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/nb930610

Text File | 1993-06-10 | 82KB | 1,788 lines

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

 ****Microsoft Intros "Microsoft At Work" 06/10/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation
rolled out its latest idea in software architecture, saying its
goal is to create a workplace in which users - wherever they need to
work - have full and easy access to all information, regardless of
its origin or format, and to provide users with a way to manage their
communications across a wide range of office devices that are
incompatible today.

Called "Microsoft At Work," the new architecture is designed to
smooth the path of information between formerly incompatible devices
such as fax machines, telephones, copiers, and personal computers in
the office or in the field.

Some of the concepts presented include telephones with graphical
point-and-touch screens to replace the lengthy button pushing
sequences of today's phones, that can transfer calls or check for
voice mail messages; documents composed on a personal computer that
are sent via electronic mail to a fax machine and held until it can
be sent during off hours when phone rates are lowest; and documents
created on a PC that can be sent to a copier that prints as many
copies as the user needs. Other ideas being worked on include mobile
computers that not only perform traditional computing tasks but also
can receive data via cellular technology.

"Software technology is the key to making the features of office
products easy to use, and to getting information to the user when,
where, and how the user needs it," according to Microsoft Chairman
Bill Gates. He's referring to Microsoft's flagship product Windows,
which Gates sees as the pathway between all the various pieces of
hardware. "We are combining our expertise in operating systems and
user interfaces with partners that are technical and market leaders
in related product areas. Together we are working to establish a
broad and open software platform on which companies can base
innovative new products and business solutions to meet customer
needs."

Gates says "We've been working on this for years. We wanted to make
sure we had the demos and the critical mass of partners at the time
we brought it out." Executives from Compaq Computer Corporation,
Hewlett-Packard, Ricoh, Muratec, Northern Telecom Limited, and
Xerox Corporation appeared with Gates at the announcement, and
Microsoft says a total of about 60 companies have said they will
develop and market devices based on the Microsoft At Work
architecture.

Gates said the new software architecture is compatible with existing
office devices. "People can start with today's machines, add one or
two new devices based on Microsoft At Work, integrate them into an
existing work environment, and continue to build from there.
Businesses will be able to preserve their current investments in
office equipment while being able to add significant new
functionality during their normal purchase cycles for new equipment,"
according to Gates.

The company said the Microsoft At Work architecture consists of
several components which create digital connections between the
various types of devices. The Microsoft At Work operating system is
described as a real-time, pre-emptive multitasking operating system
that is designed to specifically address the requirements of the
office automation and communication industries. It supports
Windows-compatible application programming interfaces (APIs) where
appropriate for the device. Microsoft At Work (MAW) communications
will provide the connectivity between MAW-based devices and PCs. It
will support the secure transmission of original digital documents,
and is compatible with the Windows Messaging API and the Windows
Telephony API of the Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA).

Microsoft At Work rendering will make the transmission of digital
documents, with formatting and fonts intact, very fast and cost
effective, and will ensure that a document sent to any of the devices
will produce high-quality output, according to Microsoft. The company
calls this "What You Print Is What You Fax is What You Copy Is What
You See," a play on the popular WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You
Get) terminology that refers to documents printing as exactly as they
appear on the computer screen.

The Microsoft At Work graphical user interface is designed to make
all devices very easy to use and will make sophisticated features
accessible and provide useful feedback to the user. Microsoft says it
will leverage the Windows user interface to provide simple graphical
user interfaces for MAW-based products.

The Microsoft At Work desktop software for Windows-based PCs
component is supposed to provide Windows-based PC applications the
ability to control, access and exchange information with any product
based on MAW.

Karen Hargrove, general manager of the digital office systems group
at Microsoft, says the big benefit of MAW for customers will be ease
of use, improved efficiency, and reduced costs. Hargrove believes
most users don't use many of the features of modern office products
such as voice mail because they are too difficult to learn and
remember. "By putting software into those office products, we can
make technology adapt to people's needs instead of the other way
around."

Microsoft says that in all product scenarios involving MAW, every
feature related to an action appears on the screen only when
appropriate. For example, during a telephone call, graphical prompts
will appear on the screen to help lead people through the process for
holding, transferring, conferencing, and disconnecting calls. When
the call is finished, those features would disappear from the screen.

Microsoft says one significant feature of MAW-based products is the
ability to use the existing telephone network to share information
between workplaces, making what it calls "anywhere-to-anywhere"
messaging possible. For example, you would no longer have to be on
the same network to receive a secure, formatted document from another
user. Documents could be created and distributed from a copier by
touching the appropriate names in an electronic address book and
tapping the "send" icon. All recipients would receive digital copies
of the formatted document, which could then be viewed on-screen or
printed.

Microsoft says all MAW-based systems are completely open to software
developers and hardware makers; third party developers are expected
to create applications and services for both PCs and MAW-based
devices using the same standard Windows-based development platform
and tools they already use for applications development.

Microsoft says it plans to have applications and system software
development kits available for telephony, fax, and handheld devices
before the end of the year, and future versions of Windows will
contain the necessary software to allow PC fax boards and other
products to talk to MAW-based machines. The first such product, the
Windows Printing System, is currently shipping, and Microsoft says
MAW-based fax machines are expected to be available by the end of
1993.

(Jim Mallory/19930609/Press contact: Collins Hemingway, Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00002)

US Takes Tough Stand On Japan Trade 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- While many claim the
Clinton/Gore Administration appears to be going soft on every
front from Bosnia-Hercegovina to its much-touted deficit reduction
program, one area on which The White House is still talking tough
is Japanese trade issues, although it is apparently taking a carrot-
and-stick approach by talking tough, but appointing a popular
ambassador.

Legend has it that "face" is everything to the Japanese, and one
complaint they have had is that, while The Court of King James
(Great Britain) and even Moscow get high-profile ambassadors,
Tokyo has been more likely to get career diplomats who carry with
them little prestige.

So, while US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor plays hard ball
by saying that the US will pressure Japan to buy more
automotive parts, financial services, computers, and
telecommunications equipment from other countries, President
Clinton, who will have to face Japanese wrath when he travels to
Tokyo next month, has appointed respected former Democratic
Presidential candidate Walter Mondale as the administration's
representative to Japan.

The new tough stand on trade will attempt to pressure Tokyo into
reducing their massive $130 billion worldwide trade surplus by a
full 50 percent over the next five years -- a demand which is
expected to meet with the closest thing to a flat refusal that
the renowned Japanese politeness will allow.

But will this just be one more Clinton initiative which begins
with tough talk and ends with a cave-in to special interests and
lobbyist pressure?

As Pat Choate says in his landmark book, "Agents of Influence"
(Alfred A. Knopf), Japanese companies are reaping monumental
profits from the US and have a powerful and well-financed
on-going Washington campaign to keep those profits growing.

Mr. Choate said yesterday that the Japanese $50 billion trade
surplus with the US is the equivalent of one million lost jobs
in the US.

The last few administrations also talked tough at times, but many
people remember that soon after leaving office President Reagan
went to Japan to deliver two twenty-minute speeches for which he
received a $2 million "friendship gift."

According to Mr. Choate's book, the "strongest ally" defending
Toshiba from sanctions after that Japanese company was accused of
selling important secret strategic defense submarine technology
to the Soviet Navy was the Reagan Administration.

This, and dozens of other examples of the power wielded in secret
by Japanese lobbyists, has led some Washington insiders to
question whether the new and relatively weak Clinton
Administration has either the resolve or the political savvy to
really put pressure on Japan to reduce its massive trade surplus.

On the other hand, this White House, already reeling from a
series of broken promises, personnel gaffes, and political
defeats, may see public Japan-bashing as a no-lose crusade,
especially if it later drops or modifies its early demands in
quiet diplomatic discussions, observers suggest.

So far, the new administration's efforts to reduce the deficit
are widely thought in the investment community to be responsible
for much of the recent plunge in the value of the US dollar,
which has lost almost 15 percent of its value versus the Japanese
yen.

Speaking on Tuesday morning's Business Day on CNN, a Lehman
Brothers' currency analyst predicted further increases in the
value of the yen and says the administration concern over
Japanese surplus is partially responsible, while Mickey Kantor
denied that the US administration is responsible for the drop
in the dollar.

Also appearing on Business Day was the Counsel General of Japan,
Hiromoto Seki.

In response to questions posed by Deborah Marchini, Counsel
General Seki cited three reasons for the trade deficit: big US
demand for imports; blaming of the Japanese entirely for the
deficit; and the asking of the Japanese government to do something
beyond its powers to improve trade.

He also said that the earlier semiconductor agreements, which
were characterized by the US government as including specific
percentage goals for opening up the domestic Japanese market,
actually involved "expectations," not "quotas."

The Japanese representative said that, while Japan is improving
access to foreign goods and working to expand its own economy,
the government "will find it difficult to do so under pressure
[from the US government."

As Mr. Choate points out in his book, Japanese representatives
have been deflecting US complaints for years using virtually
identical arguments.

(John McCormick/19930609/)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00003)

Hongkong Puts China Business Information Online 06/10/93
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Hongkong Telecom CSL
has launched a new on-line information service that enables
customers to tap into databases in the People's Republic of China
and to capture the latest business facts, figures and statistics.

Called ChinaLink, the service is an addition to Hongkong Telecom
CSL's Spectrum family of electronic messaging information and
networking services. It gives users access to the extensive
databases maintained by the Shenzhen Information Centre (SIC) in
Guangdong Province.

"The SIC's databases offer precisely the kind of information that
companies and entrepreneurs are crying out for," said Lam Wai Yee,
manager of advanced data services at Hongkong Telecom CSL. "Before
the advent of ChinaLink, gathering such information was a costly
and time consuming exercise which few businessmen bothered to
undertake comprehensively."

The SIC, part of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, is networked with
information centers in 50 cities throughout China, continually
accessing and exchanging information to keep its databases up to date.

The ChinaLink service gives customers access to databases containing
information on investment opportunities in China and detailed profiles
of joint-venture companies operating in the country. Just as
important, ChinaLink provides instant access to the SIC's library of
Chinese legal information, official ordinances and public
announcements made by the government.

"Information on investment opportunities is available in English while
the joint-venture and legal databases are presented in Chinese," said
Lam. "Each of these databases can be accessed through Hongkong Telecom
CSL's Spectrum information service, with prices ranging from HK$10 to
HK$12 per minute."

The SIC's main responsibilities include drafting ordinances related to
the dissemination of information as well as the registration of
information copyright. However, the center is also responsible for
planning, organizing and operating databases for municipal
governments, and it plans and organizes public information service
networks in Shenzhen.

"These roles mean that the center is extremely well placed to maintain
existing links and set up new ones with databases throughout Southern
China and the PRC as a whole," said Mr Lam. "The quality of the
information is carefully monitored and the contents are continually
updated."

"The value of this exciting new resource is incalculable," said Mr
Lam. "Potential subscribers include the academic market as well as
consultants, business analysts and prospective investors."

"ChinaLink will be particularly valuable to customers outside Hong
Kong," said Mr Lam. "Businessmen or organizations that haven't got the
contacts or any other means of compiling information on China will
find the service a tremendous help."

(Brett Cameron/19930609/Press Contact: Caroline Chung, Hongkong
Telecom CSL, Tel: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

Predicasts Loses Its Name To Info Access 06/10/93
FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Information
Access Company is consolidating the operations of Predicasts
under its own name -- Information Access Co. In 1991, Ziff
Communications purchased Predicasts, a privately held company which
publishes the Promt database on Dialog, among others. Ziff has, for
the sake of corporate identity, decided to abandon the Predicasts
name.

"As products become increasingly available around the world and
competition increases, a company's identity can be perceived as the
deciding factor in the marketplace," said Information Access Co.
President Morris Goldstein.

Information Access Co. has been in business for 15 years, and
Predicasts has been in business since 1960. "Information
Access Co. is now entering a new stage in its development," adds
Goldstein. "As it expands internationally and acquires companies with
related products and services, it is time for our company identity to
reflect these developments."

Information Access Company also reports its sales and marketing
departments will be differentiated by the markets to which they sell:
Library Market or Corporate Market. The Midwest operations
located in Cleveland, will be Information Access Co. Cleveland.
The office in London will be named Information Access Co. Europe.

Most of Predicasts' staff members have been relocated to the Foster
City offices of Information Access this year, although the firm
was acquired by Ziff Communications in 1991.

(Wendy Woods/19930610/Press Contact: Celeste M. Alleyne, public
relations manager, 415-378-5249, or Maureen Carrig, 415-378-5128,
Information Access Co.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00005)

Stacker 3.1 Ships, Requires MS-DOS 6.0 06/10/93
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Stac
Electronics says the new version of its data compression
product, Stacker 3.1, is now shipping. Stacker 3.1 fits right
into the MS-DOS 6.0 "hooks" for data compression, can replace
Doublespace, and in fact, requires DOS 6.0 in order to run.

The product works with Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.0 and offers a
conversion utility to allow Doublespace users to convert to
Stacker. Like Doublespace, Stacker 3.1 offers another level of
transparency to users by loading before DOS reads the
environment files AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS. In Windows, the
product offers the Stackometer, a graphical gauge so users can
monitor the disk space left, the compression ratio, and
fragmentation levels on the drive.

Stac also claims Stacker will compress drives up to one
megabyte in size, while Doublespace will only compress a drive
up 512 megabytes (MB) in size. Users wishing to compress larger
drives with Doublespace must use DOS partitions.

Other features include: Stacker Anywhere, which allows users to
write compressed data to any removable drive and the data can
be read any IBM compatible personal computer, even those
without Stacker installed; Unstack to uncompress a drive;
Autoprotect to detect disk errors dynamically at boot; and
Autorecovery to repair errors on the disk.

Suggested retail price of Stacker 3.1 for Windows & DOS is
$149. Upgrades from Stacker 3.0 are $19.95. Stacker 3.0 users
who purchased the product after March 30, 1993 can upgrade
free, the company added. A competitive upgrade from another
compression product to Stacker 3.1 is available for $79.95.
Stac has also announced versions of Stacker for the Macintosh
and for IBM's graphical operating system OS/2 which are
expected to ship this month as well.

Stac Electronics is fighting for its survival. The company laid
off twenty-percent of its work force last month and is fighting
a legal battle with software giant Microsoft, author of DOS
6.0. Microsoft negotiated with Stac last year to use its LZS
compression scheme in MS-DOS 6.0, but Stac company officials
maintain Microsoft refused to license the technology from the
company. Microsoft says it offered Stac several different deals
that would have meant "real money" to the software compression
maker, but Stac officials rejected all the offers. Microsoft
ended up licensing the basis for its Doublespace compression
from Verisoft.

In January, before the release of DOS 6.0, Stac filed suit
against Microsoft charging the beta version of DOS 6.0 was
violation of its patents regarding its LZS technology.
Microsoft counter-sued in February charging Stac deliberately
stalled Microsoft's entry into the marketplace and Stac's
products are in violation of one of its patents.

In addition, the firm is fighting its stockholders who filed suit
in July, shortly after the company's initial public offering
(IPO), charging they were misled about the company's
performance by statements from the management. Microsoft has
made it clear it has evidence that will help Stac's
stockholders, claiming Stac withheld the knowledge that
Microsoft was preparing to enter the data compression market
from potential investors.

Stac is hoping reports of problems with the compression in MS-
DOS 6.0 will be of use in promoting Stacker 3.1. In fact, Stac
has announced it plans a DOS 6.0 "rescue mission" this month,
offering DOS 6.0 users a scaled down special edition of Stacker
3.1 to replace Doublespace. The furor over Doublespace is dying
down, as reports of serious bugs have turned out to be
unconfirmed. Microsoft has confirmed two Doublespace problems,
neither of which are serious. A third bug, found by Stac, can
only be replicated under special circumstances. However Stac is
still betting users will switch.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930610/Press Contact: Lois Leslie, Stac
Electronics, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00006)

Lowest Priced Full-Motion Video Board From Sigma 06/10/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Sigma Designs
says it has the lowest priced full-motion video capture and
play-back board available. The Sigma Winmovie board retails for
under $300 and includes Microsoft's Video for Windows.

Winmovie can capture Audio Video Interleave (AVI) movies under
Video for Windows at up to the full-motion video rate of 30
frames per second (fps). Video can be captured from sources
such as National Television Standards Committee (NTSC)
composite, the European Phase Alternating Line (PAL) system
composite, and S-Video devices, such as a video cassette
recorder (VCR), video camera, or laser disc player.

A maximum video capture and display resolution of up to 640 by
480 picture elements (pixels) is possible with the new video
board. Other supported resolutions include 320 by 240, 240 by
180, 60 by 120, and 80 by 60 resolutions in 8-bit, 16-bit, or
24-bit colors. The interface for Winmovie is compatible with
all super video graphics array (SVGA) adapters and does not
require a VGA feature connector.

Video for Windows with the Winmovie board, supports capturing
full-motion video or single frames and synchronizing audio.
Editing features offered include cut, copy, paste, insert, and
delete.

Picture Prowler, an image management database for Windows,
developed by Xing Technology, is also bundled with Winmovies.
Picture Prowler can create thumbnail sketches of Joint
Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) images and decompress them
for full screen viewing. AVI movies can also be played from
within the Picture Prowler application by selecting a thumbnail
icon of an AVI designated file.

For easy installation, Sigma Designs said it provides the
Winmovie DTV utility software with the Winmovie adapter. The
utility features a familiar television (TV) and VCR-style user
interface to allows users to quickly install the Winmovie
board. The interface is also used to preview video, as well as
view and play-back AVI files. In addition, software capable of
controlling all aspects of the video -- brightness, contrast,
saturation, and hue -- is included with the adapter.

Winmovie requires an IBM or compatible 386-based personal
computer running at 33 megahertz or higher. Sigma Designs says
the Winmovie will be available this month for a retail price of
$299 and will come with a five-year extended parts and labor
warranty.

Sigma Designs, headquartered in Fremont, California, also
offers other multimedia products including the Winstorm 24-bit
video and 16-bit sound adapter; the Winsound 16 compact disc
(CD)-quality stereo sound adapter; the Winstorm compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) Upgrade Kit; the Winsound 16 CD-ROM
Upgrade Kit; and the Movie Movie video and sound capture
controller for Macintosh computers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930610/Press Contact: Letty Dupuy, Sigma
Designs, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact
800-845-8086 or 510-770-0100)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00007)

Macau Turns To Sybase Client-Server Technology 06/10/93
MACAU, MACAU, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- The Macau Government is
using Sybase client-server technology to develop a central
database of legal documents that can be accessed by users in
some 40 different government offices around the territory.

The database, accessed from personal computers, will replace the
current procedure of hand-delivering monthly diskettes to user
departments. The diskettes only summarize the documents available.
Any user who wants to study the full text of a particular law has
to visit a government documentation center or public library and
make a copy of the official bulletin in which the law was published.

"Our goal is to turn the archive into a client-server database
system using Sybase," said Joe Tou Chi Man, head of the computing
division at the government's Administration and Civil Service
Department. "Users will be able to access both the summaries and
the full text of laws direct from their desktops, in either
Portuguese or Chinese."

Using Powersoft's PowerBuilder application development tools, Mr Tou
expects to complete the legal database system within 2-3 months. He
has already earmarked human resources as his next Sybase project.

"We're planning to develop a client-server database of all 16,000
Macau Government employees," he said. "The records exist already but
not in a client-server format. Some departments can access them,
others cannot. It makes obvious sense to develop a standard database
that will be accessible to all departments."

The Sybase client-server database management system has come as a
revelation to Mr Tou and his colleagues, who provide systems
development, consultancy, support and training services to user
departments across the Macau Government.

Those departments administer their own budgets and are not obliged
to accept recommendations from Administration and Civil Service.
But in a 6.5-square-mile territory, many government departments
are small and their needs rarely stretch beyond PCs and local-area
networks.

"Client-server is a good environment for Macau," he said. "Before we
discovered Sybase, we had already developed a number of custom
client-server applications. They were successful but, because the
environment was non-standard, they were difficult to maintain.
In effect, we had to maintain the environment as well as the
applications, and that was very troublesome."

A Sybase enthusiast, Mr Tou has installed the RDBMS in his
department's training center and instituted training courses for MIS
professionals within the government's user departments. "The
important thing at this stage is to expose people to this new
technology and see how they react," he said.

"We want to let all the computer professionals within the different
departments get some experience of using Sybase, then they can decide
for themselves if they want to adopt it or not."

(Brett Cameron/19930610/Press Contact: Laura Duggan, HCL Leung, Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00008)

July Disabilities Employment Conference 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- The 1993 ADA Expo
'93 Conference & Exhibition, which will focus on the use of high-
technology by government agencies and private employers who
need, and want, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities
Act, will be held at the Washington Hilton Hotel & Convention
Center from July 26 through 29, 1993.

Newsbytes' Washington Bureau Chief and writer of The Enabled
Computer Column is both an exhibitor (through the courtesy of
McGraw-Hill) and speaker at the conference, as is Mari Shepard,
creator and producer of GEnie's electronic DisABILITIES
Information Services.

ADA Expo '93, organized by the US Professional Development
Institute, is the first major trade show intended to bring
together employers and the companies which provide adaptive
technology to help those companies comply with the anti-
discrimination law that has been taking effect in stages for
several years.

The target audience for both exhibits and conference attendees
includes: equal employment opportunity managers, information
resource managers, human resources managers, buyers and users of
assistive technology, business owners, and government agency
managers.

As Conference Program Chairman John M. Williams points out, this
is the only national conference and show dedicated exclusively to
examining the ADA and its nationwide implementation.

The best news for disabled individuals who want to learn what
products are available, but aren't in a position to shell out the
combined workshop and conference fees of $895, is that free
"exhibits only" passes are available for the July 27-28
exhibition.

Some of the well-known technology providers for the disabled who
will have displays at the ADA Expo '93 include: IBM, Dragon
Systems, Berkeley Systems, MicroTalk, Telesensory Systems, and
Xerox Imaging Systems.

Public contact: ADA Expo '93, USPDI, 1734 Elton Road, Suite 221,
Silver Spring, MD 20903; phone [phone].

(Beth Goldie/19930609/Press Contact: John Williams, USPDI, 301-
445-4400 or 301-445-5722 fax)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00009)

BoCoEx Index 06/10/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Boston Computer
Exchange for the week ending  June 4, 1993.

Closing Prices from the Boston Computer Exchange

June 4, 1993

Machine                         Main Closing       Price     Ask      Bid

                               Drive   Price      Change

IBM PS1 386SX/25             130 MgB     850                 900      750

IBM PS/2 Model 70-A21        120 MgB     875                 950      800

IBM PS/2 Model 56SLC/20      120 MgB    1050                1300      900

IBM PS/2 Model 55SX           60 MgB     650     down 50     800      700

IBM ThinkPad 300              80 MgB    1500                1500     1325

IBM ThinkPad 700              80 MgB    1850    down 200    2400     2000

IBM ThinkPad 700C            120 MgB    3600                3700     3500

IBM V\P 3/25T MOD. 80         80 MgB    1500                1600     1500

IBM PS/2 Model 90-OH9        160 MgB    1700                1700     1600

IBM PS/2 Model 95-OJF        400 MgB    3000                3300     2700

Compaq Prolinea 4/66         340 MgB    2000                2150     2000

Compaq Prolinea 486/50       240 MgB    1450                1500     1200

Compaq Portable 386          100 MgB     650                 800      600

Compaq SLT-386               120 MgB     925                 950      850

Compaq LTE-286                 40MgB     600                 700      600

Compaq LTE-LITE 3/25          120MgB    1350                1450     1200

Compaq LTE-LITE\25C            120MB    2400                2600     2300

Compaq SysProXL             1.02 Gig   8,100              12,500    6,000

Compaq Syspro 486/50           Mod 1    6700                8500     6500

Compaq Prosigna 486 /33      550 MgB    3500                3800     3350

Compaq Portable 486/66       525 MgB    3650                4000     3500

Compaq DeskP 486DX2/66i      240 MgB    2100                2400     1900

AST Prem Exec 386SX20         40 MgB     675                 750      650

NEC UltraLite  25C           80 M0gB    2000                3400     3300

NEC UltraLite Versa  20C      80 MgB    2850                2950     2800

Zenith Mastersprt-386SX       60 MgB     800                 900      800

Zenith SuperSport 386SX       40 MgB     650                 800      650

Macintosh Classic             40 MgB     650                 700      600

Macintosh Classic II          40 MgB     750                 800      700

Macintosh SE                  40 MgB     575                 650      550

Macintosh SE-30               80 MgB    1100                1250     1100

Macintosh LC                  40 MgB    1000                1300      800

Macintosh II                  40 MgB    1350                1400     1300

Macintosh II SI               80 MgB    1300                1400     1250

Macintosh II CX               80 MgB    1550                1650     1500

Macintosh II CI               80 MgB    2200                2350     2200

Macintosh II FX               80 MgB    2700                2900     2700

Macintosh Quadra 700         160 MgB    3150                3300     3100

Macintosh Quadra 900         160 MgB    3900                4100     3900

Macintosh Powerbk 165C        80 MgB    2550                2800     2500

Macintosh Powerbk  145        40 MgB    1500                1650     1500

Macintosh Powerbk 180         80 MgB    3100                3200     3000

Apple Imagewriter 2                      200           `     225      175

Apple Laserwriter IINT                   900                1000      900

HP Laserjet II                           675                 700      650

HP Laserjet III                         1050                1100     1000

Toshiba T-1200 XE             40 MgB     550                 600      500

Toshiba T-1600                40 MgB     525                 575      500

Toshiba T-2000 SX             40 MgB     700                 800      700

Toshiba T-2000 SXE            40 MgB     800                 900      750

Toshiba T-2200 SX              80MgB     900                1000      900

Toshiba T-3100 SX             80 MgB     800                1000      800

Toshiba T-3200                40 MgB     550                 700      500

Toshiba T-3200 SX             40 MgB     600                 750      500

Toshiba T-3200 SXC           120 MgB    1950                2100     1900

Toshiba T-6400DX             200 MgB    2200                2300     2100

Toshiba T-4400SX             120 MgB    1500                1800     1500

Toshiba T-5200               200 MgB    2100                2200     1900

BoCoEx Index data is compiled by Market Analyst, Gary M. Guhman

Here are some current retail-oriented Seats on the Exchange, presented in a
cyclic basis.

Dallas - Ft. Worth, TX - DFW Computer Exchange - M.B. Lee - 817-244-7833

Escondido, Ca. - Affordable Computer Solutions - Dean Jacobus - 619-738-
4980

New Orleans, Louisiana - Audubon Computer Rental - Mike Barry - 504-522-
0348

Detroit, Michigan - CompuCycle - Walt Hogan - 313-887-2600

Computer Exchange\\NorthWest - Dye Hawley - 206-820-1181

Albuquerque, NM, Western Computer Exchange - David Levin - 505-265-1330

Fresno, California - MacSource Computers - Mike Kurtz - 209-438-6227

BoCoEx Index prices are based on complete systems with keyboard, VGA
monitor and adapter, less the value of any software or peripherals.

Boston Computer Exchange is available at: 617-542-4414, Buyer's HotLine: 1-
800-262-6399, In Alaska and Canada 1-800-437-2470, FAX: [phone].

(BOCOEX/19930610)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(BOS)(00010)

Massachusetts Mulls Computer Crime Legislation 06/10/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Gov. William
Weld has filed three bills criminalizing certain computer-related
acts that are not addressed by existing law, including computer
trespass and the theft and damage of electronic information. A
fourth bill minimizes the intrusiveness of computer searches and
seizures in criminal investigations.

The four computer crime bills filed by Gov. William Weld are now
pending before joint committees of the state legislature. Bills
H4780, the "Act to Establish the Crime of Computer Intrusion," and
H4781, the "Act to Establish the Crime of Theft of Commercial
Computer Services," are now being considered by the Joint Committee
on Criminal Justice. Bills H4782, the "Act Extending the Vandalism
Prohibition to Cover Alteration or Destruction of Electronic
Information," and H4783, the "Act Relative to the Admissibility of
Duplicates of Computer Files," are both pending before the Joint
Committee on the Judiciary.

"We want to send a strong message to anyone who illegally tampers
with computer systems: This activity won't be tolerated and will be
punished," Weld said. The legislation is a result of recommendations
from the Governor's Commission on Computer Technology and Law, chaired
by Mitch Kapor, chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

At present, unauthorized computer access, without damage, is not a
crime, whether access is accomplished using telephone communications
or physically from the premises that contain the computer. The
"Act to Establish the Crime of Computer Intrusion" acknowledges that
computer trespass, or "hacking," is an invasion of privacy even
though no specific harm is done. The maximum penalty for such an
offense would be 30 days in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The "Act Extending the Vandalism Prohibition to Cover Alteration or
Destruction of Electronic Information" broadens the definition of
"personal property" to include electronic information. Existing
law excludes from prosecution destruction or injury to another's
electronic property.

The "Act to Establish the Crime of Theft of Commercial Computer
Services" is designed to protect online information services.
Presently, there is no law against the theft of commercial
computer services or data, despite the existence of statutes that
criminalize theft of analogous types of commercial services. The
maximum penalty would be five years in prison and a fine of $50,000.

The "Act Relative to the Admissibility of Duplicates of Computer
Files" is meant to minimize the intrusiveness of searches and
seizures of computers in criminal investigations. Law enforcement
would be able to gather as evidence copies and printouts of
computer files without having to confiscate computers, unless the
equipment itself were the evidence or instrumentality of the crime.

There is no way of predicting how long the legislative process will
take. As a legislative spokeswoman said, "Congress is Congress.
They're not quick guys."

(Jacqueline Emigh, Margaret Zentara & Computer Currents/19930610)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00011)

 ****National Information Highway Effort Moves Forward 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- When Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown sits down at a roundtable discussion in
Washington next Monday, he will help kick off a major effort to
realize the National Information Infrastructure (NII) through
efforts of government and private industry.

This project, also known by many as the Information or Data
Superhighway project, is strongly backed by Vice President Gore.
Also attending the June 14 meeting on behalf of the Clinton-Gore
Administration will be deputy secretary of education Madeleine
Kunin and besides telecommunications and computer industry
companies, the health care sector will also be represented in the
group which will strive to develop new standards for
telecommunications, data exchange, and software.

Eric Benhamou, CEO of 3Com Corporation, one of the members of the
newly formed non-partisan group of industry and private sector
professionals formed to help speed development of the long-
awaited information superhighway, pointed out today that in
addition to the well-known benefits to both education and
industry, the NII could greatly ease the paperwork burden under
which the health industry labors, bringing a potential for a
massive savings.

While it is undeniable that an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network, a telecommunications network standard that allows voice
and data transmissions on the same line) or other advanced
telecommunications backbone would make data transfer faster and
easier, if care providers and insurance agencies (including
Medicare and Medicaid) would only agree on ways to file payment
claims electronically, they could do so today over existing
telephone lines using standard inexpensive high-speed modems.

The proposed information superhighway may provide the impetus for
health care providers and insurance companies alike to finally
adopt standardized claim forms at a great savings in trees and
labor, but without strong Clinton Administration pressure on both
sides, we will be left with a powerful information sharing
technology and no improvement on the paperwork reduction front.

This latter, according to some observers is the most likely
outcome as far as the health care industry is concerned because
they could get together today and cut paperwork costs by a
massive amount using technologies which have existed for a
decade, but which haven't been used because neither side has any
real incentive to reduce costs since they just pass along higher
costs to consumers and the government.

(John McCormick/19930610/Press Contact: David J. Abramson, for 3
Com, 408-764-6621)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00012)

Softech Wins DoD Info Management Contract 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Waltham,
Massachusetts-based Softech, Inc., has been named prime
contractor in a multi-million-dollar contract to provide
information engineering and software re-use services to the
Center for Information Management in the Defense Department's
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Other services will
include software life-cycle improvement, open systems migration,
and technical integration services.

Prime contracts covering other recent Center for Information
Management contracts include Electronic Data Systems (EDS), SAIC,
and Abacus.

Subcontractors working on the Softech contract will include: BDM
International, CACI International, Network Solutions, Presearch,
Statistica, and Wizdom Systems.

The contracts are expected to bring Softech at least $2.5 million
the first year, and, if carried over the four-year options, the
total value of the CIM reorganization figure may climb as high as
$200 million. Softech has assisted Fortune 500 companies and
government agencies in meeting their complex computer information
systems needs for 24 years, employing about 350 people in 17
locations throughout the United States.

Supporting the contract, which is now in effect, will require
adding 20 to 60 more people to the current 120-person Washington
staff, according to an individual in the Washington office.

When asked about the maximum value of the contract to CIM, a
company spokesperson told Newsbytes, "It will be considerably
larger than the initial year's $2.5 million. We feel that the
size of the contract will increase as the DoD [Department of
Defense] recognizes the benefits and merits of our services."

(Rick Bender/19930610/Press Contact: Norman Rasmussen, President
and Chief Executive Officer, at 617-890-6900 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00013)

 ****INS Tests Hand Scanners To Speed Immigration Entry 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- As any international
air traveller well knows, it now takes a minimum of several
minutes to pass through US Immigration at a major airport,
assuming that everything is in perfect order. Although this is
not a major delay for an individual, it is important to remember
that there may be 300 or 400 passengers ahead of you awaiting
their turn to talk to several Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) officers. To help speed this process, the INS is
now testing a Recognition Systems identification system that may
cut the wait to 35 seconds.

According to a recent Science and Technology Today report on CNN,
the INS PASS system which is now being tested at the Newark, New
Jersey, and New York's JFK airports, consists of a $25,000 hand
geometry scanner that makes several nearly instantaneous
measurements of the individual's right hand and compares the
results to pre-recorded data carried by the person on a credit
card-like ID card issued by the INS.

The present system is competing with retina scan and fingerprint
ID systems but is favored over the others because it is
considered less invasive.

For now the test IDs are only being issued to frequent US
business travelers and those from 23 other countries, but if the
six-month test is successful the $25,000 PASS scanners may show
up in a number of ports-of-entry.

Of course, this system only automates the process of making
certain that you are who you say you are and eliminates the need
for an inspector to compare your face with that passport
ID photo. After you make it past INS PASS, you still have to run
the gauntlet of customs inspectors.

(John McCormick/19930610/)


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

Microsoft's Bill Gates Fifth Richest Billionaire 06/10/03
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Fortune Magazine says
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is the nation's fifth richest
billionaire.

The magazine released its 1993 list of the world's billionaires, and
Gates garnered the number five spot among America's richest people.
Fortune says Gates is worth $6.7 billion.  In Fortune's last survey,
in October, 1992, Gates was the richest US citizen with $6.3 billion.
He has since been topped by the Walton family, Forrest Mars ($14
billion), Sam Newhouse Junior, publisher ($10 billion) and
John Warner Kluge ($8.8 billion).

The top entry on the list is the Walton family. Sam Walton, who
recently died, founded the Wal-mart stores, and the family is
reportedly worth $23.5 billion.

Other computer industry moguls also make the Fortune list. Paul
Allen, a pioneer of the software industry, owner of the Portland
Trailblazers basketball team, a schoolmate of Gates, co-creator of
the BASIC computer language and the co-founder of Microsoft, is
number 13 with $3.3 billion.

William Ziff Jr. and his family occupies number 19 on the US list
with $3 billion. Ziff Publishing Company produces several
computer-related magazines.

Other names on the list, while not associated with computers, are
well known by many Americans. Amway Corporation founders Jan Van
Andel and Richard DeVos occupy positions 18 and 16 respectively, each
reportedly worth $3 billion, while Estee Lauder and family, founders
of the cosmetics firm, are number 12, with $3.4 billion.

Former Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, who founded and later
sold Electronic Data Systems, and now is in real estate and oil and
gas production, ranks 15th of Fortune's list with $3.3 billion. John
Paul Getty, who claims England as his home, shows up in the number 23
spot with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.

(Jim Mallory/19930610)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00015)

SoftArc Adds FirstClass BBS Client For Windows 06/10/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- SoftArc is now
shipping client software that runs on Microsoft Windows for its
FirstClass electronic mail and conferencing software.

FirstClass is a three-year-old work-group software application
that until now has been available only on the Apple Macintosh.
Dallas Kachan, manager of sales and marketing, said the system
still needs a Macintosh server at the moment, but a Unix server
is nearing completion and the company also plans to consider a
version for Microsoft's new Windows NT operating system.

SoftArc wants to move the server off the Macintosh because of
some technical limitations, especially the fact that "everything
stops when you access the hard drive or a floppy drive," Kachan
said. The Unix version will also support more connections to
incoming telephone lines, he added.

Kachan said FirstClass is more than a standard electronic mail
package since it allows electronic conferencing. It more closely
resembles Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes work-group software
than anything else, he said. "It's hard to sort of put it in a
niche like e-mail."

As many as 250 clients on Macintosh or Windows can now connect to
the same FirstClass server without dedicated Novell file servers,
routers, or other hardware, FirstClass said. The new Windows
client can be used either over a local-area network or remotely
via a modem, Kachan added.

FirstClass is available directly from SoftArc's Toronto
headquarters in most parts of the world, though the company also
has local distributors in some countries, Kachan said. More than
250,000 individuals use the software, according to the vendor.

The price of the new Windows client is US$295 for an unlimited
number of users. It requires at least a 386-based PC with four
megabytes of memory and Windows 3.1.

(Grant Buckler/19930610/Press Contact: Dallas Kachan, SoftArc,
416-299-4723, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00016)

Interface Group To Launch Enterprise Computing Show 06/10/93
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Next month in
Chicago, the Interface Group will launch a new trade show aimed
at capitalizing on current interest in what is called enterprise
computing. The producer of the Comdex shows expects about 200
exhibitors and some 20,000 visitors at Chicago's McCormick Place
for the first Enterprise Computing Exposition and Conference, a
company spokeswoman said.

A rather nebulous term, enterprise computing generally refers to
the linking of computers of all sizes through networks, and takes
in the much-talked-about concept of client/server computing.
Interface Group's show apparently will set out to address all
those things.

According to officials, the show and conference are aimed at both
executive-level managers and technical people concerned with
information systems strategy.

Along with the exhibits will be a conference program with
sessions for executives as well as technical types. Interface has
no big-name speakers to announce so far, the spokeswoman said.
There will also be a tutorial program made up of full-day
technical sessions.

(Grant Buckler/19930610/Press Contact: Cheryl Delgreco or Kim
Pappas, 617-449-6600, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00017)

DEC Backs COSE Initiative 06/10/93
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment Corp. has publicly thrown its support behind the Common
Open Software Environment (COSE) initiative, a move by various
vendors to advance Unix standards.

Tim Yeaton, group manager of product management and marketing for
Unix software at DEC, said his company has been talking with the
original COSE backers since the initiative was made public in
mid-March. DEC had some questions about the process COSE would
follow, he said, and now that these issues have been resolved it
is publicly supporting the plan.

DEC had input into the White Paper outlining COSE's plans, he
added.

Many parts of the COSE framework already existed under the
auspices of other standards groups such as the Object Management
Group (OMG) and DEC was already participating in them, Yeaton
said.

DEC said it will become involved in many of the working groups
that are part of the COSE process.

Yeaton praised COSE, saying that "historically in the Unix
industry these things have been ad-hoc," with the result that
so-called standards were often inconsistent and in some areas
things moved very slowly. COSE will "make co-operation much more
straightforward," he said.

As reported earlier in Newsbytes, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun
Microsystems, Santa Cruz Operation, Unix Systems Laboratories and
several others announced COSE at the Uniforum show in March. In
doing so they agreed on several standards, including the Motif
user interface, which Sun had strongly resisted in the past.

(Grant Buckler/19930610/Press Contact: Dave Bouffard, Digital
Equipment, 415-617-3500)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00018)

Cabletron Expanding In Canada 06/10/93
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Cabletron
Systems Inc., the Rochester, New Hampshire, local-area network
(LAN) equipment vendor, has announced a sizable expansion of its
Canadian operations.

The company is adding three employees at its Canadian head office
here, as well as expanding its offices in Vancouver and Calgary
and opening a new office in Ottawa. The net effect will be to
more than double the current Canadian staff of 10 employees.

Michael Draper, managing director of Canadian operations, said
that until he took that job about four months ago, Cabletron's
Canadian operations had been run by Americans who typically
stayed at the Canadian office only a short time before returning
to the US. He said that he as a Canadian saw untapped potential
in the Canadian market and was able to convince Cabletron's head
office it was time for an expansion here.

The present two technical people in Vancouver will grow to four
and, one more technical staffer will join the two in Cabletron's
Calgary office, Draper said. The company also plans to add
another sales representative in Western Canada, so that it will
have one each in Vancouver and Calgary rather than one person
covering both offices.

The company has just chosen a location for its new Ottawa office
and hopes to open that by mid-July, Draper added. Cabletron has
already hired one technical and one sales employee for that
office and plans to hire one more technical person as well as a
receptionist, he said.

Draper said Token Ring LANs are a big part of Cabletron's
Canadian business, particularly in Toronto, which because of its
large installed base of IBM equipment has many Token Ring
networks. Toronto boasts the largest concentration of Cabletron's
high-end network management platforms in all of North America,
Draper added.

(Grant Buckler/19930610/Press Contact: Andrew Berthoff, Hill &
Knowlton for Cabletron, 416-483-1511; Public Contact: Cabletron,
416-564-7280, fax [phone])


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

BellSouth, Cox Announce Deal 06/10/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- BellSouth, the Bell
company for the Southeast, and Cox Enterprises, owner of the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other newspapers, announced a
joint venture to create information services based on their
newspaper classifieds and Yellow Pages ads. The as-yet unnamed
venture will run the 511 numbers in Atlanta and West Palm Beach
that Cox has won the right to use from regulators. Other services,
using fax machines and perhaps PCs, are contemplated for the
future.

The new venture follows many years in which both companies tried
to find a market for online information services.
BellSouth had the TUG gateway, for instance, while the Journal-
Constitution had Atlanta Access. While the newspapers got over
5 million calls a year on their 222-2000 number, those were
free calls, with little profit.

While the new venture raises the possibility of local monopolies
on information services, the fact is both companies are facing
stiffer competition. The Journal-Constitution faces a free weekly
called Creative Loafing, weekly and daily papers in the suburbs,
and specialized publications on the law and other matters.
BellSouth, meanwhile, is finding many companies don't need its
Yellow Pages -- a tour by Newsbytes through the Atlanta
directory found many popular restaurants and other places of
business without even a listing.

The biggest competitor, however, may be cable television. In
Atlanta, operator GCTV has begun "The Ad Channel," a 24-hour
classified service, and local ads on its other channels are
proving popular with some advertisers who formerly depended on
directories or newspapers to get their messages out.

BellSouth and Cox said their new venture will start up in
business late this year, using the 511 numbers won by Cox.
BellSouth has previously said it wanted to open the so-called
"N11" numbers, local numbers like 411 for directory-assistance
and 911 for emergency services, to outside vendors. When the
numbers were offered in Atlanta, a unit of BellSouth requested
one. Theoretically, the two companies could work with local
newspapers in other markets to offer "511" services for a part of
the fees.

David Easterly, president of Cox, said in a press statement "This
is a great model for newspapers who want to move into the
electronic world and who are willing to work with new partners."
That's ironic, because Easterly, as head of the American
Newspaper Publishers' Association, was among the loudest voices
opposing BellSouth and other phone companies' moves into online
information services.

In the wake of this, "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reported,
other local newspaper-phone company deals may be in the works.
The Los Angeles Times is reportedly talking to Pacific Telesis,
according to the Journal-Constitution. NYNEX in New York and
Newsday, a New York newspaper, are testing a voice mail service.
And the New Jersey Press Association has agreed to develop
electronic services for Bell Atlantic' system in that state.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930610/Press Contact: BellSouth, Tim Klein,
404-249-4135, Lynda Stewart, Cox Enterprises, 404-843-5123)


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

Sprint-Visa Phone Service Promises 25% Discount Over AT&T 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- The deal announced
yesterday by Visa and Sprint to offer combine calling card and
credit card functions could affect more than the phone business.

According to David Schwing, president of Sprint's consumer
services group, it could mark the start of a merger between the
billing systems of telephone companies and credit companies.
Recently, Visa completed converting to a new system called
Payment System-2000, which is far more sophisticated than past
authorization systems. Phone companies, however, have the most
efficient billing systems in the world, capable of tracking
billions of individual calls costing less than $1 each each
month.

To start, Schwing said, member Visa banks will put inserts into
bills asking that customers contact Sprint. On that call, Sprint
operators will assign them a security code, and a billing number
-- usually their home phone number. Those numbers can then be
used to access all Sprint services, including messaging and
conference call services, from any telephone. And rates on those
calls will be cut 25 percent -- that's 25 percent off Sprint or
AT&T rates, Schwing said. Customers will be able to access Sprint
by dialing "10 VSA," or 10872m then using their home telephone
numbers, plus four-digit Visa codes for authorization.

For now, those calls will be a single line-item on the Visa bill,
or they can be made part of a regular Sprint bill. You don't have
to use Sprint as your default long-distance company to get such a
bill, Schwing noted -- "Fon" cards are available to everyone.

But that's just the start. Down the road, "Member banks could let
us directly bill calls on the Visa statement." This would mean
individual calls would appear, separately, on the credit card
statement. "That would be available to member banks at their
request." Making that happen, however, will require an
unprecedented level of cooperation between the billing systems
of Sprint and those of Visa member banks. Down the road, Sprint
might even handle complete billing services for member banks,
Schwing speculated.

Sprint is most excited about the program, however, because there
are 304 million Visa cards in circulation worldwide, and this is
a global program. It will be also be available through
affiliations with British Telecom, Hong Kong Telecom, Sprint
International and Telstra, formerly OTC Australia.

Visa member banks have been angry with AT&T ever since it
launched its Universal Card, a Master Card which is now one of
the most popular pieces of plastic going. Calls placed on the
Universal Card, however, are billed at AT&T operator rates.
What's interesting here, is that Visa is offering the same
calling capabilities for 25 percent less. MCI has calling card
arrangements with both Master Card and Visa.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930610/Press Contact: Robin Pence, Sprint,
202-828-7426)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Bells Displeased With Bill They Requested 06/10/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Senators Daniel
Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat, and John Danforth, a Missouri
Republican, introduced a bill that would let telephone companies
compete in cable television, and vice versa. The Bell companies
had been seeking the right to enter the cable television
business, with Bell Atlantic launching trials of video services
in its area, Southwestern Bell buying a Washington-area cable
company, and US West buying into Time Warner's cable operations.
The bill was introduced as the Telecommunications Infrastructure
Act of 1993.

But many phone companies immediately denounced the plan, charging
it would let cable companies "cherry pick" their best customers
and would not let them into long distance.

The bill is simple. It would remove state regulations barring or
restricting entry by cable companies into local phone service,
and allow phone companies to provide cable service on a
competitive basis if they file tariffs before entering the
business.

But the Bells said protections for rural areas were inadequate,
noting that rural rates are subsidized by urban and suburban
customers. Many small towns don't get cable, and the Bells fear
that cable companies could undercut them since they wouldn't have
to subsidize rural customers. The Bells are also anxious to get
into the long distance business, and say without that right,
they don't have "regulatory parity." Pacific Telesis, Bell
Atlantic, and BellSouth all issued press statements against the
bill as written. Hearings on it start in three weeks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930610/Press Contact: Sen. Daniel Inouye,
202-224-3121)


(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00022)

Editorial- Microsoft At Work 06/10/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- By Jim Mallory.
Well, yesterday reporters got to see another part of Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates "Vision Of The Future," and if things go like
Bill hopes, he may have put the coup de grace to IBM's attempts to
compete in the operating system arena.

After all, will users really be satisfied with something that just
runs personal computers when they can get a single piece of software
that not only performs that task, but also ties all the office
gadgets - fax machines, copiers, and telephones - together so they
can share information? Just think of it. You can touch the screen
attached to your computer to dial a call, with the name and number
being maintained in a database on your computer. Or create a word
processing document and send it to as fax machine which will
broadcast it to a whole list of addressees from the same database at
a later time when phone line rates are lower. Or instruct your copy
machine to print the same document and collate it without having to
stand in line at the office copier. How about using your battery
operated laptop computer or a new Personal Assistant while your
sitting in a parking lot or in a meeting room to contact the office
computer via a cellular modem and download or display information you
need for the meeting or your next sales call?

Those are just some of the promises Microsoft At Work, the technology
reporters got to hear about yesterday in New York, holds.
While none of those devices are sitting on the store shelf yet, some
of the vendors are promising they will be offering Microsoft At
Work-based devices as early as the end of this year. Others, like
Compaq, say their systems will be out in 1994. And Bill can't go
wrong, can he? If all these nifty gadgets aren't forthcoming, it's
not his fault. He promised the software -- the other guys just
couldn't deliver the hardware.

It's rumored that Microsoft had to agree with its "partners" not to
enter the hardware market. I don't wonder. If you were a maker of
fax machines or copiers or phones, would you want that spectre
rearing its ugly head? Few companies have the financial and market
clout to compete with Microsoft should the software giant decide it
wants a share of your market. Of course the telecommunications
companies like AT&T and Bell Atlantic, which have announced support for
Microsoft At Work, aren't too worried. They have that business pretty
well tied up. But I'm glad I don't build fax machines or copiers.

Don't get me wrong, I think all this is great, and I want to be able
to do all the things Microsoft At Work promises. I'm a booster of the
free enterprise system, and Newsbytes readers may remember that when
other companies were carping about Microsoft not telling them its
trade secrets, I defended Microsoft. Building a better mousetrap has
always been one of the great American dreams. So I, like you, await
Microsoft At Work devices with great anticipation, and if it sounds
the death knell of other operating systems, so be it.

What's next, Mr. Gates? Can we look for a "partnership" that will
combine the personal computer, fax machine, copier, printer, and
phone all into one device the size of a notebook computer, with
everything driven by Microsoft software? Could be.

(Jim Mallory/19930610)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00023)

Software Toolworks Posts 4Qtr Loss, FY1993 Profit 06/10/93
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Although software
publisher Software Toolworks incurred a net loss of $451,000 for
its 1993 fiscal fourth quarter, the company actually reported net
income of $3,500,000, or 12 cents per share on revenues of
$119,600,000 for its fiscal year ended March 31, 1993.

The company says that the FY revenue is in contrast to a net loss
of $14,500,000, or (59 cents) per share on revenues of $102,600,000
for the prior fiscal year.

For the fourth quarter the company losses panned out to two
cents per share on $27,800,000 in revenues versus a net loss of
$16,000,000 or (63 cents) per share on revenues of $23,100,000
for the same period last fiscal year.

The company says that revenues for fiscal 1993 grew 17 percent
over the prior fiscal year. Software revenues grew 47 percent in
fiscal 1993 to $57,000,000, while cartridge revenues were down
14 percent to $43,000,000. However, revenues for the company's
popular Miracle Piano Teaching System were up 39 percent to
$19,600,000 for fiscal 1993.

Fourth quarter revenues increased 20 percent above the fiscal
1992 fourth quarter. The company also says that gross profit for
the 1993 fourth quarter grew 224 percent over the same period a
year ago.

The company also says that Bob Lloyd, who joined the company
in October 1990, and who led the company's turnaround as
president and chief operating officer, has been appointed chief
executive officer. The former chief executive officer and founder,
Les Crane, becomes the company's creative director and remains
chairman of the board.

In announcing the result, Lloyd said, "Obviously, the year-to-year
financial turnaround that we've accomplished at The Software
Toolworks is most gratifying. However, we feel there's still much
work ahead along with a number of tremendous upside opportunities.
The Software Toolworks is well-positioned to capitalize on the
growth in the CD-ROM multimedia arena."

As reported by Newsbytes, the company first started posting
profitable quarters with its second fiscal quarter 1991, after
two years of losses. The company has continued to do well
since, due in no small part to its highly popular Miracle Piano,
a piano learning product.

At the beginning of June, Newsbytes reported that the company
was set to introduce no less than 29 new products, including
nine new CD-ROM titles for MS-DOS and Apple Computer Macintoshes.

(Ian Stokell/19930610/Press Contact: Vincent L. Turzo,
415-883-3000 ext 568, Software Toolworks)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00024)

Semiconductor Billings Up 35% Over Last Year 06/10/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- The key
market indicator for the semiconductor industry, the book-to-
bill ratio was down for May, but the actual numbers from which
the ratio is taken are up as much as thirty-five percent over
last year. The announcement was made by the Semiconductor
Industry Association (SIA), who also announced support for
Clinton's trade policy with Japan.

The May preliminary figure is 1.12, down from 1.16 in April. A
book-to-bill of 1.12 means that for every $100 of products
shipped (billed), $112 of new orders come in (bookings). Any
book-to-bill ratio higher than 1.0 is good news, the SIA said.

However, the numbers from which the ratio is taken were up.
Semiconductor billings were $1.972 billion, up 2.0 percent from
the $1.974 billion recorded for April. Billings are up 34.4
percent from the May 1992 figure of $1.456 billion. The figures
are compiled based on surveys of key semiconductor
manufacturers participating in the World Semiconductor Trade
Statistics (WSTS) program. The SIA has credited the strong
growth in the semiconductor market this year to the growth in
the personal computer (PC) market.

In addition, the SIA's chairman, Gil Amelio, who also serves as
president and chief executive officer (CEO) of National
Semiconductor, issued a statement of support for President
Clinton's trade policy toward Japan. "In the case of
semiconductor trade, a quantitative yardstick to measure
progress, and strong government and industry cooperation, along
with the industry's commitment to serving the Japanese market,
have been essential to the increased market share that has been
achieved in Japan," Amelio said.

"The SIA will continue to pursue the program of the past seven
years which focuses on increased market share in Japan
consistent with our demonstrated competitiveness in world
markets. At a time when American semiconductor manufacturers'
market share outside Japan is greater than fifty-six percent,
it is clear that more progress must be made before the Japanese
market can truly be considered to operate solely on free market
principles."

"There should be no misunderstanding regarding the SIA's
resolve to gain greater access to Japan's semiconductor market.
There should also be no mistaking our willingness to work in
partnership with the US government and seek whatever actions
may be needed to ensure continued progress."

(Linda Rohrbough/19930610/Press Contact: Tom Beerman, SIA, tel
408-246-2711, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00025)

UK - Vodafone Sees Market For One-2-One Mobile Net 06/10/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- In an unexpected display of
generosity, Vodafone's CEO Gerry Whent has conceded that Mercury's
One-2-One digital mobile phone network will have a market when it
launches later this summer, but he still expects Cellnet and
Vodafone's analogue cellular services to dominate the market-place
for some time to come.

One-2-One is the name of the joint venture company between US West
and Cable & Wireless that will launch its digital mobile phone
network within the M25 "ring" around London in July. The company
claims that it will offer its services at between 30 and 40 percent
lower than those of Cellnet and Vodafone, the two existing analogue
cellular services in the UK.

"I believe there's a niche for their offering but the real players
will still be Vodafone and Cellnet," Whent said, adding that the
initial restriction of coverage to the London area would be a severe
limitation on its ability to penetrate the market.

Noting that the system is committed under the terms of its licence
to roll the service out on a national basis within the next seven
years, Whent said that this geographical restriction will prevent
many users from considering the service as an alternative to
Vodafone or Cellnet, as well as the Vodafone GSM digital network.

Whent was also highly critical of some media sources that predict a
market penetration of one in ten users in the UK by the end of the
decade. "If people start saying there's going to be more than that
they're pie in the skying," said Whent.

Currently, Cellnet and Vodafone have a combined market penetration
of about one in 40 adults in the UK, despite pushing hard over the
last year with a range of innovative consumer tariffs.

(Steve Gold/19930610/Press & Public Contact: Vodafone - Tel: 0635-
33251)


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

EC Retaliates Against US Trade Sanctions 06/10/93
LUXEMBURG, EUROPE, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- After weeks of being
criticized as unresponsive to tariff barrier threats from the US,
the European Commission (EC) has reacted angrily, imposing what it
claims are tariff counter-measures that will cost US firms at least
$15 million a year in lost business.

At a meeting of the EC Council earlier this week, EC officials
rubber-stamped plans to specifically ban US firms from bidding on
public supply contracts worth less than UKP 100,000. Analysts have
noted, however, that the action is very much a negotiating tactic,
since it is only a drop in the ocean in terms of US business
activity in Europe.

The EC list of actions almost exactly matches those imposed by the
US under Title VII of its 1988 Trade Act that were imposed earlier
this year when discussions on US entry into the European telecoms
market broke down. US news sources suggest that these US sanctions
will cost European companies almost $20 million a year in lost
contracts.

Although there is a significant chance that either side may get a
little trigger happy on further sanctions and tariff barriers, EC
sources suggest that the EC ruling will at least get both sides
around a negotiating table. If this is successful, it could lead
to a fresh set of rules on global trading -- the general agreement
on trade and tariffs (GATT) -- being thrashed out. Analysts suggest
that a new set of GATT rules will boost trade between the US and
Europe by as much as $200 million a year.

(Steve Gold/19930610)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)

European Telecoms Firms Recoil At BT-MCI Deal 06/10/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- The billion dollar deal between
British Telecom and MCI is causing consternation among the European
telecoms companies, as they face up to the fact that they must form
alliances if they are to cut costs to maintain their profitability.

The European telecom companies' problem is that, under the free
trade agreement between European Community (EC) countries, which
became law from the beginning of the year, their domestic customers
can quite legally contract with BT for the provision of inter-
country telecom links within Europe. In addition, the MCI deal means
that BT's transatlantic call pricing will fall substantially over
the coming months.

Several industry analysts report a flurry of activity behind the
scenes, despite the fact that all appears calm on the surface.
"Outwardly France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will remain cool and
calm but inwardly there will be a feeling of unease," said Nick
Williams, an analyst at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International in
London.

France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have not been unaware of the
threat from BT and others in the European telecoms market-place. In
March last year, the two state-controlled companies set up a joint
venture operation known as Eunetcom, with the express aim of
offering international services on an out of country basis.

Although the new venture has yet to sign any major customers, it has
been in active discussions with Cable & Wireless in the Far East, as
well as AT&T and MCI in the US, regarding an inter-continental link-
up. MCI's decision to side with BT means that an AT&T link-up with
Eunetcom is a distinct possibility.

Not that Eunetcom is the only possible European partner for AT&T.
The Netherlands, Swedish and Swiss state-controlled telecoms
companies have their own joint venture company -- Unisource -- that
is still in its early stages. In the days following the BT-MCI link-
up, three other country telecom companies, Tele Denmark, Norwegian
Telecom and Telecom Finland have indicated an interest in joining
the Unisource consortium.

Both Eunetcom and Unisource were set up to prepare for the full
deregulation of the European telecoms market-place which will take
place on January 1, 1988. While the BT-MCI link-up is now
irreversible, there is no doubt that there will be other inter-
country liaisons, although perhaps not on the same scale as BT's and
MCI's.

(Steve Gold/19930610)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00028)

Northern Extends VISIT To IBM PCs 06/10/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- Northern Telecom
Ltd. has extended its Visual Interactive Technology (VISIT)
desktop conferencing system, originally released for the Apple
Macintosh, to IBM and compatible personal computers.

According to Northern, this makes VISIT the only multimedia
conferencing system that can link Macintoshes and PCs.

When Northern launched VISIT on the Macintosh a year ago, a
spokeswoman told Newsbytes the PC version was due to be available
in September, 1992. Company spokesman Pete Settles said it is
shipping now.

VISIT Video permits two-way desktop videoconferencing over
56-kilobit-per-second lines linking Apple Macintosh computers
and/or IBM and compatible PCs running the DOS operating system
Version 5.0 and Microsoft Windows 3.1.

Full screen-sharing and file-transfer capabilities, which were
not in the early Macintosh version, have now been added to both
the Macintosh and PC versions, Settles said.

The complete package, including software, video board, and
cabling, costs C$3,750, or US$3,899 in the United States.

VISIT Voice, a call-management tool that lets users dial, set up
directories, log phone calls, and track usage, is available
separately for C$170 or US$139.

Northern said the software conforms to Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN) standards, which are gradually spreading
across North America. It also works with private branch exchanges
and switching equipment from Northern Telecom and other vendors.

Northern said VISIT Video will be available in color by mid-year,
and a multi-point bridge to let several users participate in a
vidoeconference will also be available later in 1993.

(Grant Buckler/19930610/Press Contact: Tammy Shostak, Northern
Telecom, 919-992-0653; Karen Saunders, Northern Telecom,
919-992-1762; Maureen O'Brien, Northern Telecom, 416-238-7206)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

Firm Slashes Software Prices -- To Nothing! 06/10/93
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- In a move
aimed at Computer Associates, Minnesota Software Systems
Development is giving away two million copies of its software.

All anyone has to do to get one of the products is to send a letter
of request. Bargain hunters can choose between the company's
Living Trust Software and Business Strategy Development
Software, both normally retail at $149.95.

Requests should be mailed to: M.S.S.D.C., P.O. Box 54170,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454.

The company thinks that the shipment of the two million free
copies of the software, as opposed to just samples or demos, is
a marketing first, in the software industry.

In announcing the freebie deal, company President Brent Knapp
claims that Americans are displaying a positive desire to control
their own financial destinies. The company also claims that,
because the software was written by teams of attorneys and
managers, it is the best financial advice available without hiring
an attorney or financial consultant.

Living Trust Software provides the user with information and
forms on disk to build a trust. Among the areas covered are Married
Trust, Single Trust, Children's Irrevocable Trust, Amendments, Wills,
four different types of Power of Attorneys, and Quitclaim Deeds.
The package includes over 45 different forms and is valid in all 50
states.

According to the company, the Business Strategy Development
is a complete business plan outline integrating the experience and
knowledge of operating business and industry. It is over 170 pages,
and includes 65 word processing and spreadsheet files. Also
included is the company's new Incorporation Software, which
includes all the necessary forms to incorporate in all 50 states.

Both packages are available in IBM, Windows and Macintosh
format and can be used with both laser and dot matrix printers.
They are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with
customers paying only $6.99 postage and handling, which must
be included with request.

(Ian Stokell/19930610/Press Contact: Bob Lockrem,
612-673-0922, Minnesota Software Systems Development Corp.)


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

 ****3DO President Asserts Multimedia Boxes Must Be Under $200 06/10/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 10 (NB) -- In
speaking to the National Cable Television Association
convention in San Francisco, 3DO Chief Executive Officer Trip
Hawkins said the new set-top boxes planned by cable companies
for interactive multimedia have to be less than $200. Hawkins
was not referring to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, scheduled
for release this fall, but to the cable boxes planned for the
mass market by several cable companies.

The first focus of the cable providers in the set-top boxes is
to provide video-on-demand. But by 1995 or 1996 predictions are
consumers will have access to interactive services such as
shopping, game playing, and live opinion polls.

To get the horsepower needed to compress and decompress video
as well as to perform complex graphics, the planned cable boxes
for the interactive networks will contain reduced instruction
set computing (RISC) chips, the type that are the brains of
workstation computers. Time Warner Cable and Silicon Graphics,
Inc. (SGI) announced plans to set up an entire prototype
interactive multimedia cable system based on the SGI MIPS chip.
The system is to be set up in Orlando, Florida by the end of
1993. Kaleida, Motorola, and Scientific Atlanta also announced
a partnership to develop a set-top box whose brains will be the
PowerPC RISC chip.

Representatives for 3DO said some cable companies are planning
set-top boxes where a single chip alone costs the company $200.
High materials costs could price the boxes out of consideration
for the mass market. To attract a market of several million
users to interactive multimedia services, the necessary
equipment needs to cost less, according to Hawkins.

The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also powered by a RISC chip,
will be in the $700 price range, but is billed as a home
entertainment system. As previously announced, 302 software
developers have committed to production of titles for the 3DO
player. In addition, representatives for 3DO told Newsbytes the
Interactive Multiplayer will be capable of performing the same
functions as the new RISC-based set-top cable boxes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930610/Press Contact: Diane Hunt, 3DO, tel
415-574-6786)