant and equipment; and other assets were all down
from the end of the previous year, with total assets presently about
$55.5 million, compared to $66.7 million at the end of December.
Cray reports $4.5 million in current liabilities, unchanged over the
previous quarter, and stockholder's equity of $51 million, down about
$11 million from the end of December.

(Jim Mallory/19930507/Press contact: William Skolout, Cray Computer,
719-579-6464; Reader contact: Cray Computer, 719-579-6464)


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

Microsoft Will Stop Selling COBOL 05/07/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- The world's largest
software company says it will no longer sell its COBOL professional
development software after June 30th, instead opting to support the
COBOL software of a California company.

The announcement came less than two months after Microsoft announced
availability of COBOL 5.0 for Windows and one month after the company
said it was shipping the non-Windows 5.0 edition.

This week's announcement says that instead of selling its own
Common Business Oriented Language software Microsoft will support the
market's need for COBOL by reinforcing its five-year-old alliance
with Micro Focus. The alliance was based on an OEM license from Micro
Focus to Microsoft for the COBOL compiler and debugging technology
offered in Microsoft's COBOL offering.

According to Steve Ballmer, Microsoft executive vice president of
sales and support, "We made this decision because Microsoft recognizes
that corporate MIS customers require an extensive range of tools and
a high level of support when downsizing their mission-critical
applications." Ballmer says it makes sense for Microsoft to align
itself with what he called "the best companies providing unique
client-server solutions, like Micro Focus."

Under terms of the strengthened agreement, both companies will
promote Micro Focus's COBOL, and Microsoft will work with it to
transition existing COBOL customers to Micro Focus products. They
will also work on establishing a migration path for COBOL-based
mission-critical business applications to Microsoft operating
systems. "By working strategically with Microsoft, we will not only
be able to provide Microsoft's customers with versions of COBOL for
the Win32 API that best exploit the platform, but we will be able to
get them to market much faster," says Micro Focus President John
Beggs.

Part of the transition calls for "attractive trade-in and
upgrade pricing," product support, and assistance in migrating
existing COBOL applications to the Micro Focus environment.
That will reportedly include a mail campaign to current Microsoft
COBOL users. The trade-in will reportedly be at no cost to users of
MS COBOL 5.0 except shipping costs. Users of earlier versions (4.0,
4.5) will pay what a Microsoft spokesperson described as "very
reasonable," but said the price hasn't been set yet.

Asked by Newsbytes why Microsoft was abandoning its COBOL efforts
just weeks after announcing the most recent version, a Microsoft PR
spokesperson admitted it "might be poor timing." He said the new head
of development tools, Roger Heinen is taking a hard look at many
aspects of his department and made the decision to drop COBOL. "COBOL
never has been a strong part of Microsoft's business, and Microsoft
has depended on Micro Focus for the technology, since it was an OEM
product. It makes more sense to work with Micro Focus."

Former COBOL Product Manager John Bennett, now marketing manager in
the scientific and business tools unit, agrees that Microsoft isn't
really abandoning the COBOL market. "The end of the contract forced
us to focus on what market opportunities we could take advantage of
directly versus indirectly. We are going to work closely with Micro
Focus to make sure that their product exploits the platform, and
to make sure their product is tightly integrated with ours. We can't
compete on all platforms. We're trying to become much more tightly
focused."

Micro Focus says its COBOL language will support applications written
in MS COBOL, although the PR spokesperson told Newsbytes there could
be a few problems. "The two are essentially the same thing. The core
compiler is Micro Focus," said Bennett. The COBOL interfaces to
Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft's Visual Basic programming system
graphical user interface will continue to be supported.

Micro Focus will also market the complete line of Microsoft products
as part of its Windows-based customer applications.

(Jim Mallory/19930507/Press contact: Monica Harrington, Microsoft,
206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft, 800-426-9400 or
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

Tandy Announces New Retail Formats 05/07/93
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Tandy Corporation says
it will offer consumers a choice of four new retailing formats, each
with is own unique marketing and merchandising niche.

Tandy says it will open two Computer City Express stores by the end
of year. The Express outlets will average 8,000-10,000 square feet of
store space, smaller than the company's existing Computer City
SuperCenters, which are about 25,000 square feet each. Company
President Alan Bush says the smaller stores will enable the company
to further penetrate existing markets and increase access to new
markets in downtown business areas.

Computer City presently operates 19 SuperCenters in the US and two in
Europe, and plans to open an additional 16 US stores each year over
the next three years. A third European store is also scheduled later
this year. The new Radio Shack Express outlets will be about half the
average size of the company owned stores, and will carry about
three-quarters of the most popular electronics products sold in
existing Radio Shack stores. Radio Shack Executive VP James Nichols
says he expects the Radio Shack express stores to attract new
customers, increase the company's visibility as a retailer, and
accelerate industry growth. The company says it will open four Radio
Shack Express stores this summer, with an eventual goal to have 12
outlets in operation by the end of the year.

Tandy's new Famous Brand Electronics outlets will be located in
outlet shopping malls, most of which are remote from major
metropolitan markets. The company says the stores are expected to
attract tourists and bargain-conscious shoppers, and will carry a
product mix of audio and video products including new, renewed,
blemished, clearance and factory-overstocked consumer electronics
items from Radio Shack and other manufacturers. The company plans an
initial opening of five Famous Brand outlets.

Perhaps the most unique of the new store formats is Energy Express
Plus, free standing kiosks in malls which will specialize in
hard-to-find batteries as well as carrying a selection of name-brand,
high-impulse consumer electronics products including cordless phones,
watches, calculators, hearing aids, and pagers. They will also stock
portable radios and televisions, data banks, electronic games and
accessories, flashlights, radar detectors, power adapters, and
personal travel items.

Tandy Chairman and CEO John Roach says the kiosks will be positioned
in high traffic mall areas and in non-competitive locations from
Radio Shack stores. "We also expect to attract a larger number of
female customers with the stylish and open atmosphere of a kiosk
location," says Roach. The company also plans to use the Energy
Express Plus format to test customer acceptance of new technology
products before putting them in the Radio Shack stores. The first
four stores are scheduled to open in Irving, Texas; Las Vegas,
Nevada; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Harlingen, Texas.

Asked by Newsbytes if more stores with different names might confuse
consumers or dilute Tandy selling, a spokesperson said it wouldn't.
"Each format will complement and fill in spaces that we believe are
niches that aren't being met right now. We believe we can take care
of our customers in a better way," the spokesperson told Newsbytes.

(Jim Mallory/19930507/Press contact: Fran McGehee, Tandy Corporation,
817-390-3487; Reader contact: Contact your local Radio Shack store)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

Britain Readies For Final Sell-off Of BT Stake 05/07/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- The British Government has
announced that its remaining 22 percent stake in British Telecom
(BT) will be sold off this summer.

As with previous sell-offs of its BT stake, the government has
appointed SG Warburg to oversee the sale, although, because of
the size of the monies involved -- estimated to be around UKP
8,000 million -- several share registrars are likely to be sub-
contracted by Warburgs.

Sources close to the government suggest that the actual share
sale will take place after the summer is over, as many potential
buyers of the shares will be on holiday and so unable to withdraw
their savings to invest in the share offer until late August.

The first shares in BT were sold in 1984, when around 51 percent
of the government's stake in the telecoms company was sold off.
18 months ago, the government sold more than half of the
remaining stake, raising UKP 5,500 million, mostly from the
general public who bought several hundred shares at a time.

To help the sale go through more quickly, BT has brought forward
its final quarter and full year's profit announcements by seven
days to May 13. Several analysts have suggested that this may be
due to the fact that the government wants to hurry the sale
through, possibly over the next few months.

Apart from the announcement that the 22 percent remaining stake
will be sold off, neither the Government nor BT has made any
further comment about the sale.

(Steve Gold/19930507)


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

Olivetti Unveils M6 Suprema PCs 05/07/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Olivetti has unveiled a range
of premium machines that it claims offer a range of features at
an all-in price that beats the competition. The new machines are
M6 Suprema series, which consist of PCs based around the Intel
80486SX, DX and DX2 microprocessors.

"Over recent months, the PC market has broken into various
purchasing elites," commented Dominic Macey, Olivetti's product
marketing manager.

"The launch of the price sensitive M300-02 and 28 last October
marked the first phase of our move to reflect this segmentation,"
he said, adding that the M6 Suprema series are fast and offer a
wide range of exciting features as standard.

Mike McCormac, Olivetti's marketing manager of the company's
systems division, said that the M6 Suprema series are aimed at
the high end of the business marketplace.

"We have two sets of PCs available. The price sensitive ones are
aimed at the budget user, and, at the high end, the M6 Suprema
series. These are more value-added than their predecessors," he
said.

McCormac added that the 486SX, DX and DX2-based machines, which
kick off at UKP 1,599, have been developed due to the clear
segmentation of the market that has occurred over the last year.

Olivetti claims that Windows users will benefit from accelerated
graphics on the M6 Suprema, based on the most sophisticated local
bus technology currently available - the ATI Mach 32 chipset with
1 megabyte (MB) of video RAM.

The M6-240, the 33MHz 486SX-based Suprema, which comes with 4MB
of RAM and a choice of 85, 1270 or 240MB hard disks, costs UKP
1,599. The similarly configured 33MHz 486DX M6-440 costs UKP
1,809, while the flagship M6-460 costs UKP 2,239.

(Steve Gold/19930507/Press & Public Contact: Olivetti UK - Tel:
081-785-6666)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00026)

Apple Worldwide Developers Conf Set For Next Week 05/07/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- More than
3,000 third-party software application and hardware developers
are expected at Apple Computers annual Apple Worldwide
Developers Conference next week in San Jose, California.

The week-long conference will cover such subjects as Apple's
business and technology directions, in-depth technical
information on current and upcoming technologies, and
development opportunities in a variety of emerging markets.

In referring to the conference, Kirk Loevner, vice president of
the Apple Developer Group, said: "The Worldwide Developers
Conference is a tremendous forum to exchange information
with our developer business partners. Our developers learn
first hand about our vision of the future, and Apple gets
invaluable feedback that helps shape that future to ensure
our mutual success."

According to the company, conference attendees will
participate in more than 100 technology presentations and
panel discussions throughout the week. Keynote speeches
will feature a strategic overviews of Apple's business directions
and strategies from John Sculley and other executives from
Apple product and marketing divisions.

The conference sessions feature four main tracks: The
Macintosh Desktop, Servers and Services, Mobile Computing,
and Tools and Integration. According to the company, major
topics will include Apple's overall technology framework;
Macintosh on PowerPC; collaborative, scripting, and imaging
extensions to System 7; cross-platform development tools;
client/server application development; and development
opportunities in enterprise, mobile, and multimedia markets.

Apple plans to distribute the WWDC '93 New Technologies CD
to all registered conference attendees. The CD contains
materials for more than 15 software technologies, tools, and
documentation, ranging from pre-release to final versions.

Among the CD contents are the first major pre-release
version of QuickDraw GX, Apple's new imaging technology for
color publishing and an updated pre-release version of AOCE
(Apple Open Collaboration Environment), a platform for
integrated electronic communications, workgroup and workflow
applications

Technical labs will let attendees meet individually with Apple
engineers to get advice on specific programming projects.

The conference is being held May 10 through May 14 at the
San Jose Convention Center.

Jackie Promes, spokesperson for Apple, told Newsbytes that
"it is strongly recommended" that developers pre-register
to attend the conference, as "walk-ins" will be accepted
"depending on space available." Promes told Newsbytes that
the price of the conference is $1,300 for the week, or $400
per day. That price includes "all sessions and lunch."

(Ian Stokell/19930507/Press Contact: Jackie Promes,
408-974-3609, Apple Computer Inc.)


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

HP Intros OpenWarehouse 05/07/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard has released HP OpenWarehouse, which the company
claims is the first fully scalable open-systems product for data
warehousing.

According to HP, in contrast to mainframe-based and proprietary
data-warehousing offerings, HP's OpenWarehouse is the first
available data-warehousing solution that conforms to industry-
accepted open-system standards.

Jim Christensen, spokesman for HP, told Newsbytes that data-
warehousing "fills the needs of information technology (IT)
management and decision-support data base personnel. It
provides subject-oriented historical data and allows them to
make fast decisions."

In announcing the product, Richard W. Sevcik, general manager
for HP's Systems and Servers Group, said: "By taking an open-
systems approach, HP can offer a data-warehousing (product)
at a small fraction of the cost of proprietary (products). HP
OpenWarehouse is open, not only because it is built on a
standards-based system, but also because it offers businesses
a choice in databases and best-of-class tools. The real
strength of HP OpenWarehouse is that it can deliver the
flexibility of open systems, as well as the safety, security and
reliability benefits usually associated with more expensive,
proprietary solutions."

According to HP, OpenWarehouse provides full scalability on a
single-platform to meet the needs of departments and small
business units to very large enterprises.

OpenWarehouse integrates a number of products, including Red
Brick Warehouse from Red Brick Systems, Prism Warehouse
Manager from Prism Solutions, Extract from Evolutionary
Technologies, Enterprise Data Access/SQL from Information
Builders, Open Development Environment from Open
Environment and HP Information Access.

According to HP, future releases of HP OpenWarehouse will
include support for business modeling through use of OpenODB,
HP's object-oriented database.

(Ian Stokell/19930507/Press Contact: Jim Christensen,
408-447-1678, Hewlett-Packard Co.)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00028)

Cisco Systems Posts 3Qtr Earnings 05/07/93
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- Another
networking equipment vendor has posted sizeable earnings
for a quarter. Cisco Systems has reported its third quarter
results for the period ended April 25, 1993.

Net sales for the quarter were $172,362,000 and net income
was $46,299,00, or 36 cents per share, compared to net sales
of $91,374,000 and net income of $23,231,000, or 18 cents per
share, in the same period last year.

In announcing the earnings, John Morgridge, Cisco's president
and chief executive officer, said: "Once again, Cisco's financial
results this quarter reflect the continued growth of the market
for our products as well as excellent execution by our
employees and partners.

"During the quarter we augmented the capabilities and
availability of our two newest access routers - the Cisco 4000
and Cisco 3103. The new Cisco 4000 with FDDI (fiber distributed
data interchange) will allow our customers to lower their cost
of networking remote sites with this 100-Mbps fiberoptic media,
and the ISDN (integrated services digital network)-capable
Cisco 3103 has now been certified for sale in the North
American, German, and French markets. Previously the 3103
was only available for customers in Japan."

Net sales for the nine months were $443,812,000 and net
income was $118,236,000, or 92 cents per share, compared to
net sales of $228,932,000 and net income of $57,146,000, or
45 cents per share in the same period last year.

The company says that the net income per share and number of
shares used in per share calculations for the periods ended
April 26, 1992 reflect the two-for-one stock split that
was effective March 5, 1993.

According to Morgridge, partnerships had a lot to do with the
good performance. "In terms of partnerships, Cisco continues to
expand its relationships with market leaders. During the quarter
we announced a worldwide original equipment manufacturing
(OEM) agreement with Ericsson in Sweden. Cisco also opened new
subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Mexico to support our distribution
partners in those markets."

(Ian Stokell/19930507/Press Contact: Jeffrey Paine,
415-903-7191, Cisco Systems)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00029)

ChipSoft Extends Expiration Offer For Meca 05/07/93
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- ChipSoft's
attempt to acquire Meca Software is continuing, despite an
inquiry by the Antitrust Division of the Department of
Justice.

ChipSoft says that its wholly owned subsidiary, Greenco
Subsidiary, has extended the expiration of its offer
to purchase all outstanding common stock of MECA
Software in order to "facilitate ChipSoft's ability to
respond to the previously announced inquiry of the Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice."

The tender offer, set to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York
City time, on Wednesday, May 12, 1993, has been extended to
12:00 midnight, New York City time, on Wednesday, May 19,
1993.

ChipSoft says that the Depositary, Chemical Trust Company
of California, has informed the company that, as of May 6,
1993, approximately 245,405 shares have been deposited
"pursuant to the tender offer."

(Ian Stokell/19930507/Press Contact: William H. Lane, or
Debra Kelley, 619-453-7887, ChipSoft Inc.)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Viacom Buys Multimedia Software Firm 05/07/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 7 (NB) -- New York
entertainment company Viacom, which produces and distributes the
Montel Williams Show, Perry Mason, and Matlock, announced it
has completed the acquisition of multimedia software developer
ICOM Simulations. Viacom says ICOM will be the research end of
its New Media division, formed last year.

ICOM has received attention, making The Bureau of Electronic
Publishing's top ten best selling compact disc read-only memory
(CD-ROM) titles, with Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective.
Icom distributes its Sherlock Holmes titles in formats
compatible with DOS and Microsoft Windows on the IBM compatible
personal computer (PC) platform and on Apple's Macintosh
platform as well. The company has also developed cartridge-
based games video games for play on home entertainment systems.

With Sega's entry into the cable television market, a new
market for interactive games delivered via cable is opening.
Time Warner recently announced it will introduce a game channel
called the Sega Channel which will debut this fall. The Sega
Channel will offer a carousel of video games on an as-needed
basis and will require a special decoder for use by owners of
Sega Genesis systems. While the games cannot be saved, Time
Warner estimates it can get from eight to ten dollars per month
for the service, which is also the range of other pay cable
services like Home Box Office. An estimated 12-14 million homes
have Sega Genesis game systems and the cable channel is
expected to reach about 17 million homes.

ICOM will be integrated into the newly formed Viacom New Media
division which Viacom describes as focused on the development,
production, distribution, and marketing of interactive
software. Marketing should not be difficult for the company as
Viacom owns and operates several leading cable services
including MTV, Showtime, and Nickelodeon.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930507/Press Contact: Betsy Vorce, Viacom,
tel [phone], fax [phone])