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/nb930524

Text File | 1993-05-24 | 70KB | 1,532 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00001)

Use Your Tape Drive As An Extra Hard Disk 05/24/93
OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Would you like
extra disk space at ten dollars per gigabyte? A new start-up
company says it can offer tape backup users the ability to use
their tape backup drive just like a hard disk drive.

Tapedisk, with its software product by the same name, says it
offers Microsoft Windows and DOS users the ability to treat
their digital audio tape (DAT) and QIC-1000 tape backup drives
just like another hard disk. The software mounts the tape in
the tape drive and then users can access the tape using the
same DOS and Windows commands just as they would using their
hard disk drive, even running software programs from the tape
backup drive.

Tapedisk is a software device driver that allows the tape drive
to emulate a hard disk, even assigning the drive a DOS drive-
letter designation. Company President Ralph Shnelvar says
backup speeds can be as high as 18 megabytes (MB) per minute.
The company says that, with the cost of 1.3 gigabyte (GB) DAT
tapes at $10 and 2GB DAT tapes at $13, users can afford to keep
snapshot of their entire system and run from those tapes in
case the hard disk goes down.

In addition, since the tape drive appears just like another
hard disk drive, Windows for Workgroup users can share a single
tape backup drive, accessing and writing files to the drive.

The software also offers a Tdupdate utility which allows a
"virtual full-backup" of a system instead of incremental
backups so the exact environment can be re-created at any time
without having to deal with incremental backups. The utility
looks at the files in the material to be backed up  and
automatically copies any changed files, copies new files, and
deletes any files that have been deleted.

While DAT drives cost the user a higher initial investment, as
they are priced in the $1,100 to $1,200 price range, the low
price of the DAT computer tapes make the drives a bargain,
according to Tapedisk. While tape backup drives such as
Colorado cost less initially ($200 to $300) the cost of much
lower capacity 120MB tapes at $40 to $50 each make these
drives more expensive to use in the long run, Tapedisk maintains.
The company does not currently support the Colorado tape drives.

Tapedisk requires a 386, 486 or Pentium-based personal computer
(PC), MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, a 100-percent compatible ASPI
driver and a Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI)
controller, and the LIM EMS memory software driver version 4.0
or higher.

The company says Tapedisk will support Hewlett-Packard
35480A and 35470, Archive Python, and Wangdat 3200 SCSI DAT
drives as well as the Tandberg TDC4100 QIC-1000 format tape
drive. The product is available directly from Tapedisk for
$199.95.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930521)


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

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media Last Week 05/24/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Computer Reseller News for the week of May 17 says that no less
than eight PC insiders are worth $1 billion, led, of course, by
Bill Gates, who only draws $285,000 in salary and benefits.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has less than half as much money
as Gates but is probably comfortable with his $3 billion, and
Executive VP Steven Ballmer is doing well with more than $1
billion. In fact, Microsoft hosts about 2,000 millionaires, due
to liberal stock option policies. Packard and Hewlett, Oracle's
Lawrence, Raymond Noorda (Novell founder), and Intel's Gordon
Moore round out the PC billionaires.

Computerworld dated May 17 reports that Apple Computer's new
open systems approach includes a promise from Senior VP David
Nagel that "no major technology will be introduced from Apple that
won't have cross-platform, near simultaneous release." The story
also reports that Apple head John Sculley has predicted that the
company will ship one million PowerPC-based computers in 1994.
The PowerPC will be developed by IBM, Apple, and Motorola and
will be based on a new RISC (reduced instruction-set computer)
microprocessor.

Confusion is the by-word for workgroup software users and
vendors, says the May 17 issue of Communicationsweek in a
front-page story. Workgroup software is loosely defined as an
integrated network product offering calendar, electronic-mail,
spreadsheet, and word processing functions, but the vendors have
yet to settle down and define what users really need and want.

(John McCormick/19930521/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00003)

Wordperfect Sponsors Japanese Soccer Team 05/24/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) --  Wordperfect has
announced that it will participate in a three-year
co-sponsorship of a Japanese soccer team.

The software company, best known for its popular Wordperfect
word processing program, says it will join with car maker
Mitsubishi Motors to sponsor the Urawa Red Diamonds, the
team that finished fourth in Emperor's Cup competition in 1992.

Ad Rietveld, Wordperfect senior VP of sales and marketing, says
soccer is fast becoming one of the most popular sports in Japan.
"Some sports gurus say soccer may overtake baseball as the
favorite," according to Rietveld. "Sponsoring one of the J League's
outstanding teams is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our
presence in the Japanese software market."

Wordperfect's Ken Merritt told Newsbytes one of the ways that's
done is by putting the Wordperfect name on the player's jerseys.

The Red Diamonds claim three of Japan's top 20 players, and is
promoted by two-time World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer, who
played for the New York Cosmos and promoted soccer in the US
during the 1970's. He later returned to his native Germany to
coach the German national team to two World Cup victories.

According to Wordperfect Japan General Manager Jeffrey Lewis,
Japan is the second largest computer hardware and software
market. He says co-sponsorship of the team is a part of WP's
overall marketing plan to gain name recognition and more
visibility in the software market. "We're expecting a big return
on our investment." Merritt said WP will spend about $1.3
million per year to co-sponsor the team. No Americans play in
the league.

In February Newsbytes reported that Wordperfect would sponsor
the Jan Raas cycling team, ranked fourth in UCI professional
world standings. The company said it would spend about $16
million to sponsor the European racing team. Wordperfect says
it realizes about 40 percent of its worldwide sales from the
European market.

Lewis says ticket sales have been brisk for the first year of
professional soccer in Japan, with season tickets selling out a
week before the first Red Diamonds game. The season runs from
May 15 through October. Five of the Red Diamonds 18 games
will be televised. The J League is currently being considered by
soccer's international governing body Federation Internationale
de Football Association for participation in the 1994 World Cup
competition.

(Jim Mallory/19930521/Press contact: Ken Merritt, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5059, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00004)

Lasermaster Intros 36-inch Digital Color Printer 05/24/93
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) --
Lasermaster Technologies has unveiled its new super-large
format, continuous-feed color printer.

The DisplayMaker Digital Color printer can print images up to
36-inches wide, and has a suggested retail price of $17,995.
Lasermaster says the DisplayMaker is targeted at the
professional graphic arts, pre-press, and service printing
industries. It is designed to produce large scale display
advertisements, point of purchase displays, trade show exhibits,
renderings, posters, and other large color print advertising.

The unit uses an our-color ink-jet engine, a high speed color image
processor, and LaserMaster's proprietary ColorSpan technology for
color matching and image enhancement. Lasermaster's CEO says the
objective with Big Color systems are similar to the objectives the
company had when it introduced its plain-paper typesetting
technology. "We are using Lasermaster technology to bring short run
color printing, a complex and expensive job, from the back room to
the desktop." The company also said the under-$20,00 price tag
makes quality large format color printing available as an
alternative to systems costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Lasermaster Marketing VP Sandra Crowley told Newsbytes the
system is compatible with any IBM or Macintosh personal computer,
and uses conventional PostScript printer drivers. Print resolution
is 300 dots per inch. DisplayMaker is expected to ship in late June.

(Jim Mallory/19930521/Press contact: Sandra Crowley,
Lasermaster, 612-941-8687; Reader contact: Lasermaster,
612-944-9457)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00005)

Storagetek To Acquire Disk Drive Maker Amperif 05/24/93
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- In a move it
says is designed to broaden its product offerings in the high-end,
random access storage market, Storage Technology (Storagetek)
says it has executed a letter of intent to acquire Chatsworth,
California-based Amperif.

Amperif builds high performance random access storage
subsystems for Unisys platforms and is developing a high-speed
RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) 5 disk array
architecture designed to provide a family of products for
mainframe systems.

Storagetek says the deal is subject to development of a definitive
agreement, as well as approval by the appropriate government
agencies. It also requires approval by the boards of directors of the
two companies. Storagetek says it will issue approximately 1.3
million shares of common stock to Amperif shareholders to pay for
the deal. It will also set aside about 600,000 shares for warrants
and employee stock options. The transaction is expected to be
accounted for as a pooling of interests.

Storagetek says the merger is part of a three-tiered strategy to
enhance market coverage. The primary element in that strategy
will be Storagetek's long-awaited Iceberg product, a RAID 5
subsystem that has caused the company's fortunes to oscillate
as the industry awaited its release only to be disappointed on
several occasions when the product was delayed. Storagetek
Chairman Ryal Poppa says that the company expects to ship
production units of Iceberg in the fourth quarter, but cautioned
that that schedule cannot be guaranteed. The company expects
Iceberg to enter internal beta testing in July.

The second offering will be Amperif's Viking architecture  - a
RAID 5 technology for the IBM-compatible mainframe disk market.
The third element of Storagetek's strategy is Nordique, a
Storagetek-designed product that is designed as a medium-scale
RAID 0/1/5 device for the midsize segment of the large-capacity
disk drive market for both IBM and non-IBM units.

Nordique uses a large variable high-speed memory in the control
unit to provide greater throughput than conventional disk units.
Nordique is expected to be available in late 1993. Viking products
are scheduled to ship in the second half of 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19930521/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00006)

Nike, Sequent Computer Employees Participate In "Car Out" 05/24/93
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) --  The traffic was
considerably lighter on Highway 26 during the rush hour last week,
as employees of Nike and Sequent Computer Systems got together
for a "Car Out Corporate Challenge."

The two companies say the result of the challenge was almost
600 fewer cars on the road that day. Nike edged out Sequent in
percentage of employees participating, 28 percent to 25 percent,
but Sequent says it's employees did better in raising the daily
participation in carpooling and alternate means of transportation.
It was the second annual event for Nike employees, while Sequent
participated for the first time. Participating Nike employees got
free beverages and muffins, while the folks from Sequent got a
free cookie.

Both companies say they have ongoing programs to encourage
reducing the number of single-occupant automobiles on the road.
The "Car Out" event was held to increase awareness and
participation on those programs.

Nike's carpool and BRS (bike/run/walk/skate) commuter
programs are the models for similar programs at Hewlett-Packard
in Corvallis, Oregon and at Burley Design in Eugene, Oregon. The
Oregon Department of Transportation is working with Nike to
develop a brochure and poster to promote alternative, energy-
efficient methods of commuting to and from work.

(Jim Mallory/19930521/Press contact: Keith Peters, Nike,
503-671-3732 or Leslie Sharp, Sequent Computer Systems,
503-578-5891)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00007)

Russia - Computerized Gas Stations 05/24/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Now car drivers in
St. Petersburg have an opportunity to pay for gas with special
debit cards. Two companies have independently implemented
computerized service systems for gas stations.

The Russian Lilit company has created original hardware and
software which permits users to pay for gas with the help of
special debit cards, complying to ISO (International Standards
Organization) standards. Some equipment, such as computers
and printers were purchased from Taiwan vendors, and various
interfaces for the fuelling pumps were made by Lilit.

Two gas stations have worked with the software for two
months already, and the company has 800 clients. All data is
collected in central database.

Another system of this kind was implemented recently by ELSY
(Electronic Systems) - the joint venture between Olivetti
Information Systems and NPO Electronmash. Its service also
covers two oil stations, but they use fully imported equipment.

The market for this service is large and unexplored. Both
companies have a substantial growth potential, according to
industry experts.

(Eugene Peskin & Kirill Tchashchin/19930521/Press Contact:
Lilit, phone [phone]; ELSY, phone [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00008)

Russia - St. Petersburg Directory Service Goes Electronic 05/24/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Until now, telephone
directory assistance service in St. Petersburg used a paper card
index. Now the service has started to use a computer database,
which is also commercially available.

The database had been shown at the "Information Automated
Systems" exhibition held recently in the city. It works under
MS-DOS on IBM PC compatibles and contains around 70,000 phone
numbers and 32,000 addresses, mostly of business customers.

The database is available at a cost of 600,000 roubles (US$600)
or one can purchase selected parts of the base covering specific
industries, costing 50,000 roubles each. An update service is
also provided.

There are plans to offer access to the database through
computer networks, although pricing and access details have
yet to be announced.

St.Petersburg has an installed phone base of around 1.6
million.

(Eugene Peskin & Kirill Tchashchin/19930521)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00009)

Russia - Another International Fiber Cable Installed 05/24/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- A large-capacity fiber
optic trunk has been installed and put into operation between
St. Petersburg in Russia, and Helsinki in Finland. It is the
second substantial improvement to Russian international phone
connections in the last month.

Of the 15 trunk lines, 10 are owned by the Intertelecom and
Telecom Finland International, and the rest by Lenenergo and
Imatran Voima, the Russian and Finnish power distribution
companies. Three trunks are now connected, providing up to
90,000 telephone channels, according to the RIA news service
report. The rest are to be activated within several months.

This installation once again points out to the problems of local
cabling and infrastructure. Access to new international lines
is very limited by the low capacities of local telephone systems
in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, according to the
head of the Moscow phone network.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930521)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00010)

Comdex - IBM's New OS/2 Attitude 05/24/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- IBM is showing its
OS/2 2.1 with a new attitude based on one word - "orders."

Wally Casey, director of marketing for personal software products
at IBM, said in a recent interview, "OS/2 2.0 is doing great. We
shipped over two million in the first 9 months. We've been landing
big contracts like Price Waterhouse" - a 25,000 unit order - "and
the Social Security Administration" - a 70,000 unit order. "We can
only expect things to get dramatically better with 2.1."

This Comdex will give the public its first chance to try-out OS/2
2.1, and Casey is promising they will be able to get "real hands-on
with it. They'll be a test drive center. It will be the real live
code." The only reason the product isn't shipping until June 14,
Casey says, is to give IBM time to load stores with software. The
new product is so big it comes on a CD-ROM. Original ship dates
slipped from March, but IBM makes no apologies, saying
substantial improvements have been made, including the first
release of a beta version on CD-ROM.

As to features, Casey says, "We want to emphasize a couple of
things. It's new levels of performance. It allows OS/2
applications to run faster, including Windows 3.1 applications
running at or near native Windows performance, in a seamless
environment. We've got support for all the popular Super VGA
drivers. And we've got new levels of printer support to cover
over 260 different kinds of printers, including the HP Laserjet
IV." IBM has even begun developing a third-party magazine
industry behind it, with titles like OS/2 Professional, a
bi-monthly from I.F. Computer Media in Rockville, Maryland.

Casey says that while the OS/2 logo remains the same, even the
box is improved. And the CD-ROM version of the product will not
only cost less than the diskette version, but have more features,
like audio and video clips that play as part of the package. "It
also includes our new multimedia extensions, and most important,
it has in it software motion video playback at 30 frames-per
second with no hardware assist. Most of the industry is running
at 15 frames-per-second with hardware assist. This is really
breakthrough stuff."

"We've taken all the issues that were on the table and
done away with them," Casey concludes. IBM is also proud of the
fact that it got the first major revision of a "real" OS/2 out
less than a year after the first shipment, compared to three
years between Microsoft Windows 3.0 and 3.1.

IBM has also got application developers behind the new OS/2, and
13 applications are part of the advertising campaign in support
of the launch. Companies like WordPerfect, Lotus, Micrografx,
and Corel will also be advertising their support in their own
ads. IBM is also emphasizing support of its own client-server
strategy for OS/2 with products like LAN Server and LAN Netview
which are important for corporate customers using that
technology to replace mainframes.

"OS/2 is not a network OS in and of itself," Casey adds. "But
with LAN Server it becomes the fastest DOS and OS/2 server in the
business, including NetWare 4.0. We've got some very powerful
tools for that environment. We're targeting this thing for both
the client and the server. The near native performance means
we've now captured the client, but we've always been strongest
on the server. We're ready for the battle with NT, whether or not
they're ready for us."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930524/Press Contact: Steven Malkiewicz,
IBM, 914-642-5449; OS/2 Professional, Edwin Black,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BOS)(00011)

Spinnaker Reports 3Qtr Loss, Renews Traditional Focus 05/24/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Spinnaker
Software has announced a $19.03 million operating loss for the
third quarter, along with plans to sell its line of data access
products, and focus more fully on personal productivity software,
its traditional strong suit.

About $14.05 million of the loss was due to a one-time charge
for purchased research and development relating to Spinnaker's
March 30 acquisition of Power Up, another top player in the
personal productivity segment, officials reported in the company's
latest financial statement.

The Power Up product line consists of a variety of personal
productivity tools for DOS, Windows, and the Mac, including
Calendar Creator Plus, FormWorx, Express Publisher, Labels
Unlimited, Quick Schedule Kit, Address Book Plus, and Name That
Disk.

Spinnaker's previously-established product lines include the PFS:
and Easy Working suites of DOS- and Windows-based software for
the small business and home office arena, in addition to Plus and
Personal Access data access software for corporate enterprise
use.

Spinnaker hasn't yet set an asking price for Plus and Personal
Access, said Dan Chmielewski, a company spokesperson, in
an interview with Newsbytes. "The client/server (data access)
software didn't work out very well for us, but we've been
consistently successful in the small business and home office
market," Chmielewski said.

Developers from Spinnaker and its new Power Up subsidiary are
now at work on several new applications, and these will be
announced as products this summer, he told Newsbytes.

Spinnaker's third quarter ended March 31. Also during the period,
the company's quarterly revenues dropped to $5.11 million, down
$2.37 million from $7.48 million for the same quarter the previous
year, according to the financial statement.

In the statement, C. David Seuss, president, cited two negative
impacts on revenue for the quarter:  a general slump in retail
sales throughout the US, together with price protection allowances
provided to dealers, distributors and direct customers to support
repricing in Spinnaker's PFS:Pretty Fantastic Savings promotion.

In Pretty Fantastic Savings, the prices of PFS branded products
have been reduced to below $50 from previous levels of about $80.
Spinnaker expects the lower pricing to generate incremental
revenue and profits in current retail outlets and to provide
entrance into new stores, but the timing of its introduction was
too late for significant third quarter benefits, said Seuss.

"Pretty Fantastic Savings is still going on, and it's been very
well received," Chmielewski commented. Spinnaker will launch more
promotions for the personal productivity products this quarter and
the next, he added.

Power Up brings important synergies, officials said.  Where
Spinnaker has emphasized retail distribution, Power Up has
concentrated on building direct catalog reach.

IBM, Apple, Compaq, Dell, NEC, ZDS, Acer, Fountain and Tandy
are all bundling Spinnaker or Power Up software with PCs.

For 1992, Spinnaker reported revenues of $28 million and Power Up
reported revenues of $34 million, a total that would put Spinnaker
in 17th place in the 1993 SoftLetter top 100 list of independent PC
software companies in the US.

Chmielewski told Newsbytes that Power Up is the number one
competitor in the PC calendar market. Spinnaker is the leader in
resume software, with a combined market share of 70 percent
from Easy Working Resume Kit and PFS:Resume and Job Search Pro,
he said. A Windows version of Resume and Job Search Pro is
slated to join the DOS edition in the marketplace soon.

Chmielewski corroborated previously published press reports that
some technologies from Power Up might be integrated into
Spinnaker products. But when asked to confirm that Calendar
Creator Plus might be incorporated into one of Spinnaker's
desktop publishing software, he declined to comment.

"We're looking at how (Spinnaker and Power Up) can best
complement each other over both the short- and long-term in
the next generation of products," he told Newsbytes.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930523/Press contact:  Dan Chmielewski,
Spinnaker, tel [phone], ext 458)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00012)

Comdex - Borland's Kahn To Speak On Object Computing 05/24/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- The Southeastern
Software Association and Borland International are inviting all
Comdex attendees to a discussion entitled "Object Computing for
the 90s" to be presented by Philippe Kahn, Borland's chairman,
CEO, and President.

The discussion is to be held in the General Assembly Room of
Inforum at 250 Williams Street in Atlanta  at 10:30 am on May
25. Admission is free and reservations are not required.

Kahn, known as a lively and entertaining speaker, will discuss
the future of object oriented programming and technology,
along with Borland's thrust into the future. Kahn often makes
appearances before user groups and other forums during major
trade shows.

Kahn's discussion will reportedly include information about
Borland's commitment to the Borland Office package. The project
embraces the Virtual Corporation concept as indicated by the
pairing of Paradox for Windows, Quattro Pro for Windows, and
WordPerfect for Windows.

"The Virtual Corporation" is a concept explored in a book of the
same name by William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone. In it they
state that "Business success in the global marketplace of the
future is going to depend on companies that partner together to
leverage their individual strengths to deliver the best products
and solutions for their customers."

A question-and-answer session is set to follow Kahn's talk.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19930524/Public Contact: Borland
International, Atlanta office, 404-395-4400)


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

Japan - NTT Plans Pay-Phone Rate Rise 05/24/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Japan's major
telecommunication firm, NTT, is planning to triple public pay
phone charges for inner-city calls in April 1994.

According to NTT, the firm has been in red in its pay-phone
business. NTT has already submitted the application to the Posts
and Telecommunication Ministry, and it is expected to be accepted.

NTT is currently charging 10 yen (9 cents) per minute for
inner-city calls by pay-phone. It is the same as that of regular
phone calls via home phones. However, the home phone users are
paying monthly basic charge of about $18. From this view point,
the pay-phone calls are cheaper because there are no basic fees.

According to NTT's plan, the pay-phone fees will be raised in
two phases. This is the first increase in pay-phone fees in
17 years.

NTT's pay-phone business is in the red. In fiscal 1991, NTT
reported losses of 23.4 billion yen ($210 million), and the firm is
expecting more deficit in fiscal 1992, which ended in March 1993.

If NTT's plan all goes well, the firm will be able to increase its
revenue from 319 billion yen ($2.9 billion) in fiscal 1992 to 336
billion yen ($3.05 billion) in fiscal 1993. In fiscal 1994, the
company hopes to increase revenue to 392.4 billion yen ($3.55
billion). According to NTT, the pay-phone business will be in the
black in fiscal 1994 with an estimated profit of 15.5 billion yen
($140 million).

The proposed pay-phone hike may not affect many of the pay-phone
users because more than 60 percent of the calls from pay-phones
end within 60 seconds, which costs only 10 yen per call. As long
as the call ends within 60 seconds, the user will be given the
same charge as it is now.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930524/Press Contact: NTT,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00014)

NEC To Join Inmalsat's Mobile Phone Project 05/24/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- NEC says it has decided to
join Inmalsat's mobile phone project, which is expected to
compete with Motorola's Iridium project. NEC is the second
Japanese firm to join in the project following KDD.

Inmalsat's project is called Project 21. Under the project,
Inmalsat will launch space satellites to start the mobile phone
service in 1998. Theoretically, registered users of this service
will be able to make phone calls via space satellites from
anywhere in the world.

Inmalsat's secretary general is currently visiting Japan and
has met KDD and NEC officials in order to discuss the project. An
NEC spokesman has told Newsbytes that the firm has basically
agreed with Inmalsat on the project. However, both firms are
still discussing the details. It is expected that NEC will give
support to the data processing technology, and will help in the
development of mobile phone and switching devices.

Inmalsat is currently researching the project jointly with
Hughes Communications and British Aerospace. Motorola is also
planning a similar Iridium project, and has recently agreed with
Japanese telecom firms including DDI to create a Japanese
subsidiary.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930524/Press Contact: NEC,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00015)

Canadian Product Launch Update 05/24/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- This regular
feature provides further details for the Canadian market on
announcement by international companies that Newsbytes has
already covered. This week there has been several announcements
from IBM Canada, new Compaq PCs, and Canon's notebook computer
with a built-in printer.

Canon Canada has introduced the NoteJet 486, a notebook
computer with a built-in ink-jet printer (Newsbytes, April 13),
to the Canadian market. The 7.7-pound notebook with a
25-megahertz (MHz) 486SLC processor and a 360 dots-per-inch
(dpi), 116 characters-per-second Canon Bubble Jet printer built-in,
has a Canadian list price of C$3,999. Shipments are due to begin in
June. Montreal-based Hartco Enterprises, which runs computer
stores under the Compucentre, Compuco, MicroAge, and Microvar
names, was named exclusive Canadian distributor.

Compaq Canada has unveiled three new LTE Lite notebook
computers, all based on 486DX microprocessors (Newsbytes, May
19). The new notebooks are shipping in volume now, except the LTE
Lite 4/33C, which is due to ship at the end of May. Canadian
prices are C$3,799 for the LTE Lite 4/25, C$4,619 for the 4/25e,
and C$6,319 for the 4/33c, all with 120-megabyte (MB) hard drives.
Models with 209MB hard drives are also available. A new
QuickConnect option, which lets users attach several peripheral
devices to a notebook in one operation, is also shipping at
C$419, the company said.

Also from Compaq are new systems based on Intel's just-launched
Pentium processor (Newsbytes, May 17). The ProSignia Model 5/60
server will start at C$7,569, the SystemPro 5/66 at C$27,499, the
Deskpro P5/60 at C$6,829, and the Deskpro P5/66 at C$10,399. The
desktop models are shipping now in limited quantities, Compaq
said, and the servers are expected to be available, also in
limited quantities, late in the third quarter.

Compaq also introduced several options for its PC products and
cut prices on some existing models.

IBM Canada has announced a host of new products from Adstar, the
company's storage systems subsidiary (Newsbytes, May 21). New
direct-access storage device (DASD), optical, and tape storage
products are included in the announcements, which matched those
made by Adstar in the United States.

IBM Canada also enhanced the RISC System/6000 family of
workstations and servers (Newsbytes, May 19). Canadian prices and
availability are: Powerstation and Powerserver 230, C$6,335, May
28; Powerstation 23T, C$11,220, May 28; Powerstation 23W,
C$8,840, May 28; Powerserver 23S, C$11,745, May 28; Powerstation
36T, C$28,830, June 4; Powerstation 37T, C$33,105, June 4;
Powerserver 550L, C$34,665, June 4; 6094 Spaceball Model 030,
C$2,110, June 4; S/370 Channel Emulator/A, C$4,620, June 25; and
the Gt1X Graphics Adapter, C$1,650, May 28.

Last of the IBM announcements is OS/2 2.1, the new release of the
company's personal computer operating system (Newsbytes, May 18).
To be available in Canada June 14, OS/2 2.1 will carry a list
price of C$249. For 90 days, IBM Canada is offering upgrades to
users of earlier OS/2 versions and DOS at C$99 for the CD-ROM
version and C$129 for the diskette version.

(Grant Buckler/19930524/Press Contact: Ben Werbski, Canon Canada,
416-795-1111; Joh Robinson, Compaq Canada, 416-229-8808; Anne
Hay or Anne McDonagh, IBM Canada, 416-474-3900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00016)

 ****IBM, Phoenix Team Up On BIOS 05/24/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- IBM, which
established the predominant personal computer hardware standard,
and Phoenix Technologies, which helped other companies clone
it, are now working together to offer a PC basic input-output
system (BIOS) with IBM's blessing.

BIOS software is the interface between hardware and higher-level
software, such as the operating system and applications. Phoenix
was among the first to produce a BIOS compatible with that used
in IBM's original Personal Computer, and by licensing this BIOS
to other PC makers, it helped make possible the growth of the
IBM-compatible PC industry.

Now, Norwood, Massachusetts-based Phoenix and IBM have announced
that they will license IBM's own original PC BIOS - updated and
modified somewhat by the two companies - to other PC
manufacturers. They call their offering the SurePath BIOS
Licensing Program.

The companies have created a trademark and logo that signify
compliance with the SurePath PC Standard specification. Phoenix
spokesman Michael Deutsch said Phoenix is now shipping the
SurePath BIOS, "the original, authentic IBM BIOS," to original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

OEMs that license the product also gain access through Phoenix to
IBM's Architecture Review Board to extend the SurePath PC
Standard specification for new technologies and features. Phoenix
will serve as a "buffer" between IBM and the OEMs, allowing OEMs
to submit requests for extensions to the software anonymously,
Deutsch told Newsbytes.

The companies are also offering SurePath Verification Tools, a
suite of software programs meant to test conformance to the
SurePath specification.

Deutsch said Phoenix will continue selling its own Phoenix BIOS,
and is keeping development efforts separate to avoid legal
problems arising from the fact that it has access to IBM
technology for the SurePath product while it is
reverse-engineering the same technology to build its own BIOS.

The SurePath BIOS will appeal largely to PC market leaders that
want the latest BIOS technology as quickly as possible, Deutsch
said. He added that a promising market exists in Japan, which is
just now moving to the PC standard.

(Grant Buckler/19930524/Press Contact: Michael Deutsch, Phoenix
Technologies, 617-551-4184)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00017)

Ontario To Fund IT Industry Strategy Study 05/24/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- The Province of
Ontario will spend C$485,000 on a study aimed at developing a
strategic industry plan for the computer industry in the
province. The provincial Minister of Economic Development and
Trade, Frances Lankin, announced the funding along with similar
backing for studies in four other industrial sectors.

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the
Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA), and the Canadian
Information Processing Society (CIPS) are sponsoring the study
along with the province and will supply most of the membership of
the task force, said Jim Hayward, chair of the advisory committee
and a computer industry consultant.

He said the committee is to produce a report this fall that will
be a "blue-print" for encouraging the development of the computer
industry in Ontario. The report will be made public, Hayward said.

Exactly what will come of the report remains to be seen. Funding
is not guaranteed for whatever initiatives the committee may
recommend, although Hayward said the minister has said she has
some money available for the current fiscal year. The committee's
report is to include a specific proposal for funding by the
provincial government.

The announcement comes almost simultaneously with a tough
provincial budget that raised income taxes and extended retail
sales taxes to new areas. Facing a large deficit, Ontario is also
trying to negotiate wage cuts with civil servants and is
threatening to fight rising health-care costs with measures
that would sharply curtail the ability of new medical-school
graduates to practice in the province.

Money for any computer-sector initiatives would probably come
from the government's existing C$150 million Sector Partnership
Fund, Hayward said. Government officials say this fund is meant
to create jobs by promoting the health of key industry sectors.

He added that "our hope in this committee is, not only to have
ideas which the government can take action on, but to have
things which in fact the industry can move on." He said the
industry needs to create a climate of more cooperation and
promote understanding of the computer sector among the
general public.

"We probably have a much more exciting software industry
than anybody knows," Hayward said. "We just need to build our
confidence." While there are no guarantees of generous
government funding, Hayward said, "I have a sense at least of
commitment to do something about it."

(Grant Buckler/19930524/Press Contact: Paul Howard, Ontario
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, 416-325-6909;
Nancy Mancini, Information Technology Association of Canada,
416-602-8510, ext. 227)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00018)

 ****Comdex - IBM's Multimedia Strategy 05/24/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- The IBM
multimedia  strategy, on display at the West Hall during this
Comdex, is to fill every possible niche and meet every possible
standard.

This was all explained to Newsbytes by Steven Solazzo, the
company's director, marketing and support-multimedia, who is
based in Atlanta. At this show, Big Blue is showing off its new
Ultimedia Server/6000, new ValuePoint hardware for multimedia,
and an endorsement of the MPC Level 2 specification.

"The Ultimedia roll-out continues," he said. "We started several
years ago with base products. Last fall we introduced a series of
products across the product line," including multimedia
mainframes in its ES-9000 series. "We plan to continue to
emphasize multimedia through all our brands and products.

"Ultimedia ValuePoint is the next turn of the crank. It's a
drumbeat of announcements, all year long, from desktops to
networks to servers, to tools, and we'll focus on the major
events, beating the drum with regularity. You'll continue
to see a stream of products."

Solazzo's vision for multimedia is fairly simple. "Ultimedia is
computing. We laid out a vision for enterprise wide multimedia,
and we're implementing that vision. In time all our products and
functions will be enabled with multimedia. We're prioritizing
today the products that are needed for applications. That's why
the endorsement of the MPC 2 spec, that's why the ValuePoint
systems. And we'll continue that.

"We're not abdicating leadership" by following standards, he
insisted. "We're working with the standards-setting bodies to
effect the standards, then implementing them better than anyone
else, across the product line. With the end-to-end product line
we have a better solution than someone with just add-in cards
and desktop systems."

All this is happening outside Comdex as well. During the recent
National Association of Broadcasters' show, for instance, IBM
announced its Power Visualization System will be used for high-
end digital video special effects, in competition with Silicon
Graphics' Indiodo and Onyx lines.

The company also announced a joint venture with James Cameron,
director of the "Terminator" movies, to deliver special effects
using the PVS. The  R6000 media server is being pitched to cable
companies for video-on-demand applications. And the beat will
continue. "Our strategy is the leverage the strength and diversity
of IBM. There's no one else in all these markets," he said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930421/Press Contact: Gary Baker, for IBM,
212-505-9900)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00019)

 ****Cray Computer Finally Delivers First Cray-3 05/24/93
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- After
months of delay, loss of business, and with its cash reserves
dwindling, Cray Computer has delivered its first Cray-3
supercomputer system to the National Center For Atmospheric
Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado.

The system was delivered to NCAR under the terms of an equipment
loan agreement which calls for the company to loan the gallium
arsenide-based supercomputer and a high capacity, high performance
RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) to NCAR for
approximately six months. Cray said it will not receive any income
during the evaluation and demonstration period.

RAID systems use a series of low cost disks to store data in
multiple locations in order to reduce the possibility of data loss
in case of system or disk failure.

Once the installation is complete, NCAR is expected to begin
transferring its large scale scientific users to the new system.
Presently NCAR users are running their applications remotely on an
in-house Cray-2 system. Cray's reclusive Chairman and CEO
Seymour Cray said the company will work with NCAR and Thinking
Machines in the joint development of hardware and software to
address global weather research simulations.

Howard Watts, Cray VP of sales and marketing called the Cray-3
delivery "a major milestone for the company," and said the
company's sales and marketing activities will be greatly enhanced
based on the user experience derived from the NCAR installation.

After the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories canceled its order
for the first Cray-3, when Cray couldn't meet a significant
milestone in its development schedule, the company said it
would concentrate on developing smaller versions of the Cray-3
system.

(Jim Mallory/19930524/Press contact: Terry Willkom, Cray
Computer, 719-579-6464)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00020)

 ****Cray's Rollwagen Out As Commerce Deputy Sec 05/24/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- After resigning his
position as Chairman of Cray Research in February in order to take
the job, John Rollwagen now says he has withdrawn his name from
further consideration as deputy commerce secretary.

Rollwagen said delays in the scheduling of his Senate nomination
hearings for the number 2 job at the US Commerce Department "gave
him time for personal reflection." The Securities and Exchange
Commission had asked Rollwagen to participate in an insider
trading probe that centered around Cray Research spinoff Cray
Computer.

Rollwagen apparently felt that the SEC investigation wouldn't have
kept him from being nominated for the job at Commerce, reportedly
telling US Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown in a letter that he
provided the SEC with information and that he anticipated he would
have been able to proceed with the confirmation process soon,
according to British news service Reuters.

However, he allegedly told Brown that he felt he could better
serve the government in a private sector role, saying, "The
department's responsibilities and the administration's mission
are too important to be carried out at anything less than peak
effectiveness."  Brown said he would consider Rollwagen for an
advisory role.

The SEC will not comment publicly, but the investigation reportedly
focused on trades made in Cray Computer stock in 1991 prior to the
announcement that its only customer for the Colorado-based Cray
Research spinoff company's gallium arsenide-based supercomputer
was canceling its Cray-3 order, after Cray Computer missed a
critical milestone in its development schedule. Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratories exercised its Cray-3 contract option to select
another vendor if Cray Computer did not meet certain deadlines. The
order went to Cray Research.

The insider trading allegations against a Livermore Labs attorney
who allegedly sold stock before the lab publicly announced it was
canceling its contract have already been settled, with the attorney
paying the SEC $54,000 to resolve the matter. Earlier this year
Cray Computer settled a class action shareholder lawsuit that
alleged company officials knew the contract with Livermore Labs
was in jeopardy and the Cray-3 would be delayed, when the
company prepared a stock offering that raised about $65 million.

The Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph newspaper reported
recently that Seymour Cray told shareholders at the company's
annual meeting this month that Rollwagen was the victim of
unfortunate and coincidental events. "I feel sorry for John because
he was innocent as a lamb in that particular event," he is quoted
as saying.

Rollwagen was succeeded at Cray Research by John F. Carlson,
Cray's president and chief operating officer. A Cray Research
spokesperson told Newsbytes that while Rollwagen's future
plans are not known, he will definitely not be rejoining Cray
Research.

(Jim Mallory/19930524)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00021)

Motorola Intros New Microprocessors 05/24/93
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Motorola's High
Performance Microprocessor Division announced three new
microprocessors for the portable computer and consumer
applications market at the company's biannual press and analyst
briefing.

The new 32-bit microprocessors will appear in notebook
computers, personal intelligent communicators (PIC), and home
entertainment systems, such as interactive compact disc systems.
Motorola says that one of the chips - the 68349/Dragon I - will
serve as the "brains" of a forthcoming PIC from Motorola's Paging
and Wireless Data Group which will be based on General Magic's
Magic Cap, a communicating application platform. The Motorola
PIC is expected later this year.

The new chips are part of Motorola's 68000 line, one of which
powers the Sega Genesis game, a consumer product that shipped
about 4.5 million units in 1992 and is expected to ship six million
in 1993.

Motorola says the "Dragon" chip is the highest performance member
of the 68300 integrated microprocessor family, with a power
dissipation rating of 300 milliwatts. It integrates a CPU030 core
processor, a high speed 32-bit DMA controller, a dual serial
communications port, power management functions, and a system
integration module all on a single chip. The CPU030 combines a
32-bit central processor with an instruction cache and data
memory, as well as a full 32-bit address and data bus. Volume
shipments of the Dragon are scheduled for the fourth quarter.

The company says the 68341 was designed to meet the requirements
of the CD-I (compact disc-interactive) marketplace, and features a
CPU32, a high speed dual DMA controller, a dual serial communication
port, a timer, a real-time clock, and a system integration module.
The CPU32 is a 32-bit core processor based on the 68020 processor
that includes additional advanced instructions to provide up to six
VAX MIPS (million instructions per second) performance. It also has
a direct interface capability with 68000-based peripherals.
Operating speeds of up to 25 megahertz (MHz) are supported. The
68341 is also scheduled for shipment in the fourth quarter.

The company also introduced the 68040V, a low voltage version of
its 68040 microprocessor. From a single clock input the 68040V
generates two internal clock tics, enabling faster internal
operations from a slower external clock. It can operate at up to
33 MHz at 3.3 volts, with power dissipation of 1.5 watts. That's
one-sixth the power dissipation of the original 68040, according
to Motorola.

The chip includes a pipelined integer unit, dual on-chip 4 kilobyte
(KB) caches and fully independent instruction and data memory
management units, for a maximum of 35 VAX MIPS performance.
It uses 184-pin ceramic quad flat pack dense packaging, and is
scheduled for volume production in the second quarter of 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19930524/Press contact: Sally Winship, Cunningham
Communications for Motorola, 617-494-8202 ;Reader contact: Tom
Starnes, Motorola, 512-891-2125)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Cyrix Intros Faster 486 Chips 05/24/93
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) --  Cyrix, one of
the companies challenging Intel for its dominance of the personal
computer microprocessor market, has announced a family of new
486 CPU (central processor unit) and math co-processor chips
that are Intel 486SX pinout-compatible.

Cyrix won a court battle against Intel, the company that has long
dominated the personal computer microprocessor market, that
gave the company the right to market its 486 family of chips. The
company says the new Cx486S CPUs are the first 486SX pinout
CPUs offering complete desktop performance with low power
notebook and Green-PC features all in one chip.

Cyrix has stolen a march on Intel, since its 486SX CPUs are available
only in clock speeds of 25 and 33 megahertz (MHz). The new Cyrix
line offers 486S chips with speeds of 40 and 50 MHz. In addition
to the faster clock speeds, Cyrix says the new line includes a
companion low-cost math coprocessor, an on-board write-back
cache, clock doubling capability, and a static stop clock even with
clock doubling.

The company says the target desktop platform for the Cx486S also
takes advantage of features such as VESA local bus, accelerated
graphics, caching disk controller, large secondary cache, and eight
or more megabytes of main memory.

"There is a system trend away from slower ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) peripherals toward VESA (Video Electronic Standards
Association) local bus peripherals. A 40MHz CPU is a good match
for VL-Bus because VESA currently recommends 40MHz as the
maximum speed for VL-Bus slots," according to VESA Executive
Director Tom Ryan. A revised VL-Bus specification which will
allow slots to support even higher speed peripherals, including
the Cyrix 50MHz 486S chip, is expected this summer.

Cyrix says its companion math co-processor chip is packaged in a
small 80 pin QFP package designed to make it easy for OEMs (original
equipment manufacturers) to integrate it into their designs. Math
co-processors can significantly speed up applications that rely on
heavy numbers crunching such as spreadsheets and graphics.

Power saving features are receiving more emphasis with the
voluntary Energy Star standards released recently by the US
government to reduce power consumption. The US Environmental
Protection Agency estimates that conversion to low power PCs
could save PC users over $2 billion annually and reduce
greenhouse emissions in an amount roughly equivalent to that of
five million automobiles. President Clinton has signed an
executive order that requires all US government agencies to
buy PCs that meet the EPA's guidelines.

Cyrix spokesperson Michelle Moody told Newsbytes that several
personal computer makers, including Micro Express, Tangent
Computers, Trilogy, who have announced 486S-based systems
are demonstrating PCs running the chip in the Cyrix display in
Room 105 of the East Hall at the Spring Comdex show in Atlanta
through Wednesday. Cyrix has not penetrated top tier companies
like Dell and Compaq yet, but says they are working on them. "It's
difficult to get into those companies, but we're working to get
our foot in the door," said Moody.

Cyrix says its chip is about $100 less expensive than what it
considers the Intel comparable chip, in quantities of 1,000. Moody
declined to predict what effect the 486S would have on Intel's
486SX chip, but when Cyrix introduced its 486SLC chip that fits
in a 486 socket, Intel dropped its 486SX prices substantially.
Moody told Newsbytes key features of the Cyrix chip are its
ability to run available software and run in the same socket as
the Intel chip.

Moody called Intel's 486DX chip "a cash cow" and said Cyrix has a
DX-equivalent chip with an on-board math coprocessor, 8KB cache,
and on-chip FPU (floating point unit) on the drawing board.  Called
the M7, that chip is expected to ship before the end of the year,
said Moody.

Moody points out that the Cx486S is not a clone of Intel's chip, but
is socket- and software-compatible.

(Jim Mallory/19930524/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix
Corporation, 214-994-8302; Reader contact: Cyrix Corporation,
800-848-2979 or 214-994-8357, fax [phone])


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

Next Novell DOS Will Include fifth Generation Utilities 05/24/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 -- Novell says
the next version of Novell DOS, scheduled to ship this summer,
will include fully integrated utilities from Fifth Generation
Systems (FGS)that include backup and virus protection.

Included in Novell's DOS 7 will be the FGS backup utility Fastback
Express, an integrated backup and restore utility for DOS and
Microsoft Windows that uses direct memory access (DMA) and is
Netware-aware to ensure preservation and restoration of all
Netware file attributes. Fastback Express includes data
compression and automated unattended backup session capability.

Search & Destroy is the FGS virus protection program Novell will
include with its DOS 7. It is supposed to be effective against
thousands of known viruses and supports Microsoft Windows'
drag-and-drop, allowing users to quickly scan individual files
and directories in Windows.

The company says Novell DOS 7 will initially be available in
English, French and German versions, with Italian, Spanish and
Japanese language versions scheduled to follow later.

(Jim Mallory/19930524/Press contact: Jennifer Johnson,
Novell Corporation, 801-429-5804)


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

PacBell Opens New Netherlands Ops Center 05/24/93
NIJEMECHEN, NETHERLANDS, 1993 APR 24 (NB) -- Claiming that
its European business is going through the roof, Packard Bell has
announced the opening of a new European facility in the Netherlands.

Initially, the facility will employ 250 staff, but this figure is
expected to rise as the year progresses, once multi-lingual support
lines spanning Europe come onstream.

The 75,000 square foot purpose-built facility will handle
manufacturing, distribution/storage and technical support of
Packard Bell's dealers and customers throughout Europe. Plans
call for the company to install toll-free support lines from most
European countries. This will avoid the need for customers and
dealers having to dial internationally to contact the center,
where before they would call their local country support facility.

Despite being a late comer to the European market, the company
claims to have made some impressive inroads sales-wise. After
entering Europe officially in September, 1991, the company
generated sales of $100 million in 1992. The European center,
claiming to reflect this success, will have 50 technical support
staff manning more than 12 banks of country support lines.

Packard Bell officials claim that, as part of its European push,
the company will sell around 200,000 PCs in Europe this year.
Newsbytes notes that, during 1992, the company sold 700,000
PCs worldwide, around 40 percent more than the previous year.

(Steve Gold/19930524)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00025)

 ****UK - BT Begins 3rd & Final Share Sell Off 05/24/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- The multi-minute TV ads
have broken in the UK, encouraging Mr and Mrs Great Britain to rifle
their savings and invest in the third and final tranche of British
Telecommunications shares.

As previously reported by Newsbytes, the remaining 22 percent of
BT's shares are to be sold off over the next few months, with the
intention that around half of the shares will be sold to the general
public at a discounted price, with the remainder sold at market
rates. As before, the minimum price will be fixed at a later date by
the government. The sale should generate around UKP5,000 million
for the British government.

The formal prospectus for the shares will be made on June 29,
despite the fact that many people will be on their holidays. The
government claims that the more than adequate advance notice will
allow them to make special arrangements, including instructing
their banks to register their interests. The sale price will be
announced on June 29, ready for a shutdown on share applications
by mid-July.

As with previous sales, the sale will be by three installments,
spread over 12 to 18 months. To promote the sale, extensive TV
and press advertising has started today, and mailshots to 18
million households are going out in the post this week.

Announcing the media campaign, Steve Dorrell, the Financial
Secretary to the British Treasury Stephen Dorrell said: "The
marketing campaign for the BT3 share offer promises to be
exciting and innovative. Our intention is to maximize proceeds
for the taxpayer while further widening and deepening share
ownership."

(Steve Gold/19930524)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00026)

UK's Inland Revenue Contract Up For Grabs In The US 05/24/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- The Inland Revenue, the UK
equivalent of the Internal Revenue Service in the US, has named
two groups of tenderers as the finalists for a massive computer
services contract.

The sheer size of the contract has meant that both consortiums
are US-based, with Computer Sciences and IBM in one corner and
Electronic Data Systems and Scicon in the other. The potential
profits are huge, with a 10-year contract in the offing. The
contract is thought to be worth around UKP250 million a year and
involves data processing.

The winner of the contract, who will be announced in October of this
year, will assume control of the Inland Revenue's 2,100 staff at its
existing information technology (IT) headquarters, as well as 16
data and development centers around the UK.

Of the two groups, Computer Sciences is the hot favorite to win the
contract, having been supplying its computer services for the past
14 years. This perhaps explains IBM's decision to climb into bed
with the company. Analysts have not discounted the EDS/Scicon
group, however.

(Steve Gold/19930520)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00027)

 ****Two Hackers Get Six Months Jail In UK 05/24/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Computer crime officers
were quietly celebrating a guilty conviction against two self-
confessed hackers late last week, as the pair were led down to
the cells to begin their six month prison sentences.

Neil Woods, aged 24, a computer science graduate and later computer
salesman, as well as University researcher Karl Strickland, aged 22,
had pleaded guilty to the charges and so became the first hackers to
be jailed under the Computer Misuse Act, 1990, in the UK.

Ironically, the pair were accused as part of the same investigation
that netted Paul Bedworth a few years ago. Bedworth, who pleased
innocent on the charges laid against him, went through a jury trial
earlier this year that ended up acquitting him. Woods and
Strickland, however, because they had pleaded guilty, were
sentenced as a matter of course.

During a brief trial, the court heard how the pair caused an
estimated UKP123,000-worth of chaos while breaking into an
estimated 10,000 on-line systems around the world. The list of
hacked system reads like a who's who in the on-line world,
ranging from NASA through to a European cancer research
organization.

No country was safe from the hackers' exploits. Systems in France,
Germany, Italy, and Sweden were hacked in Europe, along with
systems in the US and Canada, not to mention Russia, India,
Singapore and Australia. The prosecution said in court that the
list read like an atlas, rather than a list of offenses.

Woods and Strickland, who corresponded with other hackers,
never met until they were arrested. They were charged with
conspiring to obtain telephone services dishonestly over a
two-year period, as well as publishing that information on
bulletin boards for other like-minded individuals to read.

Presiding over the case, Judge Michael Harris said that, while he
accepted their activities were not designed to cause damage, it was
absolutely essential that computer systems, which he described as
playing an essential role in 20th century life, be protected.

"If your passion had been cars rather than computers we would have
called your conduct delinquent, and I don't shrink from the analogy
of describing what you were doing as intellectual joyriding," he
said.

"Computers now form a central role in our lives, containing personal
details, financial details, confidential matters of companies and
government departments and many business organizations. Some,
providing emergency services, depend on their computers to deliver
those services," he added.

While Woods and Strickland pleaded guilty, Paul Bedworth, who was
arrested two years ago, did not. After pleading innocent on the
grounds of computer addiction, he was acquitted of the charges
earlier this year.

Woods and Strickland are known to be members of a gang of four
computer hackers known as the "eight-legged groove machine."
Newsbytes has discovered that two other people who comprise
the team are still at large, their identity not having been
discovered by Scotland Yard's computer crime division.

During the course of their exploits, the pair are known to have
accessed a variety of networks over BT's packet data networks,
as well as the Joint Academic Network (JANET). In court, the
prosecution accessed European Commission (EC) computers which
led them into the accounts division of the EC. One particular
session led to the disruption of the main switching computers
on the Swedish telephone network in 1990.

To assist them in their exploits, the pair harnessed the power of
mainframe computers to make thousands of calls an hour on their
behalf, repeatedly battering login programs on other computers
with tens of thousands of passwords. This "blitz krieg" approach
was necessary to gain access and destroy security files before the
system operators got back in the morning.

As a result of these efforts, the European Organization for the
Research and Treatment of Cancer received a UKP9,000 phone
bill for around 50,000 calls made by the scanner program.

Other networks accessed by the pair included classified military
networks, several banks, including Warburgs and Lloyds, as well
as the Financial Times Profile on-line service.

(Steve Gold/19930524)


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

New HP Color Laser Printers 05/24/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Hewlett
Packard (HP) says it is offering a new category of business
printer, a plain-paper color laser printer that still prints quality
documents in black and white. Two new printers, the HP Deskjet
1200C and 1200C/PS are the first in this new printer category.

HP says the market is shifting to color and an office printer
that prints color as well as black and white will be as common
by the mid-1990s as printers that can print multiple fonts are
now. Estimates are the color printer market grew 109 percent
worldwide from 1991 to 1992 to a total of approximately 2.3
million units. HP is predicting that by 1996 the market will
more than triple to over 8 million color printers worldwide.

The new 1200C printers are designed to meet the demand for
inexpensive inkjet color printers. The printers offer 7 pages
per minute (ppm) and offer 600 x 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) text
print quality. In color, the printers are designed to work with
plain paper and produce 300 by 300 dpi full-page color business
graphics with "true" black as quickly as 1 ppm. The 1200C/PS
also offers Adobe's latest version of its page description
language, Postscript Level 2.

The printers offer three print modes: normal, high quality, and
fast. Normal is the default mode which the printer uses if no
mode has been selected and HP says the majority of printing
will be done in this mode. Normal mode offers 300 by 300 dpi
text at 6 ppm and three-pass color graphics at 2 minutes per
page (mpp).

High quality mode is slower, but offers better print quality.
In this mode users can get 600 by 300 dpi black text at 4 ppm,
300 by 300 dpi three-pass color graphics slow down to 2 mpp,
and transparencies and glossy-paper print at 3.5 mpp.

Fast mode sacrifices quality for speed and is good for proofing
or low-density graphics, HP said. Fast mode offers 300 by 300
dpi text at 7 ppm and one-pass color graphics at 1 ppm.

Documents created for the HP Laserjet series can be printed on
the 1200C line, the company said, as the same 45 resident
scalable typefaces available in the HP LaserJet 4 and 4Si
printers are available on the 1200C.

The 1200C printers use HP's own page description language,
PCL 5. The 35 Intellifont typefaces and 10  standard Truetype
typefaces offered in Microsoft Windows 3.1 are supported by the
HP 1200C series and the 1200C/PS includes 35 Adobe typefaces
and Adobe's ATM font-rendering technology.

Printing costs per page are lower compared to other similar
printers and compared to thermal wax-transfer printers. To
create a full spectrum of colors, shades and hues, the
printers use ink formulations and four new 104-nozzle print
cartridges: one each of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Also
included with the printer is a color-matching printer driver
for  Windows 3.X to allow users to match colors between their
monitor display and the printed output.

HP says the 1200C printers are powered internally by an Intel
80960SA reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) processor,
which is especially useful for complex color graphics. A
Centronics parallel port and modular input/output (MIO) slot is
included on the 1200C printers so HP's Jetdirect interface
cards, already available for the Laserjet 4 and 4si series
printers, can be used on the 1200C printers for printer sharing
on a local area network (LAN).

The retail price of the 1200C is $1,699 and the 1200C/PS is
priced at $2,399. HP is offering a limited one-year warranty
that includes HP's Express Exchange service. The Express
Exchange service arranges for customers with a failed printer
to receive a replacement printer within 24 hours.

The company says it expects the 1200C line to be successful
based on its sales of its other color printers. HP says it sold
887,000 units of its Deskwriter 500C color inkjet printer
introduced in 1992. The company boasts it has sold over 6.5
million printers since the first one was introduced in 1984.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930524/Public Contact: Sales,
800-752-0900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00029)

ALR To Bundle Windows NT On Pentium PCs 05/24/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- If you're a
power user, you can get all the latest and greatest on the new
Advanced Logic Research (ALR) personal computers (PCs). ALR
says it will bundle Microsoft's newly-announced Windows NT
graphical operating system on its Intel 486DX- and Pentium-
based personal computers (PCs).

ALR representative Dave Kirkey told Newsbytes the company is
offering some real muscle machines. Kirkey said users will be
able to get a Proveisa system with two or more Pentium
processors, a multidisk array, a couple of 480 watt power
supplies, support for 13 5.15-inch devices, and a gigabyte (GB)
of random access memory (RAM) on the system board. ALR is also
one of the first to offer the Windows NT operating system
bundled with its new systems.

Kirkey said as far as ALR can tell in their testing of Windows
NT, it will run everything Windows 3.1 will. That means users
can transition to the new 32-bit operating system without re-
learning a new operating environment, Kirkey said.

Beginning Pentium-based ALR systems start under $4,000. The ALR
Evolution V desktop system using the Pentium processor, 16
megabytes (MB) of RAM, 256 kilobyte (KB) read/write-back cache,
a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive, and pre-
installed Microsoft's Windows NT operating system for a
starting price of $3,695.

Like everyone else, ALR is waiting for Intel to ramp up
production on the Pentium chip. Kirkey said ALR is one of the
OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who will get the
Pentium processors first and users can expect to get Pentium-
based ALR machines in July. "We're working with about a 4 to
6 week lead right now," Kirkey said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930524/Press Contact: Dave Kirkey, ALR,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

HP Eliminates CFCs From Manufacturing 05/24/93
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 MAY 24 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard says it has eliminated the use of chlorofluorocarbon
(CFC) and almost all of its use of methyl chloroform (TCA) in
its manufacturing processes. CFC and TCA are chemicals claimed
by environmentalists and some scientists to be harmful to the
earth's protective ozone layer if released into the air.

TCA is a chemical widely used as an interim substitute for CFC.
HP says it only has one process left that requires TCA, which
it plans to eliminate by the end of 1993 and that process does
not result in TCA emissions.

The elimination of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) from the
company's manufacturing processes took four years of research
and cost over $60 million, HP said. The company said 60 percent
of its use of CFCs was in the production of printed circuit
boards, in which CFCs were used to clean away flux residue that
remained after computer chips were soldered to computer boards.
By changing to water-soluble solder paste water can now be used
to wash away the corrosive solder flux. HP says it is also
using "no clean" flux in some areas, so all cleaning steps have
been eliminated.

Intel announced similar steps in circuit board production in
November of last year which it estimates will save the company
$1 million a year. Other companies who have announced they have
stopped or are limiting the use of CFCs include Apple, Northern
Telecom, IBM, Compaq, Sun Microsystems, Kodak, and Fuji.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930524/Press Contact: Joan Tharp, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone], fax [phone])