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/nb930621

Text File | 1993-06-22 | 82KB | 1,774 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00001)

Australian Koala Habitat Database Aids Conservation 06/21/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- The Australian Koala
Foundation (AKF) has a new computer database that identifies koala
habitats in Australia. The $225,000 system is being called one of
the most useful tools ever developed for wildlife preservation.

The koala is a huggable bear that is noted for its vacant seemingly
smiling face. In fact, the animal spends most of its life in a semi-
intoxicated state, owing to the constantly fermenting eucalyptus
leaves in its digestive system. The koala, which has become an
endangered species recent times, in is an extremely popular
"national mascot" in Australia.

The computer system has been produced with assistance from Hewlett
Packard, Ingres and Genasys II. The next stage in the project is
Koala Habitat Atlas, which will be a Unix-based Genamap software
system running on HP computers. Spatial data on all aspects of the
relevant areas is being donated by the Land Information Center.

Funding has been secured for the next phase, which covers the Tweed
region, from a number of Australian organizations and an American
zoo consortium co-ordinated by San Diego Zoo.

The introduction of the database means that, for the first time,
there will be a comprehensive information resource on the Koala,
including data on the species' fragmented habitats, its population
numbers, feeding patterns and migratory habits.

This information may lead to the species being removed from the
Endangered Species List as rare and vulnerable in the state of New
South Wales. Information collected in the field will be added to the
Land Information Center's spatial data to produce the most complete
and accurate compendium on the animal and its habitat. The
information includes tree communities being used by the animals,
location of fecal pellets and ranging behavior.

The map will give invaluable evidence to planners in regions where
to date there is only anecdotal evidence as to the presence of the
shy and hard-to-see animals. 80 percent of the remaining koala
habitat is on private land. It is believed that unless there is a
co-ordinated regional strategic plan to maintain the koala's habitat,
it is futile to try to protect small patches of the animal.

For this reason, confining the koalas to patches in small national
parks is not the solution. A koala can travel over 50km in two weeks
which can take it well outside the protection of the national parks
system, a problem similar to the African elephant. The atlas project
is designed to identify the areas which are crucial to the Koala's
survival and how to integrate this into the spread of human
population.

(Paul Zucker/19930621/Contact: Australian Koala Foundation on phone
[phone] or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00002)

Virtual Reality Gets An Award In The Real World 06/21/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Virtual
Reality (VR) is finding some definite niche markets in industry, one
of which is in the architectural design of buildings. Now Sense8 has
announced that the "barrier-free design" virtual reality system
created by Prairie Virtual Systems using Sense8's WorldToolKit, has
received a CyberEdge Journal Virtual Reality Software and
Applications Product of the Year Award. WorldToolKit also received
the same award.

According to the company, WorldToolKit was used as the core software
technology in Prairie's application. The development package is used
for building real-time virtual reality and graphics simulation
applications across a range of industries.

Announcing that the package had won the award, Dr. John Trimble,
president of Prairie, said: "Our objective in building the barrier-
free design system is to foster designs that accommodate everyone.
Both the physically-able and disabled should be able to use public
and private spaces with equal ease."

According to Trimble, Prairie's system assists designers in meeting
the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The system
allows designers to test buildings to make sure they comply with
accessibility requirements before the design is actually built.

The system assists in the design of interiors that are "accessible
and safe," according to Prairie. It allows architects and designers
to move through a virtual reality environment, experiencing
obstacles and possible design flaws that may not have become
apparent until after the building is constructed. Actual items and
objects in the design, such as faucets for example, can be changed
if required.

Prairie's system also uses Greenleaf Medical's Greenleaf DataGlove,
Virtual Research's Flight Helmet, and A Flock of Birds from
Ascension Technology Corporation

Trade publication CyberEdge Journal's publisher, Ben Delaney, said
of Prairie's system: "As far as I'm concerned , Prairie Virtual has
created one of the best applications of virtual reality ever. It
solves problems in a superior fashion, better than any similar
applications that I've seen."

(Ian Stokell/19930621/Press Contact: Tom Coull, Sense8 - Tel: 415-
331-6318)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00003)

Cisco Launches Remote-Access Routers, Software 06/21/93
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Claiming its
latest offerings will make it easier for small offices and remote
locations to become part of enterprise networks, Cisco Systems has
launched several new remote-access routers, network management
software, and software designed to let network managers set up the
routers by remote control.

One of the routers, the Cisco 2000, is a two port unit aimed at
small corporate branch offices. Two versions are available, one for
Ethernet and one for Token Ring networks. Both have a limited
protocol set meant to address the most common needs in smaller
locations, company officials said.

A company spokesman said that the goal of these units is to provide
the lowest possible cost without compromising on features. Both
models are due to be available in the third quarter of 1993.

Cisco also launched two new models in its Cisco 3000 router line.
These are also remote access routers, and join four existing
models in the 3000 series.

One of the new models comes with an Ethernet network port, two
serial ports, and an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Basic Rate Interface (BRI) port. The other comes with a Token
Ring connection, two serial ports, and an ISDN BRI connection.

Both are based on Motorola's 68030 microprocessor, and can forward
5,500 packets per second, according to the vendor.

Cisco has also cut prices on existing models in the 3000 line.

The company has enhanced its Cisco 500 Communication Server, a
combined asynchronous dial-up router, terminal server, protocol
translator, and telecommuting server. According to the vendor,
the 500 now offers true dial-on-demand and bandwidth-on-demand
routing, plus router support for Novell's IPX protocol and
support for all services on all ports.

This will give small remote offices and telecommuters better
access to corporate internetworks through public phone lines,
company officials said.

In a press conference in Toronto recently, John Morgridge, chief
executive of Cisco, said networks are shifting from just providing
information to supporting the actual operation of organizations. At
the same time, he said, they are becoming accessible to smaller
organizations than those that first installed them.

Further, Cisco launched a new version of CiscoWorks, its router
management software. CiscoWorks 2.0 adds more features aimed at
remote management of routers, the company said.

For example, new or updated software can now be distributed
easily from a central location, and a common command facility
lets administrators make the same configuration changes to groups
of routers simultaneously. The new software is due to be available
in the first quarter of 1994.

Meanwhile, a new software feature called AutoInstall, now available
with all Cisco 2000, 3000, and 4000 routers, is said to let an
administrator configure routers at remote locations without visiting
them. The remote user can connect the router to leased lines running
to the existing corporate internetwork, and it will learn its
network address and download the software configuration
automatically, company officials claimed.

Officials said that while network bridges that do this already
exist, Cisco's is the first true router to offer the capability.

Finally, Cisco introduced a dual-port Ethernet network processor
module for its Cisco 4000 router. Due to be available in the
third quarter, the device is meant to let users consolidate lines
into regional nodes or provide direct access to Fiber Distributed
Data Interface (FDDI) backbones for small work groups on Ethernet
networks.

(Grant Buckler/19930621/Press Contact: Cisco Systems,
415-326-1941, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00004)

Austin Computer Systems Announces New Product Line, Focus 06/21/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- With its new management
team now in place, recently purchased Austin Computer Systems (ACS)
has announced several new products, including a notebook computer
line and personal computers that meet US Environmental Protection
Agency energy consumption guidelines.

Austin Computer Systems was purchased in January 1993 by Singapore-
based Integrated Processors and Communication (IPC), a manufacturer
of high-end microcomputers and point of sale systems. IPC was
originally incorporated in 1985 as Essex Electric Pte Limited and
went public in Singapore in May with a 250 million share offering.

ACS is now led by President and CEO David Scull. According to his
biography, Scull joined IPC in 1992 after spending 15 years in
sales, manufacturing and management for various multinational
corporations in Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and Singapore. He is
also a former employee of Seagate Technology, and was managing IPC's
Atlanta,Georgia-based subsidiary when tagged for the ACS job.

Charles Mitchell, Vice President of Product Marketing comes to ACS
from Dell Computer Corporation where he was Senior Staff Project
Planner. Judith Bitterli, former director of sales at CompuAdd, was
named Vice President of Sales.

ACS said that it plans to begin manufacturing personal computer
systems that meet all the requirements of EPS's Energy Star
Computers program, and will begin phasing out non-energy efficient
lines.

The Energy Star program was first introduced in 1992, establishing
voluntary guidelines to promote manufacturing of energy efficient
PCs. Companies building PCs that require 30 watts or less in the
"sleep" (inactive) mode can display the Energy Star logo.

ACS says that its energy efficient, or "green," PCs will be 80486-
based systems running at 25, 33, 50, and 66 megahertz (MHz).
Standard configurations will include four megabytes (MB) of system
memory, which can be expanded to as much as 32MB. Hard drive options
include 170MB, 250MB and 340MB drives with access times of 13
milliseconds.

The computers will go into a standby mode when a user-selected period
of inactivity has occurred. The standby mode slows the microprocessor
to 8MHz and turns off the hard drive. Two monitor standby modes are
available. The first option turns off the monitor completely, while
the second option offers an upgradable, VESA-compatible monitor that
keeps the cathode tube warm, allowing for instant return to activity
rather than waiting for the display to warm up.

The EPA estimates that office equipment is the fastest growing user
of electricity. Computer systems have been estimated s using five
percent of commercial electricity consumption, says ACS. That could
rise to as much as 10 percent by the year 2000.

ACS also introduced an 80486-based notebook computer line today that
includes units with monochrome LCD and active matrix color displays
powered by Intel 486SX, 486DX and 486DX2 microprocessors. The systems
use 32-bit local bus video and a PCMCIA slot for use of either type
II or type III PCMCIA cards such as modems, additional memory, LAN
interface cards, and multimedia audio cards.

Standard configurations include 4 or 8MB of memory, which can be
expanded up to 32MB. A built-in optical type 16mm trackball
positioned at the front of the membrane keyboard (closest to the
user) is available as an option. The systems have a port for an
external VGA monitor, which can run simultaneously with the built-in
display, and all systems come with DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1
installed.

The company told Newsbytes that a 486-based notebook running at
66MHz, with a monochrome monitor, 8MB of memory, and a 340MB hard
drive, prices at $2,999. Prices for color notebooks start at under
$3,000 with the same configuration. All the notebooks are scheduled
to ship late this month.

(Jim Mallory/19930621/Press contact: Linda Johns, Austin Computer
Systems, 512-339-3500; Reader contact: Austin Computer Systems,
512-539-3500, or 800-752-1577)fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00005)

Alpha-Artisoft Deal Offers Network And Database Bundle 06/21/93
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Bundles, in
which some combination of computer hardware and/or software products
are offered together for a single price, seem to be an increasingly
popular marketing gimmick. Now here's one you may not have seen
before: buy A SET OF database software that can run on a local-area
network (LAN) and get the network thrown in for a few more bucks.

The offer is the result of a deal between Alpha Software, a
Burlington software vendor, and Artisoft, the Tucson, Arizona-based
manufacturer of LANtastic, a simple LAN system popular in smaller
installations.

The two companies are offering the Complete Solution, which includes
a three-user edition of the Alpha Four relational database software
and all the adapter cards, connectors, terminators, cables, and
network software needed to link three PCs in a LANtastic network.

The bundle has a list price of $899, compared to regular prices
of $549 for the database software and $729 for the network kit.

The network does not require a dedicated file server, a spokeswoman
for the company said, although one of the three linked PCs must act
as a non-dedicated server. This machine must have a hard disk drive
and at least 40K bytes of available memory. The other PCs need at
least 13K of available memory to support the network, and must have
diskette drives. Any PC running DOS 3.1 or later can be used.

The spokeswoman said that Alpha Four is not a programmable database,
but is customizable by users without programming. The bundle is
aimed at small to medium-sized business buyers, she said.

(Grant Buckler/19930621/Press Contact: Karen Reynolds, Alpha
Software, 617-229-2924 ext. 207; Brodeur & Partners for Alpha
Software, 617-894-0003)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00006)

Aussie Bounty Hunters Active On "Piracy Snitch Line" 06/21/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- A month ago, the Business
Software Association of Australia (BSAA) launched its controversial
campaign to get members of the public to report anyone using
unofficial copies of software -- in return for a $2,500 reward for
successful prosecutions.

In Australia the action of "telling" on someone to the authorities
(or, in the case of children, to parents or teachers) is to "dob" on
them. Newsbytes can report that there has been a whole lot of
dobbing going on.

The BSAA reports that around 150 calls per week are coming in to the
dob line, with about 60 of these from people actively enquiring
about the reward. In many cases it is ex-employees who want to
report actions of their former employers. Another 60 or so want
information on the subject of software piracy, and the remaining 20
percent were oddball calls such as the press.

Jim McNamara of the BSAA said that he had learned of backyarders
selling brand-name software for as little as $5 a diskette. "We have
also heard of dealers selling systems with lots of free software
that is, of course, pirated commercial software. And there are also
lots of stories about whole networks running on just one copy of the
software," he said.

The Australian Computer Society said it hoped its members would
report such occurrences by employers, not for the reward, but
because it was the ethical thing to do.

Another industry body, the AIAA, said that it was not in favor of
the scheme because employers were often still not aware of what was
happening in their organizations, or had not realized that it was
illegal. It said that this scheme really only appealed to people who
want money or revenge.

(Paul Zucker/19930621)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

Wordperfect Shipping Wordperfect For NextStep 06/21/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation has
begun shipping an interim release version of its popular word
processing program for the Nextstep operating system platform.

The company said that the updated release, version 1.0.1, includes
support for Next Computer's new Nextstep operating system for Intel
processors. Version 1.0.1 also adds support for Nextstep's drag-and-
drop text feature and online help.

Wordperfect programmers were generous in their praise about
programming for the Nextstep graphical user interface (GUI).

"Programming for Nextstep is a developer's ream," said Nathan Hatch,
Unix product marketing manager at Wordperfect. "Because of the way
Nextstep manages information, we were able to add powerful new
features to this interim release in a relatively short amount of
time," he added.

Other features in the latest release include program disks that store
multiple file allocation tables, which allows Wordperfect for
Nextstep to run on Nextstep for Motorola-based proprietary machines
as well as Intel-based 486 and Pentium personal computers. Nextstep
for Intel-based machines was introduced last month at the Nextworld
Expo held in San Francisco.

Wordperfect claims that the interim release takes advantage of
Nextstep's drag-and-drop feature that allows users to select text or
graphics and move them anywhere within the same document, other open
Wordperfect documents, or other Nextstep software applications that
support the Nextstep drag-and-drop feature.

Users can also drag and drop file icons into open Wordperfect
documents to insert the contents of that file into the current
document. Wordperfect for Nextstep accepts Wordperfect, ASCII, WPG,
TIFF, EPS, and RTF files. The last three are formats for graphics
files.

The new release also integrates online documentation, allowing the
user to access both Wordperfect and Nextstep online help from within
Wordperfect.

Hatch said that the new features are steps towards Wordperfect's
goal to develop a version of the word processing program for
Nextstep that will be feature and file compatible with its DOS and
Windows counterparts while taking advantage of Next technology.

(Jim Mallory/19930621/Press contact: Paul Eddington, 801-225-5000;
Reader contact: Wordperfect Corporation, 801-225-5000)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00008)

Canadian Product Launch Update 06/21/93
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- This regular feature,
appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the
Canadian market on announcement by international companies that
Newsbytes has already covered. This week: several new products from
Hewlett-Packard, plus Radius' PrecisionColor Pro series.

Hewlett-Packard (Canada) has unveiled the DeskJet 1200C and
1200C/PS, color ink-jet printers designed to be equally good at
color or black-and-white printing (Newsbytes, May 24). Canadian list
prices are C$2,302 for the DeskJet 1200C and C$3,251 for the
1200C/PS, which works with the PostScript page description language
as well as HP's own PCL 5. Both are expected to be available in
Canada this fall.

Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft announced the OmniBook 300
(Newsbytes, June 7), a sub-notebook-sized personal computer the
companies call a "superportable."

There are two models in the line, a 40 megabyte (MB) system with a
recommended list of C$2,695, and one that contains a 10MB flash disk
with a suggested price of C$3,282. Options include Fax/Modem
Communications Pack (C$524); 2MB memory expansion (C$247); and
replacement AC/DC adapter (C$137).

HP also launched the NetServer LE series, a line of entry-level
network servers based on Intel's 80486 processors (Newsbytes, May
19). Designed to be easy to maintain and upgrade, company officials
said, the LE series are aimed at small to medium-sized workgroups.

The servers are shipping now. A unit with a 33 megahertz (MHz)
processor and a 240MB hard drive is C$3,588. One with a 66MHz
processor and 535MB hard drive is C$4,265.

Radius Canada followed its US parent's lead in launching
PrecisionColor Pro, an accelerated 24-bit display interface for
Apple Macintosh computers (Newsbytes, June 14). Due to begin
shipping before the end of June, PrecisionColor Pro will carry a
Canadian list price of $2,999.

(Grant Buckler/19930621/Press Contact: Pat Farrell, HP Canada,
416-206-3311; Maire Kushner, Radius Canada, 416-777-9900, fax
416-777-9911)


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

Digital Hong Kong Backs Open Software Standard 06/21/93
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, JUN 21 93 -- Digital Equipment Corporation
has thrown its support behind the Common Open Software Environment
(COSE) initiative. According to the company, it will help to move
the COSE process forward by actively participating in many of the
working groups evolving from the initiative and by making industry
leading technology and expertise available to the COSE group.

The COSE initiative was defined in a white paper recently released
by Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Santa Cruz Operation, Sun Microsystems,
Univel and Unix Systems Laboratories. The white paper is currently
being distributed through The UniForum Association, of which Digital
is a leading member.

"Digital sees the advent of COSE as a clear signal that Unix
environments are becoming unified," explained Kaizad Heerjee, open
systems manager of Digital Asia. "Our strategy has always been to
support the widest range of industry standards and to help define
and implement new standards in areas where we have expertise."

According to Heerjee, Digital's Unix offerings already include a
large number of the technologies being considered in COSE. "We
believe that our active participation in the COSE development
process will help ensure that our customers' needs for a truly
unified Unix environment will continue to be met," he said.

At the same time as all this, Digital has announced it is
participating in a new industry working group that numbers Hewlett-
Packard, IBM, Sun Microsystems and the Open Software Foundation as
its members.

According to Digital, the group is working to define a "federated
naming" capability that will improve interoperability across name
services provided by such technologies as the Distributed Computing
Environment (DCE) and Open Network Computing (ONC). This activity is
part of a plan for a "fast track" proposal and sample implementation
under the sponsorship of the X/Open Distributed Computing programme.

"Indications of Digital's participation in the development of a common
Unix environment include our active role in the Object Management
Group, with the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)
specification, and in the X Consortium, where we are helping to define
PEXlib and other graphics standards," explained Heerjee.

Digital currently sells its Application Control Architecture
Services (ACAS) software, which is consistent with the COSE
definition for a CORBA-compliant object management environment and
is available on Digital platforms as well as those of HP, IBM, Sun
and others.

Digital has also announced its participation in the recently formed
X/Open Desktop Working group. This team will work with the developers
of the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) technology, one of the first
COSE efforts, to advise on the specifications in conjunction with
their submission to X/Open.

(Brett Cameron/19930621/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel (Digital): Tel:
[phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00010)

Enterprise '93: PowerOpen Association Revs Into High Gear 06/21/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- The PowerOpen
Association has revealed it is now readying test tools and technical
support, beefing up membership and staff, and preparing to move to
a permanent headquarters

According to the top official of the industry consortium, which was
formed three months ago by IBM, Motorola, Apple and other players to
promote a new RISC-based cross-platform environment, the eventual
aim is to create an environment that will foster the development of
PowerOpen-compliant software.

Speaking with Newsbytes at Enterprise '92, where the PowerOpen
environment was demonstrated last week, Domenic J. LaCava,
PowerOpen's president, said that the consortium will finish the
development of a tool suite and support program for verifying
PowerOpen compliance over the next six months, before the first
PowerOpen-based products come to market.

The first PowerOpen-compliant products are expected to be shipped
by IBM in the fourth quarter of this year, and deliveries from
other vendors will follow in the second half of 1994, he added.

The new PowerOpen environment is built around the PowerOpen
Application Binary Interface (ABI), a hardware and software
interface that will allow binary-compatible Unix and Apple Macintosh
System 7 applications to run across compliant systems from multiple
vendors.

The ABI combines PowerPC microprocessors, now under development by
IBM and Motorola, with an API (application programming interface),
base operating system, and X Window system software extensions for
Motif and Macintosh. Motif and Macintosh GUIs (graphical user
interfaces) are layered above the ABI. Macintosh Application
Services, an upcoming software product from Apple, will incorporate
the Macintosh extension and GUI.

Ultimately, the new bus independent, cross-platform environment is
aimed at hardware platforms ranging from notebooks to multi-
processor supercomputers.

IBM, Apple, Bull, Thomson-CSF, Harris, and Tadpole Technology all
plan to release PowerOpen-compliant systems. IBM, Motorola, Apple,
Bull, and Thomson-CSF comprise the five founding sponsors of the
group, and Harris and Tadpole the founding principals.

At Enterprise '93, a three-day conference and expo co-sponsored by
Bull, the OSF and MIT, the new consortium demonstrated PowerOpen
running WordPerfect straight out of the box on IBM RISC 6000 and
Bull DPX/20 workstations.

In an interview with Newsbytes on the show floor, LaCava said that
the association hopes to add at least one more system vendor or
technology supplier as a sponsor, and at least four more system
vendors or large software developers as principals, by the end of
this year, along with more associate members.

Associate membership, a category now numbering upwards of 125
participants, is for system vendors and software developers as well
as end users and academia.

The consortium is especially interested in recruiting members from
outside North America and Europe, LaCava told Newsbytes. To that
end, the association president took a one-week trip to the Pacific
Rim earlier this month.

Other recent developments include the appointments of Pat Riemitis
as vice president of marketing, Norm Kalat as vice president of
finance and operations, and Sanjoy Chatterji as vice president of
technology services, rounding out the senior management staff.

Total staffing will consist of only about a dozen people, but the
consortium is now considering applicants for second tier management
slots on both the technical and marketing sides, LaCava noted.

To accommodate its growing staff, the organization will move from
temporary offices at the Bull facility in Billerica, MA to
permanent headquarters, probably in the Burlington, MA area, within
the next 30 to 45 days, he told Newsbytes.

The system and application test tools and technical support program
now under way at the association will be used for assuring the
interoperability of PowerOpen products.

In related activities, IBM and Motorola are now sampling the first
chip to be based on the PowerPC architecture. Slated for
availability in 50 megahertz (MHz) and 66 MHz versions, the new
PowerPC 601 microprocessor is aimed at the desktop, workstation, and
symmetric multiprocessing computer systems markets.

Three more PowerPC chips are also in the works: the 603, for cost
sensitive desktop and portable PCs; the 604, a high-performance
part for single- or multiprocessor desktop, workstations and
servers; and the 620, a 64-bit high performance part for high-end
workstations, servers, and multiprocessor systems.

(Jacqueline Emigh/10030621/Press contacts: Pat Riemitis, PowerOpen
Association, tel [phone]; Debbie Tabone, Clarke & Company for
Bull, tel [phone]; Reader contact: Jaye Rasmussen, PowerOpen
Association, tel [phone] or 508-294-4540, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00011)

Microsoft Introduces Technical Information Services In HK 06/21/93
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, JUN 21 1993 -- Microsoft has introduced a
series of information services making definitive, in-depth
information on Microsoft products available to Hong Kong's
information technology professionals including software developers,
information system department personnel and power-users.

The Microsoft Developer Network is the company's official source of
development-related technical, strategic and resource information.
TechNet provides technical information on Microsoft products and on
building, implementing and supporting Microsoft-based information
systems. Microsoft Press publishes technical reference books on the
Microsoft product range.

"Information dissemination is one of the major elements in our
customer support strategy, along with technical services and education
programmes," explained Laurie Kan, country manager of Microsoft Hong
Kong, who added that, by making these information products and
services available in Hong Kong, local information technology
professionals can enjoy the same levels of support as their
colleagues in the US and Europe.

A subscription to the Microsoft Developer Network entitles local
application designers and programmers to comprehensive information
on all Microsoft software development products on a quarterly basis.

Using a powerful Windows-based interface, the Microsoft Developer
Network CDs pack a huge amount of information about programming in
Windows, including hundreds of technical articles written exclusively
for the Developer Network by experts at Microsoft, complete issues of
the Microsoft Systems Journal, text from selected Microsoft Press
books, plus complete documentation for all Microsoft development
products.

There will also be available sample application code, fully documented
and tested, the latest specifications on all Microsoft's programming
interfaces, the entire Developer KnowledgeBase including bug reports
and workarounds, programming tools and utilities and self-study
courses on various aspects of Windows programming.

The HK$1,600 (US$205) annual subscription fee also includes six bi-
monthly issues of Developer Network News and invitations to
developer events.

Microsoft has designed the TechNet service for those who support and
educate end users, use Microsoft tools to create customized front
ends, implement or integrate Microsoft software into multi-vendor
environments, or design and recommend IT solutions.

Annual membership to Microsoft TechNet costs HK$2,400 (US$308) and
includes monthly updates to the TechNet CD; a Microsoft Service
Directory and a Windows-based front end for accessing the Microsoft
TechNet forum on CompuServe.

The TechNet CD-ROM (compact disc read only memory) provides hard
information on crucial technical subjects from a variety of sources.
The disk includes Microsoft KnowledgeBase that provides easy access
to the same extensive library of technical support information used
by Microsoft Product Support Specialists.

The disc also contains resource kits containing technical references,
troubleshooting information, utilities and accessories to aid
application installation and support; training materials including
tutorials, training guides and slides with speaker notes; session
notes from key Microsoft conferences; customer solution profiles
that detail how real IT problems have been solved with Microsoft
products.

(Brett Cameron/19930621/Press Contact: Sasha Skinner (Microsoft): Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00012)

Enterprise '93: Operating System For Unix and Mini Apps 06/21/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Carrying forward
a company thrust toward multivendor interoperability, Bull HN
Information Systems has unveiled GCOS 6 HVX, a new operating system
that it claims is the first to allow Unix and proprietary
minicomputer applications to be executed without modification on the
same server.

At Enterprise '93, where the new operating system was introduced
last week, Dwight Oglesby, director of Enterprise Product Marketing,
told Newsbytes that in Single Decor, its first release, HVX will run
GCOS 6 applications on Bull's new DPX/20 servers.

DPX/20 was introduced at Uniforum in April of this year as one of
the first non-IBM systems to be based on IBM's Power RISC
architecture. Up to now, GCOS 6 applications have been available
only for Bull DPS 6000 minicomputers.

A future upgrade of HVX, Dual Decor, will be able to run Unix
applications as well as GCOS 6 applications on the DPX/20, Oglesby
told Newsbytes.

He added that the new HVX operating system is aimed at easing the
migration of proprietary GCOS 6 applications into the standards-
based, client-server Unix environment. GCOS 6 applications perform
online transaction processing (OLTP) and a variety of communications
functions in heterogeneous and homogeneous environments.

The only other system that even comes close to HVX is a system from
Amdahl that runs mainframe- and Unix-based applications, Oglesby
said, adding that the Amdahl system operates on a large mainframe.

Newsbytes notes that the mainframe version of Amdahl's Huron
applications development and production system can be used to build
and run applications under MVS or UTS, Amdahl's implementation of
Unix System V, or under a combination of MVS and UTS running in
separate partitions on the same host.

The Single Decor version of GCOS 6 HVX is available immediately for
selected Bull DPX/20 models. All models of the new server family are
expected to be available with Single Decor in September. Dual Decor
is slated for delivery in mid-1994.

A sample mid-range system comprising a Bull DPX/20 Model 460 with
HVX, configured for 32 users, is priced at $53,361 with a total
yearly maintenance fee of $5,630. According to the company, a system
like this represents a 45 percent cost reduction and an 80 percent
performance improvement over an equivalent Bull DPS 6000 Model 522
minicomputer.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930621/Press contact: Debbie Tabone, Clarke &
Company for Bull, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00013)

India: Raytheon Secures $85M ATC Contract 06/21/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- "Whenever there is an
accident, we see our market opening," explained Steve Teel,
marketing manager with the International Air Traffic Control (ATC)
Directorate of Raytheon, rubbing his hands in glee as news of an $85
million contract for the modernisation of Bombay and Delhi airport
ATCs was announced.

The RS 264 crore ($85m) deal was awarded to Raytheon and its Indian
partner, the National Radio and Electronics Company (NELCO).

According to Walter Stowell, Raytheon's vice president, the existing
ATC systems are around 20 years old, with monochrome displays and
computers that fill an entire room.

"The modernisation would mean replacement of these with latest
systems," he said, adding that the planned equipment that will
replace the outmoded systems will include solid state radar
technology, as well as color displays, navigational aid systems and
an integrated voice and datacomms system.

The radar systems will be delivered by Raytheon Canada and its UK
subsidiary, Cossor. The airport surface detection radar (ASDR)
system, plus the color displays, will be supplied by Raytheon's
Spanish partner, Ceselsa.

Airport Systems International in the US, meanwhile, will deliver
(via Raytheon) the electronic navigation systems that include
Instrument Landing Systems, Doppler and conventional VORs plus
distance measuring equipment.

Teel claims that the technology which will be used in the ATC update
project is open systems. This means, he said, that the application
software in the systems will run on almost any Unix-based hardware,
whether it supplied by Hewlett-Packard, Data General or Motorola.

The communications protocols used by the system are CCITT X.25, the
internationally recognised datacomms standard and Ethernet,
Newsbytes understands.

As far as passengers going through the airport will be concerned,
there will be no major differences, except that the present 10
flights an hour limitation will be progressively increased to
between 35 and 40 flights an hour, once the systems have come
online.

Almost all the equipment required for the project will be shipped
into India. Raytheon's local partner, NELCO, will install the
systems, provide software support, and offer maintenance services.
In return for providing all the logistical support and after-sales
services, NELCO will scoop around 15 percent of the contract
payments.

According to Ratan N. Tata, NELCO's chairman, this contract fits in
well with the company's longer-term plans to "switch over from
consumer to professional electronics."

Plans call for Raytheon to start shipping the equipment around the
end of the year, with the contract expected to finish within a two
and a half year timespan.

Not that Raytheon or NELCO are resting on their laurels. Both
companies are reported to working on their bids for a similar
project for Calcutta and Madras airports, so this latest contract
will serve as a feather in their caps at the negotiating table.

(C T Mahabharat/19930621)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00014)

Atari Establishes Marketing Foothold In Finland 06/21/93
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Atari is attempting to gain a
marketing foothold in Finland, having seen its previous efforts to
establish a distribution network in the country hit problems.

According to the Finnish media, previous attempts to create a
network of distributors in Finland were hampered by financial
problems with the importers, as well as arguments over distribution
rights.

This time around, Atari has enlisted the help of Ion Finland, part
of the Lauri Valjakka group, which will import and market Atari's
entire range of computers and games consoles into the Finnish
consumer market.

The only exception to this is the Falcon 030 multimedia computer,
which was unveiled in Europe at the Cebit computer show last March.
This machine will be handled by SLO Viestinta, another Finnish
company.

(Steve Gold/19930621)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00015)

Sunconnect To Develop Interconnect Technology For Netware 06/21/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Recognising
that networking interconnect technology is vital to the success of a
relatively new networking system, Sunconnect has announced it is
developing an management interconnect technology for its Sunnet
system to the brand leader, Novell Netware.

Sunconnect claims it is working closely with Novell on the
development of a a new version of Sunnet Manager, its network
operating system.

According to Stan Baldwin, Sunconnect's director of marketing, by
integrating the Netware environment under a single management
framework, along with other corporate systems and resources, the
company can maintain a high level of service to its customers.

"By developing this co-operative environment between Sunnet Manager
and NMS, applications based on Sunnet Manager will be able to
utilize the Netware management information available through NMS,"
he explained.

Both companies admit that it's still very early days in terms of the
development of interconnect between their two network operating
systems. If all goes to plan, when the project has been completed in
the first quarter of next, users of Sunnet Manager and Novell
Netware will be able to exchange information necessary for them to
manage the Netware environment.

Although rudimentary interconnect technologies already exist between
Sunnet and Netware, Sunconnect cites the example of a Sunnet Manager
console being unable to manage information held on the Netware side
of the link. Using the interconnect, the company claims, it will be
possible for information about basic server configuration, including
revision information, as well as file system information such as volume,
directory and caching system to be monitored by the console.

Administrators on the Sunnet side of the network link will also be
able to use their consoles to access information on user sessions
held on the Netware network, including users' account disk details,
volume usage and login privileges.

(Steve Gold/19930621/Press & Public Contact: Sunconnect - Tel:
415/336-4768)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

RadioMail Winner Files From Elvis' Grave 06/21/93
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- At the recent
Electronic Mail Association show in Atlanta, Radiomail chairman
Geoff Goodfellow challenged journalists to file stories without
wires, and promised some recognition to those who did so.

Well, we have a winner. Eric Arnum, editor of the EMMS newsletter,
went from Atlanta to Memphis and actually filed a note from the
grave side of Elvis Presley.

"It's not until you start using wireless messaging systems that you
begin to see their limitless potential to change the way people use
e-mail," he wrote. "These few paragraphs were written ad filed by
the EMMS editor at the grave side of Elvis Presley. All around are
tourists with cameras, all being watched over by dozens of cheerful
tourguides."

"Using the RadioMail package and the RAM Mobile Data network, filing
this bit of copy from Graceland was as easy as taking a photo of
Elvis Presley's final(?) resting place. This wireless messaging
technology is as much a breakthrough for e-mail as the MicroTAC
pocket cellular was for telephony," he added.

"Filing from the King's grave was part of a shameless publicity
stunt done to qualify the editor for next year's RadioMail Users
Group award for 'most unusual place' for sending a file," Arnum
added. "But it illustrates a point: it's hard to leave the office
(behind) when it fits into a bag."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930621/Press Contact: Eric Arnum,
e-mail: [e-mail] on the Internet)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00017)

Design And Editorial Enhancements For Network World 06/21/93
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Network
World has announced design and editorial enhancements that will
make their first appearance in today's edition.

The improvements include a new graphical look, a reorganization of
technical sections, and a new feature, the Network Help Desk, that
will run on page two of every issue.

In reorganizing the sections, the seven-year-old networking
newsweekly has focused on four areas deemed to be of greatest
concern to readers: enterprise internetworks, local networks,
client/server applications, and global services.

"At Network World, we consider ourselves to be advocates for our
readers, and staying closely attuned to their needs is of the utmost
importance. The new sections, coupled with the new design, enable us
to deliver more of the news that our readers really care about,"
explained John Gallant, the magazine's editor.

In the new editorial configuration, a section called Enterprise
Internets will replace Data Net Architectures and Internetworks.
This new section will examine the technologies and issues involved
in building an internetworked local area network (LAN) architecture
that supports distributed computing across an enterprise.

Client/Server Applications, another new section, will address the
challenges faced in deploying distributed applications, with a
particular emphasis on such key technologies as databases,
electronic mail, and workgroup applications. Global Services, a
third addition, will hone in on the areas of voice and data
services.

Network World also intends to bolster its existing section on Local
Networks with more extensive coverage of LAN issues and technologies.

According to the magazine, the tabloid's new Network Help Desk
feature will serve a dual function, answering readers' questions on
networking topics while at the same time acting as a forum for
mediating issues between readers and vendors.

As part of the plan to achieve a new look, Network World has
installed a new client/server-based desktop publishing system.

"We cover networking technology and distributed applications every
day, and how we're producing Network World using the technology we
write about. This will facilitate greater flexibility in design and
layout, which will benefit both our readers and our advertisers,"
explained Gallant.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930621/Press contacts: Evilee Thibeault,
Network World, tel [phone]; Karen Breehy, Rourke & Co. for
Network World, tel [phone], ext 310)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

Parsons Technology Announces Legal Software For Windows 06/21/93
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Parsons Technology, a
company best known for its personal finance software, has announced
it will release a Windows version of its legal document generating
computer software later this summer.

The company says that "It's Legal For Windows" will prepare 41 legal
documents, customized and legally binding for every state but one.

Some documents may not be valid in Louisiana. Parsons Director of
Corporate Communications Joan Dyal told Newsbytes that's because of
the way the laws of that state are written in regard to the
preparation of certain probate documents such as wills.

DOS users who presently use "It's Legal" aren't being left behind
either. Parsons says that a DOS version, It's Legal 4.0, will be
released at the same time as the Windows version, and will contain
the same documents. The DOS version of It's Legal was first
introduced in 1990.

Eight new documents have been added to the earlier version of the
package. They include a Personal Fact Sheet, Home Purchase Worksheet,
Home Evaluation Worksheet, Home Sale Worksheet, Business Entity
Planning Worksheet, Memorial Service Worksheet, License Agreement,
and a Pre-marital Agreement.

In addition to the "fill in the blanks" method of completing the
documents, Parsons says complex documents are divided into sections,
giving the user an easy way to customize forms to fit their
particular needs. Documents can also be generated as templates for
re-use, and you can save disk drive space by installing only the
documents you are interested in using.

The new Windows version will take advantage of Windows features such
as drag and drop, and a print preview feature from the earlier
version will be enhanced to include the ability to view documents
on-screen with user-selected fonts. Documents can be viewed in a
variety of sizes for easier proofreading.

Parsons says that the documents are even set up to handle users who
live in US Territories or have APO or FPO (Army Post Office and
Fleet Post Office) addresses, the equivalent of city addresses for
military members serving outside the US. The program also
recognizes international addresses.

System requirements for the Windows version of It's Legal include an
IBM-compatible personal computer capable of running Windows 3.1 or
later in standard or enhanced mode, and a hard drive with two to ten
megabytes (MB) of available space. The necessary disk space varies
with the number of documents the user chooses to install.

The company says the DOS and Windows versions of It's Legal have a
suggested retail price of $69, with the street price (the amount you
will actually have to pay if you buy from a retail outlet) expected
to be under $30.

(Jim Mallory/19930621/Press contact: Joan Dyal, Parsons Technology,
319-395-9626)


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

International Telecoms Update 06/21/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- At the summer
solstice, it's equity investments that are taking the international
telecomms hotlines.

Taiwan, for instance, confirmed it signed a letter of intent to
invest in Motorola's Iridium satellite-phone project, which will
put 66 satellites in low-Earth orbit to deliver low-power wireless
phone services anywhere in the world. Pacific Electric Wire and
Cable Co of Taiwan will reportedly take a five percent equity stake in
Iridium.

IDB Communications Group made two major international investments.
The company said it will buy one-third of Darcom Communications of
Israel, with an option to raise its equity stake to 50 percent. The
deal gives IDB a beachhead in the growing Middle Eastern satellite
communications market. Darcom provides voice, data,
videoconferencing and Intelsat services in Israel, and IDB said it's
benefiting from a liberalized market.

IDB also said its Worldcom unit has signed an operating agreement
with Telecom New Zealand International, giving the New Zealand
company new routing options and IDB access to new customers. IDB is
also filing to issue $150 million in notes that can be converted
into stock, putting it in position to do more deals.

Ericsson of Sweden was busy. In its home market, it signed a
contract with Swedish Telecom Radio covering the continued expansion
of its GSM digital cellular telephone network. The expansion will
increase the density of coverage for pocket phones.

Sweden has over 700,000 mobile phone subscribers. The company's
Spanish unit, meanwhile signed a major contract to supply more of
its AXE switches to the booming Chinese province of Guangdong, to be
financed by Spanish institutions. And the company increased its
ownership in Schrack Telecom AG of Austria to 80 percent, buying-out
a local bank syndicate. Schrack will act as Ericsson's entry point
into the growing Eastern Europe market.

InterDigital Communications of the US signed a contract from
Inmarsat under which it will look into incorporating its
Broadband-Code Division Multiple Access, or B-CDMA, technology
into the Inmarsat satellite paging system.

B-CDMA was part of a patent portfolio InterDigital acquired in
buying SCS MobileComm last year. InterDigital is best known for
owning rights to a competing technology, called Time Division
Multiple Access, or TDMA, but says its version of CDMA can transmit
accurately over wider frequencies without interfering with other
services. The news has not helped the company's stock, however,
which remains under pressure. One analyst publicly question the
company's staying power on the CNBC cable network June 21.

On the privitization front, Romano Prodi, chairman of Italy's IRI
conglomerate, insisted he's looking for a complete sale of the
company. That includes STET, the telecommunications unit, considered
a "crown jewel" of the company. Italy is seeking to recover from a
massive corruption scandal, and Prodi is working for new prime
minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

In Latin America, James Capel analyst Matthew Hickman called Peru's
Compania Peruana de Telefonos, or CPT, the best bet for big profits
in the next round of privitization. That's great news for Peruvian
President Alberto Fujimori, who is anxious to bring more capital
into the troubled country.

And in France, industry minister Gerard Longuet admitted France
Telecom is being hurt by the fact it's still owned by the state. He
acknowledged France Telecom was in talks with MCI before that
company agreed to sell 20 percent of itself to British Telecom in a
wide-ranging co-operation agreement.

He indicated for the first time France Telecom might be sold if
Germany is able to handle its pending sale of part of its Deutsche
Bundespost Telekom unit.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930621/Press Contact: Lori Gutknecht, IDB,
213-240-3758; Ericsson, Kathy Egan, 212/685-4030)


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

Compaq Adds Network Interfaces To Pagemarq Printers 06/21/93
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has increased the networking capabilities of its
Pagemarq printers with the introduction of NetLinq, an array of
network interfaces that make the printers compatible with most of
the network operating systems currently in use.

Netlinq allows the Pagemarq printers to interface with Netware,
Ethertalk, LAN Manager, LAN Server, Windows NT and TCP/IP, a low
level protocol standard used in non-proprietary network systems. Each
interface consists of a network interface card and the necessary
software.

Hugh Barnes, Compaq Peripherals Division senior VP and general
manager, says that Netlinq makes available the connection of
Pagemarq printers to more than 85 percent of today's market.

Pagemarq printers are designed for network use and can print up to
20 pages per minute using Postscript Level 2 software from Adobe or
PCL 5 emulation. The printers can hold up to 1500 sheets of paper,
and can print on paper sizes up to 11 by 17 inches at up to 800 by
400 dots per inch. An internal fax modem is available that allows
users to send Postscript quality graphics over phone lines in
documents up to 11 by 17 inches.

Compaq says that Netlinq provides increased printer feedback on
status and errors, greater flexibility in locating the printer away
from the server, and improved performance for large scale graphics
jobs. It's also designed to make the job of network administrators
easier, since it eliminates the need for external devices such as
black boxes and printer servers.

Compaq describes Netlinq for Netware/Ethertalk as a dual protocol
option that allows Pagemarq printers to be directly connected to
mixed hardware systems that include both IBM-compatible and Macintosh
platforms. It also includes a remote printer management program
called the Administrator Utility. Pagemarq printers use a network
interface that contains flash ROM, allowing users to upgrade to
Netware/Ethertalk through a software download.

Netlinq for LAN Manager, LAN Server, and Windows NT will be available
in July in Ethernet and Token Ring versions. Users who purchase this
option prior to Windows NT shipping will be able to upgrade to NT
through a software option.

Netlinq for TCP/IP provides Unix-based users a single protocol that
supports multiple types of Unix hosts, and includes compatibility
with LPR/LPD printing environments as well as binaries for host
systems like Sun, DEC, IBM, Hewlett Packard, and SCO (Santa Cruz
Operation). It's scheduled to ship in August.

Compaq will be showing Netlinq in its booth at PC Expo, the trade
show being held next week at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. The
show opens June 29th and runs through July 1.

(Jim Mallory/19930621/Press contact: Yvonne Donaldson, Compaq
Computer Corporation, 713-374-0484; Reader contact: Compaq Computer
Corporation, 800-345-1518)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00021)

The Mayo Clinic Heart Book CD-ROM Debuts 06/21/93
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Interactive
Ventures has announced plans to release a software program on CD-ROM
in October that is an interactive multimedia guide to heart health
and heart disease.

Called the Mayo Clinic Heart Book CD-ROM, the interactive multimedia
software is a way for the 70 million Americans afflicted by heart
disease to learn more about their condition. The CD-ROM disk includes
all the information contained in a 400 page book that's scheduled to
be released in October by William Morrow and Company, plus
illustrations, animations, video and audio that Interactive Ventures
says makes the reference material and the anatomy lessons easier to
understand.

Interactive released the "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book CD-ROM"
late last year. Like that disk, the new heart program puts a book
into a multimedia format which takes advantage of multimedia
features like animation, audio and video. The disk includes three-
dimensional animations showing how angioplasty is performed, videos
of echocardiograms, and other diagnostic tests performed by Mayo
Clinic and other health providers specializing in heart problems.

Interactive claims that more than 130 Mayo Clinic physicians and
researchers contributed to the new program, which includes a
symptoms guide, a list of various heart diseases, tests and
treatment options including more than 100 medications, and what to
do in an emergency.

The program also focuses on what the user can do to keep his or her
heart healthy. "The disk gives information and dispels myths about
lifestyle changes that can significantly reduce the risk of heart
disease," says Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Michael McGoon, editor of
both the CD-ROM disk and the book.

Topics include the risks of smoking and sedentary lifestyles and the
pros and cons of taking aspirin and drinking alcohol as methods for
improving heart health. "We've provided straightforward information
to help take the mystery out of the healthy heart and heart disease.
It will be useful whether you want to monitor your own healthy heart
program or to learn more about your mother's upcoming coronary
by-pass," says Dr. McGoon.

Every word on the disk is searchable, according to Interactive
Ventures CEO Ron Buck. Users can enter several words or a phrase to
narrow the search. The company says the program also compensates for
misspelled words. Users can record personal notes with the reference
material, and any screen can be printed.

Scheduled to be available on Windows and Macintosh versions, the
program will sell for $59.95

(Jim Mallory/19930621/Press contact: Joy Solomon, Interactive
Ventures, 612-686-6895; Reader contact: Interactive Ventures,
612-686-0779, fax [phone])


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

 ****Computer Associates Free Software "Flawed" Claims Competitor 06/21/93
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- A
Philadelphia software company has called the million plus copies of
financial management software given away this month "flawed."

Dr. Alex Shr, marketing director for Ones & Zeros, says that heeding
the advice of Kiplinger's CA Simply Money "may be hazardous to your
pocketbook."

He says that the copies given away by Computer Associates to
introduce its new program doesn't include all the necessary factors
when comparing the cost of a new mortgage with the cost of the old
one.

"The comparison between the new mortgage and the old depends on
three things: the closing costs, the monthly payments, and the
duration. Both (Quicken, another personal finance program, and
Simply Money) make the same mistake, they compare only the closing
costs and monthly payments."

Shr says that the result could cost users who trust the advice of
the programs quite a bit of money. He says both programs almost
always tell you to refinance, whether or not there is an advantage
in doing so.

Shr thinks his company has the right answer. It publishes Per%Sense,
a financial calculation and decision making program for consumers.

Ones & Zeros says that Per%Sense gives professionals and laypersons
access to financial calculations for mortgage comparisons, loan
amortizations and annual percentage rate calculations, financial
planning, life insurance, annuities, savings accounts and other
financial matters. The program uses pull down menus, and has online
hypertext help.

Ones & Zeros President Joshua Middledorf says that programs like
Quicken and Simply Money do a good job of balancing the user's
checkbook but not much else.

"These programs are really nothing more than check book balancers.
What Intuit (publisher of Quicken) and Computer Associates did is
not add auxiliary features like graphics, calendar and pull down
menus. The problem is that none of the add on features is very well
thought out. They are tacked on so that the ads can sport a longer
list of features."

Middledorf says that his company's sole product, Per%Sense, was
specialized for financial calculations. "Computer Associates and
Intuit just got somebody to add the computational features to their
checkbook programs so that they could say they have them."
Middledorf's conclusion? "Don't trust your checkbook balancer for
financial advice."

A Ones & Zeros spokesperson told Newsbytes that Middledorf and Shr
aren't slamming the other products. "What the other products do they
do well. They just aren't designed for what they are purported to
do. These companies are trying to horn into the market."

His software comes in three versions. The consumer version of
Per&Sense has a suggested retail price of $49.95. Per%Sense 2, with a
suggested retail price of $99.95, has calculations screens for
mortgage, amortization, present value, and chronological.

Per%Sense Pro (retail price $350) has the same features as the
consumer version, and adds actuarial analysis for problems involving
annuities, life insurance, tax interest and statutory interest on
past losses.

Contacted by Newsbytes for Computer Associates reaction to the story,
spokesperson Bob Gordon would only say "We have no comment."

(Jim Mallory/19930621/Press contact: Cathy Brooks, S&S Public
Relations for Ones & Zeros, 415-986-0966; Reader contact: Ones &
Zeros, 415-986-0966)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00023)

PT Asaba Named As New Indonesian Novell Distributor 06/21/93
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, JUN 21 1993 -- Novell has appointed PT Asaba
Computer Centre as its distributor in Indonesia as part of its
expansion strategy for Southeast Asia.

PT Asaba Computer Centre was founded in 1990 and offers consulting
services, implementation and technical training to various financial
institutions, as well as light and heavy industries and government
agencies. It specializes in local area networks and wide area
networks.

According to Novell's regional director, Andrew Lai, Novell first
entered the Indonesian market in 1985 with the appointment of PT
Elang Mahkota Komputer as its distributor.

Over the past eight years, he said, Novell has experienced and
average year-on-year growth rate of almost 80 percent in Indonesia
and is commanding an 85 percent share of the Indonesian market.

"PT Asaba adds to the depth and breadth of our marketing reach,
especially in the financial and government sectors. With the
expanded distribution network, Novell is well poised to take
advantage of the bullish LAN market in Indonesia," Lai said.

(Brett Cameron/19930621/Press Contact: Andrew Lai, Novell, Tel:+852-
827 2223;HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00024)

Fujitsu Develops Hybrid LAN Technology On A Chip 06/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Fujitsu has developed a hybrid
integrated circuit (IC) chip that it claims has a local area network
(LAN) facility on board. If installed on PC, Fujitsu claims that it
embodies most of the main fetures of a LAN, on a single chip.

The new chip uses a technology known as high density double sides
bonding technology. Using the chip, PC manufacturers will be able to
equip even the smallest portable computer with Ethernet
capabilities.

The chip is numbered the MBH10351 and measures 28mm square.
Integrated onto the chip's surface are 20 devices, including a LAN
controller LSI, 256 kilobytes of static random access memory (SRAM)
and driver circuitry "blown" on to an erasable EPROM.

Fujitsu claims that samples of the new chip have begin shipping to
interested PC manufacturers. Sample chips cost 12,000 yen ($110)
each, but this prices is expected to fall once volume shipments
begun this September, when around 10,000 chips a month will be
rolling off the production line.

In a related story, Fujitsu has announced that it will soup up
production of its four megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
chips at its overseas facilities. In the UK, the company plans to
double production to two million units a month by March of next
year. Over at the Oregon facility in the US, production should
increase from 200,000 to 300,000 units a month.

The reason for the changes in production are that demand for 4Mb
DRAM chips is soaring, the electronics giant claims. Moving
production outside of Japan also helps to keep production costs
down, as the Yen climbs relentlessly upwards in the foreign exchange
market-place.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930621/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-
3215-5236, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00025)

 ****Miniature PCs Debut From Proside 06/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Proside, a Japanese PC company,
has released three new types of machines on to the Japanese
market-place. Based around an 80386 or 486 microprocessor, the
machines are small -- the smallest is a palmtop unit that tips the
scales at just 600 grams.

The top of the range from the new trio is an A5-sized notebook known
as the Handy PC. Equipped with an 80486SL processor, an 80 megabyte
(MB) hard disk and a seven inch backlit display, the machine comes
with the Japanese DOS/V operating system and runs for a five hour
stint on a single charge. Tipping the scales at 1.5 kilos, the
machine is one of the lightest in its class. The same cannot be said
for the price -- 159,000 Yen ($1,450).

The mid-range miniature PC is the BSL80, another A5-sized machine.
This is the budget version of the Handy PC and is based on an
80386SL microprocessor. The BSL80 costs 159,000 yen ($1,450).

Back at the palmtop end of the market, the 600 gram PS3000 comes
with MS-DOS 5.0 and Microsoft Works in read only memory (ROM),
although an option exists to have DOS/V in place of these two
packages. Pricing is an interesting 119,000 yen ($1,080).

Proside is only planning to ship 100 each of the new machines a
month initially. If they take off in the Japanese market-place, then
the company will ramp up production as required.

Proside was created as a joint venture firm, and later, it was
acquired by Toshiba. Under Toshiba, the frontier spirit of Proside
still exists. The firm continues to develop and produce unique
personal computers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930621/Press Contact: Proside, +81-
43-279-3504, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00026)

 ****Color Hard Copy Conference Starts Today In Boston 06/21/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A. 1993 (NB) -- In the world of printing,
what's the difference between color and color-capable? Which factors
motivate a user to buy a color laser printer? And where do color
standards stand?

Users, vendors, and consultants alike are taking a good hard look
at these and related questions at the Color Hard Copy Conference,
a two-day event that starts today in Boston.

The color printing conference is sponsored by BIS Strategic
Decisions, and analysts from the Norwell, MA-based consulting firm
will be leading some of the approximately 15 sessions.

Providing additional marketing and technical perspectives will be
panels of users, along with speakers representing such wide ranging
companies as Adobe Systems, Apple, Eastman Kodak, Hewlett-Packard,
Tektronix, Electronics for Imaging, Seiko, Sharp, Xerox, and Genoa
Technology.

Today's agenda kicks off with a presentation by William Flynn,
senior analyst, Color Hard Copy, for BIS, on a recent BIS study on
the end user color hard copy market.

Later in the day, panels of vendors and users will be airing their
views on these two topics: "Color Lasers in the Office" and "Color
vs. Color-Capable."

Tomorrow's activities will begin with a roundtable discussion of
Color Standards. Next on the agenda are four separate sessions on
"Selling Color."

A session on "Comparing Color Output Devices: What's Fair?" will be
followed by two presentations on color distribution, and lastly by
an examination of "The Life of a Full- Color Document."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930621/Press contact: Martha Popoloski, BIS
Strategic Decisions, tel [phone]; Reader contact: BIS
Strategic Decisions, Conference Registrar, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00027)

Media Vision To Intro PC Video Graphics Boards 06/21/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Media Vision is
announcing its first graphics boards, the Pro Graphics series. The
company says the new line of video graphics products is a result of
its acquisition of graphics hardware company Pellucid.

Pellucid was started by a team of engineers out of Silicon Graphics
and Media Vision is boasting it intends to adapt the expertise it
acquired in Pellucid for workstation graphics to the PC.

"These new Pro Graphics products bring affordable workstation-
quality graphics to PC users. This means that PC users will now be
able to create multimedia effects like moving three-dimensional
objects, morphing, fancy special effects, and other high end
graphics," said Media Vision's President, Paul Jain.

The first two products planned are the Pro Graphics 1024 and the Pro
Graphics 1280, both of which will incorporate Media Vision's Captain
Crunch video compression. Aimed at the Windows video market, the
products use Media Vision's own custom- designed graphics chips,
versions of which will be offered later this year to original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the company maintains.

The Pro Graphics 1024 supports both video graphics array (VGA) and
an "accelerated" mode that offers 640 by 480, 800 by 600, and 1024
by 768 picture element (pixel) resolution. The pixel depth of the
Pro Graphics 1024 is selected by the amount of memory installed and
can be either 8-bit, 16-bit or 24-bit color, the company said. In
VGA mode, Media Vision claims the product is fully hardware
compatible with VGA and the Video Electronics Standards Association
(VESA) 800 by 600 16-color mode.

The Pro Graphics 1280 also has a unique accelerated mode where it
supports 24-bit color at 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution. Media Vision
asserts this high resolution increases the display size by 67
percent.

Both of the Pro Graphics products will offer up to 75 hertz (Hz)
non-interlaced vertical refresh at 1024 by 768 resolution. At the
higher resolution of 1280 by 1024, Media Vision claims the Pro
Graphics 1280 can offer a flicker free display with a non-interlaced
vertical refresh rate of up to 72 Hz.

The Pro Graphics 1024 uses the VESA VL-bus, Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI), or Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) buses
for interface to a PC with a 386DX-based or higher central
processing unit (CPU). The Pro Graphics 1280 uses the VESA VL-bus or
PCI bus.

The Pro Graphics 1280 can process 16 million pixels per second in
bit block transfer (bitBLT) mode (a common function in Microsoft
Windows), and 160 million pixels per second in flat fill mode. Media
Vision says the Pro Graphics will also ship with Windows 3.x,
Windows NT, and Auto Desk ADI software drivers.

The Pro Graphics 1024 will be available in September for a retail
price of $599 for the 24-bit version. The Pro Graphics 1280 is
available now for $995, Media Vision added. Media Vision is also
known for its sound card products for the PC.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930621/Press Contact: Elizabeth Fairchild,
Media Vision, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

 ****Novell Fault-Tolerant Disk Arrays Offer Built-In DAT 06/21/93
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Storage Dimensions
is shipping a fault-tolerant disk array and software drivers for IBM
and compatible personal computer (PC) servers running Novell Netware
that the company is calling a new generation of disk storage. These
redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) drives offer up to 134.4
gigabytes (GB) of storage and have a digital audio tape (DAT) drive
built-in.

Fault-tolerant drives offer redundant data storage so that, in case
of failure, other components in the system can take over. Backups
can be a problem as well, as the central processing unit (CPU) on
the PC server can get bottlenecked with handling network requests
and backing up the data. Storage Dimensions claims that it has
thought of both problems in its new design.

The individual drives that make up the Lanstor Continua RAID 5
and the Lanstor Reflex modular products are 3.5 inch, 2.1 Gigabyte
drives connected to the PC via a small computer systems
interface (SCSI)-2.

The drives feature an average seek time of 9.8 milliseconds (ms),
5400 rotations per minute (RPM) rotational speed, average rotational
latency of 5.56 ms, and a 256 kilobyte (K) read-ahead cache buffer.

The company claims that the systems can achieve burst data transfer
rates of 10 megabytes per second (MB/sec) and sustained rates of up
to 5.4 MB/sec per drive. The individual drives feature a mean-time-
between-failure rating of 500,000 hours.

The drives make up the Lanstor Continua RAID 5 and the Lanstor
Reflex modular, hot-pluggable external storage systems. Modular
means the drives can each be pulled and replaced and hot-pluggable
means the user can unplug a drive while the system is running and
still have access to the data.

Lanstor Continua also integrates an optional 2 or 4-8 GB digital
audio tape (DAT) drive module within the same enclosure and on the
same SCSI bus as the hard disk drives, avoiding the typical CPU and
network bottlenecks associated with traditional backups. In
addition, Storage Dimensions claims faster backup, restore, or
compare jobs are possible. This also makes it unnecessary to add
another card in the system for a tape backup drive.

In addition, the company has announced intelligent software drivers,
Lanstor Plus and Lanstor Diskalert, to aid in the protection of user
data. A common problem encountered by enterprise-wide network
administrators is that when a storage system fails, it is often
difficult to determine the nature and location of the failure.

To help system administrators isolate the problem, Storage
Dimensions says its Lanstor Plus software monitors SCSI sense codes,
the cryptic information generated from component-level failures and
translates these codes into plain English error messages and passes
the information to Lanstor Diskalert notification software for user-
definable broadcast.

Pre-Fix, a feature in Lanstor Plus monitors the readability of
data blocks on a hard drive, tagging marginal or failing blocks
are by monitoring read success rates. If the read head of the
disk drive makes multiple successive attempts to read a data
block (a sure sign of a failing block) Lanstor Plus interprets
the multiple read attempts as a corrupted area and reassigns
the data to another block. Lanstor Plus then closes the
marginal block off from subsequent writes before the data
becomes unreadable.

The company claims that its software can speed network traffic by
taking advantage of Netware's intelligent disk access caching
scheme that places the most commonly read data in the PC
server's random access memory (RAM) for quick retrieval. It
also executes read requests to the disk first because if the
data is not located in RAM, network users must wait for the
request to be accessed from disk.

Also, Netware stores writer requests in "dirty" cache buffers
since write requests can be processed later as the network
load permits and users will perceive no waiting. However,
Netware mixes together, or mingles, read and write requests on
elevator queues. To speed things up, Lanstor Plus offers
"unmingling," separating the reads and writes and executes the
reads first to reduce network response time.

Storage Dimensions also boasts it is the first to offer
enterprise wide remote error notification with the introduction
of its Lanstor Diskalert, Lanstor Continua, and Lanstor Reflex
products.

The company says that network systems administrators have the option
of notification through pager signalling via a modem and/or 25th
line messages to pre-determined workstations. Individuals accessed
are chosen in advance from the Netware user list, and the company
claims the software can notify systems administrators of exact
nature of the problem, location, time, and date of the failure
within minutes.

A 8.4 GB Lanstor Continua, configured with five 2.1 GB disks
and an optional 4-8 GB DAT drive module, has a list price of
$30,275 (extended industry standard architecture or EISA
version). A 10.5 GB Lanstor Reflex, configured with five 2.1 GB
disks and an optional 4-8 GB DAT drive module, has a list price
range of $23,430 to $24,920 depending on enclosure features and
bus type.

The Lanstor Plus driver and Lanstor Diskalert remote error
notification software are available immediately with all Lanstor
Continua RAID 5 and Lanstor Reflex modular external systems through
the company's dealers. Upgrades for existing users are available as
well.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930621/Press Contact: Randy Enos, Storage
Dimensions, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

New Checkit Adds Floppy Disk Alignment Tests 06/21/93
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- If you
suspect you have a floppy disk drive out of alignment, you can check
the drive with the new version of Touchstone Software's personal
computer (PC) diagnostic software, Checkit Pro: Deluxe.

Occasionally, the read/write heads of floppy disk drives get
out of alignment, and while you can still read and write to a
disk, the disk formatted on such a drive may not be readable on
the disk drive of another PC. While it is possible to check the
alignment of disk drives by attempting to read disks in a
variety of computers, CheckIt PRO: Deluxe offers the acid test.

The product includes CheckIt PRO: Sysinfo and Tests & Tools
software, plus a diagnostic "Tool Kit" with one 5.25 inch Mini-
Spiral Disk and one 3.5 inch Mini-Spiral disk to identify
alignment, clamping, hysteresis, and drive rotation problems.
In addition the product offers other testing and includes one
9-pin and one 25-pin serial loopback plug, and one 25-pin
parallel loopback plug.

"Our research shows that about half of our diagnostic software
users want the loopback plugs or the alignment testing disks
required to more extensively test and diagnose the PCs they
support," said Shannon Jenkins, president and chief executive
officer (CEO) of Touchstone Software.

Company representatives told Newsbytes they were also developing a
tool to align floppy disk drives, but discovered it was less
expensive for users to simply replace the drive at a cost of $35 to
$50 than to spend time aligning it.

The Mini-Spiral Disks contain special tracks that are written in
spirals on the disk, rather than concentric circles. Touchstone says
this technique provides more accurate results than traditional
digital or analog alignment disks, and spiral disks are also less
expensive.

While Touchstone maintains Checkit Pro: Deluxe is Windows
aware, the product is still a DOS product. A Windows product is
under development, however.

The product includes system component labels so that the PC's
various input/output (I/O) ports and cables can be identified
and reconnected easily if disconnected. The labels also help
users track configuration assignments.

Labels are included for all cables and auxiliary devices, including
facsimile (fax), modem, network and mouse cards, small computer
systems interface (SCSI), parallel and serial ports. a double-ended
pocket screwdriver with both standard flathead and Philips is
included for the user's convenience and the technical support number
for Touchstone is printed on the handle.

The software offers diagnostic routines with over fifty charts,
graphs, and displays that describe the hardware, software and
setup information and can identify faulty components. Users can
also set up custom test scripts their individual needs and the
type and format of test report data can be customized as well.

The package will work on any IBM PC, XT, AT, 386, 486, PS/2 or
compatible microcomputer and offers mouse support.

Retail price for Checkit Pro: Deluxe is $249.95. Owners of
CheckIt PRO: Sysinfo and CheckIt PRO: Tests & Tools can buy the
add-on Deluxe Tool Kit from Touchstone for $99.95.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930621/Press Contact: Leigh Ann Kelley,
Touchstone Software, tel [phone] or 714-969-7746, fax 714-
960-1886)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00030)

Translated Korean Information Available Online And By Fax 06/21/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JUN 21 (NB) -- Kodensha, the Japanese
applications software developer, has begun offering a variety of
Korean information online and by fax. Nothing unusual with that you
might think, until you realise that the information has all been
translated into the Japanese language.

Kodensha has figured, quite correctly, that foreign information on
Korea is rather thin on the ground. To have that information
available in a high technology format adds to its value immensely.

To provide the new service, Kodensha has been working with various
organizations in Korea, including the Korean Government, private
research companies and newspaper companies. In addition, the
software house has signed deals with no less than five private
databases firms in Korea to obtain details on 150,000-plus companies
in the country.

According to Kodensha, 15 categories of information on the new
services: corporate information, personnel information, securities
and financial data, trades, commodity prices, governmental research
information, news, economic analysis and sightseeing information.

To obtain the information, Japanese language speakers can access the
request service online through the PC-VAN or Niftyserve networks in
Japan. A fax request can also be sent. The basic data fee is 10,000
yen ($90) for the search and 10 yen (9 cents) per letter.

Eventually, Kodensha wants to provide an interactive search system,
but admits that this will take a long time to get finalized.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930621/Press Contact: Kodensha, +81-
6-628-8880)