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/nb930723

Text File | 1993-07-23 | 74KB | 1,650 lines

(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00001)

Sun Signs Up Second VAR In India 07/23/93
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems of the US has
signed up International Computers Indian Manufacture Ltd. (ICIM),
as its value-added reseller (VAR) in India. So far, Bangalore-based
Wipro Infotech Ltd., was the only distributor of Sun systems here.

According to Parag Samarth, general manager, ICIM, the modalities of
the new relationship are yet to be finalized. "We are negotiating for
the entire SPARC server and workstation range," he said.

ICIM earlier had an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) arrangement
for Sun workstations with Wipro. As an OEM, ICIM had to cover the
warranty on its own and hence, had a price disadvantage and often
found itself competing against Wipro's own direct marketing force.
Thus the relationship was short-lived.

From the ICIM point of view, the Sun range will complement its existing
DRS range of servers which are also based on the SPARC chip.
(In fact, Fujitsu, which holds the controlling stake in ICL Plc. of
the UK, which, in turn, is the major shareholder in ICIM, is the
main sourcing company of Sun.) There is bound to be an overlap,
specially on the high-end, as both Sun and DRS are highly expandable
machines and ICIM would rather push its own machines.

While the company's earlier OEM was for workstations, this time,
ICIM is looking more for servers. It makes sense considering
that ICIM's traditional stronghold has been the financial sector,
where Wipro has scored over the rest in the recent past.

ICIM's tie-up with Sun is also being perceived as an alternative
to overcome DRS 6000's operating system limitations. Remarked a
competitor, "With DRS, ICIM has hit a dead end, as it does not
have a truly multiprocessing OS like Sun machines. The COSE
initiative to back system V.4 kernel also makes it the ideal
choice."

Once ICIM starts selling Sun, Wipro Infotech will have a tougher
time. But that does not seem to bother the firm. Says A.V. Sridhar,
CEO, Network Systems Division (the department in Wipro that handles
Sun orders), "We would be entitled to overriding commissions on
ICIM's sales even if they buy directly from Sun." If this were to
happen, ICIM's margins will get squeezed and it would be more or
less in the same position as it was as an OEM of Wipro.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19930723)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00002)

Satellite Technology Decontrolled For Export 07/23/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Costa Mesa,
California-based Satellite Technology Management has been
notified by the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Export
Administration that the company's VSAT voice and data
communications system is decontrolled and is therefore eligible
for export under what is known as the General License. What this
means is that the company can now export its satellite
communications system to many more countries without excessive
regulatory burden.

The Bureau of Export Administration has provided a written
classification advisory to Satellite Technology Management based
on a recent request for shipment of a VSAT system to Brazil, but
that order included the same parts which were also being exported
to Iran, so the technical analysis of the Brazilian-bound VSAT
system would also apply to others.

STM is currently under investigation by the Commerce Department
over alleged improprieties involved in the company's export of
high technology satellite communications equipment to Iran.
The investigation was first reported on May 12 and on June 2,
the company reported that its own internal investigation showed
no basis for any charges of wrongdoing.

STM builds proprietary satellite communications hardware and
software to facilitate the construction of very wide area voice,
data, video, and fax networks.

(John McCormick/19930722/Press Contact: Emil Youssefzadeh,
Satellite Technology Management Inc., 714-557-2400)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00003)

 ****Infocorp Says Microsoft To Spur Pentium/PowerPC Rivalry 07/23/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- If it were
not for competition, Intel would release new chips much more
slowly in order to boost earnings. The question is: who is
going to compete with the company's newly announced Pentium
microprocessor? The answer, according to industry analysts at
Infocorp, is the reduced instruction set computing (RISC)
PowerPC chip and the group is predicting Microsoft will
announce a version of Windows NT for the PowerPC to spur that
competition.

Kimbal Brown, Infocorp vice president, said: "Recently, Tom
Dunlap, Intel's chief counsel, stated that Intel could have
achieved an incremental $1 billion in earnings from the 386
products cycle had AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) not entered the
market with its 386 clones. This statement shows us that Intel,
if not pressed by competition, would slow its product cycles to
achieve the highest earnings possible -- a reasonable goal."

But it is in the interest of software developers to have faster
and better computers to run their software. Microsoft, as
the largest personal computer (PC) software manufacturer, has
the most interest in the hardware platform. "We believe that
Microsoft wants to push Intel into increasing the performance
of its microprocessors as quickly as possible," said Brown.
"Infocorp believes that Microsoft wants to provide enough
competition in the microprocessor market to keep Intel on the
fast track."

Microsoft has been searching for another microprocessor to port
to and many industry analysts have said the Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC) Alpha microprocessor is the main rival.
However, the PowerPC, announced by Motorola in April, has
already been adopted by Apple Computer for future machines and
IBM has announced it will use the chip in PCs it designs.

The PowerPC was designed by a joint venture of Motorola, Apple
Computer, and IBM and its wider acceptance offers Microsoft the
rival to Intel that it seeks, according to Infocorp. By 1997 the
industry analysis group claims most major operating systems
will be portable so compatibility with Intel's X86 architecture
-- the most widely used chip design today -- will no longer be
necessary.

The PowerPC rivals the Pentium in processing power, but is
available at a much lower price. The basic 50-megahertz (MHz)
PowerPC was announced at a $280 price tag and a more powerful
66 megahertz version is planned for $374. The Pentium is in the
$800 price range.

Apple has already announced future Macintoshes will be PowerPC-
based. Brown said: "If the System 7 port for PowerPC was
complete today, Apple could ship a Pentium-class Macintosh with
high gross margins and channel markup and still achieve a
$3,000 street price ..." Such a scenario could result in sales
of 300,000 to 400,000 PowerPC-based Macs in 1994, 1.5 million
to 1.8 million in 1995, and at least 3 million in 1996,
"...transforming the PowerPC from a niche RISC microprocessor
to a high-volume, almost mainstream, PC microprocessor,"
according to Brown.

"As Intel ramps (up) volumes of the 3.3-volt version of
Pentium, the industry should ship 1.5 million Pentium-based
PCs in 1993, more than nine million in 1995 and more than 28
million in 1996." However, Intel's pricing and product
development will be highly motivated by the movement among
leading software developers -- particularly Microsoft -- to
port their products to other microprocessors. Microsoft has
already shown Windows NT running on workstations based on the
DEC Alpha RISC processor as well as the current Intel platform.

Brown said Infocorp expects Microsoft's Windows NT operating
system to ship this summer with a maintenance release appearing
in the first quarter of 1994. By that time, Brown said, he
expects Microsoft will also be offering a version of Windows NT
for the PowerPC chip. Representatives at Microsoft told
Newsbytes that Windows NT is currently aimed at Intel's X86,
DEC's Alpha, Intergraph's Clipper, and RISC chip platforms, but
no specific plans have been announced concerning the PowerPC.
However, the PowerPC is being considered as are other
possibilities.

The bottom line is the entire industry is being driven and
Intel is a part of the herd. According to the Infocorp report,
Intel's successor to the Pentium chip, known by the code-name
"P6," should be in production by 1996 and is likely to be the
last microprocessor compatible with today's Intel 386 and 486
chip line. By 1997, Infocorp claims Intel will be producing
both X86-compatible P6 and non-X86-compatible P7 chips.
Eventually, the report said, Intel will move away from the
"hindrance of X86 compatibility."

It's compatibility, however, that is slowing the adoption of
the PowerPC chip. The PowerPC may need software developers like
Microsoft more than Microsoft needs the PowerPC. "The real
drawback is getting software developers to port over their
software so that software that runs on the Intel (based) PC can
also run on the PowerPC processor," according to Jim Feldhan at
In-Stat, a market research firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Intel will also remain number one in the foreseeable future,
Infocorp said. "Although we expect PowerPC volumes to be
dwarfed by their X86-based competition during the forecast
period, PowerPC volumes could easily rival volumes in the high-
performance end (e.g. DX2 processors currently) .... " Brown
added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930722/Press Contact: Lisa Hayward,
Infocorp, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Sheila Ambrose,
Waggener-Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)


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

Motorola Sees Semiconductor Sales Growth 07/23/93
ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Motorola says
industry semiconductor sales worldwide will grow in 1994 and the
company will increase its semiconductor production capacity to
meet that growth.

Motorola Semiconductor Products President Tommy George says
semiconductor sales worldwide will grow next year by 10-13 percent,
and the company has added additional shifts as well as expanded
production. It's also focusing on reducing scrap and speeding up the
time it takes to cycle products through the manufacturing process.

Motorola Chairman and CEO George Fisher told analysts this week the
company plans to spend $2 billion to beef up its production capacity.
That's a 30 percent increase over the $1.39 billion it spent last
year. Fisher said Motorola had a strong 1992 and 1993 and apparently
will continue the pace, but he declined to make an earnings
forecast.

George estimated what the increase in various microcontroller use
would be in various industries. He believes the typical automotive
microcontroller applications will increase to 35 per vehicle from
the current 14. In office-type equipment such as pagers and
telephones, he estimates an increase from the present 18 to 42,
while in home consumer items from appliances to exercise equipment
usage will increase nearly four-fold, from the present 69 to 224.

The company says it is accelerating production ramp-up of MOS11
devices in its Austin plant, and is increasing surface-mount
assembly capacity in some of its other plants. George said production
of MOS12 eight-inch semiconductor wafers in the Chandler, Arizona
plant is expected to begin in mid-1994, and a joint Motorola-Toshiba
JV fabrication plant for the production of 16-megabyte DRAM (dynamic
random access memory) is scheduled to start up in mid-1995.

George told analysts the market in Japan is strengthening and China
has strong potential. He said the personal computer, communications,
automotive, and consumer segments are among the most vibrant.

George said the industry is still assessing the impact of an
explosion at a major epoxy-resin supplier plant. Epoxy resin is used
in the manufacture of computer chips. "We currently have sufficient
supply," he said. Industry watchers expect the price of computer
chips to rise drastically until other plants come on-line to meet
demand.

Motorola Senior Executive Vice President Chris Galvin told analysts
the company expects to increase its research and development
expenditures from the 1992 level of $1.31 billion to $1.5 billion
for 1993. Galvin also said accounts receivable has shown some
improvement over last year. Galvin said receivables are down
slightly to seven weeks in the second quarter compared to 7.8 weeks
in the same period last year. He also said inventory turnovers have
increased to 5.6 compared to 4.6 in the second quarter of 1992.

Motorola President Gary Tooker said Motorola continues to target
compound annual sales growth in the 13 to 16 percent range, and said
annual sales could reach $50 billion in 10 years. The company
reported sales of $13.3 billion. Tooker said more than half of that
is from outside the US, and international sales could reach two-
thirds within the next five years as markets open in China and the
former Soviet Union.

(Jim Mallory/19930722/Press contact: Jeff Gorin, Motorola Media
Relations, 602-952-3854)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00005)

 ****Sharp's Newton Demo Shut Down After Message From Apple 07/23/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Apple has tantalized hacks
and analysts for over a year with demonstrations and marketing pitches
for its Newton personal digital assistant. Many have been locked
down by non-disclosure agreements and embargoes. The idea has been
to let enough information filter through to raise expectations while
shrouding the new toys with enough mystery to keep them sexy.

With the Newton launch just over a week away, Apple's cleverly
manicured strategy almost came undone when Sharp Australia decided to
show off its Newton, the Express Pad, yesterday (Thursday) to the
Australian press, embargo-free. The Sharp machine is identical to
Apple's Newton except for a few cosmetic touches.

"We didn't inform Apple" said Gary Young, sales and marketing
manager with Sharp's personal electronics division. But Apple
got wind of the demonstration and late on Tuesday night the
Australian Sharp office received a directive from Japan to cancel
the one-on-one press demos.

Young said an agreement had been reached between Apple and Sharp
whereby Sharp would not show its Express Pad until after Apple
made its Newton noise at MacWorld in Boston on August 2. Sharp
will sell its machine through department and discount stores
throughout Australia. Rather than have three models, as Apple
Computer will with the Newton, Sharp will sell one model at a list
price os AUS$1499 (around US$1000) and let customers decide on
bits and pieces such as modems and PC connection kits.

Young said the $1499 price was not locked in and could change
according to Apple's price for the Newton, which could be as low
as AUS$1100 (US$750).

Sharp and Apple could both be tight for supplies if the product sells
as well as both companies hope. Both versions come from the same
Sharp production line, and Young said he expects the initial
inventory to be sold by mid-August.

(Stewart Kennedy/19930723)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00006)

 ****Callers Left Holding Empty Bag In Minnesota Software Mystery 07/23/93
MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Thousands of people
have responded to an offer by a Minnesota company which promised
to give away free software, for $6.99 shipping and handling. However,
few if any, have received their merchandise and the company has
disappeared.

The whole thing started when news release service ran a wire
report from a company calling itself the Minnesota Software Systems
Development Corporation on June 10. The company said it was giving
away one million free copies of its Business Strategy and Living
Trust software. All people had to do was send $6.99 for shipping and
handling to a Minneapolis post office address.

Within a few days, there were indications that something was
amiss. The company issued a second press release, saying that a
firm called Microsoft Systems of Japan was purchasing the
company. Within days, the company's phone number was only
answered by a recorded message which stated that the orders would be
filled within a week. Within a few more days, the Minneapolis
phone was disconnected and there was no forwarding address nor phone
number available.

Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, immediately
issued a press statement denying any knowledge of such a deal.

Newsbytes, contacted by several readers who sent money to the
company to receive the "free" software, pursued an investigation
to determine the company's current status.

According to a report in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, US Postal
Inspector David Austrum in St. Paul investigated the company within
days of the June 10 "free" software announcement. Reporter Walter
Parker tells Newsbytes that the Postal Inspector convinced Brent
Knapp, the firm's president, to voluntarily agree to cease doing
business. Austrum would not discuss the reason for the investigation
in an interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, but said that the
company would voluntarily refund anyone's money. The Postal
Inspector was unavailable for direct comment to Newsbytes at
deadline. As it turns out, the closure of the post
office box automatically meant a return of most people's money
through the mail system, with no checks being cashed.

Since some people did send in money, and it never was returned,
nor did they receive their merchandise, Newsbytes followed up to
see where the company might be now, to no avail. According to the
Minnesota Secretary of State's office, the place where Minnesota
corporations are registered, there is no record of any company by
the name Minnesota Software Systems Development Corporation in
Minnesota, now or ever. Further, the Better Business Bureau of
Minneapolis tells Newsbytes that it has not received a single
complaint against the company, which it lists as a business in
its roster of Twin Cities firms.

The Minnesota Software Association, a non-profit trade group,
was asked whether the company was a member. Pat Schultz, its
director, said that MSSDC is not one of its members nor are they in
its database of 900 software and service companies in Minnesota.
Schultz, however, knew personally of the company's name -- her
organization has, in fact, been receiving over 400 calls from
disgruntled respondents to the offer, which is still circulating
as a news item in some publications. These people have received
the phone number of the Minnesota Software Association through
directory assistance, thinking it is the Minnesota Software Systems
Development Corporation.

Schultz tells Newsbytes that all she knows is that days before the
company disappeared in late June, a phone recording to its number,
612-673-0922, said that the company would honor all orders received,
and delivery time would be about a week. However, within a week money
was being returned by the post office, marked "PO box closed."

There is no estimate as to how many people actually lost money in
what may have been a scam, and there is no official agency doing an
investigation. Newsbytes contacted the Minnesota State Attorney
General's office, the Better Business Bureau, and others, and found
that despite this questionable offer, no one has filed a formal
complaint. Further, Newsbytes was unable to find anyone who either
received or saw the software that was offered free.

No number is currently listed for the company. A number
is listed for the man who was said to be the president of
the firm, Brent Knapp, in Minneapolis. However the operator said
that number is non-published at the customers request.

(Wendy Woods/19930722)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00007)

NEC PC-VAN Links With SprintNet, British Telecom 07/23/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- NEC's major personal computer
network PC-VAN is offering its subscribers links to Sprintnet
and British Telecom's Tymnet, a move which is expected to mean
cheaper rates for its subscribers.

NEC has signed an interconnection deal with US-based Sprint
concerning its SprintNet, which has nodes at 1,041 cities in
40 countries. NEC has also signed a deal with British Telecom's
Tymnet, which connects 970 cities in 26 countries.
With these interconnections, telecommunications between Japan
and overseas is expected to be about 20 percent cheaper than
regular public phone lines, or 70 yen (65 cents) per
minute.

The major benefit to users of PC-VAN is that they will not
have to register as members of SprintNet nor British Telecom.
They can connect through the regular PC VAN numbers, and
the access fees will be charged to their accounts.

NEC is aiming the service at Japanese business travellers,
or about 10,000 customers.

NEC's PC-VAN has about 580,000 members, and aims to
gain 800,000 members within a couple of years. The network
offers a variety of services including Japanese and English news,
various databases, and language translation services. Also, PC-VAN
has a gateway to GEnie.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930723/Press Contact: NEC, PC-VAN,
 [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00008)

Kawasaki Steel, Zilog In Chip Venture 07/23/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Kawasaki Steel has linked with
Zilog Corporation of the US concerning joint development of
ASICs (application specific integrated circuits).

Kawasaki Steel has agreed to provide its KC80 technology
to Zilog. The KC80 is a super-fast 8-bit processor core,
which was developed by Kawasaki Steel. It is compatible with
Zilog's Z80 chip on a binary basis. Zilog will incorporate this
technology into its Z80 chip families. Also, Zilog and Kawasaki
Steel will jointly develop Super Integration chips, which are
Zilog's application specific ICs.

The ASIC products are expected to be developed and shipped by
the end of this year.

Kawasaki Steel is one of the major steel makers in Japan. It
entered the semiconductor chip business a couple years ago.
The firm has also been selling IBM-compatible personal
computers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930723/Press Contact: Kawasaki Steel,
 [phone])


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

Microsoft Buys Visual Database Builder 07/23/93
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Coromandel Industries,
the American marketing outlet in India of Bangalore-based database
management system developer Coromandel Software Ltd. (Co Soft),
has bagged orders from Microsoft Corporation for its Integra VDB,
a visual database builder for use with Microsoft Visual C++.

While Microsoft has picked up 1,000 copies of Integra VDB,
Microsoft Sweden has placed an order for another 1,000 copies.
Together, the order comes to $1 million (about Rs 3.1 crore).

Co Soft, which developed the tool, would be receiving a royalty
from Coromandel Industries for Integra VDB sales.

Integra VDB is integrated with Microsoft Visual C++ to help
develop sophisticated ODBC-compliant software. Using VDB,
programs could be worked out with virtually no code. The tool
is claimed to exploit the unique features of Visual C++ by
providing visual database objects and functions that tie into
the visual workbench and the application studio.

Co Soft has no plans to market Integra VDB in India as it feels
the market for such a product is still nascent.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19930723)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00010)

Russia To Get India Computers, Dell Plant Behind Schedule 07/23/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Altos India Ltd., an
associate of Pertech Computers Ltd., which had shot into fame
with a Rs 150 crore export order from Dell Computer, has bagged
a $1.1 million (Rs 3.3 crore) export order for computer systems
from Scientific Centre, Polinom, Russia.

This order is in addition to the five other orders worth over
$1.1 million already under execution by Altos for the Commonwealth
of Independent States including a $150,000 order from the
Ministry of Armament. These orders, being executed under an
escrow account, involves export of modems, PCs, printers and
software.

The electronics hardware technology park (EHTP) set up by
Altos in Gurgaon, Haryana at a cost of $5 million (Rs 15 crore)
for the manufacture of motherboards for Dell Computer is behind
schedule. Claimed to be the largest facility of its kind India,
its production scheduled for April is expected to start only
this month. This means supply of 386SX and 486 system motherboards
to Dell (claimed to be the largest computer hardware export
order for an Indian company) could be delayed beyond October.

Altos blames Dell's demand for a change in design for the
delay. To enhance graphics capability of the systems, the
new boards will have VL bus, instead of the traditional ISA bus
planned earlier. "Not only new testing equipment has to be brought
in, but our engineers had to go to Dell twice for the required
training," clarifies Arjun Raman, general manager, Altos.

Nevertheless, Altos is now gearing up and hopes to meet Dell's
order in time. In addition to motherboards and other populated
PCBs, the company is also negotiating with major international
companies for supply of riser cards and front cards, both of
which have substantial export possibilities. Its other plans
include contracting production of switch mode power supply,
monitors and terminals and computer cabinets.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19930723)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Problem Solving Software From UTS 07/23/93
ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Universal Technical
Systems (UTS) has released a decision support software package the
company says gives non-experts a sound mathematical basis to
design cost effective solutions to a variety of everyday business
problems.

The program, called Queuing Theory and TK Solver (QTK), is said
to be a fast and cost effective way to analyze problems without
requiring complex simulation software and the expertise needed to
use it.

"QTK is a breakthrough product that gives the non-mathematician
the mathematical basis to solve complex queuing problems quickly
and easily," according to UTS President Jack Marathe. UTS
spokesperson Nancy Garcia explained the difference between the
core TK Solver program and the new software. Garcia says TK Solver is
designed for expert users, while QTK makes the power of that
program available to non-technical users.

QTK uses the "backsolving" or goal-seeking capability of UTS'
TK Solver program, which allows the user to work backwards to reach the
solution to a problem.

Dr. Carl Harris of George Mason University demonstrated QTK recently
at the International Conference on Operations Research. Harris calls
the software "a very powerful programming language which lets a
user do the things that are very difficult to do in other
languages, such as Fortran, C, etcetera." Harris says computer
spreadsheets, a commonly used tool by computer users to solve
problems and perform projections, don't have the power to handle
many task. Harris says he saved time by a factor of 10 to 100 when
using QTK over spreadsheet software. Harris says thanks to TK
Solver it took less time to program the mathematics than to
write the user manual.

UTS says QTK has a suggested retail price of $595, but is
available at the introductory price of $395 if ordered by the
end of September. In order to use QTK you have to have the company's
TK Solver, Release 2.0 software, which sells for $595. The
company publishes an academic version for student and faculty
use that sells for $69, with the introductory price of $40 through
September 30, 1993. TK Solver Student Version has a suggested
retail price of $49.

(Jim Mallory/19930722/Press contact: Nancy Garcia, S&S Public
Relations for UTS, 708-291-1616; Reader contact: Universal
Technical Systems, 815-963-2220, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00012)

Computerized "Beeper" Tracks Stolen Cars 07/23/93
FARNBOROUGH, HANTS, ENGLAND, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- A new high-
technology system, which allows police to trace stolen vehicles
electronically, has been launched in the UK, which has the highest
rate of car theft in the European Community (EC).

The system, known as Tracker and sold by the Automobile Association,
involves fitting private vehicles with miniature computers linked to
a transceiver that can be activated by conventional TV transmission
signals to send out their own signals if stolen.

Plans call for most police cars to have tracking computers on board
which will pick up the signals so that police can chase them.
Tracker costs about UKP 160 per vehicle, plus a small annual
subscription charge to use the system.

"About a third of stolen cars are never recovered. It is here that
devices like Tracker have the potential to make a breakthrough in
the fight against crime," Home Office Minister Charles Wardle said
at the launch of the system.

Tracker is said to have cut car crime by up to a third in areas
where it is used in the US.

Car crime in Britain last year accounted for more than a quarter of
all recorded offenses, with more than 630,000 vehicles stolen -- an
increase of 19 percent on the 1990 figure, and the highest rate in
the EC.

(Steve Gold/19930722/Press & Public Contact: Automobile
Association - 0256-492632)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

Star Trek Next Generation On A Game Boy 07/23/93
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Hoping
to go where no one has gone before, Absolute Entertainment Inc.,
has introduced a video game designed for the popular Game Boy,
based on the television science-fiction series, "Star Trek: The
Next Generation."

In announcing the product, Garry Kitchen, president and chief
executive officer of Absolute Entertainment, said: "We wanted to
create a game that would satisfy both video game fans and
followers of the show. Working closely with Paramount Pictures,
we feel we've come up with a game that combines the best of both
worlds and actually plays like episodes of the show."

As a result, the main characters of the TV show are featured,
including Captain Jean Luc-Picard, Lt. Worf, Lt. Cmdr Data, and
the crew of the starship USS Enterprise.

The company is also planning a September release date for its
second title based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but for the
Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Star Trek television series has something of a fanatical cult
following, with admirers known as "Trekkies." Star Trek: The Next
Generation, surprised everyone by becoming as popular as the
original series, and has since surpassed the original in programs
produced.

(Ian Stokell/19930722/Press Contact: Cheryl Morriss,
201-818-4800, Absolute Entertainment Inc.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

Gateway 2000 Adds To Product Line 07/23/93
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Gateway
2000 announced this week it has added several new items to its
product line.

The company says it will now sell sound cards, a complete multimedia
kit, an extensive selection of software on CD-ROM disk, and a
17-inch low emission color monitor.

The company is handling the Sound Blaster 16 ASP sound card, which
usually carries a suggested retail price of $350 but is available
from Gateway 2000 for $195. The card creates 16-bit stereo sound
with sampling rates up to 44.1 kilohertz, but uses less CPU power
than other 16- bit boards, according to Gateway 2000. The board uses
a digital signal processor (DSP) and supports advanced speech
recognition technology and audio compression. A playback filter is
included to reduce spurious noise levels.

Sound Blaster 16 includes interfaces for CD-ROM, joystick, and a
built-in MIDI port for connection to MIDI devices such as
synthesizers, drum machines, and samplers. A set of speakers is
included.

Gateway 2000 is also selling the Sound Blaster Multimedia kit. The
kit includes the sound Blaster 16 ASP described above, a CD-ROM
drive, and a pair of Labtec speakers. The Gateway 2000 price is
$395, which the company says is a $50 savings over purchase of the
various components separately.

Gateway's new 17-inch CrystalScan low emission monitor, manufactured
by Mag Innovision, is a noninterlaced color monitor that supports
resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 and has a 0.26mm dot pitch. The
company says the monitor already meets the MPRII Swedish emission
standards and Gateway says it will be Energy Star compliant by the
fourth quarter this year.

Non-interlaced monitors refresh the screen by scanning every line at
least 60 times every second. Interlaced monitors refresh by scanning
every other line and can cause some flicker. Energy Star is a
program introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency to set
voluntary standards for energy consumption.

The monitor has controls for picture size and position on a front
panel, as well as an LCD read-out screen that displays the current
picture resolution. A removable four-way tilt-and-swivel base is
included. The unit ships with 13 pre-programmed video modes, and
sells for $960 as a stand-alone unit or for $520 as an upgrade to a
Gateway 2000 personal computer system that includes Gateway's
15-inch 1572FS monitor. For systems that come with a Gateway
CS1024NI 14-inch monitor, the upgrade cost is $600.

Gateway says it is now offering a selection of CD-ROM based software
which can be chosen as a second application choice at the point of
purchase or through Gateway's component add-ons department. Software
prices start at $50, and include such programs as Microsoft Encarta,
Dinosaurs, Cinemania, Office, Multimedia Works, and Sound Bits.
Programs from other publishers include PCTools, San Diego Zoo, Mayo
Clinic Family Health Book, Time Almanac, Microprose Game Collection,
Multimedia Audio Collection for Windows, Jazz-A Multimedia History,
and The 7th guest. The company says more titles will be added
weekly.

(Jim Mallory/19930722/Press contact: Glynis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Gateway 2000, 312-868-9400; Reader contact:
Gateway 2000, 605- 232-2000, 800-523-2000)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00015)

SoftImage, Discreet Logic Battle Over Flame Software 07/23/93
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- An
Australian-developed graphics package has ignited a legal dispute
between two Montreal software companies, both of which claim to
own the software.

SoftImage has announced that it has acquired rights to the
source code of Flame, software for professional film and video
production, from DA Technology of Australia. But Discreet Logic
maintains it owns the rights to Flame, and has cancelled a
distribution agreement signed earlier this year that allowed
SoftImage to sell Flame in Europe.

SoftImage and Discreet Logic signed the distribution agreement in
January. At the time, maintained SoftImage director Louden Owen,
Discreet Logic assured SoftImage that it owned all rights to the
software, which Discreet Logic's director of advanced technology,
Gary Tragaskis, developed while working at DA Technology.

According to Pat Hunter, a spokeswoman for Discreet Logic,
Tragaskis was a partner in DA Technology and owned the rights to
the Flame software, which he brought with him to Canada and
Discreet Logic.

However, according to DA Technology and SoftImage, Tragaskis was
an employee of the Australian company, rights to the software
belonged to DA, and no rights were ever transferred to Tragaskis
or to Discreet Logic.

Owen said his company has investigated the situation carefully
and obtained two Australian legal opinions, and is convinced DA's
claim is valid, though he said "the courts will ultimately
decide."

After SoftImage signed the distribution agreement with Discreet
Logic, Owen said, DA Technology approached SoftImage with an
offer to sell the rights to Flame. SoftImage bought the rights
from DA. Discreet then cancelled the distribution agreement.
That, Hunter said, was because of SoftImage's action in buying
from DA the rights that Discreet Logic maintains belonged to it.

This week, SoftImage unsuccessfully sought this week to have
Quebec Superior Court force Discreet Logic to honor the
distribution agreement. Owen said what his company asked for was
"a very unusual type of remedy" in this sort of case, a "specific
performance" order against Discreet Logic. He said the over-all
dispute is still before the court, but added that for the time
being SoftImage is unable to continue selling Flame in Europe.

In a press release, SoftImage said it did not expect the
proceedings to have a material impact on its revenues. However,
in documents submitted to the court, the company said it "had
projected significant sales in connection with the Flame software
and associated hardware products. If SoftImage fails to meet its
sales target ... the value of SoftImage shares (approximately
US$20) will likely decrease as a result of a loss of confidence
by investors, its cost of capital will increase and its over-all
ability to obtain capital will be jeopardized."

SoftImage stock is traded on the NASDAQ over-the-counter system
in the United States.

(Grant Buckler/19930723/Press Contact: Louden Owen or John
Eckert, SoftImage, 514-845-1636; Pat Hunter, Artemis Hunter PR
for Discreet Logic, 613-247-0588)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00016)

Comm Software Sends, Receives Data Simultaneously 07/23/93
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Niwot Networks Inc.,
has added support for RS-232 modems to its communications package.
The program, which supports overlapped "get file" and "send file"
functions, also supports V.25 bis dialing.

The company says its PC-based Niwot DFT (direct file transfer),
includes a hardware adapter as well as the software, and allows
station-to-station or LAN-to-LAN (local area network) file transfers
on stand-alone PCs or networks using Novell Netware and other
popular network operating systems.

Jay Knutson, VP of Sales for Niwot, says that although the company's
focus has been optimizing bandwidth for synchronous communications
at 56 kilobits-per-second and higher, Niwot found that many users
who need to send large files over conventional telephone lines need
to do it via a modem, so the company added RS-232 modem support to
the program.

The ability to send large, high resolution files will appeal to
organization such as medical imaging companies transferring X-ray
images, engineering companies sending and receiving CAD (computer
aided design) files, and financial service companies or retailers
compiling large amounts of data. "Anyone needing to transfer large
amounts of data can use DFT to use their (phone) lines to the
fullest potential when costs are lowest," says Knutson. He says some
medical imaging services currently using DFT transmit as much as a
gigabyte of data daily, either station-to-station or LAN-to-LAN.

Knutson says that while there are other ways to get around the
problem of file transfers, DFT can avoid the slowdown caused by
protocol overhead. "I don't think anyone else has arrived at a
solution as efficient or as adaptable as ours."

The company says DFT's flexibility gives users an open upgrade path
to higher capacity services, including Fractional T3, just by
plugging in a new modem, DSU, ISDN Terminal or network adapter, or
I-MUX without the need to upgrade any of its software or hardware.

Niwot Direct File Transfer has a suggested retail price of $895 per
node, including file transfer software, V.25 bis dialing, AT command
set dialing, and the adapter.

(Jim Mallory/19930723/Press contact: Sally Smith, SSSmith &
Associates Public Relations for Niwot Networks Inc, 513- 897-0654;
Reader contact: Niwot Networks Inc, 303-444- 7765, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00017)

Cray Computer Loses $11 Million In 2Q 07/23/93
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) --
Struggling Cray Computer Corporation announced this week that
it had a net loss for the second quarter of 1993 of $11.8
million.

For the same period last year, Cray Computer reported a loss of
$11.9 million. This year's second quarter results amounted to a
$0.43 per share loss for stockholders. For the same period last year
shareholders recorded a $0.49 per share loss.

Cray Computer said the net loss for the six month period ending June
30, 1993 was $23.3 million, or $0.90 per share, compared to $25.8
million, or $1.07 per share for the same six months of 1992.

Cray Chief Financial Officer William G. Skolout says the loss was
expected. "The loss for the second quarter of 1993 was expected by
management as the company continued the development and manufacture
of Cray-3 supercomputer systems and increased its sales and
marketing activities."

Skolout said the company's cash position of about $37 million as of
June 30, 1993 has increased due to the private equity financing
completed in June 1993. For the six-month period ending December 31,
1992 the company had a cash position of $27.5 million. Property,
plant and equipment assets dropped about $5 million from the end of
1992.

Cray's problems started when it lost the contract for its first -
and at the time only - order for its Cray-3 supercomputer that
computer scientist Seymour Cray envisioned as running faster than
other supercomputers by using gallium arsenide technology. When Cray
couldn't meet a critical milestone for the demonstration of the
Cray-3 the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory switched its order
to Cray Research Corporation.

In January of last year a shareholder filed a class action suit
against the company claiming officials didn't let stockholders know
it would miss delivery deadlines, and that positive statements about
the company made by then-chief executive officer Neil Davenport were
"materially false and misleading." A few months later Davenport
resigned. In February the company said it would stop work on the
development of a full 16-processor version of the Cray-3 to work on
smaller versions.

In December, a senior lawyer at the Livermore Labs was charged
with insider trading after learning the lab would cancel its
contract for the Cray-3. There was no indication that Cray computer
was involved in the incident.

In May of this year Newsbytes reported that the company had
delivered its first Cray-3 for a six-month no-income evaluation and
demonstration period at the Boulder, Colorado-based National Center
for Atmospheric research.

Cray Computer replenished its dwindling cash reserves earlier this
year by selling additional stock, with a significant block of the
stock being purchased by founder Seymour Cray.

(Jim Mallory/19930723/Press contact: William Skolout, Cray Computer
Corporation, 719-579-6464)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00018)

Computers Track US Women's Open Golf Scores 07/23/93
CARMEL, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- As some of the world's
best women golfers shoot their second round in the 1993 Women's
US Open Golf Championships, a special computer system will almost
instantly relay the results to officials, the media, corporate
clients, players, and spectators.

An integrated network that links wireless terminals, distributed
workstations, and mainframe servers designed created and operated by
Unisys Corporation is tracking the progress of the 156 golfers at
Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis.

This isn't the first time computers have tracked the event. US
Golf Association President Stuart Bloch says the system has worked
well through nine tournaments.

Greenside scorers around the course are using hand-held devices to
transmit the results into a computer database. The scores are then
verified and displayed at more than 50 computer terminals throughout
the complex.

The system tracks individual golfers' scores, group summaries,
course and hole difficulty rankings, cut projections, and news
updates on the four-day championship tournament. It also sends
instant updates to the four "thru-boards" around the course,
displays that show spectators the names of the players approaching
the green and the cumulative score of the players through the
previous hole.

(Jim Mallory/19930723)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00019)

 ****President Clinton Showcases High-Tech Wireless Apps 07/23/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- At a high-tech photo-
op (photograph opportunity) held at the White House yesterday,
President Clinton promoted his Emerging Technologies Act and
other high-tech initiatives.

While looking at and sampling state-of-the-art telecommunications
facilities, President Clinton spoke to the assembled reporters
and high-tech company representatives about the importance of
getting the Administration's Emerging Technologies Act passed so
companies, especially computer-related companies, could take
greater advantage of currently under-utilized or restricted
portions of the radio spectrum.

Although it has mostly been ignored by the major media, this move
to open up a wider spectrum of radio frequencies, a segment now
used by the military and public safety groups, is part of the
present budget reconciliation efforts because it would involve
sale or licensing of frequencies by the Federal Communications
Commission.

The frequencies in question are currently made available free of
charge to federal, state, and local agencies, but under the
proposed changes these under-utilized frequencies would be sold
at auction to telecommunications companies, allowing them to
develop new products and services while earning the federal
government as much as $10 billion in fees.

The fate of the Emerging Technologies Act currently lies with the
joint House/Senate reconciliation committee which has been
meeting for several days to iron out differences between House
and Senate versions of the Clinton deficit reduction budget.

The Administration is currently pursuing a "full court press"
promoting the budget bill but is running into a lot of opposition
from Republican lawmakers. Many fear that even more problems
lie ahead because the powerful head of the House Ways and Means
(tax) Committee, Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), is thought to be
implicated in an ongoing investigation about improprieties
involving the House Post Office.

Because he is such a key figure in the Administration's push to
get this budget bill enacted, worries about Representative
Rostenkowski's possible legal troubles are shaking both the White
House and financial markets.

(John McCormick/19930723/)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00020)

Sanctuary Woods Acquires Mind F/X 07/23/93
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Sanctuary
Woods Multimedia Corporation has begun what may be a string of
acquisitions by announcing its purchase of Mind F/X, Inc., the
Toronto-based developer of such compact disk read-only memory
(CD-ROM) titles as Sitting on the Farm and The Cat Came Back.

Mind F/X is known for its early learning CD-ROMs, especially in
the area of language arts, company officials said.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The employees of
Mind F/X are to join Sanctuary Woods, and Rosemarie Shannon,
president of the Toronto company, will become producer of
Sanctuary Woods' I-learn line of line of CD-ROM titles. In
addition to continuing with its own titles, Mind F/X will be
developing products for the I-learn brand, Sanctuary Woods
officials said.

"We bought everything," said Sanctuary Woods spokeswoman Renee
Courington. Mind F/X's Toronto operations will remain intact, but
become part of Sanctuary Woods' CD-ROM development group.

Courington said Sanctuary Woods is working on several other
acquisitions as part of an aggressive expansion plan, and hopes
to make further announcements soon.

Sanctuary Woods, which has its official headquarters and
development operations in Victoria, British Columbia, and its
executive offices and U.S. headquarters in San Mateo, California,
develops entertainment and educational multimedia titles under
the I-learn, I-tales, and I-ventures brands, for Intel-based and
Apple Macintosh PCs and for 3DO hardware. The company was founded
in 1988.

(Grant Buckler/19930723/Press Contact: Jane Dryden, Sanctuary
Woods, 415-578-6351; Renee Courington, Sanctuary Woods,
415-578-6343)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00021)

Acer Licenses ChipUp CPU Upgrade Technology To Intel 07/23/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- In a newly
announced deal, Acer has licensed ChipUp to Intel, and has also
given Intel the right to sublicense the patented CPU upgrade
technology to other interested computer makers.

Part of Acer's PC technology for the past 18 months or so, ChipUp
allows CPU upgrades to be made by switching just a chip instead of
an entire motherboard, said Lee Cannon, Acer's vice president of
marketing, in an interview with Newsbytes.

The technology is based on motherboard circuitry with autosensing
BIOS that is able to recognize when a new Intel processor has been
inserted.

Cannon told Newsbytes that ChipUp will accept any Intel processor
being shipped today, along with higher-speed Intel processors,
including the Pentium, as they become available.

To upgrade the system, the user simply inserts the new chip into a
slot in the motherboard and adjusts a couple of jumpers.

ChipUp saves time in the manufacturing process by letting computer
makers use one standard motherboard, instead of multiple boards for
various configurations, the vice president emphasized.

"In the past, there were different boards for, let's say, an SX and
a DX processor. Now computer makers can use the same board, merely
plugging in the appropriate CPU at the end of the line," he told
Newsbytes.

Under the sublicensing agreement included in the new pact, Intel
can offer its CPU customers the right to manufacture, sell or use
ChipUp technology, paying royalty fees to Acer for that right.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930723/Press contacts: Lee Cannon or Michelle
Fitts, Acer, tel [phone]; Gavin Bourne or Veronica Skelton,
Wilson McHenry Company for Acer, tel [phone])


(CORRECTION)(APPLE)(SFO)(00022)

CORRECTION - Mac IIfx Accelerator 07/23/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Newsbytes wishes
to update this story which appeared on this wire July 20 and was
written by Computer Currents. The story featured a phone
number which has been changed.

Spectrum Computer's $200 hardware upgrade for the Macintosh IIfx
accelerates the IIfx to 50MHz and provides as much as a 32-percent
improvement in performance over the standard Mac IIfx, the company
says.

The Mach 5 Upgrade brings the IIfx to near-Quadra 700 and 900
performance at a fraction of the cost. The $200 upgrade includes
on-site installation by Apple-certified technicians (in the San
Francisco Bay Area) and comes with a 90-day parts and labor
warranty, and one year free telephone technical support.
The Mach 5 Upgrade can also be installed by sending your IIfx
to Spectrum Computer; upgrades are shipped within 24 hours
of receipt.

The new phone number for the company is 408-338-6238. A
company spokesman tells Newsbytes that there was trouble with
a previous line and the local phone company has not been
referring calls to this new number.

(Wendy Woods/19930723)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00023)

Review of - Sesame Street Learning Library, Vol 1 & 2 07/23/93

Runs on: PCs with CGA graphics and as little as 256K of memory,
MS-DOS 2.1 or higher

From: Hi Tech Expressions, 584 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, 212-
941-1224

Price: $49.95 in some stores

PUMA Rating: 3 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana and Robin Blankenhorn

Summary: If you've given your preschooler an old PC with CGA
graphics, run, don't walk, and find these programs before they're
out of stock.

======

REVIEW

======

It's hard to find software for a preschooler's computer. That's
because it's usually mom or dad's old, obsolete computer. In the
case of Robin Blankenhorn, it's an old XT with a 40-megabyte hard
drive, but CGA graphics. It does have a Sound Blaster card
attached to a Yamaha keyboard, but the chip's too slow and the
graphics are too primitive to handle any of the new software.

The Sesame Street Learning Library is essentially a re-release of
some programs originally written in the mid-80s under license
from the Childrens' Television Workshop, which produces the show.
While they retail for $49.95 each, with three programs in each
package, you'll have to hustle to find them. Hi Tech Creations
told Newsbytes the license with CTW has expired, and they're just
selling out the inventory through the end of the year.

Too bad. Robin likes this stuff. In Volume One, she really liked
"Ernie's Magic Shapes." A figure of Ernie is on the left-side of
the screen. A shape, or set of shapes, is above him. When a new
shape pops up on the right matching part of what's above Ernie,
hit the up-arrow. If there's no match, hit the down. When you
complete the shape, a rabbit appears next to Ernie and applauds
you.

Big Bird's Special Delivery is a bit more complex. In its higher
level, you see an item, like a car, and four boxes above with
other items. You want to match what you see to what's similar up-
above -- sporting goods with sporting goods, for instance. I got
one wrong, matching a baseball glove with a woman's glove. Robin
laughed. She likes it when daddy makes mistakes.

Volume Two teachers some higher-level skills. Grover's Animal
Adventures have four settings. You place Grover in the picture,
then place various animals and things like clouds in the picture,
using the arrow keys. Careful, though -- the software won't let
you put the giraffe in the air or the cloud on the ground.

Ernie's Big Splash was frustrating to Robin, mainly because daddy
didn't explain the directions well. The idea is to use the space
bar to bring up puzzle sections that will help Rubber Ducky reach
Ernie in his tub. The F5 and F7 keys move ducky along the path.
When dad went to watch TV, Robin got frustrated, because the
Ducky kept getting farther from Ernie and she kept looking for
places to send Ducky, not necessarily pieces that would send
Ducky to Ernie.

There were few problems with either disk. Our copy of "Astro
Grover," on the first disk, hung up my machine, but a warm boot
fixed that and the company has a liberal return policy, I was
told. The disks run under DesqView, and they're among the few
games left that will run right off the disks they're on
-- you don't have to transfer the games to a hard drive, so your
youngster can fire-em-up in your machine if he or she likes that.
Some adult supervision helps, although Robin followed the
directions pretty quickly. The supervision is not just so the kid
will do the game right -- it's so you and the kid can enjoy some
quality time together.

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

PUMA RATING

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

PERFORMANCE: (3.5) Fun for the little ones. And it runs off
floppies.

USEFULNESS: (3) The pre-learning skills taught here will be of
value in kindergarten or first grade.

MANUAL: (3) Folded sheets explain the games while you play, and
there's a simple parent's workbook that explains the skills
involved and helps you teach them.

AVAILABILITY: (2.5) You should find these at computer stores and
software shops, probably for less than list price. But hurry --
they'll only be available through the end of the year.

(Dana Blankenhorn & Robin Blankenhorn/19930713/Press Contact:
Andy Lavin, Middleburg & Ass., 130 E. 59th St., New York, NY
10022, 212-888-6610)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(WAS)(00024)

Review of - Spanish Assistant Bi-Directional Translator 07/23/93

Runs on: IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible with minimum 640K RAM memory;
DOS 2.1 or above; hard disk with at least 2.5 megabytes of
storage space available.

From: MicroTac Software, 4655 Cass St., Suite 214, San Diego, CA
92109. 619-272-5700 or fax [phone].

Price: $80

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale of 1=lowest and 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Rick Bender

Summary: Spanish Assistant version 5 is an excellent bi-
directional translation tool for people with little/no knowledge
of Spanish because it offers grammar hints and helps with verb
conjugations as well as word translations.

======

REVIEW

======

With many people having to learn Spanish for the first time, or
for those who are taking Spanish as part of their career
preparations (like me, a fourth-year college student),
bilinguality is increasing in importance. For those who cannot
speak Spanish like a native, Spanish Assistant can help build
vocabulary and translate words and documents.

Translation is done on a line-by-line basis, or the document may
be done all at once in batch mode; Spanish Assistant
automatically converts the document from Word Perfect, Microsoft
Word and other formats to ASCII standard for batch translation.
Text can also be entered from the built-in text editor.

One of the features I like best about Spanish Assistant is the
verb conjugator. Verbs are crucial in any language, and help with
conjugating the 15 or more verb tenses that exist in Spanish is
always appreciated, even by someone with years of Spanish
classes. If you don't recall exactly what the present perfect
subjunctive tense is, you can pop up the verb conjugator and find
out.

Another particularly useful feature is the way the dictionary and
grammar helps can be operated in memory-resident (TSR) mode for
use while working in a word processor. These tools only take up
8K of RAM in memory-resident mode, whereas in normal operations
the entire program occupies 2.5MB.

The translation is reasonably fast, with a short sentence taking
about six seconds for the initial translation when running on an
older Zeos 16 MHz 80386SX.

The program then systematically checks word by word and prompts
with choices, so if any word is incorrect it can be changed
interactively. All-in-all, it takes seven to 10 seconds to
translate a short sentence of, say, seven or eight words.

In batch mode (as opposed to interactive mode) it is even faster,
but accuracy decreases because translation isn't checked by the
user as it can be in line-by-line mode.

Spanish Assistant 5 would be very helpful for business use
because it can be operated in either line-by-line mode or batch
mode. It also helps to have the dictionaries and verb conjugator
in memory-resident mode because they can be used to check
translation while not taking up much memory space. Another plus
is the grammar help, which can explain verbs and other parts of
speech to a non-Spanish-speaking client or user.

SA5 is definitely faster than doing things by hand even if you
are only translating something as simple as a short letter.

===========

PUMA Rating

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4 Fast, very easy to use, and powerful.

USEFULNESS: 4 Useful for business and student translation tasks.

MANUAL: 4 Simply and clearly written.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Mail order only from MicroTac Software; you
aren't likely to find this sort of software at a computer store.

(Rick Bender/19930610/Press Contact: Michael E. Tacelosky,
Microtac, 619-272-5700, fax [phone])


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

 ****Hayes Supports V.Fast Modem Technology 07/23/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Hayes Microcomputer
Products, the modem manufacturer, has announced plans to support an
interim version of the V.Fast modem standard, known as V.Fast Class
(V.FC), in its next range of modems.

The V.FC standard is capable of data transmissions of 28,800 bits
per second (bps) and, according to company President Dennis Hayes,
in no way attempts to preempt current development work on the full
V.Fast modem standard by the ITU-TS (formerly the CCITT)
international telecoms regulatory body.

Ironically, Bill Pechey, Hayes' Northern European technical manager,
is on the ITU-TS study group that is researching and discussing the
V.Fast standard. Dennis Hayes told Newsbytes that Pechey is "very
comfortable~ with the company's position with V.FC.

Speaking with Newsbytes from his Atlanta headquarters, Dennis Hayes
explained that his company has been working closely with Rockwell
International, a major producer of modem chipsets, since June of
last year. The idea was to develop an interim standard that used
most of the V.Fast technology, and that could be introduced in a
shorter time frame as possible, given the delays in agreeing the
full V.Fast specification.

Dennis Hayes told Newsbytes that two factors influenced his decision
to support an interim standard. Firstly, as the company talked to
its customers, it realized there was a clear need for pumping data
over an analogue modem as fast as possible.

"Secondly, it also became clear to us that V.Fast was not developing
as quickly as we first thought. It's now expected in the summer or
fall of 1994. That's not a bad thing, but we think there is a need
for an interim fast modem standard now," he said.

So is Hayes preempting the ITU-TS on V.Fast? No way, claims Dennis
Hayes. If anything, he argues, by teaming with Rockwell on V.FC,
which he claims produces chipsets for 70 percent of the modems on
sale in the market today, will take the pressure off the V.Fast
study group.

"The pressure is off them to agree a standard in a rush. They can
take their time and produce a modem transmission technology that,
unless we're mistaken, will push the limits of data over analogue
networks as far as it can go," he said.

"Because of the fact that V.Fast is something the modem industry is
going to have to live with for some time to come -- possibly as long
as we have phone lines -- it's important they get things right. If
they need to take a few extra months to get everything just right,
then they can do," he said.

Dennis Hayes noted that supporting V.FC is not as revolutionary as
some people might think. "We supported a proprietary 9600 bps
standard with our early V series of modems, just companies such as
US Robotics did with their HST modems. We continue to support the V
series protocol in our latest modems and intend to support V.FC in
our eventual V.Fast modems," he said.

Hayes admitted that there is real way that a V.FC modem can be
software-only upgraded to the eventual full implementation of
V.Fast. He said that hardware upgrades will be available when the
full V.Fast modems start shipping and, anyway, V.Fast modems from
Hayes will support the V.FC system for a long time to come.

"Consumers need not worry that their V.FC modems will become
obsolete. We've taken care of that," he said.

Newsbytes drew parallels between V.FC and the V.Terbo modem standard
announced by AT&T and others earlier this year. V.Terbo pushes modem
transmissions to 19,800 bps over standard phone lines. Dennis Hayes
rejected any comparison between V.Terbo and V.FC, claiming that
V.Terbo does not perform anywhere near as well (as V.Fast) over a
standard phone line as V.FC.

"V.Terbo was a compromise and performance tailed off at the high
end. V.FC is as much an interim implementation of the V.Fast
standard as it stands today," he said.

"While we're first to announce our support of the V.FC standard and
expect to ship modems supporting the system quite soon, we also
expect other modem manufacturers to follow suit and possibly ship
their V.FC modems to market faster than us," he added.

So, how fast does V.FC go? In demonstrations at the COMDEX Fall
computer show late last year, Hayes achieved data transmissions of
115,200 bps using data compression. These impressive figures compare
very favorably with those achieved over integrated services digital
network (ISDN) links, Newsbytes notes.

(Steve Gold/19930723/Press & Public Contact: Hayes - Tel: 404-840-
9200)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00026)

Media Vision Intros New Audio Chipsets 07/23/93
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Media Vision
says sound is no longer a specialty item for Intel-based
personal computers (PCs). As a result, the company is offering
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) two new low-voltage
audio chipsets for integration into desktop as well as laptop
PCs.

Over 50 OEMs currently use Media Vision audio products for PCs,
the company asserts. Developed with integration onto the
motherboard in mind, the company says the Jazz and Jazz16
chipsets are compatible with the popular Sound Blaster and Ad
Lib products supported in most software applications. Each
offers a "sleep" mode for power conservation and can record and
playback digital sound in either stereo or mono at sampling
rates of up to 44.1 kilohertz (kHz). Also included is a built-
in musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) transmit and
receive port, a games-compatible joystick interface, and
support for OPL2 (mono) or OPL3 (stereo) FM synthesizers.

The 8-bit Jazz supports the multimedia personal computer (MPC)
Level 1 standard and the 16-bit Jazz16 supports the MPC Level 2
standard. The Jazz chipset offers the MVD1208 8-bit audio
controller, the MVA408 8-bit compression/decompression (codec),
and the MVA514 mixer. The Jazz16 chipset offers the MVD1216 16-
bit audio controller, the MVA416 16-bit codec, and the MVA514
mixer used by the Jazz chipset. The MVD1216 supports in
hardware the IMA (International Multimedia Association)
standard audio compression and decompression. Media Vision has
already offered a software implementation of the IMA codec
standard to software developers royalty-free to get the
standard into widespread use in applications.

Media Vision asserts its new chipsets offer the advantages of
higher integration than other chip-level sound products, which
is particularly important in the new, smaller computers being
introduced. While company officials say they can't release the
names of OEMs that have already adopted the new chipset for use
in hardware applications, officials did mention consumers will
begin seeing retail products containing the chipsets probably
before the end of the year. In quantity the Jazz chipset sells
for $17.50, while the Jazz16 is offered for $21.50.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930723/Press Contact: Elizabeth Fairchild,
Media Vision, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00027)

 ****1,500 Developers Interested In Newton Toolkit 07/23/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Apple
Computer's Personal Interactive Electronics (PIE) division said
despite the fact that it hasn't officially released the Newton
Messagepad personal digital assistant (PDA), it has had
inquiries from 1,500 developers concerning its Newton Toolkit
for software application development.

The Toolkit, announced in May, has been out in an early, test
release but Apple said it won't be in widespread distribution
until this fall.

Apple describes the Newton Toolkit as having its own
programming language, Newtonscript, as well as offering
graphical layout capabilities and built-in Newton components.
The company asserts the kit will support content, applications
development, and authoring tools. No information as to the
pricing of the Newton Toolkit was forthcoming from Apple.

Apple representatives said about twenty developers have had
access to beta copies of the Toolkit. Some of the applications
developed at the beta sites will be available in August when
the first Newton Messagepads are released at Macworld Boston.
When asked what the criteria was for determining who got beta
copies of the Newton Toolkit, Apple representatives were
uncertain. Two criteria mentioned were the resources of the
developer and how close the developer was to offering a viable
product.

Clones of the Newton are expected, providing a potentially
broad hardware base for Newton applications. Philip Ivanier,
Development Relations Manager at PIE said: "Developers are
attracted by Apple's licensing of 'Newton Intelligence' to
major corporations such as Matsushita, Motorola, and Sharp. And
since Apple's worldwide developer conference in May we have
held some workshops for developers in the United States, Japan,
and Europe, shipped a comprehensive suite of developer tools --
the Newton Toolkit -- and we are in the closing stages of
formulating a full developer program that has been receiving
excellent early reviews from the community. This program will
encompass a variety of options to address the needs of
different developers."

(Linda Rohrbough/19930723/Press Contact: Frank O'Malley, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Electronic
Contact for Interested Newton Developers, Applelink,
Newton.dev; Public Contact, 800-776-2333)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00028)

Meiko Scientific Wins Lawrence Livermore Lab Contract 07/23/93
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Meiko
Scientific has won a contract to provide a $17.5 million CS-2
computer system to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL) in California.

John Fuchs-Chesney, spokesperson for the company, told
Newsbytes that the contract, "entails the delivery of a large
massively parallel supercomputer to the laboratory."

According to the company, the CS-2 system ordered includes
hundreds of microprocessors and "massive" global memory with
an exceptionally large I/O (input/output) capability and parallel
filing system.

The company says that the system will be located in the
LLNL computer center and will be configured to support hundreds
of simultaneous users in a production environment. They are set
to run a large variety of applications, including traditional
supercomputing codes and large scale data management
applications.

Fuchs-Chesney also told Newsbytes that the contract win
"is very important for us, because it is a significant
breakthrough into the US marketplace. We've sold other
systems before, but not on a scale like this."

The system is being manufactured in the United States and
uses a vector supercomputer architecture for its individual
processing elements.

The company also says that high performance computing has been
a vital ingredient in enabling science and engineering research in
recent years. Computational science and engineering is now used
to explore and validate issues and details beyond the reach of
conventional theory and experiment.

Computational power and cost performance are fueling the
revolution, claims the company. The only remaining barrier to this
revolution is sufficient available computational power. The
company says that the next big push will come from an increase in
supercomputer performance of at least a thousand-fold, and that
the only means of scaling the performance barriers is with scalable
computers containing hundreds of processors.

(Ian Stokell/19930723/Press Contact: John Fuchs-Chesney,
415-952-9900, Meiko Scientific Corp.)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00029)

Oracle Adds Alpha AXP Support To Oracle7 07/23/93
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Oracle
Corp., has announced that its Oracle7 database management system
product is now in production on DEC OSF/1 for Alpha AXP and
OpenVMS for Alpha AXP.

Jennifer Keavney, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes
that, "Oracle7 runs on over 82 platforms. This is the most recent
announcement of a platform. It is significant in that Oracle7's
claim is that it runs on practically any platform. This adds
to the background for that (claim) and for the whole idea of
Oracle7, and Oracle products in general."

The company maintains that Oracle7 for Alpha AXP supports
all of the product's features.

Jerry Baker, senior vice president of Oracle's Product Line Division,
said: "Our commitment to the Digital market and our cooperative
efforts with Digital ensure that Oracle7 is the state of the art
database for Alpha AXP systems. Oracle is the largest RDBMS vendor
in the Digital market and I am confident that new customers, third
parties and existing Oracle/VAX customers choosing to migrate
will be extremely satisfied with Oracle7 on Alpha AXP systems."

The company says that the Oracle7's adaptable multi-threaded
server architecture delivers scalable high performance for very
large numbers of users on all hardware architectures.

Performance gains for Oracle7 running in the Alpha AXP
environments are claimed to come from the "high speed of the
Alpha AXP system and the fact that these two new releases
are natively compiled."

The company also claims that investments in Unix-based
applications are also preserved due to the portability of Oracle
and the flexibility of DEC OSF/1, which can act as any of three
familiar Unix standards: SVR4, BSD, or OSF/1.

(Ian Stokell/19930723/Press Contact: Michelle Bertnick,
415-506-4176, Oracle Corp.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Apple Executives Accused of Insider Trading 07/23/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 JUL 23 (NB) -- Apple is
under fire from investors who have filed class-action suits and
who bought stock between Oct 15, 1992, and July 15, 1993. The
charges are the company and its executive officers participated
in insider trading.

Several suits, as many as five, may have been filed, but Apple
Computer representatives know of only one suit so far. Named in
the suit, besides the company, is John Sculley, (former chief
executive officer now chairman), Michael Spindler (CEO), Joseph
Graziano (chief financial officer), Armas Markkula Jr (director),
Arthur Rock (director), and Morris Taradalsky (vice-president).

Apple did report in June it was struggling with lower profit
margins on its products and said it would show lower earnings
for the first half of its 1993 fiscal year. But the $188.3
million in losses reported July 15 in the company's second
quarter earnings statement took investors and analysts by
surprise. Apple stock has dropped almost a third in value since
the beginning of the year and lost another 23 percent in a
single day following the quarterly statement. At Newsbytes'
deadline, Apple stock began to climb again, from a low of $26
Thursday to $27.50 per share Friday.

Attorney for the investors, Patrick Couglin of the San Diego
firm of Milbey, Weiss is reported as saying the executives
named in the suit allegedly could have made as much as $25
million by selling stock. Some of the stock cost them as little
as $7.85 per share and sold for as much as $61 a share.

However, Apple representatives said company executives closely
follow the Securities and Exchange Commission rules for buying
and selling company stock and all the information is public
knowledge. Company officials said suits such as the ones
reported are commonplace when companies report losses. The
company released a statement saying the lawsuit is totally
without merit and it intends to oppose all claims and expects
to prevail.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930723/Press Contact: Kate Paisley, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])