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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- In the story of this title which ran on Newsbytes on August 26, the wrong phone number was given for Techno-marketing Inc., (TMI) creator of the floppy disk formatting software that enables a single diskette to be read on IBM-compatible and Macintosh computers without any special hardware or software.
The public contact number given was 612-830-7984. This is not correct. The correct number is 612-830-1984.
Newsbytes regrets the error.
(Wendy Woods/19941007)
Newsbytes regrets the error.
(Wendy Woods/19941007)
10/10/94
Correction - Floppies For Use By PCs, Macs Simultaneously
GENERAL
Microsoft Offers Solution Server
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
READING, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Mannesmann Tally (MT) has cut the price of its T-WIN four pages-per-minute (ppm) laser printer from UKP499 to UKP349. The company claims that the price cut will offer better value for customers, as well as putting the squeeze on the competition.
Duncan Vass, MT's product manager, said that, although the company intends to continue supplying inkjet printers for some time yet, it believes that the price cut makes the cost of a laser comparable to that of an inkjet. He said that inkjets tend to cost more to run than lasers, making the T-WIN a good buy.
"The distinction between the laser and inkjet marketplaces has been blurring for some time and we have now arrived at the point where we believe Windows laser printers offer a better alternative to many inkjet printers, in terms of the price versus performance equation," he said.
According to Vass, it has always been assumed that "the cost per page of inkjet printing is lower than laser printing. In reality, the costs of market-leading inkjet products can be 30 to 60 percent higher per page than the T-WIN. There will still be demand for inkjets but laser printing is now set to erode many traditional inkjet markets such as the home and small office user."
The T-WIN, Newsbytes notes, is a laser that is very light on electronics. This is made possible, the company claims, by transferring most of the processing required for printing each page over to the PC, drawing on software running under the Microsoft Windows driver utilities.
By dispensing with electronics and what MT calls "complicated front panels," the company claims a lower price point and smaller printer than the competition.
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Truevision has announced the Targa 2000, which it claims is the industry's first affordable full motion 640 by 480 pixel video capture and playback card for Microsoft Windows.
The UKP4,350 card comes with no less than 20 megabytes (MB) of memory on board and is billed as the only high-end video engine that outputs video, while playing a video in a window image on its output port at the same time. The card can support resolutions of up to 1,152 by 870 at 24 bits per pixel and is capable of recording and playing back high-quality professional stereo sound, the company claims.
"The card delivers the highest quality compressed video available in today's PC environment, without the use of expensive disk arrays or RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) technology to achieve good quality recording or playback," explained Jon Barter of Rasterops Truevision, the parent company of Truevision.
According to Barter, the card is exciting, since it puts Windows users "on the cutting edge of the 60 field per second digital video production market, delivering all the benefits that were previously only enjoyed by Mac and Amiga users."
The card is based on Truevision DVR technology. The architecture of the card is a series of logical components that encode, decode process, and store digital video. Under DVR, all parts of the architecture share a large central memory, with no processing of analog video streams required. All processing is carried out digitally on single frames until the data is converted back into an analog signal for display or output.
(Steve Gold/19941007/Press & Reader Contact: Jon Barter Rasterops UK, +44-256-59283)
Contact: Jon Barter Rasterops UK, +44-256-59283)
10/10/94
UK - Truevision's Targa 2000 Windows Video Card
WINDOWS
UK - Truevision's Targa 2000 Win
CompuServe UK Adds What's On Gui
READING, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- CompuServe has added a "what's on" guide to its growing list of UK-specific services available in the UK & European areas of the online service.
Updated on a weekly basis, the UK What's On Guide (type GO UKWO) includes entries on thousands of films, plays, concerts, dances, art and photo exhibitions, and special events, all available on an interactive and searchable basis.
The database is supplied to CompuServe by Listings Limited and according to Andrew Burgess, CompuServe UK's product development manager, is searchable by venue name, event name, location, and event type.
"The guide is an excellent complement to the growing list of local content products for our fast growing UK membership," he said, adding that other new products planned for the UK side of the service include rail time-tables, road traffic information, a guide to UK pubs, and stock quotes.
According to Burgess, the service has been designed to allow users to formulate their questions easily and enter them in on the search menus. No extra charge is being levied for the UK service, Newsbytes notes.
(Steve Gold/19941007/Press & Reader Contact: CompuServe UK tel +44-734-391064, fax +44-734-566458; Internet electronic-mail 70006.101@compuserve.com)
ctronic-mail 70006.101@compuserve.com)
10/10/94
CompuServe UK Adds What's On Guide
ONLINE
Adobe Ships Persuasion 3.0 For W
FCC Defaults 13 Interactive TV B
D WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- The Federal Communications Commission has informed 13 parties that their successful bids for Interactive Video and Data Services licenses are invalid because they failed to make down payments.
According to spokeswoman Susan Sallett, the FCC will re-auction the interactive TV licenses. The date for that sale has not been set, although the FCC might add the licenses to the next big license auction, set for December 5.
The defaulters will have to pay the FCC a penalty -- based on the difference between their winning bid and the winning bid when the license is re-sold, plus a three percent penalty.
Down payments were due in August, but several of those who defaulted asked for more time to make the payments. The two largest bidders--Commercial Reality St. Pete Inc. of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Interactive America Corp. of Costa Mesa California -- argued that they were misled about the availability of the equipment needed to implement interactive TV.
But Michael Sheward, a spokesman for Eon Corp. of Reston Virginia, a leading vendor of the set-top boxes, told Newsbytes "There will be no problem in delivering equipment."
The FCC also displayed no patience for the issue of equipment availability. "The status of equipment availability is a matter which we believe prudent business persons would investigate prior to committing thousands or millions of dollars for an IVDS license," said the agency in a statement. "Bidders who won IVDS licenses without fully understanding these matters should not be able to shift responsibility for their actions onto the government."
The FCC said the companies and individuals who are losing licenses, in addition to Commercial Realty St. Pete and Interactive America are: American Classic Financial Co. of Haverford, Pa.; The Broward Times of Broward County, Fla.; Tarik Choudhury of Safety Harbor, Fla.; Manoranjan Das, Safety Harbor, Fla.; Ruth Das, Safety Harbor, Fla.; Rasputin International, Safety Harbor, Fla.; Louisiana Interactive Broadcasting System of Baton Rouge, La.; Henry Mayfield of Washington, D.C.; Phoenix Data Communications of Chesapeake Va.; James Speights of Washington, D.C.; and Vision TV of New York, N.Y.
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- The Clinton administration's "digital telephony" bill to make it easier for the Federal Bureau of Investigations to conduct wiretaps of new telephone technologies as on the president's desk for signature.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously late Friday night and an identical measure had passed the House under suspension of the rules last Wednesday. The President has said he will sign the bill, which faced last-ditch opposition from some civil liberties groups that tried to mount an Internet mail and fax lobbying campaign to derail it.
"Congress worked diligently over a period of many months to fashion this crucial legislation," said FBI Director Louis Freeh. The bill was the product of considerable negotiation between the FBI and the bill's opponents, initially including the telephone companies.
The telephone companies objected to the costs of installing the equipment necessary to give the FBI the ability to tap digital switches and lines. So the administration agreed to a $500 million fund of taxpayer dollars to pay for the changes.
When the telcos objected that $500 million might not be enough the administration agreed to a provision that sets up Federal Communications Commission hearings on the need for additional subsidies. Also, the General Accounting Office will report every two years on the modifications the industry is making.
The administration also made compromises with civil libertarians. When the measure first surfaced during the Bush administration, for example, it would have allowed wiretaps of online communications including electronic-mail. The Clinton administration agreed to exempt online service providers from the requirement to make equipment modifications.
Law enforcement agencies will have to get a court-order to obtain e-mail addresses, instead of the easier to obtain subpoenas which are now required.
The FBI's Freeh is given most of the credit for the passage of the bill. He lobbied personally on the issue and made it the agency's top legislative priority. "He was everywhere," a Senate aide told Newsbytes, "telling anyone who would listen that the agency needed this authority to fight terrorism espionage, and the drug lords."
(Kennedy Maize/19941010)
lords."
(Kennedy Maize/19941010)
10/10/94
Digital Wiretap Bill At White House
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Me
C REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Medio Multimedia Inc., an up- and-coming multimedia CD-ROM publisher that offers a general-interest multimedia magazine, has received an equity investment from Vulcan Ventures Inc., Paul Allen's investment organization.
Steve Podradchik, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Medio, told Newsbytes that the money will be used to help finance the company's aggressive growth plans. He said the investment gives Allen's organization a minority position in the company and a seat on Medio's board of directors.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Vern Raburn president and CEO of the Paul Allen Group, has joined Medio's board of directors.
In an interview, Podradchik told Newsbytes the company intends to develop advanced applications of multimedia technology with CD-ROMs and online services. Podradchik also said that the investment funds will help finance Medio's development efforts assist with sales and marketing in existing retail channels, and for developing a stronger presence in emerging channels, such as bookstore and videostore chains.
According Podradchik, "This infusion of capital is the jump-start to boost Medio into our next growth phase as a leader in digital media. More importantly, this investment allows us to potentially work with the other companies Paul Allen has invested in to leverage our collective efforts."
Podradchik added, "His (Allen's) investment in Medio represents an endorsement of our strategic product and business decisions."
According to Raburn, "Medio has chosen the right categories where they can sustain high-growth. Plus, they have the proven ability to ship products on time and within budget."
Medio's six products are distributed in 35 countries. The company's titles include: Medio Magazine, JFK Assassination: A Visual Investigation, Exploring Ancient Architecture, Jets!, Midnight Movie Madness, and World Beat.
Medio says it will introduce three new CD-ROM titles this Fall. In all, the company will have released eight titles and a monthly multimedia magazine within a 15-month period.
(Nick Anis/19941010/Press Contact: Pam Miller or Tamese Robinson, Kaufer Miller Communications, tel 206-450-9965 fax 206-450-9963, CompuServe e-mail 74073,2342; Vulcan Ventures, Susan Pierson, 206-453-1940)
073,2342; Vulcan Ventures, Susan Pierson, 206-453-1940)
10/10/94
Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Medio Equity Investment
BUSINESS
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
EAST FISHKILL, NEW YORK, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- IBM (NASDAQ:IBM) and Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) have announced the joint venture agreement the companies signed on September 8 to manufacture semiconductor wafers for each other using IBM's submicron wafer processing technology, has been completed.
According to the companies, completion of the agreement has officially created a new company, called Micrus. The companies were careful to point out there is no product licensing involved in this agreement.
The deal is limited to the "manufacture" of CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) wafers with line widths in the 0.8 to 0.5 micron range and below. It will involve the use of IBM sub-microm wafer processing technology and Cirrus's design capabilities.
The two companies, which have been in negotiations for the past year, and the resulting new company will begin operations in January 1994.
Micrus will be taking over an existing 175,000 square-foot IBM facility located at the Hudson Valley Research Park in East Fishkill, New York. The plant, which IBM is currently using to make four megabyte DRAM chips will continue to be owned by IBM.
Company sources told Newsbytes that Micrus will be leasing the facility. The new company expects to be in limited production at the plant by January, 1995, and in volume production of IBM and Cirrus Logic products by mid-1995.
Tom Rigoli, spokesperson for Cirrus Logic, told Newsbytes that Cirrus and IBM expect wafer costs from Micrus to be significantly lower than other foundry sources.
IBM spokesperson, Tom Smith, told Newsbytes that IBM owns 52 percent of Micrus and Cirrus Logic owns 48 percent. According to Smith, the term of this joint agreement is initially set for eight years.
Stanley J. Grubel, formerly director of procurement and capital planning, IBM Microelectronics Division, who was previously running the plant for IBM, has been named chief executive officer (CEO) of the new venture.
Much of the impetus for the deal was reportedly IBM's under-capacity condition and the fact that the Hudson Valley area is economically depressed. Additionally, New York State is providing tax incentives low-interest rate loans, and discounted utility rates, as an enticement because the new venture will create 400 jobs. Many of the new hires for the plant will be IBM employees
Sources at IBM and Cirrus Logic told Newsbytes that the two firms will be jointly providing Micrus with about $200 million of capital equipment for the expansion of operations. Cirrus and IBM will provide $100 million each in capital equipment over a period of six quarters. Additionally, a Cirrus Logic source told Newsbytes that it is investing $80 million in cash in Micrus in fiscal years 1995 and 1996, for intellectual property licensing, and for working capital.
The State of New York Job Development Authority (JDA) and Urbal Development Corporation (UDC) are providing $40 million in long-term low-interest rate loans to help fund the venture, in addition to reduced power rates and tax reductions.
Rigoli told Newsbytes that Cirrus does not expect the earnings-per share in fiscal years 1995 and 1996 to be significantly effected from the venture.
(Nick Anis/19941010/Press Contact: Jim Smith, IBM Corp. 914-892-5389; Cecili Bailey, Cirrus, 510-226-2259)
89; Cecili Bailey, Cirrus, 510-226-2259)
10/10/94
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now Final
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- At Unix Expo, Lotus announced plans to roll out the first versions of Notes for SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) Unix, HP-UX, and IBM AIX, over the next 45 days, starting in October, and to deliver Ami Pro 3.0 for Sun Solaris in November.
At a meeting with Newsbytes in the Lotus briefing room, Anne S. Hoffman, product marketing manager, and Antonio M. Parham, group product manager for Lotus Notes, said that Lotus will release an upgrade to Notes for Solaris in the same time frame as the other three new editions of Notes 3.2 for Unix. Ami Pro 3.0 for HP-UX the first edition of Lotus' word processor to be available for Unix, shipped in May.
With the new versions of Notes and Ami Pro for Unix, Lotus is expanding into telecommunications, utilities, and other technical/scientific Unix markets, as well as into the growing numbers of commercial environments that are now migrating to Unix, the two Lotus executives explained.
The new Notes 3.2 for SCO, HP-UX, AIX and Solaris will provide full client-server capabilities, and will also mark Lotus' introduction of LEL (link, embed and launch-to-edit) object technology, Hoffman told Newsbytes.
LEL is aimed at providing object capabilities for Unix similar to the functionality that Microsoft's OLE (object linking and embedding) gives to Windows 3.1, and at achieving "seamless interoperation" with OLE objects.
Also at Unix Expo, Lotus announced that participating SCO OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in the US will bundle the new Notes 3.2 for SCO Unix with the SCO Enterprise operating system.
The four new versions of Notes for Unix will open up "an enormous breadth of new applications for Lotus," while providing users with "scaleable, manageable, and reliable" server platforms, said Dan Kusnetzki, research manager in the Unix and Advanced Operating Environments Program at IDC, speaking with Newsbytes after the briefing.
Many Notes users are "outgrowing" the OS/2 server platform for Notes, with databases that are getting too big for single-processor Intel-based systems, added the analyst for the Framingham, Massachusetts-based market research firm.
By operating Notes for Sun, HP-UX, or AIX on RISC (reduced instruction-set computing) based workstations -- or by running Notes for SCO, in conjunction with SCO's MPX (multiprotocol extensions), on large SMP (symmetric multiprocessor) systems users can get around the need to spread databases over multiple machines, according to Kusnetzki. When SCO is used with MPX Notes for SCO can be operated on SMP systems of up to 16 processors, he added.
Users contacted by Newsbytes were excited about the promise and performance of Notes for Unix. Notes for SCO will allow Glenbrook Financial to "coordinate" Notes with its SCO Unix-based mortgage brokerage, fax, word processing, and database applications, for greater "ease of use," predicted Mark Junod, president of the Santa Cruz, California-based mortgage brokerage firm.
Glenbrook has already been using Notes extensively both internally and for communication with outside appraisers, realtors and banks, according to Junod. "Now we'll be able to pull information right into the Notes database, and to cut-and-paste between applications," the company president told Newsbytes.
Star Shipping has been running Notes on OS/2 servers for the past 18 months, and the electronic messaging product from Lotus has become "a way of life for all our people," said Al McNally assistant IS (information systems) manager for the Norway-based international steamship shipping firm.
Star's Notes OS/2 servers are located at company sites in Norway Tokyo, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Stamford, Connecticut according to McNally, who works at the Stamford site. Employees access Notes from desktop PCs "on the piers," as well as from notebook PCs at home. "Notes has beautiful screens, and it lets us attach memos, pictures, and other documents to our electronic mail," he explained.
Star has been testing Unix for SCO on a backup server since July McNally reported. "The reliability so far has been 100 percent," he said. The assistant IS manager added that he finds the SCO and OS/2 interfaces to Notes to be "almost identical."
The new Unix-based editions of Notes include a built-in customer service application, plus 25 additional Notes template and example files, according to Parham. The products support Motif 1.1 for X/11R4 or Motif 1.2 for X/11R5. Sun users will be able to run Notes under Open Windows 3.0, as well, but Notes will continue to have a "Motif look and feel."
Notes 3.2 for Unix provides immediate support for TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and X.PC, and will support SPX/IPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange/Internetwork Packet Exchange) within the next 90 days, he told Newsbytes.
Ami Pro for Unix is designed to share the same file format and common features with Ami Pro for OS/2 and Windows. The Unix versions, though, will also bring capabilities like new dialogue boxes with "Apply Buttons."
The Ami Pro "Apply Buttons" are designed to let users view full-page documents and dialog boxes side-by- side. In addition the file open dialog boxes can be stretched horizontally or vertically for viewing "long directory path information" or a long list of file names.
Also at Unix Expo, Lotus rolled out an upgrade to the Notes SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) Gateway for OS/2, a product intended to provide interoperability between Notes mail, Unix mail and Internet users.
The new version of the gateway, which is also slated to ship within the next 45 days, is billed as bringing "enhanced" MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) support, including support for rich text, higher reliability, and "increased resistance against inconsistencies encountered on the Internet," according to the officials.
"The gateway for OS/2 represents yet another way in which Lotus is extending Notes' cross-platform capabilities," Parham told Newsbytes, also during the briefing.
Notes for SCO requires a 486/33 Intel-based server or above. The other Unix editions of Notes require HP 9000 Series 700 or 800, an RS 6000, or a Sun Sparc system (clients -- IPC or above; servers SparcStation 2 or above).
Other requirements for Notes 3.2 for Unix include at least 32 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) for servers (64MB recommended), and at least 16MB of RAM for clients (32MB recommended). Support for X terminals includes HP 700/RX, HDS FX IBM Xstation, NCD, Tektronix, and Visual.
Lotus estimates retail pricing of Notes for Unix at $329 for either a client or server copy. Customers with a Lotus maintenance agreement can upgrade from Notes for Sun Solaris 1.1 to Notes for Sun Solaris 2.3 free of charge.
Estimated pricing is less than $1,000 for the Lotus Notes Starter Pack for Unix, and $2,500 for Release 1.1 of the Lotus Notes SMTP Gateway. The Unix starter pack includes any two Notes clients and any Unix server. The SCO OEM bundle provides one Notes for SCO server and client, along with one Notes for Windows client.
The new Lotus Ami Pro 3.0 for Sun requires a Sun Sparc workstation Solaris 3.2, 16MB of RAM, and 68MB of hard disk space. Motif libraries are built into Sun. Ami Pro for HP-UX requires an HP 9000 Series 700 or 800 workstation, HP-UX 8.0.7, Motif 1.1, 16MB of RAM, and 52MB of hard disk space. Lotus estimates retail pricing for each version of Ami Pro to be $109.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941008/Reader Contact: Lotus, 800-346-8278; Press Contact: Diane Horak or Kevin Kosh, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
10/10/94
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Notes, Ami Pro
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
Unix Expo - IBM Intros & Upgrade
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- At Unix Expo, IBM rolled out an array of new middleware products and utilities for easing database access on distributed multivendor networks. In related news, the company added SMP (symmetrical multiprocessor) support to its DB2 database environment.
At a briefing for Newsbytes in the IBM suite, Janet Perna director of database technology, IBM Software Solutions, said that the new IBM products include: DataJoiner, for creating a "single image" from multivendor data sources; the DataPropagator Relational data replicator; the DB2 Visual Explain graphical SQL (structured query language) tool; and new additions to IBM's DataHub database administration and DB2 Performance Monitor families.
As IBM sees it, DataJoiner and DataPropagator Relational are part of a middleware layer that sits between desktop applications for OS/2, DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and Unix, and "data sources" like IBM's DB2 relational databases, IBM's IMS (Information Management System) transaction-oriented databases, and VSAM and NFS files, she told Newsbytes.
DataJoiner, DataPropagator Relational, DB2 Visual Explain, and the new DataHub and Performance Monitor tools operate on a variety of IBM and non-IBM platforms, including OS/2, AIX, HP-UX, and Sun Solaris, Perna said.
DB2, she added, is following a similar approach to AIX and other IBM software systems, letting hardware advancements "lead the way." Like the AIX operating system, for example, the recently announced IBM DB2/6000 Version 2 database for AIX will add support for SMP now that IBM's first PowerPC SMP servers have been introduced at Unix Expo.
But the enhancement will not mean a "step upgrade" -- or change in version number -- for the AIX-based RDBMS (relational database management system), she said, in response to a question from Newsbytes.
IBM's DataJoiner, which operates as middleware on AIX, is the only product in the market to allow multivendor database "joining," she maintained. DataJoiner is designed to let users employ a single SQL statement to join tables distributed across relational and non-relational databases residing locally, as well as at remote sites.
Databases supported in DataJoiner 1.0 include: Oracle and Sybase VSAM; IMS; DB2 for MVS; DB2 for VM/VSE; DB2 for OS/400; DB2/2; DB2/6000 for AIX; DB2 for HP-UX; DB2 for Sun Solaris; and DB2 Parallel Edition for AIX.
DataJoiner also supports: workstation query tools, such as IBM Visualizer and Microsoft Access; development tools, like IBM VisualAge and PowerBuilder; and other client applications running on platforms such as OS/2, AIX, DOS, Windows, HP-UX, and Sun Solaris.
DataPropagator Relational Version 1 Release 2 is designed to let users copy data across DB2 databases running on OS/2, AIX, OS/400 MVS, HP-UX and Solaris, according to Perna. In addition, when DataPropagator is used in conjunction with DataJoiner, data can be replicated to Oracle and Sybase database copies.
Aside from DataJoiner and DataPropagator Relational, IBM's middleware products for database access also include DDCS (Distributed Database Connection Services) and DataRefresher according to Perna.
IBM's latest DataHub utilities -- DataHub for Unix Version 1.0 and DataHub for OS/2 Version 2.0 -- are IBM's "control points" for managing IBM and non-IBM relational databases, Perna said.
DataHub serves as a "launch platform" for integrating tools from IBM, other software vendors, and users into a "single administrative environment." The product is aimed at: letting customers browse database catalogs; invoke database tools; build modify, or drop "database objects" such as tables, indexes and views; configure database parameters; manage authorizations; and schedule routine tasks.
The newly announced DataHub for Unix, said Perna, will manage the following relational databases on either AIX, HP-UX, or Solaris: DB2, Oracle, Sybase, or Ingres. DataHub for OS/2 manages DB2 databases on OS/2, AIX, VM, and OS/400.
DB2 Visual Explain and DB2 Performance Monitor constitute two new database "advisor" tools, according to IBM's director of database technology. Both tools operate on OS/2 and AIX. Visual Explain provides detailed but "easy to use" information about the SQL access plan selected by the DB2/2 or DB2/6000 optimizer, she said. The tool also furnishes a graphical "what-if" modeling capability.
DB2 Performance Monitor provides performance data collection viewing, reporting, analysis, and alerting for DB2/2 and DB2/6000 databases. The new Version 2.0 supports over 200 performance attributes and a variety of reporting methods, she said. The tool also lets users define threshold values, and provides filtering and sorting to help analyze performance problems and trends.
Version 2.0 of Performance Monitor will ship with an SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) agent for querying database status configuration parameters and performance attributes from SNMP-compliant network management consoles such as IBM NetView.
Some of IBM's new database tools are available on a beta basis through testing programs taking place this quarter. DataJoiner and DataPropagator Relational, for instance, will both enter beta in December. IBM plans to announce pricing and general availability of the middleware products and database tools after the beta programs are complete, according to Perna.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941007/Reader Contact: IBM, 914-642-3000; Press Contacts: Rick Bause, IBM, 914-766-1750; Philip Little, GCI Group for IBM, 213-930-0811)
1750; Philip Little, GCI Group for IBM, 213-930-0811)
10/10/94
Unix Expo - IBM Intros & Upgrades Database Products
Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner
Japan - Supercomputer Power For
Unix Expo - Preview Of SunExpres
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Visitors to Unix Expo in New York City got a sneak preview of "SunExpress On The Internet," a forthcoming online service that seems sure to become a major commercial presence on the Internet.
Slated for official rollout by the end of October, the new service will be accessible by "anyone with a Mosaic user interface," said Tom Mackowski, product line manager, during a demo for Newsbytes in the SunExpress booth.
At first, the SunExpress service will act mainly as an "interactive" multimedia company/user communications forum and searchable, 2,500-entry "product catalog," according to Mackowski.
But after SunExpress -- the direct marketing arm of Sun -- resolves security issues like encryption, authorization and usage, the company will expand the Internet service to include online product sales, he told Newsbytes.
Once the service is launched, travelers on the Internet will be able to stop off at SunExpress in either of two ways: dial into the Sun Microsystems home page at http://www.sun.com, or dial SunExpress' direct URL (Uniform Resource Locator) at http://www.sun.com/sunexpress/.
Upon landing at SunExpress, users will be greeted by a voice message from Dorothy Terrell, company president, welcoming them to the online service and inviting them to send electronic mail.
Users will also be able to communicate directly with other SunExpress execs, salespeople, "customer advocates," and the company's pre-sales technical support group, attaching voice comments and pictures, memos, and other documents where desired he explained
The online product catalog, focal point of the new service, will let visitors "drill down through 2,500 products" from Sun and third party vendors, "right on down to the port level," Newsbytes was told.
Facts incorporated in the searchable catalog will include "features and benefits," systems requirements, licensing, "technical reference guides," and compatibility and configuration data. Charts, diagrams, and other graphical images will accompany text.
Other components of the upcoming online offering will let users browse for answers to "frequently asked questions about SunExpress," view special sales promotional and marketing information, and respond to informal customer opinion polls.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941009/Reader Contact: SunExpress, 508-442 2517; Press Contacts: Patty Long, SunExpress, 508-442-2517; Carol McGarry or Nancy A. Kashanek, Schwartz Communications for SunExpress, 617-431-0770)
Schwartz Communications for SunExpress, 617-431-0770)
10/10/94
Unix Expo - Preview Of SunExpress On The Internet
ONLINE
Microsoft Add-In Converts Access
Japan - Computer Developments
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- In a press conference at Unix Expo, Bull unveiled ISM (Integrated System Management) Version 3, a much expanded system, network and security management suite that now includes more than 50 applications. Bull also announced plans to port the product upgrade to Tandem's Integrity line, and to resell the package through Tandem and other new partners in various parts of the globe.
ISM Version 3 is "the only product worldwide to integrate system network and security management," contended Tejas Vakil, director of Unix product marketing for Tandem's Integrity System Division speaking at the press conference, which was attended by Newsbytes.
Vakil referred to the ISM upgrade -- a product that offers five times the number of applications available in Version 2, plus a new database -- as "an advanced, multi-protocol, multi-domain architecture" that is well suited to supporting the fault tolerant and "high availability" transactions needed in industries like telecommunications, banking and finance. Tandem's decision to offer ISM for Integrity was driven by requests from "major customers," Vakil added.
The two year-old ISM product originally operated on Bull DPX/20 AIX servers only, and has since expanded to Intel-based SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) servers, noted another speaker, Jean-Marie Leduc, who is ISM product line director, Open Systems & Software, for Bull.
In addition to porting the product to Tandem's Integrity, Bull will begin to support MVS mainframes as a "managed system" this quarter Leduc said.
ISM Version 3, a product slated to ship at the end of this year will also support Novell NetWare, Microsoft LAN (local area network) Manager), Windows NT, Windows for Workgroups, OS/2, Apple Macintosh, and other network and PC operating systems, according to Leduc. Bull is partnering with company subsidiary Zenith Data Systems (ZDS) around the use of ISM for managing PCs and Macs, he told reporters.
Bull is entering into resale pacts with Tandy and other US partners for two reasons: to capitalize on other vendors' name recognition in North American markets, and to "increase ISM's market share," the Bull executive continued. Companies in the Asia/Pacific have also expressed "strong interest" in ISM, according to Leduc.
Bull's objective for the new ISM Version 3 is to "provide a coherent management view unconstrained by management protocol and resource differences," he maintained.
The product consists of three applications layers: Bull's new CMIS DB (Common Management Information Services Database) "persistent object store:" the 50 new management applications; and "ISM agent integrators" for managing devices complying with SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol); CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol); SNA (Systems Network Architecture); and other network protocols.
Bull launched ISM Version 1, an "open framework for network management," in 1992. ISM Version 2, a smaller upgrade last year added: an integrated network monitor; user-configurable alarms; a help desk; and backup and restore. It also added plug-in modules for "PC/workgroup management," hub management, software distribution router management, database management, user management, and management of Bull's proprietary GCOS operating system for midrange systems and mainframes.
The PC/workgroup management module for ISM 2 provided agent management of Microsoft LAN (local area network) Manager as well as Bull's OpenTeam, an application incorporating systems like NetWare and NetBios. An ISM 2 toolkit allowed development of agent management capabilities for devices complying with SNMP and CMIP.
The new ISM Version 3 brings improvements in "framework performance," management, "look and feel," and ease of use, in addition to the 50 new applications and "object store" database according to Leduc.
Users can purchase the application modules on a "mix and match" basis, Leduc said. ISM Pilot, one of the new application modules in Version 3, is a "rule-based console automation application" designed to "reduce the number of network operators required."
ISM Security Services, another new module, offers capabilities that include: data encryption; audit trail security; user management; single sign-on; "personalized desktop" capabilities; and a smart card option.
Other new modules in ISM 3 include: PC Manager; Workgroup Manager; OS (operating system) Manager; Hub Manager, Router Manager; Event Service; Performance Service; MIB (management information base) Inventory; DBA (database administration) Expert; and IP (Internet Protocol) Discovery.
New plug-in modules will also be available for: backup; software distribution; hardware and software inventory; job scheduling; user management; remote operations management; network alarms and monitors; administration of network equipment from vendors such as Synoptics, Cabletron, and Wellfleet; and a range of other functions.
In addition, Bull's ISM development kit has been expanded to include capabilities that include "Helper," an interface builder and a debugger, as well as the SNMP Agent Dispatcher and CMIP Agent Integrator.
In 1995, Bull will announce ISM Version 4, an edition with more new applications, and further enhancements to the framework, according to Leduc. Other expectations for next year include "two or three more US partners," additional European resellers, and more "managed systems," he told reporters.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941007/Reader Contact: Bull Worldwide Information Services, 508-294-6000; Press Contact: Bruce McDonald, Bull, 508-294-6000)
-6000; Press Contact: Bruce McDonald, Bull, 508-294-6000)
10/10/94
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Manager, Teams With Tandem
Unix Expo - Data General Managem
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Data General's Aviion Business Unit has unveiled the Enterprise Management Station for administering DG Aviion servers and Clariion disk arrays, along with plans to resell the Tivoli Management Platform for "multivendor systems administration" with all DG systems.
The new Enterprise Management Station will be the first in a series of "integrated management applications" from Aviion, said Francis X. Kenney, manager, Aviion Software, in an interview with Newsbytes at Unix Expo, where the announcements were made.
DG's new graphical management station, which is based on Microsoft Windows and HP/OpenView, consists of two components: DG/UX Manager for monitoring and assessing Aviion system resources; and DG/UX Clariion Manager, for managing Clariion disk arrays on Aviion systems. Systems administrators access the application from PCs running Windows, Kenney said.
Under the new pact with Tivoli, DG will start to ship the Tivoli Management Platform with all DG/UX systems -- and to resell and support Tivoli applications -- in early 1995, he added. Also under the agreement, DG will begin to build DG applications that interface to the Tivoli Management Platform.
The Tivoli architecture centers on an ORB (object request broker) that conforms to the OMG (Object Management Group)'s CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) 1.1, according to the Aviion manager.
Tivoli applications revolving around this architecture include software distribution, user administration, event management, job scheduling, security, data backup, and print management.
The Tivoli applications -- and DG applications that result from the deal -- will be targeted at Data General customers who use Aviion servers in multivendor computing environments, Kenney added speaking with Newsbytes in the Data General booth.
Also in the booth, Kenney demonstrated DG's new Enterprise Management Server for Newsbytes. The product uses SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) agents for management of Aviion servers and Clariion devices from Windows-based PCs anywhere on the network, according to Kenney.
The Aviion manager showed Newsbytes how DG/UX Manager lets users move around through multiple layers of system maps. Users can "zoom in" as desired to examine system resources like resource utilization and performance, he told Newsbytes.
A main screen in DG/UX presents a short description of each server of the network. Users can point-and-click their way from there to detailed information on processes, file systems, physical disks virtual disks, network interfaces, printers, printer groups, and print schedules. "Help" and "exit" buttons are also supplied on-screen.
Similarly, DG/UX Clariion Manager uses a GUI (graphical user interface) to portray the status of remote and local Clariion disk arrays and their internal components, the Aviion manager said.
The interface to Clariion manager is designed to graphically represent the "front" and "back" of the Clariion disk array cabinet, he said. On the "front" portion of the cabinet, users can click on members of various pairs of redundant disk drives.
The "rear" of the cabinet contains smaller maps, such as a "fan unit" diagram, along with buttons for functions like cache pull rate, disk, alarms, print, help, and exit.
System managers use a series of graphical screens for accessing physical views of Clariion devices, including information on the "state" of devices, system processors, fans, and power supplies (powering up, unbound, rebuilding, or enabled), as well as detailed views of selected modules, which show type of device performance, use, and error statistics.
Additional screens provide: logical views of Clariion devices, with logical units mapped onto physical disks; performance graphs based on logical unit performance data; and an "event view" that shows errors and other messages from the Clariion devices.
Users can also configure Clariion Manager to notify them of critical events via electronic mail or pager.
To show how the notification system works, Kenney pulled a disk from a Clariion system that was connected to the demo PC and monitor. Immediately, his beeper sounded.
DG's Enterprise Management Station is shipping 90 days ARO (after receipt of order). Pricing on "typical configurations" -- which include agents and the Windows-based software -- start at $2,100 for DG/UX Clariion Manager and under $1,000 for DG/UX Manager.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941008/Reader Contact: Data General, 508-366 8911; Press Contacts: Bob Palmer, Data General, 508-898-6547; Mitchell Derman, Edelman Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
Derman, Edelman Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
10/10/94
Unix Expo - Data General Management Station, Tivoli Deal
GENERAL
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. JPEG files are for use, PICT files for thumbnails. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day. To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of OCTOBER 10 - OCTOBER 14 ,1994
WILDFIRE941006 - color:slide / Wildfire Intros Voice Command "Electronic Secretary": photo shows Bill Warner, CEO, Wildfire at desk with skyline behind him.
WRIGHT941005 - color:slide / Microsoft Intros 3 Multimedia Titles For Holiday Season: screen shot from The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright. It shows the house Fallingwater at Mill Run, Pennsylvania.
KIOSK940930 - color:htone / Computerized Kiosks Offer Texans Job Info: woman at kiosk, set piece not actual location.
MTX940928 - color:disc / Accounting For Windows Is Microsoft Access-Based: screen shot of the accounting program.
ADAPTIVE940929 - color:trans / Adaptive Intros Photoshop Accelerator Board: a plug and play accelerator board for Adobe Photoshop. Its based on CNAPS (Co-processor Node Architecture for Parallel Systems) architecture.
PROJECT940926 - color:disc / Great Plains Project Tracking Software: screen shot of the tracking module.
Z-SERVER940923 - color:slide / Zenith Pentium-based 4-Processor Servers: one of the new ZDS multiple-processor servers based on Intel's 90 megahertz (MHz) Pentium chip.
DALLAS940929 - color:slide / Dallas Semiconductor Offers Bar-Code Button: Dallas Semiconductor introduces a stainless steel button that can replace bar-codes for product identification, detect fugitive emissions and act as an identification & security access device. Shot of worker at conduit joint with monitoring gear.
STAFFWKS941003 - color:trans / Software Automates Retailer Staff Scheduling: simple shot of a disc with StaffWorks label.
DATASONIX940930 - b&w:disc / Datasonix To Demo Portable Storage At Comdex: One of the first Comdex announcements to be made: product shot of the Pereos, a 1.2 gigabyte (compressed) cartridge storage device, which weighs less than ten ounces and holds compressed data the equivalent of 868 standard 1.44 megabyte (MB) floppy diskettes per cartridge. *NOTE: the 'for use' image is also in pict, not jpeg. It's tag has pct indicator in caps, PICT.
BER230-940927 - color:trans / Iomega Intros 230MB Drive, Cuts Prices: Their new 230 megabyte (MB) removable cartridge drive. The drive has several removable cartridges on top of it.
KODAKCAM940919 - color:photo / Kodak Intros High-Resolution Digital Camera: Kodak says DCS 460 is the world's highest-resolution portable, single-shot color digital camera. Picture there of.
TVGUIDE940928 - color:htone / TV Guide Launches On-Screen Digital Guide: screen shot of TV guide menu.
BELKIN940928 - color:slide / Belkin Intros Ergonomic Wrist Pads: the ErgoPad & ErgoRest in action. We see desktop with mans hands on keyboard.
ERIS940928 - color:photo / Personal Video Communications For PCs Macs: shot of the plug-and-play personal video communication system. The unit is next to a PC on a desktop.
C-CUBE940926 - b&w:photo / C-Cube Makes MPEG Affordable: shot of the CL 480 ship perched on a CD-ROM tray.
EXERFUN940926 - color:trans / Life Fitness, Nintendo Team For Fitness System: woman on exercycle interfaced with video riding game. A collaboration of Nintendo & Life Fitness.
COLORAGE940919 - color:disc / ColorAge Doubles Printer Output: color image of the ColorQ 4000 Series digital color print server.
LORAL940922 - color:art / Direct-To-Home TV Satellite For Latin America: artist's rendition of the Tempo direct broad cast satellite being constructed at Space Systems/Loral Palo Alto, CA USA.
NIKOTECH940920 - b&w:photo / NekoTech Intros 200+ MHz Desktop Systems: shot of the tower and keyboard on tabletop with backdrop.
MacOS940919 - color:CD / Apple's New Identity & Logo For Mac OS: official rendition of the new Apple logo. CREDIT LINE: "Mac and the Mac OS logo are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.
(Newsbytes/19941010)
le Computer Inc.
(Newsbytes/19941010)
10/10/94
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
CompuServe UK Adds What's On Gui
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN, NASDAQ:COGNF) is angling for more client/server computing business through two deals with major database software vendors. The company announced a new version of its PowerHouse fourth-generation language that supports Oracle Corp.'s Oracle 7 database software, plus a marketing agreement with Sybase Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBS).
Cognos said the newest version of PowerHouse for Unix is tightly integrated with Oracle 7. This is the first version of PowerHouse to support Oracle, company spokeswoman Roberta Carlton told Newsbytes.
It does so using the native Oracle Call interface, which provides complete support of Oracle 7 features, according to company officials.
The new version, PowerHouse 7.33, is available now from Cognos with prices for development licenses starting at C$3,960.
The addition of Oracle support to PowerHouse is no surprise given Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle's recent purchase of Digital Equipment Corp.'s Rdb database software. PowerHouse has extensive support agreements with Digital, as it has with Hewlett-Packard Co. The company's earliest products were first launched for proprietary operating systems from the two minicomputer vendors, as well as for Data General Corp. systems.
PowerHouse also supports Sybase's SQL Server, Borland International Inc.'s Interbase, HP's Allbase/SQL, and Rdb.
Cognos also said it will cooperate with Sybase, of Emeryville California, to market products and services related to Sybase's SQL Server and Cognos' Impromptu and PowerPlay application development tools. For customers of the two firms, this will mean one-stop shopping and less overlap in training programs, Carlton said.
Customers "can get a complete solution from basically one sales person who is more prepared to sell it to them," Carlton said.
Sybase and Cognos said they plan to begin cross-training their sales forces right away, and will be targeting value-added resellers with a joint program.
(Grant Buckler/19941010/Press Contact: Roberta Carlton or Robert Greene, Cognos, 617-229-6600; Public Contact: Cognos 800-267-2777)
0; Public Contact: Cognos 800-267-2777)
10/10/94
Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase Deals
BUSINESS
Business Group Gets Specific On
MCI Gets Into Directory Assistan
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:DELL) has announced its Optiplex 560/L, a Pentium-based desktop PC designed for corporate computer users.
The Optiplex 560/L uses Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) technology and is powered by Intel's 60 megahertz (MHz) dual-instruction microprocessor. The system supports enhanced IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) devices such as CD-ROM drives and high capacity hard disk drives.
The Optiplex PCs use a flash BIOS (basic input/output system) that allows the BIOS to be upgraded by the user via software as new operating system features become available. Dell's network setup software is pre-installed on the Optiplex systems to make it easier to configure the unit on a network running Banyan Vines, Novell Netware or Microsoft Windows for Workgroups operating systems.
A basic Optiplex/L equipped with eight megabytes (MB) of memory, a 270MB hard drive, a mouse and a 14-inch SVGA color monitor is priced at $1,970. Dell installs MS-DOS 6.2 and Microsoft Windows 3.1 software. Dell will customize the system with a variety of peripheral devices and software of the buyers choice.
Available options include memory upgrades to 128MB and hard drives of 340MB, 540MB or one gigabyte (GB). Optiplex PCs come with two ISA and one shared ISA/PCI expansion slot.
Dell spokesperson, Kellie Leonard, told Newsbytes the Optiplex 560/L is not intended to replace any of the company's existing products. "This slides right in the center of the 90MHz and 486 lineup of Optiplex models introduced in August," said Leonard.
(Jim Mallory/19941010/Press contact: Kellie Leonard, Dell Computer 512-728-4100; Public contact: Dell Computer, tel 800-289-3355 or 512-338-4400, fax 512-728-4238; electronic mail on Internet http://www.dell.com/OPTIPLEX941010/PHOTO)
com/OPTIPLEX941010/PHOTO)
10/10/94
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
IBM Canada To Resell Evergreen N
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- In what could be a crucial endorsement for a small Canadian software vendor, Evergreen International Technology Inc. has made a deal to have IBM Canada Ltd., of Markham, Ontario, resell its Evergreen Notes software utility.
According to Evergreen, IBM Canada is also considering pre-loading Evergreen Notes on ThinkPad notebook computers and Ambra PCs sold in Canada.
Also, John Kostiuk, marketing manager at Evergreen, told Newsbytes there is quite a good chance the deal with IBM's Canadian subsidiary will lead to a similar reseller agreement with the parent company in the United States. "It's just a starter for us," Kostiuk said.
The deal will have a "significant" impact on Evergreen's revenue Kostiuk said, though he could not be more specific. He said IBM Canada will be selling the software, which lets personal computer users attach notes to programs and files, through its mail-order catalog and its Ontario retail superstores.
Analogous to the Post-It notes used to attach comments to paper documents, Evergreen Notes allows notes to be attached to Windows itself or to applications running under it, Kostiuk said. It handles not only written messages, but audio files, so that PC users can stick spoken messages to their electronic documents the company said.
The software carries a regular suggested retail price of C$69.95 but is being offered at an introductory price of C$39.95 until the end of December.
Introduced in June of this year, Evergreen Notes runs on Windows 3.1 or 3.11, or on Windows for Workgroups 3.11. It requires 120 kilobytes (KB) of memory, company officials said.
In August, Evergreen announced a distribution agreement with Egghead Software, under which the Issaquah, Washington, reseller will carry the software in its 189 stores across North America.
(Grant Buckler/19941010/Press Contact: John Kostiuk, Evergreen International Technology, tel 604-986-6121, fax 604-980-7121 Internet info@egn.com; Public Contact: Evergreen International Technology, 800-667-4340/EGNOTES941010/PHOTO)
ogy, 800-667-4340/EGNOTES941010/PHOTO)
10/10/94
IBM Canada To Resell Evergreen Notes
BUSINESS
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek
Adobe Ships Persuasion 3.0 For W
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Adobe Systems Inc. (OTC:ADBE) has started shipping release 3.0 of its Persuasion for Windows presentation graphics program.
The new release of Persuasion includes a revised user interface and adds some new color models and additional graphics tools. As reported earlier by Newsbytes, version 3 is also available for the Macintosh and Power Macintosh platforms.
To start preparing a presentation, the user selects one of the program's AutoTemplates from a gallery of thumbnail images. The template presents a slide view with prompts that lead you through the creation of titles, subtitles, bulleted text, and charts.
The chart module is an object linking and embedding (OLE) application with 84 separate two-dimensional (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) chart formats.
Persuasion 3.0 uses two color models, RGB (red-green-blue) and HLS (hue, lightness, saturation). A grayscale preview mode lets the user edit black-and-white elements without disrupting the color display of those same elements in the color mode.
The program also has a precision alignment feature that lets the user place slide elements by using onscreen rulers in combination with pixel (picture element) image movement. There are 40 different ruler guides available, and they can be placed over, behind or near an object and the object can then be snapped to the guide. The user can also nudge the object one pixel at a time for precise placement control. An align/distribute feature provides automatic positioning of text and objects.
Persuasion 3.0 has an "autojump" feature that lets the user interrupt a presentation and branch to another slide, another show or another application, such as a QuickTime movie or the spreadsheet from which the presentation data was derived, in order to respond to questions from the audience. Apple's QuickTime for Windows ships with Persuasion 3.0 so movies and sound can be transferred across platforms.
Persuasion lets the user animate the slides, controlling the direction, speed and play area for text, charts and graphics. Different transition effects can be applied to each layer of the slide, and the user can select where to place the floating toolbox and color palettes
Persuasion presentations can be distributed as run-time files and viewed on Mac, Power Mac or Windows platforms by using the Persuasion Player. Annotations can be made and saved using the Player, making it an electronic reviewing tool.
To run Persuasion 3.0 for Windows you need a PC running Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, eight megabytes (MB) of system memory 20MB of available hard disk space, a high resolution 256-color display and a mouse or comparable pointing device.
Persuasion 3.0 has a suggested retail price of $495. Registered users of Persuasion 2.12 or earlier can upgrade for $150.
(Jim Mallory/19941010/Press contact: Belinda Young, Adobe Systems 206-386-8819; Public contact: Adobe Systems, 206-622-5500 or 800-685-3617 to place a credit card order)
0-685-3617 to place a credit card order)
10/10/94
Adobe Ships Persuasion 3.0 For Windows
WINDOWS
Canadian Product Launch Update
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- This regular feature, appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Claris FileMaker Pro Server, Digital's Celebris PCs, Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet 320 printers, price cuts on IBM ThinkPads, IBM's first symmetric multiprocessing RS/6000 servers, Lotus Organizer 2.0 for Windows, three new home multimedia titles from Microsoft and Motorola's new PowerStack PowerPC machines.
Toronto-based Claris Canada, Inc., said it is now shipping FIleMaker Pro Server for Power Macintosh and 680x0-based Macintoshes (Newsbytes, Aug. 17). The suggested retail price is C$1,899.
Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd., of Toronto, announced the new Celebris line of PCs (Newsbytes, Sept. 6) in Canada. All models in the new line were to be available by the end of September, DEC said. Prices start at C$2,979 for the Celebris 466 model and C$3,409 for the Pentium-based Celebris 560.
Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd., of Mississauga, Ontario, announced the DeskJet 320 and DeskWriter 320 portable printers (Newsbytes Oct. 7). Replacing the DeskJet and DeskWriter 310 models, the new portable color printers are available now, HP Canada said, both at a list price of C$518.
Markham, Ontario-based IBM Canada Ltd. cut the price on its ThinkPad 360 notebook computer from C$4,909 to C$3,999, joining in with price cuts by other IBM operations around the world on that and other models (Newsbytes, Sept. 19).
IBM Canada also introduced three symmetric multiprocessing servers in its RS/6000 line (Newsbytes, Oct. 5). The new servers include the G30, a tower system starting at C$61,330; the J30, a deskside server priced from C$100,810; and the R30, a rack-mount model that begins at C$119,980. All are due to be available on a limited basis by the end of this year, with volume availability planned early in 1995. IBM Canada also unveiled the two-node PowerParallel Systems SP2, a C$218,150 entry-level parallel processor, and several new RS/6000 storage and software products.
Lotus Development Canada Ltd. of Toronto announced Lotus Organizer 2.0 for Windows (Newsbytes, Sept. 16). Due to be available in the fourth quarter, the personal information management package has a Canadian suggested retail price of C$199, with upgrades from earlier versions priced at C$65.
Microsoft Canada Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, added three titles to its Microsoft Home line: Microsoft Cinemania 1995 Edition, the Microsoft Composer Collection, and The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright (Newsbytes, Oct. 5). Cinemania '95 is due to be available in October for about C$80, the three-disk Microsoft Composer Collection is also due in October at about C$110, and The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright is to reach stores in December at about C$80. A version of The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright for the Apple Macintosh is due early next year, Microsoft added.
Motorola Computer Group of Canada, based in Mississauga, Ontario launched new PowerStack desktop personal computers and servers (Newsbytes, Oct. 5) based on the PowerPC chips that Motorola co-developed with IBM and Apple Computer Inc. Canadian prices start at C$8,195 for a 16-megabyte (MB) configuration of the E603-66P, at C$10.995 for similarly configured E604-100P, at C$4,495 for the DT603-66 desktop unit, and at C$4,695 for the MT603-66. All the models are available now, Motorola said.
(Grant Buckler/19941010/Press Contact: Joan Wilson, Claris Canada, 416-941-9611, fax 416-941-9532; Mary Bermel, Digital Canada, 613-592-4064; Danny Savard, Hewlett-Packard Canada 905-206-3144, fax 905-206-4739; Kate Dennis, IBM Canada 905-316-2191; Sue Turnbull, IBM Canada, 905-316-3910; Marsha Connor, Lotus Development Canada, 416-364-8000; Maureen Cappon-Javey, Microsoft Canada, 416-480-7303; John Swinimer Microsoft Canada, 905-568-0434 ext. 4255, fax 905-568-1527; Paul Kellenberger, Motorola Canada, 905-507-7343, fax 905-507-7232; Public Contact: Claris Canada, 800-361-6075; Digital Canada 416-730-7000, fax 416-730-7070; Hewlett-Packard Canada 905-206-4725; Lotus Canada, 416-364-8000; Microsoft Canada 905-568-0434; Motorola Canada, 905-507-7200)
; Motorola Canada, 905-507-7200)
10/10/94
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
Great Bear Offers Own Company Pr
MORAGA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Great Bear Technology (NASD EBB:GTBR) has released a complete corporate profile of itself on CD-ROM.
Showing its worldwide staff and varied software product lines the company claims the CD shows a "commitment to interactive multimedia technology."
Speaking to Newsbytes, Doug Cole, chief executive officer and president of Great Bear, said, "This CD is the best means of showing the public what we do and who we are. For the price, there is no better means to reach the public, our end-users, stockholders analysts, market-makers, and dealers."
Cole continued, "All of our products are demonstrated on this CD. For potential customers this is a great way to look at a particular product and instead of investing in 17 different demos of our products we are able to put it all together for about $2 per copy."
The Corporate Profile has six major sections: the Bear Facts; Development Capabilities; Marketing; Products; and Sales & Support. Using the features of sound, video, animated graphics and text, the company offers a complete profile of itself including short speeches and introductions to company executives and employees.
Cole also said the CD was a great way for people to see what the company is doing as opposed to just reading about it. In particular he pointed-out the company's operation in Sofia, Bulgaria, which he says becomes more "real" when a viewer is able to actually see and hear what is taking place there.
The CD is available free to anyone who is interested. The company will distribute it widely, using its mailing list of customers and industry contacts.
(Patrick McKenna/19941010/Press Contact: Cindy Mascheroni Great Bear, tel 510-631-6736, fax 510-631-6735)
i Great Bear, tel 510-631-6736, fax 510-631-6735)
10/10/94
Great Bear Offers Own Company Profile On CD-ROM
GENERAL
Great Bear Offers Own Company Pr
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Ameritech, the telecommunications giant, says it now expects around 10,000 employees to leave by the end of next year under an incentive plan announced in March of this year. The figure is 4,000 higher than the firm's original estimates.
Ameritech sources said the increased acceptance would result in the firm's taking an additional one-time $168 million charge against third quarter 1994 earnings, about 31 cents a share. Ameritech took a $333 million charge against first quarter earnings to cover the original estimate of 6,000 early separations.
Ameritech spokesperson George Stenitzer told Newsbytes, "Virtually all of the 10,000 have made their intentions known already. They have until part of the way through next year to indicate their interest. The deadline around September 1, but varies according to when their contracts expire."
Under the plan, which was negotiated between Ameritech and two national unions, employees who elect to leave early are credited with three additional years of service. The additional years in effect increase both time-in-service retirement credit and the size of the retirement check an employee will receive.
Said Stenitzer, "Where 7,000 might have been eligible before, now it's closer to 13,000."
He added that a combination of improved technology, centralization from 60 separate service centers into 10 larger ones, and various cost-balancing tactics by managers, will allow the firm to maintain the same service levels to customers as before the cuts.
Ameritech claims more than 13 million phone service customers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. A leading cellular company, the firm says it serves more than one million cellular and half a million paging customers internationally.
(Craig Menefee/19941010/Press Contact: George Stenitzer Ameritech, 312-609-6166)
Contact: George Stenitzer Ameritech, 312-609-6166)
10/10/94
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To Leave Firm Early
BUSINESS
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
AT&T Offers Rate Deal For Less R
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- In the face of competition from more than 400 long distance carriers, AT&T has offered "stable, lower rates for poor or infrequent customers" in return for a loosening of the regulatory leash.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, AT&T Executive Vice President Alex J. Mandl said the telecom giant wants to calm fears that low-income consumers would face price increases if the FCC changed AT&T's rules to be the same as the other 400 long distance carriers (LDCs).
Under the proposed plan, AT&T would reduce rates for qualifying customers and then freeze them at the lower level at least until 1998. It also would offer an "infrequent caller" plan for people who rarely call outside their local area. He said applicants for the lower rates would need only to meet the same tests that local phone companies use to qualify customers for lifeline service.
In return, the FCC would reclassify AT&T from "dominant" to "non-dominant," a change which would loosen the FCC's tight control over the telecom giant. The FCC currently lists AT&T as the dominant LDC because it controls about 60% of the long distance market.
AT&T asked for the change to non-dominant status about a year ago in order to eliminate a 14- to 45-day delay before approval of rate changes or new services. Other LDCs need wait only for one day.
The change would mean AT&T could bundle long-distance services and equipment, and give it other types of regulatory relief. In his letter, Mandl said that competition alone will ensure "reasonable" rates, and that special FCC attentions are not required in any case.
In its proposal, AT&T said it would cut the cost for up to 30 minutes of long distance service by nine percent for an estimated four million customers who would meet the lifeline test. In a separate plan, it would charge a flat $4 a month for 30 minutes of long-distance calling during nights and weekends, and give a 20% discount from regular rates during other hours, for infrequent users. After 30 minutes of usage, the bill would rise to the current regular rate.
(Craig Menefee/19941010/Press Contact: Herb Lennen, AT&T 202-457-3933)
ss Contact: Herb Lennen, AT&T 202-457-3933)
10/10/94
AT&T Offers Rate Deal For Less Regulation
TELECOM
AT&T Offers Rate Deal For Less R
3 Interest Groups Enter Video Di
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Three national organization have objected to a US National Cable Television Association (NCTA) appeal to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for new cost-allocation rules. All three called it an attempt to protect cable company monopolies at the expense of consumers.
The three organizations are: the Communications Workers of America; the National Council of Senior Citizens; and the Television Viewers of America (TVA).
The NCTA, representing cable system operators, had asked for new cost allocation rules before approving video dial-tone service from local telephone companies. Dial-tone service would allow local phone companies to provide television or VDT over broadband telephone lines, in competition with the cable operators.
In an interview with Newsbytes, TVA President Gary Frink called the NCTA request a "straw man" and declared that there are already plenty of rules and regulations in place "to allocate costs correctly and fairly."
Frink added: "By the FCC's own analysis, where there is true competition, cable rates can fall by as much as 30 percent."
He cited a case involving one cable company that charged people 24% less in areas where a wireless system competed for customers. The cable operator did not drop its rates in other portions of the same system not reached by the wireless competitor, Frink said.
"The reason cable rates are so high is that the cable companies have a monopoly, and they'll do everything they can to retain it," declared Frink.
"If congress gave you a monopoly, you would love it too. It's a wonderful gift," he said. "But it has devastated the cable consumer. The only place cable rates have gone down significantly without competition is in the Washington, D.C. suburban areas where congressmen live."
In a formal statement, Morton Bahr, president of the Communications Workers of America, said, "NCTA knows that rules already exist that protect consumers on cost-allocation issues. So new rules aren't necessary.
"In fact, the only thing new rule making would do is keep the local phone companies, who have announced plans for VDT, out of the cable business. That would achieve NCTA's true goals, delaying the start of real competition in the cable industry, keeping consumers' monthly cable bills artificially high and preventing the creation of new, high-wage, high-tech jobs."
Bahr said the 214 current applications for VDT would lead to 32 million more hours at work per year over the next several years.
Lawrence T. Smedley, president of the National Council of Senior Citizens, also issued a statement critical of the cable operators saying, "The National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC) opposes the cable companies' continuing efforts to keep their monopoly intact. There are already plenty of rules in place -- we don't need more rules. What we need is cable competition now!"
He added: "Zooming cable prices hit those of us on fixed incomes especially hard. We're fed up with not having any choice in what kind of programming we receive and how much we'll pay for it. And we want a future in which new video services that meet our needs such as telemedicine and distance learning -- are available and affordable nationwide. The only way cable rates will come down is if the cable monopolies have to compete to keep us as customers."
Declared Frink: "They all say they want competition. I say they want competition when the cow jumps over the moon."
The NCTA office in Washington, D.C. was closed today. As a result no one was available for comment.
(Craig Menefee/19941010/Press Contact: Jeffery Miller Communications Workers of America, 202-434-1163; Daniel Schulder, National Council of Senior Citizens, 202-347-8800; Gary Frink, Television Viewers of America, 703-743-4137)
k, Television Viewers of America, 703-743-4137)
10/10/94
3 Interest Groups Enter Video Dial-Tone Fight
TELECOM
Quantum Offers Hierarchical Stor
Cray Computer Gets Another Cash
Maxtor Claims PCMCIA Hard Disk B
Microsoft Add-In Converts Access
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced an add-in product for Access 2.0 that automates the conversion of an Access database for use with Microsoft SQL Server.
Microsoft told attendees at the recent Access Advisor conference and exposition that Microsoft Access Upsizing Tools will convert a portion or all of an Access database for use with SQL (structured query language) Server. The converted database is then accessible from Access as the client and SQL Server as the server platform.
"You could always do this upsizing into SQL Server before," Microsoft spokesperson Terri Nopp told Newsbytes. "This automates it."
Microsoft says the tools were designed specifically for client-server developers. They can develop an application and user interface in Access then upsize it for use with SQL Server.
Nopp told Newsbytes that the SQL Server tables are linked to Access as remote tables and are updated automatically as the Access tables are changed.
The toolkit includes an Upsizing Wizard and a Browser Tool. The Wizard does the conversion of the tables, relationships, indexes rules, defaults and counters into an SQL Server database and creates an alias query that lets the forms and reports continue to operate without modification. You only have to run the Wizard once.
The Browser lets Access users access the SQL version of the database, permits ad-hoc SQL queries, and lets the user create new objects, modify, delete or rename existing objects and create or modify tables. It prompts for parameters when you run procedures and lets the user browse the results of tables, views and procedures.
Nopp told Newsbytes that Microsoft Access Upsizing Tools is scheduled for shipment the third week of October and is expected to sell for about $99. Microsoft no longer announces suggested retail prices.
Access is available as a standalone product and is also part of Microsoft Office, Professional Edition.
(Jim Mallory/19941010/Press contact: Anita Williams, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097; Public contact: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 of 800-426-9400/UPSIZE941010/PHOTO)
t Corp., 206-882-8080 of 800-426-9400/UPSIZE941010/PHOTO)
10/10/94
Microsoft Add-In Converts Access Database To SQL Server
NETWORK
Czech Republic Commits To Teleco
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- After several months of deliberation, the Czech Republic government has announced that 12 companies are now in the running for a stake in SPT Telecom, the soon-to-be-privatized state telecoms company.
According to government officials, the companies who have made it through to the second round of the tender for a 27 percent stake in SPT Telecom are: Ameritech, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, GTE Telephone Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, France Telecom, Koninklijke PTT Nederland, Korea Telecom, Southwestern Bell, STET, Swiss Telecom and Telecom Denmark.
According to a statement from the Economic Ministry of the Czech Republic, two companies were excluded from the tendering process. They were Telis, a local company, and Sprint. Details of why the companies were excluded have not been revealed by the government.
As reported last month by Newsbytes, under pressure from the government, SPT Telecom has accelerated its massive refurbishment and replacement project for the Republic's entire telecommunications network.
According to SPT, the project should have been completed by the year 2000. Government pressure, plus irate potential subscribers waiting up to 15 years for a phone line, forced SPT to bring this date forward to 1998. By 1998, plans call for any potential subscriber to get a line within a few weeks, and for all of the country's network to be digital, with access to self-dialed national and international calls on demand.
As Newsbytes reported, the problem with this advanced timescale is that the company now needs 14,000 million crowns ($560 million) a year for the next five years, as compared with 11,000 million a year on the original 1994/2000 plan. By pushing through privatization plans, the government should be able to raise these monies from the sale of the 27 percent stake to the foreign partner.
N BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- The European Commission (EC) has approved plans to admit six former Eastern Bloc countries to membership of the European Union.
The six countries -- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania -- have until the year 2000 to formally be admitted to the EC, but Newsbytes notes that Poland has previously targeted 1998 as the joining date for the European Union.
Under the five-year rolling plan, government representatives from all six countries will be required to attend the monthly joint meetings of the European Council and, as the date of entry draws near, full meetings of the EC Council of Ministers. Detailed plans of the company's financial arrangements, its planned contributions to EC coffers, and hoped-for withdrawals, must also be outlined in the run-up to final admittance.
According to a statement from the EC, several countries, notably Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain, have expressed reservations about admitting the six East European countries to the EC in what they see as so short a time scale.
The EC Council says that it plans to draw up a white paper on accepting the six new members by next summer. The white paper will then be formally considered by the Council and, if approved, the green light for admittance will be given to the countries concerned.
The plan could cause problems for existing anti-monopoly legislation wending its way through the European legislature, Newsbytes notes. Plans call for monopolies in the telecoms business to be outlawed on January 1, 1998. Since the telecoms markets of the six East European countries, with the possible exception of Poland, are still closed to external companies at several levels, some adaptation of the legislation will be needed.
Technically, under the Treaty of Rome -- the basic set of rules upon which the EC is founded -- all member countries must be treated equally when it comes to the interpretation of the law. This means that the existing member countries within the EC could argue that allowing a transitionary arrangements for the new member countries is against the Treaty, forcing the EC legislature to back down on enforcing the anti monopoly law in the Eastern Bloc.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941010/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
10/10/94
Europe - EC Votes To Take In Eastern Europe
UK - Hutchison Claims London Mob
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- The latest issue of What Mobile & Cellphone magazine has taken the innovative approach of testing the six existing mobile phone networks in the UK out at the locations of a Monopoly game board squares around London. The result of the survey, carried out by independent journalist Derek Cohen, was that the Hutchison Orange cellular network provided the best levels of service in the London area
The service tested the quality and reliability of the six mobile networks -- Cellnet Analog, Cellnet GSM, Hutchison Orange, Mercury One-2-One, Vodafone Analog, and Vodafone GSM -- between 12 noon and 6pm at 20 locations around Central London.
According to the report, Orange scored a maximum of 45 points in three locations -- Trafalgar Square, Regent Street, and Bond Street. "It was also the only network to provide consistently good coverage in the (analog) cellular blackspot of the survey, the Angel, Islington," the report said.
Orange scored 799 out of a possible 900 in the survey, with Mercury One-2-One coming second with 755, followed by Vodafone Analog with 761. Next were Cellnet GSM with 759, Cellnet Analog with 710, and Vodafone GSM with 644.
According to Simon Rockman, publisher of What Mobile, the survey had three objectives: to compare the quality of service of the separate networks and discover which network was the best at each location; to look at how the quality of service for each network varied across the capital; and to discover which network gave the best overall coverage in Central London.
Orange officials said they are pleased with the results of the survey. According to Colin Tucker, group technical and operations director of Hutchison Telecom UK, the company is not resting on its laurels, and is currently undertaking a "fill in" program to solve the black spots in its network coverage.
"As we expand the service across the country, inevitably we find small areas where coverage is not perfect because of the particular type of building or because of the geography of the surrounding area. The fill-in program will solve this," he said.
The fill-in sites are in addition to the ongoing build-up of the network as a whole. Orange claims that it is offering service to 65 percent of the UK population and is on target to reach the 70 percent mark by the end of the year.
(Steve Gold/19941010/Press Contact: Paragon Communications (for Orange) +44-71-734-2725; What Mobile & Cellphone tel 44-71-216-6401, fax +44-71-216-6402, Internet e-mail simonr@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: Hutchison Orange 0800-286286)
FLEET, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Hayes, the modem manufacturer, has voiced its support for the Digital Simultaneous Voice & Data (D-SVD) technology that it agreed to work on with AT&T Intel, and US Robotics last month.
According to Hayes, the company now plans to support D-SVD technology in its next generation of Accura, Optima and Ultra modem product lines.
"Working with other industry leaders to develop interoperability standards is a strategy at Hayes that ensures end users will be able to communicate with a large installed base of compatible modems bulletin board systems (BBSs) and network services," explained Dr. Alan Clark, Hayes' vice president of Advanced Communications Products.
Newsbytes took time out to discuss the current state of play over D SVD with Bill Pechey, technical director of Hayes' Northern European operations and a leading light on the International Telecoms Union (ITU -- formally the CCITT) standards committees.
According to Pechey, there are several proposals up before the ITU's Study Group 14 on D-SVD technology, many of them radically different from specifications such as AT&T's Voicespan and the Radish Voiceview technology.
Newsbytes' sources had previously suggested that Intel may be first out of the starting gate with its own proprietary D-SVD technology in a raft of D-SVD-compliant products at next month's Comdex Fall. Was Pechey aware of this?
"Intel haven't mentioned any of their new products to me so far, but they may well be working on their own system, outside of the developments with the ITU," he said, adding that products complying with an ITU-agreed D-SVD technology will probably not arrive to market much before the latter part of next year.
Pechey revealed that rudimentary D-SVD call facilities are supported by the ITU V.34 (28,800 bits-per-second) modem specification. "Not many people realize this," he said, adding that the V.34 specification includes the facility for time division multiplexing several data channels together across the modem data stream.
"This makes it possible for a digitized voice channel and a standard serial port stream to be multiplexed together over a V.34 modem without the need for any new technology," he told Newsbytes.
Although Intel and a few other companies are working on their own D SVD technologies for formal launch at next month's Comdex, Pechey ruled out any hope that any agreement could be formulated by the ITU before then.
"It's still far too early for that. There are an enormous number of proposals to be sorted out, and we still have some way to go before anyone can talk of an emerging SVD standards," he said.
(Steve Gold/19941010/Press & Reader Contact: Hayes Microcomputer Products tel +44-252-775500, fax +44-252-775511)
Products tel +44-252-775500, fax +44-252-775511)
10/10/94
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem Technology Plans
TELECOM
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem T
Skyphone/Jetphone Technology Sho
MONTREAL, CANADA, 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- The Skyphone consortium and the Jetphone joint venture have announced a successful visit to the WAEA annual conference and exhibition, which took place at the Montreal Convention Center in Montreal, Canada, last week.
The Skyphone consortium was formed by British Telecom (BT), Singapore telecom, and Norwegian Telecom in 1989 to deliver worldwide "one-stop" digital air-to-ground voice, data, fax, and entertainment services. The Jetphone company, meanwhile, was formed in 1988 as a joint venture between BT and France Telecom, with a similar brief to Skyphone, but on a European basis.
According to Graham Lamble, marketing communications manager with Skyphone/Jetphone, the Montreal event was the first showing in the US of the consortium's onboard interactive multimedia technology. Plans call for the service to go live on four major airlines -- British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic -- in the early part of next year.
Peter Cheah, aeronautical value-added services manager with BT, and a member of the Skyphone team, said that being able to make phone calls and send faxes while flying "was always only going to be the start of the in-cabin revolution. Fares have been pared to the bone and the standard of customer service industry-wide is already very high. These new services will enhance airlines' onboard packages and will help differentiate them from the competition."
According to Cheah, the passenger interface on these new digital systems is critically important to their success. "We've developed a system that is easy to use -- it features easy to follow picture icons or 'picons,' that guide the passenger intuitively through a number of service options, such as shopping, broadcast news, destination information, and flower delivery," he said.
Cheah explained that the Skyphone system is compatible with the major in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems already in use by major airlines and that BT is working with the airlines' service suppliers on the ground to offer a customized, end-to-end service package.
In a typical application of Skyphone, passengers will access the system using seat back or arm video screens. Services planned for launch early next year include shopping, news, flower delivery, games destination information, car hire and hotel booking. Other facilities are expected to be offered by the individual airlines when the service launches, Newsbytes was told.
(Steve Gold/19941010/Press & Reader Contact: Skyphone/Jetphone tel +44-71-492-4978, fax +44-71-492-2883)
tphone tel +44-71-492-4978, fax +44-71-492-2883)
10/10/94
Skyphone/Jetphone Technology Shown In Montreal
TELECOM
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
Apple Takeover Unlikely, Motorol
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- Rumors of the takeover of Apple Computer (NASDAQ:APPL) were rife last week. However, this week, as the dust settles, Apple's stock has ended up down about a point from where it was before all the talk began.
While wire services were quoting newspapers, who in turn were quoting wire services, a few reports surfaced -- supposedly from "unnamed sources close to Apple," about Motorola's, AT&T's, and/or IBM's possible takeover of Apple.
One of the most provocative reports was from the San Francisco Chronicle, saying Apple may accept an equity investment from IBM Corporation.
Sources at Apple told Newsbytes that the company is in licensing discussions with IBM and others, including Motorola, and AT&T.
Apple's Vice President of Licensing Don Strickland told Newsbytes their policy is to not publicly disclose the identities of their licensees because doing so could jeopardize their partners' competitive positions.
Considering Apple recently made an equity investment in Stac Electronics as part of a licensing agreement, a licensing deal for the Macintosh/Power Macintosh operating system and architecture between Apple and IBM, (if in the works) could very well have a similar provision.
According to the Chronicle report "sources in Silicon Valley" are saying that AT&T is also talking to Apple, but IBM is much closer to an agreement. What kind of agreement? If it's licensing that is old news, say analysts. If it is an equity investment -- that is interesting, but not all that surprising. If it is a takeover, that would indeed be big news. However, that is looking increasingly doubtful.
That IBM, Motorola, and AT&T are talking to Apple is not a surprise say analysts, because they all share the common goal of wishing to challenge Intel's microprocessor and Microsoft's operating system dominance in the marketplace.
The Chronicle report went as far to say that James Cannavino, IBM senior vice president for Strategic Planning, met with Apple Chief Executive Officer Michael Spindler for three days in negotiations but failed to reach an agreement. The paper reports the talks included discussions about IBM taking a minority stake in Apple. The paper also said a new venture was discussed, whereby IBM Apple, and Motorola would develop further technology based on the PowerPC chip.
If the report is not true it ought to be, say analysts. In the widely publicized joint venture of IBM, Apple, and Motorola, the PowerPC microprocessor was developed, but a license from Apple for the Macintosh operating system or architecture was not part of that agreement. As a result IBM implemented the "Prep" PowerPC that so far, cannot run the Macintosh operating. Other than AIX (IBM's brand of Unix), IBM's Prep does not have a native PowerPC operating system, due to the delay of OS/2 for the PowerPC.
Industry analysts told Newsbytes that, if IBM, Motorola, and Apple were to extend their joint development agreement for the PowerPC microprocessor to include the Macintosh/Power Macintosh architecture and operating system, it would lead to widescale acceptance of the PowerPC.
(Nick Anis/19941010/Press Contact: Lynn Lawer, Apple Computer 408-974-3983)
ess Contact: Lynn Lawer, Apple Computer 408-974-3983)
10/10/94
Apple Takeover Unlikely, Motorola/IBM Talk Licensing
APPLE
Skyphone/Jetphone Technology Sho
Apple Takeover Unlikely, Motorol
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`$$$PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 10 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Correction - Floppies For Use By PCs, Macs Simultaneously 10/10/94 In the story of this title which ran on Newsbytes on August 26, the wrong phone number was given for Techno-marketing Inc., (TMI) creator of the floppy disk formatting software that enables a single diskette to be read on IBM-compatible and Macintosh computers without any special hardware or software.
2 -> UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Printer Pricing 10/10/94 Mannesmann Tally (MT) has cut the price of its T-WIN four pages-per-minute (ppm) laser printer from UKP499 to UKP349. The company claims that the price cut will offer better value for customers, as well as putting the squeeze on the competition.
3 -> UK - Truevision's Targa 2000 Windows Video Card 10/10/94 Truevision has announced the Targa 2000, which it claims is the industry's first affordable full- motion 640 by 480 pixel video capture and playback card for Microsoft Windows.
4 -> CompuServe UK Adds "What's On" Guide 10/10/94 CompuServe has added a "what's on" guide to its growing list of UK-specific services available in the UK & European areas of the online service.
5 -> ****FCC Defaults 13 Interactive TV Bidders 10/10/94 The Federal Communications Commission has informed 13 parties that their successful bids for Interactive Video and Data Services licenses are invalid because they failed to make down payments.
6 -> ****Digital Wiretap Bill At White House 10/10/94 The Clinton administration's "digital telephony" bill to make it easier for the Federal Bureau of Investigations to conduct wiretaps of new telephone technologies as on the president's desk for signature.
7 -> Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Medio Equity Investment 10/10/94 Medio Multimedia Inc., an up- and-coming multimedia CD-ROM publisher that offers a general-interest multimedia magazine, has received an equity investment from Vulcan Ventures Inc., Paul Allen's investment organization.
8 -> IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now Final 10/10/94 IBM (NASDAQ:IBM) and Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) have announced the joint venture agreement the companies signed on September 8, to manufacture semiconductor wafers for each other using IBM's submicron wafer processing technology, has been completed.
9 -> Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Notes, Ami Pro 10/10/94 At Unix Expo, Lotus announced plans to roll out the first versions of Notes for SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) Unix, HP-UX, and IBM AIX, over the next 45 days, starting in October, and to deliver Ami Pro 3.0 for Sun Solaris in November.
10 -> Unix Expo - IBM Intros & Upgrades Database Products 10/10/94 At Unix Expo, IBM rolled out an array of new middleware products and utilities for easing database access on distributed multivendor networks. In related news, the company added SMP (symmetrical multiprocessor) support to its DB2 database environment.
11 -> Unix Expo - Preview Of "SunExpress On The Internet" 10/10/94 Visitors to Unix Expo in New York City got a sneak preview of "SunExpress On The Internet," a forthcoming online service that seems sure to become a major commercial presence on the Internet.
12 -> Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Manager, Teams With Tandem 10/10/94 In a press conference at Unix Expo, Bull unveiled ISM (Integrated System Management) Version 3, a much expanded system network and security management suite that now includes more than 50 applications. Bull also announced plans to port the product upgrade to Tandem's Integrity line, and to resell the package through Tandem and other new partners in various parts of the globe.
13 -> Unix Expo - Data General Management Station, Tivoli Deal 10/10/94 Data General's Aviion Business Unit has unveiled the Enterprise Management Station for administering DG Aviion servers and Clariion disk arrays, along with plans to resell the Tivoli Management Platform for "multivendor systems administration" with all DG systems.
14 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 10/10/94 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. JPEG files are for use, PICT files for thumbnails. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day. To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
15 -> Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase Deals 10/10/94 Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN, NASDAQ:COGNF) is angling for more client/server computing business through two deals with major database software vendors. The company announced a new version of its PowerHouse fourth-generation language that supports Oracle Corp.'s Oracle 7 database software, plus a marketing agreement with Sybase Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBS).
16 -> Dell Intros Desktop PCs 10/10/94 Dell Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:DELL) has announced its Optiplex 560/L, a Pentium-based desktop PC designed for corporate computer users.
17 -> IBM Canada To Resell Evergreen Notes 10/10/94 In what could be a crucial endorsement for a small Canadian software vendor Evergreen International Technology Inc. has made a deal to have IBM Canada Ltd., of Markham, Ontario, resell its Evergreen Notes software utility.
18 -> Adobe Ships Persuasion 3.0 For Windows 10/10/94 Adobe Systems Inc. (OTC:ADBE) has started shipping release 3.0 of its Persuasion for Windows presentation graphics program.
19 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 10/10/94 This regular feature appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Claris FileMaker Pro Server, Digital's Celebris PCs, Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet 320 printers, price cuts on IBM ThinkPads, IBM's first symmetric multiprocessing RS/6000 servers, Lotus Organizer 2.0 for Windows three new home multimedia titles from Microsoft, and Motorola's new PowerStack PowerPC machines.
20 -> Great Bear Offers Own Company Profile On CD-ROM 10/10/94 Great Bear Technology (NASD EBB:GTBR) has released a complete corporate profile of itself on CD-ROM.
21 -> Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To Leave Firm Early 10/10/94 Ameritech, the telecommunications giant, says it now expects around 10,000 employees to leave by the end of next year under an incentive plan announced in March of this year. The figure is 4,000 higher than the firm's original estimates.
22 -> AT&T Offers Rate Deal For Less Regulation 10/10/94 In the face of competition from more than 400 long distance carriers, AT&T has offered "stable, lower rates for poor or infrequent customers" in return for a loosening of the regulatory leash.
23 -> 3 Interest Groups Enter Video Dial-Tone Fight 10/10/94 Three national organization have objected to a US National Cable Television Association (NCTA) appeal to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for new cost-allocation rules. All three called it an attempt to protect cable company monopolies at the expense of consumers.
24 -> Microsoft Add-In Converts Access Database To SQL Server 10/10/94 Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced an add-in product for Access 2.0 that automates the conversion of an Access database for use with Microsoft SQL Server.
25 -> Czech Republic Commits To Telecoms Privatization 10/10/94 After several months of deliberation, the Czech Republic government has announced that 12 companies are now in the running for a stake in SPT Telecom, the soon-to-be-privatized state telecoms company.
26 -> ****Europe - EC Votes To Take In Eastern Europe 10/10/94 The European Commission (EC) has approved plans to admit six former Eastern Bloc countries to membership of the European Union.
27 -> UK - Hutchison Claims London Mobile Coverage Best 10/10/94 The latest issue of What Mobile & Cellphone magazine has taken the innovative approach of testing the six existing mobile phone networks in the UK out at the locations of a Monopoly game board squares around London. The result of the survey, carried out by independent journalist Derek Cohen, was that the Hutchison Orange cellular network provided the best levels of service in the London area
28 -> ****Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem Technology Plans 10/10/94 Hayes, the modem manufacturer, has voiced its support for the Digital Simultaneous Voice & Data (D-SVD) technology that it agreed to work on with AT&T, Intel, and US Robotics last month.
29 -> Skyphone/Jetphone Technology Shown In Montreal 10/10/94 The Skyphone consortium and the Jetphone joint venture have announced a successful visit to the WAEA annual conference and exhibition which took place at the Montreal Convention Center in Montreal Canada, last week.
30 -> ****Apple Takeover Unlikely, Motorola/IBM Talk Licensing 10/10/94 Rumors of the takeover of Apple Computer (NASDAQ:APPL) were rife last week. However, this week, as the dust settles Apple's stock has ended up down about a point from where it was before all the talk began.
(Ian Stokell/19941010)
(Ian Stokell/19941010)
10/10/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Unix Expo - Clariion's GuardWare
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- At Unix Expo, Data General's Clariion Business Unit announced GuardWare, a disk array-based system designed for monitoring Sun Solaris systems and automatically directing "application-specific" recovery in the event of failure.
At a meeting in the Clariion booth, John Barlow, product manager explained to Newsbytes that GuardWare is a "highly symmetric" system that combines "third-generation" Clariion RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) technology with Clariion's agent-based "failover software."
The standard GuardWare configuration he said, calls for: two Sun servers, each running Solaris 2.3 or higher; dual Ethernet networks for continuous server monitoring; two Ethernet interfaces per server; and a dual-ported redundant Clariion disk array.
Users do not need to designate one Sun server as a "back-up," he reported. Instead, users can run applications on both servers, and each server will cover for the other if a failure occurs.
In the event of failure, the standby Ethernet connection will "impersonate" the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the failed server, permitting "transparent client access" to the alternate server, according to Barlow.
Clariion's "failover software" creates two redundant GuardWare daemons on each server, Barlow continued. The daemons are able to "detect" hardware or software failure, and to initiate user specified "recovery scripts."
Source code provided with GuardWare allows system administrators to create "application-specific agents." If an application fails, the agent will first try to re-start the application. The "custom agent" can be configured to carry out one of four different steps if the re-start attempt fails, according to the product manager.
The agent can be told to either reboot the entire system, send a message to system administrators notifying them that service is down, send an alert to the SunNet Manager's console that the application has failed, or halt the system so that the standby server will automatically take over the failed application.
GuardWare is also available with "standard agents" for Oracle Sybase, and Informix RDBMS (relational database management systems), each of which is dedicated to that database only.
In addition, through an "agent algorithm" in the GuardWare software, remote agents can be distributed throughout an enterprise, reporting back to the daemon from LAN (local area network) or WAN (wide area network) servers.
GuardWare is available with a variety of Clariion RAID disk arrays including "third generation" disk drive modules, introduced last summer, that provide four gigabytes (GB) of capacity per drive Barlow said.
GuardWare requires Sun Solaris 2.3 or higher. The product is not offered for Sun OS (operating system). But Data General's Clariion produces RAID disk array products for a range of other multivendor platforms, including NetWare, SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) Unix, AIX and Windows NT, Barlow told Newsbytes. Products will also be offered for Microsoft's upcoming Daytona, he noted.
Like the GuardWare software, Clariion's disk arrays are designed to eliminate a "single point of failure," according to Barlow. All subsystems -- including drives, storage control processors, power supplies, and fans -- are "completely redundant." Other capabilities include mirrored cache, hot swapping, and tape array backup.
GuardWare's only "real competitor" in the Sun market is OpenVision HA, Newsbytes was told. Unlike GuardWare, though, OpenVision HA requires kernel modifications to Solaris, resulting in a more time consuming installation process, he maintained.
In addition, OpenVision HA costs more than GuardWare, and it does not provide "redundant monitor daemons," according to Barlow. GuardWare is priced at $14,995 for two Sun servers. Availability is 30 days after receipt of order.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941008/Reader Contact: Clariion Business Unit of Data General, 508-898-7600; Press Contacts: Bob Palmer, Data General, 508-898-6547; Mitchell Derman, Edelman Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
Derman, Edelman Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
10/11/94
Unix Expo - Clariion's GuardWare Protects Sun Solaris
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
IBM Says Software Is Holding Up
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Mar
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Boo
Unix Expo - BBN's Turnkey Servic
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- From a booth in the "Internet Village" at Unix Expo, BBN launched Internet Site Patrol an Internet security system billed as the first to combine services with protective "firewall" hardware and software products.
The turnkey service also represents a mix of "internal" and "external" approaches to Internet security, said Rebecca Wetzel marketing manager for BBN's Nearnet, and Cyndi Mills, product manager, BBN Internet Services, during a set of interviews with Newsbytes.
As a centerpiece, Internet Site Patrol offers round-the-clock remote monitoring for unauthorized access of the customer's Internet connection by BBN's Network Operations Center (NOC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Wetzel explained.
But Internet Site Patrol also supplies training in how to handle Internet security issues at the local area network (LAN) level, she reported.
Security professionals who work at BBN's NOC respond to security breaches with measures matching the level of the "security event," up to and including temporary shutdown of a customer's Internet connection, according to Wetzel.
All security events are logged and compiled into monthly reports that sum up the events according to needs at each site, which are determined by customers.
Generally, internal users at a company are given unlimited outward access to the Internet, while in-bound traffic is either restricted or prevented entirely. But an individual company may wish to restrict access to the outside, so as to keep employees from "surfing the Internet on company time," for example. Alternatively the customer might want to restrict access to certain "Internet applications," but not to others.
Trained BBN "Site Patrol analysts" review each monthly "event report," and reassess Internet "permissions" based on "changing requirements at the site," according to the NEARNET marketing manager.
At the product level, the permissions are configured on the Site Patrol, a PC-based "firewall" system that features a router with Ethernet connection on both the "external" (Internet) and "internal" sides, added BBN's Mills.
The PC software operates "application proxies," a set of "filters" designed to let only authorized activities get through "the wall."
In this way, Internet Site Patrol ventures a step beyond packet based filtering to allow application-based filtering of Internet services like the World Wide Web (WWW), Telnet, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol), and DNS (Domain Name Service), according to Mills.
The blend of customer input with BBN products and services carries major benefits for users, the BBN execs told Newsbytes. Because BBN deals with Internet security issues on a volume basis, products and services can be provided in a "cost-effective" manner, maintained Wetzel.
"And there really is no substitute for experience," Mills added. BBN designed and implemented the ARPANET, predecessor to the Internet, way back in 1969, and operated the earlier nationwide network throughout its 21-year lifespan, she noted.
Since 1989, BBN has operated NEARNET, the major regional Internet access provider for New England. NEARNET services were recently expanded to metropolitan New York and northern New Jersey. In August, BBN acquired BARRNet, a regional Internet access provider for Northern California, from Stanford University.
Services available through BBN's Internet Site Control also include hardware and software installation. A one-year contract is priced at $1,500, including hardware, software, and all services.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941009/Reader Contact: BBN, 617-873-2000; Press Contact: Brenda Nichols, Parker Nichols & Company for BBN 508-369-2100)
nda Nichols, Parker Nichols & Company for BBN 508-369-2100)
10/11/94
Unix Expo - BBN's Turnkey Service For Internet Security
ONLINE
Microsoft Offers Solution Server
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced the Microsoft Solution Server "structured evaluation" program.
According to Microsoft spokesperson, Ian Garbutt, The "Microsoft Solution Server" provides hardware, preinstalled software and technical-information products designed to enable customers to rapidly integrate and deploy "enterprise solutions" based on the recently announced Microsoft BackOffice technology.
Garbutt told Newsbytes that the Solution Server program is being implemented initially with "Solution Providers" AT&T Global Information Solutions, Digital Equipment Corporation, Sequent Computer Systems Inc., and NEC Technologies.
"Microsoft Solution Server will provide customers with preconfigured software applications and information solutions that are designed to integrate with their existing business applications," said John Neilson, general manager of the Organization Customer Unit at Microsoft. "This will help speed the evaluation process and ensure that customers have a positive experience with Microsoft BackOffice."
According to Neilson, the Microsoft Solution Server is designed to meet customer demand for hands-on evaluation of the Microsoft BackOffice platform. Neilson says the Solution Server program has been in beta testing with more than 30 companies for the last four months.
"The Solution Server program came complete with all the tools Microsoft software, AT&T hardware, and support necessary for a structured evaluation," said Jim Martin, information manager at Pacific Bell. "This enabled me to make a solid decision."
Under the Microsoft Solution Server program, the complete server system is installed at the customer site at no charge for a period of 60 days. Customers are required to purchase eight hours of consulting time from their OEM (original equipment manufacturer) provider or designated Microsoft Solution Provider.
The Solution Server package includes a free Pentium or RISC (reduced instruction-set computing)-based server computer running Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5, Microsoft server applications and technical developer information, including a comprehensive tutorial, evaluation guide, Microsoft Tech-Net CD, Microsoft Developer Network Level I CD, and data sheets.
Microsoft says third-party and application software appropriate to the business needs of the evaluating company may also be added by the OEM, participating ISVs (independent software vendors), or customer.
Announced at Windows World in Dallas last month, Microsoft BackOffice is an integrated information system comprising: Windows NT Server 3.5, the network foundation for running business applications; Microsoft SQL Server version 4.21, a relational database management system for client-server computing; Microsoft SNA Server version 2.1, which provides connectivity for IBM enterprise networks; Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.0, for managing networked PCs; and Microsoft Mail Server 3.2, an electronic messaging product.
Microsoft sources told Newsbytes the company will be announcing additional participants for the program in the future.
(Nick Anis/19941010/Press Contact: Ian Garbutt or Aimee Stone Waggener Edstrom, for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Reader Contact: AT&T GIS, 800-796-9476; Digital Equipment Corp., Ernie Lou 206-865-8754; NEC Technologies, Paula Vermette, 508-264-8952; Sequent Computer Systems Inc., Michel Gambier, 503-578-5095)
ystems Inc., Michel Gambier, 503-578-5095)
10/11/94
Microsoft Offers Solution Server Program
GENERAL
Bridging The Bay, Linking The Wo
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Ron Brown US Secretary, Department of Commerce, and Co-chair of the US Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure (NII) is scheduled to deliver a luncheon address at "Bridging The Bay Linking The World conference. The event launches the formation of a multimedia partnership designed to "maintain the San Francisco Bay Area as the focal point for multimedia development worldwide."
The US Secretary of Commerce is to be joined by Ed McCraken chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) for Silicon Graphics. The conference features the use of multimedia in the fields of health care, education, industry, and government. A "live feed" to ten European locations is currently being developed for the October 20 event.
The interactive connection with Europe allows for the delivery of a panel discussion of industry leaders from various European countries. Pacific Bell, British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom Hochteif Software, the European Commission, and the European Multimedia Forum are all working in conjunction to produce the "live feed."
As well as discussing industry trends, the conference will highlight market opportunities and government relationships to multimedia development, production, and sales. One of the conference sessions "Adapting to the Paradigm Shift," will take a look at the changes that "are about to occur in everyday life."
Sunne McPeak of the Bay Area Economic Forum told Newsbytes "In the Bay Area we have a collection of electronics, software audio, hardware, and multimedia developers and manufacturers which fit perfectly into the role of economic recovery and employment development. We see multimedia as the leader in the future of commerce."
Registration begins at 7:30 am, October 20 at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame. The conference is open to the public, and the entry fee is $125, or $100 for members and employees of sponsoring organizations and companies. Pre-registration is available through the public information phone number below.
(Patrick McKenna/19941010/Press Contact: Pat Meier, Pat Meier & Associates, 415-957-1733; Public Information: Ariana Madrid Coopers & Lybrand, 415-957-3068)
: Ariana Madrid Coopers & Lybrand, 415-957-3068)
10/11/94
Bridging The Bay, Linking The World Conference
GENERAL
Quantum Offers Hierarchical Stor
Unix Expo - Attendance Rises, Da
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 -- Unix Expo '94 attracted 416 exhibitors and 34,048 attendees -- figures that exceeded those of last year, and also surpassed this year's projections. Show organizers, The Blenheim Group, have also formally set the dates for next year's event.
Unix Expo '95 is scheduled for September 19 to 21, 1995, at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, with "Enterprising Solutions for the Open Systems Age" as the official theme.
In an interview with Newsbytes before the start of Unix Expo '94 Don Berey, show director, predicted that this year's expo would bring 400 exhibitors and "34,000 corporate volume buyers and trade resellers" as attendees, sums representing a substantial rise over the 1993 numbers of 358 exhibitors and 31,501 attendees.
"A trade show is a reflection of the marketplace. And the Unix marketplace is even more exciting and vibrant today than last year," the show director told Newsbytes.
The final totals for this year's show turned out to be higher than Berey's forecast. Coinciding with next year's theme, Unix Expo '94 showed a strong "open systems" orientation, seen in the program offerings as well as in vendors' announcements of products and pacts.
To cite a couple of examples, a new series of "value-added" programs -- open to all show attendees on a complimentary basis featured a seminar called "Open Systems OverView," in addition to presentations by the Open Software Foundation, PowerOpen Association, and X/Open Company Ltd.
Berey told Newsbytes that The Blenheim Group chose the "value added" programs -- as well as other show and conference offerings based on corporate buyers' and resellers' interests. Blenheim brings a "highly qualified audience" to Unix Expo, he maintained.
Other industry trends evident at this year's expo included the mounting popularity of the Internet, and emerging movements toward PowerPC, and symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) systems.
"This year's show will be a true 'Internet experience,'" Berey remarked. And he was right. In another of the "value-added" seminars, John Krick, senior analyst for DataPro, delivered a "Welcome to the Internet" talk that dealt with topics like Internet providers, types of connections, Mosaic, Gopher, and Archie.
And in one of the show's two keynotes, a group of panelists moderated by Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Associates, delved into the subject, "The Internet and Its Role in the Business Community." Meanwhile, Blenheim devoted an entire section of the exhibition floor to the Internet, dubbing this area "The Internet Village."
Visitors to "The Village" stood in line at the "E-Mail Village Green" for hands-on, informal training sessions that allowed them to exchange electronic mail over the "information highway" with each other and the "outside world."
Advanced Network & Services (ANS) was the "official Internet service provider" at the show, while DEC served as the "official sponsor and hardware supplier" of the E-Mail Village Green.
The "Internet Village" also drew dozens of exhibitors, ranging from SunExpress, BBN, Sprint, and ClariNet Communications Corp., to Netcom, CommTouch, and the International Internet Association. On the first day of Unix Expo, Blenheim put on a special press tour of the village.
Also this year, Blenheim rolled out a new "Internet track" for "full conference" attendees. Selections in the track included: "Cruising the Internet Safely," "Cost Justifying the Internet for Business," and "Business Opportunities Using the Internet."
Additional tracks this year were: "Systems and Network Administration," "Management," "Software Development," "Data Management," "Networking," and "Emerging Technologies," a category that considered such topics as WABI, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), and CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture).
On the product side, major announcements made at the show included Motorola's first PowerPC systems and IBM's first PowerPC SMP servers. In addition, Groupe Bull, which originally launched its first PowerPC SMP products in Europe, "re-introduced" the new machines to the US market at Unix Expo.
Vendors also unveiled agreements and alliances. Data General, for instance, announced plans to resell the Tivoli Management Platform for "multivendor systems administration" with all DG systems, as well as to resell and support Tivoli applications, and to build DG applications that interface to Tivoli.
And in debuting ISM (Integrated System Management) 3, another new offering, Bull also mapped out plans to port the product to Tandem's Integrity line, and to resell the package through Tandem and other new partners on a worldwide basis.
Other key highlights of the 11th annual Unix Expo show included: a keynote by Lawrence Ellison, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Oracle; a closing plenary debate; the 1994 Unix Expo Job Fair; a Product Test Center, and a "Software Superstore."
Oracle's Ellison looked at the growing use of "software libraries" for collecting, storing, organizing and distributing multimedia information.
Panelists in the plenary squared off on the respective merits of Unix and Windows NT. Moderated by David Flack, editor-in-chief of Open Computing, the debate was called, "The Future of the Enterprise Server: Unix versus Windows NT."
The Unix Expo Job Fair, which was hosted by Pencom, provided postings of available technical and managerial jobs, along with career counseling, "skills enhancement" and professional networking programs, and the chance to meet informally with prospective employers/employees. The Job Fair is becoming an annual event Berey said.
The Product Test Center, a program new to Unix Expo this year featured "live" testing and evaluation of products being exhibited on the show floor. The testers were engineers from XXCal, while the evaluators included "independent industry experts," as well as editors of Computer Reseller News, the publication that sponsored the test facility.
The Software Superstore, sponsored by UniDirect and also new in '94, permitted on-site purchase of products on display at Unix Expo -- in many instances, at "special show pricing."
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941010/Reader Contact: The Blenheim Group 201-346-1400; Press Contacts: Annie Scully, Blenheim, 201-346 1400 ext 145; Mark Haviland, Blenheim, 201-829-3976 ext 152)
xt 145; Mark Haviland, Blenheim, 201-829-3976 ext 152)
10/11/94
Unix Expo - Attendance Rises, Dates Set For '95 Show
GENERAL
Dell Cuts Pentium-Based Dimensio
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:DELL) has reduced the price of all its Pentium-based Dimension desktop personal computers.
Dell said the cut is across the board for all models of its Dimension XPS P60 and XPS P90 systems. The P60 is powered by a 60 megahertz (MHz) Pentium chip, while the P90 model uses a 90MHz microprocessor.
Under the new pricing a Dimension XPS P60 with eight megabytes (MB) of memory, a 528MB hard drive, 1MB of video memory, a 15-inch SVGA color monitor, a mouse and MS-DOS 6.2 and Microsoft Windows 3.1 installed, will sell for $1,899. The system formerly was priced at $1,999 with a smaller hard drive. A similarly equipped XPS P90 that also has a double-speed CD-ROM drive now sells for $2,399 reduced from $2,599. Dell says the Dimension line of PCs is designed for use by small to medium-sized businesses and small office/home office users.
Both models use ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) technology and 64-bit PCI local bus video.
As reported recently by Newsbytes, Dell has announced an addition to its Optiplex line, the Pentium-based 60MHz Optiplex 560/L.
Dell spokesperson Kellie Leonard told Newsbytes the Optiplex PCs are not intended to replace the Dimension products.
Dell recently appointed a new corporate director of worldwide quality. Mike Jaggers, formerly director of development services in Dell's Product Group, will fill the new position, where he will be responsible for improving the quality of Dell's products and product development processes. He will also direct the company's Quality Leadership Council. Jaggers will report to Mort Topfer Dell's vice chairman.
Dell has also created a director of worldwide operations business process improvement and named Monica Burgess to that position. Burgess, is a 15-year veteran of Unisys Corporation, most recently as director of fast-cycle process development.
Asked if the creation of a quality control manager at the corporate level indicates problems in that area, Dell spokesperson Faith Singer told Newsbytes it does not. "We've always had an emphasis on quality, but we wanted to reinforce and enhance our continued emphasis on quality. These two positions seemed ideal," Singer said.
(Jim Mallory/19941011/Press contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer Corp., 512-728-4100; Public contact: Dell Computer, 512-338-4400)
Public contact: Dell Computer, 512-338-4400)
10/11/94
Dell Cuts Pentium-Based Dimension PC Prices
Correction - Floppies For Use By
IBM Canada To Resell Evergreen N
Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court
RasterOps, Truevision Bundle Acc
PC Designers Endorse Seagate's F
IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- "OS/2 Warp is everything Microsoft promised Chicago would be, only it is nine months earlier. There is no waiting," claimed Wally Casey, IBM's (NYSE: IBM) director of marketing.
With an assembly of top execs, celebrities, the press and VIPs, IBM made the formal announcement of the latest version of OS/2. After all the glitter and hoopla, the body of the announcement is the name of the system, the price, and the shipping date. The "simulcast" announcement from London and New York followed by a similar event in Sydney, Australia, launched the product.
IBM chose to avoid all the city names (Detroit, Toledo, Milwaukee Chicago) and stay with the popular beta name, Warp.
Officially, The name is OS/2 Warp Version 3. The company looked into other names such as Version 3, V3 and Personal OS/2, but concluded the popularity of the beta name offered the image of the future, speed, power and performance IBM thought characterized the product.
The company is making extensive efforts to attract new customers to the 32-bit operating system. For $79, the entire system, plus the bonus pack of "true" 32-bit applications, including the Internet Access software, is in the initial offering.
Expected to hit the channels "everywhere software is sold," the operating system should be in place by the last week of October. The World Wide Web navigation software, WebExplorer, is the only element not available. Casey says it will ship sometime in November.
In a private interview, Casey told Newsbytes, "This may be the greatest software bargain of all time. For the $79 purchasing price a user is receiving approximately $800 worth of software."
IBM says an "unprecedented" print and video advertising campaign will begin the first week of November. While certain levels of advertising are already in place, company sources told Newsbytes it was important to coordinate the campaign with product availability.
IBM hopes to challenge software giant, Microsoft, with the new OS/2 version, beating that company's new version of Windows to market.
(Patrick McKenna/19941011/Press Contact: Chris McManus Brodeur & Partners, 914-697-9711)
Brodeur & Partners, 914-697-9711)
10/11/94
IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Following the technology announcement the company made in March, Sony (NYSE:SNE) says its battery-operated, portable MD (MiniDisc) drive, MDH-10 is expected to ship by the end of November, or first part of December. A 140 megabyte (MB) rewritable data storage disc, MMD-140, is also scheduled to ship at the same time.
Sony also announced another product, the MDM111-10, which is designed as an internal drive for IBM's (NYSE:IBM) ThinkPad Docking Station. According to the company, the corporate acceptance and use of the ThinkPad convinced Sony to produce this internal drive.
The new technology is designed for the DOS, Windows, and Macintosh environments, and the hardware is independent of any operating system. Installation software determines the setup and configuration on either environment.
Sony says it will first market the portable drive to notebook and PowerBook users and predicts the first strong acceptance of the new technology will occur in the portable multimedia presentation market.
As well as the presentation market, the company sees a strong potential for the disks and drives as back-up systems and in data-intensive applications such as desktop publishing.
Takashi Sugiyama, director of multimedia peripherals marketing for Sony, told Newsbytes, "We think this technology will revolutionize data storage and follow a path of success like the 3.5-inch floppy disk."
The new disk, MMD-140, holds almost 10 times the amount of data on a standard floppy and, at 2.5-inches, is smaller than the standard floppy. Sony first introduced the 3.5-inch floppy many years ago.
According to Sony, the new drives, which sell for $699.95, rewrite disks in a single pass to conserve battery power. The disks, which are priced at $29.95, may be rewritten more than one million times without loss of integrity. The drives are also capable of playing Sony's audio MDs.
The new drives are powered by a rechargeable lithium battery pack, an AC power adapter or three AA alkaline batteries. The drives also accept read-only and mixed read-only, rewritable disks.
Sugiyama says Sony is committed to this technology and, while it expects it to one day be a standard for data storage and transfer which will replace the standard floppy, it does not it expect such change overnight. Sugiyama pointed out the rather slow beginning of the acceptance of CD-ROM drives in its first two years. He said the company does not expect these drives to take that long to establish a place in market, but Sony realizes that a long-term commitment to the new technology is required.
The drives are lightweight and have a standard small computer system interface (SCSI)-2 interface. This makes it easier for PowerBook users. For many DOS and Windows notebook users, a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) SCSI adapter card may be necessary.
Sugiyama also told Newsbytes that OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) already have licensing agreements with Sony and these manufacturers will be watching closely to register the acceptance of MD Data drives. If the success which Sony expects occurs, the marketplace will begin to see internal desktop drives developed by a number of different well-known names.
Newsbytes also learned the next generation of MD Data drives designed to increase the current 150 kilobyte data transfer rate are already on the drawing board.
(Patrick McKenna/19940111/Press Contact: Marilyn Young Technology Solutions, 415-617-4524)
ogy Solutions, 415-617-4524)
10/11/94
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
TRENDS
Powersoft Hong Kong Almost Tops
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Following a strong sales performance over the last six months, Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd. has emerged as one of the most successful vendors of client-server development tools in the territory. With the injection of new management resources earlier in the year the local organization is already pacing its US-based parent, Powersoft Corp., another fast growing software company.
For the six months ended June 30, 1994, Powersoft reported that revenues increased 272 percent over the first half of 1993, rising to US$57,953,000. Net income for the first half of 1994 was up 279.5 percent to US$6,160,000. Powersoft Hong Kong business, meanwhile grew by over 250 percent with the majority coming in the second quarter.
According to Francis Ng, general manager of Powersoft Hong Kong the surge of business in the territory results from three factors: the rapid acceptance of client-server computing among large Hong Kong companies; the strength of the PowerBuilder Enterprise Series product line; and the recruitment of some major channel partners to complement Powersoft HK's direct sales efforts.
"Francis Ng has done a great job driving our Hong Kong business since coming on-board in March. The Hong Kong office has really taken off as a free-standing operation with dedicated sales and support resources," said Trevor Westlake, Powersoft Corp.'s Asia/Pacific manager.
"Our 1994 target for Hong Kong has already been exceeded. Expansion in Asia/Pacific, which includes a dozen countries from India to Japan continues beyond expectation with Hong Kong proving to be exceptionally strong," added Westlake.
Since the release, at the end of last year, of PowerBuilder 3.0, a major upgrade of Powersoft's open, object-oriented development environment business in Hong Kong has been brisk. The roster of local Powersoft customers reads like a who's who of Hong Kong-based companies that are migrating their information systems to client-server architecture said the company.
"Client-server pioneers in Hong Kong, like OOCL and the Hospital Authority also made an early commitment to PowerBuilder. The arrival of PowerBuilder 3.0 seems to have coincided with a big upswing by Hong Kong companies committing to a new distributed application architecture," said Ng.
"For example, having chosen PowerBuilder late last year the MTRC (Mass Transit Railway Corporation) is now the biggest Powersoft customer in Asia, and one of the biggest single PowerBuilder development sites in the world. This year they've been followed by the likes of Duty-Free Shoppers, American President Lines, Union Bank of Switzerland, and Warner Music to name but a few."
The client-server trend is also very well established in Hong Kong tertiary education, where PowerBuilder is being used both for internal application development and as a student learning tool. Baptist University Chinese University, City Polytechnic, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lingnan College, the Vocational Training Council, and the new Hong Kong Institute of Education are all Powersoft customers.
In the last three months, Powersoft Hong Kong has moved to recruit skilled system resellers to its indirect distribution channel. Its new channel partners include Lecco Consultants, Oracle's biggest value-added reseller (VAR) in Hong Kong, together with Tech-Trends, Star Page Computers, System Pro, and Microware USA.
(Keith Cameron/19941004/Press Contact: Francis Ng. Powersoft 852-576-3638)
ontact: Francis Ng. Powersoft 852-576-3638)
10/11/94
Powersoft Hong Kong Almost Tops US Parent
BUSINESS
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- India's largest computer training company, NIIT Ltd., has forged an alliance with US telecom giant AT&T to offer telecom training to students and professionals.
Announcing the alliance at a press conference recently, NIIT managing director, Rajendra S. Pawar, said: "We are very pleased to have an agreement with AT&T for providing telecommunications training in India. Together, we shall help the nation realize the New Telecom Policy's goal of 'Telecommunications for all.'"
NIIT has identified telecom as a major growth area for the next three years. With the addition of telecom to the curriculum of its various computer training centers, NIIT says it will be offering "complete education" in information technology in computers, as well as telecommunications.
"A pioneer in computer education in India, NIIT will now be the first company to offer comprehensive training in telecommunications and computers," Pawar said.
Giving details, NIIT director, Vijay K. Thadani, said the curriculum would range from the fundamentals of telecommunications, under the broad head of "Teleessentials," to advanced areas like communications theory, ISDN (integrated services digital network), and networking.
The NIIT-AT&T alliance hopes to fulfill the multiple needs arising out of the boost given to the telecommunications sector by the recent policies of the Indian government. As a result of that liberalization of the telecom sector, there is predicted to be a massive inflow of investment and technology. It is estimated that over 150,000 telecom-trained personnel will be required over the next five years.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941011)
five years.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941011)
10/11/94
India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom Training
TELECOM
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem T
WordPerfect Ships More Main Stre
US Govt Looks For Test Of Digita
Lexmark Readies New Laser Printe
IBM Scrambling To Meet Aptiva De
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) is hoping to boost production of its Aptiva home personal computers to keep up with greater-than-expected demand, but the company admits it may not be able to fill all resellers' orders through the rest of 1994.
Company spokeswoman Kristen Hedlund told Newsbytes the company has commitments for all the Aptivas it plans to build from now until the end of the year. "There is a possibility that retailers will want them and not be able to get them," she said.
The situation is seen in the industry as a potentially costly miscalculation on IBM's part. Not surprisingly, the company itself is trying to put a positive spin on it. Hedlund said IBM was purposely conservative in estimating demand for the new PC line, launched in September, because it wanted to let the new line build momentum gradually.
IBM's cautious projections may also have had something to do with recent bad experiences caused by over-estimating demand. The company had to take back large numbers of unsold ValuePoint PCs from resellers earlier this year, causing industry-watcher Dataquest Inc. to revise IBM's first-quarter PC shipments sharply downward. Sources say the company was afraid this would happen again, particularly in the fourth-quarter when resellers who focus on the home market tend to overstock in anticipation of the Christmas buying season.
Hedlund said IBM's miscalculation will not be bad news for its Aptiva revenues, since the company will sell as many of the machines as planned. She also maintained IBM does not expect the shortage will cost it the goodwill of resellers or customers. "It's just a couple of months until we're there," she said maintaining that IBM expects to catch up with demand by January.
January is the second-largest retail month of the year, Hedlund added.
IBM is going to try to boost production of Aptiva PCs to cope with the demand, Hedlund said, but it is not clear how much additional production is possible. Apparently the supply of parts made by other manufacturers for IBM may constrain production.
(Grant Buckler/19941011/Press Contact: Kristen Hedlund, IBM 914-766-1809)
ct: Kristen Hedlund, IBM 914-766-1809)
10/11/94
IBM Scrambling To Meet Aptiva Demand
Newsbytes Daily Summary
IBM Scrambling To Meet Aptiva De
OnLine Tonight Heard On United A
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- The radio talk show OnLine Tonight made its in-flight debut on United Airlines' SkyRadio Sunday night. The two-hour program, hosted by David Lawrence, was heard live on United's domestic flights in the United States.
OnLine Tonight is a weekly live talk show that deals with personal computing and electronic entertainment. It has been broadcast weekly in the United States since February, spokesman Matt Coates told Newsbytes. The addition of SkyRadio to the show's affiliates adds about 900,000 listeners per month to a total audience estimated at 3.7 million, according to OnLine Tonight's backers.
Because OnLine Tonight uses a phone-in format, it offers passengers on United Airlines an excuse to take advantage of the airline's seat-back telephones. Coates said a handful of United passengers called the show Sunday night, perhaps encouraged by special prizes Lawrence gave away to in-flight callers.
He added that the response from the air to the first show was encouraging, especially given that there was virtually no advance promotion. The deal between OnLine Tonight and United was just completed last week, he said.
In coming weeks, SkyRadio will be running hourly advertisements to let United passengers know that the program is now available on the service.
SkyRadio provides three channels of news and information via audio feed to seats on United's flights, including an all-news channel, an all-sports channel, and a news and talk channel.
OnLine Tonight combines news, reviews, interviews, calls from listeners, and games. Along with Lawrence, the show features resident DOS and Windows expert Rita Daniels and news anchor Peter Burns. It is broadcast live between 8:00 and 10:00 pm Eastern time, on Sunday nights.
(Grant Buckler/19941011/Press Contact: Matt Coates, OnLine Tonight, 202-337-3111)
att Coates, OnLine Tonight, 202-337-3111)
10/11/94
OnLine Tonight Heard On United Airlines
TRENDS
Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Me
Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase
OnLine Tonight Heard On United A
IBM Unveils Prices, Ship Dates F
FISHKILL, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) has announced pricing and availability of the 100 megahertz (MHz) version of its PowerPC 601 processor, and for the initial versions of the PowerPC 603 and 604 chips.
The 100MHz PowerPC 601 -- a faster incarnation of the original PowerPC chip -- is now available in sample quantities and will begin volume production in November, IBM said. The 100MHz 601 will cost $399 in quantities of 1,000.
The 100MHz 601 joins three slower versions of that chip, running at 50MHz, 66MHz, and 80MHz, that are in volume production already. IBM also announced new prices for those chips for the fourth quarter: $165 for the 50MHz and 66MHz chips, and $249 for the 80MHz version.
The PowerPC 603, a power-saving version of the 601 aimed at notebook computers and other uses where power consumption is a key concern, is to go into production in November. The 66MHz and 80MHz versions of the 603 will be the first versions of that chip to become generally available, company spokesman Russell Castronovo told Newsbytes. IBM has set the prices at $165 for the 66MHz version and $195 for the 80MHz version of the 603 chip.
IBM is also offering samples of the first PowerPC 604 chip, which runs at 100MHz, and expects to begin volume production of that processor in December. In quantities of 1,000, the 100MHz PowerPC 604 will cost $549.
Intended for use in high-performance personal computers and workstations, the PowerPC 604 uses a 0.5-micron, 3.3-volt complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and incorporates 3.6 million transistors. It is a superscalar multiprocessor-enabled chip that issues up to four instructions in parallel every clock cycle to six execution units. It includes a three-stage double-precision floating-point unit that the designers said is useful for graphics and multimedia applications.
Apple Computer Inc., a partner with IBM and Motorola Corp. in developing the PowerPC processor line, has said it plans to use the PowerPC 604 chip in its personal computer line some time in 1995. IBM, which has RISC System/6000 workstations based on 601 chips and was expected to launch the first PowerPC models in its personal computer line this month, has delayed the PowerPC personal computers to wait for more software support.
Castronovo said the most recent data available on total PowerPC chip shipments is that the one-millionth chip was shipped in July, as IBM announced earlier.
(Grant Buckler/19941011/Press Contact: Jim Smith, IBM Microelectronics, 914-892-5389; Russell Castronovo, Thomas Associates for IBM, 415-325-6236; MCI Mail 463-0708)
s Associates for IBM, 415-325-6236; MCI Mail 463-0708)
10/11/94
IBM Unveils Prices, Ship Dates For New PowerPC Chips
WordPerfect Ships More Main Stre
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- The Novell Applications Group (NASDAQ:NOVL), formerly WordPerfect Corp., says it is now shipping some additional titles for its WordPerfect Main Street product line.
The new animated titles include "Wallobee Jack and The Lost Lionardo," "Wallobee Jack and The Secret of the Sphinx," and a holiday edition of "Kap'n Karaoke."
The Wallobee Jack adventures are designed for children ages four years and older. Wallobee Jack is a kangaroo from the Australian outback. He has a feline sidekick, Francesca Felini. In the Lost Lionardo adventure the user travels through France where they encounter museums, crumbling castles, graveyards, and secret passages. By solving puzzles and deciphering clues, they help Jack and Francesca outsmart the bad guy, Felix de la Victoire, in a race to find a priceless work of art.
In Secret of The Sphinx Jack and Francesca visit Egypt where they try to stop a character called Cleocatra from using a magical secret of the Great Sphinx to take over the world.
Novell Applications Group spokesperson Blake Stowell told Newsbytes the Wallobee Jack adventures have a suggested retail price of $29.95 and are available on CD-ROM for both Windows and Macintosh platforms.
The holiday edition of Kap'n Karaoke has added five traditional Christmas season songs to the program. The songs include: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." "O Christmas Tree," "Jingle Bells," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and "The Twelve days of Christmas."
In addition to the holiday songs, the Kap'n Karaoke Holiday Pack also comes with the music and words for 15 children's songs like "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." There are four adult songs that include "New York, New York" and "wild Thing."
Kap'n Karaoke users can control the pitch, volume and temp while they sing along. There are also sound effects that include a trumpet, telephone, bird, and full orchestra. The Windows version comes with a microphone that plugs into any sound board. Stowell said Kap'n Karaoke has a suggested retail price of $49.95.
(Jim Mallory/19941011/Press contact: Blake Stowell, Novell Applications Group, 801-228-5063; Public contact: Novell Applications Group, tel 800-451-5151 or 801-225-5000 fax 801-228-5077/KARAOKE941011/PHOTO)
-5000 fax 801-228-5077/KARAOKE941011/PHOTO)
10/11/94
WordPerfect Ships More Main Street Titles
GENERAL
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem T
WordPerfect Ships More Main Stre
Microsoft Intros Animation For W
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced an animation playback tool for the Windows operating environment. The company says WinToon facilitates the creation of full-screen animated multimedia titles and also improves the quality and speed of animation playback.
WinToon uses the video for Windows architecture to allow developers to "blue screen" foreground frames from an animated movie and add them to any desired background. "Blue screening," also known as chroma-key, is a technique developed for the motion-picture industry to overlay images on a background scene.
WinToon provides a similar function with a design time engine for digitizing traditionally animated characters and a playback component for integration into the final product to make it look more like the traditional hand-drawn product movie goers are used to.
Microsoft says multimedia title developers are already working with beta versions of WinToon. Peter Yunich, president of children's interactive programming at Simon and Schuster Interactive, says the company's interactive story "Alistair and the Alien Invasion" uses the technology to create a "higher-quality product within existing budget and time constraints."
WinToon was also used to develop "If You give a Mouse a Cookie" at HarperCollins Inc. "Children find the full-screen animation very engaging and have a lot of fun with the interactive format," said Kim Anderson, editorial director for the advanced media group at HarperCollins.
The WinToon tool set includes the WinToon run-time engine, WinG and the Display Control Interface. WinG is an application programming interface (API) used to achieve fast graphics performance under Windows, says the company. The Display Control Interface provides driver-level support for high-performance video and graphics playback. Microsoft says both technologies, along with a 32-bit implementation of the Video for Windows architecture will be built into the Windows 95 operating system.
Microsoft says it will post the technical documentation on WinToon on the Internet and on CompuServe on October 15.
Spokesperson Kelly Stremel told Newsbytes that the company is also sponsoring a series of two-day multimedia "boot camps" at its Redmond, Washington headquarters. The seminars will provide technical training for multimedia developers, including information on how to use WinToon. Stremel said the $395 seminar cost includes meals, lodging and local transportation. The seminars continue through early November.
(Jim Mallory/19941011/Press contact: Kelly Stremel, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft 800-206-3000, or 206-882-8080 for seminar information)
or 206-882-8080 for seminar information)
10/11/94
Microsoft Intros Animation For Windows
WINDOWS
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI
Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner
NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Infinity Computer Products Inc. (ICP) is shipping a $150 alternative to scanners that uses a fax machine as a sort of scanner-equivalent. The Scan-by-Fax device links an external fax machine directly to a standard fax-modem to produce digitized images.
The device comes bundled with Windows-compatible BitFax Professional image handling software that includes text-reading capabilities based on Caere OCR (optical character recognition) software.
Scan-by-Fax, a device about the size of a pocket dictating machine uses standard phone cords and RJ-11 plugs to make its connections. According to the firm, with Scan-by-Fax, a fax machine "calls" a fax modem directly, bypassing the phone company. This speeds the scanning process and improves image quality to the maximum the fax machine can provide.
The currently shipping Scan-by-Fax is PC-compatible. ICP spokesperson Bruce Nachman told Newsbytes an Apple version will ship in the next 30 days. International models aimed at the European market will be ready in early 1995, he said, and models for the Asian market will be ready in about the third quarter of next year.
Nachman said Scan-by-Fax is targeted both at small office/home office (SOHO) customers and at corporate departments or divisions whose faxing needs are not too graphically exacting. He pointed out that faxing standards are themselves moving toward improved, and soon, color, imaging. He added that, for most purposes, a separate scanner now makes little sense.
"People are using scanners for just about everything, and the market is exploding," Nachman said. "But most people already have fax machines, and most modems today also handle faxes."
He added, "If your fax has a sheet feeder, so will your scanner. Not even the high-end scanners have that capability. And if you have a good fax machine, Scan-by-Fax will allow it to double as a printer."
He explained that plain paper machines often have as good a resolution as laser printers, since they use laser print engines.
Scanned graphics images may be manipulated with any standard draw programs, such as Microsoft Paintbrush. The OCR text output may be placed directly into word processor formats including WordPerfect Microsoft Word, and others, the firm says.
Image resolution is limited to that of the fax machine, generally 200 by 200 dots-per-inch (dpi), though many plain paper fax machines go up to 300 by 200 dpi.
(Craig Menefee/19941011/Press and Reader Contact: Bruce Nachman ICP, tel 610-539-9494, fax 610-539-9050/INFINITY941011/PHOTO)
9-9494, fax 610-539-9050/INFINITY941011/PHOTO)
10/11/94
Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner Equivalent
TRENDS
Major Apple Communications Produ
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Apple is shipping major updates to its Macintosh communications products. The upgrade covers AppleTalk and TCP/IP Connection. The new releases take full advantage of the MacTCP core TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) software that shipped earlier this month with the Macintosh System 7.5 operating system.
Apple spokesperson Mary Devincenzi told Newsbytes, "These releases offer much more than the basic MacTCP, which is included in Macintosh System 7.5 for Ethernet, LocalTalk, and Token Ring. We're recommending them for their enhanced network management capabilities and extended documentation."
The firm said the updates are part of its "Stand Out and Fit In" system software strategy, and will enhance support for industry standards.
The new version 1.1 of AppleTalk Connection for Macintosh updates the firm's networking system. It includes AppleTalk version 58.1.4 Network Software Installer version 1.4.5, MacSNMP version 1.1, and Apple Shared Library Manager, version 1.1.2. All are the latest versions.
The firm said the new AppleTalk Connection versions will increase networking performance, improve Power Macintosh support, and enhance compatibility with the industry standard SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol).
Version 1.1 of the AppleTalk Administration for Macintosh includes all of the Connection components, plus comprehensive documentation and central management utilities for the MacSNMP software. It also includes Management Information Bases to let network administrators monitor MacSNMP client software variables using existing SNMP-based network management consoles.
The firm said the new version 2.0.4 of TCP/IP Connection for Macintosh includes a full protocol implementation, a Domain Name Resolver, support for Hosts files, and a test/diagnostic program. It also includes MacTCP version 2.0.4, Network Software installer version 1.4.5, MacSNMP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) version 1.1 and Shared Library Manager version 1.1.2.
Apple said the new MacTCP version has better performance and includes various enhancements in its Domain Name Resolver programming interfaces, and Unix host interoperability characteristics.
The administrator version of TCP/IP 2.0.4, comes with full documentation and central management utilities. Its MacTCP configuration tools let an administrator control all configuration parameters, or assign that authority to users.
To accommodate the new TCP/IP Connection, Apple has added MacTCP as core software for its new operating system, Macintosh System 7.5., including support for LocalTalk, Ethernet, and Token Ring.
Apple says it is "recommending strongly" that customers upgrade their systems. Existing customers who purchased an older version between September 1 and December 1, 1994, will be able to upgrade to the newer versions at a reduced cost through December 15, 1994.
Upgrades for AppleTalk Connection for Macintosh are $15, and $20 for TCP/IP Connection for Macintosh.
List prices for single user new customers are: AppleTalk Connection for Macintosh, $39; AppleTalk Administration for Macintosh, $199; TCP/IP Connection for Macintosh, $59; and TCP/IP Administration for Macintosh, $199. Twenty-user packs of AppleTalk Connection for Macintosh cost $49, and for TCP/IP Connection for Macintosh, $69. Street prices will probably be significantly lower.
(Craig Menefee/19941011/Press Contact: Mary Devincenzi, Apple Computer, 408-974-4562)
ary Devincenzi, Apple Computer, 408-974-4562)
10/11/94
Major Apple Communications Products Upgrade
APPLE
Hyundai In Satellite Project
SEOUL, KOREA, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Hyundai Electronic Co. recently confirmed that it will invest 28 billion won in the satellite business.
The project basically includes its participation in Global Star a satellite body and key component development, and ground equipment manufacture and service at home and abroad.
Hyundai plans to invest $26.25 million while a consortium of DACOM and Hyundai General Trading Co. will invest $7.5 million and $3.75 million, respectively.
The company signed a contract with Space Systems and Loral of the US for satellite key component technology. Hyundai plans to annually produce more than $2 million of components for export or domestic supply from 1996.
The company plans to sell ground equipment and offer service in China, India, Thailand, Hungary, and Chile (participants in Global Star), and in 11 additional countries including North Korea and Taiwan.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/11/94
Hyundai In Satellite Project
BROADCAST
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
Japan - Sony Offers High-, Low-E
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Sony has introduced top-of-the-line and low-end workstations. The NWS7900 is a high-end Unix server which uses up to four CPUs (central processing units), each of which features a 200 megahertz (MHz) R4400sc RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) processor.
The NWS7900 provides 203 MIPS (million instructions per second) performance, and a hard disk capacity of up to 108 gigabytes (GB). It also supports a disk array with a maximum data storage capacity of 6.5 terabytes, large enough to store 5,000 two-hour movies compressed using the MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) standard.
The low-end NWS-4000 comes with a 133MHz R4600 processor.
The server and the workstation are priced from 14.7 million yen ($147,000) and 1.27 million yen ($12,700) respectively. Shipment is slated for December and January, respectively. The company plans to ship 250 servers and 12,000 workstations annually.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
kstations annually.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/11/94
Japan - Sony Offers High-, Low-End Workstations
X/Open's International User Surv
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- X/Open, a group promoting open system standards, has announced the results of an international user survey, called Xtra.
The survey, the fourth of its kind, was conducted in 40 countries and in eight languages.
Results show that open systems are accounting for an increasingly large share of the world's information technology market. Open systems are expected to account for 25% of total information-related expenditure in 1997, representing about three times the rate for non-open systems.
In Europe, 91% of organizations surveyed said they use open systems. The figure for Japan was 65%, and this is expected to increase to 91% in 1997.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
1997.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/11/94
X/Open's International User Survey
TRENDS
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Japan - PC Network Subscribers U
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- The number of PC communications service subscribers in Japan totaled 2.6 million at the end of June of this year, up 32% from a year earlier according to research results from the New Media Development Association, an incorporated foundation.
Women accounted for 10.3% of the subscribers, up 1.8 points compared to the previous year, according to the study.
The study said Japan had a total of 2,416 network operating stations, up 9.3% compared to the previous period.
The association's results suggest that PC communication is becoming much more familiar to Japan's consumers and has acquired a much broader user base.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
ser base.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/11/94
Japan - PC Network Subscribers Up 32%
ONLINE
Great Bear Offers Own Company Pr
IBM Unveils Prices, Ship Dates F
Japan - PC Network Subscribers U
Korea - Telecom News Roundup
SEOUL, KOREA, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Here's a look at the top telecom stories from Korea: standard HDTV program to be produced; frame relay service to be launched; Korea Telecom to go public next year.
Standard HDTV Program To Be Produced
The KBS (Korea Broadcasting System) will produce a standard image program for HDTV (high definition television). Such a program is essential for developing HDTV sets and systems. One billion won will be invested to produce the program and the four HDTV developers -- Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, and Goldstar will provide portions. KBS will produce two 25-minute programs for test and for general demonstration. So far, domestic HDTV developers imported such programs from Japan to promote their products. This will be the first HDTV program to be developed by Korea's technology. Only Japan and Italy are making such programs at the moment. Japan virtually dominates the world market.
Frame Relay Service To Be Launched
KT (Korea Telecom) has announced that it plans to offer an international high-speed data transmission service nationwide by adding frame relaying to the existing packet exchanger and completing linkage with the international frame relay network of Sprint of the US. The company plans to set up a frame relay network in nine cities nationwide. Subscribers can expect high-quality data transmission service at a low cost by making use of the service which transmits large volumes of data simultaneously.
Korea Telecom To Go Public Next Year
The government will take Korea Telecom public during the first half of next year, listing it on the stock exchange. The government will sell 14% stake in the company, allocating 2.8% for the company's employees and the remainder for public subscription. Money from selling the stock will be used in social infrastructure projects. Before that, the government also plans to sell another 5% share through a competitive bid. With those sales, the government's share of the company will drop to 66% from the current 85%.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/11/94
Korea - Telecom News Roundup
TELECOM
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Micropolis has unveiled two 3.5-inch Fast SCSI-2 (small computer systems interface type two) hard disks, the Capricorn 3243 (4.29 gigabytes) and the Taurus 4221 (2.1 gigabytes).
According to the company, the drives provide improvements in data literacy and a reduction in average seek times over existing disks of the same size and data capacity. Versions of the drives in AV (audio video) optimized versions for real-time digital data storage systems are also available.
"We're committed to providing innovative, super capacity disk drives," commented Trevor Duplock, storage systems division marketing director for Micropolis' Europe, Africa and Middle East regions. "With the introduction of these two drives, we can meet our customers' needs for reliable and flexible storage solutions with a family of high-performance drives for the fileserver, workstation, editing suite or storage array marketplace," he said.
Pricing on the Capricorn 3243 has been set at UKP2,519 for the Fast SCSI-2 versions and UKP2,597 for the planned AV version. The Taurus 4221 Fast SCSI-2 version sells for UKP1,547, while the planned AV version will be UK1,607.
Neil Vose, a spokesman for Micropolis, told Newsbytes that these prices are suggested list prices and may well be undercut by the time the drives are available in the UK. "Prices on hard drives are constantly being driven downwards, so a discount as high as 30 percent is not to be unexpected," he said.
According to Micropolis, the drives are leading edge technology, and are capable of moving data at four megabytes (MB) per second. This is around 38 percent faster than normal 5,400 revolutions-per-minute (rpm) disk drives, the company claims.
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) Insignia Solutions has announced CD Directory, a package that it claims allows easy cataloging of CD-ROMs into a volume of the Mac's desktop user interface.
According to Insignia, as CD-ROM users typically have thousands of files in their CD collection, CD Directory has been designed to allow them know what files they have, what they contain and exactly where to find them.
Nick George, Mac utilities product manager for Insignia, told Newsbytes that much of the technology seen in CD Directory is drawn from other Mac utilities from the company, such as Soft PC.
"Insignia has been involved with Mac utilities for some time," George said, in response to Newsbytes' suggestion that the company was best known for its Soft PC and Soft Windows applications. "The demand for utility software on the Mac is very high and, since most Mac users are multimedia aware, packages like CD Directory have great appeal."
In use, CD Directory operates "transparently" to the user. Every time a CD-ROM disc is inserted in the CD-ROM drive on the Mac, details of the disc are saved to a special file under CD Directory. The package allows users to create a catalog for more than 100 CDs, with disk details including an exact representation of the file and folder layout of each CD, all of which can be viewed at the same time.
According to Insignia, the package is unlike competing software, which stores files as aliases, since it stores all the information about a file, including size and creation date. Even the positioning of files within folders can be configured in the catalogs and retained after the CD is removed and the Mac restarted.
So who is CD Directory aimed at? The package is pitched at both consumer and business users of CD-ROM on the Mac. The package sells for UKP49.95 and runs on an Mac with System 7 operating system software, and 300 kilobytes (KB) of hard disk space. The disk catalog needs around 10KB of disk space.
(Steve Gold/19941011/Press & Reader Contact: Nick George Insignia Solutions, tel +44-494-459426, fax +44-494-459720; Internet e-mail nick.george@isltd.insignia.com)
rnet e-mail nick.george@isltd.insignia.com)
10/11/94
UK - Insignia Intros CD Directory For Mac
APPLE
Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner
Japan - Supercomputer Power For
Report - 5.52 Million Users Now
Global Database Market Ready To
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- According to a report from Ovum, the market research company, the database management software (DBMS) marketplace will more than double on both sides of the Atlantic by the end of the decade, growing from $4,000,000,000 to $8,700,000,000 for Europe and the US.
In its report, entitled "The Future of the Database Market," Ovum claims that growth will occur because of the increased usage of databases across all organizations. Ovum predicts that the Unix relational database market will show the highest growth of all the market segments and a new market segment will emerge -- that of LAN (local area network) server DBMSs.
Ovum's report predicts that the Unix relational sector will grow more than four times to reach the $4,300,000,000 mark. Growth will be due largely to the ongoing switch from mainframe hierarchical databases.
Ovum's report also predicts that a new sector of LAN server DBMSs will emerge as users become prepared to run separate DBMS servers on LANs. New products and increasing data volumes in small systems will force this market open, the report suggests. By the year 2000, the LAN server DBMS sector will be worth $360 million, just under half that of the PC DBMS market.
So who will be the winner? Ovum reckons that clear winner in today's market is Oracle, having just closed a financial year with more than $2,000,000,000 in revenue. Oracle will continue to rule the DBMS market in the years to come, but will tracked by Sybase, which grew 60 percent in 1993. Informix is also entering the fray, the market research company notes, with a 24 percent 1993 surge in revenues.
Companies to watch in the DBMS market over the next few years, Ovum suggests, are Borland, IBM, and Microsoft. The report notes that Borland is well placed in the PC database market due its "huge dBase user base. dBase for Windows, meanwhile, has made a good start, but needs success over a sustained period to make up for the long delay in its appearance, the report notes.
According to Jennie Morales of Ovum, a key feature of "The Future of the Database Market" is that it contains the results of a major survey of 180 companies throughout Europe and the US. The survey covers companies' current applications, their purchasing criteria, future plans and requirements. Now the slightly bad news. The report costs UKP995 in Europe and $1,850 in the US.
er, Ovum, tel +44-71-255-2670, fax +44-71-255-1995)
10/11/94
Global Database Market Ready To Take Off - Report
TRENDS
Compaq Invests In Books That Wor
India - Govt Plans National Info
Joint Venture To Make Active-Mat
UK - Printware Intros Phoneday N
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Printware has announced Phoneday, a PC conversion package that the company claims "intelligently alters" any database, including telephone numbers, to take account of the current massive change in the UK phone numbering system.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, since August of this year, the UK's geographic phone codes (i.e. non-mobile, non-toll-free) will change for the majority of hard-wired phone users. For most phone users, the change will mean the insertion of an extra 1 before the current dialing code, after leading zero for trunk access.
Phone subscribers in Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham, and Sheffield will get a new set of trunk codes, as well as a new phone number created by adding a single digit to their existing numbers. This will switch the five cities from a six figure numbering system to the familiar 3+4 codes seen in most major cities around the world.
The new codes for the five cities are as follows (current codes are in brackets): Leeds 0113 (0532); Sheffield 0114 (0742); Nottingham 0115 (0602); Leicester 0116 (0533); and Bristol 0117 (0272). These city code changes will multiple the number of available numbers in the cities concerned by more than 10, BT claims.
Although the new codes are running in parallel with the old ones Printware notes that, from April 16, 1995, the old codes will no longer function. This makes it important, the company claims, to ensure that databases with the old codes are brought up to date with the new codes as quickly as possible.
"Managing telemarketing databases at our bureau, it soon became blindingly obvious that there was no way in which we could even hope to manually change all the phone numbers we store between now and next April," explained Kevin Jones, Printware's managing director, who added that, because of this, the Phoneday package was created.
"We can now process a database of over 10,000 records in just minutes And we know that every phone number will be fully updated to the new standards. The savings can already be measured in man-years of effort, a resource that no company can afford to throw away," he said.
According to Jones, Phoneday handles all new dialing and international codes as well as certain telephone numbers that will also change. In addition, it deals with those that won't, such as mobile phones, pagers, and special telephone services.
Phoneday, which runs under DOS, sells for UKP199 and is compatible with dBase, Paradox, Access, TeleMagic and Clipper database files, the company claims.
(Steve Gold/19941011/Printware, tel +44-705-877111 fax +44-705-877181; Internet e-mail printware@cix.compulink.co.uk)
-877181; Internet e-mail printware@cix.compulink.co.uk)
10/11/94
UK - Printware Intros Phoneday Number Conversion Prgm
TELECOM
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awar
European Commission Backs Down O
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Amidst a swirl of bad feeling and pressure from the mobile phone marketplace, the European Commission (EC) has backed down on its plans to liberalize the mobile telephony markets across Europe, as it has done in the hard-wired marketplace.
According to EC officials, they had underestimated the strength of opinion in the marketplace, as well as the delicate balance that the mobile telecoms market holds in many countries.
Part of the problem, officials said, is that sign-up commissions on the cellular networks, combined with the phenomenal costs of setting up both analog and digital networks, have created an artificial set of prices for both cellular handsets, and line-plus-call charges.
According to Leo Koolen of the EC's telecoms division, the potential political trouble involved in forcing through an early liberalization of the European mobile telephony marketplace is clearly not worth the effort.
Interestingly, despite a lot of rhetoric earlier this year over the EC's plans to wipe out artificial subsidies on cellular equipment, as well as open up the market to competition, EC officials now say that a draft white paper on the future of European mobile communications does not include any firm plans to force the issue using legislation.
According to a statement issued by the EC as recently as this August the EC was planning to formally publish its proposals on mobile telecoms in a white paper some time next month. The EC now appears to be back peddling on that time plan, and an end of year publication now looks a lot more likely, Newsbytes notes.
The EC's backpedaling has amazed many members of the press who, after Karel Van Miert, the EC's Competition Commissioner's decision to get heavy with legislation on the liberalization of fixed wire telecoms late last month, expected a similar game-plan for mobile comms.
It was only as recently as August, Newsbytes notes, when the EC was making noises about speeding the liberalization of Europe's telecommunications industry by forcing through legislation that would let mobile telecoms operators build their own networks.
As predicted by Newsbytes at the time, the move was seen as bound to upset some of Europe's most entrenched telephone monopolies. Newsbytes notes that Article 90 of the Treaty of Rome allows the EC to impose market liberalization on intransigent member states without a vote at the Council of Ministers. The Article is rarely used, Newsbytes notes, as it is criticized for being undemocratic.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941011/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
& Reader Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
10/11/94
European Commission Backs Down On Mobile Telecom Plan
Compaq Invests In Books That Wor
India - Govt Plans National Info
Joint Venture To Make Active-Mat
Telebase's Corporate Easynet 2.0
Defense Electronics Sales Stable
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- While US Defense Department spending will continue to decline over the next decade, spending on defense electronics will remain stable at about $37 billion annually (in 1995 dollars), says the Electronics Industries Association.
In its annual 10-year forecast of electronics spending by DOD NASA and related agencies, EIA says overall US defense spending will drop from $254 billion in 1994 to $204 billion in 2004. EIA also notes that the spending priority for the military for the next few years will be readiness, not modernization.
EIA says there appears to be a gap between the dollars needed to implement the Clinton administration's "bottom-up review" strategy of being able to win two wars simultaneously, and what is actually in the defense budget. The budget dollars give DOD the ability to support a military that is 15 percent smaller than the two-wars strategy requires, says EIA's analysis.
"DOD is emphasizing quality of life and readiness, not modernization, and is slow to slim down its huge Cold War infrastructure of labs, installations and purchasing and administrative overheads," said Ed Waesche, chairman of EIA's 10-year forecast committee. "If bases are closed as planned and cleaned up, some funds may become available toward the end of the forecast period to begin another modernization cycle."
EIA says shrinking DOD's infrastructure, which takes up about 50 percent of the military budget, is essential to free up money for modernization. EIA says the slowdown in equipment modernization will cause the defense industry to lose a significant number of jobs over the next decade, raising the potential for a "hollow" industry unable to respond quickly in a crisis.
But there is a silver lining for electronics in the dark money clouds at DOD. "Continued emphasis on modifications and upgrades of (existing) systems means there will be ample opportunities for electronics suppliers and integrators," says Waesche. "With a fairly stable electronics segment, electronics suppliers will be cushioned somewhat from the continuing downturn in the defense business."
EIA also predicts that changes in the way the military buys goods and services will make it easier for commercial electronics suppliers to serve the defense market. "In any event," says Waesche, "emphasis for the foreseeable future will be on affordability, affordability, affordability."
(Kennedy Maize/19941011/Press Contact: Mark Rosenker 202-457-4980)
/19941011/Press Contact: Mark Rosenker 202-457-4980)
10/11/94
Defense Electronics Sales Stable, Says Trade Group
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem T
WordPerfect Ships More Main Stre
US Govt Looks For Test Of Digita
gh-, L
Business Group Gets Specific On
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- An internationally acceptable approach to encryption and information security is necessary, says the US Council for International Business.
In a statement released this week, the council, the US representative to the International Chamber of Commerce and other international business groups, called on the Clinton administration to enter into bilateral and multilateral discussions with other nations over encryption.
The US Council said it continues to oppose the export requirements on encryption products that are in place in the United States. But it said it acknowledges government needs for national security and law enforcement. The council says that "government, with proper authority" needs the ability to obtain keys to decode encrypted information.
The group developed a list of seven "requirements" for an international policy on encryption.
Free choice: "Users need different encryption methods to fulfill a variety of needs," says the statement. This freedom includes the freedom to choose the strength of encryption and to those the encryption algorithm and key management system.
Open to the public: Encryption algorithms "must be available for public scrutiny," says the US Council, referring indirectly to the Clipper chip encryption, which is based on a classified algorithm developed by the National Security Agency.
International acceptance: The encryption methods must be widely accepted by business and government around the world and be free of export and import controls and other restrictions.
Flexibility of implementation: Encryption should be implementable in either hardware or software.
User key management: "The user must retain the ability to change and otherwise manage keys so that the user can have confidence in the degree of security provided."
Key escrow: If a key escrow system is used, the government must not be the sole holder of the key except at the user's discretion; the key escrow agent must be responsible to make keys available to "lawfully authorized entities when provided with proper, written legal authorizations; and the process of obtaining keys for wiretaps must be auditable.
Liability: The key escrow agent should be liable for any improper disclosure of the key through fault or negligence.
"An overriding issues that should be addressed," says the report, "is the ability to exercise and enforce this set of requirements internationally. Rights of recourse and redress for violations of domestic laws require international cooperation." The council has asked for a meeting with the Clinton administration to discuss its statement.
(Kennedy Maize/19941011/Press Contact: Nanette Di Tosto 212-354-4855)
ress Contact: Nanette Di Tosto 212-354-4855)
10/11/94
Business Group Gets Specific On Encryption
Compaq Invests In Books That Wor
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) says it has invested in Books That Work, a publisher of home improvement and how-to software.
This is the second equity investment by Compaq in a consumer software company. Compaq declined to say how much money it is investing in Books That Work.
The agreement calls for Compaq to bundle Books That Work's "Home Survival Toolkit" software with Presario PCs, Compaq's home-user oriented computers that started shipping in mid-September of this year. Compaq says it is the only company to bundle the Books That Work software with its PCs.
Compaq will also include samples of two other titles from Books That Work with its new multimedia Presario models. Those are "Design & Build Your Deck" and "Get Wired!" Both companies will feature the other firm's products in their ad campaigns and point-of-purchase displays in retail outlets.
One of those promotions will be appearances by actor Richard Karn the co-star of the TV show Home Improvement, on morning television and radio news and talk shows across the country.
John Rose, senior VP in Compaq's Desktop PC division, says the investment in books That work is part of the company's strategy to make PCs "an essential, easy-to-use tool in the home."
In addition to the Home Survival Toolkit, Compaq ships with its Presario 500, 700 and 900 models: Microsoft's Encarta encyclopedia on CD; Microsoft Works for Windows, word processing, spreadsheet with charting, database, and telecommunications software on CD-ROM disc; Crayola Art Studio, a drawing program for children; Dream Team Early Math, and Dream Team Basic Spelling Tricks, all on CD-ROM; Quicken for Windows Special Edition; and a puzzle, The Even More Incredible Machine.
Buyers also get free trial memberships for the online subscription services America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy, and the new Imagination Network.
(Jim Mallory/19941011/Press contact: Mike Berman, Compaq Computer Corp., 713-374-0484 or Kim Bergeron, Books That Work 415-843-4403)
84 or Kim Bergeron, Books That Work 415-843-4403)
10/11/94
Compaq Invests In Books That Work Software Firm
BUSINESS
Newsbytes Daily Summary
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 11 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Unix Expo - Clariion's GuardWare "Protects" Sun Solaris 10/11/94 At Unix Expo, Data General's Clariion Business Unit announced GuardWare, a disk array-based system designed for monitoring Sun Solaris systems and automatically directing "application-specific" recovery in the event of failure.
2 -> Unix Expo - BBN's "Turnkey Service" For Internet Security 10/11/94 From a booth in the "Internet Village" at Unix Expo, BBN launched Internet Site Patrol, an Internet security system billed as the first to combine services with protective "firewall" hardware and software products.
3 -> Microsoft Offers Solution Server Program 10/11/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced the Microsoft Solution Server "structured evaluation" program.
4 -> Bridging The Bay, Linking The World Conference 10/11/94 Ron Brown, US Secretary, Department of Commerce, and Co-chair of the US Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure (NII) is scheduled to deliver a luncheon address at "Bridging The Bay Linking The World conference. The event launches the formation of a multimedia partnership designed to "maintain the San Francisco Bay Area as the focal point for multimedia development worldwide."
5 -> Unix Expo - Attendance Rises, Dates Set For '95 Show 10/11/94 Unix Expo '94 attracted 416 exhibitors and 34,048 attendees figures that exceeded those of last year, and also surpassed this year's projections. Show organizers, The Blenheim Group, have also formally set the dates for next year's event.
6 -> Dell Cuts Pentium-Based Dimension PC Prices 10/11/94 Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:DELL) has reduced the price of all its Pentium-based Dimension desktop personal computers.
7 -> IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage 10/11/94 "OS/2 Warp is everything Microsoft promised Chicago would be, only it is nine months earlier. There is no waiting," claimed Wally Casey, IBM's (NYSE: IBM) director of marketing.
8 -> Sony Intros MD Data Drives 10/11/94 Following the technology announcement the company made in March, Sony (NYSE:SNE) says its battery-operated, portable MD (MiniDisc) drive, MDH-10 is expected to ship by the end of November, or first part of December. A 140 megabyte (MB) rewritable data storage disc, MMD-140, is also scheduled to ship at the same time.
9 -> Powersoft Hong Kong Almost Tops US Parent 10/11/94 Following a strong sales performance over the last six months, Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd. has emerged as one of the most successful vendors of client-server development tools in the territory. With the injection of new management resources earlier in the year the local organization is already pacing its US-based parent Powersoft Corp., another fast- growing software company.
10 -> India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom Training 10/11/94 India's largest computer training company, NIIT Ltd., has forged an alliance with US telecom giant AT&T to offer telecom training to students and professionals.
11 -> IBM Scrambling To Meet Aptiva Demand 10/11/94 IBM (NYSE:IBM) is hoping to boost production of its Aptiva home personal computers to keep up with greater-than-expected demand, but the company admits it may not be able to fill all resellers' orders through the rest of 1994.
12 -> OnLine Tonight Heard On United Airlines 10/11/94 The radio talk show OnLine Tonight made its in-flight debut on United Airlines' SkyRadio Sunday night. The two-hour program, hosted by David Lawrence, was heard live on United's domestic flights in the United States.
13 -> IBM Unveils Prices, Ship Dates For New PowerPC Chips 10/11/94 IBM (NYSE:IBM) has announced pricing and availability of the 100 megahertz (MHz) version of its PowerPC 601 processor, and for the initial versions of the PowerPC 603 and 604 chips.
14 -> WordPerfect Ships More Main Street Titles 10/11/94 The Novell Applications Group (NASDAQ:NOVL), formerly WordPerfect Corp., says it is now shipping some additional titles for its WordPerfect Main Street product line.
15 -> Microsoft Intros Animation For Windows 10/11/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced an animation playback tool for the Windows operating environment. The company says WinToon facilitates the creation of full-screen animated multimedia titles and also improves the quality and speed of animation playback.
16 -> Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner "Equivalent" 10/11/94 Infinity Computer Products Inc. (ICP) is shipping a $150 alternative to scanners that uses a fax machine as a sort of scanner-equivalent. The Scan-by-Fax device links an external fax machine directly to a standard fax-modem to produce digitized images.
17 -> Major Apple Communications Products Upgrade 10/11/94 Apple is shipping major updates to its Macintosh communications products. The upgrade covers AppleTalk and TCP/IP Connection. The new releases take full advantage of the MacTCP core TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) software that shipped earlier this month with the Macintosh System 7.5 operating system.
18 -> Hyundai In Satellite Project 10/11/94 Hyundai Electronic Co. recently confirmed that it will invest 28 billion won in the satellite business.
19 -> Japan - Sony Offers High-, Low-End Workstations 10/11/94 Sony has introduced top-of-the-line and low-end workstations. The NWS7900 is a high-end Unix server which uses up to four CPUs (central processing units), each of which features a 200 megahertz (MHz) R4400sc RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) processor.
20 -> X/Open's International User Survey 10/11/94 X/Open, a group promoting open system standards, has announced the results of an international user survey, called Xtra.
21 -> Japan - PC Network Subscribers Up 32% 10/11/94 The number of PC communications service subscribers in Japan totaled 2.6 million at the end of June of this year, up 32% from a year earlier according to research results from the New Media Development Association, an incorporated foundation.
22 -> Korea - Telecom News Roundup 10/11/94 Here's a look at the top telecom stories from Korea: standard HDTV program to be produced; frame relay service to be launched; Korea Telecom to go public next year.
23 -> UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI-2 Drive 10/11/94 Micropolis has unveiled two 3.5-inch Fast SCSI-2 (small computer systems interface type two) hard disks, the Capricorn 3243 (4.29 gigabytes) and the Taurus 4221 (2.1 gigabytes).
24 -> UK - Insignia Intros CD Directory For Mac 10/11/94 Insignia Solutions has announced CD Directory, a package that it claims allows easy cataloging of CD-ROMs into a volume of the Mac's desktop user interface.
25 -> Global Database Market Ready To Take Off - Report 10/11/94 According to a report from Ovum, the market research company, the database management software (DBMS) marketplace will more than double on both sides of the Atlantic by the end of the decade growing from $4,000,000,000 to $8,700,000,000 for Europe and the US.
26 -> UK - Printware Intros Phoneday Number Conversion Prgm 10/11/94 Printware has announced Phoneday, a PC conversion package that the company claims "intelligently alters" any database including telephone numbers, to take account of the current massive change in the UK phone numbering system.
27 -> European Commission Backs Down On Mobile Telecom Plan 10/11/94 Amidst a swirl of bad feeling and pressure from the mobile phone marketplace, the European Commission (EC) has backed down on its plans to liberalize the mobile telephony markets across Europe, as it has done in the hard-wired marketplace.
28 -> Defense Electronics Sales Stable, Says Trade Group 10/11/94 While US Defense Department spending will continue to decline over the next decade, spending on defense electronics will remain stable at about $37 billion annually (in 1995 dollars), says the Electronics Industries Association.
29 -> Business Group Gets Specific On Encryption 10/11/94 An internationally- acceptable approach to encryption and information security is necessary, says the US Council for International Business.
30 -> Compaq Invests In Books That Work Software Firm 10/11/94 Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) says it has invested in Books That Work, a publisher of home improvement and how-to software.
(Ian Stokell/19941011)
(Ian Stokell/19941011)
10/11/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
"R"~"`"
MCI Gets Into Directory Assistan
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- MCI wants your fingers to do a little bit less walking -- now you don't have to remember, or look up, that missing area code to get long distance directory assistance. In a strike against the local telephone companies, MCI has launched an international one-call directory assistance service.
1-800-CALL-INFO service begins today, offering access to telephone numbers across the US and in most foreign countries. Also, once the operator has given you the number you're looking for, MCI will place the call for you at no extra cost and at MCI's long-distance rate.
It works like this. Can't remember what the area code is for your sister who lives in Dayton, Ohio? Just dial 1-800-CALL INFO (1-800-2255-4636). When the operator asks you city and state, say "Dayton, Ohio" and then the operator will ask for the name. After you have provided that, the operator will give you the number and ask, "May I connect you?"
"This takes directory assistance to a whole new level," Angela Dunlap, president of MCI Consumer Markets told reporters in a telephone conference. The new service is available from any phone in the US, Dunlap said, and will find a number anywhere in the US "or the world." You don't have to be an MCI long-distance subscriber to use it.
For international calls, the new service eliminates the need to remember international access codes for country and city.
"Long distance directory assistance has been around since 1947," says Dunlap, "and there has been virtually no innovation in 50 years." Why is MCI interesting in going after long distance directory assistance? "We think it is an important and attractive market for three reasons," Dunlap said. "It is big growing, and ready for change."
About 97 percent of all telephone customers used long distance directory assistance last year, according to MCI, for a total of 1.4 billion directory assistance calls. "It's a $1 billion market that is growing 10 percent a year," Dunlap said. Today there are 144 area codes in the US and the number could grow to 800. "The process is more and more cumbersome," she said. The need for MCI's one-call directory assistance will also grow with the spread for cellular phones and personal communications services, Dunlap said.
Wayne Huyard, MCI Consumer Markets vice president for marketing, told reporters, "The old, monopoly-based service is clunky, expensive, and takes too long." The MCI service will provide two numbers for 75 cents, and a free connection to one of them to reduce further dialing.
(Kennedy Maize/19941012/Press Contact: Paul Luthringer 800436-9749)
ontact: Paul Luthringer 800436-9749)
10/12/94
MCI Gets Into Directory Assistance
TELECOM
Japan - Supercomputer Power For
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electric plans to develop a technique for giving workstations supercomputer power by March, 1995. The company will use a neuro processor board, developed by its semiconductor lab.
The board is equipped with four digital neuro chips and achieves a peak performance of 2.88 gigaflops (floating point operations per second) when running at 30 megahertz (MHz).
A maximum of 21 boards can be connected in parallel, and the company claims that processing speed can be possibly boosted to 60 gigaflops, a supercomputer speed.
However, according to the company, the price of the boards will be about one one-hundredth of that of a supercomputer.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
a supercomputer.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/12/94
Japan - Supercomputer Power For Workstations
SUPERCOMPUTER
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Zelos publisher of interactive adult learning CD-ROMs, has unveiled a multi-tiered distribution strategy consisting of OEM (original equipment manufacturer), retail software, book publishing, and direct channels, aimed at widespread dissemination of the firm's upcoming Fall titles.
The company has also announced distribution agreements with Sony Imagesoft and Individual Software to fulfill the OEM and retail channel aspects of the strategy. Under the terms of the OEM bundling agreement with Sony Imagesoft, starting in November, Sony will bundle Zelos titles "Shoot Video Like A Pro" and "How To Really Start Your Own Business" with its CD-ROM drives each month. In partnering with Sony Imagesoft, an established OEM partner Zelos anticipates benefiting from the explosive growth in the CD-ROM market.
According to industry research firm Dataquest, the market tripled from 1993 to 1994, with the shipment of 17.5 million CD-ROM drives.
Individual Software will distribute Zelos titles through national distributors such as Ingram, Merisel, and Baker and Taylor, as well as through retail chains such as Egghead, Frys Electronics CompUSA, Sams, and Costco.
The Sony Imagesoft and Individual agreements follow an announcement of Publishers Group West (PGW), the nation's oldest and largest distribution representative of independent publishers as Zelos distributor in the book publishing category. PGW currently distributes Zelos title "3-D Tutor" through independent bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, Crown, and Waldenbooks.
In addition, Zelos will distribute titles directly to non-traditional outlets such as Tower Records and Blockbuster Video. "In this emerging industry, partnering and innovative distribution strategies are key to the success of multimedia companies," said Randall Stickrod, chief executive officer of Zelos. "Our line-up of key channel partners will ensure the delivery of our adult educational products to a market seeking alternatives to games and children's titles."
In a marketplace where reference, entertainment and kids' "edutainment" has dominated, many publishers are now turning to adult learning, a market segment that is expected to grow to $30 billion by the year 2000.
Zelos partners give high marks to the content of the company's products. Rick Melnick, national OEM sales manager of Sony Imagesoft, said, "We chose to bundle Zelos titles with our CD-ROM drives because they are excellent examples of multimedia products combining high-quality content with interactivity." Individual Software expects to leverage its experience in retailing CD-ROMs to move Zelos products off the shelves.
Gary Jose, Individual's vice president of Business Development said, "With our outstanding history in supporting the adult learning market as a developer and distributor, we look forward to working with Zelos to ensure that their products receive the market acceptance they deserve."
And Publishers Group West has high expectations regarding the suitability of Zelos products for the book publishing channel. "We feel that their content makes a perfect match for bookstores. I predict that they will be on everyone's top 20 list," said Karen Cross, PGW's director of computer book and new media sales.
"Shoot Video Like A Pro" and "How To Really Start Your Own Business" will be available in stores in early October. "How To Really Start Your Own Business" is claimed to be the first customized tutorial to provide entrepreneurs tailored business advice from the founders of some of today's most successful companies, such as Crate & Barrel David's Cookies, Celestial Seasonings, and Pizza Hut.
Advice is presented in a "quick-access" format, saving the user valuable time and energy, says the company. Retailing for $49.95 the product will be available in stores October 1, 1994.
"Shoot Video Like A Pro" combines a graphical interface with QuickTime videos. Users learn by manipulating the videos using the interface. The company says that professional videographers offer advice, tips, and feedback so that the users can apply their experience on a personal camcorder. Retailing for $49.95, the product will be available in stores October 15, 1994.
(Nick Anis/19941005/Press Contact: Antonia De Gance Zelos, 415-788-0566)
005/Press Contact: Antonia De Gance Zelos, 415-788-0566)
10/12/94
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imagesoft & Individual CD-ROMs
BUSINESS
Quantum Offers Hierarchical Stor
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Quantum Corporation (NMS:QNTM) has announced a nationwide seminar series for computer storage resellers and distributors, called "Understanding HSM: The Answer to Network Growth and Data Explosion."
According to the company, the seminars explore the hierarchical storage management (HSM) market and the ways resellers and distributors can benefit from offering HSM "solutions."
The seminars will begin in New York City on October 17, then travel to Chicago, Long Beach, San Jose, and Dallas. Various industry hardware and software developers will discuss "designing HSM solutions using cost-efficient components," such as DLT (digital linear tape), hard disk drives, and management software. Participating software developers include Avail Systems Corp., Cheyenne Software Inc., Palindrome, and Axent/Raxco.
"HSM is quickly emerging as the most cost-effective way to store large amounts of corporate data, while making it easily and quickly accessible to users," said Gina Bornino, Quantum vice president and general manager of Quantum's Specialty Storage Products Group. "This seminar series explores the whole HSM solution, teaching resellers and distributors how to optimize system performance for customers by combining the most effective software and hardware components."
The seminars will be presented by Peripheral Strategies, a market research firm specializing in the storage industry, and its president Michael Paterson. According to the company, Paterson is widely recognized as a top market analyst in the storage management industry. He has been following the storage market for over 20 years and consults in the areas of strategic planning, product, and market development, while overseeing research and production of reports on storage software and hardware.
According to Paterson, "HSM is a new opportunity around which resellers can build and sell storage solutions and provide service and training. Resellers who understand the technology and how to sell and service it will reap the benefits as this market continues to skyrocket."
According to Peripheral Strategies, the HSM market will reach $1 billion by the year 1997.
Another speaker at the seminars will be Fred Richardson, president of Richardson Corporate Consulting. Richardson will speak about HSM market growth and opportunities. He has 21 years of experience in the design, development and marketing of disk and tape peripherals. He is currently a tape technology consultant to Quantum Corporation. He has also held executive positions with Archive Technology, Cipher Data Products, Conner Peripherals, and WangTek, Inc.
In addition to the New York City seminar, cities and dates for the series include: Chicago on October 20; Long Beach, California, on October 25, San Jose, California, on October 28, and Dallas on November 3. The seminar fee is $60.
(Nick Anis/19941006/Press Contact: Mindy Howe, Quantum Corporation, 408-894-5058; Janice Rosen or Leslie Garvey, The Weber Group, 617-661-7900; Reader Contact: Quantum, 206-933-0330 ext 217, for seminar information)
206-933-0330 ext 217, for seminar information)
10/12/94
Quantum Offers Hierarchical Storage Seminars
GENERAL
IBM Japan Relocates 1,000 Staff
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- In January, 1995, IBM Japan will transfer 1,000 staff in its administrative and production divisions to direct sales or systems engineer (SE) roles.
Those staff who refuse to make the move will be encouraged to take early retirement, giving the measure the look of an effective number-reduction exercise.
Maximum severance pay for retirees will be 21 months salary for those aged 50 and above and two years' salary for younger employees.
The company has already lost 1,600 staff since the 1992 launch of its Second Career Support Program. It transferred 2,500 people to sales positions at the end of 1993.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/12/94
IBM Japan Relocates 1,000 Staff
Japan - Computer Developments
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Here is a look at the top computing market stories in Japan: Cirrus Logic to construct joint chip plant in Japan with Japanese firm; Fuji Photo Film, Iomega to sell new magnetic disk in US; and PC peripheral prices falling.
Cirrus Logic To Construct Joint Chip Plant In Japan With Japanese Firm
Cirrus Logic, of California, will construct a joint semiconductor plant in Japan with a Japanese firm. The fab less semiconductor company, which expects sales to exceed $800 million in fiscal 1994, decided to have its own plant, and in September signed a joint plant construction agreement with IBM. Now that it will have production operations going in the US, Cirrus Logic has decided to step up its negotiation to build a plant in Japan where sales are expected to account for 10% of global sales. The company thinks it will reach an agreement with a partner as early as next year.
Fuji Photo Film, Iomega To Sell New Magnetic Disk In US
Fuji Photo Film has teamed up with Utah-based Iomega to begin commercial production of large-capacity magnetic disks. The product uses Fuji's technology that boosts the capacity of a PC floppy disk nearly 100-fold, and will result in a 5.25-inch disk that holds 230 megabytes (MB) of data, the equivalent of eight years of a daily newspapers. The product will be marketed at multimedia applications for which processing of moving images is required. Under the deal, Fuji will supply the magnetic disks while the US company will assemble the cartridge and produce the drive. The unit will sell for around $600, and the annual demand forecast is approximately three million disks.
PC Peripheral Prices Falling
PC peripheral prices are falling. With leading PC makers such as Compaq (Japan) and IBM Japan announcing their price reduction schedules, users are intensifying their demand for lower prices. Prices of 3.5-inch 1MB floppy disk drives have dropped to 3,400-3,500 yen ($34-$35), down 100 yen ($1) from six months ago. Thin-film transistor color LCDs (liquid crystal displays) which have been traded for 100,000-150,000 yen ($1,000-$1,500) are sometimes priced below 100,000 yen ($1,000), despite the fact that color filters are in short supply and there is a shortage of LCDs on the market.
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
(Terry Silveria/19941011)
10/12/94
Japan - Computer Developments
GENERAL
India - Govt Plans National Info
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- The National Informatics Center (NIC), currently operating its low-speed satellite-based communication Network-NICNET, now plans to take an active role in a national "information highway." The highway, which utilizes NICNET and connects 14 cities, was formally dedicated to the nation by Pranab Mukherjee, minister of commerce and deputy chairman of the nation's Planning Commission.
The NICNET info highway supports high-speed communication at one megabit-per-second (Mbps) through SCPC data pipes, at each remote site. Each remote station uses a 1.8/2.4-meter antenna. To provide international access for customers, the highway is connected to more than 160 different international data networks through multiple transit gateways using lines with speeds of 64 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) or more.
While the info highway is set to provide a range of services like EDI (electronic data exchange), electronic-mail, multimedia communications, teleconferencing, and large scale data broadcast services, it will be made accessible to private commercial organizations in due process.
"We are opening up the highway step by step. Initially, almost 800-900 exporters will be allowed to access the EDI services on the highway,'' said N. Seshagiri, director general of NIC.
While NIC has received credit for providing EDI services, which are useful for export promotion, it also deserves recognition for providing such a network at a cost of R15 crore, considerably less than that of many developed countries.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941011)
countries.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941011)
10/12/94
India - Govt Plans National Info Highway
TELECOM
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- After waiting for four years, Dell has finally begun offering its products in the Philippines.
"We believe that this is the best time for us to release our products here in the Philippines," said the company's Mr. Richardson, when asked why it took them four years to introduce their products in the local market. "Before, there was a wide gap between Taiwan and US PC brands. But now, the price gap has shrunk considerably which has led many customers to prefer US PCs."
According to him, Dell was one of the companies which led the price-cutting trend. Another reason for timing their current entry into the Philippines market was Dell's intention to expand its operations in Asia. "Dell, internally, has been going international for sometime" added Richardson.
"The Austin, Texas-based company is seeking to establish competitiveness in Pentium-based products and enhancements in its 486 PCs. "We're going to be the number one Pentium market player, although we're not going to be the number one in terms of number of units sold," Richardson said.
Commenting on the current buying trend of most local computer users, Richardson said that people are not realistically looking at the changes in technologies. Many companies are computerizing using low-end PCs, he said, claiming that those PCs will be obsolete very soon as they will not be able to run the current power hungry applications. On the other hand, an investment in a Pentium-based PC will ensure at least three year life for their investment.
With its recent launch of its first Pentium-based systems processors, Dell expects a transition to Pentium technology to accelerate among corporate users.
Richardson said that, for the current fiscal year, which ends in January of 1995, Dell projects a sharp sales increase to US$3.5 billion. Dell recorded a 49 percent revenue growth rate for the past five years and looks at the Asia Pacific region for sustaining growth.
(Newsbytes/19941012)
sustaining growth.
(Newsbytes/19941012)
10/12/94
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into Philippines
BUSINESS
Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- A dispute involving the interpretation of a single paragraph in an amendment to an agreement between Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) has resulted in an favorable ruling for Intel.
In a ruling handed down this week in San Jose, California, US Magistrate Judge Patricia Trumbull decided the disputed clause is ambiguous. Siding with Intel's interpretation, Judge Trumbull further found that AMD does not have a license to copy or distribute a small portion of Intel's microcode referred to as ICE.
ICE, which stands for In-Circuit Emulation code, is the custom microprocessor microcode. It is intended use was for debugging computer systems.
AMD spokesperson, John Greenagel, told Newsbytes that, of the over four million AMD 486 microprocessors, made fewer than 1,000 were actually using ICE for debugging, and about 100,000 with the part numbers DXL (three-volt) and DXLV (five-volt) were bonded out to ICE for System Management Mode (SMM) for portable computer applications. The remainder of the 486 microprocessors AMD has shipped (about 98%) are either DX, DX2, SX, SX2 parts, which AMD says do not use or have the Intel's ICE microcode pinned/bonded out.
AMD says Intel's ICE code in their chips is inconsequential to the vast majority of their products, and that it has its own microcode for the three-pin SMM DXL and DXLV that can be used instead.
The events leading to this dispute started with a 1982 technology exchange agreement, whereby Intel licensed their microcode to AMD and transferred certain database tapes to AMD. During this period, AMD produced a specialized product for a customer that allowed them to build an ICE capability in competition with Intel.
Intel was unhappy about the development. However, AMD says they were completely within their rights to offer the product. In order to maintain "good relations" with Intel and show "good faith," the company agreed to an amendment in 1984, which precluded AMD from bonding out the special circuitry for debugging microprocessor based systems.
Judge Trumbull's ruling was bad news for AMD, but not devastating. AMD may have lost the battle, but there may not be any spoils, and besides, the war is not over yet. No action has been filed yet for damages and the appeal of the underlying case will not be heard until November.
AMD continues to sell chips as fast as it can make them. Apparently, the firm can make microprocessors without the disputed Intel microcode. The court acknowledged AMD is licensed to use the Intel's microcode -- including the disputed portion for "general purpose applications."
AMD responded to the ruling by holding a 45-minute press briefing where reporters' questions were answered. During the press conference AMD said it was in the process of reassuring their customers.
W.J. Sanders II, chairman and chief executive officer of AMD, told Newsbytes his company was disappointed about the decision. Sanders said AMD has a bit-for-bit copy of the microcode, including the ICE portion on the C286, and that Intel never objected. Sanders says this ruling does not apply to 386-based chips which are the subject of another Intel legal action.
He also said that he wanted to clarify what his company believed the implications of the ruling were -- countering what was described as Intel's "over zealous spin doctoring."
Intel espoused a somewhat different position, saying the disputed clause also applies to the ICE microcode found in 386-based chips subject to the final resolution of a 1992 arbitrator's award.
It appears the final resolution of the 1992 arbitrator's award will be up to the California Supreme Court, because after the award (in AMD's favor) was overturned by the California State Appellate Court (in Intel's favor), it was appealed to the California Supreme Court.
According to AMD's general council, this ruling, which involves the ICE module, does not affect jury verdicts returned earlier this year upholding AMD's right to manufacture and sell microchips containing Intel microcode.
Said Sanders: "The ruling does not affect our right to use Intel microcodes." Additionally, sources at AMD said this ruling was limited to the interpretation of a single paragraph in the agreement amendment and did not apply to other agreements, and the AMD 386 microprocessor.
Sources at AMD told Newsbytes the company will have to rework or destroy up to 100,000 AMD 486 microprocessors and has already began changing its film "mask" used for chip fabrication to a new design that complies with the ruling. The company said the destruction and/or reworking and conversion to a new design would have no material impact on its income statement.
The company said it will minimize the number of chips shipped with Intel's ICE mode before the cut-over to new wafer maps is complete.
Company officials declined requests from Newsbytes to specify the number of chips with Intel's ICE microcode in inventory, and to specify the number that will be produced prior to the completion of the conversion to the new design.
Upon further questioning, Sanders admitted this ruling would delay his company's entry into the growing notebook computer market until the first quarter of 1995 when AMD is expected to come out with a microprocessor with AMD's own SMM microcode. But Sanders also pointed out that, to date, AMD has not done much notebook computer business.
Sanders said AMD has a new 100 megahertz (MHz) design slated for the first quarter of 1995 for notebooks without Intel's ICE microcode. According to Sanders, this new design was announced prior to the ruling, and it is still on track.
Sanders described this suit as "a disagreement in good faith concerning ambiguous language in a contract." Sanders also said his company will ask Trumbull for a grace period that would give AMD sufficient time to change over its five micron production lines domestically in Sunnyvale and at its South Queensberry foundry.
Industry sources told Newsbytes just how bad the decision is for AMD is yet to be determined. If Intel presses its claim it might manage to get an injunction halting shipments or a recall. An injunction is unlikely though, and a chip recall is even less likely, since the microcode in question is reportedly not actually being "used" in 98% of AMD's 486 chips.
Sources at AMD told Newsbytes a status hearing before Judge Trumbull is scheduled later this week, where Intel may reveal what damages it seeks. If Intel seeks any damages, and if they are granted, the statutory damages are limited to $100,000. An additional award of damages is possible, if Intel presses for them, and if Intel can prove damages.
AMD claims that, since the microcode was not pinned/bonded out in 98% of the AMD 486 chips (in other words, the code was in the chip, but was not and cannot be used) Intel does not have any damages.
Meanwhile the endless patented technology battle between David and Goliath wages on. Intel may cool its heals until November 7 when the oral arguments for the appeal of the case involving the licensing of the 386 microprocessor technology will be heard before the California Supreme Court. By statute, the California Supreme Court has 90 days to give its answer -- but typically it responds in about 45 days.
(Nick Anis/19941012/Press Contact: John Thompson, Intel Corp. (media), 408-765-1279; Gordon Casey, Intel (financial) 408-765-8418; John Greenagel, Advanced Micro Devices tel 408-749-3310, fax 408-774-7216)
vices tel 408-749-3310, fax 408-774-7216)
10/12/94
Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court Battle
LEGAL
Electronic Whiteboard Now Availa
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Microfield Graphics Inc. has introduced a mobile model of Softboard, its electronic whiteboard. Microfield introduced its wall-mounted Softboard nearly 10 months ago, but now the company has put it on wheels so it can be moved.
Softboard looks like the ubiquitous whiteboard used in conference rooms and classrooms around the world. But when the presenter writes on it, the written information is displayed on the computer's monitor. It can then be captured to disk, edited, printed or cut-and-pasted into other documents. Softboard is compatible with Macintosh or Windows-based personal computers.
The company also offers optional Softboard Remote Conferencing software that lets people in different locations simultaneously participate in meetings via telecommunications.
Softboard uses an infrared laser system similar to those in laser printers and compact-disc players to continuously scan the entire area of the whiteboard. The dry-erase markers used are equipped with reflective bar-coded sleeves. When a user writes on the board the laser system locates and tracks the color, position and movement of the markers in real-time and sends that data to an on-board digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP sends the information to the computer via a standard serial cable to create the screen image. A special eraser works in the same manner to erase information from the monitor display.
The system software, called Softboard Recorder, uses a VCR-like user-interface to step through captured sessions stroke by stroke or screen by screen. You can also move to the first or final screen. Page markers can be inserted at any point in the session to allow pauses during playback.
To use the Mac version of Softboard you need a Mac running a 25 megahertz (MHz) 68030 microprocessor or better, Apple's system 7 or later operating system or later, and four megabytes (MB) of memory. Softboard runs in emulation on PowerPC-based Power Macs. Windows users need a 386-based PC or better, 4MB of memory, a serial port, MS-DOS 5.0 or later, and Windows 3.1 or later.
The wall-mounted version of Softboard, called the model 201, has a suggested retail price of $2,995. The movable unit, called the model 203, sell for $3,995.
(Jim Mallory/19941012/Press contact: Karl Damhave, Microfield Graphics, 503-626-9393; Public contact: Microfield Graphics tel 503-626-9393, fax 503-641-9333/SOFTBD941012/PHOTO)
el 503-626-9393, fax 503-641-9333/SOFTBD941012/PHOTO)
10/12/94
Electronic Whiteboard Now Available In Mobile Model
GENERAL
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Storage Technology Corporation (NYSE:STK) says the rollout of its Iceberg disk array storage subsystem continues to accelerate, and the company's chief executive officer (CEO) called stories about Iceberg in a newsletter "malodorous rumors."
Ryal Poppa, StorageTek chairman, president and CEO, said stories by Michael Murphy, editor of the "Overpriced Stock Service" newsletter, mis-identified three of the four Iceberg beta sites claimed that beta users had unplugged their systems, and reported the sales price of an Iceberg unit at about one-third of the actual selling price.
"Facts, however, have not stopped our competition or short sellers from concocting completely false and negative stories that are told for their personal gain at the expense of our customers and the majority of shareholders. We are tired of this situation," said Poppa in a prepared statement.
Iceberg is a disk-array subsystem that uses a managed array of independent disks to store mainframe computer data.
Poppa says about 90 Iceberg units have been taken into revenue since the system started shipping four months ago. StorageTek reports shipment of almost 250 Iceberg units to date, and says orders are increasing.
The company announced last month that its financing arm, StorageTek Financial Service Corporation, has been capitalized and commenced operations as a wholly owned subsidiary. Lease assets of $123 million were reported as of the end of the second quarter.
According to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Greg Tymn, the average cycle between shipment and receipt of revenues is about 90 days. Tymn says he would like to see that cycle reduced to 45 days by the end of next year.
StorageTek is currently shipping a third generation of microcode to Iceberg customers. StorageTek spokesperson David Reid told Newsbytes the company feels the Iceberg software is stable and pointed out that it is common for microcode to be updated periodically as minor bugs show up.
StorageTek recently increased the size of the Iceberg cache from 0.5 gigabyte (GB) to 1GB, and increased the maximum data storage capacity to 400GB.
Reid said that, based on customer interest, future generations of Iceberg will probably include ESCON connectivity. ESCON is IBM's fiber optic channel.
(Jim Mallory/19941012/Press contact: David Reid, StorageTek 303-673-4815; Public contact: StorageTek, 303-673-5151)
303-673-4815; Public contact: StorageTek, 303-673-5151)
10/12/94
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek CEO Blasts Newsletter
GENERAL
Creative Labs Ships Videoconfere
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Creative Labs Inc. has entered the desktop videoconferencing (DVC) market with two desktop PC products, one with full videoconferencing, the other equipped for audio but upgradable by adding a camera. Both systems work over a single, standard telephone connection.
The full system, named ShareVision PC3000, includes a high-speed fax-modem, an audio and data compression card, a Video Blaster RT300 video camera, a real-time video capture and compression card, a color video camera, ShareVision's Windows-based application software, and a headset.
The smaller PC300 ShareVision system provides audio and data sharing without the shared video, but is upgradable to a full video conferencing system through the purchase of a Video Blaster RT300.
Theresa Pulido, of Creative Labs, told Newsbytes the system achieves up to 15 frames-per-second (fps) at a resolution of 96 by 80 pixels or up to 160 by 120 pixels at slower speeds. Signals are compressed using a proprietary method. In the sharing, data gets precedence over voice, which in turn gets precedence over video.
"What happens is that, the slower the frame rate you use, the more pixels you get," Pulido explained, "or you can use it to take a series of high-resolution snapshots."
Creative Labs calls its system "the first complete desktop video conferencing and collaborative-computing solution to work over a standard phone line." One obvious advantage of such a system is that it avoids the high cost and limited availability of ISDN (integrated services digital network) switched 56 or T1 phone links normally required for videoconferencing.
Creative Labs says its ShareVision software lets users share Windows applications in real-time, even when only one user has the application. Users also can annotate files and sketch ideas in free form in the shared white board. The white board can scan in a document with a TWAIN-compatible input device, then share it across a POTS line for real-time editing and annotation, says the firm.
The products are programmable, the firm notes, so they will not go obsolete when emerging communication standards, still emerging finally arrive.
"With the onset of telecommuting and highly decentralized corporations, companies are seeking effective solutions to challenging communications needs," stated Hock Leow, Creative Labs' vice president of marketing for Video Products. "The response we've received from industry experts and our customers has been extremely favorable toward ShareVision."
According to the firm, both systems are available now through the standard distribution network. Full list price for ShareVision PC3000 is $1,599, but according to Pulido, street prices run between $1,200 and $1,300. List price for the PC300 system is $749, with probable street price between $650 and $675. The RT300 Video Blaster camera lists for $499, but should sell for around $420, Pulido told Newsbytes.
Creative Labs Inc., which markets sound and video multimedia products for IBM-compatible PCs, is a subsidiary of Singapore-based Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF).
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) personal computers based on the PowerPC processor line originally slated for launch this month, will not be generally available until 1995. According to the company, the reason is a lack of application software written to take advantage of the PowerPC chips.
Sources outside IBM suggest other possible reasons for holding up the new PCs, though, including a delay in producing a version of IBM's OS/2 operating system to run on the PowerPC chip and the desire to wait for the outcome of current talks with Apple Computer on a common PowerPC hardware standard.
A new version of OS/2 that will support PowerPC hardware is due to go into beta testing late this year and will be ready for general shipment in 1995, Bill Robbins, a spokesman for IBM's Personal Software Products business unit in Texas, told Newsbytes. He said he could not pin down the availability date more precisely.
However, Tim Ohsann, a spokesman for the Power Personal Systems business unit, denied that IBM is waiting for OS/2 before launching its PowerPC PCs. Instead, he told Newsbytes, the company is waiting for more native PowerPC applications.
Many major software vendors are working on such applications now Ohsann said, and IBM is working "aggressively" with vendors to build a critical mass of software that takes full advantage of the PowerPC chips.
The company has delivered, "in the hundreds," PowerPC personal computers to commercial software developers and corporate developers, Ohsann said, and will be shipping a limited number to selected customers on a special-bid basis.
"What we're going to do is introduce the system to the marketplace more gradually," he said. The company hopes to make the PowerPC desktops generally available in the first half of 1995, he said.
IBM "may have been a little bit too optimistic in terms of how quickly the applications would be developed," Ohsann admitted.
Bob Djurdjevic, president of Annex Research in Phoenix, Arizona suggested the delay might also have something to do with talks between IBM and Apple, aimed at establishing a common hardware standard for computers based on PowerPC chips. At present Apple's Power Macintoshes do not conform to the PowerPC Reference Platform (PREP) standard set by IBM. Thus, Power Macintoshes and PREP-compliant systems cannot run the same software.
A goal of the IBM-Apple talks, word of which has recently leaked to the industry media, is reportedly to let the same operating systems -- probably including Apple's Mac OS and IBM's OS/2 run on all PowerPC-based hardware.
IBM could be waiting to conclude those talks before shipping its PowerPC personal computers so that it can adjust its designs to the hoped-for common platform, Djurdjevic told Newsbytes.
He added that IBM's higher-powered workstations based on PowerPC chips -- models in the RISC System/6000 line -- have been highly successful, and adoption of the chip by Groupe Bull, Hitachi, and Toshiba has helped build its momentum.
"What seemed like a very, very long shot three years ago is now becoming a respectable player, if not a winner, in the race," Djurdjevic said.
(Grant Buckler/19941012/Press Contact: Tim Ohsann, IBM 914-766-3764; Bill Robbins, 512-823-1995)
IBM 914-766-3764; Bill Robbins, 512-823-1995)
10/12/94
IBM Says Software Is Holding Up PowerPC PCs
IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage
$19 Personal Income Tax Package
Corporate Software To Buy DEC's
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Corporate Software Inc. is to buy 800-Software Inc. of Richmond, California from Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC).
Both Corporate Software and 800-Software are resellers and computer service providers. The sale is the latest in a series of moves by Maynard, Massachusetts-based DEC to dispose of parts of its business that its managers do not consider crucial to the company's future. DEC is struggling to break a string of losses by reorganizing and cutting costs.
The terms of the purchase agreement have not been disclosed. Paul Davis, a spokesman for Corporate Software, told Newsbytes the companies plan an "integration period" lasting until the end of this year, during which management will work out how the pieces should fit together.
"This is not sort of a 'trash and burn' kind of acquisition," Davis said. While he stopped short of saying no jobs would be lost as a result of the deal, he said Corporate plans to keep existing 800-Software management in place.
"A lot of synergy" is possible between the two companies according to Davis. Officials said the merger will combine Corporate Software's strengths in support, international distribution, and alternative licensing methods with 800-Software's skills in operational logistics and product delivery, its expertise with hardware, networking, and peripherals, and its strong presence among large accounts.
800-Software was founded in 1982 as a mail-order company, and now has eight offices across the United States and a European office in the Netherlands. Corporate Software was founded in 1983, and operates in the United States, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The sale is the third major divestiture for Digital Equipment in recent months. The company sold its Rdb database software to Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle Corp. in early September and its disk-drive business to Quantum Corp., of Milpitas California, during the summer.
The 800-Software deal is expected to close within about 30 days Davis said.
(Grant Buckler/19941012/Press Contact: Paul Davis, Corporate Software, 617-440-1366; Kenneth McDonnell, Digital Equipment 508-264-5207)
Kenneth McDonnell, Digital Equipment 508-264-5207)
10/12/94
Corporate Software To Buy DEC's 800-Software Unit
BUSINESS
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
Creative Labs Ships Videoconfere
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Na
Public Stock Offerings Available
UK - Palindrome Products NetWare
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Palindrome has announced that its NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) products, Network Archivist and Backup Director v3.1, have been "Yes, Tested and Approved" by Novell to run with the latest version of NetWare.
According to David Harris-Evans, Palindrome's European managing director, the company's strict adherence to Novell's Storage Management Services (SMS) specifications enabled all currently shipping Palindrome NLMs to operate cleanly with the latest Novell operating system without modification.
"This proves that the benefits of SMS are real. Novell made enhancements in the underlying NDS structure, but due to the SMS layer, our current code can handle these changes without modification," he said.
According to Novell, non-SMS-compatible products will not be able to address these NDS changes cleanly, and those developers must now rewrite their products to accommodate the changes in NetWare 4.x.
"SMS has proved itself," commented Doug Cogswell, Palindrome's president, who added that SMS is an open standard with real strategic value for both developers and customers. "Because our products fully support SMS, we're able to continue delivering backup archiving and storage management products with no delay in protection. That's what business customers demand," he said.
(Steve Gold/19941012/Press & Reader Contact: Palindrome UK tel +44-344-360888, fax +44-344-360910)
ome UK tel +44-344-360888, fax +44-344-360910)
10/12/94
UK - Palindrome Products NetWare 4.02 Tested
NETWORK
UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Sec
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) Tricom has upgraded its Landial 200 remote LAN (local area network) access server. Features of version 2.0 of the server include a token-based security system, support for DOS dial-out users, and extension of the number of ports from eight to 12.
The enhanced security system is based around Tricom's Identicard security technology. The Identicard system generates a random six digit number every 60 seconds, based on an integral algorithm, a time-setting and a PIN (personal identification number). Since two Identicards can be matched up, the user must use the resulting PIN generated by his local card to match that of the Landial 200 system being accessed.
Martin Bond, access product manager with Tricom, said that version 2.0 of Landial 200 built on what users said they wanted to see as improvements in the original chassis system.
"As with all new products, there are many lessons to be learned. This has been the case with Landial 200, and we believe that any problems experienced by users with the original product have been resolved in this latest version," he said.
According to Bond, there are many customer sites evaluating the new version of the Landial system and that "all indications lead us to believe that version 2.0 will put even further ahead of the competition for remote LAN access."
Some key features of the new Landial 200 include: a Boot P Server allowing people running IP (Internet Protocol) networks to manage their users; Native NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) a multi-packet driver allowing multiple protocols to be handled simultaneously; and improved installation, with procedures enhanced by the creation of network templates.
The Landial 200 server is available immediately. Existing users will be offered the software upgrade for UKP500.
(Steve Gold/19941012/Press & Reader Contact: Tricom tel +44-494-483951, fax +44-494-485213)
Tricom tel +44-494-483951, fax +44-494-485213)
10/12/94
UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Security System
TELECOM
( R 6
UK - Hutchison Claims London Mob
Defense Electronics Sales Stable
UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Sec
Compaq UK To Pre-Install CompuSe
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 SEP 12 (NB) -- CompuServe has contracted with Compaq's UK operation to allow the Windows edition of its CompuServe Information Manager (WinCIM) to be pre-installed on the hard disks of all Compaq PCs sold in the UK.
"More and more PC firms are realizing the marketing benefits of providing WinCIM pre-installed to their customers. It gives immediate and easy access to the widest and most comprehensive online information and support services available from the moment a user turns on their computer," said Neil Laver, CompuServe's product manager.
According to Laver, the deal with Compaq is by no means unique. Similar deals have been signed in the past with AST, CompuAdd Dell, Gateway 2000, and Viglen.
Laver claims that the sheer choice of services on CompuServe, coupled with the online service's broad distribution through consumer retail outlets, "is increasing manufacturer awareness to the benefits of offering CompuServe to their customers."
In addition to the software, Compaq is including a complimentary CompuServe membership deal with each of its machines. The deal includes a free month of basic services, along with $15 worth of usage credit to the customer's account.
(Steve Gold/19941012/Press Contact: CompuServe UK, tel +44-734 391064; Internet e-mail 70004.3466@CompuServe.com)
64; Internet e-mail 70004.3466@CompuServe.com)
10/12/94
Compaq UK To Pre-Install CompuServe Software
ONLINE
Microsoft Add-In Converts Access
Japan - Computer Developments
Compaq UK To Pre-Install CompuSe
Spain - Telecom Privatization Sc
MADRID, SPAIN, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- The Spanish government has approved an outline plan to privatize the state-controlled telecoms marketplace in time for the European Commission-imposed deadline of January 1, 1998.
According to Felipe Gonzalez, the Spanish Premier, the approval of the plan is a revolutionary move for the Spanish constitution, although the more cynical observers see the approval as legislative sleight of hand to appease the EC mandarins.
In a press conference announcing the breakthrough, Gonzalez said that telecoms is the lifeblood of Spanish industry. "Everyone in Spain agrees that the telecoms sector is the heart of business development even more so than the automobile sector. The technology is going to produce a revolution in the business world," he said.
According to Gonzalez, telecommuting is something that the Spanish people need to embrace, as working from home is going to change the work habits of millions of Spaniards.
One of the fundamentals of the outline plan is an agreement that the government has forged with Telefonica de Espana (TdE), the state telecoms company.
The agreement calls for the company to offer standard telephony services to all areas of Spain, at standard rates. Currently, many parts of Spain have ancient rotary dial phones and exchanges barely capable of supporting trunk calls. TdE has committed to updating its network with digital switches by January of 1998, Newsbytes notes.
By switching to digital working, TdE will be able to comply with allowing third-party telecoms companies access to the whole of Spain's subscriber base, much as MCI and Sprint enjoy "equal access" across most of the US.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941012)
most of the US.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941012)
10/12/94
Spain - Telecom Privatization Schedule Set
UK - Truevision's Targa 2000 Win
X/Open's International User Surv
Spain - Telecom Privatization Sc
UK PC Firm Links With Charity
BURNLEY, LANCASHIRE, UK, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Time Computer Systems is encouraging laser printer users to return their used toner cartridges to the British Institute for Brain Injured Children, to generate income for the charity.
"It's very rewarding to be able to support a charity caring for children less fortunate than others," commented Colin Silcock, Times' national sales manager. "As far as the printer user is concerned, they can help without spending a penny -- they simply put the empty cartridge into a post box rather than a bin."
Time is bundling publicity material about the toner cartridge recycling operation, which generates around UKP5 per cartridge for the Institute, with all its products. Existing laser printer owners regardless of where their printer was sold, are being encouraged to contact Sue Tolworth at Time Computers on 0278-684060 for details of how the scheme works.
Rita Hodder, a spokeswoman for the Institute, said that she is very pleased that Time "has agreed to help us spread the message. One of the biggest problems we face is in making people aware of the organization and how easy it is to help. This link with one of the country's biggest sellers of computer equipment will make that job much easier."
(Steve Gold/19941012/Press Contact; Andy Ball/John Butters Insight Marketing, tel +44-61-495-5050, fax +44-61-495-5054; Colin Silcock, Time Computer, tel +44-282-770044, fax +44-282-770607; Public Contact: Time Computer, +44-282-777111)
Time Computer, +44-282-777111)
10/12/94
UK PC Firm Links With Charity
GENERAL
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
IBM, Philips Join Forces On Chip
FISHKILL, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Philips Electronics N.V. of the Netherlands (LON:PHGPF, NYSE:PHG) said they plan to form a joint venture in Europe to manufacture semiconductor wafers.
The companies plan to make wafers at IBM's existing plant in Boeblingen Hulb, Germany. The joint venture will take over assets and employees of the IBM facility, and will supply products solely to IBM and Philips, officials said.
The two companies are still working out details of the contracts to complete the deal, IBM spokeswoman Kathleen Ryan told Newsbytes. Specifics such as the name of the new joint venture which is expected to be a separate company, have not been determined. The firms hope to conclude their deal within a few months.
Embedded dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) applications, in which logic and memory are combined on a single chip, are at the core of the deal. Very few companies are producing 16 megabit embedded DRAM products today, Ryan explained, and the alliance would give Philips access to IBM's technology for its consumer electronics products.
The two prospective partners have complementary strengths, Ryan noted. "IBM is known as a computer company. Philips is probably better known for its consumer electronics."
Philips sells home electronics, communication systems, industrial electronics, lighting, semiconductors, and other products under its own name and the Magnavox and Norelco brands.
The joint venture would initially produce four megabit DRAM wafers for IBM and 0.8 micron-line-width logic products for Philips. In time, the companies said they plan to upgrade the Boeblingen Hulb plant to built integrated circuits using a 0.5 micron process. Initial plans do not call for the joint venture to sell chips to customers other than IBM and Philips Ryan said.
IBM's Boeblingen Hulb plant currently employs about 800 people and makes four-megabit DRAM chips on eight-inch wafers for use in IBM computers.
(Grant Buckler/19941012/Press Contact: Kathleen Ryan, IBM 914-892-5582; Cor Vreven, Philips Electronics, +31-40-75 7005; Christiane Hinze, IBM Germany, +49-711-785-3407)
ane Hinze, IBM Germany, +49-711-785-3407)
10/12/94
IBM, Philips Join Forces On Chip Wafers
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Novell & Sybase Launch SybaseWar
WELLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- "It's not just our products that are compatible," said Bob Frankenberg president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Novell, during a joint Novell/Sybase press conference held to announce a new "integrated product" called SybaseWare, along with plans to team up on distribution, tech support, and reseller education.
SybaseWare 1.0 for NetWare and UnixWare will ship in fourth quarter 1995, but before then, the vendors will start distributing Sybase into Novell channels, launch educational programs, and issue a SybaseWare SDK (software developers kit), Frankenberg and other officials said at the event, held in San Francisco and broadcast via videoconference to sites worldwide. Newsbytes attended the press conference via a video link-up to Novell/WordPerfect offices in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
SybaseWare will consist of six components, according to the officials: NetWare or UnixWare; SQL (structured query language) Server 10; Open Client, consisting of a call-level interface and network drivers; SQL Server Monitor for Windows, a graphical tool for "optimizing" SQL Server performance: SQL Server Manager for Windows, a graphical database administration tool for SQL Server; and BackUp Server, for "parallel backup and recovery."
The jointly developed product is targeted at database users who are "downsizing" into the LAN (local area network) environment, in addition to PC network users are considering "upsizing" into the enterprise, according to Mark Hoffman, president and CEO of Sybase. Today's PC users "want their products to be able to grow with them as their needs grow," he reported during the press conference.
Starting in December, Sybase plans to expand its indirect distribution channel for the existing Sybase WorkGroup SQL Server for NetWare product to include "authorized Novell SQL literate resellers," according to Sybase and Novell officials at the site in Wellesley, who elaborated on the companies' plans to local attendees at the close of the press conference.
Also at that time, the two vendors will offer an option to bundle the Sybase product with NetWare 3.12, NetWare 4.02, and NetWare 4.1, once it becomes available. A similar option for bundling Sybase WorkGroup SQL Server for NetWare is scheduled to become available in the first half of 1995.
In the third quarter of 1995, Novell and Sybase expect to issue an SDK of SybaseWare for NetWare 4.1 and UnixWare 2.0, said officials at the Wellesley office.
Before the SDK becomes available, Novell and Sybase developers will be able to continue working with their "tools of choice," Novell and Sybase officials explained in San Francisco, during the televised press conference.
While SybaseWare is under development, Novell and Sybase will start to integrate their existing products by incorporating tighter interfaces, the executives added.
The Novell/Sybase deal "follows the model of one-stop shopping," said Julie Van Bourg, VP of Sybase's Technology Solutions Group one of the officials who helped spell out the companies' plans in San Francisco.
The SybaseWare product will offer easy installation as well as common online documentation and a single login through integration with Novell's Directory Services, according to Van Bourg.
The agreement "leverages the best of both companies," added Toby Corey, senior director of marketing for Novell's NetWare Products Division, also during the news conference. For Novell customers the agreement offers a chance to "consolidate" databases, Corey noted. Internally within Novell, for example, users are "typically" using about 13 different databases, he illustrated.
In addition, SybaseWare users and resellers will be able to obtain tech support through a "dedicated" phone number to be jointly staffed by Novell and Sybase, with assistance from Hewlett-Packard Corey reported.
For Sybase and Novell resellers, the pact offers opportunities for "cross-fertilization," he said. By passing through upcoming Novell/Sybase training programs, Novell resellers will be able to "differentiate" themselves from competitors by becoming knowledgeable about Sybase, SQL, and client-server technologies he explained.
At the same time, Sybase resellers will be able to "learn about NOS (network operating systems)," he pointed out. The deal will also allow the Sybase VARs (value-added resellers) to "sell into Novell's installed base" of 40 million users.
Through newly established "equivalent certification and authorization levels," Novell Platinum resellers can become Sybase Premier resellers, Novell Gold resellers can become Sybase Certified Resellers, and Novell Authorized resellers can become Sybase Authorized resellers, or vice versa, he said.
Sybase training is scheduled to become available to Novell resellers starting in November, 1994, through current Sybase training outlets and some Novell facilities. In the second quarter of 1995, Sybase training will become available through Novell's Authorized Education Centers. Specific offerings will include STEP (Sybase Technical Education Program) and Drake Professional Certification.
During a Q&A period in San Francisco, the officials were asked what sets SybaseWare apart from OracleWare, a previous joint effort between Novell and Oracle.
SybaseWare, responded Corey, will be accompanied by the first educational program to be jointly developed by Novell and a database vendor. The dedicated phone number for collaborative technical support is another distinguishing point, he added.
In answer to another question, Corey said that Novell and Sybase will announce next year a jointly developed product for SMP (symmetric multiprocessor) servers. The upcoming product will incorporate UnixWare, he added.
In reply to another inquiry, Frankenberg noted that "a number of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have expressed interest" in selling a package that would bundle computer hardware with Novell and Sybase products.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941013/Reader Contact: Sybase, 510-922-3500; Novell, 801-429-7000; Press Contacts: Holly McArthur, Sybase, 510 922-3500; Mark Dayton, Novell, 801-429-7126; Susan Shulman, Blanc & Otus for Sybase, 415-512-0500)
san Shulman, Blanc & Otus for Sybase, 415-512-0500)
10/12/94
Novell & Sybase Launch SybaseWare, VAR Training
NETWORK
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Mar
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Bombay based Dynavox Electronic Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hyundai of South Korea for the marketing and servicing of their telecom products in India. The company has also tied up with a German firm, Wilheln Sihn for marketing and servicing multi-channel satellite receiving systems.
Hyundai's products, which include key telephone systems CB/transceivers and cordless phones, will be marketed in India under the joint brand name of Dynavox Hyundai. Presently, Dynavox is the authorized sales and service agent of Canon Inc. of Japan, for plain paper copiers and facsimile machines.
The firm also markets key telephone systems and PABXs (private automatic branch exchanges). Its clients include the cabinet secretariat the Lok Sabha, the DOT, and MTNL.
W T Balaji, managing director of Dyanvox, said, "We intend to double the after-sales service and consumer sales income from the present level of 15 percent to 30 percent, which is in line with the prevailing level in developed countries."
Dynavox is embarking on an expansion and modernization project to deal with the new requirements following the new tie-ups. The company is planning a public issue to part finance its expansion and modernization project.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941012)
oject.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941012)
10/12/94
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Market
BUSINESS
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
IBM Says Software Is Holding Up
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Mar
India - VHEL Signs With Nokia, S
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Considering the liberalization of the Indian economy and the opening up of the telecom sector, Vikas Hybrids and Electronics Ltd. have embarked on a major expansion-cum diversification drive in its quest to tap the electronics and telecommunications markets.
The parent company -- Inderchand Rajgarhia & Sons Pvt Ltd. -- is also a large exporter of electronic products. VHEL has entered into a technical collaboration with Finland-based Nokia Cables to manufacture optical fiber cables and commercial production is slated to commence soon.
The company is planning to provide value-added services for electronic-mail and voice-mail, in collaboration with Korea Telecom. A letter of intent has already been received by the company.
The company is also diversifying into basic telecom services in collaboration with Korea Telecom and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. of South Korea.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941012)
th Korea.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941012)
10/12/94
India - VHEL Signs With Nokia, Samsung
BUSINESS
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek
SlipKnot, Windows Browser For Th
Cray Computer Gets Another Cash
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Cray Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:CRAY) says it has completed a private placement of $3.85 million worth of unregistered shares of common stock to foreign institutional and private investors but will probably need more money before it realizes revenue from its Cray-4 supercomputer.
The money was raised through the sale of 3.85 million unregistered shares at $1 per share, with 1.75 million of the shares purchased by existing shareholders. The company also issued warrants to purchase 385,000 additional shares at $1.50 per share at any time through October, 1997.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) William Skolout told Newsbytes shares sold to foreign investors under "Regulation F" must be sold to foreign entities and are not required to be registered. Shares sold in the US market place must be registered or qualify as exempt.
The company says the money will provide working capital for continued research and development, sales and marketing of the Cray-4, its next-generation supercomputer. Cray says tests of circuitry for the Cray-4 have confirmed the system's ability to reach a clock rate of one gigahertz (GHz).
Asked by Newsbytes about sales prospects, Executive Vice President of Marketing Chuck Breckenridge said the company is bidding on a number of procurements. "Cray is certainly a competitor but that sort of thing requires you demonstrate the machine."
Breckenridge told Newsbytes the company expects to have a working model of the Cray-4 operational by the end of the year. He also said the money raised by the latest share sales to foreign investors is expected to last through 1994.
Cray CFO Skolout told Newsbytes the company has a total of 60 million authorized shares. With the latest placement, about 44 million shares have been issued.
Cray was spun off from Cray Research in 1983 by Seymour Cray when the computer innovator decided a better supercomputer could be built using gallium arsenide, instead of silicon. However, the project ran into delays and the company eventually lost the only customer it had managed to attract after Cray missed a crucial milestone on the demonstration schedule.
Cray has been losing about $11 million per quarter. Cray stock reached a trading low of $0.50 on April 18, 1994. It closed yesterday at $1.50.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- Nintendo of America Inc. has formed an alliance with Matsushita Avionics Systems Company that calls for Nintendo to provide as much as $80 million worth of entertainment and information services to Singapore Airlines for use on their flights.
The company is also participating in Matsushita's deal with Cathay Pacific Airlines to provide multimedia systems on each of Cathay's 777 aircraft. The interior of the 777 is described as being similar to a DC-10. Together the two airlines will have 62 aircraft equipped with the Nintendo systems.
Nintendo says the first Singapore Airlines installation will be made before the end of the year, while Cathay Pacific will get their equipment in mid-1995.
Nintendo will integrate its Nintendo Gateway System into Matsushita's interactive System 2000E Cabin Management/Entertainment system giving air travelers the ability to play as many as 10 video games on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES). On some airlines the unit is installed in the seat-back in front of the user, while on others it is attached to the armrest.
A Nintendo spokesperson told Newsbytes users can also select a movie to watch, check on their baggage while still airborne, or do their shopping, using a built-in credit card reader to charge the purchase.
The Nintendo Gateway System is already operational on planes operated by China Air, Virgin Atlantic, and Northwest airlines, and in hotel rooms operated by Sheraton, Embassy Suites, Best Western Clarion Plaza, Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, and Doubletree hotels and motels.
(Jim Mallory/19941012/Press contact: Alison Holt Brummelkamp Golin/Harris for Nintendo of America, 213-623-4200; Public contact: Nintendo of America, tel 206-882-2040 fax 206-882-3585/AIRGAME941012/PHOTO)
x 206-882-3585/AIRGAME941012/PHOTO)
10/12/94
Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintendo
TRENDS
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Micro
MicroLogic Intros PrintMaster Go
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- MicroLogic has announced PrintMaster Gold CD Bonus Pack, a $79.95 CD which provides 145 TrueType fonts, more than 1,200 color clip-art images and 600 special clip-art images from artist/illustrator, Phil Frank.
Highlighted by an audio interface for assistance, the Windows CD targets home users and the small office/home office (SOHO) markets.
Frank Hainze, president of MicroLogic, told Newsbytes, "This product shows some of the creative capabilities of multimedia technology. There are three basic components to this program: the 1,800 graphics; 145 TrueType fonts which we have carefully chosen; and more than 200 different designs of greeting cards, banners calendars, stationery, and signs. All of these components are accompanied with verbal assistance which the user is able to control"
Hainze continued, "The audio assistance is also designed to change itself as a user goes through the program. For example, after going through the greeting card section a number of times, the program realizes the user does not need to hear the same message repeatedly, so it begins to edit out part of the message."
Besides the audio assistance feature, PrintMaster Gold offers: scalability of fonts up to nine feet; printing capabilities for PCX TIFF, GIF, CGM, WMF, and BMP graphics; full 24-bit color output; and full editing capability of the included designs.
Hainze clarified a difference between a template, commonly found in most design programs, and the designs enclosed in the CD. "Our designs are ready to be printed right from the start or a user may edit a design any way he or she pleases," he said.
The small company is taking on the long-time leader in home publishing, Print Shop by Broderbund. According to MicroLogic the real advantage PrintMaster Gold has over its competitors is in output production. "Rather than relying on the print driver in a particular system, this program will figure out if that driver can handle the image. If it cannot, we pre-process it before the image is sent. People will be very surprised at the difference in quality." said Hainze.
He further added, "We are a small technology company which is just getting into marketing. One of our primary goals is to take away the fear and intimidation often experienced by new users and replace that with an ease-of-use which incorporates inspiration and productivity."
(Patrick McKenna/19941012/Press Contact: Melissa Rabin, S&S tel 708-291-1616, fax 708-291-1758; Public Information: tel 510-652-5464, fax 510-652-5040)
ation: tel 510-652-5464, fax 510-652-5040)
10/12/94
MicroLogic Intros PrintMaster Gold On CD
GENERAL
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI
Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encode
OneComm Intros Wireless Digital
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- OneComm Corp. is adding the Seattle-Portland, Oregon corridor to its digital wireless network. It is the first major expansion of what the company says will be a "seamless wireless network" covering all of North America by 1996.
The OneComm network is based on Motorola's Integrated Radio System (MIRS) technology, and combines a digital cellular phone pager, and two-way radio in one handset.
OneComm spokesperson Petro Kacur told Newsbytes, "Any business with a large, mobile workforce will benefit by using us. We're really aiming at people who carry separate gear around for a pager cellular phone or two-way radio. Those are the people score high on what we call the 'Sagging Belt Index.' OneComm rolls it all into one simple handset."
In June, OneComm started commercial service along Colorado's front range region, including Denver and Colorado Springs. Kacur told Newsbytes, "Our Colorado customers have been really happy with it. We're meeting all of our expectations there on signing up customers and we expect to do at least as well in the Northwest."
Stated OneComm Area President Jim Frank: "We are the first wireless company to combine the power of a cellular phone, a pager and two-way radio in a single handset. We give business users the ability to control costs and increase efficiency by combining all wireless needs into a single device supported by a single company."
MIRS operates in the same 800 megahertz (MHz) spectrum band as cellular, the firm said. It uses frequencies normally allocated to analog specialized mobile radio (SMR). The new digital technology sometimes called "enhanced specialized mobile radio" (ESMR) allows multiple voice and data use of each 800MHz radio frequency.
"This is the most advanced digital wireless technology available in the world today," stated Fred Wright, senior vice president MIRS Worldwide Motorola.
In addition to Colorado and Pacific Northwest operations, OneComm says it will soon extend service to St. Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, during the first quarter of 1995.
In July, OneComm (NASDAQ:ONEC) and Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CALL) announced plans to merge, to create a digital mobile network serving 85 percent of the nation's population and 47 of the top 50 US markets. Subsequently, Nextel announced it would also merge with Dial Page, to give the combined companies the only radio spectrum position covering virtually the entire US.
Nextel already operates a MIRS-based network in California and will activate in more major markets soon. The OneComm/Nextel merger should close by year's end, OneComm sources said, making the nationwide service an "operating reality."
(Craig Menefee/19941012/Press Contact: Steven Silvers or Petro Kacur, Hill & Knowlton, 303-294-0044)
ilvers or Petro Kacur, Hill & Knowlton, 303-294-0044)
10/12/94
OneComm Intros Wireless Digital In Seattle/Portland
TELECOM
Computer Freedom & Privacy Confe
Software Group Blasts Govt Shrin
Software Rai
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) plans to introduce three new "mortgage information highway" software packages in early 1995. The company says its software will, by the end of the decade, help chop $1,000 from the cost of making a mortgage.
The new "Desktop" series -- consisting of Desktop Home Counselor Desktop Underwriter, and Desktop Originator -- will mesh with Fannie Mae's MORNET EDI (electronic data interchange) network, linking those engaged in the mortgage process. By making mortgage qualification more efficient, the firm says its technology will help lenders qualify borrowers in underserved communities and borrowers with low to moderate incomes.
MORNET EDI is scheduled to become operational by the end of this Fall, the company said.
Stated Fannie Mae Vice Chairman Frank Raines: "As part of Fannie Mae's trillion dollar 'Showing America A New Way Home' initiative we have committed to cut the cost of making a mortgage by $1,000 through technology by the end of the decade. We are confident of the opportunities to streamline mortgage finance and have dedicated ourselves to work with our partners in delivering the ultimate benefit of technology -- allowing more Americans a chance to own their home."
The new Fannie Mae Windows-based programs are for PCs.
Desktop Underwriter is an AI (artificial intelligence) system that evaluates personal financial information supplied in a mortgage loan application to see where the borrower fits in the Fannie Mae underwriting guidelines. The firm promises it will provide a clear accurate audit trail with unambiguous information about the system's decisions. The software will either recommend approval or refer an application to the underwriter for further review.
The firm said Desktop Underwriter can underwrite any loan, including non-conforming mortgages (beyond Fannie Mae's current individual loan limit of $203,150) and government mortgages such as FHA and VA. The company will waive "reps and warranties" lender paperwork for loans approved by the Underwriter software.
Desktop Originatoris a system of tools to help "originate" (find money for) mortgages. The software will help lenders distribute mortgage loan and pricing information to branches and to a subscribing network of loan originators. It will let originators take electronic loan applications, analyze whether borrowers can afford a given mortgage, update loan information, and lock-in rates, all from a desktop PC. It will use network links to improve communications between lenders and originators.
Desktop Home Counselor is an educational system to help lenders and non-profit counselors provide personal and financial information for low- and moderate-income borrowers, such as credit and affordability analyses. The software will help develop a client profile with personal and financial information such as employment history income, assets, and debts. The potential home buyer can get detailed information regarding their credit status and see reports including "what if" scenarios and recommended paths to home ownership.
Fannie Mae said it will make the Desktop Underwriter and Desktop Originator systems available to lenders beginning in 1995. Desktop Home Counselor will be widely available early next year.
Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) is a congressionally chartered, shareholder owned company and the largest US source of home mortgage funds. It has committed to provide $1 trillion in targeted lending for 10 million homes in underserved segments of the population by the end of the decade.
(Craig Menefee/19941012/Press Contact: Tom Marder, 202-752-7111 or Kevin Hawkins, 202-752-6720, both of the Federal National Mortgage Association)
oth of the Federal National Mortgage Association)
10/12/94
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mortgage Software
GENERAL
Report - 5.52 Million Users Now
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- An online industry newsletter reports that, "despite Summer doldrums," the audience for online services grew 5.6 percent last summer to 5,520,200 users. The increase -- which translates to a 22.4 percent annual growth rate was fueled mostly by skyrocketing demand at CompuServe and America Online, while Prodigy lost ground, according to the report.
The subscriber comparisons were published by the "Information & Interactive Services Report" newsletter published by Business Research Publications of Washington, DC.
The highest proportional growth rate was achieved at community access projects, which grew 11.8 percent during the three-month period, but started the period with a very small user base, according to the report.
Other big winners included regional online operators who operate in the borderland between full-scale national service and large but local bulletin board systems (BBSs). Examples cited in the report were The Well (San Francisco Bay area) and Nmematics (New York City area).
The Well plans to open a New York node by November 1 and is studying other major cities as service candidates for next year. Nmematics Videotex Inc. has launched an Internet access service in New York City and plans a Phoenix, Arizona site later this year, the report said.
Among the "big five" online services, according to the report Delphi now claims to be fourth largest, having bypassed GEnie. GEnie's numbers have remained stable despite efforts to attract new customers. Newsbytes notes that GEnie's new Windows-based front end has remained in beta testing, only partly functional, since May of this year. Delphi has itself been hampered by problems with a new graphical front-end that it has had to delay, the report says.
Prodigy has not released its subscriber figures in the past year but is making major efforts to maintain and expand its subscriber base. It is now demonstrating its new P2 interface, due early next year to content suppliers. According to the report, Prodigy officials admit that customers churn off the system about as fast as new customers sign up. Prodigy expects the P2 front-end, a style change and advertising will boost its growth rate.
Meanwhile, eWorld, Apple's new online service, has opened in Canada and soon will extend internationally to the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. It plans also to launch French, German, and Kanji (Japanese) versions in early 1995.
The report predicts that if Microsoft's Marvel, Ziff-Davis Interactive Interchange, and commercialized Internet services appear online later this year, it could set off another price and feature war between the services.
Services run by metro newspapers continued their rapid expansion. Mercury Center, the San Jose, California, Mercury News online service, has introduced a clipping feature similar to Executive News Service, in which subscribers specify what types of stories they want to read. The Fort Worth Start-Telegram's Startext service now offers an online restaurant guide with full menus of participating restaurants.
The Kansas City Star expects to launch its StarNet service early next year. The Albuquerque Tribune will introduce a graphical user interface later this year and has promoted a "Crime Stoppers" feature online. The Florida Today Forum service is attracting accesses by online promotions and listings in computer magazines.
In the wire service world, Reuters Money Network is available in Windows format and the service will provide a Windows Wealth Builder software this October. The service has added Morningstar Mutual Fund reports. Womens Wire has added two online forums based on New Woman and Self magazines.
Also, Access Atlanta has added the PR Newswire and AP Online to its content, and will add Automated Sportsline and Newsbytes News Service later this fall.
(Craig Menefee/19941012/Press Contact: Andrew Jacobson or Rod Kuckro, 202-842-3022)
ew Jacobson or Rod Kuckro, 202-842-3022)
10/12/94
Report - 5.52 Million Users Now Online
ONLINE
RasterOps, Truevision Bundle Acc
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- RasterOps Corporation and its subsidiary, Truevision, are lowering the price on 17-inch PC viewscreens by bundling a 64-bit SVGA graphics accelerator card with a 17-inch ClearVueColor multi-frequency monitor for a list price of $999.
A second bundling option aimed at graphics professionals will include a two megabyte (MB) DRAM , ISA (Industry Standard Architecture, or AT bus) graphics card with the same 17-inch monitor for $1,299, full list price, the firm said. The ClearVueColor 17 normally lists for $1,049, as a standalone product.
The firm called its "aggressive price point" for the high-end equipment a "wake-up call to the industry that RasterOps is no longer a Macintosh-only company."
Stated Jan Fradin, directory of PC graphics marketing, "We intend to be major players in the PC graphics market. No other company in the PC graphics accelerator market has the capability to offer a complete monitor-to-card solution."
Both accelerator cards use 64-bit graphics chips to provide 16.7 million colors. Included software allows on-the-fly resolutions switching, color bit-depth switching and WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is what-you-get) display calibration, the firm said. The higher priced option includes hardware zoom and a virtual desktop capability.
The firm said the ColorImpact 100 card is available in ISA, VLB, or PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus configurations, while the ColorImpact Pro 1000 is available in VLB and PCI versions. Memory for both cards can be upgraded using industry-standard RAM. The company claims its ColorImpact Pro 1000 is first in the industry to use the new industry standard VRAM (video RAM) DIMM modules.
The ClearVueColor 17-inch flat-screen monitor supports resolutions up to 1,024 by 768 at 75 hertz (Hz), the firm says. It has .26 millimeter (mm) dot pitch for clear text and images. It has 14 present and eight user-definable resolutions, and is Energy Star compliant.
The firm notes the multi-frequency monitor complies with the stringent Swedish MPR-II standard for VLF/ELF emissions.
RasterOps Corporation (NASDAQ: ROPS) markets color graphics cards displays and full-motion video products for Apple Macintosh, Power Macintosh, and PC systems.
(Craig Menefee/19941012/Press Contact: Leigh Pesqueira or Jonathan Hirshon, The Benjamin Group, 408-559-6090, or Anne-Lise Stannard RasterOps/Truevision, 408-496-4035; Reader Contact: 1-800-SAY COLOR or 800-729-2656/RASTEROPS941012/PHOTO)
ct: 1-800-SAY COLOR or 800-729-2656/RASTEROPS941012/PHOTO)
#m#PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 12 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> MCI Gets Into Directory Assistance 10/12/94 MCI wants your fingers to do a little bit less walking -- now you don't have to remember, or look up, that missing area code to get long distance directory assistance. In a strike against the local telephone companies, MCI has launched an international, one-call directory assistance service.
2 -> Japan - Supercomputer Power For Workstations 10/12/94 Mitsubishi Electric plans to develop a technique for giving workstations supercomputer power by March, 1995. The company will use a neuro processor board, developed by its semiconductor lab.
3 -> Zelos To Distribute Sony Imagesoft & Individual CD-ROMs 10/12/94 Zelos, publisher of interactive adult learning CD-ROMs, has unveiled a multi-tiered distribution strategy consisting of OEM (original equipment manufacturer), retail software, book publishing, and direct channels aimed at widespread dissemination of the firm's upcoming Fall titles.
4 -> Quantum Offers Hierarchical Storage Seminars 10/12/94 Quantum Corporation (NMS:QNTM) has announced a nationwide seminar series for computer storage resellers and distributors, called "Understanding HSM: The Answer to Network Growth and Data Explosion."
5 -> IBM Japan Relocates 1,000 Staff 10/12/94 In January, 1995, IBM Japan will transfer 1,000 staff in its administrative and production divisions to direct sales or systems engineer (SE) roles.
6 -> Japan - Computer Developments 10/12/94 Here is a look at the top computing market stories in Japan: Cirrus Logic to construct joint chip plant in Japan with Japanese firm; Fuji Photo Film, Iomega to sell new magnetic disk in US; and PC peripheral prices falling.
7 -> India - Govt Plans National Info Highway 10/12/94 The National Informatics Center (NIC), currently operating its low-speed satellite-based communication Network-NICNET, now plans to take an active role in a national "information highway." The highway, which utilizes NICNET and connects 14 cities, was formally dedicated to the nation by Pranab Mukherjee, minister of commerce and deputy chairman of the nation's Planning Commission.
8 -> Dell Justifies Late Entry Into Philippines 10/12/94 After waiting for four years, Dell has finally begun offering its products in the Philippines.
9 -> ****Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court Battle 10/12/94 A dispute involving the interpretation of a single paragraph in an amendment to an agreement between Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) has resulted in an favorable ruling for Intel.
10 -> Electronic Whiteboard Now Available In Mobile Model 10/12/94 Microfield Graphics Inc. has introduced a mobile model of Softboard, its electronic whiteboard. Microfield introduced its wall-mounted Softboard nearly 10 months ago, but now the company has put it on wheels so it can be moved.
11 -> Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek CEO Blasts Newsletter 10/12/94 Storage Technology Corporation (NYSE:STK) says the rollout of its Iceberg disk array storage subsystem continues to accelerate, and the company's chief executive officer (CEO) called stories about Iceberg in a newsletter "malodorous rumors."
12 -> Creative Labs Ships Videoconferencing Systems 10/12/94 Creative Labs Inc. has entered the desktop videoconferencing (DVC) market with two desktop PC products, one with full videoconferencing, the other equipped for audio but upgradable by adding a camera. Both systems work over a single, standard telephone connection.
13 -> IBM Says Software Is Holding Up PowerPC PCs 10/12/94 IBM (NYSE:IBM) personal computers based on the PowerPC processor line originally slated for launch this month, will not be generally available until 1995. According to the company, the reason is a lack of application software written to take advantage of the PowerPC chips.
14 -> Corporate Software To Buy DEC's 800-Software Unit 10/12/94 Corporate Software Inc. is to buy 800-Software Inc. of Richmond California, from Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC).
15 -> UK - Palindrome Products NetWare 4.02 Tested 10/12/94 Palindrome has announced that its NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) products, Network Archivist and Backup Director v3.1, have been "Yes, Tested and Approved" by Novell to run with the latest version of NetWare.
16 -> UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Security System 10/12/94 Tricom has upgraded its Landial 200 remote LAN (local area network) access server. Features of version 2.0 of the server include a token-based security system, support for DOS dial-out users, and extension of the number of ports from eight to 12.
17 -> Compaq UK To Pre-Install CompuServe Software 10/12/94 CompuServe has contracted with Compaq's UK operation to allow the Windows edition of its CompuServe Information Manager (WinCIM) to be pre-installed on the hard disks of all Compaq PCs sold in the UK.
18 -> Spain - Telecom Privatization Schedule Set 10/12/94 The Spanish government has approved an outline plan to privatize the state-controlled telecoms marketplace in time for the European Commission-imposed deadline of January 1, 1998.
19 -> UK PC Firm Links With Charity 10/12/94 Time Computer Systems is encouraging laser printer users to return their used toner cartridges to the British Institute for Brain Injured Children, to generate income for the charity.
20 -> IBM, Philips Join Forces On Chip Wafers 10/12/94 IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Philips Electronics N.V. of the Netherlands (LON:PHGPF, NYSE:PHG) said they plan to form a joint venture in Europe to manufacture semiconductor wafers.
21 -> Novell & Sybase Launch "SybaseWare," VAR Training 10/12/94 "It's not just our products that are compatible," said Bob Frankenberg president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Novell, during a joint Novell/Sybase press conference held to announce a new "integrated product" called SybaseWare, along with plans to team up on distribution tech support, and reseller education.
22 -> Hyundai Enters India Telecom Market 10/12/94 Bombay based Dynavox Electronic Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hyundai of South Korea for the marketing and servicing of their telecom products in India. The company has also tied up with a German firm Wilheln Sihn, for marketing and servicing multi-channel satellite receiving systems.
23 -> India - VHEL Signs With Nokia, Samsung 10/12/94 Considering the liberalization of the Indian economy and the opening up of the telecom sector, Vikas Hybrids and Electronics Ltd. have embarked on a major expansion-cum- diversification drive in its quest to tap the electronics and telecommunications markets.
24 -> Cray Computer Gets Another Cash Transfusion 10/12/94 Cray Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:CRAY) says it has completed a private placement of $3.85 million worth of unregistered shares of common stock to foreign institutional and private investors but will probably need more money before it realizes revenue from its Cray-4 supercomputer.
25 -> Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintendo 10/12/94 Nintendo of America Inc. has formed an alliance with Matsushita Avionics Systems Company that calls for Nintendo to provide as much as $80 million worth of entertainment and information services to Singapore Airlines for use on their flights.
26 -> MicroLogic Intros PrintMaster Gold On CD 10/12/94 MicroLogic has announced PrintMaster Gold CD Bonus Pack, a $79.95 CD which provides 145 TrueType fonts, more than 1,200 color clip-art images, and 600 special clip-art images from artist/illustrator, Phil Frank.
27 -> OneComm Intros Wireless Digital In Seattle/Portland 10/12/94 OneComm Corp. is adding the Seattle-Portland, Oregon corridor to its digital wireless network. It is the first major expansion of what the company says will be a "seamless wireless network" covering all of North America by 1996.
28 -> "Fannie Mae" To Offer Desktop Mortgage Software 10/12/94 The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) plans to introduce three new "mortgage information highway" software packages in early 1995. The company says its software will, by the end of the decade, help chop $1,000 from the cost of making a mortgage.
29 -> ****Report - 5.52 Million Users Now Online 10/12/94 An online industry newsletter reports that, "despite Summer doldrums," the audience for online services grew 5.6 percent last summer to 5,520,200 users. The increase -- which translates to a 22.4 percent annual growth rate -- was fueled mostly by skyrocketing demand at CompuServe and America Online, while Prodigy lost ground, according to the report.
30 -> RasterOps, Truevision Bundle Accelerator/17-Inch Monitor 10/12/94 RasterOps Corporation and its subsidiary, Truevision, are lowering the price on 17-inch PC viewscreens by bundling a 64-bit SVGA graphics accelerator card with a 17-inch ClearVueColor multi-frequency monitor for a list price of $999.
(Ian Stokell/19941012)
(Ian Stokell/19941012)
10/12/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
$N$ %
GENERAL
Prodigy Changes Pricing, Adds Se
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A.,, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Prodigy has set October 17 as the start-up date for its "Internet news reader" service, while announcing new pricing policies aimed at two groups of users.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Brian Ek, director of market programs and communications, said that the new pricing policies give members a choice of monthly rate plans, and also eliminate per-message online electronic mail fees.
For $9.95 per month, Ek explained, members will receive five hours' use of Prodigy, with any additional hours priced at $2.95 each. The $9.95 fee "puts Prodigy below the 'magic $10.00 a month number,'" while the $2.95 represents "the lowest hourly rate available for messaging on the Internet," he told Newsbytes.
Alternatively, for $14.95 per month, members will obtain "untimed use" of "hundreds of news, weather, sports, reference, and education services," including the Internet news reader and Prodigy's upcoming "Chat Stadiums," he added. Electronic mail is also included in the $14.95 "Value Plan."
The "Chat Stadiums" will open on either October 17 -- the same day the Internet reader becomes available --- or October 24, Ek said. The "stadiums" will let users chat in "stadium-sized crowds" or smaller "rooms" established by Prodigy, in addition to setting up their own chat areas. The news reader will offer access to the Internet's UseNet news groups.
The two new monthly pricing plans take effect immediately according to Ek. Then, on November 16, Prodigy will eliminate per message online electronic mail fees. Previously, memberships were priced at $14.95, with additional charges for messaging.
The new $9.95 plan will appeal to users who want to use Prodigy "mainly for communications," while the $14.95 plan is for people who want to make more use of chat, news, and other services, said Ek.
The two plans will be offered to new members after the first month "once they've had a chance to look around Prodigy and see which services they want to use."
People who want to try Prodigy can call 800-PRODIGY to obtain a Windows, DOS, or Macintosh kit for $4.95 shipping and handling. The kit includes all software needed for accessing Prodigy, plus a one month membership that includes 10 free hours of use for exploring the service.
Ek also told Newsbytes that, starting some time later this quarter Prodigy will begin to provide 14.4 megabits-per-second (Mbps) access at no additional charge from sites within the US. Prodigy currently offers high-speed 9,600 bits-per-second (bps) access at no extra charge.
As previously reported in Newsbytes, Prodigy intends to launch a completely revamped user interface, in addition to an Internet node, in 1995. The Internet node will offer new content -- aimed at "professional" users -- from Prodigy as well as from third-party providers, said William C. Day, product manager.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941012/Reader Contact: Prodigy, 800 PRODIGY; Press Contact: Julia Pickar or Lydia Trettis, Connors Communications for Prodigy, 212-995-2200)
ommunications for Prodigy, 212-995-2200)
10/13/94
Prodigy Changes Pricing, Adds Services
ONLINE
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Australians are often told that their place in the Asia Pacific region will be to provide information, education and "smart" thinking. But being smart isn't enough, as these products and services still have to be sold according to entrepreneur company Lateral Concepts.
Australian-based Lateral concepts has offices in Asia, Europe and the US, for the purpose of putting Australian developers in touch with overseas markets.
"We formed it in 1989 to facilitate the export of Australian information technology products by providing the expertise and resources necessary to assist local developers to be world-competitive in product, marketing, and support services." Chris Hills from Lateral Concepts explained to Newsbytes.
The company has a number of export projects already completed across a broad range of technologies, "Using a methodology which offers developers a stepping-stone approach to export," said Hill.
Hills added that the objective is to minimize the risks and costs associated with what is typically a time-consuming, expensive and long-term undertaking. He also stressed that the company can work for established exporters, evaluating existing channels and/or opening-up alternative channels in the same or different geographic regions.
(Paul Zucker/19941012/Press Contact: Lateral Concepts tel +61-2- 959-3087, fax: +61-2- 925-0983, Internet e-mail ipm@tmx.mhs.oz.au)
2- 925-0983, Internet e-mail ipm@tmx.mhs.oz.au)
10/13/94
Australian Firm Helps Local Developers Export
GENERAL
Knowledge Adventure Bundles Jura
LA CRESCENTA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Knowledge Adventure has announced a special combination package of their three-dimensional (3-D) Dinosaur Adventure multimedia CD, and the blockbuster film "Jurassic Park" -- winner of three Academy Awards and the most successful film in worldwide box office history.
Sources at Knowledge Adventure told Newsbytes that 3-D Dinosaur Adventure and has been on the top 10 CD-ROM best-seller list for over six months, teaching children (and adults) about hundreds of beasts that roamed the Earth 50 million years ago.
Bill Gross, founder and chairman, Knowledge Adventure, said, "What a wonderful way for families to discover dinosaurs. Families can watch the incredible dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park' come to life on their VCRs and then embark on an educational and interactive adventure into the world of dinosaurs with 3-D Dinosaur Adventure."
The 3-D Dinosaur Adventure/Jurassic Park combination package is available at the following retailers: Babbage's, CompUSA, Computer City, Egghead, Electronic Boutique, Eleck-tek, Fry's Electronics Future Shop, Incredible Universe, Office Depot, Office Max, Software Etc., Staples, and Tandy. Both Windows and Macintosh versions are offered.
Retailers will be provided with a seven-foot floorstand which features a Tyrannosaurus Rex holding 3-D Dinosaur Adventure/ Jurassic Park combination packages. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was drawn by renowned dinosaurs artist, Mark Hallett, who also worked on "Jurassic Park" as a dinosaur specialist.
Based on Michael Crichton's best-selling novel, Jurassic Park is the story of a theme park populated with dinosaurs created through the wonders of biotechnology. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie is the winner of three Academy Awards, including "Best Visual Effects" and the highest box office grossing film of all time. The film was released by MCA/Universal Home Video on October 4, 1994 (simultaneously with the video/software bundle).
3-D Dinosaur Adventure explores the world of dinosaurs through a variety of activities ranging from a Dinosaur Encyclopedia to a 3-D Dinosaur Museum. Other activities include: Name-A-Saurus Create-A-Saurus, and a virtual-reality time tunnel game.
Newsbytes has learned a special adventure area has been added to the 3-D Dinosaur Adventure, where kids can learn about other children across the country and throughout the world. The new section of the program features still drawings, still photos, and full-motion video, created by children.
Sources at Knowledge Adventure told Newsbytes they plan to include the module in future products. The company sees the area as a way to get closer to its customers, and will continue to accept submissions from children who use 3-D Dinosaur Adventure and their other products.
The suggested list prices are $69.95 for 3-D Dinosaur Adventure and $29.95 for Jurassic Park. The street price for the bundle is reportedly considerably lower. Newsbytes was able to locate the two bundled together at Staples for $39.95; and that's not counting a $5 rebate on the movie being offered by Jello.
TEMPLE, TEXAS, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has announced the MicroLaser Pro E, a 12-page-per-minute (ppm), 600 dip laser printer that the company claims makes high-performance PostScript and PCL 5 emulation printing more affordable.
The printer is designed for Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, and Macintosh environments. According to sources at TI, the Microlaser Pro E offers a better alternative to the HP LaserJet 4 Plus, and comes standard with AppleTalk and parallel ports, PCL 5 emulation, and 23 Adobe PostScript Level 2 fonts, (which is optional with the HP 4 Plus).
Additionally, the TI MicroLaser Pro E has 40 percent more paper handling, twice the toner life, and 50% more memory than the HP 4 Plus -- at a list price that is $240 less. The difference between the two street prices, (about $1,400 for TI, $1,550 for HP) however is only about $150.
There are other advantages to TI's printer besides cost. Newsbytes has learned that, because the MicroLaser Pro uses Adobe's special PostScript Level 2 plus PLC 5 emulations, it benefits from Adobe Memory Booster technology that more than doubles the standard internal memory in both PostScript and PCL 5 emulation. The Memory Enhancement Technology on the HP 4 Plus reportedly only operates in PCL 5 mode.
Aubrey Brickhouse, worldwide printer products manager for Texas Instruments, told Newsbytes that, "The MicroLaser Pro E is a better choice for affordable high performance laser printing -- regardless of whether a business uses PCs, Macs, or a mixture of both. And TI includes AppleTalk standard with the MicroLaser Pro E, rather than penalizing Mac users by making them buy AppleTalk as an option."
According to Aubrey, the MicroLaser Pro E prints at 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) with microfine toner that enhances print quality. The printer has a 12 ppm engine (a redesigned version of the 8ppm engine they company has used for years), and a 20 megahertz (MHz) RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) processor for handling of complex text and graphics.
The TI printer's consumables are rated at 15,000 pages -- more than twice the capacity of the HP 4 Plus, claims the company. Instead of a single toner cartridge, the TI printer has two components -- the OPC, and the Imager -- which can be replaced separately.
The MicroLaser Pro E is covered under TI's Satisfaction Guarantee support program. Users can call 800-TI-TEXAS for support. If a user is not completely satisfied with the printer during the first 30 days following purchase, TI will take the printer back.
(Nick Anis/19941007/Press Contact: Jerry Rycaj, Texas Instruments, 817-774-6110)
Rycaj, Texas Instruments, 817-774-6110)
10/13/94
TI Intros Fast MicroLaser Pro Printer
GENERAL
Bridging The Bay, Linking The Wo
India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom
Hyundai In Satellite Project
Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintend
Mill Valley Film Festival On Int
First Piece Of Cognos' Axiant Re
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN, NASDAQ:COGNF) said it will ship the first piece of its Axiant client/server development environment at the end of this month.
The Axiant Developer's Workbench, which will run on personal computers equipped with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 3.1 or higher will be the first step in a phased rollout of Axiant, which Cognos announced a year ago.
Initial shipments have slipped a bit from the company's original plan, company spokeswoman Roberta Carlton admitted, but the full deployment version of Axiant is expected in the first quarter of 1995.
Axiant supports Microsoft Corp.'s object linking and embedding (OLE) rules for linking applications under Windows, and provides for Rapid Iterative Development (RID) and Rapid Application Development (RAD) techniques using a multi-user, object-oriented repository, the company said.
According to Cognos, Axiant offers customers a choice of approaches to the client/server model, ranging from the "fat client" setup in which local PCs do most of the work, through a functional partitioning approach that spreads work about evenly across client and server to a "fat server" variant.
Cognos said it plans to provide Axiant support for servers running Unix, DOS, and Digital Equipment Corp.'s VMS operating system.
According to Cognos, the Axiant Developer's Workbench includes both a fourth-generation language engine and Cognos' client/server reporting and analysis tools, called Impromptu and PowerPlay, so developers can build high-performance transaction processing applications or interactive decision-support environments.
Officials said Axiant has four main features to help in developing major business applications. An application engine automates development and lets developers add extensions with repository-based business rules. A three-tiered application architecture is said to make for flexible deployment. Applications can also be scaled to few or many users. Finally, an integrated desktop provides ad-hoc query capability, reporting and multi-dimensional data analysis.
Hans Galldin, marketing director for client/server tools at Cognos, said Axiant deals with a common concern about security in client/server tools by making it possible to assign different privileges to different users. He said the software can also import data definitions from common computer-aided software engineering (CASE) software for use in creating source code.
The Axiant Developer's Workbench will carry an introductory price of C$3,960 or US$2,995, including a two-day introductory training course on client/server technology.
(Grant Buckler/19941012/Press Contact: Roberta Carlton or Robert Greene, Cognos, 617-229-6600)
ton or Robert Greene, Cognos, 617-229-6600)
10/13/94
First Piece Of Cognos' Axiant Ready To Go
WINDOWS
Joint Venture To Make Active-Mat
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- The David Sarnoff Research Center and In Focus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:INFS) have announced plans for a joint venture that will make active-matrix color flat panel displays.
Sarif Inc., the new company formed by the research center and In Focus, will build the polysilicon displays in the United States using technology the Sarnoff Center has developed over the past 10 years with help from the US government's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). The company expects continued funding from ARPA along with support from corporate and private investors.
The displays will be small ones, intended for use in projection devices and head-mounted displays, said Sharon VanSickle, a spokeswoman for In Focus. They will not be suitable for use in notebook computers. The companies also expect the displays will not be subject to the low-yield problems that have plagued active-matrix displays of the size used in computers, resulting in ongoing shortages of color notebooks that use such screens.
The new displays will be smaller and brighter and give higher resolution than existing silicon active-matrix liquid-crystal displays, company officials claimed.
Sarif has done prototype runs at a commercial semiconductor facility, and expects high yields on the new displays, VanSickle told Newsbytes, but is not in a position to project the yields precisely yet.
The Sarnoff Research Center, a subsidiary of SRI International does research in several areas including consumer electronics and materials science. It developed the first liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in the 1960s.
Sarif will start off with between 15 and 20 employees, drawn from the Sarnoff Center and from In Focus as well as from new hiring VanSickle said. Over time, plans call for the company to grow to a complement of between 200 and 300 employees.
Steven B. Hix, co-founder of In Focus, is leaving his present post as its chairman to become chairman and chief executive of Sarif.
The company's first product is to be a small high-resolution color "image engine" for use in projection systems, expected to go into volume production early in 1996.
(Grant Buckler/19941012/Press Contact: Sharon VanSickle, KVO Public Relations for In Focus, 503-221-1551; Heidi Flannery Fi.Comm for In Focus Systems, 503-221-7407; Cynthia Gray, David Sarnoff Research Center, 609-734-3038)
, David Sarnoff Research Center, 609-734-3038)
10/13/94
Joint Venture To Make Active-Matrix Displays
BUSINESS
Wang Open/image Supports Lotus N
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Wang Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ:WANG) has unveiled Open/image for Lotus Notes, software for Microsoft Windows that lets Lotus' popular workgroup product work with Wang's image-management servers.
The new Wang software works with the Lotus Notes: Document Imaging software which Lotus has just upgraded by releasing Version 2.5. According to Wang, it means Notes users can have direct access to documents stored in Open/image imaging systems. It also means Notes users can archive images on Open/image servers, which can be personal computers, Unix systems, IBM mainframes, or other hardware.
Open/image for Notes has two parts, Wang said. One is the Navigator, whose function is to let Notes users work with documents stored on an Open/image server. The other is the Gateway, which provides archival capability to Notes users using Open/image servers.
Wang, which is an authorized Lotus reseller, will offer Open/image for Notes by itself or with Notes, said Cheryl Gale, a spokeswoman for Wang. There are no plans for Lotus to sell the Wang software, she added.
Open/image for Notes requires at least a 386 processor, eight megabytes (MB) of memory (Wang recommends 16MB), Lotus Notes 3.0 or later, DOS 5.0 or later, and Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later plus LAN Workplace for DOS if access to a Unix server is required. The Navigator requires 1.5MB of free disk space and the Gateway 2MB. Another 5MB are needed for temporary files created during processing.
Open/image Navigator for Lotus Notes costs $99 for a single user with discounted license packs for 10 and 20 users. The Open/image Gateway for Notes is $2,500 per server. The Open/image software itself starts at $295 for a software-only, one-user PC installation, Gale said, and runs to about $200,000 for a large IBM mainframe server setup.
(Grant Buckler/19941012/Press Contact: Cheryl Gale or Sue Parente, The Weber Group for Wang, 617-661-7900)
he Weber Group for Wang, 617-661-7900)
10/13/94
Wang Open/image Supports Lotus Notes
WINDOWS
J .
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
Creative Labs Ships Videoconfere
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Na
Public Stock Offerings Available
DSP Intros Truespeech Processors
Maxtor Claims PCMCIA Hard Disk B
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Maxtor Corporation (NASDAQ:MXTR) has announced the development of what the company claims is, the world's first 1.8-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) designed for five millimeter (mm) Type II PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slots.
The MobileMax Lite 85 and MobileMax Lite 121 hard drives feature capacities of 85 megabytes (MB) and 121MB, and 3.3-volt operation for lower power consumption and a non-operating shock specification of 1,000 Gs.
Maxtor says their development of smaller drive technology is essential to future users of a wide range of very compact systems such as handhelds, palmtops, electronic entertainment, or automotive information systems. As mobile users incorporate such systems into their work day, Maxtor says they must be industry standard to ensure compatibility, as well as light, rugged, tolerant of environmental conditions, and capable of long battery life.
"Maxtor's technology development enables a new class of data-intensive, battery-powered systems which are more mobile than those available today, " said Barbara Nelson, Maxtor vice president of marketing. "Sub-miniature disk drives are now a viable option for an entire class of new applications and systems such as handheld and palmtop systems running electronic games and multilingual dictionaries."
"The design innovations in Maxtor's new drives enable us to respond to customer-critical requirements in mobile applications," said John Hagerman, Maxtor vice president of mobile storage products. "Not only have we developed the world's thinnest 1.8-inch disk drives, but we have also developed the first 3.3 volt drive and the industry's highest non-operating shock specification."
According to the company, the development of the drives is achieved through several "significant" technology innovations. Maxtor's digital signal processor (DSP)-based electronics architecture reduces the chip count in the drives by 50 percent.
The five drive ICs (integrated circuits) are a DSP, a read channel IC, a buffer RAM/data manager chip, a program ROM, and a servo ASIC (application specific IC). Some of the ICs are reduced in height from 1.6mm to 1.2mm through low profile packaging allowing the circuit board and disk to reside in the same plane.
The capacities of Maxtor's drives are delivered on a single disk complying with the Type II form factor. A reduced height in-hub fluid-filled motor is quiet (24dBA) and permits data recording over the entire flyable area of the disk.
Maxtor says its lower mass head suspension, single glass disk and fluid-filled motor allow shock resistance specifications of 1,000 Gs non-operating shock and 180 Gs operating shock. The company says such specifications permit the drives to withstand the harsh operating environments found in mobile computing applications.
The development of 3.3-volt 1.8-inch HDD technology is a significant power savings over 5.0-volt operations. To keep power consumption to a minimum, the drives use intelligent power management.
The MobileMax Lite 85 and 121 HDDs feature a temperature tolerance range of 0 degrees to 60 degrees C. The company claims that the Type II HDDs have a mean-time-between-failure rate of more than 300,000 hours and feature spin-up times of less than 1.5 seconds to transition from sleep mode to data transmission.
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) evaluation units of the MobileMax Lite 85 and 121, priced at $449 and $499, respectively will be available in the first quarter of 1995. Production volume is expected the second half of 1995.
(Nick Anis/19941012/Press Contact: Carol Cassara, Maxtor Corporate Communications, 408-432-4567)
axtor Corporate Communications, 408-432-4567)
10/13/94
Maxtor Claims PCMCIA Hard Disk Breakthrough
TRENDS
Hong Kong - Chevalier's CT2 Phon
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Chevalier Telepoint is promoting the pursuit of leisure-time activities and the outdoor life with its CT2 mobile phones. During the recent Mid-Autumn Festival moon-gazers were among the first to benefit, claims the company.
In Hong Kong, the Mid-Autumn Festival is arguably the most popular traditional Chinese festival celebrated each year, certainly outside of the Chinese New Year. It is very much a family affair and people gather in parks and on mountainsides with brilliantly colored Chinese lanterns some still lit by candles, but many now illuminated by ingeniously disguised battery power. People from all walks of life "chase" the moon up to the tops of mountains and down to the ocean-edge. Some even follow it out by boat to the horizon.
Chevalier installed base-stations in many beaches and sports grounds and in the most popular moon-gazing spot of all -- Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island. The installation program has increased network coverage and now offers an extended service to users who have an active outdoor social life all year round, said the company.
The new installations, at Urban Council leisure sites, mark the next phase in the development of Chevalier's TriLevel coverage strategy which aims to offer almost "unlimited" service. It already offers blanket coverage of densely populated business and commercial areas and strategic places like the MTR, housing estates, university campuses and hospitals. The oceanside and recreational sites offer an added dimension that targets the outdoor lifestyle of typical CT2 users.
"People increasingly want to make the most of their free time," said Neil Montefiore, managing director of Chevalier Telepoint Ltd. "The Mid Autumn Festival is one night of the year when everyone likes to be outside, yet still want to be in touch with family and friends."
He added that, "The lightweight Chevalier CT2 handset weighs no more than a couple of moon cakes (traditional fare at Moon Festival time). It couldn't be easier to take it to the park or the beach. From there people can phone friends and tell them where to join them, change meeting plans, or just enjoy the evening atmosphere while chatting to someone in a different part of town. Chevalier is helping people to enjoy life to the full by covering the places where people go to relax and have fun."
The "leisure site program" included many of the island's beaches such as Big Wave Bay, Deep Water Bay, Middle Bay, Repulse Bay, Shek O South Bay, and Turtle Cove. Other base station sites are swimming pools in Chai Wan, Kennedy Town, Kowloon Park, Kwun Tong and Morrison Hill the Wanchai and Aberdeen sports grounds, the Queen Elizabeth and Mong Kok stadiums, and the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Chevalier's TriLevel coverage already includes many recreational venues and points of interest. The South China Athletic Association, Hong Kong Arts Centre, the AMF Bowling Ground, and the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island are already on the network, as are numerous cinemas, restaurants and shops.
Hong Kong has been quick to adopt mobile communications of all descriptions. More than 15 percent of the population carry pagers and CT2 subscription levels have reached more than 150,000 in two years. This makes Hong Kong the fastest growing CT2 market in the world claims the company, with many more new customers opting for CT2 rather than the more expensive and congested cellular mobile phone services.
(Keith Cameron/19941004/Press Contact: Neil Montefiore, Chevalier 852-828-1218)
Contact: Neil Montefiore, Chevalier 852-828-1218)
10/13/94
Hong Kong - Chevalier's CT2 Phone Use Increases
TELECOM
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
Rockwell Software Development To
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
$19 Personal Income Tax Package
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Parsons Technology Inc., says its 1994 edition of Personal Tax Edge will offer more features and the latest IRS forms, but will still sell for $19.
Personal Tax Edge calculates your individual federal income and prints IRS-approved tax forms on laser, ink-jet and 24-pin dot matrix printers. The 1994 version has a new tax guide feature that leads the user through a step-by-step preparation process. An audit routine identifies problems and jumps the user directly to the problem data.
Personal Tax Edge for 1994 adds a number of new forms, including: Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption; Form 4137, Tax on Unreported Tips; Form 1040X, a computerized option for amending previous returns; and Form 6198, At Risk Limitations. The program also includes Form 1040PC, which authorizes the IRS to deposit your refund directly to your bank.
Parsons is releasing a $49 tax preparer's version of Personal Tax Edge this year that has some features and services designed especially for tax preparers.
Parsons Director of Corporate Communications Joan Dyal told Newsbytes the preparer's edition includes a client organizer prepares the client invoice, prints mailing labels and a client instruction letter and produces reports designed for clients that meet certain specific criteria. It also handles batch import of data.
With electronic filing rapidly becoming a popular way to file your tax return, Parsons has added that feature to the 1994 version of its tax software. The electronic filing option adds $15 to the cost of the individual user version of the program. The option ups the Preparer's Edition by $10.
Parsons guarantees the mathematical accuracy of the program and says if you have to pay a penalty to the IRS due to computational errors in the software the company will pay the penalty for you.
Personal Tax Edge supports direct import of data from Parsons' financial management software MoneyCounts. You can also import TXF (tax exchange format) and ASCII data. The company offers state tax return preparation modules for 43 states for $19 each.
Personal Tax Edge is available on floppy disk or CD-ROM for DOS and Windows-based personal computers. Parsons says it is shipping the planning version of Personal Tax Edge this month, with the final version available in January 1995 as soon as the IRS gives final approval of the forms.
(Jim Mallory/19941013/Press contact: Joan Dyal, Parsons Technology, 319-395-9626; Public contact: Parsons Technology 319-395-9626/1994TAX941013/PHOTO)
319-395-9626/1994TAX941013/PHOTO)
10/13/94
$19 Personal Income Tax Package
WINDOWS
Microsoft Licenses Windows 95 Ne
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) says it is making the core networking technology of Windows 95 available to other network operating system software companies.
The company says it has provided no-cost licenses to the technology to Artisoft Inc., Banyan systems Inc., Digital Equipment Corp. Novell Inc., and Sun Microsystems Inc.
Microsoft claims its network Virtual Device Driver (VXD) source code "will enable improved multivendor network interoperability higher performance, and enhanced network reliability." In other words a Banyan Vines-based network running Windows 95 will be able to talk to a Novell NetWare-based network running Windows 95 and do it faster without crashing.
Microsoft offers its own network operating system software, LAN Manager, but it has not achieved the popularity of programs like NetWare.
According to Bob Kruger, director of strategic relations at Microsoft, the free licensing decision was based on customer needs. "Our customers are demanding that the Windows operating system work with NetWare and other network services," says Kruger. He calls the move "a significant step forward in network compatibility, robustness and performance."
VXD licensing is not the only step Microsoft has taken in order to make Windows compatible with other software. The company provides select independent software vendors (ISVs) access to Windows-based source code and test suites so their applications will run on Unix and Macintosh systems.
It also developed the Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA), a way to integrate applications between Windows and other computing platforms. WOSA includes: Open Database Connectivity (ODBC); Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI); and Windows Telephony (TAPI), a means of integrating a PC with a telephone.
Microsoft also introduced object linking and embedding (OLE), now in its second incarnation as release 2.0, which allows objects, such as pictures, to be embedded in or linked to a file. For example, you could embed a picture created with a graphics program in a word processing document.
(Jim Mallory/19941013/Press contact: Aimee Stone, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 of 800-426-9400)
ct: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 of 800-426-9400)
10/13/94
Microsoft Licenses Windows 95 Network Technology
NETWORK
Universal Product Code Database
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Sterling Software Inc. (NYSE:SSW) has introduced an online database of Universal Product Code (UPC) numbers designed to provide uniformity of product identification among retailers.
The database program, called Commerce: Catalog for Windows was introduced earlier this month at RISCON '94, the retail information systems conference sponsored by the National Retail Federation.
"The use of different product identification schemes by retailers and manufacturers can lead to a "Tower of Babel" situation, where everybody seems to be speaking different languages," according to Rand Walker, director of information services marketing for Sterling Software.
With a program like Commerce: Catalog for Windows, a retail buyer can look up the UPC numbers from various manufacturers, making it easier to track and order merchandise. Without such a source, the buyer would have to resort to paper catalogs or telephone calls for information on each item being ordered.
Commerce: Catalog for Windows has a Windows-like graphical user interface and uses point-and-click commands. Marcia Scanlan Sterling product manager, told Newsbytes users of Commerce: Catalog can browse the UPC database that resides on Sterling's network, looking for products from a specific manufacturer or search for a maker of a specific type product. Product information includes ordering information and minimum quantity order information. The catalog adheres to the National Retail Federation standards according to Scanlan.
Sterling has also announced Bar Code Director, a Windows-based software package that automates the generation and management of UPCs. Bar Code Director assigns UPC numbers, checks for errors and duplication, cross-references the codes, and sends data to Commerce: Catalog for Windows so other users can find the numbers and information.
Commerce: Catalog for Windows is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 1995. Users pay a setup fee of $300, which includes one user ID and the documentation for the program. You also pay a monthly usage fee. That starts at $100 per trading partner, or it can be based on the numbers of UPCs accessed online. You also pay a network connect charge of $0.25 per minute.
Bar Code Director sells for $3,500, which includes the software and one year of maintenance. If you are a user of Sterling's Gentran: Basic for DOS software you can get Bar Code Director for $2,800.
(Jim Mallory/19941013/Press contact: Dave Kishler, Sterling Software, 614-793-4020; Public contact: Sterling Software 800-876-9627 or 614-793-7000)
t: Sterling Software 800-876-9627 or 614-793-7000)
10/13/94
Universal Product Code Database Available Online
WINDOWS
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Na
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Mosaic Communications, a six-month old corporation, headed by Jim Clark founder of Silicon Graphics, has announced a beta version of its Mosaic Netscape free to any individual, academic or research user.
Available immediately, the new Internet navigator features document interaction before the entire document is downloaded concurrent downloading of documents from different servers, and native support for Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Many users are expected to welcome the capability of working on a document prior to completing its download. One of the main complaints with Internet and other online services is the idle time created while a document is downloaded. Also, the opportunity to access multiple servers simultaneously promises to further reduce idle time.
Jim Clark developed the navigator with Mosaic creator, Marc Andreessen, who is now vice president at Mosaic Communications. The company also addressed the always prevalent topic of network security necessary for commercial transactions. Mosaic Netscape provides encryption and server authentication which is designed to pair with Mosaic Netsite Commerce Server, due to be released this November.
Mosaic Netscape, in its final version, should be ready about the same time as the Commerce Server. In keeping with the Internet tradition of free downloads, Mosaic Communications says the final version will be available on the Net free.
The company says this new navigator is optimized to run on 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) modems and a speed of 10 times that of other network browsers is predicted. Netscape runs on Windows Macintosh, and X Window environments.
Mosaic Netscape is for personal use only. A licensed version for commercial use is available through Mosaic Communications. The free beta version may be obtained by anonymous FTP (file transfer protocol) from the following address: ftp.mcom.com.
Speaking for Mosaic Communications, Rosanne Silino told Newsbytes, "After taking a good look at the number on PC and Mac users accessing the 'Net,' we decided there was a great demand for Internet tools on both platforms. This first release of Netscape is just a beginning of features we intend to provide. A lot of people think of a browser as just something to view the World Wide Web. Mosaic Netscape has been developed as a complete Internet navigator."
Readers may wonder how a company makes money off of a free navigator. The company said it has never looked at the navigation side as a source of profit and its source of revenue is from the server, support, and services side of the business.
(Patrick McKenna/19941013/Press Contact: Rosanne Silino Mosaic Communications, tel 415-254-2619, fax 415-254-2619; Public Information: 800-NETSITE, or URL http://mosaic.mcom.com)
mation: 800-NETSITE, or URL http://mosaic.mcom.com)
10/13/94
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Navigator Available
ONLINE
Rockwell Software Development To
G CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Rockwell Telecommunications has introduced the Rockwell Integrated Fax Protocol (RIFP), a new software development tool that allows OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to create multifunction peripheral products (MFPs) by adding send/receive facsimile functionality to printers or copiers while reducing development time and costs.
"Multifunction peripheral products, which include printers and copiers that perform fax functions, are a growing trend in the office products marketplace," said Scott Bibaud, market development manager at Rockwell. "Product developers who are unfamiliar with the fax technologies necessary to develop such devices will find RIFP an invaluable development tool."
RIFP provides OEMs with sample hardware and a software application programming interface (API). The API is written in C software, so it can be ported to a variety of host environments, and provides T.30 and T.4 communications protocols and a Class 1 interface.
The API also includes a modem control code to interface with the Rockwell R96DFXL and R144EFXL facsimile modems, which satisfy ITU (formerly the CCITT) V.29 (9,600 bits-per-second) and V.17 (14,400 bps) standards.
The RIFP source code includes advanced features such as Error Correction Mode and binary file transmission during a fax call, said the company. The software also provides resolution conversion between common printer resolutions (up to 600 dots-per-inch) and facsimile resolutions (200 dpi).
Also announced was a new, very small GPS (global positioning system) receiver, called MicroTracker LP. The MicroTracker LP, which measures 2-inches by 2.8-inches by 0.36-inch, is backward-compatible to Rockwell's MicroTracker GPS receiver. The five channel receiver tracks up to nine satellites at any time and provides a time-to-first-fix of 20 to 30 seconds (from a warm start).
The MicroTracker LP reduces continual power consumption to .89 watts (at five volts) - almost 50 percent - enabling OEMs to decrease battery count and overall size of their handheld GPS products, says the firm.
Samples of the MicroTracker LP will be available in January, 1995, and volume production will begin in March, 1995. Pricing for the receiver is US$316 for quantities of 100.
(Keith Cameron/19941004/Press Contact: James Irwin 852-545-7022)
41004/Press Contact: James Irwin 852-545-7022)
10/13/94
Rockwell Software Development Tool, Tiny GPS
GENERAL
Oracle India Affected By DEC Dat
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- In a significant acquisition estimated to be about $108 million, Oracle has bought the assets of RDB database, CDD/Repository, and DBA Work center suite of data base administration tools, as well as the corresponding support businesses from Digital Equipment Corporation. As a result of the deal, Digital India will now be backed by Oracle India's national support center.
Anil Kaul, managing director of Oracle India said, "We see the agreement bringing a long-standing business partnership even closer, complimenting each other's strengths, in providing a unique information management solution to all the customers."
Also, in view of the agreement, Oracle and Digital have outlined an expanded strategic relationship encompassing the availability of Oracle's major product lines on Digital systems and the availability of the Oracle Media Server on Digitals video server hardware and reseller agreements.
Moreover, Oracle and Digital have reaffirmed their commitment to continue the joint development and marketing activities, announced in July as part of the Enterprise Solutions Program.
Reacting to the acquisition, Digital India Managing Director Som Mittal said: "We are confident that our customers will benefit from this enhanced partnership. Digital will continue to provide support and service, ensuring a smooth transition for our existing users in India."
In order to further integrate product offerings, Oracle will port Oracle 7, Oracle Co-Operative Development Environment (CDE), and Oracle Co-Operative Applications to Digital's Windows NT for Alpha AXP platform. The above Oracle products already support Digital's OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS AXP, DEC OSF/1 AXP. In addition, Oracle will also make available its low-end Oracle Workgroup Server product on Digital's Windows NT for Intel platform.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941013)
tel platform.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941013)
10/13/94
Oracle India Affected By DEC Database Deal
BUSINESS
India - Anti-Piracy Software Rai
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a non-profit organization of the world's leading companies, has decided to start conducting anti-piracy raids in India.
BSA has already identified the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) as its associate to work in the country and will use the information Nasscom gathers through its recently installed anti-piracy hot-line.
BSA, which has Microsoft, Lotus, Aldus, Autodesk, WordPerfect-Novell Intergraph and Santa Cruz Operation included as its members, is planning to spend $1 million in order to curb software piracy in the country.
According to Ron Eckstrom, BSA's vice president in-charge of South and South-East Asia, "The prime reason for establishing its presence in India is that very rapid computerization is likely in the next few years."
BSA has already identified a detective agency which will investigate the organization to be raided and plan the raids in Delhi. A law firm has also been identified to file criminal cases and civil suits against software pirates.
The first raids are expected to take place in December this year and will be targeted at organizations that have turned software piracy into a business. According to Eckstrom, these organizations have already been identified and at least three of them are to be raided soon.
BSA's hit-list also includes big corporate houses and large-scale users of packaged software, which are suspected of buying a single copy of a package and then copying it across its complete installed base of PCs.
Interestingly, in order to identify these large corporate houses disgruntled employees of the organization, who are willing to divulge information about their employers, will be attracted.
As present, software piracy rate in the country is estimated to run at about 60 percent, leading to a loss of $25 million annually to software companies.
The piracy, if unchecked, could lead to a situation similar in Taiwan says the BSA, where the piracy rate was as high 99 percent before the organization started operations there.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941013)
ations there.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941013)
10/13/94
India - Anti-Piracy Software Raids Planned
LEGAL
AOL Plans Online Hourly Fee Unde
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- "America Online has been built on the concept of simple and straightforward billing, so that users know quickly and easily how much they are spending. In keeping with that trend we will reduce our hourly rate to $2.95 effective January 1, 1995," said Pam McGraw, spokesperson for AOL.
The company says its basic monthly charge, which includes the first five hours of use, will remain at the current rate of $9.95 and the hourly rate will be charged in one minute segments. McGraw said the majority of its users do not exceed the five hours included in the monthly charge, but for those who do, this announcement accounts for a 15% decrease in hourly charges which at this time are $3.50.
Yesterday, the company placed an announcement of the hourly reduction on the Welcome screen which appears when a user signs on. McGraw also commented, "This is a way of saying 'thank you' to those users who access the service beyond the monthly charge.
This announcement comes on the same day Newsbytes is reporting a new pricing structure at Prodigy which offers as one of its options a $9.95 monthly rate with the first five hours included and a $2.95 hourly rate after those first five hours. Prodigy also offers another pricing option and AOL says one of the advantages it offers its customers is the simplicity of having one easy plan which includes everything.
Sources close to CompuServe have indicated to Newsbytes that the third of the three major online providers does not intend to get into a battle of rates.
(Patrick McKenna/1994/Press Contact: Pam McGraw, America Online, 703-556-3746)
McGraw, America Online, 703-556-3746)
10/13/94
AOL Plans Online Hourly Fee Under $3
ONLINE
India - Amadeus Reservation Syst
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- The European computerized reservation system (CRS), Amadeus, was recently launched in India.
With the launch, the battle among the major CRS companies for a slice of the Indian travel market has begun. The CRS system is prevalent in all parts of the world and it is now making a foray into India after the economic liberalization which has bought business passengers in hordes.
The Amadeus CRS is presently in use at over 35 travel agents in Delhi and Bombay. It will be available to Indian travel agents through Amadeus India, which has the sole distribution rights for the Amadeus CRS in the country.
Over 100 travel agencies have enlisted for subscriptions to Amadeus terminals. The company will provide a help-desk and training facilities as well as after-sales support to the Indian subscribers. New installations are under way and the service will be eventually extended to Madras and Calcutta to cater to the demands of the two regions.
CRS is an electronic sales channel which travel agents use to sell the services of airlines, car rental companies, and hotels worldwide. All the major Indian private airlines have joined their systems, thereby making the tickets of the Indian airlines, including the national carrier available from any corner of the world.
Two major CRS companies, Amadeus and Galileo, were launched in Bombay within a week, signifying that the competition is increasing. Sabre, another CRS company has launched itself with a strong base following a strategic deal with the national career.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941013)
tional career.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941013)
10/13/94
India - Amadeus Reservation System Launched
GENERAL
Compaq Sales Increase In Philipp
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- There was a significant growth in Compaq PC sales in the Philippines in the past year, and that will only grow bigger, given the support of its eight local distributors. This was disclosed by Phey Tek Moh Compaq general manager for Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines during a recent visit to Manila. By "significant" he means over 10 percent growth in the current year as compared to 1993.
"Philippines is an emerging market. There is a continuous growth in the economy and an increased use of information technology," Moh noted in an interview with Metropolitan Computer Times." Moh was speaking at a Compaq dealers gathering organized by Unison Computer Systems, Inc., one of the two newly appointed Compaq distributors. The other newly appointed authorized distributor of Compaq is Integrated Computer Systems.
Incorporated in Houston, Texas in 1982, Compaq now leads the computer hardware manufacturing market as announced by International Data Corporation, a leading market research company specializing in computer industry market research.
A new era for Compaq, according to Moh, started two years ago when the corporate thrust underwent a turnaround from being technology-driven to customer-driven. He asserted that Compaq's mission remains the same -- that of providing innovative technologically advanced, but low-cost, products to the global IT market.
Moh identified the imminent digital convergence of IT. The PC industry, according to Moh, is now growing out of its traditional use, or role. It has steadily gained higher and more sophisticated capabilities and will be at the forefront of the information superhighway boom. He commented that 10 years from now, US companies will not be able to do business effectively unless they are connected to the information superhighway.
Compaq sees the total IT market to increase to $2.2 trillion from 1992's $1.4 trillion. The 1992 statistics is divided into five distinct categories: the PC industry ($170 billion); consumer electronics ($110 billion); media/entertainment ($450 billion); enterprise computing ($220 billion); and telecoms ($440 billion).
(Newsbytes/19941013)
440 billion).
(Newsbytes/19941013)
10/13/94
Compaq Sales Increase In Philippines
BUSINESS
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Technology has infiltrated the most delicate of business transactions in Japan -- the sale of funerals. The leading funeral service firm, Koekisha, will start using portable terminals equipped with CD-ROMs in order to bolster sales.
From the spring of next year, salesmen will use the terminals to show potential customers video footage of the company's funeral halls and explain its services using diagrams and other visual aids.
By using video, voice, and text information, Koekisha hopes to provide more persuasive presentations and develop new customers. The company also plans to use the terminals for in-house training.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
ouse training.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
10/13/94
Japan - Funeral Service Markets Via CD-ROM
TRENDS
Toshiba To Reorganize, Consolida
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Toshiba plans by the spring of next year to reorganize and consolidate its personal information equipment and consumer products operations in Europe.
In Germany, it will combine Toshiba Europe, which handles facsimiles and other personal information equipment, with Toshiba Consumer Products Europe (TCPE), which handles consumer electronics products.
In France, it will combine Toshiba Systems France and Toshiba Consumer Products France, its units in charge of information systems and consumer electronics products respectively. It will also shift VCR production from TCPE in Germany to Toshiba Consumer Products in the UK.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
umer Products in the UK.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
10/13/94
Toshiba To Reorganize, Consolidate Europe Operations
BUSINESS
Public Stock Offerings Available
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Entrepreneurs Online Inc. (EOI) a national electronic network for small businesses, has added a listing of public stock offerings to its online offerings.
The listings are available to users through SCOR-NET (Small Corporate Offering Registration Network), an electronic listing service for companies that have gone public, are in the process of going public, or are interested in going public under Rule 504 of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933. SCOR-NET gets its information from the Small Corporate Offering Registration Form U-7.
EOI also offers SCOR-Board, a service where shareholders in SCOR-NET listed companies can list the availability of their shares for sales or post offers to buy shares from investors in states where a current registration statement is in effect for the listed company.
EOI says the goal of the new services is to provide a wider range of shareholder liquidity in the market, which in turn could enhance a company's ability to raise capital.
The fee to access SCOR-NET is $2,000 per year or $1,250 for six months. The fee for SCOR-Board is $120 per quarter or $200 for six months.
SCOR-NET software runs on Windows, Macintosh and DOS platforms. The service is provided by Consulier of California Inc., a financial services database development company.
Full members of EOI have access to several other interactive entrepreneurial databases, including Equitied Employment Strategic Alliances, Businesses for Sales, Businesses Seeking Capital, and Business Opportunities and Inventions. Members can also exchange electronic-mail, conference interactively online exchange leads, read the news, get advice on starting and running a business, and access resource lists.
EOI access costs $14.95 per month for up to four hours of access to the standard services. Online time above four hours per month costs $0.09 per minute. Fees are charged to a credit card or you can pay in advance for as many months as you want by check or credit card. Premium services like SCOR-NET and SCOR-Board are extra. There is also a $29.95 get-started kit that includes the necessary communications software and instructions.
Pamela Terry, EOI VP of product development, told Newsbytes that future services include online ordering of business supplies, tapes equipment, books, newsletters and software, which is expected to be available shortly. Terry also expects to add Internet access by mid-November and Internet mail send/receive capability by the end of the year.
(Jim Mallory/19941013/Press contact: Phil Hall, Open City Communications Inc. for Entrepreneurs Online, 212-714-3575; Public contact: Entrepreneurs Online, 800-784-8822 or 713-784-8822
eurs Online, 800-784-8822 or 713-784-8822
10/13/94
Public Stock Offerings Available Online
ONLINE
Japan - Computer News
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- In today's look at top stories in technology from Japan: NEC providing parallel computer information over PC-VAN; IBM Japan releases office computer equipped with 64-bit RISC processor; and Fuji Xerox subsidiary develops software which enables simultaneous playback of video, text on PC screen.
NEC Providing Parallel Computer Information Over PC-VAN
NEC has started providing information on its Parallel ACOS computer over its PC-VAN network as part of an effort to boost sales of the parallel machine. The information service, designed to create close communication between customers and systems engineers using electronic-mail and other media, will for the time being focus on manufacturing industry customers. NEC plans to steadily broaden its target to include the distribution, finance non-profit corporate, and government office sectors. The company is training some 200 dedicated SEs in network operating system and database technologies in order to support the new program to expand Parallel ACOS sales.
IBM Japan Releases Computer Equipped With 64-bit RISC Processor
IBM Japan has released an office computer equipped with a 64-bit RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) processor, which is based on the PowerPC and is customized by the company. The AS/400 Advanced 36 is designed to encourage System/36 users to move up to the AS/400 by offering a 15-fold increase in cost-performance over the predecessor. The new office computer runs SSP, the System/36's operating system, and OS/400, an operating system for the AS/400 Series. The company plans to introduce next year an operating system, which will integrate both operating systems. The Advanced 36 features 32-96 megabytes (MB) of user memory and hard disk capacities ranging from 1.03 gigabytes (GB) to 4.12GB.
Fuji Xerox Subsidiary Develops Software Which Enables Simultaneous Playback Of Video, Text On PC Screen
Fuji Xerox subsidiary Fuji Xerox Engineering of Kanagawa has developed and released SmartJob, a multimedia support software program which allows moving video images, still video images text, and other data to be simultaneously combined on a PC screen. The 38,000 yen ($376) software is useful in applications such as low-cost operating manuals which combine video images with text explanations. The Windows 3.1 software runs on NEC's PC-98 and DOS/V PCs. Fuji Xerox Engineering plans to sell 1,000 packages yearly.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
erry Silveria/19941013)
10/13/94
Japan - Computer News
GENERAL
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Boo
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Voyager Japan will later this year release an enhanced version of its Expand Book Toolkit (Japanese version), the development software behind its Macintosh-based Expand Book desktop publishing products.
The major innovation of the new version will be its ability to display vertical script in addition to the current horizontal format.
The company hopes that adding this feature will prompt leading Japanese publishers to begin electronic publishing.
The original first-year sales target for the Toolkit was 5,000 copies, but Voyager now hopes that interest by domestic publishers will push sales to 200,000 copies.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
es to 200,000 copies.
(Terry Silveria/19941013)
10/13/94
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Book Toolkit Upgrade
APPLE
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
BRISTOL, AVON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Orange, the digital mobile phone service operated by Hutchison in the UK, has announced plans to offer private automatic branch exchange (PABX) facilities on its mobile phone network.
The service, which Orange calls "Office Systems," gives an Orange mobile phone a second number, usually an extension off the owner's organization's existing hardwired PABX, although the Office Systems facilities can be freestanding (i.e. with "extension" users relying on the Orange network to handle their "internal" calls).
In use, each Orange phone has an extension number which operates like any standard hard wired PABX, with call-forwarding, group call pickup sequence ringing (phones transferring calls after a set number of rings) and all the usual PABX facilities seen in offices.
The difference is that the Orange "extensions" can roam across large portions of the UK, currently around 60 percent. The network intelligently tracks each mobile and, if that mobile is not available, the network deals with the call as previously instructed either transferring calls to voice-mail, or back to the operator, or on to another extension, either Orange or hard-wired as appropriate.
When using the mobile extension, calls can be placed externally to the PABX or, where Orange is the PABX, externally to the internal numbering setup, by dialing "9." Operator services (where a hard wired PABX is available) are available as normal by dialing "0."
Since the Orange mobile also has a standard Orange number (normally 0973-xxxxxx), calls can be routed to the mobile from the standard national phone network as normal, with the phone number acting as the equivalent of a direct dial inwards (DDI) number on a PABX.
According to Martin Van Den Oetelaar, Orange's technical sales manager, users can buy two or more Orange phones with virtual PABX facilities programmed in. The idea, he told Newsbytes, is to operate the Orange network as a "seamless extension to the company's existing PABX," with some customers electing to move on from hard-wired PABXs and move over to the mobile virtual PABX offered by Orange.
"We see companies with geographically dispersed workforces as using the Office Systems' facility. Most companies will want to keep their existing hard wired PABX, but the network can become the PABX for groups of two or more mobiles," he explained.
Orange is also offering the facility of mapping PABX extension numbers onto a numbering sequence on its own network. For example, if a company allocated extensions 2201 to 2299 as Orange mobiles on its PABX, then the standard Orange numbers of 0973-xx2201 to xx2299 could be used on the Orange network. This parallels DDI facilities from existing hard wired telecom network operators.
The concept and its possibilities are difficult to grasp, Newsbytes notes, since no telecoms company has so effectively and seamlessly integrated a mobile phone network to a PABX before. With Orange working on roaming agreements with other GSM-1800 (Global System for Mobile communications at 1,800 megahertz) networks in Germany and the Far East, the possibilities for a global virtual PABX are imminent.
Let's take the example of a group of executives around the world. If reporter A is in San Francisco, reporter B in London, reporter C in Berlin, and reporter D in Hong Kong. When international roaming between GSM-1800 networks arrives, it will be possible for all four executives to have extensions like 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, making and transferring calls between the extensions as of they were in the same building. The mobiles, meanwhile, would also have standard numbering sequences on their existing national mobile networks.
That's the future. When the Orange Office Services service launches early next year, it will be available across the UK. This will allow for virtual extensions on the mobile network. According to Orange, the concept has important ramifications for the telecoms business. Plans call for Orange Office Services to be launched some time in the New Year.
The main question, of course, is how much the service will cost, and Orange isn't saying at the moment. The official line is that it is getting the technical problems ironed out, before thinking about how to tariff the calls. Unofficial sources in the company suggest that a flat-rate monthly charge for "internal" calls between Orange extensions and the PABX is a likely possibility, rather than on a per call basis.
BRISTOL, AVON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Orange, the digital mobile phone network operated by Hutchison, has announced plans to offer a data and fax networking facility on its network.
Because the Orange network is all-digital, with mobiles converting analog speech to and from a time division multiplexed (TDM) data stream that flows, packet radio-like, to a base station and then via conventional means to Orange's electronic mobile exchanges (EMXs) around the UK, it can handle data transmissions without a modem.
The problem comes when a data call moves beyond the Orange network and needs to link to a hard-wired modem link. For this, Orange uses a battery of standard modems at its exchange, linked to the standard phone network.
For outbound calls, the Orange phone effectively acts as a mobile serial port attached to one of these modems. To use the data facility PC users link their Orange mobile phone to a Nokia PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card that slots into their PC like a PCMCIA modem.
The card/phone combination is then "driven" using a standard Hayes "AT" command set, as if it were a modem -- the AT commands are then transmitted across the Orange network to the modem in the exchange which dials out to the hard wired network as normal.
Inbound data calls are handled differently. Although the mobile has a "data" number, calls to this number from the hard wired network are routed to a modem in the Orange exchange and translated back into a data stream. This data stream is then relayed to the mobile phone which goes "off hook" when plugged into PCMCIA card which is itself plugged into a portable PC.
Fax calls operate in a similar manner to outbound and inbound data calls, with the outbound calls progressing over a fax modem link to the hard wired phone network. Inbound calls are routed via a similar fax modem system and on to the mobile as a data call. Orange mobiles are allocated a special virtual fax number, alongside their existing one or two voice lines and single data line.
The real fun starts when two mobiles call each other. Although the phones "dial" each other, the Orange network spots the fact that it is an internal to the Orange network call and merely connects both ends of the data link together. Data then flows freely over the network link at 9,600 bits-per-second (bps).
The data link is a true 9,600 bps one. According to a spokesman for Orange, the link could be faster, with some test applications moving data at speeds of 38,400 bps, but a single data channel on the Orange network has been set up to process data at 9,600 bps without data compression.
"We are looking at different methods of moving data around, but the initial service will be a 9,600 bps one," explained the spokesman.
Orange is also working on offering computer access to its Short Message System (SMS) text messaging service, which allows messages of up to 160 characters to be transmitted across the network and displayed on the Orange mobile's liquid crystal display (LCD) screen.
Because SMS operates like a two-way alpha-numeric radiopager network it is fairly easy to "drive" the message system using a PC. This can operate using a mobile data link as described above, into Hutchison's SMS messaging bureau in Darlington in the North-East of England, using a modem across the public network link (although plans eventually call for a dedicated link from the Orange network to the Hutchison bureau) or across a standard hard-wired modem link over the standard phone network.
Tariffs are still to be decided, Martin Van Den Oetelaar, Orange's technical sales manager, told Newsbytes. Although details have yet to be confirmed, Newsbytes understands that the service will be known as Dataspeak and will be launched before the end of the year.
The major stumbling block is that the PCMCIA cards are being supplied by Nokia and only a relatively few cards -- in the low hundreds -- are available in the UK. Pricing on the PCMCIA cards has also to be decided by Nokia, although a UKP399 price point has been reported in the press.
Above all else, the system works. Newsbytes attended a demonstration this week in Orange's test labs in Bristol. The results were impressive. Newsbytes watched as data streamed between two mobiles, across the standard Orange mobile phone network, at a true 9,600 bps.
Conventional cellular modem links are unreliable at best. The maximum speed that can be achieved without data compression is 2,400 bps although this Newsbytes bureau tends to use 1,200 bps to ensure no major glitches. Data throughput on a data over analog cellular link is very jerky, owing to the hostile (to the modem) nature of such a link.
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Vodafone has announced it is relinquishing a four percent stake in Cofira, the holding company of Societe Francaise du Radiotelephone (SFR) and taking a 10 percent stake in SFR itself.
The deal has options to extend the stake to 20 percent within the next two years. This stage of the deal will cost Vodafone FF880 million and will allow two of Vodafone's directors to sit on the board of SFR.
According to Gerry Whent, Vodafone's chief executive officer (CEO) the investment marks a further stake in the developing relationships between the two companies. Whent revealed that SouthWestern Bell in the US is also taking a 10 percent stake in SFR.
"This agreement will enable us to become more actively involved in supporting SFR with our technical and marketing expertise, which will assist the company in becoming a strong challenger on the French cellular market. We now have a presence in 11 countries outside of the UK and this agreement takes us another step forward in our international strategy," he said.
Commenting on the deal, Michel Villaneau, senior vice president of SFR, said that it strengthens relations with Vodafone, and will give strong support for the French digital mobile (global system for mobile communications) phone network provider.
"This, in the context of our parallel association with SouthWestern Bell, should bring unique expertise and resources to our endeavor in cellular communications," he said.
The net assets of SFR as at the end of last year were FF1,183 million. Pre-tax profits for the group came to FF2.326 million Newsbytes notes. As at the end of last month, SFR had 140,000 mobiles on its analog network and 60,000 subscribers to its GSM network.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941013/Press Contact: Terry Barwick, Vodafone tel +44-635-33251, fax +44-635-45713)
Vodafone tel +44-635-33251, fax +44-635-45713)
10/13/94
UK - Vodafone Buys Into French Phone Network
TELECOM
Greece - State Telecom Firm Seek
ATHENS, GREECE, 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- The Greek government has announced plans to look for a major foreign investor in OTE, the state telecom company, in addition to its plans for a sale of shares in the company.
The announcement means that shares in TE will almost certainly be split three ways, between the government, private investors, and a major foreign company. According to OTE, a deal with a foreign investor is being struck to allow give the telecoms company access to foreign telecoms technology, particularly in the field of mobile telephony.
The deal is on an incredibly short time-scale, notes Newsbytes. Plans call for OTE to formally announce its share proposals to the Greek stock market in early December, by which time a foreign investor will have had to take up their share option, in order that private investor shares can be allocated.
While OTE is saying nothing about the numbers of shares that will be up for grabs, Media reports in Greece suggest that as many as 18 percent of the shares in OTE will be offered to the "right" overseas telecom investor, with seven percent offered for sale through the Greek stock exchange. This leaves the Greek government with 75 percent, and the chance to sell off more shares privately when funds are needed.
The figures involved are mammoth. Media sources suggest that the sale could raise around $1,200,000,000 for the Greek government, which is committed to "investing" a third of this figure into OTE, in line with its original gameplan for the telecoms company.
The Greek government has been moving quickly to get shares in OTE to market by the end of the year, Newsbytes notes. The original plan for the partial privatization of OTE were announced in May of this year.
Unlike many other European Community (EC) countries, Greece's state controlled OTE operation is highly profitable, having enjoyed the benefit of considerable government investment in recent years. The Greek telecoms infrastructure is seen as vital to the country's future, owing to the scattered nature of the population.
In May, the government said that around 25 percent of OTE will be sold off through the National Bank of Greece, enjoined with Shroeders and Credit Suisse Boston.
OTE is currently in the first year of an 850,000 million drachma ($3,400 million) five-year investment plan. As part of the plan, the government has promised that the company will generate profits of between 150,000 and 200,000 million drachma a year.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941013)
0 million drachma a year.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941013)
10/13/94
Greece - State Telecom Firm Seeks Foreign Investment
Ameritech Intros Advanced Video
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- Ameritech has announced three new video services: a dial-up public video network, a digital broadcast video service, and a commercial "bridged" dial-up videoconferencing service. The five-state Baby Bell says the latter is the first "seamless commercial video link."
In an interview, company spokesperson George Stenitzer described the three services as having different applications, though in a non-technical sense they resemble each other.
The first service, the dial-up public video network, will provide extended bandwidth to customers when needed, Stenitzer said. Called the Advanced Video Service, it is targeted at businesses, health care providers, schools and government agencies that need access to full-motion video on demand. Applications might include fast Internet access, telemedine uses like transmitting medical images, and distance learning for schools.
Stenitzer commented, "The signals will range from 44.736 to 10055 megabits-per-second (Mbps) -- we're talking about major data links. It gives you a sense of just how big that data pipe needs to be."
Launching of the service is pending tariff approval in the Baby Bell's service area.
Ameritech calls the second service its Digital Video Service, which also awaits tariff approval. It will be a one-way video link that moves end-to-end over fiber cable.
Stenitzer explained, "You'd use this in an ad agency or movie studio to move live or recorded images around. Or you could use it internally, in a corporation. And I know of at least one movie production company considering this kind of link as an alternative distribution system for its new films. They spend a lot of money right now just moving films around physically, and it's not always reliable."
The firm noted that the technology would be appropriate also for telemedical applications, such as sending X-ray images.
The third service, the video bridge, will allow systems that are normally incompatible to talk to each other. Said Stenitzer, "The only compatibility issue is that you need H:320, Picture Tel, or VTEL codec (coder-decoder) compatibility to sign onto the bridge. And of course you need your videoconferencing system behind that."
He added: "This is compatible with most of the equipment that's out there now. It'll be easier to connect, maintain, and manage billing for video conferencing. It'll be nearly as easy as making a phone call or sending a fax. For $1 a minute per port, plus long distance charges, a company gets cross-compatibility with other systems on demand."
He noted that an alternative to using such a service would be to buy a bridge for a company's own use, at a cost of $100,000 to $250,000. To make that feasible, a company would have to need a lot of capacity, he said.
Ameritech (NYSE: AIT) claims 13 million customers in its service area. Based in Chicago, Ameritech provides local phone, data and video services in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. It is also a leading wireless company, serving more than a million cellular and half a million paging customers internationally.
(Craig Menefee/19941013/Press Contact: George Stenitzer Ameritech, 312-609-6166)
George Stenitzer Ameritech, 312-609-6166)
10/13/94
Ameritech Intros Advanced Video Service
TELECOM
Doom II Game Has 500,000 Pre-Ord
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- It had been long since any shareware program made a splash like the one made in 1993 by id Software's PC game, Doom. Now Doom II, fetchingly titled "Hell on Earth," may come close to beating the Doom I record, with more than 500,000 pre-orders claimed by the distributor a full month before the game's commercial launch this week.
The new version runs in both single-player and multi-player modes. In the multi-player version, up to four players connected by a network or two by modem, can go head-to-head in a "death match" or join forces for cooperative play.
The original Doom, whose three-dimensional (3-D) engine and other technical feats turned the game world on its ear, began with an episode titled "Knee-Deep in the Dead." By paying $49.95, Doom addicts by the thousands acquired the registered version, with two additional episodes.
The new incarnation is distributed through retail channels rather than online and lists for $69.95. However, spokesperson Audrey Mann told Newsbytes the price includes all of Doom I, as well as Doom II. Street price will likely range between $45 and $55, she added.
Distributed for id Software by GT Interactive Software, Doom II is available on CD-ROM or on 3.5-inch diskettes. People who get the diskette version will have to send in for their copy of the original game, the firm said. The program will be available in most major computer outlets.
Said Ron Chaimowitz, GT Interactive's executive VP and general manager, "Doom is more than just a game, it's a worldwide phenomenon."
According to the firm, Doom II takes up where the original version left off, with the hard-bitten Marine hero returning victorious from Mars, having defeated the monsters, only to find their nastier cousins ransacking Earth. There is no rest for the weary, and the veteran must begin combat anew.
Sources close to the launch told Newsbytes that most Doom "cheats" (shortcuts or solutions not documented in the manuals) will still work in Doom II. These include so-called "god modes," where the hero gains extra powers. For example, according to one cheat-sheet to make the hero indestructible, type "iddqd" from inside the game. To let him instantly reload all weapons, type "idkfa."
However, Newsbytes has learned that one widely used "cheat" string that invokes a "no clipping" feature to let the character walk through doors and walls ("idspispopd" in Doom I) has been changed to "idclip" in Doom II. Also, the string "idclev" plus a digit, as in "idclev4," will instantly move the character to the specified level.
id Software says it has improved on its original 3-D graphics, added sound effects and a musical score, doubled the number of death wielding demons, added new levels, and a powerful new weapon to the hero's arsenal.
If that sounds complex, the goal of the game is simple enough: Kill all the monsters and save the human race. For those who find the blood and guts of this noble process a bit troublesome, Doom II bears a voluntary rating sticker: "Mature: Ages 17 Plus."
The game requires a 386+ IBM-compatible PC with 8 megabytes (MB) of memory and 20MB of free hard disk space, at minimum. The firm recommends a 486+ machine with a sound card. The four-player mode needs a LAN (local area network) equipped with the IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) protocol. Two players can connect over phone lines using modems with at least 9,600 bits-per-second transmission rate.
(Craig Menefee/19941013/Press Contact: Audrey Mann or Jennifer Delaney, Technology Solutions Inc., 212-696-2000; Internet electronic-mail amann@tsipr.com, or jdelaney@tsipr.com; Reader Contact: 800-362-9400; technical support, 212-951-3126)
400; technical support, 212-951-3126)
10/13/94
Doom II Game Has 500,000 Pre-Orders
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"u"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 13 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Prodigy Changes Pricing, Adds Services 10/13/94 Prodigy has set October 17 as the start-up date for its "Internet news reader" service, while announcing new pricing policies aimed at two groups of users.
2 -> Australian Firm Helps Local Developers Export 10/13/94 Australians are often told that their place in the Asia Pacific region will be to provide information, education and "smart" thinking. But being smart isn't enough, as these products and services still have to be sold, according to entrepreneur company Lateral Concepts.
3 -> Knowledge Adventure Bundles Jurassic Park Movie 10/13/94 Knowledge Adventure has announced a special combination package of their three-dimensional (3-D) Dinosaur Adventure multimedia CD, and the blockbuster film "Jurassic Park" -- winner of three Academy Awards and the most successful film in worldwide box office history.
4 -> TI Intros Fast MicroLaser Pro Printer 10/13/94 Texas Instruments has announced the MicroLaser Pro E, a 12-page-per-minute (ppm), 600 dip laser printer that the company claims makes high-performance PostScript and PCL 5 emulation printing more affordable.
5 -> First Piece Of Cognos' Axiant Ready To Go 10/13/94 Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN, NASDAQ:COGNF) said it will ship the first piece of its Axiant client/server development environment at the end of this month.
6 -> Joint Venture To Make Active-Matrix Displays 10/13/94 The David Sarnoff Research Center and In Focus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:INFS) have announced plans for a joint venture that will make active-matrix color flat panel displays.
7 -> Wang Open/image Supports Lotus Notes 10/13/94 Wang Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ:WANG) has unveiled Open/image for Lotus Notes, software for Microsoft Windows that lets Lotus' popular workgroup product work with Wang's image-management servers.
8 -> Maxtor Claims PCMCIA Hard Disk Breakthrough 10/13/94 Maxtor Corporation (NASDAQ:MXTR) has announced the development of, what the company claims is, the world's first 1.8-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) designed for five millimeter (mm) Type II PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slots. The MobileMax Lite 85 and MobileMax Lite 121 hard drives feature capacities of 85 megabytes (MB) and 121MB, and 3.3-volt operation for lower power consumption and a non-operating shock specification of 1,000 Gs.
9 -> Hong Kong - Chevalier's CT2 Phone Use Increases 10/13/94 Chevalier Telepoint is promoting the pursuit of leisure-time activities and the outdoor life with its CT2 mobile phones. During the recent Mid-Autumn Festival moon-gazers were among the first to benefit, claims the company.
10 -> $19 Personal Income Tax Package 10/13/94 Parsons Technology Inc., says its 1994 edition of Personal Tax Edge will offer more features and the latest IRS forms, but will still sell for $19.
11 -> Microsoft Licenses Windows 95 Network Technology 10/13/94 Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) says it is making the core networking technology of Windows 95 available to other network operating system software companies.
12 -> Universal Product Code Database Available Online 10/13/94 Sterling Software Inc. (NYSE:SSW) has introduced an online database of Universal Product Code (UPC) numbers designed to provide uniformity of product identification among retailers.
13 -> Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Navigator Available 10/13/94 Mosaic Communications, a six-month old corporation, headed by Jim Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, has announced a beta version of its Mosaic Netscape free to any individual, academic or research user.
14 -> Rockwell Software Development Tool, Tiny GPS 10/13/94 Rockwell Telecommunications has introduced the Rockwell Integrated Fax Protocol (RIFP), a new software development tool that allows OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to create multifunction peripheral products (MFPs) by adding send/receive facsimile functionality to printers or copiers, while reducing development time and costs.
15 -> Oracle India Affected By DEC Database Deal 10/13/94 In a significant acquisition estimated to be about $108 million, Oracle has bought the assets of RDB database, CDD/Repository, and DBA Work center suite of data base administration tools, as well as the corresponding support businesses from Digital Equipment Corporation. As a result of the deal, Digital India will now be backed by Oracle India's national support center.
16 -> India - Anti-Piracy Software Raids Planned 10/13/94 The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a non-profit organization of the world's leading companies, has decided to start conducting anti-piracy raids in India.
17 -> AOL Plans Online Hourly Fee Under $3 10/13/94 "America Online has been built on the concept of simple and straightforward billing so that users know quickly and easily how much they are spending. In keeping with that trend we will reduce our hourly rate to $2.95 effective January 1, 1995," said Pam McGraw, spokesperson for AOL.
18 -> India - Amadeus Reservation System Launched 10/13/94 The European computerized reservation system (CRS), Amadeus, was recently launched in India.
19 -> Compaq Sales Increase In Philippines 10/13/94 There was a significant growth in Compaq PC sales in the Philippines in the past year, and that will only grow bigger, given the support of its eight local distributors. This was disclosed by Phey Tek Moh, Compaq general manager for Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines, during a recent visit to Manila. By "significant" he means over 10 percent growth in the current year as compared to 1993.
20 -> Japan - Funeral Service Markets Via CD-ROM 10/13/94 Technology has infiltrated the most delicate of business transactions in Japan the sale of funerals. The leading funeral service firm, Koekisha will start using portable terminals equipped with CD-ROMs in order to bolster sales.
21 -> Toshiba To Reorganize, Consolidate Europe Operations 10/13/94 Toshiba plans by the spring of next year to reorganize and consolidate its personal information equipment and consumer products operations in Europe.
22 -> Public Stock Offerings Available Online 10/13/94 Entrepreneurs Online Inc. (EOI) a national electronic network for small businesses has added a listing of public stock offerings to its online offerings.
23 -> Japan - Computer News 10/13/94 In today's look at top stories in technology from Japan: NEC providing parallel computer information over PC-VAN; IBM Japan releases office computer equipped with 64-bit RISC processor; and Fuji Xerox subsidiary develops software which enables simultaneous playback of video, text on PC screen.
24 -> Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Book Toolkit Upgrade 10/13/94 Voyager Japan will later this year release an enhanced version of its Expand Book Toolkit (Japanese version), the development software behind its Macintosh-based Expand Book desktop publishing products.
25 -> ****UK - National Mobile Net Offers PABX Options 10/13/94 Orange, the digital mobile phone service operated by Hutchison in the UK, has announced plans to offer private automatic branch exchange (PABX) facilities on its mobile phone network.
26 -> ****UK - Digital Mobile Phone Data/Fax Service 10/13/94 Orange the digital mobile phone network operated by Hutchison, has announced plans to offer a data and fax networking facility on its network.
27 -> UK - Vodafone Buys Into French Phone Network 10/13/94 Vodafone has announced it is relinquishing a four percent stake in Cofira, the holding company of Societe Francaise du Radiotelephone (SFR) and taking a 10 percent stake in SFR itself.
28 -> Greece - State Telecom Firm Seeks Foreign Investment 10/13/94 The Greek government has announced plans to look for a major foreign investor in OTE, the state telecom company, in addition to its plans for a sale of shares in the company.
29 -> Ameritech Intros Advanced Video Service 10/13/94 Ameritech has announced three new video services: a dial-up public video network, a digital broadcast video service, and a commercial "bridged" dial-up videoconferencing service. The five-state Baby Bell says the latter is the first "seamless commercial video link."
30 -> Doom II Game Has 500,000 Pre-Orders 10/13/94 It had been long since any shareware program made a splash like the one made in 1993 by id Software's PC game, Doom. Now Doom II, fetchingly titled "Hell on Earth," may come close to beating the Doom I record, with more than 500,000 pre-orders claimed by the distributor a full month before the game's commercial launch this week.
(Ian Stokell/19941013)
(Ian Stokell/19941013)
10/13/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
#N# $
GENERAL
Mill Valley Film Festival On Int
MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) The Well, an online service based in Sausalito, California, is delivering parts of the Mill Valley Film Festival online to its subscribers and across Internet for global access. The electronic version of the festival includes everything from program notes directions, viewers comments, serious reviews, text, and real-time film clips.
Speaking for the Well, spokesperson Pam Hamilton told Newsbytes that this is the first time a major film festival has been delivered on the Net. Users have the opportunity to insert their own comments and to read responses from filmmakers and reviewers.
The Well has three e-mail addresses for general information. Those users able to access the World Wide Web can take advantage of the multimedia features provided by the Well. Live computer connections from the festival site allow attendees to post their own comments as they participate in the Festival.
Live chats are planned through Internet Relay Chat and an Interactive weekend, which will feature more than 70 multimedia developers, artists, filmmakers and hardware-related manufacturers is scheduled to begin tomorrow. The Festival began Oct. 6, and is scheduled to end this Sunday, Oct. 16.
The Well, which brought Woodstock to the Net, has three computers at the festival with ISDN links provided by Pacific Bell. The Festival's Internet Center is located at the Outdoor Art Club across from the theater.
To find the Well's multimedia display of the festival, users should use the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) http://www.well.com/mvff.
(Patrick McKenna/19941013/Press Contact: Pam Hamilton Hamilton Public Relations, tel 415-381-8198; Public Information: Internet Addresses: mvffinfo@well.com [for general information] mvffprg@well.com [for program schedule], mvfftix@well.com [for ticket information])
ftix@well.com [for ticket information])
10/14/94
Mill Valley Film Festival On Internet
ONLINE
DEC PCI Adapters, Licenses FFDT
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- DEC's patented FFDT (FDDI Full Duplex Technology) -- aimed at doubling the 100 megabit-per-second (Mbps) bandwidth of FDDI (fiber distributed data interface) to 200 Mbps -- has been licensed to DSI Inc., for use in SMT (surface mount technology) source code for Motorola FDDI chips and to CMD Technology for use in storage servers. The technology will also appear in a family of PCI (peripheral component interconnect) FDDI adapters from DEC.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Wendy Michael, DEC's product marketing for High Performance Networks, and Michael O'Connor manager of the Adapters Business Group, said that FFDT, a new "full duplex version" of FDDI, allows pairs of network stations to simultaneously send and receive data at 100 Mbps over point-to point links, for a total of 200 Mbps network capacity.
FDDT can be used on FDDI switches, such as DEC's GIGAswitch/FDDI in addition to servers and workstations with dedicated FDDI connections, the DEC officials told Newsbytes. If both sides of a point-to-point link support FFDT, network capacity is 200 Mbps, but products running FDDT software can also interoperate at 100 Mbps FDDI speeds.
DEC's new FDDIcontroller/PCI family, a series of network adapters that will incorporate FDDT technology, are billed as the first FDDI adapters for PCI. The adapters will initially ship with a set of drivers for PCI-capable Alpha AXP/Windows NT systems and Intel-based machines running DOS and Windows.
Also from the start, drivers will be included for Windows for Workgroups and NetWare 3.x and 4.x, including NetWare SFT (StandbyServer fault- tolerance) III MSL. OSF (Open Software Foundation)/1 and OpenVMS drivers for AXP are planned for the future.
When asked whether PowerPC support is planned, O'Connor said that DEC is working with Apple to provide "the drivers that would enable that, not only for the FDDI board, but for some upcoming Ethernet boards as well."
Michael told Newsbytes that FDDT is based on the FDDI protocol. "But FDDT does not have the token in FDDI technology, and that is what allows the full duplex capability," she explained.
Beyond the newly completed licensing deals with Distributed Systems International (DSI) and CMD Technology Inc., Digital is working to extend the technology to additional FDDI chip makers, according to Michael. Other manufacturers that produce FDDI chips include AMD and National, O'Connor noted.
CMD supplies SCSI (small computer system interconnect) and RAID (random array of inexpensive disks) products for VAX, Alpha AXP Unix, and PC systems, according to the officials.
FFDT allows users to exchange information at higher data rates without replacing existing equipment or cable plants, Michael contended. FDDI equipment can be "FDDT-enabled" through a software upgrade, Newsbytes was told.
FDDT "supplements" other emerging high-speed technologies such as ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), she added. "For users who are not yet ready for ATM, this provides another alternative. FDDT provides a tremendous increase in performance, while still allowing you to preserve your existing investments," she maintained.
DEC's new family of FDDI/FDDT adapters for PCI-bus workstations and servers is made up of three models: a single attachment station (SAS) adapter for unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable; an SAS adapter for multimode fiber (MMF); and a dual attachment station (DAS) for MMF.
The series of single-slot adapters also features a DMA (direct memory access) engine for "very low CPU (central processor unit) utilization," according to O'Connor. The adapters use the same SMT code employed across DEC's other adapters, bridges, routers, and concentrators. The products are FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and CE Class B certified for worldwide use.
DEC's new adapters are slated to ship at the end of November. Pricing is $695 for the SAS/UTP FDDI PCI adapter, $1,195 for the SAS/MMF adapter, and $1,695 for the DAS/MMF adapter.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941013/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Susan Ursch, DEC, 508-486-5198; Maria Doyle, Rourke & Company for DEC 617-267-0042)
ia Doyle, Rourke & Company for DEC 617-267-0042)
10/14/94
DEC PCI Adapters, Licenses FFDT To DSI and CMT
NETWORK
Is Low-C
CD-ROM Expo - 7,500-Title Market
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Fueled by an emerging industry specification called "high density CD-ROM," the interactive CD-ROM market will skyrocket to 7,500 titles in print by 1999, predicted Julie Schwerin, president of InfoTech, at a "breakfast presentation" held by Creamer Dickson Basford during CD ROM Expo in Boston.
The projected figure of 7,500 titles in print contrasts against only 440 titles for 1994, according to Schwerin. Covering "interactive" titles only, the projection does not even include the related category of "linear high density video CD," another emerging area where volumes are expected to be "huge," she said at the event, which was attended by Newsbytes.
Both of the upcoming formats will use new, high density compression techniques that will make it possible to pack up to 3.3 gigabytes (GB) of data into a disk, while reducing manufacturing costs and time to market, added Schwerin, the head of a Woodstock, Vermont based market research firm that has followed the CD-ROM market since 1984.
The "linear" high density titles will permit playback only, in the same way as today's CD (compact disk) audio and video disks according to Schwerin.
The "interactive" high density offerings, on the other hand, will allow for give-and-take with the viewer, just like today's CD-ROM titles, she continued.
But, she cautioned, the impact of the new high density technologies will not be felt right away. The linear titles, which will be used for applications like feature films and music videos, will come to market first, during the late 1995 time frame.
The interactive high density titles, which will be based on a format Philips has proposed to all compact disk licensees, will follow the linear titles to market in late 1996, she predicted.
Education, reference and entertainment are some of the first applications likely to emerge on the interactive side, she said. These early titles will be followed by "professional training product merchandising, and point of sales."
Meanwhile, the CD-ROM market will be further driven by a rise in the installed base of CD readers to a projected total of over 357 million by 1999, Schwerin added. This figure includes set-top boxes as well as devices used with desktop computers.
The Philips specifications of high density CD-ROM calls for a capacity of 3.3 GB after error correction, a data rate of 5.6 megabits per second (Mbps), and backward compatibility with previous formats, according to the InfoTech president.
In contrast, the first CD-ROM disks allowed for only 580 megabytes (MB) of capacity, she noted. And unlike the videotapes that are in widespread today, the new high density digital disks will provide benefits like random access, digital copy protection, and "no wear in use," she pointed out.
As a market research company specializing in the CD-ROM market InfoTech is careful to take "a conservative view," Schwerin emphasized.
The CD-ROM industry has experienced "backlash" from false expectations during the 1980s that CD-ROM would enjoy the same kind of immediate success as CD audio, she reported.
"But this time, it looks as though (what the industry hopes for) is really going to happen," the company president told the group.
During a Q&A period that followed, Schwerin was asked whether other CD-ROM producers will be likely to adhere to a standard raised by Philips, one of their competitors.
At this point, she responded, companies in the CD-ROM market are interested in achieving standardization, due to the difficulties involved in turning out disks for the multiple CD-ROM formats in use today. "Nobody wants a `format war,'" she added.
The "breakfast presentation" at CD-ROM Expo was the second in a series of seminars that Creamer Dickson Basford is holding for marketing professionals, said John L. Nero, VP of the Westford Massachusetts-based public relations firm, speaking with Newsbytes at the close of the event.
An earlier seminar, held in July, dealt with document management he noted. "We wanted to provide a forum that would bring together marketing executives with market researchers working in interesting areas," he explained. Creamer Dickson Basford plans to sponsor about five breakfast presentations per year, according to Nero.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has introduced another stage of the Smart Traveler project which began in November 1992. Anyone with a PC and a modem can have access to a real-time freeway traffic map of the entire LA Metropolitan area, seven days a week, 24-hours-a-day.
In 40 seconds at 2400 baud the current traffic sensor report is transferred and the results are then graphically displayed on a freeway map on the caller's PC screen.
Current traffic conditions and personalized travel choices are also available from 78 Smart Traveler kiosks placed in major office buildings, shopping malls, and transportation centers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties for non-PC users and people on the go. The kiosks have touchscreens, an audible narrator, and are bilingual (English and Spanish). They also feature current information on over 1,000 bus and train routes and access to over 600,000 car-pool ride-matching prospects.
A list of kiosk locations can be obtained by calling 800-COMMUTE and pressing "1" or "3" to reach an operator who will provide the location of the nearest kiosk or other information.
The traffic information consists of a freeway traffic map that is a real-time "snapshot" of current Southern California freeway traffic conditions. When a user requests the map, the kiosks or PC software automatically dials the Caltrans host computer at an LA traffic management center, where it retrieves real-time traffic conditions from thousands of traffic sensors throughout the region. The result is hundreds of dots on a map that traces the routes, in both directions, of each freeway. The dots are color coded for speed: green for 35 mph (miles per hour) or better; yellow for 20-35 mph; red for less than 20 mph, and purple for possible incidents.
The Caltrans District 7 traffic detection network links the host computer by hardwire and radio transmission to 35,000 pavement loops which are polled every 30 seconds by about 1,422 local traffic detector locations. Each center can handle up to 28 loops. One loop is required for each lane of traffic on a roadway, in each directions. In LA, that's typically eight to 10 lanes/loops. Some loops also cover on and off-ramps, high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for carpools and buses, and auxiliary lanes for moving into and out of traffic.
Caltrans started the sensor project about 20 years ago, with a 42 mile triangular loop of sensors. Over the years Caltrans has augmented its spot locations. Some routes have loops every half mile now, while others may skip several miles at a time.
Caltrans spokesperson Pat Perovich told Newsbytes the agency has now covered 350 of the 550 centerline freeway miles in the monitored areas of the district. There will be even more coverage soon, as the district upgrades the sensor system.
For this report, Newsbytes viewed the map produced by the Caltrans software on a PC screen. All the common LA traffic problem areas were covered, including most major interchanges, such as the 10/405, the 110/101 (the notorious downtown four-level interchange), and the 10/60/101 (also known as the East LA Interchange). The few areas that did not have sensor coverage were routes 210 West of 605, 57 North of 60, 2 North of 5, and 110 North of 5.
Version 1 of the PC DOS-based access software is currently available. Version 2, which is a little behind schedule, should be available in three to four months. Caltrans says it will have all the other functions of the kiosks, such as, ride share information and registrations, and bus and train schedules. To actually register for ride share, however, a user will still have to call an 800 number and speak to a live operator.
The program fits on a single disk and is available at no charge.
The software prompts the user for the modem's serial port area code, and dialing prefix (if required), and configures the software with the appropriate dial-up phone number and other settings.
The Smart Traveler project was funded with a several-million dollar grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). Part of the project involved contacting employers in the Los Angeles County area to let them know the information was available, a process which is ongoing.
Caltrans District 7, which includes Ventura and Los Angeles County has plans to exchange traffic sensor data with District 12 (Orange County) and District 11 (San Diego). Eventually District 8 -- San Bernardino/Riverside County -- and the other 8 districts will also exchange traffic sensor data.
Other private groups are also using the data, which they access through leased line data feeds that Caltrans also offers. Maxwell Laboratories, Inc., in San Diego, has a leased line to Caltrans in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County. The firm takes in the data and publishes real-time traffic maps for San Diego, Orange County, and the Los Angeles Area, as a free service.
The information is available on the Internet, on the firm's World Wide Web Server, accessible using the Mosaic interface.
Maxwell's traffic maps are displayed as GIF images. The software doesn't support a zoom function like the Caltrans' PC version, but is of a higher resolution and provides additional information about the colored map dots when a user clicks on them. It also covers all of Southern California instead of just the LA metro area.
To get a detailed set of instructions about Maxwell Laboratories' World Wide Web Server's traffic maps, send electronic-mail (e-mail) to traffic-info@scubed.com; the server will e-mail all the information back. For Mosaic, Cello, or EINet Win or MacWeb users, the World Wide Universal Resource Locator (URL) is: http://www.scubed.com:8001/.
For San Diego type: telnet www.scubed.com 8001, then GET /caltrans/sd/text_summary.html
telnet www.scubed.com 8001, then GET /caltrans/ad/text_trouble.html
The first two lines return a text listing of the freeway speeds sorted by freeway and the second two lines return a listing sorted by slowest to highest speeds.
Also
telnet www.scubed.com 8001, then GET /caltrans/sd/text_closures.html
telnet www.scubed.com 8001, then GET /caltrans/sd/text_incidents.html
telnet www.scubed.com 8001, then GET /caltrans/text_status.html
This returns text listings of planned construction closures and the CHP/Caltrans incident log, and new features of the traffic server respectively.
Information on the World Wide Web and Mosaic software can be obtained from the anonymous ftp site: ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu.
For LA and Orange County, use the same syntax, but substitute "la" or "oc" for "sd" in each line.
The US Postal Service address for Caltrans is: Department of Transportation, Caltrans District 7, 120 South Spring Street, Los Angles, CA 90012. Maxwell Labs, S-Cubed Division, Test Technology Group's address is: 3398 Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA 92038-1095.
(Nick Anis/19941014/Press Contact: Pat Perovich, Office Chief IVHS development, Tel: 213 897-0334, Fax: 213-897-3639, Margret Moilov, Transportation Planner, 213-897-0188, Hector Obeso, Senior Transportation Engineer, 213-897-7053, all of Caltrans, Steve Fox Project Manager, Tel: 213-897-4108, Fax: 213-897-3803, William J. Proffer, Maxwell Laboratories, S-CUBED, Tel: 619-453-0060, Fax: 619-755-0474, Email: proffer@scubed.com.)
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- The delay of Microsoft Windows 95 or Chicago's rollout to the market is both good and bad for IBM's OS/2, according to Manny Portugal software brand manager of IBM Philippines. Speaking before a Unix crowd during the September monthly membership meet of the UUCP: The Association for Open Computing, Portugal stressed that the delay is good because it gives IBM ample time to promote the current version of its OS/2 and more so its incoming version 3.
On the negative side however, Portugal commented that it is quite unfair for OS/2 to be compared with something that does not exist yet. "A lot of promises being posed by Chicago are already existing in OS/2 version 2 and more so in its 4-meg version," Portugal said.
He cited that file naming in more than eight characters, which is one of the features of the yet-to-be-released Chicago, is already featured in OS/2. Portugal presented a comparison between OS/2 and its major contenders in the market today: Windows 3.1, SCO-Unix, and Windows NT.
The strengths of Windows 3.1 include its having probably the most number of applications, graphic and multimedia capabilities, connectivity, DOS emulation, and minimum hardware requirements. The software's lack of crash protection cooperative multitasking, and proprietary implementation are among its setbacks.
As for SCO-Unix, Portugal said its strength is mainly in 32 bit architecture and standards implementation. A major setback however lies in the limited number of applications and more stringent hardware requirements.
Another contender, Windows NT, capitalizes on 32-bit implementation and SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) support. However, the major reason why it has not taken off too well in the market is that applications are limited to the 32-bit architecture -- only about 200 of them exist.
Having presented the above comparison, Portugal was bullish about OS/2's robustness and crash protection features. He also said there are around 1,200 applications that run under OS/2 and that it can be installed over an existing version of DOS.
OS/2 likewise runs under the 32-bit architecture, featuring a single API (application program interface). To top all that, OS/2 supports multimedia applications and its DOS/Windows emulation is definitely an added plus.
The discussion culminated Portugal's presentation entitled "Super-Client on the Desktop." Earlier on, he asserted that mainframe-based ASCII terminals have evolved into powerful functions down the client side via the client/server technology implementation.
"What's happening now is a shared responsibility between a server and the clients," Portugal said.
(Metropolitan Computer Times/19941014)
said.
(Metropolitan Computer Times/19941014)
10/14/94
OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Microsoft's Chicago
US Govt Looks For Test Of Digita
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking advice on a program to test a public key infrastructure to implement the NIST digital signature standard, or DSS.
NIST is looking for contractors to run the pilot program and test the issues that arise from the electronic signature. Users of the voluntary DSS standard need not pay royalties to the government, which developed it.
The standard uses public key encryption to create an electronic signature usable on business documents. It relies on public and private digital keys to verify both the integrity of digital message and the identity of the person who sent the message.
The receiver of the signed message uses the public key using a private key assigned and certified by a reliable third party. The government-wide DSS applies to all federal agencies and their contractors for protection of unclassified information when digital signatures are needed.
Under the NIST's DSS, the standard does not provide for confidentiality of the message, only of the identity of the sender. The agency says additional encryption techniques can be applied to the message to assure privacy, if that is an issue.
NIST is looking for comments on its proposal from anyone who is interested in the issue. To assure that the use of DSS does not infringe on other patents, NIST says its public key infrastructure will contain a clause in which the government assumes liability for any patent infringement that might result.
(Kennedy Maize/19941014/Press Contact: Anne Enright Shepherd NIST, tel 301-975-4858)
Anne Enright Shepherd NIST, tel 301-975-4858)
10/14/94
US Govt Looks For Test Of Digital Signature
Edmark Moves 3 Kids' Titles To C
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Edmark Corporation has announced the shipment of the award-winning Sammy's Science House on CD-ROM. Millie's Math House and Thinkin' Things Collection 1 CD-ROM versions will follow shortly -- both are expected to ship in mid-October. Each title will be available for both Macintosh and Windows/MS-DOS computers.
Edmark is joining a growing number of manufacturers who are finding consumers lack sufficient drive space to accommodate all their multimedia programs, and are putting the programs, instead, on CD-ROM.
"Many of our customers are building educational software libraries for their children and have hard drives that fill up very quickly," said Sally Narodick, Edmark's CEO. "In response to our customers' requests to help them conserve precious hard disk space, we're happy to be offering all of our award-winning products on CD-ROM."
The interface for these program, which is the main character's house that contains various rooms, people, and other objects to point and click on and go to, is a metaphor the children easily understand.
Millie's Math House, for ages 2-5 involves games with numbers, counting, patterns, shapes and sizes hosted by Millie the cow and her lively friends. They can try on shoes design animated bugs, operate a jelly bean cookie machine build mouse houses, count wiggling critters, and make patterns with talking animals and shapes.
Just released on floppy in July, Sammy's Science House, for kids ages 3-6, offers fundamental science skills: observation classification, comparison, and sequencing. Kids create machines and toys, explore weather conditions, create short films by arranging frames in order, sort pictures of plants, animals and minerals, and discover how nature and wildlife change from season to season.
Released on floppy about a year ago, Thinkin' Things Collection 1 for kids ages 4-8, is the first in Edmark's series designed to help kids build strong thinking skills. Kids explore musical patterns and build memory skills with the friendly Oranga Banga and Toony Loon; they develop predictive and investigative skills by experimenting with the colorful, musical Flying Blox; they learn to recognize relationships as they analyze attributes of Fripples; and they build their understanding of rule formation and patterns as they create the requested Feathered Friends.
Edmark products are widely available for both Macintosh and IBM-compatible computers through major computer software stores and by mail order. Sammy's Science House and Millie's Math House will be available at a street price of approximately $32. Thinkin' Things Collection 1 will be available at a street price of approximately $42.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- More than 60 software and hardware vendors attended Merisel's annual Hot List awards this week in Sydney. The Hot List is a monthly list of the top-performing products distributed by Merisel, and the annual awards feature the top two products in seven major categories.
The fourth annual black-tie event was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. The US event will be held next month during Comdex.
Microsoft was the runaway winner with five of the nine software awards, and even one of the six hardware awards (for its rodentiometer). Other winners were Intel whose OverDrive processors are new on Merisel's books, and Corel, which scooped the business software award.
One vendor that has always featured well in the Hot List awards but was missing this year, was WordPerfect. Merisel now has more than 8000 registered resellers.
The hardware awards are:
DOS Systems, Printers, Monitors
1: Overdrive 486 Processor - Intel
2: LX-400 dot matrix printer - Epson
DOS Drives, Modems, Connectivity
1: Microsoft Mouse - Microsoft
2: Jumbo 250 internal tape drive - Colorado
Macintosh Hardware
1: Turbo Mouse ADB - Kensington Microware
2: Power Macintosh 7100 - Apple
The software awards are:
DOS Business Applications
1: CorelDRAW! 3.0 - Corel
2: Quicken for Windows - Intuit and joint second place
2: Office for Windows - Microsoft
DOS Communication, System Utilities
1: MS-DOS 6.0 - Microsoft
2: Encarta for Windows - Microsoft
Macintosh General Software
1: SAM (Symantec Anti Virus for Mac) - Symantec
2: Norton Utilities for Mac - Symantec
Merisel Australia has just moved to plush new offices, a long stone's throw from the warehouse and despatch building.
(Paul Zucker/19941012/Contact: Merisel Australia tel. +61-2-936 1000 fax. +61-2-936 1122)
l. +61-2-936 1000 fax. +61-2-936 1122)
10/14/94
Merisel Australia Awards Top Vendors
GENERAL
Spectrum Holobyte Ships 3 New Ga
ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Spectrum Holobyte Inc. (NASDAQ: SBYT), has announced the shipment of "Iron Helix" for the Sega CD System, "BreakThru" for Windows and Macintosh computers, and "WildSnake" for Super NES and Game Boy Systems.
"Iron Helix" is a popular CD-ROM strategy game developed by Drew Pictures which came out last year for the Macintosh and the PC. It is now available for Sega CD owners. "Iron Helix" marks both companies' entry into the Sega CD and CDX market.
Tom Buron, product marketing manager, told Newsbytes, "It is kind of a PacMan for the 90s -- a game of strategy and adventure featuring photorealistic 3-D cinematic graphics." There are three skill levels with many rooms to explore on six floors.
The premise of the game is that the player must stop an enormous maze-like starship containing a deadly virus which has killed all its crew. The ship is headed straight for a peaceful planet. If it hits the peaceful planet all life on the planet will be destroyed. The player must stop the ship.
The game supports all sound boards including MIDI and has windowed full motion video. The game takes a minimum of 30 hours to play to its completion. "Iron Helix" Sega CD has an estimated retail price of $54.95 to 59.95.
"BreakThru" and "WildSnake" are additions to the company's line of puzzle games, endorsed by Alexey Pajitnov, creator of Tetris.
"BreakThru" requires players to raze a wall brick by brick. The bricks are arranged by color. Beyond the wall lies the skylines of international cities such as Berlin, New York and San Francisco. Each city features a musical accompaniment appropriate to its particular culture. By clicking on a certain color group the player eliminates all of the same-color bricks in that group. Once the wall is razed within a specific time period, the player moves onto the next level. "BreakThru" has an estimated retail price of $39.95 to $44.95.
The trick in "WildSnake" is to match pairs of snakes by color causing one of the snakes to disappear. Eliminate all the snakes and one goes onto the next level; let the snakes pile to the top and the sly serpents win. Players can choose from a variety of challenging grid shapes and four different backgrounds. If players are especially lucky, a friendly Cobra might help out by devouring every snake in its path. Or the powerful flashing "Wild Snake" could rid all the snakes of one color. The snakes move faster and faster as players' skills improve. "WildSnake" Super NES has an estimated retail price of $44.95 to $49.95. "WildSnake" Game Boy has an estimated retail price of $24.95 to $29.95.
(Nick Anis/19941013/Press Contact: Holly Hartz, Public Relations Director, Spectrum HoloByte, 510-814-6336, Tom Byron, Product Marketing Manager)
Tom Byron, Product Marketing Manager)
10/14/94
Spectrum Holobyte Ships 3 New Games
GENERAL
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI
Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encode
Softimage, Discreet Logic Settle
Olivetti Donates To Australian D
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Technology manufacturer Olivetti has vowed to support the FarmHand drought appeal in Australia by donating $25 from the sale of every computer, fax machine, and printer sold in Australia until the end of November.
Much of Australia is experiencing what is perhaps the worst drought since white settlement over 200 years ago. From being one of the world's leading producers of grain, the country may have to import grain this year for its own use.
A country-wide fund has been created to aid those in financial difficulty, called FarmHand.
Newly arrived Olivetti Australia managing director, Roberto Mazzi who was himself raised on a small farm near Florence, said his company's decision to support the drought appeal had been greeted with total enthusiasm and support from all retailers and resellers across Australia.
Mazzi has also announced plans for a $15M expansion program in Australia, including development of local industry partnerships and joint ventures; banking/financial technology; systems integration/networking; and the dealer channel. He said one of his main aims is to lift the Olivetti brand awareness in the reseller channel.
(Paul Zucker/19941014)
ller channel.
(Paul Zucker/19941014)
10/14/94
Olivetti Donates To Australian Drought
GENERAL
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek
SlipKnot, Windows Browser For Th
Age Intros Low Bit Rate Video Ph
TI Revenues, Earnings Reach All-
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TNX) reported today that net revenues and earnings reached an all-time high in the third quarter, which closed September 30 1994. The company said the results are due primarily to continued strong growth in semi-conductor revenues.
TI reported net revenue for the period of $2.57 billion, a 19 percent increase over the $2.16 billion for the same period last year. Profit from operations was reported at $291 million, up 33 percent from the $218 million for the 1993 third quarter. Net income for the period was $186 million, a $40 million increase over last year.
The company said most of the profit increase from a substantial improvement in semiconductor operating profit. TI spokesperson Robert Price told Newsbytes improvements in manufacturing efficiency has gained the equivalent of an entire manufacturing facility. "We've had substantial gains (in efficiency), which improves your operating profitability a great deal," said Price.
Shareholders realized a $1.94 earnings per share for the latest period, a 26 percent increase over the $1.54 earnings last year. Last year's results included $0.18 per share from a one-time favorable tax item of $17 million. This year's results include an accrual of $50 million for employee profit-sharing plans, compared with a $26 million accrual in the third quarter of 1993.
TI officials say semiconductor revenues for the period grew faster than the market and were up strongly over the third quarter last year due primarily to increased shipments of memory and differentiated products. The company says demand for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) remains strong and orders for next-generation computer system memory continues to grow.
As reported earlier by Newsbytes, Texas Instruments is building an advanced semiconductor plant in Dallas which is scheduled to begin production in the first half of 1995.
Defense electronics revenues are still flat and TI says it expects revenues from that market to be lower in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago.
TI claims to be pursuing an aggressive campaign to reduce costs. One of the cost-reducing tactics is an across-the-board voluntary early retirement program in Japan that will be implemented in the fourth quarter. Price told Newsbytes the plan is part of its TI Japan 2000 program. "It's a restructuring to assure TI Japan's long-term competitiveness," said Price. He told Newsbytes the retirees won't necessarily be replaced. He described the action as "more of a streamlining of the business."
The company has reduced its debt-to-total-capital ratio to .23 at the end of the third quarter this year compared to .28 as of December 31, 1993. Accounts receivable are up ($1.46 billion compared to $1.22 billion, and inventory is also up at $870 million compared to $822 million.
(Jim Mallory/19941014/Press contact: Robert Price, Texas Instruments, tel 214-995-2355; Public contact: Texas Instruments 214-995-2011)
ic contact: Texas Instruments 214-995-2011)
10/14/94
TI Revenues, Earnings Reach All-time High
BUSINESS
Philips Licenses MIPS RISC
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- MIPS Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: SGI), reports that Philips Semiconductors has joined as a semiconductor partner and architecture licensee of its MIPS R3000 family of RISC microprocessors.
This license allows Philips to take MIPS microprocessor cores and combine them with specialized circuitry for a broad range of applications in consumer and embedded markets. Phillips will turn the RISC-based microprocessor into a microcontroller for applications such as personal communication devices (PDAs), disk drives, and even automotive braking systems.
"We are delighted to welcome Philips Semiconductors as a MIPS partner," said Tom Whiteside, president of MIPS Technologies. "Philips is a proven leader in the embedded controller market. The combination of MIPS' powerful RISC microprocessors with Philips' technological innovation and low-cost consumer expertise will have a major impact on the market for embedded controllers for consumer, communication, automotive and other applications."
MIPS Technologies designs and supplies advanced RISC microprocessor technology. The company tests, certifies and licenses its processor technology to its semiconductor partners which provide processors for the computer system, consumer and embedded control markets.
MIPS microprocessors power systems from a number of computer industry leaders. MIPS RISC architecture components are available from Integrated Device Technology Inc., LSI Logic Corp., NEC Corp., NKK Corp., Siemens AG and Toshiba Corp.
(Nick Anis/19941013/Press Contact: Steve Schick, MIPS Technologies, 415-390-2573, Peter Brown, Philips Semiconductors 408-991-3626, Marilyn Lattin, Silicon Graphics, 415-390-5070.)
con Graphics, 415-390-5070.)
10/14/94
Philips Licenses MIPS RISC
CHIPS
Artisoft LANtastic For OS/2
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Artisoft has announced what it claims is the industry's first true 32-bit network operating system (NOS) for OS/2, LANtastic for OS/2.
According to Artisoft, the NOS will allow LANtastic network users to integrate OS/2 office machines into their existing DOS and Windows networks. The package is expected to ship worldwide by the end of the year.
Sunil Padiyar, Artisoft's vice president of software products, claims that the company offers network operating system linkage across most popular personal computing environments, including DOS, Windows, Apple Computer Mac, and Unix platforms.
"This product is a direct result of our relationship with IBM," he explained, adding that he is pleased that the company has had a chance to develop a peer-to-peer network for the OS/2 user base.
According to Padiyar, users of LANtastic for OS/2 will be able to connect to all other Artisoft network products, including the Corstream dedicated server, and the Simply LANtastic package.
Newsbytes notes that OS/2 network users will be able to have NetWare 3 and 4 client software alongside LAN Server software on the same networked PC. This will allow users to have clients on multiple networks operating simultaneously, Artisoft claims.
"This network is a desirable solution for existing OS/2 users who are considering network because it is the only true OS/2 peer-to-peer system available. It also offers OS/2 workgroup users an easy way to add peer features to their network while maintaining connectivity to the enterprise LAN," Padiyar said.
When the package ships towards the end of the year, pricing will be $139 for a single user kit, ranging to around $5,000 for 100 users. According to Artisoft, plans call for the package to be made available in single, five, 10, 25, 50 and 100-user licence versions.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is offering a contest in which winners get a vacation to Redmond, Washington, a personal visit with Bill Gates, free computer and software, in order to get children to share their ideas on computing.
Computer industry giant Microsoft, to showcase its new home line of software, is searching for the "Six Most Imaginative Youngsters" who will share their ideas with CEO Bill Gates on the subject of "the coolest things a person can do with personal computer."
Microsoft's Computer Division has announced the national "Imagine the Magic" contest. School children in grades 3 through 6 are invited to use their wildest imagination to describe, "what the coolest computer could do," in 50 words or less.
According Microsoft spokesperson Dain Percifel, the six kids with the most creative answers will win an all-expense-paid trip with a parent or guardian to Microsoft's world headquarters in Redmond Washington.
The winners will also get to meet and share ideas with Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft. Sources at Microsoft were not sure however, if the kids would get to ride a paddle boat in "Lake Bill" that overlooks Gates' office on the Microsoft campus.
Percifel told Newsbytes the essay entries will be judged by a panel of experts drawn from both the technology and education fields, including Mark Bunting, host of "The Computer Man," Mickey Revenaugh, editor of Instructor Magazine, Patty Stonesifer vice president of the Microsoft Consumer Division of Microsoft, and Ellen Mosner, Education Projects manager of Microsoft.
The winners won't go home empty handed, and their schools will also be rewarded. Each of the six winners will receive a Compaq Presario multimedia computer, a CD-ROM library of the newest Microsoft Home titles, and will appear on the new nationally syndicated TV show "The Computer Man," starring Mark Bunting. In addition, each winning child's school will receive a collection of Microsoft CD-ROM programs, and every entrant will receive an official Microsoft "Imagination Navigation Certificate."
Percifel told Newsbytes many consumers are not yet aware of just how advanced multimedia technology has become and of its potential. According to Percifel, Microsoft's contest is part of a national effort to educate and familiarize the public with the educational and entertainment possibilities of interactive software.
Microsoft will be visiting select cities in its 45-foot "ExplorasauraBus" adventure van which gives consumers of all ages the chance to experience the excitement of the Microsoft Home titles. The ExplorasauraBus begins in New York City and will cross the country making stops in Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco before arriving in Microsoft's hometown of Redmond, Washington on December 9.
Official "Imagine the Magic" contest entry forms will be available at each ExplorasauraBus bus stop and select Microsoft retailers. Entries can be mailed directly to:
Microsoft says entries must be received by December 31, 1994. The company will announce the six winners on or before January 20 1995.
Sources at Microsoft told Newsbytes that on each of its scheduled city stops ExplorasauraBus will park in a location easily accessible to consumers and will run "discovery tours" throughout the day on both Saturdays and Sundays. The show is free and open to the general public.
At the start of the show the lights dim and a video extravaganza begins. The public is treated to a fast-paced, surround-sound multiscreen production using special effects to create the illusion of a journey.
The ride begins with what seems like a fun demonstration of Microsoft Home's most popular programs but Percifeld says it quickly becomes apparent that this is no ordinary ride. An alien intercepts the journey and takes participants on what becomes a whirlwind tour of eight adventure titles, transporting them from outer space to ancient Egypt, from the wild habitat of the cheetah to the realms of creative writing, and finally back home.
(Nick Anis/19941010/Press Contact: Dain Percifeld, Edelman Public Relations, 212-704-4456)
lic Relations, 212-704-4456)
10/14/94
Microsoft Contest For Kids
GENERAL
Telecon '94 - Promise For Cybers
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Want to vegetate in front of the tube for the next 20 years? Break out the beer and chips, but trade in the remote control for a more sophisticated user interface able to handle video on demand. Canada's cable television companies see in the couch-potato crowd a lucrative market for new services that look and feel like television.
If, on the other hand, you'd rather spend your time at the computer keyboard, retrieving information from various sources around the world and chatting electronically with like-minded people, the cable people think they have something for you too.
Telephone companies, meanwhile, figure both residential and business customers are going to be needing a lot more communications capacity, whether they use it to share detailed engineering blueprints over long distances or to watch old movies. They think they already have much of the infrastructure needed to provide that, and a technology called asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) will be one of the keys to making it work.
These were the key points made by three representatives of the telecommunications industry -- or, more precisely, of one camp in the Canadian telecom industry -- in a panel at Telecon '94, the annual conference of the Canadian Business Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA).
A crowd of nearly 200 packed a conference room to hear industry luminaries' views on the future of telecommunications in Canada. They heard from George Harvey, chairman of Toronto-based Unitel Communications Inc., from David Carter, general manager of video services for AT&T in Short Hills, New Jersey, and from Colin Watson, president and chief executive of Rogers Cablesystems Ltd. Rogers Cablesystems is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., which along with AT&T is a major shareholder in Unitel, so the panel was rather a family affair.
Harvey said businesses are under enormous pressure to cut costs and are using electronic communications as one way of doing so. While the average business does about 20 percent of its communicating electronically today, he said, growing use of technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is expected to push that figure to as much as 80 percent within five years.
That will sharply increase the need for communications bandwidth and Unitel is betting on ATM to make this possible, he said.
But Harvey also warned against expecting the changes to happen overnight. He noted that in the late 1980s Unitel wrote off its Telex business, which had been the company's mainstay for years but was expected to be eroded rapidly by the growing use of facsimile. Telex is fading from the scene, he said, but even today Unitel still does about C$6 million worth of Telex business per year -- and the company still handles a sizeable number of telegrams.
Rogers Cablesystems is also interested in ATM, believing it can combine the technology with its existing cable television networks in many major cities -- the company is Canada's largest cable TV operator, Watson said -- to offer high-speed connections between businesses' local-area networks.
Watson said new services to home television sets will be based on new set-top boxes but will look and feel like television. He added, though, that cable companies think they can play a role in serving personal computer users too. Rogers is working with Intel Corp. to bring to market modems that use the cable television network rather than the telephone lines. Thanks to the much higher capacity of the coaxial cable used for cable-TV service he said, these modems can run between 50 and 1,000 times faster than the standard modems in common use today.
AT&T's Carter spoke out against what he said is a common perception that the so-called information infrastructure or information highway has yet to be built, at great cost. Most of it already exists, he said, and it is mainly the local connections that still need work.
(Grant Buckler/19941014)
tions that still need work.
(Grant Buckler/19941014)
10/14/94
Telecon '94 - Promise For Cybersurfers, Couch Potatoes
TRENDS
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
Rockwell Software Development To
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PC
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Scanner Software Bundle From Can
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline
Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Las
Microsoft Coming To A Camera Sto
Adaptec Extends VL-Bus Connectiv
Mastersoft's Word For Word Unix
Entry-Level Macs Offered PowerPC
Telecon '94 - Rheingold Touts On
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- When Howard Rheingold's baby daughter had a tick on her head late one night his wife called the pediatrician. Rheingold went into his office and logged on the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL), a large California bulletin board system.
By the time the pediatrician answered his pager, Rheingold had removed the tick with advice from an online acquaintance who happened to be a doctor.
Rheingold, author of "The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier," and a keynote speaker at the Telecon '94 annual conference of the Canadian Business Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA), admitted that one may have to be careful about the credentials of people who offer advice online, but he said that incident was an example of the value of interactive online services and the way they can help create a new kind of community.
The key phrase there is "help create," because the technology won't create communities by itself, Rheingold said. He said the establishment of such communities does imply that the people involved eventually meet face to face rather than just through their personal computers and modems.
But he took issue with the popular stereotype of online service users as antisocial misfits who spend their time at computer keyboards because they can't communicate any other way. "A real community is possible," he said.
And in answer to a audience member's question about the danger that children who grow up as heavy users of online services might not learn to communicate in traditional ways, Rheingold retorted: "Let's imagine that we have a world in which millions of people are locked in rooms staring at little boxes that tell them what to buy and who to vote for. Wouldn't that be terrible?" He was talking, of course, about television.
Rheingold, who is one of the principals of HotWired, a new online publication on the Internet backed by the popular Wired magazine and who does a lucrative business advising telecommunications companies and others on new telecom technologies, said interactive online services are unique because they are a "many-to-many" medium, unlike broadcasting, which is one-to-many or the telephone, which is one-to-one.
Nobody can hope to predict accurately how the Internet and related online technologies will develop, Rheingold said, but the key principles to keep in mind include this many-to-many nature and the technology's potential as a platform for innovation, much as the first personal computers were platforms for the innovation of software and add-on hardware developers.
Rheingold tempered his message of hope with some warnings including the admonition that the online community could falter if it grows faster than experienced users can pass on its traditions an etiquette to newcomers. "You are the teachers," he warned online-service users. And he expressed concern at the possibility that high-speed, worldwide communications could spread "cultural pollution" by wiping out the distinct features of societies. "Let's not turn the world into one fast-food joint just because of the convenience of communicating with each other," he urged.
(Grant Buckler/19941014)
ach other," he urged.
(Grant Buckler/19941014)
10/14/94
Telecon '94 - Rheingold Touts Online Communities
ONLINE
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Norstan Canada Inc. has set up an integration business unit that the company said will go after an emerging market for systems that combine voice data, video, and image capabilities.
In creating the unit, the Canadian subsidiary of Maple Grove Minnesota-based Norstan Inc. (NASDAQ:NRRD), is following the lead set by its parent company about 18 months ago. The US operation, Norstan Integration Services, has about 30 employees now, said Anthony Kay, network engineer with the Canadian unit.
Initially, Norstan Integration Services in Canada has just two employees, Kay and Vice-President Tom Ray. The plan is to build that to around 30 people very soon, Kay said.
Norstan has a background in both data and voice network integration, Kay said, and that will be the company's key strength in an emerging market where most integrators tend to have expertise in one or the other but not both.
He said examples of the kind of work the new unit will be doing are systems that link telephone lines to personal computers and use calling number identification to bring up information about a client on a computer screen as the client's call comes in. Norstan Canada has already done work of this type, and its clients include personal computer distributor Merisel Inc.'s Canadian operation among others, Kay said.
The company is a reseller of call-center systems and other products, and is familiar with products from such vendors as Aspect, Cisco, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Newbridge Novell, and ROLM, officials said. Norstan Canada has 185 employees.
(Grant Buckler/19941014/Press Contact: Tom Ray, Norstan Canada 416-490-7154, fax 416-490-7191)
Canada 416-490-7154, fax 416-490-7191)
10/14/94
Norstan Canada Forms Integration Unit
BUSINESS
Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encode
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Toshiba has announced a video encoder that achieves real-time compression of digital motion pictures at resolutions specified in the MPEG-2 standard. The encoder brings practical multimedia networks and services a step closer to reality, declares the firm.
MPEG, for Moving Picture Coding Experts Group, sets motion picture compression standards. MPEG-2 is that group's most recent standard covering digital images that have the same image quality as TV broadcasts. MPEG-2 is expected to be adopted by the International Standard Organization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) this November.
Ken Ishihara of Toshiba America told Newsbytes the real-time compression could be applied to videoconferencing but that Toshiba would concentrate on the entertainment industry. He said Toshiba has received two orders from Time-Warner already.
Ishihara said the Toshiba device handles both fixed-rate transmission, suitable for direct broadcasting, and variable-rate encoding for CD-ROM data storage. Encoding is handled by several boards, he said, but would eventually be compressed onto one or more chips. The firm already markets decoders in the form of LSIs, or large scale integrated circuits (chips), he said.
The firm says early applications may include CATV transmission systems carrying multiple TV program signals along a single data channel; compression of video data for storage on computer hard disk drives or solid-state storage devices; distribution of visual data including movies, on optical disks; and transmission of TV-quality images for video conferencing via digital lines.
"At this moment it is not clear which way the market will develop first, for broadcasting use or storage use, so we are closely monitoring the development in the marketplace," explained Ishihara.
Compression to MPEG-2 requires massive calculations, to the point where one second of a motion picture can take a general purpose computer minutes to compress, even on a fast platform. Toshiba says real-time compression is necessary for multimedia and next-generation mixed media to reach their full potential, and that its is the first to achieve both MPEG-2 compression and combined constant and variable bit rate encoding.
MPEG-2 compression uses the fact that each frame in a sequence differs only a little from those on each side of it. The first frame of a scene is defined as the original frame, and after that, only differences in the data -- the motion vectors -- are transmitted.
Constant bit rate compresses images at a set ratio, allowing the image quality to vary with complexity. Under MPEG-2, even complex images will come through at broadcast quality, Toshiba says. Variable compression mode lets the complexity of the image determine the compression ratio, and is preferred for storing static images of variable complexity. Both forms will compress video signals to between 1/10 and 1/40 of their original volume.
(Craig Menefee/19941014/Press Contact: Ken Ishihara, Toshiba America, Inc., 212-596-0600)
oshiba America, Inc., 212-596-0600)
10/14/94
Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encoder
BROADCAST
Telebase's Corporate Easynet 2.0
WAYNE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Telebase Systems has introduced version 2.0 of its Corporate EasyNet online Internet business library and reference service. The new version, reachable by Gopher or Telnet, drops the price for completed searches by more than two-thirds.
The service aims at giving businesses and entrepreneurs a simple way to access high-value information, stocks content from what it terms "known producers," including Standard & Poor's, TRW Moody's, Washington Post, and Dun & Bradstreet, among several thousand other resources. (Newsbytes can be accessed in Corporate EasyNet through the PTS Newsletter and the Computer ASAP database.)
Speaking to Newsbytes, Leslie Avakian, the Telebase marketing manager for business information services, called the SOS live-help feature a key feature.
"It lets you talk with information specialist, keyboard-to-keyboard whenever you need to," she explained. "It's included in the cost of the subscription. Just type 'SOS' and a specialist will come online to help find info. If you're looking for all the companies that make widgets, they'll suggest databases and search parameters to use. They'll also let you know what it will cost."
A subscription to the Corporate EasyNet 2.0 service costs $49.95 per year. It includes ID and password, a database directory, a user's guide, and unlimited customer support. Failed searches cost $1 each while successful ones cost $3, down from $9.75, said Avakian.
Avakian said the service is available now to anyone with a modem and a general purpose telecommunications program. Avakian cited Delphi as an easy access method. After accessing Delphi, choose Internet Services, then Gopher, then All the World's Gophers, then Connect to Any Gopher, and finally enter "gopher.telebase.com" to connect directly to Corporate EasyNet, she said.
There will be a direct menu item for Telebase on Delphi within the next two weeks, Avakian said, and added that access by CompuServe Prodigy, or AOL will follow, when those services inaugurate Gopher service, she added.
In addition to Gopher and Telnet access, customers can connect to the service by public networks provided by CompuServe Network Services, BT Tymnet, or SprintNet.
(Craig Menefee/19941014/Press Contact: Leslie Avakian, Telebase Systems, 610-293-4700, or fax, 610-341-9660, or electronic-mail Internet, sales@telebase.com; Reader Contact 800-220-9553 or fax 610-341-9660; Internet auto response info@telebase.com; Internet gopher address gopher.telebase.com.)
; Internet gopher address gopher.telebase.com.)
10/14/94
Telebase's Corporate Easynet 2.0 Info Service
ONLINE
Nintendo Launches New Donkey Kon
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Nintendo of America Inc. says it will launch its 1994 flagship video game Donkey Kong Country on Compuserve (CIS).
Donkey Kong Country, scheduled for release on November 21, is a game for Nintendo's 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES).
Nintendo's three-month online campaign to introduce Donkey Kong Country will offer CIS's 2.3 million subscribers four interactive activities. A live conference will be hosted by Nintendo executives on October 19th at 6:00PM Pacific Time (GO CONVENTION).
There will also be a Donkey Kong online trivia contest that will test your knowledge about the 10-year old game. If you answer five questions correctly your name will go into the hat for a drawing for an all expense paid trip for two to Nintendo's Redmond Washington offices, a Super NES game, Donkey Kong Country game pack Donkey Kong country safari vest, and Donkey Kong Country T-shirt.
Ten second-prize winners will get a Donkey Kong Country game pack before the game is released to retail outlets. Fifty third-place winners will get Donkey Kong Country T-shirts. The contest runs from October 24th to November 14th (GO NINTENDO).
Beginning October 24th you'll be able to download video clips from the new game in IBM or Apple Computer Mac format. One new clip will be released weekly over a five-week period. There will also be a one-hour live technical conference online hosted by the Donkey Kong Country game developers to answer technical questions and offer game tips. The conference kicks off at 6:00PM Pacific Time November 8 1994 (GO CONVENTION).
Donkey Kong Country will have a suggested retail price of $69.95.
(Jim Mallory/19941014/Press contact: Alison Holt Brummelkamp Golin/Harris for Nintendo of America, 213-623-4200)
ris for Nintendo of America, 213-623-4200)
10/14/94
Nintendo Launches New Donkey Kong On CIS
ONLINE
Personnel Changes Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Ameritech Corp., RasterOps Corp., Sony, Cray Research Inc., Apple Computer Inc., and Western Digital Corp.
Sari L. Macrie, 38, has joined Ameritech Corporation (NYSE:AIT 312-609-6166) as vice president-investor relations, effective November 1. Previously, Macrie served as vice president at Christensen & Associates, an investor relations consulting firm. As vice president investor relations, Macrie will assume overall responsibility for relationships between Ameritech and the financial community, including institutional investors, financial analysts and individual shareowners. She will report to Oren G. Shaffer, Ameritech chief financial officer. Macrie replaces Richard W. Pehlke, who was promoted to vice president and treasurer in January 1994. Before joining Christensen in 1990, she worked as a management information consultant for Control Data Corp., and as a securities analyst for American Security Bank. Macrie holds an MBA in Finance from Arizona State University at Tempe and a BS in Finance, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Louis J. Doctor has been named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of RasterOps Corp. He takes over from Paul J. Smith, the firm's former president and CEO. Doctor was previously the executive vice president at SuperMac Technology, where he was responsible for all product development, business development, and product marketing. In the 1980s, Doctor was co-founder and president of Raster Technologies a high-end graphics company, which grew to more than $20 million in revenue before it was acquired by Alliant Computer Systems in 1988.
Yasuhiro Kuga has been named president of Sony's (201-930-6909) Component and Computer Products Group based in San Jose, California. Effective November 1, Kuga will be replacing Ted Matsumoto, who will be moving to Tokyo to head Sony Corporation's customer service operations. Kuga has been serving as senior vice president of Sony's Recording Media and Energy Company in Japan. Throughout his career he has served in a number of key executive positions in various parts of the world, including Europe, Latin America and the US. For a period in 1992 and 1993, Kuga was the interim head of Sony's US recording media business.
Brad Allen will join Cray Research Inc. (NYSE:CYR - 612-683-7130) as director of investor relations. Allen, 44, previously held a similar position with Digital Equipment Corp. In the new position, Allen will be responsible for all investor relations activities including the development of financial communications and ongoing contact with key financial analysts, shareholders, and markets. Allen holds a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio State University and a master of science in finance from Boston College's Graduate School of Management.
Shane Robison has been appointed vice president and general manager of Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL - 408-862-5671) Personal Interactive Electronics (PIE) Division. The PIE division develops and markets Apple's Newton platform in the personal digital assistant (PDA) market. Robison, 40, will report directly to president and CEO Michael Spindler. Robison was formerly the vice president of engineering for PIE and replaces Joseph A. Graziano Apple's executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) who oversaw the restructuring of the division in June. Graziano resumes the full-time role of CFO.
A. Keith Plant has been appointed to the new position of vice president, new business development at Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC). Plant will report to Chuck Haggerty, chairman, president and CEO, in his new role. Plant, 56, joined Western Digital in 1988 and has held a number of general management positions, most recently vice president and general manager of the firm's Paradise and TakeCharge products business.
(Ian Stokell/19941014)
(Ian Stokell/19941014)
10/14/94
Personnel Changes Roundup
GENERAL
Company Results Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- While Howtek reported a 48 percent increase in revenue for its most recent quarter In Focus Systems took a one-time charge to restructure its Motif joint venture with Motorola. Apple Computer says it expects better revenues and earnings than expected, and Western Digital reported a 63 percent increase in revenue. Meanwhile, The Learning Company's revenues were up 27 percent for the first quarter, and Wellfleet says its revenues were up 75 percent.
Howtek Inc. (AMEX:HTK - 603-882-5200) has announced results of its operations for the third quarter ended September 30, 1994. The firm recorded third quarter revenues of $6,417,000, an increase of 48% over the $4,345,000 recorded in the same period in 1993 and an increase over the $6,093,000 in sales recorded in the second quarter of 1994. The company also announced a net income in the third quarter of 1994 of $409,000, or $.05 per share, compared to a loss of $942,000, or ($0.12) per share, in the third quarter of 1993; a net income for the first nine months of 1994 of $112,101 or $0.01 per share, compare to a net income of $279,204, or $0.03 per share fully diluted, for the corresponding period in 1993; and a net income of $184,000 or $.02 per share, in the second quarter of 1994. The firm attributed the increase in sales and profitability to the introduction of the SM4500, on-going sales growth of the Scanmaster 7500, and the continued contribution to revenue of the D4000 and Scanmaster 3+. Howtek offers drum and flatbed scanner products for the newspaper publishing, graphic arts, and medical imaging markets.
In Focus Systems (NASDAQ:INFS - 503-685-8888) says that Motif Inc. their joint venture with Motorola Inc., plans to restructure its operations in order to provide greater focus on the development of its core Active Addressing technology. As a result of the restructuring Motif plans to shut down its liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing operation located in Wilsonville, resulting in a one-time restructuring charge to In Focus. In addition, In Focus Systems announced its fourth consecutive quarter of record results for the quarter ended September 30, 1994. On revenues of $31 million, up 82% over the $17 million in the third quarter of 1993, company earnings before restructuring charges rose 214% to approximately $4.4 million over the $1.4 million in earnings for the third quarter of 1993. Earnings per share before restructuring charges rose to $.38 on 11.8 million shares, an increase of 217% over the third quarter of 1993.
Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL - 408-974-3488) announced that the company expects revenues and earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter ended September 30, 1994, to be significantly higher than current estimates. Based on preliminary information, Apple now expects that revenues for the quarter will be about $2.50 billion, and that earnings for the quarter will be slightly above $.90 a share. Apple says that during the fourth fiscal quarter, demand was strong for its entry-level Power Macintosh, and PowerBook notebook systems. The company said it expects gross margins as a percentage of net sales for the fourth quarter will be slightly above the 26.7 percent it reported in its third fiscal quarter, ended July 1, 1994, and that operating expenses will be slightly less than 20 percent of net sales.
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC - 714-932-7834) reported its results for the first quarter of fiscal 1995 ending October 1, 1994. Revenue totaled a record $464.6 million, a 63 percent increase over revenue of $285.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 1994 and a 1 percent increase over revenue of $462.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1994. Net income totaled $34.7 million, or primary earnings per share of $.73, compared with a net loss of $5.1 million, or $.14 per share, in the first quarter of fiscal 1994, and net income of $37.3 million, or $.79 per share in the immediately preceding quarter. Fully diluted earnings per share were $.70 in the first quarter compared with fully diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter of $.75. In the first quarter of fiscal 1994 primary and fully diluted loss per share numbers were the same. Western Digital designs and manufactures disk drives, integrated circuits, and graphics controller board-level products.
The Learning Company (NASDAQ:LRNG - 510-792-2101) has announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter which ended on September 30, 1994. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenues for the first quarter increased 27 percent to $10.3 million from $8.1 million. Net income increased 26 percent to $1,235,000 from $981,000, and earnings per share increased 23 percent to 16 cents per share from 13 cents per share in 1993. Due to recent events, the firm says it expects to be able to recover an estimated $1.0 million of distributor receivables which were "the subject of a one-time $1.2 million bad debt charge" in the March 1994 quarter. The company recorded this anticipated recovery as a reduction of sales and marketing expenses in the September 1994 quarter. The Learning Company is a developer of educational personal computer software products for use at home and at school.
Internetworking equipment company Wellfleet Communications (NASDAQ:WFLT) reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 1994. Revenues for the quarter were $126.6 million, up 75% from $72.4 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Net income for the quarter was $21.6 million or $.34 per share up 85% from $11.6 million or $.18 per share, adjusted for the company's 2-for-1 stock split in May, 1994.
(Ian Stokell/19941014)
(Ian Stokell/19941014)
10/14/94
Company Results Roundup
BUSINESS
AST Unveils Aptiva Killers
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- AST Europe has launched a range of retail (consumer) PCs under the Advantage brand name. Although officials with the company are coy on the exact market at which the machines are pitched, Newsbytes notes that the dealer channel in the UK views them as "Aptiva killers."
The Aptiva is IBM's newly launched range of consumer PCs that replaces the PS/2 series. According to Graham Hopper, AST's general manager for the UK and Ireland, the company is delighted to launch a new range of consumer systems. "With the user friendly AST Works software, we believe we have addressed a significant requirement in the consumer market," he said.
AST Works is a graphical user interface guide to the Advantage series. Pre-installed on all the new AST machines, the package includes multimedia (sound and vision) real time videos of AST experts that "talk" new users around their new machines.
Different modules of AST Works have been created for different categories of users. According to AST, video experts talk users though the various applications in AST Works -- educational, personal finance and home management modules -- as appropriate.
Along with AST Works, each Advantage PC comes with a variety of other applications pre-installed as well. These includes DOS 6.21, Windows 3.1, Intuit Quicken, MS-Works, Lotus Organiser, Word 6 for Windows MS-Excel 5.0 for Windows and MIcrosoft Encarta. Optional extras are Microsoft Cinemania (a CD-ROM disc), Microsoft Golf, and the Microsoft Entertainment Pack.
The PC hardware itself consists of 10 desktop or minitower PCs ranging from an entry level 33 megahertz (MHz) 486SX-based system to a 60MHz Pentium based system. The high-end minitower systems include options for multimedia, including a 16-bit sound card, speakers, microphone and double speed CD-ROM drive. Pricing on the systems start from UKP 999 and ranges up to UKP 1,999.
(Steve Gold/19941014/Press & Reader Contact: AST Europe +44-81-232 5000)
AST Europe +44-81-232 5000)
10/14/94
AST Unveils Aptiva Killers
6 ` ~
Apple's Online Service Offers eW
Spain - Telecom Rivals Join Forc
Apple's eWorld Available In UK
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- After seeing its eWorld online service launched in the US and quite recently Canada, Apple Computer has now rolled out the service to the UK.
Formally launched this week by Apple UK at the AppleExpo show in London, the initial eWorld service is being sold and supported by Apple Computer US using toll-free lines from the UK to the US. As previously reported by Newsbytes, the service is accessible in the UK through Sprintnet, the old BT Tymnet network and BT's Dial Plus packet data network (PDN) at speeds of up to 9,600 bits per second (bps).
Sign-up to the service is currently free of charge, with the first month's cover charge of $8.95 waived for new subscribers, plus a usage credit of $26 credited to new subscriber's accounts.
Standard rates for eWorld subscriptions in Europe are $8.95 cover charge, plus $7.95 an hour for the first two hours of access per month, with extra hours billed at a fairly hefty $12.90 each. As with AppleLink, these charges include the PDN switching costs of routing the call back to the US. The eWorld software is currently being issued free of charges to Mac users.
Apple's eWorld service is still at the formative stages although Apple is working hard to enhance and expand its services. Early users of eWorld in the UK have been relieved, however, that Apple is not surcharging its subscribers anywhere near as heavily as AppleLink charges its non-North American users.
In the UK, Apple is offering sales and support service via an 0800 896206 toll free number, although this number routes to the same support center as the US toll-free number of 800-775-4556. According to Apple UK, a PC version of the eWorld software for Windows users is currently under development, and the PC version of eWorld should be announced during the first quarter of the new year.
"eWorld is for people seeking order from the chaos of the vast electronic universe, who need relevant information rather than volumes of data, and who are looking for a compelling electronic medium which is easily accessible anywhere in the world," explained Mike Newton Apple UK's general manager, who added that eWorld's GUI interface is lot less complicated and more meaningful than the competition.
Despite being in its infancy, eWorld has more than 140 information providers (IPs) online, including Newsbytes News Network. Plans are in hand to sign up large numbers of other IPs before the end of the year.
Newsbytes spoke to "John" of customer support regarding a sign-up kit. Kits are being mailed out free of all charges to anyone calling the toll-free line. A decision on how to pay need only be made when the Mac user logs on to the service for the first time.
"We've had a lot of calls from the UK since the service was announced on Wednesday this week. It shows what a popular service that eWorld is set to become," he told Newsbytes.
John noted that interest in eWorld, especially from the UK, is a lot stronger than for AppleLink, mainly owing to the cost. "Cost has a lot to do with it -- eWorld is a whole lot cheaper to access than AppleLink and there's a lot more on it. Our plans are to migrate AppleLink users across to eWorld in the longer term," he said.
(Steve Gold/19941014/Press Contact: Russell Brady, Apple Computer UK 44-81-730-2480; Reader Contact: eWorld Center 0800-896206)
tact: eWorld Center 0800-896206)
10/14/94
Apple's eWorld Available In UK
APPLE
France - Groupe Bull For Sale
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- After getting the thumbs up from the European Commission (EC) for a final FF 11,100 million cash infusion into the Groupe Bull operation, the French government has announced that the computer giant is now officially up for sale.
Although viewed as formality, the French government must be seen to be going through all the official stages of preparation for the sale of Bull to stay within the guidelines laid down by the EC. As reported earlier by Newsbytes, at one stage it looked possible that the EC could block this final cash investment, without which French officials admit that Groupe Bull would have been unsellable.
Plans now call for the government to open a book on the sale of Bull on November 1, at which time any interested parties will be invited to submit their first stage tenders for the company. The deal concerns a lot more than cash, however, as both the French government and the EC must satisfy themselves that the new owner will look after the interests of the company, as well as its employees, in the longer term.
According to a statement issued by Gerard Longuet, the French Minister for Industry, the sell-off deal should be concluded by the end of the year, with the formal handover expected to take place in March of April of the new year.
This time scale has astonished many media onlookers, and caused many French newspapers to ponder the possibility that the government already has a buyer for the company lined up. Some media sources have suggested that IBM may be a ready buyer, but no one is saying anything officially. Such a deal would have to be sanctioned by the EC Newsbytes notes, despite the fact that Big Blue, along with NEC already have shares in the French company.
The prospects for Groupe Bull look excellent, Newsbytes notes. In August of this year, company officials revealed its stated aim of getting the company back into the black as far as operating profits are concerned, and that this can be achieved by the end of next March.
The news from Jean-Marie Descar-Pentries, Bull's president, came at a moment when the company has turned in a better-than-expected set of a half yearly results. Descar-Pentries has been in the hot seat since October of last year, when he vowed that he would return the company to profitability after years of red ink staining the balance sheet.
At the time, two months ago, Descar-Pentries described Bull as "positioned for privatization" and has instructed the government to begin inviting tenders for a state sell-off.
Bull turned in a healthy set of results for its half year to the end of June, 1994, according to the French financial analysts. During the half year, the company's operating losses were reduced from FF1,980 million in the first six months of 1993, to FF843 million in the first half of this year. Sales, meanwhile, shot up by a healthy 11 percent to FF13,850 million. The bulk of the sales came from Zenith Data Systems, Newsbytes notes, which recorded a 55 percent revenue increase on the year.
(Sylvia Dennis/1994114/Press & Reader Contact: Groupe Bull +33-1-6447 9164)
t: Groupe Bull +33-1-6447 9164)
10/14/94
France - Groupe Bull For Sale
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awar
India - IDC Forecasts Major IT I
Update On AMD/Intel ICE Microcod
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) has issued a clarification regarding the statement "Of the over four million AMD 486 microprocessors [sic] made, fewer than 1,000 were actually using ICE for debugging." The statement was quoted in a story titled Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court Battle 10/12/94 which ran on the Newsbytes wire October 12.
AMD spokesperson, John Greenagel told Newsbytes, "The fact is that AMD has made no use of the ICE (in-circuit emulation circuitry for debugging in any Am486 microprocessor devices. AMD has produced and sold a limited number of Am486DLX and Am486DXLV microprocessors that use a portion of the ICE circuitry for power management functions, which AMD did not believe violated contractual restrictions on bonding out ICE circuitry to produce in-circuit emulation tools."
The statements AMD originally made to Newsbytes about "debugging" did not mention "486" chips. Newsbytes welcomes AMD's clarification on this point. The litigation history between Intel and AMD and the issues involved are very complex. Newsbytes will continue to track and report this story as new developments occur.
(Nick Anis/19941011/Press Contact: John Thompson, Intel Corporation/media, 408-765-1279, Gordon Casey, Intel Corporation/financial, 408-765-8418, John Greenagel, Advanced Micro Devices, Tel: 408-749-3310, Fax: 408-774-7216.)
ces, Tel: 408-749-3310, Fax: 408-774-7216.)
10/14/94
Update On AMD/Intel ICE Microcode Dispute
CHIPS
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
SlipKnot, Windows Browser For Th
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- MicroMind, a software developer, announced the beta version of a Windows browser for the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) called SlipKnot. With intent to bring the Web to more users, MicroMind's main development goal was to allow users to access the Web from a simple Unix dial-up shell account.
Beta testing is not open to the general public and MicroMind maintains the product, in its version 1.0 state, will be available as shareware before the end of the year.
Peter Brooks, president of MicroMind and the visionary behind SlipKnot, told Newsbytes, "SlipKnot is optimized for modem users of Internet. One of the best features of this browser is its ability to retrieve documents in the background. One of the biggest complaints of users accessing the Net from a modem is the time a terminal is tied up while downloading files. SlipKnot places those tasks in the background while a user continues to work with other files and tasks."
He emphasized that retrieved documents including embedded pictures can be saved on the user's local hard disk to be redisplayed at anytime, including offline.
Brooks also said SlipKnot is not tied to higher-end modems of 14.4 kilobits/sec (Kbps) or higher. A user with a modem as slow as 300 bits/sec will be able to use SlipKnot, as long as he or she has the patience with such a slow modem.
According to MicroMind, SlipKnot is more than just a Web browser. This program allows for complete navigation of the Net and promises to bring Web access to almost all Internet users. SlipKnot, using a standard telephone connection, will allow users to view picture files and play sound files from the Web.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation (NYSE:MSFT) announced it has signed a $1.5 billion agreement to merge with Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) the company that publishes the popular Quicken personal finance program. However the deal could be complicated by a shareholder suit to block the merger.
Shareholder Stanley Aronoff has sued Intuit, its directors and Microsoft Corporation to block the merger. Aronoff claims the directors of Intuit allegedly committed "wrongful action... including impeding a proper process to ensure maximization of shareholder value." Aronoff has asked the Delaware Chancery Court to block the deal to award damages for what he called "the director's self-dealing."
Under terms of the agreement each share of Intuit stock will be exchanged for 1.336 shares of Microsoft. An adjustment mechanism assures that no Intuit shareholder will get less than $71 worth of Microsoft shares for each Intuit share they hold. Microsoft says it expects to issue about 27 million shares of common stock, or nearly five percent of the company's outstanding Microsoft common stock.
The deal still requires the approval of regulatory agencies and the Intuit shareholders. However the latter probably won't be much of a problem, since Scott Cook, Intuit chairman, and other directors and senior officers represent about 37 percent of the outstanding Intuit common stock and have agreed to the deal. The deal is expected to take about 120 days to close. Some analysts are projecting the cost of fees and expenses for the acquisition to be less than $0.03 per share, but a Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the per-share cost.
Anti-trust problems could be the biggest hurdle. Microsoft publishes Microsoft Money, also a personal finance program. To allay possible problems with regulatory agencies, Microsoft will sell Money to Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL).
After the merger was announced Novell said it will add Money to its recently announced Main Street product line designed for home computer users. Novell's cost to purchase Money was not disclosed.
The Intuit acquisition, which also includes the company's tax preparation products, appears to underline Microsoft's commitment to the home user market. Microsoft Executive VP Mike Maples told the British news service Reuters the decision to buy Intuit was driven in part by Microsoft's belief that consumers will increasingly shift to electronic banking transactions. Microsoft is expected to establish new relationships with banking institutions to give Quicken users greater access to electronic banking services.
Cook, who founded Intuit, will be responsible for Microsoft's future businesses in the personal finance area as the executive vice president of electronic commerce, and will report to Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bill Gates. Intuit president and CEO Bill Campbell will head a new financial products division at Microsoft which will include the current operating units of Intuit. Campbell will report to Maples.
Microsoft plans to launch an electronic online service to rival services such as Compuserve and America Online. Microsoft won't comment on the project, code-named Microsoft Marvel. An electronic banking service could be a popular product to anchor such a service and attract the large installed base of Intuit users. Some industry watchers believe Marvel will be part of the Windows 95 operating system that's scheduled for release in 1995. The user could connect to the Microsoft online service by clicking on the appropriate Windows 95 icon. Intuit might even be part of a future version of Windows 95, observers suggest.
Not everyone thinks the deal is a good one. PC Letter, an industry newsletter, called the deal "a sad day for software companies that want to remain independent." PC Letter editor and publisher, David Coursey, said, "Intuit competed with Microsoft and won, but at Microsoft it's, "If you can't beat, buy em."
Intuit stock jumped more than $18 in opening trading today following yesterday's late announcement, while Microsoft shares fell slightly.
(Jim Mallory/19941014/Press contact: Microsoft Public Relations 206-882-8080; David Coursey, P.C. Letter, 415-312-0683)
8080; David Coursey, P.C. Letter, 415-312-0683)
10/14/94
Microsoft To Acquire Intuit, Shareholder Sues
BUSINESS
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI
Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encode
Softimage, Discreet Logic Settle
Lotus Reports Decline In 3rd Qua
IBM's Advanced 36 First To Use 6
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 14 (NB) -- IBM's newly unveiled AS/400 Advanced 36, the first machine to use a 64-bit PowerPC-based chip, will be joined next year by new AS/400 machines that add the ability to switch between 64- and 32-bit modes. Also, AS/400 will eventually join AIX, OS/2 and Taligent among the "personalities" supported by IBM's "Shared Services" architecture for PowerPC previously known as "WorkPlace," Newsbytes has learned.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Dave Sass, IBM's manager of technology communications, said that the 64-bit chip used in the Advanced 36 is based on the PowerPC architecture. Upon its release October 28, IBM's newly unveiled AS/400 Advanced 36 midrange computer will let users run any of 10,000 applications for its System/36, a midrange system first introduced 11 years ago, at speeds four to eight times faster than System/36 hardware, he maintained.
Next year, newly "modified" AS/400 systems from 1BM will start to let users run System/36 applications together with any of 25,000 AS/400 applications, by adding System/36 as a "personality" on top of the base operating system, according to Sass. At the same time IBM will provide the ability to run AS/400 machines in 32-bit mode.
Users of the new AS/400 Advanced 36 will be able to run legacy System/36 applications without recompiling, Sass contended. The Advanced 36 will come with a free Transition Aid Program for saving current System/36 information on diskette or tape, and restoring it on AS/400 Advanced 36. Alternatively, users can buy a Transition Data Link with a twinaxial cable connection for moving data directly from a System/36 machine to AS/400 Advanced 36.
The capabilities that will appear next year for operating AS/400 and System 36 applications as "separate personalities" in the AS/400 environment will be similar to the "Shared Services" architecture, known until now as "WorkPlace," that IBM is creating for PowerPC, added IBM's manager of technology communications.
Eventually, AS/400 will join these "Shared Services," he added describing these services as "a set of common facilities to the processor that all of the products other than the mainframe will adopt: AIX, AS/400, OS/2, and eventually, Taligent." Due to their "complexity," the mainframe systems will operate in the separate category of "PowerParallel systems," according to Sass.
IBM has decided to change the name "WorkPlace" to "Shared Services" because WorkPlace "has been coming to be known as an `operating system,' when that's not really what it is,'" Sass told Newsbytes.
"I don't think there's any question that, over time, we'll allow different applications to port to the platform as `personalities.' Already, all of IBM's hardware componentry is pretty much sharing the same DASD, tape, and memory technologies," he reported.
"What's evolving next is that everything but mainframe architectures will be sharing the same microprocessor architecture through the PowerPC. This will range from very low-end scalable processors at the PC level to very large machines such as AS/400 and very large-scale RS 6000s at the high end. The only remaining question is exactly how this will be implemented. And I think that over the next six months, those decisions will be made."
To allow easy porting between environments, IBM is now developing an environment called SLIC (system licensed internal code), which is "a set of object-oriented components that buffer the application layer and operating system from the hardware," Newsbytes was told.
Instead of "writing applications to the hardware" in the traditional way, developers for environments running on "Shared Services" will write code to SLIC, Sass explained. SLIC will give IBM a particularly strong edge over other vendors in terms of application portability when desktop systems eventually migrate to 64-bit environments, he predicted.
The SLIC concept is "basically a rewrite of what we call `horizontal and vertical microcode' on the AS/400," he added. IBM first explored the basic idea for writing code to a buffer back in the 1970s with Future Systems (FS), a pilot project for a mainframe replacement to the IBM 360, according to Sass. The idea for a "mainframe replacement" was ultimately scrapped, but the technology developed in the FS project evolved into IBM's System 38.
As an example of the way that IBM hardware systems are converging today, Sass cited IBM's newly announced LAN (local area network) Server 400. "This is an Intel 486 66 megahertz (MHz) engine offered as an option to the AS/400, that gives you extremely fast file server capabilities, like you would have with an outboard PC file server," said Sass.
"We could also add an AIX asymmetric-type processor to the platform," Sass illustrated. "With the shared componentry and services, we'd have the ability to run an AIX-type personality on top of the RISC architecture, because the AIX people are building on the same interface and shared componentry. And the same thing is true of OS/2 and Taligent."
IBM made the move toward dual operation of System/36 and AS/400 applications on the AS/400 platform as a way of encouraging users of legacy System 36 applications to migrate to AS/400, Sass explained. "There are now 200,000 System/36 systems out in the field, and users haven't wanted to move away from them. They've been happy with the machines and the applications," he elaborated.
Despite the convergence of AS/400 with AIX and other IBM environments, IBM will probably continue to offer AS/400 as a distinct product line, he added.
AS/400 is aimed at business applications and "plug-and-play" ease of use, whereas AIX and other flavors of Unix have traditionally been more popular with scientific/technical and "power users," he continued. "But what you'll see over time is the ability of each of these platforms to integrate `solutions' from other platforms."
The AS/400 Advanced 36 will come in the same black package used by other computers in the AS/400 Advanced series, according to Sass. The new system will run "interactive transactions" up to four times faster than the System/36, and batch applications up to eight times faster.
The Advanced 36 will have a footprint less than one-fifth the size of the large System/36, will employ "the latest in disk drive technology," and will use less power, resulting in utility costs "only about 20 percent those of the System/36," according to Sass.
The base system unit will include 32 megabytes (MB) of main storage, a multifunction input/output processor; a billion-byte 3.5-inch disk unit for integrated storage; and an integrated 2.5 gigabyte (GB) 1/4-inch cartridge tape unit that provides almost 17 times as much capacity as the System/36, he said. The tape unit will supply unattended backup on the Advanced 36, and will also be able to read all other 1/4-inch System/36 tapes.
The Advanced 36 will support up to 96 megabytes (MB) of memory, or over 13 times more than the System/36. The new system will also support 80 local devices, or three times as many as the biggest System/36.
The Advanced 36 will also support up to eight communications lines up to two local area networks, as well as most twinaxial terminals printers, and other devices, according to Sass. Pricing for the Advanced 36 will start at $12,000, including software.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941014/Reader Contact: IBM, 914-765-1900; Press Contacts: Jeff Cross, IBM, 914-766-4296; Barbara McNair 914-766-4530; Rachel Postlewaite, Technology Solutions for IBM 212-696-2000)
chel Postlewaite, Technology Solutions for IBM 212-696-2000)
10/14/94
IBM's Advanced 36 First To Use 64-Bit PowerPC-Based Chip
Newsbytes Daily Summary
&MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Mill Valley Film Festival On Internet 10/14/94 The Well, an online service based in Sausalito, California, is delivering parts of the Mill Valley Film Festival online to its subscribers and across Internet for global access. The electronic version of the festival includes everything from program notes directions, viewers comments, serious reviews, text, and real-time film clips.
2 -> DEC PCI Adapters, Licenses FFDT To DSI and CMT 10/14/94 DEC's patented FFDT (FDDI Full Duplex Technology) -- aimed at doubling the 100 megabit-per-second (Mbps) bandwidth of FDDI (fiber distributed data interface) to 200 Mbps -- has been licensed to DSI Inc., for use in SMT (surface mount technology) source code for Motorola FDDI chips, and to CMD Technology for use in storage servers. The technology will also appear in a family of PCI (peripheral component interconnect) FDDI adapters from DEC.
3 -> ****CD-ROM Expo - 7,500-Title Market By 1999 10/14/94 Fueled by an emerging industry specification called "high density CD-ROM," the interactive CD-ROM market will skyrocket to 7,500 titles in print by 1999, predicted Julie Schwerin, president of InfoTech, at a "breakfast presentation" held by Creamer Dickson Basford during CD- ROM Expo in Boston.
4 -> ****California Real-Time Freeway Traffic Map By Modem 10/14/94 The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has introduced another stage of the Smart Traveler project which began in November 1992. Anyone with a PC and a modem can have access to a real-time freeway traffic map of the entire LA Metropolitan area seven days a week, 24-hours-a-day.
5 -> OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Microsoft's Chicago 10/14/94 The delay of Microsoft Windows 95 or Chicago's rollout to the market is both good and bad for IBM's OS/2, according to Manny Portugal software brand manager of IBM Philippines. Speaking before a Unix crowd during the September monthly membership meet of the UUCP: The Association for Open Computing, Portugal stressed that the delay is good because it gives IBM ample time to promote the current version of its OS/2 and more so its incoming version 3.
6 -> US Govt Looks For Test Of Digital Signature 10/14/94 The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking advice on a program to test a public key infrastructure to implement the NIST digital signature standard, or DSS.
7 -> Edmark Moves 3 Kids' Titles To CD-ROM 10/14/94 Edmark Corporation has announced the shipment of the award-winning Sammy's Science House on CD-ROM. Millie's Math House and Thinkin' Things Collection 1 CD-ROM versions will follow shortly -- both are expected to ship in mid-October. Each title will be available for both Macintosh and Windows/MS-DOS computers.
8 -> Merisel Australia Awards Top Vendors 10/14/94 More than 60 software and hardware vendors attended Merisel's annual Hot List awards this week in Sydney. The Hot List is a monthly list of the top-performing products distributed by Merisel, and the annual awards feature the top two products in seven major categories.
9 -> Spectrum Holobyte Ships 3 New Games 10/14/94 Spectrum Holobyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBYT), has announced the shipment of "Iron Helix" for the Sega CD System, "BreakThru" for Windows and Macintosh computers, and "WildSnake" for Super NES and Game Boy Systems.
10 -> Olivetti Donates To Australian Drought 10/14/94 Technology manufacturer Olivetti has vowed to support the FarmHand drought appeal in Australia by donating $25 from the sale of every computer, fax machine, and printer sold in Australia until the end of November.
11 -> TI Revenues, Earnings Reach All-time High 10/14/94 Texas Instruments Inc., (NYSE:TNX) reported today that net revenues and earnings reached an all-time high in the third quarter, which closed September 30, 1994. The company said the results are due primarily to continued strong growth in semi-conductor revenues.
12 -> Philips Licenses MIPS RISC 10/14/94 MIPS Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: SGI) reports that Philips Semiconductors has joined as a semiconductor partner and architecture licensee of its MIPS R3000 family of RISC microprocessors.
13 -> Artisoft LANtastic For OS/2 10/14/94 Artisoft has announced what it claims is the industry's first true 32-bit network operating system (NOS) for OS/2, LANtastic for OS/2.
14 -> Microsoft Contest For Kids 10/14/94 Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is offering a contest in which winners get a vacation to Redmond Washington, a personal visit with Bill Gates, free computer and software, in order to get children to share their ideas on computing. Computer industry giant Microsoft, to showcase its new home line of software, is searching for the "Six Most Imaginative Youngsters" who will share their ideas with CEO Bill Gates on the subject of "the coolest things a person can do with personal computer."
15 -> ****Telecon '94 - Promise For Cybersurfers, Couch Potatoes 10/14/94 Want to vegetate in front of the tube for the next 20 years? Break out the beer and chips, but trade in the remote control for a more sophisticated user interface able to handle video on demand. Canada's cable television companies see in the couch-potato crowd a lucrative market for new services that look and feel like television.
16 -> ****Telecon '94 - Rheingold Touts Online Communities 10/14/94 When Howard Rheingold's baby daughter had a tick on her head late one night, his wife called the pediatrician. Rheingold went into his office and logged on the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL), a large California bulletin board system.
17 -> Norstan Canada Forms Integration Unit 10/14/94 Norstan Canada Inc., has set up an integration business unit that the company said will go after an emerging market for systems that combine voice data, video, and image capabilities.
18 -> Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encoder 10/14/94 Toshiba has announced a video encoder that achieves real-time compression of digital motion pictures at resolutions specified in the MPEG-2 standard. The encoder brings practical multimedia networks and services a step closer to reality, declares the firm.
19 -> Telebase's Corporate Easynet 2.0 Info Service 10/14/94 Telebase Systems has introduced version 2.0 of its Corporate EasyNet online Internet business library and reference service. The new version, reachable by Gopher or Telnet, drops the price for completed searches by more than two-thirds.
20 -> Nintendo Launches New Donkey Kong On CIS 10/14/94 Nintendo of America Inc. says it will launch its 1994 flagship video game Donkey Kong Country on Compuserve (CIS).
21 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 10/14/94 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Ameritech Corp., RasterOps Corp., Sony, Cray Research Inc., Apple Computer Inc., and Western Digital Corp.
22 -> Company Results Roundup 10/14/94 While Howtek reported a 48 percent increase in revenue for its most recent quarter, In Focus Systems took a one-time charge to restructure its Motif joint venture with Motorola. Apple Computer says it expects better revenues and earnings than expected, and Western Digital reported a 63 percent increase in revenue. Meanwhile, The Learning Company's revenues were up 27 percent for the first quarter, and Wellfleet says its revenues were up 75 percent.
23 -> AST Unveils Aptiva Killers 10/14/94 AST Europe has launched a range of retail (consumer) PCs under the Advantage brand name. Although officials with the company are coy on the exact market at which the machines are pitched, Newsbytes notes that the dealer channel in the UK views them as "Aptiva killers."
24 -> Apple's eWorld Available In UK 10/14/94 After seeing its eWorld online service launched in the US and quite recently Canada, Apple Computer has now rolled out the service to the UK.
25 -> France - Groupe Bull For Sale 10/14/94 After getting the thumbs up from the European Commission (EC) for a final FF 11,100 million cash infusion into the Groupe Bull operation, the French government has announced that the computer giant is now officially up for sale.
26 -> Update On AMD/Intel ICE Microcode Dispute 10/14/94 Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) has issued a clarification regarding the statement "Of the over four million AMD 486 microprocessors, [sic] made, fewer than 1,000 were actually using ICE for debugging." The statement was quoted in a story titled, Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court Battle 10/12/94 which ran on the Newsbytes wire October 12.
27 -> SlipKnot, Windows Browser For The Web 10/14/94 MicroMind, a software developer, announced the beta version of a Windows browser for the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) called SlipKnot. With intent to bring the Web to more users, MicroMind's main development goal was to allow users to access the Web from a simple Unix dial-up shell account.
28 -> ****Microsoft To Acquire Intuit, Shareholder Sues 10/14/94 Microsoft Corporation (NYSE:MSFT) announced it has signed a $1.5 billion agreement to merge with Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), the company that publishes the popular Quicken personal finance program. However the deal could be complicated by a shareholder suit to block the merger.
29 -> ****IBM's "Advanced 36" First To Use 64-Bit PowerPC-Based Chip 10/14/94 IBM's newly unveiled AS/400 Advanced 36, the first machine to use a 64-bit PowerPC-based chip, will be joined next year by new AS/400 machines that add the ability to switch between 64- and 32-bit modes. Also, AS/400 will eventually join AIX, OS/2 and Taligent among the "personalities" supported by IBM's "Shared Services" architecture for PowerPC, previously known as "WorkPlace," Newsbytes has learned.
(Wendy Woods/19941014)
(Wendy Woods/19941014)
10/14/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
'2(^(@(
Document-To-Braille Process Deve
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Bonnie Snyder works with blind people and she was determined to find an easier, less expensive way to convert published documents into Braille. Now her determination could lead her to the White House.
Snyder, an educational technologist at the Colorado School For The Deaf and The Blind, says when she saw a colleague faxing some of his own writings to his PC's fax board so he could edit them, the next logical step seemed to be faxing to the PC then outputting the document to Braille. Braille is the tactile language for vision impaired people that converts words into sets of dots which can be "read" by feeling them with the fingertips. Many elevator control panels have Braille labels.
Getting a printed document into Braille is not a new idea. Snyder says it is currently being done by scanning, but that is an expensive process. "A fax machine is basically a scanner, and it's already out there in the workplace. Why not go to businesses who want to have opportunities to do public service?" Snyder told Newsbytes.
That is exactly what she did. She provides the business documents for which copyright clearance has been obtained and the business faxes the document to a fax board-equipped PC at the school. "It doesn't cost them anything," says Snyder.
Snyder converts the received fax to text with WinFax Pro, imports it into an ASCII editor and formats it for Braille. The document can then be sent to a Braille printer via a parallel or serial cable.
"It's a good way to get partnership between business and education it offers the business the opportunity to do something for the community and feel good about it and it gives them an opportunity to trade a little bit," Snyder told Newsbytes.
She says if a business needs to get a document ADA (American Disabilities Act)-compliant, such as handouts that need to be in Braille, the school will perform that service for the business. "A lot of people benefit from the process," according to Snyder.
The process came to the attention of the White House recently, and Snyder is scheduled to display the technique at Kidstech, an exhibit of technology by students and teachers that focuses on technology for children. The display will be set up on the South Lawn of the White House next Spring.
Snyder's only problem now is how to get to Kidstech. Participants have to pay their own expenses, and the school's budget is tight so she is hoping to find sponsors to underwrite the trip.
(Jim Mallory/19941014/Press & public contact: Bonnie Snyder 719-578-2215)
ic contact: Bonnie Snyder 719-578-2215)
10/17/94
Document-To-Braille Process Developed
TRENDS
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
Adaptec Intros 16-Bit ATAPI Soun
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT), has introduced what the company describes as the industry's first sound card with connectivity for AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI)-compliant CD-ROM drives.
Scott Stelter, marketing manager for the firm's media I/O (input/output) group, told Newsbytes this new product, the AMM-525 was developed for major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as a low-cost interface for CD-ROM drives with sound support. Stelter added it is the latest addition to the company's AudioEdge family of sound cards for personal computers.
According to Stelter, the AMM-525 is a 16-bit sound card with on-board digital signal processor (DSP) -- Analog Devices DSP 2115 -- an InVision wavetable synthesis PROM, and connectivity for ATAPI-compliant CD-ROM drives.
ATAPI is a software component of the Enhanced Intelligent Device Electronics (EIDE) interface, which allows EIDE-based computer systems to recognize ATAPI CD-ROMs. The only other standard that has been adopted for CD-ROMs so far is SCSI (small computer system interface). There are several IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hybrids but Stelter says none of them other than ATAPI have been adopted as standards.
ATAPI has performance trade-offs and does not support multiple devices. In fact, unlike the SCSI edition of the card, the ATAPI version does not even support hard drives. Stelter told Newsbytes that, unlike higher performance SCSI, ATAPI is also not suited for multimasking environments because it does not support multichannel/multithreaded I/O.
"Fast CD-ROMs and those requiring external connection typically have industry-standard SCSI interfaces, which provide users with the highest level of system-wide I/O performance over other connectivity offerings," said Stelter. "However, as CD-ROMs become a standard built-in feature on all computers, ATAPI will emerge as another connectivity option, primarily for systems that do not require the multitasking, multiperipheral horsepower or connectivity available with SCSI."
The company claims that AMM-515's sound support is very competitive compared to other sound cards on the market. Stelter says Adaptec's sound cards provide "unmatched ease-of-use" installation features the "real" instrumental sounds of a 128-piece orchestra and "true-to-life" sound effects for computer games and multimedia applications.
The AMM-525 sound card uses intelligent installation and utility software, such as Adaptec DeMucker software and Adaptec EZ-Audio software. DeMucker removes or "demucks" changes made to the system's configuration files including CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI, and any other configuration files effected by the installation of other sound cards or multimedia applications. DeMucker is Windows-based and is included with both the SCSI and ATAPI versions of the board.
Windows-based Adaptec EZ-Audio software is also included. It automatically installs the AudioEdge sound package, as well as manages the installation and setup of the ATAPI device driver. This is done by using either a point-and-click Windows interface or simply pressing the "return" key. A DOS-based EasyTone utility is also provided. Additionally, the retail version of the sound package comes with Microsoft Windows Sound System 2.0 software. The Microsoft Windows Sound System allows users to play music record messages or even ask the PC to retrieve a file through the use of pre-programmed verbal commands.
Sources at Adaptec told Newsbytes the OEM version of the sound package probably won't include the Microsoft Windows Sound System since most OEMs prefer to deal direct with Microsoft.
The AMM-525 sound card is capable of both FM and wave table synthesis. DSP and wavetable synthesis are the two key features which account for the difference between robotic, hollow-sounding audio sometimes associated with FM synthesis, and the real instrumental sounds associated with high-quality, professional studio products.
Most computer sound cards use frequency modulation (FM) synthesis instead of wavetable. FM synthesis produces complex wave shapes that can copy a variety of sounds. However, music and many natural sounds do not emulate nearly as well with this technology.
Adaptec says the on-board DSP chip is the driving force to run the product family's wavetable music synthesizer, which is a library of 128 digitally recorded sounds and 24 voices. These sounds have been re-purposed and shrunk to fit the ROM of the AudioEdge sound card, where they reside waiting to be accessed by the PC.
The AMM-525 supports all popular industry audio standards including games and software written to the Sound Blaster card. The AudioEdge AMM-525, which includes ATAPI connectivity, will be available to OEMs in November 1994.
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Support for the Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 disk drive interface standards, which were developed by Seagate Technology earlier this year, continues to broaden with the addition of key PC systems, component, and software suppliers.
Seagate has taken an active role in establishing standards for the storage industry. Brian Dexheimer, director of desktop and mobile marketing, told Newsbytes that the ATA-2 standard came out of the small form factor committee that drives most of the interface standards for the storage industry, where Seagate played a key role.
According to Dexheimer, more than 25 companies have endorsed the standard, including: Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Vobis, Zeos International, Dell Computer, Cirrus Logic, Phoenix Technologies Micronics, Arco Computer Products, DTC Data Technology, Promise Technology, CMD Technology, and OPTi.
Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 products feature advanced data transfer capabilities ideal for the increased bandwidth provided by PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) and VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) local bus systems, theoretically up to 132 megabytes-per-second (MBps), while conforming to the widely-used AT Attachment (ATA) interface standard. The ATA/ATA-2 interfaces are capable of data transfer rates up to 13.3 MBps and 16.6 MBps respectively.
The cabling for ATA/ATA-2 is identical to the ATA IDE standard. ATA, which is higher performance than ATA IDE, is available for VLB and PCI. It is reportedly well suited for multimedia applications, which require higher data transfer rates to move graphics quickly enough for playing full-motion video displaying high resolution still images, generating fractal images, and so on.
Dexheimer added, "Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 are clearly establishing themselves as the best standard interfaces in PC disk drive technology. The support of leading systems and peripheral manufacturers demonstrates that Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 are a key to their success in providing end-users with performance necessary for storage intensive multimedia, digital recording and desktop video editing applications."
As systems manufacturers implement Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 Dexheimer says end-users can begin to reap the benefits of the advanced technology transparently, because special system configuration and software drivers are not necessary for most applications.
Fast ATA-2 supports the Programmed I/O (PIO) Mode 4 and multiword Direct Memory Access (DMA) Mode 2 protocol, while Fast ATA takes advantage of PIO Mode 3 and multiword DMA Mode 1. Fast ATA-2 enables data transfer rates up to 66% greater than Fast SCSI-2 (small computer system interface type 2) and up to 400% faster than conventional IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics), which is limited to 4.1 MBps. Fast ATA reportedly outperforms Fast SCSI-2 with data transfer rates up to 33% faster and up to 300% greater than conventional IDE.
Seagate's desktop disk drive product includes a broad range of Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 designs, with formatted capacities ranging from 131 to 1083 megabytes. There are 17 models available in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors for all single user markets from mobile computing systems to high performance desktop systems.
Seagate spokesperson, David Webb, told Newsbytes that Seagate's Fast ATA products and other companies will be on display at Fall Comdex November 14-18, in Las Vegas, in partner booths and at the following distributors: Ingram Micro, Merisel, Tech Data, Liuski NCD, Microage, and Synnex.
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: David Webb, Seagate Technology, 408-439-2838; Tim Sutton, Seagate, 408-439-2880)
ogy, 408-439-2838; Tim Sutton, Seagate, 408-439-2880)
10/17/94
PC Designers Endorse Seagate's Fast Drive Interface
Mindscape Ships CardShop Plus De
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- The growing numbers of multimedia PCs and color printers are fueling the demand for producing do-it-yourself stationary and even greeting cards.
Instead of settling for a generic greeting design, PC users can create their own customized greeting card with greetings, art fonts, and color schemes they choose themselves. According to David Ross, of Mindscape's Edutainment Division, the improvements in hardware and software technology have made it easier than ever before to make customized greeting cards with a PC.
Ross told Newsbytes, "As hardware prices continue to drop consumers are able to take advantage of outstanding hardware values, such as multimedia systems and quality printers. This drop in price has also fueled the consumer software market. People want entertainment, education, and creativity software to use at home. Making customized greeting cards is a natural use for the technology and users love it. The results of a survey we took of our original customer base showed owners of the original ChardShop to have a satisfaction rate of above 94%."
According to Ross, "CardShop Plus! Deluxe," a new Windows release from Mindscape (formerly The Software Toolworks), comes with all the design tools needed and requires only "six easy steps to design and print custom greeting cards."
Beneath CardShop's "simple" point-and-click interface Ross says is a "robust program packed with powerful features," including 500 pieces of original, occasion-specific art created by professional greeting card designers, more than 1,000 messages, PhotoCD-compatibility OLE (object linking and embedding) 2.0 support, and signature tool.
According to Ross, the program's supply of templates goes beyond greeting cards, making it just as easy to create professional quality stationery, calendars, signs, certificates, posters, and banners.
The enhanced version, CardShop Plus! Deluxe, is available at retail stores on Windows floppy diskette for a suggested list price of $39.95. A CD-ROM for Windows version is expected to be available in late October for a list price of $49.95. The original "CardShop Plus!" program has also just been released for the Macintosh platform at a list price of $39.95. The street prices are about 15% less.
The company claims that the software also frees users from the worry of finding matching fonts, fiddling with layouts, or hunting down the right illustration, because there are more than 100 ready-to-print card styles. Using these card styles the handles the basics, while the user adds in the recipient's name, and if desired, a personal message.
Navigating within the program is made easier with a browse feature that lets users view all the messages, or perform special searches to find just the right illustration.
Creative designers can either modify existing styles, or design their own cards from scratch, using the program's graphics import abilities, and its professional page layout features, such as rotation and special text effects.
CardShop Plus! Deluxe can also import Kodak CD-ROM photos. There is a "Color-It" outline art, which lets children fill in black and white outlines with their own colors.
CardShop Plus! Deluxe is one of several customizable crafts programs from Mindscape. The company also offers "StickerShop Plus" that allows parents, kids and teachers to create thousands of custom stickers. Like CardShop Plus!, StickerShop Plus! Deluxe is ready-to-go out of the box, with 200 pieces of original art, 75 pre-designed stickers styles, and fonts, sticker sheets, and button blanks.
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- This regular feature, appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: IBM's OS/2 Warp operating system and a Panasonic notebook computer with a built-in CD-ROM drive.
IBM Canada Ltd., in Markham, Ontario, formally announced the OS/2 Warp operating system (Newsbytes, Oct. 11), a slimmed-down version of OS/2. It will come preloaded on personal computers from the IBM Personal Computer Co. and some other manufacturers and will be available on its own starting Nov. 1 in Canada. The first edition will list at C$129 and will require that users already have DOS or Windows. A second edition for those without previous DOS or Windows installations is planned for soon after IBM Canada said.
Matsushita Electric of Canada, of Mississauga, Ontario, launched the CF-41, which it said is the first notebook computer with a full-size internal CD-ROM drive and the first with a 65,536-color display. The CF-41 is the same machine launched recently in the United States as the V41 (Newsbytes, Sept. 21), Product Manager Stan Gray told Newsbytes. The notebook is due to be available in Canada before the end of October, with prices ranging from C$6,700 for a model using a 486DX2 processor with a 260 megabyte (MB) hard drive and 4MB of memory to C$12,500 for a 75 megahertz Pentium system with a 10.4-inch color display, 680MB hard drive, and 8MB of memory.
(Grant Buckler/19941017/Press Contact: Jane Bargout, IBM Canada 905-316-2262; Stan Gray, Matsushita Canada, tel 905-238-2405 fax 905-238-2417)
l 905-238-2405 fax 905-238-2417)
10/17/94
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
Newsbytes On NIFTY-Serve
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) Up-to-the-minute, breaking news in the computer and telecom industry will now be available to NIFTY-Serve subscribers following an agreement to launch Newsbytes News Network on NIFTY-Serve starting Friday, October 21.
As the widest-distributed daily source of international computer and telecom news, Newsbytes has been called "The Associated Press" of the computer industry.
Newsbytes, offering independent computer and telecom news since 1983, reports at least 30 new stories each business day from bureaus located in Japan, Korea, Australia, Europe, the US, Canada Hong Kong, and other Western European and developing countries. Newsbytes is the largest, independent source of daily computer industry news reporting in the world.
Newsbytes is also winner of several Computer Press Association awards for Best Online Publication, and the 1994 Dvorak Award for Telecommunications Excellence in 1994, marking Newsbytes as Outstanding Online News Service.
The NIFTY-Serve presentation of Newsbytes will offer a daily Japanese language summary of the top stories making news, in addition to the daily English-language full news service. Also to be offered are digital photos for download in the future. These photos correspond to stories in the news. Newsbytes was recognized as one of the first multimedia news services in 1993.
Newsbytes reporters cover PCs, DOS, Windows, Apple Computer, Unix legal and government developments, telecom and online services including the Internet, technology in health and education PDAs (personal digital assistants), supercomputers, broadcasting pen computing, and chips. Newsbytes offers extensive coverage of major trade shows including Comdex and Macworld expos.
Users on NIFTY-Serve can access Newsbytes by typing GO NBY on both NIFTY-Serve and NIFTY-Service ES, an English-language online service offered by NIFTY Corporation.
"We are thrilled to be on NIFTY-Serve, a state-of-the-art, highly influential online service. Readers in Japan will now have the same access to breaking news in this fast-paced industry as readers in the US and Europe have had for years," commented Editor in Chief Wendy Woods.
Commented John Keegan, Newsbytes' Japan marketing director "In the computer and telecommunications industries, timing is critical. NIFTY-Serve members will now have an advantage: time zone differences mean NIFTY's members will have access to the latest computer and telecommunications news from Newsbytes at the start of the business day in Tokyo. Japanese-language summaries of the top stories will help Newsbytes readers on NIFTY-Serve stay informed, and Newspix JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts group) graphics of the people and products in the news will give members a clearer picture of the industry."
"NIFTY is very pleased to have Newsbytes as the first English computer and telecom news in Japan," commented Takashi Yamakawa NIFTY's board director and general manager of Planning Department.
Newsbytes, with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA provides up-to-the-minute coverage of technology news to 150 publications worldwide, including online services magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and fax services. Newsbytes also serves end-users on the Internet and corporate sites with direct e-mail subscriptions.
NIFTY-Serve, with 760,000 subscribers and 179 access points in Japan and 1,414 overseas, offers 363 forums, 1,150 databases and ties up to major overseas networks including CompuServe PC-VAN, JALNET, and others. NIFTY Corporation is based at Omori Bellport A, Minami Oi 6-26-1, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140 Japan. The company is equally owned by Fujitsu Limited and Nissho Iwai Corporation.
(Newsbytes Staff/19941013/Contacts: John Keegan, Newsbytes representative in Japan, QFH03052 on NIFTY-Serve; Internet e-mail QFH03052@niftyserve.or.jp, or Wendy Woods, editor in chief of Newsbytes tel 612-430-1100; fax 612-430-0441; CompuServe e-mail 72241,337; GEnie NEWSBYTES; Applelink NEWSBYTES1; Internet administrator@newsbytes.com)
ministrator@newsbytes.com)
10/17/94
Newsbytes On NIFTY-Serve
ONLINE
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
IBM Says Software Is Holding Up
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Mar
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Boo
Newsbytes On NIFTY-Serve
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. JPEG files are for use, PICT files for thumbnails. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day.
To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 20 ,1994
MdDATA941011 - color:photo / Sony Intros MD Data Drives: product shot of the Sony MDH-10 MD Data Drive.
AIRGAME941012 - b&w:photo / Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintendo: Nintendo goes into in flight entertainment, hands at a Nintendo controller and screen on the back of airline passenger seat.
SYBASE941012 - b&w:photo / Novell & Sybase Launch "SybaseWare," VAR Training: Novell & Sybase join forces, we see the two CEOs. Bob Frankenberg (left) Pres./CEO Novell & Mark Hoffman (right) Pres./CEO Sybase.
KARAOKE941011 - color:slide / WordPerfect Ships More Main Street Titles: screen shot from Kap'n Karaoke.
PIC-PUB941004 - color:slide / Micrografx Offers Picture Publisher Upgrade For Photostyler: screen shot from Picture Publisher.
OPTIPLEX941010 - color:slide / Dell Intros Desktop PCs: product shot of the Optiplex 560/L, a Pentium-based desktop PC designed.
INFINITY941011 - color:disc / Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner "Equivalent": ad art showing hardware for Scan-by-Fax.
UPSIZE941010 - color:disc / Microsoft Add-In Converts Access Database To SQL Server: screen shot.
WILDFIRE941006 - color:slide / Wildfire Intros Voice Command "Electronic Secretary": photo shows Bill Warner, CEO, Wildfire at desk with skyline behind him.
WRIGHT941005 - color:slide / Microsoft Intros 3 Multimedia Titles For Holiday Season: screen shot from The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright. It shows the house Fallingwater at Mill Run, Pennsylvania.
KIOSK940930 - color:htone / Computerized Kiosks Offer Texans Job Info: woman at kiosk, set piece not actual location.
MTX940928 - color:disc / Accounting For Windows Is Microsoft Access-Based: screen shot of the accounting program.
ADAPTIVE940929 - color:trans / Adaptive Intros Photoshop Accelerator Board: a plug and play accelerator board for Adobe Photoshop. Its based on CNAPS (Co-processor Node Architecture for Parallel Systems) architecture.
PROJECT940926 - color:disc / Great Plains Project Tracking Software: screen shot of the tracking module.
Z-SERVER940923 - color:slide / Zenith Pentium-based 4-Processor Servers: one of the new ZDS multiple-processor servers based on Intel's 90 megahertz (MHz) Pentium chip.
DALLAS940929 - color:slide / Dallas Semiconductor Offers Bar-Code Button: Dallas Semiconductor introduces a stainless steel button that can replace bar-codes for product identification, detect fugitive emissions and act as an identification & security access device. Shot of worker at conduit joint with monitoring gear.
STAFFWKS941003 - color:trans / Software Automates Retailer Staff Scheduling: simple shot of a disc with StaffWorks label.
DATASONIX940930 - b&w:disc / Datasonix To Demo Portable Storage At Comdex: One of the first Comdex announcements to be made: product shot of the Pereos, a 1.2 gigabyte (compressed) cartridge storage device, which weighs less than ten ounces and holds compressed data the equivalent of 868 standard 1.44 megabyte (MB) floppy diskettes per cartridge. *NOTE: the 'for use' image is also in pict, not jpeg. It's tag has pct indicator in caps, PICT.
BER230-940927 - color:trans / Iomega Intros 230MB Drive, Cuts Prices: Their new 230 megabyte (MB) removable cartridge drive. The drive has several removable cartridges on top of it.
KODAKCAM940919 - color:photo / Kodak Intros High-Resolution Digital Camera: Kodak says DCS 460 is the world's highest-resolution portable, single-shot color digital camera. Picture there of.
(Newsbytes/19941016)
icture there of.
(Newsbytes/19941016)
10/17/94
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
UK - Novell Offers Technical Inf
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Novell has announced the availability of a graphical version of its Network Support Encyclopedia Professional Volume (NSEPRO). According to company officials, the information resource is now available on CD-ROM to allow users rapid access to the same information its technical staff use when answering user queries.
Access to this depth of knowledge does not come cheap, as the CD-ROM costs UKP970 for a year's subscription. According to Graeme Allen, brand marketing director with Novell UK, it is, however, an ideal technical information resource for networking professionals. "Our customers require access to current data -- the NSEPRO helps thousands of customers diagnose and remedy network support issues," he explained.
The CD-ROM is updated between 10 and 12 times a year and includes troubleshooting diagnostics product information and NetWare printer drivers plus enhancements.
According to Allen, the disk service is aimed at network administrators, Novell Authorized Service Centers (NASCs), resellers and anyone supporting a network as a front-line support operator, in tandem with existing support services offered through Novell.
Is the disk worth the annual subscription? Novell claims it is pointing to the 12,000-plus technical information documents and assorted utility programs on the disk. The CD also provides back issues of Novell Application Notes, dating back to June of 1990.
(Steve Gold/19941013/Press & Reader Contact: Novell UK tel +44-344-724000, fax +44-344-724419)
ll UK tel +44-344-724000, fax +44-344-724419)
10/17/94
UK - Novell Offers Technical Info On CD-ROM
NETWORK
Age Intros Low Bit Rate Video Ph
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Age Computational Graphics Ltd., has announced a functional, real-time transcoding video codec (coder-decoder) that can send video over standard phone lines. The firm says its TelePix line will deliver digital quality video on analog lines for under $500.
Age demonstrated the system at the recent Telecom XIV convention. In a phone interview from the convention, Age founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jacob Guedalia told Newsbytes: "We have very high interest from just about everyone. They like the fact that it promises to bridge h:320 to POTS (plain old telephone service) lines. We've had people tell us that our POTS rates and quality are as good as some they've seen delivered over ISDN (integrated services digital network)."
Age developed the TelePix family of low bit rate video telephony codecs for analog and ISDN telephone lines. Designed for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the systems uses proprietary holographic transform compression, said Guedalia.
"Its scalability excites people," said Guedalia. "It's all done in software by the host CPU (central processing unit). We only use about 30% of a 486-66 megahertz (MHz) processor at 10 frames-per-second (fps). Pentiums perform even better."
The firm says its technology will allow OEMs to add performance to PC-based videoconferencing systems, peripherals and software products. The new line will allow anyone with a phone line "to benefit from analog line video delivery where now just a few million ISDN businesses have access," said the firm.
Stated Guedalia: "This will allow the world's libraries of digital video (MPEG, JPEG, Cinepak, or Indeo) to be widely distributed over any analog telephone line."
At the Telecom XIV conference, Age introduced four key products: the TelePix "Missouri" ultra-low-bit rate telephonic video codec, under 100 kilobytes (KB) in size; TelePix Transcoder, a near real-time (under 200 millisecond delay) digital imaging and transpositioning algorithm which cross-translates popular video file formats into TelePix data streams; TelePix Media Player for accessing previously recoded TelePix video streams from storage; and the TelePix Communicator, a face-to-face mini-application that lets a 486+ PC equipped with business audio and a video capture card send and receive video over analog phone lines by modem.
End user customers can view a TelePix transmission using only a VGA PC and modem, said the firm. To do so, a customer would call and download the viewer software, which would then display the video stream on the caller's VGA.
(Craig Menefee/19941014/Press Contact: Marvin Sussman; ACG New York, 212-873-3627)
Marvin Sussman; ACG New York, 212-873-3627)
10/17/94
Age Intros Low Bit Rate Video Phone Codecs
TELECOM
Winstar Last Mile Wireless Servi
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Winstar Wireless Inc. has finished testing its wireless "last mile" service and has begun taking orders from large customers for commercial service. The pre-market performance and feasibility tests had been underway in 28 large urban markets since early last month.
The firm, a subsidiary of Winstar Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:WCII) says it will market first to interexchange (long distance) carriers competitive access providers or CAPS, and cellular operators.
The service uses wireless links in the 38 gigahertz (GHz) communication band to access long distance services directly bypassing local carriers. The approach avoids both local carrier long distance access fees and the so-called "last mile" of telephone connections between the local provider and the customer. The "last mile" of wire has long been the main barrier between customers and full digital service, which requires greater bandwidth than the older copper wire technology can deliver.
Winstar Vice President for Investor Relations Michael Bourke told Newsbytes that service is available now in all of its markets. The firm holds 38 gigahertz (GHz) licenses covering the top 25 US metropolitan areas in which more than 108 million people reside.
While its initial customers are expected to be large-scale providers, Winstar sources said the firm expects it will gain competitive advantage by reducing costs and lead time needed when dealing with the "last mile" services.
Bourke said the service could eventually be expanded to domestic and small business markets, but at least for the intermediate future, marketing will be concentrated on providers that need larger capacity. He said its wireless services for such customers can be installed in days, and will be billed monthly once accepted.
(Craig Menefee/19941014/Press Contact: Michael Bourke, VP Investor Relations, 212-687-7577; or Richard Cooper, Strategic Growth Int'l, 212-826-9622)
Cooper, Strategic Growth Int'l, 212-826-9622)
10/17/94
Winstar Last Mile Wireless Service Begins
TELECOM
D n R
California Demos Virtual TV
Improve Your Photography With CD
UK - Mac Network Backup System I
Hungary - Cash Flowing For Telec
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Matav, the Hungarian telecoms company, says it has signed a syndicated finance deal worth around $150 million with a consortium of 27 banks around the world. The cash infusion will allow the company to proceed with its stated aim of moving to totally digital telephone network by the end of the decade.
The investment has a full repayment term of five years and technically, is repayable in full, plus interest, in 1999. In practice Newsbytes notes, a further set of scrip issues will likely be made in five years time.
According to Janos Csak, Matav's general manager, the deal is the first of its type in Eastern Europe and avoids the prospect of Hungary having to sell off a share in its telecoms network to raise the necessary investment capital for future expansion.
As previously reported, Matav plans to increase the number of phone lines in Budapest over the next three years by around 60 percent, or 400,000 lines.
According to Imre Purger, director of Matav, the development forms part of a $400 million investment plan for the next seven years. The 60 percent boost in the number of lines in Budapest is necessary to service the blossoming number of new companies springing up in the area.
As in Poland and Czechoslovakia, waiting lists for a phone line in many areas of Hungary are extremely long. Six or seven year waiting lists are common.
In July, Purger admitted that the speed of installation of the new lines should be a lot faster, but Matav must first finance the entire operation, as well as design the telecoms infrastructure around the exchanges.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941014)
around the exchanges.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941014)
10/17/94
Hungary - Cash Flowing For Telecoms Modernization
TELECOM
Sprint/French/German Telecoms Ve
FRANKFURT, GERMANY, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Eunetcom, the joint US Sprint/French Telecom/DBT telecoms venture, has announced it is on the verge of signing its first major pan-European client. The organization says that the deal could be worth as much as $500 million over the next eight years.
Details of the deal will be announced towards the middle of the next week, as the fine print of the contract has still to be sorted out. Sources close to DBT suggest that the client is a major computer company, although Eunetcom officials have refused to comment.
Eunetcom has already signed major single country deals with the likes of Dun & Bradstreet and Groupe Bull for the provision of telecoms services on a pan-European and US/Europe basis, but this new deal is a global deal with a global client. According to industry watchers, it marks a milestone in the progression of Eunetcom.
Eunetcom only became operational last September. The headquarters of the service is split between two sites -- Paris and Frankfurt -- and offers three main services: managed bandwidth services, private network systems, and outsourcing services.
The company now has more than 130 staff and claims to have hubs in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the US. By the end of this year, the company plans to have hubs in Japan Singapore and Sweden on its network.
According to Dagmar Merz, corporate communications manager with Eunetcom, the hub sites of the network are based on time division multiplex (TDM) technology, although plans are in place to migrate to ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) technology next year. Merz said that the network has been structured to provide "seamless connections" to external systems such as gateways to public networks.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941014/Press & Reader Contact: Eunetcom tel +49-69-9290-1225, fax +49-69-9208-2090)
Eunetcom tel +49-69-9290-1225, fax +49-69-9208-2090)
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- After more than five years of offering its packet data network (PDN) services to UK businesses, US Sprint has announced the formal availability of its virtual private network (VPN) data and voice services from the UK back to the US.
The VPN service is aimed at major companies who can build the network routing paths into their private telecoms network infrastructure. From the user's perspective, the VPN operates as if the network were dedicated for the use of the company alone.
According to Sprint, discussions are taking place between Sprint and the UK carriers such as British Telecom and Mercury, to offer short code access to the Sprint network for use by residential and small business customers on the same basis as "equal access" service in the US, using the BT or Mercury local loop to hop on to the Sprint national and international networks. Such services will be introduced some time next year, Newsbytes understands.
At a press briefing for journalists recently, Bob Schweidler, Sprint International's marketing director for Northern Europe, said that VPN service will use the company's growing fiber optic network to route calls within the UK and back to the US.
"It's another step closer to offering a full range of global services in the UK. It's also a major step forward in offering true global VPN service provision by one carrier," he said.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, Sprint obtained a resale telecoms license to offer full telecoms services to British telephone users earlier this year. At the time, Sprint sources told Newsbytes that its primary target was the business user wanting lower cost communications with the US. That strategy does not appear to have changed, Newsbytes notes.
Although details of Sprint's plans for small business users to access the Sprint network have yet to be revealed, the system will almost certainly operate along the same lines as the Mercury and Energis indirect services on the BT network, with callers dialing a three digit short code and using either a smart phone or smart box to generate a Sprint ID (identification) and the destination number.
From the users' point of view, all this takes place automatically with the user only being required to press either a memory button on the smart phone or a prefix code for smart box to route the call across the Sprint network.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19941014/Press & Reader Contact: Sprint International, +44-71-413-7000)
act: Sprint International, +44-71-413-7000)
10/17/94
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecoms Network
TELECOM
Quantum's 1st Rollout Since $360
$MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Two weeks after its $360 million purchase of much of DEC's storage business Quantum has launched a line of new storage products, reorganized its corporate structure, set up facilities at former DEC sites, and outlined plans for nailing down the top spot in the international storage industry.
In a briefing for Newsbytes during a Boston press tour, Quantum officials said that Quantum's first post-acquisition product launch also includes a "high-end" 1.1 gigabyte (GB), 3.5-inch hard drive with a magnetoresistive (MR) head, based on DEC's Ascabet chip set along with new 5.25- and 3.5-inch solid state disk drives.
In addition, Quantum's existing Grand Prix XP34301 and XP32151 disk drives are being upgraded with a new feature billed as "the industry's first Ultra SCSI (small computer systems interface) interface."
With the October 3 acquisition of DEC's magnetic disk drive, tape disk drive, solid state disk, and recording heads businesses Quantum is now the number one storage vendor in terms of "unit volume," and second only to Seagate in sales, maintained Bob Maeser, president of Quantum's High Capacity Storage Group during the meeting with Newsbytes in Boston.
"But we're also positioned to become number one in sales, or dollar volume,'" Maeser added. The group president told Newsbytes that factors in Quantum's future revenue growth include expansion in "product breadth," development resources, and manufacturing facilities -- all impacted by the DEC storage purchase -- as well as "leadership" in emerging "high-end" storage technologies such as MR heads, PRML (Partial Response Maximum Likelihood), and Ultra SCSI.
In addition to a new 1.1GB, 3.5-inch MR drive, the Quantum Capella VP31110, Quantum will produce the Capella VP32210, a 2.2GB 3.5-inch hard disk drive with an MR head that was first introduced by Digital in July, said Shyam Parikh, also at the briefing for Newsbytes. Previously VP of technology and engineering for DEC Parikh has now joined Quantum.
Quantum has hired all 5,000 employees of the components of DEC's storage business included in the purchase, raising the total number of Quantum employees to 7,000, added Maeser. DEC's StorageWorks business was not part of the sale to Quantum, and neither was Digital's Video and Interactive Information Services. Those two DEC storage businesses have remained within Digital.
Maeser told Newsbytes that Quantum's acquisition of four of DEC's storage businesses will allow the 14-year-old Quantum to extend from its traditional base in producing hard disk drives, solid state disks, and DLT (digital linear tape) systems for desktop and portable PCs into the new arena of storage products for workstations, file servers, database servers, video servers minicomputers, and mainframes.
Under terms of the deal with DEC, Quantum has agreed to supply "a significant percentage" of the hard disk drive, solid state drive and tape drive requirements of DEC's StorageWorks subsystems and "core" computer systems businesses.
Also under the agreement, Quantum has assumed DEC's 81 percent interest in Rocky Mountain Magnetics Inc., a major producer of MR technology. In addition, Quantum has acquired DEC facilities in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and Penang, Malaysia, and has leased DEC facilities in Colorado Springs and Batam, Indonesia.
When Quantum and DEC signed the $360 million final deal on October 3, Quantum paid DEC $290 million immediately, and provided Digital with a six-month note for the remaining $70 million, according to DEC officials.
Maeser told Newsbytes that, with the purchase from Digital now complete, Quantum has reorganized its business into four product groups: the High Capacity Storage Group, headed by Maeser; the Desktop and Portable Storage Group; the Recording Heads Group; and the Specialty Storage Products Group.
The Specialty Storage group handles solid state disks, DLT (digital linear tape), and Q-Card PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards, Maeser elaborated.
Quantum, he added, will retain its current design center in Milpitas, California, while using the former DEC facility in Shrewsbury as a development center for the "higher-end market."
The DEC sites in Penang, Colorado Spring, and Batam join a list of Quantum manufacturing sites that also includes Milpitas, an existing Quantum facility in Penang, and -- in association with Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics (MKE) -- Japan, Singapore, and Ireland. The two facilities in Penang -- one formerly owned by DEC and one under previous Quantum ownership -- are "right across the street from each other," he noted.
Also during the briefing for Newsbytes, Parikh said that, with the majority interest in the Rocky Mountain Labs now in hand, Quantum becomes the only vendor other than IBM to be manufacturing drives with MR heads. The remaining 19 percent of Rocky Mountain is owned by Storagetek, a competitor to IBM that once owned 100 percent of the lab, added Maeser.
As previously reported in Newsbytes, Quantum claims to be the first "independent supplier" to have introduced hard disk drives using PRML technology, with the Empire 1440 and 2160 in November, 1993. PRML was first debuted by IBM, Quantum officials told Newsbytes during the Empire 1440 and 2160 rollout.
Parikh added at the Quantum briefing in Boston that PRML allows for "far more efficient coding" than traditional "inductive" heads. Instead of the "individual peaks" recognized by inductive heads PRML recognizes "patterns," he explained.
The new MR technology, he said, provides separate read and write heads for increased track density. In addition, the MR element is "highly sensitive to magnetic flux," for improvements to both bit and track density.
During the third quarter of 1995, he added, Quantum will unveil hard disk drives that combine MR and PRML technologies in a single product, for even greater "aereal density."
Quantum's plans for the coming year also include using MR and PRML in desktop and portable products as well as high-end drives according to Maeser.
In the first quarter of 1995, Quantum plans to release new versions of the Grand Prix XP34301, a 4.3GB hard disk drive, and Grand Prix XP32151, a 2.1GB hard drive, that are newly outfitted with Quantum's "Ultra SCSI" feature, Maeser said.
Aimed at single-user desktop systems as well as at servers, the new "advanced parallel SCSI interface" doubles the usual burst data transfer rate to 20 megabits-per-second (Mbps) in Quantum's 8-bit implementation, according to Parikh. A 16-bit, Wide Ultra SCSI option raises the burst data transfer rate to 40 Mbps, Newsbytes was told.
Quantum's new solid state disks -- the ESP5000 line of 5.25-inch disks, with up to 950 megabytes (MB) in capacity, and the ESP3000 3.5-inch disks, with up to 268MB capacity -- offer "integrated data retention," a technology that "provides fast access to frequently used files while protecting against data loss," Parikh said.
The 5.25-inch solid state disks are geared to applications like video-on-demand, multimedia, and imaging, said Maeser. ESP5000 evaluation units are scheduled for availability in February, 1995 with volume shipment in March.
The 3.5-inch solid state disks will be available with Fast Wide or Fast Wide Differential SCSI-2 interfaces. ESP3000 evaluation units are slated for delivery in March, 1995, with volume production in May.
All the solid state disks offer: a sub-100 microsecond access time; an I/O (input/output) request ratio of up to 1,800 requests per second; a media transfer rate of 22 Mbps; and a sustained bandwidth of 8 Mbps (8-bit) and 16 Mbps (16-bit), according to Parikh. Single-unit OEM (original equipment manufacturer) pricing starts at $7,500.
Quantum's Capella MR drives provides an internal data transfer rate of 6.9 Mbps, a rotation speed of 5,400 revolutions-per-minute (rpm), a seek time of 8.5 milliseconds (ms), and a continuous operation MTBF (mean-time-between-failure) rating of 800,000 hours, Parikh said.
The DEC-developed Ascabet chipset used in the Capella drives features a SCSI controller that performs a number of functions in hardware instead of firmware for "low command overhead and reduced SCSI bus execution times," according to the Quantum exec.
Other technologies used in the Capella drivers include 3D ROSE (three-dimensional rotationally optimized seek execution), which "reorders commands for minimized seek times and rotational delays," and advanced "embedded servo" technology. In contrast to the older technology of "dedicated servo," in which the entire disk is used for head positioning information, in "embedded servo," only a small portion of the disk is employed for this purpose.
Quantum's Capella drives are scheduled to ship during the current quarter, with volume production expected in the first quarter of 1995. Single-unit OEM evaluation pricing is $595 for the VP31110 and $995 for the VP32210.
LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- DEC has upgraded its Hubwatch for Windows network management software with a feature billed as the first to allow graphical creation of "virtual LANs" (local area networks) on a PC.
The latest edition of Hubwatch for Windows is also the first PC based package to support the recently introduced Ethernet and FDDI (fiber distributed data interface) switches for Digital's SNMP (simple network management protocol)-compliant DEChub management hub, said Bill Mello, group marketing manager for hub products, in an interview with Newsbytes.
Hubwatch for Windows also supports all other modules for DEChub according to Mello. The software can be run on a standalone basis or under a network management system such as HP's OpenView or DEC's Polycenter NetView.
"With the new intelligent hubs, it will become really critical for hub manufacturers to provide not just virtual LAN hardware, but also the virtual LAN software that will take advantage of all the power this capability can bring," Mello told Newsbytes.
"DEC is on the leading edge here, because we're not only providing this rich functionality, but offering it on a PC, which is the least expensive and most popular network management platform," he maintained.
Graphical "virtual LAN" creation capabilities like those incorporated in the new version of DECwatch for Windows have traditionally been available only on high-end workstations according to Mello. Even then, the competing products do not necessarily support newer technologies like FDDI, he contended.
In virtual LANs, the backplane of an intelligent hub is employed to "aggregate users into workgroups across multiple LAN segments," Mello reported.
If, for example, a company division has 20 employees, but five of those users are consuming most of the bandwidth due to their heavy use of CAD (computer-aided design), the company might decide to create a "dedicated virtual LAN" for those five users. "Within the hub, I could then connect the two LAN segments for the department through a high-speed switch," Mello illustrated.
Aside from network traffic patterns, other considerations in creating virtual LANs include security and prioritization concerns according to Mello.
DEC's new graphical capability, he noted, offers a series of hierarchical views for point-and-click creation of virtual LANs "right on down to the individual port level."
At the top level, the user sees a graphical representation of the hub itself. "It shows you all the modules, LEDs (light emitting diodes) and ports. If you click on a module, it will take you down to an individual port level. Or, also at the top level, you can click on an icon that will create a LAN. You will then see icons for each of the modules. Every time you create a virtual LAN, all you do is click on the icon for the module you want to attach to that LAN drag it down to an open space, and release the mouse button."
The new software also has "built-in intelligence," according to Mello. "For instance, if you go to create an FDDI ring, and you accidentally click on the wrong module and try to drag it down the software won't let you."
Users who are aggregated into a virtual LAN do not need to be located on the same LAN, but at this point, they do need to be located on LANs within same hub, Mello told Newsbytes. In the future, though, this capability might be expanded, he indicated. "That is the promise of ATM (asynchronous transfer mode)," Newsbytes was told.
The new DEChub switching modules now supported by Hubwatch for Windows include the PEswitch 900TX, for desktop Ethernet-to-FDDI and the DECswitch 900EE and DECswitch 900EF, for interLAN departmental switching.
Digital also produces versions of Hubwatch for OpenVMS and OSF (Open Software Foundation)/1. The graphical "virtual LAN creation" feature has already been added to the OpenVMS version, and will appear in the OSF/1 edition in November, Mello said.
Hubwatch for Windows can be purchased separately for $495, or as part of a new "stackable package" called Managed DEChub 90 Starter Pack.
Priced at $2,490, the Starter-Pack includes three eight-port DECrepeater 90T units, one eight-slot DEChub 90 backplane and power supply, Hubwatch for Windows, and the DECagent 90 management module. Hubwatch for Windows and the new Starter-Pack are both available now.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941017/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Susan Ursch, DEC, 508-486-5198; Maria Doyle Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
98; Maria Doyle Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
10/17/94
DEC Adds Graphical Virtual LAN Creation To Hubwatch
NETWORK
Europe - Philips Still Confident
Autograph Document Automation So
Softimage, Discreet Logic Settle
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Softimage, now a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Discreet Logic Inc., have settled a court dispute over rights to Flame, an image-processing software package.
The companies would say only that they have agreed Discreet Logic owns Flame and will continue to distribute it. Terse near-identical statements issued to the press by both Microsoft and Discreet Logic said the terms of the deal are confidential and no further information will be released.
Discreet Logic added that "although both companies vigorously asserted their claims, the settlement was entered into to avoid the further expense and distraction of litigation."
The battle over Flame broke out in July, 1993, when Softimage announced it had acquired rights to the programs source code from DA Technology of Australia. Discreet Logic maintained it owned the rights to Flame, which its director of advanced technology, Gary Tragaskis, had developed while working at DA Technology.
Pat Hunter, a spokeswoman for Discreet Logic, told Newsbytes at the time that Tragaskis had been 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, as 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.
Softimage had signed a distribution agreement to handle Flame in Europe early in 1993, which was canceled after the legal dispute erupted. Microsoft acquired Softimage in June of this year.
(Grant Buckler/19941017/Press Contact: Leslie Kesselring or Lisa MacKenzie, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-669-0856; Pat Hunter, Artemis Hunter Public Relations for Discreet Logic 613-739-8297)
Relations for Discreet Logic 613-739-8297)
10/17/94
Softimage, Discreet Logic Settle Dispute
LEGAL
Ms. Winkle's Class Uses Classroo
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Lots of companies are offering educational software for children, but a Washington company has taken a slightly different approach to the way it presents its lessons.
Abudoe Software Inc.'s "Ms. Winkle's Class" uses a classroom setting where kids can learn, daydream and even share jokes with the students in the class. The product is an interactive multimedia program on CD-ROM that includes graphics, animation and sound to teach children six to 10 years of age.
The program revolves around the activities of Tim, Leon and Lisa: Tim daydreams of deep sea diving and treasure hunting; Leon travels back in time to fight dragons in medieval times; and Lisa fantasizes about being a witch.
The program presents information through the travels of the three characters. For example, one of Tim's under water dreams teaches the user that the male seahorse is the one that carries the young. Ms. Winkle, who's portrayed on the company's promotional material as a kindly looking middle-aged women with a beehive-like hairdo several chins and glasses on her nose, quizzes the students about what they have learned in their daydreams and in class.
Richard Leeds, at Computer Product Introductions Corporation (CPIC), told Newsbytes that the program is "very entertaining and moderately educational." For example, the kids can skip the quizzes by not clicking on the teacher button after each adventure. CPIC is a firm that helps companies introduce their products to the marketplace.
Leeds told Newsbytes that Abudoe is working on additional programs some in the entertainment field and others adventure-oriented. So far there appear to be no plans to introduce a Mac version of Ms. Winkle's Class. Whether Ms. Winkle will be the central character in future offerings by Abudoe depends on how Ms. Winkle's Class is received in the market place, according to Leeds. He also hopes to see a Ms. Winkle doll as well as Tim, Lisa and Leon dolls.
Ms Winkle's Class storyline developer, Christy Chiu, says that interactive participation is what's important for children to learn using computers. "There's nothing passive about the Abudoe experience; children explore each screen with their mouse bringing to life a variety of unusual effects that will capture any child's imagination," according to Chiu.
Ms. Winkle's Class has a suggested retail price of $39.95. It will run on any MPC (multimedia personal computer) system with four megabytes of memory, a CD-ROM drive, sound card and color monitor supporting a 640 by 480, 256-color display.
(Jim Mallory/19941017/Press contact: Richard Leeds, Computer Product Introductions Corp. for Abudoe Software, 206-451-7000; Public contact: tel Abudoe Software, or 206-462-8303 fax 206-462-9265/WINKLE941017/PHOTO)
, or 206-462-8303 fax 206-462-9265/WINKLE941017/PHOTO)
10/17/94
Ms. Winkle's Class Uses Classroom Setting To Teach
EDUCATION
Etch A Sketch For Windows Intro'
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Etch A Sketch, the popular drawing tool, has come to personal computers. ScreenMagic Inc., has released a Windows version of the learning toy that, not only lets the user draw, but comes with sound effects games, and various wipe-out effects.
The electronic toy is designed primarily for children ages four to eight.
ScreenMagic spokesperson, Stuart Tunick, told Newsbytes the electronic version of Etch A Sketch is being released in conjunction with the 35th anniversary of the original game from Ohio Art. Tunick says more than 100 million of the games have been sold.
Eric Brumm, president of ScreenMagic, calls the manual version of Etch A Sketch the world's first interactive video game and says that makes it a natural for the transition to computers. ScreenMagic obtained a license from Ohio Art that allows them to publish the game.
Product features include: push-button straight line drawing; free-form curved line drawing using the mouse; special color effects like blends; sheens; color flip-flops; and animation. Users get wipe-out erase effects like peel, spiral, curtains and special line styles like roads and rivers. The software also comes with games and puzzles.
You can add interactive animated objects like cars, bears and rabbits to the pictures and games, and ScreenMagic has included more than a dozen interactive games grouped in four categories.
The Etch A Sketch screen is similar to the manual version. Movement and draw "knobs" appear on the lower left and right corners. Tunick told Newsbytes the left knob allows the user to move the cursor to the desired starting point while the other draws the lines in the direction of the arrow on which the user clicks. A vertical button bar on the left side of the game selects draw, games erase effects, screen colors, pictures, and quit. The color effects button bar is at the top right, and a speed button at the top controls the pen's movement speed. Once your picture is drawn, you can save it as Windows wallpaper.
Activities are organized into Build-it, Draw-it, Lets Travel, and Games groupings. Build-it lets you create a zig-zag path with steps ladders and ropes. You can even let a money run around the path you created. There is also a landscape builder with stamps, road lines fence lines, animated cars, and balloons.
Let's Travel is a visit-the USA cities game that lets the user click a button to travel between cities. Other games include guiding a bear through a maze to get the honey, helping a rabbit find his way home, racing a car around a track, and sailing a ship to Treasure Island.
To use Etch A Sketch for Windows you need a PC powered by a 386 or higher chip, four megabytes of memory, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, a mouse, and a VGA color monitor. To use the sound effects you also need a Sound Blaster-compatible sound card. The company says the software has a suggested retail price of $29.95. A Macintosh version is scheduled for a later date.
(Jim Mallory/19941017/Press contact: Stuart Tunick ScreenMagic, 415-648-8056; Public contact: tel 415-648-8056 fax 415-647-2448/SKETCH941017/PHOTO)
ax 415-647-2448/SKETCH941017/PHOTO)
10/17/94
Etch A Sketch For Windows Intro'd
WINDOWS
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows N
FCC Gives Iridium Satellite Proj
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- The Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for new low-orbit satellite communications systems, giving the Iridium consortium a boost.
In action last Friday, the FCC approved a plan negotiated by the six parties interested in the new wireless technology that would share radio spectrum the agency has already allocated for the new services. The FCC says it will hand out licenses in January.
But the six companies, led by Motorola's Iridium consortium must reapply to the agency by November for the licenses, and the FCC says it has only five licenses to award. Should all six applications meet the FCC's criteria, the agency says it will award the licenses by auction.
The decision settles a long-running spat among Motorola's Iridium project, which would launch a swarm of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, and the other competitors. In its action, the FCC set aside a slice of the spectrum specifically for Iridium which uses a different digital technology than the others.
The decision may cause the most difficulty for American Mobile Satellite, owned in part by AT&T and Hughes Communications which has plans for a series of geosynchronous satellites, which will be in higher orbit than covered by the FCC agreement.
"This is a very big step in the development of a global information infrastructure," said Reed Hundt, FCC chairman. "These satellites have a great potential to make the entire world economy more productive."
The agency action essentially blesses an agreement among the six companies, made to the FCC a year ago. The companies, in addition to Iridium, are: a Loral-Qualcomm partnership called Globalstar; American Mobil Satellite; Constellation Communications; TRW; and Ellipsat.
Mobil's Iridium project is the farthest along of the potential licensees. It has raised $1.6 billion of the $3.3 billion estimated necessary for the network of 66 satellites delivering worldwide voice, paging, and data services.
(Kennedy Maize/19941017/Press Contact: Susan Sallett FCC, 202-418-0500)
ess Contact: Susan Sallett FCC, 202-418-0500)
10/17/94
FCC Gives Iridium Satellite Project A Boost
BROADCAST
Anti-Piracy Enforcement Nets $5
l WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- The Business Software Alliance says it collected more than $5 million in penalties in 1993 from software copyright infringers around the world. The money was reinvested to fund future anti-piracy programs, BSA's Diane Smiroldo told Newsbytes.
Since its inception in 1988, BSA has filed over 500 piracy lawsuits worldwide, according to BSA's newly released Worldwide Report. The report summarizes the group's efforts in over 60 countries from 1992 through the first quarter of 1994.
The report made a number of findings:
BSA received more than 10,000 calls in North America to its anti-piracy hot-line. Calls came from all 50 states in 1993.
Europe showed measurable results, with a decrease in the regional piracy rate to 61 percent by the end of last year.
The most significant decrease in software piracy over the past year was in Italy, where software piracy fell from 86 percent to 50 percent (the US rate is 35 percent), and the legitimate software market jumped by 300 percent. BSA says this is because the Italian government has made a strong commitment to eradicating software piracy.
The new North American Free Trade Agreement has led the Mexican government to adopt copyright act amendments that have seen software sales soaring 130 percent.
In South Korea, BSA persuaded the government to strengthen its copyright law, increasing maximum penalties for infringement 10-fold, from $3,750 to $37,500.
BSA calculates that the software publishing and distribution industries lost more than $12.8 billion last year through software theft, but adds that the problem is getting better particularly in Europe.
"Italy's success is a perfect example of effective policy education and enforcement initiatives," said Robert Holleyman BSA president. "Despite these improvements, BSA's efforts will not diminish. Software piracy is theft, and its widespread presence continues to hinder software publishers' efforts to develop new products. Much more remains to be done in order for the industry to reach its fullest market potential."
BSA represents leading publishers of PC software, including Apple, Autodesk, Intergraph, Lotus Development, Microsoft Novell and the WordPerfect Applications Group, and Santa Cruz Operation.
(Kennedy Maize/19941017/Press Contact: Diane Smiroldo tel 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
iane Smiroldo tel 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
10/17/94
Anti-Piracy Enforcement Nets $5 Million In 1993
LEGAL
IBM Simplifies PC Line, Intros N
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- In a move that seems a little like 1987 played back in reverse, IBM (NYSE:IBM) has announced that it will replace its PS/2 and ValuePoint lines with a new brand -- the IBM Personal Computer.
The company is resurrecting the name used for its first six years in the desktop computer business as part of a simplified brand strategy that reduces the total number of IBM personal computer brands to four. The four surviving brands will be: IBM PC, IBM PC Server, Aptiva, and ThinkPad.
The Aptiva is the recently announced line of home computers which will replace the PS/1 family. The ThinkPad is IBM's notebook line. IBM PC Servers, also an existing brand name, are high-end machines intended for use in networks.
The existing brand names will not vanish right away. A spokesman for IBM in New York told Newsbytes that the company plans to keep making and selling PS/2s and other older models for a time, until newly introduced models under the new brand structure take their places. Nor will the company rename existing designs to fit the new brand strategy, he said. "All the new-name products are new products."
Don Myles, vice-president and general manager of personal systems at IBM Canada Ltd. in Markham, Ontario, told Newsbytes that a series of further announcements over the next nine months will flesh out the new product lines.
In what could be partly a first step toward phasing out existing models, IBM cut prices on its PS/2 Models 56, 57, 76, and 77, and on the ThinkPad 755C and 755CS, by as much as 17 percent.
IBM announced a handful of new models, including the first two products in the new IBM PC line, a new IBM PC Server model, and a ThinkPad with a built-in CD-ROM drive.
Each of the new PCs is available in an assortment of configurations. The IBM PC 300 Series machines use 486DX2 processors ranging from 50 to 100 megahertz (MHz), offer 270 megabyte (MB) or 540MB hard drives, and are available with either Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) or Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) expansion slots in addition to Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) slots. Models with three slots and three storage-device bays are available with the PCI bus, and models with five slots and five bays are available with either local bus design.
The IBM PC 700 Series machines are based on 90MHz and 100MHz Pentium chips, come with 540MB hard drives, and can be bought with either ISA and PCI slots or PCI and Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) slots. All models have five slots and five drive bays.
The IBM PCs come with a choice of the DOS operating system and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows or IBM's newly launched OS/2 Warp operating system. They also come with IBM PC EasyTools, an applications suite that includes the Rapid Resume and Wake Up On Ring. Rapid Resume, first offered on the PS/1 line, lets a user shut off a computer without exiting applications and have it restore itself to the same state when turned on again. Wake Up On Ring, announced with the Aptiva line in September, means a computer can turn itself on to receive an incoming fax or answer an incoming phone call using built-in voice-mail.
The new IBM PC Server 500 has a Pentium processor, uses the MCA bus, and has eight expansion slots and 22 drive bays, according to IBM.
The ThinkPad 750CD notebook has a built-in, full-sized CD-ROM drive, stereo speakers, enhanced video, and television integration features. Equipped with a 100MHz 486DX4 processor it is aimed at multimedia applications, IBM said.
All of the new products will be available within the fourth quarter, some of them before the end of October, IBM said.
IBM said it simplified its collection of brand names because the many different names used for PCs today confuse consumers. The company said it will spend $100 million worldwide in the remainder of this year to promote its new brand names and the IBM Personal Computer Co.
Company officials also said IBM is striving to reduce the number of different parts used in its PCs by using the same basic parts in more models. And the company said it will move to a build-to-order fulfillment system. Myles said this will help the company solve the frequent problems it has had in meeting demand for some of its products, notably the ThinkPad notebooks and more recently, the new Aptiva line.
Myles added that the Ambra brand, discontinued in the United States and Europe, will hang on for a while yet in Canada. IBM is working on a new offering for the direct-sales market, he said and an announcement is likely some time in the first half of 1995, but IBM Canada plans to continue selling Ambra PCs until then.
(Grant Buckler/19941017/Press Contact: Michael Reiter, IBM 914-766-1898; Kate Dennis, IBM Canada, 905-316-2191)
898; Kate Dennis, IBM Canada, 905-316-2191)
10/17/94
IBM Simplifies PC Line, Intros New Models
California Demos Virtual TV
Caere & Calera To Merge
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Optical character recognition (OCR) and document management specialists, Caere Corp. (NASDAQ: CAER) and privately held Calera Recognition Systems, have announced a plan whereby Caere will acquire Calera.
All of the details have been accounted for, said the companies, and what remains is regulatory and shareholder approval.
The agreement calls for Caere to exchange 2,500,000 shares of common stock and options for all the common and preferred stock as well as vested options, of Calera. The acquisition is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and a pooling of interests for accounting and financial purposes. This transaction is valued at $35.3 million based on Caere's closing price on Friday, October 14.
Both companies say the plan at this time is to keep both Caere's OmniPage and Calera's WordScan as separate products for the foreseeable future. While this announcement may be indicative of new developments in OCR technology, they emphasize the real value of the merger is in the development of future document management products and the combining of channel and marketing strengths
The firms expect the deal to close sometime in the first quarter of 1995, if Securities and Exchange Commission and stockholder approvals are attained. Neither company sees any obstacle in the way of such approvals.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Steve Hayden, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Calera, said, "The seeds for this acquisition began over what might be called a friendly squabble. Once the executives were able to meet and understand the joint possibilities of combining the two companies, this deal was completed in a relatively short time frame of a couple of months."
He added: "At some time in the future, people will look at this merger and say that it was obvious. The products which will grow out of this merger will really change document desktop management."
Caere currently markets: OmniPage for Windows and Macintosh; the PageKeeper line of Windows document management software; OmniScan for both Windows and Macintosh; and an array of OCR and bar scanning products.
Calera's product line includes: WordScan 3.0 and WordScan Plus 3.0; the M/Series family of reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) software, including the Professional series; and a software developer's kit for incorporating OCR into custom products.
(Patrick McKenna/19941017/Press Contact: Patrick Crisp Alexander Communications, 414-923-1660; Caere, 408-395-7000)
660; Caere, 408-395-7000)
10/17/94
Caere & Calera To Merge
BUSINESS
Zeos & Micron Technology Subsidi
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ:ZEOS) says it will merge with Micron Computer Inc. and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services Inc. Both companies are subsidiaries of Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU).
The non-binding letter of intent calls for the deal to be a tax-free merger. Shareholders of Micron Computer and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services will get shares of Zeos common stock in exchange for their shares of Micron company stock.
A Micron spokesperson told Newsbytes that specific details, such as the exchange rate of Micron stock for Zeos shares, has not been worked out yet.
After the transaction is finalized, 89 percent of Zeos common stock will be held by Microsoft Technology Inc. and certain employees of the two subsidiaries. Zeos shareholders will hold the remaining 11 percent. Both Micron companies are employee owned, according to a spokesperson at the company.
The letter of intent allows Zeos to contact and enter into negotiations with other parties concerning possible business combinations prior to the execution of a definitive agreement with the Micron subsidiaries. The definitive agreement is expected to be executed on or before October 30, the date the letter of intent expires. Once the definitive agreement is reached, the deal still has to be approved by the shareholders of each company and the appropriate regulatory agencies.
Micron Computer designs, builds and markets personal computer and peripheral products. Micron Custom Manufacturing Services performs turnkey contract manufacturing for electronics companies. Zeos International manufactures and markets personal computers and workstations. A subsidiary provides contract product design services.
(Jim Mallory/19941017/Press contact: Kipp Bedard, Micron Technology, 208-368-4400 or Chuck Henderson, Zeos International 612-623-9614)
huck Henderson, Zeos International 612-623-9614)
10/17/94
Zeos & Micron Technology Subsidiaries To Merge
BUSINESS
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation (NASDAQ:MEKK) (MECC)says it will release four new software titles on CD-ROM for Macintosh and Windows platforms before the end of the year.
The new programs are the Oregon Trail II, The Yukon Trail Storybook Weaver Deluxe, and Troggle Trouble Math.
Oregon Trail II is a redesigned version of the original program that uses more than 100 actors, a fully orchestrated suite of mood coordinated music, graphics and three-dimensional (3-D) images.
MECC spokesperson Donald Anderson told Newsbytes that The Oregon Trail II is a point-to-point simulation game that allows the user to experience "the same adventures as real travelers" along the trail in the late 1800's, buying supplies and experiencing the "same challenges" the travelers did as they try to reach the Willamette Valley. The Oregon Trail will sell for $57.50 and is for users 10 to 16 years of age.
The Yukon Trail teaches history and geography through an adventure game that uses graphics, digital speech, and period photographs.
Storybook Weaver includes text-to-speech capability, a Spanish language feature and a drawing tool. Suggested retail price is $46.50 for the program, which is designed for kids aged 10 to 16 years old.
Troggle Trouble Math is a math discovery game that uses cartoon worlds, sound effects, and a calculator the company calls a "troggulator" to "make learning an adventure." A character called Dr. Frankentroggle is holding a Muncher captive. The player's mission is to help a dog named Sparky rescue the Muncher using math and calculator skills. Troggle Trouble Math is designed for kids age six to 12. The program has a suggested retail price of $39.50.
Story Weaver Deluxe, combines the sights and sounds of Storybook Weaver and My Own Stories, and will have a suggested retail price of $69.95. The program is bi-lingual (English and Spanish) and lets the users ages six to 12 choose from hundreds of images from a "variety of cultures" as the user creates a story that can include sound effects like thunder, speeding cars, marching bands, and galloping horses. The speech-to-text feature lets you hear your original stories read aloud.
Anderson told Newsbytes that The Oregon Trail is scheduled to ship in December. The other programs are set for release before the end of October.
MECC says its MathKeys program for grades K-6 has been named one of the top six programs of the year by Technology & Learning magazine. Two other MECC programs, Tesselmania! and DinoPark Tycoon, received awards of excellence in the educational software judging.
(Jim Mallory/19941017/Press contact: Donald Anderson, Minnesota Educational Computing Corp., 612-569-1513; Public contact: Minnesota Educational Computing Corp., 612-569-1529 or 800-685-6322 ext 529/MECC941017/PHOTO)
569-1529 or 800-685-6322 ext 529/MECC941017/PHOTO)
10/17/94
Minnesota Educational Computing Offers 4 CD-ROMs
GENERAL
UK Politician Offered Internet A
z CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Pipex, which claims to be the UK's largest commercial Internet service provider, has donated a copy of Pipex Solo, its single user Internet connection package, to Anne Campbell, the company's local Member of Parliament.
According to Bill Thompson, Pipex's Internet consultant, the complimentary Internet connection will enable Campbell and her constituency team to send and receive multimedia electronic-mail provide research access to Internet-accessible information, as well as subscribe to the thousands of Internet discussion groups.
"We have also offered Pipex Solo to the office of the Cambridgeshire MEP (Member of European Parliament) and are now on the look-out for three geographically far-flung MPs, one from each of the major political parties whose constituencies could benefit from having an online MP," he explained.
Commenting on being linked into the Internet, Campbell, who chairs the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology, said that, because of its scientific connections, around 20,000 people in Cambridge have e-mail access, "so it makes sense to communicate with them in this way.
"We're currently talking to Pipex about other ways in which Pipex services can benefit the democratic process. There is no reason, for example, why public consultation exercises, such as planning applications and public information, like local government election results, and council house transfer lists, couldn't be online, along with the more every-day information, such as public library catalogs, traffic news, and tourist information," she said.
According to Amanda Hassall of Grant Butler Coomber, Pipex's public relations company, Campbell is one of the first members of the public to receive Pipex Solo, the Pipex's single user Internet package.
"We've not actually launched it yet, as pricing of the package has yet to be decided. The Solo service itself will provide full access to all Internet services and cost around UKP15 a month. That price includes Mailit, Mosaic, MIME and MAPI facilities, which makes it pretty comprehensive," she told Newsbytes.
(Steve Gold/19941017/Press Contact: Amanda Hassall, +44-81-332 7922; Internet e-mail gbc@cityscape.co.uk; Anne Campbell MP 44-223-300991; Internet e-mail anne.campbell.mp@solo.pipex.com; Reader Contact: Pipex, +44-223-250100; Internet-mail david@pipex.net)
3-250100; Internet-mail david@pipex.net)
10/17/94
UK Politician Offered Internet Account
ONLINE
Unisys Shuffles Global IT Operat
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- In a major shuffle of its European value-added services operations, Unisys has formed a new 2,000 strong division of consultants and allied staff known as the European Information Services Division (EISD).
According to Unisys, the aim of the formation of a new division is to grow the company's information services (IS) business, offering clients a broad range of information technology (IT) consultancy systems integration, and outsourcing services.
The European EISD will form part of a global set of operations run by Unisys, with a planned worldwide staff list of around 6,000 including the 2,000 staff being deployed in Europe. According to Malcolm Coster, president of the company's European and African division, Unisys is integrating the provision of IS in every aspect of its business on a worldwide scale.
"Information services are a reality at Unisys. We're committed to position Unisys as a world-class business and information consulting company. This has meant change and investment within Unisys at a pace and scale that none of our competitors could match, and the creation of a growing European organization led by some of the best management consultancy talent available," he said.
According to Coster, the reason for the major shuffle of the company's business is that a third of its global revenue is coming from the IS market. In Europe, around 19 percent of last year's revenues came from IS, despite a general decline in revenues due to the worldwide recession of the past few years.
Coster said that, in Europe, while revenues dipped overall, the IS revenues of the company actually rose by 16 percent. As a result Coster said that Unisys has formed a 2,000-strong services business as an integral part of its European operations, representing almost a third of its workforce.
The newly formed division in Europe consists of the company's existing systems integration and outsourcing businesses, plus newly recruited consultants to support services in new areas. The total number involved in the firm's European information services is set to increase to over 2,500 by the end of 1994
To maintain the staff influx, Unisys has announced a European graduate recruitment program to employ 300 new people in Europe this year. According to company officials, further recruitment is planned for 1995, including the appointment of more senior consultants.
Unisys Shuffles Global IT Operations - Europe First
BUSINESS
UK - Novell Offers Fault Toleran
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Novell has announced it is bringing fault tolerance (FT) facilities to all users of its high-end NetWare 4.x network operating system. The move marks an interesting diversification for the networking company, which had previously offered systems fault tolerance (SFT) technology to large companies using NetWare on a consultancy level.
The move effectively brings NetWare 4.1 users the same SFT facilities that NetWare 3.11 users have enjoyed for some time. The difference is that NetWare 4.1 is aimed -- and tends to be used by -- companies with large enterprise-wide networks, rather than simple LANs (local area networks) as most NetWare 3.11 users have installed.
According to Novell, NetWare 4.1 SFT III is built on the same basic code as NetWare SFT III 3.1, but extends the benefits of non-stop computing to enterprise network users. The SFT III module for NetWare 4.1 will start shipping globally at the end of this year, on the same time-scale as NetWare 4.1, officials told Newsbytes.
Novell has also announced that all current NetWare SFT III 3.11 users who have registered with Novell, as well as those new users who register before the end of the year, will receive upgrades free of charge until the end of March of next year. According to Novell, this allows existing users to move up to the new features of SFT III seen in the version for NetWare 4.1, at no cost to themselves.
Chris Solomon, NetWare brand marketing manager with Novell UK, said that NetWare 4.1 SFT will be offered as a separate add-on network service that features "tight integration with the NetWare 4 operating system" -- including an integrated install facility, plus support for Unix and Mac clients.
Global pricing on the NetWare 4.1 version of SFT III will be announced closer to shipment date, Newsbytes understands.
UK - Novell Offers Fault Tolerance For NetWare 4.x
NETWORK
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Business Group Gets Specific On
MCI Gets Into Directory Assistan
India - VHEL Signs With Nokia, S
Microsoft Licenses Windows 95 Ne
Greece - State Telecom Firm Seek
Philips Licenses MIPS RISC
Computer Freedom & Privacy Confe
Software Group Blasts Govt Shrin
UK - US Robotics/Novell LAN Fax
Belgium - Ericsson In Packet Rad
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Ericsson has teamed up with RAM Mobile Data for the installation of a packet radio modem network in Belgium, based on the Mobitex packet radio modem technology that RAM already uses in the US and the UK.
The deal could be worth as much as $8 million for the Swedish telecoms giant and marks the first time such a massive packet radio contract has gone to a single network installer. RAM, meanwhile, will make its money in selling the Mobitex hardware and maintaining the network that Ericsson installs.
According to RAM, Mobitex networks are in operation, or the process of installation, in many more countries, including Australia, Canada Chile, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, and Sweden.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, roaming facilities are technically in place and RAM is currently beta testing on-demand roaming facilities between the country networks. Once operational, roaming will be seamless for users, just as it is for users of GSM (global system for mobile) digital mobile phones.
The Belgian network could be RAM's largest country network to date Newsbytes notes, as the terms of the deal with Ericsson call for a national network based on the VHF (very high frequency) technology involved.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, RAM Mobile Data is on the verge of a major breakthrough in integration terms, following its deal with WordPerfect, under which both companies plan to exploit the wireless communication capabilities of Symmetry 4.1 (formerly WordPerfect Office).
According to officials at WordPerfect, both companies are in the final stages of designing, developing and testing WordPerfect products running on the RAM radio modem network. Actual WordPerfect software supporting RAM's network should ship before the end of the year.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941017/Press & Reader Contact: Ericsson Mobile Communications Division, tel +46-46-181-000, fax +46-46-189-500; RAM, +44-81-990-9090; WordPerfect, +44-932-850500)
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- Following its recent price reduction, Prodigy joins the other two major online providers offering limited Internet access. Effectively immediately Prodigy users may browse Internet's newsgroups through Usenet at the hourly rate of $2.95 which is charged after the first five hours of use each month.
Prodigy's newsreader service offers an online tutorial and text of frequently asked questions (FAQs, in Internet language) for first time users. Since some of the newsgroups contain information which may be unsuitable for minors, Prodigy requires the permission of an adult before a users under 18 years of age may enter the area.
The company provides several custom options which include allowing a user to exclude articles posted by a particular ID (identification), a full set of search algorithms, the ability to make a private response to an article, and the ability to maintain and attach a personal signature file which often accompanies a post as a "footer."
According to Prodigy, users should also enjoy the ability to "quote" selected text within a response to a posted article. A new interface was developed to make the newsgroups as easy as possible for Prodigy users to begin their introduction to the "Net."
A spokesperson for the company told Newsbytes, "We are offering the lowest possible hourly rates to Usenet newsgroups. Our price reduction began immediately and makes us the most affordable of the major online providers."
(Patrick McKenna/19941017/Press Contact: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8846)
t: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8846)
10/17/94
Prodigy Offers Internet Newsgroups
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 17 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Document-To-Braille Process Developed 10/17/94 Bonnie Snyder works with blind people and she was determined to find an easier, less expensive way to convert published documents into Braille. Now her determination could lead her to the White House.
2 -> Adaptec Intros 16-Bit ATAPI Sound Card 10/17/94 Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT), has introduced what the company describes as the industry's first sound card with connectivity for AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI)-compliant CD-ROM drives.
3 -> PC Designers Endorse Seagate's Fast Drive Interface 10/17/94 Support for the Fast ATA and Fast ATA-2 disk drive interface standards, which were developed by Seagate Technology earlier this year, continues to broaden with the addition of key PC systems component, and software suppliers.
4 -> Mindscape Ships CardShop Plus Deluxe 10/17/94 The growing numbers of multimedia PCs and color printers are fueling the demand for producing do-it-yourself stationary and even greeting cards.
5 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 10/17/94 This regular feature appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: IBM's OS/2 Warp operating system and a Panasonic notebook computer with a built-in CD-ROM drive.
6 -> ****Newsbytes On NIFTY-Serve 10/17/94 Up-to-the-minute, breaking news in the computer and telecom industry will now be available to NIFTY-Serve subscribers, following an agreement to launch Newsbytes News Network on NIFTY-Serve starting Friday, October 21.
7 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 10/17/94 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. JPEG files are for use, PICT files for thumbnails. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day.
8 -> UK - Novell Offers Technical Info On CD-ROM 10/17/94 Novell has announced the availability of a graphical version of its Network Support Encyclopedia Professional Volume (NSEPRO). According to company officials, the information resource is now available on CD-ROM to allow users rapid access to the same information its technical staff use when answering user queries.
9 -> Age Intros Low Bit Rate Video Phone Codecs 10/17/94 Age Computational Graphics Ltd., has announced a functional, real-time transcoding video codec (coder-decoder) that can send video over standard phone lines. The firm says its TelePix line will deliver digital quality video on analog lines for under $500.
10 -> Winstar "Last Mile" Wireless Service Begins 10/17/94 Winstar Wireless Inc. has finished testing its wireless "last mile" service and has begun taking orders from large customers for commercial service. The pre-market performance and feasibility tests had been underway in 28 large urban markets since early last month.
11 -> Hungary - Cash Flowing For Telecoms Modernization 10/17/94 Matav, the Hungarian telecoms company, says it has signed a syndicated finance deal worth around $150 million with a consortium of 27 banks around the world. The cash infusion will allow the company to proceed with its stated aim of moving to totally digital telephone network by the end of the decade.
12 -> Sprint/French/German Telecoms Venture Gets Serious 10/17/94 Eunetcom, the joint US Sprint/French Telecom/DBT telecoms venture, has announced it is on the verge of signing its first major pan-European client. The organization says that the deal could be worth as much as $500 million over the next eight years.
13 -> UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecoms Network 10/17/94 After more than five years of offering its packet data network (PDN) services to UK businesses, US Sprint has announced the formal availability of its virtual private network (VPN) data and voice services from the UK back to the US.
14 -> Quantum's 1st Rollout Since $360Mil DEC Deal 10/17/94 Two weeks after its $360 million purchase of much of DEC's storage business Quantum has launched a line of new storage products, reorganized its corporate structure, set up facilities at former DEC sites, and outlined plans for nailing down the top spot in the international storage industry.
15 -> DEC Adds Graphical "Virtual LAN Creation" To Hubwatch 10/17/94 DEC has upgraded its Hubwatch for Windows network management software with a feature billed as the first to allow graphical creation of "virtual LANs" (local area networks) on a PC.
16 -> Softimage, Discreet Logic Settle Dispute 10/17/94 Softimage, now a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Discreet Logic Inc. have settled a court dispute over rights to Flame, an image-processing software package.
17 -> "Ms. Winkle's Class" Uses Classroom Setting To Teach 10/17/94 Lots of companies are offering educational software for children, but a Washington company has taken a slightly different approach to the way it presents its lessons.
18 -> Etch A Sketch For Windows Intro'd 10/17/94 Etch A Sketch, the popular drawing tool, has come to personal computers. ScreenMagic Inc., has released a Windows version of the learning toy that, not only lets the user draw, but comes with sound effects, games, and various wipe-out effects.
19 -> FCC Gives Iridium Satellite Project A Boost 10/17/94 The Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for new, low-orbit satellite communications systems, giving the Iridium consortium a boost.
20 -> Anti-Piracy Enforcement Nets $5 Million In 1993 10/17/94 The Business Software Alliance says it collected more than $5 million in penalties in 1993 from software copyright infringers around the world. The money was reinvested to fund future anti-piracy programs, BSA's Diane Smiroldo told Newsbytes.
21 -> ****IBM Simplifies PC Line, Intros New Models 10/17/94 In a move that seems a little like 1987 played back in reverse, IBM (NYSE:IBM) has announced that it will replace its PS/2 and ValuePoint lines with a new brand -- the IBM Personal Computer.
22 -> ****Caere & Calera To Merge 10/17/94 Optical character recognition (OCR) and document management specialists, Caere Corp. (NASDAQ: CAER) and privately held Calera Recognition Systems, have announced a plan whereby Caere will acquire Calera.
23 -> Zeos & Micron Technology Subsidiaries To Merge 10/17/94 Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ:ZEOS) says it will merge with Micron Computer Inc. and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services Inc. Both companies are subsidiaries of Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU).
24 -> Minnesota Educational Computing Offers 4 CD-ROMs 10/17/94 Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation (NASDAQ:MEKK) (MECC)says it will release four new software titles on CD-ROM for Macintosh and Windows platforms before the end of the year.
25 -> UK Politician Offered Internet Account 10/17/94 Pipex, which claims to be the UK's largest commercial Internet service provider has donated a copy of Pipex Solo, its single user Internet connection package, to Anne Campbell, the company's local Member of Parliament.
26 -> ****Unisys Shuffles Global IT Operations - Europe First 10/17/94 In a major shuffle of its European value-added services operations, Unisys has formed a new 2,000 strong division of consultants and allied staff known as the European Information Services Division (EISD).
27 -> UK - Novell Offers Fault Tolerance For NetWare 4.x 10/17/94 Novell has announced it is bringing fault tolerance (FT) facilities to all users of its high-end NetWare 4.x network operating system. The move marks an interesting diversification for the networking company which had previously offered systems fault tolerance (SFT) technology to large companies using NetWare on a consultancy level.
28 -> Belgium - Ericsson In Packet Radio Contract Coup 10/17/94 Ericsson has teamed up with RAM Mobile Data for the installation of a packet radio modem network in Belgium, based on the Mobitex packet radio modem technology that RAM already uses in the US and the UK.
29 -> Prodigy Offers Internet Newsgroups 10/17/94 Following its recent price reduction, Prodigy joins the other two major online providers offering limited Internet access. Effectively immediately, Prodigy users may browse Internet's newsgroups through Usenet at the hourly rate of $2.95 which is charged after the first five hours of use each month.
(Ian Stokell/19941017)
(Ian Stokell/19941017)
10/17/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Nintendo Prevails in Patent Infr
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- A federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo which had been filed by an inventor, Edward Gussin.
US District Judge Lourdes Baird of the Central District of California dismissed the case on five separate and independent grounds, ruling in response to Nintendo's motion that Nintendo's Super NES video game system, when used with the Mario Paint computer drawing and painting accessory, did not infringe Gussin's patent.
Nintendo's counsel, John J. Kirby of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, stated, "Judge Baird's decision to dismiss Gussin's case, along with Nintendo's victory against National Semiconductor earlier this year, are evidence of the growing trend in which the federal courts are willing to weed out meritless patent infringement cases prior to trial."
He continued: "In light of the complexity of patent cases and the difficulty of making complex technologies and concepts of patent law understandable to jurors, courts are becoming more vigilant against letting meritless claims go to trial. The willingness of courts to apply the law to undisputed facts at an early stage not only conserves judicial resources but also prevents the unjust harassment of innocent businesses."
Howard Lincoln, Nintendo of America's Chairman, stated, "This is the second time this year that Nintendo has thwarted an attempt to extract money from it based on a meritless patent claim. We are gratified that these courts have soundly rejected such baseless attempts to profit from Nintendo's success in the US market."
Inventor, Edward Gussin was unavailable for comment.
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: John J. Kirby Jr., Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, 212-510-7122)
Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, 212-510-7122)
10/18/94
Nintendo Prevails in Patent Infringement Case
LEGAL
Pioneer Wireless License Flap Co
AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) says the company expects to begin shipping its AutoCAD release 13 computer-aided design (CAD) software for MS-DOS and Windows platforms on November 28, 1994.
This date represents a delay of a few weeks from the company's previous target of October 31 for the MS-DOS version of AutoCAD release 13, but is signifies an acceleration of the previously anticipated ship date for AutoCAD release 13 for Windows.
"We are pleased to more closely couple the expected ship dates for the DOS and Windows versions of AutoCAD release 13, while at the same time focusing on thorough completion of the final stage of development," said Carol Bartz, chief executive officer (CEO) of Autodesk.
"AutoCAD release 13 is the most significant version of AutoCAD to date and represents a substantial upgrade from AutoCAD release 12 in terms of power, functionality and product architecture," she added.
The company has previously stated that it would manage its business conservatively during the third fiscal quarter, in order to anticipate a possible delay in product release, and says it does not anticipate that this change in shipment timing will have a "material impact" on the third quarter.
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: Beth Parkinson, 415-491 8709, Christine Tsingos, 415-507-5707, both of Autodesk Inc.; Sales hot-line, 415-332-2344)
.; Sales hot-line, 415-332-2344)
10/18/94
AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28
WINDOWS
Playing To Win Founder Wins Soci
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) has announced that Playing to Win founder, Antonia Stone, is the 1994 winner of the Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility.
The award is presented annually to a distinguished computer professional who has, according to CPSR, through personal example demonstrated a deep commitment to the socially responsible use of computing technology.
"The greatest danger on the horizon for the national information infrastructure (NII) is that we will be left with two societies: a privileged class that enjoys the benefits of the information age and another that is left behind with none of those advantages," said Stanford professor and CPSR board President Eric Roberts. "Through her work with Playing To Win, Antonia Stone has been fighting for years to achieve the equality of access necessary to empower all of us together."
"I'm thrilled," said Stone. "I believe that CPSR, in recognizing the work I've been doing by honoring me with the Norbert Wiener award, emphasizes the importance of a grass-roots effort towards real equity of technology access, and the need to offer opportunities for learning about and hands-on use of technology to those who otherwise wouldn't have such an opportunity."
Stone was presented with the Wiener award at CPSR's recent annual meeting banquet in San Diego, California. This year's annual meeting included a two-day conference entitled "Organizing for Access: A National Forum on Computer Networking, Community Action and Democracy", that brought together local, regional and national activists and decision makers to take a critical look at some of the social implications of the NII.
Stone has been working in computer learning since the 1970s. After an intense period of fund-raising and outreach, she opened a computer center in a basement room of a Harlem housing project. Starting from that base, with Stone serving as executive director from 1980 through 1992, the Playing to Win (PTW) network has grown to over 45 affiliates located across the US, as well as in Poland and Northern Ireland.
The PTW network of non-profit groups are dedicated to "promoting and providing equitable technology access and education for economically, socially, and geographically disadvantaged people." The organization says it seeks to establish a national community of neighborhood technology access providers dedicated to "true universal technological enfranchisement." Each PTW community computer center shares a belief that everyone can learn as long as they "are allowed to follow their own motivational path and develop according to their own interests."
The Wiener Award was established in 1987 in memory of Norbert Wiener, the originator of the field of cybernetics and a pioneer in looking at the social and political consequences of computing. Author of the book, "The Human Use of Human Beings," Wiener began pointing out the dangers of nuclear war and the role of scientists in developing more powerful weapons shortly after Hiroshima.
Past recipients of the Wiener Award have been: Dave Parnas, 1987 in recognition of his actions opposing the Strategic Defense Initiative; Joe Weizenbaum, 1988, for his pioneering work emphasizing the social context of computer science; Daniel McCracken, 1989, for his work organizing computer scientists against the Anti Ballistic Missiles deployment during the 1960s; Kristen Nygaard of Norway, 1990, for his work in participatory design; Severo Ornstein and Laura Gould, 1991, in recognition of their "tireless energy" guiding CPSR through its early years; Barbara Simons, 1992, for her work on human rights, military funding, and the U.C. Berkeley reentry program for women and minorities; and the Institute for Global Communications, 1993, for their work to use network technology to "empower previously disenfranchised individuals and groups working for progressive change."
Founded in 1981, CPSR is a national, non-profit organization of computer scientists and other professionals concerned with the impact of computer technology on society. CPSR says its mission is to provide the public and policymakers with "realistic assessments of the power, promise, and problems of information technology."
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: CPSR, 415-322-3778 Internet e-mail cpsr@cpsr.org)
ontact: CPSR, 415-322-3778 Internet e-mail cpsr@cpsr.org)
10/18/94
Playing To Win Founder Wins Social Responsibility Award
GENERAL
Apple's Online Service Offers eW
CompuServe Prepares For Hong Kon
Symantec & Stack In Helix Multim
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC) has announced an agreement to incorporate Helix Software's Cloaking technology into its DOS memory resident utility packages. Meanwhile, Stack has announced it will bundle the software with its Stacker disk compression software.
Programs written specifically to take advantage of Helix's multimedia cloaking technology can reportedly load into extended memory without using any conventional DOS, HMA, or upper memory at all. On multimedia systems, because so many drivers typically need to be loaded, there often is not enough upper memory available. As a result, the user ends up losing precious conventional DOS memory.
"As users demand more functionality from their software, the size of the programs needed to provide these features increase," said Joseph Fusco, Symantec's business unit director for the Peter Norton Group. "We want to provide the most advanced features to our users without having to overload their memory. By using Helix's Cloaking technology, we will be able to provide powerful features and yet use only a small amount of conventional memory."
Said Mike Spilo, president of Helix Software. "With the power of protected mode, Cloaking allows drivers to run faster and more reliably, and to use far less memory."
Multimedia Cloaking uses 32-bit technology to free up extra memory by moving system drivers to a protected area of extended memory. Helix's technology operates with all major memory managers including MS-DOS and Novell DOS, Netroom, Qemm, and 386Max.
Even if a memory manager is installed, Multimedia Cloaking can reportedly free an additional 80 kilobytes (KB) in three speed enhancing ways: by using a powerful mouse driver which saves 20KB and works with any Microsoft, Logitech or compatible mouse; by using enhanced CD-ROM Extensions which saves 30KB with an improved version of Mscdex, licensed from Microsoft (CD-ROM drive software) which runs games and entertainment software faster than before; and by using a fast disk cache which saves 30KB while improving system performance and safely accelerating CD-ROM, hard, and floppy drives.
Stac Electronics (NASDAQ:STAC), a major supplier of compression products for data storage and communication, has also announced Multimedia Stacker. Optimized for speed and memory, it reportedly gives users, not only more disk space, but also more memory for the user's multimedia-based systems, by including a free copy of Helix Software's Multimedia Cloaking. Multimedia Stacker is now available on either CD-ROM or 3.5-inch disks and is expected to sell for under $100 at retail.
(Nick Anis/19941011/Press Contact: Lori Cross, Symantec Corporation, 310-449-4258; Valerie Stephen, Wilson McHenry Company, 415-592-7600; Jim Pancamo, Helix Software, 800-451-0551 or 718-392-3100 ext 105; Karen Thomas, Thomas Public Relations 516-549-7575; Lois Leslie, Stac Electronics, 619-794-4316; Greg Peverill-Conti, GCI Jennings, 415-974-6200)
Symantec & Stack In Helix Multimedia Cloaking Deals
BUSINESS
DSP Intros Truespeech Processors
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- DSP Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG) has announced a new family of application specific DSPs (digital signal processors) for adding speech processing to personal computers and telephony products. The first two products are a messaging co-processor, and simultaneous voice over data technology, both of which employ DSP's Truespeech speech compression technology.
Serdar Yurdakul, director of marketing for DSP, told Newsbytes that the integrated circuits (ICs) will also implement Truespeech in a variety of other computer telephony applications, in the areas of voice-mail messaging, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing.
Truespeech, developed by DSP Group, is a speech compression technology which enables speech to be used in personal computers and telephony without requiring large computer memory or telephone line bandwidth.
In July, Microsoft announced that it would include Truespeech in the Windows 95 operating system. According to DSP, this move is expected to make Truespeech widely available in IBM PC-compatible computers. In addition, DSP says Truespeech has been endorsed by a number of major semiconductor vendors, including Intel, Motorola AT&T, Texas Instruments, and Analog Devices.
"We are pleased to reach this next phase of our strategy to bring Truespeech to the market," said Davidi Gilo, chairman of DSP Group. "Our devices, based on Truespeech, will allow users to take full advantage of opportunities for using speech in personal computers, personal communication systems, and telephony devices."
DSP Group says it expects its Truespeech processors to be used in a variety of PC and telephony products which will increasingly implement applications using digital speech as a new data type such as simultaneous voice over data (SVD). Some of these products include modems, sound cards, PC motherboards, portable and handheld personal communication devices, telephone messaging systems, PBX's (private branch exchanges), and smart phones -- all of which increasingly demand speech intercompatibility.
Among the applications which will benefit from these speech processors are: voice annotation, voice messaging, collaborative computing, videoconferencing, personal communications, and smart phone applications, says the company.
Gilo said that DSP Group's strategy to develop and introduce Truespeech to the market has been directed toward establishing Truespeech as a de facto standard for speech compression. "Without a standard for speech compression, there would be no compatibility between all the different computer and communication devices for digital speech. That would be like everyone trying to talk to each other in different languages. When Truespeech is the single standard, this problem will be eliminated."
The two processors just announced are the CT8005 Truespeech Messaging Co-Processor, and the CT8020 SVD Co-Processor. These processors combine Truespeech and DSP Group's own smart DSP core architecture, which the company says is optimized to offer high performance while using low power. DSP Group will enhance the combination with other telephony functions such as "handsfree" speakerphone capability.
In addition to these new processors, which are tailored for voice messaging and teleconferencing systems for personal computers, the company expects, over time, to introduce Truespeech processors which meet the specialized needs of notebook and portable computers, personal communicators or "personal digital assistants," and other mobile computing and telecommunications products.
The CT8005 provides Truespeech 8.5, which offers speech compression at 8.5 kilobits-per-second (Kbps), a full-duplex speakerphone and signaling system for voice messaging products.
The CT8020 is designed for voice-over-data applications where simultaneous compression and decompression of speech is required such as in teleconferencing and videoconferencing. It allows speech to be compressed and played back at 8.5, 6.4 or 4.8 Kbps rates. CT8020 also includes a full-duplex speakerphone feature that operates simultaneously with the Truespeech functions to provide various teleconferencing systems hands-free operation capability.
The CT8005 is expected to be available for sampling in this quarter for $14 each in 10,000 quantities. The CT8020 is expected to be available for sampling in the first quarter of 1995 for $18 each in quantities of 10,000.
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: Serdar Yurdakul, DSP Group Inc., 408-986-4300; Beverly Rindfleisch, DSP Group 408-986-4475, Internet e-mail brindfleisch@dspg.com; Abigail Johnson, Roeder-Johnson Corp., 415-802-1851, Internet e-mail abigail@roederj.com)
ternet e-mail abigail@roederj.com)
10/18/94
DSP Intros Truespeech Processors
CHIPS
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- In a move the company claims sets a new industry agenda for light-weight mobile computing, Fujitsu Personal Systems Inc. (FPSI) has introduced the Stylistic 500, a 2.6-pound "tablet" PC powered by an Intel 486DX2 50 megahertz (MHz) central processing unit (CPU). The company says it is the fastest microprocessor so far to be designed into a tablet computer.
Fujitsu spokesperson, Lou Panetta, currently on a product tour in Europe, told Newsbytes that the Stylistic 500 combines high performance computing capabilities in a small form factor, which is ideally suited for markets such as insurance, transportation utilities, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, and health care.
"With its blazing speed, feather weight and standard architecture the Stylistic 500 sets a standard for industrial-strength computing in a tablet-size package," claimed Lou Panetta, executive vice president of Fujitsu Personal Systems. "It has the power and expandability of a high-end PC, but its size and communications capabilities provide vertical market users the freedom of true mobile computing."
The tablet PC features two expansion slots. One is an ATA slot for a Type III PCMCIA-ATA hard disk card or a Type II solid state flash card. The other accepts either, one Type III PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card, or two Type I/II PCMCIA cards. It comes standard with four megabytes (MB) of RAM expandable to 20MB. Also included are two standard Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery packs.
Another special feature is an infrared serial interface. The base computer has a parallel, serial, keyboard and floppy disk drive ports and support for an external VGA monitor.
The Stylistic 500 comes with an 8-inch transmissive backlit 64-level VGA screen featuring a "sharp clarity" dual monochrome display. Its supports THE MS-DOS 6.2x, Windows for Pen Computing PenDOS, and PenRight operating systems.
"Our customers told us they needed desktop processing power in a form factor small enough to be easily carried in the field," said Fujitsu's Panetta. "The Stylistic 500 is the long-awaited answer to that need, because it enables powerful mobile computing without the bulkiness of laptop computers."
Measuring 7.2-inches by 10.7-inches by 1.5-inches, the Stylistic 500 tablet computer weighs just 2.6 pounds with the standard Li-Ion battery packs installed.
The company claims it is the only tablet to come with standard low-cost batteries that can be purchased at most consumer retail outlets. Fujitsu also offers an extensive list of accessories for the Stylistic 500, including a keyboard, desk stand, slipcase harsh environment slipcase, and an in-vehicle cradle mount.
Like many pen-based/tablet PCs, the Stylistic 500 is targeted at vertical market applications. It comes with a comprehensive three-year warranty, which stipulates that, at any time during that period, Fujitsu will repair or replace defective parts to the customers' base system at no charge. An optional "No-Fault Display Plan" is also offered, which covers the LCD (liquid crystal display) display and digitizer for damage of any type, regardless of cause, for up to three years, at a cost of $150.
The Fujitsu Stylistic 500 tablet computer will be available in November. Pricing starts at $2,795, including a 105MB PCMCIA hard drive, MS-DOS 6.2x, and Windows for Pen Computing. The system may also be purchased without the hard drive and operating system for $2,285.
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: Jeff Tingley, Fujitsu Personal Systems Inc., 408-982-9500; Stephanie Edwards or Cynthia Lempert Walt & Sommerhauser Communications Inc., 408-496-0900; Product information hot-line 800-831-3183, or 408-982-9500)
800-831-3183, or 408-982-9500)
10/18/94
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
PDA Market To Eventually Get Goi
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been slow to take off so far mostly because they just don't offer enough value for the price. But in time, PDA manufacturers will get it right, according to Forrester Research Inc.
Susan Cohen, senior analyst of computer strategy research at Forrester, told Newsbytes that today's PDAs don't meet customer expectations and cost too much. They lack the easy wireless communications vendor hype has led buyers to expect, handwriting recognition falls short of its promise, and data exchange with desktop computers is too complex, Cohen said, "all of which can be summed up as not enough 'bang for the buck.'"
The first manufacturers to launch PDAs, such as Apple Computer Inc. with its Newton MessagePad, marketed them as products for ordinary people. But most people are reluctant to part with the roughly $700 that is the average cost of a PDA today, Cohen said.
As a result, "for the last three years, activity in the pen computer and handheld market has been discombobulated at best," a recent report from Forrester says. "High profile hardware and software start-ups -- GO, Eo, Momenta, and Slate -- have vaporized. After being announced in a blaze of hype, Apple's Newton MessagePad has seen sales plod along at very modest levels."
The most voluble complaints about -- and ridicule of -- PDAs has centered around handwriting recognition. This technology is "a huge problem," Cohen said, "not because it doesn't work, but because it doesn't live up to expectations."
Cohen agreed with many PDA proponents who say the devices have many useful applications that don't depend on handwriting recognition, but she noted that software developers are still learning how to write programs that are suitable for PDAs. She added that handwriting recognition is improving fast, pointing in particular to Los Altos, California-based Palm Computing Inc.'s Graffiti, which achieves highly accurate recognition by requiring users to learn a set of standard, simplified ways of forming letters.
Despite their early shortcomings, PDAs have found "a foothold in the Fortune 1,000," according to Forrester. The firm's recent study, entitled "PDAs: Time Will Tell," says PDA sales in 1995 will be about 373,000 units. The near-term market for PDAs is in specialized uses such as field sales, dispatching, health care and transportation, according to Forrester.
By 1999, the company says, falling prices and better wireless communications will help hardware sales reach $1.5 billion still a limited market. After 1999, Forrester expects a consumer market for PDAs to develop, helped along by falling prices that by the decade's end will probably break the $100 barrier.
The PDA vendors that survive will be those that are patient or have other PDA-related revenues besides those from selling the devices themselves, the report maintains. At the moment, Cohen observed, "the market is Apple's to lose over the next couple of years. If they go back to their old, closed culture, that would kill them."
Forrester's prognosis for another current PDA contender BellSouth, is not so good. Calling BellSouth's Simon, which combines PDA functions with a cellular telephone, a "jack of all trades, master of none," Forrester predicts the company will drop it and return to its core business, cellular telephone service.
And Forrester predicts that General Magic Inc., of Mountain View California, will do poorly with Magic CAP, a PDA operating system, and will end up emphasizing TeleScript, a language for building communications applications.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (TSE:CN; ME:CNB; NASDAQ:CNEBF) has announced a deal to acquire Integrated Network Services Inc. (INSINC) (TSE:ING), a Vancouver-based provider of networking services to medium-sized and large companies.
Call-Net is a long-distance reseller and parent company of Sprint Canada Inc., the country's third-largest provider of long-distance telephone service nationally, after the Stentor consortium and Toronto-based Unitel Communications Inc.
A spokesman for Call-Net, Kenneth Mulders, told Newsbytes that INSINC is in the business of setting up and managing private data communications networks, generally using communications lines it leases from Stentor and Unitel in Canada and from Sprint Communications Co. in the United States.
Sprint Canada has recently begun constructing its own communications network as it moves away from simply reselling capacity obtained from Stentor and Unitel. INSINC, meanwhile needed a larger partner to help it compete in the network services market, so there is a chance of synergy between the two companies, Mulders observed.
INSINC is to run as a separate subsidiary of Call-Net, retaining its current management and essentially all of its staff. A few administrative positions may become redundant because of the purchase, Mulders said, but the people occupying them will quite likely be offered other jobs within the companies.
The deal calls for Call-Net to exchange its own Class B participating, non-voting shares for INSINC's stock. At the closing prices of both stocks on October 11, the deal would be worth about C$32 million, company officials said.
At the same time as this deal closes, Sprint Communications Co. is to purchase about 1.4 million shares of Call-Net in order to keep its 25 percent stake in Call-Net from being diluted by the issuance of new stock to former INSINC shareholders.
INSINC had net income of C$747,000 on revenues of C$16.5 million last year, Mulders said, and in the first six months of the current calendar year earned net income of C$427,000 on revenues of C$11.5 million.
The deal still needs the approval of at least 75 percent of INSINC's shareholders, and of Canadian regulators. INSINC's senior management and single largest shareholder, who together hold 37 percent of the firm's stock, have agreed to vote in favor of the deal, officials said.
(Grant Buckler/19941017/Press Contact: Kenneth Mulders, ETC Communications for Call-Net, 416-465-3010; Juri Koor, Sprint Canada, 416-496-4922; Jim Yeates, INSINC, 604-891-2824)
22; Jim Yeates, INSINC, 604-891-2824)
10/18/94
Canada - Call-Net To Acquire INSINC
BUSINESS
Canadian Policy May Reduce Cable
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- The Canadian government has begun a review of its telecommunications and broadcast policies, aimed at promoting the so-called information highway and likely to give telephone companies and cable television operators carte blanche to enter each other's businesses.
John Manley, the federal minister of industry, announced during the Telecon '94 industry conference in Toronto recently that his department and the Department of Canadian Heritage plan new telecommunications policies based on three broad principles: open access to the facilities of cable as well as telephone companies; the removal of barriers to interconnection and interoperability of the cable and telephone networks; and -- continuing an established stance -- promotion of Canadian content.
The ministers have asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to conduct public hearings aimed at determining how the broad policy goals can be achieved.
A spokesman for the CRTC told Newsbytes no schedule has yet been set for the public hearings. However, the government's formal request to the CRTC asks for final results by the end of February 1995.
The move closely follows the CRTC's recent announcement that it will let local telephone rates rise, reducing the subsidy local service charges currently provide to long-distance. It also comes close on the heels of a decision by Manley and Michel Dupuy, the minister of Canadian heritage, to review a CRTC decision that shut out of the Canadian direct-to-home satellite market companies relying on foreign-owned satellites to provide their services.
On the subject of foreign-owned satellites, Manley told the Toronto conference that his department is nearly finished drafting a new policy on mobile satellite communications services that would remove a restriction similar to that imposed on direct-to-home television. The new policy will require partial Canadian ownership of satellites used to offer mobile services in Canada, with the proportion at least equal to the part of the satellite's capacity used for Canadian services, he said.
Manley said the CRTC's public hearings will complement the work of the Information Highway Advisory Council, a group he appointed earlier this year to counsel the government on information infrastructure issues.
A government statement indicated that the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act, the main pieces of federal legislation covering these areas, might be amended as a result of the hearings.
(Grant Buckler/19941017/Press Contact: Susan Baldwin, Canadian Heritage, 613-990-7937; Mike Helm, Industry Canada, 819-998-4341; Bill Allen, CRTC, 819-997-0313)
Canada, 819-998-4341; Bill Allen, CRTC, 819-997-0313)
10/18/94
Canadian Policy May Reduce Cable-Telephone Barriers
TELECOM
Australia - Vodafone's Nationwid
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Australia's third telecom carrier, Vodafone, has introduced a number of new services including a flat call rate for anywhere in Australia. Vodafone is a GSM digital mobile network.
Unlike the main carriers, Telecom and Optus, Vodafone does not deal directly with subscribers, but sells its services to a number of service providers, who in turn bill their own subscribers. Vodafone has a published fee structure, but the various service providers offer their own rates and package deals, usually incorporating a fixed contract period.
The new Vodafone fee structure starts at 21 cents per 30 seconds. This is for calls to other Vodafone network users. Stray outside to another carrier, and it jumps up by 50 percent. By paying higher monthly fees, the basic call rate drops to 16.8 or 15.1 cents. The off-peak rate is half of these rates. Calls to "free" services are ten cents per 30 seconds. AUS10 cents is around US7.5 cents.
As an example of fees, one service provider, Digicall, offers three startup deals. These are for a minimum 12 month contract with three month notification to quit. The subscriber offers two Ericcson digital phones. The startup/monthly charges are $699/$38, $499/$46 and $399/$60. Standard calls rates for these three plans are 21 cents 18 cents, and 16 cents per 30 seconds.
Vodafone gives each service provider a $300 fee for each new subscriber signed. It is up to the service provider to decide if this is used for subsidies, startup sweeteners, or profit.
The carrier has been behind the other two firms in its subscriber services, such as paging and voice-mail. However, it will reportedly unveil new versions of such services in the next couple of months.
(Paul Zucker/19941014)
the next couple of months.
(Paul Zucker/19941014)
10/18/94
Australia - Vodafone's Nationwide Telecom Flat Fees
TELECOM
Computer Freedom & Privacy Confe
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- The sponsors of the Fifth Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy '95, scheduled for March 28-31 in Burlingame, California are inviting proposals for panel discussions, sessions, debates and individual talks.
Citing a critical time in which computers appear either as a technological savior or a threat to society's known laws and traditions, the sponsors are seeking a wide audience participation in developing its conference.
The conference is sponsored by The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Special Interest Group on Community Action (SIGCOMM), the Special Interest Group on Computer in Society (SIGCAS), the Special Interest Group on Security Audit and Control (SIGSAC), and the Stanford Law School.
Suggested proposal topics include: personal information and privacy; access to government information; computers in the workplace; electronic speech; press and assembly; governance of cyberspace; the role of libraries; law enforcement and civil liberties; cryptography; free speech; telecommuting online civility; and universal access.
The conference also has a special student paper competition, which encourages student submissions of less than 2,500 words relating to computers and telecommunications technologies affecting privacy and freedom. All papers for the competition must be received by November 20, 1994.
The sponsors also want to include for discussion such topics as: the threats to individual, government, and corporate privacy; database access and security; big brother and private invasion of one's social, economic and political activities; outright illegal activity which challenges the definition of society's criminal and civil codes; and the definition of national interest as the Internet expands globally.
Carey Heckman, spokesperson for the conference, told Newsbytes "With increasing numbers of people entering computer and telecommunications technologies, it is an especially important time for the widest possible discussions of how these technologies can effect our freedom and privacy."
(Patrick McKenna/19941014/Press Contact: Carey Heckman Stanford Law School, 415-725-7788; Public Information: Internet e-mail cfp95@forsythe.stanford.edu)
nternet e-mail cfp95@forsythe.stanford.edu)
10/18/94
Computer Freedom & Privacy Conference Set
GENERAL
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem M
India - Siemens Establishes Soft
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Germany's Siemens AG has established a communication software center in Bangalore. The facility is intended as an extended arm of its research and development center in Munich.
The communication software center has been set up as a joint venture with Siemens Ltd. of India. SCS Ltd. will be an 100 percent export-oriented unit with the parent company holding 70 percent and its Indian business 30 percent.
According to Siemens Managing Director K. Pernstich, SCS will develop telecommunication products for the public network division of Siemens AG. The area of specialization will be in developing software for the Siemens' electronic worldwide digital switching system (EWSD), he said.
The Bangalore unit will focus on the entire software development process, from an analysis of requirements, to the maintenance of its software products used in various global communications networks. The company has started manufacturing the EWSD at its Calcutta based factory, and has already won a number of orders.
Apart from those areas, SCS will also focus on various projects such as a telecommunication management network, a digital switch board for the EWSD, and a test environment tool box.
Initially, the company plans to employ about 300 software engineers. The present paid-up capital of R45 crore is also proposed to be increased to R100 crore.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941018)
to R100 crore.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941018)
10/18/94
India - Siemens Establishes Software Center
BUSINESS
Support Grows for Apple GeoPort
Canadian Reseller Crowntek Acqui
Philadelphia Partnership Acquire
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Compuadd Corp. a direct marketer of personal computers and retail point-of-sale (POS) systems, has been acquired by a private investment partnership based in Philadelphia.
One year ago, Compuadd was in bankruptcy and had closed its 110 retail outlets, switching to selling its products by direct-mail after running into difficulty paying its store landlords and suppliers.
Compuadd implemented a fast bankruptcy reorganization, turning the company over to unsecured creditors after just 20 weeks. It has been looking for a buyer ever since. Now the company says it has been acquired by Dimeling, Schreiber & Park (DS&P). News of the probable acquisition was first reported by Newsbytes in late July.
Compuadd Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rick Krause told Newsbytes that DS&P will pay out the existing $9 million bank group and will establish a working capital credit line of an additional $7 million. Krause said DS&P also put a significant amount of cash directly into the company, but declined to name that amount.
Compuadd spokesperson John Pope told Newsbytes the management team, employees, product strategies and customer support programs will remain unchanged, and the company will remain in Austin, Texas.
Krause told Newsbytes that the additional working capital will allow the company to greatly reduce its current backlog, which is presently about two weeks. "Our objective is, under normal circumstances, to be able to ship any order we get within a five-day work week and to be able to ship most orders within 48 hours," Krause stated. The company has already began increasing its sales staff, which will grow by about 10 percent.
Pope said the company will put additional emphasis into its POS terminal business, which presently represents about 20 percent of Compuadd's annual sales. That is also an area that can provide greater profit margins than the highly competitive personal computer business, according to Krause.
Compuadd entered the POS business with a 1991 contract for $53 million worth of POS terminals in the Sears, Roebuck and Company stores worldwide. Last month, Compuadd signed a service agreement with Dataserve to service Compuadd terminals.
Pope told Newsbytes that Compuadd will also expand its efforts in the notebook market as well as marketing more multimedia products, but declined to provide details. Krause said the company currently has no plans to introduce a handheld product but is looking at sub-notebook computers.
Compuadd will release a new catalog in November which will include a DX4 75 megahertz (MHz)-based notebook PC and plans to ship a Pentium-based notebook computer in the first quarter of 1995. "Notebooks are one of the hottest selling products in the PC marketplace and probably over the course of the next 12 to 18 months will grow much faster as a component of PC sales than desktops will," Krause said.
Krause told Newsbytes that the company is currently negotiating for a $15 to $20 million order, but declined to identify the potential customer. He said the order might cause Compuadd to add a half-shift to its normal single shift per day schedule, but does not have any concrete plans to operate two shifts. "We believe we can do what we have to do in the next year without having to grow beyond that," said the Compuadd CEO.
DS&P was formed in 1982 to organize investment opportunities for its own account. The firm specializes in acquisitions of private companies, corporate divestitures and real estate. Other DS&P acquisitions include the McCall Pattern Company, Gulfstream Resources, Mohawk Plastics Inc., Sentinel Foam and Envelope Corp., and VMV Enterprises Inc. Compuadd was formed in 1982 as a privately held company, and is projecting about $140 million in sales for the current year.
(Jim Mallory/19941018/Press contact: John Pope, Compuadd 512-250-2000)
s contact: John Pope, Compuadd 512-250-2000)
10/18/94
Philadelphia Partnership Acquires Compuadd
BUSINESS
GTE Airfone Opens Info Centers A
OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- GTE Airfone has opened manned information kiosks at three major airports, to promote its new two-way airborne phone service. The firm says calls from ground-to-air will be free until the end of November.
The kiosks in JFK and LaGuardia airports in New York, and at Los Angeles International in California, will offer prepaid $15 Airfone calling cards. Staffers will be on hand to show those on the ground how to call airborne passengers.
Spokesperson Laura Lettel told Newsbytes that more than 40,000 people have applied for and been sent aircall cards, but that the project is just getting underway. "This week we're starting our customer information projects," she said. "We will be rolling out more kiosks as we get the installation done on more planes."
The service has received some criticism because of the somewhat lengthy voice-mail prompts a caller must follow before connecting to an airborne passenger. Lettel said the delays were unavoidable in a service so new, since most callers do not know yet how to get connected.
The procedure involves calling a toll-free 800 number (800-AIRFONE) listening to a voice introduction to the service, pressing the access number for the passenger (much like dialing an extension number when calling a company), confirming the number, and then waiting for the connection.
"People don't realize yet that they can bypass all the prompting once they've gone through the procedure and feel comfortable without the prompts," said Lettel. "They just have to press '1' when the prompt starts to jump right to the next input stage."
In practice, a caller would press "1" when the voice prompt starts then the passenger's number, then "1" again followed by the caller's own phone number, and finally the "#" pound sign to punch the call through.
The airborne passenger pays for completed calls, but can refuse a call if desired.
GTE Airfone is the first to offer two-way calling to airplanes, but competition is on the way from AT&T/McCaw's airline phone service Claircom Communications, and from In-Flight Phone Inc., whose operators will accept calls and contact airborne passengers with a message to call back.
GTE Airfone's "uplink calling," as it is sometimes called, is available on planes equipped with the company's digital GenStar Service. To see if a given plane has the service, look for a handset equipped with a display screen. For information on using the service, call the firm's information number.
Sources at GTE said that, since airborne phone calls became available ten years ago, passengers have placed nearly 50 million calls using the Airfone Service. During the current 45-day free-call anniversary promotion, the regular cost of $2.50 set-up and $2.50 a minute will be waived. The $2 fee charged to passengers for registration to receive calls also will be waived until December 31, the firm said.
Uplink calling was introduced last week on Delta Shuttle, USAir Shuttle and United Airlines transcontinental flights. By the end of the month, the incoming call feature also will be available on more than 400 planes served by Delta, Delta Shuttle, Reno Air, TWA United, Shuttle by United and USAir Shuttle. By the end of the year equipped planes will increase to 600, adding Aeromexico, Mexicana and Air Canada, the firm said.
GTE Airfone, based in Oak Brook, Ill., provides airborne telecommunications systems to more than 2,000 commercial aircraft representing 18 domestic and international carriers. GTE Airfone is a wholly owned subsidiary of GTE Corp., the largest US-based local telephone company and the second-largest cellular-service provider in the US.
(Craig Menefee/19941018/Press Contact: Laura Lettel, GTE Airfone 708-575-1385, or after 6 pm, 312-935-8802; Joe Hopkins, United Airlines, 708-952-5570; Tom Lazour, Delta Shuttle, 404-715-2554)
70; Tom Lazour, Delta Shuttle, 404-715-2554)
10/18/94
GTE Airfone Opens Info Centers At Airports
TELECOM
California Demos Virtual TV
Improve Your Photography With CD
MapInfo Tops In PC Mapping - Rep
TROY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- MapInfo Corp. has edged back into the number one position as market leader for desktop PC-based mapping, according to a new Daratech Inc. report. Bumped to second place in the Daratech list is Strategic Mapping of Santa Clara California.
Newsbytes had reported the earlier rankings in mid-September. Daratech analyst James Rapinac said at that time that the market research firm planned to separate the software application portion of sales from content sales. The earlier report had included content products -- such as census findings and other information-as-product sales -- in the rankings. The change in technique dropped the forecast for Strategic Mapping's revenues in the desktop mapping category by about 20 percent, sources said.
According to the new report, MapInfo holds 19.3 percent of the worldwide $141 million desktop mapping market for 1994. In the broader, $505 million geographic information systems (GIS) market MapInfo ranks third, but is the fastest growing.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Daratech analyst Bruce Jenkins said the shift reflected a reduction in former front-runner Strategic Mapping Inc.'s (SMI) anticipated revenues. SMI dropped from about 22 percent to about 17 percent estimated market share after the adjustments, the report said.
"They (SMI) are now fractionally behind MapInfo rather than fractionally head of it," he said, adding that several strategic acquisitions had gone more slowly than SMI had anticipated. Also a delay in the release of Lotus 1-2-5 version 5, with which SMI mapping is included, reduced projected revenues.
"As a result, MapInfo will lead the market this year," Jenkins said, "and in fact, is so successful that it's in third place in the overall market -- 5.7 percent of the total GIS mapping."
MapInfo Vice President of Marketing Randy Drawas told Newsbytes: "This reaffirms our market leadership position. Given that we've been growing at 50-60 percent annually, we really should be the market leader."
He added, "We've been educating the market, building awareness of how to use maps to visualize and analyze information. We'll continue doing that not only in North America but in Europe and Asia, to continue bringing this technology to the mainstream."
Daratech is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based market research firm. MapInfo (NASDAQ:MAPS) mapping software runs on the Windows Macintosh, DOS, Sun, and HP platforms, is available in 17 languages and is sold in 40 countries.
(Craig Menefee/19941018/Press Contact: Lisa Jacobson, MapInfo Corp., 518-285-7205; or Dana Harris or Shirley Macbeth, Schwartz Communications, 617-431-0770)
hwartz Communications, 617-431-0770)
10/18/94
MapInfo Tops In PC Mapping - Report
TRENDS
TI Researchers Increase Data Com
Russian Foreign Exchange Fiasco
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- The astonishing yo-yo antics of the rouble/dollar exchange rate over the past few weeks, with the rouble losing 25 percent of its value in a single day, only to almost recover the situation days later, has forced the Russian government to crack down even harder on foreign exchange deals in Russia.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, from the start of this year dollars -- and all non-rouble currency -- are officially banned from all shops and as a means of exchange. The idea behind the plan was to stabilize the then, already unsteady, rouble.
The plan caused havoc in shops, with cashiers instructed to change customer's dollars into roubles, ring the sale on their tills, then convert the change back into dollars and hand it back to the customer. Whether the Russian government likes it not, Russian citizens do not like roubles, as they are so volatile and barely exchangeable in a very few shops in Russia.
Moscow's taxi drivers, meanwhile, refused to accept roubles outright and continued chasing dollars and other Western currencies, a fact that angered the government, since the taxi drivers were effectively acting illegally, but since taxis provide a vital service in Moscow their actions were ignored.
The continuing violation of Russian legislation meant that, when a crisis of confidence in the rouble occurred a few weeks ago, what few shops in Moscow that did accept the battered currency refused and almost overnight, the currency became non-negotiable, even ironically, with government offices.
As a result, the rouble plunged on foreign exchanges and it took massive intervention in the currency markets by Russia, along with several Western European governments, to stabilize and then recover the currency's position.
Now the Russian government has said it is "make or break time" with the rouble and redoubled its efforts to stop Russian citizens trading in dollars and other non-rouble currencies, despite the fact that the dollar has for years been the unofficial means of exchange in Russia.
Under harsh new rules, any bank or financial institution that wishes to trade in dollars must "cover" the transaction exactly in roubles which must be available in their government Micex account at least one day in advance. All dollar purchases must be routed through the government and no dollars may be purchased from anyone other than the government.
The move is being hailed as a government plot to "fix" the exchange rate in its favor. Furthermore, traders are worried that any dollars they get off shoppers will not be exchanged by the banks, but can only be used on the Russian black market, so forcing traders to deal in vast amounts of cash.
The whole arrangement could backfire badly on the government, insiders suggest, as traders will now easily be able to hide their non-rouble transactions from officialdom. Government officials have conceded however, that they expect to be able to police traders' tills for dollar transactions, despite the fact that such transactions are technically illegal.
A row is now brewing between Western firms located in Russia who are being forced to convert their dollar accounts into rouble accounts and are effectively barred from making dollar payments to Russian companies.
The Russian companies they trade with, meanwhile, are unwilling to deal in roubles, meaning that the process of trade is inexorably grinding to a halt in Russia, except where bags of illicit dollars are furtively changing hands.
Even more worrying is the fact that many Russian banks, as well as Western banks operating in Russia, are no longer prepared to quote exchange rates for the rouble. Experts predict that foreign exchange will soon no longer take place on Russian soil, putting Russia's currency markets back by around 40 years to the days when anyone found dealing in dollars was liable to be imprisoned.
The government, meanwhile, is remaining stoic in the face of complaints from all quarters. It claims that the new rules were voted upon earlier this year and should have been put into force on September 1. It was just "an oversight" that the new foreign exchange rules were never implemented.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941018)
ted.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941018)
10/18/94
Russian Foreign Exchange Fiasco
Europe - Philips Still Confident
ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Philips is still ebulliently predicting that sales of its CD-I (Compact Disc Interactive) machines will top the million mark this year, despite reports of cut-price bargains to be had on CD-I technology across Europe.
According to John Hawkins, marketing manager for Philips CD-I systems, sales are going so well that the company is working on a PC card for CD-I, for introduction early next year. The card will operate in a manner similar to CD-ROM and allows PCs to interactively control the CD-I drives, Hawkins said.
Now for the bad news -- CD-I for PCs is likely to cost in the region of $1,000 when it first appears, as compared to price tags of around 15 percent of that level for CD-ROM drives. This perhaps explains why Philips' executives are keen to stress that CD-I and CD-ROM technology are not in competition with each other -- CD-I is being billed as a home entertainment medium, while CD-ROM is more aimed at the business end of the market, notably in archive data retrieval.
Industry watchers are incredulous that Philips can suggest that a $150 unit is aimed at businesses, yet a $1,000 technology is for the consumer side of the market. Hawkins is resolute, saying, "CD-I is a plug-and-play system. Consumers who work with CD-ROM know what a pain it is to make the software work."
Jean-Claude de la Rue, president of Philips Media, the side of Philips' CD-I operations that handles software and general industry encouragement for CD-I technology, claims that new Cd-I machines are on their way from several manufacturers and, as a result, he is confident that the sales target of a million units sold by the end of this year will be achieved.
De la Rue's comments come as Philips has launched a multi-million dollar campaign throughout Europe to increase consumer awareness for CD-I. Critics have suggested that the campaign is a last ditch attempt by the Dutch giant to get CD-I sales out of the niche market and into the mainstream channel.
Despite Hawkins' and de la Rue's upbeat comments, Philips is still not saying how many CD-I players have been sold in Europe to date. Nor are company executives willing to discuss the number of titles available.
In a quick straw poll of electronics stores in the UK, Newsbytes was only able to find two chains stocking CD-I - Comet and the House of Fraser. Both companies are offering extended interest free credit on CD-I players, along with free bundling deals on software.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941018/Press & Public Contact: Philips tel +31-40-734087, fax 31-40-735412)
ct: Philips tel +31-40-734087, fax 31-40-735412)
10/18/94
Europe - Philips Still Confident On CD-I Sales
GENERAL
Luxembourg - Winter E-Mail Confe
LUXEMBOURG, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- The European Electronic Messaging Association (EEMA), which claims to represent 200 multinational and corporate members across Europe, has announced it is hosting its Winter conference at the Parc Hotel, Luxembourg, from November 14-16.
According to Avi Corfas, EEMA's chairman, the conference is being sponsored by the Commission of the European Community (DG III), along with Interpac and Telindus, to European telecoms companies. The aim of the event will be to explore how corporations operating in the financial services marketplace can exploit electronic messaging for a competitive edge.
"This is a timely conference for the financial services industry. This sector is the biggest consumer of information technology (IT) and yet IT managers are increasingly finding that their budgets are being squeezed," Corfas said.
According to Corfas, the financial services industry is moving "at an incredible pace" and, because of this, electronic messaging is crucial to international commerce. "This conference will help business managers put the technology in context and will showcase state of the art messaging solutions," he said.
According to a spokeswoman for EEMA's UK office, the conference will cost BF5,000 for EEMA members to attend, and BF7,500 for non members. As part of the conference program, EEMA is offering two pre-conference tutorials on, "An Introduction to EDI (electronic data interchange) and X.435," and "An Introduction to Electronic Messaging."
EEMA is a not-for-profit organization set up in March, 1987. The group claims to provide an independent forum aimed at promotion electronic-mail and electronic messaging generally, as well as offering members the chance to improve their knowledge of electronic messaging.
(Steve Gold/19941018/Press & Reader Contact: Roger Dean, EEMA UK +44-386-793028; Internet e-mail eema@attmail.com (X.400) C=GB/A=ATTMAIL/O=EEMA/S=DEAN/G=ROGER)
.400) C=GB/A=ATTMAIL/O=EEMA/S=DEAN/G=ROGER)
10/18/94
Luxembourg - Winter E-Mail Conference Set
GENERAL
$ N 2
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem M
Software Alliance Wins $260,000
UK - MASE's Try Before You Buy L
CROYDON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- MASE has announced a new service aimed at demonstrating the benefits of frequent local area network (LAN) testing and analysis for LAN audits. Aimed at all levels of LAN users, the MASE Health Check Service is available to all companies in the UK.
According to Steve Tyler at MASE, the health check costs a fairly hefty UKP600 per day, although any fees on the service are fully refundable if customers opt to buy their own WireScope 100 handheld cable analyzer from the company (UKP2,895) or a FrameScope 802 handheld Ethernet/Token Ring LAN analyzer (UKP3,995) within 30 days of the tests taking place.
According to Tyler, while no-one questions the fact that networks are increasing in importance in businesses these days, many managers are blissfully unaware that most networks under-perform because of their tendency to be installed in a modular fashion. Using relatively simple technology, the company claims it can improve the performance of a network and, in most cases, save the cost of having to update a network's data carrying capacity when it reaches certain points on its expansion curve.
Tyler claims that the company's health checks can quickly spot whether a LAN is performing up to scratch and, with regular checks by the LAN managers, who are trained by MASE to use the appropriate testing equipment, can check on LAN performance as new nodes and servers are added.
MASE claims that the cost of the test equipment can quickly be repaid in terms of network efficiency and savings in extra network bandwidth which would otherwise be required when the LAN is expanded.
(Steve Gold/19941018/Press & Reader Contact: MASE tel +44-81-665-7577, fax +44-81-686-6440)
MASE tel +44-81-665-7577, fax +44-81-686-6440)
10/18/94
UK - MASE's Try Before You Buy LAN Analysis
NETWORK
UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PC
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Portable Add-Ons a specialist portable distributor, has cut pricing on its PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) fax modems.
The company's flagship unit, the V.32Bis (14,400 bits-per-second) PCMCIA card modem falls from UKP399 to UKP249, while the V.32 (9,600 bps) modem falls from UKP249 to UKP179.
According to Chaz Brooks, marketing manager with the company, the price cuts mean that portable PC users wanting a PCMCIA modem can now get a unit without having to resort to unapproved products in this price range.
Even at its old price, Brooks claims that the V.32Bis PCMCIA modem is selling 500 units a month, mainly because the unit includes a high speed serial data interface capable of moving data from the PC into the modem at speeds of up to 57,600 bps.
"Normally, a high speed serial port would be required to make the most of units of this speed, but this interface is already incorporated in the PCMCIA card at no extra cost," he said.
Brooks claims that the V.32Bis PCMCIA modem is IBM 5250/3270 compatible and comes with suitable software the portable PC that allows it to be used as a remote terminal with the office AS/400 or IBM mainframe computer. The software bundle with the modem includes auto-dial/answer operation, automatic modem selection (data or fax) for incoming and outgoing calls.
Both the company's approved modems come with a copy of Delrina Winfax Lite, a fax comms package that runs under Windows, free of charge.
~ STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Instead of shooting IBM's launch of OS/2 Warp down in a war of words, as many would have expected, Lotus Development, in the UK at least, has welcomed the new release of the operating system, saying that it expects version 3.0 of OS/2 to broaden user interest in native OS/2 applications.
"We expect the lower memory requirements and increased use of 32-bit technology in OS/2 Warp to enhance the performance of leading-edge OS/2 applications, such as Notes and Smartsuite," explained Neil Hudspeth, Lotus UK's marketing manager.
Hudspeth argues that, by delivering enhanced usability and performance, the Warp version of OS/2 will "appeal to a broader base of organizations looking to deploy advanced 32-bit applications across the enterprise network."
Newsbytes discussed this unusual stance of Lotus with Richard Bailey head of public relations with Lotus, querying why a company with such a massive investment in DOS and Windows, as well as Unix applications would welcome OS/2 3.0 with welcome arms.
"I think it's a case of Lotus not betting on which way the operating system industry is going to go. It's fair to say that we are doing well out of existing operating system technologies, but the days of DOS are definitely numbered, so we have to look at new operating systems such as OS/2," he replied.
According to Bailey, the big question that everyone is asking is whether OS/2 or the newer versions of Windows will become the big sellers. "We take the approach that we must be there to offer different versions of applications for all users, rather than concentrating our efforts on a few popular operating systems," he told Newsbytes.
Backing up this argument, Lotus has announced plans to release four new Unix versions of its Notes groupware package later this month. According to Lotus, versions for SCO Unix, HP-UX, IBM AIX, and the Sun Solaris operating system variants are in the pipeline.
"Lotus takes the approach that all the operating systems need to be supported by our applications. For this reason, we welcome the arrival of OS/2 Warp, although we are cautious in this welcome we're not saying that OS/2 Warp is going to change the world, just that, when it arrives, we will have offerings that support the operating system," Bailey said.
(Steve Gold/19941018/Press & Reader Contact: Lotus Development 44-784-455445)
& Reader Contact: Lotus Development 44-784-455445)
10/18/94
UK - Lotus Views OS/2 Warp As Positive For Users
Europe - EC Votes To Take In Eas
Major Apple Communications Produ
UK - Insignia Intros CD Director
Corporate Software To Buy DEC's
AOL Plans Online Hourly Fee Unde
California Real-Time Freeway Tra
Artisoft LANtastic For OS/2
AST Unveils Aptiva Killers
Winstar Last Mile Wireless Servi
UK - Lotus Views OS/2 Warp As Po
MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back A
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Illustrating his presentation with Apple Computer commercials, former Apple software evangelist Guy Kawasaki kicked off MacWorld Toronto 94 with a candid and often funny look back at the Macintosh's first 10 years.
In the process, he admitted that Apple made many mistakes over the years. Some of the major ones: not putting expansion slots in the Macintosh; over-emphasizing ease-of-use in the Mac's first year; giving in to Microsoft's pressure to license elements of the Macintosh's use and feel for use in Windows; and introducing too many models in the last few years.
He said a lack of software and the machine's slowness caused problems in its first year, as did its lack of expansion slots and need for more memory. "Unfortunately we were too tired, too arrogant, too stupid, I don't know what" to correct the problems early, he said.
Recalling the Macintosh design team's early idealism, he said the designers didn't want the complexity of expansion slots to complicate "the beautiful, elegant idea. We even thought there wouldn't have to be hard disks for the longest time. That is just totally brain-damaged."
Kawasaki said John Sculley agreed to license the Mac's look-and feel to Microsoft for its original Windows software. Claiming Sculley "wimped out," Kawasaki said Microsoft threatened to stop upgrading its Word and Excel packages -- a threat, Kawasaki maintained, that would have hurt Microsoft more than Apple and thus would never have been carried out.
Nonetheless, Apple made the deal, then sued Microsoft in 1988 when -- according to Kawasaki -- the software firm overstepped the bounds of the original licensing agreement. Apple ultimately lost, but Kawasaki maintained the company was "morally right."
In recent years, he went on, Apple has introduced far too many models of the Macintosh. "If anybody at Apple can explain to me who should buy which computer," he remarked, "I would love to meet him."
He ridiculed recent rumors about an impending buyout of Apple by AT&T, IBM, or Microsoft. "If you can copy what Apple has done for free, why should you own the place," he quipped in another reference to the infamous Microsoft-Apple lawsuit.
But he did suggest that Apple cannot rest on its laurels. What the company needs, he said, is to "create a new architecture so good it makes us all want to donate our Macintoshes to churches" and buy the new product. The Newton personal digital assistant, he added is not that product.
(Grant Buckler/19941018)
d is not that product.
(Grant Buckler/19941018)
10/18/94
MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back At 10 Years Of Mac
APPLE
Pioneer Wireless License Flap Co
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- American Personal Communications has charged Pacific Telesis Group, one of the regional Bell operating companies, with improper ex parte contacts with the Federal Communications Commission.
The charge by one of the three holders of FCC "pioneer" licenses for personal communications services for PacTel contends that the licenses are bogus. The dispute between PacTel and the three pioneer licensees help put off a House vote on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to December.
The latest flap began when PacTel Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phillip Quigley, at a speech to a trade association meeting in San Diego recently, claimed the firms that won pioneer licenses have a competitive edge in the race to develop personal communications services. The firms are Omnipoint Communications, Cox Enterprises, and APC, which is 70% owned by the Washington Post.
Quigley said the Cox newspaper group and the Post were getting a "billion dollar discount" for the licenses and said Omnipoint is "the only legitimate pioneer among the three." The FCC originally awarded the three licenses to reward the companies for pioneering the technology.
The licenses were to have been free, but last August the FCC under pressure from House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.), changed its mind and said it would charge some $700 million for the licenses. Later licenses will be awarded by competitive bidding. When the FCC said it would charge for the licenses, the pioneers threatened to sue the agency.
Ironically, the FCC's flip-flop on the licenses came amid a Dingell investigation into improper contacts between the pioneers and the FCC, initiated by public charges made by PacTel. Dingell's investigation turned up no foul play on the part of the FCC or the pioneers.
Dingell later became the champion of a compromise, worked out in the obscurity of the 1,000-page GATT enabling legislation which would see the pioneers cough up about $450 million for the licenses. But when that became public, after a full-page PacTel advertisement in the Post blasting it as a give-away Dingell held a hurried hearing on the issue, claiming that the FCC's action to charge for the licenses was patently illegal and would be overturned by the courts. The issue contributed to the delay on the GATT vote.
APC charged that Quigley's speech violated the FCC's rule against discussing pending cases with agency officials unless all the parties are notified in advance. That is because FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and the four other commissioners, as well as many of the top FCC staff, attended the San Diego meeting.
"We get these complaints quite frequently," FCC General Counsel William Kennard told the Post. "This one will be handled like all of them. We'll review it carefully and we'll respond."
(Kennedy Maize/19941018)
ll respond."
(Kennedy Maize/19941018)
10/18/94
Pioneer Wireless License Flap Continues
Software Group Blasts Govt Shrin
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- A recent General Services Administration report is biased against shrink-wrapped software and seriously misrepresents the views of federal software customers, says a letter to the agency's inspector general from the Business Software Alliance.
The GSA report advocates purchasing of negotiated licenses to copy software rather than buying multiple copies of out-of-the-box shrink-wrapped software on the open market.
The letter from BSA President Robert Holleyman challenges the basic premise of the report, that a GSA pilot program negotiated the price for software based on a maximum order limit, or MOL, of nine boxes of software.
Holleyman complains, "The MOL was unilaterally imposed on the resellers after software prices, including shrink-wrap prices had been negotiated and not before as stated in your report. This single fact makes your conclusion that 'prices for shrink-wrap packages can no longer be considered to be fair and reasonable' insupportable."
The GSA report also concluded that copying rights rather than shrink-wrapped products served to "enhance customer satisfaction and reduce costs." BSA says that "a panel of top information management personnel at 20 federal agencies, in their report on this matter," found that limiting purchases of shrink-wrap products "did not enhance customer satisfaction nor did it reduce costs. In fact, the MOL in many instances increased the overall cost of acquisition of software products by federal users as those customers used more expensive procurement methods to buy the shrink-wrapped products they needed."
The GSA report recommends that, starting in April, "contracts should not be awarded for shrink-wrap packages when the vendor is capable of providing the right-to-copy method of software distribution." This is exactly the wrong direction, says BSA as it concludes that "federal software users should be treated differently than their private sector counterparts by denying federal software users the opportunity to select the product that best meets their individual needs."
BSA notes that the approach the GSA report recommends is at odds with the Clinton administration's policy to make greater use of the marketplace. It is also counter to the thrust of the procurement reform bill President Clinton signed earlier this month that gives federal managers the ability to spend up to $2,500 on the market without going through any formal procurement process.
GSA's preference for multiple award schedules is wrong-headed says BSA. "The commercial marketplace is one where selling costs are limited, volume commitments are made, loyalty to a particular vendor and product line is reasonably assured payment delays and disputes are uncommon, and protection of intellectual property rights are assumed by the commercial customer," says the letter.
"By contrast," says the BSA letter, "the government marketplace under (multiple award schedule) contracts consists of thousands of buying offices issuing tens of thousands of purchase orders for generally small quantities of a large variety of different products on a daily competitive basis with payment regularly delayed beyond a 30-day period with no single entity responsible for intellectual property right protection."
(Kennedy Maize/19941018/Press Contact: Diane Smiroldo BSA, tel 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
iroldo BSA, tel 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
10/18/94
Software Group Blasts Govt Shrink-Wrap Report
Record Revenues For Apple's 4th
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- In the past week, Apple's (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL) stock has slowly risen with rumors of an expected strong fourth quarter report. Now that its fourth quarter report is released, the company's stock is up again reaching 41.375 at 11 am today (Eastern Standard Time) from its closing at 39.750 on October 17.
A 16% increase in revenues over last year's fiscal fourth quarter shows Apple bringing in $2.49 billion for a record high quarter in the company's history. Net income derived from that figure is reported as $114.7 million or $0.95 per share. The same figures for last year's fourth quarter was $2.7 million which translated to $0.02 per share.
Apple attributed its successful quarter to restructuring, strong sales of its Macintosh 630 multimedia systems, the new PowerBook series, and desktop Power Mac systems, as well as significant third-party development of native software for the Power Mac line.
In March of this year, Apple posted a goal for itself of shipping 1,000,000 Power Macs and upgrades by March, 1995. This fourth quarter report shows the company currently on target and needing to ship about 80,000 per month for the next five months to reach that goal. To date, the company has shipped over 600,000 of the 6100 7100, and 8100 systems combined.
As a result of restructuring efforts the company's operating expenses were down 5.8% to 19.6% from 25.7% over the same period last year. In Apple's history this represents one of the lowest operating expense ratios ever reported.
Over the fiscal year, which ended September 30, Apple revenues were $9.19 billion, a 15% increase over the previous year, and its income over the same period was up $223.6 million to $301.2 million or $2.61 per share. The 1993 fiscal year included a restructuring and other expenses charge of $320.9 million ($198.9 million, or $1.72 per share after taxes).
According to Apple, quarterly unit shipments unexpectedly exceeded the 1,000,000 mark and some product shortages are being reported. Apple expects to remedy these shortages during the new quarter.
Among the restructuring efforts, research and development costs continue to decline. This fourth quarter shows a decrease of $21,996,000 over the same period last year and the total research and development costs for the year ending September 30, 1994, are nearly $100,000,000 less than the previous year.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Adrian Mello, editor-in-chief for Macworld magazine, said. "Apple has always been one of the companies with the highest R&D expenses and this figure indicates its efforts to reduce costs and manage its research and development efforts more efficiently." Newsbytes notes further, Apple has invested heavily in reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) development over the past few years and may now be able to curtail some of those costs.
"I think the most significant thing here is that there are all these rumors about Apple falling off the cliff or being sold; this report shows that Apple really does meet customer demands and does better than what many people expect. What this report suggests is that the rumors do not correspond to reality and like any company they have their ups and downs -- but the final note is that they are showing a tremendous success with their development and sales of Power Macintosh systems and really do know how to run a company" said Mello.
(Patrick McKenna/19941018/Press Contact: Betty Taylor Apple Computer Inc., 408-974-3983)
Taylor Apple Computer Inc., 408-974-3983)
10/18/94
Record Revenues For Apple's 4th Quarter
BUSINESS
Polaroid Announces New Digital F
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Polaroid Corporation (NYSE:PRD) says it will introduce a new digital palette color film recorder which will produce high resolution 35 millimeter (mm) slides and prints on personal computers.
The HR 6000 uses a precision cathode ray tube (CRT) and special circuitry to produce slides with 4,000 lines of resolution. The HR 6000 replaces the Polaroid CI-5000S Digital Palette system and will work with Macintosh and IBM-compatible personal computers.
Film recorders perform a function similar to printers except the image is output to film instead of paper. While print resolution is measured in dots-per-inch, film output is measured by lines. Film recorder output quality currently ranges from 2,000 to 8,000 lines.
The desired image is created on a computer then sent to the recorder's CRT. The recorder also contains a color wheel with the basic colors (red, green, blue) and a 35mm camera. An electron beam makes one pass across the monitor for each color, reading each pixel (picture element) in the image and transferring the image to film.
Once the desired images have been sent to the camera the film is removed and processed in the same manner as your vacation pictures, and you get slides that can be shown in any slide projector. Prints can also be made from the film.
Polaroid says the HR 6000 can create up to 24-bit color images using its proprietary 33-bit color exposure process to produce smooth ramped backgrounds with up to 16.7 million colors.
The HR 6000 connects to your Mac or IBM-compatible via the parallel port or a SCSI (small computer system interface) port and does not require the installation of an expansion card in the computer.
The 15 pound HR 6000 is scheduled to ship in November and will have a suggested list price of $5,995.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation (NYSE:MSFT) and Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) have announced a joint promotion for the upcoming holiday season that gets you free airline tickets when you buy hardware and/or software.
The deal, dubbed "Fly With Us," offers tickets on Delta Airlines Inc.'s more than 5,000 daily flights to any destination in the world when you buy two software programs from Microsoft's Home product line, a Compaq Presario PC or Contura Aero portable, or two Microsoft Home software programs and one of the Compaq computers.
Microsoft Home products include: Flight Simulator and Space Simulator; the Encarta encyclopedia on CD-ROM; Cinemania, a movie guide; creativity programs for children like Creative Writer and Fine Artist; Microsoft Money; and Microsoft Works. Microsoft Home products have suggested retail prices that range from $28 to $99.
Purchase of two Microsoft Home products or one of the Compaq PCs gets you one free companion ticket. If you buy a Compaq personal computer and two Microsoft Home products you get vouchers for two companion tickets plus a package of travel discounts and other goodies with a retail value of $500. The travel pack contains discounts on Delta Dream Vacation packages to Europe and Walt Disney World Resorts, a free rental car for one day from Alamo Rent-a-Car, software, a mouse pad, and other products and services.
Each free ticket has to be accompanied by the purchase of a regular Delta ticket costing $359 or more. There is also a $10 processing fee on the free flights, and some blackout periods apply.
The promotion ends January 15, 1995, and the free tickets, which are valid beginning November 1, 1994, have to be used by July 1, 1995.
(Jim Mallory/19941018/Press contact: Phil Missimore, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft Corp., 408-986-1140; Public contact: Microsoft, 206-882-8080 of 800-426-9400 or Compaq Computer Corp., 713-374-1459 or 800-348-1518)
r Compaq Computer Corp., 713-374-1459 or 800-348-1518)
10/18/94
Microsoft & Compaq Team On Free Airline Ticket Promo
BUSINESS
P z ^
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Scanner Software Bundle From Can
AT&T Buys Alascom
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- AT&T has agreed to buy Alascom, one of Alaska's two long distance carriers for $365 million. The deal requires state and federal regulatory approvals which the firms say they expect in the first quarter of next year.
Under terms of the agreement, AT&T will purchase all of Alascom's stock from its owner, Pacific Telecom Inc. (NASDAQ:PTI) of Vancouver, Washington, for one $295 million cash payment. In addition PTI will keep a $75 million payment made to Alascom by AT&T in July 1994, under a May 24, 1994 FCC order that restructured Alaska's telecommunications service.
AT&T and Alascom had jointly provided long distances service between Alaska and the lower 48 states since 1972. That was the arrangement the FCC ordered terminated by 1996.
In an interview, AT&T spokesperson Joyce Faucette Farmer said the necessary regulatory paperwork for the purchase was "in process" and that AT&T does not expect any problems gaining approval. She noted that the boards of directors of all involved companies had already approved the deal.
"We'll have to obtain approvals from the Alaska Public Utilities Commission, the FCC and the US Department of Justice," said Farmer. She added that AT&T believes the arrangement follows the spirit of a joint state and federal board that earlier this year recommended a telecom restructuring in the state.
"The board really wanted to insure the integration of rates and universal service, and they wanted to promote competition in an efficient structure, in the Alaska market," Farmer explained. "We believe this agreement will do that."
Competition to AT&T's long distance service will be provided by GCI, she said, a LDC (long-distance company) partly owned by MCI.
"AT&T is looking forward to providing all Alaskans -- including residents of the bush -- with the high quality service AT&T is known for in the lower 48 and throughout the world," said William V. Catucci, vice president of AT&T's Consumer Communications Services unit.
According to the firms involved, the AT&T purchase of Alascom was arranged in part to resolved issues left unsettled by the FCC order. In June, AT&T asked for a federal court review of the FCC decision but the petition will be dismissed if the sale goes through.
Alascom has been owned by PTI since 1982, when PTI acquired the firm from PTI's 87 percent owner, PacifiCorp (NASDAQ:PPW). PTI will continue to provide local telecom service inside Alaska.
PacifiCorp sources said the firm will realize after-tax gains of $44 million to $48 million from the sale. The firm said it would use the sale proceeds to fund local telephone exchange purchases. PTI recently agreed to buy 50,000 access lines in Colorado for about $200 million and 35,000 access lines in Oregon and Washington for about $180 million. The purchases are currently under regulatory review.
PacifiCorp said it would continue to try to expand its local services operations, mostly in rural areas of the Midwest, Northwest and Alaska.
According to Fred Buckman, PacifiCorp president and chief executive officer (CEO), "The decision to sell Alascom was based in part on the expectation that operating revenues and operating income from Alascom would decline as the result of implementing a final Federal Communications Commission order relating to the restructuring of the Alaska long distance marketplace."
Charles E. Robinson, chairman, CEO, and president of PTI, said "Transferring the operations and organization of Alascom intact to AT&T benefits our customers, our employees and our shareholders. It removes the future uncertainties and ambiguities inherent in the current regulatory process, and will firmly establish AT&T as the statewide facilities based carrier throughout Alaska. Rural as well as urban consumer interests will be better protected. Equally important, AT&T will be offering its comprehensive benefits programs to Alascom employees effective immediately upon the closing of this transaction."
Robinson added: "Our local exchange and wireless operations (in Alaska) will continue to serve over 75,000 customers. We expect to build upon that base, since the sale of Alascom will permit us to seek new opportunities here, free from previously imposed regulatory constraints. We welcome those opportunities."
AT&T (NYSE:T) is a global communications company headquartered in New York. Alascom, established in 1971, is based in Anchorage. Its parent company PacifiCorp is based in Portland, Oregon.
(Craig Menefee/19941018/Press Contact: Joyce Faucette Farmer, AT&T 908-221-8868; John Skalko, AT&T, 908-221-8413; Chris Hunter PacifiCorp, 503-731-2090; Scott Hibbs, PacifiCorp, 503-731-2123)
Corp, 503-731-2123)
10/18/94
AT&T Buys Alascom
TELECOM
Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner
Japan - Supercomputer Power For
Report - 5.52 Million Users Now
Japan - Computer News
TI Revenues, Earnings Reach All-
Telecon '94 - Rheingold Touts On
IBM Simplifies PC Line, Intros N
Spain - Telecom Rivals Join Forc
Star Data Completes Multipath In
Control Data - From Mainframes T
Object Design Named Fastest Grow
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- Object Design Inc., a leading player in the object database market, has been named "fastest growing private company" in the US by Inc. Magazine.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Bill Blundon, VP of marketing, said that more than 1,000 corporations worldwide now use Object Design's ObjectStore.
The company's product is a distributed database for storing images and multimedia files -- ranging from "maps, to brain scans, to audiovisual presentations" -- on PCs, workstations, and servers according to Blundon.
Object Design users include Boeing, Ford, Ameritech, Chemical Bank and Price Waterhouse, the VP told Newsbytes. Many customers have downsized from larger systems, he added.
Burlington, Massachusetts-based Object Design ranked number one in the 13th annual listing of Inc.'s "Inc. 500." Blundon attributed the company's rapid growth to rising demand for object databases like ObjectStore, coupled with the "high quality" of the ObjectStore product, and investments from companies like AT&T, IBM, Intel, Kodak and Olivetti, which are also ObjectStore customers.
"We are generally regarded as having the best object database in the industry," maintained the VP. The product is targeted primarily at use in manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial services, he pointed out.
Applications in the manufacturing industry were initially oriented to CAD (computer-aided design), but have since broadened to include more generic uses, he reported.
Telecom companies use ObjectStore for network management including storage of information on "phones and switches," he said. Uses in the financial arena include stock and bond repositories decision support, and EIS (executive information systems).
The worldwide object database market will reach $425 million by 1996, according to an IDC (International Data Corporation) projection.
Increased ease of use will be a major factor in future market growth, Blundon told Newsbytes. The simplicity will be spurred by the emergence of industry standards; new development tools; and object-oriented operating environments such as Microsoft's upcoming Windows 95 and Cairo, he predicted.
The completion of standardization activities by industry associations like the Object Management Group (OMG) will bring greater interoperability between vendors' object-oriented products he concluded.
A company's ranking in the "Inc. 500" is determined by percentage sales growth over the past five years. To be eligible for the Inc. 500, a company must be independent and privately held through the 1993 fiscal year; must have shown between $100,000 and $25 million in 1989 sales; and must show a sales increase between 1992 and 1993.
, Copithorne & Bellows for Object Design, 617-252-0606)
10/18/94
Object Design Named Fastest Growing US Firm By Inc.
TRENDS
IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage
$19 Personal Income Tax Package
UK - Vodafone Buys Into French P
DEC PCI Adapters, Licenses FFDT
UK - MASE's Try Before You Buy L
IBM & Motorola Announce 64-Bit P
TI Researchers Increase Data Com
JD Power Desktop PC Study Lists
FCC Sets Phone-Cable Competition
Newsbytes Daily Summary
!I!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 18 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Nintendo Prevails in Patent Infringement Case 10/18/94 A federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo which had been filed by an inventor, Edward Gussin.
2 -> AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28 10/18/94 Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) says the company expects to begin shipping its AutoCAD release 13 computer-aided design (CAD) software for MS-DOS and Windows platforms on November 28, 1994.
3 -> Playing To Win Founder Wins Social Responsibility Award 10/18/94 Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) has announced that Playing to Win founder, Antonia Stone, is the 1994 winner of the Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility.
4 -> Symantec & Stack In Helix Multimedia Cloaking Deals 10/18/94 Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC) has announced an agreement to incorporate Helix Software's Cloaking technology into its DOS memory resident utility packages. Meanwhile, Stack has announced it will bundle the software with its Stacker disk compression software.
5 -> DSP Intros Truespeech Processors 10/18/94 DSP Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG) has announced a new family of application- specific DSPs (digital signal processors) for adding speech processing to personal computers and telephony products. The first two products are a messaging co-processor, and simultaneous voice over data technology both of which employ DSP's Truespeech speech compression technology.
6 -> Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC 10/18/94 In a move the company claims sets a new industry agenda for light-weight mobile computing Fujitsu Personal Systems Inc. (FPSI) has introduced the Stylistic 500 a 2.6-pound "tablet" PC powered by an Intel 486DX2 50 megahertz (MHz) central processing unit (CPU). The company says it is the fastest microprocessor so far to be designed into a tablet computer.
7 -> ****PDA Market To Eventually Get Going, Study Says 10/18/94 Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been slow to take off so far mostly because they just don't offer enough value for the price. But in time, PDA manufacturers will get it right, according to Forrester Research Inc.
8 -> Canada - Call-Net To Acquire INSINC 10/18/94 Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (TSE:CN; ME:CNB; NASDAQ:CNEBF) has announced a deal to acquire Integrated Network Services Inc. (INSINC) (TSE:ING), a Vancouver-based provider of networking services to medium-sized and large companies.
9 -> Canadian Policy May Reduce Cable-Telephone Barriers 10/18/94 The Canadian government has begun a review of its telecommunications and broadcast policies, aimed at promoting the so-called information highway and likely to give telephone companies and cable television operators carte blanche to enter each other's businesses.
10 -> Australia - Vodafone's Nationwide Telecom Flat Fees 10/18/94 Australia's third telecom carrier, Vodafone, has introduced a number of new services, including a flat call rate for anywhere in Australia. Vodafone is a GSM digital mobile network.
11 -> Computer Freedom & Privacy Conference Set 10/18/94 The sponsors of the Fifth Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy '95 scheduled for March 28-31 in Burlingame, California, are inviting proposals for panel discussions, sessions, debates and individual talks.
12 -> India - Siemens Establishes Software Center 10/18/94 Germany's Siemens AG has established a communication software center in Bangalore. The facility is intended as an extended arm of its research and development center in Munich.
13 -> Philadelphia Partnership Acquires Compuadd 10/18/94 Compuadd Corp., a direct marketer of personal computers and retail point-of-sale (POS) systems, has been acquired by a private investment partnership based in Philadelphia.
14 -> GTE Airfone Opens Info Centers At Airports 10/18/94 GTE Airfone has opened manned information kiosks at three major airports, to promote its new two-way airborne phone service. The firm says calls from ground-to-air will be free until the end of November.
15 -> MapInfo Tops In PC Mapping - Report 10/18/94 MapInfo Corp. has edged back into the number one position as market leader for desktop PC-based mapping, according to a new Daratech Inc. report. Bumped to second place in the Daratech list is Strategic Mapping of Santa Clara California.
16 -> ****Russian Foreign Exchange Fiasco 10/18/94 The astonishing yo-yo antics of the rouble/dollar exchange rate over the past few weeks, with the rouble losing 25 percent of its value in a single day only to almost recover the situation days later, has forced the Russian government to crack down even harder on foreign exchange deals in Russia.
17 -> Europe - Philips Still Confident On CD-I Sales 10/18/94 Philips is still ebulliently predicting that sales of its CD-I (Compact Disc Interactive) machines will top the million mark this year, despite reports of cut-price bargains to be had on CD-I technology across Europe.
18 -> Luxembourg - Winter E-Mail Conference Set 10/18/94 The European Electronic Messaging Association (EEMA), which claims to represent 200 multinational and corporate members across Europe, has announced it is hosting its Winter conference at the Parc Hotel, Luxembourg, from November 14-16.
19 -> UK - MASE's "Try Before You Buy" LAN Analysis 10/18/94 MASE has announced a new service aimed at demonstrating the benefits of frequent local area network (LAN) testing and analysis for LAN audits. Aimed at all levels of LAN users, the MASE Health Check Service is available to all companies in the UK.
20 -> UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PCMCIA Pricing 10/18/94 Portable Add-Ons, a specialist portable distributor, has cut pricing on its PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) fax modems.
21 -> UK - Lotus Views OS/2 Warp As Positive For Users 10/18/94 Instead of shooting IBM's launch of OS/2 Warp down in a war of words as many would have expected, Lotus Development, in the UK at least has welcomed the new release of the operating system, saying that it expects version 3.0 of OS/2 to broaden user interest in native OS/2 applications.
22 -> ****MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back At 10 Years Of Mac 10/18/94 Illustrating his presentation with Apple Computer commercials, former Apple software evangelist Guy Kawasaki kicked off MacWorld Toronto 94 with a candid and often funny look back at the Macintosh's first 10 years.
23 -> Pioneer Wireless License Flap Continues 10/18/94 American Personal Communications has charged Pacific Telesis Group, one of the regional Bell operating companies, with improper ex parte contacts with the Federal Communications Commission.
24 -> Software Group Blasts Govt Shrink-Wrap Report 10/18/94 A recent General Services Administration report is biased against shrink-wrapped software and seriously misrepresents the views of federal software customers, says a letter to the agency's inspector general from the Business Software Alliance.
25 -> ****Record Revenues For Apple's 4th Quarter 10/18/94 In the past week, Apple's (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL) stock has slowly risen with rumors of an expected strong fourth quarter report. Now that its fourth quarter report is released, the company's stock is up again reaching 41.375 at 11 am today (Eastern Standard Time) from its closing at 39.750 on October 17.
26 -> Polaroid Announces New Digital Film Recorder 10/18/94 Polaroid Corporation (NYSE:PRD) says it will introduce a new digital palette color film recorder which will produce high resolution 35 millimeter (mm) slides and prints on personal computers.
27 -> Microsoft & Compaq Team On Free Airline Ticket Promo 10/18/94 Microsoft Corporation (NYSE:MSFT) and Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) have announced a joint promotion for the upcoming holiday season that gets you free airline tickets when you buy hardware and/or software.
28 -> ****AT&T Buys Alascom 10/18/94 AT&T has agreed to buy Alascom one of Alaska's two long distance carriers for $365 million. The deal requires state and federal regulatory approvals, which the firms say they expect in the first quarter of next year.
29 -> Object Design Named "Fastest Growing US Firm" By Inc. 10/18/94 Object Design Inc., a leading player in the object database market has been named "fastest growing private company" in the US by Inc. Magazine.
(Ian Stokell/19941018)
(Ian Stokell/19941018)
10/18/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Data General's 3-Tiered Database
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Data General has unveiled a new "three-tiered" implementation -- billed as the first to combine Unix and Windows NT support for SAP AG's R/3 "cross-functional" software -- that calls for running Oracle7 on a DG Aviion database server and R/3 on a Windows NT-based Pentium server.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Steve Gardner, VP of corporate marketing, said that DG's new three-tiered implementation brings "higher availability" and faster response times than the two-tiered implementations of several major competitors, which involve running Oracle and R/3 together on the same Unix-based database server.
R/3 is used by more than 3,700 companies in 41 countries worldwide for applications that include manufacturing resource planning (MRP), financial, sales, and human resources, according to Gardner.
In the future, DG plans to extend the use of R/3 on the three tiered architecture to additional relational database management systems (RDBMS), the executive told Newsbytes. "Oracle will be the first to be certified. Informix will be next," he noted.
SAPstone benchmark results have shown the three-tiered implementation to result in the "highest user count to date" for R/3, according to the VP. In the benchmark, over 1000 users were supported with response times of 1.3 seconds using the SAP FI (Financials) benchmark.
The results were achieved with the use of a 16-processor Aviion AV 9500 running DG/UX Release 5.4.3 with a Clariion fault tolerant disk array, supporting R/3 application software operating on Windows NT 3.5 (Daytona) on 22 dual-processor DG Aviion, and one quad-processor Compaq Proliant, Pentium servers.
Gardner reported that DG will aim the Oracle application and other three-tiered implementations at the "re-engineering" market. Some of DG's target customers will be "downsizing" from SAP AG's mainframe-based R/2 product and other large systems environments. But many other users will be "upsizing," Newsbytes was told.
The first customer shipments of the R/3 and Oracle implementation will be made by the end of this year, and pilot installations are available immediately, according to Gardner.
The three-tiered implementation is being certified by iXOS, a German company that tests and validates the use of Windows NT platforms for R/3.
To support the implementation, DG has set up R/3 Competence Centers at SAP headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, as well as at its DG/UX software development site in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941018/Reader Contact: Data General, 508-366 8911; Press Contacts: Jim Dunlap, Data General, 508-898-6546; Mitchell Derman, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
Relations Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
10/19/94
Data General's 3-Tiered Database Implementation
GENERAL
Apple Australia CD Sampler
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Apple Australia has released a sampler CD containing "34 of Australia's best in multimedia titles" covering history, business information, education, and sport.
The disk will be included with Apple multimedia computers, sent to all Australian schools and sold to end-users for AUS$5 each (around US$3.70).
Apple Australia New Media Marketing Manager Cameron McDonald-Stuart said that this was the first of its kind in Australia and it would allows users to try before they buy. "This cooperative marketing approach clearly demonstrates Apple's support of the local multimedia industry."
Among the products on the disk are: Playtime in the Park; James Makes a Salad; and Show Off. Users simply pass the mouse over each picture and a description box pops up. Apple has played a major role in the production of most of the titles.
Fifteen of the products have self-running demonstrations, all have short presentations on key features presented as a QuickTime movie and all samples tell the user how the product could be used. The CD can be used as a point-of-sale (POS) product by dealers of other stores where software is sold. The sampler cycles through each of the presentations until a customer selects a particular product to review.
A promotion before Christmas will see popular educational and entertainment CD titles worth $600 retail value bundled with Apple multimedia machines.
In his keynote to this week's MacWorld Expo in Sydney, Apple Managing Director Steve Vamos outlined Apple's commitment to the Australian multimedia industry, especially for export saying, "Apple is ideally placed to take advantage of the multimedia boom, spearheaded by our technology leadership, innovation and the vision to deliver the full promise of multimedia."
(Paul Zucker/19941014)
(Paul Zucker/19941014)
10/19/94
Apple Australia CD Sampler
APPLE
Midisoft Intros Multimedia Prese
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Most business presenters have only been able to dream about adopting multimedia presentations because of the time and skill required to create them. Now, with the availability in retail outlets of Presentation Partner by Midisoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MIDI), multimedia presentations those consisting of integrated graphics, text, video, animation and audio -- will be possible for a larger number of business presenters.
Presentation Partner reportedly reduces the time and technical know-how necessary to create professional-looking presentations. To achieve this, the Windows application automatically generates complete, integrated multimedia presentations for playback with popular Windows presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Harvard Graphics, Macromedia Action!, Lotus Freelance Graphics, said the company.
"Today's software, while powerful, still demands too much time and skill from the user to develop a true multimedia presentation. Up to now, this has been one of the major obstacles preventing wider acceptance and usage of multimedia presentations," said Raymond Bily, Midisoft chief executive officer (CEO).
Presentation Partner can be used for a wide variety of business projects, including proposals, corporate overviews, kiosks, and personal projects such as resumes and wedding albums, according to the company. A static presentation can be turned into multimedia by copying existing text and charts into one of the presentations prepared by Presentation Partner.
Presentation Partner is a "complete multimedia presentation tool kit," including, in addition to the application itself, two integrated tools for editing audio, and a 248 megabyte (MB) library of media elements (MID, WAV, BMP, and AVI files). For users who do not already own a presentation package, a multimedia presentation program called Super Show & Tell by AskMe Multimedia Center, is included as well.
Because the sound of a multimedia presentation is very critical to its impact, Presentation Partner includes a variety of high-quality music files and sound effects creatively integrated into each ShowScript. If the user wants different audio samples they can select from over 400 MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) files and Wave files contained in the music and sound libraries.
The company says that, using the product, the user selects the kind of presentation wanted, and one is assembled "within minutes." The process begins by choosing one of the 12 business and home-related topics for the presentation, and selecting the type of "look and feel" desired -- traditional, modern, or fun. Based on these criteria, Presentation Partner then selects from its database a presentation called a ShowScript -- a "professionally-prepared" multimedia presentation complete with graphics, music, sound effects, video, animation, and placeholders for text.
The second step for the user involves previewing the ShowScript's multimedia elements, such as photos or background music, and making changes as needed. A few mouse clicks is often all that is required to preview and substitute media elements. The third step starts with a single mouse click. Presentation Partner assembles the ShowScript's elements, copies the presentation onto the user's hard drive, and automatically opens the presentation within the user's presentation software.
At this point the user, now working within their own presentation environment, customizes the presentation by replacing the text placeholders with real text, and further substituting or editing the media elements as desired. A ShowScript Assistant feature can be used during this phase to give the user step-by-step instructions on how to work with multimedia elements within their specific presentation environment. ShowScript Assistant also provides the tools to facilitate further customization and fine tuning of the presentation.
Media elements can be previewed, changed, deleted, or added. Audio files included in the presentation can be listened to and edited to the point of changing instrument sounds and tempo. The volume of audio files can be adjusted and faded. The color of individual graphics within the presentation can be optimized to avoid color palette conflicts, and graphic files can be re-sized or cropped.
The company says that ShowScript Assistant even streamlines the packaging of the presentation onto a series of floppy disks and creates an installation program for installing the files onto another machine.
Midisoft's new program is being introduced with a Companion Upgrade price promotion whereby owners of presentation software can purchase Presentation Partner for $99 until December 31 1994. The suggested retail price is $149.95. Presentation Partner is distributed by Ingram Micro, Merisel, AmeriQuest, and Tech Data. Retail outlets which will carry the product include Comp USA, Boscov's, Ballard Computer, and Lechmere.
Presentation Partner requires: a 80486 or higher personal computer with at least 8MB of RAM (16MB recommended for video); Windows 3.1 or later; 20MB available space on hard drive; a CD-ROM drive; Windows-compatible sound card and speakers; mouse; and VGA or SVGA graphics card set to 256 colors or more. Unless the user wants to use Super Show & Tell, which is included, one of the following programs or later versions will be required: PowerPoint 4.0, Harvard Graphics 2.0, Freelance Graphics 2.01, or Action! 3.0.
(Nick Anis/19941012/Press Contact: Midisoft Corp., Chuck Robb/Products, or Cal Dyer/Financial, 206-881-7176; Pam Miller or Chris Kent, Kaufer Miller Communications, 206-450-9965)
Kent, Kaufer Miller Communications, 206-450-9965)
10/19/94
Midisoft Intros Multimedia Presentation Partner
WINDOWS
Kodak To Implement Drastic Cost-
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) is reportedly implementing drastic cost cutting measures that include a hiring freeze, reduction of research and development spending, acceleration of pending staff cuts, and reducing by 50 percent the number of contract workers. Travel entertainment, and even the purchase of office supplies, computers and software are apparently also being curtailed.
According to stories in The Wall Street Journal and The Rochester, New York Democrat & Chronicle newspapers the cost cutting measures are being implemented in order to let Kodak reach its operating targets for the second half of the year. Kodak is expected to release its third quarter results next week.
The cuts were announced in a memo reportedly written by Kodak Executive Vice President Leo Thomas. A Kodak corporate spokesperson contacted by Newsbytes declined to comment on the content of the memo, saying "We don't comment on internal memos." However, he did acknowledge that a memo exists.
Kodak eliminated 2,000 jobs and took other cost reduction measures in January, 1993, that were expected to save about $200 million. In October, 1993, Kodak replaced Chief Executive Officer Kay Whitmore with former Motorola Chairman George Fisher. At the press conference to announce his new job, Fisher said, "The first step is making sure our financial house is in order." The latest development is apparently another step in that process.
In May, 1994, Fisher announced a reorganization of Kodak's management structure, naming Richard Bourns executive vice president of the Kodak Imaging Group to oversee the company's digital imaging and equipment efforts.
As reportedly previously by Newsbytes, Kodak has divested itself of its business divisions not related to film and electronic imaging saying it wants to return to its roots.
(Jim Mallory/19941018/Press contact: Paul Allen, Eastman Kodak 716-724-5802)
t: Paul Allen, Eastman Kodak 716-724-5802)
10/19/94
Kodak To Implement Drastic Cost-Cutting?
BUSINESS
$ N 2
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Smal
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketin
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
GEnie's Full Internet Plans
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- GEnie, which has been offering Internet information and document retrieval through its Internet Roundtable, has announced plans to deliver Internet access to its members. Sometime during December of this year, "Phase I" of its Internet Access Service is scheduled to offer file transfer protocol (FTP), UseNet newsgroups, outbound Telnet service, Gopher service and Wide Area Information Server (WAIS).
An as of yet, unannounced "Phase II" is planned for 1995. That phase will complete the company's Internet services with the addition of World Wide Web (WWW, the Web).
Recent announcements of hourly rate reductions from America Online and Prodigy have challenged the $3-and-under rate which GEnie has maintained. For the time being, GEnie has not announced a reduction in its rates and its Internet Services Access will be available at the company's standard rate of $3-per-hour after the first four hours of non-prime time access included in the monthly fee of $8.95.
Newsbytes notes America Online's rate announcement is not effective until January, 1995, although Prodigy's rate reduction is now in effect.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Scott Melnick, spokesperson for GEnie said, "With the assistance of our sysops, we will have tested the service out thoroughly before we release a very short beta version. The public beta period will only be about two weeks, as we plan by that time to have all details of the program worked-out."
Between now and the introduction of its Internet service, GEnie says the Internet Roundtable will continue to offer users a retrieval service of Internet documents and provide introductory information in response to users inquiries.
GEnie promises there is more news to come as the company approaches the December delivery date. Newsbytes notes GEnie seems to be preparing some special features for its members to access the "Net" and longtime GEnie users should expect to use their familiar GEnie commands while surfing the menu-driven access the company is readying.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Nordstrom, a 93-year-old fashion retailer with stores in 14 states, is taking it into the 21st century with a 24-hour electronic-mail (e-mail) shopping service. The service is a collaboration between Nordstrom's flagship Seattle, Washington branch, MCI Communications Corp., and telecommunications program publisher ConnectSoft.
The service, dubbed Nordstrom Personal Touch America, or NPTA, will feature "personal shopper" assistants and a two-day Federal Express delivery of the selected goods. Nordstrom says all purchases are guaranteed and may be returned to the store at Nordstrom's expense if not satisfactory.
The firm called it "a personalized approach to e-mail shopping not currently available through other services." A Nordstrom spokesperson told Newsbytes it is really a pilot project, and if demand materializes for it, the store will hire additional "personal shoppers" as needed.
The new service accepts Nordstrom's in-house credit card plus Visa Mastercard, and American Express. The service can be reached by any online service at MCI Mail:Nordstrom PT America, or via the Internet at Nordstrom_PT_America@MCIMAIL.COM. The X.400 e-mail address is c=US A=MCI s=Nordstrom PT America.
People without an online account can order a $25 special "Nordstrom Connection" package from ConnectSoft and order directly through MCI Mail. Messaging charges will be paid by Nordstrom.
Said Geevy Thomas, manager of the flagship Seattle, Washington store where the service will be run: "Once a NPTA customer connects with one of our personal shoppers, they can count on that personal shopper to assist them every time. Their personal shopper can keep records of the customer's sizes, preferred styles and colors plus special dates to remember for gift items."
Thomas added: "This allows NPTA combine the best of new technology with very personalized service."
The firm says each personal shopper is trained to help customers with everything from selecting single items to assembling whole wardrobes.
(Craig Menefee/19941018/Press Contact: Marylou Flynn, Nordstrom 206-628-1942; Lora Loftis or David Kaufer, Kaufer Miller Communications, 206-450-9965; David Sutton, MCI, 404-668-6234; Reader Contacts: MCI Mail e-mail: Nordstrom PT America; Internet e-mail Nordstrom_PT_America@MCIMAIL.COM; X.400 C=US A=MCI s=Nordstrom PT America; Voice information, 800-925-4254/ NORDSTROM941019/PHOTO)
on, 800-925-4254/ NORDSTROM941019/PHOTO)
10/19/94
E-Mail Shopping At Seattle's Nordstrom
ONLINE
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Smal
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketin
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
California's New Online Voter Gu
MacWorld - Bryce Landscape Prgm
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- HSC Software Corp.'s Bryce software made its Canadian debut at the MacWorld Toronto trade show. HSC announced a distribution agreement with Argyle and Broadstreet, of Mississauga, Ontario, to handle Bryce and other HSC products in Canada.
HSC has also announced shipments of a version of its Live Picture imaging software optimized for Apple Computer Inc.'s Power Macintosh machines. Shipments began in mid-September, the company said. HSC had earlier shipped a version of Live Picture that runs on both Power Macs and the older Mac models using Motorola Corp. 680x0 processors.
Bryce is a design and rendering tool that can create artificial landscapes with impressive levels of detail. An enthusiastic Kai Krause, executive vice-president of HSC, demonstrated how the software makes it possible to construct a landscape based on almost any starting shape, and how complex mathematical algorithms create highly realistic terrain effects. For example, an erosion effect deposits "virtual raindrops" on the terrain, calculates how the water would run down the existing surfaces, then alters the surfaces to reflect the way they would be eroded over time.
Krause said his company decided to sell the software at a low price -- the street price in Canada is expected to be a little above C$200 -- to reach a broad market of Macintosh users who just want to play with it. "The question is not whether they need it but whether they want it."
The software was developed by a French mathematician obsessed with creating images of artificial worlds on a computer, Krause said. Some five years of work went into it, and the result is "something a company could never do as a product."
Newsbytes and others watching the demo were impressed by the range of tools for altering the landscapes Bryce creates, and by the apparent simplicity of the user interface (something which Newsbytes must note, is often hard to judge by watching a well prepared demonstration).
One practical use for Bryce is in creating surrealistic landscapes for such things as the covers of science fiction paperbacks, Krause said. In fact, the software is being used to do new covers for the novels of science-fiction humorist Douglas Adams. But HSC is frank about what Bryce really is -- a toy.
(Grant Buckler/19941018/Press Contact: Kristin Keyes, HSC Software tel 805-566-6274, fax 805-566-6385; Public Contact: HSC Software 805-566-6200)
5-566-6385; Public Contact: HSC Software 805-566-6200)
10/19/94
MacWorld - Bryce Landscape Prgm Makes Canadian Debut
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MacWorld - Digital World Offers
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- An increasing amount of human knowledge is stored digitally, columnist and author Steven Levy told a keynote audience at the MacWorld Toronto trade show and conference Tuesday. That opens up some enticing possibilities, and some disturbing questions.
Among the possibilities are electronic "agents" that can carry out tasks for computer users virtually unsupervised. Author Bob LeVitus, the second speaker in the keynote panel entitled "Creative Insights On Our Digital Future," enthused about the possibility of sending a digital agent out onto the network to check every store in an electronic shopping mall for videocassette recorders, then automatically order the cheapest one that meets the user's specifications.
However, Kai Krause, executive vice-president of HSC Software Corp., who followed LeVitus on the panel, poured a little cold water on the enthusiasm by asking, in light of the number of bugs typically found in today's software, what kind of problems might result from similar defects in an agent program. Would a truckload of unwanted VCRs show up on a user's doorstep? "They better have really good beta (testing programs)," he commented.
Krause said it is about time for software developers to break with the programs they have expanded and patched over 10 or more years and start afresh. "Every piece of software out there now was designed for computers 50 times less powerful than today's," he said.
Bob Stein, founder of interactive media publisher The Voyager Co. showed examples of digitally altered photography and said the technology makes it possible for photographers to create artificial, subjective images as painters do, but using real images as their raw material.
Levy noted that the ease with which digitally stored images -- and audio, and text -- can be altered raises some thorny questions about authenticity, particularly for people such as journalists who are used to a fairly cut-and-dried definition of what is and is not true.
Krause praised the interactivity of online communication and its ability to let people deal with each other based on the content of what they have to say, not on surface qualities such as skin color or age. And in answer to a comment from an audience member who said online communication still lacks the visual cues and other factors found in a face-to-face meeting, Krause said online systems are very close to changing that. "Pretty soon America Online is going to be video," he predicted.
Stein expressed concern that the possibilities of interactive online communication may never be realized, because of the manipulation of commercial interests or others in power. But Krause countered that it may not even be desirable to turn every individual into a publisher or creator. "If you have John Doe design John Doe Land," he said, "you're going to get John Doe Land which is rather mundane.... Design is not a democratic process."
(Grant Buckler/19941018)
ot a democratic process."
(Grant Buckler/19941018)
10/19/94
MacWorld - Digital World Offers Potential & Pitfalls
TRENDS
Lexmark Readies New Laser Printe
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Lexmark International Inc., next week will introduce a new line of desktop and network laser printers that the company said will be the first to offer true 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) print resolution. The new Optra printers will claim another first, too -- they will be Lexmark's first products without the IBM logo.
Lexmark was spun off from IBM early in 1991, when IBM sold the majority interest in its former printer division to a New York investment firm -- Clayton, Dubilier, & Rice Inc.
Sandy Corlett, vice-president of printer marketing with Lexmark Canada Inc. in Markham, Ontario, told Newsbytes in an interview that the company feels it now has enough name recognition to sell its printers under its own name alone.
The new Optra printers use a new "diamond-fine" toner to make possible 1,200 dpi resolution, offering finer print quality than has been possible with 300 and 600 dpi printers. Corlett said this will mean better graphics and gray-scales, and more readable type at smaller point sizes.
There are five models in the Optra line, ranging from a model meant for desktop use to models intended to be shared among multiple users through a local area network. The Optra R and Rx are meant for single users and small- to medium-sized workgroups, while the L and Lx have larger paper capacities and greater duty cycles for high-volume network printer. The top of the line, the Optra Lxi comes with an Ethernet adapter, an extra paper drawer, and pre-installed extra memory.
Lexmark has redesigned the printers' outer casings, making them sleeker and adding some convenience features such as a fold-down front output tray that automatically redirects output by closing a switch when the user opens it. Paper handling has been improved to let the machines handle labels and thicker card stock more reliably, Corlett said. And Lexmark is introducing network printer management features that will let a network administrator do such things as changing control-panel settings on a printer remotely.
Corlett said that while the 1,200 dpi resolution of the Optra printers is nominally the same as that of a Linotronic typesetting machine, Lexmark is not pretending the new printers will replace typesetting equipment. The different process a typesetting machine uses gives a better result even though the resolution is the same he said. However, the Optras will give better results than existing laser printers for purposes where using a typesetting machine is not practical. While the new machines will initially appeal to design professionals, Corlett said, in time Lexmark expects the higher resolution to become the norm.
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Autodesk Inc., a major software company and publisher of the AutoCAD computer-aided design (CAD) program, has announced that, since 1987, its anti-piracy program has recovered over $15 million in settlements from individuals and corporations who have illegally duplicated its software products in the US and Canada.
Autodesk spokesperson, Beth Parkinson, told Newsbytes the company considers software piracy to be "theft" of a company's products and vigorously enforces its rights under federal copyright law. The company has even setup its own in house copyright enforcement department.
According to Parkinson, Autodesk's Anti-Piracy Department has investigated more than 4,500 reports of software piracy in North America and thousands more internationally in association with the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
The BSA's members are comprised of 75% of the PC world's packaged software makers including Aldus, Apple, Autodesk, Borland Computer Associates, Intergraph, Lotus, Novel, and WordPerfect.
Parkinson says these investigations often result in settlements involving the payment of a sum equivalent to the suggested retail value of the illegally duplicated software. Larger cases according to Parkinson, often involve an additional penalty for past misuse.
BSA spokesperson, Kim Willard, told Newsbytes that software piracy the unauthorized software duplication or installation by companies and individuals, remains one of the most significant problems faced by all software developers -- including BSA's members.
Willard says detailed studies by the BSA indicate as much as 35 percent of all business software is still pirated even after aggressive industry-wide anti-piracy efforts over the past several years. Willard says the percentages are even higher for personal-use software.
The BSA believes total losses from piracy are conservatively estimated at between $2 and $4 billion every year in the US alone while global piracy losses in 1993 were at nearly $13 billion.
Autodesk says the financial losses from piracy are staggering, but that the considerations are not all monetary. "Software piracy presents more problems than revenue loss for Autodesk," says Sandra Boulton, director of the Autodesk Anti-Piracy Department. "Illegal software does not come with manuals or technical support and many users who have illegal software never learn to use it properly. Further, illegal copies of software may contain viruses which can cripple the user's computer."
Autodesk established its Anti-Piracy Department in 1987. "During our first year, we investigated a handful of cases and encountered many people who didn't even realize that software piracy was against the law," notes Boulton. "These days, people are realizing that software piracy is theft. Not only does it take money away from Autodesk's development efforts, it places honest business owners and individuals who pay to purchase the software legally at a competitive disadvantage."
In addition to pursuing individuals and organizations who pirate software for their own use, Autodesk is targeting counterfeit operations distributing software to others. "These operations can be quite sophisticated and difficult to track, but we are making progress in these areas as well," says Boulton. "Federal law enforcement authorities have shown an increasing willingness to assist us in pursuing software pirates and we are encouraged by the progress the enforcement authorities are making."
Advanced Tech Computers (ATC), a Colton, California computer-software and hardware dealer recently settled a copyright infringement suite filed against it by Autodesk. According to the lawsuit the firm was boldly selling bootleg copies AutoCAD with their computers. ATC was "hard-disk loading" AutoCAD and was even bold enough to use Autodesk's trademark in their advertisements.
The United States Copyright Act and similar laws in most industrialized nations, treats software piracy as theft. Further in some countries felony penalties can be imposed to permit holders of intellectual property rights to pursue wrongdoers.
Some industry analyst have expressed concern over excessive criminal penalties and so-called "government abuses" for software piracy which is now a felony in the US.
For example, a case in Ohio involves two grandparents in their 60's who were operating a bulletin board that allegedly had 100 pirated programs out of the 80,000 on the system. The two accused were arrested two years ago, but still have not been charged.
Particularly distributing in this case is that even though they have never been charged with a crime, tens of thousands of dollars in computer equipment was taken from the senior couple. Two years later they still have not been charged with a crime and their property has not been returned. They were reportedly forced to mortgage their home in order to replace the equipment taken from them by the government, which was critically needed to operate their business.
Neither Autodesk nor the BSA was involved in this case.
Autodesk has setup a Authorized Distribution/Anti-Piracy Program hot-line in the US at 800-NO COPIES (800-662-6743).
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: Beth Parkinson, Autodesk Inc., 415-491-8709; Kim Willard, Business Software Alliance 202-872-5500.)
lard, Business Software Alliance 202-872-5500.)
10/19/94
Autodesk Collects $15 Million In Piracy Fines
LEGAL
KidSoft & Apple Bring Software C
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- KidSoft Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:APPL) has announced a partnership to deliver interactive and productive computing to families with Apple Performas.
Apple now bundles KidSoft's Club KidSoft Value Pack with its department/office warehouse store line of Macintosh Performa multimedia computer systems. According to the companies, this bundle brings "the first software club for kids home to America's families."
Maggie Young, KidSoft spokesperson, told Newsbytes that, included with each multimedia Apple Performa will be a "Club KidSoft Value Pack" containing the latest Club KidSoft CD-ROM. The CD-ROM includes an electronic catalog of more than 140 Macintosh educational software products, many of which Young says can be demonstrated and immediately downloaded.
More than $100 in coupons are included for best-selling Macintosh software titles, such as My Own Stories and Reader Rabbit's Ready for Letters. The pack also contains Club KidSoft activities and access to KidSoft contests, as well as an offer for a free Club KidSoft magazine.
"We believe the computer is the vehicle of choice for families interested in interactive learning for their kids," said Rick Devine, president of KidSoft Inc.
Positioning it as a software club for kids and a "great source for parents," Club KidSoft says it has garnered more than 40,000 club members since its debut in the fall of 1993. Club KidSoft is available by membership through KidSoft by calling 800-354-6150 as well as in selected retail, book and computer stores across the United States.
(Nick Anis/19941017/Press Contact: Maggie Young, KidSoft 408-354-6100; Teri Bruno, Teri Bruno Public Relations, 714-454 8056; Gilda Raczkowski, Apple Computer, 408-974-6958)
lda Raczkowski, Apple Computer, 408-974-6958)
10/19/94
KidSoft & Apple Bring Software Club To Kids
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Zenith Intros PC Wireless Remote
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- If you want to work on your personal computer while you are up to 500 feet or further away, you should take a look at Zenith Data Systems' (ZDS) new CruisePad device.
CruisePad is a wireless remote interface that works with networked or standalone personal computers. When combined with a ZDS CruiseLAN ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) or PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association), card the user can control DOS and Windows applications running on a desktop or notebook computer, as well as any network accessible from that computer. You can also combined multiple networked CruiseLAN systems to extend the range of the CruisePad.
CruisePad weighs just over three pounds with the standard battery pack rated by ZDS at four hours, measures 10.6-inches by 9.8-inches, and has an 8.5-inch monochrome dual scan 640 by 480 resolution backlit LCD (liquid crystal display) screen to display the video output of the host remote computer.
User input is via a configurable touch-activated on-screen keyboard and a stylus -- imagine holding a lightweight compact PC in one hand and typing or tapping on it with the other hand. As an alternative there is also an optional external keyboard for user input. There is also an optional cover to protect the unit when it is not in use.
CruisePad communicates to the host computer by way of 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio. ZDS claims the display updates are instantaneous. The antenna needed for the wireless communication with the PC is at the upper left corner of the CruisePad.
According to Alan Soucy, ZDS VP of the Mobile Systems Product Group "The concept of a stationary workspace is diametrically opposed to the kind of flexibility and mobility espoused by today's leading companies and management consultants. CruisePad lets users take advantage of their installed computing power without being tied to a desk."
ZDS cites a study by BIS Strategic Decisions that shows 69 percent of worker mobility is local, or within a building or campus. Soucy said the CruisePad device enables people to be productive wherever they choose to work.
ZDS spokesperson Kathy Mallers told Newsbytes an extended life battery pack is available for the CruisePad that provides up to eight hours of operation under normal usage. The extended life battery pack adds slightly more than three ounces to the unit's weight.
Mallers said CruisePad has a suggested retail price of $1,399 and is scheduled to ship in late November. The accompanying ISA card for use in desktop PCs, is $595 while the PCMCIA interface card for use in laptop and notebook systems sells for $695.
(Jim Mallory/19941019/Press contact: Glynnis Gibson, Zenith Data Systems, 312-868-9400; Public contact: Zenith Data Systems, tel 708-808-5000 or 800-533-0331, fax 708-808-4434/CRUISE941019/PHOTO)
3-0331, fax 708-808-4434/CRUISE941019/PHOTO)
10/19/94
Zenith Intros PC Wireless Remote Interface
IBM & Motorola Announce 64-Bit P
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- IBM (NASDAQ:IBM) and Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) have achieved "first silicon" on the PowerPC 620 microprocessor. "First silicon" is the industry term that refers to accomplishment of development and fabrication of a product.
The PowerPC 620 is the first 64-bit microprocessor for the PowerPC architecture and is compatible with current 32-bit applications. Motorola says the chip is designed for currently available image processing, transaction processing, and multiprocessing applications and emerging virtual reality, language translation, and imaging translation applications running on file servers and high-end workstations.
The PowerPC chip architecture was developed jointly by Apple, IBM and Motorola and uses reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) technology. The PowerPC 620 is a 133 megahertz (MHz) chip that uses seven million transistors, has an on-chip secondary cache control 128-bit wide data bus and multiprocessing capability. It can issue up to four instructions in parallel every clock cycle to six execution units.
The 620 is the fourth chip produced by the Somerset Design Center and the first specifically designed for server and high-end workstations in the PowerPC family. The PowerPC 601 and 604 are designed for desktop and workstation applications while the 603 is intended as a low power microprocessor for laptops and portable computers.
You still cannot run out and buy a computer or workstation powered by the 620. Motorola says general sampling will begin in the second quarter of 1995 and volume production will start in the second half of 1995. IBM has already said it will use the PowerPC 620 in its computers, and 3DO, Apple, Canon, Ford Motor Co, Hitachi, Motorola and other companies, have also said they are designing systems and embedded control subsystems that incorporate the 620 chip.
While the 620 still is not available for general use, the next generation of the PowerPC is already in development. In June Newsbytes reported development of, what is generally being referred to as, the PowerPC 630. IBM has called it the Power3.
At that time IBM spokesperson Greg Golden told Newsbytes that the next-generation chip will be used in the company's RISC System/6000 workstations and servers. The 630 will approximately double the performance of the 620, and is expected to be available in 1997 according to some analysts.
(Jim Mallory/19941019/Press contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola 512-891-2839)
contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola 512-891-2839)
10/19/94
IBM & Motorola Announce 64-Bit PowerPC Chip
CHIPS
AOL Claims Most Popular Internet
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- America Online says it is the most popular Internet service provider in the US, and plans to roll out major new Internet services in the next few months, including a World Wide Web site so Internet users can access AOL.
"As a result of our subscribers' enthusiastic response to our initial Internet offering, we are now the nation's leading Internet provider," said Steve Case, AOL president and chief executive officer. "With our planned enhancements that we are announcing today, we are positioning AOL to be the 'on ramp' for millions of Americans."
In addition to the WWW site, AOL will also make its software and a trial membership available for downloading by Internet users. "Until now," said Case, "America Online's Internet presence has been one way -- AOL subscribers have had access to Internet content, but Internet-only users have not had a way to access or view services from AOL. By establishing a WWW site on the Internet and including AOL software and trial membership we are reaching out to the market of Internet-only users who can simply, and without delay, experience the magic of America Online."
Case noted that AOL has "done more than any other site on the 'Net' to educate and inform our subscribers about the Internet and we will continue to move forward with sensitivity as we bring these two rapidly growing communities together."
AOL's moves to broaden Internet interconnection could end the somewhat snobbish attitude some Net surfers have toward addresses that end with "aol.com." Some "Unixcentric Netheads" look down on the folks from the graphical world of AOL and "flame" them when they log onto Newsgroups.
AOL is also broadening its Internet capabilities, including a preview of FTP (File Transfer Protocol). The company plans to expand FTP support over the coming months. Also, AOL has beefed up its Newsgroups capability, adding "reply to author" and "mark as read/unread" enhancements.
Future plans also include a WWW browser somewhat similar to Mosaic, and addition of Telnet. Both are planned for this winter, said AOL.
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Subsidiaries of AT&T and GTE have won internationally-recognized quality awards.
AT&T's Consumer Communications Services in Basking Ridge NJ, and GTE Directories Corp. of Dallas-Fort Worth won Malcolm Baldrige awards in Washington. Separately, AT&T's Power Systems division has won Japan's prestigious Deming prize for quality management.
The Baldrige awards are made by the US Department of Commerce. President Clinton and Commerce Secretary Ron Brown will present the awards at a Washington ceremony later this year.
In a written statement, President Clinton said the winners "demonstrate that aggressive quality management -- including a clear customer focus and partnerships with employees and suppliers -- equips American companies to compete and excel in the global marketplace."
"I encourage all US companies to follow the examples of these winners by focusing on and investing in quality," said Brown.
Wainwright Industries, a privately held manufacturer in St. Peters, Mo., won in the small business category. There was no award this year for large manufacturing companies.
Power Systems, part of AT&T's microelectronics business makes devices used to control cellular phones, computers, and telecommunications switching equipment. The award in Tokyo marks the first time a US company has won the Deming award for manufacturing, according to AT&T.
The annual Baldrige awards were established in 1987 and are named for the late Malcolm Baldrige, an industrialist who became the first Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan administration in 1981 and who was an advocate of quality management. He died in a rodeo accident in 1987. The awards are managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology an arm of the Commerce Department.
(Kennedy Maize/19941019)
rtment.
(Kennedy Maize/19941019)
10/19/94
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awards
GENERAL
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Lotus Reports Decline In 3rd Qua
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- In a teleconference, Lotus officials reported a 60 percent drop in net income "before non-recurring charges" for third quarter 1994 attributing the "disappointing" results to a decline in revenues from Lotus' European operations. Officials also acknowledged a net loss of $66.4 million for the quarter "after recurring charges," explaining that these charges stemmed mostly from the acquisitions of SoftSwitch and Edge Research.
"The decline was concentrated in Europe," said Ed Gillis, senior VP for finance and administration, and chief financial officer (CFO), during the phone conference, which was attended by Newsbytes.
In the third quarter ended October 1, Lotus shipped upgrades to the Windows editions of SmartSuite and its standalone desktop applications, including Lotus 1-2-3, Approach, Ami Pro, and Freelance Graphics, according to the officials. The company also delivered 1-2-3 Release 4 for DOS and several new communications products: Notes Express, Lotus Notes Server for Windows NT, cc:Mail Pager Gateway, and cc:Mail Link to MHS 2.0.
Lotus' new products have been "well received" in Europe as well as in North America and Japan, maintained Bob Weiler, senior VP Worldwide Sales & Marketing. But European revenues have suffered from a "lag" in seeing positive results from Lotus' new Passport distribution program, along with the "late shipment" of the upgrades to Lotus' desktop products, he added.
Because the upgrades did not arrive in Europe until the end of September, the products "did not have a lot of opportunity to impact" third quarter results, said Weiler. But the effect of the upgrades' release in Europe will show up in Lotus' fourth quarter results, he contended.
Jim Manzi, president and chief executive officer (CEO), told participants that Lotus is "working hard on relationships" with European resellers involved in Passport. Passport replaces previous contracts known as LSVP and RSVP, in which customers purchased products from resellers in conjunction with Lotus Direct. Under Passport, the software is distributed over computer networks, and purchased directly from resellers, officials explained during the teleconference.
Also to help boost sales in Europe, Lotus has "restructured" its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, appointing Lotus veteran James Farger to head up operations there, Weiler noted. The restructuring has resulted in the layoffs of 100 full-time and contract employees in Europe and the Middle East, added Gillis.
"Non-recurring" charges for third quarter 1994 included a $9 million restructuring charge "related primarily to European operations," plus a total of $67.9 million in charges from the completion of Lotus' purchases of SoftSwitch and Edge, Gillis announced.
Net income before non-recurring charges was $7.3 million, or 15 cents per share, for the third quarter ended October 1, as opposed to $18.3 million, or 41 cents per share, for third quarter 1993 the CFO said. Revenue for the quarter amounted to $235.2 million a two percent decline from revenue of $240.1 million for the third quarter of last year.
After the non-recurring charges, which came to $76.9 million or $1.55 per share, Lotus showed a net loss of $66.4 million translating to $1.39 per share.
Gillis also told the telephone audience that, in an effort to contain costs, Lotus is currently "reducing discretionary spending."
In a Q&A session that followed, financial analysts posed questions ranging from whether further restructuring is being considered to how long the Passport "lag" is likely to last.
When asked to elaborate on Passport, Gillis explained that the program results in a "lag time" of 30 to 60 days. Customers are given 30 days to commit to purchasing products from resellers, he said. Then, resellers are allotted an additional period of time for reporting the purchases to Lotus. The "lag time" is a temporary phenomenon, he said.
Added Manzi: "We are reasonably confident that (Passport) will expand our leverage and our reach, and that it will be a good thing." But the CEO declined to provide specific projections on Passport. "It is a new program, and we don't want to be trapped into making projections until we have more experience with it," Manzi said.
Weiler mentioned other positive indicators for Lotus' operations in Europe. The economies of both the UK and Germany are "starting to come back," and deployment of LANs (local area networks) is also increasing in Europe, he maintained.
"Is there another breakout point where you guys would consider another restructuring?" a second analyst wanted to know. It is "way too early to tell," the officials responded.
Another analyst asked Manzi about rumored talks between Lotus and AT&T over a possible investment by AT&T in Lotus. "I would obviously have no comment on any conversations we had with AT&T or anybody else," said the CEO.
Also during the Q&A, the Lotus execs pointed to the recently announced Lotus Notes Express, and to Advantis and Sun OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deals, as additional examples of how Lotus is broadening its "presence."
Notes Express is "attracting new users" by allowing Lotus to offer implementations of Lotus Notes at "multiple price points," the conference participants were told.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941018/Reader Contact: Lotus Development Corporation, 617-577-8500; Press Contact: Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
10/19/94
Lotus Reports Decline In 3rd Quarter Income
BUSINESS
Indian Oil & IBM In Software Mar
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- In an effort to market its software programs worldwide, the R23,726-crore public sector Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has entered into a strategic alliance with global computer giant IBM and Tata Information Services Ltd. (TISL).
Under terms of the agreement, IOC will hand over the marketing of its software programs which are currently used to operate automatic systems at some of the company's installations, which have been computerized. IOC's software programs have been developed by its information technology department during the past six years.
Key IOC installations, such as aviation storage depots, bulk oil storage depots, and some bottling plants, are presently using the software. They have helped IOC in streamlining its operations improving efficiency, and reducing wasted time.
A working group will decide on the marketing strategy and will review operations over a period of time. According to IOC sources the deal with IBM can be extended into a joint venture in the future if the marketing arrangement proves successful. The deal will also enable IOC to fund future expansion plans worth R13,500 crore.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941019)
R13,500 crore.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941019)
10/19/94
Indian Oil & IBM In Software Marketing Deal
BUSINESS
Apple Ships IP Gateway For Apple
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) is now shipping Apple IP Gateway for AppleTalk users. In combination with the firm's remote access products and MacTCP the gateway will give Apple users dial-up access to IP (Internet Protocol)-based services.
IP is the most fundamental Internet protocol, used to send packets across multiple networks.
Eric Gould, Apple's product line manager of communication products in the business systems division, told Newsbytes that the product is intended to "lend synergy" to Apple's communications and remote access products, and to complete a "total solution" for users who have MacTCP or who have upgraded to the System 7.5 operating system, which incorporates MacTCP as core technology.
MacTCP client software lets Macintosh computers on IP networks communicate using TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). With the IP Gateway, a MacTCP client can connect Macs connected to an AppleTalk network. The Gateway acts as a translator between AppleTalk and TCP/IP network protocols, letting Macs on AppleTalk networks access IP services as if they were on the IP network. Taken together, MacTCP and the Gateway enable multiprotocol connectivity, the firm said.
"Of course, the Internet by itself supports IP," Gould said. "but LocalTalk, Token Ring and others do not. We wanted to allow such systems to get dial-up access to IP networks."
Apple said the Gateway can also be used as a standalone IP Gateway server, or in combination with other Apple products including the Remote Access Personal Server 2.0.1, Remote Access MultiPort Server 2.0.1, or Internet Router 3.0.1.
With the Gateway, an Apple user can access TCP/IP services, using tools such as Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Gopher World-Wide Web and Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS), while keeping full access to their existing AppleTalk services. Customers can, for instance, simultaneously connect to an AppleShare file server through AppleTalk and a Unix host through FTP.
The Apple IP Gateway is a standalone software package, available through Apple authorized resellers at list $249 in the US. US users who have Apple Remote Access Personal Server 2.0.1, MultiPort Server 2.0.1, or the Apple Internet Router 3.0.1, can buy the IP Gateway for $69, with proof of purchase.
(Craig Menefee/19941019/Press Contact: Emilio Robles, Apple Computer Inc., 408-862-5671; or John McCreadie, Regis McKenna 408-974-4398; Reader Contact: 800-769-2775 ext 5922)
Reader Contact: 800-769-2775 ext 5922)
10/19/94
Apple Ships IP Gateway For AppleTalk
NETWORK
Sima Offers Mice & Accessories S
NILES, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- With the market for home computers booming, Sima Products Corp. has announced a line of computer accessories designed specifically for the kids using those PCs.
The company's PC Pals product line is designed for children aged three and up. The line includes wireless head-phones, a trackball mousepad, pen-shaped mouse, disk storage case, and screen guard.
PC Pals uses an alphabet-symbol decorative motif and primary colors on its products to brighten up products that are usually more functional than decorative.
Sima's Easy-grip handheld pen-type mouse uses an extra-large cursor that never disappears off the screen. The mouse resembles a smaller version of the conventional mouse with a handle set at about 45 degrees, is sized for children, comes with a stand, and connects to the PC via the serial port. The pen mouse has a suggested retail price of $44.95. The company also offers its Easyroller computer trackball, which also has the oversize cursor. The trackball sells for $59.95.
Funframe Screen Guard is a transparent vinyl protector that covers the monitor face and has a decorative frame.
Sima President Ilana Diamond told Newsbytes the company developed the device because its research shows that when children are working with drawing programs on a PC, some want to draw on the screen with crayons or other tools. It has a suggested retail price of $12.95.
The company's foam-backed mouse pad, priced at $4.49, is rectangular like most mouse pads, but is decorated with the alphabet-symbol pattern used on other Sima products, as is the disk storage that sells for $9.95. The five-disk case for 3.5-inch floppy disks comes with labels to identify the disks. The labels each have a unique picture so children who have not learned to read yet can identify their own disks. Diamond said the case is specially designed to stay closed, but can easily be opened by a small user's fingers.
Adults in the house may appreciate the wireless headphones for smaller heads. The volume level is pre-set at the factory so it cannot exceed 80 decibels, and parents can set it even lower if desired in order to protect the child's hearing. An additional benefit of the headphones is eliminating game noise for everyone but the user. The headphones use infrared technology to communicate with the PC.
Sima engineer Lonnie Diamond told Newsbytes the headphones work with a Soundblaster card or one of a growing number of PCs that come equipped with an audio jack. An adapter is provided to match different sized output jacks. The headphones have a suggested retail price of $74.95.
Ilana Diamond says all the products are currently shipping and are available in toy and computer retail outlets such as Computer City, CompUSA and Noodle Kadoodle as well as through toy catalogs like Troll Learn and Play. The company says it will announce additional products at the next Consumer Electronics Show.
BINGHAM FARMS, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- In a small flurry of announcements, Allnet Communication Services said it has agreed with three east coast US "Baby Bell" companies to resell cellular phone service as part of an "everything-on-one-bill" marketing strategy. The Allnet agreements are with Bell Atlantic NYNEX, and BellSouth.
Under the agreements, Allnet, acting as Allnet Mobile, will market cellular services to small- to medium-sized businesses in areas not yet covered among the 17 states with approximately 35 major markets in which the service now operates.
Speaking to Newsbytes about the triple-threat announcements Allnet Vice President for Marketing Charles Gragg remarked, "We don't fool around here. When we decide to do something, we just do it."
In a more serious vein he explained that a program launched about a year ago with Ameritech in Detroit and Chicago worked "very, very well," so the firm started discussions with other carriers.
"What you're seeing here is the result those discussions. They're all coming together at the same time, and I think we're into over 30 markets now. We went after the RBOCs (regional Bell operating companies) first because they give us the broadest coverage, the quickest, and it's worked well for us."
Gragg said Allnet is currently in discussion with other local Bell carriers and would make announcements as deals are struck. He said Allnet Mobile will keep its focus on small- to medium-sized businesses, which he said asked Allnet for some way to get all their telecom bills -- for paging, cellular service, voice-mail, 800 service, calling card numbers, fax, teleconferencing and anything else -- onto a single bill. Allnet Mobile is, in part, the result of those requests, Gragg told Newsbytes.
"Allnet's single-bill philosophy played very well into what our customers have been looking for," Gragg said. "So we negotiated arrangements with the cellular carriers and are able to take billing tapes from them, crunch it together here internally, and put it back onto a single invoice for our customers.
"The end result is that we are the only carrier in the country that combines cellular air time and long distance onto one invoice. For smaller companies it's a big convenience. They don't have separate billing departments, and typically the owner-operators are paying all the invoices. Now they can get rid of all those multiple invoices."
He said its upcoming paging network, done with BellSouth, will tie in with Allnet Mobile.
"By year's end, what we're going to have is a complete 'follow-me' service. Allnet customers will be able to change the routing of their incoming calls from office to home to car to pager. Then we'll tie the whole thing together with a calling card to let them make calls back out from a pay phone or by direct dial from a regular or cellular phone. It will let a customer be found wherever they are. I don't think anyone else is doing that today."
Gragg said the new agreements mean Allnet Mobile now covers territory from Boston to Miami on the US East Coast. Existing agreements cover the upper Midwest (through Ameritech) and the West (through US West). Negotiations with other Baby Bells are in process, he said. The goal, he said, is eventually to cover the entire country.
Headquartered in Bingham Farms, Michigan, Allnet is a wholly owned subsidiary of ALC Communications Corporation (AMEX: ALC).
(Craig Menefee/19941019/Press Contacts: Jim Labadie, Brogan & Partners, 313-874-8553, for Allnet Communication Services; Karen Ann Kurlander of Bell Atlantic Mobile, 908-306-7552; Jim Gerace of NYNEX, 914-365-7712; Ed Evans of BellSouth, 404-249-0876)
914-365-7712; Ed Evans of BellSouth, 404-249-0876)
10/19/94
Allnet Expands Mobile Line With Three Baby Bells
TELECOM
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- By John Hastings. Intel is expected to cut the prices on its top-of-the-line Pentium CPU (central processing unit) chips this quarter, but some industry experts think the cuts may be much deeper than previously expected.
Sales of the Pentium chips have fallen far below Intel's expectations. Most of the high-end machines have been sold into the home market while corporate buyers have stayed away in droves. In addition, Intel is facing more serious competition that it has seen in the past decade. The PowerPC chip, manufactured by IBM and Motorola, is gaining ground and respectability. But, more importantly, Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix, and NexGen will have clones of the Pentium available in quantities next year. Compaq will purchase all of the chips AMD can make and IBM will manufacture large quantities of the Cyrix chip. To make matters worse, 486 chips are cheap and abundant. To retain market share, Intel will make radical price cuts in the next three months. In the new market, 486 price cuts will be inevitable and in the used market 486 and 386 computers will fall sharply.
Motorola may be looking at Apple as an acquisition. As the manufacturer of all of Apple's CPU chips, Motorola has been disappointed that Apple has not licensed its operating system software to more computer manufacturers. By owning the company Motorola could rectify that situation and create an enormous market for its PowerPC chips.
Meanwhile, IBM does not relish losing the PowerPC market to Motorola. By making a substantial investment in Apple, IBM can license the Macintosh operating system and help Apple defend itself from acquisition from Motorola. Look for IBM Macintosh clones by next summer.
John Hastings is the president of the American Computer Exchange. Since 1988, the American Computer Exchange has matched buyers and sellers of used microcomputers. For more information contact the American Computer Exchange at (800) 786-0717.
The AmCoEx Index of Used Computer Prices
The following prices are for October 17, 1994.
Average Average
Buyer's Seller's
Machine Bid Ask Close Change($)
IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB $400 $675 $475 ..
IBM PS/1 486DX2/50 253MB 1125 1450 1175 -25
IBM PS/2 Model 90 160MB 1200 1600 1325 ..
IBM ThinkPad 350C 1900 2400 2150 -25
IBM ThinkPad 700 1000 1700 1200 ..
IBM ThinkPad 720 1600 2000 1700 -25
AST 486SX/25 170MB 700 1250 975 ..
AST 486DX/66 340MB 1350 1900 1450 -50
Dell 386/33, 100MB 600 1000 725 -25
Dell 486DX/33 240MB 850 1500 1200 -25
Gateway 386/25, 80MB 400 800 625 ..
Gateway 486/33 120MB 800 1200 975 -25
Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB 500 900 775 ..
Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA 450 900 675 -25
Clone 486/25 120MB, VGA 700 1200 1000 -25
Clone 486DX/33 240MB 800 1425 1175 ..
Compaq LTE 286 40MB 300 675 525 -50
Compaq Contura 320 60MB 500 1000 900 ..
Compaq Contura 4/25 120MB 1100 1600 1250 -50
Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB 500 800 625 ..
Compaq Deskpro 486/33 120MB 1100 1650 1250 -25
Mac Classic II 80MB 400 800 475 ..
Mac IIsi 160MB 600 900 700 +25
Macintosh IIcx 80MB 400 700 475 ..
Macintosh IIci 80MB 600 950 650 ..
Macintosh IIfx 80MB 700 1250 850 +50
Mac Quadra 700 230MB 1100 1600 1350 +50
Mac Quadra 800 500MB 2150 2900 2350 ..
PowerBook 140 40MB 700 1100 875 +25
PowerBook 170 40MB 800 1350 1025 ..
PowerBook 180 80MB 1200 1700 1500 ..
LaserWriterPro 630 1500 1975 1575 -25
Toshiba 1900 120M 1000 1700 1050 ..
Toshiba 3200 SXC, 120MB 1850 2950 2250 -50
Toshiba 3300SL 120MB 1050 1600 1175 ..
Toshiba 5200 100MB 850 1250 900 -25
HP LaserJet II 350 850 600 -25
HP LaserJet IIIP 350 950 475 -25
HP LaserJet III 650 1000 675 ..
HP LaserJet IV 900 1300 1000 ..
For more information contact the American Computer Exchange at (800) 786-0717.
(AMCOEX/19941018)
(800) 786-0717.
(AMCOEX/19941018)
10/19/94
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
GENERAL
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows N
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- One of the first areas that Unisys, fresh from setting up its European Information Services Division (EISD) operation earlier this month, is concentrating on, is the Windows NT marketplace.
As reported recently by Newsbytes, Unisys is the middle of moving its services to businesses from several disparate divisions which customers have to deal with separately, to a "one stop shopping" approach for clients.
According to Daniel Couzens, a spokesman for Unisys' UK operations the move towards ISD operations started two years ago when Victor Millar and his team from Andersen Consulting were brought into Unisys to offer advice on how best to offer service to clients.
"The big changes started three to four months ago with the start of setting up the ISD operations. The Windows NT consultancy service is the first real effect of this as far as potential customers are concerned," he told Newsbytes.
Unisys claims that its new Windows NT ISD service allows clients to evaluate, acquire and implement information technology (IT) in a way that addresses their business needs. Plans call for the Windows NT ISD consulting business to incorporate the Microsoft Solution Framework (MSF), Microsoft's approach for architecting and developing business solutions across the enterprise.
Commenting on the new service, Kevin Bushby, vice president for client server systems in Europe and Africa, said that Unisys "is unique in focusing on both the business and information issues confronting the enterprise adoption of Windows NT. We are undertaking a major joint development and investment with Microsoft. No other organization in Europe has committed to such a major undertaking -- and we are pleased to be working with Microsoft,"
Dave Smith, Microsoft UK's solutions marketing group manager explained that "easy access to high level consultancy and support is the main objective of our Solution Provider Partner Program. Our relationship with Unisys is an excellent example of this, providing our customers with an experienced IT services company to work with them in implementing Windows NT on a company-wide basis."
According to Smith, by working closely with Microsoft's Consulting Services, Unisys will be able to ensure that specific Microsoft skills can be used to help Unisys' customers integrate Windows NT into their enterprise local area networks (LANs).
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows NT Consulting Service
BUSINESS
UK - Gold Disk Intros PC Video P
WINDSOR, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Gold Disk, a multimedia specialist, has unveiled version 2.0 of its VideoDirector for Windows software, which the company claims can control a video recorder and camcorder, moving and editing clips and frames of video around between the machines to "edit down" a sequence of video and audio.
Judy Tilley, sales manager with Gold Disk's UK Office, told Newsbytes that the UKP139.99 package comes with a "smart cable" that links the PC with a camcorder and VCR (or two VCRs) and controls the video devices.
"Versions of the package are available for the Apple Mac and the PC. On the Mac version, the smart cable plugs into the Mac's printer port while on the PC, it plugs into the PC's serial port. The PC is then able to control the two video devices using the three way cable," she explained.
The PC Windows version 2.0 of VideoDirector is aimed at serious home video enthusiasts, as well as at small businesses who need to edit their video recordings, for whatever reason. GoldDisk claims that, while two million camcorders are sold each year in the UK around 10 percent of users also have a home or small business computer, so VideoDirector is a good choice for these users.
In a company statement from GoldDisk's US office, Neil Snyder, vice president of marketing with the US operations, said that camcorder sales are booming as prices come down, with the result that video is becoming as popular as fixed image (still) cameras.
"VideoDirector enables people to cut out all the dull bits in their tape and keep what they want, and in the order that they want them just as in the same way that people organized photo albums with their favorite shots," he said.
Version 2.0 of VideoDirector for Windows has an improved user interface over the PC and Mac version 1.0. The number of camcorders and VCRs that are supported by the software has been greatly increased, while video clip logging and editing accuracy has also been enhanced, the company claims.
The software requires a 16 megahertz (MHz) 386-based of better PC equipped with two megabytes (MB) of memory, DOS 3.0 or higher and Windows 3.1 or later. Optional extra hardware includes: an MCI compatible Video in a Windows board for the display of video on the computer monitor; a Windows compatible sound board for audio effects; CD-ROM for CD audio effects; and a VGA to NTSC (North American Television Standards Committee) encoder or genlock for title animation or graphic effects.
(Steve Gold/19941019/Press & Reader Contact: Gold Disk UK tel +44-753-832383, fax +44-753-840066; Gold Disk US 408-982-0200)
383, fax +44-753-840066; Gold Disk US 408-982-0200)
10/19/94
UK - Gold Disk Intros PC Video Production Package
Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Me
Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase
OnLine Tonight Heard On United A
Personnel Changes Roundup
Unisys Shuffles Global IT Operat
MacWorld - Mainstay Intros Plan
Impulse Claims First With Pentiu
Xerox System Improves On Smart C
Library Of Congress To Digitize
UK - RAM Signs National Mobile R
WEST DRAYTON, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- RAM Mobile Data has signed its biggest customer to date in the UK -- BLMS, a subsidiary of Bass Leisure. Terms of the deal call for RAM to provide Mobidem-based mobile messaging facilities for the 300-plus service engineers that roam the UK fixing the company's 40,000 gaming machines (slots) and jukeboxes in 13,000 outlets.
RAM's packet radio network is needed by BLMS, the company clams, as it has to have a response time of less than two hours when called out to a faulty gaming machine or jukebox. The mobile data system replaces an existing system based around mobile phones.
According to BLMS, the new system uses the RAM network to manage the flow of information between the company's service control centers and the engineers in the field. The system is now being used by more than 100 engineers, and there are plans to roll the service out to more than 300 engineers by the early part of the new year.
Each BLMS engineer is being supplied with a handheld PC and a vehicle-based Mobidem as an integrated unit. Incoming job details are dispatched to the engineer's computer from a service management application on an AS/400 computer-based system connected to the RAM packet radio network.
As job details are passed over the network to the engineer's mobile system, the engineer taps in job acceptance, progress, and completion details, as they happen. This data is passed back to the center and new jobs are then allocated as required.
According to Keith Smith, BLMS operations director, the system means that the 13 service centers around the UK can manage the incoming work load more efficiently, and allocated engineers to meet the 120 minute call-out times.
"The migration to a single, mobile, integrated field management system with a fixed monthly outlay, allows us to better manager our communications costs," Smith explained, adding that the use of packet radio, especially in city areas such as Central London, is a lot better than cellular telephony, where congestion and taxi radio interruption have always caused problems.
So why go for the RAM packet radio network system? According to Smith, the company evaluated several possible systems, but settled on RAM's because of the use of international and open standards, as well as the fact that it allowed them access to independent suppliers.
David Wellbelove, RAM UK's head of marketing, said that the switch from cellular to packet radio in the case of BLMS "demonstrates how a single mobile data system based on RAM can save companies money and improve productivity."
"A single, mobile data solution is replacing private mobile radio (PMR), cellular telephones and paging technologies and is providing more benefits at lower costs," he said.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941019/Press & Reader Contact: RAM Mobile Data tel +44-81-990-9090, fax +44-990-9110)
ile Data tel +44-81-990-9090, fax +44-990-9110)
10/19/94
UK - RAM Signs National Mobile Radio Contract
TELECOM
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
Rockwell Software Development To
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PC
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Scanner Software Bundle From Can
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline
UK - Gupta Readies QuickObjects
MARLOW, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Gupta Corp. has announced QuickObjects for Oracle, which it claims is the first object-oriented graphical user interface to store procedures in Orange relational databases.
Rosemary Bladon, a spokeswoman for Gupta, explained that the system is an extension of Gupta's SQL (structured query language) Windows application development utility. The package allows application developers to include Orange stored procedures into their SQL Windows applications, without the need for extra programming.
Stored procedures allow database application developers to place some of their application logic onto the server, so improving system performance and overall system integrity. According to Gupta, by building an "object wrapper" around the stored procedures QuickObjects "shields developers from many of the complexities of incorporating such procedures into applications."
"We hope the 'power made easy' appeal of the QuickObjects-Oracle combination will prove invaluable to our worldwide joint base of 10,000 client-server application developers," explained Umang Gupta the company's president.
"Now that we have extended the QuickObjects technology to support Oracle stored procedures, we will continue to provide interfaces to other leading databases," he said.
QuickObjects will be available worldwide from Gupta as part of SQLWindows 5.0, the company's component-based development architecture that allows object-oriented applications to be created without creating program code. In use, the software technology requires developers to drag and drop objects or classes of objects into business applications that they are building, the company claims.
Pricing on SQLWindows 5.0 in the UK have been set at UKP99 for the Solo edition, UKP995 for SQL Windows Starter Edition, UKP1,995 for SQL Windows Network Edition, and UKP2,995 for the Windows Corporate Edition. Similar pricing is expected in the US, Newsbytes understands.
COLCHESTER, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Access Accounting has unveiled Access Accounts for the PowerPC flavor of the Apple Mac. According to officials with the company, the PowerPC version of the package, which has been available on the PC and 68xxx-based Mac environments since earlier this year, is about 25 percent faster.
Alistair O'Reilly, Access' managing director, claims that the package is the first accounting system in the UK to offer both client and server native PowerPC functionality. The package includes a new graphing tool to allow the user to produce statistical information such as customer turnover, customer balances and stock profitability in a graph format.
"We've been systematically ramping up the development of the Access Accounts software to cater for users across the main operating environments," O'Reilly explained, adding that the launch of the package for the PowerPC Mac marks the development of accounting software," which empowers the user to increase business productivity."
Features of the PowerPC application include simple toolbars with clear icons and cascading menus, with a point-and-click selection system for modules, plus options for fast operation. With this new version of its package, the company claims it has developed a System Manager module for "increased effectiveness in networked environments."
As with the PC and Windows versions, Access Accounts for the PowerPC Mac is available on a modular and customizable basis for companies. Pricing for the various modules, including system manager, sales ledger, purchase ledger, stock control and many other sub-systems costs from UKP100 per module, with extra options for multi-currency add-ins also available.
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- Quarterdeck (NASDAQ:QDEK) has announced plans to ship its smart uninstaller CleanSweep, sometime this fall. Still in the beta test stage Quarterdeck claims the program is a "new level" of the features found in MicroHelp's popular "Uninstaller."
According to Quarterdeck, CleanSweep is packed with "smart features" such as searching for unneeded system components and unneeded, unused and duplicate application files, as well as finding and clearing orphan files which may have been left in the system after using a simple Windows file manager delete command.
The company says that its "overriding concern" in developing CleanSweep has been system and application integrity and safety. With use of warnings and active help messages, Quarterdeck assures users that an accidental deletion of critical system and application files is not possible as long as onscreen guidelines are followed.
That safety system was described by Alex Eckelberry, group product manager for utilities at Quarterdeck: "What actually takes place when a user uninstalls is CleanSweep makes a backup of the file or files and then compresses the data. That compressed file is kept until a user is ready to delete it. Seven days after the uninstall a message reminds the user that the compressed file is still on the hard disk if it has not been removed."
Eckelberry continued, "If a user finds that somehow a particular file is critical to a system or application operation, that user may retrieve the file from the back-up compressed file. In our beta tests we have frequently seen seven to ten megabytes (MB) of space become available from a 250MB hard disk after CleanSweep has searched the system."
CleanSweep automatically locates backup, temporary, archive help, bit-map and lost cluster files, so that a user may review and uninstall these files which may be using valuable disk space.
One of the safety features allows a user to choose a "trial run" to find out how much disk space is saved from an uninstall command. With this feature, a user may follow a "What if" scenario which will show how much disk space becomes available as a result of a particular uninstall command.
CleanSweep includes a network uninstall module free with each copy of the program. This module allows uninstall to operate on both the server and the workstations.
Like most of Quarterdeck's products, CleanSweep will be appearing throughout most retail software outlets, both large and small. The company is predicting a street price in the range of $39 to $49. CleanSweep installs on any IBM-compatible computer, requires 3MB of hard disk space, and Quarterdeck suggests a minimum of 4MB RAM.
(Patrick McKenna/19941019/Press Contact: Rolf Rudestam, The Rudestam Group, 909-585-2012. Public Information: Quarterdeck 310-392-4215; Internet e-mail pr@qdeck.com)
ck 310-392-4215; Internet e-mail pr@qdeck.com)
10/19/94
Quarterdeck's CleanSweep Windows Uninstaller
WINDOWS
UK - Hutchison Claims London Mob
Defense Electronics Sales Stable
UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Sec
Caere & Calera To Merge
Apple Australia CD Sampler
Allnet Expands Mobile Line With
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem M
Software Alliance Wins $260,000
Scala Opens Canadian Office, Lau
UK - Voice-Mail Offers Link For
Philippines City Hall Installs F
C-Cube Income Up 993%
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- In its third fiscal quarter last year, C-Cube Microsystems (NASDAQ:CUBE) posted a net income of $129,000. The company's recently released third fiscal quarter report for 1994 shows net income up 993% to $1.4 million.
A major player in digital video compression, C-Cube introduced what the company claims was, the first single-chip Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-1 system decoders during the third quarter.
As compared to its second quarter results of this year, the third quarter shows a 23% increase in revenues and a 40% increase of net income. Earnings per share on 16.8 million outstanding shares is $0.08. The second quarter report of 1994 listed 15.8 million outstanding shares which earned $0.06.
According to C-CUBE, its development of MPEG decoders are playing a dramatic role in the delivery of full-motion, full-color video to multimedia computer applications and other related products such as Video CD-Players.
Alex Balkanski, executive vice president at C-Cube, told Newsbytes, "The reception by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to our MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 resolution encoder products has been exceptional. This third quarter report indicates we are falling into line with out long-term model of the company."
Balkanski pointed out that research and development costs had decreased as a percent of sales, while increasing by nearly $2 million in terms of actual money spent on research and development compared to the same quarter last year. He said a large portion of the $2 million has been spent on developing a great micro-code team of designers.
Its latest MPEG-1 chip, the CL480VCD, was recently implemented in CD-player products at Japan's Consumer Electronics Show and commercial products will be available for Asian market late this fall. Products in the US are expected to appear sometime during 1995.
(Patrick McKenna/1994/Press Contact: John Radewagon, The Benjamin Group, 408-559-6090; Public Information: 408-944-6300)
ormation: 408-944-6300)
10/19/94
C-Cube Income Up 993%
BUSINESS
0 Z >
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem T
WordPerfect Ships More Main Stre
US Govt Looks For Test Of Digita
Lexmark Readies New Laser Printe
Indian Satellite Launch
Warp California Demos Virtual TV
Improve Your Photography With CD
UK - Mac Network Backup System I
UK - BT Employee Charged With Ph
UK - British Telecom Under Fire
DEC Enters Retail PC Market With
Ziff Davis Empire Bids Due In 2
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- The Ziff family will decide to whom the Ziff publishing empire will be awarded as early as Comdex Fall in mid-November. Meanwhile, a persistent rumor regarding a Japanese company front-runner is pure speculation a company spokesperson contends.
According to Greg Jarboe, spokesperson for Ziff Davis Publishing a privately held family publishing company since it was founded in 1927, bids from several potential buyers are anticipated.
Jarboe also said Ziff-Davis is hopeful the company will be sold as a whole, but acknowledges two divisions, Information Access (Foster City, California) and Interchange (Boston Massachusetts) may be sold separately.
Rumors have surfaced that the buyer will be the Japanese company Softbank. Jarboe of Ziff Davis, and Steve Rittner and Peter Ezersky, partners of Lazard Freres, the investment bankers which are collecting the bids and handling the transaction for Ziff Davis, would not confirm nor deny that rumor, but did say that Softbank is among many potential buyers.
"Everyone's trying to anticipate what might happen. The answer is nobody actually knows," Jarboe told Newsbytes.
Jarboe told Newsbytes that the Ziff family has not yet received the final bids from any companies, and that an announcement of the winner is anticipated to occur during Comdex Fall, on the 13th or 14th of November.
Where did the Japanese rumor get started? Jarboe says "with a fraction of the truth." An article in a Japanese newspaper speculated that one of the companies bidding for Ziff was Japan's Softbank, a software publisher. The Wall Street Journal then ran a news item saying that Softbank was rumored to be involved in the bidding, but did not, according to Jarboe, mention that over a dozen other companies were also involved in bidding.
He said that the 1994 total revenues of the privately held company were approximately $1 billion dollars, but declined to offer any details about Ziff's net except to say the company was highly profitable.
Industry sources consulted by Newsbytes speculate the valuation method bidders for Ziff Davis might use will be a multiple of gross sales from 1-8 times, or more likely a multiple of net revenues in the range of 10-20 times. Newsbytes has learned Mead Data (said by some to be in a maturing market) was just sold for 18 times net.
(Nick Anis & Wendy Woods/19941018/Press Contact: Greg Jarboe Ziff Davis Public Relations, 212-503-3500; Peter Ezersky and Steve Rittner, partners, both of Lazard Freres, 212-632-6158)
s, both of Lazard Freres, 212-632-6158)
10/19/94
Ziff Davis Empire Bids Due In 2 Weeks
BUSINESS
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
Rockwell Software Development To
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PC
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Scanner Software Bundle From Can
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline
Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Las
Newsbytes Daily Summary
$PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 19 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Data General's "3-Tiered" Database Implementation 10/19/94 Data General has unveiled a new "three-tiered" implementation -- billed as the first to combine Unix and Windows NT support for SAP AG's R/3 "cross-functional" software -- that calls for running Oracle7 on a DG Aviion database server and R/3 on a Windows NT-based Pentium server.
2 -> Apple Australia CD Sampler 10/19/94 Apple Australia has released a sampler CD containing "34 of Australia's best in multimedia titles" covering history, business information, education, and sport.
3 -> Midisoft Intros Multimedia Presentation Partner 10/19/94 Most business presenters have only been able to dream about adopting multimedia presentations because of the time and skill required to create them. Now, with the availability in retail outlets of Presentation Partner by Midisoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MIDI), multimedia presentations -- those consisting of integrated
Press <RETURN> or <S>croll?s graphics, text, video, animation, and audio -- will be possible for a larger number of business presenters.
4 -> Kodak To Implement Drastic Cost-Cutting? 10/19/94 Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) is reportedly implementing drastic cost cutting measures that include a hiring freeze, reduction of research and development spending, acceleration of pending staff cuts, and reducing by 50 percent the number of contract workers. Travel, entertainment and even the purchase of office supplies, computers and software are apparently also being curtailed.
5 -> GEnie's Full Internet Plans 10/19/94 GEnie, which has been offering Internet information and document retrieval through its Internet Roundtable, has announced plans to deliver Internet access to its members. Sometime during December of this year, "Phase I" of its Internet Access Service is scheduled to offer file transfer protocol (FTP), UseNet newsgroups, outbound Telnet service, Gopher service, and Wide Area Information Server (WAIS).
6 -> E-Mail Shopping At Seattle's Nordstrom 10/19/94 Nordstrom, a 93-year-old fashion retailer with stores in 14 states, is taking it into the 21st century with a 24-hour electronic-mail (e-mail) shopping service. The service is a collaboration between Nordstrom's flagship Seattle, Washington branch, MCI Communications Corp., and telecommunications program publisher ConnectSoft.
7 -> MacWorld - Bryce Landscape Prgm Makes Canadian Debut 10/19/94 HSC Software Corp.'s Bryce software made its Canadian debut at the MacWorld Toronto trade show. HSC announced a distribution agreement with Argyle and Broadstreet, of Mississauga, Ontario, to handle Bryce and other HSC products in Canada.
8 -> MacWorld - Digital World Offers Potential & Pitfalls 10/19/94 An increasing amount of human knowledge is stored digitally, columnist and author Steven Levy told a keynote audience at the MacWorld Toronto trade show and conference Tuesday. That opens up some enticing possibilities, and some disturbing questions.
9 -> Lexmark Readies New Laser Printer Line 10/19/94 Lexmark International Inc., next week will introduce a new line of desktop and network laser printers that the company said will be the first to offer true 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) print resolution. The new Optra printers will claim another first, too -- they will be Lexmark's first products without the IBM logo.
10 -> Autodesk Collects $15 Million In Piracy Fines 10/19/94 Autodesk Inc., a major software company and publisher of the AutoCAD computer-aided design (CAD) program, has announced that, since 1987 its anti-piracy program has recovered over $15 million in settlements from individuals and corporations who have illegally duplicated its software products in the US and Canada.
11 -> KidSoft & Apple Bring Software Club To Kids 10/19/94 KidSoft Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:APPL) has announced a partnership to deliver interactive and productive computing to families with Apple Performas.
12 -> Zenith Intros PC Wireless Remote Interface 10/19/94 If you want to work on your personal computer while you are up to 500 feet or further away, you should take a look at Zenith Data Systems' (ZDS) new CruisePad device.
13 -> IBM & Motorola Announce 64-Bit PowerPC Chip 10/19/94 IBM (NASDAQ:IBM) and Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) have achieved "first silicon" on the PowerPC 620 microprocessor. "First silicon" is the industry term that refers to accomplishment of development and fabrication of a product.
14 -> AOL Claims "Most Popular" Internet Connection Title 10/19/94 America Online says it is the most popular Internet service provider in the US, and plans to roll out major new Internet services in the next few months, including a World Wide Web site so Internet users can access AOL.
15 -> AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awards 10/19/94 Subsidiaries of AT&T and GTE have won internationally-recognized quality awards.
16 -> ****Lotus Reports Decline In 3rd Quarter Income 10/19/94 In a teleconference, Lotus officials reported a 60 percent drop in net income "before non-recurring charges" for third quarter 1994 attributing the "disappointing" results to a decline in revenues from Lotus' European operations. Officials also acknowledged a net loss of $66.4 million for the quarter "after recurring charges," explaining that these charges stemmed mostly from the acquisitions of SoftSwitch and Edge Research.
17 -> Indian Oil & IBM In Software Marketing Deal 10/19/94 In an effort to market its software programs worldwide, the R23,726-crore public sector Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has entered into a strategic alliance with global computer giant IBM and Tata Information Services Ltd. (TISL).
18 -> Apple Ships IP Gateway For AppleTalk 10/19/94 Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) is now shipping Apple IP Gateway for AppleTalk users. In combination with the firm's remote access products and MacTCP, the gateway will give Apple users dial-up access to IP (Internet Protocol)-based services.
19 -> Sima Offers Mice & Accessories Sized For Kids 10/19/94 With the market for home computers booming, Sima Products Corp. has announced a line of computer accessories designed specifically for the kids using those PCs.
20 -> Allnet Expands Mobile Line With Three Baby Bells 10/19/94 In a small flurry of announcements, Allnet Communication Services said it has agreed with three east coast US "Baby Bell" companies to resell cellular phone service as part of an "everything-on-one-bill" marketing strategy. The Allnet agreements are with Bell Atlantic NYNEX, and BellSouth.
21 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 10/19/94 By John Hastings. Intel is expected to cut the prices on its top-of-the-line Pentium CPU (central processing unit) chips this quarter, but some industry experts think the cuts may be much deeper than previously expected.
22 -> Europe - Unisys Offers Windows NT Consulting Service 10/19/94 One of the first areas that Unisys, fresh from setting up its European Information Services Division (EISD) operation earlier this month, is concentrating on, is the Windows NT marketplace.
23 -> UK - Gold Disk Intros PC Video Production Package 10/19/94 Gold Disk, a multimedia specialist, has unveiled version 2.0 of its VideoDirector for Windows software, which the company claims can control a video recorder and camcorder, moving and editing clips and frames of video around between the machines to "edit down" a sequence of video and audio.
24 -> UK - RAM Signs National Mobile Radio Contract 10/19/94 RAM Mobile Data has signed its biggest customer to date in the UK -- BLMS a subsidiary of Bass Leisure. Terms of the deal call for RAM to provide Mobidem-based mobile messaging facilities for the 300-plus service engineers that roam the UK fixing the company's 40,000 gaming machines (slots) and jukeboxes in 13,000 outlets.
25 -> UK - Gupta Readies QuickObjects For Oracle 10/19/94 Gupta Corp. has announced QuickObjects for Oracle, which it claims is the first object-oriented graphical user interface to store procedures in Orange relational databases.
26 -> UK Firm Intros Accounting Package For Mac 10/19/94 Access Accounting has unveiled Access Accounts for the PowerPC flavor of the Apple Mac. According to officials with the company, the PowerPC version of the package, which has been available on the PC and 68xxx-based Mac environments since earlier this year, is about 25 percent faster.
27 -> Quarterdeck's CleanSweep Windows Uninstaller 10/19/94 Quarterdeck (NASDAQ:QDEK) has announced plans to ship its smart uninstaller, CleanSweep, sometime this fall. Still in the beta test stage, Quarterdeck claims the program is a "new level" of the features found in MicroHelp's popular "Uninstaller."
28 -> C-Cube Income Up 993% 10/19/94 In its third fiscal quarter last year, C-Cube Microsystems (NASDAQ:CUBE) posted a net income of $129,000. The company's recently released third fiscal quarter report for 1994 shows net income up 993% to $1.4 million.
29 -> ****Ziff Davis Empire Bids Due In 2 Weeks 10/19/94 The Ziff family will decide to whom the Ziff publishing empire will be awarded as early as Comdex Fall in mid-November. Meanwhile, a persistent rumor regarding a Japanese company front-runner is pure speculation, a company spokesperson contends.
(Ian Stokell/19941019)
(Ian Stokell/19941019)
10/19/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
%2&^&@&
Australian Govt Commits To Local
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- The Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has unveiled a policy of supporting the multimedia industry. This involves the creation of an industry group, development centers multimedia forums, commissioning of CD-ROMs for schools, and assistance for the film industry to encompass multimedia.
The overall policy, announced by Keating as the Creative Nation statement, is AUS$252 million in arts initiatives. Recipients include Australian TV, multicultural TV, indigenous arts, an international film studio complex in Sydney, and a massive boost for the CD-ROM and multimedia industries.
The commitment to multimedia stood out in the Prime Minister's presentation -- it is being called his "most innovative" arts promise. The aim is to develop multimedia products with an Australian content for local, but especially for international markets.
He said, "We can, for instance, if we move rapidly, gain a significant share of the CD-ROM market. In the longer term, though not very much longer, we can create a dynamic multimedia industry in Australia."
He also said, "If, as a nation, we can create a vibrant multimedia industry, we will go a long way to ensuring that we have a stake in the new world order yet retain a distinctly Australian culture. Multimedia can provide us with an important new form of cultural expression and a major product to sell to the world. It will also provide new ways of accessing the storehouse of our intellectual and creative inheritance."
He also said that Australia had one of the more advanced telecommunications networks in the world and that substantial investment was being made in the information highway. "But it is content which is absolutely critical: it is what we put onto the highway that really matters," he said.
"As we look at the information highway roadmap, there are broadly speaking three main waves of content production which will be developed over the next 10-15 years. They are not entirely sequential but loosely involve CD-ROM product over the next three to five years followed by online PC services, and finally, broadband interactive services. While ultimately it is the broadband services that are likely to have the most pervasive effects on our lives and our culture, the key challenge facing us now is the production of CD-ROM multimedia titles."
The government will spend $45 million establishing the Australian Multimedia Enterprise. This will ensure production of Australian content by accelerating the production of high quality interactive multimedia products and services. In turn it will also leverage private investment in the area and foster a worldwide market for Australian products.
Next, the government will seed the development of up to six Cooperative Multimedia Centers over the next two years, spending up to $56.5 million over nine years to establish the centers, and it will foster private sector involvement.
The centers will offer education, training and professional services plus access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. They will also assist with copyright, testing and evaluation issues. The centers will complement the government's new Open Learning Electronic Support Service (OLESS) which will provide national delivery of educational and training services to homes, workplaces and community-based facilities.
Multimedia Forums will bring together groups such as film makers galleries, museums and educational institutions to "exploit obvious synergies". They will be divided into areas such as education and infotainment.
The Australia on CD program will showcase a wide range of Australian cultural endeavors, artistic performances, and heritage achievements. The government will fund the production of ten CD-ROMs that focus on national cultural institutions. Four copies of each disk will be provided to all Australian schools.
The New Media Program will provide specific assistance to existing media training institutions such as the Australian Film Television and Radio School. This is to bring these developers together with the new technology.
(Paul Zucker/19941018/Press Contact: Office of the Prime Minister of Australia, tel +61-6-777-7744, fax. +61-6-273-2923)
lia, tel +61-6-777-7744, fax. +61-6-273-2923)
10/20/94
Australian Govt Commits To Local Multimedia
Autograph Document Automation So
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Document Sciences Corporation (DSC) has announced, what the company describes as, the first enterprise software designed to support the emerging document automation market, called Autograph.
Dan Fregeau, spokesperson for DSC, told Newsbytes the software facilitates the automated high-speed transformation of multiple data sets from multiple databases into individualized documents providing Fortune 1000 companies with the ability to transform corporate information assets into effective reports, correspondence statements, policies, and other documents composed of highly personalized content.
Using Autograph, Fregeau says a company can take any data from any database, combine it with any element created at the desktop apply any document format as required, print it on any printer including production devices, archive it electronically, and view it on any personal computer anywhere, anytime. Documents produced can include text, pictures and dynamic graphics and charts which can each be uniquely personalized to each customer.
Fregeau told Newsbytes that the software gives users the ability to communicate personally with tens of thousands of customers produces millions of pages quickly and accurately, and target specific information unique to the recipient's needs.
Automating the process of providing individualized documents helps build one-on-one business relationships with customers and is more economical than other more traditional methods of communications such as long distance telephone calls and in-person meetings, he said.
According to DSC, Autograph is part of Document Sciences' CompuSet product line and was developed in response to the growing needs of Fortune 1000 companies like Aetna, Allmerica, HealthNet and Towers Perrin, who faced the problem of assembling millions of pages of information and presenting them in a fashion that addressed the unique needs of each of its customers.
According to industry sources, these companies, and other fortune 1000 firms, are using Autograph to produce business documents and communication. "Autograph enables users to build powerful document applications in a logical way, and these applications enable Document Sciences' customers to develop unique and valuable relationships with each of their customers," said Joel Wecksell vice president of the Gartner Group.
Conceptually, document automation is said to remove all limitations associated with the traditional, manual process of document creation, including labor, human error, and high costs. Using document automation it is possible to create, send and receive "personal documents" or information packages specifically tailored to recipient profiles.
An example of this level of personalizing is in the financial industry where "personalized" statements are sent to thousands of clients every month. The financial institution will know that a growing balance that reaches $10,000, for instance, may mean that the customer, with a family member nearing college age, is ready to invest in other areas such as mutual funds.
For example, financial clients can be sent statements with an individualized section clearly illustrating the investment options using the actual customer balance. Another financial institution might use document automation to publish direct marketing correspondence which will encourage a new automobile loan, or other large purchase loan, after monitoring when a recent loan is about to be paid in full.
"As we adopt and rely on technology for business communications and transactions, we tend to lose the personal relationship that cements partnerships for the long term," said Dan Fregeau, vice president, marketing for Document Sciences. "Autograph allows companies to take full advantage of the latest technology, while at the same time maintaining and fostering the personal relationships that customers seek."
The new architecture is composed of six "highly integrated" sub-systems: Data Capture and Setup, used for capturing and creating recipient profiles from raw data sources within the enterprise; Document Library, used to import, store and manage all document element sets; Document Assembly and Composition, which interprets the recipient profiles to assemble and format the chosen elements into electronic documents; Document Output and Merge, which provides efficient merging of pre-composed elements, and conditions the electronic documents for one or more specific print devices; Document Viewing, which produces efficient indexed document structures; and Application Development Environment, which is used for defining the preparation, assembly, style and distribution rules and for compiling all the elements into an integrated application.
Document automation and the Autograph architecture are being widely embraced in a variety of markets including insurance finance, managed health care, printing service bureaus manufacturing and distribution, utilities, and government.
(Nick Anis/19941018/Press Contact: Dan Fregeau or Gaylin Allbaugh Document Sciences Corp., 619-625-2000; Bonnie Quintanilla, Capital Relations Inc., 805-494-0830 ext 411; Reader Contact: Document Sciences, 619-625-2000)
Reader Contact: Document Sciences, 619-625-2000)
10/20/94
Autograph Document Automation Software Intro'd
GENERAL
Intel Exec Joins National Academ
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Craig Barrett chief operating officer of Intel Corp., has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the highest professional distinction that is accorded to an engineer. Barrett joins Intel Chairman Gordon Moore and President and Chief Executive Office Andrew Grove as members of the academy.
The academy cited Barrett for his technical leadership in advancing quality and productivity in the semiconductor manufacturing process. They noted that Barrett has led Intel to the top position in worldwide semiconductor sales. He has also provided industry leadership by serving on the board of the Semiconductor Industry Association, the industry trade group and Sematech, the industry-government research consortium.
Barrett has authored more than 40 technical papers dealing with the influence of microstructure on the properties of materials and written a textbook on materials science.
Congress in 1863, during the administration of Abraham Lincoln created both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering to provide advice to the federal government on scientific and technical issues and to advance the health of science in the US. Members of the academy are elected by their peers and have led or been involved in most of the major engineering and scientific developments in the last 50 years.
(Kennedy Maize/19941020/Press Contact: Howard High, Intel 408-765-1488)
20/Press Contact: Howard High, Intel 408-765-1488)
10/20/94
Intel Exec Joins National Academy Of Engineering
GENERAL
UK - Hutchison Claims London Mob
Defense Electronics Sales Stable
UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Sec
Caere & Calera To Merge
Apple Australia CD Sampler
Allnet Expands Mobile Line With
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem M
Software Alliance Wins $260,000
Scala Opens Canadian Office, Lau
UK - Voice-Mail Offers Link For
New CDMA Async Data/Message Spec
Philippines City Hall Installs F
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Microsoft has picked Northern Telecom's software-based encryption and digital signature technology for Microsoft Exchange, the upcoming client-server messaging product. Exchange will be part of the the new Microsoft Back Office suite of integrated server applications, allowing group collaboration across functional organizational and geographic lines.
Northern Telecom's Entrust security technology will provide the security Microsoft says is essential in a client-server environment. "Our customers see security as a mandatory product feature," said Microsoft's Brian Valentine.
"Privacy and authentication are essential for conducting business on public or private networks," said Brian O'Higgins of Northern Telecom. "However, most networks lack effective tools for managing, on a large scale, the cryptographic keys to make those security features possible. The automated and transparent key management of Entrust now enables privacy in a distributed computing environment."
Typical applications for Entrust security include electronic mail, electronic funds transfers, and database transactions said Northern Telecom.
The company added that, with Entrust, management of end-user keys is automated and transparent, using the RSA public-key cryptosystem. The technology covers workstation and mainframe platforms, as well as personal authentication technologies such as smart cards.
Entrust provides a choice of encryption algorithms such as RSA DSA, DES, and CAST. "The distributed key management innovations in Entrust fill an important need for users of public-key," said Jim Bidzos, president of RSA Data Security. "Today, large deployments of client-server, where public-key offers significant benefits need an effective way to manage the distributed trust public-key provides."
(Kennedy Maize/19941020/Press Contact: Carol Paterson 613-765-5607)
0/Press Contact: Carol Paterson 613-765-5607)
10/20/94
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom Encryption
NETWORK
MacWorld - Mainstay Intros Plan
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Mainstay, a Camarillo, California, software maker, announced a new Macintosh software product and an upgrade of one of its existing products at MacWorld Toronto this week.
Mainstay launched a Macintosh version of Plan & Track, a project planning and management application, and also unveiled MacFlow 4.0, a new release of its flowchart software for the Macintosh. Mainstay demonstrated both packages at its booth at MacWorld.
Plan & Track combines the traditional Gantt charts used in project management with spreadsheet-like features and an "earned value" capability to help calculate the cost and status of a project. Calendar settings in the Gantt chart can be set to fiscal or calendar years, quarters, months, half-months, weeks days, or hours.
Mainstay is describing Plan & Track as the "next generation" of its existing project management package, MacSchedule. It will automatically convert files from MacSchedule 3.0 as well as from the existing version of Plan & Track for Microsoft Windows company officials said.
Plan & Track is due to be available in November with a suggested retail price of $295 and an special upgrade price of $50 for registered users of MacSchedule. Customers who bought MacSchedule after August 1, 1994, can get the upgrade free, the company said.
The new release of MacFlow has an improved user interface with floating palettes and a toolbar. Users can piece together flowcharts by dragging pre-drawn symbols off the software's palettes and drawing lines to connect them.
Besides the new user interface, changes in the latest release include user-definable line styles and arrowheads, and a modular design that the company said will let third parties add plug-in functions.
MacFlow has a suggested retail price of $345, and the upgrade to MacFlow 4.0 will be offered to registered users for $85. The new release is to be available by year-end, company officials said.
(Grant Buckler/19941020/Press Contact: Lance Merker, Mainstay tel 805-484-9400, fax 805-484-9428)
e Merker, Mainstay tel 805-484-9400, fax 805-484-9428)
10/20/94
MacWorld - Mainstay Intros Plan & Track, MacFlow 4.0
APPLE
Maxwell Wins $5Mil Criminal Just
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Maxwell Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:MXWL) has announced that its S-Cubed division has been awarded a contract in excess of $5 million by Sarasota County, Florida, to supply a new, integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) for the county, to replace the existing system.
The project includes the delivery of the integrated system (hardware, software, and networks), user training, and maintenance. S-Cubed is the prime contractor and system integrator for a team that also includes four other firms: AT&T's Global Information Solutions Group, Law Enforcement Computer Systems, Creative Data Solutions, and Equinox.
Industry sources told Newsbytes that S-Cubed's system is considered a key element in the county's effort to achieve better tracking and management of criminal suspects as they pass through the justice system, thereby helping protect against early or mistaken release.
The CJIS has been developed to overcome a traditional problem within the justice system, namely the inability to share and use electronic imaging and data across a network of multiple independent mainframe systems typically spread throughout the offices of the courts, sheriff, prosecutor, and public defender.
The new CJIS for Sarasota County is believed to be the first truly integrated client server criminal justice information system in the country which allows the sharing of critical information throughout all the functional management offices.
Using common images and data across the network is expected to reduce and/or eliminate the need for paper documentation eliminate the need for every department to independently input data every day, permit all the county's offices to access common information, and substantially lower the county's operating costs.
According to Dr. Eduardo Waisman, president of Maxwell's S-Cubed division, "S-Cubed MINDS (Maxwell Integrators of Networked Distributed Solutions) Group has invested over the past three years to transfer its computer networking and problem-solving software development skills from defense to the commercial markets, and the Sarasota County award is a major step toward achieving that goal.
"Following a major contract with a state last year for an integrated information system for Child Support Enforcement, the new CJIS award demonstrates that properly designed integrated solutions can be used for a wide variety of complex management information problems."
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- According to Mindscape Inc., formerly The Software Toolworks Inc., the "venerable Merriam-Webster tradition" has been reinvented for the computer age with the shipment of Mindscape's new product "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids" on CD-ROM.
Mindscape says the new title combines the "functionality" of a print dictionary with the "fun" of computer word games resulting in a "playable" dictionary.
While words can be serious business, says, Tracy Egan, of Mindworks, the new Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids is playful, featuring 1950's, diner-style graphics, and animated appearances of the scholarly Noah Webster and the Merriam Brothers.
Egan told Newsbytes that a 32,000-word dictionary engine, selected "Power Words," instant search and cross referencing capabilities audio pronunciation of words, and the hands-on learning advantage of interactive word games help children develop vocabulary skills and reinforces the idea that "words are fun."
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids is available on CD-ROM for Windows at retail stores for a suggested price of $49.95.
Commenting the program, Bob Lloyd, chief executive officer (CEO) of Mindscape, said, "Our goal has been to capture the legacy and culture of the Merriam-Webster print dictionary while recreating the work for an interactive, multimedia environment. To be successful when moving content from printed page to a computer environment one needs to rethink the concept from the ground up, retaining the integral elements while building upon the capabilities of the computer technology."
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids is based on the Merriam Webster Elementary Dictionary, a book containing 32,000 entry words their meaning, usage, synonyms, and word histories. The CD-ROM version builds on the print version by adding over 500 color illustrations, hundreds of small, often humorous animations, and a variety of search modes that make it easy to find any word quickly even if the user is uncertain of the spelling.
All 20,000 "Head Words," the typically boldfaced, first words in a dictionary entry, are interactive. Each is spoken aloud, and has two full screens: one that emphasizes pronunciation, and a second that emphasizes meaning and usage.
The program offers three, age-appropriate levels of word-oriented games based on a core of 1,287 university-researched Power Words. These words occur frequently in printed materials at school and are selected to build thoughts and ideas leading to more creative thinking, enhanced problem-solving abilities, and improved decision-making, says the company.
For example, because children in the lower elementary grades experience the world through tangible physical features, they are introduced to "concrete" words, such as "birthday," "skeleton" and "computer."
In the upper elementary and early middle school grades, children are more comfortable with words that excite thinking through multiple meanings and associations. Typical association words include: "confuse," "imagination," and "transparent." Finally, the upper middle school and high school-level Power Words express thoughts which allow teens to make inferences and see abstractions. Abstract words include: "illusion," "oppression," and "sympathy."
For years, word games like cross-word puzzles, ladder-grams and hangman have been an entertaining way to master words, vocabulary spelling and grammar. According to the company, the word games in the program are designed to promote parent-child interaction, but can be used by the child alone. After "playing" a word in a challenging game, the word can be accessed in the dictionary page heard, and pronounced, it can be broken out phonetically, its definitions can be read, or it can be experienced in descriptive animation.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids is available on CD-ROM for Windows at retail stores for a suggested price of $49.95.
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Impulse Computer Corp., a Canadian startup, has launched what it claims is the first notebook computer offered in Canada with a 90 megahertz (MHz) Intel Pentium processor. The new Powerlite 800P also has built-in stereo sound capabilities.
Alok Sarna, president of Impulse, told Newsbytes his company is pursuing a niche as a "tier two" vendor offering high-powered computers at prices below those of the biggest vendors. There is a growing demand in large corporations and government agencies struggling with financial constraints, for the latest technology at lower prices, he said.
The 800P is available with either a 10.4-inch TFT (thin flm transistor) active-matrix color display, or a 10.3-inch dual-scan passive-matrix color screen. There is also a choice of either the 90MHz or the 75MHz version of the Pentium. List prices start around C$6,000 for the passive-matrix machine, while the model with an active-matrix screen will sell for around C$8,000, Sarna said.
Impulse offers a choice of 240 megabyte (MB) or 720MB hard drive, with a one gigabyte (GB) drive planned for early in 1995 Sarna said. Eight MB of memory is standard equipment, and the Powerlite 800P can be upgraded to as much as 40MB of memory. One Type III Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot is standard, and Impulse offers a fax and data modem card that fits this slot.
The company is working with Cantel Inc., a national cellular telephone carrier, on plans to provide cellular voice and data transmission capability on an integrated PCMCIA card in the new year, Sarna said. He added that Impulse is also negotiating with Novell Inc.'s applications division (formerly WordPerfect Corp.) and with Microsoft Corp. to put together software bundles for the notebook.
The 800P is currently offered with a trackball mounted in front of the keyboard. Sarna said Impulse is planning to offer in 1995 a Trackpoint pointing device -- a tiny lever mounted in the center of the keyboard -- of the type made popular by IBM's ThinkPad notebooks.
Also next year, he said, the company will offer a removable diskette drive and the option of adding a second battery in the space vacated by the drive. The current battery life of the 800P is about three hours, Sarna said. Impulse plans to offer longer battery life both through the second-battery option and with the lithium-ion battery technology that currently allows Dell Computer Corp. to claim a six-hour battery life for some of its newest notebooks.
A version with a built-in CD-ROM drive is also likely some time in 1995, Sarna said.
(Grant Buckler/19941020/Press Contact: Sheryl Steinberg, Cohen Group for Impulse, tel 905-886-8086, fax 905-886-8087; Public Contact: Impulse, tel 800-668-1111 or 905-858-3000 fax 905-858-9090/IMPULSE941020/PHOTO)
8-3000 fax 905-858-9090/IMPULSE941020/PHOTO)
10/20/94
Impulse Claims First With Pentium Notebook
Microsoft 1Qtr Revenues Up 27%
C REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation has released its first quarter financial results reporting increases of 27 percent or more in revenues, net income and earnings per share.
The software giant said first quarter revenues were $1.25 billion for the three month period, a 27 percent increase over the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was $316 million, up 32 percent over 1993, while earnings per share jumped 31 percent to $0.51. Mike Brown, Microsoft chief financial officer (CFO) called the period "a sold quarter for the company."
Brown attributed the quarter's results primarily to the continued sales of Windows and desktop applications, which he said was led by Microsoft Office. The period ended September 30, 1994.
Microsoft Office is an integrated collection of software that includes the word processor Microsoft Word, spreadsheet Excel Powerpoint presentation graphics, the relational database program Microsoft Access, and a workstation license for Microsoft Mail.
Sales in the US and Canada represented one-third of the revenue for the quarter, with Europe accounting for 23 percent. European sales were down from the 28 percent of sales it represented for the same period last year. Sales to OEM (original equipment manufacturers) brought in 28 percent of Microsoft's revenue for the first quarter, up two percent from last year.
The company reports cash and short term investments of $3.78 billion and accounts receivable of $527 million. Receivables are up from the $475 million reported three months ago.
Microsoft does not talk much about its projections for the future but one way to increase revenues is to introduce new products. As reported recently by Newsbytes Microsoft introduced one new product and acquired another with the announcement of Microsoft BackOffice and the acquisition of Intuit Inc., the publisher of the popular Quicken personal finance software program.
BackOffice is an integrated software suite that lets the user access integrated information from a variety of sources. In order to avoid problems with regulatory agencies that have to approve the Intuit Microsoft merger Microsoft sold its personal finance program Microsoft Money to WordPerfect.
(Jim Mallory/19941020/Press contact: Christine Santucci Microsoft Corp., 206-936-8080)
i Microsoft Corp., 206-936-8080)
10/20/94
Microsoft 1Qtr Revenues Up 27%
BUSINESS
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Micro
AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28
AT&T Buys Alascom
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows N
Scholastic Network Has 250,000 M
Unisys Wins Australian Defense C
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Opti
Australia Computer News
Green Thumb Intros Windows Lands
Microsoft's Broadband Summit Mee
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr R
Korea - Computer News
SEOUL, KOREA, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Today in the news: Digital Impact setting up multimedia corporation in US; document-to-voice converter developed first in Korea; sluggish computer exports; Korean GERIS developed; US Packard Bell advancing into Korean PC market.
Digital Impact Setting Up Multimedia Corporation In US
Digital Impact has set up US Digital Impact for development of computer game software. The investment amount is $500,000. The company expects to strengthen its weak planning and programming capacity by advancing into the world's largest market. Digital Impact recently recruited eight local specialists and started development of game software for children. The company is proceeding joint development with specialized local companies and is reportedly preparing copyrights in Southeast Asia.
Document-To-Voice Converter Developed First In Korea
Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology has developed Text To Speech (TTS), a document-to-female voice converter, for the first time in Korea. The device can analyze sentences with the help of an electronic dictionary of 90,000 words and create a "clear and natural" voice. TTS covers Korean, English and Japanese languages, and numbers and symbols as well. TTS can search documents by voice through a link to a document acknowledging device and can be used for the visually handicapped and interpretation tasks. The company is applying for several patents at home and abroad.
Sluggish Computer Exports
While domestic sales of Korean-made computers are booming exports are gradually decreasing. According to a report by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy submitted to the Parliament recently, domestic computer makers sold 647,000 units during the first eight months of this year, but exports were only 299,000 units. Last year domestic sales were 1,175 million units and exports were 691,000 units. The Ministry attributed poor exports to more aggressive marketing by foreign companies like IBM and Compaq in their local markets.
Korean GERIS Developed
Saeil Information Communication Co., Korea Information System Technology Co., and Samsung Electronics Co., have jointly developed GERIS (geographic enterprise resource information system), a Korean geographic information system (GIS) that can systematically manage land, geographic, natural resource roads, railways and related information with a one billion won investment for two years. GERIS can be installed in Ticom of Samsung Electronics Co. and domestic workstations and thus, 20 billion won of annual import savings are expected. The system is equipped with various functions like digital mapping and supports VPF (Vector Product Format) of the US Defense Ministry and DXF of CAD, while directly creating vector data without conversion. It can be used in various fields including public facilities management and is compatible with other Unix models.
US Packard Bell Advancing Into Korean PC Market
Packard Bell of the US established "Packard Bell Korea" in August and presented its desktop and mini-tower types of 486 DX2 50 megahertz (MHz) and 66MHz, and 60MHz Pentium PCs with the brand name of Pegasus this month. All products include PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) buses and are equipped with "plug and play" recognition. Packard Bell Korea secured around 30 outlets in Kyongin area and plans to increase the number to 120 nationwide by September next year. The company plans to offer free after sales service for each PC's monitor, hard disk drive, and floppy disk drive for three years, and for the main board for five years.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
erry Silveria/19941020)
10/20/94
Korea - Computer News
GENERAL
Mexico - Computer News
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Here is the latest from Mexico's computer market: Sanyo Electric to produce notebook PCs in Mexico; Computer Associates signs agreement to commercialize and support PC Products; computer market sales profiled; Mexican-developed delinquent loan management software released; Symantec opens Mexican office expects strong Latin America growth.
Sanyo Electric To Produce Notebook PCs In Mexico
Sanyo Electric will produce notebook PCs at its Tijuana plant in Mexico from late October. The company will initially OEM (original equipment manufacture)-supply Zeos International of Minnesota with the IBM-compatible DOS/V notebook and subnotebook PCs that the plant manufactures, and will begin exporting units to Europe next year. The plant will produce 30,000 units annually.
Computer Associates To Commercialize, Support PC Products
Computer Associates has signed an exclusive agreement with Grupo Signo de Mexico to commercialize and support CA's complete line of more than 300 PC software products. Signo will begin with two new products, CA-Visual Objects for applications development under Windows and Accpac Plus for accounting. Accpac Plus will be released in Spanish in January. CA hopes to double its Mexican sales to US$3 million in the next fiscal year.
Computer Market Sales Profiled
Club Compuprice is a large Mexico City dealer. It has released a profile of its sales. By brand, sales were Acer, 23%; Compaq 16%; HP, 15%; Microsoft, 5%; Epson, 4%; Canon, 3%; and Other 34%. By product type, sales were distributed to: computers, 33%; printers, 18%; software, 11%; notebooks/palmtops, 5%; multimedia 4%; services, 4%; power regulators, 4%; monitors, 3%; and other 18%. Businesses were: 42% of the total; individuals, 39%; and professionals, 19%.
Mexican-Developed Delinquent Loan Management Software Released
Alta Tecnologia en Computadoras will release a new version of its delinquent loan management system, known as the Integral Recovery System (SIR). The new version will be used by two large Mexican banks. The product is adapted to Mexico's slow mail and more difficult telephone contact. The firm is looking for foreign distribution and has alliances in Chile and Spain. The percentage of bad loans has grown 47% in the past year and is now from 7% to 9% of assets, according to Merrill Lynch.
Symantec expects the market in Latin America to double. Mexico represents 30% of its Latin American business, comparable to Brazil. Symantec developed a new version of Norton 3.4 with the help of BBS de Mexico. It distributes through Ingram-Dicom MPS and Merisel. It has less than 5% of the market, but plans aggressive introductions including five products that will be ready when Chicago is. It plans 50% growth this year.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
Terry Silveria/19941020)
10/20/94
Mexico - Computer News
GENERAL
Korea - Interactive CATV By 1998
SEOUL, KOREA, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- The Ministry of Trade Industry, & Energy will spend 77.2 billion won to develop interactive CATV by June 1998. The project is to be led by the Korea Electronics Technology Institute.
Participants will include Samsung Electronics, Goldstar Korea Telecom, Korea Electric Power Corp., program suppliers and broadcasting companies.
The government will fund 38.6 billion won. It intends to develop digital VOD (video-on-demand) which will extend the number of channels up to 300-600. The current world market size of related equipment is $20 billion a year and the domestic market is expected to be formed by the late 1990s at an annual demand of $1 billion.
Five years after this project is developed, it will create $14 billion in profits by replacing imports of $8.2 billion and enabling $5.6 billion of equipment exports, officials expect.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
ect.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
10/20/94
Korea - Interactive CATV By 1998
BROADCAST
Big Screen Plasma TV Project In
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- The Hi-Vision Plasma Display Development Association was launched on October 18, with a membership that includes NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) and 24 glass, semiconductor, materials, and consumer electronics manufacturers.
The association aims to develop and commercialize a 40-inch plasma display television receiver by the time of the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998.
The organization sees the Olympics as an event that could give full momentum to the widespread use of Hi-Vision equipment in Japan, and plans to begin testing prototypes of a 50-inch receiver by 1999.
NHK has virtually resolved previous problems with the brightness and lifespan of Hi-Vision receivers, and the organization will therefore focus on raising picture quality and increasing screen size.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
een size.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
10/20/94
Big Screen Plasma TV Project In Japan
TRENDS
Japan - Computer News
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- In the top stories from Japan today: Fuji Electric to ship highly bright ELD in December; Mitsubishi Electric introduces subnotebook PC; Sybase (Japan) marketing PC versions of relational database software; Lotus (Japan) to supply integrated software on CD-ROM; Matsushita Electric to market multimedia player; Hitachi to market Windows NT-based optical filing servers.
Fuji Electric To Ship Highly Bright ELD In December
Fuji Electric will ship a highly bright electroluminescent display (ELD) in December. The ELD features a built-in PC interface chip and field memory. Since the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) chip integrates an interface board's functions the ELD is only 24 millimeters (mm), or 37 percent thinner than its predecessor. Used with VGA-compatible PCs, the ELD is available in two models. The nine- and 10-inch units are priced at 115,000 yen ($1,173) and 135,000 yen ($1,378), respectively. Shipment is slated for December. The company plans to ship 20,000 units the first year.
Mitsubishi Electric Introduces Subnotebook PC
Mitsubishi Electric has introduced a subnotebook PC. The Apricot Notes comes with a 50 megahertz (MHz) 486DX2, or 33MHz 486SX microprocessor, four megabytes (MB) of main memory expandable to 12MB, a 260MB hard disk drive, and a 7.7-inch VGA super-twist nematic color LCD (liquid crystal display) capable of using 256 out of 260,000 colors. The trackball-driven PC comes with pre-installed Microsoft Windows and Lotus Organizer information management software. Prices are set at 298,000 yen ($3,041) and 348,000 yen ($3,551). Mitsubishi plans to ship 20,000 units the first year.
Sybase (Japan) Marketing PC Versions Of Relational Database Software
Sybase (Japan) has started marketing PC versions of its mainstay relational database software through distributors. SQL Server for Windows NT and SQL Server for NetWare, both supplied on CD-ROM, contains six functions including SQL Server 10, a database engine, server management tool, and client API (application programming interface). Both products are priced at 95,000 yen ($969) for the 1-2 user package and three million yen ($30,612) for the 65-100 user package. Sybase plans to release another version for OS/2 in January 1995.
Hitachi To Market Windows NT-Based Optical Filing Servers
Hitachi will start marketing two Windows NT-based optical filing servers. The Hitfile NT offers file server functions in a PC LAN (local area network) environment, allowing users to combine 12-inch WORM (write-once, read-many) optical disks, 5.25-inch rewritable disks, and disk array file systems. A tower model incorporating a 90MHz Pentium processor costs from 2.98 million yen ($30,408), and a desktop model equipped with a 66MHz 486DX2 is priced from 1.94 million yen ($19,796). The company will also introduce filing client machines that features OLE (object linking and embedding) server capability.
Lotus (Japan) To Supply Integrated Software On CD-ROM
Lotus (Japan) will market Lotus SuperOffice R3J on CD-ROM from October 28. The CD-ROM version contains Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet AmiPro word processing, Freelance presentation, Approach database, and Organizer personal information management programs and supports six TrueType fonts compared to three with the floppy disk version which went on sale on September 22. The CD-ROM is priced at 98,000 yen ($1,000). The company will provide a media exchange service for floppy version users for 3,000 yen ($31).
Matsushita Electric To Market Multimedia Player
Matsushita Electric and Matsushita-kotobuki Electronics Industries will begin marketing a multimedia player in late October. The Kotobuki is a TV/computer that integrates a CD-ROM player and a 14-inch color VGA/NTSC (North America National Standards Committee) TV in a single unit. It comes with DOS/V and Windows, and a menu-driven tax filing software package and will initially be targeted at small commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises. Various configurations are available and the first year sales target is 2,000 units.
(Terry Silveria/19941020)
erry Silveria/19941020)
10/20/94
Japan - Computer News
GENERAL
Xerox System Improves On Smart C
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- A majority-owned unit of Lasertechnics Inc. (NASDAQ:LASX) has been granted an exclusive reseller license to market credit card and ID (identification) systems that use Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX) technology to store more data that mag stripe and "smart" cards.
A Xerox software product called Paperware is used to encode and decode Dataglyphs, a new high-density, low-cost data encoding medium used to embed encrypted information or pictures on wallet-sized credit and ID cards. The company says the Dataglyphs method allows data to be encoded on the cards at a fraction of the cost of cards that use magnetic stripes or card-mounted computer chips. The latter are generally known as "smart cards."
Under terms of the agreement with Xerox, Lasertechnics' Sandia Imaging Systems will modify its current card printing systems with Paperware to imprint data-encoded Dataglyphs and will also develop a small scanner for reading Dataglyphs codes at the point of the transaction.
Sandia says it also plans to re-license the product as firmware or software to other makers of card printing systems to facilitate broad acceptance and use for chipless smart cards.
Dataglyphs are a pattern of slanted lines containing digital code. They can hold about 250 characters of information per square inch at a resolution of 300 dots-per-inch (dpi). At that density a typical wallet-sized card can hold about 1,600 characters of data on one size. The company says the typical mag stripe holds about 80 characters of information.
The technology has potential application for users who want to hide security features on a card or store pictures on the card that would not fit otherwise. The Dataglyphs reside in the background behind any visible images printed on the card and don't affect the legibility of those images, according to Sandia.
One application envisioned by Sandia engineers is to imprint an encrypted, machine readable picture of the card holder; store invisible medical information; emergency contact information or organ donor wishes on the back of a drivers license.
(Jim Mallory/19941020/Press contact: George Peterson, Sandia Imaging Systems, 214-407-6080, Public contact: Sandia Imaging Systems, 214-407-6080)
Sandia Imaging Systems, 214-407-6080)
10/20/94
Xerox System Improves On Smart Cards
GENERAL
Philips Conf - P100 Screen Phone
"BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- The Philips P100 screen phone, now entering commercial deployment by US phone companies, will eventually evolve into a "videophone" able to share multimedia information with PCs and TVs, said Gerrit Schipper, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Philips Home Services (PHS) International, echoing a view common among PHS execs and partners at this week's "Partners in Screen Telephony" conference.
Screen phones have already been commercially rolled out by Bell Atlantic and Ameritech, said Berge Ayvazian, senior VP of the Yankee Group, in a talk at the Philips conference, a two-day event attended by Newsbytes. A commercial launch by Nynex is now pending and BellSouth and US West are both currently conducting trials according to Ayvazian.
The P100 complies with ADSI (analog digital subscriber interface) a "mixed voice and data" standard, originated by Bellcore three years ago, that provides for "context-sensitive scriptable prompts," explained Dr. Ronnie Potter, Bellcore's director of network CPE (customer premise environment) interoperability speaking with Newsbytes during the conference. Bellcore performs research for the regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs).
"By early 1996, Europe will also 'go ADSI,'" Schipper told Newsbytes. British Telecom (BT), for example, plans to test the P100 along with a smaller BT screen phone, said Simon Garrett senior adviser for New Services at BT.
One service that BT plans to test is Mondex (Monetary Digital Exchange), Garrett informed Newsbytes. Several other European phone companies were also present at the conference, along with third-party "partners" and customers.
For now, said Potter, Philips' third-party "partners" look upon the screen phone and the standards as fresh ground for creating new IVR (interactive voice response) applications for consumers, as well as for vertical markets like financial services, medicine, and the insurance industry.
For their part, phone companies see the P100 as a way of bolstering "value-added" services such as voice-mail, call waiting, and three-way calling, Potter added.
Voice-mail messages, for example, can be listed on the P100 screen complete with caller ID, she explained. Smart phone users can then access and delete individual messages on screen, and manipulate the messages in a variety of other ways.
A row of programmable "softkeys" between the keypad and the screen provides an easier way of accessing value-added phone services than traditional phone service "codes," which use arcane keypad combinations like "pound seven" and "star nine," Potter told Newsbytes.
Thanks to the "context-sensitive scriptable prompts," the functions of the keys can be varied according to whether the user is in the middle of a call, for example, or is just picking up the phone she noted.
Users can be visually prompted as to what services and other "options" are available at any given time -- and which softkeys to use for accessing those options, according to Potter. ADSI also accommodates fax transmission, but it does not, at this point, handle electronic mail, she added.
Already, though, the contents of P100 screens can be transferred to Windows-based PCs for viewing on computer monitors, said Stelio Mekninos, a member of Bellcore's technical staff, talking with Newsbytes during a product demo that was part of the event.
Ten years from now, every home will have a videophone, multimedia PC, and interactive TV, and users will be able to exchange information among the three devices, predicted Schipper, also during the conference.
The chief of PHS International added that, later in the conference proceedings, he planned to demonstrate a cellular prototype of the P100, with a detachable viewer, called a "virtual eye projector," Still "in its infancy," the virtual eye projector is designed to lend a 3-D (three-dimensional), virtual reality perspective to on-the-road video viewing, Schipper told Newsbytes.
In a reversal of the usual conference format, the product expo was the first item on the agenda at the Philips event. Potter explained that this format was chosen to permit conference participants to see the P100 first, before hearing the technology discussed by the slate of speakers.
Products and applications demonstrated at the expo included a P100 "application development environment;" the first national "text directory assistance" available on a phone; home banking and bill paying services; stock and bond trading; "interactive voice mail;" insurance forms processing; and a "dental office" application.
Expo participants included: Ameritech; Bankeness Betalings Sentral; Bell Atlantic; Bellcore; Citibank; C&P International; CPS Europe B.V.; Metromail; Pennsylvania Blue Shield; PHS; Rochester Institute of Technology; SPS; and VoiceTek Corporation.
In the Bellcore booth, Mekninos showed Newsbytes the voice-mail application, using his own office voice-mail as an example. Newsbytes saw how a series of keys, located on the right-hand side of the keypad, can be used to scroll down the voice mail menu and to access messages of interest.
"Let's say I get ten messages while I'm out. This way, I can see what they are right away, and immediately return the calls that are most important. Otherwise, I'd have to listen to all ten messages first," the Bellcore technical staff member reported.
Mekninos also demonstrated two versions of an actual IVR "pay-for view" application: one for screen phones, and one for "old-fashioned phones."
When the "pay-for-view" number was accessed from a "regular" phone Mekninos and Newsbytes had to listen to a long vocal litany with instructions like, "For 'Silence of the Lambs,' press number 7 on your touch-tone keypad." But with the screen phone version, all the movie offerings appeared in a concise and quickly selectable on screen list.
Also in the Bellcore booth, Newsbytes observed how the contents of the P100 screen can be transferred to the PC screen, through the use of an external box from Logix Inc. An edition of the box for the Mac is now in the works, Mekninos said.
Eventually, the contents will become transferable via PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards Newsbytes was told. Northern Telecom also produces an ADSI compliant screen phone, Mekninos added.
"The opportunities (for the P100) are endless," said Ed Wyputa president of PHS Inc. in opening remarks after the expo. Wyputa likened the P100 to both the audio CD player and the PC.
Ten years ago, the CD player did not even exist, nor did companies like America Online or Prodigy, which provide online services for PCs and other computers, according to Wyputa.
But without services, software, and hardware peripherals, the PC would not be as "popular" as it is today, he noted. Similarly, "No one company can make (ADSI) work. But together, we all can," he told the group.
The screen phone carries even more potential for widespread use than the PC, Wyputa suggested. "Remember, the telephone is just `accepted' by everybody. Everybody knows what a telephone is," he pointed out.
During another presentation, Ayvazian said the Yankee Group concurs with Popular Science magazine that the screen phone will ultimately become one of a group of several "terminals" populating the home along with PCs, TVs, and "regular phones."
The Yankee Group, Ayvazian added, foresees the development of a series of "screen phones," including a basic "enhanced services" screen phone; a "directory assistance/information" screen phone; a "financial services" screen phone; and a "combination ADSI screen phone with keyboard."
Surveys conducted by the Boston-based market research firm show that consumers prefer screen-based phones to either PCs or interactive TV for "transaction services" like checking bank balances, paying bills/transferring funds, and ordering merchandise, according to Ayvazian.
Bill Moggridge, director of strategy for IDEO, described the development of the "human interface" for the P100. Extensive usability testing was entailed in arriving at the current user interface, he said, airing videotapes of some of the actual interviews.
Initially, the interface is text-based, as a way of keeping the smart phone more "affordable" to end users, according to Moggridge. The text characters, though, can be "combined" to form company logos and other "icons."
A graphical user interface (GUI), color, and higher resolution screens will ultimately be added, Moggridge reported. Trackball and a pen interface are also possibilities for the future. "The opportunities are endless, really, aren't they?" he asked.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941020/Reader Contact: Philips Home Services 617-238-3400; Reader Contact: Paul Chapple, Kearns & West for PHS 617-662-6651)
Paul Chapple, Kearns & West for PHS 617-662-6651)
10/20/94
Philips Conf - P100 Screen Phone To Join PC & TV
TELECOM
India - IDC Forecasts Major IT I
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- The market capitalization in the information technology (IT) is expected to grow by 50 percent during 1995, with Compaq all set to replace Olivetti as the leading PC computer brand in the country, according to market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). The remarks were made at the end of the company's recently held annual seminar "Directions 95."
According to the forecast, HCL Group is poised to become the first IT group to cross R1000 crore by 1996. Moreover, HCL's main rival, Tatas is expected to give it a direct contest in key areas like hardware software, and training.
Hewlett-Packard will lead HCL's hardware challenge, IBM (through Tata Information Systems), Unisys (through Tata Unisys), Bull and Silicon Graphics will lead on the Tata side. However, HCL, with Hewlett-Packard, is poised to be a clear leader in the peripherals area. On Compaq's performance, the study forecasts its sale of PCs will be about 8,000 units, followed by Olivetti with 6,500. While Compaq will be the leading foreign PC brand, PCL will continue to maintain its number one position in the PC segment.
According to IDC, the IT industry is all set to raise almost R200 crore during 1995 and it will outperform the share market indices during that year.
The total market for PCs for the year 1994-95 has been estimated at 200,000 units, compared with 157,093 during the last fiscal. The total domestic market has been projected to grow by 34 percent to R4,333.80 crore in 1994-95 from R3,245 crore in 1993-94.
While the high growth areas, which are estimated to have a growth of almost 70 percent, include software, notebooks, inkjet printers, and PC servers, the forecast has predicted the following products to have a declining growth: dot matrix printers, 5.25-inch floppy disk drives 386 systems, and hard disk drives with less than 170 megabyte (MB) capacity.
The study points out that the boom in online databases is at least three years away, the bottle-neck being the lack of authentic data. Similarly, in software, the study has projected that 55 percent of the total software spending will be on packaged software in 1994-95.
In the domestic market, software tools are to lead it. The penetration of Microsoft's Windows has been projected at 81 percent in the PC range in 1994-95, up from 34 percent last year. The study also reveals a shift away form dot-matrix printers to non-impact printers.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941020)
-impact printers.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941020)
10/20/94
India - IDC Forecasts Major IT Industry Growth
TRENDS
TI Researchers Increase Data Com
TSUKUBA, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN) says researchers at its Tsukuba Research and Development Center have demonstrated a new algorithm that allows engineers to make better use of the MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Experts Group type 2) method of compression for digital data and will allow more video to be packed into an existing space and in real time.
The company says the new technology is critical to implementing many of the features planned for the so-called "information superhighway," including delivering multimedia and other new audio/visual communications services to home and business users.
TI says the development is also integral to achieving broadcast quality video from video signals that are compressed and transmitted as the sports or news event occurs. Audio signals for digital radio and high definition television can also be compressed.
According to TI, transmitting uncompressed video requires about 216 megabits-per-second (Mbps). However, it only takes 6Mbps to send the same amount of data when it is compressed. Compression removes unnecessary data such as spaces, which is restored when the data is decompressed. The company uses the analogy of removing the water from frozen juice as the compression portion of the process. Decompression is akin to the user adding water to the concentrate before drinking it.
TI spokesperson Sheree Fitzpatrick told Newsbytes that the algorithm was developed as TI researchers were examining MPEG technology in order to determine how to build better products in the future. "The direct result will not be an MPEG-2 encoder but it will help in the compression products that TI puts out in the future," Said Fitzpatrick.
Applications envisioned by TI include videoconferencing interactive video training and games, expanded channel cable TV services, and direct broadcast satellite services. MPEG-2 will also benefit video-on-demand, radio stations that broadcast CD-quality sound, and cable television systems that hope to eventually bring hundreds of special-interest channels into homes and businesses.
The way signals are encoded affects picture quality. One method is intra-frame encoding, which operates on each video frame individually and provides a compression ratio of about eight to one. However, TI says high-volume multimedia applications need a compression level of between 20:1 and 30:1. The more sophisticated inter-frame coding uses the motion of objects in a video sequence to predict the content of each successive frame.
By accurately estimating the motion of objects, the encoder can calculate "difference" images instead of the more detailed full-frame images produced by intra-frame coding. Only the portion of the video frame that differs from the previous frame is transmitted.
MPEG-2 uses inter-frame coding. According to TI, better motion prediction can deliver better quality video without an increase in bit rate and can even deliver a picture of equal quality at a lower bit rate.
There is already a widely used compression technique for still images, the International Standards Organization's (ISO) Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) standard.
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA), is touting two new accounting software releases as "niche-busters" that will let the company's customers stick with the same accounting system as they grow.
According to CA, most accounting software in the past has been aimed at specific sizes of organizations, and users that started with packages that suited them at the time have often had to start from scratch with new packages when they outgrew the original ones. CA itself has several different accounting products just for personal computers, tailored to different user needs.
Those packages will remain, said David Duplisea, the company's director of financial applications strategy, but the new CA Accpac/2000 for personal computers and CA-Masterpiece/2000 for larger systems will support client-server installations and avoid the problem of users having to change packages as they grow. Both packages are scaleable and customizable to keep up with growth or changes of hardware, company officials said.
Also, the two packages have a common architecture, making it "easy" to migrate from Accpac/2000, which runs on Microsoft Windows, up to Masterpiece/2000, which runs on Unix boxes, IBM's midrange AS/400, and mainframes, CA said.
Duplisea told Newsbytes that a customer moving from Accpac to Masterpiece would keep the user-interface component of Accpac on client PCs and simply move to Masterpiece on the central server.
General ledger and financial reporting functions for Accpac/2000 are shipping now, with accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll due in the first quarter of 1995, and inventory control job costing, order-entry, and purchasing modules also planned. General ledger and financial reporting, accounts payable accounts receivable, purchasing, and fixed assets modules for Masterpiece/2000 are available now, CA said.
The host component of Masterpiece/2000 costs from $15,000 to $40,000 depending on the system configuration, and the client software will be between $900 and $1,000 per client, Duplisea said. He added that CA hopes to reduce the cost of the host component to the $7,000-$10,000 range.
Accpac/2000 costs $1,295 per module, with an introductory price of $895 per module that will remain in effect until all the modules are shipping, some time in the first half of 1995 Duplisea said. For use on networks, there are five-, 10-, and 20 user packs ranging in price from $360 per user at five users to about $200 per user at 20 users.
(Grant Buckler/19941020/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer Associates, tel 516-342-2391, fax 516-342-5329; Public Contact: Computer Associates, 516-342-5224)
blic Contact: Computer Associates, 516-342-5224)
10/20/94
CA Says Accounting Packages Transcend Niches
GENERAL
Microsoft Add-In Converts Access
Japan - Computer Developments
Compaq UK To Pre-Install CompuSe
Microsoft Contest For Kids
UK - Novell Offers Technical Inf
Australia - Vodafone's Nationwid
Micronics Offers Cacheless 486-B
Spyglass Announces 10 Million In
Sprint/TCI/Comcast/Cox Bundle Ca
Moneysoft's Asset Tracking, Depr
UK - Psion Dacom Intros 28.8 PCM
BusinessNet Conference To Focus
L3 Interactive Intros MPEG & 3DO
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- The same group which took Xircom public is now rolling out the first of a CD-ROM video instructional series for the PC and 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. The new company, named L3 Interactive, plans to ship its first title, Mathemagics, on the 3DO platform this November, and a Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) version is soon to be released for the PC.
"We want to be on the cutting edge of full-motion video technology," said Yosef P. Rosen, chief executive officer at L3 Interactive. With the advent of true full-motion video technology on such platforms as 3DO and soon-to-be released, affordable MPEG boards for the PC, Rosen says L3's instructional videos take advantage of, and demand, the very latest video technology. The company plans to explore every existing and new video platform for the display of its complete video instructional series.
"We know most PCs are not enabled to run MPEG-based CDs, but the time is not that far off when they will. We are not limiting ourselves to MPEG or 3DO, we want to establish ourselves on every available platform and prepare ourselves for even better video technology which is already being developed," said Rosen.
The company's first full title, Mathemagics Interactive Learning Cube, is displayed through a learning cube metaphor which is to be the basic interface for L3's entire instructional series. Dismissing a menu-driven, text-based interface, L3 uses the learning cube to offer users a graphic navigator of the CD.
Mathemagic, with narration by Arthur Benjamin, Ph.D., an author and professor of mathematics, teaches "simple systems" for mentally solving complex math problems, such as adding and subtracting four digit numbers in one's mind, unusual calendar tricks, high speed estimates and math tricks for everyday encounters.
"Using a revolving cube, we have created an interface which allows users to explore, intuitively, at their own pace in a step-by-step fashion or in an exploratory way, as they please. Our goal is to deliver video instruction with the best teachers and experts available and make the learning experience entertaining and easy," continued Rosen.
He went on to say that the time for solely text-based instruction commonly found on computer titles is coming to an end. The video instruction the company produces uses video as the main vehicle for delivering the lessons. "This is not at all like CD titles that use snippets of video spliced into text," said Rosen.
The company has lined-up a number of topics for its first round of titles, among which are physics, comedy, self-defense, sports, and music. L3 products are scheduled to appear on the major retail shelves of most software outlets.
(Patrick McKenna/19941020/Press Contact: Rolland Going, The Terpin Group, 310-821-6100; Public Information, L3 Interactive fax 310-264-4191)
rmation, L3 Interactive fax 310-264-4191)
10/20/94
L3 Interactive Intros MPEG & 3DO Titles
GENERAL
US Robotics & Megahertz To Merge
SKOKIE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- US Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ:USRX) and Megahertz Holding Corp. (NASDAQ-NNM: MEGZ) say they have agreed to merge. The deal, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, will give US Robotics (USR) a ready-made presence in portable-computer modem markets and enhance the Megahertz name in US and European markets, the firms said.
USR is a major player in the PC modem market, while Megahertz has become a leader in the market for PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) modems now commonly used in laptops.
USR sources said the deal will help the firm in Japanese markets, as well as lend the firm some miniaturization expertise. Earlier this month, Megahertz announced it was shipping PCMCIA modems in volume to Japan, one of the fastest growing foreign markets for PCs. In Japan, portable computers make up more than half of all computer sales, according to market watcher International Data Corp.
The deal also gives USR a mobile LAN (local area network) product line, Megahertz's MobileLAN, announced in September. MobileLAN is billed as the first PCMCIA-based remote access server compatible with NetWare (IPX -- Internet Packet Exchange) and Unix (TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) networks. MobileLAN allows users to act as a node on their local network from a remote location. It is expected to ship in the second quarter of fiscal 1995.
The merger deal involves a stock trade valued at nearly $217 million structured as a stock-for-stock, tax-free exchange. According to the announcement, each share of Megahertz stock will be exchanged for 0.35 shares of US Robotics common stock. The merger has been approved by the boards of directors of both firms. Assuming After approval, Megahertz would continue to operate as a stand-alone USR subsidiary.
Stated Casey Cowell, USR chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO): "We will be able to provide a complete suite of data communications products and services for mobile and remote office users, desktop applications, corporate data centers and large network providers. The combination of our product lines complementary technologies, and people will enable us to advance our goal of offering the most comprehensive and competitive communications products in the world."
US Robotics, headquartered in Skokie, Illinois, markets data communications systems and products. Megahertz, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, markets mobile data communications products. It has become known for its notebook and sub-notebook computer, personal digital assistants, and cellular phone modems and other products.
(Craig Menefee/19941020/Press Contact: Karl Ryser, 801-320-7222 or Kim Smith, 801-320-8000, both of Megahertz; Karen Novac, 800 342-5877, USR)
z; Karen Novac, 800 342-5877, USR)
10/20/94
US Robotics & Megahertz To Merge
BUSINESS
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
Creative Labs Ships Videoconfere
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Na
Public Stock Offerings Available
DSP Intros Truespeech Processors
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
Seagate Intros Drives, Plans Mag
DEC Network Business Reseller Re
UK - Mobile Phone Users Spending
Hitachi/3M/Sony Agree On New Mag
Xerox 3000 Combines Fax/Copier/P
AOL Ships New User Interface
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- America Online Inc. (NASDAQ:AMER), has begun shipping a new multimedia interface to its more than one million Mac and Windows based subscribers. The interface incorporates new image compression technology that is said to outperform JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and other standard compression schemes "by a wide margin."
AOL said its multimedia interface, the first change in overall "look and-feel" since the service was launched in 1989, takes a major step toward integrating text, photos, graphics and sound. The interface will continue to evolve, the firm said.
America Online spokesperson Pam McGraw told Newsbytes that the interface had been subjected to extensive usability testing. "Our testers have been very pleased with the ease-of-use, and with the new look-and-feel of the service," she commented.
McGraw confirmed that the simultaneous shipments to Mac and Windows users are a change from the original plans, but added that AOL had incorporated important graphics capabilities.
In a separate announcement, the online service said it had licensed compression technology from Johnson-Grace, a privately held firm. The new compression algorithms makes graphic and multimedia transfers significantly faster than on any competing service according to both companies. The firm said its users will now be able to simultaneously view and save color photographs and graphics.
The company said as part of the new interface it has expanded its content, added navigational features and enhanced graphics viewing. It cited as highlights: the addition of five new departments -- Kids Only, Sports, Internet Connection, and Personal Finance, Reference Desk; a new Post Office Center for mail-related functions such as fax mailgram, and Internet gateway; and updated Main Menu screens and new instant-access buttons for main menu, member services, and department index on each department screen.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Three San Jose California, men have been charged in federal court with cellular phone fraud. Sources said the three were responsible for creating a so-called "lifetime" or "magic" phone that lets criminals switch stolen billing numbers as quickly as the phone company discovers and blocks a "cloned" number, and in the process evade police.
Secret Service Agent Gary Miller, resident agent in charge of the San Jose office, identified the three as Clinton L. Watson (also known as Ken Watson), 44, his son Mark Watson, and a third man Dwayne Sweet, were charged with various counts of fraud, Miller said.
The Secret Service handles all cases of interstate phone fraud.
"This particular case is going to be handled judicially in the San Jose area, but there are also other cases in various areas," Miller said. "The phones he cloned had gotten out to people in other areas as far away as New York. The investigation is ongoing and the prosecution is being handled by the US Attorney's office in San Jose."
In Washington DC, Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association President Thomas E. Wheeler called Watson "allegedly one of the key brains behind criminal communications networks across North America."
The CTIA said in a release that cellular fraud costs the industry $1 million a day.
The "cloned" phones that Watson is accused of selling work by sending out stolen electronic numbers that the phone company uses to track and bill calls. Using these stolen numbers, thieves can defraud the carrier, steal the cost of calls from unwitting legitimate cellular users, and conduct illegal business behind the mask of another person's cellular phone account.
According to the CTIA, Watson's "magic" phones sold on the street for around $1,500.
Declared Wheeler: "This indictment sends a chilling message to the racketeers of the 90s. Cellular fraud is a crime and we intend to shut it down."
(Craig Menefee/19941020/Press Contact: Mike Houghton, CTIA 202-736-3207 or 202-785-0081)
CTIA 202-736-3207 or 202-785-0081)
10/20/94
Cellular Phone Fraud Ring Charged
LEGAL
UK - Borland Offers Low-Cost Par
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Borland UK has announced a UKP129 upgrade path to Paradox for users of other DOS or Windows relational databases. The idea behind the scheme is to persuade users of competing packages of the benefits of Paradox 5.0 for Windows at a very low-entry price.
As well saving on the normal UKP349 price point for the package migrating users taking up the offer will also get a copy of Reportsmith, Borland's report and query tool for Windows. So that existing users of Paradox 5/Win don't feel left out, Borland is also offering them a copy of Reportsmith free of charge.
"These new upgrade offers will make Paradox even better value," explained Frances Reay, Paradox product marketing manager with Borland. "We are writing to all Paradox users who have already upgraded to version 5.0 so that they can claim their free copy of ReportSmith," she said.
Borland is offering a free Paradox training video for anyone paying the full price for the package. According to Borland, the video covers all aspects of Paradox from the first principles of relational databases, through to querying and advanced topics.
Reportsmith is Borland's new advanced query and reporting tool that the company claims was designed to make creating database reports a "quick and easy" process, regardless of the user's level of database expertise. By adopting a "live" data approach, Reportsmith is billed as offering drag-and-drop queries, support for OLE 2 (object linking and embedding) and DDE (dynamic data exchange), as well as access to virtually all data types.
As with previous Borland upgrade offers of this type, customers can buy the upgrade packs -- which Newsbytes notes are the same as the full-priced version, except for the exclusion of the training video and package flashes -- through normal reseller channels in the UK.
(Steve Gold/19941020/Press Contact: The Grayling Company 44-71-255-1100; Reader Contact: Borland UK, +44-734-320022; Customer Upgrade Line, +44-734-321150)
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- It may be two months to Christmas, but that isn't stopping the mobile phone companies in the UK starting to ramp up their sales campaigns. Mercury One-2-One this week has burst out of its London and South-East-only regional coverage and officially opened for business in the Midlands of the UK while Orange, the other PCN (personal communications network) operator, has kicked off a UKP7 million media campaign aimed at the pre-Christmas market.
As marketing campaigns break loose on TV and in the press, and cellphone ads appearing in abundance, the four cellular operators in the UK are claiming that Britain now has the highest density of cellular phones anywhere in the world, with around 2.5 million phones already in use.
That figure is expected to double by the end of next year, analysts predict, although some pundits are skeptical of the sales potential in an already saturated market. Because of the sign-up commissions payable to dealers who persuade cellular customers to sign up for a contract (normally locking them in for a year), a UKP200 cellphone is often given away with the contract.
Cellnet is now claiming it has 1.3 million subscribers on its analog network, while Vodafone claims a similar amount. Mercury One-2-One which is now offering its free off-peak local calls deal to personal subscribers in the Birmingham area, claims it is investing UKP230 million more into expanding its network still further into the provinces.
Not to be outdone, Orange's UKP7 million media campaign -- thought to be the largest of its type ever in the UK -- is based on the premise that the end of 1994 sales figures for mobile phones will go through the roof, just as they did last year, according to Lisa Gernon, newly appointed group marketing director with Orange.
Richard Goswell, at this week's launch of the One-2-One PCN service in Birmingham, said he is expecting sales of One-2-One to soar in the pre-Christmas run-up. He claims that One-2-One sales are growing faster than the other three networks, although Newsbytes notes that One-2-One's customer base, because of its regional nature, is less than the competition.
Back at Orange, Lisa Gernon claims that the sales growth enjoyed by the PCN operators is due to the high charges that the analog cellular networks charge their customers.
"We think it is unfair that customers are effectively overcharged. In effect, customers are paying as much as 18 percent on top," she said in a reference to Orange' "Talk" tariffs which include a set number of minutes plus line rental for rates from UKP15 per month.
Orange is moving very aggressively in the mobile phone stakes Newsbytes notes. Two months ago, the main Orange phone, the Nokia cost UKP399, while the lower-spec Motorola sold for UKP249. Today these same phones are sold for around UKP200 and UKP99 respectively, although the official retail prices are UKP50 higher.
Cellnet and Vodafone claim they are working on pre-Christmas sales campaigns, details of which will be announced in the next few weeks. Cellnet is expected to offer a campaign based on a line rental plus minimum usage -- similar to Orange's approach -- while Vodafone is redoubling its efforts to promote its digital GSM (global system for mobile) network by boosting sign-up commissions payable to dealers so reducing upfront prices even further.
MADRID, SPAIN, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Cometa and SRM, after seeing the number of consortia bidding for Spain's second cellular phone network rise from four to six -- and with more groups making noises have announced they are combining forces to bid for the contract.
Both companies have previously announced their intention to pitch for the contract, although they have not yet submitted their tender to the Spanish government, which has called a November 14 deadline for contract submissions. Cometa and SRM's backers include GTE from the US and Vodafone from the UK.
Although the Spanish government has put an asking price of 50,000,000,000 Pesetas on the contract, industry experts are predicting that Spain's second cellular contract is being given away by the government, hence the reason that so many "late runners' are entering the bidding for the contract.
Telefonica's GSM network, which has just started testing, currently has the monopoly on GSM networks in Spain. First reports suggest that while Telefonica, the state controlled telecoms company in Spain, has not sold that many GSM phones and subscriptions, the beta test network is already being heavily used by non-Spanish GSM subscribers traveling on business.
SUNBURY-ON-THAMES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) International Network Services (INS), a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Information Services, has teamed up with Multisoft and Pegasus, two accountancy software houses, to offer electronic data interchange (EDI) technology to small and medium-sized businesses.
According to INS, Multisoft and Pegasus are now able to provide a "seamless" interface between their modular accounting packages and Intercept Plus, INS' EDI package for the PC.
Multisoft has developed a package called EDI Link, which claims to provide a seamless interface to Intercept Plus. Pegasus, meanwhile, is also working with INS to "EDI enable" its Senior and Opera accounting packages, using Intercept Plus. These interfaces will initially support order and invoice messages, with other message facilities following along shortly.
Intercept Plus costs from around the UKP600 mark and includes the software, registration to TRADANET, GEIS' EDI network, full training and a help desk support package. According to John Thorpe, INS's managing director, the package is the first of its type to bring the benefits of EDI down to a price that small businesses can afford.
"The biggest challenge facing the smaller business is applications integration, which is why the Multisoft and Pegasus announcements are significant." he said.
The idea behind the interaction between the three companies is obviously, to boost software sales of all the companies concerned. Nevertheless, Newsbytes notes that the product link-up is unique, and offers EDI access to small business using accounts software for the first time.
INS has linked up with a third company, Professional Computer Group (PCG), a value-added reseller (VAR), that specializes in the implementation of packaged accounting systems. Under the agreement INS and PCG will offer "one stop shop" integration services using PCG's Talk product, along with Intercept Plus for a number of accounting systems.
INS is offering anyone interested in linking their accounting software with EDI technology a copy of its free book, "An Introduction to EDI."
(Steve Gold/19941020/Press & Reader Contact: INS tel +44-932-776000, fax +44-932-776020)
act: INS tel +44-932-776000, fax +44-932-776020)
10/20/94
UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Small Business EDI
ONLINE
UK PC Firm Unveils Triple Bus Ar
REDHILL, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Opus Technology has launched a new range of PowerPC systems with, what it claims are, the industry's first implementation of Triple Bus Architecture.
Known as VIP, Opus' Triple Bus technology is billed as fully compatible with the emerging PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) standard and includes two 32-bit VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) slots, three 16-bit ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slots and three 32-bit PCI slots with support for a memory cache of up to 256 kilobytes.
The new range of machines kick off with an entry-level 80486SX-based system, and range up to a Pentium-based family of flagship systems. Exact pricing depends on customer configurations required, but is claimed to be "highly competitive."
Vipul Amin, Opus' technical director, said that the company decided to standardize on VIP Triple Bus on its PCs "because it provides a number of real performance benefits over current architectures."
Amin explained that the Triple Bus system allows users to mix and match individual peripheral cards for "maximum system performance irrespective of the applications software."
Martin Breffit, Opus Technology's sales and marketing director, said that he is very pleased to be able to offer customers the benefits of VIP, as well as the fact that customers are starting to recognize the speed benefits from the technology
"The VIP Triple Bus approach allows our customers to embrace the emerging PCI standard and still protect their existing Information Technology (IT) investment," he said.
(Steve Gold/19941020/Press & Reader Contact: Ian Carr, marcoms manager, Opus Technology, tel +44-293-821444, fax +44-293-782612)
ogy, tel +44-293-821444, fax +44-293-782612)
10/20/94
UK PC Firm Unveils Triple Bus Architecture
FCC Defaults 13 Interactive TV B
Unix Expo - Preview Of SunExpres
3 Interest Groups Enter Video Di
Knowledge Adventure Bundles Jura
Wang Open/image Supports Lotus N
Belgium - Ericsson In Packet Rad
Europe - Philips Still Confident
Autograph Document Automation So
City Of San Jose Goes Online Wit
Sled Offers Internet E-mail Addr
Microsoft Comments On Spielberg,
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- Officials at Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), including Chairman Bill Gates, spoke out this week about various subjects, denying and confirming industry rumors and calling IBM's latest release of OS/2 "more noise than real."
The description of IBM's new version of its OS/2 operating system intended as a competitor to Microsoft Windows, was uttered by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates during a press conference in Prague one of the stops on Gates' tour of Europe, according to the British news service Reuters. "We don't need new products to beat OS/2. OS/2 is more noise than real, because there's no one developing software for OS/2," Gates reportedly told reporters.
As reportedly previously by Newsbytes, IBM announced "OS/2 Warp," an upgrade to OS/2, earlier this month. Microsoft claims about 60 million users of Windows currently, and hopes to release the next version of the operating system by mid-1995. There are an estimated six million users of OS/2. IBM claims Warp will be twice as fast as the current edition of Windows, and undoubtedly hopes to lure PC users to OS/2 before Microsoft can launch Windows 95.
"As soon as Windows 95 shows, people will know that OS/2 is a dead end, because none of the software written for Windows 95 will run on OS/2, Gates told Reuters. OS/2 currently runs Windows applications and has a license to use the Windows code, but that license has expired and has not been renewed. Gates reportedly called OS/2 Warp "a last gasp."
Gates also denied rumors that he has met with Steven Spielberg former Walt Disney Studios head Jeffrey Katzenberg and music mogul David Geffen after the trio announced plans last week to form their own studio. The group said the yet-unnamed venture will produce movies, animated films and television programs. However, Gates reportedly told Reuters that he expects to eventually discuss the application of Microsoft software to the trio's futuristic animation venture. "We probably will meet with them. The idea of animated characters used in computer software, particularly CD-ROM software as well as in movies - you know everybody sees potential there," Gates told Reuters.
Microsoft's animation unit, Softimage, provided the technology that created the realistic dinosaur animation used in Spielberg's hit movie "Jurassic Park."
In other Microsoft news, Craig Mundie, the company's VP for advanced consumer technology, was quoted as saying this week that the company expects to offer an online service within the next year. However, a Microsoft spokesperson who asked not to be quoted declined to confirm Mundie's remarks.
"We have essentially acknowledged we are developing an online service and we expect we may offer that within a year's time," Mundie told guests at a Microsoft-sponsored luncheon in Brussels according to Reuters. Industry rumors have abounded for some time that the project, code-named Marvel, will rival online services such as America Online. Some analysts believe Marvel will be packaged as part of Windows 95.
Earlier this month Microsoft merged with Intuit Inc., the publisher of the popular Quicken personal finance program. Industry watchers see Quicken as an anchor for the new online service that would give Microsoft an established user base if the online service uses Quicken to provide electronic banking services through Marvel.
Microsoft Comments On Spielberg, OS/2, Online Service
GENERAL
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`' 'PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Australian Govt Commits To Local Multimedia 10/20/94 The Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has unveiled a policy of supporting the multimedia industry. This involves the creation of an industry group development centers, multimedia forums, commissioning of CD-ROMs for schools, and assistance for the film industry to encompass multimedia.
2 -> Autograph Document Automation Software Intro'd 10/20/94 Document Sciences Corporation (DSC) has announced, what the company describes as the first enterprise software designed to support the emerging document automation market, called Autograph.
3 -> Intel Exec Joins National Academy Of Engineering 10/20/94 Craig Barrett, chief operating officer of Intel Corp., has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the highest professional distinction that is accorded to an engineer. Barrett joins Intel Chairman Gordon Moore and President and Chief Executive Office Andrew Grove as members of the academy.
4 -> Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom Encryption 10/20/94 Microsoft has picked Northern Telecom's software-based encryption and digital signature technology for Microsoft Exchange, the upcoming client-server messaging product. Exchange will be part of the the new Microsoft Back Office suite of integrated server applications, allowing group collaboration across functional, organizational and geographic lines.
5 -> MacWorld - Mainstay Intros Plan & Track, MacFlow 4.0 10/20/94 Mainstay, a Camarillo, California, software maker, announced a new Macintosh software product and an upgrade of one of its existing products at MacWorld Toronto this week.
6 -> Maxwell Wins $5Mil Criminal Justice PC Contract 10/20/94 Maxwell Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:MXWL) has announced that its S-Cubed division has been awarded a contract in excess of $5 million by Sarasota County, Florida, to supply a new, integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) for the county, to replace the existing system.
7 -> Mindscape's Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids 10/20/94 According to Mindscape Inc., formerly The Software Toolworks Inc., the "venerable Merriam-Webster tradition" has been reinvented for the computer age with the shipment of Mindscape's new product, "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary For Kids" on CD-ROM.
8 -> Impulse Claims First With Pentium Notebook 10/20/94 Impulse Computer Corp., a Canadian startup, has launched what it claims is the first notebook computer offered in Canada with a 90 megahertz (MHz) Intel Pentium processor. The new Powerlite 800P also has built-in stereo sound capabilities.
9 -> ****Microsoft 1Qtr Revenues Up 27% 10/20/94 Microsoft Corporation has released its first quarter financial results, reporting increases of 27 percent or more in revenues, net income, and earnings per share.
10 -> Korea - Computer News 10/20/94 Today in the news: Digital Impact setting up multimedia corporation in US; document-to-voice converter developed first in Korea; sluggish computer exports; Korean GERIS developed; US Packard Bell advancing into Korean PC market.
11 -> Mexico - Computer News 10/20/94 Here is the latest from Mexico's computer market: Sanyo Electric to produce notebook PCs in Mexico; Computer Associates signs agreement to commercialize and support PC Products; computer market sales profiled; Mexican-developed delinquent loan management software released; Symantec opens Mexican office, expects strong Latin America growth.
12 -> Korea - Interactive CATV By 1998 10/20/94 The Ministry of Trade Industry, & Energy will spend 77.2 billion won to develop interactive CATV by June 1998. The project is to be led by the Korea Electronics Technology Institute.
13 -> Big Screen Plasma TV Project In Japan 10/20/94 The Hi-Vision Plasma Display Development Association was launched on October 18, with a membership that includes NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) and 24 glass, semiconductor, materials, and consumer electronics manufacturers.
14 -> Japan - Computer News 10/20/94 In the top stories from Japan today: Fuji Electric to ship highly bright ELD in December; Mitsubishi Electric introduces subnotebook PC; Sybase (Japan) marketing PC versions of relational database software; Lotus (Japan) to supply integrated software on CD-ROM; Matsushita Electric to market multimedia player; Hitachi to market Windows NT-based optical filing servers.
15 -> Xerox System Improves On Smart Cards 10/20/94 A majority-owned unit of Lasertechnics Inc. (NASDAQ:LASX) has been granted an exclusive reseller license to market credit card and ID (identification) systems that use Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX) technology to store more data that mag stripe and "smart" cards.
16 -> Philips Conf - P100 Screen Phone To Join PC & TV 10/20/94 The Philips P100 screen phone, now entering commercial deployment by US phone companies, will eventually evolve into a "videophone" able to share multimedia information with PCs and TVs, said Gerrit Schipper, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Philips Home Services (PHS) International, echoing a view common among PHS execs and partners at this week's "Partners in Screen Telephony" conference.
17 -> India - IDC Forecasts Major IT Industry Growth 10/20/94 The market capitalization in the information technology (IT) is expected to grow by 50 percent during 1995, with Compaq all set to replace Olivetti as the leading PC computer brand in the country, according to market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). The remarks were made at the end of the company's recently held annual seminar, "Directions 95."
18 -> TI Researchers Increase Data Compression Ratio 10/20/94 Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN) says researchers at its Tsukuba Research and Development Center have demonstrated a new algorithm that allows engineers to make better use of the MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Experts Group type 2) method of compression for digital data and will allow more video to be packed into an existing space and in real time.
19 -> CA Says Accounting Packages "Transcend Niches" 10/20/94 Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA), is touting two new accounting software releases as "niche-busters" that will let the company's customers stick with the same accounting system as they grow.
20 -> L3 Interactive Intros MPEG & 3DO Titles 10/20/94 The same group which took Xircom public is now rolling out the first of a CD-ROM video instructional series for the PC and 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. The new company, named L3 Interactive, plans to ship its first title, Mathemagics on the 3DO platform this November, and a Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) version is soon to be released for the PC.
21 -> ****US Robotics & Megahertz To Merge 10/20/94 US Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ:USRX) and Megahertz Holding Corp. (NASDAQ-NNM: MEGZ) say they have agreed to merge. The deal, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval will give US Robotics (USR) a ready-made presence in portable-computer modem markets and enhance the Megahertz name in US and European markets the firms said.
22 -> AOL Ships New User Interface 10/20/94 America Online Inc. (NASDAQ:AMER), has begun shipping a new multimedia interface to its more than one million Mac and Windows based subscribers. The interface incorporates new image compression technology that is said to outperform JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and other standard compression schemes "by a wide margin."
23 -> Cellular Phone Fraud Ring Charged 10/20/94 Three San Jose California, men have been charged in federal court with cellular phone fraud. Sources said the three were responsible for creating a so-called "lifetime" or "magic" phone that lets criminals switch stolen billing numbers as quickly as the phone company discovers and blocks a "cloned" number, and in the process evade police.
24 -> UK - Borland Offers Low-Cost Paradox 5.0 Upgrade 10/20/94 Borland UK has announced a UKP129 upgrade path to Paradox for users of other DOS or Windows relational databases. The idea behind the scheme is to persuade users of competing packages of the benefits of Paradox 5.0 for Windows at a very low-entry price.
25 -> UK - Pre-Christmas Mobile Phone Wars 10/20/94 It may be two months to Christmas, but that isn't stopping the mobile phone companies in the UK starting to ramp up their sales campaigns. Mercury One-2-One this week has burst out of its London and South-East-only regional coverage and officially opened for business in the Midlands of the UK, while Orange the other PCN (personal communications network) operator, has kicked off a UKP7 million media campaign aimed at the pre-Christmas market.
26 -> Spain - Telecom Rivals Join Forces In Mobile Bid 10/20/94 Cometa and SRM, after seeing the number of consortia bidding for Spain's second cellular phone network rise from four to six -- and with more groups making noises -- have announced they are combining forces to bid for the contract.
27 -> UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Small Business EDI 10/20/94 -THAMES MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 20 (NB) -- International Network Services (INS), a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Information Services, has teamed up with Multisoft and Pegasus, two accountancy software houses, to offer electronic data interchange (EDI) technology to small and medium-sized businesses.
28 -> UK PC Firm Unveils Triple Bus Architecture 10/20/94 Opus Technology has launched a new range of PowerPC systems with, what it claims are, the industry's first implementation of Triple Bus Architecture.
29 -> Microsoft Comments On Spielberg, OS/2, Online Service 10/20/94 Officials at Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), including Chairman Bill Gates spoke out this week about various subjects, denying and confirming industry rumors and calling IBM's latest release of OS/2 "more noise than real."
(Ian Stokell/19941020)
(Ian Stokell/19941020)
10/20/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
France Telecom Cuts Prices On GS
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The battle for the lucrative digital mobile phone market continues apace in France, as France Telecom, one of the two GSM (global system for mobile communications) network operators, has announced plans to offer heavy discounts to major users of the network.
The news comes as Itineris, the non-state controlled GSM operator, has announced expansion plans for its network, and a consortium led by Bouygues has won France's third digital mobile phone licence to run a network, this time based on the PCN (Personal Communications Network standard of GSM-1800, which operates at twice the normal GSM 900 megahertz standard).
GSM-1800 is already used by Orange and One-2-One in the UK and E-Plus in Germany, thus adding to the appeal of the service in France where roaming from the yet-to-be-named Bouygues-led network will almost certainly be available to the English and German networks.
France Telecom's director, Alain Lenoir, said that a major discounts scheme, which starts at the end of the year, will offer companies which make a commitment for France Telecom GSM, a healthy discount, with reductions increasing dependent on the size of the company's bill. Discounts start at around 10 percent for companies or users which make more than two hours worth of GSM calls a month.
Lenoir is dismissive of Itineris and the GSM-1800 proposed network. He claims that the company will be signing its 300,000th GSM subscriber before the end of the year, which will give the telecoms giant around 80 percent of the French GSM market.
Part of the reason that France Telecom has such a stranglehold on the French GSM network, Newsbytes notes, is that it has a 90 percent national coverage of the country. Lenoir has previously committed FT to expanding this coverage by installing another 1,000 base stations in addition to the existing 2,000 scattered across France, to boost coverage, offer fill-in coverage, and increase network capacity overall.
Despite the coverage plans, FT's Radiocom analog cellular network has around 96 percent national coverage in France. FT officials have told Newsbytes previously that they will maintain the Radiocom network well into the next decade, by which time they expect analog users to have moved over to the digital networks.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941021/Press & Reader Contact: France Telecom Direction de l'International +33-1-4444-6094; fax +33-1-4657-8802)
tional +33-1-4444-6094; fax +33-1-4657-8802)
10/21/94
France Telecom Cuts Prices On GSM Packages
TELECOM
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awar
India - IDC Forecasts Major IT I
Sigma Designs Intros RealMagic P
Apple's Online Service Offers eW
CompuServe Prepares For Hong Kon
Secure System For Internet Store
First Virtual Offers Internet Me
DEC & MicroMall Team On Home Sho
Support Grows for Apple GeoPort
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Apple Computer's (NASDAQ: APPL) GeoPort interface, first announced in 1993, has gained new support from 10 influential computer and telephony vendors. GeoPort is a plug-and-play, backward compatible serial interface with a bandwidth 200 times that of a standard serial port.
The 10 companies declaring GeoPort to be their preferred cross-platform computer-telephony interconnect standard are: AOX Inc., AT&T Corp., Crystal Semiconductor Corp., Cypress Research Corp., IBM Corp., Motorola, Inc., SAT Groupe SAGEM, Siemens PN Siemens Rolm Communications, Inc., and Zilog, Inc.
Mark Orr, business manager in Apple's PC division, considered the announcement a turning point, telling Newsbytes, "We think it has the ability to become a communications standard throughout the PC world. Now we're going to go out and work the issue from an evangelism point of view."
Orr explained, "The real problem is that there has developed a solid infrastructure and technological momentum in both the telephony and PC communities. The result is that the phone and the PC haven't been able to communicate very well. There has been no means to bridge the 6-inch gap between the PC and the phone sitting next to it. GeoPort lets that happen, not just in the context of a single platform or a single telephone, but with any computer, any telephone, anywhere in the world."
Beyond providing a broad bandwidth physical connection, Apple Computer says GeoPort also hides the differences between connected computers and communications systems, and allows any kind of data to pass between them. That makes it a superior cross-platform communications tool, Apple said.
Apple has ambitious plan for GeoPort. The firm believes its design offers strong appeal in both computer and telephony markets. It cites potential uses including fax and data transmission, video conferencing, and "white board" type data sharing regardless of telephones, lines, connections or computers used in a link.
Technically, GeoPort supports most common telephone APIs (application programming interfaces) including AT&T/Novell's TSAPI IBM's CallPath, Microsoft's TAPI, or Apple's Telephone Manager. It works with phone lines from POTS (plain old telephone service) to T1/E1 links and supports computer data, voice, fax, modem, voice or video data transfer. It also allows multiple simultaneous information streams, such as voice plus video.
(Craig Menefee/19941021/Press Contact: Maureen O'Connell, Regis McKenna, Inc., 408-862-6689; or Lisa Byrne, Apple Computer, Inc. 408-862-5154)
Byrne, Apple Computer, Inc. 408-862-5154)
10/21/94
Support Grows for Apple GeoPort Standard
APPLE
Delrina Buys AudioFile TalkWorks
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Delrina Corp. (NASDAQ:DENAF, TSE:DC), publisher of the popular WinFax and WinComm telecommunication programs, has bought AudioFile Inc., of Lexington Massachusetts. The firm says it will integrate AudioFile's TalkWorks for Windows, a PC-Telephony voice communications tool, into its communications products.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AudioFile's TalkWorks lets users record and play voice messages, and attach voice messages to e-mail, Lotus Notes, databases, electronic forms, personal information management (PIM) systems and other applications. TalkWorks supports most sound boards and can use a telephone to play and record audio, Delrina said.
In an interview, Delrina spokesperson Josef Zankowicz told Newsbytes the AudioFile acquisition will give the firm an advantage as PC-to-telephone linking technology continues to heat up.
"With the success we've had with WinFax and Microsoft Windows, we've seen the personal computer swallow the traditional fax machine," Zankowicz continued. "I think that as the industry moves forward, as more convergence takes place, we'll see the personal computer swallow the telephone too. Delrina is in a solid position to capitalize on this trend."
Makers of fax machines, who have been introducing color faxes and plain paper machines that can double as printers and scanners, might dispute the idea that PCs have "swallowed" the fax machine. Still desktop computing is converging with telephony and Zankowicz said Delrina plans to stay on top of that trend.
"Since Windows 95 will have better communications plumbing built in we won't be faced with some of the basic issues that we've had in the Windows-3x environment," Zankowicz told Newsbytes. "We can build fully integrated, full-featured applications that are fax, voice and data based."
He said that some of the "cool things" Delrina will now do include making the PC a practical tool for managing voice messages.
"Voice files take a lot of space on a hard disk," Zankowicz said. "This technology gets around that. For one thing, it does a 36-to-1 compression of audio files. And you can vary the speed of the playback without distorting the sound. Even traditional answering machines can't do that."
Delrina said AudioFile's research division in Lexington Massachusetts, will explore "easier and more affordable ways to improve business communications."
&BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Microsoft and Intel officials announced that Windows 95 will incorporate built-in TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface), in addition to support for services that include the "Info Center Universal Inbox," new data conferencing and serial communications "architectures," speech processing remote network access, and "automatic Internet access."
The new Info Center Universal Inbox will supply an "integrated inbox" for electronic mail, voicemail, fax, and information services and will be complete with a menu providing caller ID (identification) information, date, time, and size of messages said Herman D'Hooge, software architect at Intel's Architecture Development Lab, speaking at a press conference which was attended by Newsbytes.
A new "Dialer" application -- also to appear in Windows 95 -- will offer integrated voice and fax/data dialing capabilities, according to the software architect.
The new "data conferencing architecture" in Windows 95 will initially be seen in VoiceView, another new feature. VoiceView will provide the ability to switch online between voice calls and data file or fax transmission.
"VoiceView will end the phenomenon of `I'm going to send you a fax. When you get it, call me back, and we'll talk,'" D'Hooge said. Users will be able to "very quickly send a slide, a fax, or whatever," before switching back to the voice call.
In the future -- when more "DSP (digital signal processing) power" becomes available and greater standardization is achieved -- the ability to conduct simultaneous voice and data calls will be added he noted.
Support for the use of ISDN in integrated voice/data calling is a also a possibility for the future, if ISDN phone lines become prevalent enough, D'Hooge suggested.
The new "serial communications architecture" in Windows 95 will permit the multiple ports on today's PCs -- such as serial, mouse and parallel ports -- to be replaced by a single port complying with the industry's new Plug-and-Play Specification, he said.
Advantages will include ease of use; device sharing; support for digital as well as analog protocols; "extensible device support and high-speed reliability and data throughput," he said.
The new speech processing capabilities will support voice recognition as well as text-to-speech, D'Hooge added. A standard API will support a variety of "engines" from multiple vendors. "You'll be able to choose from between discrete and continuous speech recognition, and select the size of vocabulary you need."
The new remote network access capability will allow Windows 95 based PCs to act as remote clients to Windows 95, Windows NT, and "a variety of other network servers" over X.25, PSTN (public switched telephone network) and ISDN (integrated services digital network) wide area networks (WANs), according to the Intel exec.
Also through the remote access capability, Windows 95-based PCs will have immediate and "automatic" Internet access, he reported.
In addition to built-in TAPI and related services, Windows 95 will offer a 32-bit multitasking operating environment that is compatible with "today's applications, hardware and networks," D'Hooge said.
The TAPI interface is available already as an add-on to Windows 3.1, he noted. But TAPI will be included "in the box" with Windows 95, as well as with the next release of Windows NT, he explained.
TAPI is aimed at easing the use and integration of computer and "telephone" services such as electronic mail, voice calls, faxing speech processing, personal information managers (PIMs), and telecommuting, said Charles Fitzgerald, product manager for Microsoft's Personal Operating Systems Division, also during the press conference.
The new API brings together "two parts of the spectrum," according to D'Hooge: the computer industry's analog- and wide area-oriented "modem" model, and the telephone industry's "highly vertical and proprietary" yet "efficient" call center approach.
TAPI provides a standard programming interface that allows PC applications to work with a virtually endless number of modems multimedia devices, and other peripherals, without the need for individual drivers between individual applications and devices.
TAPI, he added, also supports telephone network independence, media stream access, and a set of "rich telephony" services that includes inbound and outbound call set-up; "multiple application support"; caller ID and called ID; DTMF (dual tone multifrequency) and tones; phone set manipulation; phone number translation; and features like hold, transfer, forward, park, and pickup.
"Telephone network independence" permits the same applications to be used regardless of whether the telephone switch is Centrex or PBX (private branch exchange), for example, or whether the network is based on POTS (plain old telephone system), ISDN, cellular, or ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) technology, according to D'Hooge.
"Multiple application support" allows for "meaningful sharing of calls between independent applications," with media type-based inbound call routing of voice, fax, data, and video calls to applications, he told the journalists.
"Connection models" for TAPI include add-in boards; external add-on boxes; "TAPI on the motherboard"; PCs that connect to telephone switches through "special phone sets"; PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards for mobile use; "client/server with switch-to-host link"; and "client-server with voice server," D'Hooge continued.
In the client-server models, part of the TAPI universal "device driver" resides on the client, and part of the driver on the server.
Guy Blair, marketing manager for Intel's Architecture Development Lab, told the journalists that client-server TAPI providers include DEC, Tandem, Octel, C3, Tmap, and Q.SYS International.
Providers of TAPI application software and client-server analog/line modem, and digital line (PBX/ISDN) services attended an "interoperability bakeoff" on August 24 to 26 in Hillsboro, Oregon. Sponsored by Microsoft and Intel, the bakeoff involved "hundreds of pounds of PBXes" and other equipment, according to Blair.
Compaq's new Presario PC already offers TAPI on the motherboard and two more PC makers are expected to announce models with TAPI on the motherboard within the next week or so, he told the group.
Users should expect to see many other TAPI announcements before during, and after Fall Comdex, as well as a trend toward RBOCs (regional Bell operating companies) bundling TAPI products with their services, he noted.
In addition, a second TAPI "bakeoff" is in the works for early 1995, reported Blair.
In a "mini trade show" at the close of the press conference Newsbytes saw demos of Aurora System's FastCall, a TAPI application for PBX environments; Octus' PTA (Personal Telecommunications Assistant); Logical Solutions' PhoneBar; and Stylus Innovation's Visual Voice "telephony software toolkit."
PTA, a TAPI-compliant "personal productivity" tool, is designed to provide point-and-click access to "advanced phone features," voice mail, PC-based fax, an address book, and contact management through "intelligent icons."
FastCall -- an application aimed at environments like help desks customer service lines, and telemarketing -- offers such features as intelligent call routing, preview dialing, and automated screen presentations ("screen pops").
FastCall is already shipping for Windows 3.1. Windows 3.1 versions of PTA and PhoneBar are expected by the end of the year. PhoneBar a messaging "toolbar" introduced for the first time at the press conference in Boston -- is aimed at compliance with the Microsoft Office environment, as well as TAPI.
The toolbar will also come in an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) version called "PhoneBar Lite" designed to be bundled with TAPI-compatible hardware.
All four software packages demonstrated at the press conference will also be available in early 1995 in special editions for Windows 95, according to company representatives.
Dan Ohlemacher, director of technology planning for Octus, told Newsbytes that the Windows 95 version of PTA will also support extended MAPI (messaging application programming interface), a specification that will allow phonebook updates to be replicated across applications.
Stephen Murtha, managing partner for Logical Solutions, said that the Windows 95 edition of PhoneBar will support the same capability.
Other vendors that have already announced applications for TAPI according to Blair, include Delrina; AudioFile, a company just acquired by Delrina; Active Voice; AlgoRhythms; Arabesque; Aurora Systems; Clearwave Communications; ConnectWare; Delos; Ericsson; Exepos Software Solutions; and Genesys Labs.
Also on the list of announced applications are these vendors: Logical Solutions; MegaSoft; National Semiconductor; Northern Telecom; Octel; Periscope; Pronexus; Syncro Development; Smith Micro; TeleInt; Zydacron; and Microsoft.
Announced providers of analog line/modem TAPI services include AT+V/IS-101; Best Data; Boca Research; Cardinal; Cirrus Semiconductor; ConnectWare; Dash Open Phone Systems; Hayes; IBM MWave; Momentum Data Systems; Motorola; National Semiconductor; Rockwell; SDX; Sierra Semiconductor; Spectrum; Staria; TeleInt; US Robotics; and Zyxel.
The following vendors have announced digital line (PBX/ISDN) TAPI services: Alcatel; AT&T; Comdial; Ericsson; Fujitsu; Harris Digital Telephone Systems; InteCom; ISDN Systems Corp.; Link Technology; Mitel; National Semiconductor; NEC; Northern Telecom; Oxus Research; Siemens ROLM; Toshiba; TeleInt; and Voice Technologies Group.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941020/Reader Contacts: Microsoft 206-882-8080; Intel, 503-696-8080; Press Contact: Delona Lang Pembroke Resources, 503-224-9880)
e Resources, 503-224-9880)
10/21/94
Windows 95's New Goodies
WINDOWS
(T(~(b(
Scholastic Network Has 250,000 M
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Just one year after its launch, Scholastic Network, the nation's first online service developed especially for K-12 classrooms, now reaches an audience of 250,000 students nationwide. According to the company, hundreds of new schools are signing on to the service every week.
Scholastic Network is a partnership between Scholastic Inc. (NMS: SCHL), one of the largest educational publishers in the world, and America Online (NMS: AMER), the fastest growing online service in America.
According to John Lent, director of Scholastic Network, one of the primary reasons for the popularity of the service is its ability to provide activities and resources that connect directly to the curriculum. "Unlike traditional online services, which are designed for business or home use, Scholastic Network provides hundreds of curriculum projects, complete with lesson plans related libraries, and online guides to answer questions from teachers and students and to facilitate learning."
Activities on Scholastic Network include online workshops with book authors, collaborative research with professional scientists and researchers, interactive news forums, and professional development forums for teachers, principals technology coordinators, and library media specialists, moderated by leading experts.
Another key feature of the network is its point-and-click interface. "Our members have told us that an online service has to be supremely easy to use," said Lent. "With the graphical interface of America Online -- which is recognized as the most intuitive service available today -- we are able to meet that need."
Scholastic Network also provides access to the Internet. "Schools today are demanding access to the Internet and we're giving them the services they want -- like WAIS and Gopher databases, and Internet NewsGroups and Mailing lists."
Scholastic Network also maintains a site on the Internet, called Scholastic Internet Center. The Center includes libraries of free resources for schools, as well as an online bookstore with thousands of educational materials from Scholastic and other publishers. Already, more than 10,000 visitors access Scholastic Internet Center each week.
Scholastic Network recently received the 1994 EdNet Pioneer Award from the Educational Technology and Telecommunications Conference. In partnership with Virginia Polytechnic and the Montgomery Virginia Schools, Scholastic network recently won funding from the National Science Foundation for an innovative program to create a school of the future online.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- IDG's latest computer publication is being launched this week in Australia. The launch of Computer Living, which caters to the home computer market is the largest launch of any Australian magazine, at over one million copies.
Most of the issues will be inserted in the New Idea magazine and a number of International Data Group (IDG) titles.
Editor Susan Ashton told Newsbytes that the entire print run would form a stack over 50 km (around 35 miles) high. "Though I'm not sure about putting these last few copies on the top of the pile!" she added.
The New Idea with Computer Living insert hits the street today though the magazine had a sneak preview at last week's MacWorld exhibition in Sydney. In a rare event, IDG brought together much of the press and public relations population of Sydney on Monday evening at an up-market pub to "wet the baby's head."
This preview edition includes articles such as: a guide for non-technical computer shoppers; a guide to what the newspaper ads really mean; ten tips for getting started; a look at the Internet; plus articles on educational and creative software for kids, the latest computer games and a humorous look at Windows.
A hallmark of the magazine will be competitions, free offers and other promotions. The first subscribers will receive a package which includes: Computer Living for 12 monthly issues; a Magnum of Champagne and membership of a wine club; free software; a Disney Adventures magazine; discount coupons for modems, computer shows, training CDs, software; free registration plus an hour of free connect time to Ozemail; a free IDG Dummies book; and a free startup pack on CompuServe. This pack is claimed to be worth more than AUS$500.
The ads for this preview issue are the most expensive ever in the Australian computer press. AUS$10,000 (around US$7,400) bought a single page ad. Prominent advertisers included Apple, Microsoft and Harvey Norman SuperStore.
The publication has a very vibrant, "pop" feel to it and should appeal well to children or adults wearing sunglasses. Future issues will be 100 pages and cost AUS$2.95.
or Sue Ashton tel. +61-2-439 5133 fax. +61-2-439 5512)
10/21/94
Computer Living Largest Launch In Australian History
GENERAL
Indian Satellite Launch
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- India has launched its first indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-D2, at the SHAR center of Shriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The 44-meter, 283-ton PSLV completed a perfect blast-off at 10.35 a.m. on October 15 by smoothly placing the 804-kg Indian Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-P2, 10-12 seconds later in orbit at an altitude of 820 km above the earth and 98.6 degree inclination.
IRS-P2 was functioning normally and its performance was being monitored by ground stations at Banglore, Lucknow, and Mauritius.
The satellite carries a Linear Image Self Scanner (Liss-11), which can provide images in four special bands. The satellite will augment the National Resource Management System data for distribution to a number of users apart from agriculture disaster management, geology, forest mapping and environmental planning.
With the launch of PSLV, India has not only accomplished a difficult task indegenously, but has also joined the selected band of countries the US, Japan, Russia, France and China -- which are dominating the global satellite launch market. With this launch, India has also become the major developer and user of a high performance solid fuel called HTPB. Earlier, ISRO used to import the solid fuel PBAN from the US which was later banned under Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) since it came into being in 1987.
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) next plans to launch PSLV-D3 as well as a Geo-stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
Said Satish Dhawan, a doyen of space technology: "Some countries are going to be unhappy with our achievement and happiness. But that in no way should prevent us from feeling that we are now a space power."
(C.T. Mahabharat/19941021)
C.T. Mahabharat/19941021)
10/21/94
Indian Satellite Launch
BROADCAST
Mitsubishi Prepares TVs For Onsc
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electronics America is equipping its TVs with StarSight Technology, a continuously upgraded, on-screen programming guide. Starting at $3,299 for a 35-inch model, the StarSight implemented models include 35-inch, a 60-inch, and a 70-inch screen televisions.
StarSight is a private subscription service, available through a number of different avenues including set-top boxes. Monthly fees for the service begin around $3/month and are priced to compete or outperform magazine-type program schedules. Charges vary by the extent of optional services a user requests.
Recognizing a time when users will choose from more than 500 channels, the company says on-screen scheduling information and continuous updating is the only way to truly manage the amount of data with which viewers will be confronted.
Mitsubishi has enhanced StarSight's features by redesigning its remote control to interact with the StarSight data. According to Mitsubishi, a viewer using StarSight has instant access to an hour and a half of programming information at a time, and specific themes may be searched. A user who wants to check about football game schedules can retrieve the data almost instantly. As well the viewer can see how long a particular game has been in progress on a channel.
VCR recording and programming are also part of Mitsubishi's StarSight package. A one-button recording command allows a user to interact with the set to establish recording commands.
The company sees a strong market for this technology across a broad range of viewers, including hotels, restaurants and sports bars.
(Patrick McKenna/19941020/Press Contact: Coleen McKenna Mitsubishi, tel 800-828-6372)
act: Coleen McKenna Mitsubishi, tel 800-828-6372)
10/21/94
Mitsubishi Prepares TVs For Onscreen Prg Guides
BROADCAST
UK - US Robotics/Novell LAN Fax
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- US Robotics has announced an addition to its Shared Access range of comms products FAX Server, a fax system for users of Novell Netware-based local area networks (LANs).
According to Steve Bradshaw, US Robotics' product marketing manager the system is based on the company's Courier modem hardware and aims to give LAN users access to fax services at relatively low costs.
The key features of the system include support for high speed faxes (V.27 -- 24,400 bits per second -- bps) as well as V.29 and V.27ter (9,600 and 4,800 bps), which USR claims offer more reliable connections and, where the destination fax system is supporting, faster and therefore lower-cost operation.
Pricing on the system has been set at UKP 1,299 for a single Ethernet port system and UKP 1,599 for a dual Ethernet port system. Both systems are UK modem approved and have a five-year warranty plus lifetime technical support.
Bradshaw claims that the fax server will take care of both incoming and outgoing faxes, as well as route faxes to individual and groups of workstations on the network. "I believe that the system represents the most reasonable priced fax sharing option for Novell networks."
According to Bradshaw, a Token Ring version of the system will be out within the next few weeks. "We expect that the system will cost a little bit more than the Ethernet version, but we'll confirm pricing closer to shipment date, which will definitely be before the end of the year," he told Newsbytes.
"The system is actually an integration between our own modem hardware and the fax server software from Optus in the US. We have integrated the two with our own software and are offering the system on a worldwide basis in all countries where the Courier range is approved for sale," he said.
(Steve Gold/19941021/Press Contact: Frank Smith, The Edge Partnership 44-625-511966; Reader Contact: US Robotics +44-753-811180)
der Contact: US Robotics +44-753-811180)
10/21/94
UK - US Robotics/Novell LAN Fax Server
NETWORK
" L 0
TWAIN Support For Apple's QuickT
DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- PictureWorks Technology Inc., a newly formed software company specializing in imaging technology, has introduced PhotoNow, a Windows tool for use with the Apple Computer QuickTake digital camera.
PhotoNow recognizes the QuickTake native format which is .QTK and decompresses those images and opens them into TWAIN-compliant applications in PICT format under Microsoft Windows.
Using PhotoNow, QuickTake users can use the camera from within TWAIN-compliant Windows applications such as WordPerfect PageMaker, Photoshop, CorelDRAW, Fractal Design Painter, PaintShop Pro, and others.
It uses TWAIN, a standard industry interface for accessing peripheral devices like scanners and digital cameras, to let users access their QuickTake and pictures from any Windows application that also supports TWAIN.
Once PhotoNow is loaded, the Twain Acquire command launches a slide table in thumbnail format so you can see every image in the QuickTake -- along with its resolution, the date and time the picture was taken. Clicking on the individual slide opens the photo in the Twain-compliant host application. Using Apple's standard QuickTake software separately not only takes more steps and time, it takes considerably more memory.
This means that while a QuickTake user is typing a letter, laying out a brochure, or creating a catalog, they can instantly download pictures from the camera, or even take pictures, without leaving the application they are using.
According to Lee Cannon, director of marketing for PictureWorks, the accessibility of PhotoNow directly within applications makes it a very useful tool for QuickTake users.
PhotoNow also lets users access camera functions such as self-timer, flash, delete pictures, set resolution, and view battery level, all from within TWAIN-compliant Windows applications. PhotoNow displays the pictures directly from the QuickTake camera or from the hard disk.
The software comes on one microfloppy disk and requires about two megabytes of available hard disk space. It also requires Apple's QuickTake software to be present on the hard disk because it uses some of Apple's QuickTake drivers.
PhotoNow is the first in a suite of products from PictureWorks. The program lists for $49 and is available directly from PictureWorks.
(Nick Anis/19941013/Press Contact: Lisa Wood, Fax: 510-855-2019 510-855-2012, Email: LWOOD@NETCOM.COM, Lee Cannon, 510-855-2010 both of PictureWorks Technology, Inc.)
-2010 both of PictureWorks Technology, Inc.)
10/21/94
TWAIN Support For Apple's QuickTake Camera
WINDOWS
IBM Adopts CMOS Technology
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Adopting a customer-driven market approach, IBM has introduced new technologies in both large systems and storage that ultimately serve customer needs.
In an interview, Bob Hollines, program manager for product development in the IBM Storage Systems Division, traced past corporate development to tightly closed development procedures. "In the past, we at IBM have always been concentrating on what we could do. But now, we are looking at what our customers want."
Both the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and the RAMAC Storage technologies have been specially designed to fit customer specifications. Karl DeKeukelaere, manager for hardware management, added in another interview that IBM has constantly been on the road to reach out to its customers. "We ask them what's wrong with our systems, our products, our services and ask for suggestions on how we could improve on them," DeKeukelaere noted. "In these new technologies (CMOS and RAMAC), we can say it's really the customers who designed them."
With the CMOS technology built in IBM's S/390 enterprise server strategy, processing performance rates can shoot up to six times the former rate at 85% less power, 90% less floor space, and 65% lower maintenance, officers contend. Users can even shift to battery power. "You can just plug it in a simple wall socket. You can even place it in an office," DeKeukelaere added.
IBM shifted its focus from the bipolar processor technology to CMOS mainly due to the former's "monstrous" demands for space and system requirements. "CMOS reduces the total cost of computing since the S/390 is a low-cost, trusted platform and is more affordable to all size customers," DeKeukelaere declared.
Hollines, meanwhile, addressed the RAMAC array of its Raid 5 storage devices. "Environmental requirements are 5% lower than our previous releases, and we consider it bullet-proof," he indicated.
The RAMAC offers parallel processing arrays with 16 RAID 5 arrays. It can accommodate up to eight data transfers between drawer cache and control unit functions. 64 concurrent data transfers can be made between disks and drawer cache. Concurrent read/write to each drawer can also be done.
The RAMAC has cache management with dynamic real-time performance optimization. "The architecture is the most significant development in this technology," Hollines asserted. "It's open ended (thereby) benefiting our customers a lot."
"Worldwide response to these new releases has been overwhelming," Hollines added. "Probably, if things go well, we can double our capacity in just 18 months."
PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The Computer Power group (CPG), IDP Education Australia, and Tardis Technology have been awarded a major computer contract in Papua New Guinea (PNG). CPG has won the prime systems integration contract for the delivery of Immigration and Citizenship systems to the PNG government.
The software is based on the Australian Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs' system. It will be for issuing entry permits at overseas posts, reissuing permits in PNG, entry screening and movement recording. The contract is being operated on behalf of the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB).
IDP (the International Development Program of the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee) will be responsible for institutional strengthening, staff development and training, and the development of new operating procedures.
CPG will develop the PNG entry permit issue system at its offices in Deakin in Australia. This system will then be installed on IBM RS 6000 systems running Oracle at four PNG government sites in Australia. During this phase, passport and citizenship control systems will be developed by Tardis Technologies, and installed in PNG. A registry system will also be developed for this site.
Then, the entry permit re-issuing system will be developed for installation at Immigration and Citizenship division headquarters in PNG, on a larger RS 6000, also running Oracle. The system will be linked to overseas posts of the PNG government.
The entry screening and movement recording system will be established at Port Moresby's international airport. This will be linked to the Immigration and Citizenship department. This system will also be installed at Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
CPG will have overall responsibility for the contract, including analysis, design, technical architecture, software development hardware, and software installation, documentation, and staff training.
CPG has recently handed over the newly developed Residence 2 system to the Australian Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. It allows the department to maintain records of persons who are seeking permanent residence while already in the country; analyze workload and workflow; improve case management efficiency; assist officers in decision making; and better control applications through the system.
(Paul Zucker/19941021/Contact: Computer Power Group tel. 61-3-243 2222 fax. +61-3-243 2255)
p tel. 61-3-243 2222 fax. +61-3-243 2255)
10/21/94
Systems Integration In Papua New Guinea
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
Rockwell Software Development To
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PC
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Scanner Software Bundle From Can
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline
Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Las
Microsoft Coming To A Camera Sto
Adaptec Extends VL-Bus Connectiv
Unisys Wins Australian Defense C
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Systems integrator Unisys Connect has won an 18-month contract to design and construct a new communications infrastructure for the Australian Department of Defense at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne.
This $4M contract is part of a $60M rationalization of inner Melbourne (RIMA) program to reorganize the office accommodation of military and civilian personnel working in the Melbourne area.
RIMA project director Bernard Blackley said Unisys Connect was awarded this prestigious contract after a very detailed scrutiny of its capabilities, methodologies, and price competitiveness by the RIMA team. It is the largest contract of its type that Unisys Connect has won outside the US.
The barracks date from the 1850s and are of great national and historical significance. The whole precinct is classified by the Australian Heritage Commission, meaning that work must be done with sensitivity and must blend into the existing structure and the refurbishment being undertaken on the complex. In total it will have 30,000-square-meters (3 million square feet) of state-of-the-art office accommodation consisting of 13 buildings on a 5.7-hectare (14 acres) site. Each building has to be treated differently because of its age and condition and heritage sensitivity.
Unisys Connect will install 6km of fiber cabling for an FDDI backbone, 300km of copper, 18 new hubs (to complement an existing 22) and at least 10 new routers. The system has a high degree of redundancy.
(Paul Zucker/19941021/Contact: Unisys Australia tel. +61-2-931 6488 fax. +61-2-931 6678)
tel. +61-2-931 6488 fax. +61-2-931 6678)
10/21/94
Unisys Wins Australian Defense Contract
Star Data Completes Multipath In
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Star Data Systems Inc. (CDN:STAR) has completed its C$4-million purchase of a 50-percent interest in Multipath Business Systems Inc., a Toronto company that is developing real-time back-office systems for brokerage firms.
Multipath seems a logical fit with Star Data's business, which is providing online financial information systems. Officials of Star Data have told Newsbytes the move is meant to diversify Star's interests into other areas of financial software.
Over the next 18 months, Star is to inject C$4 million in cash into Multipath to help finance the Toronto firm's completion of a back office system for retail brokers. The system will be an adaptation of the one Multipath has already installed at Gordon Capital Corp., a prominent Toronto institutional brokerage firm according to Keith Halbert, vice-president of finance at Star Data.
In an earlier interview, Halbert told Newsbytes the Multipath investment is in the same spirit as Star's earlier purchase of a stake in Linian Systems, a provider of systems for institutional and private investors and mutual fund managers.
Star's own core product, Starquote, gives access to news research and option data, and equity information, and is used by a range of customers from individual investors to large companies, officials said.
(Grant Buckler/19941021/Press Contact: Cal Haverstock, Star Data 905-479-7827; Craig McDougall, Ernst & Young, 416-943-3730; David Rowney, Ernst & Young, 416-943-3185, fax 416-864-1174)
t & Young, 416-943-3185, fax 416-864-1174)
10/21/94
Star Data Completes Multipath Investment
BUSINESS
Mindscape Buys French Entertainm
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Mindscape, Inc., a leading publisher of software for the entertainment, education, and reference markets formerly known as The Software Toolworks, has announced the purchase for an undisclosed sum of cash of Atreid Concept, a privately held entertainment software development company located in Bordeaux, France.
The company has previously developed products for Electronic Arts Apple Computer, Inc., and for Mindscape's European subsidiary Mindscape International.
This agreement raises Mindscape's worldwide staff to about 400 people. Atreid and its 40 employees will become part of Mindscape's international development organization. Headed by Executive Vice President David Grenewetzki, the organization includes three development divisions in the United States, in China, and in England. London, England is where Pearson plc, an international media group is based; Mindscape is one of their wholly owned subsidiaries.
In a telephone interview, Grenewetzki told Newsbytes, "Atreid is an important addition to our product development efforts. Their proprietary development tools, the LibSys cross-platform development system, and the 3DBioMotion animation technology will strengthen our existing toolset. 3DBioMotion will help keep our products on the leading edge, while LibSys will help us get them to market faster."
Grenewetzki enthusiastically explained 3DBioMotion is a 3D animation engine that creates animations quickly and easily "on-the-fly." The animated images are said to be "incredibly lifelike" and very realistic, especially renderings of people. Another benefit of the technology is that 3D renderings of 2D images can be made without taking up additional memory.
LibSys is a cross-platform tool for rapid conversion between MS-DOS and the Macintosh platforms. Cross-platform support is important for Mindscape because the company develops and publishes multimedia CD-ROM products for IBM and compatible computers MS-DOS and MPC, Macintosh, 3DO and Sega CD systems; disk-based products for Macintosh and IBM and compatible computers (MS-DOS and Windows; and cartridge products for Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super NES, Sega, Genesis and Sega Game Gear for the education, entertainment and information markets.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Kevin Bachus, Public Relations Manager, Mindscape, 415-883-3000, ext. 551)
ic Relations Manager, Mindscape, 415-883-3000, ext. 551)
10/21/94
Mindscape Buys French Entertainment Software Developer
BUSINESS
IBM Bundles Medio Magazine, Worl
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Medio Multimedia reports that IBM Corporation is including two of the company's edutainment interactive multimedia titles, Medio Magazine and World Beat, with the new CD-ROM-equipped IBM ThinkPad 755CD just released by IBM.
The new multimedia mobile 486DX seven-pound notebook computer promises to be a big seller this quarter. The only other notebook PC with a built-in CD-ROM drive currently shipping from a major computer manufacturer is Panasonic.
The IBM ThinkPad 755CD with Medio Magazine and World Beat is available through IBM's massive distribution channels, including IBM Business Partners, IBM authorized remarketers, and IBM PC Direct.
Distribution is a big concern these days for Medio. Medio Magazine and World Beat are "monthly" interactive CD magazines but traditional software distributors aren't really set up to handle new versions/editions every month.
Interest in the company and its products has picked up since it was disclosed Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, has made an equity investment in the company. Now, less than a week later, the company is announcing this IBM deal.
During a call to Medio's on-the-go president, Steve Podradchik Newsbytes was told IBM is paying a fee for distributing Medio's two products, but he declined to specify quantity and pricing.
Starting with issue #4, the magazine will have an online registration and subscription form, and letters to the editor capability.
Podradchik told Newsbytes the company will be making several more announcements at a press conference scheduled at the upcoming Fall COMDEX show.
Medio Magazine contends that 20,000 copies of Medio Magazine are being sold each month; the publication is now in its third issue. The disk has nine sections including Entertainment, Sports Business & Finance, News, KidStuff, Reference, Lifestyles, Science & Technology and Backtalk.
The Entertainment section features full-motion video clips of upcoming Hollywood movies and interviews with stars and directors. The CD also provides access to thousands of domestic and international news, finance, and sports stories from sources such as The Los Angeles Times syndicate, Billboard magazine, Arista Records, MTV and the Associated Press as well as original material from Medio Magazine's editorial staff and freelance journalists.
World Beat is an interactive multimedia title featuring a comprehensive collection of more than 150 music styles from around the world. People can view full-motion videos of performances and interviews with more than 40 musicians, experiment with the tempo and volume of songs in the Music Studio, and find sources for their favorite records and audio discs in the title's annotated discography of nearly 20,000 albums. The title also includes Interactive Documentaries that provide overviews of Asian, Latin American, and African music styles.
In addition to Medio Magazine and World Beat, Medio has previously released Exploring Ancient Architecture, Jets, and JFK Assassination: A Visual Investigation, which was selected as "Best Multimedia Title of 1993" by Electronic Entertainment magazine. Medio titles are available through all major software stores for a suggested retail price of $59.95. The magazine which debuted in June, has a suggested retail price of $9.95 per issue or $59.95 for a 13-month subscription. The company says next month it plans to introduce three new titles: Vietnam Safari, and Extreme Sports.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Tamese Robinson or Chris Kent Kaufer Miller Communications, Tel: 206-450-9965, Fax: 206-450-9963, Email: CompuServe 73562,540, or MCI 576-6983; Serafina Espie, IBM, Tel: 914-766-1563, Fax: 914-766-9113)
IBM Bundles Medio Magazine, World Beat CDs With Thinkpads
Lotus Launches New Retail Mercha
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- To generate more consistency in how Lotus software products are presented in retail stores, Lotus has started its first "point-of-purchase (POP) merchandising program."
In an interview with Newsbytes, John Wilkinson, Lotus' channel marketing manager for retail, said that the new program is being launched in the US, and will later be transferred to some stores in Canada. "Then, we'll take what is applicable to other countries," Wilkinson noted.
The first phase of the program, calling for new "shelf talkers," is already up and rolling at computer superstores that include CompUSA, Computer City, Elek-Tek, Micro Center, and Fry's according to Wilkinson.
"Shelf talkers," Wilkinson explained, are "flags" that either hang off the retail shelf of "fit into the shelf," with the aim of drawing attention to and providing information about the product. The shelf talkers are accompanied by a modular fixture that serves as the "end cap sign."
Over the next few weeks, he added, Lotus will roll out the second phase of the POP program, involving a "shelf manager" that "does the same things a shelf talker does, but also physically holds the products on the shelf." The shelf manager will be equipped with slots for holding "message inserts" that can be changed over time.
"We've always had retail programs, but in the past, the programs were `campaign-oriented,'" Wilkinson told Newsbytes. "We would do similar kinds of things for each product launch, but the displays would look entirely different each time."
The new approach is providing greater consistency and "continuity," as well as raising "the overall level of visibility and information about the products," he maintained.
At the same time, the program allows for flexibility, in that "templates" for the messages can be tailored by Lotus' various product groups "to get across the messages they want to communicate," Wilkinson added.
Tested by Lotus at the end of last year, the new POP program is an outgrowth of an earlier move by Lotus to a "consistent" yellow package for all its products, according to the channel marketing manager.
In the packaging change, which occurred about a year ago, Lotus switched from a scenario in which "packaging was all over the map although primarily, it was white and purple," he said.
On an in-house basis, Lotus has hired a new merchandising manager who reports to Wilkinson, to administer the POP program. "We also contract out to a design firm and a merchandising firm. The merchandising firm conducts the program out in the field," Newsbytes was told.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941021/Reader Contact: Lotus Development Corporation, 617-577-8500; Press Contact: Lauren Lampinen, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-860-5633)
en, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-860-5633)
10/21/94
Lotus Launches New Retail Merchandising Program
BUSINESS
White House Weaves A WWWeb
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The computer screen opens with a color photograph of the White House, taken from Pennsylvania Avenue. A plaque at the top says, in ornate script, "Welcome to the White House," and at the bottom, "An Interactive Citizens' Handbook."
Welcome to the White House's World Wide Web site, viewed through Mosaic. Vice President Al Gore led reporters on a tour of the web site yesterday at a press conference in the gingerbread Old Executive Office Building, with an assist from Lionel "Skip" Johns of the White House science advisor's office and artist Peter Max, who designed the screens.
"This first-of-its-kind program is an electronic roadmap to the federal government -- a place on the information superhighway where people can get needed information about government services and where they can provide immediate feedback to the President," Gore told reporters.
The hypertext Web site offers a single point to access much of the federal government information available on the Internet. The demonstration showed information about the Clintons and Gores, some useful (and some useless) information about federal agencies, and a map of Washington, DC.
The information on the White House includes a very nice photographic tour of the public areas of the President's house and office, but not the private living areas. Clicking on an icon of Socks, the White House cat, produces a "Meow, Meow Meow" soundbite.
Net surfers have long been able to send e-mail to the White House, but the new WWW site marks a step up in sophistication and ease of use, at least for those who have high-speed Internet access. Mosaic is very slow for the large, and growing, number of people who access the net via PC and modem. Those without high-speed access can use text-only browsers such as Lynx to access the site.
There is more to come. Among the enhancements now under construction: ability to fill out disaster relief forms from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and, after that access to other government forms.
The White House site can be reached at: http://www.whitehouse.gov
(Kennedy Maize/19941021/Press Contact: Jonathan Gill, tel 202-456-7150)
than Gill, tel 202-456-7150)
10/21/94
White House Weaves A WWWeb
Electronic Group To Look At Euro
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The American Electronic Association's European branch next month will hold a conference aimed at defining the European Information Infrastructure, or EII, with a little help from Vice President Al Gore, one of the conceptual architects of the information superhighway.
The European Union is in the process of setting policies on the EII. Brussels-based AEA Europe, a committee of leading US technology companies with major business in Europe, says it wants to understand this process and help shape it in the years ahead.
Gore will address the Nov. 9 conference by video. Other speakers include Eric Benhamou, president and CEO of 3Com Jacques Roy, Canada's ambassador to the EU; Mel Read, a member of the European parliament; Alan Can, technology correspondent for the Financial Times of London; and George Melloan, Wall Street Journal international business columnist.
The conference will cover such topics as:
How will the European "information society" be achieved?
What should be the role of the public sector?
What will it take to be a winner in the new age?
What kind of legal and legislative changes are needed?
The conference will be at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel & towers.
AEA Europe represents some 80 US-owned companies that employ over 285,000 workers in Europe accounting from roughly $70 billion in annual sales.
(Kennedy Maize/19941021/Press Contact: Kevin Prager, +32 2-502-7015)
21/Press Contact: Kevin Prager, +32 2-502-7015)
10/21/94
Electronic Group To Look At European Infobahn
ONLINE
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Smal
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketin
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
California's New Online Voter Gu
Alliances Form For December Wire
USA Mobile Expanding Pager Servi
Microsoft Schedules BackOffice S
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) is offering seminars in 33 North American cities to promote BackOffice, its integrated suite of Windows NT server products.
The seminars, which kicked off earlier this month, run through early December. Participants can get a Microsoft BackOffice channel starter kit for $99 that includes about $6,500 worth of Microsoft networking software and telephone technical support from AT&T GIS, a Microsoft Solution Provider Partner. They can also enroll in AT&T's GIS Windows NT and AT&T Server training and get an AT&T GIS(Global Information Services) Dual Pentium SMP EISA Server for a 60-day free trial. The seminars are targeted at networking resellers, and Microsoft hopes attendees will become Microsoft Solution Providers.
"Our goal is to assist Novell customers in working with their existing resellers to gain the benefits of using Microsoft BackOffice, " according to Dwayne Walker, general manger of worldwide solutions sales and marketing at Microsoft. Rival company Novell Inc markets the most widely used computer network software. Microsoft has never been able to get a significant foothold in that market, but apparently hopes to market BackOffice to the existing and future Novell customer base.
Seminar topics include live demonstrations of Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5, Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5 Microsoft Systems Management Server, Microsoft SNA Server version 2.1, Microsoft SQL Server 4.21 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Third party applications and a preview of Microsoft Windows 95 will also be shown.
Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system 3.5 is the network foundation for BackOffice. Microsoft says the server has been given increased connectivity including new gateways and TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/internet protocol).
Microsoft Systems Management Server, which was developed under the code name "Hermes", allows users to perform hardware and software inventory, software distribution, remote diagnostics and integration with other tools across the network.
Newsbytes reported last month on the rollout of BackOffice. It has an integrated directory and security model; standard setup and installation; common systems management, administration and configuration, including remote access; and standard client access through ODBC (open database connectivity), Microsoft's MAPI (Messaging application program interface) and OLE (object linking and embedding).
Microsoft spokesperson Aimee Stone told Newsbytes the cost of the seminar is $4950. The cost of the AT&T server if attendees take advantage of the AT&T Server free trial offer and decide to keep the system was not available.
(Jim Mallory/19941021/Press contact: Aimee Stone, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft Corp., 503-245-0905; Public contact for seminar info: Microsoft Corp., 800-557-0800)
inar info: Microsoft Corp., 800-557-0800)
10/21/94
Microsoft Schedules BackOffice Seminars
WINDOWS
Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Me
Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase
OnLine Tonight Heard On United A
Personnel Changes Roundup
Unisys Shuffles Global IT Operat
MacWorld - Mainstay Intros Plan
Impulse Claims First With Pentiu
Xerox System Improves On Smart C
Library Of Congress To Digitize
Quantum Intros Hard Drives
Adobe Europe Revamps Typeface Li
Macromedia To Acquire Altsys, Ge
20-Fold Increase In Wireless Off
Company Results Roundup
`$ $PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- While Iomega reported a small net profit for its third quarter, Inacom posted record revenue. Meanwhile, Unisys posted third quarter net income at $42.9 million, down from last year, and Microcom reported an 83% increase in revenue for its most recent quarter. General Computer said net sales for its last quarter increased 21%, and Weitek reported a loss. Net sales for Zeos International were up for the quarter, while Compaq posted record sales of $2.84 billion for the third quarter. Electronic Arts posted less income on more sales, and Control Data Systems announced a third quarter loss.
Iomega Corp. (NASDAQ:IOMG - 801-778-1000) announced results for its third quarter ended October 2, 1994. During the third quarter, the company reported sales of $35.6 million, an operating profit of $.2 million, and a net profit after taxes of $2.5 million, or $0.16 per share. The third quarter 1994 results included a tax benefit of $1.4 million, or $0.09 per share. In the same quarter of 1993, the firm reported sales of $36.1 million, an operating loss of $.5 million and net income after taxes of $.3 million, or $0.02 per share. For the nine month period ended October 2, 1994, the company reported sales of $102.9 million, an operating loss of $3.1 million and a net loss after taxes of $3.2 million, or $0.21 per share compared to sales of $109.6 million, an operating loss of $1.3 million, and net income after taxes and accounting change of $2.5 million, or $0.16 per share for the first nine months of 1993. Iomega develops, manufactures and sells removable mass storage subsystems.
Inacom Corp. (NASDAQ: INAC - 402-392-3940) announced record revenue for the third quarter of 1994, resulting in a return to positive earnings for the company. Inacom reported record revenues of $459 million for the quarter, up 12.4 percent from the second quarter and 16.5 percent from one year ago. For the third quarter, Inacom reported earnings of $514,000, or 5 cents per share, compared to a loss of $7.9 million, or $.77 per share in the second quarter. 1993 third quarter earnings were $2.1 million, or $.20 per share. Year-to-date revenues for 1994 were $1.3 billion, with a net loss of $4.8 million, or $.46 a share for the first 39 weeks of the year, which compares to 1993 year-to-date revenues of $1.1 billion, and net earnings of $8.9 million or $.95 per share. Inacom is a marketer and distributor of information technology products and services.
Unisys Corp. (NYSE: UIS - 215-986-6948) reported net income for the third quarter ended September 30, 1994, was $42.9 million or 8 cents per fully diluted share. A year ago, the company's net income was $84.1 million or 29 cents per fully diluted share. Excluding a one-time favorable tax item of 9 cents a year ago, earnings were 20 cents per share. Revenue was $1.79 billion compared to $1.81 billion in the year-ago quarter. For the nine months ended September 30, 1994, net income was $152.8 million or 36 cents per fully diluted share. The nine-month period included an extraordinary charge of $7.7 million or 4 cents per share for costs associated with repurchase of debt. In the nine-month period one year ago, net income was $447.7 million or $1.83 per share including a net gain from accounting changes and an extraordinary item of $203.8 million or 83 cents per share. Revenue was $5.28 billion compared to $5.64 billion for the first nine months of 1993.
Microcom Inc. (NASDAQ: MNPI - 617-551-1369) reported financial results for the company's second quarter of fiscal year 1995. For the three months ended September 30, 1994, the company reported revenue of $22,770,000, an 83% increase from the same period one year ago, with income from operations of $1,747,000 and net income per share of $.12. This compares to revenue of $12,471,000, income from operations of $79,000, and net income per share of $.01 for the second quarter of last year. For the six months ended September 30, 1994, the company reported revenue of $44,085,000, an 80% increase from the same period one year ago, with income from operations of $3,204,000 and net income per share of $.22. This compares to revenue of $24,527,000, a loss from operations of $10,107,000 and a net loss per share of $1.04 for the first six months of last year. Microcom develops, markets and supports high-speed modems and remote access products.
General Computer Corporation (NASDAQ-NNM:GCCC - 216-425-3241) reported that net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1995, ended August 31, 1994, increased 21 percent to $4.5 million compared with $3.7 million in the same period last year. The company reported a net loss for the quarter of $351,000, or $0.19 per share, compared with a net loss of $683,000, or $0.37 per share in the prior-year period. Claims processing revenue for the quarter increased 31 percent to $2.9 million, accounting for most of the overall sales increase. Higher volume led to a 53 percent increase in gross profit compared with the prior year. General Computer is a provider of electronic services and systems for pharmacies, physicians, and the health care industry.
Weitek Corp. (NASDAQ: WWTK - 408-738-8400) reported revenue of $6,500,000 and a net loss of $1,645,000 (20 cents per share) in its quarter ended October 1, 1994. For the first nine months of 1994 Weitek posted revenue of $22,100,000 and a net loss of $6,895,000 (85 cents per share). Third quarter of 1993 revenue was $9,750,000 with a net income of $150,000 (2 cents per share). Revenue in the first nine months of 1993 was $25,250,000 with a net loss of $2,035,000 (26 cents per share). Weitek makes processors and controllers that enhance the performance of standard operating systems.
Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ: ZEOS - 612-623-9614) reported sales and earnings for the third quarter ended October 1, 1994. Net sales for the third quarter 1994 totaled $66.2 million, representing an 18.2% increase over the third quarter 1993 net sales of $56.0 million. Net sales for the first nine months of 1994 totaled $192.2 million compared to $169.1 million for the same period in 1993. Net income for the third quarter of 1994 was $426,000 or $.04 per share compared to a net loss of $2.3 million or $.27 per share for the third quarter of 1993. For the nine months ended October 1, 1994, the company reported a net loss of $7.6 million or $.87 per share, which included a $5.7 million or $.64 per share adjustment in the first quarter of 1994 for the reduction of "certain inventories" to the lower of cost or market values. Net loss for the comparable 1993 period was $9.1 million or $1.05 per share.
Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) announced record sales of $2.84 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 1994, a 63 percent increase over the $1.75 billion reported in the same period of 1993. Earnings per share rose 79 per cent to $.75 compared with $.42 last year. Net income was up 88 per cent to $201 million versus the third quarter of 1993. The company says sales growth continued to be strong throughout all of its five geographical regions. North America sales grew 57 percent, Europe grew 50 percent and Japan, Latin America and Asia-Pacific sales grew at a combined rate of 122 percent. In the UK, sales grew by 59 percent.
Software company Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS - 415-513-7860) has announced its operating results for the second quarter ended September 1994. Revenues were $86,287,000 compared to $82,090,000 for the second quarter of the prior fiscal year. Net income for the quarter was $6,736,000 compared to $8,035,000 in the second quarter of the prior year. Earnings per share were $0.14 compared to $0.16 in the same period last year. For the six month period, revenues were $160,530,000 compared to $161,590,000 for the same period a year ago. Net income for the six months ended September 1994 was $18,502,000 compared to $15,353,000 for the same period of the prior fiscal year. Earnings per share were $0.37 compared to $0.31 in the same period last year. Net income and earnings per share for the first six months of fiscal 1995 include an after-tax net gain of approximately $6,000,000, or $0.12 per share, from a one time payment of a merger termination fee.
Control Data Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDAT - 612-482-4444) reported a third quarter net loss of $5.0 million, or $0.36 per share on revenues of $113.6 million. This compares to net earnings of $1.0 million, or $.07 per share, on revenues of $97.1 million for the third quarter of 1993. The company also anticipates recording restructuring and asset revaluation charges of approximately $95 million that will be taken in the fourth quarter. The restructuring charges will include expenses for reducing the worldwide employee population by approximately 600 people and consolidating operations in selected locations. In addition related charges will include the revaluation of intangible assets associated with several acquisitions and certain proprietary hardware assets. The cash portion of the restructuring charge will be about half of the total charge. Control Data Systems is a global systems integrator.
(Ian Stokell/19941021)
(Ian Stokell/19941021)
10/21/94
Company Results Roundup
BUSINESS
Personnel Changes Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Gemini Technology Corp., Graphix Zone NetStar Inc., CP Clare Corp., Davidson & Associates Inc., and PressLink.
Ken Dixon has been appointed president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Gemini Technology Corp. (714-727-1980). Gemini is a visual simulation software company. Dixon will oversee the growth the company has projected for the near future and will have responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the business. He was formerly associated with Virtual Prototypes, with responsibility for 11 regional offices. Dixon earned degrees from Auburn University and the Naval Postgraduate School.
Jerold H. Rubinstein, chairman of International Cablecasting Technologies and former chairman of United Artists Records, and Thomas C.K. Yuen, founder of AST Research, have been confirmed as members of Graphix Zone's (NASDAQ:GZON - 714-833-3838) board of directors. The company is involved in multimedia and is a producer of CD-ROM titles. Rubinstein graduated from Loyola Law School in 1965, after which he served as the founding partner of Segal & Rubinstein, CPAs and business managers for many notable music personalities. Rubinstein served as chairman of ABC Records Inc. from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he and a partner acquired United Artists Records, selling it to EMI in 1979. He went on to co-found and serve as chairman of the board for Bel-Air Savings & Loan. Currently, Rubinstein serves as chairman of International Cablecasting Technologies, a company he also founded which markets digital audio products. Yuen co-founded AST Research in 1981. As co-chairman and chief operating officer, Yuen helped build AST into a $1 billion Fortune 500 company prior to his departure in 1992. Yuen went on to form Irvine, Calif.-based NuReality, a developer and marketer of multimedia and consumer products. Yuen currently serves as chairman for several innovative, high-technology companies.
Richard A. Kachelmeyer has been appointed manager of Technical Support, Worldwide sales for NetStar Inc. (612-943-8990), a privately held Minneapolis-based company, that manufactures and markets a high performance computer networking product, called the GigaRouter. Kachelmeyer most recently was director of marketing -- ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) and LAN (local area network) Products for Network Communications Corporation (NCC). Prior to NCC, he served for two years as a product marketing manager for Network Systems Corp., and from 1970 to 1991 was employed by Control Data Corp. in various marketing and product development management positions. Kachelmeyer holds an MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas St. Paul, Minn.
Jacqueline Arthur has been named vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of CP Clare Corp. (617-246-4000). Since 1992, Arthur was employed as vice president and CFO of T Cell Sciences, a biotech company researching the body's natural defense systems. From 1972 to 1986, Arthur held several management positions at the British Petroleum Company, most recently as vice president finance/BP North America. From 1986 to 1990, she served Dennison Manufacturing as vice president and treasurer and as senior vice president strategic planning. From 1990 to 1992, she was vice president finance of M/A-COM, a multinational defense electronic company. Arthur received a BS degree in economics and engineering from the City University in London in 1972 and is a Chartered Accountant. CP Clare is a multinational producer of relays and solid state switches
Jack Allewaert has joined Davidson & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVD - 310-793-0600) as CFO. Allewaert is responsible for the company's finance and accounting functions, reporting to Davidson Chairman and CEO Bob Davidson. Allewaert was most recently senior vice president of the Green Tree Financial Corp. He was also five years as CFO at Valley Federal Savings & Loan, three years at The Parsons Corp. and over 10 years at Deloitte & Touche. Allewaert graduated from Loyola University in Los Angeles and is a certified public accountant in the state of California. Davidson & Associates is a publisher of multimedia educational software for the home and school markets.
Michael V. Martucci has been appointed to the new position of director of sales and marketing for PressLink (703-758-1740), a firm that offers on-line news and informational graphics services for media professionals. Martucci will report to PressLink President Richard Cates. He was previously marketing vice president at TelePad Corp. Martucci holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
(Ian Stokell/19941021)
(Ian Stokell/19941021)
10/21/94
Personnel Changes Roundup
GENERAL
Silicon Graphics Revenues Up 42%
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Many design professionals are saying "once you've tried it you will never go back." That kind of endorsement of Silicon Graphics' (NYSE: SGI) reduced instruction set computing (RISC) technology for the visual computing market may have helped create a 42% increase in revenues compared to the same quarter last year.
This latest quarter which ended September 30, follows closely to the previous quarter, as the company's new Power Challenge Supercomputer and desktop products brought in revenue totaling more than $427 million. Compared to last year's first fiscal quarter, net income posted in this latest report is up more than 61% from $26 million to $42 million. Earnings per share rose from $0.17 to $0.27 per share over the same period.
This past February, the company's founder, James Clark, resigned to pursue new entrepreneurial opportunities. In spite of his departure, which came on friendly terms, the company appears to hold strong to its model of success and show continued growth.
Research and development at Silicon Graphics is up more than $14 million from the same period a year ago and up another $2 million from the previous quarter which ended June 30, 1994. Carl Furry spokesperson for Silicon Graphics, told Newsbytes, "When the company is in a strong position such as it is now, it has always been our policy to invest heavily and perhaps more than most companies in R&D."
Furry continued, "The biggest news here is that, as a result of our continued growth, Wall Street analysts have upgraded the prediction for our future annual growth to be 40%. We are very pleased with our position at this time and that we have surpassed our 52% target rate of increased gross revenues for this quarter over the same period last year."
Two years ago, Silicon Graphics posted revenues of $270 million and a net income of $24 million for its last quarter of the year. That figure was called an overwhelming success for the company at the time. Now, in the quarter just ending, revenues comparatively have increased by more than 63% and net income increased by more than 57%.
(Patrick McKenna/19941021/Press Contact: Jill Grossman, Silicon Graphics, tel 415-390-1516)
ilicon Graphics, tel 415-390-1516)
10/21/94
Silicon Graphics Revenues Up 42%
BUSINESS
Great Plains Toolkit Integrates
FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Great Plains Software has announced a toolkit for Lotus Notes that integrates Great Plains' Dynamics accounting family with Notes.
The company says its Integration Manager for Lotus Notes simplifies the creation of applications in Notes that utilize financial data from Dynamics LAN (local area network) and Dynamics C/S+. For example you can create a custom application for the submission, approval and reimbursement of expense reports. An expense report created in Lotus 1-2-3, accompanied by scanned images of credit card receipts, is routed to Lotus Notes and then to the appropriate manager for approval. The manager's approval prompts the transfer of all the expense data to Great Plains Dynamics. The payables module of Dynamics issues a reimbursement check and Notes generates an electronic mail notification to the employee that the report has been approved and a check issued.
Ray August, Great Plains vice president of research and development says what makes the Integration Manager for Lotus Notes revolutionary is that it lets developers build bridges between what have historically been discrete islands of information. "The ability to 'workflow-enable' key financial data -- to integrate it with all of Lotus Notes' capabilities for routing, communications, and compound document storage -- will translate directly to productivity gains, and process improvements, for the organizations that take advantage of it," says August.
Integration Manager for Lotus Notes is currently in beta testing the process in which software publishers have a select group of users wring out the software to locate any problems before the product is shipped. Great Plains says it will be available in developer and runtime versions, which will be sold separately. If you purchase the developer version you will receive a site runtime license. Integration Manager for Lotus Notes is scheduled to ship in December. Sample applications are included.
Integration Manager for Lotus Notes was designed for use by independent software vendors, in-house corporate developers resellers, systems integrators and consultants. You can also use it to transfer information to and from Lotus Notes VIP, Lotus Forms, Action Workflow, Reach Workman, Jetform and other programs. Developers can add additional data access restraints above those available through the Dynamics products or Lotus Notes in order to control access to the data.
Great Plains hasn't announced pricing for the product yet. To use it you need Great Plains Dynamics LAN Release 2.02 or Dynamics C/S release 2.02, Lotus Notes 3.0b or later, Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups.
(Jim Mallory/19941021/press contact: Terry Kalil, Great Plains Software, 701-281-3130; Public contact: Great Plains Software, tel 800-456-0025, fax 701-281-3700/GP-NOTES941021/PHOTO)
tel 800-456-0025, fax 701-281-3700/GP-NOTES941021/PHOTO)
10/21/94
Great Plains Toolkit Integrates Accounting, Lotus Notes
WINDOWS
Hayes Reveals Voice/Data Modem T
WordPerfect Ships More Main Stre
US Govt Looks For Test Of Digita
Lexmark Readies New Laser Printe
Indian Satellite Launch
Warp California Demos Virtual TV
Improve Your Photography With CD
UK - Mac Network Backup System I
UK - BT Employee Charged With Ph
UK - British Telecom Under Fire
DEC Enters Retail PC Market With
DEC Expands Alpha AXP & VAX Stor
Colorado Company To Design Softw
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Colorado semiconductor manufacturer Ramtron International Corp. (NASDAQ:RMTR) has announced a deal to develop a custom ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) computer chip for use in a software protection product.
Patrick Godding, director of product development for Irvine California-based Rainbow Technologies (NASDAQ:RNBO), told Newsbytes the two-year deal with Ramtron calls for an initial 500,000-unit order, with the possibility for ongoing orders after that. Ramtron spokesperson Lee Brown was reluctant to discuss the specific value of the deal but called the initial order a "sub-million dollar deal." The chips are scheduled to begin shipping in mid-1995.
Rainbow Technologies will use Ramtron's custom chips to store operating information in software protection keys, sometimes known as "dongles." The device connects to a personal computer through the serial or parallel port. Without the "dongle" connected, the software will not run.
Software keys have long been a subject for disagreement. Some vendors like them because they help foil software pirates who make illegal copies of software for resale. They also deter users who make copies of popular software for friends and coworkers as well as for the purpose of working at home with the same software they use in the office.
Software protection is not widely used in the US, but Godding told Newsbytes the devices are popular in other countries. He said Microsoft protects its Arabic version of MS-DOS and AutoDesk products are protected worldwide except in the US. "For the most part the high visibility companies protect overseas. Most of them do not protect in the United States because of the bad publicity," said Godding. For the most part our 11,000 customers are small companies that have spent a lot of money and effort developing their applications," Godding told Newsbytes.
According to the Business Software Alliance, software piracy costs developers an estimated $12 billion per year worldwide in lost sales.
Ramtron's FRAM chip being developed for Rainbow puts the function of several chips on a single chip and Godding says the Ramtron chips are more cost effective and faster than protection devices that use electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM).
Ramtron's Brown called orders like Rainbow's the third prong of the company's FRAM business. "We've got Hitachi and Rohm coming on for the standard products. Our full intention is to turn this factory here in Colorado Springs into a custom development and fab operation."
(Jim Mallory/19941021/Press contact: Lee Brown, Ramtron International, 719-481-7011 or Ann Jones, Rainbow Technologies 714-454-2100)
7011 or Ann Jones, Rainbow Technologies 714-454-2100)
10/21/94
Colorado Company To Design Software Protection Chip
CHIPS
Canada Lays Out Info Highway Hea
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has outlined its plans to research policy issues to do with the information highway, as the federal government recently asked it to do.
In announcing its plans, the CRTC said the government's target of completing the research by the end of February, 1995, could not be met. The job will probably be done by around April of next year, CRTC spokesman Bill Allen told Newsbytes.
As reported earlier this week (Newsbytes, Oct. 18), the federal industry and Canadian heritage departments asked the CRTC to conduct public consultations to answer some questions about broadcasting and telecom issues related to new information services. That work is to support government plans for new policies in these areas, policies which are likely to knock down barriers between the telephone and cable television industries and move toward more competitive markets in telecommunications and broadcasting.
The CRTC announced that it will begin right away to accept written submissions from all interested parties. The deadline for this phase of the process is January 16, 1995. After that another month will be allowed for comments on the initial filings. The CRTC plans to begin public hearings as soon as possible after the February 13 deadline for those replies, Allen said. Depending on the number of parties that want to be heard the hearings could take three to four weeks, he said.
The government has indicated that the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act, the main pieces of federal legislation covering these areas, could be amended as a result of the hearings.
In announcing the government's plans last week, John Manley, the federal minister of industry, said the CRTC's public hearings will compliment the work of the Information Highway Advisory Council, a group he appointed earlier this year to counsel the government on information infrastructure issues.
(Grant Buckler/19941021/Press Contact: Bill Allen, CRTC 819-997-0313, fax 819-994-0218)
Allen, CRTC 819-997-0313, fax 819-994-0218)
10/21/94
Canada Lays Out Info Highway Hearing Plans
ONLINE
Autodesk Ships 3D Studio Release
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The latest upgrade to Autodesk's popular DOS-based three-dimensional animation software is available. 3D Studio Release 4 is popular with architects, engineers, virtual reality designers, animators and other design professionals.
Autodesk expects both a strong upgrade and new user market for this latest release. According to the company, Release 4 delivers speed to specific operations such as moving and modifying large data sets. Garth Chouteau, Autodesk spokesman, said, "Take an example of changing a scene that has ten trees and designing it to have 100 trees; with Release 4 the speed of that operation has been increased by 1000%."
He continued, "With this new release, users will have for the very first time, three-dimensional 'kinematics' on a personal computer. This is a very powerful feature for character animation which until now, has only been available on workstations."
3D Studio Release 4 includes as plug-ins, a keyframe scripting language, a fast preview renderer, a match perspective tool encapsulated PostScript output and an added image browser.
Autodesk says the match perspective tool allows users to place a photograph in a rendering with exact perspective. For an architect this means being able to place a drawing of a newly designed building in the skyline of the city where it will be built.
The new release is available through authorized Autodesk multimedia dealers at a suggest retail price of $2,995. The company provides an upgrade path for currently registered users as follows: Release 1, $795; Release 2, $695; and Release 3, $295.
The program runs on 386, 486 or Pentium-based machine with an Intel math coprocessor. It requires 20 MB of hard disk space 8 megabytes RAM minimum, and an SVGA display device.
(Patrick McKenna/19941021/Press Contact: Garth Chouteau Autodesk, tel 800-879-4233; fax 415-491-8311)
tel 800-879-4233; fax 415-491-8311)
10/21/94
Autodesk Ships 3D Studio Release 4
Voter Information Pilot Project
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- Voters in four pilot cities can now get lots of information about candidates for local, regional and national offices as well as other ballot initiatives and referendums thanks to a unique partnership between several organizations.
Beginning this week voters in Evanston, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; St Petersburg, Florida; and Oakland, California can obtain Internet access to non-partisan information about the candidates issues, voter registration requirements and even a list of polling places by using their local library's computer. If your own PC is equipped with a modem you can even access the information without leaving your home or office.
The system is called VOICE (Voter Online Information & Communications Exchange) a project of the Public Information Exchange, the League of Women Voters Education Fund and Project Vote Smart. While VOICE is only available in the four test cities at present, it is scheduled to go nationwide in 1996.
VOICE provides access to candidate profiles, and ratings on US House and Senate incumbents by 70 national organizations that range from the American Conservative Union and the Americans for Democratic Action to the National Abortion Rights Action League and the National Right to Life Committee.
You can also get a list of how and where to reach House and Senate candidates, read the full text of all measures that will appear on the local ballot, and read candidate's biographies and their responses to a standard questionnaire on their position on issues.
The VOICE files are maintained at the Online Computer Library Center near Columbus, Ohio. "Mosaic" is the graphical user interface used to make navigation of VOICE easier.
If you want to access VOICE from your own PC you need access to the WorldWide Web and Mosaic or the text-based Lynch Internet navigator. The Uniform Resource Locator (an address on the Internet) is http://www.oclc.org/VoteSmart/lwv/lwvhomex.htm.
Public Information Exchange (PIE) spokesperson Dylan Owen told Newsbytes non-profit PIE was founded by telecommunications company Sprint Inc., and Hackensack, New Jersey-based Reference Point Foundation, another non-profit organization. Owen said Sprint is the major financial supporter for PIE.
Owen said VOICE is PIE's initial pilot project. Future projects include public information about environmental, health, and consumer information. He said PIE's main goal is to provide democratic access to public information.
(Jim Mallory/19941021/Press and public contact: PIE, 301-596-7400)
/Press and public contact: PIE, 301-596-7400)
10/21/94
Voter Information Pilot Project Goes Online
ONLINE
City Of San Jose Goes Online Wit
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- The San Jose City Council has voted unanimously to select the Virtual Valley Community Network to launch a dial-up online information service and the iPAC service to provide Internet connectivity to City Hall.
Through this online service, the City of San Jose will make a variety of types of information available electronically including agendas, minutes, forms, answers to frequently asked questions, and city reports.
San Jose is believed to be the largest city government ever to go online. Virtual Valley follows the model of the highly acclaimed City Online system of the much smaller City of Diamond Bar.
The Virtual Valley Community Network is a partnership between government and private industry. It will be launched next week by Metro Newspapers' Virtual Valley, Inc. subsidiary and KTEH, a public broadcasting station located in San Jose.
The service is accessible by anyone with a computer and a modem. It offers free access to members of the public and its basic services are also free.
Any computer owner can download the colorful graphical user interface and communications software in English or Spanish by dialing 408-999-0966 with their modem and registering for a free account. The service utilizes Macintosh communications servers and First Class communications software which supports numerous simultaneous connections and can operate at speeds of up to 14,400 baud.
The City of San Jose will be charged about $15,000 to establish a Macintosh-based First Class Communications Server on its site. That server will then be "gatewayed" to a public server operated by Virtual Valley which offers public dial-up for community information.
In addition to city agendas and other types of government information, the service offers a wide variety of listings and resources related to cultural and entertainment events restaurants, computers, libraries, schools, community groups and businesses.
Besides the City of San Jose, Virtual Valley is offering free online connection services to qualified non-profits, public schools and public agencies.
"The concept of a'virtual valley' is one in which all sectors of society can communicate with each other to exchange ideas collaborate, discuss public issues, socialize or conduct business," said Dan Pulcrano, president of Virtual Valley, Inc. and its parent company, Metro Publishing, Inc.
KTEH, Silicon Valley's public broadcasting affiliate, will offer program schedules and discussions of popular television programs aired by the station, as well as a wide range of interactive services.
Pulcrano told Newsbytes the City of San Jose chose Virtual Valley over a coalition of providers that included America Online, the San Jose Mercury News' Mercury Center service, Cupertino's City Net bulletin board and the NetCom Internet provider. According to Pulcrano a total of six information providers were interviewed by the city's selection committee before the recommendation was made.
The city staff report cited Virtual Valley's commitment to providing free access to the public, the system's ease of use, its high quality graphics, and rich base of regional information in recommending the service.
Virtual Valley, Inc. also operates the LiveWire information service which has about 3,000 members. The Virtual Valley Community Network is expected to have between 5,000 and 10,000 users within the first year of operation.
Virtual Valley Inc., is a subsidiary of Metro Newspapers, a San Jose-based publisher of regional weekly newspapers in Santa Clara Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties, as well as community papers in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and San Jose.
The system will be demonstrated to the press on Wednesday October 26 at 10 a.m. at the Fairmont hotel in San Jose.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Dan Pulcrano, Metro Newspapers 408-298-8000, extension 1-202; Lina Sullivan, KTEH TV 408-437-5454)
extension 1-202; Lina Sullivan, KTEH TV 408-437-5454)
10/21/94
City Of San Jose Goes Online With FirstClass System
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
#MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 21 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> France Telecom Cuts Prices On GSM Packages 10/21/94 The battle for the lucrative digital mobile phone market continues apace in France, as France Telecom, one of the two GSM (global system for mobile communications) network operators, has announced plans to offer heavy discounts to major users of the network.
2 -> Support Grows for Apple GeoPort Standard 10/21/94 Apple Computer's (NASDAQ: APPL) GeoPort interface, first announced in 1993 has gained new support from 10 influential computer and telephony vendors. GeoPort is a plug-and-play, backward compatible serial interface with a bandwidth 200 times that of a standard serial port.
3 -> Delrina Buys AudioFile "TalkWorks" 10/21/94 Delrina Corp. (NASDAQ:DENAF, TSE:DC), publisher of the popular WinFax and WinComm telecommunication programs, has bought AudioFile Inc., of Lexington Massachusetts. The firm says it will integrate AudioFile's TalkWorks for Windows, a PC-Telephony voice communications tool, into its communications products.
4 -> ****Windows 95's New Goodies 10/21/94 Microsoft and Intel officials announced that Windows 95 will incorporate built-in TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface), in addition to support for services that include the "Info Center Universal Inbox," new data conferencing and serial communications "architectures," speech processing, remote network access, and "automatic Internet access."
5 -> Scholastic Network Has 250,000 Members 10/21/94 Just one year after its launch, Scholastic Network, the nation's first online service developed especially for K-12 classrooms, now reaches an audience of 250,000 students nationwide. According to the company hundreds of new schools are signing on to the service every week. Scholastic Network is a partnership between Scholastic Inc. (NMS: SCHL), one of the largest educational publishers in the world, and America Online (NMS: AMER), the fastest growing online service in America.
6 -> Computer Living Largest Launch In Australian History 10/21/94 IDG's latest computer publication is being launched this week in Australia. The launch of Computer Living, which caters to the home computer market, is the largest launch of any Australian magazine, at over one million copies.
7 -> Indian Satellite Launch 10/21/94 India has launched its first indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-D2, at the SHAR center of Shriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
8 -> Mitsubishi Prepares TVs For Onscreen Prg Guides 10/21/94 Mitsubishi Electronics America is equipping its TVs with StarSight Technology, a continuously upgraded, on-screen programming guide. Starting at $3,299 for a 35-inch model, the StarSight- implemented models include 35-inch, a 60-inch, and a 70-inch screen televisions.
9 -> UK - US Robotics/Novell LAN Fax Server 10/21/94 US Robotics has announced an addition to its Shared Access range of comms products FAX Server, a fax system for users of Novell Netware-based local area networks (LANs).
10 -> TWAIN Support For Apple's QuickTake Camera 10/21/94 PictureWorks Technology Inc., a newly formed software company specializing in imaging technology, has introduced PhotoNow, a Windows tool for use with the Apple Computer QuickTake digital camera.
11 -> IBM Adopts CMOS Technology 10/21/94 Adopting a customer-driven market approach, IBM has introduced new technologies in both large systems and storage that ultimately serve customer needs.
12 -> Systems Integration In Papua New Guinea 10/21/94 The Computer Power group (CPG), IDP Education Australia, and Tardis Technology have been awarded a major computer contract in Papua New Guinea (PNG). CPG has won the prime systems integration contract for the delivery of Immigration and Citizenship systems to the PNG government.
13 -> Unisys Wins Australian Defense Contract 10/21/94 Systems integrator Unisys Connect has won an 18-month contract to design and construct a new communications infrastructure for the Australian Department of Defense at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne.
14 -> Star Data Completes Multipath Investment 10/21/94 Star Data Systems Inc. (CDN:STAR) has completed its C$4-million purchase of a 50-percent interest in Multipath Business Systems Inc., a Toronto company that is developing real-time back-office systems for brokerage firms.
15 -> Mindscape Buys French Entertainment Software Developer 10/21/94 Mindscape, Inc., a leading publisher of software for the entertainment, education, and reference markets formerly known as The Software Toolworks, has announced the purchase for an undisclosed sum of cash of Atreid Concept, a privately held entertainment software development company located in Bordeaux, France.
16 -> IBM Bundles Medio Magazine, World Beat CDs With Thinkpads 10/21/94 Medio Multimedia reports that IBM Corporation is including two of the company's edutainment interactive multimedia titles, Medio Magazine and World Beat, with the new CD-ROM-equipped IBM ThinkPad 755CD just released by IBM.
17 -> Lotus Launches New Retail Merchandising Program 10/21/94 To generate more consistency in how Lotus software products are presented in retail stores, Lotus has started its first "point-of-purchase (POP) merchandising program."
18 -> ****White House Weaves A WWWeb 10/21/94 The computer screen opens with a color photograph of the White House, taken from Pennsylvania Avenue. A plaque at the top says, in ornate script "Welcome to the White House," and at the bottom, "An Interactive Citizens' Handbook."
19 -> Electronic Group To Look At European Infobahn 10/21/94 The American Electronic Association's European branch next month will hold a conference aimed at defining the European Information Infrastructure, or EII, with a little help from Vice President Al Gore, one of the conceptual architects of the information superhighway.
20 -> Microsoft Schedules BackOffice Seminars 10/21/94 Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) is offering seminars in 33 North American cities to promote BackOffice, its integrated suite of Windows NT server products.
21 -> Company Results Roundup 10/21/94 While Iomega reported a small net profit for its third quarter, Inacom posted record revenue. Meanwhile, Unisys posted third quarter net income at $42.9 million down from last year, and Microcom reported an 83% increase in revenue for its most recent quarter. General Computer said net sales for its last quarter increased 21%, and Weitek reported a loss. Net sales for Zeos International were up for the quarter, while Compaq posted record sales of $2.84 billion for the third quarter. Electronic Arts posted less income on more sales, and Control Data Systems announced a third quarter loss.
22 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 10/21/94 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Gemini Technology Corp., Graphix Zone, NetStar Inc., CP Clare Corp. Davidson & Associates Inc., and PressLink.
23 -> Silicon Graphics Revenues Up 42% 10/21/94 Many design professionals are saying "once you've tried it you will never go back." That kind of endorsement of Silicon Graphics' (NYSE: SGI) reduced instruction set computing (RISC) technology for the visual computing market may have helped create a 42% increase in revenues compared to the same quarter last year.
24 -> Great Plains Toolkit Integrates Accounting, Lotus Notes 10/21/94 Great Plains Software has announced a toolkit for Lotus Notes that integrates Great Plains' Dynamics accounting family with Notes.
25 -> Colorado Company To Design Software Protection Chip 10/21/94 Colorado semiconductor manufacturer Ramtron International Corp. (NASDAQ:RMTR) has announced a deal to develop a custom ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) computer chip for use in a software protection product.
26 -> Canada Lays Out Info Highway Hearing Plans 10/21/94 The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has outlined its plans to research policy issues to do with the information highway, as the federal government recently asked it to do.
27 -> Autodesk Ships 3D Studio Release 4 10/21/94 The latest upgrade to Autodesk's popular DOS-based three-dimensional animation software is available. 3D Studio Release 4 is popular with architects engineers, virtual reality designers, animators and other design professionals.
28 -> Voter Information Pilot Project Goes Online 10/21/94 Voters in four pilot cities can now get lots of information about candidates for local, regional and national offices as well as other ballot initiatives and referendums thanks to a unique partnership between several organizations.
29 -> City Of San Jose Goes Online With FirstClass System 10/21/94 The San Jose City Council has voted unanimously to select the Virtual Valley Community Network to launch a dial-up online information service and the iPAC service to provide Internet connectivity to City Hall.
(Wendy Woods/19941021)
(Wendy Woods/19941021)
10/21/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Internet For Everyone In Saskatc
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- SaskTel, the provincially owned telephone company serving the province, has announced plans to make access to the Internet available from every telephone in its territory by early next year.
The inauguration of SaskTel's SaskNet service will make Saskatchewan the second Canadian province to provide universal Internet access to telephone subscribers. The first was New Brunswick.
Rod Podbielski, a spokesman for SaskTel, told Newsbytes that final rates for the SaskNet service have not been set yet, but the plan is to charge about C$20 per month, with some amount of connect time included at no extra charge. The service will provide full access to all Internet services, he said, and SaskNet's fee will also include an Internet navigational package called Pipeline.
"Internet is not necessarily the easiest thing to find your way around," Podbielski noted, so SaskTel wants to provide a navigational package to help subscribers deal with the vast network.
SaskTel said it will spend about C$1.2 million to upgrade and expand existing Internet access facilities. The connection to the Internet will be made through the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, and the University of Regina.
In announcing the decision, Ed Tchorzewski, the provincial minister responsible for SaskTel, noted that one popular concern about new information services is that people in rural and remote areas may be left out. The move to provide universal Internet access in Saskatchewan -- a sparsely populated province whose economy depends heavily on agriculture -- seems a significant step to avoid that risk.
(Grant Buckler/19941021/Press Contact: Ron Podbielski, SaskTel 306-777-4476)
: Ron Podbielski, SaskTel 306-777-4476)
10/24/94
Internet For Everyone In Saskatchewan
ONLINE
UK - Time Computer Offers Christ
BURNLEY, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Just as the stores are starting to sell Christmas decorations, so the UK's computer suppliers are getting into a Christmas mood. Time Computer, the direct sales PC vendor, is one of the first out of the starting gate this year with a Christmas bundle.
The Christmas bundles available from Time come with an increased range of business, leisure, and educational software packages. The Christmas bundle includes 25 applications, which the company claims is worth around UKP1,800 -- enough to keep users busy and productive throughout the winter, officials claim.
The packages bundled with Time's PCs include Lotus SmartSuite, GST's Designworks and Pressworks, Autoroute, Fun School 4, and Doom, the "shoot-em-up" game software.
Pricing on Time's range remains unchanged for Christmas, starting at UKP899 for a 25 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX-based machine with four megabytes (MB) of memory, a 340MB hard disk, and a 14-inch SVGA monitor. The flagship is a Pentium system for UKP1,799.
For the Christmas range, Time is offering interest- free credit on all its machines, with the option to spread payments without extra charge for up to two years.
Colin Silcock, the company's national sales manager, explained that the interest-free option requires a deposit of UKP300, with payments from UKP25 a month, depending on the machine ordered. The deal is one of the best on the market, he claimed, adding that the terms are proving very popular with home customers.
Newsbytes asked Sheelagh Dick, marcoms manager with Time, how the interest-free credit deal is set up, and asked if offering such terms doesn't cost the company money?
She replied that the deal is being financed through a third party finance company, although Time "is a licensed credit broker," adding that Time pays the finance company the real interest on the deal.
"We have nine staff who specialize in dealing with the interest-free credit deal. Because we route the finance through a finance company they shoulder the risk -- we just pay the finance company for the interest that should be charged on the deal. The customer gets the credit free of charge and at no cost," she told Newsbytes.
Dick added that the interest-free credit and bundling deal is available to all of Time's customers, including those that order through the Ryman linkup. As previously reported by Newsbytes Time's PCs are being offered on a catalog basis through the Ryman business stationers group.
(Steve Gold/19941021/Press Contact: John Butters, Insight Marketing tel +44-61-495-5050, fax +44-61-495-5054; Time Computer Systems, tel +44-282-777111, fax +44-282-770701)
tems, tel +44-282-777111, fax +44-282-770701)
10/24/94
UK - Time Computer Offers Christmas Bundles
GENERAL
UK - Spider Intros SpiderIntegra
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Spider Systems has launched SpiderIntegrator Atto, a new entry-level internetworking system for small satellite offices. Pricing starts at UKP995.
According to Paul Gowans, product line manager with Spider, the Atto will appeal to those companies that have sites where remote access to a network, either across modem or ISDN (integrated services digital network) links, could not be justified because of high costs and/or too complex systems.
"The satellite office market presents a significant opportunity in the internetworking arena. So far, these sites have been left out in the cost as head offices felt they could not commit resources," he said. "Atto has been developed to provide the 'solution' to the small satellite office's requirements of 'keep it small, keep it simple and keep it affordable,'" he added.
In use, Atto acts as an intelligent bridge between a variety of local area network (LAN) topologies, such as Ethernet and Token Ring linking to a parent network using a synchronous modem, leased line or ISDN pathway.
Two main versions of Atto are available: a remote bridge and a remote router. The latter is capable of routing IP (Internet Protocol) and Novell IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) protocol channels. In the remote bridge version, the system supports a single LAN and either two serial ports and a single ISDN basic rate interface (BRI) link. As a remote router, Atto supports a single LAN, a single serial port and one ISDN BRI link.
The Ethernet interface on Atto supports both AUI and 10BaseT network protocols, as well as choice of interfaces for the serial links -- X.21 V.24, or V.35. All wide area network (WAN) interfaces are billed as supporting Point to Point Protocol (PPP) with a Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) system.
Shipment of the system, according to Gowans, is expected in December, although the ISDN version will not be available until March of next year.
UK - Spider Intros SpiderIntegrator Network Systems
NETWORK
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Global Database Market Ready To
European Commission Backs Down O
Electronic Whiteboard Now Availa
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Telecon '94 - Promise For Cybers
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Correction - Microsoft Schedules
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- A story about a Microsoft-sponsored seminar for resellers that appeared in Newsbytes recently, entitled: "Microsoft Schedules BackOffice Seminars," contained an error.
The story stated that the cost of the seminars, which are being held across the country between now and December 1994, was $4,950. The story should have stated that there is no cost for the reseller seminar.
Newsbytes regrets the error.
(Jim Mallory/19941021/Press contact: Aimee Stone, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft Corp., 503-245-0905; Public contact for seminar information: Microsoft, 800-557-0800)
tact for seminar information: Microsoft, 800-557-0800)
10/24/94
Correction - Microsoft Schedules BackOffice Seminars
CORRECTION
WINDOWS
Meckler Pulls Plug On MecklerWeb
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Just two weeks after the MecklerWeb service went live on the Internet, Alan Meckler, chief executive of parent company MecklerMedia Corp. has pulled the plug on the original concept and replaced it with a different model.
The original MecklerWeb was to be "a new marketing medium where self-selecting audiences seek out focused business messages," in words a company press release attributed to Meckler in early October.
Christopher Locke, former president of subsidiary MecklerWeb Corp. told Newsbytes before the launch that the service would give companies that build their businesses on knowledge a way to communicate that information to their customers.
But another statement attributed to Meckler in the launch press release turned out to be prophetic in a way the publicity people had not intended: "But ultimately, the success of MecklerWeb depends on how many paying customers sign onto this service." Only one -- Andersen Consulting -- had done so when Meckler announced a change of course.
At the time of the launch, MecklerMedia said that, besides partners in the venture, a number of organizations -- including McGraw Hill, the Bureau of National Affairs, and Sun Microsystems were "represented" on its service. Meckler said none of these were paying customers.
There was a lot of interest in the service during the summer much of it from Fortune 1,000 companies, Meckler told Newsbytes. However, that interest did not translate into contracts. "Original projections, while they weren't public, were at the minimum you'd sell 60 a year," Meckler said. The company had hoped to sign up between 100 and 150 clients in its first year, he added.
No clients other than Andersen Consulting were even close to signing up as of mid-October, Meckler said.
As a result, MecklerMedia has now decided to change MecklerWeb into a more conventional online advertising vehicle, designed to carry cross-promotions for advertisers in Mecklermedia magazines and participants in the company's trade shows. MecklerMedia publishes Internet World magazine and other publications.
In the wake of the decision, Meckler has faced some criticism by those who say he failed to see the potential of the original MecklerWeb concept. Locke, for instance, has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying Meckler "didn't get it." Meckler removed Locke from his position, though the company said he will continue as a paid consultant until year-end.
"I can be criticized," Meckler told Newsbytes, "but I'm the one that's paying the bills."
Meckler said he estimated that at the rate it was going MecklerWeb would have lost about $1.5 million this year.
Paul Gudelis, MecklerMedia's director of Internet development has been named general manager of all MecklerWeb services.
(Grant Buckler/19941024/Press Contact: Alan Meckler MecklerMedia, tel 203-226-6967, fax 203-454-5840; Public Contact: MecklerMedia, 203-226-6967)
ntact: MecklerMedia, 203-226-6967)
10/24/94
Meckler Pulls Plug On MecklerWeb
ONLINE
Canadian Cable Firms Leave Satel
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Several major cable television operators have left DTH Canada, a consortium set up to provide direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service. Those departing include Rogers Cablesystems Inc., Maclean-Hunter Cable and other sizable Canadian operators.
The remaining consortium members are Tee-Comm Electronics Inc. BCE Inc., WIC Western International Communications Ltd., Astral Broadcasting Group Inc., Labatt Communications Inc., and Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (Cancom). Most of the remaining companies either make satellite communications technology, as do Tee-Comm and Cancom, or are in the broadcasting business. BCE is the parent company of Bell Canada and Northern Telecom Ltd.
Ted Boyle, a spokesman for Tee-Comm, said his company welcomes the cable firms' departure from DTH Canada because it will allow the consortium to focus more clearly on its goals. Cable and DTH satellite services will be competitors, he said, and while the cable companies and others in the consortium "agreed on many issues," sooner or later the consortium and the cable firms will be competing "head to head."
Cable firms got involved in the DTH effort in the first place partly because, for smaller cable operators, a DTH system could be a source of programming, Boyle said. However, it was the bigger companies that actually joined the consortium, and DTH as a programming source was not likely to interest them.
It appears that pressure from federal regulators may have played a role in getting the cable operators into the consortium. Canadian communications regulators wanted a united Canadian front to compete with foreign satellite services, sources said. When regulators announced recently that DTH services in this country must use a fully Canadian-owned satellite -- effectively shutting out Power DirecTV, a Toronto-based firm working in partnership with the US-based DirecTV -- there was speculation the ruling was meant to favor the Canadian consortium.
DTH Canada plans to begin testing its satellite television service some time in 1995, Boyle said. It will use Telesat Canada's Anik E2 satellite.
1; Steven Litwin, Tee-Comm Electronics 514-333-3400)
10/24/94
Canadian Cable Firms Leave Satellite TV Consortium
BROADCAST
Canadian Product Launch Update
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- This regular feature, appearing on the first day Newsbytes publishes each week, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: CA-Unicenter/Star.
Computer Associates Canada Ltd., in Mississauga, Ontario announced the first shipments of CA-Unicenter/Star (Newsbytes Oct. 4), its cross-platform systems management software. Canadian clients can license CA-Unicenter/Star for C$995 per workstation. MVS server prices start at C$15,000. AS/400 and Unix servers are also available, the company said.
(Grant Buckler/19941024/Press Contact: John Schoutsen, Computer Associates Canada, tel 905-676-6794, fax 905-676-6734)
905-676-6794, fax 905-676-6734)
10/24/94
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
UK - Tel-Me Adds Journey Planner
LIVERPOOL, MERSEYSIDE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Tel-Me, the graphical online service, has announced it is offering the AA Journey Planner as an online facility with immediate effect.
Under the Journey Planner system, callers key in their required journey and the AA (Automobile Association) computer system feeds back the suggested route based on its own database. The AA has, for several years, offered a printed route service for its members in the UK, but the system has only been available by post.
Tel-Me's service operates in a manner very similar to the French Minitel operation, with the Tel-Me computers acting as a central online interface to Information Providers (IPs) whose computers are located elsewhere. As a call comes into the Tel-Me computer, data is extracted from the AA's computer system and offered to the caller.
According to Roger Macdonald, a spokesman for Tel-Me, routes can be selected between named locations or postcodes. These routes can be printed out by the Tel-Me software that runs on the caller's PC and if a cellular modem is available, portable PC users can access the service while in the car.
"Like every Tel-Me service, Journey Planner is easy to use and economical. It costs just 12 pence per route, plus five pence for the latest traffic news. Because inquiries are so quick, telephone charges are very small," he explained.
To access Tel-Me, subscribers use the supplied software to place a call -- either via modem, ISDN (integrated services digital network) or similar wireline/wireless link -- to call the company's parallel processing computer at its headquarters.
Phonelink, the company behind Tel-Me, claims that the parallel processing aspect of its mainframe, coupled with the graphical nature of its software, presents the data in a truly digestible format.
(Steve Gold/Press Contact: Suzanne Orsler, Buffalo Communications 44-71-385-0777; Reader Intact: Phonelink, tel +44-51-608- 0205 fax +44-51-608-8783; UK Only - BT Localcall 0345-225577/PHONELINK102194/PHOTO)
Only - BT Localcall 0345-225577/PHONELINK102194/PHOTO)
10/24/94
UK - Tel-Me Adds Journey Planner To Online Offerings
ONLINE
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Smal
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketin
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
California's New Online Voter Gu
USA Mobile Expanding Pager Servi
DEC Intros SC-4600 SCSI RAID Con
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- DEC StorageWorks has unveiled a SCSI (small computer systems interface) RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) controller that features up to 100 hours of battery power for backup protection, plus up to 32 megabytes (MB) of write-back cache, expandable to 128MB in the future.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Gim Hom, StorageWorks for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) product marketing manager, said that DEC will expand the write-back cache on the new SC-4600 RAID controller some time in 1995. Existing SC-4600 systems will be upgradable to 128MB of write-back cache at that time, he added.
StorageWorks has also announced the new HA-2400C high-availability enclosure, for the SC-4600 and "follow-on" RAID controllers, and the HA-700W, a "general expansion shelf" for users moving from 8-bit to 16-bit "wide" devices.
The 100 hours of battery power provided by the new SC-4600 RAID controller "will get you through even the longest weekend" in the event of power failure, noted Hom.
Like DEC's previous SCSI RAID controller, the new SC-4600 offers "transparent failover" protection, so that "one drive will automatically take over -- without host intervention -- if the other fails," said the product marketing manager.
Also like the previous RAID controller, he added, the SC-4600 is "completely hot swappable," and is compatible with SCSI on the device side and fast wide SCSI on the host side, interfaces selected for their predominance in the industry.
The "hot swappable feature" allows users to immediately change disks in case of failure, without powering down the system, Hom told Newsbytes.
In contrast to the SC-4600, though, the earlier SCSI RAID controller contained no write-back cache, and did not supply 100 hours of battery-powered backup, according to Hom. The SC-4600 performs at up to 2,550 I/0 (input/output) per second, he reported.
The new controller also offers a capability called "dual ported cache" that is aimed at allowing outstanding cache "write requests" to be completed, even if one controller fails.
DEC's SCSI RAID controllers are sold to OEMs, he said. Another division of DEC's StorageWorks markets RAID controllers direct to end-users, primarily in the Unix and VAX marketplaces.
StorageWorks is currently negotiating several contracts for the SC 4600, Newsbytes was told. Cambex has been an important customer for the previous controller. Data General's Clariion RAID controllers are a "major competitor" in the OEM marketplace.
The new HA-2400C enclosure has 24 "building block slots" equipped to hold a redundant RAID controller, redundant power supplies and fans, and a redundant environmental monitoring unit, according to Hom. The HA-2400C uses 24, 4.3 gigabyte (GB) disks, for a capacity of up to 103.2GB.
The HA-700W is the first high availability enclosure from StorageWorks to support 16-bit devices, he said. The enclosure is designed to permit transfer rates of up to 20 megabytes-per-second (MBps). The HA-700W uses seven, 4.3GB, for up to 30GB of capacity.
The HA-700W can be mounted in a pedestal unit for standalone office use. Alternatively, the unit can be plugged into a larger data center enclosure.
Pricing for the SC-4600 RAID controller starts at less than $5,000 depending on volume. The HA-2400C pedestal is priced at under $2,200. The SC-4600 and HA-2400C are both available now. The HA-700W is slated to ship in mid-November.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941021/Reader Contacts: DEC, 508-493-5111; DEC StorageWorks OEM Sales, 800-333-4545; Press Contacts: Laura Kirkley, DEC; Heather McLellan, The Weber Group for DEC 617-661-0024)
an, The Weber Group for DEC 617-661-0024)
10/24/94
DEC Intros SC-4600 SCSI RAID Controller
GENERAL
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awar
India - IDC Forecasts Major IT I
Sigma Designs Intros RealMagic P
Apple's Online Service Offers eW
CompuServe Prepares For Hong Kon
Secure System For Internet Store
First Virtual Offers Internet Me
Telecom Italia To Spin-Off Cellp
DEC & MicroMall Team On Home Sho
UK - Vodafone Confirms Data Over
Apple Cuts US Workgroup Server P
Micronics Offers Cacheless 486-B
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Micronics Computers Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRN), has launched a new system board the LX30 WB. The new design features a "cacheless" architecture and value engineering design that the company says allows it to be offered at a price that rival "no name" clones manufactured by off-shore system board suppliers.
According to Micronics spokesperson, Nathan Brookwood, the system board supports the latest generation of 486-based write-back processors. Its cacheless design allows it to be configured without the expensive off-chip cache previously required to deliver high levels of computational performance.
The product is targeted at the system house market previously untaped by Micronics. The company's first product in this category the LX30WB, which is available for immediate shipment, is being offered to OEM (original equipment manufacturers) customers at a price of under $100.
The unique architecture of the system board enables a cacheless design to perform benchmark tests rivaling traditional system boards which contain 128 kilobyte (KB) and 256KB cache designs.
Because it is a cacheless design, the company says it is able to pass on the cost-savings of the reduced the number of components. The product is claimed to be fully compatible with EPA's "Energy Star" program.
The introduction of the system board marks the first company offering without the CPU (central processing unit). System integrators have the option of installing a variety of microprocessors during the computer system's final assembly.
The approach, which is reportedly often used by off-shore generic system board manufacturers, allows distributors, integrators and value-added resellers (VARs) to reduce their inventories of system boards -- a key advantage in today's increasingly competitive environment.
Robert N. Gunn, vice president of marketing and sales for Micronics, told Newsbytes that the product can be tailored to meet user's specific needs. Gunn noted, "In the past, price-sensitive customers were forced to sacrifice quality for low cost. By combining advanced technology with value engineering, we've been able to offer a product that meets all our premium standards for reliability performance and compatibility, at extremely affordable prices. In addition, offering a system board without the CPU provides customers with increased flexibility as well as additional cost savings."
A system board contains the microprocessor, supporting logic circuitry and memory components that form the core of a personal computer.
LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Four-year-old Interactive Media Corporation (IMC) has announced the release of Interactive Multimedia -- Getting Started 2.0, an enhanced version of its Macintosh CD-ROM title.
Peter Rosenthal, President of IMC, told Newsbytes that a Windows version is planned for early next year.
According to Rosenthal, IMC pioneered the now-popular concept of the multimedia try-out disk with the first version of Interactive Multimedia -- Getting Started. Rosenthal added that this product is the first to allow both novice and professional Macintosh users to try their hand at multimedia authoring, without scripting timeliness, flowcharts, or other complex interfaces.
The title was recently selected by Apple Computer to be bundled with its new Apple Presentation System. Apple also adopted Special Delivery 2.0, IMC's multimedia authoring tool, to create an in-box demonstration of the multimedia options available for its new Macintosh 630 product line.
Lisa Payne, product manager for entry Macintosh products at Apple Computer, said, "We chose Special Delivery because of its ease-of use and powerful interactivity. We felt it would allow novice users to easily create presentations with impact. The intuitive interface is easy to learn and people familiar with standard presentation products will appreciate the ability to readily add new dimensions of sound, movies, and interactivity to their work."
A test drive version of Special Delivery 2.0 is one of programs bundled with Interactive Media -- Getting Started. The standard edition of version 2.0, released three weeks ago, replaces 1.0 that was initially released in October, 1992.
Interactive Multimedia - Getting Started 2.0 is priced at $24.95 and features several key additions and improvements to the original release, including a trial copy of Special Delivery 2.0. The CD-ROM also includes new sample projects including the in-box demonstration from Apple Computer and Mountain Vision's demonstration of its mall-based kiosk for the Peregrine Fund, a non-profit environmental group.
"We received a strong positive response to our original CD, and felt it was important to continue to offer Macintosh users access to some of the latest tools used in multimedia creation," said Roger Badertscher, president of IMC. "We have seen a large number of mainstream Macintosh users eager to try multimedia creation on their own, but confused by the complexity and diversity of the products offered in the field."
He continued: "IMC created this CD to put all the tools and elements in one place, along with appropriate examples of what can be created and how multimedia projects are assembled. We think this approach will allow multimedia 'tire kickers' to rapidly become users of this new technology."
The new version of Interactive Multimedia -- Getting Started has a number of key features. There are 13 examples of multimedia projects that can be played and examined. A trial version of the Special Delivery 2.0 is included that allows users to create and save an unlimited number of short multimedia projects using the product's entire feature set.
The package also includes a collection of license-free clipmedia. Also included are several try-out and demo versions of popular tools for multimedia file management, video editing and special effects, image enhancement, three-dimensional (3-D) modeling, painting, animated screen captures.
The product carries a suggested list price of $24.95. IMC says volume discounts are available to educational purchasers.
(Nick Anis/19941018/Press Contact: Peter Rosenthal, Interactive Media Corporation, 415-948-0745; Eastwick Communications, Elaine Knechtel, 415-306-4191: Customer contact: 415-948-0745)
aine Knechtel, 415-306-4191: Customer contact: 415-948-0745)
10/24/94
Interactive Multimedia Getting Started 2.0 For Mac Intro'd
APPLE
Sigma Designs Intros RealMagic P
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Sigma Designs Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGM), manufacturer of multimedia computer products has announced RealMagic PrimeTime, a PC add-in card that allows a television to be used as a high-quality computer display.
The RealMagic PrimeTime TV-to-VGA card works with a variety of video cards. The "low-cost" board will begin shipping in November for a suggested retail price of $179. The board offers resolution of 640 by 480 and is targeted at the home "edutainment" market for using a television as computer monitor. An external version is planned for release sometime next year.
Sigma Designs spokesperson, Letty Dupuy, told Newsbytes that the board is (ideal) for taking advantage of even the largest big-screen color TVs for viewing PC-based home entertainment, learning, and business applications. Dupuy said the RealMagic PrimeTime is the "missing link" between the computer and the television.
RealMagic PrimeTime is also a good complement to Sigma Designs' RealMagic Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) playback controller which provides full-screen, full-motion video and CD-quality sound from a standard CD-ROM drive, said the company.
RealMagic PrimeTime is also included in the company's RealMagic Special Edition PC multimedia upgrade kit, which includes a CD-ROM drive, high-end speakers, and a library of interactive software titles with Sigma Designs' RealMagic MPEG playback controller.
"With RealMagic, PrimeTime users are able to use the family entertainment center for games or spreadsheets and take advantage of their existing color TV," said Greg Jones, vice president of marketing at Sigma Designs.
The RealMagic PrimeTime VGA-to-NTSC (North American Television Standards Committee) converter is an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)-bus card that can be used with any personal computer with a VGA output. It delivers, according to the company, near flicker-free S-Video or composite TV signals to standard and big screen televisions, VCRs or projection TVs. It comes standard with screen adjustment utilities for both DOS and Windows.
The RealMagic PrimeTime VGA-to-NTSC will be available in late October for a suggested retail price of $179. The RealMagic Special Edition Multimedia upgrade kit lists for $2,499, and will be available in November. There is a five-year warranty on the RealMagic controllers.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Letty Dupuy, Sigma Designs 510-770-2673; or Tad C. Bixby, Edelman Technology Communications 415-968-4033: Reader Contact: tel 800-845-8086, or 510-770 0100, fax 510-770-2641)
5-8086, or 510-770 0100, fax 510-770-2641)
10/24/94
Sigma Designs Intros RealMagic PrimeTime
CompuServe UK Adds What's On Gui
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
UK PC Firm Links With Charity
IBM, Philips Join Forces On Chip
TI Intros Fast MicroLaser Pro Pr
Compaq Sales Increase In Philipp
Philadelphia Partnership Acquire
Apple Ships IP Gateway For Apple
Mexico - Computer News
Australian Govt Commits To Local
Autodesk Ships 3D Studio Release
UK PC Firm Unveils Triple Bus Ar
UK VR Firm Signs Deal With Atari
Hong Kong - Infonet Offers Frame
Labor Dept. To Launch Ergonomics
Library Of Congress To Digitize
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- The Library of Congress intends to convert millions of items to digital form and start distributing them through the Internet and on CD-ROM to individuals and libraries around the US. The items include: Mathew Brady's Civil War photographs; speeches by President Warren G. Harding; and maps that pioneers used as they moved west.
The library has unveiled its multi-million dollar National Digital Library project, with five million rare American artifacts to be available digitally by the year 2000.
"We have a responsibility to share more information with more people, Librarian of Congress James Billington said at a news conference. He hopes that someday the library's mammoth collection -- more than 100 million items, including 35 million books -- will be fully digitized.
Billington says he wants to construct "a kind of electronic version of what Andrew Carnegie did a century ago" when he financed the building of local libraries all over the nation creating the US public library system.
Like Carnegie's project, it will not come cheap. The library has lined up $10 million in private support for the first part of the program, and estimates the five million items will eventually cost $20 million. The National Science Foundation has awarded $24 million in grants to six university-led teams to work on digital library technologies.
But there will be limits. First, the library is beginning with items that are in the public domain, because it does not want to deal with the copyright issue just yet. A White House taskforce under Patents and Trademark Commissioner Bruce Lehman is working on the issue and expects to have recommendations early next year.
Billington added that the library will be producing only "plain vanilla" digital versions of its collection, provided in locations available to everyone, "so that there is no 'have and have-not' problem." A Brady photo, for example, might also carry a simple explanatory caption.
But it would be up to third parties, Disney perhaps, to combine the Brady photo with period music, a narration, and battlefield maps to produce a commercial Civil War CD-ROM. That is exactly the way the Library operates today with its public domain archival material.
Billington's plan won praise for the Washington Post. In an editorial, the paper said, "Decisions the library makes at this stage, even seemingly minor ones, are likely to have a substantial effect on how cyberspace actually 'looks' -- who is hooked up to what on the Internet or information superhighway via what institutions or middlemen and for what kind of fees."
(Kennedy Maize/19941024/Reader Contact: Laura Campbell 202-707-5543)
1024/Reader Contact: Laura Campbell 202-707-5543)
10/24/94
Library Of Congress To Digitize 5 Million Items
Software Publishers Map Educatio
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- The Software Publishers Association has put out a new report on the convergence among educational software, telecommunications, and cable TV industries.
The report, entitled "Educational Content on the Big Wires: Partnerships Between Developers and the Cable and Telephone Industries" maps out potential business alliances between software content provides and the communications channels.
"Why is there a need for such a publication?" asks SPA. The home education software market is booming, growing more than 120 percent in the past two quarters, notes the trade group for the publishers, adding that 27 percent of all American homes now have computers and that CD software sales increased by 366 percent in the last quarter.
"These optimistic trends reflect consumer demands for home education and the inevitable growth of an interactive marketplace," says Ken Wasch, SPA's executive director. "It is a foregone conclusion that educational software will ultimately find its way to the big wires of the cable and telephone industry."
"Interactive television will certainly be a big market for educational software publishers in the future," says John Kernan, chairman and chief executive officer of Lightspan Partnerships, an interactive educational TV company, "but no one knows when or how. The big opportunities are many years away, but publishers can, and should, educate themselves about the market now."
The SPA report compiles information about potential projects to be undertaken by the nation's leading cable and telephone companies. Bell Atlantic, for example, has an interactive classroom experiment going on in New Jersey.
SPA says its guide will serve to familiarize software vendors with opportunities for alliances with cable and telephone companies. The report is available free to SPA members. The cost for non-members is $250.
(Kennedy Maize/19941024/Press Contact: Sally Lawrence tel 202-452-1600 ext 320, fax 202-223-8756. Reader Contact: Sue Kamp, 202-452-1600 ext 185)
Reader Contact: Sue Kamp, 202-452-1600 ext 185)
10/24/94
Software Publishers Map Education Partnerships
TRENDS
National Football League Interac
New York, New York, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- It may be an armchair quarterback's ultimate dream -- a CD-ROM-based "yearbook" of the 1993 US National Football League (NFL) season, complete with a linked, online service to provide updates to the latest NFL statistics and game previews throughout the season.
It is coming November 1, according to RealTime Sports, a multinational joint venture. Titled "The Official National Football League Interactive Yearbook," the NFL-licensed product will be available in retail outlets, listed at $49.95. The CD-ROM will run on both Windows-based PCs and Apple Macintosh computers.
The CD-ROM will contain about an hour of NFL video clips and 90 minutes of audio takes, the firm says. Features will include player and team profiles, NFL trivia, "bloopers," a week-by-week review of the 1993 NFL season, and offers of NFL merchandise.
The linked on-line service will keep the Yearbook current through the 1994 season, offering NFL updates several times a week, the firm said. Updates will include summaries of game results, profiles of leading teams, weekly highlights, and previews of the coming's weeks scheduled contests.
Pat Summerall, who was voted the 1994 Sportscaster of the Year by the American Sportscasters Association, will act as host on the CD-ROM, the firm said. He will narrate an introduction and provide all voice-overs, and act as a guide to the help functions.
Stated Summerall: "The Yearbook offers sports fans a way to be one step ahead of the game. At the click of a mouse, fans will have access to the historical information and up-to-the-minute statistics used by professional broadcasters to call a game. It's all the NFL information you could want, when you want it."
The company's announcement promises similar CD-ROM "yearbooks" covering hockey and baseball, plus commemorative sports CD-ROMs. The first commemorative title will the "75 Seasons - The History of the National Football League," due out in the next few weeks. It also will be hosted by Summerall, the firm said.
Distribution of the Yearbook line of CD-ROMs will be handled by Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR), a distributor of music computer software, and interactive CD-ROMs.
RealTime Sports, headquartered in New York, New York, is a joint venture of Nederlander Communications Inc., Berelsmann Music Group (BMG), and Pixel Multimedia Ltd. Nederlander Communications and its affiliate companies market entertainment events and TV shows. The firm also has an ownership interest in the New York Yankees baseball team. BMG, based in New York, owns Arista Records, RCA Records and Ariola. Its parent company, Bertelsmann AG, is an $11.8 billion-a-year international media entertainment firm with holdings in 40 countries. The Pixel Group, headquartered in Israel, is known for its mastering technology and its multimedia productions.
(Craig Menefee/19941024/Press Contact: Audrey Mann or Jennifer Delaney, Technology Solutions Inc., 212-696-2000)
laney, Technology Solutions Inc., 212-696-2000)
10/24/94
National Football League Interactive Yearbook
ONLINE
Spyglass Announces 10 Million In
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Spyglass Inc., has licensed more than 10 million copies of its Enhanced NCSA Mosaic graphical Internet browser, the firm announced. AT&T pushed the popular browser past the multi-zero milestone when it decided to distribute the program internally as its World Wide Web browsing program.
Ten million licensed copies makes the NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) Mosaic-based program the most widely distributed of all Internet browsers, Spyglass says. It also says more large-scale agreements are in the offing.
AT&T will use World Wide Web to deliver information and coordinate workflow among employees, the Spyglass announcement said. As the company expands its Web server network over the next few years, it will distribute copies of Enhanced NCSA Mosaic online to new users.
"The Web has improved our operations and made internal communications more productive," said Bill Oliver, AT&T corporate vice president for public relations.
Douglas Colbeth, president of Spyglass, said that the firm has tapped into the explosion of interest in the Internet. "Companies understand the benefits of the Internet and how they can use it to expand their markets, provide better customer service, and improve employee communications," he stated.
NCSA Mosaic provides a graphical, point-and-click front-end to the Web, which contains more than 10,000 hyperlinked graphical databases. The firm estimates that two million copies of NCSA Mosaic are in current use on desktops, and an additional 50,000 copies of the software are being downloaded every month from the Internet.
NCSA Mosaic was developed at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. Spyglass is the primary licensing contact for commercially enhanced versions of NCSA Mosaic. Spyglass develops and distributes its enhanced versions under a joint development and master licensing agreement with the University.
Individuals may download a public-with-copyright version of NCSA Mosaic from the Internet for personal use. Future versions of the public version will contain improvements provided by Spyglass as part of its agreement with the University.
Copies of Enhanced NCSA Mosaic from Spyglass will begin appearing on users' desktops within the next few months, the firm said. Other Enhanced NCSA Mosaic licensees currently include: Digital Equipment Corporation; Firefox Inc.; FTP Software; IBM's Networking Software Division; NEC; and O'Reilly & Associates.
Enhanced NCSA Mosaic from Spyglass will run on Windows Macintosh, and Unix/X Window System computers.
(Craig Menefee/19941024/Press Contact: Bob Rybicki, Spyglass tel 217-355-6000, fax 217-355-8925, Internet e-mail mosaic@spyglass.com; Janice Brown, 617-332-8066, or Pamela Duffy, 303-668-8096, Janice Brown & Associates; Reader Contact: Spyglass, 217-355-6000, Internet e-mail mosaic@spyglass.com; Spyglass Web server at http://www.spyglass.com)
ass.com; Spyglass Web server at http://www.spyglass.com)
10/24/94
Spyglass Announces 10 Million Internet Mosaic Licenses
ONLINE
New Entrepreneurial Edge Online
] WAYNE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Telebase Systems Inc. has announced a new online information resource called Entrepreneurial Edge Online. The Internet service, aimed at small businesses "that want to grow," is associated with Entrepreneurial Edge, publisher of the small business training magazine, Edge.
The new service is available now by Corporate EasyNet 2.0, the firm's recently launched online business information service. The firm says it will become available through other major online networks in coming weeks.
Entrepreneurial Edge Online provides training material for small businesses and, the firm says, the database can act as a "home office" for entrepreneurs. The service walks users stepwise through marketing, promoting, and growing a small business, according to Telebase.
The firm said the service features guides on how to prepare a cash flow statement, create a sales brochure, and do a market analysis among many others. In all, users can access more than 40 training modules for $7.50 each. Within the coming calendar year more than 100 modules will be available, according to Telebase Marketing Manager for Business Information Leslie Avakain.
Asked about the firm's connection with Entrepreneurial Edge, Avakian told Newsbytes: "We've been working together for a couple of months now. It's a new venture for them. They're providing original data for us, and they've delivered some high quality materials. We'll be growing this database over the course of the next year, and more will become available each month as the project continues."
A subscription to Corporate EasyNet 2.0, including Entrepreneurial Edge Online, costs $49.95 per year and provides access to over 250 business information databases from sources such as Standard & Poor's, TRW, Moody's, Reuters, and Dun & Bradstreet.
In addition to Gopher and Telnet access via the Internet and the online services, customers can connect to Corporate EasyNet 2.0 and Entrepreneurial Edge Online via the public telecommunications networks provided by CompuServe Network Services, BT Tymnet, and SprintNet.
(Craig Menefee/19941024/Press Contact: Leslie Avakian, Telebase 610-293-4700, Internet e-mail sales@telebase.com; Reader Contact: tel 800-220-9553, fax 610-341-9660, Internet e-mail (auto response) info@telebase.com, or Internet gopher gopher.telebase.com)
, or Internet gopher gopher.telebase.com)
10/24/94
New Entrepreneurial Edge Online Service
ONLINE
JetForm's Mac & OS/2 Upgrades, O
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- JetForm has unveiled JetForm Filler 4.0 for Macintosh, and along with the upgrade, a company strategy revolving around "affordable" forms based workflow products designed for "co-existence" with users' existing electronic mail and operating systems.
In a meeting with Newsbytes during a Boston press tour, Langley Steinert, director of marketing, said the Macintosh upgrade means that "Version 4.0 functionality" will now be furnished across the Mac, OS/2 and Windows editions of JetForm's Filler software for creating and distributing electronic forms.
JetForm 4.0 for Windows shipped in April, Steinert told Newsbytes. JetForm 4.0 for OS/2, the first edition JetForm is producing for the OS/2 platform, will ship at the end of this month, he added.
The newly unveiled JetForm Filler 4.0 for the Mac is slated for release in mid-November. JetForm is also continuing to produce JetForm Filler for DOS, but does not presently plan to raise the functionality of the DOS-based product above its current "3.1 level," Steinert told Newsbytes.
Key features of the JetForm 4.0 upgrade include: forms tracking; multiple views; JetNotes "post-it" notes for document annotation; the ability to embed "on-screen "actions buttons"; and support for six additional relational database management systems (RDBMS) according to the marketing director.
JetForm Filler 4.0 is priced at $129 per single-user copy, and less in volume purchases, Steinert continued. But other "forms software" in the same general price bracket -- such as Delrina's FormFlow Microsoft's E-Forms, Lotus Forms, and WordPerfect's InForms does not yet offer the same "cross-platform functionality," he maintained.
And although "high-end" products like Lotus Notes are available on a cross-platform basis, these products cost several times as much as JetForm, Steinert added.
Meanwhile, JetForm Filler complies with both Microsoft's MAPI (messaging application programming interface) and Lotus' VIM (vendor independent mapping), meaning that JetForm can be used by customers with "existing electronic mail architectures" such as Microsoft Mail or Lotus cc:Mail.
Cigna Insurance, one of JetForm's customers, has a mixed Windows OS/2 and DOS environment, with 25,000 users on Microsoft Mail Steinert illustrated.
"Cigna told us they didn't even need to perform a cost justification," Newsbytes was told. The insurance firm is using JetForm for purchase requests and time sheets, according to the JetForm marketing director.
Other JetForm customers include a large West Coast "entertainment conglomerate" and a major East Coast bank, he said. Both the conglomerate and the bank use cc:Mail. The environment at the bank incorporates Macintosh, OS/2 and Windows.
The bank uses JetForm for travel request and time sheets. Applications at the entertainment empire include purchase and expense forms.
Steinert estimated that, by placing paper-based forms "online" with JetForm, a "mid-sized" corporation can realize $2.5 million in savings a year, for an incremental software investment of about $275,000. Over a ten-year period, the use of JetForm-generated forms instead of paper will add up to $15 million in savings for the same company, he contended.
In a demo carried out on a Macintosh PowerBook, Steinert showed Newsbytes some of the new features in JetForm Filler 4.0 for the Mac.
Newsbytes saw how the new "multiple views" capability enables presentation of different views of the form along an electronic mail routing, depending on what "stage" the form is in, and its approval level.
Steinert also displayed the new "JetNotes" post-it notes for annotating documents with on-screen comments, and the new "action buttons." The action buttons, according to Steinert, are designed to let users perform pre-defined tasks -- such as sending the form to "the manager" or some other specific location -- simply by clicking on the button.
The new forms tracking feature allows for the "tracking" of forms routed via electronic mail, explained the JetForm exec. Also in Version 4.0, support has been added for the dBase, Oracle, Sybase FoxPro, SQL (structured query language) Server, and Clipper databases.
JetForm Filler 4.0 is priced at $129 for single users and $495 for five users, with additional "volume pricing" available upon request, Steinert said.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941024/Reader Contact: JetForm, 800-JETFORM; Leahanne Hobson or Julie Redard, Copithorne & Bellows for JetForm 617-252-0606)
ie Redard, Copithorne & Bellows for JetForm 617-252-0606)
10/24/94
JetForm's Mac & OS/2 Upgrades, Offers Workflow Strategy
GENERAL
IBM & Cirrus Logic Chip Deal Now
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mort
Rockwell Software Development To
UK - National Mobile Net Offers
Minnesota Educational Computing
UK - Portable Add-Ons Slashes PC
MacWorld - Digital World Offers
Scanner Software Bundle From Can
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline
Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Las
Microsoft Coming To A Camera Sto
Adaptec Extends VL-Bus Connectiv
Mastersoft's Word For Word Unix
Entry-Level Macs Offered PowerPC
GSA Launches TELECONX Telecommut
Seagate Intros Drives, Plans Mag
"("SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Seagate the storage vendor Quantum considers the chief "one to beat," has unveiled hard disk drives featuring fiber channel, PRML (partial response, maximum likelihood), embedded servo, and glass-based media technologies. In related news, Seagate plans to roll out disk drives with MR (magneto-resistive) heads in 1995.
"At this point, Seagate clearly has the broadest product line in the industry, ranging from 2.5-inch, 130 megabyte (MB) hard disk drives, all the way up to 5.25-inch, nine gigabyte (GB) hard disk drives," maintained Brian Dexheimer, Seagate's director of desktop and mobile products, during an interview with Newsbytes.
Seagate's new Barracuda 4FC, a disk drive equipped with a fiber channel interface, is billed as transferring data at 100 megabytes per-second (100 MBps), or ten times faster than the 10 MBps Fast SCSI (small computer systems interface) drives now populating the marketplace.
The new 3.5-inch, 4.3GB Barracuda is designed for storing large volumes of data -- including "new data types" such as voice video, voice, and animation -- on high-end file servers, storage subsystems and disk arrays, according to Dexheimer.
Aside from the Barracuda 4FC, other new additions to Seagate's product line include the Marathon 420sl, a 2.5-inch, 12.5 millimeter (mm)-thick disk drive that introduces PRML technology as well as glass media to Seagate's product family, and the Decathlon 850, a 2.5-inch, 850 MBps drive incorporating embedded servo, plus a 16.6MBps Fast ATA-2 interface.
Dexheimer likened Quantum's recent acquisition of much of DEC's storage business -- completed earlier this month for $370 million to Seagate's purchase five years ago of Imprimis, Control Data's disk drive unit.
"Seagate was then in a similar position to Quantum -- a low-end player acquiring what was primarily a high-end player in the workstation and mainframe arena," Dexheimer told Newsbytes.
Dexheimer acknowledged that, with the recent acquisition, Quantum has surpassed Seagate for the market lead in unit shipments, when volumes of the purchased DEC businesses are combined with Quantum's.
The Seagate exec also noted that, in his opinion, Quantum's chances of overtaking Seagate for the industry top spot in terms of revenues will depend on how quickly Quantum can "piece together the various parts of what they've purchased." Added Dexheimer, "And that's no mean feat."
As part of the Quantum/DEC deal, Quantum acquired DEC's 81 percent interest in Rocky Mountain Magnetics, a major producer of MR technology. In its first product launch since the acquisition Quantum recently unveiled the VP31110, a 1.1GB, 3.5-inch hard disk drive with an MR head, as well as the ESP5000 and ESP3000 lines of solid disk drives.
Quantum also announced plans to produce the Capella VP32210, a 2.2GB hard drive with an MR head introduced by DEC in July, and to add an "Ultra SCSI" interface to the Grand Prix XP34301 and XP32151 hard drives. The Ultra SCSI interface is intended to raise burst data transfer rates to 20MBps in 8-bit SCSI implementations and 40MBps in 16-bit Wide implementations.
Quantum officials have told Newsbytes that Quantum and IBM are currently the only vendors to be manufacturing drives with MR heads, a technology meant to raise aereal density, and to boost storage capacity as a result.
But, according to Dexheimer, traditional "thin film" head technology still offers potential for higher storage capacity, while costing much less than MR technology thanks to its much larger "manufacturing base."
"There seems to be some expectation in the industry that MR heads are the only way to improve aereal densities going forth in the future. But 'thin film' clearly is not dead," Dexheimer told Newsbytes.
Meanwhile, Seagate has several sourcing alternatives available for the new MR heads that will start showing up in its products next year, he said. But internally developed heads will probably get the production nod. "We've been working on (MR heads) at Seagate for some time, and it's likely that we'll be entering those heads into production soon," he reported.
MR enables bit densities of up to 1,000 megabits (Mb) per square inch today, and it will permit bit densities of up to 10,000 Mb per square inch in the future, according to Dexheimer.
Seagate views PRML, a technology designed to provide greater accuracy than conventional "read" methods in detecting the positions of bits, as one of the keys to "unlocking" MR's potential, he said. The company expects to implement PRML not only in 2.5-inch drives, but in upcoming 3.5 and 5.25-inch products.
As previously reported in Newsbytes, Quantum claims to be the first "independent supplier" to have introduced hard disk drives using PRML technology, with the Empire 1440 and 2160 in November, 1993. During the third quarter of 1995, Quantum plans to unveil hard disk drives that combine MR and PRML in a single product.
Quantum's new Capella VP31110 and VP32210 drives with MR heads also incorporate embedded servo technology, as have some of Quantum's previously released drives.
The new Marathon 420sl, Seagate's first drive to use either PRML or glass media technology, provides a 4,500 revolutions-per-minute (rpm) disk rotational speed, 6.7 millisecond (ms) latency, 16ms seek time, and an internal data rate of up to 29.5 megabits-per-second (Mbps), Dexheimer said.
The glass furnishes a smooth surface that lets the heads "fly" closer to the media, so bits can be packed closer together asserted the Seagate exec. Although more costly than "conventional" aluminum substrate media, glass is also a thinner and more damage resistant media, suiting it particularly well to notebook and subnotebook PCs, he added.
Seagate's new Barracuda 4FC provides the same 7,200 rpm spin rate, 4.17 ms latency, and 8ms average seek time as its Fast SCSI-2 "cousin," Seagate's ST15150N, a product that is the fastest 3.5-inch disk drive now shipping in volume in the market, Dexheimer said.
But the new 3.5-inch drive also supports the Arbitrated Loop "subset" of the fiber channel, permitting the use of SCSI-3 commands at the device level. As previously reported in Newsbytes fiber channel, a new ANSI (American National Standards Institute) specification, allows the connection of up to 126 devices over either fiber or cable wiring.
That number of Barracuda 4FC drives would add up to more than half a terabyte (500GB) of available data, according to Dexheimer. Fiber channel also supports a dual-port capability that is designed for "fail-safe" access to data.
In addition, beyond SCSI-3, the new standard supports HIPPI (high performance parallel interface), IPI-3 (intelligent peripheral interface), IP (Internet Protocol), and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode).
Though the first fiber channel interfaces are aimed at file servers, storage subsystems and disk arrays, fiber channel is widely expected to appear in engineering workstations, LAN (local area network) applications, and high-end PC applications over the next few years, according to Dexheimer.
Seagate's new Decathlon 850 offers the fastest performance of any AT-interface drive on the market, the products manager said. Capabilities include 11 ms seek time, 5.56 ms latency, and spindle speed of 5400 rpm, a speed Dexheimer characterized as "a new feat for a PC class disk drive."
Built around Seagate's "mini" 3.5-inch form factor, the 850 supplies 256 kilobytes (KB) of segmented data cache. The product also uses embedded servo to minimize the number of disks that need to be used in the system. In contrast to the older technology of "dedicated servo," in which an entire disk is devoted to head positioning information, in "embedded servo," only a small portion of the disk is used for that purpose.
"We've done all this in the Decathlon with conventional technologies like thin film heads and aluminum media. So you can expect the same kinds of price points we've seen with previous drives built on conventional technologies," Dexheimer told Newsbytes.
Decathlon 850 evaluation units are available now for $395. Production is scheduled to start in December. The Marathon 420sl is slated to be available for evaluation as well as production in the first quarter of 1995. Evaluation units will be priced at $495 each. The Barracuda 4FC is expected to be ready for evaluation in the first quarter of 1995, with production to begin in the second quarter.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941024/Reader Contact: Seagate, 408-438-8111; Press Contacts: Julie A. Still, Seagate, 408-439-2276; David Webb Seagate, 408-439-2828)
agate, 408-439-2276; David Webb Seagate, 408-439-2828)
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Norand Corporation (NASDAQ: NRND) announced a deal with Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, out of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, to deliver a $4 million order of PEN*KEY 6200 pen-based computers for 1,400 of Pepsi's sales and delivery routes in the Midwest.
Expected to take one year to complete, the order constitutes an upgrade from the Norand 4400 series of computers currently used by Pepsi.
Pepsi says its needs for signature capture and storage, rugged design, high memory capacity and application and system compatibility were the determining factors surrounding the continuation with Norand. Annually, the Midwest bottler has more than 11 million signed invoices it needs to capture, store retrieve, and print.
Each PEN*KEY 6200 computer will accompany a Norand 4815 printer which is already used in sales and delivery vehicles. The 6200 unit offers both a touch-sensitive screen and a numeric keyboard for data entry.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Katie Wacker, director of communications for Norand, said, "We first began shipping units for testing before August 31 of this year, and the roll-out of contracted units has already began. We are pleased to continue our relationship with Pepsi and, together, we will be exhibiting at InterBev which opens tomorrow in Atlanta."
Wacker said the new 386-based 25 megahertz unit is designed to run for up to eight hours without charging. The product offers up to four megabytes of internal memory and has one Type II and one Type III Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot. She said the unit was built to withstand a four foot fall onto concrete.
Unlike the clip board-sized pen-based units commonly used by overnight delivery services, the Norand 6200 is 9.5- by 3.3- by 2.8-inches and can be used with holster arrangement.
(Patrick McKenna/19941024/Press Contact: Cheryl Wery, Norand 319-369-3488; Public Information: 319-369-3100)
9-369-3488; Public Information: 319-369-3100)
10/24/94
Pepsi Buys 1,400 Pen-based Norand Computers
& P n
Bell Atlantic & Octus In Marketi
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL) and Octus Inc. (NASDAQ:OCTS) will co-market the Octus PTA (personal telecommunications assistant) software system designed for small- to medium-sized businesses. The system lets businesses control advanced telephone system features from a PC.
According to the firms, the Octus PTA uses a computer/telephone interface device to link to Bell Atlantic Centrex and Caller ID services, among other features. The interface uses what Octus calls "intelligent icons" to let users make phone and fax calls using a point-and-click method.
Bell Atlantic is not the first "Baby Bell" to ally with Octus. Earlier this month Newsbytes reported a similar deal between Octus and Pacific Bell, the West Coast RBOC (regional Bell operating company).
"This innovative system reflects the drive toward technology integration that is transforming the workplace. In conjunction with Octus, we've found a way to make formerly separate systems work together to provide greater efficiency for our small-business customers," said Peggy Bik, Bell Atlantic product manager.
To make a call, a user clicks the mouse pointer on a name in the electronic address book. When a connection is made, the user can click on icons to transfer the call or set up a conference call, the firms said. Other call management tools include PC-based fax management, automatic call logging, and contact history records.
"When Octus PTA is used with Caller ID Service, you can program the system so that the caller's name will actually appear on your computer screen when the phone rings. And Octus PTA's log feature allows you to see any notes taken during your last contact with the caller," Bik said.
Bell Atlantic will sell Octus PTA through its Bell Atlantic TeleProducts subsidiary. Bell Atlantic Centrex Services are provided by the Bell Atlantic operating telephone companies.
(Craig Menefee/19941024/Press Contact: Tom Geldner, Octus 619-452-9400 ext 108; Melissa Andrews, Bell Atlantic 703-974-1479; Reader Contact 800-634-8248)
03-974-1479; Reader Contact 800-634-8248)
10/24/94
Bell Atlantic & Octus In Marketing Deal
BUSINESS
JD Power Desktop PC Study Lists
AGOURA HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Consumer demand for personal computers appears to have caused many PC makers to focus on product demand rather than product reliability. Results of J.D. Power and Associates 1994 Desktop PC Customers Satisfaction Study indicate that a variety of dynamics are causing a shakeup in what it takes to satisfy end-users.
The study was conducted among 1,528 users at office-based businesses. The firm's 1992 study revealed that the most important factor driving customer satisfaction was "ease of use." By 1993 it was displaced by "user support." In 1994 the most critical driver of customer satisfaction is "reliability."
According to the study, the PC manufacturer with the highest overall satisfaction this year is Hewlett-Packard.
"This year's J.D. Power and Associates study reveals that limited growth in the business market has caused many PC manufacturers to focus on capturing market share," stated J.D. Power III, president and founder of J.D. Power and Associates. "Two customer dynamics appear to be at work. One is the fact that the rapid pace of new technology and product entries is raising end-user expectations. The other dynamic is the satisfaction of business-based end-users of older PCs. The perceived obsolescence of these older units may be the primary reason that reliability has an increased weight in satisfying this important group of users."
Hewlett-Packard has the highest customer satisfaction index in the study at 124. While it presents a strong showing in all seven measures driving customer satisfaction, it performed best in reliability and price/value.
The seven measures used by the study to determine customer satisfaction were: reliability (27 percent); price/value (18 percent); setup/configuration (16 percent); technical fit (13 percent); ease of use (11 percent); user support (10 percent); and operating system compatibility (5 percent).
Hewlett-Packard was followed in the ranking by: Digital (115); Compaq (109); Dell (103); Gateway (102); and Apple (100). The industry average is set to 100 and the two PC makers ranking below the industry average were, in alphabetical order: AST and IBM.
According to the J.D. Power and Associates 1993 study, the reliability factor accounts for 18 percent importance.
JD Powers and Associates spokesperson, Patricia A. Patano told Newsbytes that the increase to 27 percent clearly indicates the increased importance to end-users of a hassle-free computing environment.
Patano said setup/configuration issues provide insight into the issues that tend to complicate the life of the end-user.
Patano also pointed out "user support" issues have diminished in relative importance as PC manufacturers have increased user support functions.
"Top performing desktop personal computer models do well across all customer satisfaction dimensions in this study," commented J.D. Power III. "However, a major differentiator -- in addition to a reliable product -- is one that is competitively priced with good value. Value tends to be seen as new, technologically advanced products that meet a wide variety of needs."
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Patricia A. Patano or Lance C. Wilcox, J.D. Power & Associates, 818-889-6330)
ce C. Wilcox, J.D. Power & Associates, 818-889-6330)
10/24/94
JD Power Desktop PC Study Lists Reliability Tops
TRENDS
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem M
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- US Robotics has entered the Irish market, following a deal with Dublin-based MicroWarehouse.
According to Clive Hudson, managing director with US Robotics' UK operation, the distribution deal is for the company's full range of desktop, portable and budget modems.
As in the UK, US Robotics has applied for Irish government approval (known as Department of Communications Approval) for its modems to be used on the Irish telephone network. Hudson is pitching for a 25 percent share of the Irish modem marketplace, which he claims will be worth around $1.6 million for the company.
"We've been selling product in Ireland for a number of years now, but over the last year, the success of our Budget Sportster modem has led to a large number of inquiries from both Irish dealers and end users," he explained.
"We decided that the most economical way to service this demand was to set up a distribution channel along the same lines as in the UK. MicroWarehouse understands the Irish reseller market and has an excellent dealer base -- they were an obvious choice for use," he said.
Richard Lindley, managing director of MicroWarehouse said that he expects that the Courier range of modems will appeal to the corporate marketplace, while the SOHO (small office, home office) sector has yet to take off in Ireland.
Lindley added that he expects the Irish SOHO market will increase rapidly over the coming year, thanks to the activities of CompuServe and others in the Irish online market, plus the falling price trend for budget modems. This will, he said, "stimulate the home working and leisure sector."
(Steve Gold/19941024/Press Contact: Frank Smith, The Edge Partnership, +44-625-511966; Reader Contact: US Robotics 44-753-811180; MicroWarehouse, +353-1-679-0055)
753-811180; MicroWarehouse, +353-1-679-0055)
10/24/94
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem Marketplace
BUSINESS
Pipex Offers Pan-European Full I
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Pipex has unveiled the Pipex International Internet service, linking together Internet Information Providers (IIPs) across to Europe to offer a "one-stop Internet" service to users of the Internet across Europe.
According to David Mooring, marketing director with Pipex, the international service will effectively bring together all of the company's European partners to offer a single source of high quality Internet connections across Western Europe. This makes Pipex, he claims, the largest provider of commercial quality Internet services on the continent.
The idea behind the service is that European companies can contact their local Pipex International Partner (PIP) and source all of their connections across Europe. All PIPs can offer full Internet services (including SLIP and leased-line access) from dial-up to megastream facilities.
The deal also means that the 400-plus companies that subscribe to Pipex Internet services, can access their Internet services from almost 50 Internet points of presence (POPs) around Europe. Plans are in hand to sign up other PIPs in Eastern Europe and so extend the international network still further.
Peter Dawe, Pipex's managing director, explained that Pipex International is set to become the main force in European Internet connectivity. "Our high levels of service and performance are renowned among our UK customers and we're looking forward to gaining that kind of respect from a potentially enormous European customer base," he said.
Pipex International has PIPs in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia, with Pipex providing connections in the UK. Several countries have three or more POPs with Germany topping the list with 24 different POPs.
(Steve Gold/19941024/Press Contact: Amanda Hassall, GBC 44-81-332-7022, Internet e-mail gbc@cityscape.co.uk; Reader Contact: David Mooring, Pipex, +44-223-250100; Internet e-mail david@pipex.net)
+44-223-250100; Internet e-mail david@pipex.net)
10/24/94
Pipex Offers Pan-European Full Internet Service
ONLINE
J t X
Indian Terminal Firm Launches UK
RUNCORN, CHESHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- VXL, the UK division of the Indian terminal manufacturer of the same name, has launched a UKP100,000 marketing campaign that aims to persuade terminal buyers that Indian is the best choice, with VXL topping their shopping list.
According to Jay Savoor, UK director of the company, the thrust of the campaign will be to explain that VXL terminals are as much as 40 percent cheaper than other European and US-sourced terminals in the UK. To act as a sweetener, VXL is also bundling free Panasonic printers as part of the promotion.
The printer deal starts when customers buy five terminals from VXL they get a free Panasonic KXP1150 worth UKP163. The number and type of printers varies upwards in parallel with the number of terminals bought by the customer -- at the top of the scale, a Panasonic KXP4440 laser printer is "bundled" with every 100 terminals.
"We believe that this promotion will ensure that terminal purchasers will look twice if they are serious about getting the most value for money," Savoor said, adding that the giveaway is part of a major push by the company to establish a major presence in the UK.
Although VXL claims it is a household name back in India, supplying terminals to companies such as Digital, IBM, ICL, Hewlett-Packard, and Unisys, it has only carved out a small niche for itself in the UK in the three years it has been operating in England. This campaign, the company claims, should change all that.
(Steve Gold/19941024/Press Contact: Mike Cowley, Cape Cowley Associates, +44-61-480-9811; Reader Contact: VXL, tel +44-928 591949, fax +44-928-591959; Internet e-mail vxluk@cix.compulink.co.uk)
28-591959; Internet e-mail vxluk@cix.compulink.co.uk)
10/24/94
Indian Terminal Firm Launches UK Marketing Campaign
BUSINESS
Samsung Announces UK Investment
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Samsung has announced plans to invest around UKP450 million in a new plant in Wynyard, Cleveland, in the North-East of the UK.
According to the company, the plans will provide more than 3,000 jobs in one of the most depressed areas of the UK. The local authority for the area is reported to be "over the moon" about the decision as many companies considering locating in the area have been lured away notably to Ireland, where the Irish government offers considerable tax breaks.
What appears to have persuaded Samsung to locate the new plant in the North-East of the UK is that its brand image in the country is extremely strong. The company's UK headquarters, which is located in London, was also a strong factor in the decision to locate in Cleveland.
As part of the project, Samsung Korea is upgrading the status of the UK headquarters to that of European headquarters. According to a spokeswoman for Samsung UK, the increase in status will increase the number of staff needed at the London office.
Initially, the plans will make computer monitors and microwave appliances, with fax machines and PCs also planned for production once the monitor/microwave production facility starts its production lines next summer. The company plans to manufacture around a million computer monitors and 1.3 million microwaves a year at the plant accounting for around 50 percent of total European consumption of the company's products in this category.
Details of the planned investment have come as a direct result of overtures by Michael Heseltine, the President of the Board of Trade in the UK, who recently visited Korea as part of a trade delegation.
Heseltine is regarded as something of a maverick in political circles in the UK, favoring "interventionist" policies in business, rather than the normal "hands off" approach of the Conservative government.
In the run-up to the elections in the UK a few years ago, when PM Margaret Thatcher stepped down, and John Major became leader of the Conservative Party, and later Prime Minister, there were occasions when it looked like Heseltine would stand for PM. This did not occur but Heseltine will no doubt be basking in the glory of getting the investment from Samsung, when the rest of the government would never have dared to "intervene."
(Sylvia Dennis/19941024/Press & Reader Contact: Samsung UK tel +44-81-391-0168, fax +44-81-397-9949)
tel +44-81-391-0168, fax +44-81-397-9949)
10/24/94
Samsung Announces UK Investment Program
BUSINESS
Adobe Europe Revamps Typeface Li
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Adobe Europe has announced a significant change to its typeface software licensing agreement for PC Windows and Apple Mac users of its software. The change moves the license from a single printer to five computers in an organization.
According to Sue Thexton, the company's marketing director, the change means that companies using the company's typeface products will be able to do so far more flexibly and no longer be tied to using just a few printers on their network. The deal allows all of the five computers per license to have a printer attached, if appropriate something that was not possible on the old licensing system.
"Having typefaces licensed by computer makes it much easier for organizations to verify that they have the appropriate number of licensed copies of any given typeface," Thexton explained.
"Licensing by computer is the standard within the applications software industry, and we have found that our typeface customers prefer to account for their licensing in this manner," she said.
Thexton went on to say that the new licensing agreement reflects a change in the way customers use type. Previously, she said, customers primarily used bit-map fonts to create and view their documents.
"However, with the overwhelming use of Adobe Type Manager (ATM) software, customers more commonly use Type 1 scaleable fonts directly on their computer rather than only on a shared printer," she said.
Adobe claims that this new licensing agreement -- which will be rolled out globally -- is advantageous for customers. The company argues that, by licensing an individual typeface package for five computers (which Adobe claims is the average number of users connected to a single printer) the software license does not penalize smaller customers. At the same time, the new agreement provides the flexibility that large customers need for volume purchasing, company officials told Newsbytes.
Newsbytes notes that typefaces that are bundled with Adobe applications will not be licensed for five computers but will be licensed for a single customer only. Thexton said that such licenses are more for adding value, rather than for network usage.
"Since applications such as Adobe Illustrator have single computer end-user licenses, it makes the most sense to have the typefaces bundled with the software comply with the same agreement," she explained.
(Steve Gold/19941024/Press Contact: Mike Walker, Leading Edge 44-71-454-9360; Reader Contact: Adobe Systems Northern Europe 44-081-606-4000)
Systems Northern Europe 44-081-606-4000)
10/24/94
Adobe Europe Revamps Typeface Licensing
BUSINESS
Xerox Offers New Optical Charact
@ PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Xerox (NYSE: XRX) says that, by December, it will deliver a Windows application programming interface (API) developer's toolkit for the development of its new DocuRT optical character recognition (OCR) technology. The company claims this "technology breakthrough" promises better accuracy, editability, performance, and ease-of-use.
Terri Roche, spokesperson for Xerox, told Newsbytes, "The industry has not seen the fulfillment of the promise of OCR. DocuRT is such a tremendous breakthrough that we now know the promise can be fulfilled. This technology is breaking the ground far beyond current character recognition."
Xerox has trademarked the term, High-Fidelity Look, to describe the product this new technology produces. According to Xerox DocuRT, standing for Document Recognition Technology transforms any text, graphics or combination document into an electronic form with complete retention and true editablility regardless of original quality.
Using a new engine, DocuRT incorporates new image processing pattern recognition, and document understanding improvements with Fuzzy Logic, a dynamic recognizer, fax system, neural network confidence system, a Lexifier, the company's natural language system, and word and character splitters and joiners.
"The real claim to fame with DocuRT is that it maintains document format and understands every element on a document, be it text photos, graphics or tables," continued Roche.
Readers should expect to see Xerox use this technology in the development of its own OCR software, as well as licensing it to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for incorporation of the technology into their own products.
Existing alliances with Delrina, WordPerfect and the Novell Applications Group have already been established by Xerox to provide OCR technology for various application software developments. WordPerfect's ExpressFax+ series may become one of the first applications to offer this new technology.
Roche also said, "With this new technology, Xerox should reach market leadership by the end of 1995." Xerox will have limited exhibition of this new technology at Comdex Fall in Las Vegas in November.
(Patrick McKenna/19941024/Press Contact: Elizabeth Kemp Xerox, 415-813-7481; Public Information: Xerox, 800-248-6550)
3-7481; Public Information: Xerox, 800-248-6550)
10/24/94
Xerox Offers New Optical Character Recognition
TRENDS
Sled Offers Internet E-mail Addr
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- Sled Corp. claims that the Four11 Online User Directory answers the cry of many Internet users: "How can I find someone's electronic-mail address?" The company says that basic access to the directory which consists of almost half a million Internet users, is provided as a free service to the Internet community.
Sled spokesperson Michael Santullo told Newsbytes that the interactive directory is easily searched by e-mail, through the use of e-mail forms, or the World Wide Web, by using browsers such as Mosaic or Lynx.
The search features include "search by name," "search by location," "search by old e-mail address," "Group Connection," and "wildcards."
Additionally, A Group Connection feature makes it possible to enter searches for: "Bob at Garden Computers," "Jane in New York City who graduated from Tuckahoe High School," or "Paul who's going to Columbia University".
In addition to free services, the company says users can obtain a $20 yearly membership which provides additional benefits including: an expanded directory listing, search agents, a personalized display message, and a URL (uniform resource locator) hot-link to a personal Web page.
A personalized display message can be useful for spreading the word on consulting services, tell friends that you have moved, or make other public announcements.
Membership also includes PGP encryption certification and storage services. Members who provide proper identification can have their PGP public key signed with the Sled Silver Signature.
Signed keys are added to the key owners' directory listing and can be quickly retrieved by other Internet users through either e-mail or the Web.
These keys, actually small data files, are used to send private messages and verify digital signatures. The combination of an Internet-wide directory with a PGP key server makes it possible to quickly find someone, obtain their key, and send them a private message, claims the company.
"Sled Corporation funded the development of the directory," stated one of Sled's founders, Michael Santullo. "We expect the directory to become self-sufficient by providing value-added services through user memberships and the assistance of a limited number of corporate sponsors."
To enter a free listing and search the directory, send an e-mail to free@Four11.com, or connect to the Four11 Web page at URL http://www.Four11.com/.
(Nick Anis/19941018/Press Contact: Michael Santullo, Four11 and SLED Corp., tel 415-323-2508, fax 415-326-0730, Internet e-mail santullo@sled.com)
15-326-0730, Internet e-mail santullo@sled.com)
10/24/94
Sled Offers Internet E-mail Address Directory
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 24 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Internet For Everyone In Saskatchewan 10/24/94 SaskTel, the provincially owned telephone company serving the province, has announced plans to make access to the Internet available from every telephone in its territory by early next year.
2 -> UK - Time Computer Offers Christmas Bundles 10/24/94 Just as the stores are starting to sell Christmas decorations, so the UK's computer suppliers are getting into a Christmas mood. Time Computer, the direct sales PC vendor, is one of the first out of the starting gate this year with a Christmas bundle.
3 -> UK - Spider Intros SpiderIntegrator Network Systems 10/24/94 Spider Systems has launched SpiderIntegrator Atto, a new entry-level internetworking system for small satellite offices. Pricing starts at UKP995.
4 -> Correction - Microsoft Schedules BackOffice Seminars 10/24/94 A story about a Microsoft-sponsored seminar for resellers that appeared in Newsbytes recently, entitled: "Microsoft Schedules BackOffice Seminars," contained an error.
5 -> ****Meckler Pulls Plug On MecklerWeb 10/24/94 Just two weeks after the MecklerWeb service went live on the Internet, Alan Meckler, chief executive of parent company MecklerMedia Corp., has pulled the plug on the original concept and replaced it with a different model.
6 -> Canadian Cable Firms Leave Satellite TV Consortium 10/24/94 Several major cable television operators have left DTH Canada, a consortium set up to provide direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service. Those departing include Rogers Cablesystems Inc., Maclean-Hunter Cable, and other sizable Canadian operators.
7 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 10/24/94 This regular feature appearing on the first day Newsbytes publishes each week, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: CA-Unicenter/Star.
8 -> UK - Tel-Me Adds Journey Planner To Online Offerings 10/24/94 Tel-Me, the graphical online service, has announced it is offering the AA Journey Planner as an online facility with immediate effect.
9 -> DEC Intros SC-4600 SCSI RAID Controller 10/24/94 DEC StorageWorks has unveiled a SCSI (small computer systems interface) RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) controller that features up to 100 hours of battery power for backup protection, plus up to 32 megabytes (MB) of write-back cache, expandable to 128MB in the future.
10 -> Micronics Offers Cacheless 486-Based System Board 10/24/94 Micronics Computers Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRN), has launched a new system board the LX30 WB. The new design features a "cacheless" architecture and value engineering design that the company says allows it to be offered at a price that rival "no name" clones manufactured by off-shore system board suppliers.
11 -> Interactive Multimedia Getting Started 2.0 For Mac Intro'd 10/24/94 Four-year-old Interactive Media Corporation (IMC) has announced the release of Interactive Multimedia -- Getting Started 2.0, an enhanced version of its Macintosh CD-ROM title.
12 -> Sigma Designs Intros RealMagic PrimeTime 10/24/94 Sigma Designs Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGM), manufacturer of multimedia computer products, has announced RealMagic PrimeTime, a PC add-in card that allows a television to be used as a high-quality computer display.
13 -> Library Of Congress To Digitize 5 Million Items 10/24/94 The Library of Congress intends to convert millions of items to digital form and start distributing them through the Internet and on CD-ROM to individuals and libraries around the US. The items include: Mathew Brady's Civil War photographs; speeches by President Warren G. Harding; and maps that pioneers used as they moved west.
14 -> Software Publishers Map Education Partnerships 10/24/94 The Software Publishers Association has put out a new report on the convergence among educational software, telecommunications, and cable TV industries.
15 -> National Football League Interactive Yearbook 10/24/94 It may be an armchair quarterback's ultimate dream -- a CD-ROM-based "yearbook" of the 1993 US National Football League (NFL) season, complete with a linked online service to provide updates to the latest NFL statistics and game previews throughout the season.
16 -> Spyglass Announces 10 Million Internet Mosaic Licenses 10/24/94 Spyglass Inc., has licensed more than 10 million copies of its Enhanced NCSA Mosaic graphical Internet browser, the firm announced. AT&T pushed the popular browser past the multi-zero milestone when it decided to distribute the program internally as its World Wide Web browsing program.
17 -> New Entrepreneurial Edge Online Service 10/24/94 Telebase Systems Inc. has announced a new online information resource called Entrepreneurial Edge Online. The Internet service, aimed at small businesses "that want to grow," is associated with Entrepreneurial Edge publisher of the small business training magazine, Edge.
18 -> JetForm's Mac & OS/2 Upgrades, Offers Workflow Strategy 10/24/94 JetForm has unveiled JetForm Filler 4.0 for Macintosh, and along with the upgrade, a company strategy revolving around "affordable" forms- based workflow products designed for "co-existence" with users' existing electronic mail and operating systems.
19 -> Seagate Intros Drives, Plans Magneto-Resistive Heads 10/24/94 Seagate, the storage vendor Quantum considers the chief "one to beat," has unveiled hard disk drives featuring fiber channel, PRML (partial response, maximum likelihood), embedded servo, and glass-based media technologies. In related news, Seagate plans to roll out disk drives with MR (magneto-resistive) heads in 1995.
20 -> Pepsi Buys 1,400 Pen-based Norand Computers 10/24/94 Norand Corporation (NASDAQ: NRND) announced a deal with Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, out of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, to deliver a $4 million order of PEN*KEY 6200 pen-based computers for 1,400 of Pepsi's sales and delivery routes in the Midwest.
21 -> Bell Atlantic & Octus In Marketing Deal 10/24/94 Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL) and Octus Inc. (NASDAQ:OCTS) will co-market the Octus PTA (personal telecommunications assistant) software system designed for small- to medium-sized businesses. The system lets businesses control advanced telephone system features from a PC.
22 -> JD Power Desktop PC Study Lists "Reliability" Tops 10/24/94 Consumer demand for personal computers appears to have caused many PC makers to focus on product demand rather than product reliability. Results of J.D. Power and Associates 1994 Desktop PC Customers Satisfaction Study indicate that a variety of dynamics are causing a shakeup in what it takes to satisfy end-users.
23 -> US Robotics Enters Irish Modem Marketplace 10/24/94 US Robotics has entered the Irish market, following a deal with Dublin-based MicroWarehouse.
24 -> ****Pipex Offers Pan-European Full Internet Service 10/24/94 Pipex has unveiled the Pipex International Internet service, linking together Internet Information Providers (IIPs) across to Europe to offer a "one-stop Internet" service to users of the Internet across Europe.
25 -> Indian Terminal Firm Launches UK Marketing Campaign 10/24/94 VXL the UK division of the Indian terminal manufacturer of the same name, has launched a UKP100,000 marketing campaign that aims to persuade terminal buyers that Indian is the best choice, with VXL topping their shopping list.
26 -> Samsung Announces UK Investment Program 10/24/94 Samsung has announced plans to invest around UKP450 million in a new plant in Wynyard, Cleveland, in the North-East of the UK.
27 -> ****Adobe Europe Revamps Typeface Licensing 10/24/94 Adobe Europe has announced a significant change to its typeface software licensing agreement for PC Windows and Apple Mac users of its software. The change moves the license from a single printer to five computers in an organization.
28 -> Xerox Offers New Optical Character Recognition 10/24/94 Xerox (NYSE: XRX) says that, by December, it will deliver a Windows application programming interface (API) developer's toolkit for the development of its new DocuRT optical character recognition (OCR) technology. The company claims this "technology breakthrough" promises better accuracy editability, performance, and ease-of-use.
29 -> Sled Offers Internet E-mail Address Directory 10/24/94 Sled Corp. claims that the Four11 Online User Directory answers the cry of many Internet users: "How can I find someone's electronic-mail address?" The company says that basic access to the directory, which consists of almost half a million Internet users, is provided as a free service to the Internet community.
(Ian Stokell/19941024)
(Ian Stokell/19941024)
10/24/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
#n#)$
GENERAL
Opti's 16-bit Audio Controller M
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Opti (NASDAQ:OPTI) has announced sample availability of the Opti 82C930, an integrated 16-bit, 100-pin audio controller motherboard for PC sound applications.
Steve Tobak, Opti's director of corporate marketing, told Newsbytes that the Opti 92C930 works in conjunction with Yamaha OPL-3/4 FM synthesis sound chips. It provides the lowest component count of its kind in the industry, he said, and represents a "significant improvement" over other sound controllers currently available, with improved sound quality and a lower system implementation cost.
"As audio is practically becoming a standard feature in PCs today our aim with the Opti 82C930 is to allow PC makers to integrate a full-featured sound capability on the PC motherboard that requires minimal board space and reduces system cost," said Tobak.
The new Opti sound controller reportedly offers all the functions and interfaces required to provide an integrated sound for business audio, educational and entertainment, and multimedia applications.
"PC makers today are facing a competitive squeeze. With the addition of the Opti 82C930, they can easily add high performance sound features to their PC motherboard," noted Tobak.
"This will allow them to create affordable PCs that appeal to a home PC market that is expected to zoom to over nine million units this year," he said. "This growth is fueled by the explosion in entertainment and educational software, most of which require stereo sound for maximum effect. By integrating sound on the motherboard, our customers gain a competitive advantage because they can implement high performance sound features for a lesser system cost. In turn, these manufacturers can provide a product to the home PC market that has increased functionality, one fewer add-on cards and fewer compatibility issues because the solution is already on the motherboard."
The Opti 82C930 reduces external components with an overall chip count of only four chips. It includes a Sound Blaster Pro-compatible digital audio processor (DAP), a Windows Sound system interface, a MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) interface, a FM synthesizer interface, a PC-AT bus interface, a game port timer and an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) CD-ROM interface.
The device also includes: dual DMA channels that support full duplex operation for simultaneous recording and playback; a silence mode; power down modes; software programmable interrupts; and on-chip FIFOs for play and capture functions. A high-performance 16-bit on-chip Sigma-Delta audio codec/mixer yields high quality audio with an 85 db signal-to-noise ratio.
The chip is implemented using Opti's 0.8-micron 5-volt CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) process technology. Opti's audio chip is packaged in a compact 100-pin plastic QFP.
The 82C930 marks Opti's fifth audio product to be offered since its September, 1993, acquisition of MediaChips Inc., a designer of audio chips.
Sources at Opti declined to name the customers who are sampling the 930, but Newsbytes has learned the prior generation chip, 929 was adopted by Acer, Boch Research, Turtle Beach, Diamond MediaMagic, and Reveal.
The Opti 82C930 is currently available in engineering samples with production quantities in January, 1995. The 82C930 is packaged in a 100-pin plastic quad flat pack (QFP) and is priced at $18 in quantities of 10,000.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Patrick Ang, MediaChips/Opti tel 408-486-8521, fax 408-486-8580, Internet e-mail pang@opti.com; Steve Tobak, Opti, tel 408-486-8243 fax 408-980-8860, Internet e-mail steve@opti.com; Laura Irwin The Hoffman Agency, tel 408-286-2611, fax 408-286-0133 Internet e-mail 472-1181@mcimail.com)
6-0133 Internet e-mail 472-1181@mcimail.com)
10/25/94
Opti's 16-bit Audio Controller Motherboard
CHIPS
Quantum Intros Hard Drives
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Quantum Corp. (NASDAQ/NMS:QNTM) has announced the company's first one gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive which brings the areal density benefits of magnetoresistive (MR) recording head technology to the high-performance PC, desktop workstation, and PC file server marketplaces.
The 3.5-inch Quantum Capella MR SCSI (small computer system interface) 2/3 drives are based on technology from the company's acquisition of Digital Equipment's storage division. Quantum is initially offering two low profile, high-performance MR SCSI 2/3 drives in the 3.5-inch form factor.
The new line of Quantum Capella drives will be manufactured at the company's recently opened Mang Malaysia plant, instead of its Colorado Springs facility. At that facility, the company says it has been able to highly automate the manufacture of the MR drives, which would otherwise be more labor intensive.
The Capella VP31110, has 1.1GB of formatted capacity on just two disks (also called platters) in a one-inch-high package. The company claims that is one disk and two heads less than the rest of the industry which is just starting to introduce 1GB drives with two disks and four data heads. The Capella's advanced design (fewer disks and heads) helps offset the increased cost of its higher performance MR heads.
The other is the Capella VP32210 2.2GB drive with four disks and four heads, which was originally introduced in June by Digital Equipment Corporation's Storage Business Unit -- prior to the October 3 acquisition by Quantum of Digital's disk drive, tape drive, and solid state disk recording heads businesses.
"Given the rapid migration of multimedia, video and networking applications to desktop workstations and PCs, high-density high-performance drives have become a necessity for an increasing percentage of users," said Robert K. Maeser, president of Quantum's High-Capacity Storage Group.
He added: "Both of our MR drives address this need and reflect one of Quantum's key strategies for the 1990s and beyond; to swiftly translate leading hard drive technologies into products precisely suited to computer users' evolving capacity, performance, and cost requirements."
Sources at Quantum told Newsbytes that the company is using MR even though it is more expensive, in order to get their storage products to market faster.
The new 1.1GB and 2.2GB Quantum Capella drives feature an areal density of 429 megabits per square inch, or 554 megabytes (MB) of capacity per disk.
According to Quantum storage engineers, the higher areal densities permitted by MR heads translates into fewer disks for a given capacity and therefore improved cost efficiencies and reliability. In addition, MR head drives provide higher data transfer rates since more data can be packed into each data track.
As a result of Quantum's acquisition of Digital's recording heads business, the company gained Digital's 81 percent ownership position in Rocky Mountain Magnetics.
"Rocky Mountain Magnetics is clearly one of the leaders in magnetoresistive head technology, which is essential for achieving the areal density requirements of next-generation drives," said Kenneth Lee, Quantum's chief technical officer and executive vice president of technology and engineering. "Our goal is to incorporate this state-of-the-art technology into a full range of products ahead of the competition."
Both of the Capella MR drives (the VP32210 and the VP31110) offer an internal user data transfer rate of 6.9 megabytes-per-second (MBps), a rotational speed of 5,400 revolutions-per-minute (rpm), and a seek time of 8.5 milliseconds.
Evaluation units of the 1.1GB Capella VP31110 and 2.2GB Capella VP32210 drives will begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 1994 with volume production expected in the first quarter of 1995. The single unit OEM (original equipment manufacturer) evaluation price is $595 for the new VP31110 and $995 for the VP32210.
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Mindscape Inc. formerly The Software Toolworks Inc., has released Mario's Time Machine Deluxe CD-ROM, an "interactive historical learning adventure."
Company spokesperson, Tracy Egan, told Newsbytes, "Learning history is easy when it is presented, not as a dry series of events but as a rich fabric of experiences and perspectives. The interactive historical learning adventure, Mario's Time Machine CD-ROM Deluxe, is a great way for children to learn history as they experience it."
According to Egan, the program was created for children ages seven and up. It places kids in the midst of historical events, and allows them to meet and converse with not only the famous faces on the pages of history, but with their contemporaries, including spouses, townspeople, even enemies.
Egan said that, without leaving the living room, players explore 24 different historic time periods, cultures and ethnicities as they travel through time with Mario.
The experience of each historical location includes period music and historically-correct detailed artwork.
According to the story's plot, the bad-guy, Bowser, is scheming with his evil Koopas to change the course of history. He has managed to invent a time machine, and has been traveling through the centuries stealing important historical artifacts for his own personal museum. To stop him, and prevent history from turning inside-out, Mario must recover each artifact, figure out its significance and correct place in time, and take off in Bowser's time machine to return the item just before the historical character will need it.
The company claims that critical thinking, reasoning, and deductive skills are developed as, in each historic locale, Mario must fill in the blanks in a "history page" before the object can be returned.
To do so, Mario visits contemporaries of each historical figure and through question and answer, gathers clues about the blanks. Once the page is filled up, that level is considered complete, and the artifact can be returned to its rightful owner.
In the CD-ROM Deluxe version, once a level has been solved supplementary material dealing with that moment in history becomes available to the user via Mario's "Multimedia Computer." At completion of the game, this material can be used as a reference database for future reports or school projects, said the company.
Egan told Newsbytes the program is based on a curriculum designed by "educators" and "child development experts."
The program is the second title in a series of the Mario "edutainment" series developed by Mindscape. The firm says that the series concentrates on important, core subjects, including geography, history, pre-school skills, number, and letter concepts. Product lines are divided into an elementary and pre-school series.
"Mario's Time Machine" CD-ROM Deluxe is now available in retail stores for MS-DOS and Macintosh at a suggested price of $49.95. It is also available for the Nintendo Entertainment System for $49.95, and for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System at a suggested price of $69.95.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Sport Accolade has announced that its Live Action Football for Windows CD-ROM is now scheduled to release in November.
Officially licensed by the National Football League Properties and the NFL Players Association, Live Action Football (formerly called All-Pro Video Football) simulates an All-Pro game utilizing the names and statistics of 52 players from the NFLPA and the American and National Football Conference logos.
According to the company, the product takes a "giant leap forward in bringing real video to the personal computer" by being the first to incorporate originally created video footage into an interactive football game.
The game will also feature play-by-play and color commentary from Al Michaels and Pat Haden. Live Action Football will be available at a suggested retail price of $69.95.
The company also announced that their previous plan to utilize "Script X" in Live Action Football has been canceled. Script X is a new technology that enables a single CD to run on either an IBM or Macintosh CD-ROM drive. Script X is being developed by Kaleida Labs Inc., an independent, privately held joint venture of Apple Computer Inc. and IBM.
"Our decision to move away from Script X for Live Action Football is primarily due to scheduling conflicts and timing," said Todd Thorson, the producer of the product. "This situation was heightened by the time constraints of shipping a seasonal product."
In Live Action Football, up to two players "coach" a team of NFL players, based on recent All-Pro teams from the AFC and NFC. Coaches select plays just like a "real game." says the company. The results are then played out in full-motion color video, using original footage shot specifically for Live Action Football.
"Numerous attempts have been made to create football simulations using existing stock NFL footage, but these products have been limited by the content of the available film clips," said Thorson. "By staging and filming more than 600 actual football plays using real professional football players, Live Action Football offers virtually unlimited play combinations."
Accolade contracted the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League to portray the NFL stars for the product.
Accolade interactive products are distributed worldwide under the Accolade and Sport Accolade labels.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Melinda Mongelluzzo or Lynn Thompson, Accolade, 408-985-1700)
uzzo or Lynn Thompson, Accolade, 408-985-1700)
10/25/94
Sport Accolade's Live Action Football CD-ROM
GENERAL
Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Japan - Funeral Service Markets
Norstan Canada Forms Integration
UK - Sprint Starts Voice Telecom
Microsoft Picks Northern Telecom
UK - GEIS Subsidiary Offers Smal
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketin
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
California's New Online Voter Gu
Alliances Form For December Wire
USA Mobile Expanding Pager Servi
Korean Electronic Exports Surpas
Canadian Reseller Crowntek Acqui
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- GE Hamilton Technology Services Inc. has announced plans to acquire Crowntek Business Centres Inc., a major Canadian computer reseller. The deal is still awaiting regulators' approvals.
Financial terms of the agreement are not being released, GE spokesman Paul Jacot told Newsbytes.
Crowntek will be merged with GE Hamilton, also a computer reseller, and the new entity is to be called GE Capital Technology Services Inc.
Perry Monych, currently president and chief executive of GE Hamilton, will be president and chief executive of the merged company. Stewart Davis, president and chief executive of Crowntek, is leaving the company, Jacot said.
Some staff members will also lose their jobs due to redundancies in the combined organization, Jacot added, but the numbers have not been determined yet. The combined organization is expected to have more than 1,000 employees and combined annual revenues of about $640 million, said Jacot.
Officials of GE Hamilton said the acquisition would give their organization a stronger national presence and advanced distribution capabilities. Davis, meanwhile, said in a prepared statement that Crowntek needed the strong financial backing and the ability to extend services to customers that GE Hamilton can provide.
The newly combined business will be a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital, a financial services company that in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric Co.
The present Crowntek was formed in 1988 through the acquisition of Crowntek Business Centers, a unit of Toronto-based holding company Crownx Inc., by MCW Computers Ltd., a company Davis had founded in 1983.
(Grant Buckler/19941025/Press Contact: Perry Monych, GE Capital Technology Services, 905-568-6813; Paul Jacot, GE Canada, 905 858-5678; Public Contact: GE Capital Technology Services tel 905-568-4111, fax 905-568-3971)
s tel 905-568-4111, fax 905-568-3971)
10/25/94
Canadian Reseller Crowntek Acquired
BUSINESS
NovaLink Online Service's Mosaic
WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- NovaLink Interactive Networks is offering full multimedia, graphical access to the Internet, using Mosaic plus the firm's own SuperNova installation program for a coordinated package of Internet applications. The package is now available in final release for Windows and, in beta release, Macintosh platforms.
The firm says its SuperNova full SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) emulation for PCs makes it the first online service to offer callers complete multimedia Internet access. The network is available by local call in most US States and in many international locations as well, using local access numbers and CompuServe's CPN packet network.
Technically, the SuperNova program emulates a direct SLIP connection, letting NovaLink users run Mosaic and other Internet programs without needing an often expensive direct hook-up. SLIP is the Internet protocol used to run IP (Internet Protocol) over standard phone lines. SuperNova must be used through the NovaLink online service; it is not a stand-alone front-end for general use from any Internet connection.
SLIP is gradually being replaced by PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) for standard phone line connections using high-speed modems, but the transition is just beginning. SLIP is still far more common.
NovaLink spokesperson Peter Bohush told Newsbytes the service expects to be available entirely at 14.4 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) by April of 1995. "Then we'll go to 28.8 (Kbps) as soon as the standard settles out," he added.
He said Mosaic under SuperNova can run as slowly as 2,400 bits per-second (bps), but that a 14.4 Kbps connection is highly recommended.
Stated Jon Radoff, NovaLink president and chief executive officer (CEO) and the program's developer: "SuperNova brings the full power of the Internet to desktop computing. We've taken the notoriously difficult Internet environment and made it easier to use than most spreadsheet or checkbook programs."
NovaLink charges $9.95 a month for a subscription, which includes five free hours of access a month. Additional hours are $3.60 from local access numbers or $1.80 for access by Telnet. The service gives new subscribers 10 free hours of access and waives the first month's membership fee.
SuperNova can be ordered by mail for $8.95, or is available at no charge by downloading it from NovaLink's Internet file library (type GO INTERNET after signing on).
NovaLink, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, bills itself as "one of the top 10 US online services" and a multi-million dollar operation. It was started three years ago in a spare bedroom by then-19-year-old Jon Radoff. The firm is now owned by Inner Circle Technologies Inc., a privately held firm also located in Westborough.
(Craig Menefee/19941025/Press Contact: Peter Bohush, NovaLink 508-898-2000 ext 206; Pager 508-622-9174; Internet e-mail novapr@novalink.com; Reader Contact: 800-274-2814)
Z LINCOLN TUNNEL, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Cellular One together with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, have strung the equivalent of a cellular antenna through the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River.
The new antenna will allow travelers using the three-tube tunnel to maintain cellular connections as they move under the Hudson River between mid-town Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey. The cellular antenna can be used only by Cellular One subscribers.
For the project, Cellular One installed three cell sites to cover the length of the 57-year-old tunnel's three tubes and its associated plazas in New York City and Weehawken. The cell sites are physically located in facilities above the tunnel itself.
Inside the tunnel, between 7,000 and 8,000 feet of thick, gray radio transmission cable was placed in each tube. The cable acts as a directional antenna and makes cellular calls possible, according to a Cellular One announcement that also described the tunnel as "the world's longest telephone booth."
"The Lincoln Tunnel is known throughout the world as a vital transportation link for the region. Now, the tunnel can be considered a vital communications link as well," said Tim Donahue president and general manager of Cellular One.
Richard R. Kelly, director of the Port Authority's Interstate Transportation Department, stated: "This cooperative effort with Cellular One connects drivers inside the Lincoln Tunnel with the outside world. This service also aids Lincoln Tunnel operational staff by providing improved incident notification and response capability."
Cellular One offers cellular telephone service in the five boroughs of New York and in five surrounding New York and seven New Jersey counties. Its parent company, McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AT&T (NYSE:T).
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, founded in 1921, is a self-supporting agency of the states charged with developing and operating airports, seaports and transportation facilities in the bi-state metropolitan region.
(Craig Menefee/19941025/Press Contacts: Robin Susan Traum Cellular One, 201-967-8709 (office), or 914-649-5486 (cellular); Jane O'Donaghue, Cellular One, 201-967-3568 (office), or 201-294-2404 (cellular); Terry Benczik, Port Authority 212-435-7777, or 201-961-6600 ext 7777)
2-435-7777, or 201-961-6600 ext 7777)
10/25/94
First Underwater Cellular Service
TELECOM
Control Data - From Mainframes T
ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- They were known as the BUNCH -- an acronym for Burroughs, Univac, NCR Control Data, and Honeywell -- the other mainframe computer makers that competed with IBM back when mainframes still ruled. None of them are significant mainframe makers today, but Control Data's transition may have been the most dramatic.
The old Control Data Corp. saw the writing on the wall in the mid-1980s, according to James Ousley, now president and chief executive of Control Data Systems Inc. Company officials decided to break the company into several pieces. The disk drive business was sold off. In 1992, the remainder of Control Data Corp. split into two completely separate companies -- Ceridian Corp. took the old company's services businesses while its computer products operations became Control Data Systems.
Today, Ousley said in an interview with Newsbytes, Control Data Systems makes no hardware, and supporting the old Cyber line of mainframes is about 10 percent of the company's business, down from 40 percent in 1992.
Leaving the hardware business was a tough decision, Ousley says especially for the company's staff. "It would have been a lot easier for most of our employees if we had just stayed and built Unix boxes," he said. In fact, the other old mainframers have done just that. But Ousley said Control Data did not see much prospect of success in the hardware business, and chose instead to capitalize on its expertise in making diverse systems work together.
Because Control Data was never a dominant mainframe maker -- the company had about three percent of the mainframe market at its peak, Ousley said -- its staff was used to dealing with hardware from other vendors. Most Control Data customers had IBM or other brands of hardware as well. According to Ousley, that made the systems integration business a natural for Control Data Systems.
But that does not mean the transition has been easy. Well placed or not, the company had to acquire new skills to succeed in its new market. That has meant heavy turnover -- about 1,000 people last year out of a total worldwide staff of about 3,200.
That staff complement is down from more than 50,000 in Control Data Corp.'s mainframe heyday (bear in mind, though, that Control Data Systems is only one part of the former company). Such a shrinkage is bound to strain a company's morale. Dealing with the changes, Ousley said, has been one of the most important management issues in recent years.
Control Data's past is both an asset and a liability. Ousley admitted that many older customers will always think of the company as a mainframe vendor. However, he said, those same customers liked doing business with Control Data in the mainframe days and are glad to deal with the company again if it can offer what they need.
Like other reborn hardware makers such as Wang Laboratories Inc. Control Data is relying on a particular niche to drive much of its future growth. For Control Data, that niche is what Ousley called "electronic commerce." That encompasses various messaging services that the company expects will be more and more in demand.
Control Data developed expertise in messaging standards quite early, he said, because it was often called on to link its proprietary mainframe-based electronic mail system with those of other vendors. That led Control Data to be one of the first vendors to adopt the X.400 electronic-mail standard.
Control Data Systems is earning from $500 million to $550 million in annual revenues today, Ousley said. He expects little or no growth next year, because the company is still "flushing out" the last of its old hardware business, and growth in systems integration activity is just keeping pace with this. Over all though, he says the systems integration market is growing about 20 percent per year, and within a few years he hopes Control Data can match that rate.
(Grant Buckler/19941025/Press Contact: James Ousley, Control Data Systems, tel 612-482-5600, fax 612-482-4510, Internet e-mail james.e.ousley@cdc.com; Public Contact: Control Data Systems, tel 612-482-6736 or 800-257-OPEN, fax 612-482-2000 Internet e-mail info@cdc.com)
PEN, fax 612-482-2000 Internet e-mail info@cdc.com)
10/25/94
Control Data - From Mainframes To Sys Integration
BUSINESS
Case Law Providers Fight Over Go
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Companies that provide legal research services on a per-fee basis have gone public in their battle over a plan by the US Department of Justice to create a government controlled legal citation system and database. Attorneys and researchers search case law to locate precedents for current cases.
West Publishing Company, The Legal Research Center, and about 60 other case law providers say the government's Taxpayer Assets Project (TAP) is a waste of taxpayer money and duplicates services that are already available in the private sector for a reasonable cost.
TAP, according to a spokesperson for West Publishing Company, is a group of West's competitors that are trying to break what they see as West's monopoly on the industry. Minnesota-based West Publishing produces Westlaw, a computer-assisted legal research service as well as CD-ROM libraries of case law.
According to West spokesperson Dorothy Molstad, the project would spend millions of dollars of taxpayer money "that will stifle innovation and competition." Speaking of the TAP supporters Molstad said, "These companies are plotting to lay a trap on the American people in the form of squandered taxpayer dollars and lost jobs. Their sole motivation is getting government to promise them the millions of dollars that the free enterprise system cannot guarantee."
James Seidl, president of the Legal Research Center, a private company that provides legal research and writing services for attorneys, is skeptical about the government's ability to provide the service efficiently and cheaply. "The government's reputation for providing products or services efficiently or in a timely or customer-friendly manner does not inspire confidence," says Seidl. He says the government wants to spend money to fix a problem that doesn't exist.
Mostad says there are more than 175 private companies providing case law. Seidl says that encourages free enterprise. "The advantage of multiplicity of citation sources is that it gives customers a choice, encourages innovation, and establishes market incentives for case law providers to continually make their products easier and more efficient to use," he stated.
Seidl is also concerned about a conflict of interest. "Another concern about a government citation system and database is that any defense lawyer using the government database on behalf of a client being prosecuted by DOJ is potentially vulnerable to the government monitoring his or her legal research, which would compromise the defendant's rights and violate attorney/client privilege."
Charles Rosenberg, a Los Angeles trial attorney and legal consultant to the now-defunct television series "L.A. Law," calls the proposal "elitist because it ignores laypeople who don't use computers and will deny access, not increase it."
(Jim Mallory/19941025/Press and Public contact: Enid Doggett The Kamber Group for West Publishing, 202-223-8700)
t The Kamber Group for West Publishing, 202-223-8700)
10/25/94
Case Law Providers Fight Over Gov't Citation System
LEGAL
Iomega Offers Removable Drives
? ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Iomega Corp.(OTC:IOMG) has announced the first move in its corporate re-positioning campaign by introducing a new 3.5-inch low-end drive that uses removable storage media.
The new 100 megabyte (MB) Zip drive will have its public debut at next month's Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 1995. Removable disks called Zip disks, will be available in 100MB and 25MB capacities. The company says it expects the higher capacity disks to have a street price as low as $19.95, while the lower capacity version will sell for as low as $9.95. Iomega expects the Zip drive to have a street price of under $200.
Zip drive will be available initially in an external version only says Maloy, although the company has had some discussion about the possibility of making it available as an internal drive also. At present however there are no plans to do that.
Zip drive will come in SCSI (small computer system interface) and parallel port models. The parallel port version, which will have a printer pass-through port, will be for IBM-compatibles, while the SCSI edition can be used with Macintosh computers and SCSI-equipped PCs if you want the increased performance of SCSI. "We want to provide an easy plug-and-play solution for people," says Maloy.
When you buy an Iomega Zip drive you also get ZipTools, a set of software tools designed to help organize, track and locate information on the disks. The software is icon-based, with each file represented by one of the little pictures. When you click on the file you want to work with, ZipTools will tell you which Zip disk to insert in the drive.
Inclusion of software to manage files on the Zip disks is part of Iomega's move to become a "total solution provider," rather than just a hardware company, according to Maloy. Mac and PC versions of the software ship with each Zip drive.
Iomega spokesperson Cory Maloy told Newsbytes the Zip drive is about the size of a paperback pocket book. It uses a removable disk that is only slightly larger and thicker than a 3.5-inch floppy disk. "(The disk) will fit in your shirt pocket," says Maloy.
(Jim Mallory/19941025/Press contact: Cory Maloy, Iomega Corp., 801-778-3712; Public contact: Iomega, tel 800-777-6179 or 801-778-1000/ZIPDRIVE941025/PHOTO)
1-778-1000/ZIPDRIVE941025/PHOTO)
10/25/94
Iomega Offers Removable Drives
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
Creative Labs Ships Videoconfere
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Na
Public Stock Offerings Available
DSP Intros Truespeech Processors
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
Seagate Intros Drives, Plans Mag
DEC Network Business Reseller Re
UK - Mobile Phone Users Spending
Hitachi/3M/Sony Agree On New Mag
Xerox 3000 Combines Fax/Copier/P
Guarded Praise For DEC's New Alp
Sprint/TCI/Comcast/Cox Bundle Ca
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Sprint and three large cable firms have announced they will provide local, long distance, and cellular phone service together with cable service, in a one-service-does-all system. The aim is to provide PCS (personal communications services) that bypass the "Baby Bell" local phone companies, using wireless and cable connections instead.
Joining in the joint venture are Sprint (NYSE:FON), Telecommunications Inc. (NASDAQ:TCI), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA, CMCSK), and Cox Cable. The detailed joint venture formation agreement stipulates that Sprint will own 40 percent, TCI 30 percent, and Comcast and Cox the remaining 15 percent each.
Declared William T. Esrey, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sprint: "This partnership is a revolutionary idea in communications. The technology is here, the economics are right and the time is now."
The cable partners together own Teleport Communications Group, which is building advanced networks in major cities to bypass the local providers. The partners also are upgrading existing systems to allow broadband digital phone service as well as the next generation of entertainment services.
If regulatory and legislative stumbling blocks are removed quickly enough, the firms say their first customers could go on line before the end of next year.
The partners said their roughly 290,000 miles of in-place cables today could serve about a third of American homes. In addition, they have invited other cable companies to explore joining the venture and James Kennedy, chairman and CEO of Cox, said the venture has received expressions of interest from potential affiliates.
"This venture offers a viable alternative for cable operators to remain as independent competitors," Kennedy said. "We will continue to prosper and grow as we participate in providing to consumers for the first time in 90 years -- an alternative to local telephony service."
The partners said Sprint's long distance network, the cable operators' local fiber and coaxial networks, and the firms' existing wireless capabilities, will serve as the backbone for nationwide PCS services. They say their signed wireless agreements have created the partnerships they need in order to bid jointly for PCS licenses. The licenses are scheduled to be auctioned in December by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission).
The venture plans to go after other firms that bid successfully for PCS licenses. Declared Brian L. Roberts, president of Comcast: "We will make participation in this venture an attractive opportunity for PCS license holders, and we will be particularly interested in affiliations with designated entity groups interested in partnering with the premier national services provider."
Stated Sprint's Esrey: "This alliance of non-traditional partners telephone and cable -- will revolutionize what is delivered over your telephone, your cable television, and your computer. It is the single-source provider that will define telecommunications in the 21st century."
Added John C. Malone, president and CEO of TCI: "We have set our sights squarely on a successful business -- 21st century broadband integrated telecommunications."
(Craig Menefee/19941025/Press Contact: 212-554-2420 on Oct. 25 Susan Kraus, Sprint (after Oct. 25 at 202-828-7410); Lela Cocoros for TCI (after Oct. 25 at 303-267-5273); John Alchin, Comcast (after Oct. 25 at 215-981-7503); David Andersen, Cox (after Oct. 25 at 404-843-5855); Roger Cawley, TCG (after Oct. 25 at 718-983-2122)
Roger Cawley, TCG (after Oct. 25 at 718-983-2122)
10/25/94
Sprint/TCI/Comcast/Cox Bundle Cable/Local Phone
TELECOM
FCC Sets Phone-Cable Competition
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- The Federal Communications Commission has told regional Bell operating companies that they cannot use money from their phone customers to subsidize their ventures into offering video programming. But the FCC did not spell out how the Baby Bells must divide the costs of the new video services between consumers and shareholders.
The FCC also told the Baby Bells that they must make their video networks available to any programmer who wants to lease channels.
In setting the rules for the coming competition in the cable industry, the FCC took criticism from both consumer groups and cable operators. Consumer groups, such as the Consumer Federation of America, said the FCC did not adequately protect phone customers from rate increases. The cable operators hit the FCC for giving the Bells an unfair advantage as they move into the $21 billion cable business.
"They haven't protected captive telephone customers," Mark Cooper, CFA research director, told Newsbytes. CFA preferred a proposal by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the telecommunications subcommittee, that would have detailed just how much of the cost of the new video services could be paid for by customers and how much would be borne by telephone company shareholders.
The FCC rejected Markey's approach in favor of a plan the commission adopted two years ago. It treats phone company investment in video services the same as any service, on a case-by-case basis. No unfair subsidies is the guiding principle in deciding those cases.
The Bells are expected to bring real competition to cable. Bell Atlantic has experimented with offering movies on demand over phone lines to the families of 400 employees in the Washington area. The company won the first license from the FCC to offer video services in Dover Township, N.J., and plans to offer 384 channels early next year, going head-to-head with the local cable company.
(Kennedy Maize/19941025/Press Contact: Susan Lewis Sallet FCC, 202-418-0500; Mark Cooper, CFA, 301-384-2204)
18-0500; Mark Cooper, CFA, 301-384-2204)
10/25/94
FCC Sets Phone-Cable Competition Rules
DEC Network Business Reseller Re
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- DEC's Network Product Business has launched a worldwide reseller recruitment program that is aimed at doubling the proportion of sales performed by outside resellers and distributors to over 50 percent within the next year.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Lee Cooper, channels development manager for the three-month-old business unit, said that DEC's new Network Reseller Program includes: training, education and accreditation; lead referrals; discount packages; market development funds; joint advertising campaigns; and assigned local sales specialists within Digital.
Established in July, the Network Product Business is "dedicated" to designing, manufacturing, and marketing DEC network products, and to treating this product lineup as a "business," Cooper said speaking with Newsbytes in Boston over a phone link-up from Paris France, where he is attending the European edition of Interop.
Products handled by the Network Product Business range from adapter cards and low-end network hubs, to "ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) offerings," to high-end hubs and DEC's Gigaswitch, according to the channels development manager.
"Our charter calls for a 'partner-centric model,'" Cooper noted. As a result, outside resellers are given "equal treatment" to three other businesses within DEC that act as "internal resellers:" the Account Business Unit, which sells DEC products to the "Digital 1000;" the System Business Unit, a business focusing on Alpha; and the Multi-Customer Business Unit, centering on sales of DEC services and "turnkey installations" of products and services.
This week, for example, the Network Product Business is holding "Level One" training and accreditation program in Dallas, Texas, for outside resellers as well as DEC employees who sell network products in Canada and Latin America, Cooper said.
Similar Level One programs have taken place over the past few months in the UK, Switzerland, and Boston, Massachusetts, and another program is slated for mid-November in Tokyo, Japan.
In January, Digital plans to roll out "Level Two" network reseller programs that will probably include sessions in the US, Canada, and the UK, and might also encompass sessions in Asia, according to the DEC exec.
The resellers work with assigned "network warriors" within the Network Product Business, Cooper added. The assigned DEC representatives "identify and find opportunities for resellers, and make sure they're capable of selling DEC network products," focusing on specific geographic territories in the process.
"We'll also provide market development funds across all distributors and resellers. We'll be investing in the market for them and with them," Newsbytes was told.
DEC's Network Product Business has already started some joint advertising programs, Cooper reported. An new ad for DEC's "stackable hubs" offers special pricing that is available only through DEC's "partners," for instance.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941025/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Susan Ursch, DEC, 508-486-5198; Maria Doyle or Veronica Zanellato, Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
nellato, Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
10/25/94
DEC Network Business Reseller Recruitment Prgm
BUSINESS
Delrina Plans New Mac Fax Softwa
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Delrina Corp. (TSE:DC, NASDAQ:DENAF) plans to beef up its facsimile software offering for the Apple Computer Macintosh with a new release some time in the first half of 1995.
The next release of Delrina FaxPro for Macintosh, code-named Moses, will have a revamped user interface, improved optical character recognition (OCR), and an address book using the Xbase file format that is also used in Delrina's WinFax Pro facsimile software for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows.
The new release will be shown to the industry press and possibly to the public at the San Francisco MacWorld trade show in January, said David Jones, Macintosh product manager at Delrina. Depending on how the beta-testing process goes, Jones told Newsbytes, the new FaxPro should become available 60 to 90 days after that.
Jones said the new user interface will make use of a number of concepts to be found in the next release of the Macintosh OS known by the code name Copland. Delrina has hired Susan Kare, a member of the original Macintosh design team, to help develop the user interface, which Jones said will include floating button bars and three-dimensional icons.
The new release will retain a distinctively Macintosh "look and feel," sources at Delrina said, but it will add some features found in WinFax. Use of the Xbase file format (originated by the dBase line of database management software) will make it possible to take address lists directly from WinFax and use them unchanged in the new FaxPro, Jones said.
Though dBase "is not a big standard in the Mac world," Delrina spokesman Shelly Sofer said, Delrina has considerable experience with the format.
FaxPro's OCR functions will be much improved in the new release. Jones said one change will be the use of a "fat binary" that allows the OCR component to run on either the older Macintosh systems -- based on Motorola Corp. 680x0 processors -- or on the new Power Macintosh machines. Making machine-readable text from a page that took about a minute and a half on older Macintoshes will take only a few seconds on the new Power Macs, he claimed.
Sofer said the present FaxPro uses an OCR engine from Caere Corp. The next release may use a newer version of the Caere engine, or software from another supplier, he said.
Some differences will remain between Delrina's Macintosh and Windows fax products. The new FaxPro still will not match WinFax's integration with electronic mail software, Jones admitted, largely because Macintosh users are less interested in that capability than Windows users. On the other hand, it will remain better at faxing gray-scale images, a capability important in the Macintosh market because the Mac remains widely used in desktop publishing and graphics applications.
The price of the new FaxPro will remain at US$129, Jones said.
(Grant Buckler/19941025/Press Contact: Shelly Sofer, Delrina tel 416-441-4702, fax 416-441-0333, Internet e-mail shellys@delrina.com; Public Contact: Delrina, 800-268-6082)
a.com; Public Contact: Delrina, 800-268-6082)
10/25/94
Delrina Plans New Mac Fax Software For 1995
APPLE
Moneysoft's Asset Tracking, Depr
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Moneysoft Inc. will announce a DOS-based computer program next month that tracks fixed assets and calculates depreciation for tax and book-value purposes applies tax limits and helps the user budget future requirements.
The company says Fixed Asset Pro will ship in November with an introductory price of $149. The price is good through March 1995 at which time the suggested retail price of $195 will take effect.
Moneysoft says Fixed Asset Pro is designed for small- to mid-size businesses that currently use spreadsheet or accounting software to perform asset management. The program will run as a DOS window under Microsoft Windows.
Moneysoft spokesperson Michael Bray told Newsbytes the program uses pull-down menus, pick-lists of depreciation methods, on-screen help and warning screens that point out potential input errors. "Each input field in the program has a pick list. For each account the user just hits F2 and they will be in the pick list. It's really user friendly," says Bray.
The user can enter an unlimited number of fixed asset records and group them into user-defined categories. Each asset record is entered only once. The software automatically transfers the records into separate databases so the user can simultaneously maintain separate sets of records for different purposes.
Fixed Asset Pro summarized annual activities for the purchasing and disposing of assets and calculates the depreciation expense. It will also prepare a projection schedule detailing all future depreciation charges over the useful life of each fixed asset.
Moneysoft says Fixed Asset Pro helps users avoid the "end of the year" scramble by bringing their fixed asset schedule up to date quickly, in order to close the books, get ready for taxes, and make sure all assets are properly insured.
A number of reports are available. You can sort the asset records by identification, date purchased, class/date, groups, class group/location, and alternative minimum tax (AMT) type. After the sorting is done, the program will produce reports like Detailed Asset Listing, Depreciation Reports, Annual Purchase/Disposal Activity Report, Annual AMT Report, Lifetime Projection Reports Interim Posting Reports, and Individual Fixed Asset Records.
To run Fixed Asset Pro you need an IBM-compatible PC, two megabytes (MB) of available hard disk space, and 640 kilobytes (KB) of system memory. Bray told Newsbytes the company plans to release Windows version of all its programs in 1995. Fixed Asset Pro is the third in a series of Moneysoft financial management programs announced recently.
(Jim Mallory/19941025/Press contact: Michael Bray, Moneysoft 619-689-8341; Public contact: Moneysoft, 800-966-7797 or 619-689-8341/ASSET941025/PHOTO)
ft, 800-966-7797 or 619-689-8341/ASSET941025/PHOTO)
10/25/94
Moneysoft's Asset Tracking, Depreciation Software
Internet Roundtable Society Offe
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- On November 2, The Internet Roundtable Society plans to introduce the "Net's" first weekly, live interview show, featuring "nationally and internationally recognized authors, policy-makers, original thinkers and celebrities." Following a Public Broadcasting style, The Internet Roundtable will provide free participation for Net "surfers" who want serious discussion with the guests of the one-hour show.
Kevin Pursglove, creator and former host of Forum, a PBS San Francisco radio program, is the show's host who will introduce and interview upcoming guests such as: David Gergen, special advisor the Secretary of State; Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet; Paul Martin Du Bois, co-author of The Quickening of America; Susan Stamberg, National Public Radio correspondent; and the Internet's own guru, Howard Rheingold.
Using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and the UnderNet, The Internet Roundtable Society hopes to provide a venue for "serious discussion." To alleviate some of the difficulties commonly experienced with live online discussions, questions will be submitted on one channel and a high-speed typist will provide both the questions and responses on the "live discussion" channel.
Readers should understand the name, Internet Roundtable, has nothing to do with GEnie's Internet RoundTable. The live talk show originated from a small bulletin board system (BBS) out of Menlo Park, California. Internet Roundtable Society is a small company of individuals who have changed that local BBS to the live online Internet talk show. They make it clear that Internet Roundtable Society is not a non-profit organization and its intention is to develop commercial sponsors and seek donations from participants as the means to pay staff..
Speaking to Newsbytes, Michael Fremont, chief executive officer for Internet Roundtable Society, "Our intention is to bring people in high places to everyday Internet users. We will deliver a professional, polished and fast-paced interview based on user interactivity."
Fremont continued, "We want to deliver guests on a wide variety of topics which reflect current issues, trends and problems. Most important, we want people to realize this talk show is open to everyone. Because of the nature of IRC which is available 24 hours a day, participants may stay and continue discussions after the show for as long as they wish."
(Patrick McKenna/19941025/Press Contact: Michael Fremont Internet Roundtable Society, 415-327-4386; Public Information: Internet Address staff@fununiv.com, or URL http://www.IRsociety.com)
staff@fununiv.com, or URL http://www.IRsociety.com)
10/25/94
Internet Roundtable Society Offers Live Talk Show
ONLINE
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Opti
FLEET, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- One of the biggest problems facing Mac users wanting to use modems is the fact that the Apple Mac's serial port is non-standard, since it does not support the full RS-232 serial port specification. Hayes, aware of this, has adapted its range of Optima high speed data/fax modems for use with the Mac and launched them on to the European marketplace.
Two Mac-specific versions of the Optima have been unveiled: the Optima 288 V.FC + Fax and the Optima 14400 + Fax 144. UK pricing has been set at UKP599 and UKP539, respectively, with European equivalents applying in Europe.
According to Hayes, the UKP599 unit has the ability to move data at speeds of up to a megabyte per minute, which equates to 230,400 bits per-second (bps) with the double size dictionary of the Optima 288's V.42Bis data compression system.
Such speeds are, as any Mac user will be aware, impossible using the standard Mac serial port. Jane Rimmer, PR manager for Hayes' Northern Europe, explained to Newsbytes that the company is recommending the Mac Hustler card from Creative Solutions of Rockville in Maryland.
"The card operates in a manner similar to that of our own Enhanced Serial Port (ESP) card for the PC and allows very fast movement of data into and out of the Mac without using the Mac's serial port," she explained.
So why doesn't Hayes offer a Mac version of the ESP card? "We recognize that the Mac is a different machine to the PC and, because of this, also acknowledge that there are Mac add-on specialists such as Creative who can produce an advanced serial port system for the Mac far more effectively than ourselves," Rimmer replied.
In Europe, the Hustler card is distributed through AM Micro of Exeter in Devon, England. Pricing of the Hustler card was unavailable at press time, but Hayes claims the card is competitively priced for the Mac.
Marlin Nelson, vice president of Hayes and general manager of the company's European region, said that he is pleased about being able to extend the Optima range of modems into the Mac marketplace. "The Optima line was developed to provide Hayes customers with a cost effective way to get the job done. We're continuing this commitment with the availability of these products for the Mac environment," he said.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941025/Press Contact: Jane Rimmer, Hayes UK 44-252-775555, Internet e-mail jrimmer@hayes.com; Reader Contact: Hayes UK, tel +44-252-775500, fax +44-252-775511 Internet e-mail hayes@cix.compulink.co.uk)
Internet e-mail hayes@cix.compulink.co.uk)
10/25/94
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Optima Modems
APPLE
Europe - BT & Matsushita Sign Ai
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- British Telecom (BT), a member of the Skyphone consortium, has signed an agreement with Matsushita of Japan, to offer in-flight entertainment (IFE) on European passenger airline services.
Skyphone is a consortium of BT, Norwegian Telecom, and Singapore Telecom. Formed last year, the consortium was set up to deliver digital air-to-ground communications and entertainment services for the airline industry. So far, Air China, Air India, Asiana, British Airways Emirates, Korean Airlines, Lauda Air, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines have agreed in principle to offer Skyphone services on board their aircraft.
The deal with Matsushita is non-exclusive and does not prohibit either party from offering similar services in other markets, Newsbytes notes. According to BT, the deal calls for the telecom company to integrate its ground-to-air services with Matsushita's IFE technology which will be offered to all airlines operating in Europe.
Commenting on the agreement, Yukio Sugimoto, the president of Matsushita Avionics Development Corporate (MADC), said the market for cabin-based interactive services is set to explode and has developed at such a rate "that hardware suppliers and service providers must now be able to demonstrate to airlines that they can deliver a seamlessly integrated and compatible passenger service.
"This agreement with BT is not only about enhancing the robustness of in-cabin interactive systems for airlines -- it also demonstrates our respective commitment to setting the pace in the market," he added.
Peter Cheah, BT's aeronautical value-added services manager, said that airlines will select the onboard hardware suppliers themselves, and claims that it is therefore very important that service provider's networks are "open" and compatible with all the major IFE equipment suppliers -- and vice versa. "This agreement ensures compatibility between two of the biggest players in the industry," he said.
So when will the airline industry see IFE systems in the cabin? BT and Skyphone remain coy on this matter, but sources suggest that Singapore Airlines, which is working closely with Singapore Telecom on the project, will be first to market, as the airline has had satellite delivered telecoms in its planes for the last three years. Adapting the onboard transceivers for IFE should be an easy matter, the company claims.
According to Singapore Airlines, the IFE systems should be installed and operational in 20 of the airlines' 747-400 series long-haul fleet by the early part of next year.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941024/Press Contact: Andrew Durkin, Spec Communications, tel +44-494-680555, fax +44-494-680550; Reader Contact: Graham Lamble, Skyphone, tel +44-71-492-4978; fax +44-71-492-2883)
ne, tel +44-71-492-4978; fax +44-71-492-2883)
10/25/94
Europe - BT & Matsushita Sign Airphone Deal
TELECOM
UK - PCMCIA Video Capture System
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Portable Add-Ons has unveiled Focus, a video capture system that plugs into PCs using the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slot interface.
According to Chaz Brooks, the company's marketing director, the UKP449 system will "add spice to multimedia presentations," and can be used for capturing TV programs to a PC screen, as well as quickly obtaining bit-map files from video footage. Brooks describes this as "useful for publishers on the move."
The system is billed a being fully compatible with Microsoft's Video for Windows, and consists of a PCMCIA type II card. In use, it can cope with NTSC (North American Television Standards Committee) and PAL (US/Japanese and European) video signals, from camcorders VCRs and satellite TV tuners. An S video connector also allows connection to C-VHS and Hi-8 high quality video recorders.
The system works at 25 frames-per-second (fps) at a resolution of 160 by 120 pixels, and depending on the type of video image being fed into the system, the screen capture rate varies between 15 and 24 fps.
Frame grabbing, that is, a single frame being scanned from a video source operating at 25fps, takes a few seconds and can resolve to 640 by 480 pixels. There is also a live video pass-through facility to allow live footage to be viewed on the PC's screen while clips are being captured by the software.
Bundled with the system is Lenel Multimedia Recorder, which Portable Add-Ons claims is a powerful, but easy-to-use, video capture utility along with Lenel Multimedia Works, a package that allows users to integrate their screen captures into multimedia applications and create presentations.
Also bundled with the package are Windows overlay and capture drivers which are claimed to be compatible with Video for Windows 1.1, along with Cardsoft 3.1 from Systemsoft.
(Steve Gold/19941025/Press Contact: Steve Waddington, MMC tel +44-71-580-8008, fax +44-71-580-9852; Reader Contact: Portable Add-Ons, tel +44-483-440777, fax +44-483-452304)
s, tel +44-483-440777, fax +44-483-452304)
10/25/94
UK - PCMCIA Video Capture System Intro'd
UK - Mobile Phone Users Spending
BRISTOL, AVON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Hutchison Orange, a digital personal communications network (PCN) mobile phone operator is claiming that many UK users of mobile phones -- who currently number in the 2.5 million category - are spending more than a million pounds a week on conversations they do not have.
The reason for this, Lisa Gernon, Orange's group director of marketing, claims, is that users pay for calls on the Cellnet Vodafone and Mercury One-2-One networks in increments of 60 seconds plus 30 seconds thereafter. On Orange, calls are metered in seconds.
"No one is happy paying for service they don't get -- effectively paying something for nothing," she said.
James McCafferty, telecoms analyst at Hoare Govett Securities, said that he estimates that, if other network operators charged by the second rather than by the minute or 30 seconds, "their total revenues would be well over UKP50 million lower," or equivalent to more than UKP1 million a week, Newsbytes notes.
Graham Howe, finance director with Orange, claims that the three other mobile network's system of 60+30 second billing is "clearly wrong. Customers are getting a raw deal by being asked to pay in excess of UKP1 million a week for airtime they haven't used -- that why, with Orange, customers only pay for what they say," he said.
Howe also pointed out that toll-free calls on Orange are free of charge, whereas callers to Vodafone and Cellnet are charged for such calls.
Newsbytes notes, however, that Orange has recently started charging for calls to 0500-800-800, the toll-free access code for Mercury's charge card. Newsbytes asked Mark Davis, a spokesman for Orange, if this was a precedent for other services such as AT&T, MCI, and Sprint's toll-free charge card services, and BT's planned toll-free charge card system which is planned for the New Year.
"It's a tricky area," he admitted. "I think what I have to say is that it's better to be able to call the vast majority of toll-free calls with a few restrictions such as the Mercury charge card system, than to have to pay for all toll-free calls as Cellnet and Vodafone charge their customers,"
So will Orange look at charging for phone charge card calls, even to toll-free calls? Davis told Newsbytes that "the whole system involving these type of calls is under constant review."
The problem facing Orange is very political, Newsbytes notes, as the network is effectively carrying another telecom service providers calls free of charge, despite the fact that Oftel (the government telecoms watchdog) does not require such services on mobile networks.
Orange has solved the problem by not actually blocking calls to the Mercury charge card service, by requiring callers to prefix the 0500 800-800 call with a 6 and pay premium rates (callers are given a warning to this effect).
UK - Mobile Phone Users Spending Money Unnecessarily
TELECOM
UK - Turn Your Fax Machine Into
ALDERMASTON, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Electronic Frontier, a direct-sell modem supplier, has unveiled FaxScanner, a cigarette-sized "black box" that it claims can turn virtually any Group III fax machine into a 200 by 200 dots-per-inch (dpi) scanner and printer.
The UKP69 unit is powered by a standard nine-volt PP3 battery and requires a PC with a modem capable of fax facilities, VGA graphics or better, 640 kilobytes (KB) of memory, Windows 3.x, and at least 2 megabytes (MB) of available hard disk space.
The idea behind the FaxScanner is that a user with a PC data/fax modem and an ordinary fax machine can scan received faxes into the fax machine and over to the PC. "It's basically a low-cost system of getting faxed and other documents into the PC and OCR (optical character recognition) scanning them into the PC," David Dalton, Electronic Frontier's managing director, told Newsbytes.
"The important thing to realize here is that the unit is not designed to replace a flat-bed scanner. You're not going to get a perfect scanned picture on your PC that you would with a flat-bed scanner. But you can get an image into the PC and convert it into text, which we think is a very important feature many PC users are looking for," he said.
According to Dalton, the FaxScanner will give around 95/99 percent accuracy in converting from fax image to text on the PC, depending on what software is used. The standard version of the FaxScanner costs UKP69, and comes with the Bitfax Easy Windows fax software, which includes Caere's OCR technology. A deluxe version is also available at UKP169 which comes with Expervision's TypeReader OCR software.
Bitfax Easy is general fax and OCR scanning package for fax modems. Expervision's TypeReader package, meanwhile, is billed as a professional OCR package that uses a new technology known as Machine Learning Fragment Analysis (MLFA). MLFA allows the software to covert virtually any PCX or TIFF graphics file into text at a claimed rate of hundreds of words per second with an accuracy of close to 100 percent Electronic Frontier claims.
(Steve Gold/19941025/Press Contact: David Bridson, tel +44-295 811009, fax +44-295-811160; Reader Contact: Electronic Frontier tel +44-295-810600, fax +44-734-811600)
ier tel +44-295-810600, fax +44-734-811600)
10/25/94
UK - Turn Your Fax Machine Into A Scanner
TELECOM
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To
Creative Labs Ships Videoconfere
Free Internet Mosaic Netscape Na
Public Stock Offerings Available
DSP Intros Truespeech Processors
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
Seagate Intros Drives, Plans Mag
DEC Network Business Reseller Re
UK - Mobile Phone Users Spending
Hitachi/3M/Sony Agree On New Mag
Xerox 3000 Combines Fax/Copier/P
Do Your Own PR Kit
Guarded Praise For DEC's New Alp
Time-Warner Bid To Enter Ohio Lo
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Time-Warner will apply tomorrow for state permission to become a full-service local phone company in Ohio. The application follows a recent precedent-setting interconnection agreement with Rochester Telephone in New York where Time Warner's entry into the local telephone business has already been approved at the state level.
According to Time-Warner, if Ohio's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approves the application, the state will be among the first where local residential and business customers are given a choice between competing telephone companies.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Time-Warner's vice president of regulatory affairs, Midwest region, Marsha Schermer said the firm intends to provide full service, using existing and proposed coaxial and fiber optic cable systems.
"One important thing about this application is that we do not intend to do any 'clean skimming' of selected, high-profit customers," she said. "If you look at where the cable is -- it goes into residential neighborhoods as much as anywhere. We are not a niche player. We want to be come full, facilities-based provider of telephone services."
Speaking of the many local-service and broadband service applications being made these days, Schermer added: "That's an important emerging element in all of this."
She described the primary problems in entering the local phone service business as a full, not just specialized, competitor as being two-fold. First, she said, the firm must achieve regulatory approval, which is never automatic. Second, the firm must negotiate a satisfactory agreement with the existing LEC (local exchange company).
"If you subscribe to Ameritech and I subscribe to Time-Warner, we need to be able to call each other," she explained. "This presents both engineering problems and questions of how we (the competing carriers) can compensate each other fairly for originating and terminating calls."
Stated Thomas J. Morrow, president of Time Warner Communications: "Time Warner has a significant presence in Ohio and already is spending hundreds of millions of dollars upgrading its cable systems here to offer more and better cable services."
The application Time Warner plans to submit on October 26 states that the firm will provide "state of the art digital switching capabilities" to transmit calls through a combination of fiber optic and coaxial cable. Time Warner maintains it will offer service "comparable to or better than that provided" by Ameritech, their present local phone company, "at a competitive price."
Services Time Warner plans to offer include custom calling services like call forwarding, call waiting, Caller ID, conference calling automatic dialing, and sophisticated voice messaging. It will also include a wide range of digital voice, data and image communications the firm says.
Time Warner Communications is a division of Time Warner Cable. It currently operates competitive access telephone services in 15 markets, including Cincinnati, Columbus, and Lima in Ohio. Parent company Time Warner Cable is the nation's second largest cable operator, serving 7.3 million customers in 34 states.
(Craig Menefee/19941025/Press Contact: Mary Jo Green, Time Warner/Columbus, 614-481-5308, or Mike Luftman, Time Warner/Stamford CT, 203-328-0613)
ke Luftman, Time Warner/Stamford CT, 203-328-0613)
10/25/94
Time-Warner Bid To Enter Ohio Local Phone Market
TELECOM
Micrografx Expands $99 Upgrade O
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Micrografx Inc. (NASDAQ:MGXI) has expanded the $99.95 upgrade offer it made earlier this month, adding two more Windows-based products and opening the program to users of competitive products. The upgrades will be available through retail outlets.
The company says users of earlier versions of ABC Flowcharter Designer TE, and Picture Publisher, as well as users of competitive products, can now upgrade to the latest versions of the three programs for just $99.
Earlier this month, Newsbytes reported Micrografx was offering users of Photostyler an upgrade to Picture Publisher version 5.0 image editing software for Windows. Picture Publisher was acquired by Adobe Systems as part of its purchase of U-lead Systems. The current announcement expands the upgrade to users of competitive products.
A Micrografx product manager told Newsbytes the company will accept for upgrade just about any product similar in nature to the Micrografx software being purchased.
Paul Grayson, Micrografx chairman, president and chief executive officer, says the offer is a move to build strong relationships with the resellers that reach the consumer base. Micrografx upgrades previously have been sold through the company's direct sales force and through corporate resellers.
Micrografx ABC Flowcharter 3.0 is a flowcharting tool for visualizing workflow processes. The upgrade version includes a mail-in coupon for ABC Snapgraphics 2.0, which enables users to incorporate diagrams such as flowcharts, organization charts and project timelines into business documents.
Micrografx describes its Designer 4.1 TE as "a design and communication tool for everything from quick sketches to sophisticated technical illustrations."
Picture Publisher 5.0 is an image editing and photo composition tool with a suggested retail price for the new purchaser of $595.
(Jim Mallory/19941025/Press contact: Katrina Krebs, Micrografx 214-994-6247; Public contact: Micrografx, tel 214-234-1769 fax 214-994-6334)
fx, tel 214-234-1769 fax 214-994-6334)
10/25/94
Micrografx Expands $99 Upgrade Offer
WINDOWS
Gateway 2000 Intros 100MHz Penti
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) Gateway 2000 (NASDAQ: GATE) has announced a 100 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based personal computer with color monitor and 4X CD-ROM drive for $4,299.
Gateway's P5-100XL comes with a quadruple-speed CD-ROM drive and 17-inch Vivitron color monitor. Ted Waitt, Gateway president and chief executive officer, says the company expects to see the quadruple speed CD-ROM drive and Vivitron monitor technology become standard throughout Gateway's product line.
The P5-100XL comes in a tower case and includes: Ensoniq's 16-bit wavetable sound card; Altec-Lansing ACS-31 speakers with sub-woofer; 16 megabytes (MB) of system memory; a one gigabyte (GB) enhanced IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drive; and PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)) local bus video card with 2MB of video memory. You also get one 3.5-inch floppy drive, a 256 kilobyte (KB) cache, and a Microsoft mouse.
Gateway says its Vivitron monitors, which are based on Sony Trinitron technology, have a .26 millimeter (mm) dot pitch multiscanning analog color display capable of resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 with a non-interlaced display. The screen is designed with a 90 degree deflection to minimize light reflection and distortion. The brightness and contrast controls are located on the front of the monitor.
The company says it will also offer a 15-inch version of the Vivitron monitor as standard equipment on selected PCs. Both sizes will be offered as options on some systems.
The quadruple-speed (4X) CD-ROM drives have a 600 KB-per-second data transfer rate, 250 millisecond (ms) access time, and 128KB cache. The internal half-height CD-ROM drive uses a motorized caddyless disk tray and can read photo CD disks as well as XA formatting with its interleaved audio. The drive has an audio output jack on the front for earphones, powered speakers, or auxiliary stereo input. An output jack on the back of the drive connects to a sound card.
P%-100XL buyers get MS-DOS 6.22, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Microsoft Office Professional 4.3, Microsoft Bookshelf, and Microsoft Money software, pre-loaded at the factory. Microsoft Office Professional includes the Word word processor, the Excel spreadsheet Powerpoint presentation graphics, and Access database programs.
Gateway offers toll-free technical support, a 30-day money-back guarantee, three-year parts warranty, on-site repair service for one year if necessary, and access to Gateway's electronic bulletin board.
(Jim Mallory/19941025/Press contact: Wendell Watson, Gateway 2000, 605-232-2253; Public contact: Gateway 2000, tel 605-232 2000, or 800-846-2000, fax 605-232-2023)
000, or 800-846-2000, fax 605-232-2023)
10/25/94
Gateway 2000 Intros 100MHz Pentium PC
Bridging The Bay, Linking The Wo
India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom
Hyundai In Satellite Project
Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintend
Mill Valley Film Festival On Int
MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back A
Pioneer Wireless License Flap Co
Delrina Buys AudioFile TalkWorks
Canada Lays Out Info Highway Hea
Voter Information Pilot Project
Meckler Pulls Plug On MecklerWeb
UK - Time Computer Offers Christ
More Ziff-Davis Units Sold
China - Nokia Announces First GS
Intel, Upson Ink Phillipine Dist
DEC & Powersoft Extend Relations
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone O
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Wireless phones will be carried by half of Hong Kong's adults by the year 2000. That was the prediction given by Neil Montefiore, managing director of Chevalier (Telepoint) when he addressed the DECT, CT2 and Cordless Communications Third Annual Forum in London recently.
Montefiore based his claim on what he called the "four percent rule," derived from "extensive" market research. "A clear pattern has emerged in all world markets," he said. "As telecom spending becomes 'personal' in other words, home phones, pagers, mobile phones and voice-mail for personal rather than business use -- the resistance to purchase occurs at around four percent of the consumer's income.
"In Hong Kong, 60 percent of the working population earns around HK$10,000 (around US$1,250) per month. If you apply the four percent rule, you can see that these consumers can afford home phones, pagers and CT2 if the total cost is below HK$400 a month."
He continued: "This is the market we should be aiming for. By applying the four percent rule to the higher income sections of the population you can easily see how comparatively small the overall market is for the more expensive mobile cellular service - probably 12-15 percent."
He added: "In addition, incomes are increasing while cordless and mobile costs are stable or decreasing. The result is expansion at the low-end of the personal market enabling CT2 to quickly enter the mass market price-bracket. For cellular to reach these consumer-level proportions prices would have to fall dramatically."
Montefiore's comments come at a time of intense speculation over the future of CT2 in Hong Kong. The government is still deliberating over plans to issue up to six personal communications network (PCN) and four personal handyphone system (PHS) licenses in 1995.
"The government's decision will certainly take CT2 into the next phase," continued Montefiore. "In fact, the new PCN technologies provide an obvious upgrade path for the CT2 user. But technological innovation does not usually replace true consumer technology overnight. There is space in the market for CT2 technology for at least the next five to eight years."
Comparing the success of CT2 in Hong Kong against its failure in the UK Montefiore cited a complex mix of issues ranging from the territory's geography and demographics, to product positioning, price and value added services.
(Keith Cameron/19941025/Press Contact: Neil Montefiore, Chevalier 852-828-1218)
Press Contact: Neil Montefiore, Chevalier 852-828-1218)
10/25/94
Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone Ownership By Year 2000
TRENDS
HK Telecom Offers Financial Time
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- Hongkong Telecom CSL has introduced a new interface that allows users of its Spectrum Information System to search and retrieve data from the Financial Times FT Profile and Reuters Textline business databases simultaneously.
The new interface reportedly combines ease-of-use with powerful search facilities. It enables users to search through the entire range of information held on FT Profile and Reuters Textline in a single operation, according to the company.
"Knowledge is power, and access to fast and accurate information can be the difference between success and failure in today's fast-paced commercial environment," said David Wong, general manager of Sales Hongkong Telecom CSL Services. "By providing simultaneous access to both FT Profile and Reuters Textline, we are giving our customers faster access to more extensive information that will help to improve their performance and sharpen their competitive edge."
Marketed by Hongkong Telecom CSL through its Spectrum Information Service, FT Profile is an on-line market intelligence service comprising more than six million individual articles drawn from over 2,000 international information sources.
Reuters Textline offers a single point of access to articles published in the last 10 years, covering subjects such as banking, finance construction, property, marketing, retailing, chemicals, and aerospace.
Using the new interface, customers will see data from both services arranged by topic/subject. The new interface supports access speeds of up to 9600 bits-per-second.
To introduce the new FT Profile and Reuters Textline interface Hongkong Telecom CSL is organizing a series of seminars which will cover familiarization, basic operation, and practical applications of the new interface. In addition, Hongkong Telecom CSL held an FT Profile Banking and Finance seminar recently at the Convention & Exhibition Center.
RICHMOND, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- The National Telecommunications Survey, commissioned by Reed Exhibitions after the Cable & Satellite '94 exhibition earlier this year, has revealed a rising trend in the demand for telecoms products and services. Curiously, however, the survey revealed a lack of formal strategies for telecoms services in companies.
Carried out by Small World Connections and TechGnosis, the survey set out to investigate the "take-up" of new telecoms technologies and looked at where technologies are expected to go in the telecoms world over the next two years.
Of the 600 UK telecoms and information technology (IT) managers responding, less than half (47 percent) reported their organizations had a formal strategy for the development of a communications infrastructure.
Unsurprisingly, the existence of a strategy was generally related to the size of the organization, with the financial and government sectors generally leading the way.
Of those companies who had a formal strategy, they cited the forecasting of users' requirements as the most significant problem in their formulation of strategy (88 percent), while difficulties in forecasting the change in technology was perceived as the second most difficult problem, followed by resolving incompatibilities between existing systems.
On the voice front, the current and expected use -- over the next two years -- of "leading edge" voice technologies were explored. According to the survey, call management is currently the only technology in use in more than 50 percent of the responding organizations, although telesales, telemarketing, auto call distribution and telephone conferencing facilities, plus ISDN (integrated services digital network) already have a presence in more than a third of the respondent companies.
On the data front, meanwhile, in comparison with voice technologies, a number of the data comms technologies and applications are already quite well established with electronic-mail, EDI (electronic data interchange) and LAN (local area network) internetworking already established in at least half of the organizations. ISDN, the report shows is a key technology for bandwidth flexibility and wide area network contingency plans.
So where does mobile telephony fit into all of this? The report claims that the development of the cellphone networks in the UK, along with the rapid development of the usage of cellphones, has been one of the most significant developments in the telecoms marketplace over the past few years, with more than two thirds (67 percent) of respondents reporting that their organizations made use of cellular technology.
Although cellphone technology looks set to continue to dominate over the next two years -- with an astonishing growth rate of 73 percent over the next 24 months expected -- the survey also predicted a rapid growth in personal digital assistants (PDAs) from 14 to 40 percent and cellular data technology (from nine to 38 percent) over the next two years.
UK - Telecom Survey Shows Lack Of Corporate Strategy
TRENDS
UK - Pipex Readies Pipex Solo In
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- As reported previously by Newsbytes, Pipex, a major Internet service provider in the UK, is readying Pipex Solo, a full Internet software package and online service combination, for personal and small business users of the Internet.
David Mooring, marketing director with Pipex, told Newsbytes that the software package will sell for UKP50, with users paying a flat rate of UKP15 a month to access the service, which has support for 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) modem access at the moment, and with plans to offer 28,800 bps access very shortly.
Pipex Solo, the package, will provide full access to the Internet including dial-up SLIP, FTP (file transfer protocol) and Gopher facilities, using a selection of packages running under Windows as a "seamless" environment. The software includes Mailit, Mosaic, MIME and MAPI modules, Newsbytes was told.
"What we're trying to do is to offer single users a simple flat-rate method of accessing the complete Internet service, without all the hassle of setting up all the facilities themselves. It's basically a one-stop purchase, including the facility to access the Internet using the package for a flat rate payment," Mooring told Newsbytes.
Pipex Solo's main competitor is Demon Internet Services, which costs UKP10 a month. Is Solo worth the extra? Mooring claims so.
"One of the problems which Demon faced earlier this year was that their network was overloaded. As a result, many users did not get a fast data throughput. We've approached the problem differently, as we already supply 64,000 bps leased line facilities to many companies so our (data) backbone can easily accommodate the extra load of dial-up personal users," he replied.
Mooring told Newsbytes that currently, Pipex has around 200 modems on its network around the UK. "We have an average of 30 modems at seven points-of-presence (POPs) across the UK. They all support 14,400 bps. We plan to replace five of these modems at each site with 28.8 units so that our users can get a true 28.8 access to the Internet," he said.
Pipex Solo should be launched within the next few weeks, Newsbytes was told. The launch of such a low-cost service, Mooring said, is the culmination of several years of continuing downward trends in Internet pricing.
"Back in 1991, you saw a 64,000 bps leased line costing UKP25,000. That price fell substantially in that year to UKP12,500 and then down to UKP8,000. With Pipex Solo you can get 28,800 bps dial-up into the Internet for UKP15 a month. That shows how much prices have fallen for Internet access," he explained.
(Steve Gold/19941025/Press Contact: Amanda Hassall, GBC 44-81-332-7022, Internet e-mail gbc@cityscape.co.uk; Reader Contact: David Mooring, Pipex, +44-223-250100; Internet e-mail david@pipex.net)
+44-223-250100; Internet e-mail david@pipex.net)
10/25/94
UK - Pipex Readies Pipex Solo Internet Package
ONLINE
Hong Kong - COL & DEC In Disaste
KWUN TONG, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- COL Ltd., the largest local computer services company, is joining forces with Digital Equipment Hong Kong Ltd. to set up Hong Kong's largest disaster recovery service under a HK$5 million outsourcing agreement.
Simultaneously, COL will become a Digital reseller, responsible for key corporate accounts in Hong Kong and for value-added sales to Comshare and Dun & Bradstreet Software customers.
"COL and Digital have been business partners for more than 10 years and the latest agreements are a natural extension of our close working relationship," said Richard Weatherstone, managing director of COL. "The new disaster recovery center reflects both Digital's commitment to provide multivendor disaster recovery services to its customers in Asia, and COL's determination to make outsourcing a major revenue source into the next century."
Under the outsourcing agreement, Digital's Restart Center will be merged with COL's Digital-based disaster recovery service. The combined service will be operated and maintained round-the-clock from COL's Kwun Tong data center.
Multivendor disaster recovery and outsourcing services will be marketed jointly by Digital and COL, exploiting COL's ability to support IBM Unisys and Hewlett-Packard, as well as Digital, platforms.
"This agreement is a big step forward for Digital," said Tony Leung director of marketing at Digital Equipment Hong Kong Ltd. "It provides an increased level of service for our disaster recovery and outsourcing customers, and gives us the added opportunity to market these services to multivendor sites."
Under a simultaneous agreement, COL will become a Digital master reseller, servicing key accounts within its parent organization, the Wheelock and Wharf Holdings groups, and other large Hong Kong companies with which COL has close ties, particularly in the financial services, media, and telecommunications industries.
Additionally, COL will market Digital systems as a platform for software products that it represents in Hong Kong. These include Comshare's Commander executive information system and client server financial, manufacturing, and human resources applications from Dun & Bradstreet Software.
(Keith Cameron/19941025/Press Contact: Kevin Taylor, COL 852-798-4798)
25/Press Contact: Kevin Taylor, COL 852-798-4798)
10/25/94
Hong Kong - COL & DEC In Disaster Recovery Deal
BUSINESS
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`#/#PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 25 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Opti's 16-bit Audio Controller Motherboard 10/25/94 Opti (NASDAQ:OPTI) has announced sample availability of the Opti 82C930, an integrated 16-bit, 100-pin audio controller motherboard for PC sound applications.
2 -> Quantum Intros Hard Drives 10/25/94 Quantum Corp. (NASDAQ/NMS:QNTM) has announced the company's first one gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive which brings the areal density benefits of magnetoresistive (MR) recording head technology to the high-performance PC, desktop workstation, and PC file server marketplaces.
3 -> Mindscape Intros Mario's Time Machine CD-ROM 10/25/94 Mindscape Inc., formerly The Software Toolworks Inc., has released Mario's Time Machine Deluxe CD-ROM, an "interactive historical learning adventure."
4 -> Sport Accolade's Live Action Football CD-ROM 10/25/94 Sport Accolade has announced that its Live Action Football for Windows CD-ROM is now scheduled to release in November.
5 -> Canadian Reseller Crowntek Acquired 10/25/94 GE Hamilton Technology Services Inc. has announced plans to acquire Crowntek Business Centres Inc., a major Canadian computer reseller. The deal is still awaiting regulators' approvals.
6 -> NovaLink Online Service's Mosaic Internet Access 10/25/94 NovaLink Interactive Networks is offering full multimedia, graphical access to the Internet, using Mosaic plus the firm's own SuperNova installation program for a coordinated package of Internet applications. The package is now available in final release for Windows and, in beta release Macintosh platforms.
7 -> First "Underwater" Cellular Service 10/25/94 Cellular One together with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, have strung the equivalent of a cellular antenna through the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River.
8 -> ****Control Data - From Mainframes To Sys Integration 10/25/94 They were known as the BUNCH -- an acronym for Burroughs, Univac, NCR Control Data, and Honeywell -- the other mainframe computer makers that competed with IBM back when mainframes still ruled. None of them are significant mainframe makers today, but Control Data's transition may have been the most dramatic.
9 -> Case Law Providers Fight Over Gov't Citation System 10/25/94 Companies that provide legal research services on a per-fee basis have gone public in their battle over a plan by the US Department of Justice to create a government controlled legal citation system and database. Attorneys and researchers search case law to locate precedents for current cases.
10 -> Iomega Offers Removable Drives 10/25/94 Iomega Corp.(OTC:IOMG) has announced the first move in its corporate re-positioning campaign by introducing a new 3.5-inch low-end drive that uses removable storage media.
11 -> ****Sprint/TCI/Comcast/Cox Bundle Cable/Local Phone 10/25/94 Sprint and three large cable firms have announced they will provide local, long distance, and cellular phone service together with cable service, in a one-service-does-all system. The aim is to provide PCS (personal communications services) that bypass the "Baby Bell" local phone companies, using wireless and cable connections instead.
12 -> FCC Sets Phone-Cable Competition Rules 10/25/94 The Federal Communications Commission has told regional Bell operating companies that they cannot use money from their phone customers to subsidize their ventures into offering video programming. But the FCC did not spell out how the Baby Bells must divide the costs of the new video services between consumers and shareholders.
13 -> DEC Network Business Reseller Recruitment Prgm 10/25/94 DEC's Network Product Business has launched a worldwide reseller recruitment program that is aimed at doubling the proportion of sales performed by outside resellers and distributors to over 50 percent within the next year.
14 -> Delrina Plans New Mac Fax Software For 1995 10/25/94 Delrina Corp. (TSE:DC, NASDAQ:DENAF) plans to beef up its facsimile software offering for the Apple Computer Macintosh with a new release some time in the first half of 1995.
15 -> Moneysoft's Asset Tracking, Depreciation Software 10/25/94 Moneysoft Inc. will announce a DOS-based computer program next month that tracks fixed assets and calculates depreciation for tax and book-value purposes, applies tax limits and helps the user budget future requirements.
16 -> Internet Roundtable Society Offers Live Talk Show 10/25/94 On November 2, The Internet Roundtable Society plans to introduce the "Net's" first weekly, live interview show, featuring "nationally and internationally recognized authors, policy-makers, original thinkers and celebrities." Following a Public Broadcasting style, The Internet Roundtable will provide free participation for Net "surfers" who want serious discussion with the guests of the one-hour show.
17 -> Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Optima Modems 10/25/94 One of the biggest problems facing Mac users wanting to use modems is the fact that the Apple Mac's serial port is non-standard, since it does not support the full RS-232 serial port specification. Hayes, aware of this, has adapted its range of Optima high speed data/fax modems for use with the Mac and launched them on to the European marketplace.
18 -> Europe - BT & Matsushita Sign Airphone Deal 10/25/94 British Telecom (BT), a member of the Skyphone consortium, has signed an agreement with Matsushita of Japan, to offer in-flight entertainment (IFE) on European passenger airline services.
19 -> UK - PCMCIA Video Capture System Intro'd 10/25/94 Portable Add-Ons has unveiled Focus, a video capture system that plugs into PCs using the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slot interface.
20 -> UK - Mobile Phone Users Spending Money Unnecessarily 10/25/94 Hutchison Orange, a digital personal communications network (PCN) mobile phone operator, is claiming that many UK users of mobile phones who currently number in the 2.5 million category - are spending more than a million pounds a week on conversations they do not have.
21 -> UK - Turn Your Fax Machine Into A Scanner 10/25/94 Electronic Frontier, a direct-sell modem supplier, has unveiled FaxScanner, a cigarette-sized "black box" that it claims can turn virtually any Group III fax machine into a 200 by 200 dots-per-inch (dpi) scanner and printer.
22 -> ****Time-Warner Bid To Enter Ohio Local Phone Market 10/25/94 Time-Warner will apply tomorrow for state permission to become a full-service local phone company in Ohio. The application follows a recent precedent-setting interconnection agreement with Rochester Telephone in New York, where Time Warner's entry into the local telephone business has already been approved at the state level.
23 -> Micrografx Expands $99 Upgrade Offer 10/25/94 Micrografx Inc. (NASDAQ:MGXI) has expanded the $99.95 upgrade offer it made earlier this month, adding two more Windows-based products and opening the program to users of competitive products. The upgrades will be available through retail outlets.
24 -> Gateway 2000 Intros 100MHz Pentium PC 10/25/94 Gateway 2000 (NASDAQ: GATE) has announced a 100 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based personal computer with color monitor and 4X CD-ROM drive for $4,299.
25 -> Hong Kong - 50% Wireless Phone Ownership By Year 2000 10/25/94 Wireless phones will be carried by half of Hong Kong's adults by the year 2000. That was the prediction given by Neil Montefiore, managing director of Chevalier (Telepoint) when he addressed the DECT, CT2 and Cordless Communications Third Annual Forum in London recently.
26 -> HK Telecom Offers Financial Times/Reuters Online 10/25/94 Hongkong Telecom CSL has introduced a new interface that allows users of its Spectrum Information System to search and retrieve data from the Financial Times FT Profile and Reuters Textline business databases simultaneously.
27 -> UK - Telecom Survey Shows Lack Of Corporate Strategy 10/25/94 The National Telecommunications Survey, commissioned by Reed Exhibitions after the Cable & Satellite '94 exhibition earlier this year, has revealed a rising trend in the demand for telecoms products and services. Curiously, however, the survey revealed a lack of formal strategies for telecoms services in companies.
28 -> UK - Pipex Readies Pipex Solo Internet Package 10/25/94 As reported previously by Newsbytes, Pipex, a major Internet service provider in the UK, is readying Pipex Solo, a full Internet software package and online service combination, for personal and small business users of the Internet.
29 -> Hong Kong - COL & DEC In Disaster Recovery Deal 10/25/94 COL Ltd., the largest local computer services company, is joining forces with Digital Equipment Hong Kong Ltd. to set up Hong Kong's largest disaster recovery service under a HK$5 million outsourcing agreement.
(Ian Stokell/19941025)
(Ian Stokell/19941025)
10/25/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
CompuServe UK Adds What's On Gui
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
UK PC Firm Links With Charity
IBM, Philips Join Forces On Chip
TI Intros Fast MicroLaser Pro Pr
Compaq Sales Increase In Philipp
Philadelphia Partnership Acquire
Apple Ships IP Gateway For Apple
Mexico - Computer News
Australian Govt Commits To Local
Autodesk Ships 3D Studio Release
UK PC Firm Unveils Triple Bus Ar
UK VR Firm Signs Deal With Atari
Hong Kong - Infonet Offers Frame
HP, Quantum, Seagate Support 40/
Labor Dept. To Launch Ergonomics
CollegeLink's Electronic Admissi
CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- High school seniors are now using a software-based service called CollegeLink to apply to more than 600 colleges and universities, ranging from Harvard to the University of Arizona, and from Stanford to the University of Massachusetts.
Through a sister service called IntroApp, students still in their junior year are "introducing" themselves to these schools, before the formal application process actually begins.
The two services are offered through Enrollment Collaborative Inc. a Concord, Massachusetts-based business originally founded three years ago by four former DEC executives.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Gerald A. Paxton, president, chief executive officer, and co-founder, said that CollegeLink aims to streamline the college admissions process for students and colleges alike by allowing students to fill in a single "electronic admissions form" for applying to multiple schools.
After filling in the form -- which is supplied on floppy disk the student sends the electronic document by modem to CollegeLink's electronic bulletin board, or on disk to CollegeLink. There, the student's answers are transferred to printed admissions forms provided by colleges and universities, Paxton told Newsbytes.
In the final step of the process, CollegeLink returns the completed admission forms to the student, who then mails the hard copy documents to the respective schools.
A price of $34.95, plus a $3 shipping charge, covers the DOS- or Mac-based software, plus document processing fees for applying to up to eight schools, according to the company president.
Students are charged $5 extra for any college or university beyond the eight schools already covered by the base fee. The service is free, however, to students whose college application fees are waived as a result of financial need.
Some colleges have waived college application fees for students submitting their applications via CollegeLink, Paxton said. Also Washington University recently became the first school to provide free CollegeLink software to prospective students.
By now, over 670 schools are accepting applications prepared with the aid of CollegeLink, Paxton reported. All are four-year schools. The colleges run the gamut from "small" to "very large," and from "competitive" to "highly competitive."
Aside from Harvard, Stanford, and the universities of Massachusetts, Arizona, and Washington State, other schools participating in CollegeLink include Wellesley College, Duke University, Rutgers, Ohio State, and the University of Rhode Island.
Students have two opportunities to review their applications, he said. First, the student can output a "draft print" before sending the form to CollegeLink. Second, the student can review the completed forms received from CollegeLink before putting the documents in the mail to schools.
"How does CollegeLink handle essay questions?" Newsbytes asked. Paxton answered that the participating schools have agreed to accept three "standard essay questions" in lieu of their own essays.
CollegeLink gives students a choice of three essay topics: a "significant experience," an "influential person," or an "issue of local or national concern." The student can "write up to 2,000 words on one of these questions, the equivalent of three full pages," Newsbytes was told.
IntroApp, the service for high school juniors, provides DOS- and Mac-based software that allows students to prepare "scholastic resumes" listing their personal and academic qualifications, Paxton added.
Some colleges employ IntroApp only as a way of identifying prospective students, while others go further to use it as a "personalized" recruitment tool, according to Paxton.
"A college might write a letter taking note of the student's achievements in high school soccer, and pointing out that the college offers a strong soccer program," he illustrated.
For $5, students can have their IntroApp "scholastic resumes" submitted to up to ten different schools, he explained.
To keep costs down, and to permit the software to be used on "low end" computers, Enrollment Collaborative's software is currently character-based, he noted.
For the future, though, the company is considering added GUIs (graphical user interfaces). Other possible future activities include additional online services, and an extension of the company's programs to graduate school admissions, Paxton told Newsbytes.
In 1993, the assets of Enrollment Collaborative Inc. were purchased by St. Louis, Missouri-based Enrollment Technologies Inc., Paxton added. Now a subsidiary of Enrollment Technologies, the Enrollment Collaborative remains headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941025/Reader Contact: Enrollment Collaborative Inc., 800-944-8180; Press Contact: Jim Owens, Schwartz Communications for the Enrollment Collaborative, 617-431-0770)
cations for the Enrollment Collaborative, 617-431-0770)
10/26/94
CollegeLink's Electronic Admissions To 670 Colleges
EDUCATION
Warp California Demos Virtual TV
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Warp California Inc. invited the public aboard the S.S. Vallejo in Sausalito this week for a glass of champagne and a chance to learn about a new interactive technology -- Virtual TV (VTV).
The company also announced the availability of VTV licenses to Interactive TV providers and game developers. Also involved in the evangelizing of VTV in the PC gaming and multimedia market is Intel Corp.
VTV is a patent pending technology that the company describes as an enabling technology permitting the viewer to interactively look around within a broadcast video signal.
Traditionally, TV watching constrains a viewer to watch shots selected by the director. With VTV, the viewer can pan, tilt and zoom the virtual camera as they desire by using any of a variety of controllers (buttons on a TV remote, joystick, or headmounted sensor).
Using VTV in the home, TV viewers can freely pan back and forth in a show without affecting the viewpoints of people in other homes.
The company claims VTV is a natural for browsing for merchandise when shopping at home. Using VTV, a sports viewer can choose for themselves how to follow the action. The company says that VTV has exciting possibilities for such applications, as well as for interviews, travel, nature, and ambient video programs.
VTV also offers exciting possibilities for real-world video for games such as Myst and Doom VTV, says the company, because it can make television interactive. It is reportedly inexpensive to deploy, since content for VTV is easy to produce by simply shooting video with a very wide-angle lens such as a fisheye.
In addition to its use with broadcast TV, VTV enables high quality real-time computer graphics for arcade and home gaming use on low-cost computer hardware. Currently VTV runs on PC's at rates exceeding 70 frames-per-second, with ports in progress for a variety of other platforms.
Future applications for VTV include teleconferencing surveillance, medical, and aerospace.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Susan Wyshynski, Warp California, 415-331-6203)
ki, Warp California, 415-331-6203)
10/26/94
Warp California Demos Virtual TV
BROADCAST
Apple's Online Service Offers eW
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ-NNM: AAPL) eWorld online service has announced "eWorld of work." According to the company, using the feature business professionals looking for jobs, changing career directions or working independently, will find practical advice and have opportunities to connect with others like themselves.
According to Apple eWorld spokesperson, Amy Bonetti, eWorld of Work offers subscribers information and connections to four publishers: Lee Hecht Harrison, one of the largest out-placement and career development consulting firms in the US; Adia Services Inc., a major temporary and full-time placement company; Working Solo, resources for independent entrepreneurs; and Mind Garden, self-help psychological services.
Bonetti says eWorld plans to add additional career assessment and management, as well as job lead services to eWorld of Work with in the next few months.
"We're offering eWorld subscribers services they can't get from any other online provider -- access to well-known career counseling services and resources that guide job seekers through all phases of the job search," said Peter Friedman, director and general manager of Apple Online Services.
For example, Job Search with Lee Hecht Harrison offers advice and guidance on all aspects of job hunting. In its Talk About Jobs Discussion Board, job searchers can communicate with one another exchanging job search tips and information on possible employers. Subscribers can actually post their resume in a folder available for employers to scan.
If subscribers are interested in a job as a temporary employee in a variety of industries, Adia's Temporary World of Work offers an opportunity to get work "almost immediately" by completing an Adia work application online.
Employers can use the service to find employees with specific skills. Additionally, Adia offers subscribers opportunities to chat online with other people who have worked as a temporary employee or hired temporary employees, participate in online events presented by employment industry experts, and get access to data about work statistics and the business environment.
For those creating their own business environment, there's Working Solo, produced by Terri Lonier, author of the award-winning book Working Solo, and her co-host Fred Showker, an "independent entrepreneur" and graphic designer.
Working Solo resources include: "up-to-date" news about working independently; thousands of business resources; a library of ideas, information and advice; and "opportunities to share tips and insights" and ask questions of other solo workers as well as connect to "real-time" online conversations with experts.
Mind Garden offers "materials" on "personal growth and psychological health" as well as opportunities to discuss ideas with professionals. According to Apple, the "materials" are personalized and tailored to each individual.
Bonetti told Newsbytes that eWorld of Work can "help subscribers achieve what they want out of their careers." Subscribers can find eWorld of Work in the online town square's Business & Finance Plaza.
Apple is offering a free trial to eWorld until February 15 featuring 10 free hours. The regular monthly fee is waived for new subscribers in all countries during the first month of usage. Afterwards, the monthly fee is $8.95 everywhere. In the US and Canada, each subsequent hour of usage costs $4.95. In other countries, subscribers receive a free two-hour trial, pay $7.95 for each of the next two hours and then pay $12.90 for each subsequent hour. There is no extra charge for the use of the Internet mail gateway or for 9,600 baud access.
eWorld, having been launched in Canada and the UK, will now be followed by Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong in the remaining months of 1994. Localized language versions of eWorld and eWorld for DOS/Windows-based personal computers will reportedly be available in 1995.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Amy Bonetti, Apple Computer, 408-974-1333)
tact: Amy Bonetti, Apple Computer, 408-974-1333)
10/26/94
Apple's Online Service Offers eWorld of work
ONLINE
Sun To Bundle Lotus Notes Free W
i MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC) says it will bundle Lotus Notes, Lotus' collaborative workgroup program, at no charge with every SPARCserver system shipped worldwide beginning January 1 1995.
Sun also announced its intention to develop a new marketing program for organizations certified in the development and sale of Lotus Notes on Sun SPARC Solaris client-server computing systems.
Called Sun Partners in Notes (SPIN), the program will target global resellers and integrators and will launch with the availability of Lotus Notes on Solaris 2. The company says charter members will include Access Graphics, EDS, and Merisel.
One Lotus Notes server license for Notes Release 3.2 for the Sun Solaris environment, and a choice of one Notes client for either the Microsoft Windows or Sun Solaris environment, will be bundled with all Sun SPARCserver systems shipped through authorized direct and indirect channels worldwide beginning January 1, 1995, and ending December 31, 1995. A new Notes-based application, being designed by Sun, will also be included and will help users with the implementation of Notes on SPARC servers.
Sun's newly announced SPIN program includes training, joint sales and marketing, worldwide symposiums, and other promotions. Program participants must be Sun Authorized and Lotus Notes certified.
Said Scott McNealy, chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Sun Microsystems, "The IPX/SPX (Internetwork/Sequenced Packet Exchange) network protocol support within the full-featured Solaris operating environment gives Notes' users the unique ability to integrate information across a business, from enterprise servers to Novell NetWare networks."
According to Jeff Papows, Lotus vice president of the Communications Products Group, "With this bundle, we're extending our earlier partnership with Sun. The offer represents the first hard bundle of Notes with SPARCservers and includes the updated Notes 3.2 version, as well as an excellent application, so that customers can easily see the value Notes can bring to everyday business processes."
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Cindee Mock, 415-336 3563, Sun Microsystems Computer Company; Susan Hathaway tel 415-336-7064, fax 336-3880, Internet e-mail Susan.Hathaway@sun.com; Betsy Kosheff, Lotus Development Corp., 413-232-7057)
y Kosheff, Lotus Development Corp., 413-232-7057)
10/26/94
Sun To Bundle Lotus Notes Free With SPARCserver
Hitachi/3M/Sony Agree On New Mag
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Sony says the growing popularity of CD-ROM technology and improvements in transfer and access rates are forcing the development of a new level performance on magneto-optical disk technology. Hoping to unify diverse research efforts, Sony, Hitachi and 3M have announced an agreement on specifications for new magneto-optical (MO) disks.
The agreement covers a 3.5-inch, single-sided rewritable and read only memory (ROM) disk format. The new disks, enclosed in a cartridge will be 0.8 millimeters (mm) thick and have storage for 650 megabytes (MB) of data. The new technology is directed towards increased data capacity and faster access times.
Fred Swan, business development manager for Sony Data Storage Division, told Newsbytes, "It is important to realize this is a technology announcement, which means that questions about product dates and prices are a bit premature."
Swan continued, "The agreement came about because of differing magneto-optical patents held separately by each company. Agreeing on specifications at this time assures the industry and the companies involved that products delivered to market will conform to an agreed standard." The degree of shared participation, if any, in product development is still under negotiation.
The agreed specifications include sampled servo disk format, laser pulse assisted magnetic field modulation direct overwrite recording method, 0.8mm disk thickness, partial response (Viterbi decoding method), and other technical data.
Conventional MO recording uses grooves on either side of the data tracks. Part of the increase in speed produced by this new technology comes from the sampled servo disk format under which tracking pits are embossed between the data recording areas making it possible to read the data, the clock signal, and the tracking signal with one beam spot.
The direct overwrite method also increases speed by erasing and rewriting during a single rotation of the disk. The previous technology required two rotations of the disk, one for each action.
Further increases in speed are attained by the reduction in disk thickness (0.8mm) which lowers the skew occurring from disk deformation. This reduction of the degree of skew makes it easier to correctly read high-density data, according to the companies.
Sony says MO disk technology is not intended to compete with CD-ROM technology. MO disks have been used extensively for data storage, back-up and large data transfer commonly found in desktop publishing, graphic imaging, and large document storage. MO disk products are expected to appear sometime in the middle of 1995.
Sony will be showing samples of the new technology at Comdex Fall in Las Vegas in November.
(Patrick McKenna/19941025/Press & Public Contact: Jim Leal Technology Solutions, tel 414-617-4513, fax 415-617-4587)
logy Solutions, tel 414-617-4513, fax 415-617-4587)
10/26/94
Hitachi/3M/Sony Agree On New Magneto-Optical Disk
TRENDS
AT&T Offers Rate Deal For Less R
Powersoft Hong Kong Almost Tops
Global Database Market Ready To
European Commission Backs Down O
Electronic Whiteboard Now Availa
Toshiba To Reorganize, Consolida
Telecon '94 - Promise For Cybers
AOL Claims Most Popular Internet
HK Telecom Offers Financial Time
CollegeLink's Electronic Admissi
Cellular Community Watch In Oxna
Data Security Firm Adds ISDN Cap
KCAL-TV Offers Viewers Interacti
Direct Mail Goes Interactive
AOL's Home Shopping, Home Delive
Green Thumb Intros Windows Lands
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Green Thumb Software Inc. has introduced a program that lets you design your own garden and landscaping using your personal computer.
LandDesigner Multi-Media for Gardens offers more than 1,000 color plant and flower photos and a dozen different garden templates in varying sizes. If your PC is equipped with a sound card you can also hear the pronunciation of names like Playcodon grandiflorus Liatris pycnostachka and Pupinus Popsicle Mixture at the click of your mouse. Pronunciation is available on every flower and plant in the database, and pictures are provided for the majority of plants.
The program was designed in partnership with White Flower Farm (WFF), an upscale provider of plants, flowers and shrubs.
Green Thumb spokesperson Lisa Tilley told Newsbytes that gardening is becoming America's leading leisure activity, with an estimated 75 percent of the country's households having a garden of some sort.
The CD-ROM based software includes a search feature that will let you find hundreds of plants and flowers that meet your criteria from your favorite color to one or more of the USDA's growing zone.
LandDesigner Multi-Media for Gardens database contains 16 fields of information about each plant that include: the common and the botanical name; the USDA growing zone; height at maturity; life span; sun, water and soil preferences; flower season and color; and suggested plant combinations. There is also a textual description of each plant taken from the WFF catalog.
Drawing tools provided in the software include straight and curved lines, circles, rectangles, and other shapes. Drawn shapes can be sized and placed, then filled with the plant of your choice. Once your drawing is complete you can print a WFF order form which includes an automatic calculation of the number of plants needed to fill the specified area, with the associated prices. You can use mail or fax the completed order form to WWF or take it to your local nursery or garden shop.
LandDesigner Multi-Media for Gardens requires an IBM-compatible PC running under a 386SX chip or better, Microsoft Windows 3.1, four megabytes (MB) of memory, a CD-ROM drive, and a mouse. You will also need a sound card if you want to hear the plant pronunciations. The program supports all Windows-compatible sound devices and printers.
LandDesigner has a suggested retail price of $49.95 and is available in such retail outlets as CompUSA, Egghead Software, and Software Etc.
(Jim Mallory/19941026/Press contact: Lisa Tilley, Green Thumb Software, 303-499-1388; Public contact: Green Thumb Software tel 800-336-3127, or 303-499-1388, fax 303-499 1389/DESIGNER941026/PHOTO)
99-1388, fax 303-499 1389/DESIGNER941026/PHOTO)
10/26/94
Green Thumb Intros Windows Landscaping CD-ROM
WINDOWS
Data Security Firm Adds ISDN Cap
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Information Resource Engineering (NASDAQ:IREG) has bought Connective Strategies Inc. of Chantilly, Va., in order to expand its data security services to integrated services digital network (ISDN).
CSI, which makes products to connect computers to ISDN networks, will initially operate as a subsidiary of IRE.
IRE notes that with ISDN, users get dial-up access to local area networks (LANs) and host computer files at much higher speeds than possible with today's analog modems and conventional phone lines.
The Baltimore-based company believes ISDN is a good complement to its existing focus on modem technology. "The demand for higher transfer speeds is expanding rapidly," said Anthony Caputo, IRE chairman. "As a result, ISDN is a perfect complement to analog modems for remote dial access."
He added: "This acquisition will benefit both companies, as we will merge IRE's secure dial access technology with CSI's ISDN technology to fill a growing market segment that is based on the need for high speed secure remote access to computer networks."
IRE makes network security systems that secure data transmissions on computer networks through encryption technology. Most customers use products such as IRE's AX400 secure modem, a pocket-sized combination of fast modem random password generator, and encryptor.
IRE's products are widely used in banking and increasingly in the US government. Systems are installed at the Euroclear Operations Center in Brussels, the Central Bank of Sweden, and Post Office Savings Bank of Singapore. US clients include AT&T Citibank, JP Morgan, Chase Manhattan, Bankers Trust, and Banc One. Government customers include the Treasury Department the Energy Department, the Customers Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
(Kennedy Maize/19941026/Press Contact: Roberta Bowersox 410-931-7500)
s Contact: Roberta Bowersox 410-931-7500)
10/26/94
Data Security Firm Adds ISDN Capability
BUSINESS
Software Alliance Wins $260,000
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Utica Enterprises, a leading auto parts manufacturer in the Detroit area, has agreed to pay the Business Software Alliance $260,000 to settle a software copyright infringement suit.
Under the settlement, Utica agrees to pay the fee to resolve claims that it had illegally copied software products published by Aldus, Autodesk, Lotus, Microsoft, and WordPerfect.
BSA brought the suit following a report to its anti-piracy hot-line and after earlier attempts to negotiate an information settlement according to the Washington-based trade group that represents personal computer software makers.
In addition the payment, Utica has agreed to destroy all unlicensed copies and purchase legal software to meet its needs. The company is also developing a software management program to ensure future compliance with copyright law.
"Utica regrets that this situation has occurred," said attorney Pat Lanadt of Plunkett & Cooney, representing Utica. "Utica has taken immediate and positive steps, however, to ensure future compliance with software copyright requirements. For example Utica has instituted a corporate policy modeled after BSA's software code of ethics, and is currently establishing a program to teach all Utica employees about the importance of proper software management."
Bob Kruger, BSA's enforcement director, said that "unfortunately, the situation at Utica is not unique. Despite efforts of the industry to draw attention to this issue, many companies still fail to comply with software copyright requirements."
Kruger said BSA is investigating a number of Great Lakes region companies that may face fines even higher than the $260,000 hit on Utica. "It is important for all organizations to understand that software piracy is against the law and that violators are subject to severe criminal and civil penalties."
(Kennedy Maize/19941026/Press Contact: Diane Smiroldo tel 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
Diane Smiroldo tel 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
10/26/94
Software Alliance Wins $260,000 Piracy Settlement
LEGAL
Correction - Sony Intros MD Data
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) A recent story published by Newsbytes, entitled: "Sony Intros MD Data Drives," about Sony's MD Data drive and disks, stated that the MMD-140 disk has 10 times the data capacity of a standard 1.44 megabyte floppy.
This is, in fact, an error. The correct multiple is 100 times the data capacity of a standard floppy.
Newsbytes regrets any confusion this may have caused.
Also as a clarification, Sony says the MD Data drives use magneto optical technology. A spokesperson for Sony told Newsbytes, "The MD Data drive is a magneto-optical drive. Some articles in the press have called it an optical drive because it uses laser technology. To that point they are correct, but we want to make sure it is understood the MD Data disks are rewritable and incorporate magneto-optical technology."
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Borland International Inc. has acquired Dashboard for Windows from Hewlett-Packard (HP) for an undisclosed sum.
Company sources told Newsbytes that acquisition of a product of this kind is not considered a material announcement by the FCC and, therefore, does not require financial disclosure. The purchase will be charged against a "corresponding line item" under Borland's operating expenses.
Under the terms of the agreement that were disclosed, Borland is acquiring Dashboard code, trademarks, and related intellectual properties. The program will be transferred to Borland immediately.
Company sources told Newsbytes that Borland was in negotiations with HP for several months, but HP did not sent Borland any source code until last week.
The program which will now be called Borland Dashboard will be released in a few weeks after some minor cosmetic changes and bug fixes are made.
Sources at Borland declined to comment concerning any software development that may be in progress at HP concerning the program. However, the company did say that Borland will release an interim version and intends to maintain and enhance the program.
The Dashboard personal utilities package was first launched in 1992. Since then, HP has sold more than one million copies worldwide in five languages. For the most part, however HP's sales were limited to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) sales and bundling.
Dashboard is being integrated into Borland's consumer products group, Borland Simplify, which was launched in June along with its first product, Sidekick for Windows.
HP has announced it will now license Dashboard from Borland and will continue to bundled the software under its new name, Borland Dashboard with certain models of HP Vector PCs.
W. Knox Richardson, director of marketing for Borland Simplify told Newsbytes that Dashboard will be the retail consumer software unit's first personal utilities product. Richardson added that additional plans and the pricing for Borland Dashboard will be announced within a few weeks.
HP's suggested list price (SRP) for Dashboard was $99, while the street price was between $50 and $75. According to industry sources the pricing for Borland Dashboard should be $149 or less, and probably will be $99 or less since no real enhancements are planned for the first release. It reportedly has not been updated in about two years.
According to Richardson, Borland Simplify products will be built upon a new software model known as "slimware." Simplify products focus on making the most often used functions in applications software easier to use and learn.
Richardson says Borland's market research suggests that most people, most often, use only 20 percent of any given application's features. Simplify products will focus on that 20 percent."
"Dashboard, in particular, fits the strategic requirements for a Borland Simplify utilities product," according to Richardson. "First, it provides quick-and-easy access to the most commonly performed Windows tasks, such as finding files and folders launching commonly used applications, and managing resources controls, and systems monitoring. And second, Dashboard's design epitomizes the company's concept of slimware: tightly-engineered products which are fast, friendly, flexible and highly functional."
(Nick Anis/19941026/Press Contact: Richard O'Donnell tel 800-233-2444, or 408-431-1000, fax 408-431-4175 Internet e-mail dodonnell@borland.com; W. Knox Richardson, Borland Simplify, tel 408-431-4704, fax 408-431-4110, Internet e-mail krichardson@wpo.borland.com; Reader Contact: tel 800-553-0004 or 408-431-1000, fax 408-431-4211; Kim Hughes, Alexander Communications (for HP), 415-923-1660, Internet e-mail 74431.1606@compuserve.com)
-mail 74431.1606@compuserve.com)
10/26/94
Borland Buys Dashboard From HP
BUSINESS
Improve Your Photography With CD
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Diamar Interactive Corp. has introduced a CD-ROM-based program that can help you improve your photography.
"Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs" is an interactive learning program that teaches amateur single-lens-reflex (SLR) photographers how to improve their own photos. The program uses more than 400 separate award-winning photographs by Bryan Peterson, plus video and audio descriptions of practical photography techniques.
Peterson is the author of three books on photography and teaches photography workshops around the world. His books are: "Understanding Exposure" (the basis for the CD-ROM), "Learning To See Creatively," and "People In Focus."
"Understanding Exposure" includes three interactive theaters, eight workshops, three photo labs, and five picture galleries. The interactive theaters provide an overview of the entire CD-ROM as a pre-defined sequence, offering before-and-after examples. If your PC is equipped with a sound card a click of the mouse brings you an audio description by Peterson of his experiences as he shot the picture you're viewing.
You can customize your own workshops by choosing from more than 70 topics. You can also organize the workshops by principles techniques or specific examples. The galleries let you experiment with different exposure settings as you see the effect of your changes at the click of your mouse. You can also click on the appropriate buttons to review exposure and lens settings for each photograph.
To run the $79.95 program, you need a Macintosh II or greater System 7.x operating system, a CD-ROM drive, four megabytes (MB) of system memory and 2MB of available hard drive space, and at least a 640 by 480 256-color monitor.
David Roberts, Diamar president, told Newsbytes that the company is also working on other CD-ROM-based interactive learning programs as well as additions to the Portfolio series.
While he declined to reveal specifics about the company's next offerings, he did tell Newsbytes that future programs will focus on the "leisure" lifestyle. "It's things like golf and other sorts of hobby related or leisure-related activities," said Roberts. Diamar is also considering programs like wine tasting and scuba diving. Additional programs from Diamar are set for release by mid-1995.
Roberts added that Diamar does not just take a video and translate it into a computer program. "For us it's a fairly complete re-work," he said.
Understanding Exposure is also available in a Windows version for users with a PC powered by at least a 386SX microprocessor and equipped with Windows 3.1. Their machine also requires DOS 5.0 or later, a CD-ROM drive and sound card, 4MB of memory, 4MB of available hard drive space, and at least a 640 by 480 VGA 256-color monitor. Peterson's 144-page book is bundled with the software.
Diamar also publishes the Diamar Portfolios series, six CD-ROMs of digital stock photos that include: Cities & Castles, Landscapes & Scenery, People & Lifestyles, Backgrounds & Textures, Nature & Animals, and Flowers. Each CD-ROM disk includes 54 images. Each image comes in multiple resolutions and five different file formats. Portfolios have a suggested retail price of $79.95 each and are available for the Macintosh and Windows platforms.
(Jim Mallory/19941026/Press contact: David Roberts, Diamar 206-340-5975; Public contact: Diamar Interactive, tel 800-234 2627, or 206-340-5975, fax 206-340-1432/DIAMAR941026/PHOTO)
0-5975, fax 206-340-1432/DIAMAR941026/PHOTO)
10/26/94
Improve Your Photography With CD-ROM Guide
GENERAL
Reality Online Ships WealthBuild
KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) Reality Online Inc., known until recently as Reality Technologies has begun shipping a version of its WealthBuilder financial planning software for Microsoft's Windows.
WealthBuilder for Windows joins versions of the software for DOS and Apple Computer's Macintosh. There are about 200,000 registered users of WealthBuilder worldwide, said Jeff Leibowitz, executive vice-president.
Leibowitz told Newsbytes that WealthBuilder is a strategic planning package aimed mainly at novice investors. It uses an interview approach to determine the user's financial goals and the level of risk he or she is ready to accept, then outlines a strategy for reaching those goals. The software also monitors the investor's progress and suggests corrections as needed.
WealthBuilder comes with access to Reuters Money Network Reality Online's financial information service. In contrast to WealthBuilder, Leibowitz said, Reuters Money Network is a tactical tool that gives investors information they need to manage their investments.
Reuters bought a 79 percent interest in the company in January and the online service took the Reuters name at that time.
While Reuters Money Network is intended for all investors Leibowitz said, WealthBuilder is meant mainly for people who are not experienced investors. "Sophisticated investors don't need WealthBuilder," he said. "They generally know what WealthBuilder would tell them."
According to Reality Online, the new Windows version of WealthBuilder has a newspaper-style interface that is easier to use than previous versions, and offers new analysis and performance graphs plus enhanced net-worth tracking features.
As for the company's name change, which took place during the summer, Leibowitz said it was done to reflect a shift in Reality's principal business. Originally involved in several markets including financial simulation games, the company is now focusing on its online service, he said.
The suggested retail price of WealthBuilder for Windows is $99.95. Access to Reuters Money Network is free for the first month with purchase of the software, then costs from $9.95 and $29.95 per month depending on the options the user chooses.
(Grant Buckler/19941026/Press Contact: Debbie Brear or Audrey Mann, Technology Solutions for Reality Online, 212-696-2000; Jeff Leibowitz, Reality Online, tel 215-277-7600, fax 215-278-6115; Public Contact: Reality Online, 215-277-7600)
5; Public Contact: Reality Online, 215-277-7600)
10/26/94
Reality Online Ships WealthBuilder For Windows
WINDOWS
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Micro
AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28
AT&T Buys Alascom
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows N
Scholastic Network Has 250,000 M
Unisys Wins Australian Defense C
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Opti
Australia Computer News
Green Thumb Intros Windows Lands
Microsoft's Broadband Summit Mee
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr R
Microsoft Announces Autoplay For
Cascade Adds Fault Tolerant Fram
Intel Intros Embedded Flash RAM
FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) has introduced a new 16 megabit (Mb) flash memory architecture that has been under development for the past two years. The new technology is said by the company to combine the high read performance capability of DRAMs with the updateable, non-volatile memory capability of flash technology.
Intel's Michael S. Sullivan told Newsbytes that the company's new embedded flash RAMs will bring cost, performance and time-to-market advantages to customers who are manufacturers of embedded systems including laser printers, networking equipment, and telecommunications systems.
According to Sullivan, the new embedded flash RAM chips are priced competitively with DRAMs, but they also integrate the non-volatile memory requirement of the embedded system at no additional cost.
Non-volatile memory is essential for storing code when the system is powered off. At power-up, code is often transferred to DRAM to provide the CPU (central processing unit) with fast access to program instructions. Sullivan says embedded flash RAMs are the first memory technology to combine the functionality of both memory types.
The two semiconductors Intel has introduced are the 28F016XS and the 28F016XS, which provide 16Mb of information storage.
The XS is claimed by Intel to be the fastest flash chip ever introduced providing 30 nanosecond (ns) read access performance. The chip is a unique synchronous design, says the company, and shares the CPU's clock signal. In addition, it has alternating memory banks.
The XD also has a DRAM interface, along with RAS/CAS signals and address multiplexing, which Intel says allows it to communicate with many standard DRAM controllers.
Following Intel's embedded flash RAM introduction, Lifetime Memory Products, 1stTech, and Smart Modular Technologies have announced embedded flash RAM SIMMs (single in-line memory modules) that are compatible with the standard 72-pin JEDEC DRAM SIMM form factor.
Industry analysts view the technology as an opportunity for Intel to tap into a new large market for flash devices. Dataquest senior analysts, Jim Handly said, "embedded flash RAMs could change the way many embedded system manufacturers approach memory design."
According to a Dataquest market analysis, the potential market for such high speed flash semiconductors is predicted to reach $1.3 billion by 1998.
(Nick Anis/19941026/Press Contact: Michael S. Sullivan, Intel Corp., tel 916-356-6515, fax 916-356-6227; Reader Contact: 800-879-4683 ext 252, or 916-356-8080)
79-4683 ext 252, or 916-356-8080)
10/26/94
Intel Intros Embedded Flash RAM
CHIPS
Hong Kong - Infonet Offers Frame
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Infonet, a major networked services vendor, has added direct access frame relay support to its family of services, sold and supported in Hong Kong by Hongkong Telecom CSL.
Dubbed InfoLAN FR, the new service will enable companies to cost effectively link geographically dispersed branch offices, vendors and international business partners, according to the company.
"The addition of frame relay capabilities to the Infonet product range will revolutionize the way multinational firms manage their communications links," said David Wong, general manager, sales, for Hongkong Telecom CSL Services. "More efficient and more cost-effective frame relay customers can enjoy the benefits of fixed-line solutions but at a drastically reduced cost."
In essence, frame relay is a simplified form of packet-switching. But it offers far higher throughput than standard X.25 links and increased bandwidth efficiency by allowing multiple "virtual" circuits to share a single line or port.
For users, frame relay offers a number of benefits, including: reduced line costs because multiple connections can share the same bandwidth; reduced equipment costs through port sharing; and simplified processing.
"Frame relay also offers improved performance and response time delivering performance close to that of leased lines, but at a fraction of the cost," said Wong. "Infonet offers its global customers a choice of SNA (Systems Network Architecture), X.25, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), and now frame relay. Working with customers, we can mix and match options to create the best solution to meet their needs."
Added Wong: "Global businesses have a variety of LAN environments and applications. Frame relay access through the widely deployed Network Equipment Technologies (NETs) IDNX platform gives Infonet the flexibility to support these multi-protocol, hardware independent environments."
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Parallel Technologies Inc. (PTI) have signed an agreement to add PTI's parallel port connectivity technology to Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system scheduled for release next year.
PTI says the combined technologies will allow users to utilize the integrated networking technology in Windows 95 to connect PCs within a 30 meter radius via their parallel ports. The connection is made possible using a Laplink-compatible cable or PTI's Universal Parallel Cable that supports 300-plus kilobytes-per-second (KBps) data transfer rate through high speed ECP and EPP parallel ports.
The Universal Parallel Cable, which is expected to sell for about $70, can link any two types of parallel ports, automatically establishing a connection at the fastest available speed.
"The hardware collaborates with the software and they figure out what the best possible case of transfer rate can be between the two ports. They choose that and you don't have to think about it," according to Don Schuman, PTI president.
He added: "The universal cable technology lets us transfer (data) packets nearly as fast as an Ethernet card on new style ECP (Enhanced Capability Port) and EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) parallel ports, while keeping the product compatible with the installed base of older parallel ports."
Schuman told Newsbytes you can use PTI's cable to connect two PCs over a limited distance without the need for a network interface card and still achieve near-network data transfer rates. You can also connect a second computer to an existing network by connecting the PC to a computer already on the network. Schuman said the company is also developing technology that lets PCs connected via PTI's Universal Parallel Cable share a printer.
PTI's technology is not going to put existing network card makers out of business, according to Schuman. "This is an adjunct or an alternative technology. It doesn't replace network cards except in certain kinds of installations where you're dealing with short connections," he told Newsbytes.
Schuman said the company will license its technology to third parties, rather than marketing direct to the consumer. The PTI products will ship at the same time as Windows 95. Currently that is expected to be by mid-1995.
Privately held PTI was founded by Schuman and Jay Lowe in 1992. "We've been working on this area for about five years and over two years specifically on connectivity. Finally we have gotten the technology to a point where we can offer these universal cables. It doesn't matter what kind of parallel ports you have, it just works," says Schuman.
Microsoft does not talk about products under development, but Schuman, who worked with the Windows 95 software to develop his technology, calls the next version of Windows "as different as night and day" compared to Windows 3.1. "Because of the type of things Microsoft wants to offer in Windows 95, parallel technology is a perfect fit in plug-and-play connectivity. It was something they really wanted to add and we had the solution already available."
PTI will be demonstrating its product with Windows 95 at the Comdex Fall trade show in Las Vegas next month.
(Jim Mallory/19941026/Press contact: Maurice Fuller, Parallel Technologies, 206-869-1136; Public contact: Parallel Technologies tel 206-869-1136, fax 206-869-1133)
l Technologies tel 206-869-1136, fax 206-869-1133)
10/26/94
Parallel Technologies & Microsoft To Connect PCs
WINDOWS
Australia Computer News
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Australia's top tech stories: New NetComm modems and software; Investigation into software/hardware differences; Phone Blaster on Creative's drawing board; Lexmark manufacturing Opta in Australia. All prices are in Australian dollars (AUS$1 is around US$0.74).
New NetComm Modems And Software
NetComm is shipping its new AutoModem E11F modem, which supports V.Fast at 28,800 bits-per-second (bps). The street price is less than $600. This, and the upmarket M11F, can be upgraded to V.34. The company has also released an upgrade of its Cooee software which integrates voice, data and fax and has a sophisticated script language. The company is also working on a series of modems which will handle simultaneous voice and data.
Investigation Into Software/Hardware Differences
The Australian Industry Commission inquiry into the computer software and related industries is calling for submissions by November 17. The paper asks a number of questions: Is the distinction between computer hardware and software meaningful; how do companies distinguish between hardware and software; and to what extent do they substitute for one another? It will also examine the extent to which Australian information technology lags or leads the rest of the world. IC can be contacted on fax +61-6-253 3058.
Phone Blaster On Creative's Drawing Board
Creative Pacific has announced details of its ShareVision system which connects PCs, providing video, voice, data transfer and remote program control. Pricing is $2,399, or $899 for the version without video. It includes a modem and miniature TV camera. The company's head-office in Singapore is working on a new product known internally as Phone Blaster. It will combine an answering machine, fax, voice, program control, data transfer for less than $500.
Lexmark Manufacturing Opta In Australia
Lexmark is to start manufacturing its new Opta range of 1200 dots-per-inch (dpi) printers in Australia. They will hit the stores early next year. These are the first Lexmark printers to drop the IBM logo.
(Paul Zucker/19941021)
(Paul Zucker/19941021)
10/26/94
Australia Computer News
GENERAL
20-Fold Increase In Wireless Off
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Market research firm Frost and Sullivan predicts that the market for wireless office equipment will increase nearly 20 times over 1993 levels by the year 2000. In dollar figures, the predicted increase is from $101 million in 1993, to more than $1.9 billion in 2000.
Such an increase would amount to a 52 percent compound annual rate but the biggest percentage gains -- over 100 percent a year -- are now over, the report says. A market that doubled between 1993 and 1994, from $101 million to $206.1 million, will grow next year to $359.7 million, a 74.5 percent increase.
Most of the ballooning market can be attributed to wireless local area network (LAN) products, according to the report. In 1993, that segment accounted for 68 percent of the market, compared to a wireless voice segment of 23 percent. By the end of the decade, the voice segment will fall to eight percent, compared to a wireless LAN share of 91 percent of the much larger market in year 2000. During the same period, the share of integrated voice/data equipment will drop from 10 to two percent, says the report.
Frost and Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Amy Burger told Newsbytes the relatively high cost of current products has confined the market mostly to large organizations, a situation that will gradually change over time.
"Some people in retailing are using them now - mostly large stores such as JC Penney -- for inventory management, sales, and so on," she explained. "Probably some small companies with lots of money are also buying this stuff now, but mostly it's the larger companies."
The main appeal of wireless LAN systems is their portability, said Burger, and large companies long accustomed to Ethernet or Token Ring networks are discovering the advantages of "ad hoc networking." That's where users link their computers for a limited time or for specific purposes, such as at trade shows, airport kiosks, and hotels. As such uses get more popular, acceptance will continue to grow, said Burger.
"Right now these systems are new, expensive and a little scary," Burger added. "The manufacturers are still educating people about the benefits and trying to alleviate fears about radio-enabled equipment. People tend to be nervous about sitting in an office near a radio transmitter all day."
She said recent scares about cellular phones and brain tumors, for example, have spooked some potential users, but that safety studies are now overcoming such fears.
Asked if wireless LANs might pose a threat to small-LAN systems such as LANtastic, Burger replied, "They're no threat yet to small wired network systems. They're too expensive. For the SOHO (small office/home office) market, you've got to be able to go down to Fry's and buy it for $1.99."
According to the report, manufacturing, distribution, higher education, health care, and hotels will lead the intra-building wireless LAN market. Large corporate campuses will follow, the report says, but not until later in the decade.
Wireless inter-building LAN equipment will also show strong growth especially once they get as fast as today's wired LANs. Radio frequency-based wireless LANs will slightly outsell infrared units according to the report.
The report says integrated wireless systems for business campuses are gaining acceptance, but that truly integrated intra-building systems are not yet ready for market. The first such systems will probably be led by PBX (private branch exchange) and Centrex product vendors who will offer products with built-in wireless LAN modules.
The wireless voice market is awaiting allocation of the new PCS (personal communications services) radio bands. Some firms that might otherwise enter the wireless intra-building market first want to see consumer reactions to existing voice product lines. Intra-building voice products have seen dramatic price cuts recently, the report says -- a fact that should spur market growth.
In the long term, says the report, the inter- and intra-building hardware products market will blend into wide area, wireless telecom, resulting in increasingly seamless voice and data links. Intra-building applications will be increasingly integrated into general wide area mobile applications. Vendors from other industries, such as military and auto-identification product manufacturers, will continue to enter this market.
(Craig Menefee/19941026/Press Contact: Amy Arnell or Amy Burger, tel 415-961-9000, or fax 415-961-5042; Internet e-mail amy_burger@fs-ca.ccmail.compuserve.com)
20-Fold Increase In Wireless Office Gear Predicted
TRENDS
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketin
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- AT&T's (NYSE:T) Global Information Solutions, or GIS (formerly NCR Corp.), in a flurry of related announcements, has launched sales and marketing programs in the retail, financial, communications, and manufacturing industries. The programs are supposed to help businesses understand serve, and market to their particular customers.
AT&T GIS terms the new programs "solutions," and promises they will make it easier to apply information processing to sales and marketing by combining several tools into a single package. The program allows a business to make decisions based on detailed data analysis.
Said William O'Shea, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at GIS: "This capability, unprecedented in the computer business, will extend our leadership in the industries we serve."
In another related announcement, GIS said a new product, Enterprise information Factory, will provide the technological basis for the decision making process. Specifically, it combines hardware software, communications products and services, and consulting services that are tailored for firms in specific target industries.
The firm said it will specifically try to identify a firm's customers, their purchases, and their future needs. Other areas the "solution" would try to pin down include return on investment of marketing promotions, and most effective products and salespeople.
Answers will be industry-specific, the firm said. For example, in communications areas, GIS answers will be developed using a marketing segmentation service through which telecommunications companies can study their customers minutely. Areas to consider would include demographics, product subscriptions and network usage. A target marketing service would develop customer profiles from those characteristics, and score each customer on expected receptivity to future products and services.
AT&T GIS uses massively parallel processing technology, with more than 450 systems installed, including the world's largest commercial computing complex with more than three terabytes of information and more than 500 processors in a single system, according to the company. A terabyte is equivalent to nearly two billion pages of single-spaced text, or 385,000 boxes containing 10 reams of paper each.
Tapping into that level of resources is not for a corner retail store. AT&T GIS says pricing for entry-level implementations of its sales and marketing "solutions" starts at $250,000.
(Craig Menefee/19941026/Press Contact: Mark Feighery, AT&T 513-445-5236)
ontact: Mark Feighery, AT&T 513-445-5236)
10/26/94
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketing Blitz
BUSINESS
MCI Deploys New Corning High Cap
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- MCI (NASDAQ:MCIC) has started using a new optical fiber from Corning (NYSE:GLW) that supports advanced imaging and multimedia applications. The firm says its new fiber optic cables will quadruple current transmission speeds.
According to MCI sources, the new fiber is a next-generation type of dispersion-shifted optical cable that, not only increases capacity but allows multiplexing as well. As a result, each fiber can carry several transmission channels per fiber, each channel running at 10 gigabits (10 billion bits-per-second).
The new type of fiber, combined with new transmission techniques will reduce noise interference as well as increase capacity, the firm said.
Speaking to Newsbytes, MCI spokesperson Jim Collins said the fiber does more than just quadruple capacity, from 2.4 to 10 gigabits per channel. "The thing that makes this particular dispersion-shifted fiber unique is that it allows you to combine all those high-speed transmission channels in a single fiber. As we build the information superhighway, and as we develop the interactive multimedia products that are going to run on that highway, we are going to need enormous amounts of bandwidth on demand," he said.
He added: "The fiber, using multiplexing techniques, allows us to provide it. We can go from 2.4 gigabits to 10 gigabits -- times two or four, or eight. Or even more, in the future."
He said the new technology can handle more than 500,000 simultaneous voice conversations per shifted-dispersion fiber, compared with 32,000 per fiber with older optical technology. He said the ultimate aim is to combine the new fiber with direct light-signal amplification, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) switching and other capacity-stretching technologies to stay on the leading edge of telecommunications.
"We claim to have a pretty good crystal ball, but we can't be certain what the future will bring," said Collins. "We just know we'll need a network to get there, and we intend to be the network of choice."
Dennis Tate, Corning's assistant product manager, was equally enthusiastic, telling Newsbytes: "It'll blow away anything that's out there today, capacity-wise. It's a significantly advanced next-generation fiber."
Tate said Corning had been working on the fiber for several years in order to meet the expected impact of commercial fiber-optic amplifiers. Such amplifiers act as lasers, in that they use light amplification through stimulated emission, said Tate.
MCI's Collins added that fiber-optic amplifiers trade in refrigerator-sized electronic amplifiers for little boxes about the size of a laptop computer that can be placed in the system about twice as far apart as the older electronic amplifiers.
"Combine the new fiber with advanced digital cross-connects, fiber optic amplifiers, ATM switching, and the rest of the new technology and you see a network that can handle just about any demands that are likely to come down the pike," declared Collins.
(Craig Menefee/19941026/Press Contact: Jim Collins, networkMCI Services PR, 214-918-5569, or 800-Sky Page, PIN No. 5217700; Paul Rogoski, Corning, 607-974-4897)
PIN No. 5217700; Paul Rogoski, Corning, 607-974-4897)
10/26/94
MCI Deploys New Corning High Capacity Optical Fiber
TELECOM
CompuServe Prepares For Hong Kon
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- CompuServe Hong Kong will enable users of various wireless handheld devices to use its online information service with its new CompuServe Companion. The Companion is a personal information manager application for the new Magic Cap operating system for personal communicators, such as Motorola's Envoy and Sony's Magic Link.
CompuServe Companion, developed by River Run Software of the US will enable users to send and receive data from the information service automatically, and simultaneously. Users can set data transmissions to be immediate, scheduled, or repetitive, which allows an intelligent agent program to search for requested information from a database, while the communicator is switched off.
Both the Motorola Envoy and the CompuServe Companion will be introduced to Hong Kong in 1995 by Motorola AirCommunications which is currently testing its new wireless data network in Hong Kong. Motorola AirComms is also the local licensee and service provider of the CompuServe Information Service.
"The CompuServe Companion makes best use of a wireless device's premium memory space, and gives users a powerful and intelligent communications tool," said Peggy Scott, general manager of CompuServe Hong Kong. "Members will be able to send messages and receive specific information from global online services - any time, anywhere.
"Like personal computers a few years ago, we see that handheld communicators will become the next major market for online information providers. In Hong Kong, CompuServe and Motorola AirComms will pioneer this new market and put information in the palm of Asia's hand."
The first release of CompuServe Companion permits access to electronic-mail, stock quotes, news and weather information services. Subsequent, downloadable modules will allow members to choose and use different areas of CompuServe Hong Kong.
CompuServe Companion will reportedly perform requested functions while the user works on other tasks and will notify the user when a task is completed by posting a message on the screen.
The Companion is the latest in a family of interfaces for handheld wireless data devices that CompuServe is bringing to market. First in the series was CompuServe for Geos, introduced earlier this year. CompuServe Companion for Magic Cap will be available mid-1995 downloadable from the information service and planned to be available on diskette or PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards.
WIESBADEN, GERMANY, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- The long running investigation into the activities of neo-Nazis has hit the press again in Germany, with newspapers reporting that two unnamed men, aged 19 and 23, respectively, were arrested, interviewed and released in connection with ongoing investigations into German neo-Nazi bulletin board systems (BBSs).
According to police in Wiesbaden, where the arrests took place at the beginning of this week, the pair were arrested after it was discovered they were offering bomb making "recipes," along with the more usual neo-Nazi propaganda leaflets to potential party members.
Newsbytes notes that so-called bomb making recipes have been "doing the rounds" in the online scene for more than a decade. The first time this bureau came across a pipe bomb-making file was in 1984 in the "sharefiles area" of The Source, a major online systems in the US which was later bought out by CompuServe.
Newsbytes mentioned the existence of the pipe bomb file at a online services seminar this bureau gave at a London University back in 1984. Newsbytes was later visited by representatives of the US Embassy in London who wanted to know where, exactly, the file was located. The file disappeared from the sharefiles area of The Source within the next few days.
Since then, the pipe bomb recipe has appeared on countless BBSs in the US and across Europe. On a visit to the Cebit Computer Faire in Hannover in March of this year, Newsbytes used a local German Internet service provider BBS to gain access to CompuServe and GEnie for filing reports. Newsbytes noted that several underground file areas were available.
Some analysts speculate that the neo-Nazi reports of the bomb making recipes are a continuation of the original events back in 1984. This would also explain why the neo-Nazis were later released without any charges being brought by the German police.
According to police in Wiesbaden, the pair were being investigated in connection with their role in the online neo-Nazi scene in Germany, and specifically, their promulgation of neo-Nazi propaganda through a series of linked BBSs across Germany.
The authorities in Germany have been trying for some time to successfully charge members of the various neo-Nazi factions with inciting racial hatred, a specific crime laid down in the post-World War II legislation formulated in the early 1950s in Germany.
According to the German authorities, the pair were using the "Thule Network" in Germany to discuss neo-Nazi affairs. So far, police have uncovered 10 BBSs in the Thule network in Germany.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, German neo-Nazis are increasingly turning to online technology as a means of rapidly passing information between themselves, and even as a means of prospecting for new members. In the January 1994 issue of Chip magazine (a popular computer monthly in Germany), the editorial staff claimed to have unearthed eight Thule BBSs.
According to Chip magazine, "The network distributes information on demonstrations and invitations to meetings, addresses for contacting parties and groups, and it reviews and offers books and magazines. One of the mail-boxes contained instructions for producing military explosives and letter bombs. A great deal of space is taken up by `political discussions' among the users."
Thule is Norse or Viking terminology for "top of the world," Newsbytes notes. The Thule Network's name actually derives from the small elitist 1920s movement which was considered to be the Nazi vanguard. Thule movement leaders included Rudolf Hess. Some BBSs on the Thule network have names such as "Wolf Box" and "Resistance."
Newsbytes understands that the Thule BBSs poll (call) each other on a nightly basis and exchange files. Using this method of communication officials say that important information, such as contact numbers for transportation on the eve of a big rally, can be quickly disseminated in a few hours.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19941026/Press & Reader Contact: Chip Magazine, +49-89-514930)
& Reader Contact: Chip Magazine, +49-89-514930)
10/26/94
Germany - Neo-Nazi BBS Investigations Continue
LEGAL
France - Bull Wooed By Prospecti
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- The French government has revealed it is in "active discussions" with a number of companies about the impending sell-off of Bull, the troubled state-owned computer and electronics company.
Media sources in France have narrowed the field of possible suitors for Bull down to three: Compagnie des Signaux, a French technology firm; Motorola in the US; and NEC in Japan. The firms are reportedly discussing the possibility of one of them becoming a major partner/investor in Bull.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, the French government has been steadily preparing the way for the privatization and sell-off of Bull. Earlier this month the European Commission (EC) gave the green light to the French government's plan to invest a final tranche of cash (FF11,100,000,000) in Bull, so as to "fatten up" the company for a sale.
It now appears that critics of the government, who have lambasted the Cabinet for dragging its feet over the privatization affair, have been answered. According to a statement from the government, a formal tendering procedure is now under way, and a preliminary tendering group of companies interesting in investing in Bull will be drawn up within the next 30 days.
Government officials are refusing to comment further on the deal, but French press sources, as well as the French TV, are now talking openly about NEC increasing its current four percent stake in Bull to four times that amount. Such a deal, French TV claims, would not preclude a similar investment being made by the other firms, which are very interested in getting the French computer giant to use their respective chip technologies.
Just two weeks ago, the French government formally announced that Bull is on the market, although no asking price was mentioned. As reported by Newsbytes at the time, although it is viewed as a mere formality the French government must be seen to be going through all the official stages of preparation for the sale of Bull to stay within the guidelines laid down by the EC.
According to a statement issued at the time by Gerard Longuet, the French Minister for Industry, the sell-off deal should be concluded by the end of the year, with the formal handover expected to take place in March or April next year.
Bull turned in a healthy set of results for its half year to the end of June, 1994, according to the French financial analysts. During the half year, the company's operating losses were reduced from FF1,980 million in the first six months of 1993, to FF843 million in the first half of this year.
Sales, meanwhile, shot up by a healthy 11 percent to FF13,850 million. The bulk of the sales came from Zenith Data Systems, Newsbytes notes which recorded a 55 percent revenue increase on the year.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941026/Press & Reader Contact: Groupe Bull 33-1-6447-9164)
& Reader Contact: Groupe Bull 33-1-6447-9164)
10/26/94
France - Bull Wooed By Prospective Partners
UK VR Firm Signs Deal With Atari
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- The Virtuality Group, the only UK company involved in virtual reality (VR) to float on the London stock exchange, has signed a technology deal with Atari in the US.
Terms of the contract call for Virtuality to develop VR game systems for the consumer marketplace, using a VR headset like a motor-cycle helmet. The games console has been penciled in for a summer 1995 launch, Newsbytes notes, and will draw heavily on the technology that Virtuality uses in coin-operated arcade VR systems which cost from UKP2 per game.
Although details of the project are still very much in their early stages, plans call for Virtuality to develop a black box unit that will plug into Atari's Jaguar games console and sell for less than UKP130 ($200).
Jon Waldern, head of Virtuality, claims that the Jaguar is the "only 64-bit system currently on the market and is ideally suited for immersive virtual reality games. This deal propels both companies to the forefront in the home market for VR gaming. Thanks to the Jaguar fans our many hit arcade titles will soon be able to play their favorite VR games at home."
Atari maybe pinning its hopes on the Virtuality deal to ensure the success of the Jaguar games system, which competes in the highly competitive games console marketplace on both sides of the Atlantic.
In a statement, Sam Tramiel, Atari's president, said that Atari and Virtuality have worldwide reputations for offering the most advanced gaming technology and performance. "Combining our ability to deliver low-cost solutions for VR technology applications with the processing power capabilities of the Jaguar will result in a very high quality VR experience at a very affordable price," he said.
According to Tramiel, by this time next year, Jaguar users will be wearing their VR headsets and playing VR games at home. "While others in the industry play catch up, trying to offer 32- and 64-bit systems we are extending our technological advantage over competitors by delivering a high-quality VR experience," he said.
A spokesman for Atari UK told Newsbytes that the company plans to be shipping the as-yet unnamed VR enhancement to the Jaguar next summer, preparing the way for the lucrative pre-Christmas sales market when most of the games consoles are sold.
This is the third deal of its kind, Newsbytes notes, following a deal with Sega in May of last year, and IBM this summer. Peter Walker, of Fitzroy, Atari's public relations company, told Newsbytes that the deal is the result of a revitalized Atari. "Atari has just won its legal battle with Sega and, as a result, has a lot of money to invest. We're starting to see Atari expand, which is excellent," he said.
(Steve Gold/19941026/Press Contact: Peter Walker, Atari Press Office, +44-71-437-2888; Bob Gleadow, MD Atari UK, +44-753-533344; John Waldern, Virtuality, +44-533-542127; Ron Belramo, Atari US 408-745-8852)
on Belramo, Atari US 408-745-8852)
10/26/94
UK VR Firm Signs Deal With Atari
BUSINESS
UK - Mac Network Backup System I
LUTON, BEDFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- TriSys, a storage systems distributor for Advanced Digital Information Systems (ADIC) in the US, has assembled, what it claims, is the "perfect" Mac network backup system.
The system is based around the Retrospect Remote backup software from Dantz Development and digital audio tape (DAT) autochangers from ADIC which company officials claim have the capacity to cope with up to 96 gigabytes (GB) of data without human intervention to change tapes.
According to TriSys, backing up all the Macs in an office used to be a simple proposition -- "every user was handed a box of floppy disks and they were left to click and drag the files they wanted to protect at their individual machines."
Unfortunately, Newsbytes notes, today's graphically intensive applications mean that megabytes of files are involved and floppy backups can no longer cope. TriSys says that a high capacity backup system based around DAT technology is the ideal answer in such situations.
Richard Jackson, marketing director with Trisys, told Newsbytes that the company's OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreement with Dantz only allows it to supply the Retrospect Remote backup software with hardware. "The package is excellent, but we decided to offer it with DAT technology rather than standard tape drives because DAT is more flexible when it comes to autochangers," he said.
Jackson claims that the software is the best in the industry for Mac backup. "Apple itself supplies the technology in a stripped down format within System 7, and we supply the full version of the software for around the UKP135 mark, when bundled with hardware," he explained, adding that software will support a network of up to four Macs.
"You're looking at around UKP1,200 extra for a single DAT drive plus software, and from UKP4,500 upwards for an autochanger DAT drive. We think those are pretty good prices, given the capacity and flexibility of the technology involved," he said.
Jackson said that high-capacity Mac backup systems are few and far between. "If you've got a PC network running, say, NetWare, you can use a Cheyenne agent to backup Mac data on the PC side of the network but if you're using a Mac only network, then your choices are limited," he told Newsbytes.
(Steve Gold/19941026/Press Contact: Tom Hohenberg, The Marketing Department, +44-494-764858; Reader Contact: Richard Jackson TriSys, +44-582-33133)
: Richard Jackson TriSys, +44-582-33133)
10/26/94
UK - Mac Network Backup System Intro'd
APPLE
UK - Sound Card For PC Notebooks
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Portable Add-Ons has announced the Tempo sound card for PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) technology users.
According to Chaz Brooks, marketing director with the company, the Tempo sound card is a PCMCIA type II card that has all the features of a traditional "AT bus" style sound card, but with the unique portability of a PCMCIA card.
Pricing in at UKP299, the card comes with Voyetra Multimedia, a Windows Tempo mixer, SystemSoftware Cardsoft 3.1, and Windows drivers. The card itself features a five pin DIN MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) socket that can be used to drive external equipment, such as drum machines and synthesizers.
The Tempo card also supports 8- or 12-bit stereo recording for WAV files. Stereo playback is possible using 16-bit format and a mixer is incorporated into the card itself, which offers microphone and line level inputs.
The card is billed as being compatible with most software that support the DOS Adlib FM synthesis and Creative Labs Sound Blaster system. Windows compatible, the card is also claimed to support Video for Windows, Windows Sound System 2.0, and Windows Audio/MIDI applications.
In use, Tempo claims to provide a "true stereo" four operator FM synthesizer, which can cope with up to 18 instruments at a time.
(Steve Gold/19941026/Press Contact: Steve Waddington, MMC tel +44-71-580-8008, fax +44-71-580-9852; Reader Contact: Portable Add-Ons, tel +44-483-440777, fax +44-483-452304)
44-483-440777, fax +44-483-452304)
10/26/94
UK - Sound Card For PC Notebooks
Great Bear Offers Own Company Pr
IBM Unveils Prices, Ship Dates F
Japan - PC Network Subscribers U
Doom II Game Has 500,000 Pre-Ord
Apple's eWorld Available In UK
IBM's Advanced 36 First To Use 6
Nintendo Prevails in Patent Infr
GTE Airfone Opens Info Centers A
C-Cube Income Up 993%
Zenith Intros PC Wireless Remote
Mindscape Buys French Entertainm
IBM Adopts CMOS Technology
UK - Spider Intros SpiderIntegra
Microsoft Schedules BackOffice S
Xerox Offers New Optical Charact
Samsung Announces UK Investment
Reality Online Ships WealthBuild
Correction - Sony Intros MD Data
UK - Sound Card For PC Notebooks
Secure System For Internet Store
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Open Market Inc. (OMI), has introduced a system for establishing a "secure commercial presence" on the Internet. In related news, the vendor has forged strategic agreements around the online offering with DEC, Mead Data Central, and Ipswitch Inc.
A company spokesperson told Newsbytes that OMI's new system includes two interconnected servers: the Merchant Server and the Payment Server. The Merchant Server revolves around StoreBuilder a kit for developing "online stores," "dynamic textbooks" and other products, and a "secure" payment system. The "stores" can be placed on either Open Market's servers or any other World Wide Web (WWW) server, she said.
In deals with other companies, DEC has announced its intentions to sell the Open Market system to financial institutions and other businesses.
Mead Data Central will use the OMI system to provide new Lexis/Nexis servers to customers over the Internet. Ipswitch will employ the system to distribute its TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) software to customers online including software upgrades, according to the spokesperson.
OMI's StoreBuilder comes with templates for creating a "home page" listing products and services offered, and also for presenting information like product pricing/availability and service/support policies.
StoreBuilder also includes a set of "inventory management tools" for adding, deleting, cataloging and indexing products and services sold in the "store," and for creating payment capabilities that include "pay-per-page" and "pay-per-time," she said.
"Pay-per-page" allows companies to bill customers for information in "non-standard increments," such as by the chapter, by the page or by the paragraph, Newsbytes was told.
"Pay-per-time" permits online merchants to "rent access" to their services in "non-standard increments." A company might sell a two month subscription to a newsletter, or ten hours of access to computer-based training modules, for example.
The Payment Server incorporates account management, payment security, and customer service capabilities. The OMI system initially supports credit card payments, and will later be expanded to accept debut cards, corporate accounts, "digital cash," and other payment methods, the spokesperson said.
The system also provides a real-time connection to existing financial networks for "real-time credit card authorization," she told Newsbytes.
Security capabilities of the OMI system include encryption firewalls, passwords, "privilege profiles," and support for smart cards, "document fingerprinting," and "challenge-based PINs (personal identification numbers)," she said.
Through the "document fingerprinting" capability, companies can apply unique "stamps" and numbers to documents, thereby discouraging distribution of copyrighted material, she maintained. The "document fingerprints" are also aimed at detecting documents that have been fraudulently distributed.
Through the "privilege profiles," shoppers can specify any "purchasing restrictions" they wish to place on their accounts. The shopper might decide, for example, to prohibit any purchases over $1,000.
In contrast to other encryption-based approaches, the OMI system supports all "standard forms-based browsers," including Mosaic according to the OMI spokesperson.
The payment system allows customers to set their own transaction limits, view statements online, review items they have purchased and query the "merchant."
Other capabilities available to shoppers include: "personal home pages" in the online store; keyword and descriptive searches: Smart Statement transaction reports; and "reserve for purchase," a feature that lets the buyer temporarily place goods and services in an "electronic shopping cart," before making a final decision to buy.
The OMI system is initially available over the Internet. Under introductory pricing, a "merchant" can create an online store for a fee of $300 to $1,500, depending on size of store and number of transactions, she spokesperson said. Beyond that, Internet "shopkeepers" are charged monthly fees ("rent") ranging from $50 to $300.
Open Market plans to release a shrink-wrapped, PC-based version of the software next year. The vendor is also establishing a "network of authorized agents" to help companies set up online stores, she noted.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941026/Reader Contact: Open Market Inc., 617 621-9500; Press Contact: Patrick Corman or Lisa Croel, Corman/Croel Marketing & Communications for OMI, 415-326-9648, or 415-326-0487)
r OMI, 415-326-9648, or 415-326-0487)
10/26/94
Secure System For Internet Stores
ONLINE
Microsoft TV Goes On The Air Nov
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Microsoft will premiere "Microsoft TV," a one-hour semi-monthly satellite broadcast, on November 1, 1994.
Microsoft says the new service will help customers stay informed about Microsoft products, applications and strategies and is in response to customer requests for more timely and in-depth information from the company.
The programs, which will focus on ways Microsoft "solutions" are developed and used by corporations to integrate and streamline business processes, build on Microsoft's DevCast series that was broadcast in June. The programs will air at 8am Pacific time on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
"Microsoft TV will host Microsoft and third-party experts to broadcast information on development strategies, workgroup applications and server solutions," according to John Neilson general manager of the organizational customer unit at Microsoft. Neilson says more than 1,400 customers and partners have already signed up for the broadcasts, which the company expects will reach hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide.
You will be able to see the shows in company conference rooms or on your PC, if it is equipped for cable or satellite programming. Neilson says not having to travel to a seminar to get the information will produce a significant savings in time and productivity as well as travel expense. "The key is convenience. We are focused on making business computing expertise as readily available to customers and partners as we can.
The inaugural broadcast on November 1 will focus on ways to run your business more effectively using computing products based on Microsoft's recently announced BackOffice suite of products and the Windows operating system. The second show, on November 15 will feature the implementation of a custom enterprise information system based on Microsoft Office and highlighting Microsoft SQL Server.
Microsoft says it will publish a free program guide. There is no cost to receive the program other than that associated with the satellite receiving equipment. Microsoft spokesperson Lucy Allison told Newsbytes all you need is a small (1.2 meter) dish satellite capable of receiving transmissions on the KU band. Broadcasts will be carried on both analog and VideoCipher digital formats on Galaxy 7 (91 degrees West), Transponder 16. Microsoft says it has made arrangements for access at a special price on a commercial quality system through a national vendor for potential viewers who do not have the necessary receiving equipment.
Allison told Newsbytes the broadcasts are not intended to replace Microsoft partners who offer training seminars. "This is just another way for people to get information. It will be a news magazine format. One of the things they are going to do a lot of is hooking up with people who have implemented solutions," says Allison. A special programming feature will carry live coverage of Bill Gates' keynote presentation at this year's Comdex trade show in Las Vegas next month.
Allison told Newsbytes there is no relationship between the Microsoft TV project and the TCI/Microsoft joint venture, as has been suggested in some news reports.
(Jim Mallory/19941026/Press contact: Lucy Allison, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft Corp., 800-206-3000, Internet e-mail mstv@microsoft.com for broadcast info)
il mstv@microsoft.com for broadcast info)
10/26/94
Microsoft TV Goes On The Air November 1
BROADCAST
DEC Deal Smooths Novell Upgrades
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Novell NetWare users in Asia can now enjoy the benefits of unbundled, one-stop shopping for Novell NetWare 3 and 4 software upgrade services under a global agreement between Digital Equipment Corporation and Novell Inc.
The agreement names Digital as the networking giant's first worldwide software maintenance provider. Digital will manage the procurement of the upgrades, documentation and media of a Novell site, making it easier for NetWare users to help keep their Novell client/server environments up to date.
In addition, the companies claim that customers will see a marked reduction in the administrative and product upgrade costs traditionally associated with maintenance of their software.
"We are delighted that Novell has once again turned to Digital to deliver support services to its worldwide customer base. This latest agreement will allow NetWare sites to take advantage of our expertise in network service and support, helping us help them run more efficient multivendor sites," said John Winchester, director of network products for the Digital Asia region.
"This announcement provides Digital's PC server users with a cost effective one-stop shop for their client/server computing requirements," said Alan McMillan, director of Digital's PC Business Unit, Asia Region.
He added: "Digital's PC server systems provide robust state-of-the-art solutions for networked environments. Our current server offerings have proven to be an ideal complement for NetWare based solutions throughout Asia."
(Keith Cameron/19941025/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel, Digital 852-805-3510)
ntact: Bonnie Engel, Digital 852-805-3510)
10/26/94
DEC Deal Smooths Novell Upgrades In Asia
BUSINESS
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr R
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- Booming sales in Asia helped Digital Equipment Corp. to report increased operating revenues for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Revenues rose nearly four percent to US$3.122 billion, compared with the same period last year.
"Asia remains a bright spot for Digital," said Graham Long, the company's Asia sales and marketing director. "Digital Asia grew by 39 percent, with every business unit contributing to the growth and every business unit meeting its objectives for our first quarter."
He added: "The gains we have made are real. For example, in the whole of fiscal 1994 we shipped 332 Alpha AXP servers, while in this first quarter of fiscal year 1995 alone we shipped 238. Workstation sales grew by 70 percent last year and server sales by 97 percent, a growth rate we believe is sustainable. All this demonstrates that Digital's Alpha AXP architecture is really taking hold in the Asian market."
Newly appointed Hong Kong General Manager Tony C. Leung said, "We are seeing customer confidence resurging, and they are voting with their money. Our systems sales in Hong Kong grew by more than 50 percent and revenue by more than 15 percent compared to the same period a year ago."
He continued: "Our PC business doubled again in the quarter, reaching the equivalent of more than US$10 million a year. Multivendor customer business also grew by more than 10 percent, primarily coming from service of other vendors' equipment. For example, we will soon be the biggest Microsoft service provider in Hong Kong with a growing team of certified Microsoft engineers."
(Keith Cameron/19941025/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel, Digital 852 805-3510)
act: Bonnie Engel, Digital 852 805-3510)
10/26/94
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr Revenue
BUSINESS
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Micro
AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28
AT&T Buys Alascom
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows N
Scholastic Network Has 250,000 M
Unisys Wins Australian Defense C
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Opti
Australia Computer News
Green Thumb Intros Windows Lands
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr R
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 26 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> CollegeLink's "Electronic Admissions" To 670 Colleges 10/26/94 High school seniors are now using a software-based service called CollegeLink to apply to more than 600 colleges and universities ranging from Harvard to the University of Arizona, and from Stanford to the University of Massachusetts.
2 -> Warp California Demos Virtual TV 10/26/94 Warp California Inc. invited the public aboard the S.S. Vallejo in Sausalito this week for a glass of champagne and a chance to learn about a new interactive technology -- Virtual TV (VTV). The company also announced the availability of VTV licenses to Interactive TV providers and game developers. Also involved in the evangelizing of VTV in the PC gaming and multimedia market is Intel Corp.
3 -> Apple's Online Service Offers "eWorld of work" 10/26/94 Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ-NNM: AAPL) eWorld online service has announced "eWorld of work." According to the company, using the feature business professionals looking for jobs, changing career directions or working independently, will find practical advice and have opportunities to connect with others like themselves.
4 -> Sun To Bundle Lotus Notes Free With SPARCserver 10/26/94 Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC) says it will bundle Lotus Notes Lotus' collaborative workgroup program, at no charge with every SPARCserver system shipped worldwide beginning January 1, 1995.
5 -> Hitachi/3M/Sony Agree On New Magneto-Optical Disk 10/26/94 Sony says the growing popularity of CD-ROM technology and improvements in transfer and access rates are forcing the development of a new level performance on magneto-optical disk technology. Hoping to unify diverse research efforts, Sony, Hitachi and 3M have announced an agreement on specifications for new magneto-optical (MO) disks.
6 -> Green Thumb Intros Windows Landscaping CD-ROM 10/26/94 Green Thumb Software Inc. has introduced a program that lets you design your own garden and landscaping using your personal computer.
7 -> Data Security Firm Adds ISDN Capability 10/26/94 Information Resource Engineering (NASDAQ:IREG) has bought Connective Strategies Inc. of Chantilly, Va., in order to expand its data security services to integrated services digital network (ISDN).
8 -> Software Alliance Wins $260,000 Piracy Settlement 10/26/94 Utica Enterprises, a leading auto parts manufacturer in the Detroit area has agreed to pay the Business Software Alliance $260,000 to settle a software copyright infringement suit.
9 -> Correction - Sony Intros MD Data Drives 10/26/94 A recent story published by Newsbytes, entitled: "Sony Intros MD Data Drives," about Sony's MD Data drive and disks, stated that the MMD-140 disk has 10 times the data capacity of a standard 1.44 megabyte floppy.
10 -> Borland Buys Dashboard From HP 10/26/94 Borland International Inc. has acquired Dashboard for Windows from Hewlett-Packard (HP) for an undisclosed sum.
11 -> Improve Your Photography With CD-ROM Guide 10/26/94 Diamar Interactive Corp. has introduced a CD-ROM-based program that can help you improve your photography.
12 -> Reality Online Ships WealthBuilder For Windows 10/26/94 Reality Online Inc., known until recently as Reality Technologies, has begun shipping a version of its WealthBuilder financial planning software for Microsoft's Windows.
13 -> Intel Intros Embedded Flash RAM 10/26/94 Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) has introduced a new 16 megabit (Mb) flash memory architecture that has been under development for the past two years. The new technology is said by the company to combine the high read performance capability of DRAMs with the updateable, non-volatile memory capability of flash technology. Intel's Michael S. Sullivan told Newsbytes that the company's new embedded flash RAMs will bring cost, performance and time-to-market advantages to customers who are manufacturers of embedded systems, including laser printers networking equipment, and telecommunications systems.
14 -> Hong Kong - Infonet Offers Frame Relay 10/26/94 Infonet, a major networked services vendor, has added direct access frame relay support to its family of services, sold and supported in Hong Kong by Hongkong Telecom CSL.
15 -> Parallel Technologies & Microsoft To Connect PCs 10/26/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Parallel Technologies Inc. (PTI) have signed an agreement to add PTI's parallel port connectivity technology to Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system scheduled for release next year.
16 -> Australia Computer News 10/26/94 Australia's top tech stories: New NetComm modems and software; Investigation into software/hardware differences; Phone Blaster on Creative's drawing board; Lexmark manufacturing Opta in Australia. All prices are in Australian dollars (AUS$1 is around US$0.74).
17 -> 20-Fold Increase In Wireless Office Gear Predicted 10/26/94 Market research firm Frost and Sullivan predicts that the market for wireless office equipment will increase nearly 20 times over 1993 levels by the year 2000. In dollar figures, the predicted increase is from $101 million in 1993, to more than $1.9 billion in 2000.
18 -> AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketing Blitz 10/26/94 AT&T's (NYSE:T) Global Information Solutions, or GIS (formerly NCR Corp.), in a flurry of related announcements, has launched sales and marketing programs in the retail, financial, communications, and manufacturing industries. The programs are supposed to help businesses understand, serve, and market to their particular customers.
19 -> MCI Deploys New Corning High Capacity Optical Fiber 10/26/94 MCI (NASDAQ:MCIC) has started using a new optical fiber from Corning (NYSE:GLW) that supports advanced imaging and multimedia applications. The firm says its new fiber optic cables will quadruple current transmission speeds.
20 -> CompuServe Prepares For Hong Kong Wireless Users 10/26/94 CompuServe Hong Kong will enable users of various wireless handheld devices to use its online information service with its new CompuServe Companion. The Companion is a personal information manager application for the new Magic Cap operating system for personal communicators, such as Motorola's Envoy and Sony's Magic Link.
21 -> Germany - Neo-Nazi BBS Investigations Continue 10/26/94 The long running investigation into the activities of neo-Nazis has hit the press again in Germany, with newspapers reporting that two unnamed men, aged 19 and 23, respectively, were arrested, interviewed and released in connection with ongoing investigations into German neo-Nazi bulletin board systems (BBSs).
22 -> France - Bull Wooed By Prospective Partners 10/26/94 The French government has revealed it is in "active discussions" with a number of companies about the impending sell-off of Bull, the troubled state-owned computer and electronics company.
23 -> UK VR Firm Signs Deal With Atari 10/26/94 The Virtuality Group the only UK company involved in virtual reality (VR) to float on the London stock exchange, has signed a technology deal with Atari in the US.
24 -> UK - Mac Network Backup System Intro'd 10/26/94 TriSys, a storage systems distributor for Advanced Digital Information Systems (ADIC) in the US, has assembled, what it claims, is the "perfect" Mac network backup system.
25 -> UK - Sound Card For PC Notebooks 10/26/94 Portable Add-Ons has announced the Tempo sound card for PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) technology users.
26 -> Secure System For "Internet Stores" 10/26/94 Open Market Inc. (OMI), has introduced a system for establishing a "secure commercial presence" on the Internet. In related news, the vendor has forged strategic agreements around the online offering with DEC, Mead Data Central, and Ipswitch Inc.
27 -> Microsoft TV Goes On The Air November 1 10/26/94 Microsoft will premiere "Microsoft TV," a one-hour semi-monthly satellite broadcast on November 1, 1994.
28 -> DEC Deal Smooths Novell Upgrades In Asia 10/26/94 Novell NetWare users in Asia can now enjoy the benefits of unbundled, one-stop shopping for Novell NetWare 3 and 4 software upgrade services under a global agreement between Digital Equipment Corporation and Novell Inc.
29 -> Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr Revenue 10/26/94 Booming sales in Asia helped Digital Equipment Corp. to report increased operating revenues for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Revenues rose nearly four percent to US$3.122 billion, compared with the same period last year.
(Ian Stokell/19941026)
(Ian Stokell/19941026)
10/26/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
#R#~#`#
Europe - EC Votes To Take In Eas
Major Apple Communications Produ
UK - Insignia Intros CD Director
Corporate Software To Buy DEC's
AOL Plans Online Hourly Fee Unde
California Real-Time Freeway Tra
Artisoft LANtastic For OS/2
AST Unveils Aptiva Killers
Winstar Last Mile Wireless Servi
UK - Lotus Views OS/2 Warp As Po
Germany - Neo-Nazi BBS Investiga
Intel Intros Embedded Flash RAM
Optigon, Online Entertainment Ne
Bell Atlantic's Free MADD Drunk
Philippines - BSA Wins Software
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- In its continuing battle to curb software piracy, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has announced the successful completion of its lawsuit against software retailer Brochiere Computers. The company is reportedly the largest source of pirated BSA member software.
The BSA, an organization representing the world's leading software publishers, formally launched its enforcement program in the Philippines last February. Consequently, elements from the local police, together with officials of the BSA and the Department of Trade and Industry, raided two retail outlets of Brochiere Computers seizing approximately 4,000 floppy diskettes and 25 hard disks containing illegal software published by BSA members Lotus and Microsoft.
The BSA's stance against Brochiere Computers was the first-ever piracy case brought forth by the software industry in the Philippines.
In a press conference called by the BSA, Ron Eckstrom, the organization's vice president, announced the agreement reached by both BSA and Brochiere, saying: "BSA was not compelled to go through the time and expense of bringing this copyright infringement suit through the court system, as Brochiere has agreed to settle with us on very favorable terms."
The settlement terms include: the stopping of illegally copying software copyrighted by BSA-member vendors; an agreement to pay liquidated damages of P1 million if caught copying such software in the future; and payment of damages to the BSA of P1 million.
Eckstrom, who is also actively engaged in the copyright law reform movements underway in Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand expressed satisfaction over the settlement. "Brochiere knew that if they proceeded through the Philippine court system, they would not have prevailed," Eckstrom stressed. He likewise underscored the Philippine government's sincerity about its international obligations to protect software from infringement.
Moreover, the settlement terms would allow BSA to take a portion of the proceeds and reinvest it into Philippine charity institutions which, Eckstrom surmised, is perhaps the most "pleasing" aspect of the settlement strategy.
Eckstrom also announced that BSA is making a donation of personal computers and software to support Caritas Manila, a social welfare and development arm of the Archdiocese of Manila. Established in 1953, Caritas Manila's programs and services are aimed mainly at helping disadvantaged groups such as urban poor women and children, homeless persons, and street-children.
Meanwhile, a total of US$12.8 billion has reportedly been lost due to software piracy. Out of the total losses, Asian countries accounted for about US$3.6 billion. However, the figures only constitute business applications, according to Wendy Maitlen, BSA coordinator. She also mentioned other types of software piracy such as installation of software on hard disks by PC vendors, and the copying of software and applications among end-users.
PC clones constitute over 70% of the market for PC sales in the country. Only branded PCs like Acer, Compaq, Packard Bell, Dell and Wearns are sold with pre-installed DOS or Windows.
(Metropolitan Computer Times/19941025)
(Metropolitan Computer Times/19941025)
10/27/94
Philippines - BSA Wins Software Piracy Case
LEGAL
First Virtual Offers Internet Me
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- First Virtual Inc. says it has developed "the world's first merchant banking system for cyberspace." The company maintains that its new online system is the "easiest, safest and most inexpensive way" to conduct business on the Internet.
The First Virtual Internet Payment System provides a link between the world of credit cards, banks, and processing agents, and the Internet, according to Lee Stein, president and chief executive officer.
The company's merchant banking system uses existing technology to enable transactions to take place in an electronic marketplace.
"First Virtual has created the launching pad for what we believe will become the world's largest and fastest growing cottage industry -- the buying and selling of information on the Internet," said Stein.
Stein told Newsbytes that the reason this kind of electronic commerce has not existed before is that most sellers cannot qualify for credit card merchant accounts and cannot collect money. He added that security has also been a major hurdle; buyers could not be guaranteed that poachers would not get access to their credit card information.
"However, through First Virtual, individuals, small businesses multi-national corporations, and even the government can all take advantage of this potential global market without fear of credit card fraud."
According to Stein, First Virtual created its transaction system to enable the buying or selling on the Internet without additional equipment or software, and no costly membership fees. The only requirement to use the system is access to the Internet.
The initial charge for registering with First Virtual is $2 for consumers and $10 for sellers. In addition, sellers will pay a nominal fee of 29 cents, plus two percent of the charged amount, for each transaction. Sellers also pay a $1 processing fee each time a payment is made to their account.
At a minimum, information sellers and buyers need only an Internet mailbox and a First Virtual account. If sellers don't have the computer capacity or warehouse server on the Internet to handle their sales directly, they can use First Virtual servers, placing their information for sale on a "First Virtual Infohaus."
Stein says this arrangement can be viewed as a public shopping mall where anyone can rent space to store and sell information. For sellers or 'InfoMerchants,' with their own information warehouse servers on the Internet, First Virtual provides the merchant banking system for consummating the transaction.
"You could also picture the Infohaus as an electronic superstore, which can be accessed through electronic-mail, World Wide Web, including Mosaic, and FTP (file transfer protocol)," said Stein. "The First Virtual Infohaus holds information. InfoMerchants market this information while potential buyers, called InfoConsumers, browse up and down electronic aisles at the touch of a mouse from anywhere in the world."
Along with information storage and display, the Infohaus also serves as a distribution center and a clearing house for all billing and accounting functions. Once a sale is completed and verified, First Virtual charges the buyer's account and credits the seller's account.
The company recommends that InfoMerchants allow InfoConsumers to review information before making a commitment to pay. Buyer accounts are debited only with the buyer's authorization. If buyers indicate they don't wish to pay for information they've received, they are not charged; they pay the purchase price only if they like it.
Some InfoMerchants, such as government agencies and large commercial ventures, will require payment in advance before completing the electronic transaction. First Virtual will verify each transaction in a closed-loop confirmation system and has also developed monitoring systems to guard against potential abuses.
Information technology equipment and services will be provided to First Virtual by Electronic Data Systems (EDS). These include data processing, documentation, systems engineering, electronic settlement of transactions for both buyer and seller, security, and other activities related to transactions carried out through First Virtual.
EDS is an established provider of electronic financial-transaction services, currently supporting 14.8 million cardholder accounts and 245,000 merchants. It has operations in 35 countries and reported revenues of $8.6 billion in 1993.
First USA Merchant Services Inc., Dallas, will be the credit card processor for First Virtual. First Virtual plans to issue its own co branded Visa card with several unique features, including e-mail notification to confirm each completed transaction.
Stein told Newsbytes that the concept for First Virtual started evolving in 1993. He emphasizes that the First Virtual founders, advisors and development team who came up with the idea, designed the transaction system to fit within the Internet culture.
The team represents a virtual Who's Who of internationally recognized Internet scientists and global messaging system experts, including: Dr. Nathaniel S. Borenstein, primary author of MIME, the Internet standard for multimedia and multilingual mail messages; Carl Malamud, founder of the Internet Multicasting Service and author of seven books, including "Exploring the Internet;" David Farber, professor of telecommunications University of Pennsylvania; James McKinney, chairman, Advanced Television Systems Committee, former deputy assistant to the President of the United States; Dr. Marshall T. Rose, an expert in the development of global standards for electronic messaging and network management; and Einar Stefferud, MBA, a key contributor to the development of the Internet since 1975.
(Nick Anis/19941018/Press Contact: Tom Gable or Darlene Cossio, The Gable Group, 619-234-1300, Internet e-mail media-help@fv.com)
619-234-1300, Internet e-mail media-help@fv.com)
10/27/94
First Virtual Offers Internet Merchant Banking
ONLINE
Hong Kong - Networked Economy Co
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- To meet its commitment to deliver "the highest possible standard of content" at The Networked Economy Asia-Pacific Conference, organizer CommunicationsWeek International has decided to postpone the event until next year.
In Europe and the US the Networked Economy Conference series is reportedly highly regarded. However, due to a series of "commitment clashes," the company says it "has proved difficult to secure participation of key industry figures," beyond China and Hong Kong which are essential to the success of the event in the Asia-Pacific region.
The company says that, "in order to maintain the reputation of the conference series," and that of Hongkong Telecom in its role of principal sponsor of the conference, the event is being rescheduled for the second quarter of 1995.
New dates and venue for the conference will reportedly be forthcoming by the end of November.
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Datapoint has unveiled Unison, an open, integrated call center system for organizations which require "efficient management of a high-volume" of outbound telephone calls.
"The call center, a concept that is firmly established in the US and Europe, is becoming increasingly popular in Asia," said Ross Millar managing director for Datapoint Asia-Pacific. "Organizations in industries as diverse as banking and finance, transportation advertising, marketing, and utilities are now leveraging maturing telecommunications infrastructures for competitive advantage with value-added services like sophisticated call management."
Unison merges client/server computing, database management and telephony to produce an intelligent call management method for telemarketing, cross-platform selling, or simply for chasing up delinquent accounts. Unison can select likely candidates from a database, dial their numbers, and automatically switch lists if the "hit rate" drops below a certain level.
Unison, a reduced instruction-set computing (RISC)-based management system built on the Sun Microsystems' SPARC architecture, controls a broad range of technology and data-oriented call center tasks, in real time, using a point-and-click user interface.
In many organizations the private branch exchange (PBX), automatic call distributor (ACD), and voice recognition unit (VRU) are typically from multiple vendors, installed at different times and in dispersed locations.
Unison's Smart Management Center (SMC) implements rules-based management along with a broad range of software-driven features enabling all resources to be operated and managed essentially as one call center, says the company. The SMC also automates many of the routing, tracking, monitoring and reporting functions that have traditionally been performed manually.
"In a traditional, non-IT (information technology)-based phone marketing operation, between 70 and 90 percent of an agent's time is spent simply dialing numbers and trying to get through to potential customers or account holders," said Millar. "With Unison, time-wasting occurrences such as busy lines are eliminated. Unison senses whether a line is busy, and routes the call to the agent only when a successful connection is made."
Unison is designed to help companies improve service by "enhancing the quality of the contacts that take place between agents and customers." Customer-to-agent matching, for example, ensures that if the calling file contains both Cantonese- and English-speaking customers, with Cantonese-speaking customers being handled by agents proficient in the local language.
In addition, agents can be matched to customers with specific attributes. For instance, a financial services company could match its most experienced service representatives with upscale customers to maximize results during a telemarketing campaign for a new product.
"Instead of relying on the MIS (management information system) department to design a list, users can determine how best to organize their downloaded customer files themselves, and quickly implement a flexible, targeted calling strategy that reflects their changing objectives," said Millar.
(Keith Cameron/19941025/Press Contact: Ross Millar, Datapoint 852-9223-7088)
ress Contact: Ross Millar, Datapoint 852-9223-7088)
10/27/94
Hong Kong - Datapoint's Telephone Call Center Mgt
TELECOM
Microsoft Intros SQL Server Soft
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has introduced a workstation version of SQL Server the 32-bit database backbone for its recently announced BackOffice program.
The company says Microsoft SQL (structured query language) Server Workstation system version 4.21a has the same 32-bit architecture performance and distributed database features as SQL Server, the relational database management system for BackOffice, but in a configuration that runs on a PC.
BackOffice, announced earlier this month, includes Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system software, Microsoft SQL Server version 4.21a, Microsoft SNA Server 2.1, Microsoft Systems Management Server 1.0, and Microsoft Mail Server 3.2.
SQL Server Workstation, which is expected to sell for under $500, comes with a set of development libraries and documentation that, according to Microsoft, makes it an "ideal platform" for developers of applications for Windows and for VARs (value-added resellers) who are looking for a low entry cost to client-server computing.
Users get the 32-bit database server, a set of administration and data migration tools, and programming libraries for developing client-server applications in a variety of programming environments including C++ and Visual Basic.
Previously Microsoft sold the programming libraries for about $695 when purchased separately as the Microsoft SQL Server Programmer's Toolkit.
You also get Microsoft's Open Data Services programmable gateway application programming interfaces (APIs) for developing gateways. SQL Server Workstation supports up to 15 simultaneous network connections for use by a single licensed user.
Workstation supports Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, FoxPro, and the Visual C++ development system. Newsbytes reported previously on Microsoft Access Upsizing Tools, which provide a one-step point-and click ability to move desktop applications to Microsoft SQL Server.
Workstation is expected to be available by the end of the month. It runs on Windows NT 3.1 as well as Windows NT Workstation 3.5, and supports PCs based on Digital Equipment's Alpha AXP, Intel's x86 chip series, Intel's Pentium chip, and MIPS microprocessors from MIPS Computer Systems Inc.
(Jim Mallory/19941027/Press contact: Linda Jordan, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097; Public contact: Microsoft 206-882-8080, or 800-426-9400)
ublic contact: Microsoft 206-882-8080, or 800-426-9400)
10/27/94
Microsoft Intros SQL Server Software For Workstations
WINDOWS
Dell's Pentium PCs Offer 128-Bit
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:DELL) has announced a 128-bit PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) local bus video option for its recently announced Dimension XPS P90 personal computers, and has made 64-bit video standard on all Dimension XPS systems.
The XPS P90 PCs are 90 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based systems which can now be equipped with the Imagine 128 True-Color graphics accelerator board from Number Nine Computer Corp.
According to Dell, the Imagine card configured with four megabytes (MB) of VRAM (video RAM) increases video performance by as much as 28 percent in 8-bit mode over other graphics accelerator cards, and by as much as 38 percent in the High-color mode. For the user, that means quicker display of graphics images. The accelerator card supports up to 16 million colors at 1,152 by 864 resolution and modes of 65,000 and 256 colors.
An XPS P90 with the Imagine accelerator card starts at $2,899, while an entry-level Dimension XPS P60, a 60MHz system with 1MB of video DRAM (dynamic RAM), has a suggested retail price of $1,899. Dell says both systems are available immediately.
According to Doug MacGregor, Dell VP of desktop systems, video performance has always been an issue and a potential bottleneck for Windows users. "We're breaking that bottleneck by incorporating the Image 128 Graphics Accelerator option and 64-bit standard video on Dell Dimension XPS systems.
Dell spokesperson Kellie Leonard told Newsbytes the XPS P90 systems equipped with the Imagine card come pre-loaded with the Number Nine Hawkeye user interface, software that taps the video card's capabilities with panning and virtual screen enlargements for more control over graphics applications.
(Jim Mallory/19941027/Press contact: Kellie Leonard, Dell Computer 512-728-4100; Public contact: Dell Computer, 512-338-4400, or 800-289-3355)
: Dell Computer, 512-338-4400, or 800-289-3355)
10/27/94
Dell's Pentium PCs Offer 128-Bit Video Option
Kolvox In WordPerfect, Westlaw S
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Kolvox Communications Inc. (AMEX:KOL) has announced a version of its LawTalk speech-recognition software with an interface to West Publishing's Westlaw legal database. The company also said it has signed a letter of intent with Novell Inc.'s applications group WordPerfect, to develop speech-recognition interfaces for that company's Windows applications.
Kolvox said it will offer a version of LawTalk -- which is designed to let people create legal documents in WordPerfect using spoken commands -- with a speech interface to Westlaw for US$995 until December 31. That is 45 percent below the regular list price to be charged for the software after that date, the company said.
WordPerfect and Kolvox said they expect to conclude their agreement by the end of November. Kolvox's existing products LawTalk and OfficeTalk, work with the WordPerfect word processor. OfficeTalk uses about 500 spoken commands to create and edit documents.
Kurt Lynn, vice-president of sales and marketing at Kolvox, told Newsbytes that today's speech recognition products can be divided into two groups: command and control systems, and dictation systems. Command and control systems, like those Kolvox is to develop for WordPerfect applications, typically have small vocabularies (up to about 2,000 words) but can recognize any person's speech. Dictation systems need larger vocabularies, of at least 5,000 words, and thus must be trained to an individual speaker's voice.
Today, Lynn said, a dictation system such as LawTalk needs at least a 486 microprocessor and 16 megabytes (MB) of memory. Such systems also require that the speaker leave distinct breaks between words. Though not quite the natural way of speaking Lynn said, this still allows for dictation at 40 to 90 words per minute.
He added that in less than a year it should be possible to offer dictation systems that can handle true continuous speech. These will need Pentium processors or better, he said. As for speaker independence, Lynn said it is unlikely dictation systems will ever be truly speaker-independent, but this is not necessarily a big concern for most users.
(Grant Buckler/19941027/Press Contact: Kevin Rudden, Parker Nichols & Co. for Kolvox, tel 508-369-2100, fax 508-369-2106 MCI Mail e-mail 356-6721; Jeff Acerson, WordPerfect, 801-228 5010; Public Contact: Kolvox Communications, tel 416-221-2400 fax 416-218-3110)
Kolvox Communications, tel 416-221-2400 fax 416-218-3110)
10/27/94
Kolvox In WordPerfect, Westlaw Speech-Recognition Deals
BUSINESS
UK - Mannesmann Cuts Laser Print
Universal Product Code Database
Fujitsu Intros Fast Tablet PC
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awar
India - IDC Forecasts Major IT I
Sigma Designs Intros RealMagic P
Apple's Online Service Offers eW
CompuServe Prepares For Hong Kon
Secure System For Internet Store
First Virtual Offers Internet Me
Telecom Italia To Spin-Off Cellp
DEC & MicroMall Team On Home Sho
Scala Opens Canadian Office, Lau
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Scala Canada Software Inc. has formally opened its Canadian distribution operation, and simultaneously announced a new Windows version of its international accounting and business management software.
Scala for Windows lets users work at the same time in Windows or plain DOS, according to the company. While one user on a network uses a DOS module, another can be using a Windows module, and they can exchange data.
Daniel Pillipow, president of Scala Canada, told Newsbytes that support for international accounting is the main thing that distinguishes Scala from other accounting software. The package can not only handle multiple currencies, but also deal with different languages and adapt itself to the accounting principles of virtually any country, he said.
Because of that, companies that do business internationally and want to standardize on one accounting package make up a major part of Scala's business, Pillipow said.
The company offers software for a range of hardware from palmtop computers up to Unix systems, he said.
The Scala software is developed by a Danish company, EDB Gruppen A/S. Until recently, its distribution in Canada was handled by a company office in Orlando, Florida, Pillipow said, but the volume of business in Canada now justifies a local operation.
Scala Canada has four employees initially, and Pillipow said it is unlikely to grow beyond 10 people, who will handle distribution and licensing and work with Canadian resellers. Scala currently has five resellers in major Canadian centers and is seeking a few more, he added.
(Grant Buckler/19941027/Press Contact: Daniel Pillipow, Scala Software Canada, tel 416-279-2111, fax 416-979-0103)
la Software Canada, tel 416-279-2111, fax 416-979-0103)
10/27/94
Scala Opens Canadian Office, Launches Windows Product
BUSINESS
Australia Computer News Briefs
R SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Australia's top tech stories today: Lotus revenues double; MacWorld gets good attendance; IBM Dictation speaks real English; Intel gets new boss; Apple revenue up; Microsoft Halloween event; Harvey rides on PCs back.
Lotus Revenues Double
Lotus has doubled its revenue in Australia in just two years. Company head Gerhard Rumpff said the increased profit reflects a shift in the way medium and larger customers are buying software.
MacWorld Gets Good Attendance
MacWorld Expo finished recently in Sydney with a slightly smaller area but good attendance and vendor satisfaction. More than 20,000 people visited the three-day show. While not as rowdy as a PC show, it had some of the direct-sales organizations that have become standard for the other shows. Merisel said this was probably the last computer show in Australia where it would have its own stand. It said most of its vendors are strong enough to take their own stands.
IBM Dictation Speaks Real English
IBM's personal dictation system now has a version for the British accent. It is said to suit the Australian accent better than the original US version. It comes with a 30,000 word vocabulary and will take 2,000 extra words for each user. It operates at 70 words per minute and costs about $1,630.
Intel Gets New Boss
Intel Australia has a new boss. General Manager Geoff Healey is moving to the regional headquarters in Singapore as networking product manager. His replacement if Tony Jansz of Borland. Jim Graham of Borland New Zealand will take Jansz's job.
Apple Revenue Up
Apple Australia has announced revenues of $314 million for the past year until September, up nine percent on the prior year. This was behind the US at 15 percent increase in revenues.
Microsoft Halloween Event
Microsoft is holding a charity Halloween event in Sydney on October 29. It is fully catered and the $70 ticket proceeds go to two local charities. Details on telephone +61-2-870 2200.
Harvey Rides On PCs Back
Harvey Norman, retail store chain, has predicted a massive growth in its sales of computers. Company head Gerry Harvey said Australia is the quickest country to adopt new technology. He said it took him four years of selling computers to turn a profit, but it was now running at excellent levels.
(Paul Zucker/19941021)
vels.
(Paul Zucker/19941021)
10/27/94
Australia Computer News Briefs
GENERAL
PC Keyboard Aimed At Kids Aged 2
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Comdex promises to show all sorts of new hardware and software and among the new products, attendees will find the ComfyKeyboard for children aged two to six years old.
The company says that, for children two and three years of age, the ComfyKeyboard provides a "colorful introduction to very basic computer skills." Children in the four to six age group are offered more challenging activities through an entertaining set of adventures, or "movies" as the company calls them. These movies are part of the software package which accompanies the keyboard.
In an effort to make the product available to as many users as possible, the company delivers the software on eight floppy disks. CD-ROMs of the program are expected by the end of the year, but the company felt that there are still a lot of users they want to reach who have PCs that are not equipped with multimedia capabilities.
The keyboard requires only DOS 5.0 or better, a Sound Blaster or compatible audio card, VGA or SVGA graphics, 3.5-inch disk drive at least two megabytes of memory, and 22MB of hard disk space to accommodate all of the motion, sound, and graphics.
Karrie Lace, president of US Operations for Comfy Interactive Movies, told Newsbytes, "Our entire goal is to base learning and exploring on fun and entertaining experiences for young children. As well as learning basic control of computer commands, children learn basic social skills through interaction with the characters in the movies. They see that being nice, greeting people and helping others are very basic components of life."
Comfy Interactive Movies says it has taken all the precautions to assure parents of the security of their own directories and files. Lace says the program cannot in any way allow the child to have contact with files outside of the environment created by the program. As a child gets more adept, the program allows a parent or teacher to create a bootable disk which will take the user directly to the Comfy Interactive area. If a child is able to insert a floppy and turn on the computer, she or he will be able to start the program without parental guidance.
This special keyboard connects to a parallel port, so that a parent's keyboard does not have to be altered.
Lace also said, "We have found that children take to the ComfyKeyboard very well, partially because it gives them a pride of ownership. Having their own keyboard separate from their parents creates a secure and comfortable environment in which to explore the adventures we provide."
The company says two new titles -- ComfyLand: The Great Concert and Christmas In ComfyLand -- for the ComfyKeyboard series will be available the first week of November. This product is already available in both toy stores and retail computer outlets for a suggested retail price of $129.
(Patrick McKenna/19941025/Press Contact: Ellie Bagli Freeman Public Relations, 212-489-8585; Public Information: 800-99-COMFY)
5; Public Information: 800-99-COMFY)
10/27/94
PC Keyboard Aimed At Kids Aged 2-6
EDUCATION
Unix Expo - Lotus Intros New Not
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI
Toshiba's Real-Time Video Encode
Softimage, Discreet Logic Settle
Lotus Reports Decline In 3rd Qua
Big Screen Plasma TV Project In
Support Grows for Apple GeoPort
Canadian Reseller Crowntek Acqui
Ericsson/Nokia - Major Net Techn
First Virtual Bank Of Cyberspace
DEC Launches Venturis PC Line
Microsoft, Rabbit Ears Plan Stor
Sanctuary Woods Intros Edu-Math
UK - Unipalm Licenses Mail-It Te
Which And Why - Windows Decision
Siemens Next In Line For PowerPC
Kelly Micro's Compaq Contura Lap
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Kelly Micro Systems Inc. is shipping four megabyte (MB) and 8MB memory boards for the Compaq Contura 400 laptop computer. The Contura 400 is Compaq's newest laptop offering, and Kelly says it is the first to begin shipping memory boards for the system.
Industry sources told Newsbytes that conservative sales estimates for the Compaq Contura 400 are in the range of 20,000 and perhaps as many as 30,000. The Contura base unit comes with 4MB memory that Compaq says can be expanded up to 20MB. Company sources told Newsbytes that Kelly engineers are working on a design to allow 32MB upgrades.
In addition to the 4MB and 8MB memory boards that are available now, Kelly expects to begin shipping 16MB memory boards for the Contura before the end of this year.
Kelly's president, Rich Scherle, told Newsbytes his company's memory products are specially engineered and tested to "meet or exceed" OEM (original equipment manufacturer) specifications.
According to Scherle, Kelley's memory boards, which the company makes itself are ANSI/IPC Class III-certified, which means they are qualified for use in life support systems, flight systems, and all mission-critical applications.
Scherle told Newsbytes a bare Class III (flight and life support equipment) board costs about twice as much as a Class I (consumer electronics) or Class II (commercial electronics), but is of considerably higher quality. The Class III boards have a better alignment registration, better quality material, thicker and more even plating, and even better overall appearance. According to Scherle, "a Class III board has to be perfect and look perfect."
Scherle added that, unlike some other manufacturers, Kelley's boards are "subjected to a more rigorous 200% testing process." All the memory chips are tested, and then the entire assembly is tested before the board is shipped to the customer.
Besides Class III certification and 200% testing, Kelley's memory products come with a lifetime warranty, and a comprehensive configuration guide, said the company. Company customer service offerings include free 24-hour technical support and next-day arrival.
A.J. Herrera, Kelley's director of marketing, told Newsbytes, "There are a lot amateurs offering third-party memory products. We've been in this business quite a while and understand the compatibility quality, and handling issues. We also have the technology and the resources necessary to offer the kind of memory upgrade products resellers need, when they need them."
Kelly has about 400 active "key" accounts and thousands of resellers who make occasional purchases, said the company. One of their largest customers is MicroAge, who subsequently purchased the entire company about one year ago.
Herrera told Newsbytes that, occasionally, some of Kelly's resellers express concern at buying memory products from a subsidiary of one of their competitors. He said however, that these resellers are satisfied once they realize Kelly only sells to dealers, and offers "reasonable pricing with customary dealer margins," and has the product in stock.
According to Herrera, historically, stocking memory upgrades has been a low priority for manufacturers who typically need the memory in their inventories to build their base systems. For this reason, Herrera says memory upgrades from the OEM may not be available or may require an often time-consuming back order.
"We intend to have our products shipping as close to the system release date as possible, so that resellers and end-users don't have to wait for memory products for new computers," said Rick Sherle, president of Kelly Micro Systems. "In order to give our resellers the best service, we have to provide products when they need them. Being first to ship memory to major resellers for the Compaq Contura is the beginning of a trend which we hope to continue for all new major computer releases."
Sherle told Newsbytes that resellers today are working on considerably lower margins and rely on "just-in-time delivery" in order to keep inventories and overhead at a minimum.
Kelly said it is a member of the developer assistance programs for most major OEMs, including Apple, Compaq, AST, IBM, and Hewlett Packard. The company is also in the process of having it memory products also be covered under manufacturer's warranties.
The market for memory products is quite large and is growing. According to the In-Stat Report, the worldwide market for memory products in computers and peripherals is currently estimated to be in excess of $18 billion annually. Advances in hardware and software technology, including graphical interfaces, faster and more powerful microprocessors, and multi-talking operating systems, continues to drive the demand for additional and more advanced memory. The current annual growth rate for memory products is 37.5%, and the market is expected to reach $62 billion by 1998.
Kelly Micro Systems has been competing in the memory market for almost 10 years. The company was founded in 1985 by Troy Barnes who was also responsible for negotiating the sale of Kelly to MicroAge earlier this year. The majority of their memory boards are made in-house at their Irvine, California facility.
(Nick Anis/19941026/Press Contact: Alexx Wood, Kelly Micro Systems, tel 800-854-3900, or 714-859-3900 ext 221 fax 714-859-6933; Reader Contact: tel 800-854-3900, or 714-859-3900, fax 714-859-6933)
tel 800-854-3900, or 714-859-3900, fax 714-859-6933)
10/27/94
Kelly Micro's Compaq Contura Laptop Memory Upgrade
Amnesty International Interactiv
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Bay area multimedia software developer, Voyager has produced an interactive CD-ROM for Amnesty International, covering the history and evolution of human rights.
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 and currently has 1.1 million members working for "human rights." The organization's mandate is to work for the "advancement of human rights," including the freedom of "prisoners of conscience," and to work for "fair and prompt" trials for political prisoners.
The interactive multimedia CD-ROM chronicles Amnesty International's human rights efforts and human rights conditions through the globe. The CD, is designed as an human rights educational tool, but it is very much a consumer product as well.
Ignition's Ray Kristof pointed out to Newsbytes that, in spite of the fact that part of Amnesty's work is to monitor and chronicle abuse and torture, that is not what this product is about. Kristof emphasizes the CD is "interesting, upbeat, uplifting, and not just a negative look at abuses going on around the world."
The narration is by science fiction screen star Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek's Dr. Spock), who is also well known for his film narrations. Nimoy joined the project and donated his services at the bequest of his daughter-in-law, Nancy Nimoy, who also donated her time to do many of the illustrations.
The CD is reportedly filled with a rich diversity of cultural styles in music, art, and design, and includes five topic areas.
The "Rights" section represents the universal declaration of human rights and presents 30 articles through animation, narration, and text. The "Ideas" section has a timeline of human rights history and presents the people, ideas, and events that contributed to human rights history from 2000 B.C. to the present.
The "Stories" section has a collection of photographic portraits from leading photographers accompanied by the stories of former "prisoners of conscience" from Amnesty International case files. The "Places" section is a world atlas/almanac of human rights and living conditions of 100 countries around the world.
The "Voices" section is a "call to action/what you can do" section that contains video interviews with a variety of people discussing what individuals can do through the various organizations. The section also includes hundreds of pages of reference documents in electronic form which Ignition says are provided for "teaching and learning."
The CD's soundtrack was created by luminaries of world music and rock from Amnesty benefit concerts and events, and also from scores done specifically for the CD, as arranged by Ignition.
The company says that Amnesty Interactive is a non-profit educational project, produced entirely by donated services from artists entertainers, and multimedia specialists around the world.
Ray Kristof, a producer at Voyager, was the project's director and producer. Other members of the design team, also from Voyager include Amy Satran, who was the business and project manager and Eli Cochran, who was the principle programmer and co-designer.
The CD is being distributed for $10 to cover materials and marketing as a "public service" by Voyager. The Macintosh version is now shipping. A Windows version will be available in November.
(Nick Anis/19941026/Press Contact: Nancy Perlman, Voyager 800-446-2001, or 212-431-5199; Ray Kristof or Amy Satran Ignition, tel 415-221-4266, fax 415-2214385, Internet e-mail IGNITIONSF@AOL.COM; Reader Contact: Voyager, 800-446-2001 or 212-431-5199)
der Contact: Voyager, 800-446-2001 or 212-431-5199)
10/27/94
Amnesty International Interactive Human Rights CD
APPLE
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
IBM Says Software Is Holding Up
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Mar
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Boo
Newsbytes On NIFTY-Serve
UK - Novell Offers Fault Toleran
Midisoft Intros Multimedia Prese
Sima Offers Mice & Accessories S
Maxwell Wins $5Mil Criminal Just
White House Weaves A WWWeb
Cellular Phone Fraud Ring Charge
Australia Computer News Briefs
MCI Deploys New Corning High Cap
Math Blaster For Sega, Nintendo
Southern Bell To Intro Call Comp
MCI & BT Launch Concert Virtual
Hewlett-Packard Slashes Europe N
teractiv
Sanctuary Woods' Wordstuff Educa
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Inc. (NASDAQ:SWMCF, Vancouver:SWD.V) has introduced WordStuff, which the company says is the newest addition to its I-learn Library of CD-ROM titles that "engage and entertain while fulfilling underlying educational objectives."
Sanctuary Woods spokesperson, Kristy Sager. told Newsbytes that Wordstuff is a highly animated interactive picture dictionary in English and Spanish for pre-readers, ages three to six years of age. Sager says using the educational potential of multimedia, Wordstuff gives children a head start to vocabulary and reading.
"WordStuff provides a fun and effective environment for kids to explore vocabulary," said Renee Courington, vice president of Sanctuary Woods' education division. "We've taken the traditional picture book and expanded on it with animation, sound, music printing, and recording -- multimedia content that brings to life words and clarifies concepts, such as 'light' and 'heavy,' that are difficult to convey on paper."
Sager says the program teaches more than 700 essential nouns and verbs and practices early sentence-building, while allowing kids to discover "wacky animations and crazy sounds," record their own voices, and create and print their own word and sentence coloring books.
WordStuff includes four "environments" that are based on the seasonal themes of springs, summer, winter, and fall. Users can explore the environments in three different modes: I-SPY, I-PLAY, and I-SING. Each mode, playable in English or Spanish, allows children to build their vocabulary and understanding of new word concepts while expanding upon the learning in prior modes.
For example, in the winter environment a child can click on the toboggan and it is read to them. They can take the microphone and record themselves speaking the word "toboggan" to practice its pronunciation.
In the I-SPY mode, arrows and circles highlight a variety of new nouns. Children can click on a word to hear it pronounced, or they can use the microphone to practice and play-back their own pronunciation.
In the I-PLAY mode, difficult-to-understand concepts, such as opposites (light and heavy) and action words (such as sing or grow) are "brought to life" through animation and sounds. For example animated characters demonstrate opposite words, such as "hit" and "miss," by throwing snowballs at a soda can.
In the I-SING mode, music is used in the language-learning process. The mode presents popular folk songs with rewritten lyrics incorporating the program's new vocabulary. Kids can listen or sing along with one of four traditional folk songs, such as "Jingle Bells," "Skip to My Lou," and "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain."
The PC version requires: a 386DX 33 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor; VGA or better monitor, Windows 3.1; four megabytes (MB) RAM; a hard drive with 2MB of free space; a CD-ROM drive; a SoundBlaster-compatible sound card; a mouse; and speakers. A microphone and printer are recommended.
The Macintosh version requires: a Macintosh LC III or higher with a 13-inch monitor; System 6.07 or higher; 4MB RAM; a hard drive; and CD-ROM drive.
The program is available for $39.95 through mass merchants, mail order, and software retailers, as well as direct from the company.
(Nick Anis/19941027/Press Contact: Kristy Sager, Sanctuary Woods tel 415-286-6056, fax 415-286-6020, Internet e-mail kgsager@aol.com; Reader contact: 415-826-6100)
kgsager@aol.com; Reader contact: 415-826-6100)
10/27/94
Sanctuary Woods' Wordstuff Educational CD-ROM
EDUCATION
BusinessNet Conference To Focus
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Futurist Alvin Toffler and IBM executive Fernand Sarrat will be among the speakers at BusinessNet, a conference on doing business online to be held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel November 7 and 8.
CMP Trade Show & Conference Services, a unit of CMP Publications and New York-based New Media Associates Inc., will run the conference. Mark Stahlman, president of New Media, will chair the conference. Computer maker Tandem Inc. and the Prodigy online service have been signed as charter sponsors.
Toffler, author of "Future Shock" and "War and Antiwar," will be the keynote speaker on November 7. Jim Clark, chairman and chief executive of Mosaic Communications, is the luncheon speaker on the first day, CMP spokesman Jonathan Varman told Newsbytes.
Sarrat, head of the networked application services division of IBM, is the second-day keynoter. Other speakers include: industry commentator Esther Dyson, editor of the Release 1.0 newsletter; America Online President and Chief Executive Steve Case; CompuServe Vice-President Tim Oren; Prodigy Executive Vice-President Scott Kurnit; author George Gilder; and industry watcher Amy Wohl.
Scott Cook, vice-president of electronic commerce at Microsoft Corp., has been invited to give the luncheon speech on the conference's second day.
Conference organizers promised controversy and debate, saying they mean to avoid "empty corporate testimonials." For those who want to hear sales pitches, though, there will also be vendor exhibits.
No estimates of the expected attendance at the conference are available yet, Varman said.
(Grant Buckler/19941027/Press Contact: Jonathan Varman, CMP Trade Show & Conference Services, tel 516-733-6827, fax 517-733-6753; Public Contact: CMP Trade Show & Conference Services, tel 800-808 3976 or 516-733-6770, fax 800-858-0412 or 516-733-6730)
6 or 516-733-6770, fax 800-858-0412 or 516-733-6730)
10/27/94
BusinessNet Conference To Focus On Online Business
ONLINE
Key Tronic Returns To Profitabil
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Keyboard and input device maker Key Tronic Corp. (NASDAQ:KTCC) has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a return to profitability and a significant increase in its credit line.
After six quarters of operating income red ink, the company has announced a net income of $328,000 or $0.04 per share on net sales of $45.44 million for the first quarter of fiscal 1995. For the same period last year Key Tronic lost $0.20 per share on net sales of $36.1 million.
"Our back-to-basics strategy has been gradually moving into place; after major costly redeployments Key Tronic has gained the flexibility to manufacture globally dictated by market needs. Performance factors such as man-hours-per-product-unit are down; accountability in the organization is improved, and the company is better able to predict and manage itself from the lower echelons," according to Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hiller.
Key Tronic VP of Finance Ronald Klawitter told Newsbytes, "We think we have turned the corner and are headed upward."
In June, Key Tronic completed the closing of a plant in the state of Washington, moving much of its production to the former Honeywell keyboard division's assembly facility in Juarez, Mexico, where the company employs about 1,100. "That helped to lower our cost of operation," says Klawitter. The company also operates manufacturing sites in Spokane and in Ireland.
Hiller said the company is cautiously optimistic that it has returned to a profitability trend. "The caution in our optimism reflects a movement by major overseas competitors to flood some markets with low-end keyboards at sacrifice prices."
Key Tronic manufactures the PC keyboard recently announced by Microsoft, as well as its own FlexPro ergonomic keyboard for high volume keyboarding. Klawitter acknowledges the Microsoft contract as one of the factors contributing to the company's improved position, although not the sole factor. "We've gotten quite a bit of new business that's just now coming on line," he told Newsbytes.
Key Tronic does not disclose production numbers, but Microsoft says it has sold more than 100,000 of the unique keyboards since it was introduced three months ago.
Key Tronic also expanded its credit line with a secured financing agreement with CIT Business Credit that gives the company a revolving credit line of up to $28 million and term debt of $12 million in a renewable three-year deal. The new plan replaces Key Tronic's present $5 million revolving credit line and $20.9 million in term debt.
Klawitter told Newsbytes the new credit arrangement gives the company the ability to grow as revenues and opportunities increase. "It gives us a lot more flexibility, lower payment requirements, and more cash to invest in new products and grow our business." Key Tronic is expected to announce new product agreements with one or more OEM (original equipment manufacturers) in the near future.
(Jim Mallory/19941027/Press contact: Ronald Klawitter 509-927-5295)
ry/19941027/Press contact: Ronald Klawitter 509-927-5295)
10/27/94
Key Tronic Returns To Profitability, Raises Credit Line
BUSINESS
Phone Fraud Ringleader Pleads Gu
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- The European leader of an international ring of phone hackers has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of telephone calling card numbers used to make $100 million in unauthorized long-distance calls.
Max Louarn, 22, of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, entered his plea in US District Court to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in a case investigated by law enforcement agencies in the US Britain, and Spain.
Louarn's guilty plea is the second in the case. Earlier in the month, Andy Gaspard, 23, of Woodbridge, Va., entered a plea of guilty to trafficking in the calling card codes issued by telephone companies.
According to court documents, Louarn, Gaspard, and a third defendant, Omar Flatekval, 20, of Northumberland, England stole and sold between 40,000 and 100,000 code numbers. Flatekval was arrested in Britain.
Louarn faces up to five years in prison on each of two counts and a minimum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for January 20.
Louarn admitted taking delivery in Spain of about 40,000 calling codes stolen from AT&T, GTE, and Bell Atlantic that Gaspard, working for Cleartel Communications, a long-distance company, stole.
Cooperating with the US Secret Service, Gaspard helped lure Louarn to the US in September, for a visit to turn over a new load of card numbers. The Secret Service videotaped a conversation in which Louarn claimed to make $18,000 a month on the scheme. Then the agents arrested Louarn.
Louarn's conviction also covers participation in a related conspiracy involving the theft of up to 100,000 codes in 1992-1994 from an MCI switching facility in North Carolina.
(Kennedy Maize/19941027)
Carolina.
(Kennedy Maize/19941027)
10/27/94
Phone Fraud Ringleader Pleads Guilty
LEGAL
FCC Pager Auction Brings Big Buc
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- The Federal Communications Commission's second auction of the airwaves is having the same result at the first -- big money bids. At the end of the third round of bidding for six narrowband license in each of five regions of the country, the total had topped $297 million.
The current licenses are a prelude to December 5, when the FCC will put 99 licenses for upgraded personal communications services (PCS) that will lead to national cellular networks. Those licenses are expected to raise several billion dollars in the aggregate.
The bidding for the PCS licenses which began this week is likely to go into next week as bidders increase the amount they are willing to offer. The auction has attracted 28 bidders including AT&T and Ameritech. Of the bidders, about 20 are small businesses or owned by minorities or women.
Maceo Sloan, president of Sloan Financial Group of Durham N.C., the nation's largest black-owned venture capital firm was the highest bidder in each of the five regions. He hopes to use the regional licenses to form a national paging network.
Sloan bid $16 million for each of the regional licenses. "I've got a barrel full of cash," Sloan told the Washington Post. "I came to this one ready. We saw what happened in the nationwide auctions."
In those auctions, minority firms were completely shut out. While the FCC was offering a 25% discount for bidders owned by women or minorities, the bids were so high that the discount became meaningless. In reaction, the FCC increased the discount to 40%.
OXNARD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- The coastal city of Oxnard, California, has joined a growing number of cities that use cellular phones in a volunteer Cellular Community Watch anti-crime program. The hardware and phone accounts were donated by Cellular One, a division of AT&T's McCaw Cellular operation.
The idea is a spin-off of Neighborhood Watch or Community Watch programs in which neighborhood volunteers cruise local neighborhoods looking for signs of crime in progress, fires, and other emergencies. When found, the volunteer notifies the appropriate authorities to take action. The strategy has been found effective in many locations across the US.
Oxnard's Community Watch program was singled out by ABC's "Primetime Live" and several other national television programs because of its effectiveness against local crime. What Cellular Watch has done is to upgrade the existing program's available tools.
The idea for Cellular Community Watch was suggested by Cellular One employee and community watch volunteer Gary London, a cellular site engineer. Similar programs have been announced independently in recent months in: Fresno, California; Denver, Colorado; Portland Oregon; and Kirkland and Seattle, Washington, among others.
Sylvia Schnopp, Cellular One's marketing manager for the Ventura County (Oxnard) area, told Newsbytes: "Everyone's very excited. Some groups had been using walkie-talkies and there were others who really relied on, basically, nothing. If something was going on they'd have to run home to call it in, or find a pay phone. This program lets them keep the patrols out on the streets, and if anything suspicious needs to be reported, they have immediate access to a phone, to make a call."
Schnopp explained that Cellular One has committed to providing the phones, the airtime, and voice mailboxes for a year. The cellular accounts are call-restricted to 911, 611 (a "customer care" line) a non-emergency police line, and three numbers of key coordinators in the Community Watch group.
"The idea," said Schnopp, "is to enhance communication efforts for the neighborhood watch patrols, by giving them immediate contact with emergency officials and other 'Watch' members."
The voice-mail boxes allow volunteers to leave messages and access key information about events that take place in their neighborhood and the program.
"Originally I asked for a one or two phone donation," said London. "I was really surprised when the company came back with an entire community program and a donation of more than 25 phones and services."
(Craig Menefee/19941027/Press Contact: Sylvia Schnopp, Cellular One, 805-987-0955, or Lori Butler, Butler Communications, 805 658-6520; Reader Contact: 805-385-7631/OXNARD941027/PHOTO)
Reader Contact: 805-385-7631/OXNARD941027/PHOTO)
10/27/94
Cellular Community Watch In Oxnard, California
TELECOM
Bell Atlantic's Free MADD Drunk
2 PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic Mobile, in concert with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), has made available a free "DUI" calling program in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area. The firm says the aim is to make it a free call if customers wish to report impaired drivers to the local police.
To use the service, a cellular customer on the road who sees a "suspected drunk driver," as the announcement put it, can press "*" (the star symbol) followed by "DUI" (384) to make a free call to an Allegheny County Police number established for the purpose.
The firm says it plans also to help distribute Red Ribbons in its retail locations. The Red Ribbon Campaign is sponsored annually by MADD during the holidays. People tie the ribbons to their car antennas, mirrors, or the like as a reminder to be sane and sober drivers, according to MADD.
Spokesperson Laurie Sweeney of MADD's Allegheny/Westmoreland chapter told Newsbytes the Red Ribbon campaign was going into its ninth year this year, and has been gaining acceptance everywhere. She said that the "Star-DUI" program had been requested by the local chapter's director after hearing about a similar program elsewhere.
Pat Quolke of Bell Atlantic Mobile's Pittsburgh area confirmed that the company has similar programs elsewhere, specifically in the US southeastern Carolinas region.
"It's been very successful there, and in that area it's being expanded," she told Newsbytes. "We're expanding here, too. We just got word this week from the Westmoreland County Police, and we'll be expanding it there before Thanksgiving."
Quolke explained that the biggest hurdle to establishing such a service universally is establishing where to route the calls. Most US areas have a variety of town, city and county police agencies and coordination can be difficult, she said.
Asked if she expects the service to continue expanding, she replied "It's a community service, and we feel it is important to provide it to the community to assist in highway safety."
(Craig Menefee/19941027/Press Contact: Dr. Arlene Baxter, MADD Allegheny/Westmoreland, 412-373-6233; Pat Quolke, Bell Atlantic Mobile, 412-563-0367; Brian Woods, Bell Atlantic Mobile headquarters, 908-306-7508; Reader Contact: Donna Latsko, Bell Atlantic Mobile, 412-635-2064)
Donna Latsko, Bell Atlantic Mobile, 412-635-2064)
10/27/94
Bell Atlantic's Free MADD Drunk Driving Program
LEGAL
eWorld's Adds Nolo Legal, Ad Age
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- The Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) eWorld online service has added two new publication-oriented centers. The Nolo Press center specializes in legal self-help, while Ad Age/Creativity Online covers the world of marketing and advertising.
Nolo Press, of Berkeley, California, is a leading US publisher of self-help law books and software applications. Its publications cover, among other subjects, the most common US legal issues of wills, bankruptcy, divorce and personal injury claims. eWorld subscribers can order Nolo's books, legal forms, audio and video tapes directly, while online. Demonstration versions of Nolo's software titles will also be available, including its flagship product, Willmaker 5.
Said Nolo's director of software development, Albin Renauer, "Nolo Press believes every American has a right to know the law -- without paying a lawyer. Offering our services and products on an online service like eWorld makes the process easier for more people."
Nolo's eWorld offering will include a variety of resources and products, plus opportunities to discuss laws and legal issues with legal experts through live, online seminars. Subscribers also will be able to communicate directly with Nolo Press lawyers and will have access to quarterly editions of Nolo News, a library of articles with practical legal guidance and information.
Nolo also maintains a huge collection of what Apple sources called "no-holds-barred" lawyer jokes.
The new Ad Age and Creativity Online center provides news, industry analysis and articles published by both Crain Communications magazines. The center will be a place for people to exchange ideas advice and strategy "with some of the world's savviest marketers," according to Apple.
The Ad Age content will include news and analysis about every aspect of marketing including advertising, promotion, interactive communications, direct mail, media buying, research, retailing and brand management, eWorld sources said.
eWorld spokesperson Amy Bonetti told Newsbytes, "Everybody's really excited about the new areas. In the Ad Age/Creativity area, it's mostly professionals in marketing, and advertising creative types. They have some really fascinating areas there, a lot of fun. It's a natural place for creative ad people to meet, since they all use Macs."
About Nolo Press, she commented, "The Nolo Press area is really simple and easy to use. I thought it was going to take awhile to ramp it up past just basic information, so I was surprised when I tried it. They really get down to the nitty-gritty of legal questions."
eWorld, an online service for Macintosh computers, is currently promoting a free trial offer through February 15, 1995.
eWorld's Adds Nolo Legal, Ad Age/Creativity Centers
ONLINE
Business Group Gets Specific On
MCI Gets Into Directory Assistan
India - VHEL Signs With Nokia, S
Microsoft Licenses Windows 95 Ne
Greece - State Telecom Firm Seek
Philips Licenses MIPS RISC
Computer Freedom & Privacy Confe
Software Group Blasts Govt Shrin
UK - US Robotics/Novell LAN Fax
Hong Kong - COL & DEC In Disaste
UK - MJN Computers Airlifted Int
Microsoft TV Goes On The Air Nov
Video-Over-Cellular For TV News
Ziff-Davis Bought For $1.4 Billi
Electronic Arts Offers Entertain
DEC & MicroMall Team On Home Sho
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- DEC plans to offer a series of "home shopping environments," being jointly created with MicroMall. Newsbytes has learned that the environments are intended for use by telephone and cable TV companies, including the previously unannounced Svenska Cable of Sweden, and other DEC partners.
The "online shopping malls" feature the Land's End catalog manufacturer as the first signed customer. Possible outlets include phone and cable companies that are using DEC's video server technology in video trials and commercial deployments, said Roger Horine, marketing communications manager for DEC's Video & Interactive Information Services, in an interview with Newsbytes.
The "home shopping environments" will be produced in conjunction with MicroMall at DEC's recently established Digital Media Center in Tarrytown, New York, a facility that provides program creation conversion, compression, and distribution services.
DEC has previously announced its participation in video trials and deployments that include US West's pilot project in Omaha Nebraska, a Nynex deployment in Rhode Island, and Telstra/Telecom Australia's first pilot, according to Horine.
The Svenska Cable trial was previously unveiled in Sweden, but has not yet been announced in North America, he told Newsbytes. The trial -- one of the first to be conducted by a cable company -- will involve 500 households in Jarlaberg, a suburb outside Stockholm.
The Svenska trial calls for interactive viewing of 40 movies, he added. The Swedish trial is set to begin in early 1995. DEC has also agreed to participate in several other video trials and deployments, but has not yet released the details.
In another interview with Newsbytes, Charles Spong, president of MicroMall, said that DEC's participation in multiple video trials and deployments was one of the major reasons why his company decided to work with DEC. "We'll be able to multiply our efforts for the same amount of work," Spong told Newsbytes.
Digital and MicroMall will offer the electronic shopping malls to retailers as a way of creating interactive "storefront programs," Horine said.
"We're not talking here about putting a printed catalog on digital video," he explained. Instead, video clips will be assembled in a way that lets home users "thread their way through, viewing selected clips."
MicroMall will create the "human interface" to the shopping mall as well as developing content, he added. DEC and MicroMall plan to test the home shopping applications with retail customers at the Digital Media Center in Tarrytown.
Spong told Newsbytes that the "electronic malls" will be geared in approach and content to retailers and home users who are not necessarily "infatuated with technology."
"We won't be selling 'technology' to retailers. We'll be selling 'selling,'" noted the company president. The interactive TV content will be quite different from computer video applications, according to Spong.
PCs and TVs differ in "psychodynamics" as well as technology, he pointed out. "It's a different experience to be viewing video on a VGA screen 18 inches away from you, and using a keyboard or a mouse, than to be watching a TV set on the other side of the room with a remote control in your hand."
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941027/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Roger Horine, DEC, 508-841-2609; Steve Diamond, The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900; Mara Radis, Young & Associates for MicroMall, 301-309-9404)
Radis, Young & Associates for MicroMall, 301-309-9404)
10/27/94
DEC & MicroMall Team On Home Shopping Video Content
BROADCAST
China - Nokia Announces First GS
BEIJING, CHINA, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Nokia has announced that the first call on the GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital phone network in China was made on Tuesday.
The call, the first public digital call ever made in China, was made at the Expocomm exhibition which takes place in Beijing all this week. The call was made by Wu Jichuan, the Chinese Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, on the Nokia-installed network.
According to Nokia, the GSM network was one of the fastest installed with the contract for installation only having been signed in May of this year. Currently, the GSM network covers most of Beijing and the outlying areas of the city, with plans to roll out across China as demand and network capacity allow.
Jorma Ollila, chief executive officer (CEO) of Nokia, said that the network initially has a capacity for 15,000 users, although this figure will be increased substantially by the end of the year, as new base stations are hooked up. Nokia says it hopes to have full voice-mail and SMS (short message service) facilities operational this week.
SMS is a system which uses several of the control channels on the GSM network to carry messages of up to 160 characters in length. The system can be used for broadcast facilities by the network, news services and also messages advising subscribers that voice-mail is waiting. Plans also call for mobile-to-mobile SMS message service facilities to be implemented, as they have been implemented on European GSM networks.
Ollila said that the Chinese project is one of the most significant for Nokia, since it represents the first stage in a potentially massive project. The project also lays the foundation for East-West relations on a technologically advanced level, he said. "At the operational level, the speedy implementation of the Beijing network clearly demonstrates the benefits of cooperation," he added.
Despite the network only having been installed this summer, Nokia claims it has been in the region for some time, supplying hard-wired (wireline) phone technology since the early 1980s. The company opened its first offices in China ten years ago and has since formed a number of joint ventures in the field.
Most recently, Nokia established a joint venture with the Cable Wire group of Shanghai for the manufacture of spiral space optical cables.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941027/Press Contact: Vesa Tkkylamen, Nokia China 86-1-532-6555; Tapani Kaskinen, Nokia Finland, +358-400-418605)
Tapani Kaskinen, Nokia Finland, +358-400-418605)
10/27/94
China - Nokia Announces First GSM Network Live
TELECOM
French Gov't Discusses Online In
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- The French government is debating a proposal to expand the existing Minitel online service project into a fully fledged data "highway" reaching every house and office in France.
The Minitel project, which was set up in the late 1970s as a means of avoiding the cost of printing and distributing paper phone directories across France, is similar to the Prodigy network in the US, except that it predates Prodigy by almost a decade.
Users are loaned a monochrome terminal, complete with a 1,200/75 bits-per-second (bps) modem for use in the office or home, and can call the online directory inquiry service free of charge for the first few minutes. Calls beyond a few minutes, as well as calls to non-directory assistance services, racks up charges depending on the service used.
Minitel differs from other online services in that the service is actually only a front-end into Transpac, the French packet data network (PDN). As callers select from the various menus of services available, a PDN call is routed to the service provider's computer system, which can be anything from a PC in someone's office with a leased line into Transpac, to a massive mainframe. France Telecom merely collects the call revenue from the users' phone bill.
ISDN (integrated services digital network) access to Transpac is starting to take-off in France and, as with Minitel, the government wants its citizens to reap the benefit of the technology with its many spin-offs for businesses.
The proposal before the French Senate calls for the government to commit a considerable amount of money to installing fiber optic links into every home and office in France. The proposal has been taken up by Gerard Thery, the former managing director of France Telecom and the man credited as the inventor of Minitel.
Details of the report will be published in France this weekend, but according the preliminary released by the French Department of Industry, the idea draws heavily on the "information superhighway" notion offered by the Clinton Administration in the US.
Gerard Thery claims the concept of the info superhighway as his own pointing to the Minitel project as his brainchild, Nevertheless, the idea of hooking up every home and office in France to a video dial tone and beyond, reportedly comes from Al Gore's speeches over the past few years.
The cost of the French info superhighway could be as much as FF200,000,000,000 over the next 20 years, and Thery is proposing that as with Minitel, France Telecom absorb the massive costs of setting up the network in the early years, while enjoying the profits in later times.
The plan will undoubtedly trigger some hard arguments in the Senate as, in order to persuade France Telecom, which is preparing to be privatized, of the viability of the project, the government would almost certainly have to allow the telecoms giant a monopoly of "fiber to the home," something that will cause an uproar with the European Commission.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941027)
ean Commission.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941027)
10/27/94
French Gov't Discusses Online Info Highway
ONLINE
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek
SlipKnot, Windows Browser For Th
Age Intros Low Bit Rate Video Ph
UK Politician Offered Internet A
Canadian Policy May Reduce Cable
MapInfo Tops In PC Mapping - Rep
UK Firm Intros Accounting Packag
Microsoft Comments On Spielberg,
Pepsi Buys 1,400 Pen-based Noran
Kolvox In WordPerfect, Westlaw S
Bell Atlantic & Octus In Marketi
Germany - Escom To Move Into PC
MCI Handing Out Frequent Flyer M
Beame & Whiteside Readies NetWar
Elonex's Support For PC Plug-And
UK - Windows TCP/IP Connectivity
WOKING, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- WRQ, which is known as Wick Hill in the UK, has unveiled a new version of its Reflection TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for Windows networking communications package. The package bridges the gap between PC platform and mainframe environments using software terminal emulation but, as an added advantage, supports TCP/IP across cellular phone links.
This is made possible by the inclusion of support for the cellular digital packet data (CDPD) system that is being implemented on cellular phone networks across the US. Instead of relying on an new digital phone technology, CDPD makes uses of spare transmission capacity on the existing cellular networks.
Evan Kaplan, marketing manager with WRQ, in London to launch the new version of Reflection TCP/IP for Windows, explained to Newsbytes that this support for CDPD is a major step forward for TCP/IP network access.
"Our version of TCP/IP for CDPD makes use of the fact that, once established, the cellular data link is a very robust mechanism as far as error-checking is concerned. Our system initially acknowledges all the data blocks flowing over the link, but gradually steps these down until it only becomes necessary to send an ACK every two seconds," he told Newsbytes.
"Because of this, faster data transmissions are possible, and the TCP/IP link can stand up to the CDPD network link. This version of Reflection TCP/IP has been optimized for CDPD," he said.
CDPD uses the existing cellular networks to carry data in digital form. Based on an open standard, CDPD was developed by the US cellular phone industry to offer cost-effective data communications. Since its release in July of last year, the technology has been implemented by several cellular phone network in the US.
Using a TCP/IP link across the CDPD data link means that, as far as the user is concerned, the cellular phone operates like a standard TCP/IP network link into a variety of services, ranging from the Internet, through the office LAN and even standard PDN networks such as Sprint and Tymnet.
Allison Koenig, ISV (independent software vendor) development manager at McCaw, one of the cellular operators in the US, said that the WRQ package "is a very robust TCP/IP stack whose advanced features are optimized for the CDPD network."
WRQ's Kaplan explained that, while other networking software can interface with CDPD links, the Reflection TCP/IP for Windows package is the best at coping with problems. The package includes a link recovery module that allows for changes in the cellular signal strength that affect the data transmission.
"When the CDPD link goes down, Reflection is able to recover and restart the link within a very short space of time, with the TCP/IP stack doing the reconnecting and retraining within a few seconds. This ensures that the data transmission continues almost uninterrupted," he said.
In the UK, Reflection TCP/IP for Windows costs UKP249 for the package plus a LAT module for connection to DEC host systems. The package is also available for connection to both DEC and Hewlett-Packard host computers at UKP319. Similar dollar pricing (1 UKP = $1.6) applies in the US, Kaplan told Newsbytes.
(Steve Gold/19941027/Press & Reader Contact: Wick HIll 44-483-772280)
Press & Reader Contact: Wick HIll 44-483-772280)
10/27/94
UK - Windows TCP/IP Connectivity Over Cellular
TELECOM
UK - Apricot Offers PCs Via PC W
BIRMINGHAM, WEST MIDLANDS, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Apricot Computers has announced plans to sell a selection of its Xen PCs through the PC World computer superstore chain in the UK. The move is significant for Apricot, which has always sold its machines through dealers and value-added resellers (VARs).
According to Chris Buckham, Apricot's marketing director, the machines will be available from next week onwards at all of PC World's 12 UK stores. This is, he said, the company's first significant venture into the retail sales channel.
"As a major UK PC vendor, we use a range of channels to sell our products to users. This includes established VARs, corporate resellers, systems integrators, off-the-page resellers, and now retailers like PC World," he said
According to Buckham, the key is to "strike the right balance so that all of our customers' needs are met in the most appropriate way. Our presence in PC World will help use reach a new set of customers and develop incremental business for Apricot products."
Exact pricing on the five Xen PCs, ranging from a 486DX2-based system running at 50 megahertz, to a Pentium-based unit, have yet to be disclosed. The machines are being bundled with a choice of software that includes MS Works, Intuit's Quicken, Lotus 1-2-3 and Ami Pro, as well as Lotus Organizer and Microsoft Encarta.
(Steve Gold/19941027/Press Contact: Lisa Francis, Text 100 44-81-242-4100; Reader Contacts: Apricot Computers, +44-21-717 7171; PC World, +44-71-499-3494)
, +44-21-717 7171; PC World, +44-71-499-3494)
10/27/94
UK - Apricot Offers PCs Via PC World Stores
BUSINESS
UK - Hutchison Claims London Mob
Defense Electronics Sales Stable
UK - Tricom Upgrades Landial Sec
Caere & Calera To Merge
Apple Australia CD Sampler
Allnet Expands Mobile Line With
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem M
Software Alliance Wins $260,000
Scala Opens Canadian Office, Lau
UK - Voice-Mail Offers Link For
New CDMA Async Data/Message Spec
Philippines City Hall Installs F
Concentric Network Low-Cost BBS/
Government Managers Get Piracy L
FCC Chairman Reed Hundt On Telec
UK - MJN Computers Airlifted Int
BURNLEY, LANCS, U.K., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- MJN Technology, the direct-sell PC vendor, has been chosen to supply PCs to hospitals in war-torn Sarajevo. UK Med, the British medical charity, has bought UKP40,000 worth of computer hardware from MJN, along with several printers from Hewlett-Packard, to ship into Bosnia for use at several hospitals.
According to Sheelagh Dick, marketing director with MJN, the PCs and printers have been airlifted out for use by the Bosnian Ministry of Health, and will be used to gather health information and store details of patients in and around the devastated city.
According to Dr. Redmond, UK Med's chairman, each hospital is working under atrocious conditions, with unreliable water and electrical supplies compounding the problems. Fortunately, emergency generators are in regular use in Sarajevo hospitals, meaning that the computer systems can be used without power problems.
"Before the war, Yugoslavian hospitals were equipped with sophisticated machinery and operators. The computers we've just taken out there will be used to return efficiency to Sarajevo hospitals. We've already found that MJN systems offer outstanding value for money and can cope well with heavy duty," he said.
Colin Silcock, MJN's national sales manager, said that it is great to hear that the company's products are being put to such a worthwhile use.
UK Med is playing a major role in Operation Phoenix, the UK/US initiative that aims to restore essential services in Sarajevo. UK Med is reporting to, and working with, Operation Phoenix to direct medical relief, and ensure that money is spent on crucial aid for the local people in Yugoslavia.
The charity is funded by the Overseas Development Administration part of the Foreign Office in the UK. Its work in Sarajevo is being coordinated by the World Health Organization.
(Steve Gold/19941027/Press Contact: John Butters, Insight 44-61-495-5050; MJN, tel +44-282-777555, fax +44-282-770844)
MJN, tel +44-282-777555, fax +44-282-770844)
10/27/94
UK - MJN Computers Airlifted Into Sarajevo
GENERAL
F p T
UK - Voice-Mail Offers Link For
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- FutureConnect has unveiled a voice-mail system for use on university campuses.
The just-announced CampusConnect system is based around an IBM PS/2 PC linked to the company's DirectTalk/2 voice-processing platform. The DirectTalk/2 system is itself based around Dialogic's PC voice processing technology.
The system allows students to access their own personal answering system using terminals located around the campus. The system accepts incoming voice-mail for the students by accepting either a touch-tone account number from callers or recognizing a student's name when spoken by the caller.
When a message is received for a student, the system alerts the student to that fact by displaying a "page" on the monitor of the terminals around the university. Messages can be retrieved from any terminal, using either spoken commands or keypad entry.
Southampton University is the test site for the system and FutureConnect claims that other universities around the UK are planning to install systems during the current academic year.
"I'm sure that, as term progresses, CampusConnect will provide its worth as a valuable method of communication between students their family and friends, and possibly between other groups on campus and their members," said Hannah Barton, president of Southampton student's union.
According to Barton, the system helps a great deal "to alleviate the communications problem that most students face at the university."
FutureConnect is offering the systems on a purchase or lease basis to universities, who can then offer the service to students for 50 pence per week per mailbox. According to the company, this makes the service far more viable than using commercial voice-mail, radiopagers or cellular phones, and stays within the budget of the average student.
(Steve Gold/19941027/Press & Reader Contact: Dave Williams FutureConnect, +44-703-767671/FUTURE941027/PHOTO)
UK - Voice-Mail Offers Link For University Students
EDUCATION
. X <
Avid Technology To Merge With Di
TEWKSBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- Avid Technology and Digidesign Inc., major players in the respective fields of digital video and audio, have announced plans to unite their companies through a merger.
In interviews with Newsbytes, Avid and Digidesign officials characterized the deal as a "merger of strength" that will bring together two companies experiencing financial growth, and will allow the two vendors to leverage one another's technologies and distribution channels.
"We are merging because we want to do so, not because either of us has to do so. Together, we'll be able to do things better and faster," said Joy Covey, chief financial officer for Digidesign.
The merger will not result in any layoffs, according to Covey. Digidesign will continue to operate in Menlo, California, and Avid will continue its operations in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, she told Newsbytes.
The merger is subject to approval by the shareholders of both companies, and is expected to be completed within two to three months. Under terms of the deal, Digidesign shareholders will receive 0.79 shares of Avid common stock for each share of Digidesign stock.
Avid and Digidesign are already working together, in that Digidesign audio cards are used in Avid's video products, noted Sue Imhoff, product manager for audio products at Tewksbury Massachusetts-based Avid Technology.
"We'll be hitting the ground running," Imhoff told Newsbytes. The merger will allow the two companies to produce "more streamlined solutions" while "significantly widening" market penetration and distribution, she predicted.
Digidesign, which produces the ProTools line of digital audio products, markets its products through dealers, Covey explained. Avid Technology sells direct, to markets ranging from the desktop to the professional broadcast arena.
Avid has just announced revenues of $54 million and earnings per share of $0.33 for the quarter ended September 30, 1994, compared to revenues of $31 million and earnings of $0.18 for the corresponding quarter of 1993. These results represent increases of 74.4 percent and 83.3 percent, respectively, over the previous year's results.
Digidesign has reported revenues of $9.6 million for the quarter ended September 40, 1994, an increase of 58.1 percent over $6.1 million for the same quarter in 1993. Earnings per share for the quarter just ended were $0.17, a 70 percent increase over last year's result of $0.10.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941127/Reader Contact: Avid Technology 508-640-6789; Press Contact: Christa Degnan or Michelle Goodall Schwartz Communications for Avid, 617-431-0770)
rtz Communications for Avid, 617-431-0770)
10/27/94
Avid Technology To Merge With Digidesign
BUSINESS
Ziff-Davis Bought For $1.4 Billi
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- A definitive agreement has been signed which places five units of the Ziff-Davis publishing empire in control of Forstmann Little & Company. The agreement, worth $1.4 billion, leaves the Ziff family with a small equity interest in the company.
Forstmann Little & Co. is a private investment firm out of New York. A spokesperson for the company told Newsbytes, "This purchase, announced today, is the twentieth major purchase completed by the company. Counting this purchase, we have spent more than $12 billion in acquisitions."
Among those acquired companies still in Forstmann Little's possession are Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., General Instrument Corp., a supplier of hardware for the cable TV industry, and Aldila a manufacturer of graphite golf club shafts. This is the company's first venture into computer technology and publishing.
The five units purchased by Forstmann Little are business media consumer media, international media, market research, and Ziff-Davis Interactive.
The remaining business units, Ziff's trade show business, its Interchange Network and Information Access Company, are being auctioned in a process scheduled to close to final bids today, October 27.
Both companies are making the usual statements which maintain no major changes are expected, that management will stay in place and that "traditions established by Ziff-Davis will be respected and continued."
The agreement calls for Ziff-Davis Publishing to continue its base of operations in New York and current chairman and chief executive officer, Eric Hippeau, to continue to head the company in his existing position.
In its history of acquisitions, Newsbytes notes that Forstmann Little has not retained all the companies it has purchased.
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 27 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Philippines - BSA Wins Software Piracy Case 10/27/94 In its continuing battle to curb software piracy, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has announced the successful completion of its lawsuit against software retailer Brochiere Computers. The company is reportedly the largest source of pirated BSA member software.
2 -> First Virtual Offers Internet Merchant Banking 10/27/94 First Virtual Inc. says it has developed "the world's first merchant banking system for cyberspace." The company maintains that its new online system is the "easiest, safest and most inexpensive way" to conduct business on the Internet.
3 -> Hong Kong - Networked Economy Conf Postponed 10/27/94 To meet its commitment to deliver "the highest possible standard of content" at The Networked Economy Asia-Pacific Conference, organizer CommunicationsWeek International has decided to postpone the event until next year.
4 -> Hong Kong - Datapoint's Telephone Call Center Mgt 10/27/94 Datapoint has unveiled Unison, an open, integrated call center system for organizations which require "efficient management of a high-volume" of outbound telephone calls.
5 -> Microsoft Intros SQL Server Software For Workstations 10/27/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has introduced a workstation version of SQL Server, the 32-bit database backbone for its recently announced BackOffice program.
6 -> Dell's Pentium PCs Offer 128-Bit Video Option 10/27/94 Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:DELL) has announced a 128-bit PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) local bus video option for its recently announced Dimension XPS P90 personal computers, and has made 64-bit video standard on all Dimension XPS systems.
7 -> Kolvox In WordPerfect, Westlaw Speech-Recognition Deals 10/27/94 Kolvox Communications Inc. (AMEX:KOL) has announced a version of its LawTalk speech-recognition software with an interface to West Publishing's Westlaw legal database. The company also said it has signed a letter of intent with Novell Inc.'s applications group, WordPerfect to develop speech-recognition interfaces for that company's Windows applications.
8 -> Scala Opens Canadian Office, Launches Windows Product 10/27/94 Scala Canada Software Inc. has formally opened its Canadian distribution operation, and simultaneously announced a new Windows version of its international accounting and business management software.
9 -> Australia Computer News Briefs 10/27/94 Australia's top tech stories today: Lotus revenues double; MacWorld gets good attendance; IBM Dictation speaks real English; Intel gets new boss; Apple revenue up; Microsoft Halloween event; Harvey rides on PCs back.
10 -> PC Keyboard Aimed At Kids Aged 2-6 10/27/94 Comdex promises to show all sorts of new hardware and software, and among the new products attendees will find the ComfyKeyboard for children aged two to six years old.
11 -> Kelly Micro's Compaq Contura Laptop Memory Upgrade 10/27/94 Kelly Micro Systems Inc. is shipping four megabyte (MB) and 8MB memory boards for the Compaq Contura 400 laptop computer. The Contura 400 is Compaq's newest laptop offering, and Kelly says it is the first to begin shipping memory boards for the system.
12 -> Amnesty International Interactive Human Rights CD 10/27/94 Bay area multimedia software developer, Voyager has produced an interactive CD-ROM for Amnesty International, covering the history and evolution of human rights.
13 -> Sanctuary Woods' Wordstuff Educational CD-ROM 10/27/94 Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Inc. (NASDAQ:SWMCF, Vancouver:SWD.V) has introduced WordStuff, which the company says is the newest addition to its I-learn Library of CD-ROM titles that "engage and entertain while fulfilling underlying educational objectives."
14 -> BusinessNet Conference To Focus On Online Business 10/27/94 Futurist Alvin Toffler and IBM executive Fernand Sarrat will be among the speakers at BusinessNet, a conference on doing business online to be held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel November 7 and 8.
15 -> Key Tronic Returns To Profitability, Raises Credit Line 10/27/94 Keyboard and input device maker Key Tronic Corp. (NASDAQ:KTCC) has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a return to profitability and a significant increase in its credit line.
16 -> ****Phone Fraud Ringleader Pleads Guilty 10/27/94 The European leader of an international ring of phone hackers has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of telephone calling card numbers used to make $100 million in unauthorized long-distance calls.
17 -> ****FCC Pager Auction Brings Big Bucks 10/27/94 The Federal Communications Commission's second auction of the airwaves is having the same result at the first -- big money bids. At the end of the third round of bidding for six narrowband license in each of five regions of the country, the total had topped $297 million.
18 -> ****Cellular Community Watch In Oxnard, California 10/27/94 The coastal city of Oxnard, California, has joined a growing number of cities that use cellular phones in a volunteer Cellular Community Watch anti-crime program. The hardware and phone accounts were donated by Cellular One, a division of AT&T's McCaw Cellular operation.
19 -> Bell Atlantic's Free MADD Drunk Driving Program 10/27/94 Bell Atlantic Mobile, in concert with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has made available a free "DUI" calling program in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area. The firm says the aim is to make it a free call if customers wish to report impaired drivers to the local police.
20 -> eWorld's Adds Nolo Legal, Ad Age/Creativity Centers 10/27/94 The Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) eWorld online service has added two new publication-oriented centers. The Nolo Press center specializes in legal self-help, while Ad Age/Creativity Online covers the world of marketing and advertising.
21 -> DEC & MicroMall Team On "Home Shopping" Video Content 10/27/94 DEC plans to offer a series of "home shopping environments," being jointly created with MicroMall. Newsbytes has learned that the environments are intended for use by telephone and cable TV companies, including the previously unannounced Svenska Cable of Sweden, and other DEC partners.
22 -> China - Nokia Announces First GSM Network Live 10/27/94 Nokia has announced that the first call on the GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital phone network in China was made on Tuesday.
23 -> French Gov't Discusses Online Info Highway 10/27/94 The French government is debating a proposal to expand the existing Minitel online service project into a fully fledged data "highway" reaching every house and office in France.
24 -> UK - Windows TCP/IP Connectivity Over Cellular 10/27/94 WRQ, which is known as Wick Hill in the UK, has unveiled a new version of its Reflection TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for Windows networking communications package. The package bridges the gap between PC platform and mainframe environments using software terminal emulation but, as an added advantage, supports TCP/IP across cellular phone links.
25 -> UK - Apricot Offers PCs Via PC World Stores 10/27/94 Apricot Computers has announced plans to sell a selection of its Xen PCs through the PC World computer superstore chain in the UK. The move is significant for Apricot, which has always sold its machines through dealers and value-added resellers (VARs).
26 -> UK - MJN Computers Airlifted Into Sarajevo 10/27/94 MJN Technology, the direct-sell PC vendor, has been chosen to supply PCs to hospitals in war-torn Sarajevo. UK Med, the British medical charity, has bought UKP40,000 worth of computer hardware from MJN, along with several printers from Hewlett-Packard, to ship into Bosnia for use at several hospitals.
27 -> UK - Voice-Mail Offers Link For University Students 10/27/94 FutureConnect has unveiled a voice-mail system for use on university campuses.
28 -> Avid Technology To Merge With Digidesign 10/27/94 Avid Technology and Digidesign Inc., major players in the respective fields of digital video and audio, have announced plans to unite their companies through a merger.
29 -> ****Ziff-Davis Bought For $1.4 Billion 10/27/94 A definitive agreement has been signed which places five units of the Ziff-Davis publishing empire in control of Forstmann Little & Company. The agreement, worth $1.4 billion, leaves the Ziff family with a small equity interest in the company.
(Ian Stokell/19941027)
(Ian Stokell/19941027)
10/27/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Bridging The Bay, Linking The Wo
India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom
Hyundai In Satellite Project
Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintend
Mill Valley Film Festival On Int
MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back A
Pioneer Wireless License Flap Co
Delrina Buys AudioFile TalkWorks
Canada Lays Out Info Highway Hea
Voter Information Pilot Project
Meckler Pulls Plug On MecklerWeb
UK - Time Computer Offers Christ
More Ziff-Davis Units Sold
China - Nokia Announces First GS
DEC & Powersoft Extend Relations
Optigon, Online Entertainment Ne
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- The Total Entertainment Network (TEN) is in its beta testing stage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Developed by Optigon, a start-up company launched by a former executive from Maxis maker of SimCity, TEN promises to be the first online service devoted to real-time multi-player games, custom graphic environments, and user interactivity at 9600 baud rate modem speed.
Expected to deliver its charter release by the end of the year Optigon says it will have a multi-player version of SimCity as one of its first premier games. The company promises that the new online service is not a copy of or necessarily a competitor with the Imagination Network (previously known as Sierra Online).
Speaking to Newsbytes, Jon Zimman, spokesperson for TEN, said "TEN is more than multi-player, real-time games. We will deliver Internet services and a better, more exciting interface than any online service available today. By not offering its service at lower baud rates, TEN is able to offer a cutting-edge service which concentrates on high-end graphics and multi-user interactivity."
TEN is still accepting beta testers, but those outside the San Francisco Bay Area will have to pay long distance rates to access the service. Once the testing is complete, Optigon will have a Sprint connection established and offer the service nationally.
The company says it is targeting a young adult market of computer users who expect to see the very latest and best computer technology available. Among Optigon's plans is an offering of virtual tools for creating individual 3-D environments in which to interact and script events.
Will this cyberspace cutting-edge online service be ahead of its time and will it sustain a strong market segment by leaving the 2400 baud rate users out of the picture? Zimman said, "It is our goal to deliver a far better online product. We are convinced when people see it, they will want it."
The rates for this new service have not been disclosed by the company, but Newsbytes has learned the company hopes to offer its new service at rates comparable to current rates charged by major online service providers.
(Patrick McKenna/19941027/Press Contact: Jon Zimman, Optigon tel 510-596-8700; Internet Address: ten@optigon.com)
96-8700; Internet Address: ten@optigon.com)
10/28/94
Optigon, Online Entertainment Network Due
ONLINE
Macromedia To Acquire Altsys, Ge
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Altsys Corp says it has signed an agreement to be acquired by San Francisco-based Macromedia (NASDAQ:MACR). The deal includes Altsys' Freehand software, an illustration and design program and Fontographer, a font editing program.
Altsys is privately held. The deal will be accounted for as a pooling of interests in which Macromedia will exchange approximately 4.3 million shares of common stock for all the outstanding shares of Altsys. There are about 415,000 outstanding shares of Altsys stock and another 10,000 options, most held by the Altsys founders, according to a Macromedia spokesperson. The deal is estimated to be worth about $70 million at Wednesday's $16.50 per share closing, and is expected to be completed in January 1995.
John Colligan, Macromedia president and CEO, says the acquisition of Freehand and Fontographer will strengthen Macromedia's Digital Design Studio for Windows and the Macintosh and quadruples the company's customer base.
Altsys will remain in Richardson, Texas and will become the Digital Arts Group (DAG) of Macromedia. Altsys co-founder, president and CEO James R. Von Ehr II, will become vice president and general manager of DAG. Altsys' other founder and VP of engineering, Kevin Crowder will become VP of product integration at Macromedia. Both executives will be nominated for seats on the Macromedia board of directors. A Macromedia spokesperson told Newsbytes no staff reductions are planned at Altsys and Macromedia will increase its worldwide staff to handle the expanded sales, marketing, and research and development tasks. Altsys says it has no plans to discontinue Freehand or Fontographer and will continue to develop and market the products.
Altsys currently employs 55 people, while the worldwide staff of Macromedia numbers about 170.
Altsys recently sued to regain the publishing and distribution rights to Freehand from Aldus Corporation after Adobe Systems and Aldus announced their merger. The suit was settled through a consent decree that involved Adobe, Aldus and the Federal Trade Commission. The decree gives Altsys ownership and distribution rights to Freehand effective January 1, 1995.
Regaining ownership of Freehand was a key factor in the Altsys acquisition, according to John Funk, Macromedia director of corporate development and the engineer of the acquisition. "If you look at what we are accomplishing (with the acquisition), which is getting the critical mass to compete at the next level in industry and provide more complete solutions for designers, we really couldn't do that without the inclusion of Freehand in the mix," Funk told Newsbytes.
While controlled by Aldus Freehand generated $21.7 million in revenue for the six month period ending July 1, 1994. For the previous full three fiscal years the program brought in revenues totaling more than $68 million.
(Jim Mallory/19941027/Press contact: Mary Leong, Macromedia 415-252-2118; Public contact: Altsys, tel 214-680-2060, fax 214-680-0537 or Macromedia, tel 800-288-4797 or 415-252-2000, fax 415-626-1502 Internet mail: macropr@macromedia.com)
6-1502 Internet mail: macropr@macromedia.com)
10/28/94
Macromedia To Acquire Altsys, Gets Freehand
BUSINESS
MCI Handing Out Frequent Flyer M
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- MCI (NASDAQ: MCIC) has announced a frequent-flyer-miles promotion aimed at small businesses. To qualify, a business must sign up for MCI Preferred, a long distance service for customers that spend up to $3,000 a month on long distance calls.
During the promotion, new MCI Preferred business customers will get credit for 10,000 frequent flyer miles on American Airlines Continental Airlines, or Northwest Airlines. The credit will be split into 5,000 frequent flyer miles after the first month's billing and another 5,000 miles after six months of billing provided the fifth month's bill is for more than $25.
Calling the promotion "one of the richest offers available in the market today," MCI Vice President John Donoghue noted that a 10,000 frequent-flyer-mile credit would cover the cost of a third to a half of an airline ticket. He added that response to the offer has already been "overwhelming."
David Sutton of MCI Business Markets told Newsbytes, "When you're a small business owner, these kinds of things are important and can mean a lot to the business. We try here to develop programs to help business owners do what they do best, which is to run their business."
Sutton noted that Frequent Flyer magazine, which covers the industry, had listed MCI Preferred as a winner in their "Winners and Losers" column for October.
"Here's a magazine that covers the frequent flyer industry, and we feel very about them giving us the thumbs-up," Sutton said.
The MCI Preferred service targets small businesses with both inbound and outbound long distance service as well as calling cards and fax services. The service offers business customers flat rate pricing with regional pricing options and discounts for international calls according to the firm.
(Craig Menefee/19941027/Press Contact: David Sutton, MCI Business Markets, 404-668-6234)
n, MCI Business Markets, 404-668-6234)
10/28/94
MCI Handing Out Frequent Flyer Miles
TELECOM
British GPT Wins Largest Telepoi
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- In what it claims is a world record order which will provide coverage across all the major population centers in Taiwan, a British telecommunications company GPT, will supply more than 12,000 Telepoint base stations and associated network management systems.
The network, ordered by Excelview International, will initially serve the six million people who live in and around the capital Taipei and will be rapidly expanded through the country.
"Taiwan has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and its people need an effective and affordable cordless telecommunications network to match it," said GPT mobile systems director, Brian Meade.
Excelview is a Taiwanese company with 35 offices throughout the island. These offices will be linked to regional centers and then to a central network management center in the capital Taipei and this linked management system will control the Telepoint Service.
GPT already supplies Telepoint equipment to a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including mainland China, Hong Kong Vietnam and Australia.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Southern Bell has announced a new Directory Assistance Call Completion service that for 30 cents, will connect customers to requested numbers directly without having to hang up and dial manually. The firm will begin phasing in the service November 15, Southern Bell sources said.
To use the service, a customer needs only to dial Directory Assistance and request the number of a person or business. The operator will locate the number and a recorded voice will gives it to the customer. In areas where the service is available, the recorded voice will then offer to complete the call. To select call completion, a customer will press "1" on the number pad.
Southern Bell spokesperson Garnett Stohr, speaking to Newsbytes said a phased-in approach was needed "because of the number of switches and the amount of programming required."
On the November 15 launch date, Stohr said, the service will be inaugurated in the Albany, Macon, and Savannah LATAs (local access and transport areas - the areas within which companies may provide local telephone service).
In the Atlanta LATA, the service will start with some exchanges on November 15 and will gradually expand until all exchanges have the service by the end of February, 1995. The Augusta LATA will go online with the service next year, and call completion in other BellSouth service areas will depend on regulatory approvals, said Stohl.
BellSouth had considered call completion service for quite a long time, she added. The service is available in some service areas, and after market studies showed there would be a good general demand for it, the decision was made to go ahead. The service already is available in Florida, she said, and has been approved but not yet implemented in Mississippi.
"We just feel this is another option to give our customers, another benefit from today's telecommunication technology," she told Newsbytes, adding that the service might just be a convenience to some but to others, especially handicapped persons, it could be an important enhancement.
The scheduled $.30 call completion charge will added to any charges for making Directory Assistance calls, the firm said. Customers have a monthly allowance of 3 free local Directory Assistant calls after which additional charges are applied.
Southern Bell sources said the firm will issue a credit if the call completion service connects to a wrong number, and there will be no charge for incomplete call completion attempts.
Southern Bell offers a blocking service for customers who do not want call completion in their households. The block is free and can be requested by calling 404-780-2355.
rn Bell 404-391-2484; Reader Contact: 404-780-2355)
10/28/94
Southern Bell To Intro Call Completion in Georgia
TELECOM
Feature - Server-Based Ethernet
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- There's a leading edge technology that is being overlooked by the big boys of PC networking. The product is an Ethernet switch. Before your mind conjures up all sorts of convoluted network configurations and you move on, this switch is a device located in the file server nothing mysterious.
Ethernet switching is relatively new. Kalpana, Chipcom and others now offer multi-port switches, switching hubs, even stackable switches, suitable for large scale corporate networks. However many networks are not so large. Switching hubs are an overkill for these networks, however a six-port, cost-effective server-based switch is just what's needed. The most advanced LAN technology available to these smaller networks was, to date, a stackable hub and perhaps a bridge or two.
Are smaller LANs any less busy? Ask the manager of a 50-node network running database or CAD packages and they'll say not necessarily! Network bandwidth is swallowed up by graphical applications running on the desktop and file server. Networks of all sizes share the same performance problems, however until now there has been no cost effective method of addressing the problem for smaller sites.
By early next year inexpensive, networked multimedia technology will be readily available. With more graphics on the desktop, and video and other multimedia applications networked, the need for more bandwidth becomes more urgent.
With Ethernet LANs, all devices attached to the network share the same 10 Mbps bandwidth. As desktop applications demand more bandwidth, the 10 Mbps finds itself spread more thinly. Ethernet switches inserted in the server solve bandwidth problems, without requiring any changes to the existing hubs, NICs (network interface cards) or cabling plants.
The switch divides the network into segments and provides each segment with a dedicated bandwidth of 10 Mbps. A segment can include an entire workgroup, or a single device requiring dedicated bandwidth. Network traffic is 'switched' between segments to allow devices on one segment to address another. The six-port server based switch delivers a total of 60 Mbps of bandwidth in place of the existing 10 Mbps, greatly increasing overall network performance.
With greater demands on network bandwidth, you need to need to know about these new technologies to improve network performance. The file server is at the center of a typical LAN, with repeater hubs connecting users. The solution required is to provide more bandwidth without making existing LAN equipment obsolete.
You might consider adding additional interface cards to the server to segment the network. By using operating system features, you can turn the server into a type of router. This rather short-sighted approach doesn't enhance performance. It's very software-intensive and places a greater burden on the file server, further slowing down response times.
Another option is to scatter bridges around the network, containing local traffic. This solution cannot provide the network with more than 10 Mbps of bandwidth. While widely used it is limited by the fact that all workgroup users need to access their central file server
There are a myriad of other options more suited to larger LANs because of their complexity and relative expense. These options may involve stepping outside the comfort zone of defined and accepted interoperability standards, and usually require new network hardware or substantial upgrades. For example ATM, FDDI, 100Base-T and 100BaseVG-AnyLAN.
Given the expense and uncertainty of the above options, switching seems like a logical choice. Server-based switches are even more so due to their ease of use and cost effectiveness.
File servers have long been viewed as an ideal platform for add-on functionality, such as fax cards, modems, asynchronous communications, and more recently hubs, routers, and now switches.
Network administrators are be familiar with the concept of using the server platform for communications functions, so there is no huge learning curve. Server-based switching technology is simple. The switch replaces the network adaptor card in the file server and each switch port is connected to either hubs or devices providing each with a dedicated 10 Mbps link to the file server.
Do your plans include multimedia, video servers, CAD/CAM, desktop publishing, databases, imaging? If the answer is yes or "perhaps in the future," it's a good idea to start talking server-based switches to maximize network performance. How is the performance of your network. Is it more congested? Have you added users? Are they using more bandwidth intensive applications?
Here are some of the advantages of having the switch in the server.
Increased network bandwidth: The combination of the 60 Mbps bandwidth and the server bus bandwidth, combined with the switching design of the Server Parallel Switch minimizes network transit time and network congestion.
Server connectivity: Integrating the network directly into the server increases network access bandwidth, and single buffering between the network and the server eliminates multiple buffer delays and reduces latency.
Integrated management: The facilities of the server are used to manage and maintain the network. The need to have separate management software is eliminated.
Reliability: As servers are generally the most reliable nodes on a network, this level of reliability is important.
Redundancy: Where there are two servers, either for power or redundancy, a server parallel switch can be installed in each. In the event of failure of the primary switch or server, back-up software will detect the loss and the second card will take over the switching responsibilities.
Cost: The switch utilizes existing wiring and network components. There is no need to upgrade to more expensive fast network cards or faster hubs. No additional interface cards or external boxes requiring sophisticated management and expense are required. Typically, in a 10Base-T network of 60 nodes, the overall network cost will only require an additional investment of 3 percent to include the server parallel switch. This is an increase in performance of 500 percent.
Performance: The server parallel switch has built-in connectivity to the server for 60 Mbps of data. The external switch requires either a single high speed 100 Mbps adaptor or multiple 10 Mbps adaptors in the server.
(Elemer Szorkovszky/19941028)
e server.
(Elemer Szorkovszky/19941028)
10/28/94
Feature - Server-Based Ethernet Switching
FEATURE
NETWORK
ClairsImpact 1.0
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Claris Corporation's presentation software, ClarisImpact 1.0 is an integrated business graphics presentation program targeted at business users who prefer a single integrated program instead of a hodgepodge of stand-alone applications.
ClarisImpact is designed to help create business plans, sales proposals, and other reports and presentations.
Intelligent "Models," appearing as icons on the ClarisImpact interface, serve as "mini-applications" which can automatically generate standard business graphics. According to the company the product can be used for creating on-screen presentations slides, overhead transparencies, and handouts.
Pre-defined templates which Claris calls "Styles" allow users even those lacking artistic training, the ability to create professional-quality charts and diagrams with minimum effort.
Company spokesperson Greg Cornelison told Newsbytes the program's built-in intelligence prompts users throughout the design process and offers many other "foolproof" options to customize their graphics.
User can choose a precreated artistic "Style" for a consistent professional look and feel to any business graphics, or users can create or import their own to conform to company standards/identities. Cornelison says everything is editable.
The program offers organizational charting, flow charting organizational charting, data charting, project scheduling calendering, timelines, and free-form graphics capabilities tightly integrated with word processing and presentations.
The word processing capabilities, built-in, save users from the hassle of cutting and pasting graphics and text from other applications. Capabilities include automatic text wrap around of graphics, footnotes, page numbers, table of contents font, style options, formatting, spell checking, and a thesaurus. The import filters for text include support for MacWrite II Microsoft Word 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, WordPerfect, and many others.
Several image formats are supported including PICT, PICT2 MacDrawPro, MacDraw II, EPS, and others.
The program comes with both the Macintosh and the native Power Macintosh versions in the same box. A smart installer program automatically uses the correct version to match a user's system. Also included are an assortment of clip art with pre-defined artwork and styles, and documentation consisting of a Getting Started Guide, and a User's Guide.
The system requirements for the Mac/Power Mac version are an Apple Computer Macintosh Plus, Centris, Classic, LC, SE, Performa PowerBook, II, Quadra, or Power Macintosh with 2 megabytes of memory for 6.0.7 or later, 4 megabytes for System 7.x; 8 megabytes for Power Macintosh. Full installation requires about 14 megabytes of hard disk space; minimum installation requires about 4 megabytes. A Windows version is scheduled for the second quarter of 1995.
Until December 31, 1994 the promotional price for ClarisImpact 1.0 will be $149. After that it will revert to its suggested list price of $399. Registered owners of ClarisDraw Pro, MacDraw II ClarisWorks, or compatible graphics and charting applications can purchase/upgrade for $99; or upgrade from Claris Draw for $89.
(Nick Anis/19941028/Press Contact: Greg Cornelison 408-987-7542 Steve Ruddock, 408-987-7202, both of Claris; Customer Contact: 800-3CLARIS or 408-727-8227)
S or 408-727-8227)
10/28/94
ClairsImpact 1.0
APPLE
Math Blaster For Sega, Nintendo
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Davidson & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVD) is shipping a new version of its popular Math Blaster educational arcade/adventure game. The new version runs on Sega and Nintendo game players.
The company's very first Math Blaster was released for the Apple II in February 1983. It was one of the first educational software products on the market and it continues to be the leading educational math offering.
The company has released several derivative products and updates including an MS-DOS version and Macintosh, Windows and CD-ROM versions. Company spokesperson Susan Wooley told Newsbytes since 1983 the company has shipped about two million products in the Math Blaster family.
The program's content, interface, and graphic look, however, have been updated many times since the software's introduction. Wooley told Newsbytes Math Blaster is used as an educational tool in many schools, and has won several awards from the educational and PC communities.
Wooley says this latest release, "Math Blaster: Episode 1," is more than just a test of thumb power. According to Wooley it requires players to use "brain power" in order to outsmart the game's villain, the evil Trash Alien. Designed for players ages six to 1 it challenges players to help the Math Blaster "Blasternaut" rescue Spot, Blasternaut's sidekick who has been captured by the Trash Alien.
Each level has three stages and bonus rounds, along with 12 levels of difficulty of challenging math activities which include thousands of math problems in addition, subtraction multiplication, and division. As children go through these activities, they get closer to saving Spot.
The company says the combination of the game's activities, sound effects, and music, make playing it fun and exciting as well as educational.
"Math Blaster: Episode 1" is shipping for the Sega Genesis System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is being offered for between $40 and $50 at most computer retail stores mass merchants, major toy retailers such as Toys R Us, and major video stores.
Windows and Macintosh CD-ROM versions are planned for some time next year. A CD-ROM is required because of the size of the sound files which also can be played by a conventional audio CD player.
(Nick Anis/19941026/Press Contact: Susan Wooley or Linda Duttenhaver, Davidson & Associates, Tel: 310-793-0600, extension 245 or 230, Fax: 310-793-0601, Email: 666-7944@mcimail.com)
601, Email: 666-7944@mcimail.com)
10/28/94
Math Blaster For Sega, Nintendo
EDUCATION
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- There is a bug in the installation program supplied with early copies of IBM's (NYSE:IBM) OS/2 Warp operating system, but it has been corrected in production and shipment of the software won't be delayed according to IBM.
The bug causes installation problems if the system on which Warp is being installed contains a file named CONFIG.BAK in the root directory, IBM spokesman Rob Crawley told Newsbytes. Many software packages create a file of that name during installation by making a backup copy of the existing CONFIG.SYS file before they modify it.
OS/2 Warp -- essentially a new version of OS/2 for Windows -- has to be installed on a computer with the DOS operating system and Microsoft Windows already installed.
Crawley said the bug was caught fairly early on and IBM stopped production briefly to change a file on one disk. The short production halt will not change IBM's shipment plans for the product, he said. OS/2 Warp is due to be in stores next week Crawley confirmed.
According to Crawley, few copies of Warp with the bug will have reached consumers. Happily for customers, though perhaps not for IBM, most of the affected copies were among the early evaluation copies shipped to software reviewers.
While some copies with the bug were shipped to IBM's distribution channels, "we've gotten to distributors and we think we've minimized the impact," Crawley said.
Removing or renaming the CONFIG.BAK file before installing Warp will keep the bug from causing any trouble, Crawley said. Anyone who unwittingly starts the installation process without doing this and turns out to have a defective copy of Warp should call IBM technical support, where staff can walk customers through a procedure to correct the problem, he added.
(Grant Buckler/19941028/Press Contact: Rob Crawley, IBM 512-823-1779; Public Contact: IBM, 800-3IBM-OS2)
blic Contact: IBM, 800-3IBM-OS2)
10/28/94
Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
Direct Mail Goes Interactive
CLEVELAND, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- A Cleveland design company has moved direct mail to a new level by putting the firm's advertising brochure on interactive disk.
Ramba Design Inc., has created an interactive digital portfolio that lets viewers turn the pages of the brochure electronically with the click of a mouse to view samples of the firm's work.
Diane Ramba, president of the company, says she was looking for a sales tool that was flexible enough to be easily modified and would also show what the company could do. "A printed brochure often is outdated before it's off the press," says Ramba. "Having our strongest work in a digital portfolio meant we could keep it current and at the same time illustrate our ability to create interactive presentations for our clients' marketing needs."
Brian Sooy, Ramba's creative director, says he wove in his own brand of wry humor as he designed the brochure using Macromedia Director 4.0 software for the Macintosh running on an Apple Computer Macintosh Centris 650. Ramba uses an Apple Powerbook to present the portfolio for clients that don't have a Mac with the System 7.0 or later operating system, four megabytes of memory, a hard disk and color monitor, the system requirements to run the interactive presentation. The program runs using the Macromedia Projector runtime module, so disk recipients don't have to have Director to see the presentation.
Sooy says it took about 100 hours to create the digital portfolio. He told Newsbytes the portfolio will be available on America Online in the advertising library next week and is already available on Designonline. America Online is one of several popular online subscription services. Designonline is a new Chicago-based online service geared to the graphic design community.
The brochure consists of five sections. Following a brief introductory screen, viewers see a main menu that includes information about the company and lists some of its major clients. Each section includes several case studies, and the accompanying visuals include samples of package and logo designs, custom typography, and a sample print advertisement.
Diane Ramba says this type of communication should be an effective door-opener, primarily because it only takes about 10 minutes to view and includes a reply card in the package to arrange a personal consultation of Powerbook presentation.
It's also cost-effective, according to Sooy. "We feel over the long term this will be less expensive than doing a four-color printed brochure with a comparable number of pieces in it. I would say half to three-quarters of the price (of a printed brochure)," he told Newsbytes. Sooy says although the disks were only sent out a week ago he's already had a few inquiries about the company's services.
(Jim Mallory/19941028/Press and public contact: Diane Ramba, Ramba Design, 216-621-1776)
a, Ramba Design, 216-621-1776)
10/28/94
Direct Mail Goes Interactive
TRENDS
Video-Over-Cellular For TV News
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- "Hello Sweetheart, get me rewrite," has long been the cry of the busy print reporter, calling in a breaking news story from the scene. Now, with an assist from Bell Atlantic Mobile, a subsidiary of Bell Atlantic (NYSE:BEL), TV reporters for the cable channel Newschannel 8 in Washington will be able to call in their video stories over cellular phones.
The Washington cable channel, which is a local equivalent of CNN, has begun using a combination of computer and cellular technology that gets news videos to the Springfield, Virginia studio faster than messengers and cheaper than satellite transmission. "This technology gives the station a big advantage of practically instantaneous transmission," Bell Atlantic Mobile spokeswoman Karen Ann Kurland told Newsbytes.
Using the new technology, the TV photojournalist carries not only a video camera, but also a 30-pound device that digitizes and compresses the video and divides the resulting digital information into four separate files. Those files are then sent by cellular phone and cell modem to the station, where the files are converted back to analog video so that editors can begin to work on them.
According to Kurland, satellite hookups cost $50 per minute, the gear takes up a lot of space in news trucks, and there are limited windows of uplink opportunity. By contrast, she said "cellular-on-video costs $16 per minute," the normal cellular phone rate. "Video footage is now just a phone call away for the newsroom," says Kurland.
The operation at the Washington cable news station is the first on the East Coast, according to Kurland. She says there is another unit in operation in Tulsa, Okla., at WTUL-TV.
The gear to make cellular-to-video work has a price tag of about $50,000, says Kurland. She predicts that the technology will not replace traditional broadcast technology, "but it will be a good complement." For example, she said, Newschannel 8 plans to use the equipment to cover high school football games which is too expensive using satellite trucks.
Will this technology have a big impact on Bell Atlantic's sales? "I don't think we will sell a ton," said Kurland. "But it's a nice product and it underscores our idea of the importance in the future of data over cellular. And it's something that provides the community benefits in terms of better TV news coverage. It's not just some yuppie with a flip phone."
(Kennedy Maize/19941028/Press Contact: Glenn Jasper, Hill and Knowlton, tel 212-697-5600; Public Contact: Karen Ann Kurland Bell Atlantic Mobile, tel 908-306-7522; Michelle Brafman Newschannel 8, tel 703-912-5509)
elle Brafman Newschannel 8, tel 703-912-5509)
10/28/94
Video-Over-Cellular For TV News Reporting
TELECOM
High-Tech Trade Groups Launch Ch
> WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Three Washington high-tech trade groups are joining forces to launch an office in the Peoples Republic of China. The US Information Technology Office (USITO) in Bejing will work to boost US technology exports to the booming Chinese market.
The three groups opening the new office are the American Electronics Association, the Software Publishers Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association. They are combining $420,000 in funds from the Commerce Department with $1.1 million of their own funds to create the office.
When it comes to electronics, says AEA's Richard Iverson "China is the fastest growing market in the world." According to AEA figures, electronics consumption in China in 1993 was $3 billion. The group expects the computers and peripherals market alone to grow 42 percent in 1993-1995. Software and telecommunications markets are each expected to grow 20 percent.
According to TIA, China plans to spend more than $50 billion on its telecommunications infrastructure over the next six years. Beijing already has a thoroughly modern and well-functioning phone system, the result of work done by AT&T.
But there's a troublesome bug in the software market, notes SPA's Ken Wasch. It's piracy. "Before American software companies can tap China's huge potential," he notes, "Chinese computer users must understand the benefits of purchasing legal software. If the level of software piracy in China declines China will become the industry's largest new export market."
USITO will work on developing the business climate in China to make markets more open to US companies. The office will focus on trade barriers, public policy issues and intellectual property protection.
But opening up the Chinese market on a broad scale won't be easy. Currency convertibility is a problem, as the ruan is not fully exchangable for dollars everywhere in China. Inflation is rampant in the country. And the absence of western legal institutions can be a barrier. China, for example, lacks anything comparable to the Uniform Commercial Code, which provides a mechanism for settling business disputes in the US.
(Kennedy Maize/19941028/Press and Public Contacts: Bill Krist AEA, tel 202-682-9110; Ken Wasch, SPA, tel 202-452-1600, ext. 310; Eric Nelson, TIA, tel 202-457-7737)
xt. 310; Eric Nelson, TIA, tel 202-457-7737)
10/28/94
High-Tech Trade Groups Launch China Office
BUSINESS
Adobe TextureMaker For Mac, Powe
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) has released TextureMaker version 1.0, a new modular software program that allows users to create custom designed textures and then incorporate them into standard Apple Computer Macintosh and Power Macintosh applications.
Adobe spokesperson Belinda Young told Newsbytes TextureMaker version 1.0 is a high-end, resolution-independent texture design program that creates sophisticated textures such as marble, wood and stone, as well as clouds and other environmental elements for use in professional quality printed materials, presentations, and desktop video productions.
Young added the program the third in a series of modular software products, called Adobe Accessory Products, that the company has released this year.
The company's earlier releases were ChartMaker, a software module that allows users to incorporate sophisticated charting into any standard Macintosh software application, and a repackaged Gallery Effects, a collection of Adobe PhotoShop program-compatible plug-in filters.
The program includes more than 100 texture templates in many categories, including natural substances like marble, wood, fire liquid, and clouds. According to Young, the predefined texture templates can be easily customized to quickly produce an infinite number of unique designs.
Young says TextureMaker supports sophisticated color set generation including subtle color variation for more realistic textures.
Other features of the program include full spectrum lighting commands, control of light placement, intensity, and color to create atmosphere and mood. Users can also emboss and engrave custom images and text onto or into the texture. In addition, frames mortices, buttons, blocks and spheres can be carved from the texture.
The recommended system requirements for the software for a Power Macintosh computer are System 7.1 or later, QuickTime 1.6 or later 5-8 MB of RAM and an 80 MB hard drive with 8 MB of free hard drive space.
The minimum system requirements for an Apple Macintosh IIfx or Macintosh Quadra computer are System 7.0, QuickTime 1.6 or later; 4 MB of RAM; and a 20 MB hard drive.
For output, the software requires any application that can import TIFF, PICT or QuickTime since TextureMaker itself does not print a color, grayscale, or black-and-white device, such as a PostScript language-compatible or QuickDraw-compatible laser printer, or a PostScript imagesetter or film recorder.
TextureMaker version 1.0 software for the Macintosh and Power Macintosh is available from Adobe and Adobe authorized dealers for a suggested retail price of $199.
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- OS/2 Warp can be installed on a personal computer with or without DOS and Microsoft Windows installed.
Newsbytes incorrectly reported in the article, "Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says," (October 28), that it requires both.
The current edition of OS/2 Warp cannot run applications written for Windows unless Windows is present. IBM plans a second edition that will have built-in code to run Windows applications, a spokeswoman told Newsbytes.
Newsbytes apologizes for the error.
(Grant Buckler/19941101)
s for the error.
(Grant Buckler/19941101)
11/2/94
Correction - Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says
CORRECTION
a PC W
Philippines City Hall Installs F
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- In line with the government's drive to automate its major operations, the Quezon City Hall acquired a Fujitsu H422s Supersmart server. Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay, Jr. and Fujitsu Philippines officials sealed the P5.7 million contract on October 16.
The Teamserver will be used for the Business Permit and Licensing System (BPLS) operation of the city government. Chito Lim, QC Hall information technology officer (ITO3), told Newsbytes that the computerization project will be the panacea to the painful manual process of preparing business permits and licenses. The City has about one hundred thousand legitimate business establishments.
The acquisition of the new system is expected to help furnish the city hall management with a faster and more sophisticated feedback mechanism concerning the business affairs of the entire city and to expedite processing of taxes.
Lim further explained that with the support of Dr. Manuel Alba Quezon City Administrator, they are very keen on continuing their computerization efforts. In fact, they plan to computerize the Civil Registry Office before the year ends, and the building permits system next year.
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Canon Computer Systems, Inc. (CCSI) will give a copy of Caere Corporation's OmniPage Direct optical character recognition (OCR) software to buyers of the company's top of the line scanner, the IX-4015. Both PC and Apple Computer Macintosh versions are to be available.
According John Brassner, product manager, imaging products, this scanner offers the highest resolution and best features including one-touch operation, of any color scanner priced under $1,000.
Branssner told Newsbytes Caere's text recognition software will now be bundled free of charge with the PC version of the Canon IX-4015 color scanner. The bundled software will continue to include the Ofoto one-button color scanner software. A Macintosh version of the software will available for bundling in late November.
According to Brassner, Caere's OmniPage Direct OCR software is so adept "it, in effect, teaches Windows or Macintosh computers to read."
OmniPage Direct is designed to work on top of the user's applications, usually a word processor. After one chooses the Scan Text command from the Windows File menu, the OCR software automatically uses the best settings for the scanned page without user intervention.
Once scanned, recognized, and placed directly into the user's document by OmniPage Direct, the text and numbers are ready to edit, reformat, print and distribute without the user needing to leave the word processor.
The Ofoto image scanning software has a one-button automatic scan option which the company says makes it simple enough for any novice to use.
Brassner emphasized this unit is "the most compact and lightest weight desktop color scanner on the market today. Its suggested list price of under $1,000 is very competitive for a high quality desktop color scanner with such a small footprint with support for true 400 dots per inch (dpi) by 800 lines per inch (lpi) color scanning resolution."
Actually, the interpolated resolutions possible are even higher up to 800 dpi for color scanning, and up to 1200 dpi for monochrome. The unit includes single pass technology and uses a unique xenon lamp which is designed to never burn out. Brassner told Newsbytes this unique technology developed internally by Cannon helps improve the unit's reliability and scanning accuracy.
Brassner also pointed out Cannon's IX-4015 is "roughly half the footprint of the HP-2CX or the Epson 800C which barely fit on the desktop." According to Brassner the IX-4015's small footprint is particularly important with small office/home office users who don't have much room on their crowded desktop.
The IX-4015 has Canon's two-year, InstantExchange Warranty that includes 24-hour replacement service. The new effective manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for both the Windows and Macintosh versions as of September 1, 1994 is $969 with an estimated street price of $899 or less.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Daniel McKean or Frank Pollare Hajjar/Kaufman, 310-305-8128; Sherri Snelling, CCSI, 714-438-3075; Craig Sutphin, Blanc & Otus Public Relations, for Caere 415-512-0500.)
Relations, for Caere 415-512-0500.)
10/28/94
Scanner Software Bundle From Canon
GENERAL
Personnel Changes Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Pyramid Technology Corp., Consilium Inc., Now Software, and Interactive Digital Solutions.
S. Boyd Pearce, Jr. has been appointed vice president of marketing at Pyramid Technology Corp. (NASDAQ:PYRD - 408-428-8298). Pearce reports to John Chen, president, chief operating officer (COO) and a director of the company. Most recently, Pearce was vice president and general manager for Teradata/NCR/AT&T Corporation's Development Center in San Diego. Since 1986, Pearce has also served at Teradata/NCR/AT&T as a vice president in several marketing sales, and strategic planning positions. Pearce takes over the marketing from Mitch Mandich, senior vice president, Americas sales. Mandich had been performing dual roles as senior vice president of Americas sales and worldwide marketing. Mandich will now focus entirely on Pyramid's North American sales.
Richard Van Hoesen, former investor relations director for Sun Microsystems Inc., has been appointed chief financial officer (CFO) and vice president, Finance and Administration for Consilium Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIM - 415-691-6331), a supplier of manufacturing execution systems software and services. While at Sun, Van Hoesen was corporate spokesperson. He previously held various senior finance and administration positions with Teradata Corp. Prior to that he worked at Clabir Corporation, a financial holding company, Unimation Robotics, and Andersen Consulting. Van Hoesen holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance.
Duane Schulz has been appointed president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Now Software (503-274-2800), filling the vacancy left by former CEO Stephen Saltzman. Previously Schulz was vice president of marketing at Storm Software. Schulz spent ten years at Hewlett-Packard, including product marketing and market development manager at HP's Vancouver division. After leaving HP Schulz joined Apple Computer as the senior director of Imaging Product Marketing.
Edward W. Birss has been appointed president of Interactive Digital Solutions. Formed in June to develop and deliver large-scale, fully integrated, interactive video server "solutions" for telephone company networks and cable TV systems, Interactive Digital Solutions develops middleware and application frameworks and integrates them with hardware from open systems suppliers. Interactive Digital Solutions' start-up President James M. Barton will assume the title of chief technology officer. Birss worked for Apple Computer from 1980 to 1992, and as a senior vice president of product engineering operations managed an organization of more than 1,700 individuals. Birss received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, where he later earned a master of science degree in computer information and control engineering. The company is a combined effort of AT&T Network Systems (201-606-3467) and Silicon Graphics Inc. (415-390-5255).
(Ian Stokell/19941028)
(Ian Stokell/19941028)
10/28/94
Personnel Changes Roundup
GENERAL
Company Results Roundup
%PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- While PictureTel reported a 61 percent increase in revenue for its third quarter, Symantec reported $8 million in net income for the quarter compared to a loss for last year. Macromedia said revenues were up 30 percent for its most recent quarter, and Computervision posted income compared to a loss for last year. Cray Computer reported a loss, while Wyle Laboratories posted record income. Brite Voice Systems also reported record revenues and earnings for the third quarter, and Compuware posted increased revenues. Comshare increased its revenues slightly, while Eastman Kodak reported net earnings of $193 million.
PictureTel Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTL - 508-762-5208) reported a 61 percent increase in revenue for the third quarter of 1994 compared to the corresponding quarter of 1993. Total revenues for the third quarter ended October 1, 1994 were $63.3 million including shipments of approximately 1,600 group conferencing systems. In the third quarter of 1993 revenues were $39.3 million on shipments of about 950 group systems. For the nine months ended October 1, 1994 revenues were $181.0 million, as compared to $127.6 million for the first three quarters of last year, an increase of 42 percent. PictureTel also reported third quarter net income of $935,000, or $.06 per share compared to $629,000, or $.04 per share, for the third quarter of 1993. Net income for the nine months ended October 1, 1994 was $2.1 million or $.14 per share, compared to $6.9 million, or $.37 per share, for the corresponding period in 1993 ($.44 per share after the cumulative effect of change in accounting principle).
Software company Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC - 408-446-7142) announced financial results for the second fiscal quarter ended September 30, 1994. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.22 on 36.5 million shares compared with a loss per share of $0.44 on 33.4 million shares in the September 1993 quarter. The company reported revenues for the September 1994 quarter of $79.1 million compared with $79.7 million in the September 1993 quarter. Gross margins have increased 8%, improving from 75% of revenue or $59.7 million in the September 1993 quarter to 82% or $64.5 million in the September 1994 quarter. Net income for the quarter was $8.0 million compared to a net loss of $14.7 million in the September 1993 quarter. The September 1993 quarter included various nonrecurring charges totaling $7.0 million which were incurred by Central Point prior to its acquisition by Symantec.
Software firm Macromedia (NASDAQ:MACR - 415-252-2107) announced that revenues for the second quarter ended September 30, 1994 were $9,551,000, an increase of 30% percent from $7,319,000 in the same period one year ago. Net income for the quarter totaled $1,469,000 or $0.12 per share, up 105 percent from the $717,000 or $0.07 per share earned in the second quarter of last year. For the six months ended September 30, 1994, revenue totaled $18,102,000, up 28 percent from $14,122,000 reported from the same period a year ago. Net income for the first six months totaled $2,450,000 or $0.20 per share compared with a net income of $1,100,000 or $0.11 per share reported last year.
Computervision Corp. (NYSE:CVN - 617-275-1800) announced results for the third quarter ended October 2, 1994, which the company says reflects significant year to year growth in operating profitability from the continued benefits of its cost reduction actions initiated in the third quarter of 1993. Third quarter operating income was $15.0 million and net income was $2.1 million or $0.04 per share on revenues of $135.9 million. For the year-ago third quarter ending October 3 1993, which included the workstation resale business the company subsequently exited, and a $515.8 million non-recurring charge Computervision had an operating loss of $530.2 million and a net loss of $543.0 million, or $11.31 loss per share on revenues of $183.9 million. For the first nine months of 1994, Computervision has achieved operating income of $42.0 million, and net income of $4.6 million, or $0.09 per share, on revenues of $435.6 million. During the same period in 1993, Computervision had, inclusive of the workstation resale business and the non-recurring charge, an operating loss of $522.1 million, and a net loss $562.3 million, or $11.71 loss per share on revenues of $621.7 million. Computervision is a supplier of desktop and enterprise-wide product development software and services.
Cray Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:CRAY - 719-579-6464) reported a net loss for the third quarter of 1994 of $7,242,000, or $.19 per share compared with a net loss of $11,665,000, or $.31 per share, for the third quarter of 1993. The net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 1994, was $29,878,000, or $.79 per share, and this compares with a net loss of $35,042,000, or $1.17 per share, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1993.
Wyle Laboratories (NYSE:WYL - 714-753-9953) said that "continued strength in its core electronics distribution business" drove increases of 48 percent and 118 percent, respectively, in third quarter sales and earnings from continuing operations before a special charge. For the three months ended Sept. 30, 1994, income from continuing operations before the special charge totaled a record $4,293,000, equal to 35 cents per share, up from $1,971,000, or 16 cents per share, a year ago. Third quarter sales from continuing operations reached an all-time high of $204.1 million, compared with $138.0 million in the prior year. For the first nine months of 1994, income from continuing operations before the special charge totaled $9,728,000, equal to 78 cents per share, compared with $7,718,000, or 63 cents per share, in the prior year. Sales from continuing operations for the period rose to $567.8 million from $375.7 million a year earlier. The net loss, after giving effect to the previously mentioned factors, was $3,464,000, equal to 28 cents per share. Income for the first nine months of the previous year amounted to $10,147,000, equal to 82 cents per share, excluding a one-time, non-cash charge of $3,193,000, or 26 cents per share recorded in the first quarter of 1993 for an accounting change relating to post-retirement benefits other than pensions. Wyle Laboratories is a marketer of high-technology electronic products, specializing in semiconductors, computer systems, and related value-added services.
Brite Voice Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BVSI - 316-652-6500) reported record revenues and earnings for the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 1994. Revenues for the third quarter totaled $16.8 million, up 42 percent from $11.8 million a year ago. Net income for the quarter increased 142 percent, to $1.5 million, compared with $616,000 in the year-earlier period. Earnings per share increased 125 percent to 18 cents per share on 8.1 million shares outstanding versus 8 cents per share on 7.8 million shares outstanding a year ago. For the nine-month period, revenues were $47.2 million, up 39 percent from $33.9 million a year ago. Net income was $3.6 million, or 44 cents per share on 8.1 million shares outstanding. This compares to a net loss of $2.7 million, or 36 cents per share, on 7.7 million shares outstanding in 1993. The 1993 results included a charge of $4.6 million related to the company's merger with Perception Technology Corp. Brite Voice Systems is involved with voice processing systems and services.
Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ-NNM: CPWR - 810-737-7506), a provider of systems software products and professional services announced financial results for its second quarter ended September 30, 1994. The company reported second quarter revenues of $124.1 million, an increase of 35.2 percent from $91.8 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year. Net income for the quarter increased 13.8 percent to $17.5 million from $15.4 million in the same period last year and earnings per share increased to $.37 compared to $.33 for the same period a year ago, based on 47.7 million and 46.0 million shares outstanding respectively.
Comshare Incorporated (NASDAQ-NNM:CSRE - 313-769-6723) reported first-quarter net income of $750,800, or $.14 per share, a 14% increase over the $657,100, or $.12 per share, reported in the same quarter of the previous year. First-quarter revenues of $24.2 million, up from $23.7 million reported in the same period a year earlier, were driven by a 28% increase in software license fees.
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK - 716-724-5802) reported third quarter net earnings of $193 million, or $.57 per share, from continuing operations, down from $279 million, or $.85 per share, for 1993's third quarter before deducting 1993 restructuring costs of $353 million or $1.08 per share. Sales from continuing operations were $3.53 billion during the quarter, up from $3.16 billion during 1993's third quarter. Kodak achieved overall sales growth of 12% during the quarter, led by consumer imaging products. Excluding revenue from Qualex, acquired during the quarter, sales were up 8%. Year-to-date, Kodak reported operating earnings from continuing operations of $633 million, or $1.89 per share, down from $777 million, or $2.37 per share for 1993, before deducting restructuring costs of $353 million, or $1.08 per share. Year-to-date worldwide sales were $9.71 billion, up from $9.18 billion.
(Ian Stokell/19941028)
(Ian Stokell/19941028)
10/28/94
Company Results Roundup
BUSINESS
Microsoft/Deutsche Bundespost Te
BONN, GERMANY, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Microsoft has secured a prestigious contract with Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT) terms of which call for Microsoft to supply Windows95 on a pre-installed basis for a planned range of DBT Intel-based multimedia computers.
According to DBT, the multimedia systems will be pitched at the server marketplace and optimized for use on DBT's growing ISDN (integrated services digital network) service. The idea behind the project is to develop a range of state-of-the-art Windows-based servers that can be used by corporates wanting standard PC server facilities for their network, but which are also easy to "plug in and use" on a wide area network (WAN) basis over ISDN links.
DBT claims that its ISDN network is now the largest in the world.
Although Microsoft is not saying anything, German press sources are suggesting that DBT is working with Microsoft on the latter's planned Marvel online service. If Marvel is offered in Germany, as seems likely, then the service could be accessed through DBT's multimedia server at 64,000 bits per second (bps) rates, rather than standard 14,400 and 28,800 bps asynchronous dial-up modem speeds.
Marvel, Microsoft's graphical user interface (GUI) online system is expected to be unveiled at the Comdex Fall computer show in Las Vegas in a few weeks. Although plans for a European launch of Marvel have yet to be finalized, patching a link over ISDN through Microsoft virtual private packet data network (PDN) should be relatively easy, Newsbytes notes.
Microsoft officials have talked in terms of officially launching Marvel as an online product during the second quarter of 1995. This time scale fits neatly in with the Cebit Computer Faire which takes place in Hanover, Germany, next March, Newsbytes notes.
Officials with DBT or Microsoft were not commenting on a further possible link up between the two companies based on Marvel. Details of the planned Intel-based multimedia systems from DBT are also under wraps, Newsbytes was told.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Nokia of Finland and Ericsson of Sweden have signed an original equipment manufacturer agreement which allows Ericsson to use Nokia Synfonet synchronous digital hierarchy technology in its ETNA product range.
SDH is an international fiber-optics standard that is claimed to increase corporate telecommunications users' alternatives and increase the use of fiber optics in the home. The technology supports data/network transfer speeds of 155 megabits/second and upwards.
According to Ericsson, first product using the technology will be unveiled in the first quarter of 1995 and, for Nokia, the deal could be worth as much as $40 million over its three-year life span.
Both companies plan to continue their product development programs independently of each other and will continue sell their own systems. Plans also call for close examination of the possibilities of an inter-company technology agreement embracing other high technology networking as well.
According to a joint statement from the companies, they both recognize the importance of open interfaces. "The agreements illustrate the natural cooperation between system vendors in order to provide network operators with solutions optimized to their needs," the statement said.
SDH is a new technology for broadband signal multiplexing and Newsbytes notes, is widely acknowledged as forming the next stage in the evolution of intelligent, broadband networks.
According to Nokia, SDH offers several advantages over the current multiplexing technology, which is known as Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH). Where PDH lacks built-in facilities for automatic management and routing, and locks users into proprietary methods, SDH is billed as improving network reliability and performance, offers much greater flexibility, reduced operating and maintenance costs and provides for a faster provision of new services.
Under SDH, incoming traffic is synchronized and enhanced with network management bits before being multiplexed into the STM-1 fixed rate frame.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19941028/Press & Reader Contact: Ericsson 46-46-181-000, Fax +46-46-189-500; Nokia +358-49-418-605)
0, Fax +46-46-189-500; Nokia +358-49-418-605)
10/28/94
Ericsson/Nokia - Major Net Technology Agr't
NETWORK
Secrets Of Stargate CD Premieres
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Compton's New Media is releasing the Secrets of Stargate CD-ROM in conjunction with the film premiere of Stargate.
According to Steven Marder, director of licensing and strategic partnerships, music and entertainment at Compton's this is the first simultaneous release of a film and related CD. The CD will offer extensive background on all aspects of the production design of the science fiction film, from storyboard or sketch to the final product. Also included will be music, clips, and interviews with cast and crew.
Stargate, which is being released today by MGM, has the time honored elements of aliens, spacecraft, and interdimensional travel embedded in an Egyptian inspired environment. With 700 stills and 500 storyboards linked to interviews and clips, Secrets of Stargate CD "is very compelling because of the epic nature of this film and the way it assists the viewer to see the myriad of fascinating elements that went into it." Marder sees the CD's audience as "the fans of science fiction and special effects as well as the average film viewer who wants a greater understanding" of large-scale effects-oriented film production.
Stargate, the movie, stars Kurt Russell, James Spader, and Jaye Davidson. Interview questions are indexed, allowing the user to skip those not of interest.
Secrets of Stargate CD was produced and developed by The Software Department and is distributed exclusively by Compton's. All images are copywrited and there is no print function. A cartridge-based game is currently in development by Acclaim Entertainment. The CD-ROM retails for $39.95 and is a hybrid supporting Windows MPC and Macintosh.
(Nick Gorski/19941028/Press Contact: Christiana Germscheid Compton's New Media, tel 619-929-2532; 2320 Camino Vida Roble Carlsbad, CA 92009/STARGATE941028/PHOTO)
Roble Carlsbad, CA 92009/STARGATE941028/PHOTO)
10/28/94
Secrets Of Stargate CD Premieres With Film
GENERAL
Ziff-Davis Sale - No Changes Pla
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Forstmann Little & Company's $1.4 billion offer for the five main units of Ziff-Davis Publishing was clarified in a teleconference to reporters yesterday after the initial announcement.
There appear to be no obstacles or complications in closing the deal by the end of the year.
Reporters questioned Dirk Ziff, co-chairman of Ziff-Davis Publishing, asking if he were disappointed in the sale price of $1.4 billion when as much as $3 billion had been suggested for the publishing giant. He said, "We feel the price is very fair. Rumors of a $3 billion price were nothing more than speculation in the media. We chose Forstmann Little because of the potential for continued growth under its management and because this deal will close quickly." He also reminded the audience of other revenues the company would receive when the three remaining business units were sold.
Ziff-Davis was unwilling to disclose the names of other bidders in the running for this acquisition. Ziff said, "The only thing that is important is the deal that has been made. We feel it only fair to leave it at that for all parties concerned."
When the deal closes, Forstmann Little will take possession of the Business Media Group, which includes PC Magazine, Computer Shopper, MacUser, MacWeek, Windows Sources, PC/Computing and Interactive Week; the Consumer Media Group, which includes Computer Gaming World, a Sunday supplement called Personal Computing and the new start-ups Family PC and Computer Life; the International Media Group, which publishes 11 magazines outside the US; the Market Research Group, which includes Computer Intelligence and does market research and analysis; and Ziff-Davis Interactive, which provides online information through CompuServe, Prodigy and e-World.
Theodore Forstmann, senior partner with the Forstmann Little & Co. investment firm, said, "We are investing over $900 million of our own capital from two funds whose investors are corporate pension funds. The remainder we will borrow from banks." Further clarifying, he said, "We do not plan to partition or sell-off Ziff Davis. We plan to own it for a long time and to have this property grow."
A questioner pointed out that Forstmann Little had no experience with the computer industry nor with publishing. In response Forstmann said, "Everything we do is a first time. We do not look for something we specialize in. We look for businesses that are dominant in their field. We chose Ziff-Davis Publishing for that reason."
The Ziff-Davis Publishing deal marks the twentieth acquisition Forstmann Little has made and brings its aggregate purchase of those twenty companies to more than $12 billion. One of those twenty included Dr. Pepper, which is no longer in the Forstmann Little stable.
Both parties agreed that no changes were planned for Ziff's editorial direction, organizational structure, nor its work force of more than 3300 employees.
Dirk Ziff politely declined to comment on questions concerning tax issues and the direction of Ziff Brothers Investments once the sale is complete.
The remaining three units of Ziff-Davis include the trade show business, Ziff's Interchange Network company and its Information Access Company. Ziff officials said bids for those units were accepted until the end of the business day yesterday, Oct 27.
(Patrick McKenna/19941028/Press Contact: George Sard, Sard Verbinnen & Co., tel 212-687-8080)
ard Verbinnen & Co., tel 212-687-8080)
10/28/94
Ziff-Davis Sale - No Changes Planned
GENERAL
Quantum Offers Hierarchical Stor
Cray Computer Gets Another Cash
Maxtor Claims PCMCIA Hard Disk B
Merisel Australia Awards Top Ven
Microsoft To Acquire Intuit, Sha
Canada - Call-Net To Acquire INS
Record Revenues For Apple's 4th
Data General's 3-Tiered Database
KidSoft & Apple Bring Software C
Korea - Interactive CATV By 1998
Colorado Company To Design Softw
CA Says Accounting Packages Tran
PeopleSoft To Support Informix D
Microsoft/Deutsche Bundespost Te
Fargo PrimeraPro Color Printer W
Hong Kong - Microsoft Enhances C
FedEx & UPS Race To Launch Onlin
Qualcomm's China CDMA Trials Suc
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) says its field trials of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular technology in the People's Republic of China were a complete success. China is considering CDMA technology as a new nationwide communications standard.
The actual tests were conducted from April through June of this year, in cooperation with China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT). The trials were held in Tianjin, China's third-largest city with a population of more than 9 million.
By agreement, MPT and Qualcomm held off releasing the findings until data analysis was complete, according to Qualcomm spokesperson Julie Cunningham. She cited the more than 100,000 tests of call hand-offs as an example of the depth of detail involved in the tests. (A "hand-off" is when a mobile call is transferred from one cellular base station to another, preferably without interrupting the connection.)
Allen Salmasi, president of Qualcomm's wireless telecommunications division, amplified on the subject, telling Newsbytes: "We collected hundreds of gigabytes of data over the period of testing, and it took a few months to analyze the data and submit the joint report to the vice minister of MPT."
He added: "There is nothing to report at this time in terms of our exact plans. We are looking forward to deploying some systems in China in 1995; it's not for sure, but we are having discussions at this time."
The aim of the trial was to verify results of previous tests done in San Diego and elsewhere over the past three years, the firm said. Specific tests in the China trials included CDMA capacity, gain coverage, hand-off, reliability, voice quality, power control signaling protocol, and interconnection with the local public-switched telephone network. The results closely matched those of previous trials and exceeded MPT requirements, the firm said.
A primary test area was CDMA Erlang capacity, a telephone switching term for the average number of simultaneous connections maintained during a given period. The MPT wanted to see Erlang capacity increase by a factor of 10 over the TACS (Total Access Communications Systems) analog phone system now in use.
When the results came in, Qualcomm says its CDMA system followed computer-generated predictions closely, showing an Erlang capacity increase of about 13 times the existing analog capacity, at 80 percent full loading. Increasing capacity by the minimum factor of 10 took only 60 percent loading, the firm said.
Other tests also exceeded requirements, the firm reported. At the bottom line, the trials proved CDMA could cover all of Tianjin using only two cell sites. The small test system provided a maximum range of more than 50 kilometers between the base station and a mobile phone, Qualcomm said.
The field trials involved installing two base stations. One, a two-sector station, was located near the center of Tianjin, and the other, a single-sector station, was placed outside the city in a rural area. The mobile switch was equipped to handle 12 simultaneous calls, with each base station capable of supporting the full call load.
Tests were then conducted in the 900 MHz and 1.9 GHz frequency bands. In the 900 MHz frequency tests, one cell easily covered a radius of 15 kilometers with nearly double that distance in some directions. In the 1.9 GHz frequency band, coverage was more limited because of lower power and increased propagation loss, the firm said.
Participating MPT organizations included the Telecommunications Transmission Research Institute, the Tianjin Tolling Office, the Posts and Telecommunications Industry Corp., the Fourth Research Institute and the First Research Institute.
Qualcomm says it will continue to work with MPT to develop a complete set of air interface and network standards for dual-mode CDMA/TACS digital cellular communications at 900 MHz, to provide for nationwide roaming throughout China.
(Craig Menefee/19941028/Press Contact: Julie Cunningham, Qualcomm 619-658-4224 or Larry Anderson, McQuerterGroup, 619-450-0030)
y Anderson, McQuerterGroup, 619-450-0030)
10/28/94
Qualcomm's China CDMA Trials Successful
TELECOM
First Virtual Bank Of Cyberspace
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- First Virtual Inc., says it has developed the world's first merchant banking system for cyberspace. The company believes its new online system is the easiest, safest, and most inexpensive way to conduct business on the Internet.
The First Virtual Internet Payment System provides a link between the world of credit cards, banks, processing agents and the Internet, according to Lee Stein, president and chief executive officer.
The company's merchant banking system uses existing technology to enable transactions to take place in an electronic marketplace where people purchase or sell merchandise, information, text images, audio, video, games, and computer programs.
"First Virtual has created the launching pad for what we believe will become the world's largest and fastest growing cottage industry -- the buying and selling of information on the Internet," according to Stein.
Stein told Newsbytes the reason that electronic commerce has not prospered is that most sellers cannot qualify for credit card merchant accounts and cannot collect money. He added that security has also been a major hurdle; buyers have no guarantee that poachers will not get access to their credit card information.
Information sellers and buyers need only to have an Internet mailbox and a First Virtual account. If sellers don't have the computer capacity or warehouse server on the Internet to handle their sales directly, they can use First Virtual servers, placing their information for sale on a "First Virtual Infohaus."
Stein says this arrangement can be viewed as a public shopping mall where anyone in the world can rent space to store and sell information. For sellers, or `InfoMerchants,' with their own information warehouse servers on the Internet, First Virtual provides the merchant banking system for consummating the transaction.
"You could also picture the Infohaus as an electronic superstore which can be accessed through e-mail, World Wide Web, including Mosaic, and FTP," said Stein. "The First Virtual Infohaus holds information. InfoMerchants market this information while potential buyers, called InfoConsumers, browse up and down electronic aisles at the touch of a mouse from anywhere in the world."
Besides handling electronic information, the Infohaus also serves as a distribution center and a clearing house for all billing and accounting functions. Once a sale is completed and verified First Virtual charges the buyer's account and credits the seller's account.
The company recommends that InfoMerchants allow InfoConsumers to review information before making a commitment to pay. Buyer accounts are debited only with the buyer's authorization. If buyers indicate they don't wish to pay for information they've received, they are not charged; they pay the purchase price only if they like it.
Some InfoMerchants, such as government agencies and large commercial ventures, will probably require payment in advance before completing the electronic transaction. First Virtual will verify each transaction in a closed-loop confirmation system and has also developed monitoring systems to guard against potential abuses.
Equipment and services will be provided to First Virtual by Electronic Data Systems (EDS). These include data processing documentation, systems engineering, electronic settlement of transactions for both buyer and seller, security, and other activities related to transactions carried out through First Virtual.
Although this venture is new, EDS is an established provider of electronic financial-transaction services, currently supporting 14.8 million cardholder accounts and 245,000 merchants. The company has operations in 35 countries and its reported revenues in 1993 were $8.6 billion.
First USA Merchant Services, Inc., Dallas, will be the credit card processor for First Virtual. First Virtual plans to issue its own branded Visa card with several unique features, including e-mail notification to confirm each completed transaction. It processed $17.3 billion in credit card sales during fiscal year 1994.
Stein told Newsbytes the concept for First Virtual started evolving in 1993. He says First Virtual founders, advisors and the development team designed the transaction systems to fit within the Internet culture, which now has more than 20 million users on more than 3 million computers spread across 120 countries.
The initial charge for registering with First Virtual is $2 for consumers and $10 for sellers. In addition, sellers pay a nominal fee of 29 cents, plus 2 percent of the charged amount, for each transaction. They also pay a $1 processing fee each time a payment is made to their account.
(Nick Anis/19941028/Press Contact: Tom Gable or Darlene Cossio The Gable Group, 619-234-1300 or, E-mail: media-help@fv.com)
300 or, E-mail: media-help@fv.com)
10/28/94
First Virtual Bank Of Cyberspace
TRENDS
DEC, California Offer Election I
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- In an Internet application reachable by 5000 simultaneous users per screen -- and also featuring upcoming feeds to national TV networks -- DEC and the State of California have announced they are jointly offering the first live, online election results and pre- and post-election information to be available on the Worldwide Web (WWW).
In an interview with Newsbytes, Tom Richardson, marketing director for DEC's Internet Business Group said that, starting this week users can view an online, graphical edition of the California Voter Information Pamphlet, along with photos of statewide candidates and district maps, by dialing into either of these Internet addresses: http;//www.election.digital.com, or http:/www.election.ca.gov.
The voter information application is being run from an Alpha 2100 based WWW server at Digital's research facility in Palo Alto California, added Richardson.
Contents of the online and print editions of the state's voter information pamphlet include statewide candidates; ballot propositions (in full text and with "nonpartisan analysis"); political party goals; and electoral procedures.
The Internet application also involves hypertext access links within the "California Election Web Server" and to other WWW servers, allowing users to search and browse through a variety of election-related resources, according to Richardson.
On November 8th, Election Day, Internet users will also be able to see California's election returns in graphical tabular formats with results updated every five minutes, said the DEC executive.
The district maps will then become "interactive," providing election return information by county when clicked on by the user he told Newsbytes.
Also on election day, a second Alpha 2100-based server will be employed to feed the election results to local affiliates of TV networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS, according to Richardson. The California affiliates will then be able to transmit the results to their parent nationwide networks.
"The Alpha servers will put us a half hour ahead of traditional ways of doing voter reporting," Richardson maintained. The traditional methods involve batch processing on slower computer systems, and also call for rekeying of data, he noted.
Also on November 8, a third Alpha 2100-based server will act as a Gopher server, displaying live election returns to Internet users in a hierarchical text format.
After election night, users will be able to access detailed "summary data" on the election results, including statistics, from the WWW server. Users will also be able to provide feedback to the State. The feedback will not be "attributed to any individual," Newsbytes was told.
DEC is providing the voter information application on a "pro bono" (free of charge) basis, according to Richardson. The California Secretary of State's office first approached DEC and other computer vendors with a request for a Gopher server to be used during the fall, 1994 elections.
The state office had previously used a Gopher server in a pilot project -- accessed by some 400,000 Internet users -- during the state primary election in June, 1994.
"We sent in a proposal to the Secretary of State's office, saying that we could provide a Gopher server for the final elections in November, and we could also add a WWW server," Richardson told Newsbytes.
The availability of the WWW server played a part in DEC's selection by the state over other interested vendors, but so did Digital's formation of a separate "Internet business unit" last summer, he indicated.
Digital's Internet Business Group was established "independently" of DEC's reorganization in July, according to Richardson. "The Internet business unit was envisioned before then," he explained.
The Digital logo appears on each screen of the Internet voter registration application, along with the seal of the California Secretary of State, Richardson reported.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941028/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Sharon Zovod, DEC, 415-325-8300; Mirena Reilly, The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900; Caren Daniels-Mead or Shirley Washington, California Secretary of State, 916-445-6375)
California Secretary of State, 916-445-6375)
10/28/94
DEC, California Offer Election Info On Web
ONLINE
Telxon Pen-Based Computers, Moto
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Telxon Corporation (Nasdaq: TLXN) says it will integrate three Motorola (NYSE: MOT) data radio modems into its PTC-1140 pen-based computer Systems. The aim is to improve performance over the ARDIS, RAM Mobile Data, and other wide area packet data networks.
Telxon says it will make its PTC-1140s available with Motorola's 405i, 415i and 435i data radios. The aim is to incorporate WAN (wide area network) real-time communication using Telxon pen-based systems, the firm said. It added that subscribers will be able to use the systems of a range of applications including electronic mail, messaging, sales order entry, inventory management, service dispatching, public safety programs, insurance adjusting and transportation management.
The PTC-1140 will be mated with the model 405i for communicating over the ARDIS network in the United States, as well as in Canada Australia, and Asia, the firm said. ARDIS, for "advanced national radio data service," is a joint venture of IBM and Motorola that provides wireless data transmission in the 800MHz FM band.
The model 415i will be incorporated into Telxon units made for the Modacom network in Germany and the Mobitex networks in the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands, the firm said.
Communication over RAM Mobile Data service in the US will be done with PTC-1140s utilizing the Motorola model 435i. RAM Mobile Data is a business venture between RAM Broadcasting Corporation and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS), the largest regional telecommunications company.
The ARDIS network service is based on Motorola's Datatac system, an proven and highly reliable communications technology designed exclusively for wireless data communications. DATATAC is based on open, non-proprietary interface protocols, facilitating compatibility among devices produced by different manufacturers.
ARDIS operates the largest US data radio network, providing wireless two-way communications throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Telxon Corporation, of Akron, Ohio, manufacturers wireless and portable tele-transaction systems. The company integrates Portable Tele-Transaction Computers (PTCs) with wireless and network communication technology, a wide array of peripherals and application-specific software.
(Craig Menefee/19941028/Press Contact: Tom Humphries, Telxon 216-867-3700 or 800-800-8001; Linda Everk, RAM Mobile Data 908-602-5689; Michael Fabbri, ARDIS, 708-913-4200; or Jeff Miller Motorola, 708-576-5000)
IS, 708-913-4200; or Jeff Miller Motorola, 708-576-5000)
10/28/94
Telxon Pen-Based Computers, Motorola Data Radio Modems
Bridging The Bay, Linking The Wo
India - NIIT, AT&T Offer Telecom
Hyundai In Satellite Project
Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintend
Mill Valley Film Festival On Int
MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back A
Pioneer Wireless License Flap Co
Delrina Buys AudioFile TalkWorks
Canada Lays Out Info Highway Hea
Voter Information Pilot Project
Meckler Pulls Plug On MecklerWeb
UK - Time Computer Offers Christ
More Ziff-Davis Units Sold
China - Nokia Announces First GS
Intel, Upson Ink Phillipine Dist
DEC & Powersoft Extend Relations
Motorola's New Retail Modems
Microsoft, Rabbit Ears Plan Stor
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Rabbit Ears Productions say they will produce a series of multimedia storybooks on CD-ROM for pre-schoolers and young school-age children.
The series, designed for children ages four to nine, will be based on the classic tales currently marketed by Rabbit Ears in its line of videos, books and audiotapes. Rabbit Ears uses the talents of famous actors and musicians in its storytelling products. The first release in the new line, "How the Leopard Got His Spots," is based on the Rudyard Kipling classic and is narrated by Danny Glover, the red-haired actor who appeared in the television series "The Partridge Family." Music is by the South African a cappella ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The new storybook series will be marketed by Microsoft as part of its Microsoft Home software series as well as under the Rabbit Ears brand name. "How The Leopard got His Spots" is scheduled for release in January 1995. Mark Grayson, Rabbit Ears president, told Newsbytes the deal is somewhat fluid but will probably include at least six titles.
The Rabbit Ears collection includes "Koi and the Kola Nuts" which is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg; "Paul Bunyan," narrated by Jonathan Winters; "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin," narrated by Jack Nicholson; and "David and Goliath," narrated by Mel Gibson. Grayson said future titles developed in conjunction with Microsoft would probably include some of those titles.
"Leopard" is more than an entertainment product. The software will include educational experiences such as learning traditional African games like Mancala or watching video of children in South Africa. It also includes animations, funny sounds, and some hidden surprises as the young users explore African wildlife, people and terrain.
Microsoft says the children will be able to increase their reading and comprehension skills with the program by following highlighted phrases as they are read; by more difficult key words being defined using pictures, word and animation; and by clicking on individual words to hear the pronunciation.
In an interactive area within "Leopard," the kids can explore PJ Rabbit's Hole where they can read multimedia minibooks about author Rudyard Kipling, information about the illustrator, and how the images were created, and South African history.
Rabbit Ears Productions also produces radio programming, a weekly newspaper feature and a line of educational products for elementary schools. The company recently produced four prime-time specials for the Public Broadcasting System. The first of those, "Celebrating Storytelling, with Danny Glover," aired earlier this week.
"How The Leopard Got His Spots" will be available on CD-ROM for Windows-based PCs in January 1995 with a street price of under $50. A CD-ROM version for Macintosh computers is scheduled for later in the year.
(Jim Mallory/19941028/Press contact: Sue Barnes, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 408-986-1140 or Mark Grayson, Rabbit Ears Productions, 203-857-3760; Public contact: Microsoft, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400 or Rabbit Ears Productions, 203-857-3760)
426-9400 or Rabbit Ears Productions, 203-857-3760)
10/28/94
Microsoft, Rabbit Ears Plan Storybooks On CD-ROM
WINDOWS
Hewlett-Packard Slashes Europe N
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard has reduced the prices of its high-end NetServer LM Series by up to 17 percent in Europe, a strategy that it claims will undercut Compaq Proliant servers by up to 25 percent.
In parallel with the price cuts, HP has also enhanced its NetServer Assistant and HP Remote Assistant products and added HP NetServer Assistant 2.1 Extensions. "We're going for the jugular here," commented Joanne Talfourd-Cook, HP NetServers program manager.
"We see a real chance to increase our market share at the high-end especially among top-of-scale Pentium- based servers for application servers in large workgroups, given that neither Compaq nor IBM has yet shipped the product." she said.
According to Talfourd-Cook, this latest price initiative means that, on average, HP's NetServer LM family array models now sell for 15 percent less than Compaq's; its 80486 models for 30 percent less; and its Pentium models for 25 percent less.
With price drops of 11 percent and 20 percent respectively for 1 gigabyte (GB) and 2 GB hard disks, these accessories are now priced six percent below Compaq equivalents.
Talfourd-Cook explained that prices of 4 megabyte (MB) and 8 MB 36-bit memory SIMMs (single inline memory modules) have also been dropped by 7 percent and 13 percent respectively, to keep them priced at least 10 percent below Compaq offerings. The prices of 16 MB and 32 MB memories remain the same as they are already below Compaq's new prices Talfourd-Cook noted.
Bundled with the mid-range NetServer LF and high-end LM products NetServer Assistant 2.1 is expected to ship in early December in the UK at UKP 412.
A single copy of HP NetServer Assistant 2.1 includes one management console and licences for up to 100 servers. The NetServer Assistant 2.1 Extensions for the management console also is expected to ship on the same time scale and sell for UKP 162. The enhanced version of Remote Assistant is available immediately with a UKP 696 price tag.
BOCHUM, GERMANY, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Escom, the German PC company and store chain, has announced plans to link up with two or three partner companies and move into computer distribution.
In parallel with the distribution move, the rapidly growing computer company is planning a one for three "rights issue" to increase its capitalization by around a third. Financial details of the increase in capitalization have not yet been announced.
The rights issue is likely to be snapped up by institutional investors who are keen to invest in the booming PC retail sector in Germany. According to Manfred Schmitt, the majority shareholder and founder of the company, his personal shareholding in Escom should drop from 80 to around 50 percent as part of the rights issue share sale.
Escom is doing extraordinarily well in the German computer marketplace, after diversifying into the retailing of PCs over the past few years. Originally seen as a PC manufacturer, the group reported a 22 percent rise in turnover to DM756 million for the first six months of 1994.
According to the company, which also operates in the UK, after an intensive advertising campaign, turnover from retail activities has soared by 38 percent to DM577 million, while computer wholesale activities have remained stable at DM173 million. Profits for the half year are DM6 million, about the same as the first half of last year.
Despite the rationalization, the number of staff employed by Escom's German operation continues to remain static at around 1,400.
/ TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- Phantech Software Inc., a new software company, has launched commercially a free-form Windows information management program it calls InfoRecall Version 4.0.
Six-month-old Phantech is a spinoff from a Toronto consulting firm that developed InfoRecall and sold it as shareware through bulletin board systems, said the company's president, Curtis Ramsauer. Ramsauer told Newsbytes he has been in the consulting business and before that in retailing for a number of years but began moving into software about two years ago.
While InfoRecall can do the job of a personal information manager (PIM), to call it a PIM would be misleading, Ramsauer claimed. Most people think of a PIM as a program for storing phone numbers, addresses and such information, he explained. "We can do more than that."
Ramsauer said InfoRecall can store records of a few words or as much as 25 pages. Present users of the shareware version use it for many purposes, he said; for instance, authors enter chapters of books in the system, doctors store patient information, and lawyers use it to store boilerplate for creating legal documents. The software can keep track of "whatever information you normally file and can't find," according to Ramsauer.
InfoRecall runs on personal computers equipped with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating environment. It allows for hypertext links among records, and comes with searching tools to help find information by keyword, phrase, block of text, date, number, or phonetic match, and using Boolean logic operators such as "and" and "or." Searching also works across multiple files, Phantech said.
To get information into the package, InfoRecall has import and export capabilities and Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) links to major Windows word processors, company officials said.
A network version of the software is also available.
The suggested retail price of InfoRecall 4.0 is US$99.95. Phantech sells the software worldwide, with its greatest concentrations of sales in North America and Germany, Ramsauer said.
(Grant Buckler/19941028/Press Contact: Debbie Long or Melissa Rabin, for Phantech Software, 708-291-1616; Curtis Ramsauer Phantech Software, 416-502-1311, fax 416-502-1345; Public Contact: Phantech Software, 416-502-1311 or 800-208-1311)
hantech Software, 416-502-1311 or 800-208-1311)
10/28/94
Canadian Firm Launches Free-Form Info Manager
WINDOWS
Newsbytes Daily Summary
IBM Scrambling To Meet Aptiva De
UK - Palindrome Products NetWare
OneComm Intros Wireless Digital
Hong Kong - Chevalier's CT2 Phon
Oracle India Affected By DEC Dat
Etch A Sketch For Windows Intro'
AOL Ships New User Interface
Indian Oil & IBM In Software Mar
UK - Gold Disk Intros PC Video P
Indian Terminal Firm Launches UK
Opti's 16-bit Audio Controller M
UK - Tel-Me Adds Journey Planner
UK - Telecom Survey Shows Lack O
Borland Buys Dashboard From HP
Matsushita Neural Network Mimics
Correction - Amnesty Intl Intera
UK - Apricot Offers PCs Via PC W
Apple Intros High-Speed Power Ma
Newsbytes Daily Summary
#MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 28 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> ****Optigon, Online Entertainment Network Due 10/28/94 The Total Entertainment Network (TEN) is in its beta testing stage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Developed by Optigon, a start-up company launched by a former executive from Maxis, maker of SimCity, TEN promises to be the first online service devoted to real-time multi-player games, custom graphic environments, and user interactivity at 9600 baud rate modem speed.
2 -> Macromedia To Acquire Altsys, Gets Freehand 10/28/94 Altsys Corp says it has signed an agreement to be acquired by San Francisco-based Macromedia (NASDAQ:MACR). The deal includes Altsys' Freehand software, an illustration and design program and Fontographer, a font editing program.
3 -> MCI Handing Out Frequent Flyer Miles 10/28/94 MCI (NASDAQ: MCIC) has announced a frequent-flyer-miles promotion aimed at small businesses. To qualify, a business must sign up for MCI Preferred a long distance service for customers that spend up to $3,000 a month on long distance calls.
4 -> British GPT Wins Largest Telepoint CT2 Order 10/28/94 In what it claims is a world record order which will provide coverage across all the major population centers in Taiwan, a British telecommunications company, GPT, will supply more than 12,000 Telepoint base stations and associated network management systems.
5 -> Southern Bell To Intro Call Completion in Georgia 10/28/94 Southern Bell has announced a new Directory Assistance Call Completion service that, for 30 cents, will connect customers to requested numbers directly, without having to hang up and dial manually. The firm will begin phasing in the service November 15 Southern Bell sources said.
6 -> Feature - Server-Based Ethernet Switching 10/28/94 There's a leading edge technology that is being overlooked by the big boys of PC networking. The product is an Ethernet switch. Before your mind conjures up all sorts of convoluted network configurations and you move on, this switch is a device located in the file server nothing mysterious.
7 -> ClairsImpact 1.0 10/28/94 Claris Corporation's presentation software, ClarisImpact 1.0, is an integrated business graphics presentation program targeted at business users who prefer a single integrated program instead of a hodgepodge of stand-alone applications.
8 -> Math Blaster For Sega, Nintendo 10/28/94 Davidson & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVD) is shipping a new version of its popular Math Blaster educational arcade/adventure game. The new version runs on Sega and Nintendo game players.
9 -> ****Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says 10/28/94 There is a bug in the installation program supplied with early copies of IBM's (NYSE:IBM) OS/2 Warp operating system, but it has been corrected in production and shipment of the software won't be delayed, according to IBM.
10 -> Direct Mail Goes Interactive 10/28/94 A Cleveland design company has moved direct mail to a new level by putting the firm's advertising brochure on interactive disk.
11 -> ****"Video-Over-Cellular" For TV News Reporting 10/28/94 "Hello, Sweetheart, get me rewrite," has long been the cry of the busy print reporter, calling in a breaking news story from the scene. Now, with an assist from Bell Atlantic Mobile, a subsidiary of Bell Atlantic (NYSE:BEL), TV reporters for the cable channel Newschannel 8 in Washington will be able to call in their video stories over cellular phones.
12 -> High-Tech Trade Groups Launch China Office 10/28/94 Three Washington high-tech trade groups are joining forces to launch an office in the Peoples Republic of China. The US Information Technology Office (USITO) in Bejing will work to boost US technology exports to the booming Chinese market.
13 -> Adobe TextureMaker For Mac, Power Mac 10/28/94 Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) has released TextureMaker version 1.0, a new modular software program that allows users to create custom designed textures and then incorporate them into standard Apple Computer Macintosh and Power Macintosh applications.
14 -> Philippines City Hall Installs Fujitsu Teamserver 10/28/94 In line with the government's drive to automate its major operations the Quezon City Hall acquired a Fujitsu H422s Supersmart server. Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay, Jr. and Fujitsu Philippines officials sealed the P5.7 million contract on October 16.
15 -> Scanner Software Bundle From Canon 10/28/94 Canon Computer Systems, Inc. (CCSI) will give a copy of Caere Corporation's OmniPage Direct optical character recognition (OCR) software to buyers of the company's top of the line scanner, the IX-4015. Both PC and Apple Computer Macintosh versions are to be available.
16 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 10/28/94 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Pyramid Technology Corp., Consilium Inc., Now Software, and Interactive Digital Solutions.
17 -> Company Results Roundup 10/28/94 While PictureTel reported a 61 percent increase in revenue for its third quarter, Symantec reported $8 million in net income for the quarter compared to a loss for last year. Macromedia said revenues were up 30 percent for its most recent quarter, and Computervision posted income compared to a loss for last year. Cray Computer reported a loss, while Wyle Laboratories posted record income. Brite Voice Systems also reported record revenues and earnings for the third quarter, and Compuware posted increased revenues. Comshare increased its revenues slightly, while Eastman Kodak reported net earnings of $193 million.
18 -> Microsoft/Deutsche Bundespost Telekom Deals 10/28/94 Microsoft has secured a prestigious contract with Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), terms of which call for Microsoft to supply Windows95 on a pre-installed basis for a planned range of DBT Intel-based multimedia computers.
19 -> Ericsson/Nokia - Major Net Technology Agr't 10/28/94 Nokia of Finland and Ericsson of Sweden have signed an original equipment manufacturer agreement which allows Ericsson to use Nokia Synfonet synchronous digital hierarchy technology in its ETNA product range.
20 -> "Secrets Of Stargate" CD Premieres With Film 10/28/94 Compton's New Media is releasing the Secrets of Stargate CD-ROM in conjunction with the film premiere of Stargate.
21 -> ****Ziff-Davis Sale - No Changes Planned 10/28/94 Forstmann Little & Company's $1.4 billion offer for the five main units of Ziff-Davis Publishing was clarified in a teleconference to reporters yesterday after the initial announcement.
22 -> Qualcomm's China CDMA Trials Successful 10/28/94 Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) says its field trials of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular technology in the People's Republic of China were a complete success. China is considering CDMA technology as a new nationwide communications standard.
23 -> First Virtual Bank Of Cyberspace 10/28/94 First Virtual Inc., says it has developed the world's first merchant banking system for cyberspace. The company believes its new online system is the easiest, safest, and most inexpensive way to conduct business on the Internet.
24 -> ****DEC, California Offer Election Info On Web 10/28/94 In an Internet application reachable by 5000 simultaneous users per screen -- and also featuring upcoming feeds to national TV networks DEC and the State of California have announced they are jointly offering the first live, online election results and pre- and post-election information to be available on the Worldwide Web (WWW).
25 -> Telxon Pen-Based Computers, Motorola Data Radio Modems 10/28/94 Telxon Corporation (Nasdaq: TLXN) says it will integrate three Motorola (NYSE: MOT) data radio modems into its PTC-1140 pen-based computer Systems. The aim is to improve performance over the ARDIS, RAM Mobile Data, and other wide area packet data networks.
26 -> Microsoft, Rabbit Ears Plan Storybooks On CD-ROM 10/28/94 Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Rabbit Ears Productions say they will produce a series of multimedia storybooks on CD-ROM for pre-schoolers and young school-age children.
27 -> Hewlett-Packard Slashes Europe NetServer Prices 10/28/94 Hewlett-Packard has reduced the prices of its high-end NetServer LM Series by up to 17 percent in Europe, a strategy that it claims will undercut Compaq Proliant servers by up to 25 percent.
28 -> Germany - Escom To Move Into PC Distrib 10/28/94 Escom, the German PC company and store chain, has announced plans to link up with two or three partner companies and move into computer distribution.
29 -> Canadian Firm Launches Free-Form Info Manager 10/28/94 Phantech Software, Inc., a new software company, has launched commercially a free-form Windows information management program it calls InfoRecall Version 4.0.
(Wendy Woods/19941028)
(Wendy Woods/19941028)
10/28/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
$R$~$`$
UK Distributors For Spiderman Me
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Martignoni Electronics (ME) has announced that Spiderman, its personal message center (PMC), which is scheduled for a US/Pan-European launch at Comdex Fall in the next few weeks, will be handled in the UK by Frontline and Northamber.
Distribution agreements for the PMC in the US are being worked upon and, according to the company, the product will ship in December of this year.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, the UKP349 PMC can handle voice mail, faxing, and data. Bart Cover, ME's international sales manager claims that the unit has a number of unique features, such as direct fax printing, which he claims sets it apart from the competition in the US marketplace.
Cover describes the PMC as the equivalent of a plain paper fax machine when linked to a printer -- these features are in addition to the unit's integral 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) data modem and voice-mail facilities.
"Having the backing of major channel players Frontline and Northamber will help to ensure Spiderman's success in the UK. It's a complete comms product which addresses the needs of small and home office users, offering real added value over conventional modems," Cover said. "Spiderman also presents a real opportunity for dealers to get into the SOHO (small office/home office) market."
In use, Spiderman can be used as a conventional fax modem with a PC and receives incoming faxes and voice-mail independently of the host computer. The unit can also print out faxes, without connecting to a PC, and can be set to power up a printer for fax printout as soon as they are received, powering down as soon as the fax is finished.
The unit has an integrated microphone and speaker for use as a digital answering machine. Voice messages are stored in its internal memory and a menu-driven screen on the unit steps users through the choices available.
The basic memory on Spiderman is four megabytes (MB), expandable to 16MB internally. The basic 4MB version can store up to 20 pages of fax images or 60 minutes of voice-mail.
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- According to a report just issued by market research company Ovum, the marketplace for executive information system (EIS) tools and related training and support in Europe plus the US, will double to more than $100,000,000 by 1998.
The report, entitled "Ovum Evaluates: Second Generation EIS," suggests that EIS tools are starting to take off in a big way. Phil Carnelly the lead author of the report explained that, while the first generation of EIS tools were "briefing book" systems based on pre defined reports, "second generation EIS tools are reviving a market which many believed to be dead."
According to Carnelly, the first generation of EIS tools were inflexible and very expensive to code up and maintain. "The second generation of tools, many introduced just this year, is aimed at a different audience from those of the first generation," he said.
"These new tools are very much PC products, at a low cost per user sold in large numbers. They allow easy construction of EIS applications with good user interfaces and high connectivity. They also support group working. Most allow end-users to customize or even develop their own EIS applications. This is all in addition to the strong numerical analysis traditionally expected of EIS products," he added.
Carnelly claims that Ovum's definition of a second-generation EIS is "an application for the general user which provides access to, and analysis of, business information on an enterprise scale."
Ovum's report evaluates 14 EIS tools, and includes short profiles of a further 18 packages, from newcomers such as Arbor Software and Cognos, as well as products from established software vendors such as Pilot, Comshare and IRI Software. The packages are evaluated against six key criteria and the resultant profiles plotted as Kiviat charts.
Ovum Evaluates: Second Generation EIS by Philip Carnelly, Alan Shamp and Madan Sheina, is available immediately at UKP995 in Europe $1,750 in the US and, marking the opening of an Australian office AUS$2,395 in Australasia.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Nintendo of America Inc. has released its new 16-bit video game "Super Punch-Out! for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES).
Super Punch-Out! matches a single player, in the role of challenger Little Mac, against a group of electronic boxers. To win the game the user has to progress through the minor, major, world, and special boxing circuits. You have to defeat all four boxers on each circuit in order to advance.
To win, Little Mac has to score either a knockout or a technical knockout, which is accomplished when the opponent is knocked down three times.
The original Punch-Out! game appeared in arcades in 1982 and on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987.
Nintendo has created some formidable opponents for Little Mac. In the minor circuit the player faces Gabby Jay, the washed-out Frenchman; a Cuban, Piston Hurricane; a giant Canadian lumberjack named Bear Hugger; and Bald Bull the Turk.
The lineup of boxers is an international one, with Nintendo sending mythical boxers from Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, the US Ireland, Italy, and even a pair of twins whose origin is a mystery, into the ring. In the match against the twins, Little Mac has to defeat at least one brother twice to advance.
Players can "sharpen" their boxing skills by competing against the clock, and the game has a "Records" option that tracks the player's name, win-loss record, and the best times in achieving a win.
Super Punch-Out! has a suggested retail price of $59.95.
Nintendo is expected to introduce Ultra 64, its 64-bit three-dimensional home video game system, in the fall of 1995 with a suggested retail price of $250. Ultra is a joint development of Nintendo and Silicon Graphics, UK software developers Rare Ltd. and DMA design, and Alias Research in Toronto. Ultra will be powered by a 64-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computing) chip.
(Jim Mallory/19941028/Press contact: Eileen Tanner, Golin/Harris for Nintendo, 206-462-4220; Public contact: Nintendo of America tel 206-882-2040 or fax 206-882-3585)
of America tel 206-882-2040 or fax 206-882-3585)
10/31/94
Nintendo Ships Super Punch-Out! For Super NES
GENERAL
Windows Software Helps Build Mar
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- A Texas company has introduced software designed to help small- to medium-sized businesses develop a plan to market their products.
Business Resource Software (BRS) has added Plan Write for Marketing, a $129.95 Windows-based companion product to its earlier release, Plan Write for Business.
James Brawner, BRS VP of marketing, points out that marketing is not the same as sales, although the two are divided by a fine line. He told Newsbytes Plan Write for Marketing is designed to help entrepreneurs and small business owners create a marketing plan.
According to Brawner, a marketing plan is necessary. "Without a good marketing plan you won't have sales. Marketing is a key facet in the success or failure of a business," he says.
Plan Write for Marketing uses check lists and a question-and answer format to address such factors as "understanding your prospects," "promotions," "pricing," "market segmenting," "customer location," "sales and expense projections," "sales and revenue projections," and "advertising." Brawner says it will take at least half a day to prepare a marketing plan using the BRS program.
The software was developed using the Microsoft applications development toolkit, so its spreadsheet and word processor have a look-and-feel similar to Excel and Word respectively, including a spelling-checker, fonts, and the most commonly used formatting tools. High-end features like tables and scientific formulae are not included. There are also a number of different chart formats.
Brawner says once the software has been used to create a marketing plan it can also be used for day-to-day spreadsheet and word processing tasks. The spreadsheet can import "*.wk?" format files from other spreadsheet programs.
Brawner told Newsbytes that the firm's product is not a template program like some of its competitors. "What we don't like about templates is that they tend to make marketing plan A look like marketing plan B," according to Brawner. "We try to leave it wide open so the user can be creative and design something that sets them apart from the competition rather than something that makes them look like every other marketing plan."
The owners of BRS are not neophytes to marketing. Kent Ochel and Jerry Spencer are veterans of Intel Corporation, where they were required to write a revised marketing plan for their business unit every 30 days. The two men decided there had to be a better way than using pencil and paper to perform the task, according to Brawner.
BRS also publishes Plan Write for Business, a tool to aid in the preparation of the business plan required by all financial institutions in order to obtain funding; and Business Insight that helps in the development of marketing strategy.
Plan Write for Marketing is scheduled to ship by mid-December and is available by special order through Egghead, Software Spectrum and Corporate Software, as well as direct from BRS. The company does not plan a Macintosh version of Plan Write for Marketing.
(Jim Mallory/19941028/Press contact: James Brawner, Business Resource Software, 512-251-7541; Public contact: Business Resource Software, tel 800-423-1228 or 512-251 7541/BRS-MKT941031/PHOTO)
423-1228 or 512-251 7541/BRS-MKT941031/PHOTO)
10/31/94
Windows Software Helps Build Marketing Plan
WINDOWS
OneSource Launches CD/Notes - Co
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- The latest addition to OneSource Information Services Inc.'s CD/Notes line of CD-ROM products is CorpTech Profiles, a collection of corporate and product information on more than 36,000 companies in the US.
Licensed from Corporate Technology Information Services of Woburn, Massachusetts, the database includes both publicly traded and privately held, companies. It provides information such as corporate name and address, telephone number, revenue, number of employees, ownership, business description, government contractor statues, industry and SIC codes, and export information. It also lists names and titles of executives and corporate officers OneSource officials said.
The database also uses Corporate Technology Information Services' proprietary CorpTech classification codes to classify companies by products and services.
Data can be retrieved only into Notes, said Bill Schumacher marketing manager for business research at OneSource, but from there it can be cut and pasted into other programs such as word processors and spreadsheets that run under Windows.
There are no plans at the moment for a non-Notes version of CorpTech Profiles, Schumacher told Newsbytes.
CorpTech Profiles is the eighth product in OneSource's CD/Notes product line, which also includes US Public Profiles, US Private Profiles, SEC Text, Articles, Investext Reports, Worldscope Profiles, and American Banker, a spokesman for the company told Newsbytes.
A stand-alone license for the new release will cost $8,000 per year, while network licenses will start at $10,000 for 10 users Schumacher said. The CD-ROM will be updated quarterly. CorpTech Profiles will be available worldwide, Schumacher said. OneSource has offices in the UK and Japan, as well as the US.
OneSource offers a variety of CD-ROM products, both for Notes and for use without the Lotus Development groupware system. The company originated as a spin-off from Lotus.
(Grant Buckler/19941028/Press Contact: Michael Bailey, OneSource 617-441-7239; Leonard Phillips, Marketing Strategies Inc. for OneSource, 617-356-5090; Public Contact: OneSource, 800-554-5501 or +44-0784-445186)
tact: OneSource, 800-554-5501 or +44-0784-445186)
10/31/94
OneSource Launches CD/Notes - CorpTech Profiles
WINDOWS
DEC Launches Venturis PC Line
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Continuing a redesign of its personal computer (PC) product line, Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has announced the Venturis line of eight PCs.
Like the Celebris line announced recently, the new Venturis models move away from model numbers to names reminiscent of the auto industry. The models they replace were called the DECpc LPv and DECpc LPx_ Value Line. Also like the Celebris models, the Venturis machines use Pentium and 486 processors.
However, DEC spokeswoman Sandy McLaughlin told Newsbytes that while the Celebris PCs are aimed at "advanced productivity users," or power users, the Venturis is aimed at the general business market.
The difference in focus shows up in the fact that more of the Celebris models use the high-powered Pentium chip, while models based on the older 486 dominate the Venturis line. Other technical details also differ.
The Venturis line includes five slimline boxes, one of which uses a Pentium processor, and three full-sized PCs.
The small-chassis models use processors from a 33 megahertz (MHz) 486SX to a 60MHz Pentium. Four megabytes (MB) of memory expandable to 68MB, and a 270MB hard disk are standard equipment. The DOS operating systems and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows for Workgroups come with the machines.
The slimline chassis have three expansion slots, which all conform to the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) standard except on the Pentium-based Venturis 560, which has one ISA slot, one Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot, and one ISA/PCI interleaved slot. All models have four bays for storage devices.
The full-sized models, with a choice of 50MHz 486SX2, 66MHz 486DX2, or 10-MHz 486DX4 processor, also start with 4MB of memory and a 270MB hard drive. Memory is expandable to 68MB. These models each have five ISA slots, four storage bays, and an optional Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) adapter.
All of the models support Microsoft's Plug and Play specification which is intended to make installation of upgrades simpler, and come with support for the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) specification, which is designed to help corporate PC managers track personal computer configurations over a network.
All models also comply with the United States government's Energy Star power conservation guidelines, Digital said.
Prices range from $1,079 for the small-chassis Venturis 433sx up to $1,899 for the full-sized Venturis 4100. At $1,799, the Venturis 560, while it is the lone Pentium-based model in the lineup, is not the highest-priced.
All the new models are available now worldwide, McLaughlin said.
(Grant Buckler/19941031/Press Contact: Sandy McLaughlin, Digital tel 508-264-7981, fax 508-264-6085; Public Contact: Digital Equipment, 800-722-9332/VENTURIS941031/PHOTO)
-722-9332/VENTURIS941031/PHOTO)
10/31/94
DEC Launches Venturis PC Line
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into P
IBM Says Software Is Holding Up
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Mar
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Boo
Newsbytes On NIFTY-Serve
UK - Novell Offers Fault Toleran
Midisoft Intros Multimedia Prese
Sima Offers Mice & Accessories S
Maxwell Wins $5Mil Criminal Just
White House Weaves A WWWeb
Cellular Phone Fraud Ring Charge
Australia Computer News Briefs
MCI Deploys New Corning High Cap
Math Blaster For Sega, Nintendo
Southern Bell To Intro Call Comp
MCI & BT Launch Concert Virtual
Hewlett-Packard Slashes Europe N
Gateway 2000 75MHz Pentium-based
ATI Intros High-Speed Fax/Data M
THORNHILL, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY) has announced the Vigor 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) facsimile and data modem. The modem uses a controllerless chip set from AT&T, which relies on the central processor of the personal computer (PC) as its communications controller.
According to ATI, the new modem is intended to be used in a PC with at least a 25 megahertz (MHz) 386 processor, and using the CPU (central processing unit) as a communications controller will not significantly hurt over-all system performance. The company claimed that giving the job to a fast CPU chip instead of relying on the slower processors usually used as modem controllers means better data throughput.
The Vigor also boosts throughput by using a 512 kilobyte (KB) data buffer, rather than the 16KB buffer that is more common, ATI said. This does away with data loss due to overflow and cuts down on retries, according to the company.
ATI will sell the internal Vigor modem both to consumers and to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as PC makers who may build it into their machines, company spokesman Dan Coyle told Newsbytes.
The modem fits an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) slot. Support for Microsoft Corp.'s Plug and Play specification is likely to appear some time in 1995, he added.
Because the Vigor's controller code runs on the PC's CPU, users will be able to upgrade it by downloading new drivers from online services such as CompuServe, the Internet, and ATI's own bulletin board system, company officials said.
The modem supports V.42bis and MNP5 data compression as well as V.42 and MNP error correction, ATI said. Coyle added that it comes with both data communications and facsimile software. The suggested retail price is C$119 or US$89.
(Grant Buckler/19941031/Press Contact: Dan Coyle, ATI Technologies, 905-882-2600 ext 8281, Internet e-mail 73323.2724@compuserve.com; Public Contact: ATI Technologies 905-882-2600)
ontact: ATI Technologies 905-882-2600)
10/31/94
ATI Intros High-Speed Fax/Data Modem
Microsoft Offers Solution Server
Novell & Sybase Launch SybaseWar
MicroLogic Intros PrintMaster Go
India - Anti-Piracy Software Rai
Edmark Moves 3 Kids' Titles To C
Quantum's 1st Rollout Since $360
Zeos & Micron Technology Subsidi
Microsoft & Compaq Team On Free
Korea - Computer News
UK - Pre-Christmas Mobile Phone
Interactive Multimedia Getting S
Canadian Cable Firms Leave Satel
Parallel Technologies & Microsof
Software Publishers Map Educatio
ClairsImpact 1.0
UK - Windows TCP/IP Connectivity
Internet Changes Foreseen
European Commission Probes Sieme
Europe - Hayes Catches Up On PCM
FLEET, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- After some time watching the rest of the modem market unveil PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) modems, Hayes has started shipping a 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) unit in Europe.
As US Readers of Newsbytes will be aware, the Optima 14400 Fax 144 for PCMCIA modem has been available in the US and Canada since this summer, but Hayes has held back launching the UKP299 unit in Europe owing to approval issues.
Newsbytes asked Bill Pechey, technical manager with Hayes' Northern European operations, when Hayes will release a 28,800 bps version of the Optima PCMCIA.
"We can produce a unit tomorrow, but there are a number of issues involved. We could get the components down to a PCMCIA size, but the major problem is power. Most PCMCIA modems available do tend to have a relatively high power consumption," he told Newsbytes.
Newsbytes' tests on high-speed PCMCIA modems agree this point, but surely Hayes is taking a chance by delaying its products for market? Pechey disagrees, saying, "We have several modems available in the US which are not fully marketed over here. It comes down to segmentation of the market."
According to Pechey, whereas the US market can support Hayes' three main modem lines -- the flagship Ultra, the mainstream Optima and the budget Accura -- the markets in Europe are smaller and different.
"In the UK we have the Optima range, and only go to 14,400 bps with the Ultra, while we are still experimenting (in sales channel terms) with the Accura," he said.
Pechey also noted that the UKP299 price tag on the Optima 144 + Fax 144 for PCMCIA is a recommended retail price point. "That price will be discounted, but how much depends on the dealers," he ventured.
The specifications for the PCMCIA unit are high as PCMCIA modems go Newsbytes notes. The credit card-sized modem supports V.42bis data compression and error correction with a claimed potential of 57,600 bps data throughput, along with Group 3 fax facilities up to 14,400 bps.
Bundled with the modem are copies of Smartcom for Windows LE and Smartcom Fax for Windows LE, Hayes' data and fax packages. According to Hayes, the former package includes a phone book feature to store numbers, along with Smart Buttons to automate comms functions.
(Steve Gold/19941031/Press Contact: Jane Rimmer, Hayes tel +44-252-775555, fax +44-252-775511, Internet e-mail jrimmer@hayes.com; Reader Contact: Hayes Northern Europe tel +44-252-775544, fax +44-252-775511, Internet e-mail hayes@cix.compulink.co.uk; Online with Hayes (BBS) modem 44-252-775599; ISDN access +44-252-812560)
modem 44-252-775599; ISDN access +44-252-812560)
10/31/94
Europe - Hayes Catches Up On PCMCIA Modem Front
TELECOM
FCC Defaults 13 Interactive TV B
Unix Expo - Preview Of SunExpres
3 Interest Groups Enter Video Di
Knowledge Adventure Bundles Jura
Wang Open/image Supports Lotus N
Belgium - Ericsson In Packet Rad
Europe - Philips Still Confident
Autograph Document Automation So
City Of San Jose Goes Online Wit
Sled Offers Internet E-mail Addr
Zeos, Micron Technology Subsidia
Executive Information Systems Ta
Pentax Announces Pocket Jet Prin
Corel Unveils CD Home Line, Plus
European Commission Votes For Ne
Australia - PC Makers Claim Inte
3 Multimedia CDs From Australia
UK - Unipalm Licenses Mail-It Te
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Unipalm has licensed its Mail-It Internet electronic mail (e-mail) technology to Firefox Corp. which will use the software technology to act as an e-mail client interface in two planned new products that will ship in December: Nov*ix Mail for NetWare and Nov*ix for Internet.
The deal follows hard on the heels of last month's licensing agreement with FTP Software in the US, which allows similar usage of the Main-It software technology in the US company's future products. According to David Barrett of Unipalm, the deal means that Mail-It will start to appear as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) product in the software marketplace.
"Mail-It has been our own product until now, but these deals mean that the Internet mail technology will start to be distributed to a much wider audience. Obviously this is pleasing for us, but means that we will get income from our own sales, as well as OEM sales, allowing us to invest for the future," he told Newsbytes.
According to Unipalm, Mail-It uses SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and POP (post office protocol) technologies to eliminate the need for expensive gateway technology when linking disparate local area networks and wide area networks (LANs and WANs).
Plans call for Firefox's Nov*ix for Internet range of applications to exploit Mail-It's combination of MIME (Multimedia Internet Messaging Extensions) and extended MAPI (Microsoft's Messaging Application Program Interface). This will, Newsbytes notes, allow Nov*ix users to exchange multimedia files across their LANs and onto the Internet.
This is an important step, as many users of Internet e-mail are limited to seven-bit messages owing to the transmission technology used by many Internet service providers, and the Internet itself.
(Steve Gold/19941031/Press & Reader Contact: David Barrett Unipalm, +44-223-250100, Internet e-mail davidb@unipalm.co.uk)
+44-223-250100, Internet e-mail davidb@unipalm.co.uk)
10/31/94
UK - Unipalm Licenses Mail-It Technology To Firefox
BUSINESS
UK - Psion Dacom Intros 28.8 PCM
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Psion Dacom has unveiled two additions to its Gold Card PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) fax modem range, the V.FC and the V.34.
According to Gareth Hughes, Psion Dacom's managing director, the V.FC version of the PCMCIA unit is available immediately at UKP499. The V.34 version is still under development but should ship before the end of the year at a price to be confirmed.
Hughes said that Psion Dacom's announcement of the two new modems builds on the company's track record with earlier Gold Card modems.
"These two modems allow data throughput of up to 115,200 bits-per second (bps), which effectively doubles the throughput of V.32bis (up to 57,600 bps)," he said, adding that they are ideal for notebook users who need either remote local area network (LAN) or electronic mail access, or who want to move large files around.
Hughes explained that the modems are ideal for such users "not only because they accelerate the speed of sending and retrieving data, but also because they enable users to make significant reductions in their connection time and telephone costs," he said.
As with earlier Gold Card PCMCIA modems from Psion Dacom, both the new modems support V.42bis data compression and error correction, as well as the MNP (Microcom Network Protocol) Class 10 error-correction system. MNP 10 is useful for very poor and variable line quality making the modems useful for analog cellular links.
Both the new modems also support Hayes' Autosync (for synchronous communications over an asynchronous modem link), plus dial-back security and password protection as standard features.
According to Sue Starie, press officer for Psion Dacom, the Gold Card modems are built from aluminum rather than the "flimsy casings" seen on PCMCIA units from some competitors. This construction, the company claims, means the modem will retain its high quality finish throughout its long life.
The line connection on the Gold Card modems is a six pin affair compared to the nine or 15 pins seen on other units. Psion Dacom claims that this technology makes the unit less prone to breakages.
Bundled with the modems is a software enabled package that allows almost any notebook PCs to be configured for use with the Gold Card modems. Most notebook PCs come with card and socket services utilities, Newsbytes notes, but different "interpretation" of the PCMCIA standards can make some notebooks incompatible with certain PCMCIA modems. Psion Dacom guarantees that its modems will work with any PCMCIA Type II or III socket-equipped notebook.
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- This regular feature, appearing on the first day Newsbytes publishes each week, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: AutoCAD Release 13, Cabletron's new line of SNA/LAN/WAN products, Hewlett-Packard's NetServer Assistant and HP Remote Assistant enhancements
Autodesk Canada Inc., of Markham, Ontario, has announced AutoCAD Release 13 (Newsbytes, Oct. 18). The Canadian suggested retail price is C$5,175 for the CD-ROM version and C$5,515 for the diskette version. Upgrades from Release 12 are C$690, and upgrades from earlier versions are C$966.
Toronto-based Cabletron Systems of Canada introduced a line of nine new products aimed at connecting Systems Network Architecture (SNA) networks with local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) (Newsbytes, Oct. 31). Availability ranges from immediately to the first half of 1995.
Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd., in Mississauga, Ontario, said it enhanced its HP NetServer Assistant and HP Remote Assistant products and announced HP NetServer Assistant 2.1 Extensions (Newsbytes, Oct. 28). HP NetServer Assistant 2.1 is to ship Dec. 1 at a list price of C$705, including one management console and licenses for as many as 100 servers. The NetServer Assistant 2.1 Extensions for the management console are to ship Dec. 1 at C$747, and the enhanced version of HP Remote Assistant is due this week at a list price of C$1,422.
(Grant Buckler/19941031/Press Contact: Al Steel, Autodesk Canada 905-946-0928; Cathy Browne, Hill & Knowlton for Cabletron Canada 613-786-9951; Janice Keay, Hewlett-Packard Canada, 905-206-3752; Public Contact: Autodesk Canada, tel 905-946-0928, fax 905-946-0926; Cabletron Canada, tel 416-213-8222, fax 416-213-8232; HP Canada tel 905-206-4725, fax 905-206-4739)
905-206-4725, fax 905-206-4739)
10/31/94
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
Cabletron Offers Array Of LAN/WA
ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Aiming at the market of companies seeking to reconcile their older IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) with internetworked local area networks (LANs), Cabletron Systems (NYSE:CS) has brought out nine products to help bring SNA, LANs, and wide area networks (WANs) together.
The nine products tackle such tasks as attaching dumb terminals to LANs, connecting LANs to the channels of IBM mainframes, and managing LANs and SNA networks.
Cabletron's LAN to Channel Attachment Module -- Bus and Tag Channel (LCAM-BC) is a hub module that allows direct channel attachment to an IBM or compatible mainframe. Cabletron said it cuts the cost of hooking up LANs to mainframes by doing away with maintenance and licensing costs and external communications processors. An option lets it work as a Novell NetWare for SAA (Systems Application Architecture) server. Available now, the LCAM-BC lists from $18,995.
The LAN to Channel Attachment Module -- ESCON Channel (LCAM-ES) is a similar device for connecting Ethernet and Token Ring LANs to ESCON mainframe channels. It is to ship in the first half of 1995, Cabletron said.
The 3174 Establishment Controller Media Interface Module (3174MIM) allows IBM 3174 terminals to be connected directly to Cabletron's Multi Media Access Center (MMAC). It can work as a controller for direct attachment of 3270 displays and printers or as a Token Ring gateway, company officials said. Prices start at $11,340 and the 3174MIM is available now.
The SNA Network Access Controller Module for Ethernet (SNACMIM-E) is a conversion module for Cabletron's MMAC, allowing SNA Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC) Physical Unit type 1, 2, and 2.1 devices to be connected to an Ethernet LAN. Cabletron offers it with two or four ports. Available now, the SNACMIM-E costs from $3,740 to $5,560.
The SNA Network Access Controller Module -- SNA to WAN Concentrator (SNACMIM-SX) provides wide area network links for SNA devices. According to Cabletron, this avoids the need for leased-line networks. The SNACMIM-SX is due to be available in the first quarter of next year for both Token Ring and Ethernet LANs. Prices will range from $5,195 to $7,350, the company said.
The 7020MIM LAN Over SNA Module is for connecting LANs via an SNA backbone. It is to be available in 90 days at a list price of $11,870.
Spectrum/BlueVision 2.0 is an enhancement of Cabletron's network management software. While the original BlueVision required IBM's NetView software running on an IBM mainframe with the MVS operating system, the new release works on its own, Robert Travis, product marketing manager for Token Ring SNA products at Cabletron, told Newsbytes.
Cabletron has also added the BlueVision InfoMan module to provide access to IBM's Information Manager trouble ticket system from the BlueVision user interface. BlueVision 2.0 is to be available for the MVS and VM mainframe operating systems in the first half of 1995 and Cabletron said pricing will be announced later.
Cabletron said its Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking (APPN) Network Node Routing Service does Network Node topology routing and directory services on Token Ring and frame relay networks. It uses Intermediate Session Routing (ISR). It provides a management information base (MIB) for management and configuration through network management software that works with the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Shipments are due in the first half of 1995 and pricing has yet to be announced.
Finally, Cabletron said its Data Link Switching Networking Service will provide Data Link Switching capabilities for routing SNA and NetBIOS traffic over a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) backbone. This will be an option to Cabletron's existing IP Routing Services, and the company said it plans support across its hub product line. Shipments are due in the first half of 1995 and prices are still to be announced.
All of the products mentioned are to be sold worldwide, company spokeswoman Michele Joachim told Newsbytes.
(Grant Buckler/19941031/Press Contact: Michele Joachim Cabletron, 603-337-1079; Public Contact: Cabletron 603-332-9400)
37-1079; Public Contact: Cabletron 603-332-9400)
10/31/94
Cabletron Offers Array Of LAN/WAN/SNA Products
NETWORK
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A.,1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. JPEG files are for use, PICT files for thumbnails. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day.
To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 4 ,1994
OXNARD941027 - b&w:photo / Cellular Community Watch In Oxnard California: community watch member talks with police officer. Citizen (left) Gary London, Senior Police Officer (right) Joe Chase. Good location shot.
AMNESTY941027 - color:disc / Amnesty International Interactive Human Rights CD: screen shot.
COMFY941027 - b&w:photo / PC Keyboard Aimed At Kids Aged 2-6: cybertyke at PC with the ComfyKeyboard.
EWORLD941027 - color:disc / eWorld's Adds Nolo Legal Ad Age/Creativity Centers: screenshot of main eWorld menu.
IMPULSE941020 - color:photo / Impulse Claims First With Pentium Notebook: the Powerlite 800P with 2 speakers on each side.
STARGATE941028 - color:slide / "Secrets Of Stargate" CD Premieres With Film: screen shot of hieroglyphic art work and set design.
ZIPDRIVE941025 - color:slide / Iomega Offers Removable Drives: Iomega drive next to PC on desktop, domestic look with coffee cup.
SKETCH941017 - color:slide / Etch A Sketch For Windows Intro'd: screen shot with a colorful dinosaur.
SIMA941019 - b&w:photo / Sima Offers Mice & Accessories Sized For Kids: a tyke at PC with Simas full line of accessories at hand.
WINKLE941017 - color:slide / "Ms. Winkle's Class" Uses Classroom Setting To Teach: screen shot of underwater scene and Ms Winkle.
HR6000-941018 - b&w:photo / Polaroid Announces New Digital Film Recorder: product shot with slides in foreground, nice background.
SOFTBD941012 - color:slide / Electronic Whiteboard Now Available In Mobile Model: man at board with PC monitor to side.
DISNEY940930 - color:photo / "Travel The Information Highway" Exhibit Previews: the Virtual Formula ride at the Innoventions Exhibit at Disney's Epcot.
AOLNEW941020 - color:slide / AOL Ships New User Interface: the new multimedia interface from AOL, the new welcome screen. For the departments screen see AOLGUI940912.
CRUISEPAD941019 - color:slide / Zenith Intros PC Wireless Remote Interface: The CruisePad; a wireless remote interface. Very nice set shot of unit and computer on Greco-Roman pedestals.
1994TAX941013 - color:htone / $19 Personal Income Tax Package: cover of the users guide for the Personal Tax Edge.
MdDATA941011 - color:photo / Sony Intros MD Data Drives: product shot of the Sony MDH-10 MD Data Drive.
AIRGAME941012 - b&w:photo / Airlines Offer In-Flight Nintendo: Nintendo goes into in flight entertainment, hands at a NIntendo controller and screen on the back of airline passenger seat.
SYBASE941012 - b&w:photo / Novell & Sybase Launch "SybaseWare," VAR Training: Novell & Sybase join forces, we see the two CEOs. Bob Frankenberg (left) Pres./CEO Novell & Mark Hoffman (right) Pres./CEO Sybase.
KARAOKE941011 - color:slide / WordPerfect Ships More Main Street Titles: screen shot from Kap'n Karaoke.
PIC-PUB941004 - color:slide / Micrografx Offers Picture Publisher Upgrade For Photostyler: screen shot from Picture Publisher.
OPTIPLEX941010 - color:slide / Dell Intros Desktop PCs: product shot of the Optiplex 560/L, a Pentium-based desktop PC designed.
INFINITY941011 - color:disc / Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner "Equivalent": ad art showing hardware for Scan-by-Fax.
UPSIZE941010 - color:disc / Microsoft Add-In Converts Access Database To SQL Server: screen shot.
WILDFIRE941006 - color:slide / Wildfire Intros Voice Command "Electronic Secretary": photo shows Bill Warner, CEO, Wildfire at desk with skyline behind him.
WRIGHT941005 - color:slide / Microsoft Intros 3 Multimedia Titles For Holiday Season: screen shot from The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright. It shows the house Fallingwater at Mill Run, Pennsylvania.
(Newsbytes/19941031)
n, Pennsylvania.
(Newsbytes/19941031)
10/31/94
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
Vertisoft Intros Remove-It! Wind
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Vertisoft Systems has announced Remove-It, a program that allows for the deleting of unwanted Windows and DOS applications, as well as unneeded files, drivers, and fonts.
The company says that RemoveIt! has a "unique automatic installation logging" feature, that it claims guarantees 100 percent safe removal of applications. In addition, the program rapidly scans the hard drive identifying duplicate files, unreferenced files, inactive fonts and drivers, and unused files.
"Most users would be surprised to learn how much junk is accumulating on their hard drive," said Anatoly Tikhman, President & chief executive officer (CEO) of Vertisoft Systems. "Out-of-date versions, games you never play, old demo programs, and CD-ROMs that leave behind support files -- they all waste valuable disk space and can impact Windows performance. Remove-It lets you easily clean your PC while protecting your precious data from accidental deletion."
Remove-It accommodates the different levels of user sophistication by providing the choice of the Express Remove for novices and Custom Mode for advanced users. Express Remove automatically decides which files to delete and automatically creates a backup. Custom Remove allows the user to pick and choose which files to delete, backup, or both.
Chuck Runquist, vice president for product development, told Newsbytes the program is just about "mistake-proof." According to Ranquist, when removing an application, it selects files for deletion based on either a log of the application's original installation or a sophisticated rule-base.
During a Custom Remove, the selected application's files are shown with safety "signs" next to them: a green "Go" sign next to each item that is 100 percent safe to delete, and a yellow "Caution" or red "Stop" sign next to items that are risky or hazardous to delete.
Users can view file contents and links with other files. If the user deletes a file or application by mistake, Remove-It can instantly "undo" the deletion.
Remove-It creates a compressed backup of the deleted files on a hard drive or floppy disk. This backup can be reinstalled at a later time in any directory and on any PC. The company says this makes the program useful for not only removing software, but also for backing up programs, or transplanting them to different PCs.
The program also creates an extensive bootable emergency recovery disk allowing the user to more easily recover their system if configuration files or settings are accidentally modified, deleted or corrupted.
Once the program is installed, it automatically logs any new software installations, "guaranteeing" 100 percent accurate removal from that point on.
The program removes both DOS and Windows applications and their related files, and recommends removal of infrequently used files by monitoring their usage. It also permits the user to view file contents before deletion.
Remove-It will is available at various software resellers at the suggested retail price is $69.95, with a street price of about $50. System requirements are a 386 or better IBM PC or compatible MS- DOS 4.0 or later, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, and two megabytes (MB) of memory.
(Nick Anis/19941028/Press Contact: Chuck Runquist, Vertisoft Systems Inc., tel 800-466-5875 or 415-956-5999, fax 800-466 4719 or 415-469-2719, Internet e-mail 71333.443@compuserve.com; Karen Thomas, Thomas Public Relations Inc., 516-549-7575)
omas, Thomas Public Relations Inc., 516-549-7575)
10/31/94
Vertisoft Intros Remove-It! Windows Uninstaller
WINDOWS
Gates Confirms Microsoft Online
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has confirmed that Microsoft will offer some type of on-line service next year, but says he is still unsure about the exact content.
Gates, speaking at Microsoft's annual shareholders meeting at the Bellevue Hyatt hotel, confirmed widespread speculation that the company is working on a product code-named Marvel and said it will be unlike other commercially available services, but declined to elaborate. He did confirm that some of the features of the proposed online service will be included in the beta version of Windows 95 the next incarnation of the Microsoft's operating system for personal computers. The next beta version of Windows 95 is expected to go out to testers in early November.
Microsoft recently announced it will acquire Intuit Inc., the company that publishes the popular personal finance software Quicken. Gates said that deal will dilute earnings by about $0.22 per share in the current fiscal year and by about $0.10 in fiscal 1996. There has been speculation that Quicken may be the anchor product for Microsoft's online service, allowing users to perform electronic banking through the service, using Quicken as the functional software.
Microsoft still says it expects to ship Windows 95, with its revised user interface, by the end of June, 1995. Gates told shareholders that the company will also ship new versions of its Office applications at about the same time. The Microsoft Office software suite includes Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Microsoft Mail.
Gates said he sees lots of long opportunities for the company particularly on what is commonly being referred to as the information superhighway, but repeated earlier warnings that Microsoft growth is unlikely to continue at the same rate as in the past. In the past the Microsoft chairman has said the company is spending about $150 million annually for research and development of applications for interactive television and other "information highway" services, but Gates said it could be as long as eight years before the infrastructure for such services is well developed.
Microsoft, Tele-Communications Inc., and Viacom Inc., will conduct a test of interactive television in the Seattle are next year, and Gates said Microsoft will start introducing applications for interactive television in 1996.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft executive vice president, said last week that the company will roll out a $100 million television ad campaign in early November. Microsoft spokesperson Mich Matthews told Newsbytes the global campaign will be aimed at explaining to people what the Microsoft brand means. "It's an image campaign," said Matthews.
Gates, in response to shareholder questions, also said he expects to introduce Microsoft's Exchange electronic-mail product by the middle of next year.
On the subject of Cairo, the code name for the next version of Windows NT, Gates told shareholders he hopes to begin beta testing by the end of 1995.
Microsoft also requested, and received shareholder approval for the board of directors to issue up to 100 million shares of preferred stock to investors from time to time. Microsoft Treasurer Greg Massei explained to Newsbytes that the approval makes the preferred shares available to use in future acquisitions. He declined to reveal if Microsoft was currently in negotiations to acquire any other companies. "Most companies have an authorized preferred. It's not unusual," said Massei.
In response to the annual question from shareholders about Microsoft issuing a dividend, Massei told Newsbytes "We're going to do tons of clever things on the information superhighway. We're going to use the money to increase shareholder value."
(Jim Mallory/19941031/Press and public contact: Microsoft Corp. 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
osoft Corp. 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
10/31/94
Gates Confirms Microsoft Online Service
ONLINE
Pacific CommWare Intros Comms Co
ASHLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Pacific CommWare has announced availability of TurboCommander, its 115,200 bits-per second (bps) V.34 communications management software for Windows.
TurboCommander is not communications software. "It doesn't replace your ProComm or your Crosstalk," says Pacific spokesperson Charles McHenry. Instead, its Access Manager automatically switches between applications to avoid conflicts between various communications packages trying to use the same COM port and interrupts.
One application, such as fax software, is designated as the primarily owner of the modem. If the user launches another communications program, the Access Manager transfers modem access to the new application, called a "guest," and returns control to the primary software when the user closes the guest.
The application is significant because it eliminates contention errors and other problems associated with modem sharing. It arbitrates not only between the programs that request access to the modem, but at the IRQ and COM call level. "There is a traffic cop function wherever arbitration is implemented that becomes a little sticky and tremendously important. That's what this new piece of technology does so well," McHenry told Newsbytes.
McHenry says the use of TurboCommander also improves the reliability of high speed communication under Windows. "This gives you perfect character strings without drops," he told Newsbytes. The spokesperson says the market for TurboCommander includes PC users in the home computing market, the home office user and the small business user who is seeking to automate his business processed more efficiently. "For everybody right now getting on line and doing stuff online in a cost efficient manner is a almost a mission," says McHenry.
Pacific says TurboCommander also enables the user to monitor communications activity. The data for each port is shown separately, and ports can be configured and drivers installed and optimized through TurboCommander. The program also performs troubleshooting, providing information on unusual events and errors, suggesting appropriate "solutions."
The company also offers a companion product, TurboCommander Pro for system integrators, network administrators, and application developers. In addition to the TurboCommander features, the Pro version adds support for up to nine high-speed ports. It also includes CommDDT (Communications Development Debugging Tools) Pacific's name for a set of tools that lets the user view the internal state of the comm drivers and monitor the interaction between an application and the Windows communications API (application programming interface).
TurboCommander has a suggested retail price of $49.95. TurboCommander Pro carries a $99.95 price tag. Pacific says registered users of TurboCom/2 can upgrade to TurboCommander for $29.95 and to TurboCommander Pro for $69.95.
(Jim Mallory/19941031/Press contact: Charles McHenry for Pacific CommWare, 503-772-2382; Public contact: Pacific CommWare tel 503-482-2744 or 800-856-3818, fax 503-482 2627/TURBO941031/PHOTO)
or 800-856-3818, fax 503-482 2627/TURBO941031/PHOTO)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Maxoptix has unveiled Praxis, a 60 gigabyte (GB) optical storage appliance aimed at "revolutionizing" the industry with "mainline storage" that sits directly on the network, instead of behind a file server.
In a briefing for Newsbytes in Boston, Bob Root, company president said that Praxis (meaning "system" in Greek) combines an optical jukebox and a 486-based 66 megahertz (MHz) on-board computer with "network interface" and "intelligent" storage software in a portable unit that can be plugged in anywhere on an Ethernet local area network (LAN).
Praxis' on-board computer comes with 16 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) cache and 2GB of hard drive cache, according to Root. The optical jukebox consists of an autoloader with two 1.3GB erasable-optical disk drives and a 46 optical cartridge capacity.
"Praxis will start a new era in storage," Root told Newsbytes. Traditional storage devices, housed in central data rooms, tend to "treat all data alike," he maintained.
In contrast, Praxis can be placed in a company's finance department, prepress area, or wherever extra storage is most needed, he explained. More storage can be added immediately, at the departmental level, simply by loading more optical cartridges or using a second Praxis unit, according to Root.
Further, the Intelligent Cache Manager (ICM) that is included in the system is able to identify how often individual files are accessed, and to store them accordingly, he said. The most frequently accessed data remains on the computer hard drive.
Less frequently accessed data is stored either in Praxis' hard drive cache -- which also records "data location tags" -- or in the system's on-board RAM cache, according to Root. The optical cartridges are used for archiving information that is accessed infrequently, but needs to stay available to users.
Also unlike traditional devices, said Root, Praxis does not require customized software drivers or physical mounting on a server or workstation, eliminating the need for the customary practice or shutting down the whole network to add a larger hard drive or a new storage peripheral.
Praxis is also "network independent," linking to the network operating system through the "network interface software," he explained. In the storage unit's first incarnation, the software uses the IPX/SPX (Internet Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange) NetWare protocol to "introduce Praxis as a new network service to the Novell file server," a process that takes less than five minutes, according to Root.
A future product from Maxoptics will bring interface software for TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), allowing use of the unit with Unix- or Windows NT-based servers and workstations, Newsbytes was told.
Also in the future, Maxoptix plans to offer similar products for other network topologies, such as token ring or FDDI (fiber distributed data interface), said the company chief.
The company opted to begin with only one network architecture so as to avoid "overwhelming the marketplace" by introducing the "new concept" device in too many areas at once, he contended.
Ethernet was selected as the starting point due to its status as the most prevalent LAN topology, according to Root. Praxis interfaces to the network architecture through an on-board network interface card (NIC), as will upcoming members of the product family, he added.
Like Praxis, future products in Maxoptix' new storage line will be optically based, Root reported. "Tape is too slow," he asserted.
The autochanger in Praxis is able to load an optical cartridges in 2.5 seconds, according to Root. The system's erasable optical drives offer a seek time of under 19 milliseconds (ms) and "sustained read and write rates" of 2.2 megabytes-per-second (MBps) and 1.1 (MBps) respectively.
The Praxis autochanger also boasts a reliability rating of 1 million MSBF (mean swap between failure), he said. All of the cartridges are written with ISO formatting, for interchangeability with other ISO-compliant erasable optical drives.
Greater storage capacity is another item on the agenda for future Praxis-related products, he told Newsbytes. Within five years, the rise of interactive video will lead to home PC systems with 50GB of storage, he predicted.
"That might seem unlikely now, but who would have believed five years ago that notebooks PCs of today, such as the Apple PowerBook would be offering 500 megabytes (MB) of storage?" he illustrated.
Much of the interactive video of tomorrow will be targeted at children, for educational use, he said. "Kids will be chewing up more gigabytes than just about anyone."
Right now, Praxis can be converted into a video server or fax server, by installing the appropriate application server on the system's on-board processor, he noted.
Analysts and Maxoptix customers contacted by Newsbytes hailed Praxis for its storage capacity, network independence, and other features.
"NetWare, Unix and Windows NT are where the market is heading, and 50 GB is a good size for network storage," said Dennis Casey research analyst at Peripheral Strategies.
A study conducted by the Santa Clara, California-based market research firm shows that Unix-based networks of today are equipped on average, with 14 file servers and 100GB of total storage capacity, according to Casey.
But storage needs are increasing 20 to 30 percent per year on Unix networks, and at an even faster 70 percent annually on PC LANs, he told Newsbytes.
Mickey Applebaum, senior network consultant for Erudite, a Maxoptix reseller, said that one of Erudite's customers is beta testing Praxis as a method of making "large history files" available from both NetWare and Unix servers.
Noted Applebaum: "Before, this customer was mounting disks on NetWare servers. NFS (NetWare File Server) was then used to mount these disks to the Unix systems. But the amount of memory required and the costs -- kept going up. And to protect the system, they had to use a RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) or duplex system."
In the beta test, though, the customer is accessing the needed data "as though it were a native server or NFS mounted volume without taking up server resources on either the NetWare or Unix sides," Applebaum told Newsbytes.
Another benefit of Praxis is that users can access archived data through any server on the network, in the event the local server goes down, according to the consultant. "The optical storage is permanent," he pointed out.
Root told Newsbytes that Praxis is being produced by Maxoptix NWorks, a business unit launched by Maxoptix in August to develop manufacture and market network storage products. The 26-GB Maxoptix Axxis optical storage system was NWorks' first product.
Maxoptix was founded in 1989 as a joint venture between Maxtor Corporation and Kubota Corporation. "We are predominantly a digital imaging company," said Root.
Praxis is slated to ship this quarter for $49,995, a price that includes on-site installation, a three-month on-site warranty, and a one-year warranty on parts and labor, in addition to the jukebox drive, cabling, and 46 optical cartridges.
Extended warranty programs -- including emergency field services and/or system replacement within four hours -- are available at an additional cost.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941031/Reader Contact: Maxoptix, 408-954-9700; Press Contact: Robin Lutchansky or Jessica Johannes, The Benjamin Group for Maxoptix, 408-559-6090)
, The Benjamin Group for Maxoptix, 408-559-6090)
10/31/94
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline Storage Unit
GENERAL
Caere's Updated PageKeeper Docum
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Caere has announced PageKeeper 2.0, an update aimed at adding "smart" search capabilities and expanded retrieval to the company's Windows-based software package for gathering, storing and accessing information from varied electronic and paper-based sources.
In a meeting with Newsbytes on a Boston press tour, Robin Hau product manager, explained that the newly updated retail edition of PageKeeper is designed to bring "sophisticated high-end document management capabilities" to "knowledge workers" like consultants small business owners, lawyers, journalists, and marketing executives.
Members of the target market group, he said, are people who need quick access to documents from sources that range from: online services like CompuServe (CIS), America Online (AOL) and Prodigy; to electronic-mail and word processing applications; to faxed or scanned-in magazine articles, manuals, and memos.
First introduced in 1992 as Personal PageKeeper, the retail package offers a centralized spot for storing and retrieving information from these disparate sources, according to Hau. Caere also markets "workgroup" and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) editions of PageKeeper.
The need for a product like PageKeeper is rising rapidly with the increased size of PC hard drives and the growing popularity of online services, electronic-mail, and storage, fax and scanning peripherals, according to the product manager. "The market is about to explode," he predicted.
PageKeeper uses Caere's OmniPage OCR (optical character recognition) engine to store and index scanned-in paper-based documents in text form, compressing these documents to up to 1/50 of their original size he said.
The scanned-in pages are stored simultaneously as image files, so users can view as they first appeared on paper, and then print out the pages at any time.
PageKeeper also indexes files stored elsewhere on the PC, according to Hau. Users can employ the index to conduct searches that produce lists of documents in which items are "weighted" in terms of their "relevance" to the search by color-coded rankings.
In contrast to typical "key word" searches, PageKeeper's searches are based on an indexing process that indexes all "important words" in a document, leaving out only the most common articles prepositions and verbs, Hau maintained.
Also with PageKeeper, users can conduct Boolean searches. Users can also search for "other documents with similar content" to a specified document, he said.
The new PageKeeper 2.0 is slated to become available in retail stores later this quarter. The update adds a new Natural Language Processing (NLP) engine aimed at "actually reading and understanding content," the product manager reported.
Some of the new NLP capabilities involve "stemming," a technology that "intelligently recognizes similar words by identifying identical word roots." PageMaker 2.0 is able to recognize, for example, that "computing" is a similar word to "computer."
PageKeeper 2.0 also brings the ability to import fax documents through WinFax Pro 4.0 directly from send/receive logs, according to Hau.
In addition, users can now import messages directly from the in-box of Microsoft Mail, Lotus cc:Mail, or any other electronic mail product complying with either Microsoft's MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface) or Lotus' VIM (Vendor Independent Messaging).
Users can also import files downloaded from CIS, AOL or Prodigy specifying the directory to be used for the downloads.
A new feature called PKDirect permits documents to be sent directly to PageKeeper from the system/file menus of Winfax Pro, MS Mail cc:Mail, Prodigy, AOL, or WinCim, Hau added.
Also via PKDirect, the user can invoke a PageKeeper retrieval from any application complying with Microsoft Windows 3.1, he said.
Through a new direct interface to MaxMate, the Windows-based software for the PaperMax scanner, users are now able to drag-and drop MaxMate thumbnails directly into PageKeeper.
Also in PageKeeper 2.0, indexing is up to five times faster than in Version 1.0, a capability that becomes especially evident when the user is indexing large numbers of documents, according to the Caere executive.
The time it takes to index 900 documents is now less than 40 seconds, in comparison to over three minutes with Personal PageKeeper 1.0, he asserted.
PageKeeper 2.0's OCR is based on the recently introduced OmniPro 5.0 upgrade. In addition, PageKeeper users can now opt to turn off the OCR functionality, for image file viewing only.
During a demo for Newsbytes, Hau displayed PageKeeper's search capabilities. The search feature is accessed by clicking on a "Sherlock Holmes" icon that appears along with other icons in a row at the top of the screen.
To conduct a "Weighted Relevance Retrieval" search, you type in up to 250 words ("search criteria") in a pop-up menu, he said, using three words selected at random to show how this is done.
A few seconds later, the "relevant" articles appeared in a box on the right-hand side on the size, ranked in descending order of "relevance."
PageKeeper 2.0, he added, allows for two types of Boolean searches. One approach uses traditional Boolean methodology, whereas the other is a simplified version that calls upon the user to simply "fill in the blanks" on "If...and/or...but" phrases.
Hau told Newsbytes that updates to the OEM and Professional PageKeeper workgroup editions of PageMaker will become available later this quarter and in mid-1995, respectively.
PageKeeper OEM is bundled by PC manufacturers as well as by makers of PCs and other peripherals, according to the product manager.
Professional PageKeeper 2.0, the upgrade to Caere's workgroup edition, will be "more robust" than Version 1.0, with increased network support. "CD-ROM support is also a future opportunity," he noted.
Hau added that Calera, which was recently acquired by Caere, is "well positioned" as a major supplier of OCR technology to VARs and systems integrators in the imaging and document management arenas.
PageKeeper 2.0, Caere's new retail package, will carry an MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) of $149. But street pricing will be under $100, estimated Hau.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941031/Reader Contact: Caere Corporation, 408 395-7000; Press Contacts: Mike Lough, Caere, 408-39-7000; Craig Sutphin or Karen Lippe, Blanc & Otus for Caere, 415-512-0500)
aren Lippe, Blanc & Otus for Caere, 415-512-0500)
10/31/94
Caere's Updated PageKeeper Document Mgt Package
WINDOWS
Siemens Next In Line For PowerPC
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Siemens looks set to follow Toshiba in licensing the PowerPC RISC microprocessor architecture from IBM. The IBM/Toshiba deal, details of which remain confidential allows Toshiba to design derivatives of the PowerPC processor for its own use.
The deal stipulates Toshiba must have the derivatives manufactured by either IBM or Motorola. Toshiba is not allowed to sell the chips on the open market.
An IBM spokesman declined comment on talks with Siemens but added that they are continuing to look for partners as part of their effort to make the PowerPC the "industry's most pervasive RISC architecture."
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
re."
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/2/94
Siemens Next In Line For PowerPC
CHIPS
Correction - Microsoft, Rabbit E
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- A recent Newsbytes story about a deal between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Rabbit Ears Software to release multimedia storybooks for children on CD-ROM that are educational as well as entertaining contained an error.
The story identified Danny Glover, the actor who will narrate "How The Leopard Got His Spots," the first release in the project as the star of a television series. Mr. Glover is a well known movie actor who starred in such popular movies as "Lethal Weapon," "Lethal Weapon II," "The Color Purple," and "Angels In The Outfield."
The new storybook series will be marketed by Microsoft as part of its Microsoft Home software series as well as under the Rabbit Ears brand name. "How The Leopard got His Spots" is scheduled for release in January 1995. Mark Grayson, Rabbit Ears president, told Newsbytes the deal is somewhat fluid but will probably include at least six titles.
(Jim Mallory/19941031/Press contact: Sue Barnes, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 408-986-1140 or Mark Grayson, Rabbit Ears Productions, 203-857-3760; Public contact: Microsoft, 206-882 8080 or 800-426-9400 or Rabbit Ears Productions, 203-857-3760)
00-426-9400 or Rabbit Ears Productions, 203-857-3760)
10/31/94
Correction - Microsoft, Rabbit Ears Plan Storybooks
CORRECTION
WINDOWS
Korean Electronic Exports Surpas
SEOUL, KOREA, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- According to a recent survey by the Electronic Industries Association of Korea, this year's electronics exports are expected to amount to $30 billion, a 26.5% increase from last year.
The amount exceeds this year's original sales goal of $25 billion and the revised goal of $27.7 billion. It is because semiconductor exports have increased by over 60% the first half of this year and exports of home appliances like PCs and microwave ovens and electronic components including printed circuit boards are booming, helped by the strong yen. Imports of components are growing along with exports and electronic imports amounted to $8.3 billion the first half with an expectation to be $17 billion late this year, an 18% increase from the same period last year.
(Terry Silveria/19941104)
period last year.
(Terry Silveria/19941104)
11/4/94
Korean Electronic Exports Surpass $30 Billion
TRENDS
Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Las
WILSONVILLE, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Tektronix Inc. (NYSE:TEK) has announced new color bubble jet and laser printers.
The new models include the $1,695 Phaser 140 Bubble Jet printer and the Phaser 540, an $8,895 Postscript printer that can print nearly four color pages-per-minute (ppm) and 14 ppm in monochrome.
The Phaser 540 has a 250-sheet paper tray, and an optional tray assembly accommodates two additional 25-sheet trays. There is also an optional 100-sheet overhead transparency tray. The user can select any of the trays from their PC.
The 540 uses a continuous tone, non-dithered print engine, which the company says provides near-photographic quality printed images. The electronic document industry glossary of terms defines dithering as the printing process that uses dot patterns to simulate gradations of gray.
Tektronix spokesperson Jennifer Jones told Newsbytes the Phaser 140 Bubble Jet is not a low-end printer in the category of Hewlett Packard and Epson bubble jets. "It's for people in small workgroups of five or less," Jones told Newsbytes. "It's the market that needs Postscript and needs a little bit more performance, but not necessarily speed. What we have done is go after performance price and quality," said Jones.
Tektronix spokesperson Chuck Humble told Newsbytes the Phaser 140 includes Postscript capability, can be connected to a network, and prints at two ppm in the black and white mode and one ppm in the color mode.
Tektronix also markets Phaser Share, an automatic port and protocol switching device that lets the Phaser 540 talk to Macintoshes, PCs and Unix workstations. Phaser Share includes bi-directional management of Tektronix printers on Novell NetWare-based networks.
An optional device called Phaser CopyStation connects to the Phaser 540's SCSI (small computer system interface) port and sends an image of the document to the printer to make multiple copies. CopyStation has a suggested retail price of $1,695.
The Phaser 540 uses a 32 megahertz (MHz) RISC (reduced instruction set computing) chip and comes with a standard 20MB of memory which can be expanded to 36MB or 52MB. There are 39 resident Adobe Postscript typefaces, four resident PCL typefaces, a resident TrueType font rasterizer, and support for downloaded Adobe typefaces.
The 540 uses TekColor Dynamic Correction that lets the user select a driver for the color correction to be made at print time, for better color control. TekColor can simulate Commercial Press SWOP Press, and Euroscale Press.
(Jim Mallory/19941031/Press contact: Jennifer Jones, Tektronix 503-685-3150; Public contact: Tektronix, 800-835-6100 or 503-682-7377/TEKTRONX941031/PHOTO)
35-6100 or 503-682-7377/TEKTRONX941031/PHOTO)
10/31/94
Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Laser Printers
UK - Autodesk Intros AutoCAD Rel
GUILDFORD, SURREY, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Autodesk has unveiled AutoCAD Release 13, the latest incarnation of the company's computer aided design (CAD) package.
The package is expected to ship from the end of November onwards and will be sold on a multi-platform license basis for DOS and Windows 3.1 users (users who buy one version will get the other free). Also within a 90-day cycle, Autodesk claims it will be offering a Windows NT version of the package, also on a multi-platform license basis.
Because of the size of the installation programs, Autodesk is also offering the package on either CD-ROM or 1.44 megabyte (MB) floppy disks. According to Karen Hiscock, marketing communications manager with Autodesk UK, the RRP (recommended retail price) of the package has been set at UKP3,150, although existing users can upgrade from any earlier version for UKP495. As a special introductory offer, the CD-ROM version of the upgrade is being sold at UKP395 until the end of January, 1995.
As has happened with previous editions of AutoCAD, the package has evolved slowly upmarket. This is reflected in Release 13's price tag although versions for non-PC platforms, including Sun Solaris, HP-UX (Hewlett Packard's flavor of Unix), SGI IRIX, IBM RS/6000, and AIX on the Power PC, plus Digital Alpha Windows NT, are under active development for shipment early next year.
As supplied in its PC DOS and Windows 3.1 versions, Release 13 needs a 486-based PC with 12 megabytes (MB) of RAM and a 25MB hard disk for the DOS edition to run, while the Windows 3.1 version needs a similar PC with 16MB of RAM, 35MB hard disk, and a 64MB permanent swap file on hard disk.
The planned Windows NT version of AutoCAD will feed a PC equipped with 20MB of RAM, 35MB of hard disk space and a permanent swap file of 64MB on the hard disk.
Newsbytes pointed out that gray market copies of very early versions from Autodesk are available in the UK at prices under the UKP1,000 mark -- a route for a low-cost upgrade?
"We are aware of gray market copies being available, but the upgrade path is only available for existing registered UK users of the package that have bought their software through standard channels. If a gray market user tried to upgrade, we would be aware of that, because of the serial numbering system, as well as the 'dongle' that the package uses," she told Newsbytes.
A dongle is a hardware device, usually in the form of a pass-through parallel or serial port connector, which contains firmware which must be present on the PC before a package will run.
Hiscock went on to say that Release 13 of AutoCAD is the first version of the software to feature a disk lock feature in addition to the dongle system. "With these safeguards, we're confident that upgraders are real upgraders and that people are using AutoCAD legitimately," she said.
According to Hiscock, Release 13 of AutoCAD has evolved into a state of the art CAD application. A new customizable interface on the package claims to improve productivity for existing users, as well as making the package significantly easier to use for new users.
Other features of the new edition include an enhanced keyboard usage/command line interface, as well as a drawing preview mode. Included with the package is a new bundle of online learning tools including the What's New quick tour, and several interactive tutorials.
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- The French government has given the green light to a massive expansion of the Minitel viewdata project first started in the late 1970s, with plans to take France to the forefront of the so-called "information superhighway."
As reported last week by Newsbytes, the French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur and his Cabinet were considering a series of proposals from Gerard Thery, the former head of France Telecom and the man credited with the idea behind Minitel, the French viewdata project.
Balladur has agreed in principle to the government launching an initiative to create a data superhighway, building on France Telecom's Transpac packet data network (PDN) service, and allowing all of France's citizens to have low-cost access to a video dial-tone, plus "fiber to the home."
The precise mechanics of how the project will unfold have yet to be revealed by the French government. Also to be confirmed is the amount of the French budget to be allocated to the project. Unlike the Minitel project, however, which Newsbytes notes was launched without an overall budget, Balladur has gone on record as saying he wants to see firm figures set for the State's involvement in the project, and also commitments from a variety of private companies.
According to a statement from the Premier's office on Friday, the government is proposing a 20-year plan for France, starting next year with the ultimate aim of having every citizen "hooked up" to the network by the year 2015.
To ensure that the project gets through to completion, Balladur has proposed the formation of a special project team, staffed by ministers on both sides of the government. This will ensure, he said, that no matter who is in power at the time, the project will continue for its full term of 20 years.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941031)
term of 20 years.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941031)
10/31/94
French Govt Gives Thumbs Up To Info Highway
Unix Expo - Data General Managem
Microsoft Intros Animation For W
Korea - Telecom News Roundup
First Piece Of Cognos' Axiant Re
UK - Digital Mobile Phone Data/F
Ameritech Intros Advanced Video
UK - Gupta Readies QuickObjects
Philips Conf - P100 Screen Phone
TWAIN Support For Apple's QuickT
Lotus Launches New Retail Mercha
Europe - BT & Matsushita Sign Ai
Silicon Graphics Revenues Up 42%
FCC Pager Auction Brings Big Buc
Microsoft Intros SQL Server Soft
Vertisoft Intros Remove-It! Wind
Windows Software Helps Build Mar
New Zealand Gets On-line User Ma
German ISDN Sales Rocketing, Pri
BONN, GERMANY, 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), the state telecoms company of Germany, has revealed plans to pass along economies of scale in its packet data network (PDN) and integrated services digital network (ISDN) services within the next few months.
The news comes as DBT has revealed that it will have 1.8 million ISDN data channels online by the end of the year and, as a consequence generated DM4,000,000,000 in ISDN call revenue during 1994.
According to Horst Gellert, DBT's business services director, ISDN link charges will fall by around 20 percent in January, while the cost of high-capacity leased data lines, referred to as kilostream and megastream lines in Europe, will fall by as much as a 50 percent on low capacity (2 megabits-per-second - Mbps) routes. The idea behind the initiative, DBT officials claim, is to encourage more usage of the data superhighway.
More cynical observers suggest that DBT is only adjusting its prices to stay competitive with the rapidly evolving private telecoms sector which claims that it can undercut DBT's charges on 2 Mbps and faster data links, as well as ISDN circuits.
Interesting, Gellert admitted that some of the price cuts were forced on the company by the government, but DBT decided to carry the price cuts still further to show the competition that it could still operate on very low profit margins, as well as forcing the competitors to lower their prices.
According to Gellert, DBT is moving a period when its services were "bad-mouthed" owing to high prices and low levels of service, to the exact opposite. He also claims that the price cuts will be more than offset by the increase in call revenues as a direct result of the downward price shuffles.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941031)
wnward price shuffles.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941031)
10/31/94
German ISDN Sales Rocketing, Price Cuts Scheduled
TELECOM
Europe - EC Votes To Take In Eas
Major Apple Communications Produ
UK - Insignia Intros CD Director
Corporate Software To Buy DEC's
AOL Plans Online Hourly Fee Unde
California Real-Time Freeway Tra
Artisoft LANtastic For OS/2
AST Unveils Aptiva Killers
Winstar Last Mile Wireless Servi
UK - Lotus Views OS/2 Warp As Po
Germany - Neo-Nazi BBS Investiga
Intel Intros Embedded Flash RAM
Optigon, Online Entertainment Ne
Bell Atlantic's Free MADD Drunk
Apple Offers Developers Kit On C
Comet Wins New York Marathon Dea
Australia - HP Offers Horizon Re
Boca's $199 Hybrid PC Multimedia
California's New Online Voter Gu
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- A collection of non-profit organizations, telecom companies, pubic library services computer firms, and print publications has brought the California Online Voter Guide onto the Internet. The Guide, available through Internet Gopher services, World Wide Web, and America Online describes candidates and issues in the coming California election.
The California Voter Foundation (CVF), which sponsors the Guide reports that more than 5,000 people have accessed the Internet version in the past 3 weeks, downloading about 15,000 files. CVF is a non-profit and non-partisan group formed in 1989 to inform students and voters about candidates and issues.
The Guide offers information on all statewide candidates and "propositions" (referenda), plus an "Easy Reader" simplified version from the Center for Civic Literacy. Information in the Guide will be continually updated during the next two weeks, until the election is held, said CVF sources.
Kim Alexander, executive director of the CVF, said the organization has been "flooded with positive feedback" from users. Usage is expected to increase over the next two weeks, she added, as word about the service gets out and as the election comes more to dominate the news and advertising airwaves.
Alexander said the current guide is only in "the embryonic stages" and predicted it would greatly improve in future years. Newsbytes after taking a tour of the Guide through America Online, notes that the Guide's menu system makes it easy to select descriptions of any specific candidate or issue, but that not all candidates and propositions are covered yet. CVF says it now covers 90 percent of the major-party candidates and half of the minor-party candidates.
The Guide also describes all statewide office jobs, including: their duties, salary, and past and present officeholder; articles from the California Journal non-partisan magazine summaries candidates and issues; access to the DEC/Secretary of State gopher for ballot measure summaries, texts, analyses and arguments; and access to the Project Vote Smart gopher for voting records, campaign issue positions, interest group ratings, and campaign finance data on Congressional candidates.
Lists of various newspaper endorsements will be posted as they become available, the CVF said. On election night, the DEC/Secretary of State gopher will post election results as they come in, for those who want to stay even or ahead of the news media on election night. The Guide will remain available for a month after the election is over, by way of the Pacific Bell Knowledge Network at gopher.kn.pacbell.com, according to the CVF.
CVF, which primarily focuses on educating California's students about voting, enlisted technical help for its online project from a variety of private and public sources.
Pacific Bell donated technical assistance and the use of its public gopher server through its Knowledge Network Gateway program. Funding for the project came from Oracle, Intel, Pacific Telesis Pacific Bell, GTE, AT&T, PG&E (a large California utility company), and Macworld magazine. Technical assistance came from sources ranging from Apple Computer to the staff at the Sacramento, California Egghead Software retail store, said the CVF.
To access the guide by gopher use gopher.kn.pacbell.com. To access via America Online, use keyword: Internet, then select "gopher," choose category "Government and Politics," and select "California Voters' Guide." Using the World Wide Web use http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/ppp/home.html.
(Craig Menefee/19941031/Press Contact: Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation, 916-737-6270; electronic-mail Internet kimalex@netcom.com; Reader Contact: Internet electronic-mail ovg@kn.pacbell.com; or Susan Clark, The Center for Civic Literacy tel 415-454-6500, fax 415-454-6591; or the California Journal 916-444-2840)
the California Journal 916-444-2840)
10/31/94
California's New Online Voter Guide
ONLINE
New CDMA Async Data/Message Spec
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has finished it specifications for code division multiple access (CDMA) asynchronous data and short message services. Next, it will prepare a specification for cellular digital packet data (CDPD) services using wireless CDMA links.
The CDMA asynchronous data and short message services will be among the first CDMA offerings next year when it is rolled out industry sources said.
According to CDG, cellular customers will use asynchronous data mode to transmit large data files and faxes. The digital packet data mode will be for shorter data bursts such as credit card verification dispatch services, and vehicle location.
In an interview, CDG Executive Directory Parry LaForge emphasized that the aim was to shorten the path needed to get the new technology into service. "If you look at the approaches we've taken in the past, it's taken years to get things done," he explained. "The reduced cycle time is really the key issue."
He added that the CDG, which was formally announced last July now has about 30 members with about 350 people actively participating.
The group has worked closely with the CDPD Forum, an industry association, to expedite making CDMA available to the packet data systems. Using CDMA as an additional air link for packet data systems is a "natural," said GTE Wireless Data General Manager Chuck Parrish.
The short message capability will let cellular customers integrate voice-mail notification, digital paging, electronic messaging and telephony in a single portable device, said CDG sources.
The new CDMA Short Message Specification includes covers cellular messages up to 256 characters, voice-mail alert and notification and digital paging. A complaint cellular system will hold short messages for delivery later if a customer's phone is turned off notifying the customer of message pages or voice-mail when the phone is turned back on. It will indicate the priority levels of stored messages, so the user can handle the top calls first.
The CDMA Development Group was formed to foster the development of open standards to facilitate introduction of CDMA services. The voluntary group consists primarily of cellular operators and equipment manufacturers. Currently, a dozen technical teams and more than 200 individuals are working to define technical specifications for CDMA features and services, said CDG sources.
CINCINNATI, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- USA Mobile Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:USAM) has announced it has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Professional Communications Inc. (PCI) of Erie, Pennsylvania. USA Mobile sources said the purchase means the firm will soon have more than 720,000 pagers in service.
PCI provides radio paging services throughout upstate New York western Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio. A source at USA mobile confirmed to Newsbytes that the purchase is part of a continuing expansion of USA Mobile paging services. PCI, the acquired forms services about 40,000 pagers, the source said.
Specific terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to FCC approval.
USA Mobile's chairman and chief executive office (CEO), Janice Fuellhart, said the PCI acquisition was "another step in our penetration into markets" in USA Mobile's core service area. The figure of 720,000 USA Mobile pagers includes pending acquisitions of Premiere Page, Page Alert, and Cincinnati Bell, as well as the firm's recent acquisition of assets from Paging USA.
USA Mobile sources said the transactions, assuming they all meet regulatory and other necessary approvals, will make USA Mobile Communications Holdings Inc. the sixth largest US paging operator.
USA Mobile provides local and regional paging services in the core markets of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Its recent acquisitions will extend its service area to markets in Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri Illinois, upstate New York, and western Pennsylvania.
The company also provides paging services to areas contiguous to its core market, including Chicago, Illinois, and Charleston, West Virginia, through reciprocal arrangements with other paging companies.
(Craig Menefee/19941031/Press Contact: Mark A. Moore, USA Mobile 513-489-0122; Robert Borchert or Jennifer Wolfertz, Edelman Financial, 212-704-8293-4451)
delman Financial, 212-704-8293-4451)
10/31/94
USA Mobile Expanding Pager Service
TELECOM
Alliances Form For December Wire
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- While they talk of "strategic alliances," the combinations the nation's telecommunications companies disclosed last week are really dalliances of convenience for carving up the airwaves. The companies were forced by Federal Communications Rules to unveil their bidding combinations before the December 5 auction of spectrum to support a new generation of personal communications systems.
The bidding at the PCS auction is expected to be spirited and to bring in billions to the federal government's cash-starved coffers. The winners will have the inside track for creating new networks of wireless phones that could rival the wired world of today's telephone technology. But few expect the alliances to lead to closer relationships.
There are a number of bidding conglomerates.
The newly merged AT&T-McCaw cellular promises to be the 800 pound gorilla. With the merger, the company now has cellular systems in more than 100 cities, most of them in the 30 biggest markets. AT&T is likely to bid for markets it does not serve including Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Atlanta, and Washington-Baltimore.
Several Baby Bells are joining forces to match AT&T's muscle. They are Bell Atlantic, Nynex, US West and Airtouch Communications. They will bid in the Midwest, the Southeast and Texas.
Also flexing impressive financial biceps is the alliance of Sprint, the third largest long-distance carrier, with three large cable television providers -- Tele-Communications Inc. Cox Communications, and Comcast. They plan to turn their licenses into competitors of the Baby Bells, offering telephone service over the cable connection in markets they now serve.
Bell South, teaming up with the Washington Post, American Personal Communications (70 percent owned by the Post), a subsidiary of the large regional electric utility Duke Power and 35 other small communications companies, says it will bid only on two market areas inside its service territory, the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee.
GTE Corp. and SBC Communications (Southwestern Bell) are joining together to go after the Texas market. SBC will bid on two licenses in its service area and in some areas adjacent to cellular systems it owns elsewhere.
Ameritech, another Bell company, is going it alone, and will bid on licenses in the Indianapolis and Cleveland markets.
Pacific Telesis Group, the California-based Baby Bell, is also flying solo and plans to bid on one license that will cover Southern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona.
McCaw Cellular founder Craig McCaw was widely expected to be a bidder. McCaw severed all his ties with AT&T a week ago and industry analysts saw that as a way to position himself as a bidder, eliminating potential conflicts of interest. But McCaw did not register with the FCC and will not be a bidder.
What's missing from this picture? MCI, the second largest long-distance carrier, says it will not be a bidder for PCS licenses. Instead, it said in a statement that it will be a minority player in other alliances. "This strategy preserves our ability to continue discussion with other wireless companies and enter into selective alliances with PCS bidders at any time, whether in this or subsequent auction rounds," said MCI. "One this is certain. MCI will be a major player in this market."
(Kennedy Maize/19941031/Press Contacts: Susan Lewis Sallet FCC, 202-418-0500; Pam Small, MCI, 202-887-2442)
C, 202-418-0500; Pam Small, MCI, 202-887-2442)
10/31/94
Alliances Form For December Wireless Auction
Zeos, Micron Technology Subsidia
BOISE, IDAHO, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ:ZEOS) will merge with privately held Micron Computer Inc. and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services Inc., both subsidiaries of Micron Technology Inc.(NYSE:NM), in a tax-free deal that would give Micron Technology a majority of Zeos common stock.
Micron Computer designs, manufactures and markets memory intensive personal computer and peripheral products. Micron Custom Manufacturing Services performs turnkey contract manufacturing services for OEM (original equipment manufacturers). Zeos manufactures and markets personal computers and workstations direct to end-users, and provides contract product design services through its PC Tech subsidiary.
Assuming the deal receives the required approvals of the necessary regulatory agencies and the shareholders of all three companies, Micron Technology will hold 79 percent of Zeos common stock. An additional 10 percent will be held by certain employees of the two Micron subsidiaries, and 11 percent would be held by the shareholders of Zeos. Zeos currently has about 10 million shares of common stock outstanding, assuming the exercise of all outstanding options. The deal can be killed by the payment of a $2 million termination fee by any of the involved companies.
Julie Nash, Micron Technology public relations coordinator, told Newsbytes many of the specifics of the deal are still to be worked out, including the name and headquarters location of the new company and changes in personnel and management style. Nash says those decisions are expected within the next three to four weeks.
"Once this new company is formed we do intend to continue to sell computers under both the Zeos name and the Micron name. Those computer lines will continue to exist," said Nash. She told Newsbytes the deal should be finalized in early 1995.
Zeos reported a loss of $10.6 million on revenues of $239.3 million for the fiscal year ending October 1, 1994. For the 12 month period that ended September 1, 1994 Micron Computer and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services had combined revenues of $400 million and net income of $35 million.
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is introducing its all-in-one "Document Center" for the small office home office (SOHO) market. The company says its Xerox 3000 systems combine printing, faxing, scanning, and copying into one machine using ink-jet technology and producing 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) and up to three pages-per-minute printed output.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Josh Mailman, product marketing manager at Xerox, said, "What this announcement is all about is productivity and saving money and time. Xerox has focused on multi-processing and multi-functioning to bring the most advanced, easy-to-use product possible to market."
Xerox maintains the entry-level model of this 15-pound machine will enter the market at a street price less than $1,000. The 3000 System comes in three different models: the 3002, 3004 and 3006. The 3002 comes with one mailbox and a 9,600 bits-per-second (bps) rate fax modem.
The model 3004 which will not be available until January 1995 comes with the connectivity package described below and includes five mailboxes with a 14,400 bps fax/modem. The list price will be $1,795
Model 3006, with a list price of $1,849, comes with the 14,400 bps fax/modem and has 10 mailboxes. Along with the 3002 model, the 3006 is shipping and prospective users should expect to see these models on retail shelves sometime during November. Xerox says it plans to highlight the 3000 System at Comdex in Las Vegas in November. Model 3006 does not include the connectivity package.
As a copier, the 3000 System provides collation, reduction and enlargement and its fax capability allows faxing of documents to and from personal computers and fax machines. Xerox says the machine's memory holds as many as 35 standard pages of text and individual mailboxes may be created to ensure privacy in a shared office environment. A memory upgrade is available for $199.
Designed for both single desktop users and small networks, the 3000 series offers a dual access capability allowing one user to print a document while another simultaneously faxes a different document.
For an additional $299, Xerox provides a conductivity package which allows a user to fax directly from a personal computer and scan documents into the PC's hard disk. The package includes a card and cable, Xerox's TextBridge OCR (optical character recognition) software for editing and clarifying text files, Winfax Lite, and a list manager for configuration. The connectivity package is not scheduled for delivery until January, 1995.
When asked whether this new machine is called a printer, scanner fax machine or copier, Mailman said, "We just call it the Series 3000 because it does everything." Xerox is careful in pointing-out that built-in modems are not data modems.
From other sources, Newsbytes has learned the company may be planning a laser model to follow and somewhere in the research and development labs, technicians and designers are working on improvements which will deliver color technology to multi functioning machines such as the 3000 Series.
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 OCT 31 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> UK Distributors For Spiderman Message Center 10/31/94 Martignoni Electronics (ME) has announced that Spiderman, its personal message center (PMC), which is scheduled for a US/Pan-European launch at Comdex Fall in the next few weeks, will be handled in the UK by Frontline and Northamber.
2 -> Executive Information Systems Take Off - Report 10/31/94 According to a report just issued by market research company Ovum the marketplace for executive information system (EIS) tools and related training and support in Europe plus the US, will double to more than $100,000,000 by 1998.
3 -> Nintendo Ships "Super Punch-Out!" For Super NES 10/31/94 Nintendo of America Inc. has released its new 16-bit video game "Super Punch-Out! for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES).
4 -> Windows Software Helps Build Marketing Plan 10/31/94 A Texas company has introduced software designed to help small- to medium-sized businesses develop a plan to market their products.
5 -> OneSource Launches CD/Notes - CorpTech Profiles 10/31/94 The latest addition to OneSource Information Services Inc.'s CD/Notes line of CD-ROM products is CorpTech Profiles, a collection of corporate and product information on more than 36,000 companies in the US.
6 -> DEC Launches Venturis PC Line 10/31/94 Continuing a redesign of its personal computer (PC) product line, Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has announced the Venturis line of eight PCs.
7 -> ATI Intros High-Speed Fax/Data Modem 10/31/94 ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY) has announced the Vigor 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) facsimile and data modem. The modem uses a controllerless chip set from AT&T, which relies on the central processor of the personal computer (PC) as its communications controller.
8 -> Europe - Hayes Catches Up On PCMCIA Modem Front 10/31/94 After some time watching the rest of the modem market unveil PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) modems Hayes has started shipping a 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) unit in Europe.
9 -> UK - Unipalm Licenses Mail-It Technology To Firefox 10/31/94 Unipalm has licensed its Mail-It Internet electronic mail (e-mail) technology to Firefox Corp., which will use the software technology to act as an e-mail client interface in two planned new products that will ship in December: Nov*ix Mail for NetWare and Nov*ix for Internet.
10 -> UK - Psion Dacom Intros 28.8 PCMCIA Fax Modems 10/31/94 Psion Dacom has unveiled two additions to its Gold Card PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) fax modem range, the V.FC and the V.34.
11 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 10/31/94 This regular feature appearing on the first day Newsbytes publishes each week, provides further details for the Canadian market on announcements by international companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: AutoCAD Release 13, Cabletron's new line of SNA/LAN/WAN products Hewlett-Packard's NetServer Assistant and HP Remote Assistant enhancements
12 -> Cabletron Offers Array Of LAN/WAN/SNA Products 10/31/94 Aiming at the market of companies seeking to reconcile their older IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) with internetworked local area networks (LANs), Cabletron Systems (NYSE:CS) has brought out nine products to help bring SNA, LANs, and wide area networks (WANs) together.
13 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 10/31/94 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. JPEG files are for use, PICT files for thumbnails. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day.
14 -> Vertisoft Intros Remove-It! Windows Uninstaller 10/31/94 Vertisoft Systems has announced Remove-It, a program that allows for the deleting of unwanted Windows and DOS applications, as well as unneeded files, drivers, and fonts.
15 -> ****Gates Confirms Microsoft Online Service 10/31/94 Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has confirmed that Microsoft will offer some type of on-line service next year, but says he is still unsure about the exact content.
16 -> Pacific CommWare Intros Comms Conflict Mgt Software 10/31/94 Pacific CommWare has announced availability of TurboCommander, its 115,200 bits-per- second (bps) V.34 communications management software for Windows.
17 -> Maxoptix Intros Praxis "Mainline Storage" Unit 10/31/94 Maxoptix has unveiled Praxis, a 60 gigabyte (GB) optical storage appliance aimed at "revolutionizing" the industry with "mainline storage" that sits directly on the network, instead of behind a file server.
18 -> Caere's Updated PageKeeper Document Mgt Package 10/31/94 Caere has announced PageKeeper 2.0, an update aimed at adding "smart" search capabilities and expanded retrieval to the company's Windows-based software package for gathering, storing and accessing information from varied electronic and paper-based sources.
19 -> Correction - Microsoft, Rabbit Ears Plan Storybooks 10/31/94 A recent Newsbytes story about a deal between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Rabbit Ears Software to release multimedia storybooks for children on CD-ROM that are educational as well as entertaining contained an error.
20 -> Tektronix Intros Bubble Jet, Laser Printers 10/31/94 Tektronix Inc. (NYSE:TEK) has announced new color bubble jet and laser printers.
21 -> UK - Autodesk Intros AutoCAD Release 13 10/31/94 Autodesk has unveiled AutoCAD Release 13, the latest incarnation of the company's computer- aided design (CAD) package.
22 -> ****French Govt Gives Thumbs Up To "Info Highway" 10/31/94 The French government has given the green light to a massive expansion of the Minitel viewdata project, first started in the late 1970s, with plans to take France to the forefront of the so-called "information superhighway."
23 -> German ISDN Sales Rocketing, Price Cuts Scheduled 10/31/94 Deutsche Bundespost Telekom (DBT), the state telecoms company of Germany, has revealed plans to pass along economies of scale in its packet data network (PDN) and integrated services digital network (ISDN) services within the next few months.
24 -> California's New Online Voter Guide 10/31/94 A collection of non-profit organizations, telecom companies, pubic library services computer firms, and print publications has brought the California Online Voter Guide onto the Internet. The Guide, available through Internet Gopher services, World Wide Web, and America Online describes candidates and issues in the coming California election.
25 -> New CDMA Async Data/Message Spec 10/31/94 The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has finished it specifications for code division multiple access (CDMA) asynchronous data and short message services. Next, it will prepare a specification for cellular digital packet data (CDPD) services using wireless CDMA links.
26 -> USA Mobile Expanding Pager Service 10/31/94 USA Mobile Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:USAM) has announced it has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Professional Communications Inc. (PCI) of Erie, Pennsylvania. USA Mobile sources said the purchase means the firm will soon have more than 720,000 pagers in service.
27 -> Alliances Form For December Wireless Auction 10/31/94 While they talk of "strategic alliances," the combinations the nation's telecommunications companies disclosed last week are really dalliances of convenience for carving up the airwaves. The companies were forced by Federal Communications Rules to unveil their bidding combinations before the December 5 auction of spectrum to support a new generation of personal communications systems.
28 -> Zeos, Micron Technology Subsidiaries Merge 10/31/94 Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ:ZEOS) will merge with privately held Micron Computer Inc., and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services Inc., both subsidiaries of Micron Technology Inc.(NYSE:NM), in a tax-free deal that would give Micron Technology a majority of Zeos common stock.
29 -> ****Xerox 3000 Combines Fax/Copier/Printer/Scanner 10/31/94 Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is introducing its all-in-one "Document Center" for the small office home office (SOHO) market. The company says its Xerox 3000 systems combine printing, faxing, scanning, and copying into one machine using ink-jet technology and producing 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) and up to three pages-per-minute printed output.
(Ian Stokell/19941031)
(Ian Stokell/19941031)
10/31/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Intergraph Wins $398 Million Nav
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- The General Services Administration's Board of Contract Appeals has upheld the Navy's choice of Intergraph for a $398 million share of a computer-aided drafting contract called CAD-2.
The Navy picked Intergraph in July to provide off-the-shelf CAD systems and services for elecronic drafting, manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE). Losing bidder Grumman filed a protest with the GSA board, which ruled in Intergraph's favor.
"This is a best-value award, and since we scored highest technically and bid lowest in cost," said William Salter, head of Intergraph's federal system division, "we will be delivering the most cost-effective solution."
The 12-year award is a major piece of the Navy's total $1.2 billion CAD-2 program.
Intergraph will be providing its goods and services to NAVAIR the Navy's air airm, and SPAWAR, the space and undersea surveillance arm. The Huntsville, Ala., company earlier won CAD-2 awards for NAVSEA, the Navy's sea systems command and the Navy facilities engineering command.
The new award calls for Intergraph to supply some 3,600 workstations and 1,000 servers, a host of peripherals, as well as Intergraph software.
Could Grumman pursue the protest further? "They could go to the federal appeals court," Intergraph spokesman Chris Waagen told Newsbytes. "But that's really expensive and most losing bidders rarely bother."
(Kennedy Maize/19941101/Press Contact: Chris Waagen 703-264-5734)
/19941101/Press Contact: Chris Waagen 703-264-5734)
11/1/94
Intergraph Wins $398 Million Navy Contract Appeal
Correction - Amnesty Intl Intera
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- A story published October 27 by Newsbytes, entitled "Amnesty International Interactive Human Rights CD," reported that Voyager was the producer of an interactive multimedia CD-ROM for Amnesty International covering the history and evolution of human rights.
The Amnesty Interactive CD-ROM was conceived, designed, and produced by Ignition, a San Francisco multimedia design studio, and not by Voyager which is distributing the product.
The interactive multimedia CD-ROM chronicles Amnesty International's human rights efforts and human rights conditions through the globe.
The Ignition Amnesty International Interactive History of Human Rights CD is being distributed by Voyager as a public service for $10, which covers materials and marketing costs. The Macintosh version is now shipping, and a Windows version will be available in November, 1994.
(Nick Anis/19941026/Press Contact: Nancy Perlman, Voyager 800-446-2001, or 212-431-5199; Ray Kristof or Amy Satran Ignition, tel 415-221-4266, fax 415-2214385, Internet e-mail IGNITIONSF@AOL.COM; Reader Contact: Voyager, 800-446-2001 212-431-5199)
Correction - Amnesty Intl Interactive Human Rights CD
APPLE
CORRECTION
Microsoft Add-In Converts Access
Japan - Computer Developments
Compaq UK To Pre-Install CompuSe
Microsoft Contest For Kids
UK - Novell Offers Technical Inf
Australia - Vodafone's Nationwid
Micronics Offers Cacheless 486-B
Spyglass Announces 10 Million In
Sprint/TCI/Comcast/Cox Bundle Ca
Moneysoft's Asset Tracking, Depr
UK - Psion Dacom Intros 28.8 PCM
BusinessNet Conference To Focus
Japan - Computer News Briefs
Canon Notejet Notebook/Printer U
Science Sleuths CD-ROM For Kids
Netherlands Telecom Firm To Cut
Apple/IBM May Reach Agree't Mond
UK - Mercury Launches Remote PAB
Adaptec Extends VL-Bus Connectiv
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Input/output (I/O) technology manufacturer, Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT) has released its new TotalAdvantage VL, a SCSI (small computer systems interface) host adapter kit which combines Fast SCSI and Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics (EIDE) capabilities on a single 32-bit VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) Local (VL) bus board.
The multi-interface host adapter is targeted at users wishing to use IDE drives, while also being able to use drives based on newer more advanced EIDE and SCSI technology.
The Adaptec TotalAdvantage VL is the latest addition to the company's Altra line of host adapters. S. Sundaresh, corporate vice president and general manager of Adaptec's personal I/O business unit, told Newsbytes that Adaptec's Altra line of host adapters are targeted towards single-user and small-office environments. The TotalAdvantage VL enables Windows users to upgrade their standard IDE system to connect both high-performance SCSI or EIDE drives at a relatively low cost.
The company claims that the board's SCSI interface provides the best flexibility and performance as well as connectivity for both internal and external devices of all types (e.g. CD-ROMs, tapes scanners, and drives) while EIDE provides access to new higher data rate EIDE disk drives.
Many motherboard designs come with an on-board IDE interface. Until now, says the company, users had to discard the interface on the motherboards or purchase two cards -- one for Fast SCSI and one for EIDE, in order to upgrade the performance and functionality of standard IDE VL systems.
The TotalAdvantage VL enables the to use any IDE drives they may have, while also being able to take advantage of other more advanced drives supporting the EIDE or SCSI interfaces.
"Most VL-Bus systems available today provide only standard IDE as an I/O interface," Sundaresh told Newsbytes. "Today's desktop users require more than just a connection to an internal low-capacity hard disk drive as provided with standard IDE I/O."
Sundaresh told Newsbytes that, in order to be compatible with IDE/EIDE, the board relies on programmed I/O which uses some of the resources of PC's microprocessor and does not support multi-threaded I/O -- making it basically unsuitable for multitasking and networking environments.
Adaptec is using programmed I/O technology because there is no standard yet for IDE/EIDE VLB bus mastering. Even if Adaptec was able to use bus mastering as it has with the Adaptec VL SCSI Master, a higher-end VL SCSI-only host adapter, it would have resulted in a product considerably more expensive than $199, said the company.
For single user/task environments the TotalAdvantage VL offers full VL-Bus performance as well as connectivity to as many as 11 internal and external peripheral devices, including seven SCSI devices, two IDE or EIDE devices, and two floppy drives.
Like most VLB host adapters it does not have any support for serial or parallel ports. Such support is really necessary because serial and parallel communications are not any faster under VL bus interfacing and these ports are typically already on today's system motherboards or another I/O card already in the system.
The board's installation kit includes the AVA-2825 multi-I/O host adapter, (with a 40-pin IDE internal connector, a 50-pin internal SCSI connector, and a 50-pin external SCSI connector), Adaptec EZ-SCSI Lite software, Flexi-Driver for easier EIDE installation and an installation guide and other documentation.
Adaptec is becoming known for the capable utility software bundled with their host adapters. Their menu-driven EZ-SCSI Lite software and Flexi-Driver takes users step-by-step through the DOS/Windows installation process. Also included in this software bundle is the BIOS-resident SCSISelect program, which eliminates the need for users to handle jumpers and termination resistors.
Sundaresh told Newsbytes that the TotalAdvantage VL is a solid product that has undergone extensive testing for compatibility and reliability. The multi-interface host adapter carries a suggested retail price of $199, with a street price between $150 and $175. The host adapter kit comes with hardware, software, documentation and a full five-year warranty and unlimited free technical support.
(Nick Anis/19941028/Press Contact: Deanna L. Perez, Adaptec Inc., tel 408-957-7816, fax 408-957-6666, Internet e-mail dperez@mcimail.com; Reader Contact: 800-934-2766; Pre-sales 408-945-8600)
800-934-2766; Pre-sales 408-945-8600)
11/1/94
Adaptec Extends VL-Bus Connectivity
PeopleSoft To Support Informix D
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- PeopleSoft Inc. (NASDAQ:PSFT) and Informix Software Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX) have confirmed a joint development partnership which began this June and is designed to provide PeopleSoft Financials and PeopleSoft HRMS on the Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server.
PeopleSoft is a human resources management (HRS) vendor with its own development language, called PeopleTools. Informix is a publisher of relational database software and applications tools for Unix and Microsoft Windows.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Jay Prosser of Informix, said "PeopleSoft has the applications, and Informix has the dbasebase technology."
PeopleSoft Financials 3 on Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server is scheduled for a year-end release, while PeopleSoft HRMS 4 is scheduled for availability beginning early first quarter, 1995.
Phil White, president of Informix Software Inc., told Newbytes "PeopleSoft is an important partner for Informix to help us expand our worldwide presence in the client/server market."
Under the joint development partnership, PeopleSoft and Informix developers will be working to port PeopleSoft Financials PeopleSoft HRMS, and PeopleTools to Informix's new parallel processing database technology.
The Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server is a multi-threaded database server that features DSA's parallel data query capabilities which maximizes performance on multiprocessor hardware architectures. According to the two companies, it is designed to address the growing needs of customers who must manage larger, more complex business-critical databases while also improving overall system performance and scalability.
PeopleSoft applications on the OnLine Dynamic Server will be able to take full advantage of Informix's multi-threading and parallel data query capabilities.
The PeopleSoft application architecture employs the Windows graphical user interface and is scalable across multiple hardware platforms.
According to Wes Clark, PeopleSoft's manager of Database Environments, the PeopleSoft port to Informix is proceeding quickly and smoothly. Clark says this is due to Informix's strict adherence to industry SQL (structured query language) standards the ability of OnLine Dynamic Server to efficiently process PeopleSoft's complex SQL statements, and its ease of use.
The on-going development will continue while functional installation and volume testing are in progress. Commercial availability will follow after testing and development are completed, said the company.
Pricing for PeopleSoft applications on Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server will start at $100,000 and will vary depending on products licensed, number of users, and company size. Sources at PeopleSoft told Newsbytes the company has about 200 core customers and the sales to several of its larger accounts are in the multimillion dollar range.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: PeopleSoft Inc., Frank Strelau or Ray Gadbois, 510-946-9460; The Horn Group, Sabrina Horn 415-579-7300; Informix Software Inc., Jaye Prosser 415-926-6316)
Software Inc., Jaye Prosser 415-926-6316)
11/1/94
PeopleSoft To Support Informix Database
GENERAL
Vancouver To Get New Local Compu
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- A new computer tabloid will shortly be available in Vancouver and its suburbs. Vancouver Computes will be published by Canada Computer Paper Inc., which already publishes The Computer Paper in Vancouver and several other Canadian cities.
Vancouver Computes will be a west-coast version of Toronto Computes, the long-running local computer tabloid that Computer Paper bought from its founders early this year.
Douglas Alder, publisher of both monthly papers, told Newsbytes that Vancouver Computes will carry 70 to 80 percent of the same content as Toronto Computes, with the balance supplied by Vancouver-area freelancers. The company does not plan to add full-time staff to its Vancouver operation.
Alder said Vancouver Computes will have much the same news-oriented approach that Toronto Computes has, which contrasts with a greater emphasis on features in The Computer Paper. It will appear in the middle of each month, starting in December while The Computer Paper appears at the end of the month.
"In some ways we're going bi-weekly," Alder said, "but we're giving (advertisers) the option of not being there." Starting a second monthly publication rather than increasing the frequency or the circulation of the existing one lets the company keep advertising rates lower while allowing advertisers to get more exposure by placing ads in both publications if they wish, he said.
Since launching The Computer Paper in Vancouver in the late 1980s, Alder has virtually taken over the local computer tabloid business in Canada. The Computer Paper now publishes an edition for Edmonton and Calgary, one in Winnipeg, one in Toronto, and one for Montreal and the Maritime provinces.
Alder said a further extension of the Toronto Computes concept is possible. The most likely next step would be to Montreal, where the company might launch a French-language version to complement the English-language eastern edition of The Computer Paper.
(Grant Buckler/19941101/Press Contact: Douglas Alder, Computer Paper, tel 604-733-5596, fax 604-732-4280; Public Contact: Computer Paper, 604-733-5596)
Public Contact: Computer Paper, 604-733-5596)
11/1/94
Vancouver To Get New Local Computer Magazine
GENERAL
n Q
Corel Unveils CD Home Line, Plus
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Corel Corp. (NASDAQ:COSFF) has announced plans for a line of CD-ROM products aimed at home buyers. The first of Corel's new CD Home line is due in February.
Corel also announced a Christmas promotion under which it will sell its Artshow 5 and The World's Best Digital Photographs, both coffee-table books with companion CD-ROMs, together for C$89 or US$69.
The CD Home line will include games, personal productivity software, reference works, and educational CDs, Corel officials said.
Gail Williams, product line development manager for CD-ROM titles at Corel, told Newsbytes the disks will be priced from US$19.95 to US$79.95, with children's games typically nearer the low end of that range and reference and personal productivity titles closer to the top end.
Many of the titles will be developed by third-party developers working with Corel, Williams said, while Corel will develop some of them itself. The first in the series is to be a children's game disk that teaches popular card games such as Fish, War, and Crazy Eights. Artech Digital Entertainments, also based in Ottawa, is developing the game for Corel. It will be offered for Microsoft Windows and the Apple Macintosh, Corel said.
Corel will be doing other titles with Artech, but will work with other third-party developers as well, company spokeswoman Cindy Scott told Newsbytes. Twelve-year-old Artech has published 36 CD-ROM titles of its own, Corel officials said.
Corel is emphasizing Windows, and all CD Home titles will be offered for Windows, Williams said. However, since most CD-ROM developers create their products first for the Macintosh, Corel expects to offer about three quarters of its CD Home titles for both platforms.
The company expects to release about 50 titles during 1995, so announcements will be coming thick and fast in the early part of the new year, Scott said.
(Grant Buckler/19941101/Press Contact: Cindy Scott, Corel tel 613-728-8200 ext 1326, fax 613-728-9790; Public Contact: Corel, 613-728-8200)
613-728-9790; Public Contact: Corel, 613-728-8200)
11/1/94
Corel Unveils CD Home Line, Plus Christmas Bundle
GENERAL
UK - BT Employee Charged With Ph
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- As Britain prepares for national CLIP (Caller Line Identification Presentation) to be turned on at 7am November 7, one of the worst cases involving a "phone pest" has come to court.
CLI (Caller Line Identification) services have been in operation on the British Telecom (BT) network on an exchange-to-exchange basis for several years. CLI works by passing details of the originating phone line along with the call so that the destination exchange "knows" where the call has come from.
CLIP extends this information stream to the subscriber's end of the link, allowing them, with suitable equipment, to see the originating phone number during the first ring cycle, before the phone handset is lifted up. CLIP also allows subscribers to dial short codes such as 1471 and 1474 for, respectively, details of what number originated the last call (whether answered or not), and to auto-call the last calling number back.
BT is not charging for the 1471 and 1474 services. Customers requiring the full CLIP service, using their own equipment, must pay UK 3.40 a quarter year for the facility.
York Crown Court has heard how Peter O'Brien, a 37 year old father of two, threatened to rape and murder, as well as carry our perverted sexual attacks on more than 150 women who he telephoned and whispered his threats to.
Since O'Brien was a BT employee, working in the engineer division he had access to BT information on which exchanges had not been modernized sufficiently to accept CLI data from the originating exchange. This meant that his campaign of terror was able to go on for more than two years before BT's security staff and the police were able to trace the calls and catch him.
In court, O'Brien pleaded guilty to prosecution charges that he made threats to kill, as well as admitting to be a public nuisance "by using the public telephone system to cause, annoyance, harassment alarm, and distress."
Judge Alan Goldsack QC, presiding over the case, has adjourning sentencing until later this month for a psychiatric report to be completed. He warned O'Brien, however, that he faces a jail sentence.
According to Detective Chief Inspector Steve Barlow, the police officer heading up the investigation into O'Brien's case, said that once BT's engineers realized that he was targeting women with telephones on non-modernized exchanges, they set a series of traps over a three-month period, details of which have not been revealed that led them to trace his calls back to the Leeds telephone exchange where O'Brien had worked since 1976.
"What he did was to tell the women he had kidnapped their mother or daughter and that he would harm them if they did not do the nasty things he suggested," said DCI Barlow.
According to Barlow, O'Brien's instructions to the women were perverted in that he "tapped into their fear" and, in once instance distressed one woman so much she ran into the street unclothed.
Although BT nor the police are saying how O'Brien was caught, press sources suggest that an accurate psychological and criminal profile was built up by detectives, drawing on the advice of psychiatrists and previous case experience. When O'Brien used a recently modernized electronic exchange, which appears not to have been detailed in BT's master exchange list for some reason, they were quickly able to trace the call back to the BT building where he worked.
Newsbytes notes that, even after CLIP starts on intra-BT network calls on November 7, calls to and from other networks, even in the UK will not have CLIP data present on the call. BT claims, however, that CLI data will be passed along with all its calls, so tracing phone pests like O'Brien should be a relatively easy task, even on inter-network calls.
(Steve Gold/19941101)
n inter-network calls.
(Steve Gold/19941101)
11/1/94
UK - BT Employee Charged With Phone Harassment
LEGAL
European Commission Probes Sieme
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- The European Commission (EC) has announced that a formal and "in-depth" investigation into the proposed joint venture between Siemens of Germany and STET of Italy is now under way.
According to an official statement from the EC, a preliminary first phase investigation has been under way since September 13, when the EC was first notified of the two companies' plans. The main investigation is now proceeding.
Under the business plans, Siemens proposes to contribute its Italian subsidiary (Siemens Telecomunicazioni) to the new joint venture and STET will transfer its manufacturing subsidiary Italtel across as well.
STET is a holding company which also controls the Italian public telecom operators, recently merged under Telecom Italia. According to EC officials, the joint venture between the two companies raises both horizontal and vertical issues, notably in the markets of public telecommunications equipment in Italy.
According to an official statement issued by the EC, with regard to horizontal aspects, "the joint venture will hold a substantial share (about half of the market) of the public switching and transmission equipment market in Italy. Elsewhere, the operation is not likely to have major effects, since Italtel's sales are basically restricted to Italy."
With regard to the vertical aspects, "Siemens will, through the joint venture, share the pre-existing vertical link between the Italian telecom operator and the telecom equipment manufacturer Italtel. In public telecommunications, vertical links are an issue given that the activities of the companies in the downstream markets are not subject to the usual competitive conditions. It is, therefore, particularly important to examine the effects which may result from the combination of companies which will have a leading position in telecommunication services and in the manufacture of public telecommunication equipment in the future," said the statement.
The EC claims that the investigation will examine the extent by which the linkup between the two companies will have a negative (i.e. monopoly) effect on public procurement rules and the liberalization of the Italian telecoms market.
The key question now is whether the linkup will now go ahead, as the formal second stage EC investigation effectively precludes any actions by Siemens or STET on merging their respective operations.
(Sylvia Dennis/1994101/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
er Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
11/1/94
European Commission Probes Siemens/STET Linkup
Dell Intros Desktop PCs
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imageso
Australian Firm Helps Local Deve
OS/2 V3 To Compete Against Micro
AutoCAD 13 To Ship November 28
AT&T Buys Alascom
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows N
Scholastic Network Has 250,000 M
Unisys Wins Australian Defense C
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Opti
Australia Computer News
Green Thumb Intros Windows Lands
Microsoft's Broadband Summit Mee
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr R
Microsoft Announces Autoplay For
Cascade Adds Fault Tolerant Fram
Philips' Burn: Cycle CD-i Debuts
UK - The Link Computer Comms Sto
KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Dixons the high street photographic and electronics chain, has opened its first "The Link" store, a new chain that will concentrate on selling computer comms equipment, online services, and all types of telecoms equipment.
The first "The Link" store opened in Kingston-upon-Thames, a London suburb, on Monday of this week and, according to Dixons group chief John Clare, will concentrate on selling leading edge telecoms devices and services, as well as satellite TV receivers.
One the online front, Dixons is stocking and supporting the sales of starter kits for the CompuServe and Delphi online services, as well as demonstrating the Tel-Me graphical information service. Staff have been trained in all aspects of the online services, including details of the Internet, which CompuServe and Delphi allow gateway access to.
Clare said that online services, along with leading edge telecoms services such as mobile phones and pagers, represent a new sales opportunity for the Dixons group.
"We believe this will be one of the fastest growing consumer markets of the next few years," he said, adding that, while the new chain will sell both products and services, the main sales focus is on services, rather than hardware.
Plans call for three more "The Link" stores to open in London by the end of the year, and a further four should be open around the UK by the end of the first quarter of 1995.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- According to The New York Times issue of October 31, 1994, Microsoft is in negotiations with Apple Computer Inc. (OTC:AAPL) co-founder and current chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Next Inc., Steven Jobs, that would be worth millions of dollars to Next. Jobs left Apple in 1985 after a disagreement with then-president John Sculley.
However, a Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that, if any deal were to happen between the two companies, it would be one in which Next announced support for Microsoft Windows, and would not involve Microsoft putting up-front money into Next.
According to the newspaper, if the deal goes through Microsoft, would finance a project for Next to create development tools for software developers writing programs for Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT.
However, according to Microsoft spokesperson Pam Edstrom, if Next does announce support for the Windows platform, "It would be just like any other ISV (independent software vendor) announcing support for the Windows platform. There is no money involved here, just as there would be no money involved if companies like Lotus or Novell might announce support for Windows NT."
The Times said "a multimillion-dollar deal" was to be announced last week but had hit some snags. The paper said the talks are continuing.
Edstrom would not confirm any kind of a deal between Microsoft and Next, but she did not deny that talks were under way. "A deal is not a deal until it's a deal," she told Newsbytes. "In a contextual way it is very good for a platform like Windows NT to be supported in a variety of ways."
While she declined to confirm the Times story, Edstrom had good things to say about Next. She pointed out that the software tools that have been developed for Next have been well received by the software development community. Jobs' Next PC, with its Nextstep operating system, never became popular with users, in part perhaps because of its high cost and because it could not share data with other applications. There were few applications written for the Next platform.
In early 1993 Newsbytes reported that Next had divested itself of its hardware business and would only market Nextstep, its graphical, object-oriented software environment.
"Conceptually, if you had additional tools, say from Next, that supported Windows NT, that would be a good thing for Next because they could probably sell those tools, probably pretty broadly," Edstrom told Newsbytes. "That would be a good thing for Microsoft but ultimately it would be a good thing for customers because the more tools I have, the more I can communicate. The more things I can connect to -- that's good."
A Next spokesperson told Newsbytes the company has no comment.
(Jim Mallory/19941101/Public contact: Pam Edstrom, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)
, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)
11/1/94
No Money Up Front If Next & Microsoft Do Deal
BUSINESS
Unix Expo - Bull Expands ISM Man
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek
SlipKnot, Windows Browser For Th
Age Intros Low Bit Rate Video Ph
UK Politician Offered Internet A
Canadian Policy May Reduce Cable
MapInfo Tops In PC Mapping - Rep
UK Firm Intros Accounting Packag
Microsoft Comments On Spielberg,
Pepsi Buys 1,400 Pen-based Noran
Kolvox In WordPerfect, Westlaw S
Bell Atlantic & Octus In Marketi
Germany - Escom To Move Into PC
MCI Handing Out Frequent Flyer M
Beame & Whiteside Readies NetWar
Elonex's Support For PC Plug-And
Agfa Holds Expo, US Launch Of Ch
m Launches Free-Form
Sanctuary Woods Intros Edu-Math
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Inc. (NASDAQ:SWMCF; VC:SWD.V) has begun shipping "Adventures in Flight," the first CD-ROM title in the "Addison-Wesley's Real World Math Series."
Sanctuary Woods spokesperson, Kristy Sager, told Newsbytes that the program which is co-produced and marketed with leading math textbook publisher Addison-Wesley, teaches kids math through real world examples at a busy airport.
"For generations, kids have wanted to know why they need to understand math," said Renee Courington, vice president of Sanctuary Woods' education division. "We've answered this age-old question by showing kids how math is relevant to their daily lives and more importantly, why it's fun to learn. We've taken the familiar airport setting and created a learning game that keeps kids' interest from start to finish, making them forget math was ever a chore."
In Adventures in Flight, targeted at ages 7-11, kids take a trip to the airport where they explore and apply math in true-life situations. Children see demonstrations of essential concepts such as operations, measurement, geometry and graphing, and how airport workers use them in their day-to-day lives.
For example, kids see how pilots use air speed and distance to calculate estimated time of arrival, and how baggage handlers demonstrate pattern-recognition skills in routing baggage to different countries. When they are ready to try their own hand kids can apply what they have learned in quizzes to earn "air time" points (frequent flyer miles).
Air time underscores the game aspect of the software, with more points allowing kids to reach different levels of certification. This is represented by different airplanes, ranging from a Cessna float-plane (level one) to the Space Shuttle (level 10).
When they have earned enough points to reach the Cessna level and beyond, instead of upgrading to first class, kids can access the "flight log," where they can do a number of things, such as explore their aircraft, morph their plane with another, and print out plans to create their own paper airplanes.
The company says that, unlike traditional drill-and-practice programs Adventures in Flight is exploratory-based and curriculum-aligned with NCTM standards and Addison-Wesley's series of math textbooks including the "Quest 2000" series recently adopted by the State of California for grades K-5.
Adventures in Flight is priced at $39.95 and is available through mass merchants, mail-order and software retailers, as well as direct from Sanctuary Woods. A school version of the software specific to the classroom, is available from Addison-Wesley's School Division.
Adventures in Flight is available for Macintosh or Windows PC computers in a separate CD-ROM format.
The PC version requires: a 386DX 33 megahertz (MHz)-based PC or better; at least a VGA monitor; Windows 3.1; four megabytes (MB) RAM; a hard drive with 2MB free; a CD-ROM drive; a SoundBlaster or compatible sound card; a mouse; and speakers. The Macintosh version requires a Macintosh LC III or higher with: a 13-inch monitor; System 6.07 or higher; 4MB RAM; a hard drive; a CD-ROM drive, a mouse; and speakers.
(Nick Anis/19941101/Press Contact: Kristy Sager, Sanctuary Woods, tel 415-286-6056, fax 415-286-6020, Internet e-mail kgsager@aol.com; Reader Contact: 415-286-6100; School Contact: 416-447-5101)
-286-6100; School Contact: 416-447-5101)
11/1/94
Sanctuary Woods Intros Edu-Math CD-ROM
EDUCATION
KCAL-TV Offers Viewers Interacti
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Southern California's Channel 9, KCAL-TV, claims to be the first local independent broadcaster to offer viewer interactivity by launching "9 ON ONLINE" -- an electronic-mail communications system that is open to the public and has mail-boxes on all the major commercial online services and the Internet.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Keith Esparros, executive producer, said 9 ON LINE lets Channel 9 viewers "communicate directly with the station's news department, whether to offer personal views, respond to surveys, address key issues of the day or to request specific information of importance to their neighborhoods or the region as a whole."
Esparros is overseeing the station's new e-mail service. In preliminary tests so far, KCAL-TV news has received hundreds of e-mail responses after posing queries to viewers on a variety of breaking news stories.
All the e-mail addresses are broadcast several times during the 12 noon, 8 pm, 9 pm, and 10 pm newscasts. The addresses include: America On-Line, KCALTV; Prodigy, GHYM86A; and the Internet KCALNEWS@STUDIO.DISNEY.COM.
Esparros added the station has several representatives on hand to to read each e-mail message, and when appropriate -- to personally respond to them.
In addition to answering viewer questions, and receiving tips and story suggestions, KCAL says they will be soliciting ideas from viewers for additional ways in which the new "9 ON LINE" service can benefit them.
Esparros told Newsbytes that KCAL intends to be aggressive in developing further interactive applications of "9 ON LINE" in order to eventually allow viewers to use the service to download important daily information ranging from news highlights to regional weather forecasts.
The broadcaster, which is a Disney company, regularly polls its viewers for their opinions on a variety of matters. In one example the station recently asked viewers to provide their perspectives on the US involvement in Haiti, which prompted 25,000 telephone responses within only 45 minutes.
Another example of KCAL's interactive outreach to the community is the "We Tip Hotline" for victims and witnesses of crimes. According to the company, the hot-line has resulted in the arrest of "hundreds of criminals."
In a recent appearance by Senate candidate, Michael Huffington, the KCAL-TV anchors used several questions selected from those received from the 9-ON-LINE service within a few moments of their being received.
(Nick Anis/19941028/Press Contact: KCAL-TV, Stacy Okonowsky tel 213-960-3637, fax 213-464-2526, or Suzanne Lowe, 213-960 3607; Keith Esparros, KCAL-TV News, 213-960-3899; Dan Harary or Peter Berk, The Lippin Group, 213-965-1990)
Peter Berk, The Lippin Group, 213-965-1990)
11/1/94
KCAL-TV Offers Viewers Interactive E-Mail
ONLINE
Electronic Arts Offers Entertain
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) has released a ten-pack of PC games in their original format on a single CD-ROM, for $39.95. The company says the pack is actually worth $250.
Complete versions of the following titles are included: Kasparov's Gambit; Grand Slam Bridge II; Chuck Yeager's Air Combat; Indianapolis 500: The Simulation; PGA Tour Golf; Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi Deluxe Edition; Ultrabots; Financial Workshop; Ultima VII: The Black Gate; and Seal Team.
Company spokesperson, Marci Galea, told Newsbytes that Electronics Arts will be releasing five more such packs in time for the holiday: The Fantasy Pak, Entertainment Pak, Simulation Pak, Sports Pak and EA Kids Pak.
Each "Pak" contains four games and has a suggested list price of $19.95 for IBM and compatible CD-ROM computers. As in the "Top Ten Pak," these packs include complete games on one CD-ROM. The player need only load the individual program onto their hard drive to play.
The Fantasy Pak includes Ultima VII: The Black Gate, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes, Seven Cities of Gold The Commemorative Edition and Starflight 2 role-playing games.
The Entertainment Pak includes Kasparov's Gambit, Hong Kong Majong Pro, Rampart, and Grand Slam Bridge II. Gale told Newsbytes this bundle has "classic games for the classic gamer." The Simulation Pak includes Chuck Yeager's Air Combat, Indianapolis 500: The Simulation Ultrabots, and Seal Team. The Sports Pak includes World Tour Tennis PGA Tour Golf, Jordan In Flight, and Indianapolis 500: The Simulation.
Finally, targeted at children, the EA Kids Pak and the EA Kids Mac Pak features Peter Pan: A Story Painting Adventure, Scooter's Magic Castle, Eagle Eye Mysteries: The Original, and EA Kids Art Center.
According to Galea, these two Paks, which are available for PC and Macintosh CD-ROMs, are designed for ages three-eight, because the programs are easy to use, and reinforce skills such as creative problem-solving, vocabulary, and math readiness, and "lend themselves to a child's imagination." The products should be available this month.
(Nick Anis/19941028/Press Contact: Marci Galea, Electronic Arts, 415-513-7541)
t: Marci Galea, Electronic Arts, 415-513-7541)
11/1/94
Electronic Arts Offers Entertainment Bundles
GENERAL
Pentax Announces Pocket Jet Prin
BROOMFIELD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Pentax Technologies has announced an ultra-light compact portable thermal printer the company claims will be the smallest and lightest printer on the market when it ships in mid-December.
The Pentax PocketJet weighs 17.5 ounces including the battery, can emulate a LaserJet IIP PCL4 (Printer Command Language) and prints text and graphics at 300 dots-per-inch (dpi).
The printer has seven internal Hewlett-Packard fonts, can download additional fonts, and prints at three pages of letter quality text per minute. It is powered by a rechargeable NiCad (nickel cadmium) battery which the company says will power the unit for 30 to 35 pages per charge. It also comes with an AC adapter, a Centronics parallel cable to connect to a personal computer, a carrying case, and a 100-sheet box of thermal paper. A $25.99 serial interface cable and a $37.99 spare NiCad battery are available as options.
According to Pentax, 49 percent of all portable PC owners are mobile, and are the primary market for the PocketJet. Pentax also claims 69 percent of all portable PC owners produce documents that average six pages or less, such as quotes, estimates, trip reports, faxes, and correspondence.
The PocketJet measures 10-inches by 2.2-inches by 1.2-inches and utilizes manual feed of letter or A4-size paper. Pentax says a recharge of the battery takes about 70 minutes. The printer has a charge indicator and power, data and battery condition lights.
The data light lets the user know when there is data still in the buffer. The battery light is on when the user is running the PocketJet from the battery, It also indicates when the battery is fully charged. The lights display in various combinations to perform diagnostic functions.
The PocketJet uses direct thermal printing technology that eliminates the need for any printer ribbons or ink cartridges, but thermal paper is required.
Pentax spokesperson Robert Owens explained to Newsbytes that most thermal printers use a thermal transfer process in which the thermal head heats an ink ribbon and transfers the image to thermal paper. "We use a line thermal head and activate the coding on the paper, so there's no ink ribbons, cartridges or toner. Your turning on the dye on the paper itself," he said. Owens says the advantage of the Pentax technology is a true "cost per page," since the only cost is the paper itself.
Owens told Newsbytes the company recommends using its proprietary thermal paper, but the PocketJet will work with thermal fax paper as well. Pentax claims a per-page print cost of nine cents. Pentax brand thermal paper has a suggested retail price of $7.99 for a box of 100 sheets.
Pentax is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. and also markets Pentax-brand image scanners and laser printers. The PocketJet will have a suggested retail price of $499.
(Jim Mallory/19941101/Press contact: Robert Owens, Pentax Technologies, 303-460-1646; Public contact: Pentax Technologies tel 800-543-6144 or 303-460-1600, fax 303-460-1628, Pentax BBS, 303-460-1637/JETPRINT941101/PHOTO)
S, 303-460-1637/JETPRINT941101/PHOTO)
11/1/94
Pentax Announces Pocket Jet Printer
Australia - PC Makers Claim Inte
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Two Australian computer manufacturers have accused Intel of keeping a proper range of computer choices from buyers. In a story in the Sydney Morning Herald computer section, Julie Robotham reported that Total Peripherals and Profound Computer bosses said Intel had discounted 486 chips to the point where manufacturers could not competitively produce Pentium machines.
"Intel is making things difficult. Because 486DX2/66 chips are so cheap, why should users buy anything else?" said Total Peripherals Managing Director George Karabassis. He claimed that manufacturers can buy these chips for around US$185, less than half of the price six months ago.
Karabassis contends that it would cost much more to put a Pentium machine on the market and it could not compete with the 486 model so it didn't try. He also claims that the 486DX4/100 chip is overpriced compared with the DX2.
Karabassis believes that Intel has made its chip family uneven, with all but the 90 megahertz (MHz) Pentium chip too expensive. He said Intel would be forced to introduce the 150MHz Pentium as soon as possible. Total Peripherals is developing an alternative PC based on the PowerPC processor, claiming it can get the same processing power as a Pentium for a third of the cost for the processor.
Profound Computer has rejected the Pentium chip, citing problems other than just cost. However, it does not believe the PowerPC chip is a suitable alternative.
When contacted by Newsbytes, Intel would not comment, stating that it did not get into public discussions with its chip buyers. It did point out however, that most Intel buyers have not publicly complained about anything, and in fact have welcomed the low prices for 486 chips, saying that it obviously made their system cheaper to produce, and more attractive to sell.
The current world price for Intel chips (to manufacturers, in lots of 1,000) in US$ are: 486DX/33, $149; 486DX2/40, $149; 486DX2/50, 3.3 volt, $169; 486DX2/50, 5-volt, $149; 486DX2/66, $199; 486DX4/75 $383; 486DX4/100, $459; Pentium/60, $383; Pentium/66, $479; Pentium/90, $587; Pentium/100, $935.
A number of computer manufacturers have questioned the wisdom of using low-speed Pentium chips when 486/DX2 chips give the same performance and use more readily available mother boards.
A consultant contacted by Newsbytes said he could not understand the fuss being made by Total Peripherals and Profound. "What are they complaining about? That the 486 chip is too cheap and they have to charge the customer less?"
Despite these complaints about Intel, Newsbytes notes that many manufacturers have competitive Pentium machines on the market albeit not at the bottom end of the price range. It is believed that the first sub-AUS$3,000 (around US$2,200) Pentium machine will go on sale in Australia later this week when Harvey Norman Discounts will begin selling an Acer Pentium.
(Paul Zucker/19941031)
gin selling an Acer Pentium.
(Paul Zucker/19941031)
11/1/94
Australia - PC Makers Claim Intel Market Manipulation
CHIPS
Hong Kong - Microsoft Enhances C
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Building on the success of the Microsoft Club marketing program, Microsoft Hong Kong has expanded its range of offers for Club members. The program enables members to take advantage of significant discounts on a variety of items which, this quarter, include the brand new Microsoft Home Mouse, ABC pagers, and an increased number of magazine titles.
"We are continuing to test our customer's response to these offers," said Sasha Skinner, customer program manager for Microsoft Hong Kong. "The feedback we had from the initial range of offers was extremely positive. As we had hoped, it also indicated quite clearly those items that were of most interest and has helped us to tailor this new set of promotions accordingly."
The promotions range from information technology (IT)-related offers on hardware, software, training, and information for both Macintosh and Windows users, to items of general business interest such as pagers and business publications, through highly consumer-focused offers on fashion and motoring magazines and dining. Deals fall into two categories - those available to all members including those at the entry-level, and those available exclusively to Silver and Gold members.
The Club Deal of the Quarter -- HK$398 (US$50) off the list price of a pager from ABC Communications -- is open to all members. Entry-level Club members can choose any numeric pager. Gold and Silver members can also choose from the alphanumeric or Chinese character display range.
Also discounted to all members this quarter are subscriptions to Microsoft TechNet. Offering information on Microsoft products in a CD format, TechNet can save subscribers thousands of dollars annually on support costs, according to the company. Regular Club members get a 10 percent discount, while Silver and Gold members receive 20 percent.
"Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the most popular deals last quarter were technology-related," said Skinner. "That is why we have included even more exciting offers in this area and will continue to monitor the level of interest closely so that we can be sure to target exactly what our customers want."
Technology-related offers, which are exclusive to Silver and Gold members, include: HK$50 (US$6) off the store price of the recently announced Home Mouse, making it just HK$249 (US$32); 40 percent of any Microsoft Chinese-language product bought through Kenfil Distribution; and 50 percent off all Microsoft courses conducted at the INFOCAN PC Skills Training Center.
Two of the IT deals which have been particularly successful will be continued. The CompuServe offer includes free communication software normally sold as part of a kit for HK$299 (US$36), the waiving of the one-time HK$100 (US$12.50) subscription fee, and HK$117-worth of connect time free to look around the system. In addition, Asian Electronics is extending its offer of the VTech Platinum 486 66 megahertz (MHz) PC, for HK$12,888 (US$1,300), instead of HK$19,700 (US$2,500).
All registered Microsoft users automatically become entry-level members of the Microsoft Club service and support program. Members can then choose to subscribe to Silver, Gold and Platinum levels.
(Keith Cameron/19941025/Press Contact: Sasha Skinner, Microsoft 852-804-4261)
ss Contact: Sasha Skinner, Microsoft 852-804-4261)
11/1/94
Hong Kong - Microsoft Enhances Club Membership
GENERAL
Oracle Targets Market Share
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) --In an effort to maintain its role as a leader in the area of relational database management systems (RDBMS), Oracle Systems (Phils.) Inc. (OSPI) launched the Business Alliance Program (BAP) at the New World Hotel last month.
The BAP is a market strategy which Oracle has employed in other regions for the last two years. With the program, OSPI targets a 60 percent market share according to Bernard Yu, managing director of OSPI.
In an interview with Metropolitan Computer Times, Derek Williams Oracle Asia/Pacific Region senior vice president, noted the rapid changes in the industry. "We started with the mainframe environment which is expensive and inflexible, and now we're going into open systems, which reflects the needs of the business sector. That is also why we're closely working with HP, Sun, IBM and Digital," Williams said.
Nadine Niguidula, Oracle business alliance manager, related that the BAP was formulated basically for Oracle to maintain its market leadership, particularly in the RDBMS area. "To achieve that, we should be able to provide integrated solutions to our customers," she said, adding that the only way to do that is to take their products and integrate them with products offered by their partners.
To date, Oracle boasts of 1,000 partners worldwide, 200 in Asia Pacific, and 10 in the Philippines, which they expect to grow with the launching of BAP.
With the said program, Oracle also aims to profit while building a strong indirect channel. For the first quarter of the fiscal year ending May 31, 1995, Oracle obtained more than half of its profit from direct sales. "But with BAP, we're shooting for a 50-50 profit coming from direct and indirect sales," he added.
Oracle's BAP offers different types of alliances, namely: Open Software Alliance, Professional Service Alliance, Platform Alliance Distributor Alliance, and Education Alliance.
Under the Open Software Alliance are application and cooperative software providers. The Professional Service Alliance, on the other hand, includes professional service providers and systems integrators. The Platform Alliance comprises hardware and operating system manufacturers.
Other alliances in the program include: the Distributor Alliance consisting of companies primarily focused on the desktop and workstation market segment; and Education Alliance, made up of third-party vendors who offer a wide variety of Oracle technology (database and tools) classes and programs.
Membership to the BAP requires a value-added package from the partner.
Niguidula also mentioned one unique feature of BAP -- Cooperative Selling. This addresses conflicts between the direct sales force and partners commonly experienced in indirect channel businesses. "Oracle has implemented a system wherein if a sale of an Oracle product is made through a partner or because of a partner's solution then the direct sales representative gets paid more. In fact, he gets 40 percent more on his commissions than if he were to sell directly to the end user," Niguidula elaborated.
Meanwhile, Oracle Philippines reported a 77 percent growth in its revenue last year making it the second fastest-growing area in the Asia/Pacific Region. It also reports an average revenue growth of 68 percent in Asia and to most of the countries.
"My goal is to get Oracle in (the) Asia Pacific (region) to be a billion-dollar company. By 1998, we are targeting a high revenue using a strategy with a very high level of customer service and a very high market share in the marketplace," Williams further indicated.
(Metropolitan Computer Times/19941025)
itan Computer Times/19941025)
11/1/94
Oracle Targets Market Share
BUSINESS
Canadian Product Launch Update
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UK - Printware Intros Phoneday N
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Autodesk Collects $15 Million In
L3 Interactive Intros MPEG & 3DO
Correction - Microsoft Schedules
First Underwater Cellular Servic
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Internet Roundtable Society Offe
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UK - Kyocera Intros Ecosys Laser
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Kyocera has taken the wraps off, what it claims is, the first range-wide implementation of its Ecosys environmentally-friendly laser printers.
The new printers, although not as "green" as the two Ecosys laser printers currently in circulation, have several Ecosys-specific features which company officials claim makes them lower cost to run, and more environmentally friendly than the competition.
Replacing the company's FS-1500 is the FS-1600, a Laserjet 4 compatible printer with 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution. This printer sells for UKP1,469. Newly-launched is the FS-1550 laser which costs UKP1,199, and is pitched as Kyocera's budget laser printer.
The FS-1600 is the first Laserjet 4-compatible unit from Kyocera. Image resolution is boosted to 600 dpi thanks to the use of Kyocera's Image Resolution (KIR) edge enhancement system. The printer is powered by a 25 megahertz (MHz) processor and features a high speed bi-directional parallel interface for faster data processing.
The printer comes with two megabytes (MB) of memory as standard (expandable to 66MB), 35 scaleable PCL (Printer Control Language) outline fonts, and 10 TrueType compatible fonts. The printer also has a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) compatible PC card interface.
The budget FS-1550, meanwhile, comes with 1MB of memory, 13 scaleable PCL outline fonts, and a PCMCIA-compatible PC card interface.
So where are the cost savings in the new printers? According to Tracey Rawling-CHurch, Kyocera's public relations officer, both printers have a new toner reservoir unit, which extends toner capacity to 10,000 pages (at five percent print density) and costs UKP51 to "refuel," giving a 0.51 pence per page cost of printer.
Both printers have an Energy Star-compliant sleep mode, draft print (with four settings) to save on toner, auto-emulation sensing, and support for Kyocera's and IBM LAN (local area network) connectivity systems.
Rawling-Church explained that the low cost per page is thanks to the company's ceramic technology which reduces the cost of the printer as well as the running costs associated with it.
"As recently highlighted in an independent report published by market analysts Context, the cost of owning and running a page printer far outstrips the actual purchase cost. For organizations using a number of printers, the money wasted over a three-year period can amount to thousands of pounds," she said.
Rawling-Church told Newsbytes that the company is "determined to expose the issue of cost of ownership so that consumers realize that the level of expenditure on printers should be considered over their total lifetime, in the same way as for photocopiers."
PINNER, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Portcullis has announced, what it claims is, the world's first "proactive" anti-virus utility for Microsoft Windows-based PCs. Known as F-Prot Gatekeeper the package is part of the F-Prot Professional range of anti-virus utility software.
Bob Hoxey, managing director of Portcullis, told Newsbytes that the package is a native device driver for Windows that uses "Secure Scan" technology to scan all executable or copied files. The package can run under Windows and DOS operating systems.
"Many Windows anti-virus utilities to date have been little more than the DOS version of the package running in a DOS window under Windows. That isn't running under Windows as many users expect. With F-Prot Gatekeeper, the package has a DOS and a Windows version, and each version has been optimized for its respective operating system," he told Newsbytes.
Hoxey explained that the main difference between Gatekeeper and the older generation of DOS anti-virus utilities is that a DOS TSR (terminate and stay resident) utility is restricted to using the DOS memory allocated to it by Windows, usually 640 kilobytes or less.
This approach, he claims, means that the DOS TSR only uses the simplest methods to detect viruses. F-Prot Gatekeeper, on the other hand, uses a full-size scanning engine which Hoxey claims can scan for viruses far more effectively.
According to Hoxey, as more and more modern viruses are turning out to be polymorphic or encrypting, the ability to decrypt viruses for identification is of great importance. He cites the example of the fact that most anti-virus utilities have trouble finding the infamous Mutation Engine (MtE) viruses or the SMEG virus.
"Gatekeeper can find all the known viruses on-the-fly. From now it is not necessary to protect a computer actively and still remain in doubt whether all viruses will be found. With F-Prot Gatekeeper, all known viruses will be found before they have a chance to activate," he said.
According to Hoxey, F-Prot Gatekeeper is currently undergoing beta testing and will be commercially available in the first quarter of the new year, when pricing will be announced.
(Steve Gold/19941101/Press & Reader Contact: Paul Docherty Portcullis, tel +44-81-868-0098, fax +44-81-868-0017)
Portcullis, tel +44-81-868-0098, fax +44-81-868-0017)
11/1/94
UK - World's First Pro-Active Windows Virus Scanner
Elonex's Support For PC Plug-And
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Elonex has announced a new range of Pentium desktop machines, the PC 500R/1 series, which it claims are the first from the direct-sell company to support Windows 95 and the "Plug-and-Play" system.
According to Demetre Cheras, Elonex's systems director, the machines use a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) local bus with a system board that includes the Flash BIOS (basic input/output system) support circuitry and dedicated memory for ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slots that make the Plug-and-Play devices work.
Elonex is supplying the new machines with a copy of Intel's configuration manager and ISA configuration utility pre-loaded, so as to help users to install non-Plug-and-Play cards more easily.
"We've supported the concept of Plug-and-Play for several years now. We started designing and building PCs with auto-configuring memory for example, over three years ago -- long before it became the norm," explained Cheras, adding that the company's two-year-old Mydrive removable hard drive system also offers Plug-and-Play simplicity "for those who need to swap hard disks between different machines.
"An industry-wide Plug-and-Play standard, of course, is even better and the arrival of systems from vendors like Elonex represents the critical first step to the 'promised land.' Soon, we'll see the other crucial elements -- large numbers of Plug-and-Play devices, plus Microsoft Windows 95 -- hitting the streets. Then the standard will really lift off," he said.
According to Elonex, Plug-and-Play technology will benefit all PC users who have the technology on their machines. Users will no longer have to "suffer trial-and-error jumper setting and driver installation to add new drives," and PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards will work with "any PCMCIA slot, as they always should have done."
Cheras argues that, for PC manufacturers, Plug-and-Play brings three main benefits: system will easier, quicker and therefore cheaper to built; the cost of technical support for end-users falls; and the opportunity to expand the marketplace for PCs generally.
"Those who were put off in the past by 'techno fear,' will be more likely to start buying. Over time, PCs will become just like any other home appliance," Cheras said.
The new Pentium machines will be formally launched by Elonex at the end of this month, when pricing will be announced.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- The sale of the Ziff-Davis Publishing company now exceeds $2 billion as two more business units have been sold. Agreements have been signed with Softbank Corporation of Tokyo to purchase Ziff's trade show and conference business for $202 million, and with The Thompson Corporation of Canada to purchase Ziff's Information Access Company for $465 million.
Going into negotiations, Ziff-Davis made it clear it would only consider offers which could be completed by the end of the year. The company had actually hoped to conclude all of the paperwork and necessary transactions by the beginning of Comdex/Las Vegas but the end of the year closings have become more realistic.
Ziff's trade show and conference division, formerly known as ZD Expos and now called Interop, have produced five Network + Interop trade shows, three Seybold shows, the Windows Solutions show, and the Digital World show, as well as several newsletters. As part of the deal, Softbank is also acquiring the Help Desk Institute and the Computer Training & Support conferences.
Speaking to Newsbytes, T. A. Dolotta, president of Softbank America, said, "Since the Ziff name was part of the Forstmann Little deal the name 'ZD Expos' had to be changed to 'Interop.' With an emphasis on 'more,' our plans are to do more of the same with Interop, as it has always done."
He continued, "There are no management or staff changes planned. We actually expect it to grow, and grow fast. Long-term planning has not had time to take place, so we really have no immediate comment about details of the how the company will grow."
In Japan, Softbank publishes 17 computer-related magazines and books, distributes software and peripherals, and focuses strongly on network computing issues. Officials from Softbank suggest Interop will expand its activities in Japan and perhaps the rest of the Pacific Rim. Dolotta also said a worldwide scope of activities for Interop would probably be considered.
On the US side, Softbank will use Interop to expand the presence of its US division, Softbank America Inc. Softbank recently acquired an 80% share of Phoenix Publishing, which publishes paper and electronic manuals for personal computer manufacturers.
The portion acquired by The Thompson Corporation, Ziff's Information Access Company (IAC), contains 150 reference and database products and services offered on CD, online, microfilm and magnetic tape. Its wide range of clients is made-up of healthcare, education, business, legal, civil service, and computer professionals. IAC databases contain more than 20 million records from more than 6,250 publications. Ziff says IAC has contractual agreements with more than 6,250 publications.
The Thompson Corporation (TTC) is Canadian-based and operates in the United Kingdom and the US. Listed on the Toronto Exchange (TOC), it is know primarily as a publisher and in Canada publishes the Toronto Globe & Mail and Winnepeg's Free Press, as well as many smaller papers. Overall, TTC has more than 140 separate businesses which provide almost 55,000 products. From travel services, financial services and publishing, to retail department chains, the company totaled $5.9 billion in revenues for 1993.
TTC says it has no plans for changing the staff or the management of Information Access Company. The acquisition is seen as a compliment to TTC's large publishing empire.
According to earlier reported statements by Ziff, these two transactions came as a result of an auction of the two divisions. Other participants in the bidding process were not revealed. What still remains of the once powerful Ziff-Davis publishing Company is its Interchange Network division. The company had no comment regarding its status on the auction block.
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has extended its relationship with Concord, Massachusetts-based Powersoft Corp. (NASDAQ:PWRS) to let DEC sell Powersoft's client/server application development tools directly.
The deal means DEC will be selling Powersoft products such as PowerBuilder Enterprise and PowerBuilder Desktop, as well as end-user products, in versions for personal computers based on Intel Corp. chips and in upcoming versions for DEC's own Alpha hardware.
Duncan Anderson, Alpha AXP partner business development manager told Newsbytes the deal will mean one-stop shopping for DEC customers who need client/server development tools and help in integrating hardware and software from the two vendors.
"Customers are concerned with how do they integrate an enterprise solution, not just a point solution," Anderson said.
Powersoft and DEC have been working together since the early 1990s, and their relationship includes joint engineering and sales. The present deal makes Digital the first computer manufacturer named as a distributor of the PowerBuilder product line, officials said.
Anderson said the deal is part of a general thrust on Digital's part to cooperate with other vendors whose products complement its own. This strategy showed up in August with an agreement to sell internetworking software from Westborough, Massachusetts based Proteon Corp. with some DEC networking products.
In early September, when DEC sold its Rdb database business to Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle Corp., the two companies signed distribution agreements. Later that month, DEC signed a joint technology agreement with Process Software Corp. of Framingham Massachusetts, and an engineering and marketing deal with Object Design Inc. of Burlington, Massachusetts.
Powersoft said its Enterprise Series is a full development and deployment environment for building high-performance client/server applications, based on a common object technology engine.
(Grant Buckler/19941101/Press Contact: Patricia Colpitts Powersoft, 508-287-1500; Linda Pugliano, Digital Equipment 508-493-1367)
iano, Digital Equipment 508-493-1367)
11/1/94
DEC & Powersoft Extend Relationship
BUSINESS
n B&
Microsoft To Acquire Mapping Sof
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) says it will acquire a British interactive mapping and route-planning software company.
With the acquisition of NextBase, Microsoft gets the company's two current software lines, AutoMap and Autoroute. AutoMap Road Atlas is a route-planning program for end-users in North America that includes detailed maps and road information for routes between points in North America. There is also a professional version for trip planners, Automap Pro, that has a larger database of information.
For European travelers, NextBase publishes AutoRoute Express, a route-planning package that is available in 10 languages covering the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, the Benelux countries Italy, Scandinavia, Europe, and the US. AutoRoute Plus adds features to support the business user, while MapBase is designed to aid in the creation of customized maps for presentation and analysis purposes.
Microsoft says it will incorporate Automap, Autoroute and MapBase into its Microsoft Home product line in early 1995. Microsoft says it will continue to develop and upgrade the software.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes the programs will run on the Windows platform. The terms of the deal were not disclosed and Microsoft has not said what the price will be for each program to the end-user.
NextBase, founded in 1987, has US offices in Bellevue, Washington.
(Jim Mallory/19941101/Press contact: Suzanne Dennehy, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
11/1/94
Microsoft To Acquire Mapping Software Company
BUSINESS
DEC Enters Retail PC Market With
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- DEC is making its first foray into the US PC retail marketplace with Starion, a new PC lineup targeted at a "subset" of the SOHO (small office/home office) market.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Rod Keller, DEC's director of US Consumer Market Development, said that five Starion PCs are being delivered this week to the first two retail outlets for the new DEC PCs: CompUSA and Sam's Club, a nationwide warehouse club.
The Starion lineup is aimed at a subset of the SOHO market made up of telecommuters, income-producing homes, and "tiny" companies of one to five people, according to Keller.
"The telecommuter market is forecast to quadruple over the next four years, and the other two segments are forecast to double over this period," Keller explained.
DEC has used the results of focus groups conducted in May and June to develop products, packaging, promotion, distribution, and service/support that are specifically tailored to these users added Brian Mullins, manager of product marketing for Starion, in another interview with Newsbytes.
The three "key messages" that emerged from the DEC focus groups were that individuals and businesses in this category are interested in expandability and upgradability; ease of set-up and use; and service and support, said the DEC officials.
The focus group members were particularly concerned about making PC investments that will withstand future industry changes, Mullins noted.
Accordingly, two of the new models (the Starion 200 and Starion 300) are built around 486DX2 processors, and the other three (the Starion 400, Starion 500 and Starion 700) offer Pentium processors.
Each Starion PC comes standard with 8 megabytes (MB) of memory and a minimum of a 540MB hard drive. All of the machines provide at least five drive bays and five expansion slots, Mullins said.
In addition, each includes: a built-in 14.4 megabits-per-second (Mbps) fax modem; a telephone answering machine; 16-bit stereo sound, speakers, and microphone; and SoundBlaster Pro compatibility.
Four of the five Starion models come with CD-ROM drives. The Starion 500 and Starion 700 also incorporate 250MB tape drives.
DEC's new Starion PCs are also come with a slate of software that is designed to let telecommuters and tiny businesses "get right down to business," the officials told Newsbytes.
Starion's bundled software differs dramatically from the games encyclopedias and other "edutainment" that tends to accompany PCs targeted at a more generic SOHO market, Keller reported.
Starion PCs come with: CompuServe; Lotus ScreenCam software for multimedia tutorial creation; Intel ProShare for data conferencing; MaxFax communications software; the ClarisWorks integrated software package for office applications; and pre-loaded MS-DOS and Windows for Workgroups.
The four CD-ROM-based models ship with American Business Information's "11 Million Businesses Phone Book." The electronic phone book will "save businesses the cost of directory assistance," Mullins told Newsbytes.
All five of the new DEC PCs are also bundled with: a "getting Started" interface screen with illustrated instructions; multimedia demos and tutorials to help users with business tasks like data conferencing and fax transmission; and special online software manuals, including "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Windows."
Starion's online help offerings take a straight forward, business focused approach, according to Mullins. "We tell the users, 'Here's how you get going,'" he said.
DEC's inclusion of Lotus' ScreenCam is designed, in part, to address the relatively high turnover rate among small businesses Mullins added. Businesses can use ScreenCam to create movies on subjects like "how to use our accounts receivables database" that can help new employees get up to speed more quickly, he maintained.
Since the focus group findings indicated on-site support to be of particular interest to the telecommuter/small business group, all Starion models come with one year of on-site warranty service.
The PCs also come with one year of phone support -- including remote support by modem -- for all factory-installed software. In addition, customers who purchase any of the three Pentium-based Starion models by December 31, 1994, can buy one year of DEC's "Service-in-the-Box" support program for $99, and are also entitled to a free upgrade to a three-year hardware service agreement second and third year carry-in.
DEC's "Service-in-the-Box" provides phone support for over 400 multivendor business applications, including the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program and Peachtree accounting software, Mullins said.
The Starion 300, Starion 500, and Starion 700 are being sold exclusively at CompUSA. The Starion 200 and Starion 400 are available exclusively at Sam's Club.
For the future, DEC is considering expanding its PC distribution into other indirect channels, such as office and consumer electronics superstores, Keller said.
"But first, we want to be successful with our first two partners to build our processes, and to gain an increased understanding of the (retail) marketplace," he told Newsbytes.
DEC's Starion 200, Starion 300, Starion 400, Starion 500, and Starion 700 models are priced at $1,799, $1,699, $2,399, $2,299 and $2,799, respectively.
FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- The Roadrunners Club, sponsor of the New York Marathon (set for November 6) has traded-in its minicomputer for a series of personal computers using Signature Systems' Comet hardware and software. Race finishers will be clocked, scanned and identified with their times almost immediately.
At the end of the race, runners enter one of three lanes where computerized clocks enter their time and then further down the line a bar code scanner identifies the runner. The time-clocks are connected to a three-user Comet Terminal Adapter in one personal computer (PC) and another PC has an eight-user adapter for the scanners. Both PCs are connected together with a local area network which contains two more PCs running Comet software to update race officials and media representatives.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Bryce Martens, marketing director for Signature Systems, said, "Using Comet hardware and software the race officials have a more practical, less expensive and more efficient system for handling the finish of the race. Race information is gathered and organized almost simultaneously."
Martens continued, "Signature Systems does more than just run races. This is just one example of what Comet technology can do. One of our 100 dealers, HBG Systems in New York, put this deal together. We have our software and hardware installed at convenience stores, transit systems, country clubs, and with various other retailers, manufacturers, service companies and wholesale distributors throughout the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Venezuela."
The company's Comet technology allows a single 486 or Pentium-base PC to run up to 30 workstations or adapt to any asynchronous device such as a scanner or time-clock.
The Comet technology is based on an $850 board with eight channels and the software is licensed at a rate according to the number of workstations. Bryce said a typical thirty workstation installation would run about $12,000.
(Patrick McKenna/19941028/Press & Public Contact: Bryce Martens, Signature Systems, 415-574-3848)
s, Signature Systems, 415-574-3848)
11/1/94
Comet Wins New York Marathon Deal
BUSINESS
Three Bells To Produce TV Shows
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Three regional Bell operating companies, or RBOCs, have decided to venture into the world of TV show production and interactive services. Working with Hollywood deal maker Michael Ovitz and his Creative Arts Agency they intend to lay a foundation for near-future forays into cable TV and video dial-tone territories.
The three "Baby Bells" are Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL), Nynex (NYSE: NYN), and Pacific Telesis Group (NYSE: PAC), acting as equal partners in a new entertainment network that will compete with traditional cable operators. CAA will have no direct ownership stake, sources said, but Ovitz may be paid up to $50 million for his part in the venture over the next several years, according to published reports.
The firms said the first service will become available in the second half of 1995. The network will reach as many as 30 million US homes allowing them to order movies, TV shows, music and video games by dialing them up, the firms said.
The joint venture media company, still unnamed, will be responsible for providing content for the venture by buying, licensing, or producing it. The firms said they will invest around $100 million each for starters, though some analysts maintained a venture this size will need at least $500 million to get off the ground.
Some Baby Bell executives have been reported to dispute that figure saying the eventual investment will depend upon how fast the network pulls in customers and makes other revenue-producing deals. Content carried on the networks can be marketed to competing media services according to the announcements, and such distribution deals may make the venture considerably less capital-hungry, one analyst told Newsbytes.
CAA, though considered controversial in Hollywood, will make a strong ally for the three Bells. Recently, three others Bells Ameritech, BellSouth, and SWC (formerly Southwestern Bell) announced an alliance with Walt Disney Co. to produce shows, but that alliance has not yet gotten much past the initial announcement according to industry insiders.
Such production and distribution companies will play important parts in plans that all seven Baby Bells have announced to build interactive phone and video dial tone services.
In a brief conversation with Newsbytes, one source at Bell Atlantic referred to the joint venture as a "merge," but then quickly retracted the comment. Analysts have pointed out, however, that as announced, the deal will let the three firms do everything but merge their businesses. The firms have said the aim is, in part, to avoid having to market overlapping products, provide duplicate billing services, and in other ways have to keep reinventing each other's wheels.
In terms of the details, the Bells will form two ventures: one to develop programming, the other to provide technical support including software and billing services. The technical support will probably be provided by Bell Atlantic, which industry sources said has been investing heavily in the required support hardware.
Executives said the venture's consumer front end or "navigator" will be based on Bell Atlantic's StarGazer system. Bell Atlantic also will probably develop the required set-top box for the new network sources said.
The initial offering will consist of dial-up movies, the firms said but interactive games, shopping services and educational software will be added over the next two years. More details will be released in coming months, the firms said.
(Craig Menefee/19941101)
aid.
(Craig Menefee/19941101)
11/1/94
Three Bells To Produce TV Shows
BROADCAST
Apple Offers Developers Kit On C
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is introducing a software developers kit (SDK) on a CD which includes almost all of its software developer kits in one unit. Apple says this new CD and its quarterly updates are available for an annual subscription rate of $299.
According to the company, the Mac OS SDK offers three primary advantages to developers. First, the licensing of certain files and extensions, which previously required additional licensing, has been incorporated so developers are now able to redistribute certain system extension files and libraries more easily.
Secondly, the quarterly updates allow developers to keep an organized track of system extensions as they occur. A number of developers have told Apple both time and money could be saved by having one organized source for new system extensions and programming information.
Last, in an additional effort to help solve the financial pressures felt by many developers, Apple says the price of the CD and the quarterly updates, individually totaling almost $2,000, is designed to show developers the company's intent to support as fully as possible a wide spectrum of developers.
Apple also announced members of its Apple's Partners Program will receive one subscription of the new CD without charge. Other developers may obtain the CD through normal channels and Apple says it is immediately available.
Apple was not available for comment by Newsbytes press time.
(Patrick McKenna/19941031/Press Contact: Janet Spinks, Regis McKenna, tel 408-974-3886; Public Information: tel (US) 800 282-2732, (Canada) 800-637-0029; International, tel 716-871 6555; fax 716-871-6511)
tel 716-871 6555; fax 716-871-6511)
11/1/94
Apple Offers Developers Kit On CD
APPLE
MCI & BT Launch Concert Virtual
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- MCI (NASDAQ: MCIC) and British Telecom (BT) have launched their first major joint project since BT bought 20 percent of the giant US telecom firm a little over a month ago. The firms have named it Concert VVN (virtual voice network) for the way it links multinational locations by voice phone as if through a local phone company.
The new service is aimed at large, multinational organizations primarily corporations -- tired of struggling with telephone systems that are not always mutually compatible. Concert VVN lets such companies link their voice phones across national boundaries painlessly. Just as important, from a billing perspective, companies can abandon country-by-country billing in favor of centralized, or highly configurable, billing options, said Concert VVN sources.
Concert VVN is now available in the US, Australia, Belgium, France Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. MCI sources said these eight countries account for about 80 percent of all US multinational corporate voice traffic.
MCI spokesperson Frank J. Walter told Newsbytes, "We now have a head-start on all the other alliances for worldwide service that have been announced."
He added, "We expect this will really be our flagship service for MCI and BT large business customers. The reason is, voice is still the primary long distance traffic. It exceeds data traffic by quite a bit. It's really the bread and butter of long distance companies and having a seamless international voice service will be very appealing to large companies."
MCI said it has reached an agreement with its first large customer Allied Van Lines, which provides moving and logistic support services in a variety of countries. Allied said it will use the VVN service to simplify its global network and make it easier for employees to communicate across national boundaries.
MCI sources said Concert VVN customers can adopt uniform 7- or 10 digit dialing plans, authorizations and accounting codes; give multilingual, 24-hour customer support; provide calling cards that will work worldwide; provide centralized or by-location billing in any required currency; and give full connectivity to local public phone networks for calls to places not within the corporate VVN reach.
MCI will market Concert services in the Americas, while BT will do the marketing elsewhere in the world, MCI said.
(Craig Menefee/19941101/Press Contact: Frank J. Walter, MCI Business Markets, 404-668-6306, or John Houser, MCI 703-506-6092)
404-668-6306, or John Houser, MCI 703-506-6092)
11/1/94
MCI & BT Launch Concert Virtual Voice Network
TELECOM
Data General's Clariion Forges R
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- In the first deal to be forged between Data General's Clariion business unit and Convex, Clariion's disk arrays for RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) are slated to be used in the Convex DataSeries product line.
During an interview with Newsbytes, Larry Hemmerich, VP and general manager of Clariion, said that DG's new pact with Convex is part of a double-pronged cross-platform strategy.
"On its Aviion side, DG has been focusing on high availability for its RAID products. Now we're bringing these products into the `open systems market' across multiple platforms," Hemmerich told Newsbytes.
In one prong of the cross-platform strategy, Clariion is selling the RAID products to major OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) for embedded use, the VP explained. Clariion also sells attachments for the Novell, RISC 6000, Sun, OS/2, and Windows NT environments through its own distributors and resellers, he added.
The Convex DataSeries is targeted at users in the manufacturing petroleum and financial markets who need "fast and highly available" data storage and access, according to Hemmerich. The DataSeries products scale from under 10 gigabytes (GB) of storage to several terabytes (1,000 GB).
Clariion's disk array subsystems, he said, can be differentiated from competing products by two capabilities: "dual active storage control processors" and "mirrored fast-write caching."
"Some companies that provide dual processors offer only one active processor. But dual processors give you two paths into the box, for greater performance," Hemmerich maintained.
Dual active processors also provide the basis for "high availability," as well as for DG's "mirrored caching," he continued. "If one of your paths fails, you can reroute traffic down the other side and still get to the disk."
The "mirrored fast-write caching" is designed to protect the data of users who are running cache, he added. All other components in the Clariion subsystems are also "fully redundant," according to Hemmerich.
Outside of the new Convex deal, Clariion has announced about "eight or nine" other OEM agreements for the RAID products, and additional pacts have been reached that are still unannounced, Hemmerich told Newsbytes.
Memorex Telex, a private labeler, is using Clariion's RAID products in the AS/400, RS 6000, and Sun environments. Storage Technology and Amdahl are also on the list of announced partners. Amdahl is employing the Clariion products for Sun- and Windows NT-based systems, the Clariion VP said.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941031/Reader Contact: Data General, 508 366-8911; Press Contacts: Bob Palmer, Data General, 508-898-6547; Mitchell Derman, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
ic Relations Worldwide for Data General, 212-704-8274)
11/1/94
Data General's Clariion Forges RAID Deal With Convex
GENERAL
IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage
$19 Personal Income Tax Package
UK - Vodafone Buys Into French P
DEC PCI Adapters, Licenses FFDT
UK - MASE's Try Before You Buy L
IBM & Motorola Announce 64-Bit P
TI Researchers Increase Data Com
JD Power Desktop PC Study Lists
FCC Sets Phone-Cable Competition
Hong Kong - Networked Economy Co
Sanctuary Woods' Wordstuff Educa
Dell's Pentium PCs Offer 128-Bit
British GPT Wins Largest Telepoi
Key Tronic Returns To Profitabil
IBM & Hughes Plan Satellite Soft
UK Govt Tells Police To Fight Cr
UK - Confidence Returns In IT Re
Europe - Gateway 2000 Bundles HP
Electronic Documents Conference/
New Group Pushes Open TV Data St
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`#)#PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOB 1 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Intergraph Wins $398 Million Navy Contract Appeal 11/01/94 The General Services Administration's Board of Contract Appeals has upheld the Navy's choice of Intergraph for a $398 million share of a computer-aided drafting contract called CAD-2.
2 -> Correction - Amnesty Intl Interactive Human Rights CD 11/01/94 A story published October 27 by Newsbytes, entitled: Amnesty International Interactive Human Rights CD, reported that Voyager was the producer of an interactive multimedia CD-ROM for Amnesty International covering the history and evolution of human rights.
3 -> Adaptec Extends VL-Bus Connectivity 11/01/94 Input/output (I/O) technology manufacturer, Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT) has released its new TotalAdvantage VL, a SCSI (small computer systems interface) host adapter kit which combines Fast SCSI and Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics (EIDE) capabilities on a single 32-bit VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) Local (VL)- bus board.
4 -> PeopleSoft To Support Informix Database 11/01/94 PeopleSoft Inc. (NASDAQ:PSFT) and Informix Software Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX) have confirmed a joint development partnership which began this June and is designed to provide PeopleSoft Financials and PeopleSoft HRMS on the Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server.
5 -> Vancouver To Get New Local Computer Magazine 11/01/94 A new computer tabloid will shortly be available in Vancouver and its suburbs. Vancouver Computes will be published by Canada Computer Paper Inc., which already publishes The Computer Paper in Vancouver and several other Canadian cities.
6 -> Corel Unveils CD Home Line, Plus Christmas Bundle 11/01/94 Corel Corp. (NASDAQ:COSFF) has announced plans for a line of CD-ROM products aimed at home buyers. The first of Corel's new CD Home line is due in February.
7 -> UK - BT Employee Charged With Phone Harassment 11/01/94 As Britain prepares for national CLIP (Caller Line Identification Presentation) to be turned on at 7am, November 7, one of the worst cases involving a "phone pest" has come to court.
8 -> European Commission Probes Siemens/STET Linkup 11/01/94 The European Commission (EC) has announced that a formal and "in-depth" investigation into the proposed joint venture between Siemens of Germany and STET of Italy is now under way.
9 -> UK - "The Link" Computer Comms Stores Debut 11/01/94 ON-THAMES SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Dixons, the high street photographic and electronics chain, has opened its first "The Link" store, a new chain that will concentrate on selling computer comms equipment, online services, and all types of telecoms equipment.
10 -> ****No Money Up Front If Next & Microsoft Do Deal 11/01/94 According to The New York Times issue of October 31, 1994, Microsoft is in negotiations with Apple Computer Inc. (OTC:AAPL) co-founder and current chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Next Inc. Steven Jobs, that would be worth millions of dollars to Next. Jobs left Apple in 1985 after a disagreement with then-president John Sculley.
11 -> Sanctuary Woods Intros Edu-Math CD-ROM 11/01/94 Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Inc. (NASDAQ:SWMCF; VC:SWD.V) has begun shipping "Adventures in Flight," the first CD-ROM title in the "Addison-Wesley's Real World Math Series."
12 -> KCAL-TV Offers Viewers Interactive E-Mail 11/01//94 Southern California's Channel 9, KCAL-TV, claims to be the first local independent broadcaster to offer viewer interactivity by launching "9 ON ONLINE" -- an electronic-mail communications system that is open to the public and has mail-boxes on all the major commercial online services and the Internet.
13 -> Electronic Arts Offers Entertainment Bundles 11/01/94 Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) has released a ten-pack of PC games in their original format on a single CD-ROM, for $39.95. The company says the pack is actually worth $250.
14 -> Pentax Announces Pocket Jet Printer 11/01/94 Pentax Technologies has announced an ultra-light compact portable thermal printer the company claims will be the smallest and lightest printer on the market when it ships in mid-December.
15 -> Australia - PC Makers Claim Intel Market Manipulation 11/01/94 Two Australian computer manufacturers have accused Intel of keeping a proper range of computer choices from buyers. In a story in the Sydney Morning Herald computer section, Julie Robotham reported that Total Peripherals and Profound Computer bosses said Intel had discounted 486 chips to the point where manufacturers could not competitively produce Pentium machines.
16 -> Hong Kong - Microsoft Enhances "Club" Membership 11/01/94 Building on the success of the Microsoft Club marketing program Microsoft Hong Kong has expanded its range of offers for Club members. The program enables members to take advantage of significant discounts on a variety of items which, this quarter, include the brand new Microsoft Home Mouse, ABC pagers, and an increased number of magazine titles.
17 -> Oracle Targets Market Share 11/01/94 n an effort to maintain its role as a leader in the area of relational database management systems (RDBMS), Oracle Systems (Phils.) Inc. (OSPI) launched the Business Alliance Program (BAP) at the New World Hotel last month.
18 -> UK - Kyocera Intros Ecosys Laser Printers 11/01/94 Kyocera has taken the wraps off, what it claims is, the first range-wide implementation of its Ecosys environmentally-friendly laser printers.
19 -> ****UK - World's First Pro-Active Windows Virus Scanner 11/01/94 Portcullis has announced, what it claims is, the world's first "proactive" anti-virus utility for Microsoft Windows-based PCs. Known as F-Prot Gatekeeper, the package is part of the F-Prot Professional range of anti-virus utility software.
20 -> Elonex's Support For PC Plug-And-Play 11/01/94 Elonex has announced a new range of Pentium desktop machines, the PC 500R/1 series, which it claims are the first from the direct-sell company to support Windows 95 and the "Plug-and-Play" system.
21 -> ****More Ziff-Davis Units Sold 11/01/94 The sale of the Ziff-Davis Publishing company now exceeds $2 billion, as two more business units have been sold. Agreements have been signed with Softbank Corporation of Tokyo to purchase Ziff's trade show and conference business for $202 million, and with The Thompson Corporation of Canada to purchase Ziff's Information Access Company for $465 million.
22 -> DEC & Powersoft Extend Relationship 11/01/94 Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has extended its relationship with Concord Massachusetts-based Powersoft Corp. (NASDAQ:PWRS) to let DEC sell Powersoft's client/server application development tools directly.
23 -> Microsoft To Acquire Mapping Software Company 11/01/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) says it will acquire a British interactive mapping and route-planning software company.
24 -> ****DEC Enters Retail PC Market With Starion Line 11/01/94 DEC is making its first foray into the US PC retail marketplace with Starion, a new PC lineup targeted at a "subset" of the SOHO (small office/home office) market.
25 -> Comet Wins New York Marathon Deal 11/01/94 The Roadrunners Club, sponsor of the New York Marathon (set for November 6) has traded-in its minicomputer for a series of personal computers using Signature Systems' Comet hardware and software. Race finishers will be clocked, scanned and identified with their times almost immediately.
26 -> ****Three Bells To Produce TV Shows 11/01/94 Three regional Bell operating companies, or RBOCs, have decided to venture into the world of TV show production and interactive services. Working with Hollywood deal maker Michael Ovitz and his Creative Arts Agency, they intend to lay a foundation for near-future forays into cable TV and video dial-tone territories.
27 -> Apple Offers Developers Kit On CD 11/01/94 Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is introducing a software developers kit (SDK) on a CD which includes almost all of its software developer kits in one unit. Apple says this new CD and its quarterly updates are available for an annual subscription rate of $299.
28 -> MCI & BT Launch Concert Virtual Voice Network 11/01/94 MCI (NASDAQ: MCIC) and British Telecom (BT) have launched their first major joint project since BT bought 20 percent of the giant US telecom firm a little over a month ago. The firms have named it Concert VVN (virtual voice network) for the way it links multinational locations by voice phone as if through a local phone company.
29 -> Data General's Clariion Forges RAID Deal With Convex 11/01/94 In the first deal to be forged between Data General's Clariion business unit and Convex, Clariion's disk arrays for RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) are slated to be used in the Convex DataSeries product line.
(Ian Stokell/19941101)
(Ian Stokell/19941101)
11/1/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Fargo PrimeraPro Color Printer W
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) has announced that the Fargo PrimeraPro dual-function dye-sublimation and wax thermal transfer color printer from Fargo Electronics Inc. is now available with additional support for Macintosh AppleTalk and Adobe PostScript Level 2.
Fargo's PrimeraPro printer uses Adobe's Configurable PostScript Interpreter (CPSI) Level 2 technology for PostScript color printing. It offers print quality of 600 by 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution and carries a suggested list price of $1,895.
According to Steve MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager of Adobe's systems products division, the PrimeraPro is well suited for high-quality, low-cost color printing for a variety of tasks including comps. MacDonald says it saves time and money by printing high-quality proofs in-house, helping users to avoid relying on more expensive outside service bureaus.
MacDonald told Newsbytes that CPSI Level 2 is a host-based PostScript interpreter that rasterizes PostScript code. This function is typically done in a raster image processor (RIP) that is embedded in an output device such as a printer.
With CPSI, MacDonald says end-users gain the benefits of Adobe PostScript Level 2 software, which include accurate and consistent color appearance across PostScript Level 2 devices monitor-to-printer color matching, and desktop printer color previewing capabilities. These capabilities are designed to help those who work with color get predictable and consistent results.
According to Adobe and Fargo, the addition of Adobe PostScript support to the printer results in better overall color printing and greater compatibility and flexibility.
End-users can print a variety of documents that contain any combination of text, graphics and images for "true" WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) performance. It also gives access to industry-standard Type 1 fonts, and provides cross-platform compatibility with a large variety of computer hardware systems and software applications.
The PrimeraPro includes an Apple LocalTalk/RS-422 serial interface and is available with an optional Ethernet interface.
(Nick Anis/19941031/Press Contacts: Michael Wong, Adobe Systems Inc., 415-962-2197: Patrick Fitzgerald, Parallax Group for Fargo Electronics Inc., tel 312-645-4835, fax 312-645-4843; Reader Contact: 800-327-4622)
fax 312-645-4843; Reader Contact: 800-327-4622)
11/1/94
Fargo PrimeraPro Color Printer With PostScript
GENERAL
New Zealand Gets On-line User Ma
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- The Net is a new magazine which specializes in online communications and related fields. In a country with less than four million people, it has a creditable print run of 10,000 copies.
Despite its rural image, New Zealand has always been an early adopter and exporter of technology, often jumping ahead of neighboring Australia. Although the country only supports a handful of computer magazines, the Net has found quick acceptance in its first five issues.
It is reportedly read by business people, BBS (bulletin board system) sysops, home enthusiasts, and those in educational institutions. Regular sections include: online services; education; bulletin boards; advice for beginners; product reviews; and spotlights on New Zealanders who use online communications for business, education and recreation.
Editor Rebecca Trowbridge told Newsbytes that her aim was to inform her readers about emerging technology and the social implications of living in the information age. "We set up the magazine in direct response to the number of online users in New Zealand. There are no other publications like this, especially those that tell people what they can do once they get online. It's hard to say how many users there are in the country, but the growth is amazing."
She said the large local service providers include ICONZ (The Internet Company of New Zealand), the universities, and PlaNet. PlaNet has said previously that it plans to make terminals accessible to the general public so "everyone can have access to online information."
"Larger cities such as Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch also have local Internet access providers," she said. "The government is trialing Internet access in a number of schools around the country. However there are limited resources to put systems in place, train teachers and apply the technology to the curriculum." She added that teachers are enthusiastic, but overworked. Despite this thought, many New Zealand schools have online access.
These are the systems which offer educational online services. Costs are in NZ$, with NZ$1 corresponding to around US$0.60:
Starnet costs $15 per month, 50cents for the first minute and 30c thereafter. Around 100 NZ schools are on Starnet, and have access to schools in 24 countries around the world.
CompuServe is $18 per month, 32c per minute peak and 19c per minute overnight. Extended services cost more depending on time and access speed (2,400 or 9,600 bits-per-second). Toll charges are applicable for areas outside the three main cities.
New Zealand Online - Learning Link has been set up as an educational tool. It costs $330 per year (including 15 hours of connect time).
K12 is a free service provided by IBM New Zealand. Toll charges apply for non-city users. Overnight sessions are used to bring each school up to date with files and mail. Coordinators will visit any school to set up a system.
In addition, Apple's eWorld will be officially launched at the Computer Home Show in December. It will support speeds from 300 to 14,400 bps. Membership is $8.95 per month including two hours of online time. However, there is an international surcharge of $7.95 per hour. After the two free hours, access is $4.95 per hour. Billing is done via Apple Online Services in the US, to credit cards, in US$. If you feel like trying the service, the 9,600 bps access numbers are +64-9-302 2372 (Auckland), and +64-4-801 5517 (Wellington).
The current issue of Net is 56 pages with a mixture of high-quality four-color and spot-color sections. Cover price is NZ$4.95 (around US$3) and the subscription rate for the monthly publication is NZ$59.40 per year (extra for airmail).
(Paul Zucker/19941031/Press Contact: Rebecca Trowbridge, editor of The Net, tel +64-3-377 2139, fax +64-3-377 2385, CompuServe e-mail 100241,3617, Internet e-mail bruce@excal.equinox.gen.nz or brucep@nzonline.ac.nz)
equinox.gen.nz or brucep@nzonline.ac.nz)
11/1/94
New Zealand Gets On-line User Magazine
ONLINE
Canon Notejet Notebook/Printer U
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 1 (NB) -- Technology can make for some interesting bedfellows. For instance, Canon's NoteJet notebook computer that comes complete with a built-in inkjet printer, has become the favorite of some well-known personalities.
Canon spokesperson, Sherri Snelling, told Newsbytes the company's NoteJet that has made life easier for thousands of traveling executives, is also the favorite of a diverse group of celebrities.
Snelling says that, for F. Lee Bailey, a world-renowned attorney traveling without the NoteJet is "unthinkable." In fact, Bailey is reported to have made the unit standard equipment in the Boston and West Palm Beach offices of his law firm.
According to Snelling, Peter Max, a popular modern artist, uses a NoteJet and has added a cellular fax/modem card so he can send and receive documents while he is traveling.
"I remember being stuck in my hotel room waiting for a bellman to deliver a crucial fax that I needed prior to my 'Pop to Patriotism' exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery with President Clinton and Senator John Glenn," Max recalls. "Ever since that near-miss, I rely on the NoteJet with the cellular fax/modem card to get me a hard copy of what I need, when I need it."
Sources at Canon told Newsbytes that conservative writer, editor speaker, television commentator and one-time New York City mayoral candidate, William F. Buckley Jr., also uses a Notejet.
According to Buckley, who is constantly traveling, if not in a plane, then sailing on his 36-foot sailboat, Petito, "Because of my writing demands, my fingers are never far from a keyboard." Buckley also happens to be one of the country's first writers to embrace computer word processing in the early 1980s. He says he uses the NetJet because it is the "only one that prints" and so he can avoid "lugging a separate printer along" on his travels.
According to a recent study done by the Dataquest research firm approximately five million notebook and subnotebook computers were in use by the end of 1992. Industry sources expect that number to triple to 15 million by 1997.
The Canon NoteJet II 486C has an active matrix color screen, a 130 megabyte (MB), 260MB, or 340MB hard drive, and a Bubble Jet printer. It weighs less than nine pounds. The built-in Bubble Jet printer generates near laser quality text and graphics and can print two pages-per-minute on letter and legal size paper or transparencies.
The estimated street price for the NoteJet is as low as $2,000. According to Snelling, a brand name laptop computer with similar features and a separate printer could cost almost $1,000 more.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- With the launch of Windows 95 still six months or more away, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has already named the companies that will provide customer support for the next version of its operating system and user interface software.
The software company announced this week that Digital Equipment Corp., Keane Inc., Microage Computer Center Inc., Softmart Inc., and Unisys Corp. will provide customer support for the launch of Windows 95, in addition to the Microsoft support staff.
The announcement unveils a Microsoft support program for Windows 95 it is calling the Microsoft Windows 95 Launch Support Team, an organization that will complement Microsoft's own product support services with additional communications and staff resources.
The five vendors will join Microsoft in providing telephone support for Windows 95 users during the first few months after Windows 95 rolls out. Microsoft expects that to be the peak period for support requests. Microsoft provides users of its products no-charge support for a 90-day period that starts with the first phone call. Windows 95 is presently expected to ship by mid-1995.
If you need some help with Windows 95 your phone call to one Microsoft support phone number will be automatically routed to the first available Microsoft support engineer or one of the Launch Support Team members. The number will not be toll-free.
After your 90-day no-cost support period expires you will be able to choose from a wide range of paid support program that will include around-the-clock support and on-site service.
Microsoft says it will provide extensive training for Launch Support Team members, many of whom are already qualified as Microsoft Certified Professionals with an understanding of system architecture, operating systems, and networking. Once the training period is completed, the engineers will get additional training on-site at the Microsoft campus handling service calls about Windows 95 during the Windows Preview Program and will also participate in beta testing of Windows 95.
While names like Digital and Microage are familiar, many users may not recognize the name Keane, which is an independent provider of software services and support with more than 28 years of experience.
Pat Monaghan, director of Keane's TeleSolve help desk center, sees that independence is an advantage. "Not being wedded to a particular hardware business or retail chain has enabled us to accrue vast expertise in a multitude of popular software packages," said Monaghan.
Microsoft said it has made a multimillion dollar investment in its telecommunications system to get ready for the launch of Windows 95, as well as increasing the size of its support staff. With the Launch Support Team, the number of engineers supporting operating systems since Windows 3.1 was launched will have tripled.
(Jim Mallory/19941102/Press contact: Catherine Richardson Fix Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
11/2/94
Microsoft Names Windows 95 User Support Firms
WINDOWS
UK Govt Tells Police To Fight Cr
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- After years of allowing regional police authorities to set their own computer system plans, the British government has formally instructed the various police authorities around the UK to make full use of technology in their war against crime. The instructions are laid down in a new set of guidelines known as the national blue-print for police IT (Information Technology), which have been issued this week.
Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, has also unveiled plans to implement a new police data "superhighway" that will link every police force in the UK, allowing them interactively access, on a controlled basis, data on DNA tests and fingerprint files, as well as the currently-accessible criminal records system.
Howard has set aside a budget of UKP750 million over the next five years for the implementation of IT in the police forces. Announcing the blue-print and IT plans, he said that the aim of the project was to counter claims that the criminal fraternity are using IT in their battles with the police. He also wants to reduce the mountain of paperwork that the police have to contend with.
"We must stay one step ahead of the criminal. This strategy is a giant leap in that direction," he said, adding that, although there is no substitute for "good, straightforward police detective work in catching criminals, the computer is now as important as the legwork."
The fundamental idea behind the IT plan for the police, Howard said is that electronic systems can cut down on paper and improve officer's productivity with the force, mainly by cutting down on the time spent on paperwork.
According to Howard, the police IT plan has the backing for the chief constables in forces around the UK. Plans call for several pilot schemes in the use of advanced IT within the police to be implemented in the first quarter of the new year, he said.
(Steve Gold/19941102)
r of the new year, he said.
(Steve Gold/19941102)
11/2/94
UK Govt Tells Police To Fight Crime With Technology
6 T
UK - British Telecom Under Fire
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Several members of the press and the telecoms industry generally, have expressed doubts as to whether the benefits of Caller Line Identification (CLI) outweigh the disadvantages. Furthermore, many people are questioning whether British Telecom (BT) has given the public sufficient consultation over the implementation of CLI on ex-directory lines.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, this coming weekend sees BT implement CLI on its network. CLI allows the called party to see the calling line number, using suitable equipment, before the phone goes "off the hook" and the calling party identifies themselves.
Richard Cox, a telecoms consultant with Mandarin Technology, and a well-known telecoms industry figure in the UK, has voiced his concern over what British Telecom's approach over CLI. "The situation is very worrying. The only information that BT has sent its customers has been with its bills. And most customers discard the marketing information sent with their bills automatically. BT's announcement was far too late," he told Newsbytes.
"There simply has not been time for customers to analyze the implications of the new regime on their day-to-day operations, or to to make special arrangements, such as per-line CLI blocking, as they think necessary," he said.
Cox went on to say that he views it as "particularly disappointing that there is so much evidence of BT staff misleading callers of the existence of, and the arrangements for, per line blocking.
"That, coupled with the fact that, on some lines, the per call CLI blocking code (141) will be accepted, but ignored -- thus releasing the line's identity unknown to the caller, in complete violation of Oftel's basic requirements -- would justify the delay in implementation of this service until these matters are sorted out," he said.
Cox is in favor, as has happened in the US in several states, of the holding off of the implementation of CLI, until the legal, social and practical issues surrounding the technology are resolved. In the US Newsbytes notes, several government legislatures have barred the telecoms companies from implementing CLI because of profound doubts about the privacy issues involved.
Newsbytes put these points to David Redding, a spokesman for Oftel the government-appointed watchdog for UK telecoms, who responded that he feels that BT has "done all it can to publicize CLI."
When asked about the ex-directory lines issue, Redding referred Newsbytes to BT, saying that it as a BT issue, not Oftel's.
"I think what you have to weigh up is the danger that, by announcing a service (such as CLI) too early, the effect is lost on the public," he told Newsbytes, adding that, in the case of Phoneday -- the date next April when most dialing codes in the UK change -- BT's announcement of the plans a year ago has meant that the overall effect on the general public has been lost.
"BT has been telling people time and time again that the codes will change, but many businesses seem ignorant of the fact that their codes will change next April," he said, adding that this put the argument in favor of telling customers of the changes far later in the day.
Olga Hubicka, a spokeswoman for BT, agreed with Redding's comments. She told Newsbytes that "BT walks something of a tight-rope over the issue of CLI," in that the dilemma is whether to tell the public way in advance, or wait until much closer to the date of implementation.
Newsbytes questioned the decision by BT to only notify the public before the implementation of CLI by inserting material with their bills. Hubicka responded by pointing to the current press campaign which started a few weeks ago, and a TV campaign which starts next week to alert the public to CLI.
Surely, Newsbytes argued, notifying phone users of the implementation of CLI after the service has actually started, could cause problems for ex-directory phone number users, notably those in hospitals and police forces? Hubicka said that such users have been consulted with.
"Look at the statistics with our trials, which involved around half a million phone users. Less than 0.05 percent actually used the blocking code of 141 to withhold their CLI information," she said, adding that BT feels that the vast majority of users will not make use of the CLI withholding code of 141.
Cox remains unconvinced. He claims that, once people realize that their number is being released to all the people they call, especially when some exchanges simply absorb the 141 blocking code and still release the data to the called party (even when the caller has specifically blocked the code), a public and press outcry will occur.
(Steve Gold/19941102/Press Contact: Oftel, +44-71-634-8650; Olga Hubicka, BT Press Office, +44-71-356-6579; Richard Cox, Mandarin Technology, +44-956-700111)
56-6579; Richard Cox, Mandarin Technology, +44-956-700111)
11/2/94
UK - British Telecom Under Fire Over Call Identification
TELECOM
UK - Mercury Cuts Local Loop Tel
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Just days after the start of a British Telecom (BT) ad campaign extolling the fact that a recent Coopers & Lybrand report found that BT call charges were a few percent cheaper than those of Mercury Communications, Mercury has shuffled its call charges.
This time, Mercury is wooing the business user community who are directly connected to its network, as the telecoms service has cut local call prices by up to 46 percent for a new lunchtime (two hour) discount period on weekdays, while weekend local calls drop by 27 percent. In addition, Mercury has frozen its line rental prices.
Specifically, Mercury has cut the per-minute cost of a local call during a new lunchtime discount period from 3.78 to 2.03 pence, while the weekend local call rate drops from 1.75 to 1.28 pence per minute.
According to a Mercury spokeswoman, the price cuts are to maintain the company's competitive edge over its main rival BT. The line rental charges freeze applied until next August, Newsbytes was told.
Mercury's decision to shuffle its major customer local call rates downward means that the typical business user of Mercury is now marginally ahead of BT in terms of bottom line post-discount call charges. Mercury has come under pressure from BT over the last year as BT has shaved its prices for major users -- as well as residential users -- to the bone in a bid to stay competitive with Mercury.
This week sees BT implement its Partners program in Birmingham following a successful period in Bristol earlier this year. The BT Partners program involves sending volunteer BT staff out to their friends and neighbors, extolling the virtues of BT over rivals such as Mercury and Energis, as well as cable TV companies that offer phone services.
Mercury's decision to leave its domestic tariffs unaltered, however suggests that the company may well be soft-peddling on its domestic subscriber promotion. With BT scheduled to phase in per-second billing some time next year, Mercury remains unworried that its call cost advantage over BT is slowly being eroded.
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- A Texas company has announced a software-only voice-recognition package that is designed primarily for service companies that provide voice-mail services. Voice Control Systems Inc. (AMEX:VPS) says it will ship its VRSoft program in the first quarter of 1995.
VCS spokesperson Donald Crosbie told Newsbytes that VRSoft is a multi-channel speech recognition product that can handle four or more voice channels simultaneously and does not need any accompanying hardware except a telephone line interface card. "Voice recognition systems that typically have required an extra board in a computer now can be run just on the processing unit of the computer itself. That lowers the price since you need less hardware," said Crosbie.
Crosbie said VRSoft is optimized to work with a Dialogic D/41E telephone line interface card for up to four separate speech channels. although it will work with other cards. Crosbie said the Dialogic card sells for $1,500 or less. More channels can be added by installing additional cards. VRSoft software is compatible at the function call and API (application programming interface) with Dialogic's VR/40 speech-recognition board for additional simultaneous voice sessions.
Crosbie told Newsbytes the cost of speech-recognition using VRSoft is under $200 per voice channel. He said VRSoft is designed to run on a host PC, ideally a 486-based PC, dedicated to automating tasks like voice-mail systems, interactive voice response and other messaging applications. VRSoft is a DOS-based product that will also run in a DOS windows under Microsoft Windows, and comes with a library of recognizable words and numbers that is available in more than 40 languages.
Crosbie told Newsbytes the primary market for VRSoft is the smaller, low-end voice-mail companies, firms that sell voice-mail systems to the end user.
(Jim Mallory/19941102/Press contact: Donald Crosbie, Voice Control Systems, 214-386-0300, ext 209; Public contact: Voice Control Systems, tel 214-386-0300 or fax 214-386-5555)
tems, tel 214-386-0300 or fax 214-386-5555)
11/2/94
Software-Only Voice-Recognition Available
Beame & Whiteside Readies NetWar
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Beame & Whiteside Software Inc., will display at the Comdex/Fall show in Las Vegas this month software for connecting SunSoft Solaris systems with Novell NetWare local area networks (LANs).
Beame & Whiteside said it will ship the two products early in December. BW-MultiConnect Server for Solaris will let a computer running Solaris act as a network server to clients on a NetWare LAN. BW-MultiConnect Client for Solaris will let a Solaris machine connect to a NetWare LAN and use the NetWare server.
George Stevenson, product manager at Beame & Whiteside, told Newsbytes that both are horizontal-market products that should appeal to "anybody that has NetWare and Solaris installed together." Stevenson said a similar product for computers running Microsoft's Windows NT, called BW-MultiConnect for Windows NT, has been very successful.
BW-MultiConnect Server for Solaris will let NetWare workstations use file and print services on Solaris servers as if those services were provided by NetWare. All the software runs on the Solaris server, and no additional software is needed on the NetWare clients company officials said.
BW-MultiConnect Client for Solaris uses a mechanism similar to automount to let Solaris Unix workstations mount a NetWare volume or directory as they would a Solaris file system. Once mounted the volume works like a Solaris directory. The software lets Solaris clients use NetWare file and print resources with the security features of native NetWare, the vendor claimed.
BW-MultiConnect Server for Solaris is priced from $495 for a five-user license to $9,695 for an unlimited license, with five other options in between. BW-MultiConnect Client for Solaris lists at $495 per user.
Beame & Whiteside has no immediate plans to offer similar MultiConnect products for other variants of Unix, Stevenson said but is not ruling it out either. That "kind of depends on how this product is received," he said.
(Grant Buckler/19941102/Press Contact: George Stevenson, Beame & Whiteside, tel 919-831-8989, fax 919-831-8990; Public Contact: Beame & Whiteside, tel 800-INFO-NFS or 919-831-8989 fax 919-831-8990, Internet e-mail sales@bws.com)
8989 fax 919-831-8990, Internet e-mail sales@bws.com)
11/2/94
Beame & Whiteside Readies NetWare Links For Solaris
Government Managers Get Piracy L
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Government information managers have attended a copyright infringement conference, reportedly the first of its kind targeted at such officials.
"Development of the national information infrastructure (NII) will make digital storage, retrieval, and delivery systems widely available in the United States, and will change the way that information and entertainment products are created, marketed and delivered," Patent and Trademark Commissioner Bruce Lehman told a group of information managers from 20 federal government departments and agencies.
Speaking at a conference organized by the Department of Commerce and the Business Software Alliance, Lehman said "These important developments will not happen unless copyright owners know that their proprietary interests are protected and users know that they will have access to information on appropriate terms and conditions."
Lehman was keynote speaker at a conference. Other speakers included: Bob Kruger, BSA's enforcement chief; James Chandler president of the National Intellectual Law Institute; and representatives from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice.
Gloria Guiterrez, deputy assistant for administration at the Department of Commerce, said her agency believes that "software copyright violations may be a widespread problem in the federal government," an observation matched by software developers who have followed the federal market.
Guiterrez described the conference as "an agreement between government and industry to eliminate software copyright infringement within the federal government by making individuals throughout the government aware of the problem strengthening federal agency policies and educating individual employees in the need to fulfill their responsibilities under the law."
BSA's Kruger noted that the federal government "has special responsibilities to ensure compliance with those laws. Incidents of suspected software theft within the federal government will be investigated, just as they have been in the past."
BSA officials have told Newsbytes that they suspect that software theft is a major problem in the federal government, in part because government bureaucrats do not understand that they are subject to the same laws as the private sector. "They just don't get it," says a BSA source.
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- In a teleconference, Prodigy launched AstraNet, an "independent service" on the Internet's World Wide Web (WWW) aimed at supplying content from Prodigy's Internet unit, Prodigy's content division, and third-party providers, plus "pointers" to outside Internet services.
Beginning immediately, any Internet user with a WWW browser can visit the AstraNet home page at WWW.ASTRANET.COM, Prodigy officials said during the phone conference, which was attended by Newsbytes.
The initial AstraNet offering provides free-of-charge access to what Prodigy considers to be some of "the best publicly available Internet content" in 14 areas: news; weather; business; finance; legal; government; sports; entertainment; travel; computers and technology; recreation and hobbies; shopping; "general reference"; and "home, family and kids."
Prodigy is also conducting beta tests of several other content services on AstraNet, but these services are not currently available for public view, company officials told the journalists.
At about the time of the Internet World trade show in December Prodigy expects to unveil the first round of "pay for" services to be provided on AstraNet.
The initial trio of fee-based AstraNet services will consist of news, sports, and financial content, noted Scott Kurnit, executive VP of Prodigy, in a Q&A session that constituted the bulk of the teleconference. The phone event was moderated by Brian Ek, director of market programs and communications for Prodigy.
By "marrying" Prodigy-developed content with access to other Internet services, AstraNet will differ from the way other commercial online providers are approaching the WWW, said William Day, Prodigy's director of Internet services, also during the Q&A.
Although complementary to Prodigy, AstraNet will be a separate offering, available to Prodigy members and non-members alike according to the officials.
"About a year ago, we saw the Internet for what it was becoming," Kurnit said, during brief introductory remarks. AstraNet will provide the "same kind of ease and convenience" as Prodigy, and will also abide by Prodigy's philosophy that "you will not be surprised" by what you find online, he added.
On AstraNet, users "will see an entire family of home pages (with pointers) to each other." Some of the AstraNet home pages will be used for subscription-based editorial content, while others will be dedicated to advertising, according to the executive VP.
AstraNet's pointers will also refer users to the home pages of universities and other outside organizations, for access free of charge, he told the telephone audience. But these pointers will be reserved for services that Prodigy regards as being "of real value" to Internet users, he added.
AstraNet is "not an interface," Day said, also during the opening remarks. "But we will be partnering with other companies to provide the best interfaces," he noted.
Beyond ease-of-use and quality control, Prodigy will bring "robust service and support" to the Internet through AstraNet, according to Day.
In the Q&A session, the Prodigy execs said that AstraNet will maintain "editorial integrity," and will clearly distinguish between home pages for ads and editorial content.
During a response to a question from Newsbytes, Day described the upcoming ads on AstraNet as "non-intrusive." When asked by Newsbytes to elaborate, he explained that users will not even see the ads unless they voluntarily decide to visit advertisers' home pages.
Questions from other journalists dealt with content and pricing issues, and with AstraNet's relationship to the Prodigy service. Prodigy's recently introduced "Internet news reader" will evolve into a "full browser" for use with AstraNet or any other WWW service, the officials said.
AstraNet will not include all of Prodigy's service offerings, noted Kurnit, citing "Sesame Street" as one example of a Prodigy offering that will not appear on the new WWW service. "`Sesame Street' plays really well on Prodigy, but it will not play well on the Internet,'" he illustrated.
AstraNet's revenue streams will derive from a combination of subscriber and "sponsor" fees, the officials indicated. Some AstraNet content will be offered free of charge, to encourage users to try out AstraNet. But more specific details on packaging and content are still being decided.
For example, it has not been determined whether the final AstraNet offering will include a "core service," or whether it will revolve around a series of separate "channels" instead, according to the Prodigy execs.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941101/Reader Contact: Prodigy 800-PRODIGY; Press Contacts: Julia Pickar or Lydia Trettis Connors Communications for Prodigy, 212-995-2200)
Connors Communications for Prodigy, 212-995-2200)
11/2/94
Prodigy Intros AstraNet Service On Internet WWW
ONLINE
DEC Expands Alpha AXP & VAX Stor
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- DEC has unveiled a range of new storage products for Alpha AXP and VAX systems that includes Digital's first HMS (hierarchical management system) for OpenVMS, in addition to new RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks), tape, and optical offerings.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Ed McCarren, DEC's storage software marketing manager, said that the new products are aimed at providing high availability, increased productivity, and "lower overall system costs" to OpenVMS and OSF (Open Software Foundation)/1 users.
By supplying high availability, DEC's new RAID products save users the substantial dollar expenses associated with system downtime McCarren maintained.
The RAID additions include: new array controller RAID and write-back cache options; new RAID software for OpenVMS; and the new SW300 StorageWorks RAID Office Expansion Pedestal.
Digital's new HMS system, furnished through a layered software product that extends the OpenVMS file system, is designed to reduce backup time while also improving availability, he added.
DEC has also introduced: the HSD30 array controller; the TLZ07 DAT (digital audio tape) drive; the TL820 DLT (digital linear tape) library; the RV700 family of optical storage jukeboxes; and a series of new storage management tools.
The new HSD30 Array Controller provides connectivity for up to 21 storage devices on a single DSSI (digital storage system interconnect) port, along with on-board RAID 0 (striping) according to McCarren. Up to 32 megabytes (MB) of read cache and dual-redundant controller capability is optionally available.
The new array controller RAID and write-back cache options are supported by the HSD30, as well as by DEC's existing HSJ series and HSZ40. The array controller RAID option is designed to "dynamically adjust" for maximum performance on both "throughput intensive" RAID 5 and "bandwidth intensive" RAID 3 applications.
The write-back cache option allows up to 32MB of array controller cache to be deployed for write operations, as well as for the previously supported read caching. As a result, applications can "continue working rather than waiting until write requests are completed to disk," according to the DEC executive.
When used in conjunction with one another, the array controller and write-back cache options bring RAID performance "to a level normally associated with striping, and with much higher availability than is characteristic of striping," he said.
DEC's new RAID Software for OpenVMS is meant to provide the advantages of RAID technology while preventing the need to buy additional hardware, according to McCarren. Specifically, the product provides software-based striping (RAID 0), RAID 5 capabilities (striping and parity), and disk partitioning.
The new SW300 pedestal is designed for CI, DSSI, and SCSI (small computer system interface) systems. The pedestal holds up to 24 3.5-inch disks, two controllers, two cache accelerator modules and eight power supplies, or eight 5.25-inch disks, "or mixed combinations."
McCarren told Newsbytes that the new HSM for OpenVMS V 1.0 permits users to back up their files without assistance from the system manager, bringing about "substantially lower backup time" for the organization. The new HSM software also allows for "more efficient management" of archived data, he said.
"I think people initially expected that HSM would bring a quick reduction in storage prices. That is there. But in an environment where disk prices are falling so rapidly anyway, the productivity gains from HSM are also important," McCarren noted.
Aside from HSM for OpenVMS, DEC unveiled five other new storage management software tools. Save Set Manager for OpenVMS 1.0 is intended to save time during back-up through "off-line save set validation, copy and merge functions," according to McCarren.
Desktop Backup/Archiver is aimed at easy-to-use backup, restore and archiving on OpenVMS-based Pathworks LANs (local area networks). The software "protects existing investments" through backup of local storage on PCs or Macintoshes to an OpenVMS VAX or Alpha AXP server.
Storage Library Systems (SLS) V2.4 for OpenVMS VAX and AXP was developed to manage removable media and the devices associated with the back-up and archiving of "critical corporate data." The software also automates backup tasks, Newsbytes was told.
Networker Save and Restore (NSR) Software V3.0 is an update to DEC's "data protection" product for multivendor networks. NSR supports up to Unix and PC platforms backed up to OSF servers McCarren said. V3.0 adds "media pools," a new tool for managing emerging "media libraries."
Also new is Optical Storage Management V3.2, software designed to facilitate sharing of optical storage jukeboxes in OpenVMS environments, according to McCarren.
DEC's new TLZ07 tape drive, a four millimeter (mm) DAT drive provides up to eight gigabytes (GB) of unattended backup and archiving, plus a transfer rate of up to 810 kilobytes-per-second (KBps), he added.
The new TL820 DLT library offers up to 5.2 terabytes of storage for video-on-demand, as well as for large-scale data storage archiving, and unattended back-up.
The new RV700 is a family of WORM (write once, read many) optical jukeboxes consisting of "scalable" 12-inch media products for data and image storage, according to McCarren.
Digital has also reduced pricing by up to 17 percent on the RW500 family of optical storage jukeboxes. Members of the existing family offer 19GB to 170GB of formatted capacity in multifunctional optical storage drives, he said.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941031/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Tom Madden, DEC, 508-841-5365; Heather McLellan The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900)
McLellan The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900)
11/2/94
DEC Expands Alpha AXP & VAX Storage Offerings
IBM & Hughes Plan Satellite Soft
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) and the Hughes Network Systems unit of GM Hughes Electronics (NYSE:GMH) are getting together to distribute software by satellite. The two firms plan to use Hughes' newly announced DirecPC service to beam software to dealers and to interactive kiosks where consumers will be able to try out software, then have it copied to disks for purchase.
The technology will also be used to deliver software updates and to send software directly to corporate customers, officials said.
Hughes and IBM plan to demonstrate some of their technology including an interactive software kiosk, at the Comdex/Fall trade show in Las Vegas later this month. They will also be meeting with resellers during the show to choose sites for initial pilot tests of the technology, a spokeswoman for IBM told Newsbytes.
IBM and Hughes said they plan to release details of the services they will offer in the first quarter of 1995. By the end of next year, the spokeswoman said, IBM hopes to be doing about 80 percent of its software updates by satellite connection.
Jim Lutz, director of business strategy in IBM's software manufacturing solutions unit in Somers, told Newsbytes IBM already delivers software updates over the Advantis network that the company runs with Sears.
As far as direct delivery to customers is concerned, the emphasis at first will be on large organizations, Lutz said, but IBM believes the idea could be economical even for fairly small businesses. A customer could use an existing Hughes-supplied VSAT (very small aperture terminal) dish to receive software as well as for other purposes, he added.
While direct satellite connections to customers could in theory reduce the role of resellers, IBM claimed it plans to work with resellers and maintain their involvement. "We are not going to go around the corporate reseller," Lutz said.
According to officials of both companies, the alliance brings together Hughes' satellite prowess, which includes a 65 percent market share in VSAT satellite networks worldwide and more than 70,000 VSAT terminals installed, with IBM's prominence in the software industry, central data repositories of some 10,000 IBM and non-IBM software products, and interactive kiosk technology.
The concept of downloading software direct to an interactive kiosk resembles an idea for music sales that officials of Kaleida, IBM's multimedia joint venture with Apple, have discussed in public presentations. Kaleida has focused on creating instant audio compact disks for customers, thus allowing music stores to offer theoretically unlimited selections. However, Kaleida is not involved directly in this project, Lutz said.
If downloaded software is copied to CD-ROM disks, documentation can also be placed on the disks, Lutz noted. If diskettes are used, simple documentation can be printed separately at the point of sale. This approach would work for games and other products that do not require large manuals, while resellers might have to stock manuals for more complex programs or deliver all documentation on CD-ROM.
(Grant Buckler/19941102/Press Contact: Rick Bause, IBM 914-766-1750, Internet e-mail rickb@vnet.ibm.com; Judy Blake Hughes Network Systems, 301-428-7113)
m; Judy Blake Hughes Network Systems, 301-428-7113)
11/2/94
IBM & Hughes Plan Satellite Software Distribution
BROADCAST
Newbridge & InSoft Tackle Videoc
KANATA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Newbridge Networks Corp. (TSE:NNC; NYSE:NN), and InSoft, Inc., of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, have announced a joint development agreement to adapt InSoft's desktop videoconferencing software to integrated asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networking.
InSoft's Communique! and OpenDVE products have until now worked on networks that supported Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), company spokeswoman Kate Sellers told Newsbytes. This included networks with TCP/IP running over ATM. However, the deal with Newbridge marks the first time InSoft will provide integrated ATM support.
The companies expect to deliver the first products resulting from their alliance by the middle of 1995, Sellers said. Customers will be able to deal with either InSoft or Newbridge to put together ATM-based desktop videoconferencing systems, rather than buying separate pieces from each company and integrating them themselves, she added.
InSoft's Communique! is a ready-to-use desktop videoconferencing system sold directly to business users. The company's OpenDVE is a development environment which corporate and third-party developers and systems integrators can use to develop applications with built-in collaboration and conferencing.
The alliance will build on these products and on Newbridge's Video Voice Image Data (VIVID) ATM local area network (LAN) products. Communique! will be the first InSoft product released with integrated ATM support, officials said.
Newbridge and InSoft said they will work together to optimize the interface between Newbridge's VIVID ATM Network Interface Cards and Communique!, which will improve performance of packet-based videoconferencing between desktop computers on Ethernet networks and those on ATM networks.
(Grant Buckler/19941102/Press Contact: Jim Marshall, Newbridge Networks, 613-591-3600; Keith Wimberley, InSoft, 717-730-9501; Public Contact: Newbridge, 613-591-3600; InSoft, tel 717-730-9501 fax 717-730-9504)
591-3600; InSoft, tel 717-730-9501 fax 717-730-9504)
11/2/94
Newbridge & InSoft Tackle Videoconferencing On ATM
TELECOM
Concentric Network Low-Cost BBS/
BAY CITY, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Concentric Research Corp. (CRC) has launched the Concentric Network online service pledging to "revolutionize" the way Americans access online information. The network starts with $30-per-month unlimited access to CRIS (Concentric Research Information Service), the Internet, and 30 of the top US BBSs (bulletin board systems).
The flat fee, which the firm describes as "a dollar a day," covers only the long distance call. Memberships on the called BBSs will remain a matter between the caller and the system operator (sysop). However, the dollar-a-day long distance access charge is expected to be a powerful inducement to BBSs with large long distance user bases to promote the "BBS Direct" portion of the new network according to CRC executives.
CRIS uses AT&T's InterSpan frame relay service for a backbone, but owns the network's frame relay connections and switches. All access points currently support 14.4 kbps (kilobits-per-second) connections, and the firm says it will support V.34 28.8 kbps links by the end of January, 1995.
In a phone-in news conference, Marc Collins-Rector, CRC's president and chief executive officer, said the venture is initially targeting 282,000 long-distance BBS callers who log at least 10 hours a month. He acknowledged the potential of large local user bases as well commenting, "As we roll out the product further, we'll be adding large local BBSs as well."
He said the initial criteria for link-up of BBSs are the number of long distance users, preferably at least 1,000 who use the system 10 hours or more a month, the size of the local market, and the diversity and quality of its content.
In a separate conversation with Newsbytes, CRC spokesperson Kristine Loosley said that of the system's current 30 BBSs, the most popular on day one was Channel 1 of Cambridge, Massachusetts: "Its ports were filled up the first day, right out of the gate. It was incredible."
She added: "We are right now culling the lists of BBSs to pick the next 100 boards. We'll put those on within the next 18 months. The way our growth curve looks, there'll be a point at which we're putting on 10 boards a month."
Asked if there might not be an overkill point in terms of user exposure to BBS selections, she replied, "I don't know. The people who are our target customers initially are already calling BBSs. They're paying $110-$150 a month already, and we think it's kind of a no-brainer to say you should pay $30 a month instead of $150 a month to access your favorite board."
She noted that "unlimited access time" refers to the network, not to the member BBSs, which will adopt their own rules or time limits to avoid line jams and access problems.
The flat $30/month fee for access from supported metro areas effectively gives a nationwide reach to callers. CRIS sources estimated the equivalent cost for 10 hours of access by major carrier at around $150.
Users in rural areas can sign on by dialing a free 800 number but will be billed a flat $5 an hour, whether calling Boston or San Diego. The 800 access extends to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii, CRIS sources said.
Newsbytes notes that all major carriers have special plans for heavy users that can significantly lower the cost of 10 hours of direct access. None called by Newsbytes can match $30 for unlimited time or $5 an hour for 800 access -- especially not from locations outside the "lower 48" North American states.
The network's Internet gateway will accommodate point-and-click navigating tools like Mosaic, CRIS sources said. Customers can use the service to establish Internet SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) accounts. Customers who already have Internet access may log unlimited time on the Concentric Network for $10 a month, the firm said.
CRIS includes standard online information services like worldwide electronic-mail and teleconferencing. An agreement with Kesmai's Aries Gaming Service provides multiplayer games.
Said Marc Collins-Rector, president and chief executive officer of Concentric Research, "The premier members of our BBS Direct service are, as a group, the finest systems in the country. The information and services on these BBSs cannot be found anywhere else."
The Concentric Network uses proprietary software developed by CRC running on Racal-Datacom hardware. Concentric installed dedicated Racal-Datacom equipment at each of the 30 BBS link sites. The firm says it is looking for additional ways to use the Concentric Network, including development of private corporate forums and connectivity solutions for business.
(Craig Menefee/19941102/Press Contact: Kristine Loosley, Concentric Research, 517-895-0500, Internet e-mail kloosley@cris.com; Reader Contact: voice, 800-745-2747, data 800-991-4227)
r Contact: voice, 800-745-2747, data 800-991-4227)
11/2/94
Concentric Network Low-Cost BBS/Internet Service
ONLINE
AOL's Home Shopping, Home Delive
b VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- America Online (AOL) (NASDAQ: AMER) has joined with Shoppers Express to launch an interactive local home delivery service. AOL subscribers can now order local supermarket and drug store items, including prescriptions, around the clock, seven days a week, and have them delivered to their homes or offices.
AOL sources said the selection includes more than 10,000 products from perishables and other groceries to prescriptions, health and beauty, and other items. Payments are made by personal checks credit cards, or approved insurance plans for prescription orders.
Shoppers Express spokesperson Jodi Searing told Newsbytes the service is currently expanding. "Right now, we're linked with about 40 large retailers and we're starting to work with mass merchants as well. We just made an announcement with K-Mart, in Phoenix, for example," she said, adding, "We'd love to have retailers in every market across the country. Right now we're in about 200 cities."
Searing said the affiliation with AOL is just the first of several planned. "We wanted to get the service up and running on one online network first," she explained. "From there we can expand."
She said the firm has a letter of agreement with CompuServe and will be rolling out the service on that network in the first quarter of 1995. Discussions are going on with other networks including Prodigy, but nothing definite is in place yet, she added.
The firm uses trained buyers to make a customer's selections, which then are delivered the same day, Monday through Friday, in the afternoon or evening. A press release cited Safeway, Kroger, Winn Dixie Stores, Vons, and Eckerd Drugs as among the network's major retailers.
To find out if a given area is served by Shoppers Express, an AOL subscribers enters the local zip code. If the ZIP code has "hit," the caller can then access local retailer order forms online.
Shoppers Express, based in Bethesda, Maryland, currently operates in 28 states and the District of Columbia. The firm recently announced a merger with ShopperVision Inc., which publishes three-dimensional store simulators for interactive shopping.
(Craig Menefee/19941102/Press Contact: Pam McGraw, America Online, 703-556-3746; or Jodi Searing, Shoppers Express 301-229-2700; Reader Contact America Online, 800-827 6364/AOL941102/PHOTO)
merica Online, 800-827 6364/AOL941102/PHOTO)
11/2/94
AOL's Home Shopping, Home Delivery Service
ONLINE
Telecom Italia To Spin-Off Cellp
ROME, ITALY, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Telecom Italia has announced it will spin-off its mobile telecoms division into a separate limited company which will be quoted on the Italian stock market.
According to officials with Telecom Italia, the shares in the new company will not be sold off to raise more cash for the telecoms firm, but will instead be assigned to shareholders in Telecom Italia on a pro rata basis.
Telecoms analysts in Italy have applauded this decision, noting that the formal share split will take place in May/June of next year when the then 1994/95 accounts (April to March) will be agreed by shareholders at the annual meeting. The company intends to put the share split and new company formation to the vote at that meeting.
Telecom Italia is not saying why it intends to spin-off the mobile phone business, but industry experts suggest that the possibility of a similar move by Olivetti, which was recently granted a license for Italy's second mobile phone network.
Olivetti is already in the process of forming a new company, known as Omnitel, in conjunction with several of its Italian technology partners. Omnitel will be the company that provides the cellular network in Italy and, with the formation of the new company, it is expected that Omnitel will shortly start signing up dealers to handle airtime contracts later this year.
DUBLIN, IRELAND, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Gateway 2000, a direct sell PC vendor, has announced it is offering a variety of Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers -- including the Laserjet 4L, the Deskjet 560C color and the Deskjet 420 -- on a bundling basis with its family of PCs. At the same time, Gateway 2000 has announced plans to ship a 100 megahertz (MHz) Pentium system, the P5-100, later this year.
The bundling deals will be offered from Gateway 2000's Dublin headquarters into the German and UK markets where the company sells its machines on an "off the page" basis, using toll-free lines for sales and support back to Ireland.
Dick Randscott, HP's consumer products manager, said that the opening up of the Gateway sales channel is a new area for HP in terms of potential sales. "It extends our reach, providing more for the customer in the SOHO (small office/home office) marketplace," he said.
Pricing on the printers sold through Gateway 2000 is slightly below the "street price" for the three printers in the UK, Newsbytes notes. The Laserjet $l sells for UKP499 through Gateway, while the two Deskjets, the color and monochrome, sell for, respectively, UKP399 and UKP199.
The P5-100 Pentium-based system, meanwhile, will ship later this year into Gateway's UK and German markets. Pricing is expected to be around the UKP2,999 mark in the UK marketplace, Newsbytes was told. The machine will come with a 17-inch color monitor, an Ensoniq 16-bit wavetable sound card, CD-ROM drive, speakers, 16 megabytes (MB) of memory, and 2MB of video memory.
-867-0433; Internet e-mail 72662.551@compuserve.com)
11/2/94
Europe - Gateway 2000 Bundles HP Printers With PCs
European Commission Votes For Ne
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM,. 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- The European Commission (EC) has formally voted through a massive deregulation of the European telecoms marketplace. The move means that, from January 1, 1988, it will be illegal for any EC member country to offer mainstream telecoms services in a controlled market.
The new round of legislation effectively puts paid to any suggestion that member EC states can continue to offer telecoms services in any sort of a state-controlled monopoly-based marketplace.
According to officials with the EC, the legislation is the culmination of the second stage in telecoms deregulation that started in June of last year when representatives of the 17 member countries that make up the EC voted to phase out state controlled companies in the telecoms sector within four years.
Martin Bangemann, the EC's industry commissioner, said that the law will be formally approved at the EC's meetings next month and will effectively become law on January 1, 1995, although the legal teeth will have to wait a further three years before they become effective.
According to Bangemann, the new legislation will favor the telecoms user, who will get a better deal from telecoms services as a result of the removal of the state monopolies. "The information revolution has speeded up considerably," he said, adding that, as a result "economic as well as technical reasons require increasingly a rapid and efficient liberalization."
(Sylvia Dennis/19941102/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
er Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
11/2/94
European Commission Votes For New Telecom Laws
Novell Reorganizes Product Group
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) says it has reorganized its product groups "to better match its marketing and engineering talents with the company's current vision of computing in the future."
One of the changes is the creation of a new product group, the Information Access and Management Group (IAMG). The new organization will develop network software products Novell hopes will significantly expand the base of network users. "Novell's goal is to make access to networked information an integral part of everyone's daily life," according to Robert Frankenberg, Novell president and chief executive officer (CEO).
Heading the new product group will be Steve Markman, whom Frankenberg named IAMG executive vice president and general manager. Markman joins Novell from First Pacific Network, where he was vice president of engineering. He has also held the job of senior VP, network systems group at Network Equipment Technologies was the general manager of the Information Networks Division at Hewlett-Packard, and worked for AT&T Bell Laboratories, AT&T Information Systems and AT&T Communications. Markman holds a Ph.D. in electrophysics from Polytechnic University in New York.
IAMG will be headquartered in San Jose, California and is the fourth product group at Novell. The other product groups are the NetWare Systems Group, Unix Systems Group, and WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group.
IAMG will consist of five divisions: the Advanced Access Applications Division, Management Products Division, Network Infrastructure Division, Host Connectivity Division and Telephony Services Division. The Advanced Access Applications Division has the responsibility for the Mobile NetWare Client Initiative, Novell's name for synchronizing data used by mobile users with network data when the road warriors reconnect to a network. The division will provide point-and-click access to network services, electronic publishing tools Novell says will simplify creation and access to network-based information, and intelligent browsing capabilities for accessing distributed network resources.
The Management Products Division, in addition to developing distributed management services designed to lower the cost of administrating multi-vendor networks, is also responsible for developing Novell's server based electronic software distribution usage metering and billing capabilities.
The Network Infrastructure Division (NID) is responsible for NetWare Connect Services, Novell's system software for next generation public data networks the company says will significantly expand commercial and interpersonal network use. The division, working with AT&T and other telecommunications providers, is deploying a worldwide business-to-business internetwork, described by the company as "a secure commercial information highway." NID is integrating NetWare 4 directory capabilities, public key encryption security, wire area routing protocols and other system infrastructure for the public data network. NID is also responsible for remote dial-in network access, and multi-protocol router software.
(Jim Mallory/19941102/Press contact: Peter Troop, Novell 408-577-8361; Public contact: Novell, 801-429-7000 or 800-453-1267)
vell, 801-429-7000 or 800-453-1267)
11/2/94
Novell Reorganizes Product Groups
BUSINESS
Digital Wiretap Bill At White Ho
Unix Expo - IBM Intros & Upgrade
Czech Republic Commits To Teleco
Unix Expo - Clariion's GuardWare
Dell Cuts Pentium-Based Dimensio
IBM Japan Relocates 1,000 Staff
Document-To-Braille Process Deve
DEC Adds Graphical Virtual LAN C
UK - RAM Signs National Mobile R
Ziff Davis Empire Bids Due In 2
Systems Integration In Papua New
France Telecom Cuts Prices On GS
Phone Fraud Ringleader Pleads Gu
Sun To Bundle Lotus Notes Free W
Pacific CommWare Intros Comms Co
Secrets Of Stargate CD Premieres
Three Bells To Produce TV Shows
French Govt Gives Thumbs Up To I
Court Awards Microsoft $1M in Co
Correction - Bug Won't Delay War
IBM Announces Multimedia ThinkPa
Microsoft Coming To A Camera Sto
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced a promotion in conjunction with 2,400 camera specialty stores that lets you have the photographs you take stored on floppy or CD-ROM disk so you can use the images in a variety of ways on your personal computer, including Windows wallpaper.
Microsoft spokesperson Sue Barnes told Newsbytes all you have to do to get your own photographs put on disk is take 12 prints slides, negatives, Photo CD images, or a 24- or 36-exposure roll of undeveloped film to a Ritz Camera Center or Kits Cameras outlet.
Currently the program is being test marketed in Los Angeles Minneapolis, and Washington DC. The store will return the original images and a 3.5-inch floppy disk or Photo CD disk containing your pictures in one to two weeks.
You also get the Scenes engine on a separate disk. When installed on your personal computer the Scenes engine lets you load the images. Scenes Wizards on the disk let you customize the photos by creating a collection, adding headings or descriptions, choosing screen transition options and the order of display. The photos can be used as Windows wallpaper if you desire.
Barnes said the trial program will run until January 1995. If successful you can look for the program to expand to other photo processing outlets.
The cost for the Scenes engine, Wizards and getting the images on disk is approximately $24.95 for the floppy disk version and $29.95 for a Photo CD disk. You can also get an additional 12 prints put on the disk for $11.95. If you turn in undeveloped film you will receive the negatives, but the deal does not include prints, although those can be ordered from the photo finisher. Participating retailers will promote the program through counter cards and order form stuffers placed in developed film envelopes.
Microsoft Scenes Personal Collection is part of the Microsoft Scenes screen saver line announced by Microsoft in September. The collection includes Hollywood, Sierra Club Nature, Sierra Club wildlife, Undersea, Sports Extremes, Flight and Brain Twister images for use as screen savers.
Screen savers are programs that clear the static image from your computer monitor and display moving images. A stationary image left on the screen for an extended period can burn a ghost of that image into the surface of the monitor. Moving images avoid that problem. Many of the screen savers on the market, including those that come with Windows, use a single image of the users choice from those provided, but Microsoft Scenes lets you use all the images in the collection for variety.
(Jim Mallory/19941102/Press contact: Sue Barnes, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 408-986-1140; Public contact: Microsoft 800-434-4491)
1140; Public contact: Microsoft 800-434-4491)
11/2/94
Microsoft Coming To A Camera Store Near You
WINDOWS
Microsoft's Broadband Summit Mee
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- At what it called an Advanced Consumer Technology (ACT) Summit meeting, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) revealed its plans for an end-to-end approach to interactive broadband networks. Those in attendance represented many of the top players in a host of industries that will affected by the emerging technology.
During the meeting, Microsoft revealed commitments by major industry players to participate in system testing and development over the next 18 months. Other commitments among more than 100 represented companies were expected to fall into place during or after the Summit, sources told Newsbytes.
Support promised for the effort included the top 35 network operators in the world, Microsoft said. More support was promised by various personal computer firms, consumer electronics companies telecommunications firms, systems integrators, and hardware manufacturers, Microsoft said.
The Redmond-based software giant promised that outside firms committing to the project will receive early versions for testing to help smooth the way for later commercial deployment.
A source close to the summit told Newsbytes, "It's an exchange of information, not just an event where Microsoft stands at the podium and does half a dozen presentations. It's one where partners and companies will discuss how they see progress, how they see deployment happening in terms of hardware and software.
"They're talking about user interfaces, and tools, and what the broad architecture will be, and how online services will connect in," the source added. "In a way, it's really a huge planning session."
In broad terms, Microsoft said, its aim at the summit was to outline its software architecture and business model for fully switched digital broadband networks. The approach includes distributed operating system software to connect set-top boxes and personal computers with a wide variety of head-end services, continuous-media server software for delivering video on demand, and a core set of interactive system applications.
Microsoft says it will publish the interfaces widely and offer third-party developers the tools needed to create services applications and multimedia content for the platform.
There were a number of third-party commitments announced at the summit.
Systems integrators: Alcatel, Andersen Consulting, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., NTT Data Communications Systems Corp. and Olivetti will provide both testing and global deployment of the Microsoft broadband technology.
Network operators: Deutsche Telekom, Telstra Corp. of Australia and U S WEST Communications Inc. will test early versions of the interactive broadband-network solution in their labs. They join previously announced companies Rogers Cablesystems Limited, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. and SBC Communications in that capacity. As Microsoft completes technology-development milestones in its Seattle trials with Tele-Communications Inc., the company will give the network operators current versions of the software to test in their respective locations.
Set-top box providers: Hewlett-Packard Co. and NEC Corp. will develop Microsoft system-compatible set-top boxes, joining existing manufacturer General Instrument.
Continuous-media servers: NEC joins existing original equipment manufacturers Compaq Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. in building compatible servers.
Microsoft says it will hold additional ACT Summits in Asia and Europe during the first half of 1995. Deployment of the system is expected to begin in 1996, according to Microsoft.
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- The entire line of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) PowerPC-based and 68040-based Workgroup Server products is being discounted by as much as 11 percent in the U.S.
The lowest discount is six percent for Workgroup Server 9150 with 16 megabytes (MB) of memory, two 1 gigabyte (GB) hard disk drives a digital audio tape (DAT) drive, and a CD-ROM drive.
From the entry-level product, with a 6150 Server (8MB RAM, 500MB hard disk, and CD-ROM), to the top of the line with a Workgroup Server 95, the product line ranges $2,809 to $9,879. The 11% reduction applies to the entry-level server, two 8150 models and one 9150 model. Apple says prices for its Workgroup Server family outside of the US may vary from one location to the next.
Mike Murphy, editor of The California Technology Stock Letter told Newsbytes, "This reduction reflects Apple's position to remain competitive and respond to changes in the market. Compaq has recently reduced server prices and Apple's response to follow that move shows its determination to be responsive to the market and not get caught in premium pricing trends has it has in the past."
Murphy continued, "I believe that Apple will gain a stronger foothold in the corporate server market with the operating system licensing agreement expected to be announced at Comdex with Motorola, and when Apple, Motorola and IBM are able to announce a common hardware platform."
It is Murphy's opinion that, many of the Mac environments which network, are able to designate a Power Mac as a server, because their size is relatively small -- such as a graphics workgroup which would customarily be less than ten workstations. The success of the Workgroup Server series is dependent on a stronger share of larger corporate networked environments.
John McCreadie, spokesperson for Apple, said to Newsbytes, "We are very pleased with the sales performance of the PowerPC-based Workgroup Servers. It is our intention to develop a stronger share of the corporate market, but it is also important to know we have focused the server series on three key markets: the publishing industry, educational environments, and small- to mid-sized businesses. It is here we have had our success."
McCreadie pointed out that developers continue to produce more applications for the PowerPC platform. Those applications include both standard desktop applications and custom network software.
He also said, "We want to make sure people understand our Workgroup Server series is a complete solution which comes equipped with all the necessary software, as well as management and back-up features."
The prices listed by Apple reflect the company's "Apple Price" policy which lists the price at which Apple intends to sell one unit through its direct sales program.
(Patrick McKenna/19941102/Press Contact: John McCreadie Regis McKenna, 408-974-4398; Public Information: Apple 408-862-3385 or 800-538-9696; AppleLink e-mail ABS.NETINFO)
538-9696; AppleLink e-mail ABS.NETINFO)
11/2/94
Apple Cuts US Workgroup Server Prices
APPLE
Matsushita Neural Network Mimics
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric's Central Research Institute has developed a neural network which reproduces the human eye's functions. It is an application of a neuro model called "quantized neuron" and can perform a wide variety of recognition tasks, according to the company.
Engineers report that functions include character and pattern recognition, brightness correction, and detection of a three-dimensional structure's position. As an initial application, the company developed a visual processing system which supports reverse optical correction.
Matsushita is already using this new system in some products including a recently developed home-use video camera, and will look to apply it to factory automation with the aim of implementing it in an industrial robot in two to three years.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
o three years.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/2/94
Matsushita Neural Network Mimics Human Eye
TRENDS
Japan - Computer News Briefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- In today's look at headlines in computing from Japan, 4Mb DRAM prices remain high due to strong PC demand, NEC HE to release next-generation home game machine in December, CSK installing Lotus Notes groupware Ricoh to introduce two color image scanners
4Mb DRAM Prices Remain High Due To Strong PC Demand
The prices of 4 megabit (Mb) DRAMs continue to remain high, mainly due to strong demand for the devices for use in PCs resulting in tight supply. While prices at one time fell close to the 1,000 yen ($10.31) level, this year prices have remained stable at the 1,200-1,300 yen ($12.37-13.40) level. Meanwhile prices for 16Mb DRAMs have fallen from about 6,500 yen ($67.01) in May to 6,000 yen ($61.86) in August and now stand at about 5,000 yen ($51.55). EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) prices have also fallen due to an increase in imported products from Taiwan and the US.
NEC HE To Release Next-Generation Home Game Machine In December
NEC will, on December 9, release a next-generation home game machine which with an option unit will function as a CD-ROM drive for PC-98 Series PCs. The Pc-fx is powered by the 32-bit V810 RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) and compresses and expands video data according to the JPEG standard featuring 16.77 million colors. When the machine reaches the market, three software titles will be available. The company plans to introduce about 15 more titles by the summer of 1995. The price is set at 49,800 yen ($513). NEC is aiming to ship 500,000 units the first year.
CSK Installing Lotus Notes Groupware
CSK plans to install the Lotus Notes groupware throughout the company and will begin operating the system in January. The software enables sharing and circulation of documents over a LAN (local area network), and use of the system for electronic-mail decision making, and conferences is expected to raise efficiency. The number of registered users will reach 6,000, making it the largest Notes installation in Japan. The network will include 500 office PCs, 600 PCs installed at the homes of staff, 300 PCs used by engineers assigned to clients and 300 portable notebook PCs used by sales staff.
Ricoh To Introduce Two Color Image Scanners
Ricoh will introduce two color image scanners on November 14. The CS-600 is the smallest model for a scanner with 600 dots per-inch (dpi) resolution and lists at 129,800 yen ($1,338). The CS-400 features 400 dpi resolution and is priced at 99,800 yen ($1,029). Both measure 330 by 466 by 125 millimeters, and weigh 8.8 kilograms. Ricoh plans to sell 6,000 units annually.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/2/94
Japan - Computer News Briefs
GENERAL
Fujitsu Talks Mac OS Licensing;
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- Fujitsu is reportedly negotiating with Apple Computer over licensing of the Macintosh operating system. Apple has already licensed the OS to Pioneer and a deal with Fujitsu would greatly expand the potential size of the Macintosh market in Japan.
While Fujitsu stressed that no final agreement had yet been reached the two companies have enjoyed a close relationship over the past few years, collaborating in data transfer compatibility and application of the QuickTime standard.
Meanwhile, Fujitsu will ship on November 10 low-priced multimedia PCs, two FMV and five FM Towns II Series models. The FMV DeskPower is a DOS/V PC based on the 50 megahertz (MHz) Intel 486sx2 microprocessor, and its price tag of 238,000 yen ($2,454) includes a 15-inch built-in monitor, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, and a 420 megabyte (MB) hard disk drive. It also comes with pre-installed software, such as either a Windows version of the Ichitaro or Oasys word processing packages. The FMV 590Tsp is a mini-tower model based on the 90MHz Pentium chip and priced at 468,000 yen ($4,825). It also comes with a Windows accelerator and sound cards.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
rator and sound cards.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/2/94
Fujitsu Talks Mac OS Licensing; New Multimedia PCs
APPLE
Japan - 20 Mil Personal Handy Ph
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- MPT (The Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication) projects that the number of PHS (Personal Handy Phone) subscribers will reach 20 million ten years from now.
The ministry's PHS experiment evaluation group has issued a report that analyzes and evaluates PHS experiments that had been conducted in a number of cities across the country since last October.
According to the report, the subscriber base will expand to 38 million 15 years from the summer of 1995. when commercial PHS services are expected to be launched.
The equipment market will reach 1.3 trillion yen ($13.40 bil) in 2005 and 1.9 trillion yen ($19.59 bil) in 2010, says the report. Therefore, the economic impact of the new service is estimated at 10 trillion yen ($103.09 bil) in 2005 and 14 trillion yen ($144.33 bil) in 2010. In the area of employment, the PHS service will result in 38,000 new jobs in 2005 and 56,000 new jobs in 2010.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
ew jobs in 2010.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/2/94
Japan - 20 Mil Personal Handy Phones By 2004
TELECOM
Scan-By-Fax Is Low-Cost Scanner
Japan - Supercomputer Power For
Report - 5.52 Million Users Now
Japan - Computer News
TI Revenues, Earnings Reach All-
Telecon '94 - Rheingold Touts On
IBM Simplifies PC Line, Intros N
Spain - Telecom Rivals Join Forc
Star Data Completes Multipath In
Control Data - From Mainframes T
Micrografx Expands $99 Upgrade O
UK - PCMCIA Video Capture System
DEC, California Offer Election I
Hong Kong - Datapoint's Telephon
OneSource Launches CD/Notes - Co
UK Distributors For Spiderman Me
Microsoft To Acquire Mapping Sof
Caere's Updated PageKeeper Docum
Japan - 20 Mil Personal Handy Ph
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`$;$PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 2 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Correction - Bug Won't Delay Warp, IBM Says 11/02/94 OS/2 Warp can be installed on a personal computer with or without DOS and Microsoft Windows installed.
2 -> Fargo PrimeraPro Color Printer With PostScript 11/01/94 Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) has announced that the Fargo PrimeraPro dual-function dye-sublimation and wax thermal transfer color printer from Fargo Electronics Inc. is now available with additional support for Macintosh AppleTalk and Adobe PostScript Level 2.
3 -> New Zealand Gets On-line User Magazine 11/01/94 The Net is a new magazine which specializes in online communications and related fields. In a country with less than four million people, it has a creditable print run of 10,000 copies.
4 -> Canon Notejet Notebook/Printer Used By Celebs 11/01/94 Technology can make for some interesting bedfellows. For instance, Canon's NoteJet notebook computer that comes complete with a built-in inkjet printer, has become the favorite of some well-known personalities.
5 -> Microsoft Names Windows 95 User Support Firms 11/02/94 With the launch of Windows 95 still six months or more away, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has already named the companies that will provide customer support for the next version of its operating system and user interface software.
6 -> UK Govt Tells Police To Fight Crime With Technology 11/02/94 After years of allowing regional police authorities to set their own computer system plans, the British government has formally instructed the various police authorities around the UK to make full use of technology in their war against crime. The instructions are laid down in a new set of guidelines, known as the national blue-print for police IT (Information Technology), which have been issued this week.
7 -> UK - British Telecom Under Fire Over Call Identification 11/02/94 Several members of the press, and the telecoms industry generally have expressed doubts as to whether the benefits of Caller Line Identification (CLI) outweigh the disadvantages. Furthermore, many people are questioning whether British Telecom (BT) has given the public sufficient consultation over the implementation of CLI on ex-directory lines.
8 -> UK - Mercury Cuts Local Loop Telecom Prices 11/02/94 Just days after the start of a British Telecom (BT) ad campaign extolling the fact that a recent Coopers & Lybrand report found that BT call charges were a few percent cheaper than those of Mercury Communications Mercury has shuffled its call charges.
9 -> Software-Only Voice-Recognition Available 11/02/94 A Texas company has announced a software-only voice-recognition package that is designed primarily for service companies that provide voice-mail services. Voice Control Systems Inc. (AMEX:VPS) says it will ship its VRSoft program in the first quarter of 1995.
10 -> Beame & Whiteside Readies NetWare Links For Solaris 11/02/94 Beame & Whiteside Software Inc., will display at the Comdex/Fall show in Las Vegas this month software for connecting SunSoft Solaris systems with Novell NetWare local area networks (LANs).
11 -> Government Managers Get Piracy Lecture 11/02/94 Government information managers have attended a copyright infringement conference, reportedly the first of its kind targeted at such officials.
12 -> Prodigy Intros AstraNet Service On Internet WWW 11/02/94 In a teleconference, Prodigy launched AstraNet, an "independent service" on the Internet's World Wide Web (WWW) aimed at supplying content from Prodigy's Internet unit, Prodigy's content division, and third-party providers, plus "pointers" to outside Internet services.
13 -> DEC Expands Alpha AXP & VAX Storage Offerings 11/02/94 DEC has unveiled a range of new storage products for Alpha AXP and VAX systems that includes Digital's first HMS (hierarchical management system) for OpenVMS, in addition to new RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks), tape, and optical offerings.
14 -> IBM & Hughes Plan Satellite Software Distribution 11/02/94 IBM (NYSE:IBM) and the Hughes Network Systems unit of GM Hughes Electronics (NYSE:GMH) are getting together to distribute software by satellite. The two firms plan to use Hughes' newly announced DirecPC service to beam software to dealers and to interactive kiosks where consumers will be able to try out software, then have it copied to disks for purchase.
15 -> Newbridge & InSoft Tackle Videoconferencing On ATM 11/02/94 Newbridge Networks Corp. (TSE:NNC; NYSE:NN), and InSoft, Inc., of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, have announced a joint development agreement to adapt InSoft's desktop videoconferencing software to integrated asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networking.
16 -> ****Concentric Network Low-Cost BBS/Internet Service 11/02/94 Concentric Research Corp. (CRC) has launched the Concentric Network online service, pledging to "revolutionize" the way Americans access online information. The network starts with $30-per-month unlimited access to CRIS (Concentric Research Information Service), the Internet, and 30 of the top US BBSs (bulletin board systems).
17 -> AOL's Home Shopping, Home Delivery Service 11/02/94 America Online (AOL) (NASDAQ: AMER) has joined with Shoppers Express to launch an interactive local home delivery service. AOL subscribers can now order local supermarket and drug store items, including prescriptions around the clock, seven days a week, and have them delivered to their homes or offices.
18 -> Telecom Italia To Spin-Off Cellphone Unit 11/02/94 Telecom Italia has announced it will spin-off its mobile telecoms division into a separate limited company which will be quoted on the Italian stock market.
19 -> Europe - Gateway 2000 Bundles HP Printers With PCs 11/02/94 Gateway 2000, a direct sell PC vendor, has announced it is offering a variety of Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers -- including the Laserjet 4L the Deskjet 560C color and the Deskjet 420 -- on a bundling basis with its family of PCs. At the same time, Gateway 2000 has announced plans to ship a 100 megahertz (MHz) Pentium system, the P5-100, later this year.
20 -> European Commission Votes For New Telecom Laws 11/02/94 The European Commission (EC) has formally voted through a massive deregulation of the European telecoms marketplace. The move means that, from January 1, 1988, it will be illegal for any EC member country to offer mainstream telecoms services in a controlled market.
21 -> Novell Reorganizes Product Groups 11/02/94 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) says it has reorganized its product groups "to better match its marketing and engineering talents with the company's current vision of computing in the future."
22 -> Microsoft Coming To A Camera Store Near You 11/02/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced a promotion in conjunction with 2,400 camera specialty stores that lets you have the photographs you take stored on floppy or CD-ROM disk so you can use the images in a variety of ways on your personal computer, including Windows wallpaper.
23 -> ****Microsoft's Broadband "Summit Meeting" 11/02/94 At what it called an Advanced Consumer Technology (ACT) Summit meeting, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) revealed its plans for an end-to-end approach to interactive broadband networks. Those in attendance represented many of the top players in a host of industries that will affected by the emerging technology.
24 -> Apple Cuts US Workgroup Server Prices 11/02/94 The entire line of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) PowerPC-based and 68040-based Workgroup Server products is being discounted by as much as 11 percent in the U.S.
25 -> Siemens Next In Line For PowerPC 11/02/94 Siemens looks set to follow Toshiba in licensing the PowerPC RISC microprocessor architecture from IBM. The IBM/Toshiba deal, details of which remain confidential, allows Toshiba to design derivatives of the PowerPC processor for its own use.
26 -> Matsushita Neural Network Mimics Human Eye 11/02/94 Matsushita Electric's Central Research Institute has developed a neural network which reproduces the human eye's functions. It is an application of a neuro model called "quantized neuron" and can perform a wide variety of recognition tasks, according to the company.
27 -> Japan - Computer News Briefs 11/02/94 In today's look at headlines in computing from Japan, 4Mb DRAM prices remain high due to strong PC demand, NEC HE to release next-generation home game machine in December, CSK installing Lotus Notes groupware, Ricoh to introduce two color image scanners
28 -> Fujitsu Talks Mac OS Licensing; New Multimedia PCs 11/02/94 Fujitsu is reportedly negotiating with Apple Computer over licensing of the Macintosh operating system. Apple has already licensed the OS to Pioneer, and a deal with Fujitsu would greatly expand the potential size of the Macintosh market in Japan.
29 -> Japan - 20 Mil Personal Handy Phones By 2004 11/02/94 MPT (The Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication) projects that the number of PHS (Personal Handy Phone) subscribers will reach 20 million ten years from now.
(Ian Stokell/19941102)
(Ian Stokell/19941102)
11/2/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Micrografx Intros Snapgraphics 2
b RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Micrografx Inc. (NASDAQ:MGXI) has announced version 2.0 of its ABC Snapgraphics software for creating diagrams to include in presentations reports, and other documents.
Snapgraphics is designed to create organizational charts, flow charts, project timelines, and other diagrams. The new version includes a feature called Snapsteps that provides the user with step-by-step instructions on how to create diagrams, plus hints and shortcuts for creating and editing each type of diagram.
A new Template Gallery helps the user choose the type of diagram that will best communicate the idea they are trying to illustrate explains the best uses of each diagram type, and shows examples.
Version 2.0 of Snapgraphics has added some diagram-specific automations that enhance line routing and shape intelligence features.
David Wilson, Snapgraphics product manager, told Newsbytes those features include automatic routing of the lines that connect the shapes on the diagram so the lines do not cross. Wilson also said the lines can be connected at any of five points on the shape. "You have a little more control over where the line enters each shape," he told Newsbytes.
The new version of Snapgraphics is now integrated with other products in the ABC family so that files and shape palettes can be exchanged with ABC Flowcharter and ABC Toolkit. The program is also compatible with the applications in the Microsoft Office software collection (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access) so the tools and commands in Snapgraphics will be familiar to users of those applications. Support for OLE (object linking and embedding) 2.0 has also been added so you can create and edit diagrams within documents and presentations without exiting the program in use.
The company says ABC Snapgraphics 2.0 will ship by the end of November. It will have a suggested retail price of $99, but will carry an introductory price of $49.99 until the end of March, 1995.
To run Snapgraphics 2.0 you need at least a 386-powered PC, two megabytes (MB) of memory (Micrografx recommends 4MB), 8MB of available hard disk space for a full installation, at least a VGA display, Windows 3.1, and a mouse.
(Jim Mallory/19941102/Press contact: Katrina Krebs, Micrografx 214-994-6247; Public contact: Micrografx, 800-357-7239 or 214-234-1769/SNAPGRPH941102/PHOTO)
0-357-7239 or 214-234-1769/SNAPGRPH941102/PHOTO)
11/3/94
Micrografx Intros Snapgraphics 2.0 For Windows
WINDOWS
Apple/IBM May Reach Agree't Mond
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- According to a story written by Associated Press business reporter Evan Ramstad, Monday is rumored to be the big day when Apple Computer Inc., and IBM Corporation will announce an historic licensing agreement calling for IBM to build PowerPC-based computers that would also run the Macintosh operating system.
The new computers, according to the report, will use the PowerPC microprocessor co-developed with Motorola Inc. and will be able to run existing IBM and Apple software.
Both companies have no comment on this latest report.
The Fall COMDEX show in Las Vegas, starting November 14, was previously rumored to be the venue for any Apple licensing announcements.
(Nick Anis/19941104)
ouncements.
(Nick Anis/19941104)
11/4/94
Apple/IBM May Reach Agree't Monday
APPLE
each sha
Multimedia Kiosks Used In Califo
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Kathleen Brown's campaign to become California's first woman Governor is using high-tech multimedia kiosks to spread the candidate's message. Three kiosks are already placed and running a menu-driven program which lets users pick and choose the candidate's responses to campaign issues and propositions, as well as the full one hour debate with her rival, Republican Governor Pete Wilson.
The Kathleen Brown for Governor Multimedia Kiosks, as they are called, use text, graphics, animation, sound, music, and video to deliver the challenger's messages. Interestingly, the placement of the kiosks indicates an attempt to reach a younger audience, as the kiosk in Sacramento is placed in the original Tower Records store and the Los Angeles area kiosk is placed in a bistro, called Book & Bean.
The third kiosk, to be placed in the San Francisco Bay Area, is being viewed by campaign officials today in Emeryville, California.
The kiosks use a Macintosh Quadra 650 computer with a 14-inch touch-command screen. Apple's QuickTime 2.0 software provides the necessary technology for the video portions of the presentation.
Ross Gillanders, business development director of The HyperMedia Group, the company responsible for the development of the kiosks told Newsbytes, "Each kiosk costs about $2,000 and the cost of developing the software is $30,000. As a company, we would like to see this technology grow. We think this is an excellent opportunity for the public to see the power and capabilities of multimedia presentations."
The HyperMedia Group is not affiliated with the campaign other than its independent role in developing the kiosks and presentation. The company provides interactive multimedia services to computer business, government, and publishing communities.
Gillanders said these kiosks also offer individuals who have not had a chance to interact with computers, the opportunity to become exposed to technology in a very simple and easy way.
He said this is the first time the technology has been used in a governor's race and the assessment of its success has not been determined. At this time, the efforts have been devoted to getting the presentation to the public.
Democrat Kathleen Brown is currently trailing Governor Pete Wilson in the polls. This first trial run of the kiosks may be hampered by a limited exposure, as they are only being used in the final two weeks of the campaign.
(Patrick McKenna/19941102/Press Contact: Leora Broydo Thomas Associates, 415-325-6236; Public Information for Brown: 916-446-0232)
-325-6236; Public Information for Brown: 916-446-0232)
11/3/94
Multimedia Kiosks Used In California Governor's Race
UK - Truevision's Targa 2000 Win
X/Open's International User Surv
Spain - Telecom Privatization Sc
Spectrum Holobyte Ships 3 New Ga
Company Results Roundup
Anti-Piracy Enforcement Nets $5
Symantec & Stack In Helix Multim
Polaroid Announces New Digital F
GEnie's Full Internet Plans
MacWorld - Bryce Landscape Prgm
Intel Exec Joins National Academ
Quarterdeck's CleanSweep Windows
Microsoft 1Qtr Revenues Up 27%
Philippines - BSA Wins Software
UK - Pipex Readies Pipex Solo In
Adobe TextureMaker For Mac, Powe
Amnesty International Interactiv
No Money Up Front If Next & Micr
Canadian Firm Launches Free-Form
Multimedia Kiosks Used In Califo
Micrografx Intros Snapgraphics 2
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- By John Hastings. The value of many used computers will drop dramatically during the next year due to memory requirements of new operating system software. Many older computers cannot be economically upgraded beyond four megabytes (MB) of RAM.
While the new system software from Microsoft and Apple can theoretically work within 4MB, most experts agree that 8MB is a realistic minimum and most users will want to expand to 16MB. The older computers that are incapable of this expansion will quickly fade away. In addition, new software is requiring larger capacity hard drives than ever before.
Two years ago, an 80MB hard drive was considered adequate. Today, most consider 200MB as a realistic minimum. Next year most new computers will be equipped with hard drives of more than 400MB of capacity. This inflation of capacity creates the deflation of value in older computers.
Fortunately, prices have fallen to the point that these capacities are affordable today. This demonstrates the flawed logic of those who want to buy tomorrow's computer today. Most experts advise purchasing the least computer required to do today's work and moving up only when prices fall to reasonable levels. Even upgradable processors have not lived up to expectations. Intel's new Pentium OverDrive upgrade for 486 computers will be available soon. Early tests show it is only 10 percent faster than the top 486 computers currently available.
John Hastings is the president of the American Computer Exchange. Since 1988, the American Computer Exchange has matched buyers and sellers of used microcomputers. For more information contact the American Computer Exchange at 800-786-0717.
The AmCoEx Index of Used Computer Prices
The following prices are for October 31, 1994.
Average Average
Buyer's Seller's
Machine Bid Ask Close Change($)
IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB $400 $675 $450 -$25
IBM PS/1 486DX2/50 253MB 1125 1450 1125 ..
IBM PS/2 Model 90 160MB 1200 1600 1300 ..
IBM ThinkPad 350C 1900 2400 2150 ..
IBM ThinkPad 700 1000 1700 1275 +25
IBM ThinkPad 720 1600 2000 1725 ..
AST 486SX/25 170MB 700 1250 900 -25
AST 486DX/66 340MB 1350 1900 1400 -50
Dell 386/33, 100MB 600 1000 725 ..
Dell 486DX/33 240MB 850 1500 1150 -25
Gateway 386/25, 80MB 400 800 600 ..
Gateway 486/33 120MB 800 1200 975 ..
Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB 500 900 725 -25
Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA 450 900 650 ..
Clone 486/25 120MB, VGA 700 1200 975 +25
Clone 486DX/33 240MB 800 1425 1175 ..
Compaq LTE 286 40MB 300 675 475 -50
Compaq Contura 320 60MB 500 1000 925 ..
Compaq Contura 4/25 120MB 1100 1600 1175 -25
Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB 500 800 650 +50
Compaq Deskpro 486/33 120MB 1100 1650 1200 -50
Mac Classic II 80MB 400 800 500 +50
Mac IIsi 160MB 600 900 675 -25
Macintosh IIcx 80MB 400 700 425 -25
Macintosh IIci 80MB 600 950 650 ..
Macintosh IIfx 80MB 700 1250 875 ..
Mac Quadra 700 230MB 1100 1600 1325 -50
Mac Quadra 800 500MB 2150 2900 2275 ..
PowerBook 140 40MB 700 1100 875 ..
PowerBook 170 40MB 800 1350 1100 ..
PowerBook 180 80MB 1200 1700 1650 +50
LaserWriterPro 630 1500 1975 1550 -25
Toshiba 1900 120M 1000 1700 1000 -50
Toshiba 3200 SXC, 120MB 1850 2950 2200 -50
Toshiba 3300SL 120MB 1050 1600 1125 ..
Toshiba 5200 100MB 850 1250 900 ..
HP LaserJet II 350 850 575 -25
HP LaserJet IIIP 350 950 500 ..
HP LaserJet III 650 1000 725 +25
HP LaserJet IV 900 1300 1000 ..
(AMCOEX/19941102)
00 1000 ..
(AMCOEX/19941102)
11/3/94
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
GENERAL
European Telecom News Briefs
C LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Here are some short items hailing from Europe's high-tech telecommunications industries: British firm heads up multimedia PDA team; FTMI Telecom stake in Moscow; Western groups sign Russian telecoms deal.
British Firm Heads Up Multimedia PDA Team
Cambridge Consultants Ltd. (CCL), the British consultant designer is putting together an international consortium with the aim of developing an advanced personal digital assistant in three to five years. CCL has already built a prototype of the device, which will operate as, amongst other things, a still and video camera, a personal organizer, a mobile phone, and video phone. CCL explained that not all the components have been integrated into the prototype but they largely know how it could be done. They are saying to manufacturers, this is what will be possible in three to five years time.
FTMI Telecom Stake In Moscow
France Telecom has bought an 11 percent interest in MTS, the Moscow GSM operator, from Deutsche Bundespost. France Telecom Mobiles International (FTMI) will join the MTS consortium with the share acquired from DeTeMobil (DTM). The main shareholders in MTS are now DTM with 26 percent, FTMI with 11 percent, and a group of Russian partners with 51 percent. MTS holds an exclusive 10-year license to operate a GSM mobile telephone service in Moscow and plans to invest $90 million in the system. The market is estimated at 50,000 subscribers with 2,000 already registered.
Western Groups Sign Russian Telecoms Deal
France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and US West have signed a memorandum of understanding with Russian partners to develop Russia's long distance telephone network. The initial investment to launch the project will be only "several hundred million" dollars, but the Russian ministry of communications believes it could lead to a total investment of $40 billion over the next decade. It will be channeled through a joint venture company. Meanwhile, AT&T has signed an agreement with three Russian operators to upgrade Moscow's telecoms network, providing 400,000 new phone lines. Analysts believe these investments and others announced in recent months, although significant, fall far short of the level required to provide Russia with a modern telecoms network by the turn of the century.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/3/94
European Telecom News Briefs
TELECOM
Korea - Computer News Briefs
SEOUL, KOREA, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- In today's look at the top technology news from Korea, Korea's investment in semiconductor industry leads the world, Korea succeeding in software copyright protection, advance of US Walt Disney And CIC imminent one out of nine Koreans possessing pager.
Korea's Investment In Semiconductor Industry Leads The World
While the Asia and Pacific area share of the world DRAM market continuously grew to 24.8%, that of Japan and North America decreased to 48.3% and 15.8% last year, a 5.2% and a 2.4% decrease from 1992, respectively. Goldstar and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. invested $800 million and $1 billion this year, a 100% and a 59% increase from last year. Hitachi invested $954 million, ranking after Samsung this year and Fujitsu and NEC invested $924 million and $845 million respectively.
Korea Succeeding In Software Copyright Protection
According to a report by the BSA (Business Software Association), Korea has successfully protected software copyrights by reinforcing computer protection laws since last December. The report emphasized that penalties for software copyright infringement have been increased to as much as $37,500 from $7,750 and added that the US industry suffers an annual average $12 billion loss from such infringements. Infringement accounts for $646 million, 78% of the entire software market in Korea, $1.961 billion, 80% of the entire Japanese market, and $596 million, 94% of the entire Chinese market.
Advance Of US Walt Disney And CIC Imminent
As video and film title suppliers like Walt Disney of the US are hurrying to advance into Korea, domestic multimedia title manufacturers are in a state of anxiety. The advance of companies possessing copyrights for most of the famous films is presumed to strike a blow against domestic companies comparatively vulnerable in their technology and copyrights. Domestic companies like LG Media, Seoul Recording Inc., and Oasis are actively manufacturing video titles to prepare for the foreign companies which are expected to directly supply videos and multimedia titles at low prices.
One Out Of Nine Koreans Possessing Pager
Pager subscribers surpassed five million in September. Out of the total, 3.182 million are subscribing to KMT (Korea Mobile Telecom). Pager subscribers totaled 2.5 million late last year and are expected to surpass 5.8 million by the end of this year. But the growth rate for new subscriptions is slowing down following other service companies which actively try to attract students and homemakers with various additional services.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/3/94
Korea - Computer News Briefs
GENERAL
Skyphone/Jetphone Technology Sho
Apple Takeover Unlikely, Motorol
Prodigy Changes Pricing, Adds Se
CD-ROM Expo - 7,500-Title Market
Nintendo Launches New Donkey Kon
Adaptec Intros 16-Bit ATAPI Soun
Sprint/French/German Telecoms Ve
Playing To Win Founder Wins Soci
Object Design Named Fastest Grow
Mindscape's Merriam-Webster's Di
Electronic Group To Look At Euro
US Robotics & Megahertz To Merge
DEC Intros SC-4600 SCSI RAID Con
Great Plains Toolkit Integrates
Gateway 2000 Intros 100MHz Penti
JetForm's Mac & OS/2 Upgrades, O
Microsoft Names Windows 95 User
German ISDN Sales Rocketing, Pri
European Telecom News Briefs
Software-Only Voice-Recognition
Korea - Computer News Briefs
Mexico - Technology News
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Here's a look at the top technology news in Mexico this week: printer technology developed in Mexico; MCI and Banacci announce joint venture in Mexico; Solidarity II reaches orbit.
Printer Technology Developed In Mexico
Hewlett-Packard announced two new products completely designed by Mexicans at HP's plant in Guadalajara. The products HP C3119A and HP C3760, are accessories for HP Laser Jet4V and 4MV paper trays. HP C3119A provides an additional source of paper (250 extra sheets) and allows two types of material (e.g. paper and transparencies) to be used with the HP Color LaserJet. The HP C3760 provides additional paper sources for multiple paper sizes and brings capacity from 350 sheets to 850. Both accessories will be manufactured in Germany and Japan, but supervision will remain in the hands of the Mexican engineers.
MCI & Banacci Announce Joint Venture In Mexico
MCI and Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival (Banacci) unveiled plans for a joint venture in Mexico to provide competitive telecommunications services. The new company, Avantel SA, will be based in Mexico City and will begin operations immediately. Avantel will administer Infratel, Banamex's private network that links over 250 cities. Ownership of the new company will be 55% Banacci and 45% MCI. Avantel's goal is to create fiber optic links throughout the country in the next six years, with a total network investment of up to $1.8 billion.
Solidarity II Reaches Orbit
The Mexican communications satellite, Solidarity II, hit its orbit and should be functional in November. Tests will carried out on Solidarity's communications, energy and orientation subsystems before it begins regular functions sometime in November. The Secretariat of Communications and Transport estimates that the cost of constructing and placing the satellite will be recouped in four years.
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
(Terry Silveria/19941102)
11/3/94
Mexico - Technology News
GENERAL
Correction - Floppies For Use By
IBM Canada To Resell Evergreen N
Intel Wins Big In AMD Chip Court
RasterOps, Truevision Bundle Acc
PC Designers Endorse Seagate's F
Prodigy Offers Internet Newsgrou
PDA Market To Eventually Get Goi
India - Siemens Establishes Soft
Computer Living Largest Launch I
Mitsubishi Prepares TVs For Onsc
Mindscape Intros Mario's Time Ma
Internet For Everyone In Saskatc
Avid Technology To Merge With Di
DEC Deal Smooths Novell Upgrades
Nintendo Ships Super Punch-Out!
High-Tech Trade Groups Launch Ch
Newbridge & InSoft Tackle Videoc
ATI Intros High-Speed Fax/Data M
Open Systems Intros Windows Acco
Fujitsu Talks Mac OS Licensing;
UK - Vodafone Unveils Super Prem
IBM Supercomputers Expand Into C
Cascade Adds Fault Tolerant Fram
WESTFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- To help banks protect financial transactions amidst a boom in client-server commercial banking applications, Cascade has added "fault tolerant frame relay" features to its B-STDX 9000 Multi-Service WAN (wide area network) Switch.
The three new features for the Cascade switch are designed to safeguard "mission critical" applications in IBM SNA (Systems Network Architecture) environments, explained Steve Kelly, product marketing manager, during an interview with Newsbytes. IBM's SNA "is what banks run their businesses on," Kelly told Newsbytes. IBM has stated its intentions to migrate SNA to ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) through frame relay, he noted.
"In addition, SNA managers are looking for an alternative to multiprotocol routing and leased lines for bringing client-server traffic -- as well as older bisynchronous protocols -- into the data center, without impacting SNA traffic," Newsbytes was told.
Client-server applications are cropping up quickly in the commercial banking arena, Kelly said. "Mortgage origination" applications are one example. Bisynchronous protocols remain prevalent for supporting automated teller machines, he added.
Cascade's B-STDX 9000 switches support frame relay, as well as the ATM and SMDS (switched multimegabit data service) transport protocols.
"One of the attractive things about frame relay is that it offers more built-in reliability than leased lines. We've added a few new features to our switch that maximize this inherent reliability to the point of creating a `fault-tolerant frame relay network,'" Kelly contended.
Frame relay permits managers to define multiple PVCs (permanent virtual circuits) in software, he said. One PVC might be defined for SNA, one for client-server traffic, and another for bisynchronous protocols, for instance. "The alternative to have three or four or five separate networks. And that's too expensive," he asserted.
Also through frame relay, managers can also assign varying "qualities of service," he maintained. "You might set things up so that the PVC for client-server traffic always yields to SNA."
"Dynamic rerouting" is one of frame relay's "fault tolerant" characteristics, according to Kelly. "If you lose a trunk on the network, the PVCs are automatically rerouted to different trunks." In contrast, when a leased line goes down, the leased line must be manually rerouted, he explained.
Two of the new capabilities for Cascade's B-STDX 9000 switch Fault Tolerant PVC and Fault Tolerant Trunking -- are being integrated into the B-STDX 9000 software, Kelly said.
The third new feature is an optional piece of hardware: the ISDN (integrated services digital network) PRI (Primary Rate Interface) Fault Tolerant PVC I/O (input/output) Module.
Fault Tolerant PVC is the "most significant" of the three enhancements, according to Kelly. The new software feature provides "automatic failover" to a designated set of backup ports on the B-STDX 9000, rerouting all affected frame relay circuits from a failed data center to a backup data center.
"Banks are criminally liable if a data center is lost and operations are disrupted as a result," the Cascade exec told Newsbytes. "Without this capability, you would need to have a second circuit to the backup data center from every site. And that would be very cumbersome and costly."
Fault Tolerant Trunking, the other new software feature, permits the B-STDX 9000 to automatically establish a backup trunk, and to reroute all circuits to the backup trunk in the event of failure he said. The rerouting process uses two terminal adapters that place a switched call over an ISDN network.
The new ISDN PRI IO Module is a four-port hardware module for "access failure recovery," according to Kelly. If a branch location loses access to the primary frame relay connection, an ISDN dial backup call is automatically placed to another Cascade switch.
The new features for Cascade's B-STDX 9000 switch are slated to start appearing this month. All features are expected to be available by February, 1995.
Cascade is also looking at migrating the fault tolerance enhancements "to other technologies, aside from frame relay and to other environments," Kelly said.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941102/Reader Contact: Cascade, 508-692-0700; Press Contact: Joyce Radnor, Cascade, 508-692-2600 ext 257; Joann Anderson or Lisa Spellman, Copithorne & Bellows for Cascade 617-252-0606)
Spellman, Copithorne & Bellows for Cascade 617-252-0606)
11/3/94
Cascade Adds Fault Tolerant Frame Relay To WAN Switch
NETWORK
Boca's $199 Hybrid PC Multimedia
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Boca Research Inc. (NASDAQ:BOCI) has announced a do-everything multimedia and communications card that will retail below $200.
The SoundExpression 14.4VSp board can serve as: a 14.4 kbps (kilobits-per-second) fax-modem; a PC-based voice-mail center; a speaker phone; a SoundBlaster-compatible 16-bit stereo sound card; and a controller interface for most current CD-ROM drives.
The full-length ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) board lists for $199, but Boca sources told Newsbytes the street price should be closer to $179. Boca says the card is just the first of a new line of "multimedia/communications products."
In an interview, Bruce Roegiers, Boca's director of marketing and corporate product planning, said the new product is aimed at both business and home offices, with a small additional marketing spin toward home multimedia entertainment use.
"With home use, it's good for the games. For business and home offices, it provides all the phone control and multimedia capabilities you could need. You have the full CD-quality stereo sound, you have the interfaces for CD-ROM drives, and it gives you a total multimedia upgrade solution for your PC," he said.
The card carries four CD-ROM interfaces, one each for Sony Mitsumi, Panasonic and the new IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) CD-ROM drives, Roegiers said, adding that those are the drives inside almost all brands of multimedia systems now on the market.
"With four CD-ROM interfaces, you won't have to shop around for a compatible drive, or worry whether your current drive will work," Roegiers explained. "Virtually any drive will work on it."
The card does not come with its own speakers or microphone. Roegiers noted that many users already have speakers, and Boca decided to go for greater flexibility and a lower street price rather than making people buy the complete system. He added that the card has jacks for amplified external speakers, plus two four-watt amplified channels for unamplified speakers.
"Not many systems give you the option for either type of speaker," Roegiers added.
According to Roegiers, the board has enough on-board power for fully concurrent operation. "You can be receiving a fax while you play Doom, and it won't even blip the screen," he said.
When a voice call comes in, the card distinguishes between fax data, or voice origination. For voice calls, the included software pops a small box onto the screen to let the user choose between phone, speaker phone, or voice-mail response. If the user does nothing, the card defaults to voice-mail.
Users can balance fidelity against file size by adjusting the sampling rate, and built-in data compression further reduces the demand on hard drive real estate. The provided software also lets a user set a maximum storage area and limit the length of incoming messages, the firm said.
As a sound card, the device lets a user record and playback WAV files with up to 44.1 kilohertz (KHz) CD quality audio sampling rate. It also offers FM synthesis and MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) MPU-401 UART (universal asynchronous receiver transmitter) support to play, record and compose music using external digital instruments, such as a keyboard. It also includes a joystick/game port for entertainment use.
The voice-mail features 1,000 password protected mailboxes. Users can access new or old messages and faxes or record or change a personal greeting remotely, set pager notification of received messages and faxes, or specify message forwarding.
The "hands-free" speaker phone interface uses the system's external microphone and speakers to operated. A graphical interface depicts the telephone functions including a virtual keypad and single-click autodialing or "speed dialing" of frequently dialed numbers.
The 14.4 kbps V.32bis data/fax modem includes V.42bis/MNP5 data compression for throughput up to 57.6 kbps, and V.42/MNP2-4 for hardware error control. Fax features include direct faxing broadcast faxing, fax forwarding, automatic cover sheet, on-screen viewing, automatic redial, scheduled faxing, and a phone book for easy access to pre-selected phone numbers, Boca said.
(Craig Menefee/19941103/Press Contact: Gale Blackburn, Boca Research Inc., tel 407-997-8621 ext 305, fax 407-997-0918; Reader Contact: Boca Research, tel 407-997-6227, fax 407-997-0918)
Research, tel 407-997-6227, fax 407-997-0918)
11/3/94
Boca's $199 Hybrid PC Multimedia/Comms Card
New MPC Notebooks To Use C&T's G
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Panasonic has announced that it is incorporating a flat panel/cathode ray tube (CRT) graphics accelerator chip produced by Chips & Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHPS) into their family of portable computers that features an internal full-sized CD-ROM for multimedia applications.
The 65545 is the flagship product of Chips & Technologies' family of flat panel graphics devices. According to the company it is designed to bring higher level graphics performance and multimedia capabilities to portable PCs.
The new 2.25-inch tall Panasonic V41, is reportedly the smallest notebook PC on the market so far to have an integrated CD-ROM. The Panasonic V41 computers are available in several 486-based configurations. Each of the V41 models support high-level graphics and multimedia applications through a striking 10.4-inch 65K color active matrix screen, as well as through 16-bit stereo sound.
The internal, double speed CD-ROM player supports not only 12 centimeter (cm) and 8 cm CD-ROMs, but also multi-session Kodak PhotoCD and audio CD formats. According to Panasonic, these computers are especially designed for professionals who need sophisticated graphic presentations, computer-aided design, video capture, and high-speed data storage retrieval on the road.
Sources at Panasonic told Newsbytes the Chips 65545 device was chosen because of its extensive multimedia capabilities for portable computers.
Speaking to Newsbytes, John Meaney, Panasonic Personal Computer Company's director of marketing, said: "We chose the Chips 65545 not just because it is the most powerful controller of its kind on the market, but because of its superior display quality and video overlay capability. No other chip on the market equals its accelerated graphics performance, video overlay, low power consumption and support of the latest display technologies in a portable format. With the 65545 we didn't have to make any compromises."
Launched in May, 1994, the 65545 is claimed to be the world's first flat panel graphics display controller to offer both, an accelerated graphics engine, and a video port for overlay.
According to Meaney, on Panasonic V41's, high resolution CD-ROM based images can be displayed directly on screen as part of presentations, reports, and training exercises.
According to Abbas Tehrani, product marketing manager at Chips and Technologies, the 65545 already has been designed into the new NEC Versa M notebook computer, and its predecessors can be found in IBM, HP and Gateway portables, and in a custom version, in the Apple PowerBook.
"The result of all of this innovation," said Tehrani, "is a flexible graphics accelerator that's well-matched to the needs of the most innovative portable computer designers."
Tehrani told Newsbytes the device integrates a 32-bit BitBLT engine to offer the industry's highest performance for accelerated flat panel/CRT controllers, giving users the ability to quickly manipulate video, graphics, text and data. It supports a variety of display technologies including monochrome and color single scan and dual scan STN (supertwist nematic) and TFT (thin film transistor) active matrix displays.
Through a video port, the 65545 offers video overlay from CD-ROMs, TV tuners, camcorders, VCRs, laser disks and other video sources. Tehrani said this capability allows the capture and playback of video images used in a variety of multimedia applications.
The Chips 65545 is equipped with VGA-compatible BIOS (basic input/output system) along with high performance display drivers for Windows, Windows NT, and OS/2, with different color depths including high color and true color capabilities. The device also limits power consumption by supporting 3.3-volt or 5-volt operation.
(Nick Anis/19941031/Press Contact: Matthew Quint, Chips and Technologies Inc., Internet e-mail 72303.2734@compuserve.com)
gies Inc., Internet e-mail 72303.2734@compuserve.com)
11/3/94
New MPC Notebooks To Use C&T's Graphics Accelerator
CHIPS
IBM's New OS/2 Leaves Beta Stage
$19 Personal Income Tax Package
UK - Vodafone Buys Into French P
DEC PCI Adapters, Licenses FFDT
UK - MASE's Try Before You Buy L
IBM & Motorola Announce 64-Bit P
TI Researchers Increase Data Com
JD Power Desktop PC Study Lists
FCC Sets Phone-Cable Competition
Hong Kong - Networked Economy Co
Sanctuary Woods' Wordstuff Educa
Dell's Pentium PCs Offer 128-Bit
British GPT Wins Largest Telepoi
Key Tronic Returns To Profitabil
IBM & Hughes Plan Satellite Soft
UK Govt Tells Police To Fight Cr
UK - Confidence Returns In IT Re
Europe - Gateway 2000 Bundles HP
Electronic Documents Conference/
New Group Pushes Open TV Data St
Silicon Valley Directors Missing
British Telecom Bows To Pressure
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Bowing to intense media and telecoms industry pressure, British Telecom (BT) has put a hold on this weekend's planned implementation of Caller Line Identification (CLI).
According to BT, the services have been postponed until midnight on November 21, but Newsbytes sources suggest that is only a holding date and the likely date of implementation will probably stretch into next year, while the issues are discussed in depth.
In an official statement from BT this morning, BT said that the new services have proved popular with the 500,000 trialists, "who have been involved in extensive trials over a two year period. However despite extensive publicity, BT is disappointed that public awareness of the proposed services has lagged behind that achieved at the same stage of the successful trial in Edinburgh."
Commenting on the statement, Mike Biden, BT's sales and marketing director, said that, through the company's close consultations and monitoring of the product launch, "we know that in this case our customers are not yet ready for us to go live with these services. We need to do more to tell people what is going to happen."
According to Biden, caller display and call return (BT's name for CLI services) "rely on users sending callers' telephone numbers at the time they dial, and it's important that people remember this. These services remove the anonymity of phone calls as they allow the customer to know who is calling. It has many benefits and had proven to be a significant deterrent to hoax and malicious callers."
Biden went on to explain that the reason for the postponement is due to the fact that, "BT is sensitive to the fact that there are a few occasions when revealing the number of the caller could cause problems. To this end, we have been working very closely with the Samaritans and other members of the Telephone Helplines Group, who provide support and advice on matters such as drug abuse and child welfare."
He added: "Our customers need to know that they can stop their number from being sent by simply dialing 141 before the number or BT can arrange for the number to be withheld on all calls made from a particular line."
Richard Cox, a telecoms consultant with Mandarin Technology, with whom Newsbytes discussed the issues relating to CLI earlier this week, said that he was pleasantly surprised by BT's decision to postpone the start of CLI services. "I'm not against CLI, it's just that I want to see the service implemented properly and that everyone is aware of what the implications are," he told Newsbytes.
(Steve Gold/19941103/Press Contact: BT Corporate Newsroom 44-71-356-5360; Richard Cox, Mandarin Technology, 0973-311111 Internet e-mail richard@mandarin.com)
0973-311111 Internet e-mail richard@mandarin.com)
11/3/94
British Telecom Bows To Pressure, Holds Call ID
TELECOM
UK Firm Speeds Up Fax Bureau Ser
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) --- Xpedite Systems says it has upgraded its fax computer bureau network to support a fax bureau processing rate of more than 10,000 faxes per hour -- almost three per second -- from its offices in London and York.
The upgrade, which was completed recently at a cost of UKP150,000 to the company, allows customers to upload a common document template, merging data from an addressing list, according to Phil Allott, a spokesman for the company.
"Xpedite specializes in offering volume faxing facilities to businesses and, with the upgrade, can process as many faxes as customers require," Allott told Newsbytes. He added that the company's enhanced services are likely to be a major benefit to manufacturers distributors and retailers, as well as business users generally.
Per-fax prices start at 12 pence per fax for off-peak delivery, Allott said, claiming that, even with a PC fax card, a typical fax can cost up to 10 pence to send manually. "Having the Xpedite fax system handle the faxes is a lot more cost-effective," he said.
Ron Proctor, Xpedite's managing director, said that the UKP150,000 investment will mean that the company's fax customers can send out mass fax mailings "without any of the usual traumas associated with such tasks, whether by mail or by fax. This means that the sender can be confident that the information will be received by the right person. In addition, faxes can now contain confidential information that is only relevant to the recipient."
According to Proctor, many of the company's clients are communicating time-sensitive information but, "until now, have had to personalize the information by using a cover sheet or single address line. Our new solution eliminates this problem and consequently opens up new opportunities including the issuing of invoices, order confirmations, statement and reservations."
(Steve Gold/19941103/Press Contact: Phil Allott, Allott & Associates, tel +44-423-867264, fax +44-423-865665; Reader Contact: Xpedite Systems, +44-71-929-0718)
tact: Xpedite Systems, +44-71-929-0718)
11/3/94
UK Firm Speeds Up Fax Bureau Services
TELECOM
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UK - Confidence Returns In IT Re
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- The latest Computing Services & Software Association (CSA) survey of chief executives in the UK computer services industry claims to show that staff recruitment has taken off in recent months, following a period of relatively low growth over the last four years.
According to the CSA, for several years until 1989, staff numbers in typical CSA companies had been rising at around 14 percent per year. While slumping, due to the recession in the last few years, that rate of expansion returned during the third quarter of this year, during which time staff recruitment figures jumped significantly.
Rob Wirszycz, a spokesman for the CSA, explained that the same encouraging news is reflected by the rate of change of staff numbers in the information technology (IT) industry, which shows both the actual figures for the third quarter and forecast figures for the fourth quarter of 19984 at record rates for the 1990s.
According to the CSA, the news has been corroborated by the business confidence for company prospects in the year ahead, which shows that 81 percent of UK CEOs believe that their business will improve over the next 12 months.
"It means that the Chancellor's announcement of a 0.5 percent increase in interest rates which has occurred since the last quarterly survey has had no major adverse effect on business confidence in the computing services industry," CSA officials said.
The quarterly report from the CSA shows that the forecast growth of the IT sector is only very slight for the fourth quarter of this year despite the upward trend over the last few years and a record actual third quarter this year.
"However, this may be a seasonal effect -- contingency planning is also forecasting lower growth than most other sectors and it is not yet clear whether this is being affected by the reduced probability of IRA activity in the City of London and elsewhere," the survey notes.
Copies of the CSA's Quarterly Trend Survey are available on subscription from the CSA. Pricing depends on the size of the subscribing organization and the number of copies required.
(Steve Gold/19941103/Press & Reader Contact: CSA tel +44-71-405-2171, fax +44-404-4119)
ontact: CSA tel +44-71-405-2171, fax +44-404-4119)
11/3/04
UK - Confidence Returns In IT Recruitment Levels
TRENDS
Australia - HP Offers Horizon Re
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Computer and printer manufacturer Hewlett Packard has introduced a Windows-based information and pricing system for resellers. The diskette-based product will be distributed to each in the next two weeks.
Using proprietary compression techniques, HP Horizon includes numerous databases, desktop-published documents, and full-color photography on a single diskette. This includes printable price lists and dealer bulletins that were previously sent in printed form.
A Hewlett Packard spokesperson told Newsbytes that it chose the diskette and Microsoft Windows combination for Horizon as it is the most standard format that all dealers can access immediately without any adjustment to existing equipment.
The company added that dealers will no longer receive paper copies unless it is either an urgent request, dealer-specific, or dealer confidential.
There are more than 100 direct HP dealers in Australia and thousands who receive their product from distributors. HP told Newsbytes that "effective" communications with its widely dispersed dealers posed a unique challenge, and the delivery system would be continuously monitored.
According to HP, "Hard copy communications have become expensive time-consuming and less effective through a channel that is now technology based and driven. Increasing channel demand for electronic information has been indicated through a recent HP dealer survey and ongoing dealer feedback."
(Paul Zucker/19941028/Press contact: Adrian Weiss 61-3-272 2659/HORIZON941103/PHOTO)
rian Weiss 61-3-272 2659/HORIZON941103/PHOTO)
11/3/94
Australia - HP Offers Horizon Reseller Tool
BUSINESS
Internet Changes Foreseen
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- The Internet will go through some major changes in the next few years, but will emerge the better for it, according to a recent report from Forrester Research, Inc.
In its report entitled "Internet Adolescence," Forrester points out that the NSFnet network funded by the United States government is the backbone of the Internet in the US today. Regional operators can send traffic over the NSFnet at no cost. But the National Science Foundation plans to stop bankrolling the Internet as of April 30, 1995, and plans a transition to a commercially operated Internet.
Forrester predicts that national network operators, such as the existing PSI and UUNET, will step in to fill the gap. They will link their networks together, coordinate operations, and establish a settlement mechanism to compensate each other for the traffic they send over each other's networks.
The losers will be the regional networks, many of which have grown out of universities. Their small profit-margins may disappear when they start having to pay to send traffic outside their own territories, Forrester points out, and few of them have much capital or business know-how.
A few regional operators will make the transition to national commercial operators, Forrester says. Many others will disappear.
The good news in this, according to the research firm, is that after the shakeout the remaining operators will be carriers with the talent, capital, and margins needed to run a solid, reliable Internet, which is what business users are seeking.
Forrester said two thirds of the Fortune 1,000 firms it surveyed are already hooked up to the Internet, most with full-service connections. However, in most of those companies fewer than 10 percent of employees have access to the Net, and most of those are in technical areas. Businesses are worried about extending Internet access because of security concerns, performance problems, and hard-to-use software.
Those problems will be addressed, according to Forrester. Ways will be found to deal with security concerns. By the end of this year there will be shrink-wrapped software that allows easy browsing using the Mosaic graphical interface. Tool kits to allow safe financial transactions on the network will appear within two years. As a result, "the Internet will quickly spawn a market of grown-up, commercial-grade businesses," the report says.
(Grant Buckler/19941103/Press Contact: Katie Kelley, Forrester Research, tel 617-497-7090, fax 617-868-0577; Public Contact: Forrester Research, 617-497-7090)
ter Research, 617-497-7090)
11/3/94
Internet Changes Foreseen
ONLINE
UK - Vodafone Confirms Data Over
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, NOV 3 (NB) -- Vodafone has officially launched its data over GSM (global system for mobile) communications service.
As predicted previously by Newsbytes, the data over GSM facility is only available on an outgoing data basis. Incoming data and two-way fax image facilities will be launched before next spring, company officials told Newsbytes.
According to David Channing-Williams, Vodata's managing director (Vodata is the data division of Vodafone), the service is available to both Metrodigital and Eurodigital GSM subscribers of the Vodafone service in the UK.
Vodafone claims that the system supports digital data streams of up to 9,600 bits-per-second (bps). Plans call for the data services to be available on a "roamable" basis for other country GSM networks in the near future.
"We're delighted to be launching the UK's first GSM data services. We've already had a great deal of interest expressed in Vodafone Data and we have every reason to believe that this level will increase," Channing-Williams said.
According to Channing-Williams, GSM data is expected to become a dominant technology in the world's data comms marketplace. "GSM data provides a consistently reliable means of sending and receiving information while mobile. Eventually this will be the case from 60 or more countries worldwide," he said.
Effective immediately, any user of Vodafone's GSM services is able to make outgoing data calls using suitable equipment. Initially, only a Nokia PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card unit can be used injunction with a Nokia GSM handset but plans are in hand for other manufacturers to offer handset specific GSM data services.
Newsbytes notes that the PCMCIA card is the same type as that used on the Nokia Orange PCN-1800 Hutchison Orange digital PCN (personal communication network) service. Alex Mott, Nokia's marketing manager said that the card is the company's Cellular Data Card and that it will revolutionize the way users communicate with laptop computers.
"The card will allow all types of businesses to better utilize the Nokia mobile phones they have come to appreciate over the last nine years," he said, adding that he expects most users to exchange electronic-mail and access company LANs (local area networks) with the card.
Vodafone is charging standard voice tariffs for its data service except that, instead of the 60 second minimum plus 30 second time slices thereafter, the company charges for data calls in six second units with a 10 pence per call minimum.
The exception to this is the call charge for private wire circuit calls (where the destination is a private wire from the Vodafone network to a company), which us charged from 0.5 pence per minute during off-peak times.
(Steve Gold/19941103/Press & Reader Contact: Vodafone tel +44-635-33251, fax 44-635-503936)
ct: Vodafone tel +44-635-33251, fax 44-635-503936)
11/3/94
UK - Vodafone Confirms Data Over Digital Mobiles
TELECOM
Netherlands Telecom Firm To Cut
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Koninklikje PTT, the Dutch state telecoms company, has announced that around 10 percent of its telecoms workforce -- over 3,000 people -- will be shed from its payroll over the next three years, mainly owing to the expected liberalization of the telecom marketplace in line with European Commission legislation introduced this week by Brussels.
According to officials with the Dutch company, the telecoms operations must improve their overall efficiency by between 15 and 20 percent if the division is able to compete in a free-market environment. This will, the company said, "allow us to continue to deliver low price high quality services in a liberated telecoms market."
In a prepared statement, officials said that they hope that the bulk of the job cuts will come from natural wastage with employees leaving the company voluntarily and retiring as normal. Industry experts disagree, with several Dutch newspapers predicting wide scale early retirements and paid-off employees leaving the company.
DVC, the Dutch civil servants union, has hit out at Koninklikje PTT's management, claiming that the planned staff reductions are far too high and that any redundancies -- or paid dismissals -- "are unacceptable to the union."
The union said that it has severe doubts as to whether the telecoms company has the ability to manage the staff reductions without the need for paid dismissals, and warned its PTT membership that layoffs of around 5,000 a year are possible each year until 1988.
# BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- After selling off its 35 percent stake in Matav, the state controlled telecoms company, the Hungarian government is planning to sell off a further 40 percent taking its stake in the company down to just 25 percent.
Unfortunately for the Hungarian government, it must consult with an alien consumer to the Communist regime -- shareholders. Press sources in Hungary note that the government must wait until the first major shareholders meeting, which has been provisionally scheduled for one month's time.
Although Matav officials are not saying anything about their plans media sources in Eastern Europe suggest that around 10 percent of the planned 40 percent extra sell-off could be placed with a major Western telecoms company, something that could bring in as much as $300 million in hard currency and/or technical services.
Such a move could upset Ameritech and DBT of Germany, which each bought a 15 percent stake in Matav early on this year. According to press reports in Hungary, both companies would be opposed to the sale of any of the remainder of Matav to another Western telecoms firm.
DBT officials have said that, if a further 40 percent of Matav is place on the stock market, then the extra shares could drive the existing price down, causing a strain on the Hungarian stock market as well as overloading the share dealing system in Budapest, which is already reported to be fully stretched.
Telecom industry analysts are mystified by the Hungarian government's decision to raise more cash. While officials are claiming that the extra money is needed by Matav to finance future expansion, analysts point to last month's announcement by Matav about the signing of a syndicated finance deal worth around $150 million with a consortium of 27 banks around the world.
At the time when the announcement of the deal was made, government officials said that the cash infusion will allow Matav to proceed with its stated aim of moving to totally digital telephone network by the end of the decade.
The $150 million investment has a full repayment term of five years and, technically, is repayable in full, plus interest, in 1999. In practice, Newsbytes notes, a further set of scrip issues will likely be made in five years time.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941103)
e made in five years time.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941103)
11/3/94
Hungarian Govt To Sell Telecom Shares For Rapid Cash?
UK - Truevision's Targa 2000 Win
X/Open's International User Surv
Spain - Telecom Privatization Sc
Spectrum Holobyte Ships 3 New Ga
Company Results Roundup
Anti-Piracy Enforcement Nets $5
Symantec & Stack In Helix Multim
Polaroid Announces New Digital F
GEnie's Full Internet Plans
MacWorld - Bryce Landscape Prgm
Intel Exec Joins National Academ
Quarterdeck's CleanSweep Windows
Microsoft 1Qtr Revenues Up 27%
Philippines - BSA Wins Software
UK - Pipex Readies Pipex Solo In
Adobe TextureMaker For Mac, Powe
Amnesty International Interactiv
No Money Up Front If Next & Micr
Canadian Firm Launches Free-Form
Multimedia Kiosks Used In Califo
Micrografx Intros Snapgraphics 2
Feature - Landscaping by Compute
UK Firm Speeds Up Fax Bureau Ser
Open Systems Intros Windows Acco
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Open Systems Holding Corp. has announced Traverse Accounting Business Software for Windows.
The company says the initial release, scheduled for January 1995 will include General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and System Manager. Inventory, Payroll and Sales Order modules are scheduled for later in the year, and a client/server version will be released in the second quarter.
Open Systems says Traverse is designed for businesses with $1 to $25 million in revenues and the client/server version will handle larger organizations.
Traverse was developed using Microsoft's Access relational database software and is compatible with the Microsoft Office software suite. That allows the user to export data to Microsoft's spreadsheet Excel and word processing program Microsoft Word, and distribute reports via Microsoft Mail. The company says reports sent to Excel arrive with formulas in all the total fields.
Open Systems spokesperson, Dawn Westerberg, told Newsbytes that Traverse is a multi-lingual program that allows the user to switch between all of the installed languages on any application screen. You can also customize a language for specific industries, substituting words like "store" or "warehouse" for "company" or "region" by editing the program's dictionaries. Reports can be printed in any of the installed languages.
The software also supports multiple currencies, and users can enter transactions in AR and AP then print checks in any currency. You can also toggle between the base currency and selected currencies and the user can update exchange rates or add new currencies. Right now, said Westerberg, that is done by editing the currency tables but the company has built hooks into the software for later implementation of an online currency exchange rate update.
Westerberg said the currencies and languages are table driven, so when you make translations, the screen is painted based on the value of the table.
Westerberg told Newsbytes the price of the software will be set by the resellers, but she expects the per-module price to range from $800 to $1,000.
System requirements include a Windows-compatible operating system such as Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, OS/2 or Sun WABI (a Windows emulator) for Unix. In multi-user environments file sharing and locking is supported. You need a PC running a 486SX 33 megahertz chip or better, eight megabytes (MB) of system memory 20MB of available hard disk space, a color VGA or better monitor and a mouse.
(Jim Mallory/19941103/Press contact: Dawn Westerberg, Open Systems, 612-829-1419; Public contact: Open Systems, 612-829 1419 or 800-328-2276/TRAVERSE941103/PHOTO)
12-829 1419 or 800-328-2276/TRAVERSE941103/PHOTO)
11/3/94
Open Systems Intros Windows Accounting Software
WINDOWS
New Group Pushes Open TV Data St
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 NOV 3 (NB) -- More than 60 companies and organizations representing programming, satellite cable and consumer electronic manufacturing industries, along with cable operators and component vendors, have met in Washington to launch a new group to push open, non-proprietary compression standards for digital television.
The group, the North American Digital Group (NDAG), says it wants to build upon the existing worldwide ISO MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group)-2 standards and open architectures.
"The key question we're asking today is: How do we achieve consensus upon the elements of a standard?" said Graham Stubbs a consultant to TV/COM and moderator of the session.
San Diego-based TV/COM spearheaded the creation of NDAG. The group is looking to develop a consensus on standards for both standard definition TV and high definition TV.
At the Washington meeting, David Wood provided an overview of the work of the European Digital Video Broadcast Group. The DVB consists of some 150 European companies in 17 countries, which has formulated standard for European standard definition TV.
"We are seeking to balance consumer 'wants' with technical capability," said Wood, who runs the European group, "but we are allowing ourselves to be driven by commercial and competitive realities."
Jack Fuhrer, of Hitachi America, gave the new group a tutorial on the status of the US Advanced Television Systems Committee work on high definition TV. Fuhrer said many in the consumer electronics business believe that advanced television in the US should encompass both standard and high definition TV, based on MPEG-2.
NDAG says it wants to avoid the experience of the computer business, which took more than 15 years to develop open standards out of a cacophony of competing proprietary, de facto standards. The group believes the starting point is MPEG-2.
But NDAG says it wants to go beyond MPEG-2, which addresses compression and multiplexing, to address interoperability and open architectures. Specifications that NDAG wants to see beyond MPEG-2 include: agreement on the modulation approach information data rate ranges, syntax for the transport of streams of data, service information tables, ancillary data services, and closed captioning.
What's next? The first meeting created an ad hoc working group with the mission of moving the agenda forward expeditiously. The working group will gather standards data from the approximately 28 existing US standards groups and reconvene in January to present its findings.
"A whole slew of groups are looking at different pieces," Jim Shelton of TV/COM told Newsbytes. "So this group essentially is identifying what holes are being left by the other 28 organizations."
(Kennedy Maize and Craig Menefee/19941103/Press Contact: Jim Shelton, TV/COM, 619-451-1500; Reader Contact: Andrea LaVorgna, 619-675-4714)
r Contact: Andrea LaVorgna, 619-675-4714)
11/3/94
New Group Pushes Open TV Data Standards
BROADCAST
FCC Chairman Reed Hundt On Telec
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- The development of the information superhighway "gives us a great opportunity to commit irrevocably to a policy of competition," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt said on Thursday.
"Let broadcast compete with cable, let cable provide telephone service, let telephone companies deliver video programming," he said.
Discussing FCC policy on a local public radio talk show, Hundt defined the information highway as "a continuation of a communications revolution that has been making our country a better place to live for 100 years."
Hundt said the next major lane on the highway will be wireless. "That's the next generation," he said, making reference to the wireless personal communication systems auctions the FCC has been holding this year.
There are five lanes on the highway, Hundt said: wireless wired, cable, satellite, and broadcast. "All five lanes are being paved, and all will compete with each other."
He said: "We do need to ask government to make sure our policy of competition is working. But ours is a transitional role."
Hundt praised the 10-year history of deregulating long-distance service. "Ten years ago," he noted, "AT&T had a 90 percent share of the market. Today, it has a 60 percent share. There are 400 long-distance companies. Prices for long-distance are down and people make more calls, revenue gets pumped into the market and a rising tide lifts all boats."
Hundt illustrated the problems of a lack of competition by pointing to Los Angeles, where 22 percent of Spanish-speaking voters do not have telephones. "The single monopoly phone company didn't spend enough time marketing in Spanish," said Hundt. "Competition could change that. There would be a drive to reach all customers who could be reached.
"Competition," said Hundt, "produces tremendous innovation. Communications products are like any other consumer product. Customers are better off if they have choice.
"Cable ought to be able to provide local telephone service," Hundt said, noting that "42 states have laws against just that form of competition. "We need to persuade the states to change" those prohibitions, he said.
Hundt pointed to the recent FCC auctions as the way the commission in promoting competition. "The total is over $400 million" for the current paging licenses the commission has been auctioning for the past week, he said.
(Kennedy Maize/19941103)
past week, he said.
(Kennedy Maize/19941103)
11/3/94
FCC Chairman Reed Hundt On Telecom Competition
DEC Launches New Alpha Workstati
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has replaced most of its workstations and servers based on the Alpha AXP reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) chips with new models. Most of the new machines use the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) system bus, and DEC expects them to compete with the most powerful personal computers as well as with traditional workstations.
The new models include three AlphaStation workstations, four AlphaServer models, and a fifth server that uses an Alpha chip but not the PCI bus.
The new models replace all DEC's existing Alpha workstations and servers except the Digital 2100 A500MP server announced in April which is being renamed the AlphaServer 2100 4/200 to fit into the new lineup, said Peter Miller, director of Alpha systems marketing at DEC.
DEC will no longer actively market other older models, though some will be available to customers who want them, Miller told Newsbytes.
The original 2100 was the first Alpha workstation to use the PCI bus, a direction DEC officials said at the time would likely continue with future models. Miller said Digital chose the PCI bus because of its speed, the availability of 64-bit extensions needed to take full advantage of the Alpha chips, and the fact that the bus is becoming popular in the personal computer market meaning a good supply of expansion cards will be available. This will make it easier for resellers to manage inventories and for customers to get the add-ons they want, he said.
The systems also have either Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) or Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) slots depending on the model.
As DEC brings PC-like features such as the PCI bus to its workstations, the company expects those workstations to take some sales away from the highest-powered PCs. Miller noted that Microsoft Corp.'s Excel spreadsheet software is now available for Alpha systems, and while the average spreadsheet jockey is not likely to want a RISC workstation, users such as international banks with very complex spreadsheet models are interested. Autodesk Inc. has also announced an Alpha version of AutoCAD its popular PC-based computer-aided design software, he said.
All of the new systems run three operating systems: DEC's OpenVMS and its DEC OSF/1 version of Unix, and Microsoft's Windows NT.
Peter Hussey, marketing director for Digital's systems business unit, would not break down DEC's Alpha sales by operating system but told Newsbytes that Windows NT is "clearly an emerging area." Miller added that 40 percent of DEC's server sales are to new customers, and most -- though not all -- of those sales involve either NT or Unix.
The AlphaStation 200 4/166 is the bottom end of the new workstation line. It uses a 166 megahertz (MHz) Alpha chip and comes with two PCI/ISA slots and one ISA slot, plus four drive bays. A basic system with 16 megabytes (MB) of memory, a 340MB magnetic disk, a 600MB CD-ROM drive, integrated audio and Ethernet networking, and Windows NT, lists at $6,995, not including a monitor.
The AlphaStation 200 4/233 and 400 4/233 uses 233MHz Alpha chips. The 200 is a three-slot machine (two PCI/ISA, one ISA) while the 400 has two PCI, three ISA, and one PCI/ISA slots. Prices start at $11,750 and $12,595 respectively.
The AlphaServer line includes: the 1000 4/200, with a 200MHz processor and a total of 10 PCI and EISA slots; the 2000 4/200 with a 190MHz Alpha chip and 10 PCI and EISA slots; the 2100 4/200, with a 190MHz chip and 11 PCI and EISA slots; and two versions of the 2100 4/275, using the 275MHz version of the Alpha chip, also with 11 PCI and EISA slots, and with a choice of two cabinet types. AlphaServer prices range from about $16,000 to about $45,000.
The DEC 7000 Model 700 AXP Server uses a 275MHz Alpha chip and can be configured with as many as five central processors DEC said. It is the only new model that does not use an industry-standard expansion bus, relying instead on XMI and FutureBus slots. Within six months, Miller said, DEC will offer a replacement for this model that will use PCI slots and as many as 12 processors, and the Model 700 will be field-upgradable to the new system. Prices for the DEC 7000 Model 700 start at $120,000.
(Grant Buckler/19941103/Press Contact: David Farmer, Digital 508-493-0179; Karen Quatromoni, Digital, 508-264-5358; Public Contact: Digital, tel 508-493-5111 or 800-777-4343, fax 508-493-8780/ALPHA941103/PHOTO)
800-777-4343, fax 508-493-8780/ALPHA941103/PHOTO)
11/3/94
DEC Launches New Alpha Workstation & Server Line
GENERAL
Updated PCMCIA Standard Renamed
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- A new standard update addresses some compatibility issues and does away with one of the computer industry's most tongue-twisting acronyms. PC Card is the new name for a unified standard that replaces the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) standard as well as the similar Japanese standard backed by the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA).
The standard covers credit-card-sized devices, including memory cards, modems, and disk drives, that can be plugged into slots in computers. The PCMCIA standard has become increasingly popular on desktop, as well as portable, machines.
Steve Magidson, chair of strategic marketing for the PCMCIA, told Newsbytes the PCMCIA and JEIDA standards were very close but not identical, and the two groups decided a unified worldwide standard was needed. They chose the PC Card name, which PCMCIA had used in its logo for some time.
They also chose not to use a version number -- the latest update would have been PCMCIA Version 3 -- because "we've found that revision numbers have really created a lot of confusion in the industry." Buyers tend to think a new revision of the standard means their old equipment is obsolete and must be replaced, or that products conforming to one revision won't work with those labeled with another, Magidson said, and neither is necessarily true.
What worked with what has been a problem with PCMCIA in the past though, and Magidson said the standards bodies have taken some steps to correct that.
First, an expanded Card Information Structure (CIS), which lets cards give configuration information to host systems, is now a mandatory part of the standard. In the past, card manufacturers did not have to include a CIS on their cards, Magidson said.
Certain cards that draw larger amounts of power in normal operation must now draw no more than 100 milliamps when first inserted in a PC Card slot, and it must be possible for the host machine to read the card's CIS at that power level. This is to deal with the problem of power-hungry cards being inserted in slots in subnotebook computers and other devices that could not supply their power needs, Magidson explained.
The new standard also has developer implementation guidelines to help developers create good CISes and write driver software. "There are even more guidelines that are being worked on," Magidson added.
Another notable feature of the new PC Card standard is CardBus, a new 32-bit bus-mastering interface that runs at speeds up to 133 megabytes (MB)-per-second. Magidson said this will support future performance-intensive applications. Officials of PCMCIA said these could include full-motion video, 100 megabits-per-second (Mbps) Ethernet networking, and high-performance storage. Bus mastering allows a peripheral device to take control of the system bus and not rely on the central processor.
The CardBus interface requires a slot different from the current PCMCIA slots. The new slot will accept older PCMCIA cards, but new CardBus cards will not be able to fit in older slots Magidson said.
The new standard also adds power management features that let a host computer suspend and resume the operation of a card, a move expected to help extend the battery life of portable computers. Power misers will also appreciate the standard's support for 3.3-volt cards as well as the five-volt cards included in the standard before. Portable computers running at 3.3-volts are becoming more common.
The new standard also has a hardware direct memory access (DMA) capability. Officials said this means developers of devices such as sound cards and network adapters can now take advantage of the DMA capabilities standard on desktop computers without having to emulate DMA in software. This will improve performance and make new applications possible, they said.
Finally, support for multiple-function cards -- some of which have already appeared -- is now included in the PC Card standard. With the enhanced standard, the Card and Socket Services portion of the PCMCIA software can now be aware of each of the multiple applications of a multi-function card.
(Grant Buckler/19941103/Press Contact: Bill Lempesis, PCMCIA 408-720-0107; Morgan McAlenney, Redgate Communications for PCMCIA, 415-777-3911; Public Contact: PCMCIA, tel 408-720-0107 fax 408-720-9416; PCMCIA European Chapter, tel +32-2-774-9620 fax +32-2-774-9690)
r, tel +32-2-774-9620 fax +32-2-774-9690)
11/3/94
Updated PCMCIA Standard Renamed PC Card
TRENDS
Adobe Ships Persuasion 3.0 For W
Japan - Sony Offers High-, Low-E
India - Amadeus Reservation Syst
Olivetti Donates To Australian D
Mindscape Ships CardShop Plus De
Hungary - Cash Flowing For Telec
Russian Foreign Exchange Fiasco
UK - Borland Offers Low-Cost Par
National Football League Interac
New Entrepreneurial Edge Online
Case Law Providers Fight Over Go
NovaLink Online Service's Mosaic
Kelly Micro's Compaq Contura Lap
UK - Turn Your Fax Machine Into
Feature - Server-Based Ethernet
eWorld's Adds Nolo Legal, Ad Age
Telxon Pen-Based Computers, Moto
Ziff-Davis Sale - No Changes Pla
Oracle Targets Market Share
Correction - Microsoft, Rabbit E
Mexico - Technology News
Novell Reorganizes Product Group
Updated PCMCIA Standard Renamed
Hungarian Govt To Sell Telecom S
Electronic Documents Conference/
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Xplor International's 15th Global Electronic Document Systems Conference and Exhibit will run November 6-11 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza in Phoenix Arizona.
The conference is sponsored by Xplor International, the Electronic Document Systems Association. Anne Davison, public relations and promotions manager, says more than 7,000 are expected to visit the 200,000 square-feet of exhibits by 172 companies.
There will be plenty to do for those attending. The organization has scheduled more than 300 educational and networking sessions and over 300 speakers. The keynote speaker will be Daniel Burris founder and president of Burris Research Associates Inc., a research and consulting firm specializing in global innovations in science and technology. Davison told Newsbytes Burris' topic will be "Futureview: A Look Ahead."
Electronic documents can replace file cabinets full of paper allowing documents to move through a company for approvals and actions. Some insurance companies use the technology to prepare and process claims from initiation to check-writing without a single piece of paper generated until the check is printed.
One of the technologies on display will be a forms management system from AFP Solutions Ltd. that electronically stores pre-designed forms. When a datastream is sent to the printer the appropriate form is triggered and printed, correctly overlaid with the data. Special features of the system include data moving and global updates. The former is post-processing of datastream without changing host applications. The latter is automatic updating of all forms containing any specific element which has been changed, such as a phone number.
You will also be able to see a mail processing system that can handle 18,000 envelopes per hour and loads the filled envelopes into the US Postal Service regulation trays without any manual intervention. That system will be demonstrated by Bowe Systec Inc.
Cooperative Technologies Inc. will be showing its Mail Expert system, an electronic collator of non-related documents from multiple computer systems destined for the same addressee.
Formscan will show its Video Packer, a high-speed video compression and artificial intelligence technique that identifies and alerts the operator if an address is not visible in the windows of a completed mail-piece. You can also use Video Packer for recognition of scanned areas of documents in process to assure they contain the proper letterhead, forms, and signatures.
There will also be high-speed printers, system interfaces, booklet makers, folding/inserting equipment, scanning equipment, high speed transfer technology, bundling, and banding systems.
Cost for the entire conference and exhibit is $995, which includes the exhibits, all sessions and three meals a day for the run of the conference. Xplor International is also offering a $595 Wednesday through Friday package that includes all events and meals, or you can visit the exhibit hall only for $100 at the door.
A Thursday night banquet will honor recipients of the President's Award, The Explorer of the Year, and the Innovator of the Year awards.
(Jim Mallory/19941103/Press contact: Anne Davison, Xplor International, 310-373-3633 ext 239; Public contact: Xplor tel 310-373-3633 or 800-669-7567, fax 310-375-4240)
l 310-373-3633 or 800-669-7567, fax 310-375-4240)
11/3/94
Electronic Documents Conference/Exhibit Planned
GENERAL
Microsoft Announces Autoplay For
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has officially revealed one of the features that will be included in Windows 95. It is a technology that automatically installs and runs CD-ROM-based software or audio on PCs equipped with Windows 95.
The feature is called AutoPlay, and Microsoft says all you have to do is insert a CD-ROM disk to launch the program. The application or music disk does have to be AutoPlay-enabled. That consists of the developer adding a text file called AUTORUN.INF to the root directory of the CD-ROM disk with the necessary instructions to execute when the disk is installed. Microsoft provides developers with sample code for how to check to see if a program is already installed on the PC.
If the AUTORUN.INF file exists, Windows 95 reads and follows the directions found in the file. Usually that is the command to launch the program, similar to what happens when you click on a Windows icon or type a DOS command. Microsoft says the file can also contain more sophisticated directions.
Jeff Camp, Microsoft product manager for Windows multimedia products, told Newsbytes the application developer can customize AutoPlay to perform various functions like launching Notepad and loading a "readme" file. The user can skip running AutoPlay by pressing the Shift while inserting the CD-ROM disk.
Camp told Newsbytes that AutoPlay can also launch audio CD disks. Camp said that, when the user inserts an audio disk in the CD-ROM drive, Windows 95 will recognize the type of disk, launch a CD-ROM player applet that is new in Windows 95, and even play the songs in the user-prescribed order and skip other songs if a custom play list has been previously established for that disk.
Developers who want to implement AutoPlay in their programs have to be a member of Microsoft's Developer Network. Members will get AutoPlay technical data and sample code with their next disk update.
Other features scheduled to appear when Windows 95 launches include: a user interface with a new look, fast game animation, better video performance, a technology called WinToon for creating interactive cartoons, TrueSpeech voice data compression, and support for MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) digital video compression. Microsoft says it expects to ship Windows 95 in mid-1995.
(Jim Mallory/19941103/Press contact: Kelly Stremel, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft 800-759-5474 for Microsoft Developer Network information)
for Microsoft Developer Network information)
11/3/94
Microsoft Announces Autoplay For Windows 95
WINDOWS
Entry-Level Macs Offered PowerPC
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Later this month, Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ship a Power PC upgrade board for many of its current entry-level Macintoshes. Based on the PowerPC 601 processor, the Macintosh Processor Upgrade board is being offered to almost two million Mac users currently operating with a 68040 processor.
With this announcement, Apple adds the Macintosh Quadra 605 LC 575 and LC 475, and the Performa 470 and 570 series, as well as the company's more recently announced Quadra 630, LC 630 and Performa 630 to its list of Macintosh computers with an available Power PC upgrade path.
The $659 upgrade card was co-designed by both Apple and Daystar Digital, which soon plans to offer its own version of the card, PowerCard 601. Apple's card ships with the company's new operating System 7.5, valued at $139, and a native to PowerPC version of ClarisWorks, valued at $129.
According to Apple, the Macintosh Processor Upgrade fits, as a daughter board, into the 68040 socket and the 68040 processor is then placed in the new board. Applications written for 68xxx processors will continue to access the 68040 processor and perform the same. Applications, written native to PowerPC, automatically access the new PowerPC 601 processor.
The clock speed of the 601 processor, 50 megahertz (MHz) or 66MHz, is double the speed of the users 68040 processor (25 or 33MHz). Apple says users should expect to see a performance increase of two to four times existing Macintosh performance when using applications written native to PowerPC.
The company further stated, programs using floating point functions, such as many graphics programs, may show an increase of up to ten times.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Eric Wee, spokesperson for Apple, said "This announcement is the continuation of our promise, made in March, to provide an upgrade path to as many Mac users as possible. Because the pins on the processor are so easy to bend, we recommend an authorized Apple service representative install the upgrade card."
Mac users who are currently using a 68030 or 68020 processor based Mac are not able to use this card. At this time, Apple has no comment on when, or if, a direct upgrade will be available. A spokesperson for the company, Maureen O'Connell said, "At this time, the only way to upgrade computers using these processors is to replace the logic board." This includes older Macs like the IIsi and IIci. Apple does say it is continuing work with third-party developers to create a more inclusive upgrade path to PowerPC computing.
The company currently ships logic board and 601 processor upgrades for the Quadra 950, 900, 840AV, 800, 700, 660AV 650, and 610, as well as the Centris 660AV and 650.
(Patrick McKenna/19941103/Press Contact: Maureen O'Connell Regis McKenna, 408-862-6689)
een O'Connell Regis McKenna, 408-862-6689)
11/3/94
Entry-Level Macs Offered PowerPC Upgrade
APPLE
FedEx & UPS Race To Launch Onlin
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- In announcements spaced barely two hours apart, Federal Express Corp. (NYSE:FDX) and United Parcel Service of America (UPS) unveiled competing plans for customer automation and online services. FedEx is teaming with America online and CommerceNet, while UPS is going with CompuServe and Prodigy.
UPS goes online this month with CompuServe and Prodigy, the firm said. Online customers will be able to order one-time pickups or UPS package tracking software and shipping supplies, send messages to UPS, or inquire about shipments. Prodigy and CompuServe will broadcast announcements to their subscribers when the online services are ready, UPS sources said.
Newsbytes has learned that UPS also plans to expand onto other major online services, including AOL, but that nothing is ready to be announced at this time.
The complete Windows-based UPS software package, not yet named will ship early in 1995, UPS sources told Newsbytes. A demo version will be shown at Fall Comdex. Once available, UPS customers can get free copies by calling their local UPS offices or downloading them from CompuServe or Prodigy.
FedEx also said its Windows-based automation software, followed by a version for Macintosh, will become available in the first quarter of 1995. It said the package will let customers who have standard PCs with modems and laser printers complete whole shipping transactions, call a free 800 or local number for pick-up, and print the shipping labels on plain paper. The package, when available, can be downloaded from AOL or CommerceNet, or can be ordered by placing a free call to 800-GO-FEDEX, a FedEx spokesperson said.
Both new software packages will let PC users tap into a central server to track deliveries and view billing information without special forms or hardware.
The new PC-based services are aimed straight at the so-called SOHO (small office/home office) market, which analysts say accounts for 10 to 20 percent of the $18+ billion express-delivery total, according to Newsbytes sources. The same sources maintained that the growing number of SOHO customers accounts only in part for the marketing push. Discounts for large corporate customers have eaten away at profits for both firms, these sources said, and they hope now to increase their margins by attracting smaller users. The firms are banking on easier ordering and tracking services to do the trick.
In a phone-in news conference, FedEx Senior Vice President Dennis H. Jones called the new package the "logical next step" in automating the service. He said 82 percent of the firm's customers now use PCs, and added: "We wanted to work the way our customers are working."
He said tests of the current alpha-stage software package show the graphical user interface (GUI) makes it possible to complete an entire shipping transaction, from ordering the pickup to printing out the label, in less than 60 seconds.
To make the transition easier, FedEx is dropping its old multi-part forms in favor of plain paper labels, which UPS has long been using. Modems and laser printers, he added, are "pervasive now in businesses and homes" and it made sense to adjust procedures to recognize that fact.
Federal Express has arranged with IBM and Apple to bundle the new software on various computer models. IBM will load FedEx software onto its Aptiva and IBM PC 300 and 700 lines, and on Thinkpad models, in 1995. Apple will also offer the software, though the details have not been worked out yet. The firm has also signed distribution agreements with Intuit/Microsoft, though complete details are not yet available.
(Craig Menefee/19941103/Press Contact: Linda Segervall, Ketchum Public Relations, 212-878-4663; Carolyn Freeman, Federal Express 1901-395-3771; Pat Steffen, 201-828-6103, or Joan Schnorbus 201-828-4937, both of UPS Public Relations; Dee Anna McPherson Edelman Public Relations, 212-704-8133)
rson Edelman Public Relations, 212-704-8133)
11/3/94
FedEx & UPS Race To Launch Online Ordering
TRENDS
Apple Intros High-Speed Power Ma
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has introduced, what it calls, the industry's fastest personal computer with its Power Mac 8100/110 system. The product marks the first PowerPC 601 processor-based system to exceed the 100 megahertz (MHz) clocking speed.
For $6,379, the system comes with 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM, two gigabytes (GB) of hard disk storage, a dual speed CD-ROM drive and an Apple SuperDrive 1.4MB floppy disk drive. Having the same form factor as the 8100/80, the new system provides nine built-in ports to support peripherals, three NuBus slots for expansion cards, and on-board Ethernet.
Apple says this new system extends its lead in out-performing systems based on Intel's Pentium processor. Speaking to Newsbytes Eric Wee, spokesperson for Apple, said, "Our test results, which compare the 110MHz system with a 90MHz Pentium system, are based on tests made at Ingram Labs and in our own labs. With more than 350 native applications now available for the PowerPC platform and more in development, the Power Mac systems are gaining momentum in sales and attracting more developers."
Apple predicts this new high-speed system will have strong appeal with power-hungry users such as publishing concerns, multimedia authors, and engineers running computer-aided-design programs written native to the PowerPC platform.
Previously, Apple's Power Mac 8100/80 was the top of the Power Mac line. Wee said tests of the new 110MHz system shows performance increases over the 8100/80 system by 23 to 32%.
While Apple remains silent on the next step of even faster PowerPC chips, Wee said, "The 601 PowerPC processor is one of a family of processors we expect to develop and it is only natural to assume faster processors will be developed in the future."
(Patrick McKenna/19941103/Press Contact: Eric Wee, Apple 408-862-7797)
tact: Eric Wee, Apple 408-862-7797)
11/3/94
Apple Intros High-Speed Power Mac
APPLE
IBM Supercomputers Expand Into C
ITHACA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Already one-third of IBM's installed Scalable Powerparallel Systems (SP2) are being used by commercial customers, and next year, commercial SP2 implementations will start to overtake their technical counterparts, according to Jack Magoon, director of market support for IBM's Power Parallel Systems (PPS).
On the commercial side, users are "tremendously interested" in employing IBM's new supercomputer to perform complex "data mining" and query applications, but OLTP (online transaction processing) is also an emerging application category, Magoon said, during a strategy briefing for Newsbytes in Boston.
Introduced by IBM in April, the SP2 consists of 512 processors that are billed as being able to work together to solve problems at the rate of 136 billion calculations per second.
"Customers see themselves as `mining' and messaging tremendous volumes of data, recognizing very subtle patterns and trends, and being able to do this in a rapid enough way to make effective business decisions," Magoon maintained.
"If you want to spot trends in the retail business, you don't want to have to wait a week to get an answer to your query. If you're selling securities on Wall Street, you need to know within a matter of minutes if not seconds if you're going to strike on that transaction," he said.
The availability of commercial applications that take advantage of parallel processing on the SP2 is "just beginning," acknowledged the IBM exec.
But over the next year, he predicted, applications will burgeon, as the code needed for parallel computing becomes integrated into middleware software that includes DB2 6000, Oracle, Sybase, Ingres and Informix, along with OLTP systems and other middleware. Applications that work with this middleware will be "automatically" enabled for parallel computing on the SP2, Magoon added.
In technical fields, where parallel code is being integrated directly into applications, users are "quickly lapping up" the SP2 according to Magoon, who referred to the new machine as a "powerful and very rational platform." But even in the technical arena parallel computing had "limited applicability" until a few years ago, he said.
"The test of whether (parallel computing) is a market yet is whether customers can solve problems with it. And that's an application statement. (The SP2) is letting users get at problems they couldn't before. So it's not just a `new way of doing the same old thing,'" he told Newsbytes.
The "big three" auto manufacturers, for example, are using an SP2 at the Argonne National Lab to try to "mock up" car designs, Magoon reported. Dupont, Amoco, and Allied Signal are using the same machine for modeling molecular processes in order to predict the environmental impact of pollutants.
An SP2 in Southampton, the UK, is being put to work by Rover to design automobiles, and by Unilever to develop a "better fabric softener," according to the marketing director.
Shell Oil now boasts its own SP2, which is being used for "oil exploration" visualization, he added. Another SP2 system, recently delivered to the Cornell University Theory Center, will fulfill a range of purposes, including fluid dynamics applications, an attempt by Corning to create "better dish," and -- in the medical domain -- simulation of hip or knee replacement operations.
Still another SP2, newly arrived at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, is accessible to outside physicists and other users of the Internet's World Wide Web (WWW) at http://www.cern.ch. The IBM supercomputer at CERN will simultaneously run software that requires only one processor -- for serial processing -- while executing other jobs that require parallel processing.
All SP2 machines run AIX, and are therefore able to operate any of 10,000 existing AIX applications right out of the box, Magoon pointed out.
But to exploit the SP2's parallel processing, technical applications must be "re-engineered," and commercial AIX applications must be used with AIX middleware that has been parallel-enabled, he said.
IBM has worked with outside ISVs (independent software vendors) to parallelize more of the "key 50 engineering codes" for technical software than any other supercomputer vendor, he asserted. Some of these codes are "embarrassingly parallel," meaning they were easy to convert for parallel use. At the opposite extreme other codes have required "fairly extensive rewrites."
IBM will also "continue to move forward" its own Hondo engineering code for chemical applications, according to Magoon.
In the commercial arena, Oracle has already released a "parallelized version" of its RDBMS, he said. DB2 6000 will also be available in a parallelized edition for AIX. Sybase, Ingres and Informix are preparing new versions, too.
OLTP products that will be offered for AIX on a parallelized basis include IBM CICS 6000, Tuxedo, and Encina. Business management middleware in this category includes SAP R/3, SAS, PeopleSoft Lawson, and Quantum Leap. "We're also working with some system management and language providers," Magoon told Newsbytes.
Right now, commercial applications for complex database applications are still "pretty much in a roll your own mode," he noted. "But I expect that ISVs will start to fill in the backwaters on this" with ready-to-use "data mining" software, he said.
Meanwhile, about half the orders coming in for SP2 systems are from commercial businesses. "We're seeing interest from all market segments. I probably have machines on order or installed from just about every commercial industry you can think of," Magoon concluded.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19941103/Reader Contact: IBM, 914-642-3000; Press Contacts: Ari Fishkind or Elizabeth Albrycht, Technology Solutions for IBM, 212-696-2000)
ht, Technology Solutions for IBM, 212-696-2000)
11/3/94
IBM Supercomputers Expand Into Commercial Use
Hayden Offers Official Apple eWo
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- Hayden Books has released the official guide to Apple Computer's eWorld online information service. Called "eWorld: The Official Guide for Macintosh Users," the book comes with a two-disk set of connection software for the Mac.
eWorld uses a "building metaphor" for the various services, known as forums on some online services. The service offers electronic mail exchange, real-time conversations with other subscribers conferences, magazine and newspaper articles, stock market information, software, and other features.
The 325-page book, plus four appendices and an index, is contains many screen shots of dialog boxes and menus. After a section on hardware requirements and installation instructions, the Hayden book, which was written by Cary Lu and John Milligan and edited by Ross Scott Rubin, takes you on a tour of eWorld.
There is a 50-plus-page section on how to send and receive electronic mail, including sending mail to users on the Internet. You'll also find out how to participate in conferences and forums, locate information such as the latest stock quotes, and how to set up a clipping file eWorld calls a "self-monitoring portfolio" to automatically track stock quotes.
In Chapter 11, "More eWorld Features" you'll learn how to set up Automatic Courier to automatically connect to eWorld, collect waiting mail and software files and send outgoing mail. Courier will automatically log off when those steps have been accomplished. The user can select what days of the week and time of day for the unattended transfer. There are also instructions in this chapter on how to record a session or partial session, and a section on tips for users with special needs, such as CloseView for magnified text and a white on black display.
The book has a suggested retail price of $29.95 in the US and $39.99 in Canada including the eWorld connection software.
(Jim Mallory/19941103/Press contact: Patrick Gibbons Hayden Books, 800-428-5331; Public contact: Hayden Books tel 317-581-3500, fax 317-581-4669)
en Books tel 317-581-3500, fax 317-581-4669)
11/3/94
Hayden Offers Official Apple eWorld Book
ONLINE
Compaq Invests In Books That Wor
India - Govt Plans National Info
Joint Venture To Make Active-Mat
Telebase's Corporate Easynet 2.0
France - Groupe Bull For Sale
Ms. Winkle's Class Uses Classroo
FCC Gives Iridium Satellite Proj
Luxembourg - Winter E-Mail Confe
Kodak To Implement Drastic Cost-
Windows 95's New Goodies
E-Mail Shopping At Seattle's Nor
Pipex Offers Pan-European Full I
IBM Bundles Medio Magazine, Worl
Iomega Offers Removable Drives
Sport Accolade's Live Action Foo
French Gov't Discusses Online In
PC Keyboard Aimed At Kids Aged 2
UK - The Link Computer Comms Sto
Europe - Hayes Catches Up On PCM
Data General's Clariion Forges R
UK - Kyocera Intros Ecosys Laser
New MPC Notebooks To Use C&T's G
UK - Mercury Cuts Local Loop Tel
UK - Frontline/IPE Sign McAfee D
ficial Apple eWo
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"|"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 3 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Micrografx Intros Snapgraphics 2.0 For Windows 11/03/94 Micrografx Inc. (NASDAQ:MGXI) has announced version 2.0 of its ABC Snapgraphics software for creating diagrams to include in presentations, reports, and other documents.
2 -> ****Multimedia Kiosks Used In California Governor's Race 11/03/94 Kathleen Brown's campaign to become California's first woman Governor is using high-tech multimedia kiosks to spread the candidate's message. Three kiosks are already placed and running a menu-driven program which lets users pick and choose the candidate's responses to campaign issues and propositions, as well as the full one hour debate with her rival Republican Governor Pete Wilson.
3 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 11/03/94 By John Hastings. The value of many used computers will drop dramatically during the next year due to memory requirements of new operating system software. Many older computers cannot be economically upgraded beyond four megabytes (MB) of RAM.
4 -> European Telecom News Briefs 11/03/94 Here are some short items hailing from Europe's high-tech telecommunications industries: British firm heads up multimedia PDA team; FTMI Telecom stake in Moscow; Western groups sign Russian telecoms deal.
5 -> Korea - Computer News Briefs 11/03/94 In today's look at the top technology news from Korea, Korea's investment in semiconductor industry leads the world, Korea succeeding in software copyright protection advance of US Walt Disney And CIC imminent, one out of nine Koreans possessing pager.
6 -> Mexico - Technology News 11/03/94 Here's a look at the top technology news in Mexico this week: printer technology developed in Mexico; MCI and Banacci announce joint venture in Mexico; Solidarity II reaches orbit.
7 -> Cascade Adds "Fault Tolerant Frame Relay" To WAN Switch 11/03/94 To help banks protect financial transactions amidst a boom in client-server commercial banking applications, Cascade has added "fault tolerant frame relay" features to its B-STDX 9000 Multi-Service WAN (wide area network) Switch.
8 -> Boca's $199 Hybrid PC Multimedia/Comms Card 11/03/94 Boca Research Inc. (NASDAQ:BOCI) has announced a do-everything multimedia and communications card that will retail below $200.
9 -> New MPC Notebooks To Use C&T's Graphics Accelerator 11/03/94 Panasonic has announced that it is incorporating a flat panel/cathode ray tube (CRT) graphics accelerator chip produced by Chips & Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHPS) into their family of portable computers that features an internal full-sized CD-ROM for multimedia applications.
10 -> ****British Telecom Bows To Pressure, Holds Call ID 11/03/94 Bowing to intense media and telecoms industry pressure, British Telecom (BT) has put a hold on this weekend's planned implementation of Caller Line Identification (CLI).
11 -> UK Firm Speeds Up Fax Bureau Services 11/03/94 Xpedite Systems says it has upgraded its fax computer bureau network to support a fax bureau processing rate of more than 10,000 faxes per hour almost three per second -- from its offices in London and York.
12 -> UK - Confidence Returns In IT Recruitment Levels 11/03/04 The latest Computing Services & Software Association (CSA) survey of chief executives in the UK computer services industry claims to show that staff recruitment has taken off in recent months, following a period of relatively low growth over the last four years.
13 -> Australia - HP Offers Horizon Reseller Tool 11/03/94 Computer and printer manufacturer Hewlett Packard has introduced a Windows-based information and pricing system for resellers. The diskette-based product will be distributed to each in the next two weeks.
14 -> ****Internet Changes Foreseen 11/03/94 The Internet will go through some major changes in the next few years, but will emerge the better for it, according to a recent report from Forrester Research, Inc.
15 -> UK - Vodafone Confirms Data Over Digital Mobiles 11/03/94 Vodafone has officially launched its data over GSM (global system for mobile) communications service.
16 -> Netherlands Telecom Firm To Cut 3,000 Jobs 11/03/94 Koninklikje PTT, the Dutch state telecoms company, has announced that around 10 percent of its telecoms workforce -- over 3,000 people -- will be shed from its payroll over the next three years, mainly owing to the expected liberalization of the telecom marketplace in line with European Commission legislation introduced this week by Brussels.
17 -> Hungarian Govt To Sell Telecom Shares For Rapid Cash? 11/03/94 After selling off its 35 percent stake in Matav, the state controlled telecoms company, the Hungarian government is planning to sell off a further 40 percent, taking its stake in the company down to just 25 percent.
18 -> Open Systems Intros Windows Accounting Software 11/03/94 Open Systems Holding Corp. has announced Traverse Accounting Business Software for Windows.
19 -> New Group Pushes Open TV Data Standards 11/03/94 More than 60 companies and organizations representing programming, satellite, cable and consumer electronic manufacturing industries, along with cable operators and component vendors, have met in Washington to launch a new group to push open, non-proprietary compression standards for digital television.
20 -> FCC Chairman Reed Hundt On Telecom Competition 11/03/94 The development of the information superhighway "gives us a great opportunity to commit irrevocably to a policy of competition," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt said on Thursday.
21 -> DEC Launches New Alpha Workstation & Server Line 11/03/94 Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has replaced most of its workstations and servers based on the Alpha AXP reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) chips with new models. Most of the new machines use the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) system bus, and DEC expects them to compete with the most powerful personal computers as well as with traditional workstations.
22 -> ****Updated PCMCIA Standard Renamed PC Card 11/03/94 A new standard update addresses some compatibility issues and does away with one of the computer industry's most tongue-twisting acronyms. PC Card is the new name for a unified standard that replaces the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) standard as well as the similar Japanese standard backed by the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA).
23 -> Electronic Documents Conference/Exhibit Planned 11/03/94 Xplor International's 15th Global Electronic Document Systems Conference and Exhibit will run November 6-11 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza in Phoenix Arizona.
24 -> Microsoft Announces Autoplay For Windows 95 11/03/94 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has officially revealed one of the features that will be included in Windows 95. It is a technology that automatically installs and runs CD-ROM-based software or audio on PCs equipped with Windows 95.
25 -> ****Entry-Level Macs Offered PowerPC Upgrade 11/03/94 Later this month, Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ship a Power PC upgrade board for many of its current entry-level Macintoshes. Based on the PowerPC 601 processor, the Macintosh Processor Upgrade board is being offered to almost two million Mac users currently operating with a 68040 processor.
26 -> FedEx & UPS Race To Launch Online Ordering 11/03/94 In announcements spaced barely two hours apart, Federal Express Corp. (NYSE:FDX) and United Parcel Service of America (UPS) unveiled competing plans for customer automation and online services. FedEx is teaming with America online and CommerceNet, while UPS is going with CompuServe and Prodigy.
27 -> Apple Intros High-Speed Power Mac 11/03/94 Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has introduced, what it calls, the industry's fastest personal computer with its Power Mac 8100/110 system. The product marks the first PowerPC 601 processor-based system to exceed the 100 megahertz (MHz) clocking speed.
28 -> IBM Supercomputers Expand Into Commercial Use 11/03/94 Already one-third of IBM's installed Scalable Powerparallel Systems (SP2) are being used by commercial customers, and next year, commercial SP2 implementations will start to overtake their technical counterparts according to Jack Magoon, director of market support for IBM's Power Parallel Systems (PPS).
29 -> Hayden Offers "Official" Apple eWorld Book 11/03/94 Hayden Books has released the official guide to Apple Computer's eWorld online information service. Called "eWorld: The Official Guide for Macintosh Users," the book comes with a two-disk set of connection software for the Mac.
(Ian Stokell/19941103)
(Ian Stokell/19941103)
11/3/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Science Sleuths CD-ROM For Kids
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Videodiscovery Inc., a multimedia education publisher, has announced the release of Science Sleuths which the company says responds to the need quality science education products and is the first interdisciplinary science education CD-ROM for kids ages 11 to 14.
Actually, the program is suitable for ages 9 to adult, according to its creators, but it is targeted for children in middle school.
Videodiscovery started in the educational/science market ten years ago with a interactive multimedia laser disk version of Science Sleuth, which has 50 episodes. The first of the MPC CD series will have four episodes and will be released in January.
Product Manager Deirdre Hunt told Newsbytes the MPC version of Science Sleuths challenges kids with real-life science mysteries. Using a unique set of stimulated, interactive experiments and tests, along with a library of multimedia resources kids solve the mysteries by applying research skills and scientific principles.
The "Sleuth Headquarters" is where the user enters after selecting a mystery to solve. This is a virtual reality science lab. Users have access to more a dozen scientific tools which they can use to simulate experiments.
The mysteries to be solved include the origin of a mysterious blob on Chester Bay Beach (is it a nuclear jellyfish?) the culprit behind the exploding lawn mowers of Printer's Green (are the gophers up to something?), and the cause of the illness that ruined the Biogene Picnic (is Biogene conducting secret experiments?).
Armed with multimedia resources and interactive tools such as a Bunsen burner, microscope, and Geiger counter, kids practice the research skills used by actual scientists and engineers.
The initial story line and challenge is set with live video clips and interviews of witnesses and experts in the field.
Kids record their findings and hypotheses in an interactive "notebook" that provides them with a final report or "case" they can then take to the Master Sleuth for review. Through a question and answer process where kids are encouraged to articulate scientific theories, the Master Sleuth determines if they have solved the mystery and tests their knowledge of key scientific concepts.
The program also allows kids to print out their final report and share their shrewd detective work and scientific learning with friends and family.
Patrick J. Call, Ph.D., general manager of the Digital Products Division, says, "With Science Sleuths we view our competition not as TV or computer games but as a good book. At Videodiscovery we publish science education products, not edutainment, but that doesn't mean that education can't also be fun and inspirational."
Science Sleuths is the first in a series of interactive multimedia science education products the company intends to release during 1994. The MPC version will ship in early 1995. A Macintosh version using QuickTime movies will follow later in the year. The company will be marketing its consumer line of multimedia titles through a broad range of consumer retail channels.
(Nick Anis/19941103/Press Contact: Deirdre Hunt or Pat Call Videodiscovery, Tel: 206-285-5400 or 800-548-3472, Fax: 206-285-9245, E-mail: vdisc@.applelink.com; Customer Contact: Tel: 206-285-5400 or 800-548-3472, Fax: 206-285-9245)
800-548-3472, Fax: 206-285-9245)
11/4/94
Science Sleuths CD-ROM For Kids
Labor Dept. To Launch Ergonomics
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans a broad set of rules aimed at controlling an epidemic of repetitive motion injuries on the job, a problem the agency estimates costs $100 billion a year in lost work time. The planned "ergonomic standard" would cover some 120 million workers in most companies around the US.
According to The Washington Post, the proposal has already kicked off a major lobbying campaign by business interests and organized labor. The National Association of Manufacturers is asking every member to pony up $5,000 for its "Coalition on Ergonomics" and has signed up 185 companies so far.
Labor unions are pressuring sympathetic members of Congress to put the heat on OSHA to move rapidly. Labor fears that, because of the length of time it takes to enact major federal regulations, the initiative won't survive the Clinton administration's first term.
OSHA is pushing its ergonomics standard because, as computers have become nearly ubiquitous in the workplace, the number of injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome is soaring. According to OSHA, half of the people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome lose more than 30 days of work, longer than the typical fracture case or amputee.
In 1983, about 25 percent of the workforce used computers. Now, the figure is over 47 percent.
Under the OSHA proposal, employers would use a checklist of five risk factors to identify potential problems. Once a problem job is identified, the employer has 60 days to fix the problem, or undertake an analysis of how to fix the problem if it can't be remedied in 60 days. For workers who stare at computer screens for more than four hours a day, the employer would be required to reimburse the employees for eye care.
Some large corporations, including the three major automakers already have implemented ergonomics programs that exceed the plan OSHA will unveil. But small businesses are likely to fight the plan as too expensive.
OSHA chief Joseph Dear told the Post that the plan would be published "soon, as soon as I can do it." Once OSHA completes the draft, it must win approval from Labor Secretary Robert Reich and then go the Office of Management and Budget, which has 90 days to sign off.
The proposal would then be published in the Federal Register for public comment and hearings, a process that could take more than a year. Court challenges could follow, further delaying the plan.
(Kennedy Maize/19941104)
the plan.
(Kennedy Maize/19941104)
11/4/94
Labor Dept. To Launch Ergonomics Plan
HEALTH
Business Group Examines Liabilit
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- The Clinton Administration's encryption initiatives are flawed when it comes to liability, says the US Council for International Business. A new statement from the group, the US affiliate to the International Chamber of Commerce, says the White House plan for a key escrow system raises lability issues that are inherently difficult to solve.
"The US Council remains troubled by the questions presented by the legal uncertainty of any recovery for losses suffered by blameless users of the key escrow cryptosystems promoted by the Administration that could arise from breaches in security by the US government or other parties acting on behalf of the government," says the report.
The report says the difficulty of assigning liability in the key escrow systems the Administration is pushing in its escrowed encryption standard (EES), Clipper, Capstone, and Tessera plan "sharply distinguishes" them from plans such as RSA and the digital encryption standard (DES) that permit "exclusively private management of secret encryption keys and critical examination of encryption algorithm details. These difficulties are powerful reasons for the business sector to be highly skeptical of the EES and Capstone initiatives."
Capstone is the implementation of the EES in the Administration plan, while Clipper is the chip that would implement the scheme in hardware, and Tessera is the PCMCIA implementation of Capstone. The key element is that a third party known as an escrow agent -- a government agency in the administration's plan -- holds a key to unlocking the code so it can protect national security interests.
With the strong encryption products now on the market, such as RSA and DES, says the council, "the relatively familiar rules of tort liability, product liability, and contractual liability for private parties are applicable. The government's extraordinary role in EES and Capstone, however, severely distorts the relevance and meaning of these legal doctrines of liability leaving many significant questions unanswered."
"Maintaining the security of information encrypted using EES and Capstone-based products," says the report, "is dependent on all branches of government involved in escrowed encryption sustaining an extraordinarily high degree of care. Such caution will be vital to protecting the security of escrowed unit keys and family keys, and to implementing truly strong cryptographic systems."
Unlike the EES systems, the commercial encryption products "are not susceptible to compromise beyond the users' own control," notes the US Council. "In addition, these cryptosystems -- unlike EES and Capstone -- rely on publicly disclosed algorithms, so that each user arguably can assess the possibility of a security breach resulting from cryptanalysis, and can accordingly decide whether this risk is justified by the utility of the cryptosystem."
(Kennedy Maize/19941104/Press Contact: Herbert Hahn, tel 212-354-4480; Public Contact: Nanette Di Tosto, tel 212-354-4855, fax 212-575-0327)
ette Di Tosto, tel 212-354-4855, fax 212-575-0327)
11/4/94
Business Group Examines Liability And Encryption
IBM Announces Multimedia ThinkPa
PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- IBM UK has announced enhanced versions of its ThinkPad 360 and 755 series of notebook PCs. The new machines include CD-ROM and telephone facilities, which Big Blue claims propels them into the world of multimedia.
The new 755 is the 755CD, which comes with a full sized CD-ROM, stereo speakers, enhanced video and TV integration facilities, as well as a game port. Despite the heavy dose of add-ins, the machine tips the scales at 7.3 pounds.
On the ThinkPad 360 series, meanwhile, two new color models have been added -- the 360CE and CSE -- which offer CD-ROM subsystems and a new choice of 170, 340, 540 and 810 megabytes (MB) of hard disk capacity.
As ever, Big Blue remains coy on actual ThinkPad pricing in the UK for the new multimedia additions to its range, pointing to the fact that it allows its dealers and value added resellers to set their own pricing. Officials with IBM describe the new machines' pricing levels as "highly competitive."
(Steve Gold/19941104/Press Contact: Chris Alder, IBM UK press operations +44-705-563069; Reader Contact: IBM UK +44-705-561780; Fax 44-705-385081)
K +44-705-561780; Fax 44-705-385081)
11/4/94
IBM Announces Multimedia ThinkPads
Philips' Burn: Cycle CD-i Debuts
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Philips Media Games has announced the release of "Burn: Cycle," a futuristic challenge that combines a filmed drama with action/adventure gaming. The initial launch of the title will be on the Philips-developed compact disc-interactive format (CD-i) with follow-on releases of the title on PC CD-ROM and Macintosh CD-ROM in the first quarter of 1995.
Company spokesperson Christopher M. Dudas told Newsbytes the game has over 100 live action video scenes that bring the main character Sol Cutter, and his enemies to life against a backdrop of literally hundreds of 3D environments. Players explore the dangerous worlds of "Burn: Cycle" through Cutter's eyes, senses, and thoughts in an attempt to unravel the time bomb ticking in his head.
The company says everything in the "Burn: Cycle" is original including props, costumes, and music. As part of the product's flashy rollout, the game will be initially sold in a limited edition package which contains an additional audio CD with a 65 minute remix of the original soundtrack composed and remixed by noted cult film composer Simon Boswell.
Cutter is a data thief living in the year 2063 who steals corporate secrets by downloading them into his brain. While in the middle of a "job," something goes wrong and an insidious computer virus called "Burn: Cycle" installs itself into Cutter's brain. The player has only two hours to figure out how to purge the virus from Cutter's head before his brains turn to jelly.
Philips Media Games is supporting the introduction of "Burn: Cycle" with national print campaign and broadcast marketing campaign slated to begin in November.
The company is also holding an exclusive invitation-only media launch event featuring actors, the development team, and settings from the game, today, on November 4 in Hollywood, California.
The limited edition CD-i version is available in stores throughout the United States for a suggested retail price of $59.98.
Philips is banking once its PC and Macintosh plug-in CD-i cards are available, the demand for CD-i format will be even greater.
(Nick Anis/19941021/Press Contact: Christopher M. Dudas, Philips Media Games, 310-444-6147; Pat Meier, Pat Meier & Associates, Tel: 415-957-5999)
r & Associates, Tel: 415-957-5999)
11/4/94
Philips' Burn: Cycle CD-i Debuts
GENERAL
UK - Mercury Launches Remote PAB
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Mercury Communications has announced Managed PABX, a service, which as the name implies, allows customers with PABXs (Private Automatic Branch eXchanges) with suitable software to allow Mercury to administer their system on a remote basis.
According to Mercury's Pat Ashton, marketing manager for the company's managed PABX services, PABXs are fast becoming a highly complex system to maintain, with the result that full maintenance contracts are becoming an expensive commodity.
"The complexity and cost of owing PBX networks is increasing, so we're introducing this service to take away the technical headaches, and reduce costs considerably," he said, adding that the benefits for customers are more accurate cost forecasts and economies of scale by using Mercury.
"Partial outsourcing services such as Mercury Managed PABX, reflect the degree of creativity and flexibility we offer to meet the operational and business needs of our customers," he explained.
According to Ashton, the degree to which customers outsource their PABX services is up to them. He explained that the customer's requirements determine the scope of services undertaken, which can range from basic -- covering alarms and fault management -- right through to total support.
Total support includes facilities such as operator and directory assistance management, change control, and even equipment relocation if necessary.
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Vodata, a division of Vodafone, has announced the Vodastream P0 service, a higher rate premium rate tariff and system support for companies wanting to provide higher value premium rate dial-up services.
Operating on the 0331 area code, the tariff for these numbers is a hefty UKP 1-50 a minute -- more than three times existing premium rates. Can the company justify such high rates?
David Upton, Vodata's business executive, claims so. He says that the revenue stream means that customer companies can publish voice and fax services with a high quality content, including professional and business information, plus advice, and generate income that was not previously available.
"The provision of a higher premium rate tariff will broaden the scope of information that can be made available to callers and so open up new market opportunities for information providers," he explained.
To date in the UK, premium rates have been set at a maximum of 38p off-peak and 48p peak, with British Telecom, Mercury or Vodata offering customers around 60 percent of the call revenue. Although premium rate services have blossomed in the UK in recent years, their overall quality has been questionable, owing to the high ratio of telco commission against the total cost of the calls.
Although Vodata isn't saying how much its standard contracts allow information providers (IPs), sources suggest that commissions are much lower in percentage terms than standard premium rate charge contracts.
The $64,000 question, of course, is whether phone users will be prepared to pay two dollars a minute for the service.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Webster publishing has released three new CD titles, all with Australian content. They are: Australia, Barrier Reef, and New Car Buyers Guide.
The three disks come from Australian-owned Webster publishing which produces CDs in its Sydney premises for training, corporate use and the booming home multimedia industry. MD Tony Webster told Newsbytes his company has placed an emphasis on design by incorporating well-written text with easy indexing, searching navigating and data access.
"We were pleased to hear the recent initiatives on multimedia from the federal government. It was not that long ago when computers were calculating machines and their use was confined to scientists," said Webster.
"Australia" is AUS$99 (around US$73). It highlights the beautiful and exotic aspects of Australia. An in-depth 40-minute "3D" journey through the major cities and tourist attractions shows the unique images of Australians and their country. Segments include sporting and political personalities in action, statistics and profiles on industry, the economy, manufacturing, arts, and a feature on Australian native animals which can be heard and seen in their natural environment. There are more than 2000 pictures, charts and graphs.
"Barrier Reef" is AUS$79 (around US$58). It depicts the reef's structure and shows detail on the marine life using more than 1500 pictures. Every "page" of the CD has a picture. There are videos ranging from dangerous marine life to general aspects of the reef. Every chapter of this book has a video with sound.
"New Car Buyer's Guide" is AUS$49 (around US$37). Users can peruse the latest options on new models, check the price, examine driver comfort facilities and compare each car with prior models. Users can even see their choice in any color. Many of the cars are shown in road test videos. A search function allows users to seek a vehicle that meets their requirements. There is a glossary of terms.
Each CD has these features: users can add notes to any page or place an electronic bookmark for future access; hyperlinks allow quick navigation between similar topics; users can read the presentation in their own way or have an automatic page-by-age presentation; any of the text, graphics or files can be clipped and used in other applications or can be printed.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- World microprocessor market leader Intel Corporation has inked an exclusive distributorship agreement with leading Philippine distributor Upson International Corp.
Glen T.S. Wee, ASEAN reseller channel executive of Intel Singapore Technology Ltd., emphasized the importance of support in today's computing industry. "Nowadays, we have software and applications becoming so powerful, like Windows," Wee declared. "The price of hardware is coming down while the cost of support is going up, which is the key factor for Intel's appointing Upson."
Wee likewise cited Upson's position as the largest PC distributor in the Philippines, and its technical and manpower support capabilities as key reasons for Intel's appointment of Upson as an exclusive distributor. Upson International is known for introducing high volume sales tactics used for pushing Acer PCs in the market.
The Upson seminar, held at the Garden Hall of the Hotel Nikko Manila Garden, featured Intel's latest products, including EtherExpress PRO/10 Adapters, EtherExpress Flash Lan Adapters the LanDesk Manager and the Overdrive Processor.
Wilson Liaw, regional network systems specialist, Intel Singapore Technology Ltd., presented Intel's line of adapters as he announced Intel's second-place ranking in the world adapters market. "That's because we are 100% committed to (the) networking business," Liaw explained.
The Intel OverDrive Processors, central processing unit (CPU) upgrades for i486 SX and DX CPU-based systems, were also presented. An Overdrive Processor speeds up all software applications running under DOS, OS/2, Unix and Windows.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Wee clarified that the OverDrive chip is different from Intel's CPU based processor on "the way they are being sold." The CPU chip is sold through the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) while OverDrive is sold through the retail market.
Manuel Wong, executive vice president, Upson International Corporation, likewise expressed his enthusiasm for the distributorship agreement between his company and Intel. "We're going to make these products available and affordable for our customers and not just in terms of performance, but in quality as well," he said.
When asked about their long-standing distributorship agreement with Acer, Wong revealed that Acer products have been doing very well in the local marketplace. "In fact, in terms of market share, we believe that Acer is number one," he said. Wong also said that revenue-wise, Upson has more than doubled its growth rate, which will be enhanced by its distributorship agreement with Intel.
Intel Corporation currently boasts a 20% global market share in the adapter business. "That is because Intel is not complacent. We try to maintain our competitive edge by heavy investment in R & D," Liaw asserted. According to him, more than $2 billion was allotted for product development this year.
Ask how he foresees Intel in the next couple of years, Liaw asserts, "Our 100 MB card will catch up in the Asian region including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand within this year. By mid next year, we plan to introduce it here in the Philippines."
NORTH SIOUX CITY, NORTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Gateway 2000 (NASDAQ:GATE) has added a 75MHz Pentium-based multimedia PC to its product line.
The new P5-75 Family PC joins the P5-90, a 90MHz system, in Gateway's growing family of Pentium-based personal computers. Like the P5-90, the new system comes with Gateway's recently announced 15-inch Vivitron color monitor, which is based on Sony Trinitron technology. You also get a 16-bit stereo sound card made by Creative Labs, a Microsoft mouse, Altec-Lansing stereo speakers a high-capacity hard drive, and a collection of home-user oriented software on CD-ROM.
Gateway spokesperson Wendell Watson told Newsbytes products in the Family PC line come with an Anykey keyboard. The keyboard's name is derived from the fact that any key on the keyboard can be programmed to execute a macro. A macro is a stored string of keystrokes used to perform repetitive functions such as printing a document or inserting a string of frequently used text. The programming capability of the keyboard is stored in read-only memory (ROM) within the board.
Watson said any of the product line's PCs can be shipped with larger monitors, higher-capacity hard drives (up to one gigabyte) and more memory.
Standard configuration of the P5-75 is with a 730-megabyte (MB) hard drive, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) local bus video card with 1MB of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a TelePath II 14,400 bit-per-second data/fax modem, 8MB of system memory, a 256 kilobyte cache, one 3.5-inch floppy drive and double-speed CD-ROM drive in a desktop case. The case has three drive bays for expansion, four 16-bit expansion slots, two 32-bit PCI slots and one shared ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)/PCI slot.
Pre-loaded software includes the MS-DOS 6.22 operating system Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia, Microsoft Golf, Cinemania (a movie trivia and facts program), Microsoft Money, and Fine Artist. You also get Microsoft Works, a productivity package that includes word processing database, spreadsheet and communications software. Money is a personal finance management program which Microsoft has said it will sell in order to avoid problems with its acquisition of Quicken, a similar but more widely accepted program. Fine Artist is a draw/paint program designed primarily for use by children.
One also gets CoSession, a remote diagnostics program that, when the PC user grants access, can be used by Gateway technicians to remotely diagnose problems on the PC.
The P5-75 is priced at $2,499.
(Jim Mallory/19941104/Press contact: Michelle Gjerde, Gateway 2000 605-232-2253; Public contact: Gateway 2000, 605-232-2000 or 800-523-2000)
act: Gateway 2000, 605-232-2000 or 800-523-2000)
11/4/94
Gateway 2000 75MHz Pentium-based Multimedia PC
Discovery Channel Plans Technolo
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- The Discovery Channel, a specialty television service, will run six pilot programs early in 1995 on computers and technology. Two series are expected to result from the pilots.
The first five hour-long shows, produced by five different Canadian production companies, will make up a mini-series that Discovery Channel is calling Cyber Wars. John Panikkar, program director for the television company, told Newsbytes viewers will be asked for their reaction to the shows, and this will play a part in choosing one of the shows to become a series of 13 half-hour programs to be broadcast next fall.
"The intent is to get the viewers of Discovery Channel as involved as possible in decisions about Discovery Channel programming," he said.
The sixth program will be an hour devoted to the Internet -- the increasingly popular global data network -- and Panikkar said this will be the pilot for a separate series.
The first program, airing January 4, is called Cybersurfer. It will have a live studio audience, plus another kind of live audience of home computer users connected through the Internet. The host is Paul Chato, a former member of the Toronto-based comedy troupe The Frantics, who has a long-standing interest in personal computing.
Binary Groove, the second program, will look at trends and news in computing, including a piece on how computers help build better swimmers and dinosaurs and an item on how to get the most from a computer salesperson.
The third program, called Chipheads, is billed as a "show and tell exploration of computer technology."
Hi-Tech Culture, the fourth pilot, focuses more on social implications than on hard-core technology, with topics such as "Do kids learn better in a virtual school?" and "Is Cybersex better than the real McCoy?"
The final Cyber Wars contender, E-Scape Velocity, will ask whether humans should explore outer space in person or let computers do it alone.
The programs will air on Discovery Channel on consecutive Wednesday evenings from January 4, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time except in the Pacific Time zone where they will appear at 9:00 p.m. Pacific time. Each will be rebroadcast on the following Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
(Grant Buckler/19941104/Press Contact: John Panikkar, Discovery Channel, 416-494-2929, fax 416-490-7067; Public Contact: Discovery Channel, 416-494-2929)
c Contact: Discovery Channel, 416-494-2929)
11/4/94
Discovery Channel Plans Technology Series
BROADCAST
Which And Why - Windows Decision
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Arlington Software Corp. will unveil at the upcoming COMDEX/Fall trade show in Las Vegas a version of its Which and Why decision-making software for Microsoft Windows.
The Windows version of Arlington's existing Which and Why package will take advantage of the Windows user interface, making it easier to use, said Dave Lobley, federal government representative in Arlington's Ottawa office.
Incorporated about a year ago, Arlington sells only the Which and Why software, which Lobley said has been five years in development.
The software lets a user construct a decision-making model by listing the factors that will affect a decision, weighting the importance of the factors, and then ranking each of the possible alternatives according to each factor. The software then determines which alternative is best, based on the criteria the user has defined.
The time needed to create the decision model varies widely depending on the size of the decision, Lobley said, but a typical model involving about 100 factors takes someone familiar with the subject matter roughly an hour to create. Arlington supplies with the software more than 80 basic models that users can modify to meet their own needs, he added. These are meant "to whet their appetites and get them thinking."
According to the vendor, Which and Why is suitable for many types of decisions, from personal ones such as choosing a new car to complex corporate decisions. The software also supports group decision-making, Arlington officials said.
Which and Why for Windows is due to begin shipping at the beginning of December, Arlington said. The list price is US$349. The DOS version of the package lists at US$249.
(Grant Buckler/19941104/Press Contact: Sam Tharani, Arlington Software, 613-746-1140, fax 613-746-1140, Internet 71603.2027@compuserve.com; Public Contact: Arlington Software 613-746-1140)
ic Contact: Arlington Software 613-746-1140)
11/4/94
Which And Why - Windows Decision-Making SW
WINDOWS
Court Awards Microsoft $1M in Co
` ! REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- A US District Court judge has awarded Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) damages totalling nearly $1 million as the result of a lawsuit that alleged the defendants knowingly distributed counterfeit Microsoft software.
The judgement was issued against Kanix, Inc of Baldwin Park California and its principals, Steven Chen, Paul Lin, Andy Lam James Kou and Victor Hu for their involvement in a scheme to distribute thousands of copies of MS-DOS, Microsoft's disk operating system.
The Kanix operation first came to light three years ago, and in 1991 police raided the company and found what Microsoft describes as "large quantities" of MS-DOS version 3.3, 4.01 and 5.0. The latter version was complete with a counterfeit hologram, a graphic image Microsoft places on its boxes to identify legitimate software. Sources tell Newsbytes that holograms are extremely difficult to counterfeit, requiring sophisticated equipment and technical knowledge.
Microsoft obtained a preliminary injunction against Kanix to halt the alleged counterfeiting prior to filing the lawsuit, and says it later discovered that Kanix was continuing to load illegal copies of MS-DO and other software on its personal computers after the injunction was issued.
Industry trade associations estimate that counterfeiting of software costs software publishers billions of dollars annually. While the low price of counterfeit software may be attractive, buyers of the bogus products should be aware that they are not eligible for technical support or reduced-price upgrades.
Kanix and its principals were also permanently enjoined from future infringements on Microsoft copyrights and trademarks.
This is not the first time the courts have awarded Microsoft damages in large amounts, nor is it the largest monetary award. In July 1993, Microsoft was awarded $12.5 million in a piracy case that involved US and Taiwan companies. In April of this year Microsoft sought to recover $22 million in lost revenues from a Chinese institute it says counterfeited tens of thousands of Microsoft holograms.
(Jim Mallory/19941104/Press contact: Christine Santucci, Microsoft Corporation, 206-882-8080; Public contact: Microsoft Corp. 206-882-8080 or 800-785-3448 to report possible counterfeit software)
85-3448 to report possible counterfeit software)
11/4/94
Court Awards Microsoft $1M in Counterfeit Case
Guarded Praise For DEC's New Alp
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp.'s (NYSE:DEC) announcement of new Alpha AXP workstations and servers this week is "a good refresh of the product line" offering strong technology at an impressive price said industry analyst Jim Brennan.
Brennan, senior director of WorkGroup Technologies in Hampton New Hampshire, told Newsbytes that Digital is wisely trying to extend the success of the Digital 2100 A500MP server launched last April.
But he also said Digital has had limited success persuading its existing VAX customers to move to Alpha systems, a problem he suggested might, ironically, result from the old VAX systems being so good that users don't feel the need of replacements.
Brennan said DEC's strategy of relying more on resellers, a move the company announced along with the latest Alpha announcements might be a good way to get Alpha sales moving. The company relied heavily on value-added resellers to market the old VAX line, he said, and it worked well.
Brennan also described DEC's use of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion bus in most of its new machines as part of a widespread trend. Noting that IBM's recently launched personal computers also use PCI, he observed: "It's pretty clear that the major vendors are going to be moving to that."
Meanwhile, Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd. crowed over its parent company's decision to award a worldwide manufacturing mandate for the new AlphaStations and AlphaServers to its Kanata Ontario, plant, near Ottawa.
Ron Catcheside, a spokesman for Digital Canada, told Newsbytes the subsidiary expects its exports will roughly double as a result of the decision. Digital Canada exported just under C$1 billion worth of computers in fiscal 1994, up 49 percent from 1993.
However, the mandate will not necessarily mean more jobs at the 2,000-employee Kanata plant. Catcheside said DEC expects staff currently in place can handle the production volumes expected.
(Grant Buckler/19941104/Press Contact: Ron Catcheside, Digital Canada, 416-218-2120; Public Contact: Digital Canada 416-730-7000, fax 416-730-7070)
gital Canada 416-730-7000, fax 416-730-7070)
11/4/94
Guarded Praise For DEC's New Alpha Systems
Motorola's New Retail Modems
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is about to ship two new PC Card (formerly PCMCIA) plug-in fax-modems to standard retail outlets, a first for the firm. Motorola says the devices are meant for corporate users as well as small business and home users, but notes that the products will reach stores "in time for the Christmas buying season."
The new 14.4 kbps (kilobits per second) fax modems represent the first in two new Motorola product brands, called Lifestyle Series and Power Series, to be produced by the firm's Transmission Products Division. The move to retail marketing is meant to broaden the division's marketing reach as emerging technologies expose consumers to scores of new analog and digital personal connectivity products.
Motorola's Jay Berryhill, general manager for retail distribution told Newsbytes reception of the new marketing push has been good and new retail channels are opening up rapidly.
"With the new brands we're going to be rolling out, we think we've got the best products in the field," he said. "We've got both the more feature-rich consumer products and a basic product for people who just want to access the information highway."
Berryhill noted that Motorola has long been among the first out with new technology, such as v.34 28.8 kbps analog modems. However, such products have been designed for large corporate customers with high volume data transfer needs, not for individual consumers.
Asked for a specific example of how the new brands differ from the firms current products, Berryhill cited UUCP/Unix spoofing, that is emulation of the old Unix-to-Unix CoPy mail transfer system.
The Lifestyle brand modem, listed at $279, will be aimed at the home market for personal computers. It will use landlines, but will be upgradable to cellular, the firm said.
The Power Line series will be cellular-ready, designed to work with any data-capable Motorola flip phone, and will support Motorola's proprietary EC2 (Enhanced Cellular Control) technology. EC2 improves cellular data reliability without sacrificing compatibility with CCITT and Bell standard modems. Listing for $339, the Power Line modem is intended for traveling executives and other professionals who use cellular phones, the firm said.
Both devices will fit any computer with PC Card Type II, Release 2.0 and above slots, the firm said. The modems will start appearing on retail shelves over the next two weeks.
Motorola sources said the firm expects the portable market to grow by 1997 to 22 million units, with 90% of those having PC Card slots. Berryhill put it in more direct terms: "The PC Card market is just starting to explode. We see this as a billion dollar modem business by the year 1998," he said.
(Craig Menefee/19940916/Contact: Kathy Morelock, Motorola 205-430-8656; or Howard Geltzer or Stuart Dambrot, Geltzer & Co. 212-575-1976)
t, Geltzer & Co. 212-575-1976)
11/4/94
Motorola's New Retail Modems
TELECOM
PC-Loan Software Calculates Loan
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- A new Windows program from 20/20 Software has been released that calculates various pieces of information relating to personal loans.
Bill Warner, a spokesperson for 20/20 Software, says PC-Loan is a program that wouldn't have been possible until recently. "PC-Loan marries the power of the personal computer with advanced software techniques so that the program can perform many personal loan calculations previously regarded as too difficult to be incorporated in a consumer product," Warner told Newsbytes.
PC-Loan for Windows will compute the number of payments, the amount of monthly payment, the interest rate, and the total amount the loan will cost including interest. The program comes with a Loan Wizard that displays payment patterns graphically so you can compare features and display the payment patterns of two loan alternatives. The company says that will allow the user to easily see why one loan deal may be better than another one. For example, PC-Loan can show the difference between adjustable and fixed rate mortgages or a low interest rate versus a "cash back" auto loan. A floating bar payoff analysis tool also lets users see how much money they can save by paying the loan off early.
PC-Loan has a suggested retail price of $59.95. The company says loan providers can order the program in multiple unit packages, and site licenses are also available.
20/20 Software also distributes PC-Install for Windows, an installation software program that can be used to automate the installation of applications and data files on a PC. The distributor modifies PC-Install to provide the names of the files to be decompressed and copied to the PC, and what messages are to be displayed on the monitor during installation.
20/20 spokesperson Bill Warner told Newsbytes PC-Install is targeted at software developers who want to make it easier for their customers to install the product as well for use in corporate environments to facilitate and automate the distribution of software and data files.
PC-Install has a suggested retail price of $179. Registered owners of the earlier version can upgrade to version 3.0 for $79. If you bought PC-Install after September 15, 1994 you can upgrade at no charge. The company also markets a DOS version of PC-Install for $149, or you can buy the DOS and Window versions bundled for $249.
(Jim Mallory/19941104/Press contact: William Warner, Alliance Consulting Group for 20/20 Software, 503-452-5921; Public contact: 20/20 Software, tel 503-520-0504 or 800-735-2020, fax 503-452-5930/PC-LOAN9411-4/PHOTO)
r 800-735-2020, fax 503-452-5930/PC-LOAN9411-4/PHOTO)
%MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- By Susan Bryan. How easy is it to design your own landscape on computer? Depends on the software. Six different programs are available, ranging in price from $14.95 to $89.
All six let you plot your lot and move pre-fab graphics around by clicking and dragging. Graphics vary in style and number. At the low end, Autodesk Landscape includes 50 symbols, all line drawings. 3D Landscape tops the list with 100 realistic color pictures. But no package covers every possible object. You'll find yourself substituting a planter box for a compost bin before you're finished.
Some of these programs measure more precisely than others, but none saves you the task of sizing up your existing landscape with an old-fashioned tape measure.
Beyond that, each program is different. A couple are little more than fancy drawing tools. People who do everything by computer will enjoy nerding around with them. But turning cute graphics into a growing landscape takes more know-how than these programs offer.
If you're serious about doing it yourself, you only need to consider two programs: LandDesigner from Green Thumb Software and 3D Landscape from Books That Work. Why? Because these programs tell you the real-life consequences of your plans as you plot them on screen.
LandDesigner by Green Thumb Software ($89). If you're designing a sprinkler system, buy this program. It's got enough valve and pipe symbols to plot the waterworks at Versailles. And it's one of the only programs that will test your irrigation system before you buy pipe much less buy it (3D Landscape does this as well).
LandDesigner's biggest drawback? All symbols are two-dimensional and cannot be sized. You'll need to imagine real trees where circles mark your plan. And you'll need to imagine how tall each tree will be when it reaches maturity. In other words, you'll have to read a flat plan like a pro.
And don't count on help selecting plants. LandDesigner's list is so small that it's almost useless. You can increase its power by adding another 300 plants for $19.95. As is, most searches for a plant with specific attributes come back at you with a blank screen.
Computer novices will appreciate the manual written in plain English. Step-by-step instructions begin with rock bottom basics on using a computer mouse. The program is easy to learn because it's simply a drawing tool with a few bells and whistles.
Essentially, you're getting a computerized version of a blueprint topped by 12 tissue-paper overlays. You draw on each layer separately, but you can see as many layers as you want simultaneously. You can plot your lot and house on one level, then make notes on another about use of space. Trees might go on a third layer. Graphics move easily from one layer to another, with the exception of water works--which are locked into their own level.
3D Landscape by Books That Work ($79.95). If you're interested in designing more than a sprinkler system, buy 3D Landscape. You get a spiffy design tool plus on screen how-to's that explain nitty-gritty details of installation. This down-to-earth program goes further than any other in helping you really do it yourself. It's also the only one capable of dealing with a sloping lot.
The only irritating features are icons so small they're almost illegible and the absence of a free-hand drawing tool. To make curved borders and beds, you select a straight line, then tediously pull and push points along it into curves.
With 3D Landscape, you design in two dimensions, then look at plans in 3D from any angle you choose. Realistic growth and shadow features let you foresee how plants will grow--and transform sunny spots under saplings into the dense shade of mature trees. Shadow patterns can be viewed over the course of a day or year. Predicting sun and shade are crucial to successful landscape design. But only 3D Landscape gives you enough computer magic to cope.
3D Landscape also has the only plant library worth its kilobytes. With more than 400 plants in its memory banks, this program won't come up empty-screened when you ask for a sun-loving tree for clay soil in US Hardiness Zone 9. Each plant is described with maintenance notes. Anyone who has cleaned up inedible fruit dropped by a flowering beauty knows to look at care first, appearance second. But this plant library is the only one that warns you about such chores.
The on-screen how-to book is fun as well as informative. Complex information is explained by animations complete with sound effects. You can see exactly how to measure a slope, transplant a shrub, or break up old concrete. Interactive pages with on-screen calculators help you estimate the volume of cut and fill for rough grading or the height plant you'll need to screen an eyesore. You even learn what tools to rent for big projects.
All in all, this program gives you twice as much as any other on the market.
Landscape by Autodesk ($69.95). Precision is the virtue of this program. Designers accustomed to CAD, or computer-aided-design, will catch on immediately. But the arcane details of the program will frustrate non-CAD users and frazzle amateurs.
The manual is written in clear enough prose. But it's 242 pages and you do need to read it. There's no cross-over computer logic here. (A rotating menu system at the side of the screen shifts every time you select a topic. If you're used to stationary, pull-down menus you'll get dizzy trying to keep up with what's where.)
Instead of selecting trees and shrubs by name, you choose outline symbols, then specify a height and diameter for them. The program enters the actual measurements, but prints out your plan in a choice of scales.
Once you've got your design snapped to grids in two dimensions you can look at it in 3D perspective from any angle. You get a color line drawing, not a realistic picture.
This is a design tool, pure and simple. It assumes you'll hire someone else to install your landscape and advise you on plant selection.
Design Your Own Home Landscape by Abracadata ($59.95 Windows & DOS versions, $99.95 Macintosh). This manual talks to computer buffs, not beginners. Even the tutorial file was omitted from the Windows version I tested. If you don't know what it means to flush your buffers, stay away from this one.
Computer sophisticates may not find the program so onerous. Plants can be aged by any number of years you choose. If you buy an extra $60 program called Design Estimator and create your own materials files, you can calculate how much your total job will cost. There's also a nice tool for drawing arcs that avoids the tedium of connecting dots until they form curves. But icons are often cryptic. (To lower your frustration level, I'll give you a tip: the plant library is hidden behind the picture frame icon.)
Landscape Designer by Advantage Point ($39.99). Plot your landscape in two dimensions, then switch to three dimensions and watch the colors and shapes change through the seasons. Deciduous trees grow leaves, then shed them. Bulbs pop out of the ground, then die back into the lawn.
This showy program is more computer animation than design tool. A lot of energy went into giving you subtle color options on screen. That left little flexibility elsewhere.
Plants can be grown to mature heights--but only if they're one of the chosen few built into the program. Your choices are limited to 18 big trees, 13 ornamental trees, and 37 shrubs.
What's worse, this program limits you to a squared-off/rectilinear lot no larger than 150 by 150 feet. If you've got a curve in your boundaries, you're out of luck. Part of the squared-off inflexibility comes from the 3D set-up. You view your lot from its corners, not from the front, back, or sides.
The manual isn't difficult to understand. But once you learn the basics of the program, you'll be frustrated by its limitations.
Landscape by Expert ($14.95). This one takes the least time to learn. But it does the least for you. It's a simple drawing tool with a two-dimensional, top-down view only. There's little expertise built into the system.
The Plant Encyclopedia is too vague to be useful. Look up a plant and you'll get an undefined hardiness zone number plus a recommended climate such as West Coast. (Does that mean the plant is suitable to rainy Seattle as well as water-starved L.A.?)
People who know little about plants should stay away from this one. Or use it to noodle around a bit on your own. Then hire a pro to correct your plans and recommend plants.
Buying Tips: Before you buy any of these programs, make sure your computer has enough power to run it. If your hardware isn't up to speed, these elaborate programs will run so slowly that you'll find them more frustrating than fun.
Check that your printer connects with the software, too. Some programs can print out extra-wide sheets when hooked up with the right printer, either yours or one at a graphics shop. If you've designed an elaborate landscape, you'll want to print out plans larger than 8 1/2 X 11.
(Susan Bryan/19941104/Contacts: Books That Work at (800) 242-4546; Green Thumb Software 75 Manhattan Drive, Ste. 100, Boulder, CO 80303 1 303 499-1388; Abracadata, Ltd. PO Box 2440, Eugene, OR 97402 1 800 451-4871; Advantage Point is distributed by Gametek Inc., Gametek is a registered trademark of IJE, Inc. 2999 Northeast 191st St., Ste. 500, North Miami Beach, FL 33180; Expert Software PO Box 144506, Coral Gables, FL 44114-4506 1 800 759-2562)
bles, FL 44114-4506 1 800 759-2562)
11/4/94
Feature - Landscaping by Computer
FEATURE
GENERAL
Company Results Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- While Apple Computer announced a dividend, multimedia company Graphix Zone has announced a decrease in first quarter revenues. Gateway 2000 reported strong growth in both revenues and earnings for its third quarter, but server company Pyramid Technology announced a net loss for its most recent quarter. Toshiba said that sales decreased one percent for the first half of the current fiscal year, and America Online, riding the crest of an online wave, announced a two-for-one stock split of its common stock and revenues up 185%. Digidesign announced record sales, net income and earnings per share for the fiscal 1995 second quarter, while Xerox said document processing income was up 48 percent for its 1994 third quarter.
The board of directors of Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL 408-974-3488) has declared a $.12 per share dividend for the company's fourth fiscal quarter ended September 30, 1994. The company says that the dividend represents its thirty-first consecutive quarterly dividend and is payable December 16, 1994 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 25, 1994.
Multimedia company Graphix Zone Inc. (NASDAQ:GZON - 714-833-3838) reported first quarter revenues of $416,000, a 13 percent decrease from the $476,000 recorded for the same quarter of the prior year. The company, a producer of CD-ROM titles, reported a net loss of ($637,000) or ($.25) per share, for the quarter as compared to net income of $23,000, or $.02 per share, for the first quarter ended Sept. 30, 1993.
Gateway 2000 Inc. (NASDAQ:GATE - 605-232-2709), reported strong growth in both revenues and earnings for the third quarter ending September 30, 1994. Revenues for the quarter totaled $644.4 million up 61 percent over the third quarter of 1993 and an increase of 4.5 percent over the second quarter of this year. This quarter's revenue, for the fourth quarter in a row, marks an all-time high in terms of quarterly sales for the South Dakota-based corporation. Year-to-date revenue of approximately $1.88 billion is 58 percent higher than the $1.19 billion reported for the first nine months of 1993.Net income for the third quarter was $27.61 million, or $.35 per share compared with $23.56 million and $.33 per share in the third quarter of 1993 and $3.76 million and $.05 per share in the second quarter of this year. In Europe, sales for the quarter were approximately $39 million, up 14 percent over the $34.1 million recorded in the second quarter.
Server company Pyramid Technology Corp. (NASDAQ:PYRD - 408-428-9000) announced revenues in its fourth fiscal quarter, ended September 30 were $58,137,000, as compared to $60,549,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1993. Net loss for the quarter was $1,135,000, or $0.08 per share compared with a profit of $3,392,000, or $0.25 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1993. Pyramid's revenues for fiscal 1994 were $218,515,000, compared to $233,698,000 for fiscal 1993. Net loss for fiscal 1994 was $22,413,000, or $1.66 per share, compared with net income of $8,634,000, or $0.67 per share in fiscal 1993. Compared with the prior quarter, the company improved revenues by $4.3 million increased gross profit by five percentage points, and held operating expenses flat while increasing direct sales headcount and investment in research and development.
Toshiba Corp. (212-596-0600) announced its non-consolidated results for the first half (April 1 - September 30, 1994) of the current fiscal year to March 31, 1995. Sales decreased 1 percent to 1,521,390 million yen (US$15,524 million), from 1,535,712 million yen (US$15,671 million) in the year-earlier period. Recurring profit amounted to 24,709 million yen (US$252 million), an increase of 10 percent against the year-earlier 22,419 million (US$229 million). Net income totaled 17,209 million yen (US$176 million), up 1 percent from 17,019 million yen (US$174 million) in the same period a year ago. Projected sales for the fiscal year ending March 1995 indicate an increase of 1 percent to 3,300,000 million yen (US$33,673 million). Recurring profit will increase 21 percent to 65,000 million yen (US$663 million), while net income will also increase 15 percent to 36,000 million yen (US$367 million).
America Online Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER - 703-448-8700) announced that its board of directors has approved a two-for-one stock split of its common stock, effected in the form of a stock dividend of one share for each share outstanding. America Online reports that revenues increased 185 percent to $54,423,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 1995, which ended September 30, 1994, up from $19,079,000 in 1994's first quarter. Net income, before merger expenses (with Redgate Communications), increased 882 percent to $2,976,000 or $0.32 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 1995, as compared to net income of $303,000 and earnings per share of $0.04 in last year's first quarter.
Digidesign Inc. (NASDAQ:DGDN - 415-688-0614) announced record sales, net income and earnings per share for the fiscal 1995 second quarter ended September 30, 1994. In the quarter, Digidesign generated net sales of $9.56 million and net income of $1.28 million, or 17 cents per share, compared to net sales of $6.05 million and net income of $641,000, or 10 cents per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 1994. This represents an increase of 58 percent in net sales, 100 percent in net income and 70 percent in per share earnings. For the first six months of fiscal 1995, Digidesign reported net sales of $18.30 million and net income of $2.43 million, or 32 cents per share, compared to net sales of $11.60 million and net income of $1.05 million, or 16 cents per share, in the first six months of fiscal 1994. Digidesign developers digital audio production software and systems for the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and broadcast radio industries.
Income from Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX - 203-968-3572) core document processing business in the third quarter was $185 million, compared with $148 million in the third quarter of 1993. Excluding a one-time $23 million tax benefit in the third quarter last year, document processing income was 48 percent higher in the 1994 third quarter. For the first nine months of the year, document processing income excluding one-time tax benefits, increased 40 percent, to $483 million, from $344 million. Document processing primary earnings per share, excluding the one-time tax benefit, grew 54 percent to $1.60 in the third quarter, compared with $1.04 in the third quarter of 1993. Fully diluted earnings per share increased 51 percent to $1.53. For the first nine months of 1994, primary earnings per share excluding one-time tax benefits, increased 35 percent to $3.97 from $2.94. On a fully diluted basis, earnings per share increased 34 percent to $3.84. Total company income in the third quarter was $186 million, or $1.61 per primary share, compared with $150 million or $1.28 per primary share, in the third quarter of 1993. For the first nine months of 1994, total company income was $483 million, or $3.97 per primary share, compared with $451 million, or $4.01 per primary share, in the first nine months of 1993.
(Ian Stokell/19941104)
(Ian Stokell/19941104)
11/4/94
Company Results Roundup
BUSINESS
Personnel Changes Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Data General Corp., Amoco Corp., GTE China, Microsoft Corp., Symantec, Dell Computer Corp.
James Rothnie joined Data General Corp. (NYSE:DGN - 508-898-6546) as vice president of Aviion Software Development. He reports to Joel Schwartz, vice president and general manager of the Aviion Business Unit. Rothnie had been serving as executive vice president responsible for new product development, customer service and manufacturing for Kendall Square Research, a manufacturer of general purpose parallel computers. He joined KSR in 1987. Before joining Kendall Square Rothnie had been president of Computer Corporation of America (CCA). Rothnie holds a Ph.D. and BSEE from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
H. Laurance Fuller, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Amoco Corp., and John E. Pepper, Jr., president of Procter & Gamble Co., have been elected to the Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT - 708-576-2346) board of directors. Current directors Erich Bloch and Wallace C. Doud, having reached regular retirement age, will not be standing for reelection in May of 1995. Fuller has held the post of chairman and CEO at Amoco since 1991 and has been with that company since 1961. A graduate of Cornell University in 1961 with a B.S. degree in chemical engineering the 56-year-old Fuller also earned a J.D. degree from DePaul University Law School in 1965. Pepper, 56, has been president of Procter & Gamble since 1986 and a P&G board member since 1984. He joined P&G in 1963. He is a 1960 graduate of Yale and holds a B.A. degree.
Lee K. Toole has been named to the newly created position of president-GTE China (203-965-2853), effective immediately. He will report to GTE Vice Chairman Michael T. Masin, and also will become a vice president of GTE Service Corp. Toole, 58, will be responsible for developing business opportunities in China as well as assisting GTE business units in carrying out and coordinating activities in the country. Toole also will assist the business units in their activities throughout Asia. Toole most recently served as vice president-International for GTE Personal Communications Services (PCS) group since January 1992. Toole received his bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Tennessee.
Jim Allchin, Brad Silverberg, and Patty Stonesifer have been promoted to the position of senior vice president within Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT - 206-882-8080). All three will continue with their current responsibilities reporting to Mike Maples, executive vice president of the Worldwide Product Group (WPG). In addition, Paul Maritz will move to a cross-divisional role as senior vice president of WPG product and technology strategy, also reporting to Maples.
Robert (Steve) Miller, 53, has been appointed to the Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC - 408-446-7142) board of directors. Miller currently serves as a director of a number of large corporations. He most recently served as senior partner at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. Beginning in 1979 through 1992, he held a series of top finance executive positions at Chrysler Corporation, before serving as vice chairman of the board. For 11 years before that, Miller served in the international executive posts with the Ford Motor Company. Miller holds a B.S. degree in Economics from Stanford University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
Julie A. Sackett has been appointed to the position of vice president, human resources at Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:DELL 512-728-4100). In her new position, Sackett will have full responsibility for managing the implementation of the company's initiatives directed at the recruitment, development and retention of the company's "intellectual capital." As a member of the executive staff, she will report to the Office of the Chairman. Sackett joins Dell from Sequent Computer Systems Inc., where she served as vice president of human resources. Sackett, 51, received her MBA from the University of Chicago.
(Ian Stokell/19941104)
(Ian Stokell/19941104)
11/4/94
Personnel Changes Roundup
GENERAL
Agfa Holds Expo, US Launch Of Ch
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- "We want `Agfa' to be synonymous with `digital imaging,'" said Dr. Michael Paige general manager of Agfa Electronic Prepress Systems, at a press conference held to launch this week's Agfa Technology Exposition in Boston, and to introduce Agfa's ChromaPress digital printing system to the US.
The three-day technology expo, the first to be given by 15-year-old Agfa, featured demos of ChromaPress and other Agfa digital imaging products, along with complementary offerings from vendors that included IBM, Apple, Aldus, and many more.
Presented at the World Trade Center in Boston, the event also incorporated hands-on training in products and technologies like "digital photomontage," color scanners, QuarkXpress and Live Picture, in addition to conference sessions on dozens of topics such as hi-fi color, "alternative typefaces," digital cameras, and the impact of the "information highway" on graphic arts.
The ongoing transition of graphic arts from a "boutique-style" field to a high tech industry has caused a certain amount of "dislocation and frustration" among companies and individuals Paige said at the press conference, which was attended by Newsbytes.
"But what you're seeing is that Agfa is adjusting quite nicely," the general manager told an audience of journalists from around the world.
Three characteristics, he added, qualify Agfa to be equated with digital imaging: "Our core technology repertoire, our global distribution, and our clear strategic focus."
Agfa's distribution has branched out from an initial reliance on graphics art dealers to encompass major distributors such as MicroAge and Ingram, as well as VARs and VATs, Paige said. Agfa now takes a "hybrid approach" to distribution, "matching the channel to the product," the Agfa executive elaborated.
Agfa's newly rolled out ChromaPress allows quick turnaround time ease of use, and "personalized" printing, said Paul Willems worldwide product manager for ChromaPress, also during the press conference.
Introduced earlier this year in Europe, ChromaPress is now being employed in five countries on that continent, including Switzerland, according to Willems.
The first US customer for the digital printing system, he said, is Graphics Express, a prepress graphics and color separation firm with annual sales of $9 million and 120 employees. Graphics Express performed a live demo of ChromaPress at the Agfa expo.
ChromaPress allows "anyone with a PC and a color monitor" to prepare graphics and text online, bring the output on disk to a service bureau, and quickly receive hardcopy output, he explained. Jobs that would take "weeks" with traditional offset printing can now be turned around within a day, he maintained.
A newly added "Personalizer" feature lets users "personalize" individual pages within a press run, customizing the page with a person's name, for example. ChromaPress also provides "multipage support," according to Willems.
ChromaPress accommodates direct-to-plate as well as the newer computer-to-plate printing, said another speaker at the press conference, Walter Van Leuven, general manager of Agfa Photographic Press Systems.
Aside from ChromaPress, Agfa's other "core technologies" include imagesetters, raster image processors (RIPs), and scanners, said Paige.
"We sell more PostScript imagesetters than anybody else," Paige asserted. With the debut of SelectSet Avantra 44 at Seybold in September, Agfa now offers a large format laser imagesetter with an output size of 36- by 44.5-inches, he noted. Last summer at MacWorld, he added, Agfa unveiled four new scanners, including the high-end Selectra.
Agfa also produces color management systems, color film records and "graphics arts consumables" such as traditional and imagesetting films, color proofing, and conventional and digital printing plates.
US distribution of ChromaPress will begin in New England, and then spread to other areas of the Northeast, before going entirely national, Willems said, in response to a question from Newsbytes during a Q&A session at the close of the press conference. The press conference and Q&A were moderated by long-time Agfa marketing communications rep Martin Schneiders, who is retiring from Agfa this week.
In a meeting with Newsbytes later, Willems said that Agfa will be installing ChromaPress at US sites other than Graphics Express by the end of 1994.
Also during the meeting, Paige told Newsbytes that the variety of multivendor equipment demonstrated at the show represents Agfa's commitment to open systems. All systems on the show floor were interconnected on a single network, he added.
The network featured Agfa's Mainstream, a new "open systems server" with a "cross-application, cross-platform interface" for passing PostScript data and job specifications between applications.
(Jacqueline Emigh/1994110/Reader Contact: Agfa, 508-658-5600; Press Contact: Laura Nelson, The Weber Group for Agfa, 617-661-7900)
ntact: Laura Nelson, The Weber Group for Agfa, 617-661-7900)
11/4/94
Agfa Holds Expo, US Launch Of ChromaPress Digital Printing
GENERAL
Mastersoft's Word For Word Unix
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Mastersoft Inc., has released Word for Word-Unix version 6.1 of its document conversion utility that converts documents between formats.
Word for Word conversion utilities, which are also available for DOS, Windows, and the Macintosh platforms, offer bi-directional conversions of word processing, spreadsheet, database, graphics mail-merge and compound document formats.
The company says Word for Word-Unix runs on Sun OS, Sun Solaris, SGI IRIX, Intel SVR4, the HP9000 series 700, DG Aviion, IBM RS6000 AIX and SCO Unix and supports conversions between more than 125 file formats.
When documents are converted using Word for Word, the formatting and structure of the original files, with character attributes margins, tabs, tables, embedded graphics, columns and other formatting features remain intact. According to Mastersoft, the software can convert documents at a rate of more than three pages per second.
Word for Word-Unix supports a user interface and a command line option. The program also comes with a test mode viewer that allows the user to display and scroll through documents without loading the source application.
Word for Word-Unix has a suggested retail price of $499 per server, which includes one client license. Additional clients licenses sell for $99, or you can buy a package for one server and 25 clients for $2,495. A server package with 50 client licenses sells for $4,495.
Mastersoft began licensing its compound document conversion (CDC) technology to OEM (original equipment manufacturers) in 1991. Before the development of CDCs, a converted document could retain the graphic in a file only of the target file used the same graphic format as the source document.
(Jim Mallory/19941104/Press contact: Lisa Lambert, Mastersoft 602-948-4888 ext 103; Public contact: Mastersoft, 602-948-4888)
Public contact: Mastersoft, 602-948-4888)
11/4/94
Mastersoft's Word For Word Unix Version
HP, Quantum, Seagate Support 40/
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Three major disk drive manufacturers, Hewlett-Packard Company, Quantum Corporation, and Seagate Technology, Inc. have announced that they will actively support and promote the 40 MB/second Ultra SCSI and 100 MB/second Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) data storage interface standards. The companies agree that FC-AL is clearly the high-performance disc drive standard of the future that offers the best overall performance and flexibility.
In a joint announcement the companies said they believe that these interfaces, as standards in the industry, will serve long-term cost and performance requirements of the computer storage industry.
Company sources told Newsbytes the three hard disk drive companies agreed that the long-term direction for SCSI will be FC-AL over other serial interfaces such as SSA.
FC-AL is a subset of the Fibre Channel network systems interconnection standard adopted by the American National Standards Institute. It is a serial data storage interface designed for high-end, high-throughput applications including storage for mainframes, supercomputers, disk array subsystems, and enterprise system servers.
According to HP, Quantum, and Seagate, the first generation of FC-AL provides a path to much higher performance in addition to offering better flexibility and better performance than other serial storage interfaces. Ultra SCSI will serve as an interim system for customers who want additional performance over traditional parallel SCSI, but are not yet ready to make the switch to a new serial interface, the companies contend.
Ultra SCSI is an extension of the parallel SCSI standard that is designed to keep up with the throughput requirements of minicomputers, workstations, network file servers, and disk array subsystems.
New disk drives incorporating Ultra SCSI or FC-AL interfaces will be shipping in the next year.
FC-AL can handle up to 100 MB/second data transfers to Fibre Channel host systems. Up to 126 disk drives can be supported on a single interface connection. It supports the SCSI-3 interface protocol for easy integration, and enables simple attachment with no settings of jumpers or terminators. The standard provides device-to-device copper cable lengths of up to 30 meters or box-to-box lengths of 10 kilometers (6.25 miles).
UltraSCSI effectively extends the life of the parallel SCSI standard and will be available as early as the first quarter of 1995 on disk drives and related controllers and adapters.
Supported by ANSI, UltraSCSI can double a disk drive's burst data transfer rate with minimal changes in firmware and no changes to the physical connection. The interface provides buffer-to-host data transfer rates of up to 40 MB/second in a 16-bit implementation or 20 MB/second in an 8-bit implementation. It is a cost-effective, easy-to-integrate performance solution for customers who want to improve data throughput today.
(Nick Anis/19941031/Press Contact: David Webb, Seagate Technology Inc., Tel: 408-439-2838; Randi Braundwalder or Jana Puga Hewlett-Packard, Tel: 208-396-2332; Kelli Trask, Quantum, Tel: 408-894-5090)
HP, Quantum, Seagate Support 40/100 MB/Sec Standards
GENERAL
Do Your Own PR Kit
STOCKPORT, CHESHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- CCA Software, a division of Cape Cowley Associates, a public relations company, has come up with its own nemesis, a do it yourself (DIY) PR kit, for DOS and Windows.
Known as D-I-Y PR for Business, the software package is aimed at those companies which, for various reasons, do not want to employ the services of a PR company. "It's aimed at an area of the market we as a public relations company, have not serviced before," Cowley told Newsbytes.
According to Cowley, a PR and journalist industry veteran, the package includes almost 100 template press releases covering more than 95 percent of all occasions when a small to medium-sized business could gain valuable -- and unpaid -- coverage in the media.
"We all know how much advertising costs. The kit allows businesses to offer stories to the media and gain coverage at little or no cost. That's what good PR is all about," he explained.
The kit comes with what Cowley describes as "extensive course notes" which were originally devised for in-depth PR seminars run by Cape Cowley throughout the UK.
"We have felt for a long time that only big business could afford PR agencies like ourselves. That means they were the only ones who could benefit from a medium that is proven to be six times more effective than advertising," he told Newsbytes.
Cowley claims that the kit changes this ballgame. "For what is little more than the cost of an ad in a local paper, firms will be able to generate thousands of pounds worth of free publicity," he said.
D-I-Y PR for Business is available in DOS and Windows versions, with both versions supplied for UKP 49. Hardware requirements are a PC with DOS 3.1 or later and an EGA screen.
(Steve Gold/19941104/Press & Reader Contact: Mike Cowley, CCA +44-61 480-9811; Fax +44-61-429-6028)
Fax +44-61-429-6028)
11/4/94
Do Your Own PR Kit
WINDOWS
Novell Red Star Campaign
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Novell has announced a "Red Star" product authorization campaign, which it claims has been designed to protect and reassure end users that they are buying authorized products.
Russell Smith, Novell's distribution manager in the UK, claims that customers who buy a Novell "Red Box" product can ensure that their product is genuine by looking for a uniquely numbered sticker -- a red star -- that guarantees the product has come from one of Novell's eight authorized distributors in the UK.
"Customers need to be aware that they are buying through the official Novell channel, otherwise we cannot guarantee service and support," Smith said, adding that the company is "protecting customers from purchasing unauthorized and sometimes unlicensed software."
According to Smith, anyone buying a non-stickered Red Box Novell product will not be able to qualify for installation, or technical or upgrade support from the Novell reseller channel. To promote the system, Novell has started what it describes as an extensive four month advertising campaign in the end user computer press.
The Red Star sticker system started on November 1 and, according to Novell, all the company's resellers affix the stickers themselves to ensure that all users have the opportunity of using Novell's support services.
Newsbytes notes that Novell was plagued by US and Far Eastern imports of its products in the UK in the mid to late 1980s. This meant that UK resellers of Novell products found their prices frequently undercut by mail order outfits. In extreme cases, some resellers actually sourced their Novell products from overseas where they were cheaper.
Novell solved this reseller problem, which cause havoc with end user support and registration, by switching to dollar pricing worldwide. According to Novell, although this initiative is UK-only at the moment, by supplying its dealers with red stars for the packages, it means that customers can get a Red Star, regardless of where the dealer sourced the product.
(Sylvia Dennis/19941104/Press Contact: Mandie Kelly, Novell UK press office +44-344-724301; Reader Contact: NOvell UK +44-344-724000)
t: NOvell UK +44-344-724000)
11/4/94
Novell Red Star Campaign
NETWORK
Adobe Ships Persuasion 3.0 For W
Japan - Sony Offers High-, Low-E
India - Amadeus Reservation Syst
Olivetti Donates To Australian D
Mindscape Ships CardShop Plus De
Hungary - Cash Flowing For Telec
Russian Foreign Exchange Fiasco
UK - Borland Offers Low-Cost Par
National Football League Interac
New Entrepreneurial Edge Online
Case Law Providers Fight Over Go
NovaLink Online Service's Mosaic
Kelly Micro's Compaq Contura Lap
UK - Turn Your Fax Machine Into
Feature - Server-Based Ethernet
eWorld's Adds Nolo Legal, Ad Age
Telxon Pen-Based Computers, Moto
Ziff-Davis Sale - No Changes Pla
Oracle Targets Market Share
Correction - Microsoft, Rabbit E
Mexico - Technology News
Novell Reorganizes Product Group
Updated PCMCIA Standard Renamed
Hungarian Govt To Sell Telecom S
Business Group Examines Liabilit
Novell Red Star Campaign
Hayden Offers Official Apple eWo
UK - Frontline/IPE Sign McAfee D
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Frontline, a major UK distributor and IPE, the UK importer of the McAfee range of anti-virus software have signed a distribution deal that they claim is in response to the UK's Audit Commission's report on computer crime.
The Commission's report concluded that piracy and computer crime were a growing problem for UK businesses, and the computer viruses posed a threat to the welfare of business PCs.
IPE claims that, by signing Frontline to distribute the McAfee range of software, which includes VirusScan and NetShield, to resellers and dealers around the UK, it is helping to meet the Commission's report recommendations that businesses take as many precautions as possible when dealing with potential virus problems.
Garth McLeod, IPE's managing director, explained that, since his company is the sole authorized distributor of McAfee's products in the UK, and has combined its own security system, Datasave Advanced for Novell, with the McAfee range, businesses now have no excuse for failing to install anti-virus software.
McLeod claims that effective use of network resources and installation of anti-viral software can save firms a lot of time and money. "Increasingly, companies are waking up to the importance of computer security and effective network management," he explained.
"With figures published from the Audit Commission showing an alarming rise (up 183 percent) in the total value of losses caused by computer abuse, we believe that this initiative will help encourage management to start to impose adequate controls on their networks," he said.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19941104/Press Contact: Simon Williams Harvard PR +44-71-436-2244; Fax +44-71-916-1004; Reader Contact: IPE Corporation +44-71-631-0548)
der Contact: IPE Corporation +44-71-631-0548)
11/4/94
UK - Frontline/IPE Sign McAfee Distrib Deal
GENERAL
GSA Launches TELECONX Telecommut
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- The US General Services Administration (GSA), convinced at least at higher levels that telecommuting is a good idea, has established a new BBS (dial-up bulletin board system) to promote discussion and help distribute information. GSA sources said they hope the new BBS will be only the first of a network of public and private telecommuting information BBSes.
Called the TELECONX BBS (for "tele-connects BBS"), GSA bills the board as "the Federal Telecommuting Connection."
GSA said the system offers a variety of information on telecommuting, including:
Resource lists of experts; contacts for information exchange; policy and program choices, including examples of federal, state and private-sector telecommuting initiatives, such as work-at-home and telecenter use; reports and studies on costs and benefits of telecommuting; impacts on transportation, environment and energy use; tools and techniques, such as work agreements, survey instruments, training and evaluation materials and other practical documents; bibliographies on the topic; and e-mail (electronic-mail) forums on related topics.
Warren Master of the GSA Office of Workplace Initiatives, told Newsbytes the official list of covered subjects does not exhaust the board's content. He cited files on setting up a home office electrical or electronic wiring requirement, what laws apply to federal agencies, how to pay telecommuting employees, how to keep track of their work, how to link into mainframes, video conferencing technology, home office ergonomics, telecommuting center layout, and even what type of furniture works best.
"It's aimed primarily at government employees for the time being though much of it applies to the private sector as well," he explained. "Right now the single biggest obstacle to telecommuting is first- and second-level midline managers. The government has over two million employees, and not more than 2,000 of them telecommute -- less than a tenth of one percent."
He compared the situation with telecommuting with that of flexible work hours 10 or 20 years ago.
"Many of them (managers) took an 'over my dead body' attitude to flex time then," Master said. "Now we have 55 percent of the work force flexing, and that suggests that somehow or other, we worked it out. We can do the same thing for people who work at home or at a center," he declared.
Master said he sees the BBS as a pilot project, but also as a "mechanism to pique interest and awareness" of the possibility of telecommuting. He said more lines will be added to the BBS if public usage warrants.
"The long-term prospect for this is to serve as a national BBS available by local call through the internet," Master said. "I would envision most metropolitan areas will establish their own BBS systems eventually. We'd link them up so everyone could share the information equally."
To call the BBS, set 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit and call 202-501-7741. To access it on the Internet, telnet fedworld.gov then select Teleconx, currently number 56 on the gateway, Master said.
(Craig Menefee/19941104/Press Contact: Steve Guiheen, GSA 202-501-1231; or Warren Master, 202-273-4660 or e-mail, Internet: warren.master@gsa.gov; Reader Contact: Phil Labonte, TELECONX systom operator (SysOp), 202-273-4665, or e-mail, Internet: phil.labonte@gsa.gov; or TELECONX BBS, 202-501-7741)
nte@gsa.gov; or TELECONX BBS, 202-501-7741)
11/4/94
GSA Launches TELECONX Telecommuting BBS
Silicon Valley Directors Missing
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- Two directors of Silicon Valley Group (NASDAQ:SVGI) have been reported missing after a helicopter crash in the Caribbean off the coast of Cozumel Mexico.
The independent directors, Roy H. Pollack of Fordham University and William F. Emswiler vice president and chief financial officer of Perkin-Elmer, were listed as passengers in a helicopter that crashed Tuesday, November 1.
Carol Martin, with Silicon Valley Group, told Newsbytes that "We don't know what caused the accident, all we know is that it crashed into the sea." She said that, at the time, the two directors were accompanied by their respective spouses.
The helicopter trip was evidently an excursion to do with the cruise ship on which the two couples were vacationing.
Newsbytes has learned that a company meeting involving five directors had been planned for the day the cruise ship left Miami. Martin was unsure if the meeting took place in Miami itself, or onboard the cruise ship.
Further details of the crash are expected when Papken S. Der Torossian, chairman and chief executive officer, returns from the scene.
(Ian Stokell/19941104/Press Contact: 408-434-0500, Silicon Valley Group)
104/Press Contact: 408-434-0500, Silicon Valley Group)
11/4/94
Silicon Valley Directors Missing In Helicopter Crash
GENERAL
Newsbytes Daily Summary
#R#MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 NOV 4 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Korean Electronic Exports Surpass $30 Billion 11/04/94 According to a recent survey by the Electronic Industries Association of Korea this year's electronics exports are expected to amount to $30 billion, a 26.5% increase from last year.
2 -> Science Sleuths CD-ROM For Kids 11/04/94 Videodiscovery, Inc., a multimedia education publisher, has announced the release of Science Sleuths which the company says responds to the need quality science education products and is the first interdisciplinary science education CD-ROM for kids ages 11 to 14.
3 -> ****Labor Dept. To Launch Ergonomics Plan 11/04/94 The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans a broad set of rules aimed at controlling an epidemic of repetitive motion injuries on the job, a problem the agency estimates costs $100 billion a year in lost work time. The planned "ergonomic standard" would cover some 120 million workers in most companies around the US.
4 -> Business Group Examines Liability And Encryption 11/04/94 The Clinton Administration's encryption initiatives are flawed when it comes to liability, says the US Council for International Business. A new statement from the group, the US affiliate to the International Chamber of Commerce, says the White House plan for a key escrow system raises lability issues that are inherently difficult to solve.
5 -> Philips' Burn: Cycle CD-i Debuts 11/04/94 Philips Media Games has announced the release of "Burn: Cycle," a futuristic challenge that combines a filmed drama with action/adventure gaming.
6 -> UK - Mercury Launches Remote PABX Services 11/04/94 Mercury Communications has announced Managed PABX, a service, which as the name implies, allows customers with PABXs (Private Automatic Branch eXchanges) with suitable software to allow Mercury to administer their system on a remote basis.
7 -> UK - Vodafone Unveils Super Premium Tariffs 11/04/94 Vodata, a division of Vodafone, has announced the Vodastream P0 service, a higher rate premium rate tariff and system support for companies wanting to provide higher value premium rate dial-up services.
8 -> 3 Multimedia CDs From Australia 11/04/94 Webster publishing has released three new CD titles, all with Australian content. They are: Australia, Barrier Reef, and New Car Buyers Guide.
9 -> Intel, Upson Ink Phillipine Distrib Pact 11/04/94 World microprocessor market leader Intel Corporation has inked an exclusive distributorship agreement with leading Philippine distributor Upson International Corp.
10 -> Gateway 2000 75MHz Pentium-based Multimedia PC 11/04/94 Gateway 2000 (NASDAQ:GATE) has added a 75MHz Pentium-based multimedia PC to its product line.
11 -> Discovery Channel Plans Technology Series 11/04/94 The Discovery Channel, a specialty television service, will run six pilot programs early in 1995 on computers and technology. Two series are expected to result from the pilots.
12 -> Which And Why - Windows Decision-Making SW 11/04/94 Arlington Software Corp. will unveil at the upcoming COMDEX/Fall trade show in Las Vegas a version of its Which and Why decision-making software for Microsoft Windows.
13 -> ****Court Awards Microsoft $1M in Counterfeit Case 11/04/94 A US District Court judge has awarded Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) damages totalling nearly $1 million as the result of a lawsuit that alleged the defendants knowingly distributed counterfeit Microsoft software.
14 -> Guarded Praise For DEC's New Alpha Systems 11/04/94 Digital Equipment Corp.'s (NYSE:DEC) announcement of new Alpha AXP workstations and servers this week is "a good refresh of the product line" offering strong technology at an impressive price, said industry analyst Jim Brennan.
15 -> Motorola's New Retail Modems 11/04/94 Motorola Inc., (NYSE: MOT) is about to ship two new PC Card (formerly PCMCIA) plug-in fax-modems to standard retail outlets, a first for the firm. Motorola says the devices are meant for corporate users as well as small business and home users, but notes that the products will reach stores "in time for the Christmas buying season."
16 -> PC-Loan Software Calculates Loan Payments, Interest 11/04/94 A new Windows program from 20/20 Software has been released that calculates various pieces of information relating to personal loans.
17 -> Feature - Landscaping by Computer 11/04/94 By Susan Bryan. How easy is it to design your own landscape on computer? Depends on the software. Six different programs are available, ranging in price from $14.95 to $89.
18 -> Company Results Roundup 11/04/94 While Apple Computer announced a dividend, multimedia company Graphix Zone has announced a decrease in first quarter revenues. Gateway 2000 reported strong growth in both revenues and earnings for its third quarter, but server company Pyramid Technology announced a net loss for its most recent quarter. Toshiba said that sales decreased one percent for the first half of the current fiscal year, and America Online, riding the crest of an online wave, announced a two-for-one stock split of its common stock and revenues up 185%. Digidesign announced record sales, net income and earnings per share for the fiscal 1995 second quarter, while Xerox said document processing income was up 48 percent for its 1994 third quarter.
19 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 11/04/94 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Data General Corp., Amoco Corp., GTE China, Microsoft Corp. Symantec, Dell Computer Corp.
20 -> Agfa Holds Expo, US Launch Of ChromaPress Digital Printing 11/04/94 "We want `Agfa' to be synonymous with `digital imaging,'" said Dr. Michael Paige, general manager of Agfa Electronic Prepress Systems, at a press conference held to launch this week's Agfa Technology Exposition in Boston, and to introduce Agfa's ChromaPress digital printing system to the US.
21 -> Mastersoft's Word For Word Unix Version 11/04/94 Mastersoft Inc., has released Word for Word-Unix version 6.1 of its document conversion utility that converts documents between formats.
22 -> HP, Quantum, Seagate Support 40/100 MB/Sec Standards 11/04/94 Three major disk drive manufacturers, Hewlett-Packard Company, Quantum Corporation, and Seagate Technology, Inc. have announced that they will actively support and promote the 40 MB/second Ultra SCSI and 100 MB/second Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) data storage interface standards. The companies agree that FC-AL is clearly the high-performance disc drive standard of the future that offers the best overall performance and flexibility.
23 -> Do Your Own PR Kit 11/04/94 CCA Software, a division of Cape Cowley Associates, a public relations company, has come up with its own nemesis, a do it yourself (DIY) PR kit, for DOS and Windows.
24 -> Novell "Red Star" Campaign 11/04/94 Novell has announced a "Red Star" product authorization campaign, which it claims has been designed to protect and reassure end users that they are buying authorized products.
25 -> UK - Frontline/IPE Sign McAfee Distrib Deal 11/04/94 Frontline a major UK distributor, and IPE, the UK importer of the McAfee range of anti-virus software, have signed a distribution deal that they claim is in response to the UK's Audit Commission's report on computer crime.
26 -> Apple/IBM May Reach Agree't Monday 11/04/94 According to a story written by Associated Press business reporter Evan Ramstad Monday is rumored to be the big day when Apple Computer, Inc., and IBM Corporation will announce an historic licensing agreement calling for IBM to build PowerPC-based computers that would also run the Macintosh operating system.
27 -> IBM Announces Multimedia ThinkPads 11/04/94 IBM UK has announced enhanced versions of its ThinkPad 360 and 755 series of notebook PCs. The new machines include CD-ROM and telephone facilities, which Big Blue claims propels them into the world of multimedia. The new 755 is the 755CD, which comes with a full sized CD-ROM, stereo speakers enhanced video and TV integration facilities, as well as a game port. Despite the heavy dose of add-ins, the machine tips the scales at 7.3 pounds.
28 -> GSA Launches "TELECONX" Telecommuting BBS 11/04/94 The US General Services Administration (GSA), convinced at least at higher levels that telecommuting is a good idea, has established a new BBS (dial-up bulletin board system) to promote discussion and help distribute information. GSA sources said they hope the new BBS will be only the first of a network of public and private telecommuting information BBSes.
29 -> Silicon Valley Directors Missing In Helicopter Crash 11/04/94 Two directors of Silicon Valley Group (NASDAQ:SVGI) have been reported missing after a helicopter crash in the Caribbean off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico.
(Wendy Woods/19941104)
(Wendy Woods/19941104)
11/4/94
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
apple
Apple Takeover Unlikely, Motorola/IBM Talk Licensing
UK - Insignia Intros CD Directory For Mac
Major Apple Communications Products Upgrade
Japan - Voyager Plans Expand Book Toolkit Upgrade
Apple's eWorld Available In UK
Edmark Moves 3 Kids' Titles To CD-ROM
MacWorld - Kawasaki Looks Back At 10 Years Of Mac
UK Firm Intros Accounting Package For Mac
Apple Australia CD Sampler
KidSoft & Apple Bring Software Club To Kids
MacWorld - Bryce Landscape Prgm Makes Canadian Debut
MacWorld - Mainstay Intros Plan & Track, MacFlow 4.0
Support Grows for Apple GeoPort Standard
Interactive Multimedia Getting Started 2.0 For Mac Intro'd
Delrina Plans New Mac Fax Software For 1995
Europe - Hayes Launches Mac Optima Modems
UK - Mac Network Backup System Intro'd
Amnesty International Interactive Human Rights CD
Adobe TextureMaker For Mac, Power Mac
ClairsImpact 1.0
Correction - Amnesty Intl Interactive Human Rights CD
Apple Offers Developers Kit On CD
Fujitsu Talks Mac OS Licensing; New Multimedia PCs
Apple Cuts US Workgroup Server Prices
Apple Intros High-Speed Power Mac
Entry-Level Macs Offered PowerPC Upgrade
Apple/IBM May Reach Agree't Monday
business
Cognos Announces Oracle, Sybase Deals
IBM Canada To Resell Evergreen Notes
Ameritech - 10,000 Employees To Leave Firm Early
Microsoft Co-Founder Allen In Medio Equity Investment
Compaq Invests In Books That Work Software Firm
Powersoft Hong Kong Almost Tops US Parent
Zelos To Distribute Sony Imagesoft & Individual CD-ROMs
Hyundai Enters India Telecom Market
Dell Justifies Late Entry Into Philippines
Cray Computer Gets Another Cash Transfusion
India - VHEL Signs With Nokia, Samsung
Corporate Software To Buy DEC's 800-Software Unit
Joint Venture To Make Active-Matrix Displays
Oracle India Affected By DEC Database Deal
Compaq Sales Increase In Philippines
Toshiba To Reorganize, Consolidate Europe Operations
Microsoft To Acquire Intuit, Shareholder Sues
Norstan Canada Forms Integration Unit
TI Revenues, Earnings Reach All-time High
Company Results Roundup
Unisys Shuffles Global IT Operations - Europe First
Caere & Calera To Merge
Zeos & Micron Technology Subsidiaries To Merge
Microsoft & Compaq Team On Free Airline Ticket Promo
Canada - Call-Net To Acquire INSINC
Record Revenues For Apple's 4th Quarter
Philadelphia Partnership Acquires Compuadd
India - Siemens Establishes Software Center
Symantec & Stack In Helix Multimedia Cloaking Deals
Kodak To Implement Drastic Cost-Cutting?
Lotus Reports Decline In 3rd Quarter Income
Europe - Unisys Offers Windows NT Consulting Service
Indian Oil & IBM In Software Marketing Deal
Ziff Davis Empire Bids Due In 2 Weeks
C-Cube Income Up 993%
Microsoft 1Qtr Revenues Up 27%
US Robotics & Megahertz To Merge
Company Results Roundup
Mindscape Buys French Entertainment Software Developer
Star Data Completes Multipath Investment
Silicon Graphics Revenues Up 42%
Lotus Launches New Retail Merchandising Program
Bell Atlantic & Octus In Marketing Deal
Samsung Announces UK Investment Program
US Robotics Enters Irish Modem Marketplace
Indian Terminal Firm Launches UK Marketing Campaign
Adobe Europe Revamps Typeface Licensing
DEC Network Business Reseller Recruitment Prgm
Hong Kong - COL & DEC In Disaster Recovery Deal
Canadian Reseller Crowntek Acquired
Control Data - From Mainframes To Sys Integration
Asian Growth Helps DEC 1st Qtr Revenue
UK VR Firm Signs Deal With Atari
AT&T's Targeted Sales & Marketing Blitz
Borland Buys Dashboard From HP
Data Security Firm Adds ISDN Capability
DEC Deal Smooths Novell Upgrades In Asia
Kolvox In WordPerfect, Westlaw Speech-Recognition Deals
Ziff-Davis Bought For $1.4 Billion
Avid Technology To Merge With Digidesign
Scala Opens Canadian Office, Launches Windows Product
UK - Apricot Offers PCs Via PC World Stores
Key Tronic Returns To Profitability, Raises Credit Line
Germany - Escom To Move Into PC Distrib
Macromedia To Acquire Altsys, Gets Freehand
Company Results Roundup
High-Tech Trade Groups Launch China Office
Zeos, Micron Technology Subsidiaries Merge
UK Distributors For Spiderman Message Center
UK - Unipalm Licenses Mail-It Technology To Firefox
Comet Wins New York Marathon Deal
More Ziff-Davis Units Sold
Oracle Targets Market Share
Microsoft To Acquire Mapping Software Company
UK - The Link Computer Comms Stores Debut
No Money Up Front If Next & Microsoft Do Deal
DEC & Powersoft Extend Relationship
Novell Reorganizes Product Groups
Australia - HP Offers Horizon Reseller Tool
Intel, Upson Ink Phillipine Distrib Pact
Company Results Roundup
general
Unix Expo - Data General Management Station, Tivoli Deal
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Canadian Product Launch Update
Great Bear Offers Own Company Profile On CD-ROM
Correction - Floppies For Use By PCs, Macs Simultaneously
Bridging The Bay, Linking The World Conference
Unix Expo - Attendance Rises, Dates Set For '95 Show
UK - Micropolis Intros Fast SCSI-2 Drive
Microsoft Offers Solution Server Program
Newsbytes Daily Summary
WordPerfect Ships More Main Street Titles
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Quantum Offers Hierarchical Storage Seminars
Iceberg Revenues Up, StorageTek CEO Blasts Newsletter
MicroLogic Intros PrintMaster Gold On CD
UK PC Firm Links With Charity
Fannie Mae To Offer Desktop Mortgage Software
Japan - Computer Developments
Electronic Whiteboard Now Available In Mobile Model
Japan - Computer News
India - Amadeus Reservation System Launched
Knowledge Adventure Bundles Jurassic Park Movie
Australian Firm Helps Local Developers Export
TI Intros Fast MicroLaser Pro Printer
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Rockwell Software Development Tool, Tiny GPS
Spectrum Holobyte Ships 3 New Games
Personnel Changes Roundup
Microsoft Contest For Kids
Merisel Australia Awards Top Vendors
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Olivetti Donates To Australian Drought
CD-ROM Expo - 7,500-Title Market By 1999
Minnesota Educational Computing Offers 4 CD-ROMs
Canadian Product Launch Update
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Quantum's 1st Rollout Since $360Mil DEC Deal
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
Europe - Philips Still Confident On CD-I Sales
Playing To Win Founder Wins Social Responsibility Award
Luxembourg - Winter E-Mail Conference Set
Computer Freedom & Privacy Conference Set
Newsbytes Daily Summary
AT&T, GTE Units Win Quality Awards
Newsbytes Daily Summary
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
Data General's 3-Tiered Database Implementation
Lexmark Readies New Laser Printer Line
Korea - Computer News
Microsoft Comments On Spielberg, OS/2, Online Service
CA Says Accounting Packages Transcend Niches
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Japan - Computer News
Autograph Document Automation Software Intro'd
Intel Exec Joins National Academy Of Engineering
Mexico - Computer News
Xerox System Improves On Smart Cards
L3 Interactive Intros MPEG & 3DO Titles
Computer Living Largest Launch In Australian History
JetForm's Mac & OS/2 Upgrades, Offers Workflow Strategy
Mindscape Intros Mario's Time Machine CD-ROM
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Sport Accolade's Live Action Football CD-ROM
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Improve Your Photography With CD-ROM Guide
Correction - Sony Intros MD Data Drives
Australia Computer News
Hong Kong - Networked Economy Conf Postponed
Newsbytes Daily Summary
UK - MJN Computers Airlifted Into Sarajevo
Australia Computer News Briefs
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Personnel Changes Roundup
Secrets Of Stargate CD Premieres With Film
Ziff-Davis Sale - No Changes Planned
Scanner Software Bundle From Canon
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
Canadian Product Launch Update
Maxoptix Intros Praxis Mainline Storage Unit
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Nintendo Ships Super Punch-Out! For Super NES
Fargo PrimeraPro Color Printer With PostScript
Vancouver To Get New Local Computer Magazine
Corel Unveils CD Home Line, Plus Christmas Bundle
PeopleSoft To Support Informix Database
Hong Kong - Microsoft Enhances Club Membership
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Data General's Clariion Forges RAID Deal With Convex
Electronic Arts Offers Entertainment Bundles
Japan - Computer News Briefs
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Mexico - Technology News
Korea - Computer News Briefs
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
Electronic Documents Conference/Exhibit Planned
DEC Launches New Alpha Workstation & Server Line
Philips' Burn: Cycle CD-i Debuts
Silicon Valley Directors Missing In Helicopter Crash
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Agfa Holds Expo, US Launch Of ChromaPress Digital Printing
UK - Frontline/IPE Sign McAfee Distrib Deal
HP, Quantum, Seagate Support 40/100 MB/Sec Standards
Personnel Changes Roundup
Feature - Landscaping by Computer
NautilusCD is pleased to provide the following
industry reports from the Newsbytes News Network.
Subjects are listed on the left (Apple, Business, etc.). Click a subject button to display a list of Newsbytes for that subject. Click on any item in the list to go to that story.
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