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/nb930513

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(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00001)

Ultraviolet Exposure Monitoring Software For PCs 05/13/93
PITKIN, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- With scientists
and environmentalists concerned about the depletion of the
earth's protective ozone layer, a Colorado software company is
now marketing a computer program that it claims can predict
specific ultraviolet and sunburn factors for an individual.

Save The Planet Software says the program, which is available for
IBM-compatible personal computers, is tailored to the lifestyle,
location, and schedule of outdoor activities of the user, and is
based on actual NASA satellite ozone measurements, according to
the company.

The company says it designed UV B-WARE for people with an
active outdoor lifestyle or families with young children who spend
a lot of time in the sun. The program is a database and calculator
that makes specific forecasts of UV levels and how long it will
take an individual to burn for specific locations, times of the year,
and time of the day. Detailed seasonal ozone trends, calculated
from 13 years of Nimbus-7 ozone data collected from more than
500 locations in North America, are used to make the projections.

Roger Cox, who wrote UV B-WARE with his wife Kathy, says the
program calculates the UV intensity levels and displays the
results on an easy-to-understand scale of one to 10. Sunburn
times are calculated as the number of minutes of exposure it
takes to produce the first reddening of untanned Caucasian skin.

In addition to the calculations, the program also has a reference
section that contains over 40 ideas, UV protection products for
eyes and skin, and suggestions for protecting families from
the health hazards caused by overexposure to UV radiation.
Some researchers claim health risks from UV exposure can
include skin cancer, eye cataracts, and immune system damage.

Kathy Cox says the program calculates the intensity of the
Ultraviolet-B type radiation spectrum in the 280 to 320 nanometer
wavelengths. Cox claims that is the UV band that is particularly
damaging to human cells, causing DNA damage, and can lead to
skin cancers or even eventual blindness if eye cataracts are not
treated. "As UVB levels increase, it is especially important to
make sure that children are well protected and avoid bad
sunburns. Many cases of fatal melanoma cancer are thought to be
triggered by bad childhood or teenage sunburns," says Cox.

Among the calculations UV B-WARE can perform, are the time of
day the sun is the strongest, called "solar noon," for a given
location; the hourly UVB intensity, displayed as a graph; the total
UVB dosage for any day at any location, at any time of the year;
the number of hours of sunshine for any day of the year, with
sunrise and sunset times given in local time; and the percentage
of increase or decrease in UVB levels for any date and location,
relative to 1980 levels.

It can also predict ozone, UVB, and sunburn levels for any future
date to the year 2010 and provide personalized total annual UV
dosage for any year, based on a user's individual lifestyle and
location profile.

Roger Cox maintains a program like UV B-WARE is important because
it is easier to get a sunburn now than it was 10 or 15 years ago.
"Because of recent ozone depletion, UV levels are generally higher
in the spring months over large portions of North America," he
claims.

Information provided Newsbytes by Save The Planet Software indicates
that UV levels across the country are generally higher than they were
in 1980, although some areas have dropped. For example, in Aspen,
Colorado, the playground of many famous and wealthy people, UV levels
are 21.5 percent higher, while the UV levels have dropped in
Mazatlan, Mexico and Orlando, Florida.

UV B-WARE will run on any MS-DOS-based personal computer that has at
least 512 kilobytes of RAM (random access memory) and a hard disk
drive. The software is priced at $39.95. Cox says the company plans to
release Macintosh and Windows versions of UV B-WARE at a later date.

(Jim Mallory/19930512/Press and reader contact: Roger or Kathy Cox,
Save The Planet Software, 303-641-5035)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00002)

New "Sun-Ready" 400 DPI Laser Printer 05/13/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- If
you're a Sun user, you won't need any extra cards, software,
cables, or memory to hook up the new Calcomp CCL400R 400 dots-
per-inch (dpi) laser printer to your workstation. Sunexpress, a
division of Sun and exclusive distributor of the CCL400R, says
the printer comes "Sun-ready" and users can be up and running
in minutes.

The CCL400R has a Canon print engine, prints at 4 pages per
minute, comes with 57 fonts, support for Type 1 fonts, and can
be used by workgroups of 2 to 5 users, Sunexpress said. For
quick and painless connection, the printer comes with a built-in
small computer systems interface (SCSI)-2 card and a 2-meter long
SCSI-2 cable.

A multi-purpose paper tray that can hold 70 sheets of paper
comes with the printer and an optional cassette that will hold
250 sheets is also available.

Also offered with the printer is Newsprint Software, which
offers Postscript language printing based on Sun's Solaris
graphical operating system environment. The Custom Newsprint
tool software offers users the ability to select the paper type
and tray, as well as allows users the ability to drag and drop
icons to print documents.

Retail pricing is $1,495. However Chelmsford, Massachusetts-
based Sunexpress has said volume purchase discounts are
available. The company offers a one-year warranty on the
CCL400R, a 30-day no fault return policy, and a toll-free
number for customer inquiries. The Calcomp CCL400R is
manufactured by Calcomp's Printer Division, a Lockheed
company based in Anaheim, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930512/Press Contact: Richard Stehr,
Calcomp, tel [phone]; Mark Lederhos, Hi-Tech
Communications for Calcomp, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact, Sun, 800-873-7869)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(BOS)(00003)

Spectrum Licenses Cellular Technology Patents To AT&T 05/13/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Spectrum Technologies
has announced an agreement to license patents on its cellular
technologies to AT&T, for availability to all AT&T business units,
including NCR, AT&T Paradyne, McCaw Cellular and EO.

Unveiled the same week as a cellular licensing pact between
Spectrum and Megahertz Corp., the deal with AT&T calls for AT&T to
pay an upfront licensing fee to Spectrum, and also includes a
potential equity arrangement of more than $10 million.

In addition, AT&T will pay Spectrum ongoing royalties for each
product made, used or sold that is covered by any of a portfolio of
over 200 issued and pending patents. AT&T has also agreed to allow
Spectrum to buy certain chip sets on favorable terms and
conditions.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Dana Verrill, chairman of Spectrum,
said that the patents Spectrum and AT&T discussed most frequently
in their negotiations included the connector interface, forward
error correction, the ability to provide a dial tone and delay
before hangup, and a sliding packet technique that changes the size
of a packet of information based on the quality of the line.

Spectrum is currently in litigation with a number of companies
around its patent claims, including Data Race, a company that
produces modems for NCR and other vendors. The litigation is still
pending.

"From our point of view, we'd like to think that this (agreement
with AT&T) means that Data Race will be using our technology at
some point. We'd like to think that we'll come to that," Verrill
commented.

Verrill also told Newsbytes that another of the 200 patents in the
portfolio covered by the AT&T deal is a claim, still pending, for
a technology that would tell cellular operators whether data or
voice is being sent over the line.

The deal allows AT&T and its business units to manufacture, use and
sell computers, modems, chips, interfaces and cellular phones.

"The idea is for (AT&T) to develop products around our patents, and
to then use those products to complement their services," he
commented. Spectrum is prohibited by a confidentiality agreement
from divulging further specifics, he added.

When asked by Newsbytes about industry rumors that AT&T has been
seeking to buy Spectrum, he responded, "There were companies
looking to acquire Spectrum. But we haven't put out any news on
that."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930512/Press contact: Jean Young, Young &
Associates, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00004)

India - BHEL Readies Magnetic Separator 05/13/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- The public sector
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.'s (BHEL) research and development
(R&D) division has started work in three major areas of
superconductivity: tape or wire development, generator, and
magnetic separator.

The R&D division recently imported from the US a liquid helium
plant at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore (around $ 500,000) in order to
facilitate research.

According to Rudra Dev, the division's executive director, some
progress has been achieved on generator and magnetic separators,
but considerable work remains to be done on wire or tape for
transmitting power generated through a superconducting generator.
Work on the generator is at an advanced stage and it is expected
that a static test on a 200 kva superconducting generator will
soon be carried out. The rotor and the stator for the generator
are being developed in-house.

The 200 kva superconducting generator will have all the features
of a 5 mva generator and will be used to experiment and validate
the analytical results already computed. Niobium Titanium is being
used as the superconducting material which, when cooled to
the liquid helium temperature, loses all resistive properties
and produces a high magnetic field.

The first prototype of a superconducting high gradient magnetic
separator (HGMS), which finds use in the mineral processing
industry, has been developed and an industrial-scale model for
the clay industry is now being planned.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930513)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00005)

Mauritius Upgrades Telecom System 05/13/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- The Mauritian government
has awarded Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) a
Rs 40 crore (around $13 million) repeat order for the execution
of an external telecom plant network in four of its cities. The
assignment follows close on the heels of the Rs 28 crore (around
$9 million) pilot project for ten cities that TCIL will be
completing later this month.

The public sector company won the onus of doing the civil
engineering works (laying cables, ducting, routing and joining)
to link subscribers to telecom exchanges against stiff competition
from European stalwarts like Ericsson of Sweden and Cable De Lyon,
France.

Besides Mauritius, TCIL's expertise in external plant network is
regularly availed of by Saudi Arabia, Oman, Zimbabave, Kuwait,
and other Far East and African countries. "TCIL's high points are
quality services offered at internationally competitive rates
and rendered well within the stipulated time," claims group
general manager, S.K. Bansal.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930513)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00006)

Toshiba, NEC Release New PCs 05/13/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Toshiba has developed a
small pen-input type personal computer which is extremely
lightweight and easy to carry. NEC has also released new
versions of its multimedia personal computer. These new PCs are
equipped with Japanese Windows 3.1 and have powerful voice and
pictorial data processing features.

Toshiba's latest pen-input type personal computer is the size of
an A4 sheet of paper and weighs only 900 grams. It is called the
Extended PN10 and includes business management programs such as
a scheduler, address book, memo-pad, and word processor. The
LCD (liquid crystal display) supports 40 x 20 lines of Japanese
letters. A 3.5-inch floppy disk drive is also on the unit.

The Extended PN10 supports a powerful letter input and Japanese
letter (kana-kanji) conversion feature. It automatically converts
the appropriate kanji letters with minor errors. This PC also
supports a so-called "soft-keyboard" input -- it displays a
keyboard on the screen and the user can press this keyboard to
input letters.

Toshiba's Extended PN10 supports MS-DOS files and the firm's
Japanese word processor, the Rupo, which enables users to exchange
data between computers. The price of this PC will be 128,000
yen ($1,160) when it is released on June 1.

Meanwhile, NEC has released new versions of its multimedia
personal computer the PC98 Multi and the PC98 Mate. These
new PCs have an 80486 processor and the latest operating system,
Japanese Windows 3.1. They can also synthesize sound
under the PCM sound input/output system, and can process
the compression and the extension of digital motion pictures
under MS Video For Windows. Due to the built-in accelerator
board, the data processing speed of these PCs is almost three
times faster than that of the existing models.

The sales of the de facto standard PC-9801 family are still going
well, according to NEC. The firm has recorded a 15-percent increase
in shipments over the same term last year.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930513/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-
3457-2100, NEC, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00007)

Analog Modems Have Strong Future, Says Expert 05/13/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Speaking at ATUG 93
conference in Sydney, Australia, Chris Howells, managing director
of Australian modem manufacturer NetComm, said, "Digital
telecom technologies will fail to rapidly engulf and replace
analog modems." He warned that "technology should not be
followed blindly for its technical elegance."

"Evolution is much more likely than revolution ... and more
acceptable. In 1993, within a few months of software being
introduced in Australia that allows very economical PC-to-
PC video-conferencing across basic rate ISDN links we will see
the introduction of more software to support virtually identical
applications across ordinary twisted pair links on the
existing analog telephone network."

According to Howells, some nine million analog modems will be built
and sold this year, with over 100,000 units sold in the Australian
market -- an annual growth rate of 15 percent. "This installed base
is not likely to be abandoned quickly. The switched network
modem continues to be alive and kicking, and for a great diversity
of reasons, it will be alive and kicking well into the 21st century."

While he conceded that "ISDN is really whizzo stuff" and in the long
term its strength will win over customers, he added, "It is not
yet anywhere near ready to be cost competitive for the very
broad customer base. In fact, until recently, many of the
applications targeted by ISDN would not work effectively with
today's technology -- high speed modems operating in the
switched voice network."

He concluded, "When ISDN connections are universally available,
costing the same as, or less than now, interconnect with all the
installed older style user base, and run on every major brand of
PC, then we will be close to the end of the future of the modem,
but you will still need a V.ISDN modem and software."

(Paul Zucker and Miki France/19930513/Contact Chris Howells at
NetComm on phone [phone] or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00008)

Military Air Simulation Computer System 05/13/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- The Australian Air Operations
Simulation Centre (AOSC) has ordered computer simulation system
to enable military pilots to test advanced aircraft controls and
weapons systems without leaving the ground.

Computer-generated scenarios will enable pilots to fly over
terrain complete with buildings and moving objects under conditions
of natural vision, night-vision goggles, infra-red imagery and
low-light TV. It can also simulate different weather conditions
and presents heads-up display information through a helmet-mounted
display. Wormald Technology integrated the system using a Silicon
Graphics computer.

The AOSC is an advanced research facility which will examine a
wide range of military options for the Australian defense force,
including the acquisition of military helicopters and fixed wing
aircraft. In particular, the system will allow Australian and
regional conditions to be applied to use of the aircraft under
consideration.

Crews will be monitored under realistic operating conditions
varying from routing patrols to extreme battle or operating
environments. Crew reaction will be monitored, analyzed
and reviewed for optimal performance and to enhance the design of
in-flight systems.

The AOSC will also use the Symbology Designer System which enables
researchers to create new formats for "head-up" display information
for pilots. This will enable them to refine displays in future
aircraft.

Wormald Technologies specializes in integrating real-time systems
with past projects including ship control and the system test and
software support for the Australian Navy's new Collins class
submarines.

(Paul Zucker and Hannah Watterson/19930513)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00009)

Clarisworks For Windows Shipping 05/13/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Claris
Corporation reports that ClarisWorks for Windows is shipping and
now available at authorized Claris resellers in the United
States. ClarisWorks for Windows is being offered at a special
introductory suggested promotional price of $99. After August 15
it will be offered at $249 suggested retail price.

ClarisWorks for Windows integrates word processing, graphics,
spreadsheet, charting and database environments.

ClarisWorks for Windows features true WYSIWYG capabilities,
according to Claris. For example, no special print preview modes
are needed to see headers, footers and footnotes. Other advanced
GUI features include zoom capabilities from 3 to 3,200 percent,
multiple views, tear-off palettes and simultaneous database
browse/layout views.

ClarisWorks includes an array of file translators with which
users can open, insert, save and edit files from applications such
as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 and dBase.

For further information on Claris, ClarisWorks or FileMaker call
408-727-8227.

(Wendy Woods/19930513/Press Contact: Greg Cornelison, 408-987-7542,
or Ines Anderson, 408-987-7154, both of Claris Corporation)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00010)

Common Ground For Mac Ships, Mini-Viewer Coming By June 05/13/93
BELMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- No Hands Software
is shipping Common Ground 1.0 for the Mac, intends to deliver a
mini-viewer to online services by the start of June, and expects to
add new features to the Common Ground product line by year's end.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Tony Stayner, company president,
stated that the new universal viewing software, slated to
ship this summer for Windows, is the only offering of its kind now
on the market.

Common Ground is smaller and faster than Adobe Acrobat, its chief
rival, and unlike Acrobat, the software has achieved availability,
he asserted.

By the end of 1993, Common Ground will be enhanced with annotation
capabilities, in addition to hyperlinks and other navigational
tools, he added.

As previously reported in Newsbytes, the Common Ground mini-viewer
will be distributed free of charge to end users over Compuserve,
AppleLink and America Online, as well as other online services.
A Windows mini-viewer will also be released to the online services,
probably before shipment of Common Ground for Windows 1.0.

Via either the mini-viewer or a full viewer that is included in
Common Ground package, users can view and print documents generated
in any file format just as the documents were originally prepared,
without having the creating applications and fonts installed on
their own systems. The full viewer also includes search, copy and
paste, and zoom capabilities, along with online help.

In addition to the viewer, the Common Ground package incorporates
a "maker" component that lets the user convert a document from any
application to Common Ground's DigitalPaper cross platform file
format. Once converted, the document becomes a pixel-for-pixel
identical replica of the original. The Mac version of Common
Ground is priced at $189.

In an update interview with Newsbytes, Stayner pointed out that the
mini-viewer takes up only 62K of hard disk space, the full viewer
300K, and the maker 100K. Further, Common Ground ships on a single
floppy disk. In contrast, No Hands has heard from early users that
the beta version of Acrobat consumes about 7 MB of hard disk space
and is embodied on several floppies, he said.

Common Ground is also faster than Acrobat, he claimed. "We
rasterize the document at the time of creation. In Acrobat,
though, font substitution into PostScript and rasterization are
both done in the fly on the viewer," he elaborated.

Acrobat will include annotation capabilities and hypertext links in
its initial release, now scheduled for June. John Warnock,
chairman and CEO of Adobe, has told Newsbytes that Acrobat will
later be enhanced with two add-ons.

One add-on, slated for shipment in the fourth quarter, will bring
unstructured full-text search. The other, due in the first quarter
of next year, will deliver full SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language) capabilities, including highly structured searches, said
Warnock.

Stayner told Newsbytes that Acrobat is the only SGML-based package
that No Hands regards as a competitor. The other SGML products
address different markets, he explained.

Pieter Hartsook, an industry analyst, told Newsbytes that Common
Ground provides the ability to view and print a greater variety of
fonts than Acrobat, which is limited to PostScript fonts. "If you
have some unusual kind of Type 1 font, for instance, I don't think
you're going to get anything close to it in Acrobat," he asserted.

Essentially, Common Ground provides similar capabilities to Glue,
added Hartsook, editor of The Hartsook Letter, a Macintosh market
research service in Alameda, CA.

Although Glue has been licensed by a number of software vendors,
the company that made the product, Solutions Inc., has disbanded,
and the software can no longer be purchased or licensed. "So right
now, Common Ground is the only product you can buy or license that
will let you generate a document that can be viewed just the way it
was created," he commented.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930513/Press contact: Eileen Ebner, McLean
Public Relations for No Hands Software, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00011)

Ziff-Davis Won't Move After All 05/13/93
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Computer publishing
mogul Bill Ziff says he has cancelled plans to move his publishing
empire and will instead expand operations on the East Coast.

Ziff announced his decision in a five-page letter to Z-D employees.
He said the Colorado legislature's failure to approve some $40
million in state aid to help move the company was instrumental in the
decision. He also told employees recent amendments to the Colorado
constitution that put limits on taxes and spending, and rejected
rights for gays and lesbians, entered into the decision.

Colorado legislators have wrangled for five months over legislation
which became known as the Ziff bill and would have made up to $40
million available to help the publishing company move to a site in
Douglas County, south of Denver. The bill never made it to the floor,
going down in defeat by the House Appropriations Committee by just
one vote last week. Critics of the package intended to bring
Ziff-Davis to Colorado said the company could afford to make the move
on its own.

Colorado Governor Roy Romer told reporters he was disappointed but
said the state will continue to court out-of-state businesses, within
reason. "You can be a healthy state without giving away the store,"
Romer told reporters. "There's a limit to what we can do."

While tax and spending limitations and gay rights may have kept
Ziff-Davis away, Romer said there are several companies which have
shown interest in moving to the Rocky Mountain state because
of those laws. "It shows to them we have a disciplined government,"
said Romer.

Ziff-Davis publishes a number of computer publications, including PC
Magazine, and has estimated annual revenues of nearly $1 billion.
Annual profits for the privately held company are believed to be in
excess of $50 million. The company reportedly started looking for a
new home nearly a year ago, and had narrowed the choice to Salt Lake
City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado.

In his letter, Bill Ziff apologized to employees for what he called
"the unrest" that speculation over a move to Colorado had caused
among workers, and recognized that many of them may be disappointed
by his decision. About 60 company executives and their families
visited the area over the past year.

(Jim Mallory/19930513)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00012)

Canada - ISM To Leave Phone Resale Business 05/13/93
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- ISM Information
Systems Management Corp., an outsourcing firm 53-percent owned by
IBM Canada Ltd., has revealed plans to leave the business of
reselling voice and data communications services.

ISM is "essentially existing any voice-data resale of
communications lines" because the business was a money-loser,
said company spokesman Ray Lancashire. The company's quarterly
report said it wants to "focus our resources on our core business
of systems management."

He added that ISM will continue managing communications networks
for its systems-management customers.

In the late 1980s, Canadian law changed to allow third parties to
purchase communications capacity from the telephone companies and
resell it to users. An industry has grown up reselling
long-distance telephone and data services.

STM Systems Corp., which has since been merged into ISM,
responded by launching its ValueNet network services about five
years ago.

However, Lancashire said, "We were losing money on it, so the
impact (of leaving the business) we think will be very positive."

The communications resale was a small part of ISM's total
operations, Lancashire said.

ISM has also reported first-quarter net income of C$1.6 million,
or eight cents a share, on revenues of C$112 million. The income
figure was unchanged from the first quarter of 1992, but revenues
were up 19 percent from C$94.1 million, Lancashire said. He noted
that the first-quarter results showed a marked improvement over a
10-cent-a-share loss in the fourth quarter of 1992.

(Grant Buckler/19930513/Press Contact: Ray Lancashire, ISM,
416-351-6301)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00013)

Bell Canada's Alex Videotex Fading Quietly 05/13/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- It seemed like a
success story at first. Bell Canada launched its Alex home
videotex service in December 1989, with a stated goal of signing
up 20,000 subscribers in two cities within two years. Instead
Bell signed up 20,000 people in just nine months, and all in
Montreal, before extending the trial to Toronto.

Alex was duly extended to Toronto, and things looked good there
too -- at first. "There was a great deal of excitement and
tremendous response," recalled Bell spokeswoman Ruth Foster.

But the novelty wore off quickly. Today, Alex has about 25,000
subscribers, almost evenly split between Toronto and Montreal.
But as Foster admits, studies on videotex show that subscribers
don't necessarily use the system frequently.

Bell is no longer actively promoting Alex, Foster told Newsbytes,
and a number of the original information providers -- which
included purveyors of news and other information as well as
merchants seeking to sell their goods electronically -- have left
the system.

"It did well initially," Foster said, "but there were a number of
disappointments with it." Usage dropped off because "people
simply didn't find the value with it that they had anticipated."

The shaky state of the Canadian economy over the last three to
four years hasn't helped. Videotex services are discretionary
spending, Foster said, and users can easily cut back when times
are tough. But there appears to be a more fundamental problem: a
lack of services that interest users enough to keep them logging
on.

"The technology works," Foster said, "but we haven't gotten the
right mix of information providers out there."

(Grant Buckler/19930513/Press Contact: Ruth Foster, Bell Canada,
613-781-3768)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00014)

DEC Adds Two 486-Based EISA PCs 05/13/93
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment Corp. has announced two new personal computers
combining the unusual packaging of its DECpc MT series with the
Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) system bus, the
Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and a
slot to allow upgrading to Intel's Pentium processor.

The earlier MT models used a proprietary local-bus design,
company spokesman Ed Canty said, but these are the first DEC PCs
supporting VESA's VL local bus standard.

DEC said it is offering the new DECpc MTE models in desktop,
low-end server, and PC workstation configurations.

The two models are the DECpc 433dx MTE, which uses a 33-megahertz
Intel 486DX processor, and the DECpc 466d2 MTE, which uses the
clock-doubling 66-megahertz 486DX2 chip.

Digital said the DECpc MTE series fills a gap between its DECpc
MT desktop line, launched at the beginning of March, and its
DECpc ST and applicationDEC xP high-performance servers. The new
MTE machines use the same mini-tower chassis as the MT: a
seven-by-17-by-17-inch unit small enough to sit on a desk.

The new PCs offer a choice of four levels of video performance.
Customers can choose from four video cards ranging from 1024 x
768 to 1280 x 1024 levels of resolution and performance ranging
from 16 to 44 Winmarks, DEC said.

The DECpc 433dx MTE and 466d2 MTE models will start at $2,649 and
$3,099, respectively, each including eight megabytes of memory, a
245-megabyte Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) hard disk, 8K
bytes of internal and 129K bytes of external cache, and the
Pentium upgrade socket. The new PCs will be marketed worldwide,
DEC said, and are available now in the United States through
Digital's Desktop Direct Catalog, its direct sales force, and
authorized resellers.

Digital is also offering a Personal Computer Memory Card
Interface Association (PCMCIA) peripheral card option for all
PCs, including the new models. The PCMCIA specification, more
commonly found in portable computers to date, covers
credit-card-sized memory and peripheral cards and is popular for
modem options on notebook computers and as a disk substitute.

DEC's PC card option, which the company said will work with other
vendors' PCs as well as its own, includes a front- or rear-
accessible drive that accommodates up to two PC cards, which can
be addressed as separate drives. The rear and front access card
drives are priced at $180 and $250, respectively.

(Grant Buckler/19930513/Press Contact: Ed Canty, Digital,
508-264-7485; Peter Basmajian, Digital, 508-264-7530; Michelle
Hoey, Digital, 508-264-7546)


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

Wordperfect Office Will Offer Gateway to Notes 05/13/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation says
it will provide electronic messaging capability between its soon to
be released Wordperfect Office 4.0 and Lotus Corporation's Notes, as
well as form design and access capabilities to the Notes database
with Wordperfect Informs 1.0.

According to David Clare, Wordperfect senior director of marketing
for workgroup applications, the integration of e-mail, time
management, task management, and workflow capabilities, combined with
the Notes database, will strengthen the company's workgroup computing
strategy. "Our users are seeking complete interoperability with other
workgroup applications vendors," says Clare.

The technology, which supports the Vendor Independent Messaging
standard, will allow Wordperfect users to store objects in Notes
databases and use Notes services like security, replication, and
group information sharing, according to Lotus Notes product division
VP, Jeffrey Papows.

Wordperfect Office 4.0 is scheduled to ship the first week in June,
while Wordperfect InForms 1.0 will ship by the end of May, a
Wordperfect spokesperson told Newsbytes. Wordperfect Office 4.0 is an
integrated electronic mail, personal calendaring and group scheduling
package. Wordperfect InForms 1.0 allows uses to create and fill in
electronic and printed forms which can be sent via electronic mail,
and supports various databases and e-mail systems.

The spokesperson told Newsbytes a five-client pack of Office will
have a suggested retail price of $495 for DOS, Windows, and Macintosh
platforms. The Admin and Server pack, which will initially be
available only for DOS systems, will cost $295. Additional Office
mailbox license packs are available for $85 for a single user, and go
up to $6,370 for a 100-user pack. The full InForms for Windows
package is priced at $495, with additional user licenses in five and
20 users is available. The Informs filler package by itself will
sell for $199.

Wordperfect Corporation has also announced a Certified Partners
Program that it says will align the company with value-added
resellers, systems integrators, developers, consultants and trainers
to support and service Wordperfect Office 4.0 and InForms 1.0 users.
The company says it plans to start recruiting regional and smaller
VARS (value-added resellers) in July, and hopes to have more than 500
certified partners by the end of the year. Partners will get Office
and InForms training at Wordperfect's headquarters in Orem, Utah and
at authorized training centers across the US. Partners will get
access to dedicated technical support lines and databases, as well as
sales leads and special marketing opportunities.

(Jim Mallory/19930513/Press contact: Brian Chapman, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5037; Reader contact: 800-451-5151)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00016)

Illinois Bell Demos Distance Learning Technology 05/13/93
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Illinois Bell is
taking its show on the road, and the show is a demonstration of
distance learning technology that can bring rural students into
classrooms hundreds of miles away, giving them the opportunity to
take classes that might not otherwise be available.

The Illinois Bell 10,000-foot SuperSchool exhibit shows off
interactive computer technology the company believes will soon be
commonplace in classrooms and homes. One of the demonstrations is a
Illinois Bell worker talking to his computer, with the machine
responding to his commands and translating his voice into words on
the screen. Dorsey Ruley, the physically disabled Bell employee
demonstrating the voice recognition technology, says the
voice-operated computers are a windfall to people who can't, or won't
use a keyboard. The machine requires a 30-minute training session to
learn the user's voice, and occasionally it mistakes similar-sounding
words, like "are" and "our." But Ruley says it works far better than
the systems of five years ago, and is available for as little as
$1,600.

Illinois Bell spokesperson Larry Cose told Newsbytes the distance
learning system combines off the shelf personal computers and CD-ROM
technology with some customized software. "With SuperSchool, we're
trying to provide educators with information about how technology can
help in what they are doing."

The traveling show, which Cose says has been shown in Washington, DC
as well as Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, also
demonstrates live distance learning, connecting students at the
exhibit to a classroom in a Springfield, Illinois District 186
school. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra, a long time school
teacher, said the system would give students in rural areas the
opportunity to tie into classrooms hundreds of miles away and take
classes not offered in small schools. The system is similar to
teleconferencing technology in use in the corporate world.

Widespread use of the distance learning system is still a few
years away, according to Illinois Bell, since it uses fiber optic
cables to carry the signals, and those aren't widely available yet.

Illinois spokesperson Larry Cose told Newsbytes Illinois Bell has
asked the state regulatory agency for some rule changes that will
make deployment of fiber optics happen more quickly. The company says
fiber optic transmission is necessary to reduce signal delays and
make the experience more life-like. Cose says if those changes are
approved, the company will commit $3 billion to deploy the new
technology. "It will come about whether we get the changes or not,
but it will happen quite a bit sooner if we get the reform."

Jack Bush, an Illinois Bell marketing employee, says the technology
will be considered commonplace in five years, but won't be a part of
everyday life in every home. "That's going to take longer. You're
talking about culture changes," says Bush.

Asked about cost, Cose said that while specific pricing isn't
available, the technology will be affordable. "As more people use it,
and as we deploy fiber optics technology throughout the state, the
easier it will be for school districts to get the equipment," he
said.

Cose said the system could also be used in hospitals for remote
diagnoses and transmission of x-ray images.

The exhibit also demonstrates less expensive home versions of the
teleconferencing system, and systems that would allow students to
access library card catalogs, encyclopedias and supercomputers from
home.

(Jim Mallory/19930513/Press contact:Larry Cose, Illinois Bell,
312-220-2379)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00017)

 ****Proposal Sees Chip Blocking TV Violence 05/13/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Rather than rely on
the pressure of public opinion or the common sense of television
executives, Massachusetts Representative Democrat Edward Markey
has proposed requiring television manufacturers to add a new chip
that would allow parents to lock out broadcast programs with a
high content of violence. This would be very similar to the "PG"
rating lockout which is provided in most satellite receivers to
allow users to block reception of movies with high sexual
content.

As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on
telecommunications, Mr. Markey has a lot of influence in the
industry, but Washington insiders see little chance that the new
"V" for violence chip will find its way into sets. Some
experience with the satellite lockout system has shown that
parents who are responsible about their children's viewing habits
and use the lock already monitor what they watch.

Other people point out that since the chips would not be
retrofitted into existing sets, it would take years before a
significant number of individuals would have the new chip in
their main televisions, let alone all of the older sets often
delegated to children's rooms.

Mr. Markey's move is seen in Washington as an attempt to bring
the spotlight of public attention to what he obviously sees as a
major problem with today's society where young children are
exposed to dozens of violent murders and hundreds of other
violent acts each week.

(John McCormick/19930513/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00018)

Competitiveness Council Backs Info Highway 05/13/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- The Council on
Competitiveness, a non-profit organization of companies involved
in the communications industry, has released a report that lends
industry support to the Clinton Administration's plans to improve
access to information for all citizens.

Among other things, President Clinton has called for a new
interagency task force which would coordinate efforts to improve
US education by making a vast array of technical and general
information available to schools and the general public.

The government itself is making some moves in this direction by
greatly expanding the amount of electronically published data
available to the general public through the use of agency
bulletin boards.

During the Bush and Reagan administrations the government ignored
the ever more sophisticated computer communications systems
available to even home computer users and concentrated instead on
virtually giving away data to companies which then reformatted it
and sold it at high profit to other business users.

According to The Associated Press, the report says that a lot of
confusion exists about exactly how computers, telephones and
video can and should work together.

Government's role is to guide, through policy statements,
demonstration projects, and by becoming an early customer for
communications systems related to security, medical research and
education, the report says.

The Council on Competitiveness especially singles out restrictive
and often incomprehensible or even contradictory government
regulations as forming a major barrier to implementing many of
Clinton's tele-education plans.

One insider pointed out that a major reason the industry may be
very much on Clinton's side is that the administration's plans
call for private industry to build and manage the newly proposed
information infrastructure.

(John McCormick/19930513/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00019)

Novell, Lotus Hit Alleged Singapore Pirates 05/13/93
SINGAPORE, SEA, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Novell and Lotus Development
have filed criminal charges against two individuals who were recently
found liable in civil proceedings for infringing copyright.

The action was taken by the two companies to deter pirates who
they claim have turned the crime into big business. The two
individuals charged allegedly sold more than 4,000 copies of Lotus
and several hundred copies of Novell's Netware and DR DOS
operating system products around the region.

"This action represents a major move in the fight against software
piracy," says Andrew Lai, regional director of Novell in Hong Kong.
"Novell is taking strong action not only to protect our own property
rights but also to protect end users who are sold illicit software
without upgrade and support services."

"Customers depend on support from legitimate software resellers for
multi-vendor computer networks. Piracy hurts resellers' commitment to
long term relationship and hinders the growth of the software
industry." said Mr Lai.

"Lotus has vigorously defended its intellectual property against
software pirates, by taking full advantage of the provisions of the
copyright laws of Singapore," said James Fieger, vice president and
general manager of Lotus Development Asia. "We are taking action
to the full extent of the law."

The criminal charges are initiated over and above the civil
proceedings taken by Lotus and Novell. They had earlier been
granted summary judgment in a civil suit against the individuals
Ong Seow Pheng and his wife, Tan Pui Fun, for trademark infringement
and copyright infringement.

The lawsuit is a direct result of a raid that was conducted by the
police together with Lotus, Novell and Digital Research late last year.
The raid, which took place at Ong's home, was conducted after 10
months of investigation into Ong's business affairs. During the
raid two personal computers, a diskette duplicating machine and
boxes of documents were seized, authorities say.

Novell and Lotus submitted to the court in the civil law suit that the
evidence pointed to a well organized and large scale illicit software
duplicating business. The documents seized included detailed records of
sales transactions both locally as well as to retail outlets in other
countries, including Sri Lanka, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Thailand.

Novell and Lotus will have the court put a dollar figure on the
damages due to them. They have also in obtained an Order of Court
freezing the defendants' assets up to the sum of S$1.5 million.

(Brett Cameron/19930513/Press Contact: Andrew Lai, Novell, Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00020)

 ****Motherboard Manufacturer Back To US From Taiwan 05/13/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- In a move
opposite of what most computer companies are doing, IBM
compatible personal computer (PC) motherboard manufacturer
Elitegroup Computer Systems announced it is moving its 486
manufacturing operations out of Taiwan and into Fremont,
California. The company says it believes the move will be a
cost effective one.

The Elitegroup claims its motherboards are, of necessity,
manufactured using robotics. Surface mount manufacturing and
tightly integrated components require machine accuracy.
Therefore, if human labor isn't involved, it's simply not
cheaper to manufacture in Taiwan, the company said. Company
officials told Newsbytes that transit time moving products
manufactured in Taiwan to market has created concern over
meeting quickly shifting demands in the US market.

Michael Tsai, president of the Elitegroup, told Newsbytes that
motherboards are being manufactured so different speeds of
cache can be fitted on the board and different microprocessor
clock speeds can be accommodated with changes in chips on the
motherboard. So if Elitegroup manufactures 25 megahertz (MHz)
486 motherboards and by the time the boards hit the US, the
demand is for 33 MHz motherboards, the company is stuck pulling
and replacing chips. By manufacturing in the US, Elitegroup can
solve that problem.

In addition, the Tsai thinks Elitegroup can pick up some
government and corporate contracts by having the "Made In The
USA" label on the company's products. Elitegroup says currently
it ships about 100,000 motherboards a month, and half of those
are to the US market. "The move to re-invest in America is a
motivating factor for some purchasers," Tsai said.

The Elitegroup is not moving all its manufacturing to the US,
nor does it plan to close its Taiwan facility. Tsai said the
Taiwan facility can serve to meet demand in the European and
Japanese markets. Harry Ctse, an analyst for the Yankee Group,
said manufacturers who sell into the US market are starting to
move their operations back into the US. Small profit margins of
two to three percent at the retail level mean last minute
changes could wipe out any profit at all.

High-tech companies are not the only ones moving. BMW and
Mercedes just signed a deal to move manufacturing into North
Carolina. Tsai said both auto manufacturers have received
attractive tax incentives and will find lower labor costs at
$15 including benefits while in Germany workers make $22 to $24
US dollars an hour and get 6 weeks of vacation.

Mary Olsson, a Dataquest analyst, said strict Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) standards seem to be a contributing
factor in the manufacturing flight from California, though
Elitegroup will be using an all water wash in its
manufacturing.

The Elitegroup says last year it did $300 million in business.
The company's biggest competitors are Micronix, Acer, and First
International Corporation (FIC).

(Linda Rohrbough/19930513/Press Contact: Craig Settles,
Successful Marketing Strategies for the Elitegroup, tel 510-
644-3837, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00021)

Greece Withdraws Wiretapping Bill At Last Minute 05/13/93
ATHENS, GREECE, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Greece's conservative
government has been forced into an embarrassing defeat by its
opposition, withdrawing draft legislation which should have
imposed severe penalties for broadcasting or publishing material
obtained from illegal wiretaps.

Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis was greeted by abusive
howls from members of the opposition in late April, after he put
in a surprise visit at the country's 300-seat parliament to
personally withdraw the bill.

Mitsotakis, 74, was forced into withdrawing the bill after the
press reported on a telephone bugging scandal that his government
was involved in during the late 1980s. If enacted, the legislation could
have resulted in his arrest, as well as those senior members of
his party alleged to have been involved in the telephone tapping
exercise.

Opposition leaders gloated over their victory, which came within
hours of Justice Minister Anna Psarouda-Benaki assuring the
parliament that there was no question of changing the draft law.

"It's a great victory for the power of public opinion, the media,
the people and the opposition. It would have taken us back to the
Middle Ages," said opposition Socialist leader Andreas
Papandreou.

Mitsotakis resumed through the draft legislation in March of this
year after Sky, the Greek radio station and Kathimerini, a daily
newspaper, both ran what they said was a phone conversation
between two judges.

The judges were heard to say that they were under pressure "from
the top" to revive charges of illegal tax evasion against
businessman Yannis Alafouzos, whose family owns the two media
outlets. Both media groups are known to oppose Mitsotakis and
both were quick to interpret the reference "from the top" as
meaning the Mitsotakis government.

The Conservatives hurriedly voted through a bill outlawing the
publication or broadcasting of illegally obtained material in
1990 but the new law would have stiffened the penalties and given
the state the power to threaten or shut down repeating offenders.

The legislation would have permitted confiscation and sale of a
company's printing or broadcasting equipment, and fines of up to
$350,000 and a two-year jail sentences.

After the details of the proposed legislation were made public,
several newspapers announced they had dozens of tapes given to
them by state phone company employee Christos Mavrikis, who
claims to be a former Mitsotakis supporter and says he provided
transcripts of wiretaps to top conservative party officials.

Mavrikis has provided an array of details on how he says he
systematically wiretapped information during a 1988-90 political
crisis to help conservative party officials negotiate a string of
alliances.

Mitsotakis has denied he was privy to any bugging information.

(Steve Gold/19930513)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00022)

Banyan To Integrate Vines With Sun's Solaris 05/13/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Leading
networking vendor Novell's acquisition of Unix Systems
Laboratories has increased public interest in the Unix operating
system. Now Banyan Systems, Novell's major competitor in the
networking market, has announced plans to integrate its Vines
network operating system with Sun Microsystems Computer
Corporation's Solaris version of Unix for SPARC-based computers.

The two companies plan to cooperate on a new version of Vines
for SMCC's servers in large client-server networks.

Gary Wolfe, spokesman for Banyan, told Newsbytes that, "Unix is
a very popular operating system. Novell, at the time of their
acquisition (of USL), made it clear that they were going to
continue on the line of developing this as a resource that
would be available to large numbers of developers."

The announcement between Banyan and Sun had nothing to
do with Novell's acquisition of USL, he told Newsbytes. "Banyan
has been committed to Unix ever since the company first went
into business," he said. "It is just in the last year or so that we
have expanded to provide our product to run on open Unix
environments. Banyan Vines actually runs on a proprietary
version of AT&T's System V Unix, and always has. So we have
always been advocates of Unix."

According to the companies, Vines users will then be able to take
advantage of the SPARC architecture, while SPARC/Solaris users
will be able to "leverage the Vines enterprise network services to
achieve a large-scale Unix/PC networking solution that is easy to
use and manage."

The companies have also entered into "a multifaceted, long-term
strategic relationship encompassing technology sharing, joint
marketing and technical support."

In announcing the deal, Banyan Chairman and CEO David C. Mahoney,
said: "The porting of Banyan services to the Sun SPARC/Solaris
environment will enable our joint customers to use the thousands
of engineering and commercial applications available for
SPARC/Solaris while enjoying the benefits of Banyan's enterprise
network services."

The companies claim that the Vines for SPARC/Solaris product
will be available in the first half of 1994.

Said Wolfe to Newsbytes, "This is part of a very well-defined
coherent strategy. We said more than two years ago that we
intended to provide support in the Unix arena, and this is what
we are doing now."

(Ian Stokell/19930513/Press Contact: Gary Wolfe,
508-898-1000, Banyan Systems; Sun Microsystems Computer
Corp., 415-336-0597)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00023)

 ****Intel Slams Taiwan Notebook Maker 05/13/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- The
ongoing patent infringement soap opera between Intel and
competing semiconductor makers Advanced Micro Devices and
Cyrix continues. This time Intel has asked the International
Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate a Taiwan company which
Intel says uses Cyrix processors.

According to Intel, Twinhead is importing PC systems "in
violation of PC system claims in Intel's patent 4,972,338" and
is bringing notebook computers into the US that infringe Intel's
patent rights.

John Thompson, spokesman for Intel, told Newsbytes that,
"It isn't about the (486) microcode. What the technology is
involved with is....that there are three things you need: an
Intel architecture processor, external memory, and using
it with paging software. Many of the major operating systems
are variations of paging software. There are certain technologies
involved in managing that combination of things, that are
protected by this patent."

The request, filed on May 7, seeks a determination that Twinhead
products infringe PC system claims of the patent. It also asks
for an exclusion order which would prevent Twinhead from
bringing the Slimnote notebook into the US. Intel says that the
Slimnote incorporates Intel-architecture microprocessors from
Advanced Micro Devices and Cyrix.

According to Intel, the PC system claims of the '338 patent protect
certain "memory-management technology used when Intel-
architecture microprocessors are combined with external memory
and used with paging software such as the Microsoft Windows,
OS/2 and Unix."

In announcing the ITC request, Thomas Dunlap, Intel vice president
and general counsel, said: "Intel has spent many millions of dollars
developing its technology and we owe it to our shareholders to
make sure we are compensated for its use. Twinhead has been
offered a license on the Intel patent claims, but they have not
accepted our offer."

Intel says the ITC has 30 days to review the request and is
"directed by law" to render a decision in 12 to 18 months after
an investigation begins.

Thompson told Newsbytes that this is not the only company
exporting violating systems to the US. "They were, however,
one of the first that began bundling Windows with their
notebook computers."

Summed up Thompson, "What we are trying to do is get firms
to license the technology. We're asking a one percent royalty,
and basic royalty rates on this kind of patent tend to be between
one percent and five percent. We've been talking to people for
several months, and Twinhead itself has been offered a license -
they have had (the licensing forms) for about a month. But they
have not yet signed a license, but they have been offered one."

(Ian Stokell/19930513/Press Contact: Pam Pollace,
408-765-1435; or John Thompson, 408-765-1279, Intel Corp.)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Networking Vendors Form Tech Support Alliance 05/13/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- One of the
major problems with companies that implement multi-vendor
networks is that, if something should go wrong, the network
administrator may have to call a number of different companies
before the problem is resolved. Addressing the problem, a group of
networking vendors have formally announced their intent to form the
Networking Technical Support Alliance, or NTSA.

The idea of NTSA is to provide better service and support for
customers who implement and manage multi-vendor networks.

The companies maintain that the organization's initial charter
is to "develop and implement processes and guidelines for
multi-vendor problem resolution."

NTSA is being formed by at least 17 major networking vendors,
including Chipcom, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Hughes LAN Systems,
IBM, Proteon, SynOptics, 3Com, Ungermann-Bass, and Wellfleet
Communications.

In a press release announcing the NTSA, Ron Sege, vice president
of customer services for 3Com and spokesperson for the NTSA,
said: "Networks are becoming increasingly complex and
heterogeneous. Products from multiple vendors are often required
to meet a specific customer's need. An MIS manager or network
administrator may have hubs from one vendor, routers from
another, network adapter cards from still another, and all of
these products are supported by the individual vendors."

He said that the NTSA is designed to simplify networking. "The
guidelines set forth by the NTSA will significantly contribute
to the successful implementation and management of our
customers' enterprise networks, and to the growth of the data
communications industry by simplifying what is now perceived
as a complex, high-maintenance technology -- networking."

(Ian Stokell/19930513)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

International Telecomm Update 05/13/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Europe remained the
major focus of international telecommunications, as Western firms
struggled with weak financial results.

British Telecom was just the latest to fall from grace after
reporting weaker than expected earnings. Nokia of Finland has
been facing that harsh music for some time, and only this week
re-entered the market with a placement of $100 million in new
shares, which will be approved June 10 by existing shareholders.

It's not all bad. Sweden's Ericsson saw its stock price shoot up
after it reported strong profits, although critics later said the
move was overdone.

The conservative victory in French elections has those looking at
privatization to turn a sharp eye toward France Telecom, which
remains in public hands. New Industry Minister Gerard Longuet,
however, says he wants the company to consider partners for
international expansion. That could mean selling a stake in the
company to outsiders. Longuet suggested the cellular phone unit
might be broken-out as a first step, as was done in Germany and
the UK. But considering the heavy investments needed to make
France Telecom profitable, even the conservative government is
unwilling to move quick. France is still fighting to slow the
pace of market liberalization, fearing US firms will take
control if it's done too quickly.

Generally, the European view remains that Japanese and US
markets are closed to them, so they must seek protection as a
unit. Voice telephone standards have just been approved at the
ministerial level which appear to favor cost-based pricing, but
retain subsidies for rural service. The big threat may really
come from East Asia, where lower labor costs result in bargain-
priced equipment. France Telecom rarely approves use of such
equipment, but it may be forced to if the single European market
idea is pushed hard, as the SIT trade group wants.

Meanwhile, the big European orders keep going to big European
firms. Siemens won the $30 million contract to add 120,000 lines
to Hungary's state-owned network. Alcatel won the $150 million
deal to supply tactical communications to the Swedish army. A new
high-speed network for the European Parliament is also being
built solely by European firms, including Belgacom of Belgium and
P&T Luxumbourg. And the good news should continue coming from the
east, as the Czech Republic decided officially to retain SPT
Telecom's monopoly for at least five years, at the suggestion of
foreign bankers who feared what competition might mean to moves
toward privatization.

The strength of European telecom balance sheets, however,
remains a matter of much dispute. The Deutsche Bundespost Telekom
pulled out of the Europesat TV satellite project, citing
financial concerns. And a spreading strike in eastern Germany
over wage parity with the West forced down values on the local
exchanges.

In Latin America, trends remain up. Telefonica of Argentina
reported strong profits and its major shareholder, Telefonica de
Espana, said it will fight a court ruling that it dispose of one
of its stakes in Chile's two major telecommunications company,
appealing to international law if the need arises.

Chile doesn't want one company controlling both its Compania de
Telefonos de Chile SA and Entel Chile, but Telefonica says a
forced sale, even over 18 months, would cost it profit. Brazil,
meanwhile, started playing an "Asia Card" as trade relations with
the US soured over steel and intellectual property issues.
Columbia, finally, signed to create a digital network between its
major cities with a unit of Spar Aerospace of Canada. The net
will link Medellin, Barranquilla, Cali and Cartegena to a master
station in the capital of Bogota. International service will be
through a PanAmSat satellite to Florida.

In Asia, attention remained on the Philippines, which
recently nationalized that part of the Philippine Long Distance
Telephone company held by alleged cronies of former President
Marcos. The good news included an agreement by Singapore Telecom
International's Globe Telecom affiliate to install 1.2 million
lines within the next seven years to address the huge backlog in
phone applications. Globe is offering a $2 billion plan to
operate a nationwide digital cellular phone system to the
National Telecommunications Commission, which it says will get
rid of the rest of the backlog.

PLDT, meanwhile, signed an interconnection agreement with the
Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp., in response to a call
by President Fidel Ramos for such links. Also, Cable and Wireless
of the UK began a studying of entering the market, in conjunction
with Telecom Australia. Benpres, a local company, would own 40
percent of any resulting venture. The only bad news is that
opposition from business is rising to Senate Bill 845, a move by
Ramos to dismantle monopolies. Critics say the bill goes too far
and will make it impossible for the nation to compete in the new
ASEAN Free Trade Area.

The Philippines is just one of the East Asian nations which will
need billions of dollars in investment over the next two decades
in order to get telephone lines into its poorest areas. An
official of the International Telecommunication Union estimated
in Singapore that cost could be $750 billion. Even if present 10
percent annual growth rates in lines continues through the year
2000, that would only mean 3.64 percent of the region's people
have access to a phone. Singapore and Hong Kong, of course, remain
exceptions, and Singapore Airlines is extending service on its
airlines to faxing, at $15 per page.

Profit, of course, is the best way to bring in capital, and IDB
Communications is reporting strong profits from US teleports
delivering international private line and switched long distance
to markets like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Argentina,
Hong Kong, Mexico, Colombia, India and Spain. MTC Electronic
Technologies of Canada, meanwhile, attracted $6 million in
capital through Swiss bankers who are owned by Japan's Sumitomo
Bank.

Finally, the World Bank pointed to success in Asia in urging
African nation's to reduce government subsidies to private
industry. The latest lecture on the subject was delivered in
Harare, Zimbabwe, where the government owns half the economy, but
continues to lose fortunes it doesn't have. Partial privatization
was urged as a solution.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930513/Press Contact: Spar Communications
Group, Robert Meisterling, 805/928-2581; FAX: [phone]; Doug
Sherk, IDB, 415-296-7383; Peter Verrengia, MTC, 212-265-9150)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

 ****Allen Cashes In Stock, Puts Pressure On America Online 05/13/93
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A.,1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- America Online and
unwanted suitor Paul Allen finally had their meeting, but in a
filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Allen turned
up the heat.

Allen, who heads Asymetrix Corporation but made his billions as a
cofounder of Microsoft, disclosed the May 11 meeting in a filing
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, writing that he
proposed joint development of multimedia network software which
would work on the faster online links phone companies and cable
companies are now trying to develop. Allen said in his filing the
talks will continue, but there was no comment from America Online
as this went to press.

Still, the pressure on America Online to deal should intensify,
despite the company's "poison pill" which would give existing
shareholders 1 share of a new preferred for every 100 shares of
common they hold if an unwanted suitor like Allen took 25 percent
of the 5.8 million outstanding shares. Managers hold very little
of the company's common, and since the firm went public they have
been steadily selling their own stock as options are exercised in
their compensation packages.

In his SEC filing Allen said he hired Bear, Stearns & Co. as his
financial advisor in any America Online deal, and in perhaps the
most ominous SEC filing of all, he said he plans to sell 100,000
of his remaining Microsoft shares, worth about $90 million. Even
at America Online's recent price of about $30 per share, its
market capitalization is just $175 million. Figuring a 50 percent
premium over the present price, the latest sale of Microsoft
stock still gives Allen plenty of cash to buy-out the whole
company. He might also take control of the company through
private purchases of shares and warrants from AOL "strategic
partners" like the Tribune Corporation, Apple Computer and
Sprint.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930513/Press Contact: America Online, Jean
Villanueva, 703-448-8700)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00027)

New, Low-Cost MPEG Video Codec Chip 05/13/93
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- When
banks finally install video automated teller machines (ATMs),
the display of the teller who greets you may be projected by
the newly introduced Audio Digitalimaging, Inc. (ADI) Apogee M1
microprocessor. The Apogee M1 is designed to encode and decode
Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) Level I video and ADI
expects the chip will be popular because of its low price.

Originally designed for security access control and banking ATM
industries, company officials say the Apogee M1 can be also be
used in video-oriented consumer electronics, personal computer,
video motion picture, and television industry products. The
company has announced several Apogee microprocessor products,
but says it may bump the production of the other chips in order
to meet anticipated demand for the M1.

Jeffrey Frederiksen is the designer of the Apogee chip series.
Frederiksen was a pioneer of interactive microprocessor video
games and electronic pinball and most recently created a
compression chip set dedicated to real-time compression of
motion pictures for a six-channel DBS satellite transmission.

The Apogee M1 is described by ADI as a single application
specific integrated circuit (ASCI) parallel processor
encode/decode (CODEC) chip which operates in full duplex mode.
It supports full motion MPEG and CCITT H.261 compression at 30
frames per second, the company said. The chip can
simultaneously decompress incoming video while it compresses
video for transmission allowing for real-time video exchange,
and it can support super video graphics array (SVGA) display
scan rates, according to ADI.

The chip will also support the addition of a graphics overlay,
ADI said, so the text menu of choices for the ATM machine can
be displayed over the video display. The chip can also support
chroma keying, movable windows placements, scalable image
sizing, zooms, fades, wipes, and rotations.

Also compatible with the compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)
interactive format, the M1 can provide normal play forward,
variable slow frame forward, and resume (I frame) play. ADI
says this means the M1, with its wide small computer systems
interface (SCSI)-2, is suitable for personal computer (PC) or
workstation authoring terminals for multimedia, cable
television, video on demand applications, camcorders, digital
video cassette recorders (VCRs), color copiers, video studio
editing terminals, and home and arcade video games.

Other Apogee chips may be added to the Apogee chip to provide
additional functionality. ADI maintains addition of the Apogee
MD with the Apogee M1 offers motion detection, estimation, and
prediction functionality. Addition of the dedicated MPEG decode
chip, Apogee D, offers ADI's proprietary visual reconstruction
(VR) application for improving the appearance of compressed
video streams upon decompression.

ADI said it is not only going to delay previously announced
production of other chips to focus on the M1, but the company
will not attend Spring COMDEX as previously announced. Jean
Monroe, chairman and chief executive officer at ADI, says the
company has already had to postpone anticipated delivery times
for its Apogee chips to accommodate design changes.

Monroe said ADI feels it can deliver the M1 by October of this
year, and can have the Apogee chips available on add-on boards
for PCs by November. The company said it will be offering a
limited number of product versions of the Apogee M1
in July or August to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
and product developers. Initial price range for the new chip is
estimated at $200 to $500.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930513/Press Contact: Jean Monroe, Audio
Digitalimaging, Inc., tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00028)

 ****New Quicktime For Windows Version 1.1 05/13/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- Apple
Computer said it has updated Quicktime for Microsoft Windows
3.1 to offer improved performance, easier integration with
Windows applications, and Intel's Indeo codec bundled with the
product. Apple says the main advantage to Quicktime for Windows
is the product will support graphics and sound playback on
either a Microsoft Windows 3.1-based personal computer (PC) or
the company's own Macintosh computer.

Apple says it hasn't changed the user interface, image
decompression capabilities, or program interface, but it has
incorporated features currently offered in its version 1.5 of
Quicktime for the Macintosh.

Movies can play with the software only at either twice the
frame rate or across four times the screen area. This means
Quicktime 1.1 supports up to 30 frames per second or a 320 by
240 pixel window for playback.

In addition, Quicktime for Windows 1.1 supports MCI for
authoring and presentation applications for playback control.
Windows' Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) is also supported
so Quicktime movies can be integrated into applications that
support OLE, such as business presentations. This allows the
inclusion of Quicktime video footage, animation sequences and
sound clips to documents, spreadsheets and presentations. In
addition, users can create custom multimedia applications using
Microsoft's Visual Basic and Quicktime for Windows.

Hooks have been added to Quicktime for Windows 1.1 for third-
party software extension support so add-in decompression and
compression technologies can be used. Apple says Intel is
taking advantage of the software extensions support to bundle
its Indeo video compression/decompression (codec) with
Quicktime for Windows 1.1.

The new Quicktime for Windows version 1.1 requires a minimum of
a 386SX microprocessor running at 20 megahertz (MHz), with 4
megabytes (MB) of RAM, an 80 MB hard disk and a video graphics
array (VGA) graphics card and monitor, Apple said. DOS 5.0 and
Windows 3.1 is also required. Movies with sound require
installation of a Windows-compatible sound card and Apple
recommends a compact disc read-only memory drives and graphics
card displaying at least 256 colors.

The product is scheduled to be released through Apple's APDA
division June 1 of this year. However, company representatives
said no pricing information is available at this time.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930513/Press Contact: Marcella Wucher, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00029)

British Insurance Company Offers Virus Insurance 05/13/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 13 (NB) -- The Eagle Star insurance
company has announced several improvements to its computer
policies. The policies now contain features that the insurance
giant claims have been specifically designed to meet the
continuing developments in technology and the increased risks
resulting from greater reliance of businesses on computers.

The policies now cover attacks from virus programs. The key
changes, according to Eagle Star, are the simplification of
cover, the inclusion of additional expenses due to erasure or
corruption of software and data, including an attack from a
computer virus. Other changes include worldwide transit cover for
up to UKP 25,000.

Insurance companies have been intimating they intend to offer
virus protection insurance although, until Eagle Star's changes,
no one company had broken ranks.

(Steve Gold/19930513/Press & Public Contact: Eagle Star
Insurance - 0242-221311)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00030)

Teleconferencing Markets To Grow Seven-Fold In 90s 05/13/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 13 (NB) --
According to a new study by Frost & Sullivan/Market Intelligence,
the worldwide market for teleconferencing systems and services
will expand to more than seven times its current size by the end
of the decade.

The study predicts that the market growing at a 33 percent
compound annual rate to nearly $13 billion in 1999, up from
$1.7 billion in 1992.

Videoconferencing systems will feature heavily in the growth.
The study says that those systems will increase their worldwide
share from 28 percent in 1992 to 46 percent in 1999.

The report is titled: World Teleconferencing Systems And
Services Markets: Look Who's Talking.

The report also says that audiographics systems - which
transmits less detailed visual information - will also increase
in share of overall teleconferencing sales, from five percent in
1992 to eight percent by 1999.

The reports also says that what is driving the market is the
need to reduce expenses and increased end-user demand for
communication. Advances in technology and standards
development are also contributing to less expensive and more
flexible teleconferencing systems.

The trend towards desktop and integrated teleconferencing
systems is apparent, which are designed to allow the end user to
have more control than costly, dedicated, stand-alone and
custom-built systems.

The report also says that teleconferencing will see increasing
use by non-business end-users such as government, hospitals
and clinics, schools and universities, courts and households.

The North American market for teleconferencing will decline
below 50 percent of worldwide revenues by 1999, although it
will remain the largest market through the decade. The Pacific
Rim will be the fastest growing regional market.

(Ian Stokell/19930513/Press Contact: Amy Arnell,
415-961-9000, Market Intelligence)