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/nb930702

Text File | 1993-07-02 | 89KB | 1,972 lines

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00001)

 ****World Library Wins Electronic Copyright Suit  07/02/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- World Library,
publishers of Library of the Future on compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), has won a suit against Pacific Hitech for
copyright infringement on works that, in their print form, are
not copyrightable. Pacific Hitech allegedly duplicated nearly
860 works of literature from the World Library CD-ROM on their
Masterpiece Library CD-ROM product.

The copyright World Library protects its electronic work
from duplication. Those who wish to duplicate the work must
scan or enter the data themselves to avoid violation of World
Library's copyrights, according to representatives from the
company. World Library discovered the works had been duplicated
on the Masterpiece Library CD-ROM because some obscure works
the company had trouble finding suddenly appeared on the
Masterpiece Library CD-ROM and all the formatting, typos, page
breaks, and so on were duplicated exactly.

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Pacific Hitech says it got the text
from the Internet where unknown individuals had posted the text
after removing all the World Library copyright statements that
appear on each page. The Internet is a network of ten million
users on more than 9,000 subnets primarily at government and
university sites. World Library stipulated that Pacific Hitech
did not act in bad faith in copying the text. US District Court
Judge James Ware stipulated Pacific Hitech refrain from
"directly or indirectly infringing World Library's copyrights"
for the 2,000 works of literature on its CD-ROM titles. The
Masterpiece Library in its current form was ordered not to be
sold any longer, all current masters are to be destroyed, and
the infringing CD-ROMs are to be delivered to World Library for
recycling or destruction.

The Masterpiece Library CD-ROM had a retail price of about $49
while the World Library of the Future CD-ROM retails for $299.

World Library, with an interest in the intellectual property
rights of electronic media, says it is sponsoring a lobbyist in
Washington, DC to work for the interests of electronic
publishers. World Library's attorney, Michael Grow of the firm
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease said, "Even though existing
copyright law clearly protects World Library's electronic
copyrights, there is general confusion in the publishing
industry because the printed versions of these works are in the
public domain."

There is also concern over the inability to trace the source of
the World Library material on the Internet, an issue the
company also hopes to have addressed.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930701/Press Contact: Michael Terpin, The
Terpin Group for World Library, tel [phone], fax 310-798-
7825)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00002)

Japanese Telecom Firms Form Overseas Alliances 07/02/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) --  Japan's major international
telecom firm KDD has linked with MCI of the US in an agreement
which allows both companies to process phone credit card
transactions of the other. KDD's phone credit card is called
the "Hello Card" and with it, a cardholder can make an
international phone call from any telephone except some
public pay-phones. KDD is further planning to create similar
alliances with British and French telephone firms.

Meanwhile, KDD has signed an agreement with 8 Asian firms
concerning laying of a major undersea optical phone cable
that will connect Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and
Thailand. The optical cable will support a transmission speed
of 5 gigabits per second. The total cost will be 67 billion
yen ($610 million) and the line is expected to be completed
in 1996.

Meanwhile, KDD's rival, international telephone firm IDO, has linked
with Singapore Telecom to rent mobile and car phones in each
firm's home country. The registered users of IDO, for instance,
will be able to rent a car phone from Singapore Telecom in
Singapore. Payment will be made in Japan.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930701/Press Contact: KDD, +81-3-
3347-6934, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00003)

AT&T Phone Centers Now Display EO 07/02/93
PARSIPPANY, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- While you've
been able to order the American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) EO
440 Personal Communicator, you can now actually go into an AT&T
Phone Center and see one. The AT&T EO 440 falls in the category
of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and has been described as
a lightweight, mobile unit that combines the capability of a
cellular phone, a fax machine, and a personal computer.

The AT&T EO 440 has a instruction set computing (RISC) chip,
the Hobbit, as its microprocessing unit, but is IBM personal
computer (PC)-compatible. It is nearly all screen, at a
resolution of 110 picture elements (pixels) per inch, and has a
pen-based user interface. The 440 offers: 4 megabytes (MB) of
random access memory (RAM); a high-speed serial port; a cable
for connection via the serial port to any IBM-compatible
personal computer; a parallel port for connection to a printer
or an optional 1.44 MB floppy disk drive; a communications port
for optional cellular or wireless modules; and a Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot.

The 440 comes in various models that add a modem, more memory,
and a hard disk drive to the basic unit. Prices start at
$1,999  and go to $3,299  for the 8 MB of RAM, modem-
equipped model with a 20 MB hard disk. AT&T says the $3,299 is
just an introductory price however, and the price will go up to
$3,499  after the middle of August.

AT&T has selected 52 Phone Centers for initial rollout of the
AT&T EO 440, but says all 300 other Phone Centers will get the
unit gradually throughout the rest of the year. Consumers can
call a toll-free number to determine the nearest AT&T Phone
Center with the new PDA in their area.

AT&T is also planning release of the AT&T EO 880, a similar
unit to the 440 but equipped with added features including a 40
MB hard disk drive.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930701/Press Contact: Kevin Compton, AT&T,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Steve O'Donnell, AT&T, 201-
581-3904; Public Contact, AT&T Phone Stores, 800-222-3111,
Additional Product Information 800-458-0880)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00004)

Australia - Microsoft Cuts Pricing 07/02/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Microsoft Australia announced
in May that it would  introduce a fee for all support other than
installation and bug fixes. All changes are planned to be in
place by the end of this year. Now Microsoft has announced
significant price cuts on all of its best-selling products
effective July 12, though it denies a direct link to the
support issue.

The decision to charge for support will make Australia the first
country to adopt such a policy across the entire range of products,
though Microsoft Australia MD Gary Jackson said Australian users
were not necessarily being used as a test for such a decision
worldwide -- he feels it is inevitable in most markets. Many
software vendors and analysts have said that Australia is being
used by Microsoft to see what the reaction will be when such an
across-the-board policy is introduced in the US and other
markets. They believe that Microsoft will fine-tune its policy
based on the Australian experience.

When the fee-for-service decision was announced Microsoft also
opened a hotline for users to register their feelings on the
matter. Jackson said that most users had welcomed the idea of
paying for support if that also meant a commensurate decrease in
the price of products.

He told Newsbytes that the price reduction decision had been as a
result of a number of considerations, but one of these was NOT
pressure from the Prices Surveillance Authority (PSA)  watchdog
which has been critical of the price of software in Australia.
"The PSA is irrelevant and should butt out of our industry."
The PSA had suggested that Microsoft reduce prices by around seven
percent to compensate for the removal of free support.

The suggested retail price cuts, which range from five to 29
percent are:

Product New Price       (Approximate US$)     Reduction

Dos 6.0 AUS$199         $132                  25%

Windows 3.1     $225    $150                  13%

Windows for Workgroups
        AUS$390         $260                  29%

Access  AUS$795         $525                  13%

Excel   AUS$755         $500                   8%

Word    AUS$735         $485                   5%

PowerPoint AUS$755      $500                   8%

Office  AUS$1150        $760                   5%

Works   AUS$299         $200                   5%

(Paul Zucker/19930702/Contact Gary Jackson at Microsoft
Australia on fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00005)

 ****Windows NT To Own World By 2000, Maples Tells Aussie Crowd 07/02/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Sporting a loud,
Windows-patterned tie, Microsoft VP Mike Maples yesterday
told the faithful and skeptical alike how Windows NT will work on
everything and conquer  all. Maples was in Australia to keynote
yesterday's first day of Windows World conference which is
being run in tandem with Network World. All of the 1000-plus
delegates at the conference will receive a complimentary copy of NT.

"It isn't just a nice try - it really does work," said Maples
about the operating system Microsoft  believes will dominate
the brave new world of client-server technology. NT would blend
and merge  the worlds of big-iron host systems with individual
PCs in a union set to last until the end of time. "NT could well
be the last big operating system ever written."

Maples blew some hope into the desolate domain of mainframe
vendors by saying he believed the mainframe would "never be
obsolete and never be useless." At a press conference after his
keynote Maples sounded the death knell for competitive PC
operating systems such as IBM's OS/2 and Sun's Solaris, saying
that in the face of NT their market shares would dwindle to
fractions of percentages.

He hypothesized that by the year 2000 NT and its derivatives
would be running on 100 percent of client servers and 80 percent
of clients. The only remaining client PC operating system of any
note would be that belonging to the Apple Macintosh. He said
growth would be slow in the first year, reaching just five
percent of networks, but that in the second year this would
climb to 20-30 percent.

At the press conference a number of journalists concentrated on
the question of Microsoft being under the spotlight in the
US because of its monopoly of the PC operating system marketplace.
Maples replied, "Success is no reason for trust busting. It
isn't against the rules to do well in business, just to do it
illegally. And it can't be our size that's the problem - we're
still half the size of Apple and a fraction of the size of IBM."

(Stuart Kennedy and Paul Zucker/19930702)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

Editorial - Clinton's FCC 07/02/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Editorial by Dana
Blankenhorn. As President, Bill Clinton has created a new hoop
nominees must jump through called, for lack of a better term,
"public vetting."

Under public vetting, a nominee's name is leaked and the reaction
is measured for signs of trouble. Public vetting is embarrassing
to the nominee and angers the press, which otherwise likes having
stuff leaked to it. Public vetting was made part of the process
after the Zoe Baird nomination, where the Administration learned
that hiring illegal aliens was, like 1980s pot smoking,
disqualifying to high nominees, especially those involved in law
enforcement.

Usually, public vetting results in nothing, and sometimes it
improves the result. Kimba Wood's failure in public vetting
resulted in Janet Reno, who most consider a superior choice.
Stephen Breyer's failure in public vetting resulted in Ruth
Ginsberg, a more popular nominee.

In the naming of a new head for the Federal Communications
Commission, public vetting revealed problems with potential
nominee Antoinette Cook, counsel to the Senate Communications
Subcommittee. Ms. Cook had challenged RKO station licenses in the
1980s, and made millions when, despite the validity of the
challenges, RKO was allowed to sell the station. Then-FCC
chairman Mark Patrick called the episode an abuse of minority
set-asides, since her attempt to buy the station was based upon
her minority status. After five months, she took her own name
down following the birth of a son.

So, is Reed Hundt, an anti-trust lawyer and one-time classmate of
both the President and Vice President, another Janet Reno? Could
be. Anti-trust questions really are becoming paramount as cable,
telephone, wireless, entertainment, information, and other
industries merge into one mega-industry. Many people have assumed
that the merging of these industries makes anti-trust irrelevant,
that competition will take care of everything.

But that is not certain. Hundt advised the Wireless Cable
Association, individual cable operators and Hughes Communications
in their efforts to get access to cable networks "locked up" by
TCI and other big operators. The 1992 Cable Act finally
guaranteed that access. Many pending questions also bring up
anti-trust issues. Should cellular operators be able to "lock up"
so-called PCN service, extending their monopolies to the
microwave frequencies? How can the regional Bell companies be
moved to bring fast-data services to homes just as their monopoly
status is removed? Should the links between content and delivery
remain broken, as they were between movie studios and theaters,
or TV networks and programmers?

Hundt's own views on these questions are unknown. The identity of
his firm is no clue -- one of his fellow attorneys at Latham &
Watkins is former Reagan FCC chairman Mark Fowler. But it seems
that, at the very least, he has the right experience, and has the
right knowledge, to understand and make decisions about the key
issues involving telecommunications today.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930701)


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

Hong Kong - Computer Associates Joins BSA 07/02/93
TAIKOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Software publisher
Computer Associates (CA), with offices throughout Asia, recently
became a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA). It joins
eight BSA members in their worldwide campaign against the growing
software theft, that BSA claims costs the industry $12 billion each
year.

Computer Associates is a founding member of The Alliance to Promote
Software Innovation, an organization dedicated to preserving and
promoting effective legal protection for computer programs under
copyright law.

"CA's participation in the BSA's worldwide anti-theft campaign in 36
countries will greatly strengthen the software industry's global
efforts to reduce the high level of software theft," said Alix Parlour,
vice-president of the Business Software Alliance for Asia.

"Computer Associates suffers intolerable losses through piracy of its
products, particularly in Asia where software theft is rampant," said
Ms Parlour. "CA's support of our public policy, education and
enforcement initiatives is a significant and welcome step towards our
goal of strengthening copyright protection for all software publishers
around the globe."

As part of this campaign, the BSA operates 20 hot-lines around the
world for callers seeking information about copyright or to report
suspected incidents of unauthorized copying of software, she
added.

As a member of the BSA, Computer Associates will provide support for
all of the BSA's educational campaigns and legal actions against
suspected software copyright infringers in Asia, North America, Europe,
and Latin America.

"Computer Associates is throwing its support behind the BSA because we
are committed to the protection of intellectual property," said Allan
Smith, Computer Associates' managing director for Hong Kong and the
PRC. "Software theft robs the creative individual and company not only
of revenues, but of all incentive to invest time and money in
technological innovation."

The BSA's members also include Aldus, Apple Computer, Autodesk,
Computer Associates, GO Corp, Lotus Development, Microsoft, Novell and
Word Perfect.

(Brett Cameron/19930630/Press Contact: Alix Parlour, BSA, Tel: +852-
804 4240;HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00008)

AST Opens Office In Shanghai 07/02/93
SHANGHAI, CHINA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- AST recently inaugurated a
new office in Shanghai with the concept of expanding and enhancing
its marketing and support service, and increase its foothold in the
Eastern Chinese computer market.

"This is AST's first move towards further strengthening its market
presence and maximizing market opportunities," confirmed Philip Wong,
Asia Pacific managing director of AST Research. "The new office
serves as a nerve center providing AST dealers with access to a range
of educational, technical, marketing and sales support."

"With the rapid economic development and growth in business activities
in Shanghai and its vicinity, there is huge demand potential for PC
solutions," said Mr Wong. "The opening of the office is a pro-active
move towards keeping in pace with the growing PC market."

It is expected that the opening of the new office will bring about an
increase of sales of at least 50 percent in a year's time. AST is
believed to be the number one foreign PC vendor in China with 60
percent of the Chinese market.

The new office allows AST to respond promptly to developments in the
local market place. "As the number of users increases, there will be
an even greater need for value-added products as well as strong backup
support," said Mr Wong.

"We believe it important to continue to educate the market and
encourage growing popularity of PC technology as a productivity tool,"
Mr Wong said.

In 1988 AST opened an office in Beijing and established a
dealer/reseller network throughout China. In 1990 AST expanded its
operation in Beijing by opening a service center in Beijing, designed
to provide pre- and post-sale technical services to the mainland
market.

(Brett Cameron/19930630/Press Contact: Philip Wong, AST Research, Tel:
[phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00009)

India Technology Briefs 07/02/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Scam-time at SCL:
Even the long-delayed Rs 215-crore government sanction for
rebuilding the chip-manufacturing facility at Semiconductor Complex
Ltd. (SCL), Chandigarh, couldn't find enough rejoice among its
officials. For the vigilance cell of the Department of Electronics
was probing into allegations of irregularities in voucher payments,
award of civil contracts to favored parties and even money being
siphoned off to other businesses owned by family members of some top
officials of SCL. The "scam" amounted to a few lakhs of rupees.

At our press-time, Col. Ramakant, chairman and managing
director of SCL, was suspended pending inquiries into
charges of "misuse of funds, favouritism and misuse of authority."
H.J. Zarabi, currently executive director, has taken over as CMD of
the company. But suspecting that the suspension of Ramakant may not
be the end-all, there is an uneasy calm at SCL.

Duo for MS:

Microsoft has appointed Sonata (the software division
of Indian Organic Chemicals Ltd.) of Bangalore as its second
full-fledged distributor in India. Until now, Tata Unisys Ltd.,
was the distributor for Microsoft's entire range of systems
software and application products, while Sonata used to sell
Microsoft's database range of products such as MS Foxbase,
MS Foxpro and MS Access. Microsoft reportedly handed over
distribution rights after surveying Sonata's technical and
marketing merits. That Sonata grossed Rs 5 crore in 1992-93
on Fox products alone while TUL's sales of all Microsoft
products put together was only marginally higher, may have
influenced Microsoft's decision.

Agency for Datacom Gear:

Develcon Electronics Ltd., Canada has appointed Microsense Computers
Pvt. Ltd., of Bombay, as its authorized distributor for India.
Microsense will make available Develcon's internetworking products
such as Ethernet and Token Ring bridges, Ethernet hubs, ISDN bridges
and terminal adapters, and communications servers.

PV-Wave in India:

For visually analyzing and navigating through large databases, the
Bombay-based Onward Engineering Technologists Pvt. Ltd. is offering
Precision Visual, a workstation analysis and visualization
environment (PV-Wave). Developed by Visual Numerics Inc., of the
US, this 4GL environment can be used to convert data into visual
images immediately. Targeted at professionals in the fields of
aerospace, bio-medical engineering, weather forecasting, economists
and automobile manufacturing, the workstation-based PC-Wave Core
Language package is being offered at $7,000 and the add ons come
with an extra of $1000 to $3,000.

ADA Compilers:

Dharma Computers Pvt. Ltd., of Bangalore will be marketing in India
the Open ADA desktop compilers from Meridian Software Systems of the
US. ADA is a language primarily developed for the US Department of
Defense for time-critical applications. Meridian ADA supports calls
to Unix via the Meridian Unix system interface (MUSIX). Open ADA is
available on Venix, Real-time Unix, LynxOS and Unix (AT&T and SCO).
Hardware platforms include DEC, HP, IBM and Sun. Dharma is selling
the DOS version of Open ADA at Rs 1.5 lakh and the Unix version at
over Rs 2.5 lakh. The compiler mainly is targetted at defense
establishments. Dharma is also negotiating with Wipro Infotech and
Digital Equipment India Ltd. for OEM agreements.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930702)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00010)

Indian Scientists Improve Satellite Imaging 07/02/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Indian scientists have succeeded
in improving the image location accuracy of the remote sensing
satellite IRS-1B by one km., a development which will allow
more precise knowledge of satellite-based studies. Until now, the
accuracy achieved was 2.2 kilometers.

Image location accuracy means the closeness of a picture taken by a
satellite to the existing ground map in terms of latitude and
longitude. The method has been jointly developed by the National
Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad, Space Applications Centre
(SAC), Ahmedabad and the Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) Satellite Centre, Bangalore. It was field tested over the
last one year using data generated by IRS-1B.

Scientists have used a traditional method of navigation which uses
landmarks as reference points, and call it swath modelling, as
the method uses a model over the swath. For example, to match a
satellite image with the one already available on a map, the
operator has to slide the transparency on a map of the same
scale until well-defined contours like railway lines, water
canals or highways match. The whole operation is carried out
automatically in this method. This contrasts the precision
processing method, where a single scene is processed at a time
using the known landmarks, or ground control points (GCPs)
exclusively from that scene alone.

The Department of Space is planning to put this method into
regular operation at NRSA for studying the data obtained from
IRS-1B.

The Indian remote sensing program covers a wide spectrum of
development projects of the country where it provides important
inputs, from agriculture to urban planning to mineral exploration.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930702)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00011)

Worldwide Launch of Statistical Analysis Package 07/02/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- SPSS Inc., the Chicago-based
statistical analysis software firm, is getting serious about
India. The company has recently made, what the press release
claims as, a "first time worldwide, offer to users of statistical
software." The offer is open to users of all statistical software,
including those using pirated versions of SPSS' products.

Under the offer, those who register with Wipro Infotech, the
Indian distributors of SPSS' products, will receive a registration
pack containing publications from SPSS, a registration certificate
and invitations to seminars. Registration fees amount to Rs 5,000
(around $170), which the company claims is the cost of the material.

Explaining the reason for such a scheme a spokesman of the company
said that despite owning stat software most people in the country
were not aware of how best to use them. He, however, pointed
out that the company was not on some sort of a "philanthropic
mission." The idea behind the scheme is to identify users of
software, so as to efficiently target future releases from
the company. This, he said, is also the reason why they have
promised "amnesty from legal action" to all users of pirated
software registering before the 30th of September.

Illegal software users will not be given any special benefits
apart from the material that everyone else is eligible to get.
They are unlikely to get the rebates on upgrade versions that
legal users are entitled to receive. According to SPSS estimates,
there are over 1000 illegal users of their products in India.

SPSS already has products installed at various institutions
including the Government of India's Planning Commission, Ashok
Leyland, the Indian Institutes of Technology (the cream of the
engineering talent in the country come from the five IITs),
the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs, reputed to produce
the country's top management staff) and the Defence Research
Development Organization.

SPSS has recently launched SPSS for Windows and also for Motif.
The firm is also trying to enhance its line of software products,
by including more hardware platforms and adding new modules,
in partnership with Indian companies.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19930702)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00012)

FaxWorks Pro 3.0 07/02/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- SofNet announced
this week is it now shipping FaxWorks Pro version 3.0, its fax
software for personal computers using Microsoft Windows.

Faxing from a PC is becoming a routine action in many offices,
particularly small and home-based businesses. Faxing first
came to the PC in the form of a dedicated fax board that
goes in one of the computer's expansion slots and is
accompanied by software that could send faxes and keep track
of the documents that were sent and received.

More recently PC-based faxing consists of software used in
conjunction with a data/fax modem that performs those tasks
and more, such as integrating sophisticated cover sheets
created with the user's paint program or the fax software
itself, and the ability to edit, rotate and edit faxes, which
are graphics files.

SofNet says the newest version of FaxWorks Pro, version 3.0,
was developed by the company's engineering team after they
listened to users who were dissatisfied with "awkward and
incomplete fax software tools." Says SofNet President Pat Dane,
"Our Pro product is the best on the market because it's a snap
to install and supplies everything a user needs to fax
effectively from a PC."

Dane is referring to Faxworks Pro includes features users of
earlier PC-based faxing systems will appreciate. An auto-install
feature includes diagnostics that automatically detect the
hardware set-up, checking communications ports and record
all the necessary information, such as phone line, port,
baud setting, and class. The company says this "no-questions-asked"
procedure eliminates any confusion for the user during
installation and set-up.

Pro also includes drawing and annotation tools selected by clicking
on the appropriate icon (a small picture representing a particular
function or program) on the floating tool bar. Text can be added
at any angle, lines, circles or freehand drawing is possible,
and portions of a received fax can be deleted before the
document is resent.

The program also offers on-line help for each icon, button,
or menu item. Called CueCard Help, the feature can be toggled
on or off. Users can instruct the software to automatically
forward incoming faxes to another fax device, either a fax
modem or a fax machine. The drawing tools allow the user to
create customized fill-in-the-blanks cover sheets and add
signatures and a logo.

FaxWorks Pro can archive, find, log, and index faxes, and
assemble multiple faxes into one document. Incoming faxes
can be printed or viewed on-screen. A MiniView feature
allows the user to view a selected fax in a dialog box,
scrolling through received faxes to locate a particular
document. The mini-view is zoomable, and a magnifying cursor
feature allows the user to select a particular area of the
fax to enlarge on-screen. Page rotation is available, a feature
SofNet says is particularly helpful for landscape (horizontally
oriented) pages or when a fax is transmitted upside down.
Rotation is possible at 90, 180, or 270 degrees in any
direction with the click of a mouse.

FaxWorks Pro also offers OCR (optical character reader), which
converts the graphical images into editable text. Support for
scanners is provided through the TWAIN scanner standard.

System requirements include a personal computer using a 386 or
higher microprocessor, four megabytes (MB) of system memory,
five MB of available disks space for the program files, Windows
3.1 or higher, DOS 3.0 or higher, and a Class 1, Class 2, or
CAS-compatible fax modem. The program has a suggested retail
price of $129.99. SofNet says users of any competitive
products can upgrade to FaxWorks Pro for $49, and the program
has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The company offers free phone technical support (the call
itself is not free) and FaxWorks Pro is supported on CompuServe
(GO SOFNET). The company also maintains a fax phone to receive
faxed technical support questions and inquiries about its
products.

A SofNet spokesperson told Newsbytes the company also produces
fax software for local area networks and for IBM's operating
system OS/2, and plans to release a DOS version of FaxWorks
Pro in July.

(Jim Mallory/19930630/Press contact: Suzanne Stewart, SofNet,
404-984-8088, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

UK - Dataflex Design Bundles Winfax Lite With Modems 07/02/93
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Dataflex Design, after years
of bundling its own communications software, or Messiter's Trans-send
communications package, has started bundling Delrina's Winfax Lite
package with its modems. DOS users are being offered DOSfax Lite as
an alternative.

The bundling deal, announced at the Networks '93 show this week, is
yet another feather in the cap of Larry Levy, Delrina UK's managing
director, who has been progressively "signing up" the British modem
industry this last few years since the company began operations in
the UK. Delrina UK is an operating subsidiary of Delrina Corporation
in the US, set up by Levy just two years ago.

Initially, the two Lite comms package are being bundled free of
charge with the Dataflex Rapier+, Sapphire+ and Gem modems. Both
packages come packaged on disk with the modems, with users sending
off a reply-paid card for the appropriate manual.

Phil Benge, Dataflex's marketing director, said that he is pleased
to sign the deal with Delrina, which he noted as having around 85
percent of the UK fax communications software market-place.

"The combination of Dataflex modems and Winfax software will provide
users with an extremely easy solution for sending and receiving
faxes from the desktop or remotely through notebook PCs," he said.

Winfax Lite and DOSfax Lite are "light" versions of the full
commercial software from Delrina. Both packages support a variety of
terminal emulations and file transfer protocols for data
communication, as well as an optical character recognition
(OCR) set of fax software. Both packages also support more than
300 Class 1, Class 2 or Sendfax fax modems.

(Steve Gold/19930701/Press & Public Contact: Dataflex Design - Tel:
081-540-6417; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00014)

Synoptics' User Group Sets Up UK Division 07/02/93
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- The Synoptics User Group in
the US has announced the formation of a UK section. Announcing the
new section at the Networks '93 show this week, officials with the
user group said they are now looking for networking managers to
assist in the running of the division.

The Synoptics User Group (SUG) was set up as an independent
operation five years ago in the US, with the support of Synoptics.
Today, the US group has sections operating in South America and
Canada. This is the first time that the group has set up operations
in Europe.

According to spokeswoman Sarah Mason with Synoptics, the group's UK
mission is to keep users of Synoptics' products in touch with the
latest products and developments coming out of the company, using
regular meetings and events. The events are designed to give users
the opportunity to meet, talk, and share experiences.

Plans call for the first UK meeting to be held this fall. Any
Synoptics' users interesting in joining and/or running the user
group, are asked to contact Mason at the company's Marlow
headquarters.

(Steve Gold/19930701/Press & Public Contact: Sarah Mason, Synoptics
- Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


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

Artisoft Announces Fault Tolerance For Lantastic 07/02/93
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- You thought that Artisoft's
Lantastic low-cost networking system was a budget system? So did
Newsbytes, which makes the company's announcement of fault tolerance
for its network operating system (NOS) all the more surprising.

Announced at the Networks' 93 show this week, the No Stop Network
addition to Lantastic is designed as an extra module for Lantastic
5.0, Artisoft's latest network offering. The software duplicates all
network transactions on to a mirrored file server so that, if the
main network goes down, the No Stop backup will kick in and allow
network access to continue on an uninterrupted basis.

Mac McKinley, Artisoft's managing director for Europe, said that the
introduction of fault tolerance on to Lantastic introduces a whole
new set of possibilities for potential and existing Lantastic users.

"No Stop Network software provides level three fault tolerance,
giving Lantastic users real time and immediate access to the
information on the network in case of a problem with a server," he
said.

No Stop Network is actually a DOS utility that runs on all
workstations on a Lantastic network. The company claims that this
protects against most problems occurring on that network node,

Level three FT means that all data moving over the network is backed
up constantly. In the event of the main server failing, the backup
picks up the tasks almost immediately and, even if transactions over
the network were in progress at network down time, the transactions
are re-run ("roll back in FT jargon) and restarted.

Pricing and availability of No Stop Network will be announced in due
course.

(Steve Gold/19930701/Press & Public Contact: Artisoft - Tel: 0753-
554999; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

ZDS's New Desktop Systems 07/02/93
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Zenith Data
Systems announced two new desktop systems based on Intel's
486DX2 microprocessor, and said the systems include some major
enhancements.

The two models are additions to the ZDS Z-400+ line of desktop
machines. System features include a 256 kilobyte (K) write-back
cache, local bus video, 4 megabytes (MB) of system memory, and
five available ISA (industry standard architecture) expansion
slots.

The company also said a 256K write-back cache module is now
available for all its Z-400+ PCs using DX or DX2 chips. The
cache module price is $239. ZDS Product Group Executive Vice
President David O'Connor says the use of a write-back cache can
increase performance by as much as 46 percent on a 66 megahertz
(MHz) DX2-based system.

The Z-400+ now also uses local bus super VGA circuitry with
VESA-compliant refresh rates in supported modes. The company says
that means flicker free performance of the monitor. The circuitry
also supports a 24-bit color capability and support for 64,000
colors in the SVGA mode and 16.8 million colors in VGA mode.

One MB of video memory is now standard on the 400+ line, up
from the previous 512K.

ZDS says the Z-400+ systems are build to order, permitting custom
configurations. Buyers can select the processor, amount of
memory, capacity of the hard drive, number of size of the
floppy drives, and whatever peripheral devices they desire.

All Z-400+ systems have an open drive bay that allows addition
of a second floppy drive, tape backup system, CD-ROM drive, or
a second hard drive.

While 4MB of RAM (random access memory) is standard on the Z-400+
units, memory can be expanded to as much as 64MB on the system
board. Hard drives are available in 170, 245, 340MB, and the
company is now offering a new 510MB hard drive. They are also
offering a 1.2MB/1.44MB combination drive that occupies only
one drive bay. A two-button mouse and a one year on-site limited
warranty are included, and Microsoft Windows 3.1 is pre-loaded.

ZDS says buyers can choose from six monochrome and color monitors.
A Z-400+ with a 13-inch monochrome monitor, a 170MB hard drive,
and powered by a 50MHz DX2 chip is priced at $2,099.

(Jim Mallory/19930701/Press contact: John Bace, ZDS, 708-808-4848;
Reader contact: ZDS, 800-553-0331)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00017)

Atari, IBM Team Up On Video Game System 07/02/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Atari and
IBM have teamed up in order to offer a new advanced entertainment
system, called the Jaguar.

The deal is worth $500 million over 30 months, and is
designed to win Atari back the video market dominance it has
lost to Nintendo and Sega. Atari had sales of about $2 billion
and 10,000 employees in 1982. However, the company's sales in the
past two years combined was $385 million. In 1992, it reported
a $73.6 million loss on sales of $127.3 million and laid off more
than 10 percent of its 500-person workforce.

Under the deal with IBM, the new system would be produced
at IBM's manufacturing plant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
IBM is offering Atari a complete turnkey manufacturing system.
IBM will be handling the outsourcing of components in
the Jaguar, assembly of the product, sourcing of the other
components that go along with the actual system - a game cartridge
that comes with the system, publications, cabling, power
supply - and will be packaging the product in its final
consumer box and bulk-shipping those products to distribution
points specified by Atari, according to Bob Page, spokesman
for IBM's Charlotte plant.

The system to be built by IBM is a powerful 64-bits, instead of the
usual 8-, 16- or high-end 32-bits, currently sold. It will be
capable of fast three-dimensional graphics and is planned for
release in the fall of 1993 in a limited area -- New York City.
The a national rollout will be in 1994, Page told Newsbytes.
The price will be $200 and a CD-ROM drive will cost an
additional $200.

One of the things that IBM has been doing over the past few
years is offering contract manufacturing to other companies.
"The OEM being addressed by IBM is worth $100 billion dollars
a year, so it's a huge opportunity. Up until this time, it's
been a largely untapped market by IBM," said Page.

Why is IBM excited to be involved in the project? This is the
first opportunity that the Charlotte manufacturing facility
has had to make a product like this, he says. It's made adapter
cards and other things but this is the first time for a high-volume
electronics product.

(Ian Stokell/19930629/Press Contact: Bobot Communications:
Nancy Chan, 415-705-6888)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00018)

Aldus Ships New SuperPaint, Lowers Price 07/02/93
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
announced this week it is now shipping version 3.5 of SuperPaint
for the Macintosh and has lowered the suggested retail price
of the paint/drawing program.

SuperPaint 3.5 for Apple Computer Corporation's Macintosh platform
works with Apple's System 7 operating system, although that may not
be important to many users. A recent survey indicates that only
about half of Mac users have upgraded to System 7.

Aldus says the upgrade includes pressure-sensitive tools, new
paint and draw plug-in tools, TWAIN support, and an Apple
QuickTime plug-in module.

The pressure-sensitive tools include Magic Marker, Calligraphy
Brush, Twister, a variable-size Eraser, a Texture Brush, Smudge
Tool, and a Charcoal Tool. Pressure sensitivity is supported on
computer systems that use pressure-sensitive tablets or keyboard
equivalents.

A new Copy Brush Tool allows the user to select any scanned
image as a reference, then either paint or copy, or modify the
image by applying one of several visual effects included in the
program. A color clarity filter has been added for increased
image-enhancement. New plug-in tools include the Crop Mark,
Flowers, and Grid, as well as the Magic Marker and Variable-size
Eraser.

TWAIN support allows users with a scanner to scan images
directly into SuperPaint from devices that use the TWAIN
technology. Using the QuickTime plug-in module, users can place
frames of Quicktime movies or images from a Kodak Photo CD
directly into SuperPaint at a specific resolution.

Kodak's Photo CD allows conventional photos to be stored on
a CD-ROM disc that can be read by a special CD-ROM drive,
allowing the user to take their own pictures, load them into
a program like SuperPaint, then edit, print and save the
modified image.

System 7 support provides support for Apple's Publish and
Subscribe, Truetype, 32-bit addressing, virtual memory, and
Balloon Help. Aldus says the program will also allows users to
print documents with more than 16 million colors on an
ImageWriter II that has a color ribbon. Improved support for TIFF
and EPS files has also been added.

SuperPaint 3.5 can handle files in PICT, TIFF, EPS, MacPaint,
Apple Scanner, Thunderscan TIFf, Paint Texture, Draw Texture, and
Quicktime formats as well as images from TWAIN-compatible
scanners.

SuperPaint 3.5 runs on any Macintosh computer that has at least
2 megabytes (MB) of system memory, and a 20MB hard drive using
System 6.0.5 or later. To work with color documents you need
4MB of memory, 32-bit QuickDraw, and a color monitor. The
program has a suggested retail price of $149.95.

SuperPaint 3.0 was introduced in September 1991, with a suggested
retail price of $199. Version 3.5 was demonstrated at the MacWorld
Expo in San Francisco in January 1993.

(Jim Mallory/19930701/Press contact: Kathy Episcopo, Aldus
Corporation, 619-558-6000, ext 5302; Reader contact: Aldus
Corporation 206-628-2320)


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

Colorado Company Intros PCMCIA-based Products 07/02/93
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Colorado
Springs, Colorado-based TWD Electronics Inc has introduced the
latest addition to its line of PCMCIA-based products, the PCMCIA
SCSI-2 adapter card Model 2001.

The company says the new external adapter card connects to the
PCMCIA Type II slot available in many newer laptop and notebook
computers to provide users a low cost method of transferring data
between portable computers, desktop workstations, and
SCSI-compatible peripherals.

According to John Brown, founder and president of TWD, laptop users
can quickly connect to hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, tape
drives, communications devices, multimedia devices, and other
peripherals.

Brown has considerable experience in the electronics industry and
says he recognizes the need for a general purpose expansion bus. He
was involved in the product launch of NCR's 53C810 PCI/SCSI
processor when he was product manager for high end SCSI controller
chips with that company's Microelectronics Division.

The Model 2001 supports eight-bit transfers of up to 3 megabytes
per second on the SCSI bus with concurrent 16-bit transfers on the
PCMCIA bus. The standard DOS 5.0 and higher drivers supplied with
the Model 2001 adhere to standard CAM architecture guidelines,
says the company. SCSI terminators, included on the adapter card,
can be disabled using the software, and a sleep mode is provided to
reduce power consumption when the system is not active.

TWD says the Model 2001 is available individually or as a system
that includes the interconnecting cable, device drivers shipped on
a 1.44 MB floppy disk, and a user manual. Pricing starts at $225
for the adapter card only and $285 for the complete system.
Evaluation units are already available, and the company says it
expects to ship production quantities in the fourth quarter.

(Jim Mallory/19930701/Press contact: Kim Bayne, wolfBayne Marketing
Communications for TWD, 719-593-8032; Reader contact: TWD
Electronics, 719-634-8187)


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

AT&T Aims To Deflate 800-Collect 07/02/93
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- AT&T is
aiming to knock MCI's 800-Collect program out of the water before
it has a chance to really get rolling.

Spokesman Jon Mellor said AT&T plans to compete everywhere -- it
plans to compete on price, and it plans to offer voice
recognition technology for added value. For starters, regular
AT&T operators will serve a new number, 1-800-Operator, which
will compete directly with MCI's new 1-800-Collect service. To
start the ball rolling, AT&T is offering a low, low rate of 10
cents per minute on all customer-dialed collect calls on July 4.

Mellor told Newsbytes that AT&T is committed that 1-800-Operator
rates will match or better the everyday state-to-state collect-
call prices of MCI or any other major carriers. And the service
can be used by any phone, regardless of the long distance company
serving that phone. Customers in AT&T's "i plan" calling program
can save 15 percent on all collect calls made to the number, and
in a summer-long promotion travelers at major airports will save
30 percent over regular collect call charges.

Since introducing 1-800-Collect May 19, MCI has been advertising
it heavily, aiming at a 25 percent discount off AT&T's old
collect rates. Ads in subway stations and other public places
advertise the service but don't mention MCI by name.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930702/Press Contact: AT&T, Jon Mellor, 908-
221-5017)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00021)

 ****Nationwide Cellular Phone Net Debuts 07/02/93
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Calling it "a
giant step towards making cellular phones as easy to use as
regular wireline phones," a consortium of 15 US and Canadian
companies have announced MobiLink to provide guaranteed cellular
service across North America.

Starting today, the group will also begin a major ad campaign
for the service with the tag-line "MobiLink: It's Simply the
Way to Communicate."

MobiLink embraces cellular system operators across the US and
Canada who have agreed to meet a set of operating and service
quality standards for the area they serve. Requirements include
providing round-the-clock customer service, answering incoming
service calls within a set period of time, standardized feature
codes for services like roaming and call forwarding, the ability to
receive calls in any MobiLink market, and maintaining a specified
level of call quality, defined as dropped or blocked calls.

Some of the more technical standards include permissive dialing,
which allows the cellular phone user to make calls with or
without a "1" prefix. MobiLink customers will find also it easier
to get service on their units, through MobiLink's single 800
number that will reach a service center at any time of the day or
night.

Al Boschulte, president of NYNEX Mobile Communications and
chairman of the MobiLink board of directors, says the new service
does not replace, but rather complements, the existing service of
local cellular service providers. "People will continue to buy
service from the local carrier which, in turn, will provide
MobiLink benefits as an extension of their own service." The
organizations says several hundred service centers have met its
criteria for providing cellular tune-ups, antenna replacement,
accessory sales, loaner phones, and other services. Dependent on
availability, they will also provide loaner phones while the
customer is in their service area and their phone is being
repaired.

MobiLink says its customer satisfaction guarantee promises that a
MobiLink carrier will resolve any problems to the customer's
satisfaction or the primary carrier will provide a free call.
The guarantee does not apply to service and equipment
pricing, but does cover poor-quality calls.

So far, US MobiLink members include Alltel Mobile Communications,
Ameritech Mobile Communications, Bell Atlantic Mobile, BellSouth
Mobility, Cellular Inc, Century Cellunet, GTE Mobilnet, Contel
Cellular, NYNEX Mobile Communications, PacTel Cellular, Rochester
Tel Mobile Communications, SNET Cellular, Spring Cellular, and US
West Cellular. In Canada, the service will be offered by Mobility
Canada, which operates that country's largest wireless network
including 12 cellular service providers.

One of the most immediate and obvious benefits to users is the
ability to receive calls wherever they go in the MobiLink service
area. Known as roaming, a cell phone user who lives in one service
area can travel across the country, and always be able to receive
calls through their home service area if their destination is in
the MobiLink network, US West Cellular spokesperson Wendy Carver
Herbert told Newsbytes.

The network may prove slightly confusing to some cellular phone
users, however, because many of the regional Bell companies own
"non-wireline" licenses outside their home service territories.
In Atlanta, for instance, BellSouth has the "wireline" service
license and has its BellSouth Mobility network plugged-into
MobiLink. Its local competitor, PacTel, is also a member of
the group, but its PacTel cellular unit had to make other
roaming arrangements with regional non-wireline companies,
called SouthReach. In Los Angeles, by contrast, PacTel is the
MobiLink member, since that is part of its service territory,
and BellSouth's cellular unit there must make other
arrangements.

MobiLink spokesperson Stephanie Sacks told Newsbytes cellular
providers participating in MobiLink pay a fee to the partnership
which is based on the number of customers they have. Sacks couldn't
say for sure that the individual service providers wouldn't pass
that cost on to customers, but US West's Herbert said it would not
in that company's service area.

(Jim Mallory & Dana Blankenhorn/19930702/Press contact:
Stephanie Sacks, Burson-Marsteller for MobiLink, 202-833-4229)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00022)

PC Expo - WordPerfect, Novell, IBM Implement OpenDoc 07/02/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- At PC Expo this
week, WordPerfect and Novell unveiled plans to implement Apple's
OpenDoc technology for the Microsoft Windows platform in the second
quarter of next year, and IBM stated its intentions to provide
OpenDoc in a future version of OS/2. Borland also endorsed
OpenDoc.

Known in its early phases as Amber, OpenDoc is an open software
architecture designed to allow easy and intuitive creation of
compound documents, or documents that include information and media
from many different sources. With OpenDoc, a text paragraph or a
graphic becomes a reusable software object. Users can combine
components from a range of applications to build custom software.

The technology interoperates with Microsoft's OLE (object linking
and embedding) 2.0 -- an architecture aimed at introduction this
fall in Microsoft Excel 5.0 and Microsoft Project 4.0 -- as well as
with other document architectures.

WordPerfect and Novell will work together in developing the Windows
implementation of OpenDoc, officials said in making the
announcement.

According to John Edwards, executive vice president of Novell's
Desktop Systems Group, the OpenDoc architecture will be a key
building block in Novell's Appware, a new multilayer crossplatform
development platform.

On the IBM side, OpenDoc will use System Object Model (SOM) to
package and execute parts of a compound document, said Lee Reiswig,
president of IBM's Personal Software Products division. SOM is an
object interface also used by the OS/2 Workplace shell.

Borland is endorsing OpenDoc as another way of bringing power,
flexibility and ease of use to customers, stated Philippe Kahn,
founder and CEO. "Our focus on object technology is a natural fit
for OpenDoc plug-and-play solutions," added Kahn.

OpenDoc source code will be licensed to system vendors who want to
implement the architecture. Code is expected to be available for
the Mac and Windows platforms later this year, and for other
platforms shortly afterward.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930702/Press contacts: Jackie Promes, Apple,
tel [phone]; Debbie Hendrickson, WordPerfect, tel 801-228-
5022; Jennifer Johnson, Novell, tel [phone]; Barbara Woolf,
Novell, tel [phone]; Rob Crawley, IBM, tel [phone];
Marguerite Padovani, Borland, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00023)

Smart Cards Make New Stab At Debit Market 07/02/93
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- VeriFone, a
leader in transaction automation through mag-stripe terminals
found at thousands of stores, signed a deal with Gemplus, a
French maker of chip-based "smart cards," in another attempt to
replace cash with plastic.

VeriGem, a new joint venture company, will be the vehicle for
bringing what the two firms called SmartCash technology to the
market. Instead of carrying paper dollars, the idea is that
people will hold cash balances in chip-based SmartCards, which
will let them track expenses to the penny, solve security
problems, and reduce vandalism and petty theft by eliminating
cash.

For many years, companies have tried and failed to make a dent in
the market for cash using debit cards. These are plastic cards
with magnetic stripes, issued by banks, and used by automated
teller machines for dispensing cash. The cards can also be used
at some stores, and remove money directly from customers'
accounts. They have not made much of an impact in part because
most credit cards offer a 25-day "float" through which those with
good credit histories can delay payment of bills, and because
many people don't want government or credit agencies tracking all
their transactions. Smart cards have not been implemented in many
places, in part, because of the huge installed base of magnetic-
stripe readers.

The two companies hope their size and market position can give
them a leg-up in getting the new market off the ground. VeriFone
has a 60 percent share in those mag-stripe readers, with over
2.9 million shipped, while Gemplus ships 12 million chip-based
smartcards a month.

The two companies cited a newsletter called The Nilson Report,
indicating that despite their size they have barely scratched
the market's surface. It indicated that 68 percent of
consumer transactions last year, 70.9 billion worth $1.6
trillion, were made with cash in 1992, while only 9 percent
were made with credit or debit cards, for a total of $418
billion. The two companies will call together on banks and
payment processing outfits worldwide, and call directly on large
franchisors and retail chains.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930702/Press Contact: Mark Smotroff, for
VeriFone, 415-904-7070; VeriFone, 415-591-6500; FAX, 415-598-
5504)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00024)

Microsoft Awarded $12.5 Million In Piracy Suit 07/02/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has been awarded a whopping $12.5 million in a software
piracy case.

US District Judge David Kenyon awarded the default judgement to
the computer software company in a piracy case brought by Microsoft
against BEC Computer Co. Inc., of the US, BEC Computer Co. Ltd., of
Taiwan, and Ley Her Enterprise Co. Ltd., of Taiwan.

In 1991 Microsoft licensed BEC Computer to distribute its MS-DOS
and Windows operating systems under the BEC name so long as the
software was distributed with BEC's computer systems. That's the
same system under which all computer makers are able to distribute
the copyrighted software. Microsoft does not authorize Windows and
MS-DOS to be sold stand-alone except in the case of upgrades. It
had sought damages in excess of $5 million.

Microsoft sued BEC Computer when it learned that company was
producing and selling MS-DOS and Windows separately. BEC filed
counterclaims last August alleging that Microsoft had violated
antitrust laws and engaged in copyright and trademark misuse in its
licensing agreements. Judge Kenyon dismissed BEC's claims.

Trade organizations such as the Software Publisher's Association
(SPA) and the Business Software Association (BSA) estimate that
millions of dollars in software sales are lost annually worldwide
because of software piracy and counterfeiting. Last year the SPA
set up a copyright protection fund that funds legal action against
parties accused of illegally duplicated copyrighted software.
Microsoft is a member of SPA.

Microsoft spokesperson Alison Gilligan told Newsbytes this is the
largest award ever made in the US in a software piracy case, and
said Microsoft plans to vigorously pursue collection of the
judgement, which was against both BEC and its subsidiaries Babtech
Enterprise Company and BEC Computer Company Limited, and principals
Chunk-Kai Lus, Quey-Pink Wang and Wei-Lung Lee. "We think there are
assets (to collect) and we have investigations ongoing in several
Asian countries right now. We fully intend to collect, even if they
declare bankruptcy." BEC's US offices were located in City of
Industry, California, but there is no phone number listed currently
for the company, according to one California reporter. Gilligan
said the whereabouts of BEC's principals is presently unknown.

Microsoft has been vigorous in pursuing alleged counterfeiters. In
late 1990 Taiwan authorities, acting on a complaint by Microsoft,
broke up a DOS counterfeiting ring. In mid-1992 police and
Microsoft representatives raided locations in Taiwan, Hong Kong and
the People's republic of China after a six-month investigation.
They shut down an operation that was alleged to have been producing
as many as 75,000 phony copies of Microsoft DOS and Windows. Last
month the Taiwan courts awarded $1.1 million to Microsoft in
another counterfeiting case.

The problem is not limited to the Asian market. In 1992 Microsoft
"software cops" and US Marshals seized more than 150,000 allegedly
fake copies of DOS at multiple locations in California and New
Jersey. The confiscated software filled 16 semi-trailers and
reportedly had a value of more than $9 million.

The penalties for counterfeiting software can be stiff. Laws vary
from country to country, but in the US, you can get up to five
years in jail and be fined up to $250,000 under the Software
Copyright Bill. In Australia the BSA has established a "snitch"
fund of $2,500 leading to the successful prosecution of software
counterfeiters. BSA of Australia estimates $250 million in software
sales are lost annually in that country due to counterfeiting.

The US government is attempting to bring pressure on Taiwan
authorities to step up enforcement of intellectual property rights.
In May US trade representative Michael Kantor placed Taiwan on the
US government's "priority watch list" of countries suspected of
violating American copyrights. The government says it may impose
trade sanctions unless Taiwan cracks down on the counterfeiters.
Some experts believe violations of US copyrights by Taiwanese
companies cost American firms more than $700 million last year
alone.

Microsoft says it often becomes aware of counterfeiting because of
tips from users and due to mistakes by the crooks. One piracy
situation came to light because of spelling errors on the software
packages. Microsoft maintains a toll-free number to call for users
who suspect they may have counterfeit software, and says it won't
prosecute the user. To report possible counterfeit software:
800-662-6796.

(Jim Mallory/19930702/Press contact: Microsoft Corporation,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00025)

Wordperfect Ships Interim Works For Mac Release 07/02/73
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation is
now shipping an interim release of its integrated software package
Wordperfect Works for Macintosh.

The company says release 1.2.1 includes enhancements in each module.
The program includes a word processor, spreadsheet with charting
capabilities, a database, telecommunications, and drawing and
painting.

Consumer Products Division Director of Development Mark Simonsen
says users will notice faster scrolling within modules as well as
when switching between modules. He said memory handling of large
documents and clipboard handling on systems running under Apple
Computer's System 6 operating system have both been improved, and
users will find printing within the spreadsheet and database,
as well as application launching, are all "noticeably
faster," according to Simonsen.

In addition to faster printing, the company says the word processor
offers 500 percent faster scrolling as well as enhancements to the
find and replace feature, the speller, and the thesaurus.

Wordperfect has also added some new tool bar buttons in the
spreadsheet that include shortcuts for dollar, percent, and comma
formatting of cells to speed up that function. Spreadsheet
formatting is also quicker in the interim release, and an
"intelligent delete" feature allows deletion of entire blocks of
cells at one time. Charts now can handle a wider range of values,
including negative numbers.

In the database, WP says users will find it's easier to import
and export larger files due to the improved memory handling, and
label printing has been improved within the database due to improved
compatibility with a variety of laser printers.

The company also says the paint module, when the program is being
run on a Macintosh Plus, SE, Classic, or Powerbook 100, does a
better job of handling background and foreground colors on
monochrome screens. The communications module now includes the
updated Apple Modem Tool that allows users to take advantage of
Apple's latest improvements to the Communications Toolbox. Review
and scrollback buffer handling have also been improved in the comm
module.

Several new sample documents have also been added, including a check
register, an address database, and a loan amortization worksheet.
Wordperfect Works sample documents can be used as templates,
modified to meet the user's specific needs.

The company says a network version of the interim release is also
available that allows users to launch from a single copy of
Wordperfect Works installed on the network server. The network
version provides a new file sharing feature that allows multiple
users to access files.

Wordperfect Works 1.2.1 has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $249.
Users of version 1.2 or Beagleworks can upgrade for $10. Users of
MacWrite II, WriteNow, or any Macintosh Works package can trade up
to the new release for $99.

(Jim Mallory/19930702/Press contact: Blake Stowell, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5063; Reader contact: Wordperfect Corporation,
801-451-5151, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

IBM Will Launch Ambra Subsidiary In US By Fall 07/02/93
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- IBM will set up a
subsidiary to sell low-priced clones of the personal computer
standard it established -- the Ambra line already offered in
Europe and Canada -- in the United States this summer or fall.

The European and Canadian subsidiaries have done well at pursuing
the price-conscious buyers who tend to steer clear of IBM's own
brand, and "it's logical to assume we'll be doing something
similar to that in the United States," company spokesman William
Amanna told Newsbytes.

By this fall at the latest, Amanna said, a subsidiary will be set
up to sell the Ambra computers in the US. The unit will be owned
directly by IBM Corp., but will report through IBM Personal
Computer Co., he said.

"I'm hesitant to give a date," Amanna said, "because these things
have a way of moving, but I would say late summer or early fall."

IBM Canada created a subsidiary called ExperComp Services last
August to sell the Ambra line in Canada. ExperComp operates
through distributors, including the Canadian arm of Merisel,
which is also a major distributor in the United States. The Ambra
line includes both desktop and portable models based on Intel
Corp.'s 386 and 486 processors.

IBM could not confirm by Newsbytes' deadline whether the Ambra
line sold in the US will include exactly the same models
offered elsewhere.

(Grant Buckler/19930701/Press Contact: William Amanna, IBM,
766-3317)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00027)

Wang Sells Supplies Business To Nashua 07/02/93
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Wang
Laboratories Inc., still working to emerge from the protection of
Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy law, has sold its computer and
office supplies business to Nashua Corp.

New Hampshire-based Nashua gets Wang's office and computer
supplies catalog and the Wang Express name under which Wang has
sold supplies as well as computer hardware, software, and
services. Wang spokesman Steve Casey said his company will keep
the hardware, software, and services sales business, now called
its Telesales unit.

The business bought by Nashua includes the sale of such goods as
paper, toner for printers and copiers, and diskettes. For the
time being at least, Nashua plans to keep using the Wang Express
name.

"What we've done is sold part of that business that we feel is
not part of our business going forward," Casey said. He said the
supplies business will fit better with the focus of Nashua, a
major maker of diskettes. "That's the business they're in, and it
makes sense for them."

Terms of the deal were kept secret, and Casey would not comment
on Wang Express' profitability.

He said about 70 Wang employees will move to Nashua as a result
of the deal. Another 20 former Wang Express workers will remain
in Wang's Telesales unit, and about 20 more will find other jobs
within Wang. Besides these, there will be "a small number" of
layoffs, Casey said.

Wang has been operating under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law
since last August.

(Grant Buckler/19930702/Press Contact: Frank Ryan, Wang
Laboratories, 508-967-7038; Daniel M. Junius, Nashua,
603-880-2363)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00028)

Moscow - Phone Rates Up Again 07/02/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Moscow city phone authorities
announced yet another 50% phone rate jump. The previous
announcement, which doubled prices, happened just one month ago.

The cheapest night rates to call the US from Moscow are up
from 400 to 600 rubles for residential phones, and to 900 rubles
(approximately 90 cents) for businesses. The daytime rate is
1500 rubles a minute (US$1.5). Calls to Europe at peak hours
cost 750 rubles a minutes (US$0.75).

Prices for the countries which are most frequently dialled
rose more than the less popular ones.

Operator-assisted calls are three times more expensive. Changes
were effective on the first of July, 1993.

This is a technical correction, which was made by the phone
authorities to reflect higher-than-expected international
calling after the availability of 24-hour direct dial last month,
according to a phone company representative.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930602)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(MOW)(00029)

Moscow - DEC Sells To The Government 07/02/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Digital Equipment has
announced a US$2 million contract to supply the Russian Supreme
Soviet (parliament) with modern computer equipment. This will
also be the first time Alpha-based equipment will be imported
into Russia.

The project, scheduled to be completed in 9 months, will
include installation of a DEC VAX 4000/300 double processor,
a 200 MHz Alpha central processor, a number of 486-based
workstations, and high bandwidth communications equipment to
provide access to various databases, according to the company.
DEC says it will also sell specialized software.

DEC already supplied 20 Russian private banks and the Moscow
branch of the central bank with customized computer systems
during the last year.

Various other events announced by DEC this week include:

 - A corporate banking computing seminar, just completed in
Moscow, drew a number of Russian bankers to this 5-day
event.

 - An oil industry event, managed by Society of Exploration
Geophysics, in which DEC will demonstrate its computer
systems and software tailored for large oil companies,
takes place in Moscow from August 16 until August 19.

 - DEC will participate in the Moscow Aero Show, the large
aviation industry gathering, showing large enterprise computing
tools, in Moscow, starting August 25th.

(Kirill Tchashchin & Newsbox Monitor/19930602)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00030)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 07/02/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

July's issue of Databased Advisor carries a special report on
delivering database applications across Windows, MS-DOS, and
Macintosh platforms. This includes a special section looking at
the emergence of Macintosh servers and clients being integrated
into networks and where the joint Apple-IBM Taligent "pink"
object-oriented operating system fits into the mix. The joint
venture is billing this as a major Macintosh/MS-DOS network
platform for the mid-90s.

The June 28 Telephony says that the battle between supporters of
the more advanced code division multiple access (CDMA) digital
cellular technology is still slowing acceptance of the older time
division multiple access (TDMA) which has been accepted only by
McCaw Cellular and SW Bell, among leading cellular suppliers.
Nynex is testing TDMA in New York and a wireless CDMA system at
its headquarters while BellSouth is currently testing E-TDMA
(extended-time division multiple access) from Hughes Network
Systems.

Federal Computer Week dated June 28 says that GTSI is beefing up
its Desktop IV offerings by adding IBM-built 80486 PCs to its
contract which was won jointly with Zenith Data Systems
originally based on 80386 computers because the bidding has taken
so long.

(John McCormick/19930702)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00031)

IBM, AT&T Win Major Army Contract 07/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- It looks like the
Army's Sustaining Base Information Services users will be getting
true-blue IBM RISC System/6000 computers and Ma Bell's AT&T/NCR
System 3000 systems to replace the aging IBM and Amdahl mainframe
computers which currently use proprietary systems to manage Army
bases' budgeting, training, housing, security, and engineering
tasks.

Under the 10-year contract, IBM and AT&T would install compatible
networks at 128 Army installations and 69 further Army-related
processing points.

Insiders see this contract award as being a milestone in IBM
Federal Systems' contracting procedures because this is the first
time that Big Blue was willing to work closely with a major
competitor to produce a compatible, platform-independent
system.

Under this contract, IBM will be providing the software for both
its own and the NCR systems.

The biggest loser when the $474 million plus contract went to
the IBM/AT&T team was Electronic Data Systems and its bidding
partners Amdahl and Sun Microsystems.

Protests are expected from some or all of the losing multiple-
vendor bidders.

(John McCormick/19930702/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00032)

Everex Loses Out In Latest Desktop IV Twist 07/02/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- What once looked like
an important contract for Everex Systems, the shared win between
Zenith Data Systems (ZDS) and Government Technology Services Inc.,
of Chantilly, Virginia, is rapidly becoming a very very minor
potential sale as both ZDS and GTSI move to upgrade their
offerings at the high-end.

When Desktop IV, the big, multi-year military computer contract,
was first proposed, the king of the PC hill was the 80386-based
computer, but as negotiations, awards, protests, award voiding,
counter protests, and finally a solid award early this year have
proceeded, the 386 microprocessor has faded into obscurity as
lower costs, and ever-increasing software demands on system
hardware resources, has made the 80486-based office computer
almost the standard minimum system.

GTSI, which will share Desktop IV with ZDS, competing for orders
under the contract, originally selected Everex to supply some of
the computers, but after the recent challenge to GTSI's position
by Zenith which began offering 486-based systems at very
competitive prices, the Chantilly-based federal supplier has
tagged IBM, not Everex to supply it with 486-based computers
which it will sell under the multiple-award contract.

This leaves Everex as a supplier of only the very low-end 386-
SX/20, which was a good office computer when Desktop IV was
originally bid, but is now the sort of system being widely
discounted to home users.

GTSI is also interested in bolstering its position in Desktop IV
by adding at least one Apple Macintosh computer to its offerings
under the contract.

Companies which have won a federal contract can almost always
upgrade their computer offerings and lower their prices under the
provisions of the contract. What the negotiated contract
guarantees to the buyers is a maximum price they will ever have
to pay and, especially with these large, long-term contracts, the
vendors often either lower prices or add extra features such as
faster microprocessors or larger hard drives as the contract
continues and PC prices continue to fall.

(John McCormick/19930702/)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00033)

How Much Technology Is In Schools? - Education Conference 07/02/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- The excitement of a
show like the National Educational Computer Conference, where
over 5,000 teachers offered their stories of helping kids learn
with technology, and 400 exhibitors offered new computers and
software, is in sharp contrast to the reality of the situation
in schools.

Market Data Retrieval surveys schools about what they really
have in terms of technology, and was showing an online
version of the database, which is aimed at companies trying
to sell to the market. Newsbytes picked a school at random --
this author's alma mater, Massapequa High School on Long Island.

Within 10 seconds the database revealed that the school
is now much smaller than when this authored attended 20
years ago, and only serves 3 grades instead of 4. We saw
a list of faculty, no familiar names there anymore, but
per-pupil expenditures are now half those of nearby
Jericho, on the North Shore. The whole school has no
computer networks, about 20 Apple IIs, and a few older
machines. I was told this is fairly typical.

In contrast, the MDR survey of technology plans in grades
K-12 showed dramatic growth. Three-quarters of the districts have
at least one CD-ROM drive by 1993, two-thirds at least one local
area network. Integrated learning systems like those sold by
Jostens' Learning, which are offered on a turnkey basis and often
called "computer labs," were in about 30 percent of the
districts. In total, the number of CD-ROM drives, videodisc
players, LANs and distance learning systems all doubled.

Market Data Retrieval is a Dun & Bradstreet company.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930702/Press Contact: Sal Capozzi, MDR, 203-
926-4800)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00034)

Microsoft Moves Into Market - Education Conference 07/02/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Microsoft had a
fairly modest booth at the National Educational Computer
Conference, but spokesmen made it plain they aim to be a power in
the educational software market.

Their first product is Encarta, a multimedia encyclopedia on a
CD-ROM. Encarta was introduced last year. At this show, the
company announced that Ann Fenner, formerly a senior editor of
The World Book Encyclopedia, will be the new editor of Encarta, in
charge of a 10-person team performing annual updates. Encarta was
initially developed for the Apple Macintosh and a network license
is now available. The company also announced that it has
developed free lesson plans to help teachers incorporate Encarta
into classrooms and library work. The plans include elements like
group activities, "seek and find" exercises, and worksheets, on
topics like endangered animals, the solar system and Shakespeare.

More impressive, perhaps, is what we can't report. In a suite at
the Orlando Marriott World resort, Microsoft was demonstrating
future products on a non-disclosure basis. Without breaking that
agreement, we can report that Microsoft sees its consumer
products unit as exceedingly important, with Chairman Bill Gates
quoted as predicting it will be the largest Microsoft division
within five years. As with other educational publishers,
Microsoft expects that about three-quarters of its education
market will be found in the home, although the company will also
push new products in the school market. The division is also
expected to develop products under Microsoft Windows, and the
first of the line should be out this fall.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930702/Press Contact: Pat Higgins, for
Microsoft, 312-263-2135)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00035)

 ****Borland Will Ship Quattro Despite Lotus Suit 07/02/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Remember the
Lotus/Borland suit over the similarities between spreadsheet
products Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro? Well, Borland has lost
another round in the most recent decision handed down from US
District Judge Robert E. Keeton, but says it will continue to
ship Quattro Pro regardless.

In a partial judgement offered last year, Keeton came out and
said Borland was liable. Judge Keeton said at that time: "I
conclude that no reasonable jury could find for Borland that
Borland did not take the menu commands, menu command structure,
macro language, and keystroke sequences substantially as they
were." The big question now is how liable, but the latest
decision doesn't answer that question.

In yesterday's decision, Keeton, reaffirmed his previous ruling
that a single element of the Lotus 1-2-3 screen display -- the
hierarchy, or order, of the menu commands -- is copyrightable,
and the use of that ordering infringed the copyright of Lotus
1-2-3. This covers the 123.MU file, an optional command system
file, that Borland last year said it would continue to make
available to customers upon request for a nominal charge to
cover shipping and handling.

Borland representative Steve Grady told Newsbytes he
couldn't remember if Borland even still offers the file or
not, but it will no longer be available now. Keeton also
said Lotus' two and a half year delay in filing the suit does
not prohibit Lotus from pursuing Borland.

Also, Borland is careful to point out that the infringing
versions of Quattro Pro have been discontinued since August
1992, when Keeton's first judgement was released, and the menu
structure of the new versions has been changed. Borland also
quotes Keeton as saying the Borland interface "looks
substantially different from the 1-2-3 interface."

Borland maintains the decision has no effect on its delivery of
Quattro Pro, or any of its other spreadsheet products to the
market. Borland does offer an optional Lotus 1-2-3 compatible
macro command system file, also known as the "key reader."
Lotus has added a supplemental complaint to the suit alleging
that Borland infringed the copyright of Lotus 1-2-3 by
including the key reader, and the court indicated it expects
to address the issues of the key reader phase of the case
in an opinion expected later this summer.

Things have changed since last summer when Keeton issued his
first judgement in the case. Borland's stock has been severely
devalued in the market, the company suddenly laid off 350
employees in December of last year, and it reported $61.3
million in losses for the last quarter of 1992 that surprised
the software industry. In addition, Lotus chief Jim Manzi and
Philippe Kahn, president of Borland, are said to have met in
December at a hotel in San Francisco to discuss a possible
merger. However, reports are that nothing substantial has come
of the talks.

Lotus has won twice in similar suits against Paperback Software
and the Santa Cruz Operation. Lotus representatives were
unavailable for comment on how much in damages it plans to seek
if it wins, but analysts have said Borland could face paying
out damages of $10 million to $100 million.

Borland contends it has been headed for the Court of Appeals
since the case started. "We believe the court's position is
inconsistent with those of other federal courts and the
opinions of legal scholars and the US Copyright Office itself,"
said Spencer Leyton, Borland's senior vice president, business
development.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930702/Press Contact: Sandra Hawker,
Borland, 408-439-1659, fax [phone]; Richard Eckel, Lotus
Development Corporation, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00036)

Review of - Collage Complete Ver. 1.0 07/02/93

Runs on: PC-AT, PS-2, AND 100% compatibles with 1M RAM and a VGA,
EGA, CGA, MDA, PS/2, AT&T 6300 or Hercules-compatible monochrome
monitor.

Collage Complete Windows requires MS-Windows 3.1 or higher and
all of Windows' hardware requirements, including 4M RAM and a
hard disk. Collage DOS products require DOS 2.0 or higher. LIM
4.0 is recommended.

From: Inner Media, Inc., 60 Plain Road, Hollis NH 03049,
603-465-3216.

Price: $199.00 SRP $59 upgrade direct from InnerMedia

PUMA Rating: 3.75 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378

Summary: Collage Complete adds many image handling features to
Collage Plus' Windows program while maintaining its DOS program
as a stable screen capturing program in the same package.

======

REVIEW

======

Authors are required to provide illustrations of the screens they
are describing when they submit the final draft of a book to a
publisher. The style sheets provided by Prentice-Hall's New Riders
and Alpha Books units, for instance, require that the writers
submit screen shots in a specific format from Collage, or
Collage Plus. Now Collage Complete replaces the other Collage
programs. It adds cataloguing and image enhancing features in
its Windows incarnation.

In its DOS version, Collage works well and makes life simple when
printing illustrations for a publisher. The shortcoming with
Collage Plus is that the writer has to go to another program to
edit the screen shot if cropping or editing is necessary. That
shortcoming is corrected in the Windows version of the program by
adding limited image editing. Image editing for Collage Complete
includes the ability to crop, annotate, size, and clean up. In the
process the image may be flipped, rotated, inverted, or combined
with other images to enhance the effects of the image. Collage's
tool bar make these features easily accessible.

Beside the image editing feature the graphic image may also be
converted to one of eleven different file formats. The formats
included are TIFF, PCX, GIF, TGA, BMP, WPG, WMF, DCX, JPEG, PICT,
and Clipboard. Variations include Dithered or True Color,
Dithered or Grayscale, and B/W.

A new feature added to the Collage Complete's MS-Windows image
managing application is the ability to catalogue the images with
thumbnail or larger images. This means that groupings of
thumbnail size images of the graphics files can be examined and
organized for printing or showing. Editors like illustrations to
be in correct order on their ID sheet for the printer. Let there
be no mistake about the order at printing time!

According to its advertisements, Collage Complete interfaces
directly with "TWAIN"-equipped image scanners. Neil Rosenberg, a
technical person for Inner Media, says, "'TWAIN' is an industry
standard for receiving images from scanners and other image
producing devices. It has been around for at least a couple of
years. Scanners by LogiTech, HP, Polaroid and most other
companies are compatible with 'TWAIN.' Also most new paint
programs are 'TWAIN' compatible." "TWAIN" receives images from
black-and-white up through 24-bit color.

Remember that this program is a memory resident, or TSR,
application and therefore takes memory that the primary
application might need. However, it does support expanded memory
so if you use expanded memory and memory management software it
is less demanding on base memory. This means that it is less
likely to interfere with your other primary programs.

Collage Plus made my life simpler a few months back when working
on "The Modem Coach" with Dana Blankenhorn, Kimberly Maxwell,
Kevin Stoltz, published by New Riders Publishing. Collage
Complete would have made things even simpler when I needed to
"clean-up" screen shots from a Windows-based communications
program for the book.

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

PUMA RATING

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

PERFORMANCE: (3.5) It works as advertised. Collage Complete is
easy to learn, easy to use, and works fast. Its shortcoming is
not having the same cataloguing and image management features for
both DOS and Windows.

USEFULNESS: (4) The usefulness of this product will continue to
be discovered as people use it. For illustrations to accompany
instructions, whether for a book, magazine, or inter-office memo
this program works well. It is a boon for the person in the
office who instructs everyone else how to use their computer. Now
just send them a memo; a little less handholding is required
from there forward. This program is well worth the $199 suggested
retail price.

MANUAL: (4) Manuals, both DOS and Windows are clearly written and
describe the features well.

AVAILABILITY: (3.5) Collage Complete can be purchased for the
introductory price of $149 or as an upgrade for $59 directly
from InnerMedia at 603-465-3216. If a copy of Collage Plus was
purchased before 1 April, 1993 an upgrade is available at
no charge. Programmer's Shop, a Massachusetts based mail-order
house at 800-447-8041 offers Collage Complete at $169 and
Programmer's Paradise, a New Jersey based mail-order house,
at 800-445-7899 has it for $149.

The 800 numbers are nice, but it would be more convenient if it
was available at the corner discount software store.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19930622/Press Contact: Inner Media, Nancy
Rosenberg, 800-962-2949)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00037)

 ****Intel To Add 750 Jobs 07/02/93
FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 2 (NB) -- Intel says it
will add 750 new jobs in adding a fifth building to its Folsom,
California site to expand its research and development
capacity. Intel recently announced it would spend $1 billion in
expansion of its manufacturing facilities in Rio Rancho, New
Mexico.

California needs the jobs as companies have been moving out of
the state due to sluggish economic conditions, threatened tax
increases, and high costs. California Governor Pete Wilson said
in a prepared statement, "We intend to make California the most
competitive state in the new global competition for jobs.
Today's decision by Intel, a global high-tech leader, to expand
in California is a sign that California is a great place for
businesses interested in investing in the future."

Intel is now the world's largest manufacturer of
semiconductors, fed mostly by the explosion in the market for
IBM and compatible personal computers (PCs) for which it
supplies the majority of semiconductor components. Intel's
expansion is to accommodate demand. Market research firm
Channel Marketing has predicted the number of PCs in homes in
the US alone will expand from the 1992 average of .3 per home
to 2.5 in the next six years.

Intel's current plans, subject to final approvals, call for
starting work on a 160,000-square-foot fifth building at the
Folsom site in the first quarter of 1994. The building is
expected to open for occupancy in the first half of 1995. Intel
said it opened the Folsom site in leased space in the city in
1984, followed by completion and occupancy of its first
building on the existing 236-acre site in 1985. Since then the
company maintains the Folsom site has grown by an average of 11
percent per year.

In the next two- to three-year period 750 engineers will be
hired or transferred to the new site, to join the 2,500
employees that currently perform research and development,
marketing and administrative functions.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930702/Press Contact: Sandra Duncan, Intel,
tel [phone], fax [phone])