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Zapple, business, general, govt, ibm, telecom, trends, unix, other
` % DUBLIN, IRELAND, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Gateway 2000 has announced the European availability of its P5-120 Elite, a 120 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based PC that the company claims is the fastest available in the European marketplace.
The machine, which is available immediately through Gateway's Irish UK, and German direct-sell operations, as well as through a select number of value-added resellers, has a quad-speed triple deck CD-ROM drive and 16 megabytes (MB) of EDO memory, high performance memory which Gateway claims increases memory bandwidth by as much as 22 percent.
Pricing in at UKP2,599 (with equivalent local country pricing applying in the Irish and German markets), the machine comes with 2MB of video RAM , plus an Ensoniq Wavetable sound card with speakers.
John Shepheard, Gateway's UK and Ireland country manager, claims that the system is a landmark in PC speed terms. "It's built around the fastest Pentium chip on the market and we're obviously pleased to be the first PC vendor to bring it to market," he said.
According to Shepheard, the P-120 Elite was designed with future expansion and upgrades in mind. The system comes in a tower casing that has a total of six free slots -- two ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), three PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), and one ISA/PCI -- plus a one gigabyte (GB) IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard disk. The disk can be upgraded to a 2GB unit on request, and in return for an extra UKP250 (or local country equivalent).
"We believe fully that PCs should not only provide the latest technology in a proven design, but there should be a good degree of future-proofing," Shepheard said, adding that customers "are placing an investment when they purchase a PC and it's up to our industry to ensure that their money is wisely invested both now and for the future."
The monitor supplied with the P5-120 Elite is a 17-inch Vivitron color unit based on Sony's Trinitron technology. As supplied, the machine comes pre-loaded with MS-DOS 6.22, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Microsoft Office Professional 4.3 -- which includes Word, Excel Access, PowerPoint, and an MS-Mail license. Encarta '95 and MS-Money are also bundled with the system.
HANOVER, GERMANY, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- As the dust settles on the giant Cebit '95 computer and electronics trade fair, Newsbytes can report that the eight-day event attracted more than 750,000 visitors including 107,000 from outside Germany.
The figures, according to Deutsche Messe AG, the organizers, are up on last year, when 682,500 people passed through the turnstiles, 105,700 of which were from outside Germany. The statistics relegate Comdex Fall, the US computer and technology event, clearly into second place.
The exhibitor list topped out beyond the 6,000 level and, according to staff with Deutsche Messe, exhibitors report that the number of good sales leads from this year's event was significantly up on last year suggesting that "undiluted optimism," was the order of the day when it came to riding out the European recession.
Ten years on, Cebit is now staggeringly huge: 2,470 of the exhibitors at the show -- up from 2,278 in 1994 -- were from outside Germany with a total of 59 countries represented at the event. According to the organizers, the US and Canada appears to have latched on to the event in a big way this year, with a strong US presence being felt in the fields of software, networks, and PCs.
"It was especially encouraging to note the presence of Eastern and Central European companies and institutions," said Deutsche Messe's official report on the show, noting that 186 exhibitors from these regions attended this year's event.
"This development is a clear indication of the fact that these exhibitors have experienced good results in the past few years. In 1995, the 'East-West Meeting Point' was an attraction for both visitors and exhibitors seeking closer contacts in Central and Eastern Europe," said the show report.
This may be the last time the industry sees Cebit in its current form. Newsbytes notes that Hannover's social infrastructure was strained to breaking point with three quarters of a million people descending on the town. According to Deutsche Messe, the logistics of funneling that number of visitors to the show ground placed an enormous load in the Messegelande, the show facility.
Incredibly, Deutsche Messe has announced that Cebit '96 will take place on a seven-day schedule, not over eight days as in previous and current years. The 1996 dates are March 14 to March 20.
Deutsche Messe notes that "the overwhelming visitors statistics from this year are a clear indication that the show, shortened to a seven day even (next year) is certain to experience considerable difficulties..."
The organizers plan to restrict student visitors to next year's event to the weekend. According to the organizers, "this will only meet with limited success," in controlling the flow.
Although Deutsche Messe staff refuse to be drawn on their plans for the 1996 event, sources suggest that the show may well spin off certain elements, such as the mobile and communications side, into a second and separate show at a later date.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19950330/Press Contact: Monika Brandt 49-511-89-31632; Reader Contact: Deutsche Messe AG tel +49-511-890, fax +44-511-89-32630)
fax +44-511-89-32630)
4/3/95
A Look Back At Cebit
TRENDS
A Look Back At Cebit
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Ma
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Hologlyph Inc. has announced an upgrade to A.R.G.U.S., its graphical user system that lets Macintosh users connect to and view RIPScrip-based information services. RIPScrip is a graphics protocol popular with bulletin board system (BBS) operators.
The RIP in RIPScrip stands for Remote Imaging Protocol, not to be confused with the term RIP (raster image processor) used in the printing industry. RIPScrip was developed by TeleGrafix.
Registered users of A.R.G.U.S., which is an acronym for Advanced Remote Graphical User System, will receive version 1.5 as a free update. The upgrade is now shipping.
Hologlyph said the update includes a correction to an internal bug caused by failure of one of the development tools the company used. The new release also resolves the clipping problems that existed with ANSI fonts. Checkboxes, radio buttons and pop-up boxes now all function correctly, and Hologlyph spokesperson David Beecher told Newsbytes that A.R.G.U.S. now supports any color bit depth as well as black and white displays. Hologlyph said more than 150 improvements have been made to the software.
Other changes include better compatibility with the Power Macintosh and support for "screw-in" utilities from third party developers to add additional features to A.R.G.U.S. A free QWK Off-line Mail Reader is the first "screw-in" to be released, with shipment scheduled for mid-April.
The company said it plans to ship DOS and Windows version of A.R.G.U.S. this month and a Spanish version is scheduled for release by mid-April. A future release will include TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) options.
While registered users will get a free upgrade to version 1.5 first time buyers will pay $35 plus shipping, taxes and tariffs if any. The company offers volume pricing and annual licensing agreements with unlimited distribution rights.
Beecher said the company has discovered a minor bug when A.R.G.U.S. is run on a Power Mac. Another upgrade to repair that problem will be shipped in early April to Power Mac users at no cost.
The company said a fully functional working demonstration of A.R.G.U.S. can be downloaded from Hologlyph's network by calling 303-458-6653 and logging in as "demos" in lowercase. No password is required. The demo is limited to 10-minutes of run time.
Hologlyph acquired A.R.G.U.S. when it purchased Denver-based Business and Technical Solutions Inc. (BTS) for approximately $200,000 earlier this year. A former BTS employee told Newsbytes BTS could not keep up with the demand for A.R.G.U.S. and for product support. He said Hologlyph licensed the technology for use in other products and bought BTS in order to "protect its investment."
(Jim Mallory/19950330/Press contact: Dave Beecher, Hologlyph 303-458-6481; Public contact: Hologlyph Inc., 303-458-6481 or 800-283-9082; Internet e-mail hologlyph@aol.com or hologlyph@applelink.apple.com)
hologlyph@aol.com or hologlyph@applelink.apple.com)
4/3/95
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Mac Graphics System
APPLE
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Ma
Multimedia Software Teaches Pres
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Cinemar Corp. has released Presentation World, a multimedia CD-ROM based program for Windows that teaches people how to develop and deliver business presentations.
Cinemar spokesperson Phil Sedar explained for Newsbytes how Presentation World works. "It's a complete seminar on how to deliver a presentation, and it focuses more on the person who is using modern technology to do so," said Sedar.
Like any presentation, you enter the conference center, but in this case that is done electronically. When you enter the center you see doors to four different lectures and several exhibit halls. The lectures, said Sedar, are supported by full-motion video presentation graphics, and other electronic aids. "It very much captures the live experience of being in a seminar," Sedar claimed to Newsbytes.
The four lectures cover: keynote addresses; content acquisition and development; how to assemble your presentation; and delivery. The user can control the depth of the presentation and can access information as needed, said Sedar. The exhibit halls contain displays and exhibits about various electronic tools you might want to use in your presentation, and how to store and manage the media.
Sedar told Newsbytes the Presentation World technology can be licensed to interested parties and modified to teach how to deliver a presentation about the licensees particular product or service.
To run Presentation World you need a 486-based PC with a double-speed CD-ROM drive, eight megabytes (MB) of memory Super VGA display, and 1.5MB of hard disk space, although the literature says you need 4MB of disk space. Sedar thinks that is a holdover from an earlier release.
Presentation world has a suggested retail price of $395. The company said there is no current plan to release a Macintosh version of the software.
(Jim Mallory/19950331/Press contact: Phil Sedar, Cinemar 503-646-2800; Public contact: Cinemar, tel 503-646-2800 fax 503-626-8439/CINEMAR950403/PHOTO)
el 503-646-2800 fax 503-626-8439/CINEMAR950403/PHOTO)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Visa has chosen Australia and New Zealand as the first countries to get a national stored value card (SVC) system. Scheduled for a July start, this is an open system available to other card issuers.
SVCs are designed to be used instead of cash in payment for transport parking, fuel, and food. The first Visa SVC will be disposable followed shortly after by reloadable SVCs and the ability to load an SVC component onto a Visa card or other ATM (automated teller machine) card. This means that the existing five million Visa cards and 13 million ATM cards in Australia and New Zealand will be able to hold an "electronic purse." There are 120 issuers of ATM cards in the two countries.
Mastercard and Europay have agreed to the same standard as Visa (the VME standard). While the first systems will be national, Visa said they will evolve into international, multi-currency cards. Users will be able to "process" their card when they arrive at a new country, converting the contents to the local currency. This is planned for 1997/98.
Because the SV Cards have a built-in chip, they can be used to "collect points" for "buyer loyalty programs." Banks initially complained that the cards could be used as an unlicensed deposit-taking system, but Visa said this would not happen because the money would stay in the banking system with Visa only providing the infrastructure.
Other SVC roll-outs are planned around the world, including Atlanta in time for the 1996 Olympic Games. Visa claims to have more than 391 million cards on issue around the world, with more than 50 percent of all spending on payment cards.
(Paul Zucker/19950330/Press Contact: Visa International tel +61-2-256-2400, fax +61-2-241-5264)
tel +61-2-256-2400, fax +61-2-241-5264)
4/3/95
Australia - Visa's Stored Value Cards
TRENDS
InContext Spider Called 1st Web
Computerworld Australia Puts Job
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- IDG in Australia has created a World Wide Web project for recruitment ads, called Computerworld Jobs.
Like most publishers around the world, IDG is seeking ways to use electronic publishing methods to extend, and sometimes replace, the printed word. The two main carriers of IT (information technology) job ads in Australia are The Australian Newspaper (computer section) and Computerworld Australia, both of which are weekly publications.
Now Computerworld will publish daily on the World Wide Web "within hours of placement." The ads will stay on the system in multiples of seven days.
IDG estimates that there are 700,000 Internet users in Australia who can be potentially reached by advertisers. What remains to be seen is how many of these will choose to look on the Internet for their next IT job. Computerworld will continue to carry the ads in printed form so presumably IDG will be able to gauge both delivery methods.
IDG's new faxed daily IT news CWToday will also be placed on the new Web site by the middle of April. The Internet address for the job listings is http://www.idg.com.au/idg/
(Paul Zucker/19950331/Press Contact: IDG Australia tel +61-2-439-5133, fax +61-2-439-5512)
Australia tel +61-2-439-5133, fax +61-2-439-5512)
4/3/95
Computerworld Australia Puts Job Ads On Internet
ONLINE
Free Update Increases Quattro-Lo
India - Birla & Computer Horizon
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Birla Information Technologies which is a part of the C.K. Birla industrial group, has joined with Computer Horizons Corp. (CHC) of the US, to form a joint venture company, Birla Horizons International Ltd., for software development and services.
The 50/50 venture will be headquartered in New Delhi and is expected to commence operations next month.
The US operations will be handled through a wholly-owned subsidiary Birla Horizons International Inc., located in New Jersey. The joint venture company is expected to be a profitable concern from the beginning because the C.K. Birla Group had decided to transfer its existing technology services business, Birla Information Technologies complete with personnel, facilities, and equipment, to the new company.
According to C.K. Birla, chairman of Birla Horizons International India will become one of the largest vendors of information technology and related services in the global market by the turn of the century.
John Cassese, chairman of Computer Horizons, said the two companies have worked as a team on a number of "significant projects" and the joint venture merely formalized their alliance. The agreement will provide Computer Horizons greater access to India, with its software factory and resources, while improving Birla Group's access to the US market place.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950330)
the US market place.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950330)
4/3/95
India - Birla & Computer Horizons In Joint Venture
BUSINESS
Berkeley Speech & Franklin In Ha
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- In today's Japan newsbriefs: Hitachi develops the worlds lightest video camera; Digital phone prices are slashed; Kyocera develops an intelligent telephone; Japanese students get to mix English language with Internet education; New fire resistant fiber optic cable developed.
World's Lightest Video Camera From Hitachi
Hitachi has developed what the firm claims is the world's smallest and lightest hand-held color video camera. The Yomuiri Shimbun reports that the extra weight has been shed by doing away with the video recording part. Hitachi's reasoning is that, since almost every Japanese home owns a video recorder, there is now no need to duplicate the technology in the camera. Of course this means that the unit can only be used near to a video recorder but that hasn't deterred Hitachi. The camera is powered by just four AA size batteries and gives resolution equal to that of other models in the range, claims the firm. The unit weighs in at 150 grams.
Kansai Digital Slashes Phone Prices
The digital phone war is gaining pace. Kansai Digital Phone has announced a 31% price cut on telephones as of April 1. Units manufactured by Nokia, NEC, and Fujitsu will see cuts of between 9,000 and 29,000 yen ($100-$325). This is the third price cut that Kansai Digital Phone has announced in its 10-month history.
Kyocera Corporation will begin selling a new telephone that will automatically select from the cheapest long distance supplier at the time the call is made. In Japan, three companies, including state owned NTT, vie for the long distance market with another three companies providing international service. The cordless phone also comes pre-programmed with Kyocera's free dial customer help-line number. The KCT-S5 will retail for 23,800 yen ($265).
Become More Proficient In English & learn About The Internet
Japanese students are being given the opportunity to study English and become Internet literate at the same time. Japan's Council on International Education Exchange is offering, for the first time, a "Computer and English Program" which sends students to Vancouver in Canada for three weeks from August 1. The course will place students with host families and allow the study of English and Internet basics at Douglas College in Vancouver.
New Fire Resistant Fiber Optics
A new fiber optic cable that can withstand temperatures of up to 60 degrees centigrade has been developed by Tohoku Electric Power and Yoneawa Cable. According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the cable can be manufactured for the same price as that of conventional cable so it should become popular quickly. A special "stopper layer" prevents damage to the enclosed fibers from fires which can occur after such disasters as earthquakes. This means that the communications infrastructure has a better chance of remaining intact.
(Martyn Williams/19950328)
Williams/19950328)
4/3/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Seybold - Awards For Excellence
air Planned Fo
Claris Adds Novell IPX Support T
` SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Claris Corporation is shipping FileMaker Pro Server 2.1 for the Macintosh, a network server version of its database software.
According to company spokesperson, Steve Ruddock, the new version now hosts database files for both FileMaker Pro Macintosh (PowerMac and 68xxx-based systems) and Windows guests simultaneously, for use with AppleTalk and Novell's IPX (Internet Packet Exchange).
Ruddock told Newsbytes that FileMaker Pro Server 2.1 is based on Claris' FileMaker database program. Claris recently announced that a new version of FileMaker Pro is under development that will "offer relational database capabilities to users" and will be "designed to specifically match the needs of small business and workgroup users."
According to Ruddock, this new IPX version is an update of FileMaker Pro Server 2.0 which was shipped in July, 1994, with only support for AppleTalk. Ruddock told Newsbytes this new release has "improved performance and capacity" and "addresses the needs of workgroups in cross-platform settings within mixed network environments served by AppleTalk (Mac) and IPX (Windows and Mac)."
Ruddock told Newsbytes that, since the July release, the network intensive tasks previously handled locally on a FileMaker Pro network, such as indexing, are now off-loaded to the FileMaker Pro Server, "dramatically reducing the amount of data traffic that passes over the network."
Users of FileMaker Pro Server 2.1 will experience greater performance improvements, claims the firm. The new IPX release is claimed to outperform the prior version by over 100%.
The package comes with both the client application and the server version. The suggested list price for FileMaker Pro Server 2.1 is $1,499. Users can upgrade from FileMaker Pro Server 2.0 for $99 from resellers or by calling 800-544-8554.
FileMaker Pro Server requires a Macintosh II or higher. A Power Macintosh or Quadra A/V with eight megabytes (MB) RAM is recommended, along with System 7.0 or higher with at least 4MB RAM.
(Nick Anis/19950329/Press Contact: Kevin J. Mallon, 408-987 7227, Internet e-mail kevin_mallon@claris.com; Steve Ruddock tel 408-987-7202, fax 408-987-7440, Internet e-mail steve_ruddock@claris.com, both of Claris; Reader Contact: 800-544-8554)
om, both of Claris; Reader Contact: 800-544-8554)
4/3/95
Claris Adds Novell IPX Support To FileMaker Pro
NETWORK
Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Broderbund Software Inc. (NASDAQ:BROD) has released "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Detective Edition."
The new Macintosh release is intended to "let five to eight year-old gumshoes track Carmen and her V.I.L.E. thieves around the world."
The Macintosh CD-ROM title is the most recent in the popular Carmen Sandiego series, and was created for younger players with "pre-reading or early reading abilities."
Broderbund spokesperson, Rina Jackson, told Newsbytes the program is "chock-full of audio-visual clues designed to sharpen children's memory and matching skills." Jackson added the program "provides an engaging first exposure to world geography and cultures."
As with the other versions of the game, the Junior Detective Edition enlists players in the ACME Detective Agency. These crimebusters pursue thieves who have stolen "national treasures," such as all of the sushi in Japan or all the "blue" from Jamaica's Blue Mountains. Rather than reading text clues as in previous Carmen Sandiego games, Jackson says young gumshoes can track down Carmen Sandiego or one of her V.I.L.E. (Villains International League of Evil) henchmen by assembling "mug shots" and deciphering visual clues.
"Until now, most kids between the ages of five and eight have had to be content with watching older children play Carmen or with catching her on television," said Ken Goldstein, publisher of Broderbund Studios' Education & Entertainment Products Group.
The program has some of the same faces and voices as the "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" animated television series, which is produced by DIC Entertainment for the Fox Kids Network. Agents Zack and Ivy, along with The Chief, are on hand to assist players as they track down Carmen Sandiego, whose voice is provided by Rita Moreno.
A new character, Stretch the Crime Dog joins the chase on behalf of ACME in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Carmen's cat Carmine, says the firm.
Children solve crimes using visual clues, including color photographs illustrations of animals, flags, and local products. The included musical selections represent many different cultures.
The voice of Dee Jaye, offers players automatic help. Dee Jaye prompts very young players through their first cases, or at the tap of a button, to help more seasoned players out of occasional small jams. Individual cases are centered in any one of seven geographic regions of the globe to help reinforce learning about specific countries within a particular region.
A illustrated Junior Agent Handbook is also included with additional learning activities that reinforce skills taught in the game. "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Detective Edition" is now available for about $40. Both the Macintosh and Multimedia PC versions are available on a single CD-ROM.
The Macintosh version requires a 256-color Macintosh, 8-bit video support, 25 megahertz (MHz) 68030, 13-inch or larger monitor five megabytes (MB) RAM (8MB recommended), System 7.0.1 or higher, CD-ROM drive (double-speed recommended).
The Multimedia PC version requires a 33MHz 386DX or faster processor, 4MB RAM, Super VGA, Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, MPC-compliant sound device, CD-ROM drive, hard drive and a mouse.
(Nick Anis/19950329/Press Contact: Rina Jackson, 415-382-4569; Shannon Jamieson, 415-382-4567, both of Broderbund Software)
mieson, 415-382-4567, both of Broderbund Software)
4/3/95
Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective For Mac Intro'd
APPLE
Seybold - PCs To Ship With SGML-
2 More Govt Agencies On The Web
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Two more federal agencies have launched sites on the World Wide Web, with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the US Air Force now online.
DOT's press releases, selected speeches by Secretary Federico Pena and other public documents can be reached at http://www.dot.gov. Users can reach the public affairs section by selecting the "What's New" button or by selecting the "News Items" link located on the home page.
DOT says its server is compatible with all major Web browsers. Also, DOT has begun the first phase of a new, consolidated docket management system. The agency is consolidating its nine separate docket facilities into a single central office and converting from a paper-based system to an electronic imaging system.
"The increase in the number and complexity of rulemakings and adjudicatory proceedings has generated a growing mountain of paper," Pena said. "This new electronic system will provide users with better and quicker access to information. In the future, the system will eventually permit individuals to perform electronic searches of public records from outside Washington."
At the Air Force, the Web site includes fact sheets on weapons systems, biographies of senior leaders, photos of aircraft digital audio clips of music by Air Force bands, and a virtual display of selected works from the Air Force art collection. The site also contains a master index of more than three dozen other home pages throughout the Air Force.
"The home page is our gateway to the 21st century," says Col. Ron Sconyers, director of Air Force public affairs. "It will have a tremendous impact on the public's understanding of Air Force operations."
The address is http://www.dtic.dla.mil:80/airforcelink. The Air Force developed the page in cooperation with the Defense Technical Information Service.
(Kennedy Maize/19950403/Press Contacts: Lorie Dankers, DOT 202-366-5565; Capt. Terry Bowman, Air Force, 703-695-8561)
Bowman, Air Force, 703-695-8561)
4/3/95
2 More Govt Agencies On The Web
Logistics Planning Workstation f
MCI Wins Prison, Postal Deals
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- MCI is extending its reach from your house to the Big House. The company has landed contracts in Connecticut, Kentucky, and Arkansas to provide secure telecommunications for state prisons.
MCI says the total number of inmates now reached by its Maximum Security telephone system is more than 300,000.
Maximum Security is a system that helps prison officials control the use of the phone system. The system allows prison officials to prevent abuse of prison phones, including call-forwarding seems, credit card fraud, and "subscription impropriety."
The system "is loaded with features designed to prevent telephone abuse in prisons," said John Jacquay of MCI. "For example, a state correctional inmate attempts to contact his convicting judge to harass her. A branding feature of Maximum Security will force the prisoner to state his name and will alert the judge as to the origin of the call before the prisoner has any direct voice contact with the judge. And to prevent further attempts at harassment, the judge's telephone number can be restricted from the inmate by a unique 'call blocking' feature."
MCI estimates the prison telecommunications market at more than a billion dollars.
MCI has also picked up a Postal Service contract to transmit digital images of handwritten or unreadable address information from scanners at mail processing plants to remote encoding centers for further processing.
Operators view the images on computer screens at the encoding centers and key missing information into the system for transmission back over the MCI network to the original mail processing plant.
The Postal Service picked MCI for a one-year contract with four one-year renewal options.
The MCI system, currently being installed in phases, initially will connect 145 systems on a point-to-point basis and eventually could add another 50 to 75 remote systems over the contract period. Image data will be transmitted at 1.5 million bits-per-second.
(Kennedy Maize/19950403/Press Contact: Ed Bergstraesser 312-938-4958)
Ed Bergstraesser 312-938-4958)
4/3/95
MCI Wins Prison, Postal Deals
Chicago Tribune On The Web
North American Software Sales Hi
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Personal computer software sales in the US and Canada hit $7.4 billion in 1994 according to the Software Publishers Association, a 16.6 percent increase over the $6.3 billion in 1993. Fourth quarter sales were a record $2.5 billion, easily topping the fourth quarter of 1993, when sales were $2 billion.
According to the SPA, Windows applications accounted for 65 percent of the application software sold in the US and Canada in 1994, at $4.8 billion. DOS and Macintosh applications split the rest, with $1.28 billion in DOS applications and $1.25 billion in Mac apps. For the year, Windows applications sales grew 45 percent, says SPA, while DOS applications fell 37 percent and Mac applications increased 19 percent.
Mac applications had a particularly strong Christmas, with sales and growth in the fourth quarter the best of the year. Mac application sales were up 24 percent to $397 million for the quarter.
Word processors and spreadsheets remained the largest application categories, with sales of $1 billion for word processors and $830 million for spreadsheets. The SPA says unit sales growth was solid, but declining prices put pressure on revenue growth. Word processor revenues were up less than one percent, while spreadsheet revenues were up only two percent. In the fourth quarter, word processor sales declined 11 percent and spreadsheet sales fell nine percent.
By contrast, consumer-oriented categories showed big gains. Fourth quarter entertainment software sales of $358 million were up 64 percent over the 1993 quarter. Entertainment became the king of the software hill for the quarter, surpassing both word processors and spreadsheets.
"The past year has been one of turmoil in the application software industry," says David Tremblay, SPA research director. "Application segments which had traditionally led the industry had little or no revenue growth, while other segments emerged as growth leaders" because of the home market and new technology such as the Power PC.
(Kennedy Maize/19950403/Press and Reader Contact: David Tremblay, 202-452-1600 ext 317, Internet World Wide Web site http://www.spa.org)
Internet World Wide Web site http://www.spa.org)
4/3/95
North American Software Sales Hit $7.4 Billion
TRENDS
UK - New Internet Windows Encryp
Job Search Software For Windows
HOLBROOK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Searching for a job at more than 11,000 US corporations will become easier in June. That's when Adams New Media will release its "Adams JobBank" software.
Adams New Media officials said the new software is based on the Adams JobBank series of books available at many bookstores. "We had a lot of customer requests for this kind of program," David B. Woods, Adams New Media director of publicity, told Newsbytes. "A lot of inquiries came in to our division regarding getting this on disk, so it seemed like the logical thing to do."
Wood called the program "one-stop shopping" when it comes to job searches. The database includes 7,500 employers, with name and address listings of contact people, business descriptions, common professional positions, educational backgrounds sought, and fringe benefits, the company said.
Also, 2,200 executive search firms and employment agencies are listed. For those who want to "reach out and touch" a potential employer, more than 1,900 telephone numbers for pre-recorded job listings are given. In addition, 300 profiles of, what the company calls, "America's fastest growing firms" are given. Wood said this program will save the user "hours of research time in the library, because we did the research."
The company said its FastResume feature leads users "step-by-step" through the process of composing a resume. In addition, the FastLetter feature can create a cover letter, a follow-up note, or a "thank you" letter "in seconds." Interview strategies are also given, and a log is provided for the job searcher to keep track of who they have written letters to and talked with.
Free access to Adams JobBank Online is also provided, which offers job listings across the US.
The program is Windows-based, and requires 38 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space. Wood said he realizes some concerns might be raised about the amount of space the databases take up, but he said the company wanted to keep the quality and quantity high of job contacts. He said a CD-ROM version may be in the offing, but Adams New Media decided against a multimedia version for its initial release because of what identified as the "lack" of CD-ROM readers currently installed in consumer's PC's.
The expected street price for Adams JobBank will be $69.95.
(Bob Woods/19950403/Press Contacts: Stephen Davis, Davis Management, 508-528-7571; David B. Wood, Adams New Media 617-767-8100. Public Contact: Adams New Media, 617-767-8100)
t: Adams New Media, 617-767-8100)
4/3/95
Job Search Software For Windows
WINDOWS
Computerworld Australia Puts Job
Japan Newsbriefs
Job Search Software For Windows
Connectware Intros Video In A Wi
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- A Texas company has announced an expansion card for Unix-based PCs that provides full-motion video in a window that can be scaled from one-eighth to all of the display screen.
Connectware, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisburg Pennsylvania-based AMP (NYSE:AMP), has announced its RasterVideo card, a single-slot SBus card that lets users input video from a camera, VCR, television set or other source, and display the video in any size windows to a maximum supported resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels (picture elements).
Connectware said the card is compatible with standard Sun frame buffers as well as the company's own RasterFlex display products.
Up to three video sources can be connected to the Rastervideo card simultaneously, allowing the user to choose which source to watch. Individual frames can be captured on-screen and stored for use with other applications. If multiple cards are installed in a Sun SPARCstation workstation, the user can display several video windows simultaneously. Each windows can be controlled separately.
According to Tim Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Connectware, the card will be particularly useful in the financial industry where computer users want to continually monitor global news. The ability to have multiple cards in use would allow the monitoring of several news sources simultaneously. The company said other target markets are the scientific, medical, and educational fields.
Phil Colquhoun, president of Connectware's ConnectWorks division said the company plans add-on modules, including daughterboards that will connect to a special feature connector which will enable enhanced video applications, hardware-assisted compression/de-compression and a high performance interface to broadband local area networks (LANs) based on asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
The company said an expanded video input/output module will allow users to display two video sources simultaneously without using a second SBus slot. The module will also support video format conversion, so the user can input video in NTSC (North American Television Standards Committee), PAL or SECAM format then write to a VCR or display it on a TV monitor in a user-specified format.
The compression/de-compression (codec) module will allow users to play high performance MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group)-1 or MPEG 2 compressed video files or capture and display high resolution JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) images. The codec will also support H.261 video compression for use in video conferencing applications.
The planned ATM module will allow a local connection to a special configuration of the company's CELLerity ATM SBus network interface card. That connection bypasses the SBus and displays the video without impacting the user's workstation performance, said the company. The ATM module also allows users to transmit video from the Rastervideo card across the ATM LAN.
A Connectware spokesperson told Newsbytes the RasterVideo card has a suggested retail price of $1,695. The I/O Compression/Decompression, and ATM modules are scheduled to ship in the second, third, and fourth quarter respectively.
(Jim Mallory/19950403/Press contact: Kerry Wood, PR-TEK for Connectware, 214-276-5724; Public contact: Connectware 800-325-6467 or 214-997-4186/RASVIDEO950403/PHOTO)
e 800-325-6467 or 214-997-4186/RASVIDEO950403/PHOTO)
4/3/95
Connectware Intros Video In A Window Card For Unix
Berkeley Speech & Franklin In Ha
Digiphone Internet Phone On 4-Ci
Seybold - AOL's Navisoft Intros
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Navisoft, a division of America Online's (AOL) recently established Internet Services Company, earned an "Award for Excellence" at Seybold Boston for NaviServer and NaviPress, a pair of "point-and-click" products billed as the first client-server system for World Wide Web (Web) authoring and management.
NaviServer and NaviPress can be used to publish Web pages without typing tags or Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), to organize hypertext collections using "MiniWebs," and to manage user access and transactions, said Navisoft officials at a meeting with Newsbytes on the expo floor.
Jane E. Lennon, director of marketing, told Newsbytes that use of the NaviPress client application in conjunction with NaviServer allows Web applications on remote Internet servers to be created and managed locally, direct from the desktop.
NaviServer operates on Solaris 1.x, Solaris 2.x, Solaris Intel, HP-UX Windows NT 3.5, Irix, and DEC Unix. The NaviPress client runs on Windows 3.1, Macintosh System 7.x, and X/Motif.
By employing NaviPress' graphical user interface (GUI), users can "automatically" create hypertext markup language (HTML) eliminating the need to write code, according to Lennon.
But NaviPress and NaviServer can also be used independently as standalone products, noted George Williams, a programmer for Navisoft.
Because each product is "100 percent compliant" with HTML, the predominant Web authoring language, users can access HTML-based Web server applications with the NaviPress client -- and conversely most NaviServer services can be accessed by HTML-based browsers, he asserted.
In addition, NaviServer can be hyperlinked to HTML servers. NaviSoft uses HTML for requests and responses between NaviServer and NaviPress, as well as for communications with other HTML-based systems on the Web.
The NaviPress client uses "blueprints" for creating Web pages as well as for "collections of pages" called MiniWebs, according to the officials. You can navigate the MiniWebs without traversing links. Instead, the MiniWeb shows all their relationships, in a way that is designed to let users point-and-click or drag-and-drop to get to destinations.
The blueprints contain sample pages, artwork, forms, and structural relationships between pages, Newsbytes was told. The blueprints can be used "as is" or modified so as to add new pages or create new links, for example.
New fields can be added to the forms through a fill-in-the-blanks interface. The forms can also be interfaced to the NaviServer database.
To create a page or MiniWeb, the user opens a standard blueprint and creates a local copy. All changes are made to the local copy which is then published to the NaviServer.
NaviPress also lets authors compose in one window while browsing the Web in another, using copy and paste to create links from their pages to other places on the Web, the Navisoft officials told Newsbytes.
Administration capabilities include: setting user, group, or world permissions for read and write "at any level in the hierarchy of a Web server;" setting, recording, and summarizing costs for operations on URLs; and exporting transactions to an outside accounting and billing system.
AOL launched its Internet Services Company last September, two months later acquiring Navisoft Inc. and Booklink Technologies, a company that won Byte Magazine's "Rookie of the Year" award at Fall Comdex 1994 for a product called InternetWorks.
Now, Navisoft Inc. and Booklink Technologies have been rolled into the new Navisoft division, which is producing InternetWorks in addition to NaviPress and NaviServer.
The InternetWorks tool set is designed to provide capabilities that include: customizability for "power users;" complete multithreading; "highly efficient rendering" of graphics, audio and text; a messaging system; and full support for object linking and embedding (OLE) 2.0.
InternetWorks' support for OLE 2.0 allows "live" Internet documents, data and links to be embedded into or linked to desktop applications like Microsoft Word, Excel and Access, Lennon said. InternetWorks runs on Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT 3.x.
Lennon told Newsbytes that InternetWorks is slated to ship this spring, and NaviServer and NaviPress are entering beta this week. The beta version of InterNetWorks is available online via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) at ftp://ftp.booklink.com/beta or directly from Navisoft. Content creators interested in participating in the Navisoft beta program should call Navisoft, or visit Navisoft's Web site at http://www.navisoft.com.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950331/Reader Contacts: America Online Internet Services Company, 703-448-8700; Navisoft, 617-449 3300; Press Contact: Kathy Johnson, AOL, 703-917-1948)
Seybold - AOL's Navisoft Intros Client-Server Web System
ONLINE
Motorola Licenses Radio System,
Sweden - Ericsson's 1st Major Wa
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A.,1995 APRIL 3 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
JPEG files are larger in size, PICT files are designed as thumbnails for onscreen viewing. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day.
Pict/thumbnail pictures are now black and white (that is gray scale). File message will indicate color if the JPEG image is color. This will reduce file size and streamline transfers.
Some of the larger "for use" images, may also be pict files. To distinguish these files from the thumbnail preview pict images the tag for the color "for use" image will have PICT, all caps. The thumbnail will remain noted as "pct."
To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 (US) or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of APRIL 3 - APRIL 7,1995
CAERE950331 - color / Caere Increases OCR Accuracy By 40%: screen shot using text from Jane's Armour & Artillery.
EZSPOOLR950322 - color / Easyspooler A Print Manager, Spooler For Unix: software logo/art.
C/NET950327 - color / Simpson Murder Reconstructed By Computer: great rendition of entry gate with Nicole and male. C/Net logo lower left.
CREATIVE950327 - color / Creative Technologies In Modem Phone Business: shot of software package.
SMHOUSE950324 - b&w / Bell Atlantic's Hi-Tech "Smart House": kids around keyboard with monitors in background.
PHOTONICS950322 - color / Photonics Intros Wireless GameNet For Macs: product shot of the retail package.
KBOARD950324 - color / More Input Devices For Kids: shot of the keyboard.
TOSHIBA031395 - color / Cebit - Toshiba Notebooks: shot of the T2100CS Satellite notebook computer.
TANGO950323 - color / Nationwide 2-Way Reflex Messaging Net Planned: the Motorola "Tango" two-way pager used by the Destineer. Passport and pen for scale.
PANCELL950315 - color / Cebit - Panasonic Pitches Hard On Telecoms: the GS300 on nice background, can and string kid phone motif.
DURACELL950316 - color / Europe - Duracell's Smart Laptop Batteries: the laptop batteries.
JIGSAW950315 - color / Dynaware USA Intros Jigsaw-It: screen shot of orangutan puzzle.
EXB10H950315 - b&w / Exabyte Intros 70GB Random Access Tape Library: the EXB-10h unit.
AEPD-3D950316 - color / Designers Get Off Drawing Boards, Into Virtual Reality: screen shot of stylized housing tract and wiring layout. NOTE:Worldesign & Tellus want this pix run with a copyright caption; (C) 1995 Worldesign/Tellus.
WEBPUB950301 - b&w / DeKuyper Virtual Bar - A World Wide Web "Pub": Mike Mitchell, Cordials Marketing Manager at Jim Beam Brands Co. with the Web Pub on screen. http://www.timeinc.com/vibe.vibebar photo credit: John Kirn
MULTIMEDIA950317 - color / New Media - MultiMedia Studios' Knoodle World: Jean Anderson, original creator of the Knoodle World concept holding the software package.
(Newsbytes/199500403)
ftware package.
(Newsbytes/199500403)
4/3/95
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
Multimedia Software Teaches Pres
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
Canadian Product Launch Update
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 3 (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: IBM Powerquery for the SP2.
IBM Canada Ltd., based in Markham, Ontario, announced Powerquery for the SP2 (Newsbytes, Feb. 8), a hardware, software, and services offering designed to take advantage of the company's parallel-processing hardware to extract strategic information from large collections of data. Already installed at several customer locations under an early customer shipment program Powerquery for the SP2 is to begin general shipments in June.
(Grant Buckler/19950402/Press Contact: Maureen Rourke, IBM Canada, 905-316-4425)
ourke, IBM Canada, 905-316-4425)
4/3/95
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
Internet World's Fair Planned Fo
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- A group of Internet enthusiasts want to draw more of the world's attention to the global network of networks by holding an online exposition next year. The Internet 1996 World Exposition was formally announced during the NetWorld+Interop trade show.
According to details of the proposal posted by the Internet Multicasting Service on the World Wide Web, the exposition is to be "a world's fair in the spirit of the great universal expositions of the turn of the last century that marked the beginning of our modern industrial economies. We propose a world's fair for the turn of this century, helping to usher in the information economy."
The organizers said they want to build "a public park for the global village," bringing together government and industry leaders with working engineers. The fair will expose many people to the technology while also leaving behind permanent infrastructure "to help drive the information economy forward," they said.
The Internet Multicasting Service, best known for producing radio-like audio programming on the Internet, said it is coordinating the United States' participation in the planned fair.
The project has a number of backers in the computer industry including Cisco Systems Inc., MCI Corp., Quantum Corp., and Sun Microsystems Inc. Trade-show operator Softbank Expos -- organizer of Networld+Interop -- is also involved, and NBC, the television network, is listed as an organizer. One of the latest additions to the sponsor list is rock star Peter Gabriel's Real World studio, producer of the World Music Festival (WOMAD).
The exposition will include a number of online "pavilions." Imperial College in London, built on the site where the Crystal Palace was erected for the 1859 World's Fair, said it plans to build a Crystal Pavilion for the 1996 Internet version. Also in the plans are a Future of Media pavilion, a Global Schoolhouse pavilion that will let children around the world work together on research projects, a Reinventing Government pavilion dedicated to putting government information online, a ToasterNet pavilion focused on bringing new and unusual devices onto the Internet and a Small Business pavilion.
One feature of the Global Schoolhouse will be a mid-year "Wire Our Schools" day when engineers, electricians, and others will be asked to volunteer to help wire local schools.
The pavilions have two main goals, the organizers said. The first is to bring the real world into cyberspace by putting new information online, and the second is to bring cyberspace into the real world by introducing more people to the Internet. Other groups will be encouraged to set up their own pavilions, the backers said, with the proviso that each pavilion "must give something back to the community. Commercial activity is encouraged, but to be a pavilion, you must make some kind of public contribution."
Another feature of the exposition, the "Internet Railroad," is meant to help increase the telecommunications infrastructure available for moving public data around the world. Organizers hope to connect the core pavilions with T3 lines running at 45 megabits-per-second (Mbps). Lower-speed lines will fan out from the T3 backbones.
The Internet Town Hall, operating from the National Press Club in Washington, will run monthly events that will include bringing world leaders onto the Internet. Events are being planned around the US presidential elections, Earth Day, and a year-end holiday celebration. Organizers said they plan to release a more detailed schedule of events later this year.
A series of industrial expositions will show off Internet technology, tied in with sessions at the six Networld+Interop shows during 1996.
(Grant Buckler/19950403/Press Contact: Luther Brown, Internet Multicasting Service, 202-628-2044, Internet e-mail luther@radio.com; Samantha White, Softbank Expos, 415-578-6897; Public Contact: Internet Multicasting Service, Internet World Wide Web site http://www.town.hall.org)
ld Wide Web site http://www.town.hall.org)
4/3/95
Internet World's Fair Planned For 1996
ONLINE
Hummingbird Communications To Bu
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Hummingbird Communications Ltd. (TSE:HUM;NASDAQ:HUMCF) has announced plans to buy Beame & Whiteside Software Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina. Both companies sell networking software for personal computers.
Hummingbird said it will pay US$11.5 million for Beame & Whiteside, of which US$7.8 million will be cash and the rest will be paid in common shares of Hummingbird. Beame & Whiteside had revenues of US$5.1 million in the year ended Sept. 30, 1994.
Hummingbird Communications sells X Windows connectivity and development tools. Beame & Whiteside, originally founded in Canada, sells connectivity software built on the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Network File System (NFS) standards. Hummingbird has three US and four European offices, while Beame & Whiteside sells internationally through distributors.
Beame & Whiteside will be run as a wholly owned subsidiary Hummingbird Chief Financial Officer Inger Duggal told Newsbytes with its current president and chief executive, Paul Rasmussen remaining at the helm. All management and staff of Beame & Whiteside are to stay with the company, Duggal said.
The companies said their product lines will complement each other. They plan to integrate their products more closely, and that process will begin within the next three to six months Duggal said. Hummingbird also said Beame & Whiteside's operation in Raleigh will help build up its US presence.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions, officials said, but they expect to complete it by the middle of April.
(Grant Buckler/19950403/Press Contact: Inger Duggal, Hummingbird Communications, 905-470-1203; Paul Rasmussen, Beame & Whiteside 919-831-8989; Tom Woolf, Woolf Media Relations for Beame & Whiteside, tel 415-508-1554, fax 415-508-1248)
eame & Whiteside, tel 415-508-1554, fax 415-508-1248)
4/3/95
Hummingbird Communications To Buy Beame & Whiteside
BUSINESS
Software Fixes Calculation Error
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Circle Systems Inc. has announced a software package that forces spreadsheet programs Excel and Lotus 1-2-3 to recalculate worksheets that may have been incorrectly calculated because of the use of a defective Pentium chip.
A few months ago Intel Corp., the maker of the Pentium processor admitted it had shipped flawed Pentium chips which could cause some incorrect mathematical calculations. Intel alleged that the problem only occurred in division calculations that required answers with lots of digits to the right of the decimal point, while others claimed the problem was more widespread than the chip maker was willing to admit.
After a number of PC makers said they would replace the chips in their customer's machines if the user requested it, Intel agreed to replace any Pentium chip itself.
But Circle Systems claims replacing a flawed Pentium chip does not guarantee worksheets created when the flawed Pentium was installed will now calculate correctly. The company says if a worksheet error was created by a flawed chip, that error will still be displayed after the chip is replaced.
According to the company, that occurs because Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.x and Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows do not automatically recalculate worksheets when they are reloaded. The company also says once a worksheet has been reloaded, a formula will be recalculated only when a cell referenced by that formula is changed.
Circle Systems says there is no way for Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 users to overcome the problem, since there are no options to set or keys that the user can press to guarantee that all formulas are recalculated.
Circle's solution to the problem is software called PentaFix. The company says PentaFix searches for worksheets and then sets internal flags so that they will be automatically recalculated when they are loaded. The user can specify that the program search for and fix individual worksheet files or sets of files, or automatically scan for and all fix the worksheets on an entire drive.
You may not be safe even if your machine didn't have a flawed Pentium chip in it, if you use spreadsheets prepared on other computers. "(The user) can never know if those worksheets were calculated and saved on a machine with a flawed Pentium," says Circle Systems President Dr. Steven Dubnoff.
Newsbytes asked Dr. Dubnoff if issuing your spreadsheet software's "recalculate" command wouldn't get you a correct re-calculated result in your worksheet. "No," he replied. "Any release of 1-2-3 later than version 3 keeps track of what cells formulas depend on so they recalculate only when you change a number that affects the formula." The circle Systems president said those who use spreadsheets to enter new data each time the worksheet is used are not affected by the problem.
Dr. Dubnoff told Newsbytes Windows-based menu-driven PentaFix will ship later this week with a suggested retail price of $49. The company offers multi-unit and site license discounts.
(Jim Mallory/19950403/Press contact: Marian Lowe, Circle Systems 206-682-3783; Public contact: Circle Systems, tel 206-682-3783 or 800-366-3794, fax 206-328-4788/PENTAFIX950403/PHOTO)
or 800-366-3794, fax 206-328-4788/PENTAFIX950403/PHOTO)
4/3/95
Software Fixes Calculation Errors From Flawed Pentiums
WINDOWS
Italy - 1st Digital Mobile Phone
ROME, ITALY, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Telecom Italia has been given the go-ahead to formally launch its GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular service, following an acrimonious legal dispute with Omnitel Pronto, the second GSM licensee.
The dispute between Telecom Italia, the state telecoms company, and Omnitel Pronto, a private consortium company headed up by Olivetti came to a head last week when the Italian Appeal Courts decided that Omnitel's request to stop Telecom Italia launching its GSM network -- made on the grounds that Omnitel could not launch its network until the third quarter of this year -- was invalid.
As a result, Telecom Italia is expected to begun marketing its GSM service within the next few days. Omnitel, meanwhile, has said it plans to accelerate its launch plans to match those of Telecom Italia, despite the fact that it was only awarded its license to operate last December.
Despite winning their case, officials with Telecom Italia are keen to downplay the significance of getting the appeal thrown out. Ernesto Pascale, Telecom Italia's managing director, said that his company's dealers will be free to sign up new subscribers to the GSM service from Monday of this week, and that around 40,000 potential new subscribers have expressed an interest in the network.
Omnitel officials, meanwhile, say they plan to refer the case to the European Commission (EC). This could result in Telecom Italia being forced to switch off its network while the European courts decide the issue of whether Omnitel is entitled to what it calls a "level competition playing field."
Such a move could be extremely embarrassing for Telecom Italia. EC officials refuse to be drawn over the legal spat, even though they are already investigating the Italian GSM industry, following Omnitel's decision to defer the lire 750 billion that it must pay for a GSM license to the Italian government.
Italy - 1st Digital Mobile Phone Net Gets Go-Ahead
TELECOM
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
British Science Museum's Info Hi
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- The British Science Museum has announced it will open an exhibition devoted to the benefits of the information superhighway on April 26.
The exhibition, which is sponsored by British Telecom (BT) and Oracle is named the Information Superhighway and, according to Jane Willis, a spokeswoman for the Science Museum, presents a vision of a world in which information travels at the speed of light and demonstrates the technology which has made this possible.
According to the Science Museum, more families own a home computer than ever before and kids are often more computer literate than their parents. In a recent survey undertaken by 3Com, however, only 23 percent of British managers felt that they truly understood the term "information superhighway."
The exhibition aims to raise the awareness and understanding of the information superhighway among new audiences. The focus of the exhibition is the Internet and raises questions such as "Will the information superhighway ever exist?" and "How will it affect you?"
The exhibition will be entirely screen-based and, according to Science Museum staff, will be interactive in nature. The exhibition is split into three sections.
The first section explains the development of the new technology, looks at the communications infrastructure needed and demonstrates online services such as Apple's eWorld.
The second section of the exhibition is "Surf City," which claims to invite visitors to find out what "surfing the Internet" is really like. A special hub of computers, staffed by experienced "Net surfers," will be available to users.
The third stage in the exhibition will concentrate on the future, and according to Science Museum, aims to ask whether the information superhighway "will transform our lives through developments such as virtual surgery and the arrival of the global office."
The Information Superhighway exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm seven days a week and will open on Wednesday April 26, running through until September 3. Admission costs UKP5, with children and old age pensioners admitted for UKP2.60. As an introductory offer people will be allowed in for free after 4:30pm.
(Steve Gold/19950403/Press Contact: Science Museum tel +44-171-938-8192, fax +44-171-938-8112)
eum tel +44-171-938-8192, fax +44-171-938-8112)
4/3/95
British Science Museum's Info Highway Exhibit
ONLINE
Internet World's Fair Planned Fo
British Science Museum's Info Hi
Seybold - Awards For Excellence
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- At the 1995 Seybold Awards for Excellence ceremony, Seybold honored technologies like image editing and color printing, as might be expected from a show emphasizing the graphic arts. But a new trend was apparent, too, with three of the 11 winners functionally related to the World Wide Web (Web).
The Web-related winners included: Navisoft's NaviPress and NaviServer, a newly announced client-server system for Web authoring and management; the well-known Netscape Navigator; and the new Open Text Latitude, a corporate search-and-retrieval engine designed to operate over the Internet, as well as over local area networks (LANs) and other WANs (wide area networks).
Two of the other Seybold award winners might be thought of as hovering near the edges of the Web: Microsoft SGML (standard generalized markup language) and Apple QuickTime VR (virtual reality).
Additional winners included: Miles 33 Pianzhang page composition software; Cascade MediaSphere, for photo archive retrieval; the Managing Editor ALS document management system; the Fractal Painter 3.0 paint program; KPT Convolver, for image editing; and Xeicon DCP-1, for short-run color printing.
Outside of the "Awards for Excellence," the Seybold editors presented three "Awards for Innovative Technology." These went out to: IBM's QBIC Technology for photo archive retrieval; ICC for the Color Profiles Initiative; and QuarkXPosure, a graphics program that uses an object-oriented, layered approach to let designers experiment more freely with colors and other effects.
Smaller harbingers of the convergence of graphic arts with online services appeared last year, when Adobe's Acrobat was one of the "Awards for Excellence" winners, and the World Wide Web itself was granted a special "Virtual Award."
The list of 1995 award winners reflected a marked growth in the proportion of products on the show floor connected in some way to the so-called "information highway."
The same tendency was apparent on the Seybold conference side. On the list of this year's conference sessions were topics like "Internet Publishing," "Selling Online," "HTML & Beyond," "Digital Town Hall," "Protecting Intellectual Property In An Online World," "Is the Internet Commercially Viable?" and even "Remote Digital Color Proofing & Printing."
Multimedia and "new media" also seemed to be unofficial conference themes, judging by some of the other sessions: "Graphic Designers & The New Media," "Digital Delivery of Ads to Publications," "Is Multimedia Production In Your Future?" and "Training for New Media & Coping with Technology."
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Graphic designers can contribute a lot to the "new media" in terms of aesthetics organization, and functionality, but designers must recognize that working with interactive media like CD-ROM and the World Wide Web (Web) is a different ballgame, a group of early experimenters agreed during a panel session at Seybold '95.
Designers, writers, radio and TV broadcasters, database specialists, and a wide variety of other disciplines are currently converging upon "new media," said Steven DuPuis.
Experts are coming at the new arena from two directions entertainment and information -- to form a new "infotainment" hybrid. But much of the new media now available is "a mess," he added.
"The designer's skills are needed more than those of any other `creatives,'" asserted DuPuis, who is principal and creative director at DuPuis Design. Graphic designers can lend a hand with visual and organizational skills, as well as with overall communications according to DuPuis. "We are the communicators," he contended.
Alyce Kaprow, principal at The New Studio, echoed this opinion asserting that many Web home pages and CD- ROM presentations today are being "prepared on airplanes" by "people with no design sense."
Kaprow likened the state of the new media today to the early days of desktop publishing, when end-users with no training in graphic design began to churn out "awful overheads" and equally unattractive newsletters. But then, graphics pros started to contribute their expertise to desktop publishing, just as they are doing today in terms of the "new media" mix, she added.
In adding their skills, however, graphic designers should be careful to keep functionality at the forefront, she suggested. For example, some of the slides being created these days are "unreadable" from the back of the room, despite their "wonderful fonts," she said.
In the field of new media, functionality means "giving people the tools they need" for access to interactive media, according to Kaprow. "You should stop thinking of yourself as a `graphic designer,' and start thinking of yourself as a `designer.' The equilibrium is changing between you and your customer. And remember that the `viewers' are not just `viewers,' but users," she advised.
Designers also have a "responsibility to the environment" that calls for turning down certain projects as unacceptable, such as those involving excessive violence, she reported.
Kaprow added that designing for the new media can call upon a range of knowledge that runs the gamut from page layout, to "a sense of the infrastructure," to familiarity with specific multimedia authoring programs and computer platforms.
In deciding where they want to focus their activities, designers should ask themselves "what it is they like best about design," she recommended.
Designers who are accustomed to working on Macs should recognize that, among delivery platforms, Windows machines outnumber Macs by a six-to-one ratio. "And it's going to get worse with Windows 95 whenever that arrives," she predicted.
When "new media" projects lack functionality, it is often because designers have taken their clients' requests too literally according to a third speaker, Brad Husick, director of marketing for Clement Mok Designs. "Give (clients) what they really need, not what they say they need," he recommended. Customers might ask for CD-ROM titles or Web pages simply because they've heard or read that CD-ROM or the Internet is "hot," he explained.
Clement Mok Designs, which was originally a print design firm started to get involved with multimedia design several years ago when clients began asking for "demo disks" to be used in corporate presentations. "We now create `design systems' for clients," he maintained.
Since the early days of multimedia, delivery mechanisms for interactive multimedia have moved from CD-I into CD-ROM commercial online services, and the Internet, he pointed out.
"You're not too late, but take a hard look. And get out on the 'Net.' It's cheap and it's fast. Then go do something," Husick told the group.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950331)
Husick told the group.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950331)
4/3/95
Seybold - Graphic Designers Grapple With New Media
TRENDS
Tektronix Cuts Color Printer Pri
Dept. Of Defense Funds Holograph
Seybold - PCs To Ship With SGML-
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Computer stores are now starting to sell PCs that are outfitted with standard generalized markup language (SGML)-based electronic documentation revealed officials of Phoenix Publishing Systems Inc. (PPSI) and Electronic Book Technologies (EBT), in a briefing for Newsbytes at Seybold Boston.
But Scott Maidment, product marketing manager, told Newsbytes that documentation is only the first application that PPSI has in mind for its Virdox product, a new electronic publishing system announced at Seybold '95 -- that combines EBT's SGML-compliant Dynatext engine with a PPSI-originated front-end, hybrid search and "update-from-CD-ROM" technology.
One major computer manufacturer has already started shipping PCs with Virdox-based electronic documentation, and others will soon follow suit, reported Maidment, whose company is credited with providing software publishing, integration, and packaging services for about 40 percent of the world's PCs.
In the first implementation of PPSI's Virdox, the front-end follows a "library" and "bookshelf" metaphor, noted John Ambrose PPSI's VP of marketing, also during the briefing.
But beyond this basic metaphor, the graphical user interface (GUI) is highly customizable by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), he added. For starters, an OEM can decide whether the "bookshelves" in the library will be made of wood, steel, or marble, for example.
OEMs are also given options in terms of colors, typefaces, and the size of the electronic "books" in the library, among many other areas, according to Ambrose.
OEMs require this kind of flexibility due to the strong emphasis placed on brand "personality" in the highly competitive PC market, explained Maidment.
PPSI first became aware of EBT's Dynatext engine while doing research on how to provide its OEM customers with electronic documentation that would be more effective than traditional paper-based manuals, Maidment said.
PPSI, a privately held firm based in Monterey, California, lists Acer, AST, Compaq, Intel, Micron, and Packard Bell among its customers. PPSI's principal shareholders include Phoenix Technologies Ltd., a leading supplier of PC firmware, and Softbank of Japan, a major software distributor for Japan.
Newsbytes asked Maidment why Dynatext get the nod from PPSI as the "display engine" for Virdox. EBT's SGML-based product provides a strong but format-independent "underlying structure," with solid indexing capabilities, was Maidment's response.
"Its first time out, PPSI's electronic documentation had to be better than paper-based documentation, in order to `compel' end users to make the change," observed Kent Summers, EBT's VP of marketing, also during the briefing for Newsbytes.
But many users are frustrated with traditional computer hardware and software documentation, and OEMs are now looking to electronic "books" as a way of overcoming the difficulties, pointed out Maidment.
Financial factors are serving as an incentive to the OEMs according to the PPSI exec. When users are able to "find the answers" themselves, they are less likely to call the PC maker's tech support department, he reported.
Ambrose added that, before creating Virdox, PPSI spent about a year exploring how to take advantage of electronic documentation ruling out technologies that included Microsoft's Multimedia Viewer and Adobe's Acrobat.
Generally speaking, other available technologies are aimed mainly at display, and do little to "improve the value of the information," Maidment told Newsbytes. Their interfaces and navigation can be confusing, and customization can be difficult and time-consuming he asserted.
The results of PPSI-conducted usability studies attested to the fact that different PC users have different documentation requirements, according to Ambrose. When looking up DOS commands for example, novice users tend to want more explanation.
"And there are a lot of novice PC users out there," Ambrose noted. Advanced users, on the other hand, are typically more interested in avoiding extraneous detail. And beyond the distinctions in computer savvy, different users have different learning styles, Newsbytes was told.
In addition to creating the front-end and search mechanisms for Virdox, PPSI developed the update-from-CD-ROM capability, pointed out EBT's Summers.
Through this capability, updates to Virdox can be shipped on CD-ROM, Maidment explained. When inserted into the CD-ROM drive the CD-ROM disk "takes a snapshot" of the PC hard drive, transferring only "new" data that is not already installed on the hard drive.
Joined by Debra Giddings, PPSI's client services manager, Maidment Ambrose and Summers then demonstrated Virdox to Newsbytes. In the example shown, MS-DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1 were each represented by electronic books on the library "shelves."
The front-end to the sample documentation also included an SGML based table of contents, a full-text search mechanism, and visual features like bookmarks for marking your place, and post-it notes for annotation. All windows, including the table of content, were movable and sizable.
Giddings told Newsbytes that users can access "novice" capabilities with the left mouse button, and "advanced" features with the right button.
"As technology progresses, Virdox will become `smart' enough to recognize your level of expertise, and give you the appropriate documentation," Maidment predicted.
Also in the future, PPSI plans to use Virdox to "organize other kinds of content," including, perhaps, a series of "electronic magazines" for the Internet, according to the PPSI official.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950403/Reader Contact: Electronic Book Technologies, 401-421-9550; Phoenix Publishing Systems Inc. 408-644-7402; Paul C. Lamoureux, EBT, 401-421-9550; Craig Librett, Miller Communications for EBT, 617-536-0470)
raig Librett, Miller Communications for EBT, 617-536-0470)
4/3/95
Seybold - PCs To Ship With SGML-Based Electronic Manuals
TRENDS
Oracle, Siemens & Pyramid To Dev
FLORENCE, ITALY, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) Pyramid Technology, and Siemens Nixdorf have announced its plans to develop a full video server system for interactive television trials. Oracle Media Server software will be deployed with Pyramid's and Niemens Nixdorf's Reliant RM1000 Parallel Server Platform to form the system.
The goal of this alliance is to offer interactive service providers a "complete large-scale system" for the expected boom of interactive services such as video-on-demand, home shopping and other interactive television (ITV) features.
The Reliant RM1000 combines symmetric multiprocessing and massively parallel processing. With Oracle's software, the system will scale to hundreds of nodes and tens of terabytes of online storage crucial for rapid access to thousands of hours of video-on-demand.
Pyramid Technology, a provider of scalable enterprise systems, is a company of the German-based Siemens Nixdorf Informationissyteme AG. Siemens Nixdorf is one of the strongest vendors in the European Unix market.
The announcement builds on an "existing and ongoing alliance" between Oracle and Pyramid. The two companies have previously cooperated on the Center of Excellence for the Telecommunications Industry in Denver and have worked together on projects for MCI Ameritech, and Bell South.
European ITV field trials are expected to begin late this summer. A spokesperson for Oracle told Newsbytes, "We think this video service product will set the standard for the industry and we plan on delivering it to every major market globally."
(Patrick McKenna/19950403/Press Contact: Eve Kowtko Smith, Oracle, 415-506-4176)
Press Contact: Eve Kowtko Smith, Oracle, 415-506-4176)
4/3/95
Oracle, Siemens & Pyramid To Develop Video TV Server
BROADCAST
UK - New Internet Windows Encryp
In Focus Systems Intros LCD Proj
Oracle7 Chosen By Continental Ca
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- To meet the demands of its rapid growth in the past two years Continental Cablevision, the third largest cable system operator in the US, has announced the selection of Oracle's (NASDAQ:ORCL) Oracle7 database products and services as its foundation for business support systems.
Continental is also looking into Oracle Media Server technology for its "near video-on-demand" trial near Boston.
"We are working very hard to make sure we are moving into the 21st century. Our company has grown very quickly over the past few years with interests in the US and the Asia Pacific region. We now have over 10,000 employees and it is critical that we develop a center for inner communication between all of our business systems," said Rob Stoddard, spokesperson for Continental Cablevision.
In choosing Oracle products and services, Continental stressed Oracle's acceptance in the cable industry, its scalabililty, and its experience in the development of client/server systems on a global level.
Continental's business concerns center in the US, but recent expansion includes Australia and Argentina. According to Continental, Oracle's global presence and experience weighed heavily in their favor.
Robert Strickland, senior vice president of information systems at Continental, told Newsbytes, "We are very impressed with Oracle's sophistication with video server technology and we intend to look into a wider implementation of Oracle products into our business."
Strickland said the Continental looked into Sybase products, but concluded System 10 lacked the scalability Continental wanted and did not offer the same global support.
A decision on Oracle Media Server should be coming soon, as Continental is set to begin trials of a near video on-demand service in the suburb of Natick, outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Rob Stoddard, Continental Cable, 617-742-9500)
Stoddard, Continental Cable, 617-742-9500)
4/3/95
Oracle7 Chosen By Continental Cablevision
BROADCAST
" L 0
North American Software Sales Hi
Oracle, Siemens & Pyramid To Dev
Oracle7 Chosen By Continental Ca
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced three new PowerPC microprocessor based Workgroup Servers. According to company spokesperson, Emilio Robles, the new servers come with the fastest Apple file and print product yet, AppleShare 4.1.
Robles told Newsbytes that an updated version of AppleShare is included with the newly released workgroup servers which "delivers up to 90% faster performance, on average depending on the system configuration and the task being performed, than AppleShare 4.0.2 running on previous WorkGroup Servers such as the 6150, 8150, and 9150."
Robles told Newsbytes that Apple is "bundling a host of server software" with the new machines that "extends workgroup productivity for both server administrators and network users."
According to Robles, the new high-performance Workgroup Servers (6150/66, 8150/110, and 9150/120) offer small- to medium-sized business, education, and publishing workgroups an easy-to-use low-cost server "solution."
The new PowerMac server line continues to include high-capacity digital audio tape (DAT) drives with Retrospect Remote backup software from Dantz Development Corp. and Apple RAID (redundant array of independent disks) Software for disk mirroring.
Another standard, but not very well-known, offering from Apple is the "around the clock, 365 days-a-year technical hotline," and an optional accelerated service plan for the servers. However, service agreements vary in other parts of the world.
According to Robles, the new 6150/66, 8150/110, and 9150/120 Workgroup Servers will be available this month and range in price from $2,549 to $8,709.
Upgrade kits, including a higher speed logic board, System 7.5.1 Apple RAID Software 1.0.2, and other components, will also be available for the Workgroup Server 8150 and 9150 beginning in May. A separate software update kit, including System 7.5.1 and Apple RAID Software 1.0.2, will be offered for a "nominal" shipping and handling charge.
(Nick Anis/19950402/Press Contact: Emilio Robles, Apple Computer tel 408-862-5671, fax 408-974-6412; John McCreadie, Regis McKenna Inc., 408-974-4398; Reader Contact: 408-862-3385)
na Inc., 408-974-4398; Reader Contact: 408-862-3385)
4/3/95
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup Server Performance
APPLE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 3 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Europe - Gateway Intros 120MHz Pentium PC 04/03/95 Gateway 2000 has announced the European availability of its P5-120 Elite, a 120 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based PC that the company claims is the fastest available in the European marketplace.
2 -> A Look Back At Cebit 04/03/95 As the dust settles on the giant Cebit '95 computer and electronics trade fair, Newsbytes can report that the eight-day event attracted more than 750,000 visitors including 107,000 from outside Germany.
3 -> Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Mac Graphics System 04/03/95 Hologlyph Inc. has announced an upgrade to A.R.G.U.S., its graphical user system that lets Macintosh users connect to and view RIPScrip-based information services. RIPScrip is a graphics protocol popular with bulletin board system (BBS) operators.
4 -> Multimedia Software Teaches Presentation Techniques 04/03/95 Cinemar Corp. has released Presentation World, a multimedia CD-ROM based program for Windows that teaches people how to develop and deliver business presentations.
5 -> Australia - Visa's Stored Value Cards 04/03/95 Visa has chosen Australia and New Zealand as the first countries to get a national stored value card (SVC) system. Scheduled for a July start, this is an open system, available to other card issuers.
6 -> Computerworld Australia Puts Job Ads On Internet 04/03/95 IDG in Australia has created a World Wide Web project for recruitment ads, called Computerworld Jobs.
7 -> India - Birla & Computer Horizons In Joint Venture 04/03/95 Birla Information Technologies, which is a part of the C.K. Birla industrial group, has joined with Computer Horizons Corp. (CHC) of the US, to form a joint venture company, Birla Horizons International Ltd., for software development and services.
8 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/03/95 In today's Japan newsbriefs: Hitachi develops the worlds lightest video camera; Digital phone prices are slashed; Kyocera develops an intelligent telephone; Japanese students get to mix English language with Internet education; New fire resistant fiber optic cable developed.
9 -> Claris Adds Novell IPX Support To FileMaker Pro 04/03/95 Claris Corporation is shipping FileMaker Pro Server 2.1 for the Macintosh a network server version of its database software.
10 -> Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective For Mac Intro'd 04/03/95 Broderbund Software Inc. (NASDAQ:BROD) has released "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Detective Edition."
11 -> 2 More Govt Agencies On The Web 04/03/95 Two more federal agencies have launched sites on the World Wide Web, with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the US Air Force now online.
12 -> MCI Wins Prison, Postal Deals 04/03/95 MCI is extending its reach from your house to the Big House. The company has landed contracts in Connecticut, Kentucky, and Arkansas to provide secure telecommunications for state prisons.
13 -> North American Software Sales Hit $7.4 Billion 04/03/95 Personal computer software sales in the US and Canada hit $7.4 billion in 1994, according to the Software Publishers Association, a 16.6 percent increase over the $6.3 billion in 1993. Fourth quarter sales were a record $2.5 billion, easily topping the fourth quarter of 1993, when sales were $2 billion.
14 -> Job Search Software For Windows 04/03/95 Searching for a job at more than 11,000 US corporations will become easier in June. That's when Adams New Media will release its "Adams JobBank" software.
15 -> Connectware Intros Video In A Window Card For Unix 04/03/95 A Texas company has announced an expansion card for Unix-based PCs that provides full-motion video in a window that can be scaled from one-eighth to all of the display screen.
16 -> Seybold - AOL's Navisoft Intros Client-Server Web System 04/03/95 Navisoft, a division of America Online's (AOL) recently established Internet Services Company, earned an "Award for Excellence" at Seybold Boston for NaviServer and NaviPress, a pair of "point-and-click" products billed as the first client-server system for World Wide Web (Web) authoring and management.
17 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 04/03/95 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
18 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 04/03/95 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: IBM Powerquery for the SP2.
19 -> Internet "World's Fair" Planned For 1996 04/03/95 A group of Internet enthusiasts want to draw more of the world's attention to the global network of networks by holding an online exposition next year. The Internet 1996 World Exposition was formally announced during the NetWorld+Interop trade show.
20 -> Hummingbird Communications To Buy Beame & Whiteside 04/03/95 Hummingbird Communications Ltd. (TSE:HUM;NASDAQ:HUMCF) has announced plans to buy Beame & Whiteside Software Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina. Both companies sell networking software for personal computers.
21 -> Software Fixes Calculation Errors From Flawed Pentiums 04/03/95 Circle Systems Inc. has announced a software package that forces spreadsheet programs Excel and Lotus 1-2-3 to recalculate worksheets that may have been incorrectly calculated because of the use of a defective Pentium chip.
22 -> Italy - 1st Digital Mobile Phone Net Gets Go-Ahead 04/03/95 Telecom Italia has been given the go-ahead to formally launch its GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular service, following an acrimonious legal dispute with Omnitel Pronto, the second GSM licensee.
23 -> British Science Museum's Info Highway Exhibit 04/03/95 The British Science Museum has announced it will open an exhibition devoted to the benefits of the information superhighway on April 26.
24 -> Seybold - "Awards For Excellence" Encompass Web 04/03/95 At the 1995 Seybold Awards for Excellence ceremony, Seybold honored technologies like image editing and color printing, as might be expected from a show emphasizing the graphic arts. But a new trend was apparent, too, with three of the 11 winners functionally related to the World Wide Web (Web).
25 -> Seybold - Graphic Designers Grapple With "New Media" 04/03/95 Graphic designers can contribute a lot to the "new media" in terms of aesthetics, organization, and functionality, but designers must recognize that working with interactive media like CD-ROM and the World Wide Web (Web) is a different ballgame, a group of early experimenters agreed during a panel session at Seybold '95.
26 -> Seybold - PCs To Ship With SGML-Based Electronic Manuals 04/03/95 Computer stores are now starting to sell PCs that are outfitted with standard generalized markup language (SGML)-based electronic documentation, revealed officials of Phoenix Publishing Systems Inc. (PPSI) and Electronic Book Technologies (EBT), in a briefing for Newsbytes at Seybold Boston.
27 -> Oracle, Siemens & Pyramid To Develop Video TV Server 04/03/95 Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL), Pyramid Technology, and Siemens Nixdorf have announced its plans to develop a full video server system for interactive television trials. Oracle Media Server software will be deployed with Pyramid's and Niemens Nixdorf's Reliant RM1000 Parallel Server Platform to form the system.
28 -> Oracle7 Chosen By Continental Cablevision 04/03/95 To meet the demands of its rapid growth in the past two years, Continental Cablevision, the third largest cable system operator in the US, has announced the selection of Oracle's (NASDAQ:ORCL) Oracle7 database products and services as its foundation for business support systems.
29 -> Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup Server Performance 04/03/95 Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced three new PowerPC microprocessor- based Workgroup Servers. According to company spokesperson, Emilio Robles, the new servers come with the fastest Apple file and print product yet, AppleShare 4.1.
(Ian Stokell/19950403)
Stokell/19950403)
4/3/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
A Look Back At Cebit
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Viewsoft Intros C/C++ GUI Creati
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Viewsoft Corp. has launched Utah For Windows version 1.1, an ANSI standard C/C++ application development environment the company said allows programmers to interactively create sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for their applications without adding interface dependencies to their program objects or even writing interface code.
Dale Munk, president and chief executive officer of ViewSoft, said the company developed Utah for Windows because of the limited choices available to PC application developers. "Either they have to use 4GLs (fourth generation languages -- a term applied to computer languages designed for interacting with the programmer) that supply proprietary solutions which are hard to maintain, or they use rapid application development tools for prototyping that cannot scale to a real application." Munk said with Utah developers can prototype GUIs and later turn them into finished products using the C or C compiler of choice.
Utah for Windows includes a C++ class library called the Editable Object System, which has platform-independent extensions self-describing objects and run-time bundling. User objects inherit the functionality from base EOS objects.
There is also a Semantic Interface Technology that uses what ViewSoft calls "smart components" that eliminate interface dependencies from the program objects. The company said Utah for Windows "automatically and transparently" performs type conversion and synchronization of interface objects with program data whenever either interface or program variable changes.
The company said the developer has control over shading, color etching and the three-dimensional appearance of their user interface without having to program, and can assign up to 35 different attributes. Once a style has been created it is assigned to a container. The container and all its geometric "children" can share that style.
ViewSoft said Utah's User Extensible Toolkit lets you create new interactions which are then used, like the components supplied with Utah, to build interactions without learning the interactor's application programming interface (API) or sub-classing to get control. Utah can import existing VBX controls and used as if they were native Utah components.
Utah for Windows requires an IBM compatible PC running under at least a 33 megahertz 486 microprocessor and at least eight megabytes of memory. Utah for Windows has a suggested retail price of $1,490 and comes with a Getting Started guide, the Utah Programmer's Guide with Tutorial Examples, an API reference guide, and indexed online documentation.
(Jim Mallory/19950403/Press contact: Dale Munk, ViewSoft 801-377-0787 Public contact: ViewSoft, tel 801-377-0787 fax 801-377-0788)
ViewSoft, tel 801-377-0787 fax 801-377-0788)
4/4/95
Viewsoft Intros C/C++ GUI Creation Software
WINDOWS
Free Update Increases Quattro-Lo
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) has announced a free update for its Quattro Pro 6.0 for Windows software the company said will make the software more compatible with popular spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3.
Novell said the upgrade will allow Quattro users to display a more sophisticated menu tree, one that is compatible with the Lotus 1-2-3 menu tree. The change is designed to attract Lotus users to the Quattro spreadsheet software without having to learn new commands.
Novell spokesperson Frank Sessions told Newsbytes once the upgrade is installed the Quattro menus won't look significantly different, but the functions between Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro will be more parallel.
The upgrade also adds built-in Lotus 1-2-3 macro compatibility to Quattro. That will allow Lotus users who switch to Quattro to bring into Quattro the macros they have developed in Lotus and have those macros automatically converted for use in Quattro.
Novell spokesperson Frank Sessions told Newsbytes the company is presently shipping a utilities disk containing the Lotus Macro Translation Assistant. It is available to registered Quattro Pro users by contacting Novell or you can download it from the Novell bulletin board system or from the Quattro Pro forum on CompuServe. The menu tree compatibility update is expected to ship in about 90 days said Sessions.
Sessions told Newsbytes that Novell is offering users of WordPerfect word processing software the opportunity to purchase Quattro for Windows for $49.95. He said the usual suggested retail price of Quattro is $395 and the street price is a little over $300. Novell also has a competitive upgrade program that lets users of other spreadsheet programs, such as Excel or Lotus 1-2-3, switch to Quattro Pro for Windows 6.0 for $99.
(Jim Mallory/19950403/Press contact: Frank Sessions, Novell 801-228-6153; Public contact: Novell, 800-451-5151, Novell BBS at 801-225-4414)
ontact: Novell, 800-451-5151, Novell BBS at 801-225-4414)
H FLORENCE, ITALY, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) has announced Oracle7 Workgroup Server for Unix, Oracle TextSever3 with ConText, and a wide array of other information management tools for the enterprise environment. Developer 2000 and Designer 2000 highlight the list of offerings.
Oracle says its Oracle7 Workgroup Sever for Unix extends is database technology to the low-end Intel/Unix market on platforms such as the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) operating system, SunSoft's Solaris x86 Application Server, and UnixWare. The new product complements an earlier announcement of Oracle7 Workgroup Sever for NT and NetWare. The company says its strategy is to create compatibility from low-end servers to massively parallel processing systems.
To meet the demands of managing text, audio and video files, Oracle is shipping TextServer3 with ConText. The new software stores analyzes and retrieves electronic documents by their content or actual meaning. The use of ConText allows the new product to search by theme, speed reading, and automatic summarization. A 600,000 word dictionary extends its retrieval capabilities extensively.
Developer 2000 and Designer 2000 are said by the company to be second-generation software tools which offer high-end programming features to Windows developers. These suites are designed for client/server applications capable of scaling thousands of users. The suites offer application partitioning and business process reengineering.
Oracle also introduced: Oracle Transparent Gateway for EDA/SQL, the Greenway reservation system for Europcar International; Oracle7 MultiDimension to manage spatial and attribute data within a single relational database; a new version of Oracle Mobile Agents; expanded European design and migration services; and a new version of Oracle Office.
A spokesperson for Oracle told Newsbytes, "These new tools emphasize our goals to establish compatibility through both high-end solutions and low-level networks, as well as our continual expansion into the European and other global markets. In maintaining a leading position with our database products and services, we realize the importance of interactive television and the need to manage and efficiently deliver pertinent information."
(Patrick McKenna/19950403/Press Contact: Eve Kowtko Smith Oracle, 415-428-9000)
Press Contact: Eve Kowtko Smith Oracle, 415-428-9000)
4/4/95
Oracle Intros New Tools At European User Conference
GENERAL
Tektronix Cuts Color Printer Pri
Dept. Of Defense Funds Holograph
WebFax Browses Web With Fax Mach
IPC Australia Boss Moves To Sing
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Howard Merry has been appointed executive vice president of IPC Corporation in Singapore. He was the founding managing director of IPC Australia.
Under Merry's management, IPC grew from just one store in 1993 to a national chain of 62 computer stores, and eleventh place in the Australian computer industry, in less than a year. Merry said he expects the company to be number five by the end of the year, with turnover of approximately 70,000 units and AUS$185 million a year.
Merry will be responsible for strategic business planning in the IPC head office, building new IPC business ventures around the world. He will also be seeking strategic partnerships with suppliers and major accounts. The company plans to open a large number of franchised stores throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. IPC revenues were more than S$1.35 billion last year, up 135 percent on 1993.
(Paul Zucker/19950331/Press Contact: IPC Australia tel +61-3-426-8766, fax +61-3-428-9642)
C Australia tel +61-3-426-8766, fax +61-3-428-9642)
4/4/95
IPC Australia Boss Moves To Singapore Head Office
GENERAL
Phone Markets Opening Without Le
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- With the Senate poised to debate a major telecommunications reform bill, phone markets appear to be opening to competition through administrative action at the federal and state levels.
The Clinton administration has approved a plan by Ameritech that will allow the Chicago-based regional Bell operating company to get into the long-distance business. At the same time, Michigan regulators have approved a plan by MCI to compete with Ameritech in Michigan markets.
The Justice Department yesterday approved the Ameritech plan passing it along to US District Court Judge Harold Greene, who must give the final blessing before Ameritech can proceed.
Attorney General Janet Reno announced the approval of the Ameritech plan. "We are taking the first big step to insure that competition, which has always been the hallmark of long-distance service, is introduced in local telephone service," she said.
Under the Ameritech proposal, the company will offer long-distance service to four million of its 12 million customers in Illinois and Michigan. Rather than building a national long-distance network, Ameritech will lease excess capacity from other telephone companies.
But the other six Baby Bells have denounced the Ameritech plan because it stipulates that Justice will establish that "actual competition" exists in the local phone market before it will allow the Bells into the lucrative $68 billion long-distance market. "We don't need a new army of federal bureaucrats to change the light bulbs on the information superhighway," said Ray Smith, Bell Atlantic chairman. "This is bad news for consumers since it could easily take (Justice) three to five years to process requests to provide long-distance."
If Congress passes telecommunications legislation, by no means a certainty, the Ameritech deal with the government would be moot. "Opposition is fading away, except from the White House," said Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
But a group of large industrial electric consumers led by a Washington group called ELCON are raising a fuss over the way the Senate bill lets electric utility holding companies into the telecommunications business by putting regulated utility customers at risk for the investment. They are likely to have the support of Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) during a floor debate ELCON's John Anderson told Newsbytes.
In the House, Rep. Jack Fields (R-Texas), chairman of the telecommunications subcommittee, has been careful not to reveal his plans for a bill. "It's a black hole over there," said one lobbyist. "It keeps drawing in lobbyists and paper, but nothing comes back out."
At the state level, the Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a plan for MCI to offer local service in the Detroit area. The service will begin when MCI completes interconnection agreements with Ameritech Michigan. A MPSC press release noted that the decision "marks the second competing license granted for basic local exchange service under the Michigan Telecommunications Act of 1991, and the first license granted in the Detroit area."
In a related issue, the US Supreme Court yesterday refused to review a lower court decision upholding the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to override state restrictions on telephone companies providing applications such as voice-mail and electronic information systems as part of their basic services. California and New York regulators had challenged the FCC.
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- The board of directors of America Online (AOL) yesterday authorized a 2-for-1 stock split, the second in six months for the rapidly growing online service.
Shareholders at the close of business April 13 will see their share holding doubled on April 27. The split will bring the number of outstanding common shares of AOL to some 35 million. "The stock split is intended to broaden our stockholder base, as well as enhance the company's ability to take greater advantage of emerging market opportunities," said Steve Case, AOL president and chief executive officer (CEO).
The split pleased investors. The stock, traded on the NASDAQ rose $2.50 to $76.50 a share yesterday, on heavy volume of 1.2 million shares. The company's three-month average daily volume is 807,000 shares. Last October, when the stock split for the first time, the average volume was 269,000 shares a day.
But savvy analysts don't make much out of stock splits. "Stock splits create artificial short-term speculation," Tom Gardner an online stock analyst who runs an AOL service known as "The Motley Fool" with his brother Dave, told Newsbytes. "For long-term holders of America Online stock, the news is next to meaningless. Twice the shares, half the price...no effect on the fundamental value. We continued to think America Online will outperform the market."
"The Motley Fool" is one of six companies AOL has picked for special support through its Greenhouse program. Launched six months ago, the program gives startup companies an online site and assistance. AOL announced yesterday that the Greenhouse companies will offer content about cooking, medicine, golf, pop culture, Afrocentric culture, and fitness.
The eGG will offer the "Electronic Gourmet Guide," currently published on the World Wide Web, on AOL, bringing subscribers the chance to "interact with some of the world's great chefs." The existing Better Health & Medical Forum on AOL will become a "Health and Medical Information" service, designed for both consumers and medical professionals.
InterZine Productions will develop interactive products centered around the sport of golf, under the "iGOLF name," on both AOL and the Web. It will debut this week with coverage of the 1995 Masters tournament from August, Ga., providing continuous coverage and commentary by leading golf writers and broadcasters.
Tom and Dave Gardner will bring the brand of humor and whimsy they gave to investment advice to entertainment ("Follywood") sports ("Fool Sports") and popular culture ("Route 66"). NetNoir will launch "NetNoir Online," as a gateway between the traditional online world and Afrocentric culture from around the world. World Pulse will create an online environment called "Health Zone," the first cyberspace fitness club, including Nutricheck, an electronic food diary.
(Kennedy Maize/19950404/Press Contacts: Richard Hanlon, AOL 703-448-8700; Margaret Ryan, AOL, 703-883-1625; Tom Gardner on AOL, type "Go Fool")
Tom Gardner on AOL, type "Go Fool")
4/4/95
America Online Stock Splits Again
ONLINE
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70
DEC Adds Faster Alpha Workstatio
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has added to its AlphaStation line of workstations what the company claimed is the world's fastest workstation. The company also beefed up its multimedia software for Alpha workstations and announced a new video capture and output card.
Based on DEC's 266 megahertz (MHz) Alpha reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) microprocessor, the new AlphaStation 250 4/266 workstation is meant for scientists and engineers doing work such as mechanical and electrical computer-aided design (CAD) geographic information systems (GIS), and other research and scientific projects, DEC said. It can run the Digital Unix OpenVMS, and Microsoft Windows NT operating systems.
DEC claimed benchmark results of 198.6 for SPECint92 and 262.5 for SPECfp92, which the company said outrun rival machines from Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun Microsystems Inc., and IBM.
The new workstation is available now, company spokeswoman Karen Quatromoni told Newsbytes. She said the new model is comparable to the existing DEC 3000 Model 700 workstation, with better price/performance and the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion bus, but production of the DEC 3000 Model 700 is continuing.
An AlphaStation 250 4/266 workstation with 32 megabytes (MB) of memory, a 1.44MB diskette drive, a 1.05 gigabyte hard disk, a 600MB CD-ROM drive, two- and three-dimensional graphics, a 21-inch color monitor, and either Digital Unix or OpenVMS, costs $19,995. A similarly equipped model, but with only a 535MB hard disk, two-dimensional graphics, 17-inch color monitor, and Windows NT, is $13,890.
DEC said it enhanced its Multimedia Services for Digital Unix software, adding access to more video file formats, including the Motion Picture Experts Group MPEG-1 standard. The software also now comes with Intel Corp.'s Indeo, which makes it possible to share audio and video data with PCs, DEC said. Multimedia Services for Digital Unix comes with every Alpha workstation sold with Digital Unix. Current owners of Alpha workstations will get the upgrade automatically if their systems are under warranty or the extended "layered software product warranty," Quatromoni said. Others can purchase the upgrade for a small fee. A developer's license is $395.
Digital's new FullVideo Supreme is a PCI video capture and output card that the company said will let users create and run multimedia applications with full-motion video and stills. It works with Multimedia Services for Digital Unix and costs $895.
(Grant Buckler/19950404/Press Contact: Karen Quatromoni, Digital Equipment, 508-264-6786; Public Contact: Digital Equipment, tel 508-493-5111, fax 508-493-8780, Internet World Wide Web http://www.digital.com)
ld Wide Web http://www.digital.com)
4/4/95
DEC Adds Faster Alpha Workstation
GENERAL
Chicago Tribune On The Web
4Home Provides Interface For HP'
Lotus Sharpens Its Imaging
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Lotus Development Corp. (NASDAQ:LOTS) is now bundling its Image Viewer software with its Notes workgroup software and with its cc:Mail electronic-mail package. At the same time Lotus enhanced the Image Viewer software, which is also sold as part of its Lotus Notes: Document Imaging (LN:DI) product line, and announced Fax Server software for Notes and cc:Mail.
The Image Viewer software lets users view images of documents including incoming faxes, on their computer screens, a spokesman for the company told Newsbytes. To make good use of Image Viewer software, users will need to have somewhere in the organization at least one copy of the full LN:DI Professional Edition client which can also handle input of scanned images. Lotus offers other components for complete LN:DI systems, including the LN:DI Mass Storage System, Image Processing Server, and Workgroup OCR Option.
By offering the Image Viewer with Notes and cc:Mail clients Lotus hopes to introduce its customers to LN:DI and encourage them to purchase the full system.
The bundle also includes a print-to-fax driver that will let users send faxes from any Windows application, Lotus said.
Lotus announced the Lotus Fax Server, in editions for Notes and cc:Mail, saying it will let users send, receive, view, and manipulate faxes without leaving Notes or cc:Mail.
New features in Version 2.6 of the LN:DI Professional Edition Image Viewer include annotation and rich scanning capability using the ISIS drivers from Pixel Translations, a subsidiary of Cornerstone Imaging Inc. Lotus said it has also enhanced the LN:DI Mass Storage System; Version 2.6 supports native network transports and more than 100 optical disk drives and jukeboxes using technology from Pegasus Disk Technologies Inc. The product will also support low-end optical jukeboxes from Hewlett-Packard IBM, Sony, and NKK, Lotus said.
Lotus said it expects the LN:DI Professional Edition Client Release 2.6, to retail at about $89. The LN:DI Mass Storage System, Release 2.6, has an estimated retail price of $4,995. Lotus estimated the retail price of the Lotus Fax Server, Notes Edition, at $2,499, and that of the cc:Mail edition at $1,475. All these are to be available in 30 days from Lotus resellers. The LN:DI Image Processing Server has an estimated retail price of $429 and the Workgroup OCR Option is $869.
(Grant Buckler/19950404/Press Contact: Victor Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514, Internet e-mail victor_cruz@lpp.com; Kathleen Haley, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514, Internet e-mail kathleen_haley@lpp.com; Public Contact: Lotus, 800-346-1305; Internet World Wide Web http://www.lotus.com)
de Web http://www.lotus.com)
4/4/95
Lotus Sharpens Its Imaging
GENERAL
Multimedia Software Teaches Pres
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across Stor
GTSI Wins Big Govt-Wide Contract
US Firms Get Pakistan Business
Amdahl Energy Mgt & Recycling Sa
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Amdahl (AMEX:AMH), a major supplier of large scale mainframe computers says it made overall energy savings of $6 million for 1995.
The company claims it achieved the savings through a combination of electrical lighting and switching changes, as well as materials recycling.
Amdahl participates in the Federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Green Lights and Energy Star" Electrical Cost Reduction Program. The program members agree to install energy-efficient lighting in 90% of their company's square footage over five years. Pacific Gas & Electric Amdahl's utility provider, has issued cash rebates to Amdahl amounting to $532,026 since 1984.
Gerald Hummel, Amdahl's director of facilities and operations, told Newsbytes, "One of the most important reasons we have been successful with our efforts here is that we have a sincere commitment and conscientious staff to accomplish the job. This is a job which has to be taken in a long view. The results we posted for 1994, reflect the work we have put in over the past 10 years."
He continued, "A large portion of the savings have come from installing energy-efficient lighting and motion sensor switches which shut off lights when no-one is using them. We also have been very conscientious with the replacement of motors as they wear out. Whenever there is the option, we choose a motor which is more efficient in some manner to the one being replaced."
Hummel also said the company earned another $1,136,546 from the resale of recyclable materials which included precious and non-precious metals surplus equipment, electronic breakage and wire, furniture, paper, and related products. The cost of operating the program came to $89,979. From 1990 to 1994, the company reduced by 84% the amount of solid wastes being hauled from the company. That number exceeds the goals set by the State of California for the year 2000, which says counties and cities must reduce solid landfill by 50%.
Amdahl says it began with simple office recycling programs of waste paper from documents, soda cans, and general copy room waste. "Now there is not an office in the company which does not have a recycling container near the door and over the years we have extended our efforts to the maintenance and operation of our three campuses with 25 different buildings."
The company also provides the Amdahl Shuttle System which involves more than 1,000 employees transported to San Jose's Light Rail system and the local commuter trains.
"What does this all mean to the environment?" said Hummel. "Since 1983 we have reduced energy usage by 152,258,913 kilowatt hours (KWH). That is the equivalent of 126,882 barrels of oil which if burned would have added 228,388,369 pounds of carbon dioxide to the air."
Asked what advice he would offer other companies in need of energy and recycling programs, Hummel said, "It takes a dedicated staff, individuals who are willing to stand before senior management and demonstrate the benefits and revenue potential, a long-term commitment and thorough record keeping to know what those revenues and savings really are."
(Patrick McKenna/19950404/Press Contact: John Radewagen, The Benjamin Group, 408-559-6090; Public Information: Amdahl Corp. 408-746-7937)
; Public Information: Amdahl Corp. 408-746-7937)
4/4/95
Amdahl Energy Mgt & Recycling Saves $6 Million
TRENDS
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Ma
Encyclopaedia Britannica Looking
Seybold - Optronics Previews Dru
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- In a press conference at Seybold Boston, Optronics gave sneak previews of new desktop scanner software, an "automated platesetter" code-named Eos, and cross-device stochastic screening, while formally announcing a platesetter called Aurora, plus a native PostScript Level 2 interpreter for Power Mac.
At the Drupa trade show in Germany in May, Chelmsford Massachusetts-based Optronics will formally announce both the Intelligent ColorRight 5.0 software, which is now in beta, and the IntelliDot Impression stochastic screening technology, said James P. (Jamie) Jacobs, general manager, speaking at the press conference, which was attended by Newsbytes.
Optronics, a division of Intergraph, is targeting the upcoming Intelligent ColorRight 5.0 at "mass market" desktop publishing, as well as at Optronics' traditional customer base of commercial printers, noted Edward Chrusciel, director of marketing, also during the press event.
ColorRight 5.0, he maintained, will work with Optronics' line of ColorGetter Mac- and Power Mac-based high-end desktop scanners. These scanners include the new ColorGetter Falcon, which provide "true optical resolution" of 5418 dots-per-inch (dpi) for under $30,000, as well as the ColorGetter 3 Prima 3, 3 Plus, and 3 Pro providing true optical resolution of 8128 dpi, billed by Optronics as the highest available on a desktop scanner.
Chrusciel told the journalists that, as pricing of desktop scanners continues to decline while the output quality increases, users are converging upon high-end color scanners like ColorGetter from two directions: the prepress industry and desktop publishing areas such as internal corporate publications and photo retouching.
But the prepress workers, who are accustomed to more complex and costly drum scanners, have been asking for greater customizability in desktop scanners, the marketing director acknowledged.
In response, he added, ColorRight 5.0 will incorporate various toolsets, windows and palettes designed to give "advanced" users control over color correction, while also including a variety of "automatic" scanning features.
Like other scanning software, ColorRight 5.0 will automatically set the highlight, mid-tone and shadow points for a scan. But unlike other products, it will take into account the distinction between specular highlights and diffused highlights -- preventing the software, for instance, from incorrectly choosing the sparkle on a glass as the "white point," according to Chrusciel.
Also unlike other products, ColorRight 5.0 will let users manually override the "decisions" of the software, he said. Other features will include automatic color cast selections, and user-defined preference settings for higher or lower dot percentages for cyan magenta-yellow-black (CMYK) printing according to the final application.
Optronics is also developing additional features for ColorRight involving the graphical user interface (GUI), catchlight controls color manipulation, CMYK editing, and soft proofing for four-color printing.
The journalists were also told that, by adding native support for Power Mac, the newly announced updated PostScript Level II interpreter, Harlequin Ltd.'s Harlequin Scriptworks, becomes the only software raster image processor (RIP) to work with "all major desktop publishing platforms."
The RIP is designed for Optronics' DeskSetter 3000 and Desksetter Express imagesetters. Using the PostScript interpreter with Power Mac instead of the Mac Quadra raises performance to three times enabling the DeskSetter Express to produce a 12.5-by-18-inch film separation the size of a standard two-page spread at 4,000 dpi and 300 lines-per-inch (lpi) in just four minutes, according to the officials.
Jacobs told the press that Optronics' new IntelliDot Impression technology will be the first stochastic screening technology to work across film, digital proofs, and plates.
Stochastic screening is an alternative to halftone technology aimed at higher image quality. Images are reproduced by varying the spacing between dots, instead of by changing the size of the dots as is done with halftone. Optronics plans to implement IntelliDot Impression in its entire line of external drum imagesetters reported the Optronics execs.
Optronics' new Aurora, which is scheduled for May shipment, is a large-format system for computer-to-plate (CTP) imaging of color pages created on either "open" desktop systems -- including Power Mac and PC and Unix systems -- as well as "proprietary" platforms such as Adobe's PostScript and Kodak's Color Electronic Prepress System (CEPS).
CTP technology is intended to reduce the time, cost, and chemical waste of traditional film-based prepress production, while raising output quality, said Chrusciel.
The Aurora platesetter can be configured with Harlequin Ltd.'s PostScript Level 2 or Color Age Inc.'s software interpreters, and with any of a variety of digital proofing systems from Optronics including IntelliProof, a full-color proofing system designed to apply the same halftone screening and RIP technologies used in making film separations, so as to predict how a PostScript job will be printed on a four-color press. IntelliProof received a Seybold Award for Excellence in 1994, according to the officials.
Also at the Seybold '95 press conference, Optronics announced Konica Konsensus KN-130P-IV, a new bright white photosensitive paper for IntelliProof. Available immediately, the new paper is aimed at providing greater contrast over the range of printable color, while using half the replenishment chemistry of previous paper for IntelliProof.
Optronics' other new platesetter, code-named Eos, is an "automated" version of Aurora scheduled to ship later this year. Eos, which is designed to handle plates "entirely without manual intervention," is targeted at high-volume commercial and publication printers particularly printers with multicolor automatic presses.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950403/Reader Contact: Optronics, 508-256-4511; Press Contacts: Barbara Britten, Optronics, 508-250-8711; John Hebert, Hebert Communications for Optronics, 617-232-1161)
Hebert Communications for Optronics, 617-232-1161)
4/4/95
Seybold - Optronics Previews Drupa Announcements
GENERAL
Berkeley Speech & Franklin In Ha
Digiphone Internet Phone On 4-Ci
Mindscape Ships How Your Body Wo
Seybold - EFI Ships Fiery XJ Ser
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- At Seybold Boston, Electronics for Imaging (EFI) announced shipment of the Fiery XJ 170 and Fiery XJ 300 color servers for converting color copiers into high-speed printers, plus a deal with Canon that extends EFI's sales through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to all major copier vendors.
During a multi-stop tour of the EFI booth, Michael Maciag, EFI's director of marketing, told Newsbytes that EFI's Fiery servers were targeted mainly at the graphic arts market when first introduced in 1991, but that, due to declining prices and increased speed sales to the corporate market have since risen to account for 50 percent of revenues.
Also at the show in Boston, EFI demonstrated the Fiery XJ 250, an upcoming "mid-level" color server, slated for shipment in June which is specifically geared to corporate workgroups.
The Fiery XJ 170, XJ 300, and XJ 250 represent the first color servers to be based on the Fiery XJ architecture, announced in early March. The XJ architecture -- which is also expected to appear in other products, including embedded controllers for desktop color printers -- uses application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to reduce the chip count and consolidate the key technology on a single board, according to Maciag.
The Fiery XJ architecture calls for three "Ripchips," which offload data movement from the architecture's main central processing unit (CPU), leaving the CPU free for PostScript Level 2 processing Maciag explained to Newsbytes during the tour.
EFI's Fiery and Fiery XJ servers are members of the same general product family as Radius' Splash color servers, Maciag acknowledged. Other vendors aside from EFI and Radius also produce color print servers, but EFI now owns 70 percent of the market for products in the category, he contended.
Under EFI's deal with Canon, the two companies have signed a letter of intent to enter into an OEM agreement calling for Canon to purchase Fiery XJ color servers in exchange for "exclusive worldwide sales rights for Fiery XJ servers that drive Canon brand laser copiers."
The pact with Canon "completes the circle," Maciag reported. EFI he said, had previously reached similar agreements with three other major producers of color copiers: Xerox, Kodak, and Ricoh.
Maciag told Newsbytes that EFI's new, entry-level Fiery XJ 170 provides four times the speed of its Fiery brand predecessor for $16,995, or half the cost.
Aimed at professional color proof production, as well as at business applications such as presentations and proposals, the XJ 170 supports continuous tone output at 400 by 400 dots-per-inch (dpi) for 8.5- by 11-inch (A4) paper and 400 by 200 dpi for larger paper sizes. Scanning resolution is 200 by 200 for all page sizes according to Maciag.
The Fiery XJ 300, the other Fiery XJ server that has just begun shipping, is targeted at corporations as well as color pros with heavy color production duties.
Priced at $32,995, the XJ 300 is designed to support continuous tone 400 by 400 dpi output and scanning on both A4 and 11- by 17-inch (A3) paper sizes. Features include "continuous print" and "rip-while-print" with a four-page buffer.
EFI's newly debuted Fiery XJ 250, which is priced at $24,995 provides rip-while-print with a two-page buffer, allowing one page to be printed while another page is being processed, Maciag said. Like the XJ 300, the mid-level server outputs continuous tone at 400 by 400 dpi on both A3 and A4 paper.
The new XJ color servers also use EFI's Memory Multiplier, a technology designed to supply photographic quality, full resolution continuous tone output with half the memory formerly required, according to the EFI exec.
Aside from faster performance and lower pricing, EFI is focusing on "beautiful color," Maciag told Newsbytes. Software utilities available for the Fiery XJ servers include the Fiery XJ Print Calibrator, Fiery XJ Scan, and Eficolor Works color management software, along with the Fiery XJ Spooler and Fiery XJ Downloader.
Also at Seybold, EFI announced a licensing agreement with Pantone that permits EFI to resell Pantone's application-specific ColorDrive color libraries for EFI's Eficolor with all Fiery and Fiery XJ products.
The new Fiery XJ Color Servers use a "proprietary, Unix-like operating environment" internally, but support Macintosh, Windows Unix, and DOS workstations over EtherTalk, Internet Packet Exchange (IPX), and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networks, according to the EFI marketing director.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950403/Reader Contact: Electronics for Imaging 415-286-8600; Press Contact: Anne Gowan or Robin Foster, Miller Communications for EFI, 415-962-9550)
bin Foster, Miller Communications for EFI, 415-962-9550)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- At Seybold Boston, Frame Technology announced FrameMaker and FrameViewer release 5, a port of those two products to DEC Unix and IBM's OS/2 Warp, and a new offering called FrameMaker+SGML.
During a meeting with Newsbytes in the Frame Technology briefing room, Mark Hamilton, director of strategic marketing programs noted that FrameMaker and FrameViewer were ported from HP and Sun Unix to Windows, the Mac, and Power Mac in 1994.
The 1995 ports will run on DEC Unix for Alpha and OS/2 for both Intel and PowerPC, according to the Frame Technology exec.
Beyond additional cross-platform support, he explained, release 5 brings new tools for "greater efficiency," along with online authoring capabilities that include Adobe Acrobat 2.0 support and an integrated hypertext markup language (HTML) document conversion tool for FrameMaker.
Hamilton added that FrameMaker, FrameViewer, and the new FrameMaker+ SGML represent two of the three "product classes" now being offered by Frame Technology.
FrameMaker and the new FrameMaker+SGML (standard generalized markup language) are both products for document creation, while FrameViewer is for document distribution, he said.
FrameMaker+SGML, an entry that will succeed Frame Technology's current FrameBuilder and SGML Toolkit products, will integrate native SGML support with page composition, text editing, graphics and "interactive structure validation," according to Hamilton.
With a corporate acquisition of Curo last year, he noted, Frame Technology now added a third "class" -- document management -- to its product line-up. Frame Technology has taken over production of the Curo Document Manager (CDM).
Hamilton told Newsbytes that FrameMaker's newly added support for Acrobat 2.0 will allow FrameMaker elements such as table of contents, indexes, paragraph tags, hypertext links and alerts to be automatically converted into Acrobat navigation elements like bookmarks, links, annotations, and article threads.
The Acrobat navigational elements will be updated in accordance with revisions to FrameMaker documents, according to the Frame Technology exec.
FrameMaker's new HTML document conversion tool will include an export option that allows the user to define mappings from FrameMaker paragraph styles to HTML, and hypertext links to Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), he reported.
FrameViewer, release 5, will also include capabilities for online document creation and distribution, he said. For example, document authors will now to able to create alert boxes that display custom titles.
Users will also be able to control window placement from the table of contents, indexes, or "any other automatically generated information," according to Hamilton.
In a demo, Hamilton showed Newsbytes some of the new "efficiency" features in FrameMaker release 5, including "automatic text runarounds" and "straddles."
The new text runarounds feature is designed to let users quickly and easily "flow" text around graphics, Newsbytes was told. The runarounds can use either FrameMaker's customary "anchored frame" approach or the "page-location-based" method typically used in desktop publishing packages.
The text can be "flowed" around the graphics as either a rectangular boundary, an "arbitrary polygon," or an irregular image.
The new "straddles" permit text to span multiple columns as well as "side heads," or areas outside margins. In contrast to other composition packages, FrameMaker allows straddles to be performed across page boundaries, he continued.
Hamilton demonstrated how FrameMaker is able to straddle headlines. Straddles can also be carried out with tables, footnotes, or graphics, for example, according to the marketing programs director.
Also in release 5, support for Adobe Type 1 fonts has been extended across all platforms. Other enhancements include an online tutorial with "interactive lessons," improved filters, and the ability to import text by reference from other FrameMaker documents, ASCII, or word processing formats supported by FrameMaker's import filters.
Also at Seybold, Frame Technology announced an update to the Frame Developer's Kit for Windows, Macintosh and Unix, along with a port of the software development kit (SDK) to DEC Unix for Alpha.
FrameMaker and FrameViewer, release 5 are scheduled to ship June 1 for Windows, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, and Unix in three languages: English, French and German. Versions in Swedish Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese are expected to be released at a later date.
Pricing for FrameMaker, release 5 is $895 for Windows, Macintosh Power Macintosh, or OS/2 Warp, and $1,495 for a floating multi-user Unix license. FrameViewer pricing is dependent on quantity.
Framemaker+SGML is slated to be available in June to "qualified application developers," and in the fourth quarter to end-users, at pricing of: $1,495 for Windows, Macintosh or Power Macintosh; $1,995 for a Sun or HP personal license; and $3,995 for a Sun or HP shared license. FrameMaker and FrameViewer for DEC Unix and OS/2 Warp are targeted at fourth quarter delivery. Pricing on FrameMaker for DEC Unix has not yet been announced.
Kristin Vais, Copithorne & Bellows for Frame, 408-988-2100)
4/4/95
Seybold - Frame's Online Authoring Tools, DEC & OS/2 Ports
GENERAL
Motorola Licenses Radio System,
Sweden - Ericsson's 1st Major Wa
Autodesk To Ship AutoCAD LT For
UK Firm Ships Single Memory Modu
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Simms International, a Mac upgrade specialist, has announced the availability of Kingston Technology's DIMMs (dual inline memory modules) for the PowerPC 604-based Power Macs.
According to Steve Bracken, product manager with Simms International the DIMMs are 168 pin 64-bit modules designed specifically for the Power Mac series. "If you go back to the original Macs with their 16-bit data pathways, you needed two eight-pin SIMMs (single inline memory modules). This need for two memory chips at a time has carried right through to the latest Macs, but with the DIMM, only a single memory module is needed," he told Newsbytes.
According to Bracken, even though there are no major price advantages with the DIMMs over SIMMs, the DIMMs are far easier to fit into the Power Mac machines.
In use, the DIMM has identical DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips on each side of the board, but addresses each side separately as if it were a pair of modules, so allowing users to add single memory modules.
According to Ian Walker, Simms International's technical director, the DIMMs should become a standard for Apple's RISC (reduced instruction set computing) machines.
"We don't expect a price premium on DIMMs," he added, explaining that their components are "similar to traditional SIMMs used in the current PowerMac range. However, demand for all memory is outstripping supply and prices are consequently set to rise."
The DIMMs are available in four megabyte (MB), 8MB, 16MB, 32MB and 64MB capacities.
(Steve Gold/19950403/Press Contact: DPA PR, tel +44-1483-456666 fax +44-1483-456555; Internet e-mail dpapr@attmail.com; Reader Contact: Simms International, tel +44-181-213-5000, fax +44-181-213-5050)
tional, tel +44-181-213-5000, fax +44-181-213-5050)
4/4/95
UK Firm Ships Single Memory Modules For Power Mac
APPLE
Free Update Increases Quattro-Lo
Seybold - Xerox Updates TextBrid
Zeos, Micron Shareholders OK Mer
SITA Plans Global Secure Interne
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- The SITA Group, an international data network services company, has announced plans to offer, what it claims is, "the world's first secure Internet access facility."
According to Kevin Formby, product line manager with the UK division of SITA, the company has specialized to date in offering frame relay and X.25 data comms services to major corporations. "With the secure Internet service, we will overlay our existing dial-up and packet data services with Cisco routers on a global basis, allowing companies to dial in and access the Internet on a secure basis," he told Newsbytes.
Formby went on to explain that the secure Internet service will not launch until the fourth quarter of this year, and will only be available to companies, rather than individuals. Despite the focus on major companies, Formby reckons that the typical user will be a mobile professional, using a high speed modem from hotel rooms, at home or from remote offices.
Pricing on the service, which will offer a secure and highly resilient version of the Internet Protocol (IP), will depend on the speed of access required by the user, with typical access speeds ranging from 9,600 to 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) on asynchronous dial-up, through 64k ISDN (integrated services digital network) and X.25 links operates at speeds of up to two megabits-per-second (Mbps).
The SITA global network -- which will be known as Aeronet -- will be extended and enhanced to support modem speeds to 28,800 bps in most areas by the end of the year, with plans to extend the service to 500 cities in 100 countries within that time frame.
"We've been doing some tests on the network," Formby explained, adding that most countries will see dial-up modem access at speeds of 28,800 bps with data compression pushing the maximum data throughput even higher.
"In some countries, such as Africa, we may restrict dial-up access to 9,600 bps, as the telephone network won't support faster speeds. We expect to be able to offer the fastest possible method of accessing the Internet in most countries," he explained.
The name Aeronet was chosen as, initially at least, the company will market its data services to the aerospace and air transport industries. According to SITA officials, for the first time, aerospace companies and airlines will have access to a high performance IP network, with a real "closed user group" concept securing the exchange of information.
According to the company, a significant application will be the ability for airlines to access online aircraft maintenance data ensuring that they always have access to the latest technical information. This will, the company claims, result in significant improvements in the maintenance turn-around for aircraft and reduce administration costs of manual systems within both the airline and aerospace companies.
Other service additions will include the ability to assign worldwide Internet addresses, using the common IP switching protocol.
(Steve Gold/19950403/Press Contact: Profile PR, +44-181-995-1595 Internet e-mail richard_hewitt@profile.compuserve.com; Reader Contact: The STA Group, +44-181-730-1322)
er Contact: The STA Group, +44-181-730-1322)
4/4/95
SITA Plans Global Secure Internet Access
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In Focus Systems Intros LCD Proj
TECO & IBM - The Smart House Is
German Govt's Telecoms Liberaliz
6 BONN, GERMANY, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- The German government has announced plans to open up Germany's telecoms market, in line with the directives given by the European Commission (EC) over the last few years.
That's the good news. The bad news is that the German government has set a target date of January 1, 1998, to open up its telecoms market which is the same limit date that the EC has set for markets to open up, before it "gets legal" with the EC member country governments.
Although the plans will be disappointing for industry watchers officials with the German government are claiming that the target date is a major step for the German telecoms industry. In many ways, the announcement is an about-face by the government, which has steadfastly refused to even hint about its plan for EC mandate compliance until now.
According to Wolfgang Boetsch, the Germany Post and Telecoms Minister the post January 1, 1998, telecoms market will be opened up completely to competition, and an unlimited number of private companies will be invited to apply for telecoms licenses.
As part of the changes, the German government will privatize Deutsche Telekom, with a share sell-off expected some time next year. Boetsch refused to be drawn on what proportion of Deutsche Telekom will be sold off, but the sale will mark the first stage in a major shake-up of the German telecoms market.
On January 1, 1997, the first private sector telecoms licenses will be issued, allowing the private companies a chance to plan ahead for their service launch a year later.
Although Boetsch refused to be drawn on how many licenses for this first round of private telecoms companies will be issued, sources suggest that as many as eight could be issued to joint venture operations from the likes of British Telecom, Bell-South, and Northern Telecom. Privately, government officials are saying that they expect non-German companies to work together with German companies such as Veba, to offer a global joint venture services.
Boetsch, meanwhile, is in Washington this week, visiting with various dignitaries, including President Clinton. The topic of joint venture telecoms deals is likely to be high up on his list, Newsbytes notes.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950403/Press & Reader Contact: Deutsche Telekom tel +49-228-1820, fax +49-228-182-9822)
lekom tel +49-228-1820, fax +49-228-182-9822)
4/4/95
German Govt's Telecoms Liberalization Plans
TELECOM
Best New Internet Sites Site
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Checking up on the "best new sites on the Internet" always presents challenges. But IDD Information Services is helping in that process, by offering the "Interactive Nest Egg Nest Diver" from its World Wide Web page.
"Put this page in your hotlist, so you can find other things to put in your hotlist," G. Duff Bailey, director of Personal Investor Products for IDD Information Services told Newsbytes. "We're searching through the wheat, and finding the gems."
The company said a new list of 16 sites is put in the Nest Diver section of the Web page each Friday, related to Education, Lifestyle, and Sports. Sites are screened by the Nest Egg editorial staff, which judges many of the new sites that pop up on the Web each week according to "tastefulness, innovations, and a high level" of quality production values. "These sites are finished, and they'd appeal to the entire family, or the 'nest egg,'" Bailey said.
When Newsbytes surfed into the site, it found hotlinks to sites including "Sports Illustrated - Men's March Madness," "An Ode to Coffee," "Virtual Mystery Theater," and "The Michael Jordan Page."
Bailey said the reason why the company started this new part of the Web page has to do with trying to broaden his company's appeal. His company is trying to attract the smaller investor, mainly through the "Interactive Nest Egg," which is the broader part of the Web service, and through the "Nest Egg," which is a nationwide news supplement to some 500 community newspapers.
To access the Web page, a graphical Web browser such as Mosaic or Netscape is recommended. Prodigy members can also access the page through the online company's Web service. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address for Interactive Nest Egg is http://nestegg.iddis.com.
(Bob Woods/19950403/Press Contact: G. Duff Bailey, IDD Information Services, 212-432-0045. Public Contact: IDD Information Services 212-432-0045, Internet e-mail idddb@iddis.com, Internet World Wide Web http://nestegg.iddis.com)
de Web http://nestegg.iddis.com)
4/4/95
Best New Internet Sites Site
ONLINE
Storagetek Predicts 1Qtr Loss, B
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Storage Technology Corp. (NYSE: STK) announced this week that, contrary to what many financial analysts are reporting, it expects to report a loss for the first quarter.
The company said its current outlook for the first quarter is for profitability from operations, but that the combination of expenses associated with its merger with Network Systems Corp., costs associated with employee reductions, and the process of conforming NSC to Storagetek's revenue recognition policy will result in the company reporting a loss.
Asked if the announcement was intended to soften the blow to share prices when first quarter results were released, Storagetek spokesperson David Reid told Newsbytes he doubted the announcement would have that effect. "What is does do is get expectations closer to reality. There are a number of really outdated estimates out there. This should force a hard look at those estimates."
Storagetek recognizes revenue only after a customer accepts a product, not when it is shipped. It is that difference in accounting between Storagetek and NSC that will account for part of the poorer numbers for the quarter, since NSC revenue that company would have reported in the first quarter will be moved to the second period.
Ryal Poppa, Storagetek chairman, president and chief executive officer is cautiously optimistic the company's core storage business will be profitable for the first quarter. "Early indications are for profitability in the core business. However, our conservative revenue recognition policy makes exact results difficult to predict," said the Storagetek exec.
The company estimates the merger-related and staff reduction costs at about $25 million, and Poppa said he thinks those costs are understood by investors but are not reflected in published estimates by financial analysts.
The Storagetek chairman said the company continues to enjoy excellent demand for tape and tape automation systems, including TimberLine, the company's 36-track tape subsystem and is also optimistic about the final numbers for the fiscal year. "We expect a solid year overall, particularly as new products and new features for existing products hit their strike in the second half."
One of the Storagetek strategies Poppa sees as helpful to the year-end results is reduced production costs for the company's Iceberg product in order to assure good margins. Storagetek plans mid-year software and hardware enhancements for Iceberg.
Poppa is optimistic that most of the costs associated with the merger will show up in the first quarter. Storagetek said it expects to issue its first quarter results the week of April 24.
(Jim Mallory/19950404/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek 303-673-4815; Public contact: Storagetek, 303-673-5151)
-673-4815; Public contact: Storagetek, 303-673-5151)
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) has announced it will ship PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows this summer.
If the name PerfectWorks isn't familiar, it is a renamed and updated version of WordPerfect Works which the company said includes more than 30 new features and enhancements including some features already in the company's WordPerfect word processor.
The software suite that includes a word processor, draw and paint program, database, spreadsheet and communications modules was first launched in March, 1992. WordPerfect released version 2.0 in October, 1994.
Novell has added its PerfectSense technology to PerfectWorks offering users QuickCorrect, which automatically corrects misspellings, and Grammatik, which is a grammar and style checker that can suggest replacement words, phrases and sentences and even rewrite your words if you prefer that.
Other new features include timed backup so you won't lose your data if your computer crashes or the power goes off, a dedicated communications module for data transfer (but no fax capability) and caller identification.
Novell spokesperson Blake Stowell told Newsbytes the Caller ID feature is not an integral part of PerfectWorks. Instead, it is a memory resident program that pops up a dialog box to show who is calling you and when they called, if your phone line is connected to a modem installed in your PC. The dialog box pops up over the application currently in use. Newsbytes has learned Novell will probably ship the Caller ID software with other Novell products in the future.
Stowell said the interface the user sees in PerfectWorks will have a new look. "The interface has changed to mimic the interface of WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows," he told Newsbytes. "If users are working in a WordPerfect environment at work they will be able to use PerfectWorks at home and know exactly where to go and what to do."
Information from any of the PerfectWorks modules can be dragged and dropped to another module and you can insert more than one file into a single document. You can also save documents as templates with long document descriptions, and they can be organized into categories. If you favor a particular template for frequent use that one can be designated to load each time that particular module is opened.
Novell has coined a new term, "What You See Before You Get It," to describe a preview feature of PerfectWorks that lets you see the changes you have made before they are implemented. You can also review the last 10 keyboard and mouse actions, and an envelope feature has been added to make it easier to input and print envelope addresses.
PerfectWorks can import and export files to and from other popular software including WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Ami Pro, Quattro Pro, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, various database programs and a variety of graphics formats.
Novell is touting the level of integration between modules, saying the user no longer needs to concern themselves with cutting copying and pasting. Instead, all you have to do is select the module that performs the task you want to perform, open a frame and do the work. In that manner you can be working in a spreadsheet and add text by clicking on the word processor.
If you buy PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows you will also get an integrated version of the Quicken Special Edition for Windows. Since it is integrated with PerfectWorks, Quicken SE launches from the File pulldown menu in Novell's program.
Novell said PerfectWorks will have the necessary functionality to work with Microsoft Windows 95 when that new operating system ships later this summer.
Novell said PerfectWorks is scheduled to be available in retail outlets on June 1, 1995, at a suggested retail price of $109, the same price as the earlier version. Version 2.0 users can upgrade directly from Novell for $34.95.
To run PerfectWorks you need at least a 386 microprocessor in your PC as well as a VGA monitor, Windows 3.1, four megabytes (MB) of system memory and 13.5MB of available hard disk space.
Novell does publish a version of WordPerfect Works for Apple Computer's Macintosh platform but Stowell said there are no current plans for a Mac version of PerfectWorks.
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- When Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HWP) starts shipping its first personal computers for the consumer market later this month, the machines will be accompanied by a bundle of productivity, entertainment and education software provided by Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL).
Novell said this week the software bundle that will accompany HP's Multimedia 6011 Series PCs will include "WordPerfect Works," "Clip Art for the Home," "Wallobee Jack: The Secret of the Sphinx," "Read With Me" 1 and 2, "Write With Me," and "Memphis Math: Treasure of the Tombs."
WordPerfect Works is Novell's integrated software package that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, draw and paint and communications. Clip Art for Home is a collection of art that can be inserted into documents prepared with WordPerfect Works.
Novell spokesperson Wendy Rapier told Newsbytes users of WordPerfect Works will be able to upgrade to Novell's PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows when it ships later in the summer. Rapier said the upgrade will cost $34.95 and must be obtained directly from Novell. PerfectWorks is the new name for WordPerfect Works.
Wallobee Jack is an interactive cartoon program for ages seven and up, while Read With Me 1 & 2 give small children a head start on acquiring reading skills by helping them develop color, shape number, letter and word recognition skills, according to Novell.
Write With Me is a word processor that helps children create cards, letters and signs while Memphis Math is an adventure program that teaches fractions, decimals and percents while the user explores the tombs of ancient Egypt.
In addition to the Novell products, HP is also planning to bundle: Quicken SE, a personal finance management program; Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia; Simply House by 4Home Productions; Microsoft Home CD Sampler; and America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy software for those online subscription services. The HP PCs will start at $1,699.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- InContext Corp. (VSE:INI) said its InContext Spider is the first Web processor as opposed to browser -- for the Internet's World Wide Web. The software not only lets Internet users explore existing Web pages but lets them create their own, the company said.
"There are more people putting up Web pages -- their own personal ones -- than you might think," said Ian Hembery, vice-president of marketing and sales at InContext. Hembery told Newsbytes that by leasing server space from Internet access providers, or by connecting their computers to the Web for just part of each day individuals and small businesses can set up their own Web pages without necessarily having their own permanent connections to the Internet.
InContext said Spider is meant to make the process of creating Web pages easier than it has been. According to David Turner product manager, one key point is making it easier to create hypertext links to other pages on the Web. "When people are building Web pages," Turner told Newsbytes, "they're not creating isolated blocks of text."
InContext said its software requires no specialized knowledge of hypertext markup language (HTML), which is the basis of the hypertext links that tie Web pages together and make it easy to navigate through the system. It also does away with the need to cut and paste HTML "anchors" back and forth between a Web browser and the HTML editor.
Spider will come with its own built-in Web browser, but can also work closely with other Web browsers, Hembery said. The browser included will be an existing one from another vendor, he added but the company has not yet announced which one.
InContext built its business on standard generalized markup language (SGML), a standard for electronic publishing that is closely related to HTML. The latest version of the company's SGML editor, InContext 2, can produce HTML output, but InContext Spider more specifically addresses Web users' needs, the officials said.
So far, Spider cannot be used to produce SGML output, which would allow the software to output the same document in HTML format for the World Wide Web and in SGML format for other electronic publishing such as CD-ROM distribution.
InContext expects Spider to be available in May, with a retail price of about US$100.
(Grant Buckler/19950404/Press Contact: Ian Hembery, InContext 416-922-0087; Peter Bromley or Janet Shacter, Patrick O'Neill & Associates for InContext, 416-361-3331; Public Contact: InContext, 416-922-0087, Internet World Wide Web http://incontext.ca)
Internet World Wide Web http://incontext.ca)
4/4/95
InContext Spider Called 1st Web Processor
ONLINE
Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Traveling Software Inc. has announced that Compaq Computer Corp. will bundle a host-mode version of LapLink for Windows with upcoming desktop computers that will allow support technicians to take control of the customer's computer to diagnose and repair problems.
Compaq said it plans to start bundling Laplink for Windows with its desktop PCs next month. Compaq Presario models will be the first to have the software installed.
A Traveling Software spokesperson told Newsbytes the software will eventually be bundled with all of Compaq's consumer lines, including laptops.
With a remote control program like LapLink for Windows installed on the user's PC a support technician can perform any function that can be performed from the user's keyboard and can also transfer files. That feature would allow a support technician to replace a corrupt driver or other type file that might be causing a problem.
Traveling Software spokesperson Tricia Horner told Newsbytes Compaq buyers will get LapLink For Windows version 6.0a. The "a" suffix indicates a maintenance release which, according to Horner, fixes what she described as "a few minor bugs" and tweaks the program to work with the Microsoft Windows 95 drivers.
According to Gus Kolias, Compaq vice president of customer service and training, studies show technical support "call time" can be cut by as much as 50 percent using LapLink for Windows. "We will be able to troubleshoot problems more easily and effectively which will result in satisfying additional customers more quickly," said the Compaq executive.
While it's necessary to have a modem for the support technician to remotely control your PC, it is not necessary to have two phone lines. Once the connection has been made the technician and the user can "talk" via LapLink's chat feature by typing their messages.
Bundling LapLink for Windows with Compaq PCs is not expected to increase the end-user price.
(Jim Mallory/19950330/Press contact: Tricia Horner, Traveling Software, 206-487-5316; Rebecca Nahas, Compaq, 713-374-0484; Public contact: Compaq, 713-374-1459; Traveling Software tel 206-483-8088, fax 206-487-1284, Internet World Wide Web http://www.halycon.com/travsoft/homepage.htm LAPLINK950404/PHOTO)
Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs For Remote Support
Apple New Media Forum Set
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL) has announced the Apple New Media Forum: World Tour '95, targeted at the growing interest in multimedia business opportunities and in the creation of digital media for the World Wide Web.
According to Apple spokesperson, Katy Boos, the two-day event will travel to four cities worldwide. Boos said the "tour" is tailored for experienced multimedia developers, creative professionals, interactive musicians, and business executives exploring business opportunities and benefits of the new technology.
Boos told Newsbytes the presentation sessions address business creative, and technical issues for both commercial and in-house multimedia development, and includes "insightful case studies."
The dates and locations on the tour include: Cannes, France from May 3-4; Los Angeles, California from June 5-6; New York city from June 14-15; and Tokyo, Japan with dates to be announced later.
The Apple New Media Forum: World Tour '95 is co-sponsored by Wired Magazine, in addition to Advertising Age, Creativity, Digital Video Magazine, Interactivity, Keyboard Magazine, The Red Herring and major new media hardware and software providers Adobe Systems Inc., Macromedia Inc. and Radius Inc.
Forum speakers include art and film directors, "renowned" graphic designers, music composers, new media "gurus," and educators and on-line pioneers. Speakers to date include: James Burke, television host and author; Peter Gabriel, musician; Michael Backes, screenwriter of "Jurassic Park;" Jeff Rona, composer for "Chicago Hope" and "The Critic;" Brett Leonard, director of "The Lawnmower Man" and "Hideaway;" executives from Apple Computer, Adobe Systems Macromedia, and Radius; and editors from new media publications.
The cost for participants is $600, which includes attendance at all sessions, events, entertainment, and scheduled meals.
(Nick Anis/19950404/Press Contact: Katy Boos, 408-974-4451 Internet e-mail bigskyapplelink.apple.com; Stacy Williams 801-889-3855, Internet e-mail stacy.wapplelink.apple.com both of Big Sky Communications for Apple; Reader Contact: US tel 800-260-9099, Europe tel 33-93-39-74-39)
Europe tel 33-93-39-74-39)
4/4/95
Apple New Media Forum Set
APPLE
Chicago Tribune On The Web
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- The Chicago Tribune published by Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) said it is entering another part of cyberspace, the World Wide Web, to help people find jobs in the computer and electronics fields.
The paper has opened a site on the Web, called the "Career Finder." The Tribune's presence on the Web includes recruitment advertising in five categories, including: computer/information systems; electronics; engineering; and technical.
Advertisers in these categories pay a "premium" to have their ads on the Internet in addition to the "want ad" pages in the Tribune. Officials said that ads appearing in the Career Finder are put into the site the same time they appear in the newspaper, and remain on the Web site for two weeks.
"It's an opportunity for us to help our advertisers extend their reach beyond the audience of the newspaper," Carolyn Crafts, advertising development manager for the Tribune, told Newsbytes.
A letter from publisher Jack Fuller that appears at the Web page welcomes new users to the Career Finder. He also writes that job listings can be searched in one category at a time or in several categories.
Other material that can be found at the Tribune's Web site include articles from Jobs columnist Carol Kleiman, and computer writer James Coates. Both reporters can be reached via electronic-mail directly from the site, Fuller said. Also, company profiles are given at the site, along with a look at the Tribune's "Top 100" Chicago companies.
The company said these classified ads will also appear in an enhanced area of Chicago Online, which is a part of America Online. Already the paper lists general "help wanted" ads from the classifieds, Crafts said.
Fuller said the paper "is moving enthusiastically into the world, and that (Career Finder) is only the beginning."
The Tribune's URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address on the Web is http://www.chicago.tribune.com/.
(Bob Woods/19950404/Press Contact: Jeffrey D. Bierig, Chicago Tribune, 312-222-3920. Public Contact: Harry Philips, Chicago Tribune 312-222-4211, Internet e-mail haphilips@tribune.com; Internet World Wide Web http://www.chicago.tribune.com/)
://www.chicago.tribune.com/)
4/4/95
Chicago Tribune On The Web
ONLINE
WebWeek Weekly Tabloid Intro'd
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1 995 APR 4 (NB) -- Mecklermedia Corporation (NASDAQ:MECK) said it will begin publishing "WebWeek," a controlled circulation tabloid, published weekly.
"Everybody who is anybody wants to get on the Internet," Paul Bonington publisher of WebWeek, told Newsbytes. He said WebWeek will be the first and only controlled circulation newspaper devoted to Web developers, will deal exclusively with Web matters, and will concentrate on what's needed to set up and maintain a Web site.
The paper will be consist of a news and opinion section, a product review and announcement section, a feature article that will look at trends or "situations" in the marketplace, and a case study of a problem or situation a Web developer has dealt with.
Also, for executives, there will be a "business of the Web" column. For Webmasters, or those people who are responsible for Web sites there will be an "infrastructure" section. And a "content development" column will focus on creative development of Web sites.
Bonington said the idea for WebWeek was partially inspired by the Webmaster for Mecklerweb (http://www.mecklerweb.com), who commented that he had to go to several sources for Web development information, and wished there was one place to find this kind of information.
WebWeek is different from Mecklermedia's "Internet World," which is a monthly magazine that covers the entire Internet community, said Michael Neubarth, editor-in-chief of Internet World Magazine.
WebWeek will be covering a part of the Internet that is exploding, the company said. Officials cite the latest Internet Society Domain Survey which shows "Web-named host computers now constitute the most numerous on the Internet." In general, that survey determined there are now almost five million registered hosts on the Internet, which is up 2.7 million hosts from last year, or 475% for the last year. In the past three years, the Internet has experienced a growth spurt to the tune of 31,155%.
Paul Bonington, WebWeek publisher, said 25,000 copies of the newspaper have already been mailed to "high profile Web developers," and 15,000 additional copies will be given away at Spring Internet World '95 in San Jose, California, on April 10-13.
(Bob Woods/19950404/Press Contacts: Paul Bonington, Mecklermedia Corp., 203-226-6967, Internet e-mail bonington@mecklermedia.com; Barry Schwartz, Schwartz Public Relations Associates Inc. 212-677-8700)
ions Associates Inc. 212-677-8700)
4/4/95
WebWeek Weekly Tabloid Intro'd
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Software Fixes Calculation Error
Apple New Media Forum Set
WebWeek Weekly Tabloid Intro'd
Germany - Siemens' 4-Pronged Bus
ERLANGEN, GERMANY, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Siemens AG has announced a four-pronged plan to beef up it communications division. According to company officials, communications is a growth area in Europe, and profit margins are far greater on comms products and services than in other market sectors.
The business plan centers around improving the time taken to get products to market, reducing the cost of those products, both on an ex-factory and end-user basis, enhancing the way the company interacts with resellers, and marketing its consultancy services better.
According to Siemens, multimedia will feature heavily in its plans for comms in the future, as cable TV and telecoms technology converge.
The first result of Siemens new strategy, the company claims, is the securing of an $8 million contract to build a private telecoms network in Hungary. According to Siemens, the contract, which is with the Hungarian Telecommunications Company, calls for the supply and installation of a wide band data network capable of servicing the wide area network (WAN) requirements of major industrial companies and financial institutions.
Plans call for a pilot two megabits-per-second (Mbps) network to be up and running by the end of the year in Budapest, with a rapid rollout to more than 60 other towns and cities across Hungary. Companies will lease short-haul circuits from Telefonghat, Siemens' Hungarian operating company, to link into the private data network.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19950404/Press & Reader Contact: Siemens AG, +49-9131-7-42072)
eader Contact: Siemens AG, +49-9131-7-42072)
4/4/95
Germany - Siemens' 4-Pronged Business Plan
BUSINESS
Chicago Tribune On The Web
4Home Provides Interface For HP'
Interleaf Pays To Settle Govt Fr
Unisource Looks To Hong Kong For
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Unisource, the joint telecoms company owned and operated by Koninklijke PTT of the Netherlands, Swiss Telecom, Telefonica of Spain, and Telia of Sweden has formed a mobile division with the express intention of bidding for a PCN (personal communications network) digital cellular license in Hong Kong.
Unisource is the lead company in the People's Telephone Company, with partners that include China Resources, Mobile System International, and Telepaging, all other consortium companies set up to bid for PCN operations licenses.
According to Unisource, the People's Telephone Company stands an "excellent chance" of gaining a license to install and operate a PCN service in Hong Kong. "Our consortium brings together experience from around the globe to create and provide a PCN system to meet the exacting needs of the customers in Hong Kong," explained Mike Leung the newly-appointed chairman of People's Telephone.
PCNs are also known as PCS (personal communication services) in the US, and use frequencies between 1.8 and 1.9 gigahertz -- twice that of existing analog and digital cellular networks (including global system for mobile communications networks) -- to support a greater density of cellullar phones per square mile. This is because the propagation of PCN transmissions is far less than GSM, allowing for smaller cells for handsets to be used in.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950404/Press & Reader Contact: Unisource Business Networks, +45-33-37-7151)
: Unisource Business Networks, +45-33-37-7151)
4/4/95
Unisource Looks To Hong Kong For PCN License
TELECOM
Germany - Bosch Telecom To Close
STUTTGART, GERMANY, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Bosch Telecom, the communications technology division of Bosch GmbH, has announced plans to close two of its nine electronics plants in Germany.
Accordi ng to officials with the company, the plants in Wolfenbuettel (making cellular phones and home emergency call equipment) and Roedermark (making equipment and terminals for private communications technology) are to be closed by the end of the year.
Production at the Wolfenbuettel plant will be relocated to the Bosch plant in Salzgitter by the end of 1995, while production at the Roedermark facility will be split between the company's plants in Frankfurth and Limburg. The transfer from the Roedermark operation could take a full year to finalize, officials said.
Officials with Bosch said that, although precise figures had yet to be confirmed, around 890 staff out of a total of 1,200 at the two plants would be offered jobs at the three plants the work was being transferred to.
Bosch blames the closures on the ongoing restructuring of the company's communications operations. In January of this year, Bosch merged ANT Nachrichtentechnik GmbH of Backnang, Telenorma GmbH of Frankfurt, Bosch Telecom Oeffentliche Vermittlungstechnik GmbH of Eschborn, and the existing mobile phone division into a new company called Bosch Telecom GmbH.
(Sylvia Dennis/1995040)
h Telecom GmbH.
(Sylvia Dennis/1995040)
4/4/95
Germany - Bosch Telecom To Close 2 Plants
BUSINESS
Canadian Product Launch Update
Unisource Looks To Hong Kong For
Germany - Bosch Telecom To Close
UK - Cellular Signups Skyrocket
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- Cellnet and Vodafone have reported record sales of cellular phones during the first quarter of the year, while Orange, the Hutchison-Whampoa-owned PCN (personal communications network) operator, reports that it has reached the 130,000 subscriber mark within 12 months of launching its service.
Cellnet reports adding a total of 172,500 subscribers in the first quarter, boosting its subscriber lists to 1.734 million -- up 715,000 over the figures a year ago.
On top of the increased numbers, Cellnet reports that the average income from subscribers is rising steadily as well. A year ago, the typical business subscriber made 83 minutes-worth of calls a month while today the average is 89 minutes. Leisure subscribers, meanwhile made an average 19 minutes worth of calls this time last year, while today they make an average of 23 minutes a month.
According to Howard Ford, Cellnet's managing director, the increase in subscriber numbers was beyond the company's internal sales projections. Ford said that he had anticipated an increase of around 500,000 subscribers over the last 12 months.
At Vodafone, meanwhile, the figures for the first quarter's connections were 310,000 gross, although this figure netted down to 180,000. The reason for the difference is that 130,000 left the network during the quarter. During the same period last year Vodafone's gross increase was 190,000, and net increase 122,000.
According to a press spokeswoman for Vodafone, the company's subscriber base at the end of March was 1,818,000, with around 720,000 of these subscribers on the leisure tariffs, and 166,000 on digital (global system for mobile communications) tariffs.
Commenting on the figures, Sir Gerald Whent, the company's chief executives, said that the connections were at a record level. "These exceptional figures show that the UK mobile phone market continues to drive forward at a strong rate," he said, adding that around 47 percent of the new connections in the last 12 months came onto the
network in the last four months of the year.
The impressive figures come after a period of intense price subsidies by the networks, Newsbytes notes. This is reflected in typical selling prices on the latest pocket phones which have fallen by at least a third in the last three months. In many cases, because of the level of sign-up commissions, many subscribers electing to buy "last year's model" pocketphone can usually negotiate a zero selling price for the phone itself.
(Steve Gold/19950404/Press & Public Contact: Cellnet tel +44-1753-504814, fax +44-1753-504063; Vodafone 44-635-33251)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- At Seybold Boston '95, UMax released the Windows edition of PageOffice, a desktop device that combines push-button input of paper documents with optical character recognition (OCR), image editing and fax software, plus interfaces to electronic-mail and other outside applications.
In an interview with Newsbytes on the show floor, John Lamb product marketing specialist, said that the Windows version of PageOffice is shipping now, and also revealed that a Macintosh edition is slated for delivery in four or five months. "It's just a matter of adapting the (PageOffice) software to the Mac," he told Newsbytes.
PageOffice lets the user consolidate paper-based and electronic documents, and "clean up" the desktop on a document-by-document basis by either filing it in a folder, deleting the document, or sending it to another application.
Also at Seybold '95, UMax formally introduced a Macintosh edition of BizCard Reader -- a business card scanner that was introduced for Windows at PC Expo '94 -- plus the Gemini D-16, a dual-platform product claimed to be the first "dual-lens" flatbed scanner, and two 24-bit color flatbed scanners for Windows and Macintosh the Vista-T630 and Vista-S8.
In addition, the company unveiled an upgrade to its ColorMatch color management software for Umax scanners which adds support for both Kodak's Color Management Software (CMS) and Apple's ColorSync 2.0.
In a demo of PageOffice for Newsbytes, Lamb illustrated how the new device scans incoming paper documents like memos, letters, checks and photos with a five- to seven-page document feeder, and then produces image files that can be filed, searched, discarded, sent to another Windows application, e-mailed, or faxed.
The PageOffice desktop revolves around a bottom toolbar with icons for the three PageMaker applications -- PageImage, PageFile, and PageType -- plus a wastebasket for "throwing away" unwanted documents.
Lamb told Newsbytes that up to eight of the user's own applications can also be integrated into the software. These applications can be accessed either from a separate icon on the toolbar, or one of several programmable buttons on the side of the scanner, he said.
When a document enters PageOffice, it is automatically date stamped. The user is also given the option to name it. Scanned and faxed documents are stored as image files and represented by thumbnails.
After reviewing a document and deciding what to do with it, the user drags and drops the thumbnail to the appropriate icon, Lamb said.
To locate an image file, the user can either browse the thumbnails or search by date or document name, according to the product marketing specialist.
The PageOffice engine is a 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) single-pass grayscale sheet-fed scanner, Lamb reported. PageOffice permits scanning to be performed in background mode, he noted.
PageOffice for Windows carries a suggested retail price (SRP) of $499, and the Mac edition will be priced the same, he told Newsbytes.
BizCard Reader (BCR), another Umax product that will now be available for the Mac as well as Windo ws, also features background scanni ng. A batch scanning mode is available for BCR, as well.
When these two capabilities are used together, the user can process
stacks of business cards automatically, while simultaneously working in another application, according to Lamb.
The UMax official added that the company's MagicMatch software is designed to provide color correction and calibration. The support for Kodak's CMS provided in MagicMatch 2.0 is entirely new for UMax, but support for Apple's ColorSync is not, since ColorSync 1.0 is already being supported, he pointed out. Scheduled for availability in late April, the MagicMatch upgrade will ship with all new UMax scanners.
Lamb also told Newsbytes that the Umax scanner product line is designed around a "modular" approach, so that options such as a transparency adapter and 50-page document feeder can be used interchangeably across scanners.
The new Vista-T630 from UMax is a three-pass flatbed scanner offering a 12 page-per-minute (ppm) scanning speed, 4,800 dpi maximum resolution, and 300 by 600 hardware resolution, according to Lamb.
The Vista-T630 scans up to 16.8 million colors, and also
operates in halftone and black-and-white (b&w) modes. The T630 will be offered for an SRP of $595 with bundled software.
The new Vista-S8 is a single-pass scanner offering 6,400 dpi maximum resolution and 400 by 800 hardware resolution. Like the Vista-T630 it scans up to 16.8 million colors and provides halftone and b&w modes. The S8 scans an 8.5- by 11-inch page in 21 seconds in 24-bit color at 200 dpi. Pricing is $995 to $1,995 with bundled software.
The new Gemini-D, billed as the industry's first "dual-lens" flatbed scanner, uses two sets of optics to attain 800 by 800 dpi optical resolution and 800 by 1600 resolution. The 30-bit, single pass scanner takes 20 seconds to scan an 8.5- by 11-inch page in 24-bit color at 400 dpi. Pricing is $1,895 to $1,995 with bundled software.
Umax has also announced new software bundles for all its other scanners, which include the Vista-S6, UC1260, and high-end Powerlook models.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950403/Reader Contact: Umax, 800-651-8883; Press Contact: Paula Fujimoto or Tsai-ling Shyu, Interactive Public Relations for Umax, 415-703-0400)
yu, Interactive Public Relations for Umax, 415-703-0400)
4/4/95
Seybold - UMax PageOffice, BizReader For Mac, Scanners
GENERAL
UK - New Internet Windows Encryp
In Focus Systems Intros LCD Proj
TECO & IBM - The Smart House Is
Macintosh Multimedia & Product R
Newsbytes Daily Summary
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 4 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Viewsoft Intros C/C++ GUI Creation Software 04/04/95 Viewsoft Corp. has launched Utah For Windows version 1.1, an ANSI standard C/C++ application development environment the company said allows programmers to interactively create sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for their applications without adding interface dependencies to their program objects or even writing interface code.
2 -> Free Update Increases Quattro-Lotus 1-2-3 Compatibility 04/04/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) has announced a free update for its Quattro Pro 6.0 for Windows software the company said will make the software more compatible with popular spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3.
3 -> Oracle Intros New Tools At European User Conference 04/04/95 Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) has announced Oracle7 Workgroup Server for Unix, Oracle TextSever3 with ConText, and a wide array of other information management tools for the enterprise environment. Developer 2000 and Designer 2000 highlight the list of offerings.
4 -> IPC Australia Boss Moves To Singapore Head Office 04/04/95 Howard Merry has been appointed executive vice president of IPC Corporation in Singapore. He was the founding managing director of IPC Australia.
5 -> Phone Markets Opening Without Legislation 04/04/95 With the Senate poised to debate a major telecommunications reform bill, phone markets appear to be opening to competition through administrative action at the federal and state levels.
6 -> America Online Stock Splits Again 04/04/95 The board of directors of America Online (AOL) yesterday authorized a 2-for-1 stock split the second in six months for the rapidly growing online service.
7 -> DEC Adds Faster Alpha Workstation 04/04/95 Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has added to its AlphaStation line of workstations what the company claimed is the world's fastest workstation. The company also beefed up its multimedia software for Alpha workstations and announced a new video capture and output card.
8 -> Lotus Sharpens Its Imaging 04/04/95 Lotus Development Corp. (NASDAQ:LOTS) is now bundling its Image Viewer software with its Notes workgroup software and with its cc:Mail electronic-mail package. At the same time Lotus enhanced the Image Viewer software, which is also sold as part of its Lotus Notes: Document Imaging (LN:DI) product line, and announced Fax Server software for Notes and cc:Mail.
9 -> Amdahl Energy Mgt & Recycling Saves $6 Million 04/04/95 Amdahl (AMEX:AMH), a major supplier of large scale mainframe computers, says it made overall energy savings of $6 million for 1995.
10 -> Seybold - Optronics Previews Drupa Announcements 04/04/95 In a press conference at Seybold Boston, Optronics gave sneak previews of new desktop scanner software, an "automated platesetter" code-named Eos, and cross-device stochastic screening, while formally announcing a platesetter called Aurora, plus a native PostScript Level 2 interpreter for Power Mac.
11 -> Seybold - EFI Ships Fiery XJ Servers, Signs Canon Deal 04/04/95 At Seybold Boston, Electronics for Imaging (EFI) announced shipment of the Fiery XJ 170 and Fiery XJ 300 color servers for converting color copiers into high-speed printers, plus a deal with Canon that extends EFI's sales through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to all major copier vendors.
12 -> Seybold - Frame's Online Authoring Tools, DEC & OS/2 Ports 04/04/95 At Seybold Boston, Frame Technology announced FrameMaker and FrameViewer release 5, a port of those two products to DEC Unix and IBM's OS/2 Warp, and a new offering called FrameMaker+SGML.
13 -> UK Firm Ships Single Memory Modules For Power Mac 04/04/95 Simms International, a Mac upgrade specialist, has announced the availability of Kingston Technology's DIMMs (dual inline memory modules) for the PowerPC 604-based Power Macs.
14 -> SITA Plans Global "Secure" Internet Access 04/04/95 The SITA Group, an international data network services company, has announced plans to offer, what it claims is, "the world's first secure Internet access facility."
15 -> German Govt's Telecoms Liberalization Plans 04/04/95 The German government has announced plans to open up Germany's telecoms market in line with the directives given by the European Commission (EC) over the last few years.
16 -> "Best New Internet Sites" Site 04/04/95 Checking up on the "best new sites on the Internet" always presents challenges. But IDD Information Services is helping in that process, by offering the "Interactive Nest Egg Nest Diver" from its World Wide Web page.
17 -> Storagetek Predicts 1Qtr Loss, Blames Merger Costs 04/04/95 Storage Technology Corp. (NYSE: STK) announced this week that contrary to what many financial analysts are reporting, it expects to report a loss for the first quarter.
18 -> Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 For Windows 04/04/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) has announced it will ship PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows this summer.
19 -> HP Consumer PCs To Ship With Novell Software 04/04/95 When Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HWP) starts shipping its first personal computers for the consumer market later this month, the machines will be accompanied by a bundle of productivity, entertainment and education software provided by Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL).
20 -> InContext Spider Called 1st "Web Processor" 04/04/95 InContext Corp. (VSE:INI) said its InContext Spider is the first Web processor as opposed to browser -- for the Internet's World Wide Web. The software not only lets Internet users explore existing Web pages but lets them create their own, the company said.
21 -> Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs For Remote Support 04/04/95 Traveling Software Inc. has announced that Compaq Computer Corp. will bundle a host-mode version of LapLink for Windows with upcoming desktop computers that will allow support technicians to take control of the customer's computer to diagnose and repair problems.
22 -> Apple New Media Forum Set 04/04/95 Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL) has announced the Apple New Media Forum: World Tour '95, targeted at the growing interest in multimedia business opportunities and in the creation of digital media for the World Wide Web.
23 -> Chicago Tribune On The Web 04/04/95 The Chicago Tribune published by Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) said it is entering another part of cyberspace, the World Wide Web, to help people find jobs in the computer and electronics fields.
24 -> "WebWeek" Weekly Tabloid Intro'd 04/04/95 Mecklermedia Corporation (NASDAQ:MECK) said it will begin publishing "WebWeek," a controlled circulation tabloid, published weekly.
25 -> Germany - Siemens' 4-Pronged Business Plan 04/04/95 Siemens AG has announced a four-pronged plan to beef up it communications division. According to company officials, communications is a growth area in Europe, and profit margins are far greater on comms products and services than in other market sectors.
26 -> Unisource Looks To Hong Kong For PCN License 04/04/95 Unisource the joint telecoms company owned and operated by Koninklijke PTT of the Netherlands, Swiss Telecom, Telefonica of Spain, and Telia of Sweden, has formed a mobile division with the express intention of bidding for a PCN (personal communications network) digital cellular license in Hong Kong.
27 -> Germany - Bosch Telecom To Close 2 Plants 04/04/95 Bosch Telecom, the communications technology division of Bosch GmbH, has announced plans to close two of its nine electronics plants in Germany.
28 -> UK - Cellular Signups Skyrocket As Prices Tumble 04/04/95 Cellnet and Vodafone have reported record sales of cellular phones during the first quarter of the year, while Orange, the Hutchison-Whampoa-owned PCN (personal communications network) operator, reports that it has reached the 130,000 subscriber mark within 12 months of launching its service.
29 -> Seybold - UMax PageOffice, BizReader For Mac, Scanners 04/04/95 At Seybold Boston '95, UMax released the Windows edition of PageOffice, a desktop device that combines push-button input of paper documents with optical character recognition (OCR), image editing and fax software, plus interfaces to electronic-mail and other outside applications.
(Ian Stokell/19950404)
(Ian Stokell/19950404)
4/4/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
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Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: Matsushita says MCA is not for sale; Multiplex FM debuts; Key station Tokyo FM starts satellite program data; Japan moves towards digital TV.
Matsushita Says MCA Is Not For Sale
Reports in Friday's Wall Street Journal that Matsushita is looking for a buyer for MCA are untrue, according to the company. As reported by Newsbytes on Friday, the newspaper said that Matsushita had been approached by several major media organizations, including Bertelsmann AG and Polygram NV. During the weekend Matsushita said the US newspaper report was untrue and that they had no intention of selling MCA at present.
Multiplex FM Debuts
A new system called "Multiplex FM" debuted last Saturday morning when Tokyo FM began broadcasting the special signal that allows suitably equipped radios to display the details of the song currently being played the latest news, and the weather forecast. At present only one radio, the Casio MR-1, is available for use with the system. The Casio radio has a two line 15 character LCD (liquid crystal display) display for the information broadcast alongside the regular FM radio signal. The Casio MR-1 retails at 23,000 yen ($265).
Key Station Tokyo FM Starts Satellite Program Data
With the launch of the new Multiplex FM service, Tokyo FM is also inaugurating a new service for its 33 FM affiliates throughout the country. The new system distributes the cue sheet used by key station Tokyo FM in real time. The cue sheet includes program data, including last minute changes. Previously the station only sent general interest, listener orientated programming information to its sister stations via a PC network.
Japan Moves Towards Digital TV
The government announced last week that Japan should begin terrestrial broadcasting of digital television in five years time with satellite transmissions beginning even sooner, in 1997. To this end the national state broadcaster NHK with other broadcasters and the Japan Key Technology Center has established the Next Generation Digital Television Broadcasting System Research Laboratory. The lab will focus on research into technologies key to terrestrial digital television broadcasting. NHK has been broadcasting a channel of high definition, wide screen TV in the MUSE system for several years via the domestic BS satellite along with two other NHK channels. The MUSE system, however, is an analog system and the government decided that, whilst broadcasting must continue with that system for many years to come, the future lies in digital broadcasting.
(Martyn Williams/19950405)
Williams/19950405)
4/5/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Australia - Recycled Floppy Disk
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Every week software companies around the world duplicate their software onto hundreds of millions of floppy disks. A percentage of these are never sold, and many never even leave the factory before becoming redundant.
Depending on the sensitivity of the material contained on the disks, they are either sold in bulk, re-used, or scrapped. Scrapping, of course, is the least satisfactory method because it costs the most, is wasteful of natural resources and is a potential pollutant.
Many software companies will not allow their duplicating houses to re-use disks due to the increased likelihood of faulty disks, viruses, or incorrect data on the disk. Selling the disks in bulk is a satisfactory arrangement, although some manufacturers insist that they are bulk-erased before they leave the duplicating house.
There are a number of companies around the world which take advantage of these "unwanted" disks. The GreenDisk is a US remanufactured disk. It is an unwanted production disk which is erased verified, relabelled, re-verified and packed in a recycled cardboard box. The disks are then sold at prices significantly less than new disks of similar quality. GreenDisk Inc. claims that, of the first four million disks sold, only five disks were faulty.
Greenworld Office Products in Australia sells the GreenDisks, as well as remanufactured laser cartridges, refilled inkjet cartridges dot-matrix ribbon cartridges filled with high-density ribbons, and mouse pads made from recycled car tires.
(Paul Zucker/19950405/Press Contact: Greenworld Office Products tel +61-3-796-2413, fax +61-3-707-4738)
ucts tel +61-3-796-2413, fax +61-3-707-4738)
4/5/95
Australia - Recycled Floppy Disks For Sale
TRENDS
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70
Trade Groups Sponsor Consumer El
New Remote E-Mail Application Fo
HP Intros DOS-Only Palmtop PC Fo
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard Company has introduced the HP 1000CX palmtop PC, targeted at value-added resellers (VARs) and software developers for custom vertical markets.
According to company spokesperson, Susan Breshears, the HP 1000CX palmtop PC has the same lightweight and compact design of the HP 200LX and "offers VARs a powerful and affordable handheld MS-DOS solution" for their clients.
The HP palmtop comes with MS-DOS 5.0, which, Breshears says "makes it easy for developers to create applications for specific vertical markets."
The computer, which fits in the palm of the hand, has an Intel 8086 processor and runs on two AA batteries. Besides MS-DOS 5.0, it also comes with LapLink Remote for transferring existing MS-DOS applications on a desktop or laptop to the palmtop.
Breshears told Newsbytes, "It's almost like having a PC that fits into the palm of your hand." According to Breshears, the palmtop was developed by HP in response to requests from VARs for a low cost handheld device that can be "easily customized."
HP expects application development for the unit to be in vertical markets such as time-sensitive services, sales-force automation banking and financial services, life insurance, healthcare, and emergency/essential services including police departments, and ambulance companies.
The HP 1000CX palmtop PC with one megabytes of RAM carries a price for VARs of $449.
(Nick Anis/19950402/Press Contact: Randy Palmer, HP 503-715-4591; Copithorne & Bellows (for HP), Karen Gordon or Susan Breshears, tel 415-284-5200, fax 415-495-3992; Reader Contact: 800-443-1254, or 503-715-2004)
eader Contact: 800-443-1254, or 503-715-2004)
4/5/95
HP Intros DOS-Only Palmtop PC For Resellers
Media Planning Directory Online
Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Fre
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- In a press conference at Seybold Boston, Macromedia announced a $995 software bundle for Windows and Macs called Graphic Design Studio a free download of the FreeHand 5.0 Software Developers Kit (SDK) and a strategy of "integration" targeted at the converging multimedia and graphics marketplaces.
Graphic Design Studio includes the first versions of FreeHand and Fontographer to be produced since Macromedia's purchase of these two products from Altsys in November, plus Macromedia's MacroModel 1.5, Pixar's RenderMan 1.3.1, and Fractal Design's Painter 3.0, said Miles Walsh, VP of worldwide marketing, speaking at the press conference, which was attended by Newsbytes.
The new multivendor bundle, he added, contains: tightly integrated tools for two-dimensional (2-D) drawing; three-dimensional (3-D) modeling; bitmap painting, editing and compositing; font creation; page layout; and PostScript output.
Pete Mason, FreeHand product manager, told the journalists that the FreeHand 5.0 graphics design package provides a new "expandable" architecture that supports its own drop-in interactive tools and floating palettes as well as plug-ins from third-party developers.
Rusty Williams, Macromedia's SDK product manager, announced that Macromedia is offering the FreeHand 5.0 Software Developer's Kit (SDK) as a free download from both America Online (AOL) and CompuServe.
HSC, Letraset, Azalea, and other beta users have already created a number of plug-ins, or "Xtras," for FreeHand, added Williams, who likened the FreeHand SDK to HSC's Kai's Power Tools in its ability to spur third-party tools development.
In opening remarks, Walsh told the journalists that Macromedia plans to continue an already initiated strategy of increased integration by bringing together tools for animation, sound authoring, presentation, and 2-D and 3-D design in a single environment.
Macromedia's recently released Authorware 3.0 CD-ROM mastering package features greater integration with the company's Macromedia Director multimedia authoring software, he noted.
Also in the converging multimedia/graphics marketplace, Macromedia is now involved with the majority of current trials involving set-top boxes, the VP revealed.
Although the set-top box arena will not produce strong revenues immediately, set top boxes and the World Wide Web (Web) will both constitute "very high growth" areas for Macromedia in the future he predicted.
"Digital artists" are already creating online multimedia presentations for application areas traditionally addressed by paper-based documents, suggested Walsh.
"The Legend of Joe Mac," a multimedia presentation produced by a recent college graduate, garnered 75 job offers for "Joe" within a few weeks of being put out over the Web, he reported.
The grad created the "multimedia resume" with Macromedia Director and included an animated self-portrait with the piece in lieu of a photo, according to the Macromedia exec, who showed portions of the resume drawn from Macromedia's new Multimedia Showcase CD.
Jim Von Ehr, previously president of Altsys, and now VP of Macromedia's Digital Arts Group, told the press that Altsys had also been interested in integrating FreeHand with multimedia tools. "At Altsys, we wanted to move beyond print," Von Ehr remarked.
Mason then gave a demo of some of the new features in FreeHand. The features shown included style sheets, search-and-replace, a spelling checker, and other new text handling features for integrating type into brochures and presentations, along with the following new special effects tools: spiral, pixel, fisheye lens, eyedropper, 3-D rotation, smudge, and transparency.
The eyedropper tool, for example, is designed to "pick up" color from anywhere in a tagged image file format (TIFF) image, such as a scanned photo, he explained. The color can then be named and used in type or other graphic elements, according to Mason.
Mason also showed how FreeHand 5.0 provides multiple views of the same FreeHand document, for editing that will provide "immediate feedback" from different magnifications.
The product manager added that drag-and-drop multi-colored gradient fills are also available for the new FreeHand 5.0. The gradient fills can contain up to 64 colors, and can be printed on any PostScript device.
Williams, Macromedia's SDK product manager, described tools that have already been created with the FreeHand SDK. Some of these tools are available now, and others are expected to ship within the next 90 days.
HSC's KPT Vector Effects provides shatter, 3-D, distortion, and stylized effects to FreeHand, according to Williams.
Another new tool, Letraset USA's Envelopes, is designed to let FreeHand users shape and distort individual letters, words lines of type, and graphics.
Bullfrog Software Engineering's Encompass mapping tool is meant to let the user to select a region on a map, accurately determine its area, set the scale of a region to size, and then calculate the scaled distance between any two points on the map.
Azalea is producing two tools for FreeHand, according to Williams. Azalea's Prepress Xtra "streamlines the prepress process" by letting users prepare FreeHand files for Adobe PressWise and Adobe TrapWise. Azalea's UPCTools is for producing bar codes to be employed on book covers and CD covers, and in packaging design.
Also during the hour-long press conference, Rix Kramlich, 3-D product manager for Macromedia, gave a demo of Macromedia's MacroModel 1.5, a package designed to use spline-based tools for point-and-click creation of 3-D models from 2-D reference objects. MacroModel 1.5 is now shipping on a standalone basis for both Windows and Mac/Power Mac.
A standalone edition of FreeHand 5.0 for Mac/Power Mac began shipping in January. The FreeHand 5.0 SDK for Mac/Power Mac is available now through AOL (keyword: Macromedia) or CompuServe (type: go Macromedia). Graphic Design Studio is expected to ship within 30 days for Mac/Power Mac, and later this spring for Windows. FreeHand 5.0 for Windows and the Windows SDK are also slated for delivery later this spring.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950404/Reader Contact: Macromedia 800-288-4797; 415-252-2118; Press Contact: Karen Gobler Emily Fisher, Carol McGarry or Mike Farber, Schwartz Communications for Macromedia, 617-431-0770)
arber, Schwartz Communications for Macromedia, 617-431-0770)
4/5/95
Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Free Download Of FreeHand SDK
GENERAL
Silicon Graphics & Template Team
MOUNTAIN VIEW CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE: SGI) has announced it will "team up" with Template Graphics Software Inc. to develop and distribute WebSpace, the "first commercially-available three-dimensional (3-D) viewer for the World Wide Web."
The companies will make WebSpace available for "all major" Unix platforms, and for Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, and Power Macintosh.
According to company spokesperson, Eileen Caetano, the viewer works in concert with popular Web browsers including those from Netscape Communications and Spyglass. With the WebSpace viewer users can play 3-D games and "fly through 3-D worlds exploring cities, libraries, museums, tourist resorts and imaginary places." Players can also inspect 3-D models of products in on-line catalogs, and "visualize" information such as stock market trends in 3-D.
Caetano told Newsbytes the WebSpace viewer supports virtual reality modeling language (VRML), an open, platform-independent file format for 3-D graphics on the Internet. According to Caetano the viewer is "similar in concept" to the core Web text standard hypertext markup language (HTML). As with HTML, VRML encodes computer-generated graphics into a compact format for transportation over the network. Using HTML, users can view the contents of a file -- in this case an interactive 3-D graphics file -- and navigate to other VRML "worlds" or HTML pages.
Caetano added that VRML has the additional advantage of being "infinitely scalable" enabling users to "navigate through virtual worlds and approach objects, as greater levels and detail emerge."
According to Caetano, 17 companies and organizations have announced their support for VRML-based 3-D graphics on the Web: including: AccelGraphics Inc., Brown University, CERN, Digital Equipment Corp., Intergraph, NCD, NEC Technologies, net.Genesis Corp., Netscape Communications, Oki Advanced Products, San Diego Supercomputer Center, Spyglass, Tenet Networks, Viewpoint Datalabs International Inc., the University of Darmstadt, Wavefront Technologies, and 3Dlabs Inc.
The WebSpace viewer was developed with the Open Inventor object oriented 3-D toolkit. The technology is based on the industry standard OpenGL application programming interface. Open Inventor is said by developers to "dramatically simplify" 3-D graphics programming. Template Graphics, is the licensee of the Open Inventor toolkit that provides it for all non-Silicon Graphics Unix, Windows, and Macintosh systems.
According to the companies, beta versions of the WebSpace viewers will be available on the Web by the end of April. Non-supported beta versions of the viewers are available electronically at no charge. Online users can download beta software from several public FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites on the Web including sites from Silicon Graphics and Template Graphics Software. If the user pays a fee of $49 they can get technical support from Template.
on Graphics, 415-390-2036; Amy Ingram, 415-390-3780)
4/5/95
Silicon Graphics & Template Team On 3-D Web Viewer
ONLINE
HP Telepace Workstation, Deal Wi
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard has unveiled an HP 9000-based telecommunications workstation called Telepace, plus a series of related deals with LCI International Northern Telecom (NT), and AT&T that collectively call for the development and worldwide delivery of "intelligent network" applications like voice-activated dialing, personal number services, and virtual private networks (VPNs).
Telepace is the first off-the-shelf Unix workstation to combine the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus with Virtual Module Eurocard (VME), maintained Richard Campbell, HP's manager of business development for intelligent networks, during one of a series of interviews between Newsbytes and HP and LCI officials.
The new workstation is specifically designed for telephone company central offices (COs), an environment that until now has been primarily PC-based, he reported.
Along with adding the power of a PA-RISC processor and Unix operating environment, Telepace allows "configurability" for meeting specific CO needs, noted Bob Musor, product marketing manager for HP's Telecommunications Platform Organization, in another interview with Newsbytes.
Under the deal with LCI, the two companies will work together and with third-party developers Precision Systems Inc. and Summa Four Inc. on additional intelligent network applications to support the long-distance carrier's toll-free 800 and VPN intelligent network services, according to Campbell.
Precision Systems Inc., for example, is developing applications for both voice-activated dialing and personal number services, he said. DGM&S and Telecom Premium Services Inc. have also committed to creating applications for Telepace.
Musor told Newsbytes that, under a separate but related agreement Northern Telecom will initially deliver its ServiceBuilder Service Control Point (SCP) for intelligent network services on HP-9000 servers, workstations and Signaling Switch 7 (SS7) platforms.
The ServiceBuilder SCP will allow telephone carriers to deploy intelligent network services such as VPN, personal number services and local number portability from a central location, according to Musor. The SCP will also be offered on NT's DMS Supernode platform.
VPNs are customized private business networks. Personal number service allows callers to reach a personal number subscriber wherever that person is located: at home, at work, in a car using a cellular phone, or out-of-town.
Northern Telecom has also agreed to deliver its Integrated Service Management System (SMS) and ServiceBuilder Service Creation Environment (SCE) on HP's computing and SS7 platforms, according to Musor.
Under a third pact, he said, AT&T and HP have agreed to provide an interface between AT&T's SMS and HP's SCP and SCE for the "worldwide delivery of intelligent network services."
"We'll be marrying our intelligence," noted Musor. SMSs provide administration, operations, and provision support for intelligent network services, according to the HP executive. SCEs are workstation-based systems for creating and modifying intelligent network systems.
SCPs are computers that provide call-routing instructions to network switches: for example, sending 800 calls to different answering centers based on where the call was placed. SCPs also validate calling card numbers and perform other functions related to storage and verification of billing information.
Matt Wald, director of business development for LCI, told Newsbytes that HP's Telepace will support LCI's "core telephone switching" with "best in class" workstations for the deployment of intelligent network applications.
Also under the HP/LCI deal, LCI has agreed to purchase up to $10 million in Hewlett-Packard products over an initial five-year period.
"We want to take all the latest advances in intelligent networks and apply them to traditional telephony applications," Wald explained.
HP's Telepace telecommunications workstation is outfitted with: a PA-RISC 7100C 100 megahertz (MHz) processor; up to 256 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM); fixed-media mass storage of up to eight gigabytes (GB) capacity; removable media mass storage for digital audio tape (DAT) tape; CD-ROM; or 3.5-inch floppy disk drives; and dual 48-volt or 60-volt DC power supplies.
The workstation also includes eight EISA expansion slots and four VMEbus expansion slots (with two slots used by the processor board).
Telepace is compatible with Ethernet 802.3, ThinLAN (local area network) or Ethertwist at 10 megabits-per-second (Mbps). The system is equipped with the following interfaces: small computer systems interface (SCSI)-II, serial, parallel, speaker, audio, keyboard video, and mouse. The unit fits into a standard 19-inch or 23-inch rack, and includes three rackmount configurations. Telepace is available now, for pricing starting at $30,000.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950405/Reader Contact: Hewlett-Packard 415-857-1501; Press Contact: Jim DeNike, Cunningham Communications for Hewlett-Packard, 408-447-6167)
ations for Hewlett-Packard, 408-447-6167)
4/5/95
HP Telepace Workstation, Deal With AT&T
TELECOM
Multimedia Software Teaches Pres
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across Stor
GTSI Wins Big Govt-Wide Contract
Hyundai's Integrated MPEG-2 Vide
p MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Claiming to take video compression to a "new level," Hyundai Digital Media has announced an integrated Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 chip. HDM8211M SAVi integrates the systems, audio and video streams on one chip.
Commenting on the new chip, Vahe Akay, Hyundai's director of marketing and sales, told Newsbytes, "I think this announcement will catch a lot of people by surprise. With this chip we have taken away a lot of the headaches for the set-top box industry and we have done it at an affordable price. This chip makes it possible for others to build compact and reliable set-top boxes."
Hyundai has samples now and expects to be in production volume by August or September, when the unit price in lots of 100,000 to 150,000 will be $60.
MPEG-2 is a digital data compression and decompression technology which enables the delivery of multimedia content. To store, transport and view a movie as a digital file, it must be squeezed into small proportions and then restored to viewing quality, Many analysts say MPEG-2 is the standard which will allow true full-motion, full-screen digital video to be delivered over the so-called "information superhighway."
For the time being, Hyundai will target this new chip to the set-top box industry, CD-ROM (digital video disk) players, and digital Karaoke machines. Akay said, "Right now this technology is critical for the set-top box industry. MPEG-1 is still sufficient for the personal computer, but not in the long run. In a year-and-a-half, the desktop will be ready and in need of MPEG-2 technology."
Akay continued, "HDM8211M SAVi (systems, audio, video integration) places the system stream, the audio, and the video data processing in one chip. These are features in addition to graphics overlay, and are built into our new chip. What we want to pass on, is that this technology is an enabler for the set-top box industry."
He also stressed the need for an agreed worldwide standard on digital data compression and decompression for the success of the Information Highway. "For set-top box technology to be successful and affordable we must adopt a uniform standard. This is the means by which developers and manufacturers will have to confidence to go into large-scale production."
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Laura Irwin, The Hoffman Agency, 408-286-2611)
tact: Laura Irwin, The Hoffman Agency, 408-286-2611)
4/5/95
Hyundai's Integrated MPEG-2 Video Compression Chip
CHIPS
Activcard Intros Authentication
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- ActivCard Networks Inc., the US subsidiary of the French-based Adventure Group, has announced a security/identification device for PCs, the ActivCardX9.9 Token.
According to ActivCard, this new "token" will be distributed by Enigma Logic in the US. The firm says the device "enables computer users to secure access to on-site, as well as Internet based services that require user authentication."
Token users are said to be able to access remote transactional services such as home banking, electronic malls, and fax transmissions without modifying their existing systems or terminals using the technology.
ActivCard and computer security software developer/publisher Enigma Logic have teamed up to market the new authentication technology which is based on the data encryption standard (DES) for use in the US. According to the two companies, the authentication technology "prevents fraudulent access to highly sensitive computer systems."
There is growing concern within the industry over Internet security.
Jack Rickard, editor and publisher of Boardwatch Magazine covering the broad reaches of the online genre said, "The demand is soaring for Internet security systems." Rickard told Newsbytes that scores of companies are scrambling to bring security products to market. But Rickard pointed that the Internet is based on an "open architecture" and questions if anyone "can or should" try to have a "fully secure" system on the Internet.
Others, such as online merchants are convinced of the need for a low-cost, convenient, and flexible authenticator such as the ActivCard Token, which is a $25 pocket-size device. According to its maker, the device "provides, for the first time, an extremely consumer-friendly approach to authentication, encryption, and computer security."
To use the token, users key in their personal identification number (PIN) on the keypad to authenticate themselves using a DES-based "challenge and response" password. They must then either enter a challenge manually or apply their token against flashing patterns displayed on a terminal screen. The token's LCD (liquid crystal display) then displays a one-time-only password to be entered on the computer keyboard.
According to the company, the dynamic password calculus (password creation) is "fully compatible" with the ANSI X9.9 standard. Password challenges are interpreted as an ASCII code and responses are displayed in a message authentication code (MAC) format.
The token allows users to generate dynamic passwords through both an external challenge and response mode and an internal synchronous mode. Either mode can be employed at the user's option.
The unit includes an opto-electronic interface, and an optional RS-232 coupler, supporting high-volume authentication procedures and bi-directional communications with a PC, Fax, or telephone.
(Nick Anis/19950402/Press Contact: Gilles Kremer, ActivCard Networks Inc., 415-464-0110, Internet e-mail gilleskialup.francenet.fr. Internet World Wide Web http://www.francenet.fr/activcard; John Muir Enigma Logic, 510-827-5707, Internet e-mail jmuiretcom.com)
510-827-5707, Internet e-mail jmuiretcom.com)
4/5/95
Activcard Intros Authentication Token Device
North American Software Sales Hi
Oracle, Siemens & Pyramid To Dev
Oracle7 Chosen By Continental Ca
Canadian Info Highway Group Pond
UK - Advanced Text Editor For DO
4Home Provides Interface For HP'
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- The first custom personal computer interface based on 4Home Production's Meta4 technology has appeared on new home personal computers from Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP). 4Home, a division of Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA) announced Meta4 in late March.
The new Multimedia 6100 PCs from HP will come with a customized graphical interface based on Meta4, plus two software packages from 4Home. The applications are Simply House, a how-to CD-ROM title dealing with home improvement, and Parents Magazine's Simply Kids, an electronic scrapbook and child-raising reference. The new PCs are available now, a spokeswoman for CA told Newsbytes.
In a recent interview, George Kafkarkou, general manager of 4Home, told Newsbytes that Meta4 is technology for building interfaces, which 4Home will use to produce custom interfaces for, among others, personal computer manufacturers that want to add unique personalities to their hardware.
Hewlett-Packard officials said the custom interface will give PC users more control by helping them organize applications. The company said "entertaining characters" will guide users to application areas such as finance, productivity, and communications. The interface will also simplify the installation of new software the companies said.
Meta4 uses object-oriented technology, with five basic classes of object, of which image objects are most important, the company said. 4Home is also planning a software development kit for non-technical users that will make it possible to create multimedia applications purely through a graphical interface Kafkarkou said. This kit will be available this summer for less than $100, he said.
The new HP Multimedia 6100 PCs are to be sold in Circuit City stores.
(Grant Buckler/19950405/Press Contact: Amy Lyon, 4Home Productions, 516-342-4203; Joan Wilson, 4Home Productions Canada 905-676-6740; Jeff Holove, Hewlett-Packard, 408-553-3641; Meredith Mansfield or Samantha Rubin, Connors Communications for 4Home Productions, 212-995-2200, Internet e-mail 534-7580@mcimail.com;
-995-2200, Internet e-mail 534-7580@mcimail.com;
4/5/95
4Home Provides Interface For HP's New Home PCs
Telecom Bill Hits A Snag...Named
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Senate Republicans have put a hold on floor action on telecommunications reform until later this month, after Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and chief sponsor of the bill, said Vice President Al Gore threatened a presidential veto.
"I was disappointed in a conversation with Vice President Gore to learn the administration is opposed to the telecommunications bill and the present plan is to veto that bill if it were to pass," Pressler said on the Senate floor yesterday.
But Gore said Pressler has it wrong. "I did not say the president would veto the bill," Gore said in a letter to Pressler, "since it is too early for such a decision and no recommendation has even been made to the president."
But the administration does oppose certain elements of the bill including its intention to deregulate cable prices and to make it easier for local phone companies to offer long-distance service.
Greg Simon, Gore's domestic policy chief, told the Washington Post, "We were trying to slow down the bill if anyone wanted to bring it up this week." Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) had hoped to get the bill to the floor before the two-week Easter recess.
The Democrats in the Senate and those in the White House appear to be working on opposite tracks on the legislation to rewrite the 1934 Communications Act. In the Senate, former Commerce Chairman Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.D.) has been cooperating with Pressler and the Republicans and winning compromise language. But the Clinton administration has been trying to line up Democrats to delay the measure, giving bill opponents, such as the long-distance companies, time to rally their supporters.
"Why would the vice president go against it, when all the Democrats on the committee support it?" Pressler said. "I've never seen this situation before."
Consumer groups are also pleased with the delay and the administration opposition. "We're happy to see that the administration has stepped up and said they're not going to allow the American consumer to pay the bill that's going to be associated with this legislation," said Bradley Stillman of the Consumer Federation of America.
Pressler predicted that the bill will pass in late April or May. "It's going to be tough," he said. "I don't think in the end the president will veto it, but if he does we will override the veto in both houses because the votes are there."
In the House, where little action has been visible, a bill may be about to appear. House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-Va.) told reporters yesterday, "if everything goes according to schedule, we hope to introduce a bill the first week in May when we come back." He said the legislation would be on a fast track once it was introduced.
CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Government Technology Services Inc. (NASDAQ:GTSI) is now offering an electronic catalogue and ordering system on the World Wide Web. GTSI Online is the first electronic commerce system for government purchases of computer hardware and software.
GTSI online is offering product and pricing information configuration data, cross-preferences to federal and state government contracts, and will soon have secure credit card ordering in the ability to generate purchase orders.
The company says it anticipates that half of its transactions will be ample through its online shopping system by 1999. GTSI currently uses telephones to handle orders.
Last year, GTSI average six incoming telephone calls for each of the 130,000 purchase transactions it conducted. With the new online system, much of the information exchange leading to an order will be available on the Web site.
In coming months, GTSI says it will be announcing features such as an electronic data interchange (EDI) interface incorporating the government-endorsed X.12 standard, and enhanced configuration and ordering capabilities. GTSI's Carter Cromley told Newsbytes that credit card technology is coming in a matter of days.
GTSI says it chose the Internet its electronic shopping service over other electronic means because of the growth and acceptance of the Web. Also, said the company, the advent of new encryption technologies that make credit card transactions secure should accelerate electronic purchase.
According to GTSI's Cromley, the online service "sits on top of our corporate database and pulls up information from that dynamically" as users seek information. He said that in the past, GTSI has published conventional catalogs, "which are outdated on the day they leave the printer."
According to GTSI, total transactions conducted through the Internet last year were about $100 million. One market research firm GTSI consulted estimates that more than $300 billion of goods and services will be sold over the Internet in 2000.
Electronic commerce has been a priority of the Clinton administration and is included in the 1994 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, which established an aggressive timetable for federal agencies to get electronic commerce capabilities.
"The government's drive towards ever increasing productivity is not unlike our own challenge -- do more with less and still effectively respond to our customers' demand for quality information on a timely basis," says R. M. Rickenbach, GTSI president and CEO.
The address for GTSI Online is http://www.gtsi.com.
(Kennedy Maize/19950405/Press Contact: Carter Cromley 703-502-2035)
950405/Press Contact: Carter Cromley 703-502-2035)
4/5/95
GTSI Goes To Electronic Commerce On The Internet
Computerworld Australia Puts Job
Japan Newsbriefs
Job Search Software For Windows
GTSI Goes To Electronic Commerce
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- By John Hastings. In the near future, some say five years and some say ten, the term "literate" will describe a person who can read, write and use a computer. The lack of any computer skills will be equivalent to those today who cannot read.
At that point, computers will permeate every aspect of our lives. As is almost the case today, a person will need to be knowledgeable in computers to get almost any entry-level job. Within a few years however, the permeation will go much further. The conventions of the graphical interface used on Macintosh and Windows computers today will be utilized for the controls on everything we use. Our automobiles televisions, VCRs, microwave ovens and a host of other appliances will be controlled through the conventions of the graphical interface. Almost everything that seems complicated today will be simplified with this type of interface. The premise will be that everyone understands this interface. Due to the fact that one out of every three homes today has a computer, this is a logical premise.
A new product has caused great alarm to the long distance telephone companies. A $49 package known as the Internet Phone, developed by VocalTec Inc., allows users on the Internet to talk to each other without long distance charges. For the cost of the connection to the Internet, a user can talk to another Internet Phone user anywhere in the world. Some expect this technology will soon incorporate video transmission as well.
John Hastings is the president of the American Computer Exchange. Since 1988, the American Computer Exchange has matched buyers and sellers of used microcomputers. For more information contact the American Computer Exchange at (800) 786-0717.
The AmCoEx Index of Used Computer Prices
The following prices are for April 3, 1995.
Average Average
Buyer's Seller's
Machine Bid Ask Close Change($)
IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB $350 $600 $375 -25
IBM PS/1 486DX2/50 253MB 900 1350 975 ..
IBM PS/2 Model 90 160MB 1000 1500 1050 -50
IBM ThinkPad 350C 1900 2400 1900 ..
IBM ThinkPad 700 900 1500 1150 ..
IBM ThinkPad 720 1300 2000 1425 -50
AST 486SX/25 170MB 700 1250 850 -25
AST 486DX/66 340MB 1050 1650 1050 -50
Dell 386/33, 100MB 500 950 600 ..
Dell 486DX/33 240MB 850 1500 975 ..
Gateway 386/25, 80MB 400 800 500 +25
Gateway 486/33 120MB 800 1200 950 -25
Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB 500 900 550 -25
Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA 450 900 500 +25
Clone 486/25 120MB, VGA 700 1200 975 -50
Clone 486DX/33 240MB 800 1425 1075 ..
Compaq LTE 286 40MB 250 675 300 -25
Compaq Contura 320 60MB 500 1000 775 ..
Compaq Contura 4/25 120MB 900 1400 1125 ..
Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB 500 800 525 +50
Compaq Deskpro 486/33 120MB 1100 1650 975 -25
Mac Classic II 80MB 400 800 425 ..
Mac IIsi 160MB 500 900 600 -50
Macintosh IIcx 80MB 250 600 300 ..
Macintosh IIci 80MB 500 950 625 -25
Macintosh IIfx 80MB 700 1050 775 ..
Mac Quadra 700 230MB 1100 1600 1200 -50
Mac Quadra 800 500MB 1800 2525 1925 -25
PowerBook 140 40MB 700 1100 825 ..
PowerBook 170 40MB 800 1350 975 +50
PowerBook 180 80MB 1200 1850 1625 ..
LaserWriterPro 630 1300 1775 1425 ..
Toshiba 1900 120M 675 1150 825 ..
Toshiba 3200 SXC, 120MB 1850 2950 2225 +25
Toshiba 3300SL 120MB 850 1300 925 ..
Toshiba 5200 100MB 750 1050 850 +50
HP LaserJet II 350 850 450 ..
HP LaserJet IIIP 350 950 375 -25
HP LaserJet III 500 900 600 +25
HP LaserJet IV 900 1300 950 ..
(AMCOEX/19950405)
00 950 ..
(AMCOEX/19950405)
4/5/95
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
BUSINESS
Free Update Increases Quattro-Lo
Seybold - Xerox Updates TextBrid
Zeos, Micron Shareholders OK Mer
GEnie To Launch Full Internet Ac
Czech Telecoms Tender Wins Court
There's No Shortage of Work -- J
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- The fear that technology is destroying jobs has waxed and waned since the beginning of the industrial revolution and may be approaching another peak due to the widespread application of computers.
Not to worry, though, argues The Economist in its Feb. 11, 1995 cover story ("Technology and Unemployment," pp. 21-23). Although computer technology is certainly destroying many jobs, many more should be created, the magazine claims.
After first reviewing the arguments against technology put forth by Jeremy Rifkin and others, the magazine goes on to cite evidence that in the end, more jobs will be created than lost.
All the news isn't good, though, the magazine concedes. "Unfortunately, there may be prolonged lags between job losses and the creation of new jobs. And the new jobs may anyway be inappropriate for the displaced workers."
Automation, along with foreign competition also seems to have put downward pressure on wages for unskilled labor in the United States the magazine says. However, this trend may not continue forever since many occupations (such as lawyers) could be automated in the future while many low-skill jobs (such as gardening) are very hard to automate.
"It is not always the least-educated who are most at risk from new technology," the magazine concludes. "But it is they who, if they do lose their jobs, may find it hardest to get new ones." (The article includes charts of relevant statistics.)
For a closer look at the downward wage pressures now at work in the US job market, see "The Great American Job Hunt" by Paul Osterman (Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 1994, pp. 46-55). The authors offer an explanation of why "good jobs" are so hard to find these days, and advice on what we might do about it.
This story is republished with permission from the April 1995 Cybernautics Digest, a monthly summary of reports about converging information technologies.
(Contact: Terry Hansen, Cybernautics Digest, c/o KFH Publications Inc., 3530 Bagley Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; 206-547-4950; Fax: 206-547-5355; E-mail: cybernbm@cuix.pscu.com. U.S. subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
com. U.S. subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
4/5/95
There's No Shortage of Work -- Just Decent Wages
TRENDS
Seybold - Xerox Updates TextBrid
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- At Seybold, Xerox unveiled two new Windows versions of its TextBridge optical character recognition (OCR) software: TextBridge 3.0, an upgrade that adds a new OCR engine, plus direct access from documents; and TextBridge Professional Edition 3.0, an entry with extra features which include a color-coded "In-Place Proofreader" and table formatting.
During a briefing for Newsbytes in the Xerox Desktop Document Systems Division press booth, Stan Swiniarski, VP of software products, and Teri Roche, director of software product management said that "OCR awareness" is on the rise today, driven by the current explosion in desktop scanning and fax products. "1995 will be the year for `mainstream OCR,'" predicted Roche.
Through extensive research, though, Xerox has determined that, for OCR to meet its market potential, vendors must offer products that provide "ease-of-use" as well as effectiveness, Roche added.
OCR is aimed at letting users convert image files such as scanned and fax documents as less space-intensive text files, as well as to correct errors and generally "clean up" electronic documents.
Roche told Newsbytes that most easy-to-use OCR software now on the market is "ineffective," whereas current "high-end" OCR products tend to be too difficult for many users.
Xerox's new TextBridge 3.0 and TextBridge 3.0 Professional Edition are aimed at eliminating this "tradeoff" by combining a more powerful OCR engine, called Document Recognition Technology (DocuRT), with greater usability, according to the Xerox exec.
Swiniarski said that in "rigorous testing" -- involving 2,000 pages per day -- Xerox found that DocuRT results in improvements of up to 78 percent over the 98 percent accuracy rate of TextBridge 2.0, for a total accuracy rate of over 99 percent.
The breakout for improvements in accuracy is as follows: 78 percent fewer errors for "clean pages;" 65 percent fewer errors for "miscellaneous hard documents;" 50 percent fewer for small/large fonts; 36 percent fewer for faxes; and 28 percent for foreign languages.
"DocuRT uses `fuzzy logic,' not just `logic,'" the VP said. The new engine allows full "recomposition" and editability of compound documents, unlike some other OCR products, which provide "a close but inflexible approximation of an original page layout by creating artificial text," causing the page to become "uneditable and therefore unusable beyond viewing."
Aside from DocuRT, TextBridge 3.0 and TextBridge 3.0 Professional Edition each incorporate "Instant Access OCR," a feature designed to save time by permitting access to TextBridge from directly within any Windows document, without the need to close the file or exit the application.
The two new packages also share multi-language support, along with several features carried over from previous editions. These include the "lexifier" -- available in TextBridge since the introduction of the first version for Windows at Spring Comdex 1993 -- and "Multiple Zone Capability," a feature first added in TextBridge 2.0 for Windows. Xerox also produces TextBridge software for Unix and Macintosh.
The TextBridge lexifier is intended to raise accuracy by recognizing lexical classes, or known "patterns of information" such as social security numbers, postal zip codes, and month/day/year configurations.
When a postal zone is being scanned, for example, the lexifier will automatically recognize that the first character must be the number "0," not the letter "O," said Ed Mallen, VP of software products for Xerox Imaging Systems (XIS) -- a company division that preceded Xerox Document Imaging Systems -- in a previous interview with Newsbytes.
Multiple Zone Capability features a preview window, supporting up to 127 zones, that lets users view images on-screen to examine image quality.
Roche told Newsbytes at Seybold '95 that features available in TextBridge 3.0 Professional -- although not in the standard Textbridge 3.0 -- include the In-Place Proofreader; "formatting with editability;" Smart Zones; templates; and object linking and embedding (OLE) 2.0 drag-and-drop.
In a demo, Roche showed Newsbytes the new proofreading and formatting/editability features. Newsbytes saw how the In-Place Proofreader helps out with proofreading by reporting to the user on its own "confidence level" as to the accuracy of character recognition.
The In-Place Proofreader marks any characters it is "confused" about with colors, using a coding scheme in which red means "low confusion," yellow represents "medium confusion," and green designates "high confusion," according to Roche.
Users can also customize the proofreader, with options ranging from "accept all" to "replace all," she said. If the user has enough faith in the proofreader to believe that the words marked in red are probably accurate, for example, the user can choose to simply "accept all" words marked in red.
The new formatting feature is meant to preserve the formats of tables and other compound documents in their original formats throughout the OCR process, and to allow editing of these documents. Spreadsheets are preserved to the cell, or data point level, according to Roche.
In the demo, Newsbytes witnessed how TextBridge maintained the three-column structure of a table during OCR. "This capability was previously unheard of," she asserted.
Xerox plans "extensive channel development" and "major alliances" for the two new TextBridge 3.0 products, along with a "multimillion dollar" advertising campaigns in both PC and business magazines according to Swiniarski.
TextBridge Professional Edition 3.0 is scheduled to ship in April for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $349. For TextBridge 3.0 Xerox has opted to retain the $99 SRP that TextBridge has carried ever since the rollout of the first Windows edition, Newsbytes was told. TextBridge 3.0 for Windows is slated for release in May.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950403/Reader Contact: Xerox Desktop Document Systems Division, 415-813-6800; Press Contacts: Peter Warren, Xerox Desktop Document Systems Division, 415-813-7213; Craig Sutphin Blanc & Otus for Xerox, 415-512-0500)
ig Sutphin Blanc & Otus for Xerox, 415-512-0500)
4/5/95
Seybold - Xerox Updates TextBridge OCR Package
WINDOWS
Microcom Buys Into European ISDN
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Microcom Inc. (NASDAQ:MNPI) said it has established a foothold in the European integrated services digital network (ISDN) market by buying the ISDN operations of a German company. Microcom bought the operations from mbp Softwareentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of Electronic Data Systems Germany that has been in the ISDN market since 1990.
ISDN is better established in Europe and the Pacific Rim than in North America, Microcom spokesman David Powers told Newsbytes but Microcom has so far not been active in the European ISDN market. The purchase of the mbp operation, which Powers called one of the leading ISDN product providers in Europe, will change that and complement Microcom's existing business in dial-up communications products, he said.
Microcom officials said mbp's ISDN technologies can be adapted to work with Microcom's LANexpress remote local area network (LAN) access server and HDMS plus dial-up access security system. The deal also complements Microcom's recent purchase of Extension Technology Corp., which holds patents for other ISDN technology officials said.
Ovum Ltd., a research firm based in London, reported late in 1994 that ISDN basic-access connections in Europe had grown 110 percent over the preceding 12 months, while primary-access connections grew 90 percent.
Microcom has formed a new company, Microcom GmbH of Dortmund Germany, to take over mbp's ISDN operations, including its SoLIS hardware and software product lines and trademarks. The new subsidiary will develop Microcom's ISDN products for world markets and will work with the company's existing sales channels to sell them. Powers said 15 employees of mbp will be joining the new company. Stefan Gieseler, former manager of mbp's Communications Systems Division, has been hired as general manager of Microcom GmbH.
(Grant Buckler/19950405/Press Contact: David Powers, Microcom 617-551-1955; Lewis Bergins, Microcom, 617-551-1539)
5; Lewis Bergins, Microcom, 617-551-1539)
4/5/95
Microcom Buys Into European ISDN Market
BUSINESS
@ j N
Broadcast Lets Firms Deliver Sof
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- SNA Inc. said it is bringing to market a product, called Broadcast, that lets software publishers electronically distribute their products to customers themselves. Company officials say using the software companies can market and sell products in real-time on the Internet, over online services, and on CD-ROM products.
"Some of the attempts to distribute software electronically have had a 'big brother' approach, where the vendor (selling the software) intrudes on the publisher's sales and marketing plans," David Ransen president and chief executive officer of SNA, told Newsbytes. He said many companies are wary of having someone else handling their products and encrypting them. "We've developed tools that empower the developers to distribute software themselves."
The Broadcast Locker program allows publishers to compress and encrypt their software in a single "unlocker application," the company said. When a customer wants to buy the program, whether it be on the Internet online, or on a CD-ROM, they can access the "live" version of the software by running the unlocker application, which displays information on how to "unlock" the software. Then with Broadcast KeyMaker, the publisher can generate a unique password for the customer so the software can be instantly unlocked.
The Broadcast Browser, available only for CD-ROM, lets the user view demo, and unlock software titles on the CD. The company said the Browser is an easy way to let the customer "window shop" through the entire CD-ROM.
Broadcast starts at $495 for the license fee and $8 per key, which Ransen said is equal to a credit card transaction. Plus, he said there is no freight or other additional costs by using Broadcast to unlock software. Volume key purchases are available.
(Bob Woods/19950405/Press Contact: Kimberly Zuleba, Hi-Tech Communications, 407-361-8150. Public Contact: SNA Inc., 800-628-6442)
407-361-8150. Public Contact: SNA Inc., 800-628-6442)
WILSONVILLE, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Tektronix Inc.(NYSE: TEK) has announced price cuts of up to 30 percent on three of its color printers. The company said list prices have been reduced from 18 to 30 percent on its Phaser 220i, 220e and 140.
The Phaser 220i and 220e are designed for workgroup environments and can print at speeds up to two pages-per-minute (ppm). According to Tektronix when they are used with the company's Colorcoat technology both can print on most common laser papers. Under the new pricing the 220i has been reduced from $5,995 to $4,195 while the 220e dropped from $3,995 to $3,695.
Also being reduced in price is the one ppm low-end Phaser 140 which will now carry a price tag of $1,395, a $300 reduction.
The Phaser 200 thermal wax printers were first introduced in December of 1992. They are capable of 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) output.
The 200e model uses a 16 megahertz (MHz) AMD 29000 RISC (reduced instruction-set computing) chip and comes standard with four megabytes (MB) of memory, which can be doubled. It comes with 17 type 1 fonts from Adobe and another 22 fonts are available with an optional font single inline memory module (SIMM). Standard configuration includes parallel, serial and AppleTalk connections. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and DECnet connections are available as options.
The model 200i ships with 6MB of memory, which can be expanded to as much as 14MB. It uses a 24MHz AMD 29000 RISC chip and comes with 39 Type 1 fonts. In addition to the serial, parallel and AppleTalk interfaces, the 200i has a small computer system interface (SCSI) port that can accept a drive. Available options include EtherTalk TCP/IP or DECnet interfaces. Both models can accept dual paper trays.
Colorcoat is a technology that applies a transparent pre-coat on the thermal paper so it will better accept color.
(Jim Mallory/19950405/Press contact: Jennifer Jones, Tektronix 503-685-3150; Public contact: Tektronix, 503-682-7377 or 800-835-6100, Internet World Wide Web http://www.tek.com/CPID)
rld Wide Web http://www.tek.com/CPID)
4/5/95
Tektronix Cuts Color Printer Prices
Artisoft Ships LANtastic Dedicat
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Artisoft Inc. (NASDAQ:ASFT) has announced it is shipping version 1.1 of its LANtastic Dedicated Server software. The product was previously marketed under the name CorStream.
At a price that starts at $749 for a five-user version, the server software is designed as a migration path by small businesses that are growing and need to expand their local area network.
The company said version 1.1 includes a greatly simplified installation routine and comes on just six floppy disks or a single CD-ROM. Artisoft has also added an automatic printer setup to the installation routine, in order to eliminate the need to configure printers with commands from a separate PC on the network. The installation routine saves existing user account information and restores it during the installation to the new dedicated server.
Other features include Ethernet II and IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) packet routing to facilitate data and file transfers on networks that mix LANtastic and NetWare. Artisoft has also added a ADSFILE utility that lets users restrict space on directories, control attributes and recover deleted files.
The new version supports Artisoft's Central Station II connectivity processor, which can be used as a print server connecting up to five printers to the network. Features in earlier versions that are carried forward to the new release include 32-bit architecture disk mirroring and disk duplexing for fault tolerance, data compression/decompression and data migration.
Existing Corstream servers can be upgraded to the new software by purchasing an upgrade package for $299. Artisoft said that price will remain in effect until June 15, 1995. After that the upgrade will cost $499.
(Jim Mallory/19950405/Press contact: Joe Stunkard, Artisoft 520-670-7145; Public contact: Artisoft, tel 520-670-7100 or 800-233-5564, fax 520-670-7101)
tel 520-670-7100 or 800-233-5564, fax 520-670-7101)
4/5/95
Artisoft Ships LANtastic Dedicated Server Software
NETWORK
RBOCs Plan To Sell Bellcore
Delrina Intros CD-ROM Windows Bu
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Delrina Corp. (TSE:DC;NASDAQ:DENAF) has announced two software bundles on CD-ROM. One is built around Delrina's WinFax Pro facsimile software, while the other contains the company's Communications Suite.
"CD-ROM systems are just the biggest growth area in the market," company spokesman Shelly Sofer told Newsbytes. "Any software vendor today has got to be looking at CD-ROM -- even from a cost-of-goods perspective."
Delrina's WinFax Pro 4.0 CD-ROM will include the WinFax Pro software, plus 2,000 ClickArt images from T/Maker Co. for decorating fax cover pages, the Cover Your Fax I and II collections of fax cover pages, and Pro CD Fax Book from Pro CD Inc., which lists more than 100,000 published fax numbers of companies in the United States and Canada.
Periodic updates to the Pro CD Fax Book will be available for a fee from Pro CD, Sofer told Newsbytes.
The Communications Suite 2.1 CD-ROM will have on it all the software found on the WinFax Pro disk, plus Delrina's WinComm Pro 1.1 data communications software with Internet Messenger. It will also come with Spry Inc.'s Mosaic in a Box package, which includes a browser for the World Wide Web as well as other software needed to connect to the Internet.
The WinFax Pro 4.0 CD-ROM has a retail price of US$149.95 or C$199.95. The Communications Suite CD-ROM retails at US$199.95 or C$259.95. Delrina claimed the software on the two disks has a value of more than US$400 and US$600 respectively. Both CD-ROMs are to be available through major distributors and retailers starting in the middle of April, Delrina officials said.
(Grant Buckler/19950405/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 416-441-3676, or 408-363-2345)
268-6082 416-441-3676, or 408-363-2345)
4/5/95
Delrina Intros CD-ROM Windows Bundles
WINDOWS
HP Intros New Consumer PCs Throu
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard Company has introduced a new line of "very aggressively priced" personal computers for the consumer/home market that will "initially be sold through the Circuit City retail chain."
Company spokesperson, Larry Sennett, told Newsbytes the "initial phase" of rollout products, which will be ongoing throughout the remainder of 1995, will be sold by a single retail chain, Circuit City, with other retailers added during 1996.
The company is careful to point out these machines are an entirely new product line. Speaking to Newsbytes Sennett emphasized this new value/consumer HP personal computers are a totally "new line" of systems and should not be confused with HP's higher-end Vector line.
The company has also cut prices "up to 16 percent" on OmniBook notebook PCs, "up to 11 percent" on Vectra desktop PCs, and "up to 13 percent" on its NetServer lines, according to Sennett.
Sennett added that HP is also offering "one of the lowest-cost highest performing Pentium -based PCs for the corporate market." He also indicated that HP is taking aim competing offerings such as the Compaq LTE Elite and the IBM 755CD with the new pricing.
(Nick Anis/19950405/Press Contact: Larry Sennett, HP 408-553-2916; Copithorne & Bellows (for HP), David Bailey tel 408-284-5200, fax 415-495-3992; Reader Contact: 800-443-1254 503-715-2004)
-3992; Reader Contact: 800-443-1254 503-715-2004)
4/5/95
HP Intros New Consumer PCs Through Circuit City
Motorola Licenses Radio System,
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Motorola's (NYSE:MOT) Land Mobile Products Sector (LMPS) said it will begin licensing the "essential intellectual property rights" for "infrastructure and subscriber interfaces" for its MIRS (Motorola Integrated Radio System) technology. The company will sell the rights to alternate suppliers in the wireless communications industry.
Motorola said it is changing MIRS's name to iDEN, or Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network, to reflect the change to a non-proprietary system and to emphasize the target market of providing wireless communications for workgroups.
Motorola made the announcement today during a news conference in which wireless communications pioneer Craig McCaw announced he and his family were investing up to $1.1 billion in Nextel Communications. Nextel said it will take advantage of the newly-coined iDEN.
Christopher Galvin, Motorola president and chief operating officer, said opening the standards is another way that the company helps to create industries. "We have understood for many decades that without robust competition, particularly among suppliers of equipment, one cannot create the incentive and grow the pie big enough for everyone to succeed. Therefore, we have always oriented ourselves to encourage competition." Galvin also said that, for standards to be set, architectures must be opened, and Motorola wants to do this to develop the market.
The company said by opening these interfaces, operators using Motorola's advanced TDMA (time division multiple access) technology will be able to buy subscriber and infrastructure equipment from alternate sources.
The licenses would be for use in the 800 megahertz and 1.5 gigahertz bands where the newly-named iDEN technology currently operates. The licenses would also be available for use in other frequency bands as other iDEN systems are deployed throughout the world.
The basic interfaces to be made available for licensing include the Air Interface, Subscriber Data Interface, RF Network to Telephone Interconnect Interface, and a future Packet Data Interface, the company said.
Motorola said it will use a "Fast Track" concept will be used to establish at least one high-quality infrastructure and several subscriber vendors. These Fast Track programs would be tailored to the second source supplier's requirements, and would allow Motorola to offer a variety of services that would help the supplier rapidly design and deliver those products to the marketplace.
Motorola Licenses Radio System, McCaw Invests In Nextel
BUSINESS
UK Firm Intros Instant Internet
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Performance Technology has announced, what it claims, is the "easiest way" to hook up a Novell NetWare or PowerLAN network to the Internet.
Known as Instant Internet, the hardware/software package is billed as the "first complete solution that allows all network users to simultaneously access the Internet." According to spokesman, Dave Ball the system box can be configured for almost any sized network and can be set up to provide multiple channels for heavy users of the Internet.
Ball told Newsbytes that the software can be installed from almost anywhere on the network and needs no reconfiguration of client workstations or the network server. The installers program prompts for only a few items of information that are specified by the Internet service provider and then auto-installs and configures itself to the network in hand.
Integral to Instant Internet is an Internet "firewall." This prevents callers outside the company network from "seeing" an Internet IP (Internet Protocol) address, and allows them only "virtual" access to the company local area network (LAN).
Bundled with the package is a Windows-based point-of-presence (PoP) electronic-mail client module that works with WinWeb (supplied), a WorldWide Web browser package, that is licensed for users on a single LAN. The WinWeb package includes a FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client and a news reader for the Internet.
According to Ball, Instant Internet can be used with any of the other Internet applications that operate on WINSock, the standard Windows TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) interface. Instant Internet also supports gateways for LAN mail systems such as Microsoft Mail, cc:Mail, and MHS Mail.
In use, the modem-equipped system offers SLIP and PPP dial-up links to a suitable Internet service provider. On the other side, the package comes preconfigure and ready to plug into the LAN hub of a NetWare or PowerLAN network, whether it is an ARCnet, Ethernet, or Token Ring system.
Tony Bassett, Performance Technology's director of European operations, claims that the installation costs of Instant Internet for an entire LAN are less than the cost of a competitor's system for 12 single nodes.
"Internet access is one of the fastest growing applications in the PC marketplace today," he explained, adding that, "while products abound for individual connections, few are suitable for connecting entire LANs."
Instant Internet will be available from the end of this month from Performance Technology's US and UK offices. UK pricing has been set at UKP2,750, with US pricing to be announced.
"The package will be available in the US and UK to start with. We are also working on getting the package sold throughout Europe, but this will be at a later stage," Ball told Newsbytes.
e Technology, tel +44-1344-382020, fax +44-1344-382021)
4/5/95
UK Firm Intros Instant Internet Gateway For NetWare
NETWORK
Sweden - Ericsson's 1st Major Wa
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Ericsson has revealed that its new semiconductor fabrication facility has come onstream at Kista near Stockholm. According to staff with the company, the facility which was officially opened last August by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will go into volume production this coming November.
The first wafers to roll off the production line at the facility are a series of VLSI (very large scale integration) chips that have been designed for the core of Ericsson's AXE switching system. The 100,000 gate device was designed by Ericsson Telecom's division in Rome Italy, where the majority of Ericsson's new chips will be designed.
According to Bert Jeppsson, president for Ericsson Components, the transition from text production to regular production is being overseen by Ericsson in close cooperation with Texas Instruments the company's alliance partner in semiconductors.
"This is a milestone for the new fab," he said, adding that the company has gone from "a green field site to full operation in just two and a half years. We expect the fabrication plant to assume a strategically important role in delivering complex, specialized components for future Ericsson products and services."
At Texas Instruments, Tom Engibous, president of the company's semiconductor division, said that the plant coming onstream is "an important step forward in our relationship with Ericsson."
The first production semiconductors, which are for the AXE switching system, are 100,000 gate application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) which use 0.5 micron technology. These are based, Ericsson officials explained, on TI's TEC 3000 gate array technology, and will be manufactured using a CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) wafer process.
According to Ericsson, the high integration of this technology allows more functions to be packed into a physically smaller space, with lower power consumption. In AXE exchanges, this will contribute to an increase in switching capacity, reduction in physical size, and lower energy consumption.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950405/Press Contact: Hans Borgnas Ericsson Components AB, +46-8-757-5262)
ct: Hans Borgnas Ericsson Components AB, +46-8-757-5262)
4/5/95
Sweden - Ericsson's 1st Major Wafer Fab Plant Onstream
CHIPS
Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Apricot Computers has announced the release of its fastest ever system, the 120 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based Xen-PC. The machine will ship within the next few months with a UKP2,199 street price tag.
According to Peter Pearson, product marketing director with Apricot the company is also releasing versions of the machine based on the new 75MHz and 100MHz DX4 chipsets.
All the new systems come with a high specification as standard, says the firm. The 120MHz machines come with 16 megabytes (MB) as standard, a minimum 730MB hard disk, and 2MB of video memory.
"The new Pentium processors offer customers fantastic performance," explained Pearson. "However, the power of the processor is only half the story -- to get maximum performance you need a system designed to exploit that power."
He added: "Getting the right memory controller design and having a full 64-bit data path to the video memory has more impact than simply winding up the clock speed."
(Steve Gold/19950405/Press Contact: Text 100, +44-181-242-4180; Reader Contact: Apricot Computers, +44-121-717-7171, Internet e-mail jamesb@apricot.co.uk)
rnet e-mail jamesb@apricot.co.uk)
4/5/95
Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC
McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CALL) has announced it is receiving a cash infusion of up to $1.1 billion, and a new member of its board of directors courtesy of wireless communications pioneer Craig McCaw. He and members of his family will be making the investment, while McCaw will take the seat on the board.
McCaw also said he would provide strategic direction of the company to focus on enhanced two-way radio dispatch services for business users who need integrated wireless communications. He has said the development of multiple wireless services packaged into one device is important, and he wants Nextel to develop that customer base. McCaw feels by combining dispatch, messaging, and data in combination with telephone connect Nextel will enhance the quality of life for mobile work teams. "This is a net positive to almost everyone in the marketplace, as best I can see simply by enhancing the productivity of American, and ultimately worldwide workers."
The announcement was made at a news conference in New York City attended by Newsbytes, which featured McCaw, Morgan O'Brien chairman of Nextel, and Christopher Galvin, president and chief operating officer of Motorola.
Under the agreement terms, McCaw will make the investment in Nextel stock over the next six years through share purchases from both Nextel and Motorola (NYSE:MOT). Also, a newly-formed operations committee will handle forming proposing key tenants of Nextel's corporate strategy.
Nextel had reported it expected to seek additional financing over the next several years. But company officials said that, with the McCaw family investment, the amount of cash Nextel needs to raise would be significantly reduced.
Motorola's part in all of this is two-fold. With McCaw buying Nextel shares from Motorola, it reduces Motorola's stake in the company. Also Motorola announced steps to license integrated wireless intellectual property rights to qualified manufacturers, one of them being Nextel.
In a separate announcement, Motorola said it was licensing "certain rights" to its MIRS (Motorola Integrated Radio System) to third-party vendors, and renaming that technology iDEN (Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network).
Nextel shareholders must approve the transaction. The company's board of directors has already unanimously approved the agreement.
(Bob Woods/19950405/Press Contacts: Paul Blalock, 201-531-5200 or Susan Suss, 212-878-4638, both of Nextel; George Grimsrud 708-576-2346, or Anna-Lise Farmer, 708-538-3113, both of Motorola; Roger Nyhus, 206-915-3878 or 206-720-1739, for McCaw)
206-915-3878 or 206-720-1739, for McCaw)
4/5/95
McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In Nextel
BUSINESS
$1.1 Billion In
Apple Makes Organizational Chang
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Saying it is time to begin the "second phase" of his business reengineering of the company, Michael Spindler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced major organization changes in the company. Part of that announcement includes the resignation of Ian Diery, executive vice president of Apple's Personal Computer division.
Apple says the new changes are designed to create a new focus on the company's strongest markets, home, education, business, and entertainment. The first new division created is the Worldwide Marketing and Customer Solutions organization to be headed by Daniel Eilers who recently served as president and CEO of Apple's Claris software subsidiary. The new organization will focus on the home, business, and education markets, with the addition of a new entertainment industry unit. Both Claris and eWorld will also be under Eilers direction.
In a second step, these organizational changes will bring Dr. David Nagel from the top of the AppleSoft division to head Apple Research and Development, a more uniformed global research and development team. The division includes Newton development Apple's Advanced Technology Group and a operating system and technology licensing developments. The group will also focus on a more closely integrated hardware and software relationship.
The announced changes have "minimal effect" on the sales and customer support division and the manufacturing and distribution division. The presidents of Apple's three geographic sales and customer support division units -- James Buckley of Apple USA; Marco Landi of Apple Europe, and John Floisand of Apple Pacific -- will all report directly to Michael Spindler instead of Ian Diery. Fred Forsyth, head of manufacturing and distribution will also report directly to Spindler in place of Diery.
In a release from Apple, Spindler is quoted as saying: "During the first phase, which started almost two years ago, we moved our business model to be more industry competitive, improved the company's fiscal health, and transitioned the Macintosh platform to the next generation of microprocessor technology with PowerPC. Now, we are ready to put increased marketing and R & D focus on those sectors where we see significant growth potential, and where Apple has considerable competitive advantage."
The departure of Ian Diery, comes as a surprise to many observers of the company and it is widely speculated the announcement of his plans to leave the company amount to a request for his resignation. In the announcement, Spindler said, "Ian had made significant contribution to Apple, including the effort to roll out the Power Macintosh family, resulting in a smooth transition for customers, and in expanding Apple's leadership in multimedia by driving the acceptance of CD-ROM based systems." Diery will remain with Apple through an unspecified transitional period.
Commenting on the announced changes, Michael Murphy, editor of the California Technology Stock Letter, told Newsbytes, "This is the type of an announcement which does not show an immediate effect. It is more the type of thing which will show results in a couple of years. Right now, Spindler has good control of the company and he is not one to take such a move without careful consideration and clear-cut objectives. I suppose the emphasis on the hardware and software integration may put to rest rumors about Apple becoming a software-only company."
(Patrick McKenna/19950405/Press Contact: Betty Taylor, Apple 408-974-3983; The California Technology Stock Letter 415-726-8495)
The California Technology Stock Letter 415-726-8495)
4/5/95
Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave
APPLE
Berkeley Speech & Franklin In Ha
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Berkeley Speech Technologies (BST) has filed suit against Franklin Electronic Publishers, charging that Franklin has "harassed" Seiko and Group Sense Limited (GSL) with threats of lawsuits, and that Franklin has also threatened Seiko with seizure of its products by US Customs. Franklin Electronic Publishers "denies all allegations," said Gregory Winski, general counsel for Franklin.
Filed in the US District Court, Northern District of California the complaint against Franklin Electronic Publishers revolves around "The Franklin Exception Dictionary (FED)," a piece of software code containing "phonemic representations" produced by BST "on or about 1987" that modified BST's existing text-to-speech (TTS) dictionary for use "in a contemplated talking dictionary to be marketed by Franklin," according to a copy of BST's suit obtained by Newsbytes.
Also according to the court document, in October, 1987, BST and Franklin "modified" their original agreement to state that "while BST retained the right to use correct phonemic representations in exception dictionaries used with TTS in other products, even if such words also appeared in the FED, that BST could not copy, use license, or in any other way transfer any exception dictionary containing more than 8,000 words" prior to one year after the termination of the license agreement.
Also in the suit, BST contends that "only about 400 words of the approximately 1,300 word exception dictionary which exists in the present TTS program appear in the FED." The FED consists of phonemes used to correct some words in the TTS that Franklin "believed were pronounced incorrectly," according to the legal document.
BST's suit asks the court to: determine that GSL and Seiko are not infringing Franklin's copyright on its FED, and that the Franklin copyright is invalid; issue an injunction against Franklin to "cease and desist" threats of suits against BST licensees; and award $30 million to BST in damages.
BST has licensed its TTS technology to several companies, including Franklin, Seiko and GSL, but on a "non-exclusive" basis, according to Elisabeth W. Peters of BST. Peters termed Franklin's behavior "inappropriate." The issue concerns "the little bit of code that went into their (Franklin's) product," and this matter must be "resolved" by BST and Franklin in court, she told Newsbytes.
Said Winski: "We deny all allegations as without merit, and no Franklin products are at risk." Franklin "has copyright claims against other companies that will be pursued," he told Newsbytes. Added the Franklin general counsel: "BST wants our copyright determined to be invalid. But the whole point is that we hold the rights."
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950405/Press Contacts: BST, 510-841-5083; Franklin Electronic Products, 609-261-4800)
5083; Franklin Electronic Products, 609-261-4800)
4/5/95
Berkeley Speech & Franklin In Harassment Suit
LEGAL
US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Farallon Computing says the US Customs Service in San Francisco has located and seized 4,000 network connectors which infringe the company's patented technology for Phonenet connectors. There are more than five million Phonenet network connectors in use worldwide on the Macintosh platform.
In an interview with Michael Zukerman, in-house legal counsel for Farallon, Newsbytes learned the company had inside information regarding a number of suspicious shipments entering the US. Farallon relayed that information to the Customs agents. "We cannot say whether our information was directly related to this seizure, but we can say we are really pleased to see the Customs Service produce this kind of effort."
Zukerman explained the seizure actually goes back to 1994 when the company filed for a general exclusion order with the International Trade Commission. That order went into effect on January 17, 1995.
"Last year, we filed a complaint against 18 different respondents who were importing connectors using our technology. A number of them signed licensing agreements with us, but a few continue to import connectors which infringe on our technology. This is really the only way to stop these violations."
Farallon claims most of the illegal imported connectors originate in Taiwan.
Zukerman says the general exclusion rule is not that common. However with the success Farallon has had, he expects to see more companies direct their legal efforts in that direction. "I definitely expect to see more seizures of this type," he said.
(Patrick McKenna/19950405/Press Contact: Kristin Knudsen Thomas Associates, 415-325-6236)
tin Knudsen Thomas Associates, 415-325-6236)
4/5/95
US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network Connectors
LEGAL
Free Security Software Could Cau
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- Today a program which some say has the potential of wreaking havoc with computer systems worldwide, dubbed "Satan" (Security Administrator Tool For Analyzing Networks), is being made available free of charge to the public.
On deadline, Newsbytes found information on the Unix program at this Internet address ftp.win.tue.nl:/pub/security/satan.tar.z.
The program was designed by San Francisco security expert Dan Farmer and a security programmer at the Netherlands University of Eindhoven, Wietse Venema.
Billed by its creators as a tool "to help system administrators," Satan is designed to locate security flaws in a computer system and report them back to a user. Farmer and Venema say the program recognizes several common networking-security problems and reports them "without actually exploiting them."
"For each type or problem found, Satan offers a tutorial that explains the problem and what its impact could be. The tutorial also explains what can be done about the problem: correct an error in a configuration file, install a bugfix from the vendor, use other means to restrict access, or simply disable service," say the authors.
The Satan program, by seeking out sites with improperly configured or nonexistent "firewalls" (security systems that prevent unauthorized access), could put information into the hands of anyone seeking to break into it, say its critics.
Silicon Graphics was reportedly so concerned that Farmer intended to release the program to the public, that they terminated his position there, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
The release of Satan has caused some concern in security circles. Harry Bruestle, deputy program manger for computer security technology center, part of the US Energy Department at Lawrence Livermore Lab in Livermore, California, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "If someone were to take advantage of the vulnerability in your system, they could literally shut down your business, either taking information and giving it to a competitor or altering information or just erasing it."
However, Peter Sommer, security analyst at the London School of Economics, told Newsbytes that the programmers are "making all sorts of claims that it (Satan) can identify security holes. Unfortunately the computer security industry is full of hype products."
Said Sommer, "There has obviously been a lot of debate on the Net that this is a device that will get immediately abused by hackers. But I think one has to point out that all a hacker has to do is to collect all the CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Team lists), downloadable from CERT.ORG and there is a full and complete list of holes in various operating system platforms, every conceivable flavor of Unix that one has ever heard of. Unix hackers look up CERT advisories anyway, so this product is probably trying to create these in a useful fashion."
Anyone can download Satan now, without registering a name, free of charge. The April 5 release date commemorates Farmer's 33rd birthday.
Previous versions have been tested at certain selected sites since February 24. The documentation was released to the public on March 15 and the actual program was released today.
Anticipating the release of Satan, Livermore Labs has created a counter-Satan program called Courtney, which warns that Satan is trying to analyze a system's security. It is also available on the Internet.
(Wendy Woods/19950405)
ailable on the Internet.
(Wendy Woods/19950405)
4/5/95
Free Security Software Could Cause Internet Havoc
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
%PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 5 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/05/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: Matsushita says MCA is not for sale; Multiplex FM debuts; Key station Tokyo FM starts satellite program data; Japan moves towards digital TV.
2 -> Australia - Recycled Floppy Disks For Sale 04/05/95 Every week software companies around the world duplicate their software onto hundreds of millions of floppy disks. A percentage of these are never sold, and many never even leave the factory before becoming redundant.
3 -> HP Intros DOS-Only Palmtop PC For Resellers 04/05/95 Hewlett-Packard Company has introduced the HP 1000CX palmtop PC targeted at value-added resellers (VARs) and software developers for custom vertical markets.
4 -> Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Free Download Of FreeHand SDK 04/05/95 In a press conference at Seybold Boston, Macromedia announced a $995 software bundle for Windows and Macs called Graphic Design Studio, a free download of the FreeHand 5.0 Software Developers Kit (SDK), and a strategy of "integration" targeted at the converging multimedia and graphics marketplaces.
5 -> Silicon Graphics & Template Team On 3-D Web Viewer 04/05/95 Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE: SGI) has announced it will "team up" with Template Graphics Software Inc. to develop and distribute WebSpace, the "first commercially-available three-dimensional (3-D) viewer for the World Wide Web."
6 -> HP Telepace Workstation, Deal With AT&T 04/05/95 Hewlett-Packard has unveiled an HP 9000-based telecommunications workstation called Telepace, plus a series of related deals with LCI International, Northern Telecom (NT), and AT&T that collectively call for the development and worldwide delivery of "intelligent network" applications like voice-activated dialing personal number services, and virtual private networks (VPNs).
7 -> Hyundai's Integrated MPEG-2 Video Compression Chip 04/05/95 Claiming to take video compression to a "new level," Hyundai Digital Media has announced an integrated Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 chip. HDM8211M SAVi integrates the systems, audio and video streams on one chip.
8 -> Activcard Intros Authentication Token Device 04/05/95 ActivCard Networks Inc., the US subsidiary of the French-based Adventure Group, has announced a security/identification device for PCs, the ActivCardX9.9 Token.
9 -> 4Home Provides Interface For HP's New Home PCs 04/05/95 The first custom personal computer interface based on 4Home Production's Meta4 technology has appeared on new home personal computers from Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP). 4Home, a division of Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA) announced Meta4 in late March.
10 -> Telecom Bill Hits A Snag...Named Al Gore 04/05/95 Senate Republicans have put a hold on floor action on telecommunications reform until later this month, after Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and chief sponsor of the bill, said Vice President Al Gore threatened a presidential veto.
11 -> GTSI Goes To Electronic Commerce On The Internet 04/05/95 Government Technology Services Inc. (NASDAQ:GTSI) is now offering an electronic catalogue and ordering system on the World Wide Web. GTSI Online is the first electronic commerce system for government purchases of computer hardware and software.
12 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 04/05/95 By John Hastings. In the near future, some say five years and some say ten, the term "literate" will describe a person who can read write and use a computer. The lack of any computer skills will be equivalent to those today who cannot read.
13 -> There's No Shortage of Work -- Just Decent Wages 04/05/95 The fear that technology is destroying jobs has waxed and waned since the beginning of the industrial revolution and may be approaching another peak due to the widespread application of computers.
14 -> Seybold - Xerox Updates TextBridge OCR Package 04/05/95 At Seybold, Xerox unveiled two new Windows versions of its TextBridge optical character recognition (OCR) software: TextBridge 3.0, an upgrade that adds a new OCR engine, plus direct access from documents; and TextBridge Professional Edition 3.0, an entry with extra features which include a color-coded "In-Place Proofreader" and table formatting.
15 -> Microcom Buys Into European ISDN Market 04/05/95 Microcom Inc. (NASDAQ:MNPI) said it has established a foothold in the European integrated services digital network (ISDN) market by buying the ISDN operations of a German company. Microcom bought the operations from mbp Softwareentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of Electronic Data Systems Germany that has been in the ISDN market since 1990.
16 -> Broadcast Lets Firms Deliver Software Electronically 04/05/95 SNA Inc. said it is bringing to market a product, called Broadcast, that lets software publishers electronically distribute their products to customers themselves. Company officials say using the software companies can market and sell products in real-time on the Internet, over online services, and on CD-ROM products.
17 -> Tektronix Cuts Color Printer Prices 04/05/95 Tektronix Inc.(NYSE: TEK) has announced price cuts of up to 30 percent on three of its color printers. The company said list prices have been reduced from 18 to 30 percent on its Phaser 220i, 220e and 140.
18 -> Artisoft Ships LANtastic Dedicated Server Software 04/05/95 Artisoft Inc. (NASDAQ:ASFT) has announced it is shipping version 1.1 of its LANtastic Dedicated Server software. The product was previously marketed under the name CorStream.
19 -> Delrina Intros CD-ROM Windows Bundles 04/05/95 Delrina Corp. (TSE:DC;NASDAQ:DENAF) has announced two software bundles on CD-ROM. One is built around Delrina's WinFax Pro facsimile software, while the other contains the company's Communications Suite.
20 -> HP Intros New Consumer PCs Through Circuit City 04/05/95 Hewlett-Packard Company has introduced a new line of "very aggressively priced" personal computers for the consumer/home market that will "initially be sold through the Circuit City retail chain."
21 -> ****Motorola Licenses Radio System, McCaw Invests In Nextel 04/05/95 Motorola's (NYSE:MOT) Land Mobile Products Sector (LMPS) said it will begin licensing the "essential intellectual property rights" for "infrastructure and subscriber interfaces" for its MIRS (Motorola Integrated Radio System) technology. The company will sell the rights to alternate suppliers in the wireless communications industry.
22 -> UK Firm Intros "Instant" Internet Gateway For NetWare 04/05/95 Performance Technology has announced, what it claims, is the "easiest way" to hook up a Novell NetWare or PowerLAN network to the Internet.
23 -> Sweden - Ericsson's 1st Major Wafer Fab Plant Onstream 04/05/95 Ericsson has revealed that its new semiconductor fabrication facility has come onstream at Kista, near Stockholm. According to staff with the company, the facility, which was officially opened last August by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, will go into volume production this coming November.
24 -> Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC 04/05/95 Apricot Computers has announced the release of its fastest ever system, the 120 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based Xen-PC. The machine will ship within the next few months with a UKP2,199 street price tag.
25 -> ****McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In Nextel 04/05/95 Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CALL) has announced it is receiving a cash infusion of up to $1.1 billion, and a new member of its board of directors, courtesy of wireless communications pioneer Craig McCaw. He and members of his family will be making the investment, while McCaw will take the seat on the board.
26 -> ****Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave 04/05/95 Saying it is time to begin the "second phase" of his business reengineering of the company, Michael Spindler president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced major organization changes in the company. Part of that announcement includes the resignation of Ian Diery, executive vice president of Apple's Personal Computer division.
27 -> ****Berkeley Speech & Franklin In "Harassment" Suit 04/05/95 Berkeley Speech Technologies (BST) has filed suit against Franklin Electronic Publishers, charging that Franklin has "harassed" Seiko and Group Sense Limited (GSL) with threats of lawsuits, and that Franklin has also threatened Seiko with seizure of its products by US Customs. Franklin Electronic Publishers "denies all allegations," said Gregory Winski, general counsel for Franklin.
28 -> ****US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network Connectors 04/05/95 Farallon Computing says the US Customs Service in San Francisco has located and seized 4,000 network connectors which infringe the company's patented technology for Phonenet connectors. There are more than five million Phonenet network connectors in use worldwide on the Macintosh platform.
29 -> ****Free Security Software Could Cause Internet Havoc 04/05/95 Today a program which some say has the potential of wreaking havoc with computer systems worldwide, dubbed "Satan" (Security Administrator Tool For Analyzing Networks), is being made available free of charge to the public.
(Ian Stokell/19950405)
(Ian Stokell/19950405)
4/5/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
&P&|&^&
Dept. Of Defense Funds Holograph
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- The Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) has agreed to provide about half of the funding for a project intended to develop a new type of optical data storage system.
Projectavision Inc. (NASDAQ:PJTV) says that Tamarack Storage Devices Inc., an affiliate company in which Projectavision is the major investor, will lead the development of the Wave Guide Holographic Storage System that is expected to cost $22 million and take five years. Projectavision said ARPA will provide about 50 percent of the total funding, with the balance coming from private industry.
Holographic storage systems store data in three-dimensional (3-D) images inside a cube of special material. They can also retrieve data more quickly than conventional drives used today, since the entire image is retrieved rather than one bit of computer code at a time.
What does it mean to the consumer? It could mean drives that fit in tomorrow's portable computers that store several gigabytes of data and retrieve that information nearly instantly, at prices equal to or lower than the cost of today's hard drive.
Those drives aren't here yet, but one of the devices Tamarack is working on is a juke box device that holds as many as 30 2.5 inch disks, with each storing 640 megabytes (MB) of data and with an access time 1,000 times faster than today's archive drives.
Participating in the project to develop a holographic optical storage system that has no moving parts are Polaroid Corp. Physical Optics corp., the University of Arizona, Radiant Research Laboratory, the University of Texas, Syracuse University Diffraction Limited, Rainbow Display Devices Inc., Boulder Non-Linear Systems Inc., and Silicon Mountain Design.
John Stockton, Tamarack chief executive officer, said the proposed storage system "could provide the fundamental storage technology to enable the information superhighway of the future."
Early target applications of the technology include military applications, video-on-demand severs, transaction processing servers and high performance disk drives replacements.
Like all new technologies, the initial cost is expected to be high but Stockton believes the price will eventually come down to the point where the system will be attractive for use in portable computers.
Projectavision President Martin Holleran said other applications might be filmless cameras, tapeless camcorders, and lightweight notebook computers with massive storage capacity.
Dept. Of Defense Funds Holographic Storage Development
TRENDS
Digiphone Internet Phone On 4-Ci
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Digiphone, the software that lets you carry on long-distance phone conversations over the Internet without incurring long-distance phone charges, is taking to the road.
Camelot Corp. (NASDAQ:CAML) has announced it will take Digiphone on a four-city tour to prove the product does what it is supposed to do. The company will demonstrate Digiphone in Los Angeles on April 27, New York on May 2, Boston on May 3 and Chicago on May 4.
The company apparently decided to launch the "road show" after it ran into problems with the first public demonstration of Digiphone in Dallas recently when an Internet provider in Oregon unexpectedly disconnected a call from Dallas intended to show investors and bankers how the system worked.
Camelot spokesperson Jeannette Fitzgerald told Newsbytes Camelot had reserved a block of time with the service provider for 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) modem speed use in order to maximize Digiphone's performance during the demonstration but was cut off early.
"The server agreed to give us a certain block of time. They apparently shut off that block of time sooner than they told us they would. Everybody else jumped in and kicked us off the 28.8, and we couldn't dial back in and get the 28.8," said Fitzgerald.
Digiphone allows simultaneous two-way voice communication over the Internet. Both parties to a call must have Digiphone software and Internet access. A party entering the Internet with Digiphone loaded will see a list of other Digiphone users already on line and can click on any of them to establish a connection.
Digiphone requires each user to have a personal computer equipped with a multimedia sound card, a microphone, and speakers. Camelot said the sound quality of a Digiphone call varies depending on the level of data compression selected. The company claims sound quality can be superior to that of regular phone lines, depending on the computer system.
Digiphone callers can digitally scramble voice conversations modify the sound of their voice, arrange Internet conference calls and leave voice-mail messages, according to Camelot.
Digiphone is scheduled to ship in June, 1995, with a suggested retail price of $149.95, up from the $99.95 the company initially planned to charge. It will be marketed by Third Planet Publishing the software subsidiary of Camelot Corp.
When Newsbytes reported on Camelot's product in February of this year, it was called PICK (Personal Internet Companion Kit). Since then the company has renamed the product Digiphone. Fitzgerald told Newsbytes the name change was prompted by name recognition considerations as well as the results of a trademark search. There is a trademark issued for the Pick operating system.
(Jim Mallory/19950330/Press contact: Danny Wettreich Camelot Corp., 214-733-3005; Public contact: Camelot Corp. tel 214-733-3005, fax 214-733-4308)
Corp. tel 214-733-3005, fax 214-733-4308)
4/6/95
Digiphone Internet Phone On 4-City Tour
ONLINE
UK - Sheet Music By Fax Service
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Music by Fax, a subsidiary company of Music Sales Limited, has started offering music sheets over the new British Telecom super-premium rate service. The service offers music sheets for 1,000 of "the world's greatest hits" by fax.
Now the bad news. The super-premium rate -- on an area code of 0897 costs UKP1.50 per minute -- around $2.50 a minute, or, according to the company, about $1.25 per faxed page. According to the company, a typical song such as "Mull of Kintyre" or "The Very Thought of You" will work out at about UKP5 and give around seven pages of music sheets across the fax link.
According to company officials, the range of songs available on the system includes everything from "the latest" rock and pop songs to jazz and blues standards, right through to the complete Beatles catalog. By the end of the year, the range of titles available will have expanded to 2,000.
Chris Butler, music sales executive, said that the songs will be updated each week and each song "will be carefully selected and stored on the computer system for immediate retrieval in print."
The computer system that Music by Fax runs on is capable of storing around 100,000 songs. This capacity, the company claims, is more than sufficient for the company to be able to respond to demand for the latest hits or revivals.
Butler explained that the target market is almost anyone in the UK who has access to fax, and will include professional musicians, funeral directors, teachers, vicars -- "anyone who regularly needs music in a hurry and, of course, enthusiastic amateurs who like to play favorite songs on their instruments at home."
Butler claims that fax technology is not just a passing fad. He points to research from British Telecom that shows that, of the 2.5 million fax machines in the UK at the moment, around 420,000 are at home.
"It represents a concrete lifestyle change and provides a way of getting information that's here to stay," he explained.
Butler also claims that sales of sheet music topped the UKP35 million last year, but, while economics have dictated towards compendium publishing, dealers still report a significant demand is still there for single sheet music.
"Fifty years ago, sheet music was at the heart of our industry and this is another way of making it work. Now we are able to revive a popular traditional service though the application of new technology," he explained.
The technology behind the Music by Fax service was developed by Acumen Technologies of Oxford. Songs are stored in electronic form initially and can be used to generate a Postscript file. On older songs, the electronic file is created by scanning in the original sheet music.
"This is one of the first installations using a digital interface to the fax response system," said David Sanderson, Acumen's managing director. "That makes the system architecture much more elegant."
The computer system consists of two rack mounted 50 megahertz (MHz) 486-based system computers. Up to 16 calls are connected to the system at any one time, although the system can be expanded to 48 lines if needed.
The storage capacity on the computer system is two gigabytes and, as a side benefit, Music Sales can now produce paper sheet music on demand. As a result, the company has reduced the storage capacity of its needed warehouses to just 50 square feet.
"It's taken us two years to put this service together and we've invested around UKP100,000 in the project. It is a commercial venture which we feel will further stimulate sheet music sales. However, we also see it becoming a standard for archiving and distributing documents," he said.
(Steve Gold/19950405/Press Contact: Band & Brown Communications tel +44-171-704-2010, fax +44-171-704-2441; Reader Contact: Music by Fax, tel +44-171-434-0066, fax +44-171-439-2848)
1-434-0066, fax +44-171-439-2848)
4/6/95
UK - Sheet Music By Fax Service
TRENDS
UK - New Internet Windows Encryp
ROMSEY, KENT, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Alliance Sales has unveiled Kryptomax for Windows, a Windows application that company officials claims is extremely easy to use. A key feature of the package is that encrypted files are self-decrypted -- the recipient can decrypt the file without the original Kryptomax package, provided the right password is keyed in by the recipient.
According to officials with the company, Kryptomax is "ideal" for transmitting files across the Internet or any other "insecure" data carrying network. Interestingly, the package can encrypt different files using a different encryption algorithm, giving the system a high degree of resilience against "cracking" -- two files can have the same password and contents, but, if a different encryption protocol is used in the first place, the encrypted files are not alike.
Kryptomax for Windows costs from UKP90 upwards, depending on the number of users. The package, which runs under Windows 3.0 or later can even be installed on a network server, intercepting data traveling from the server and on to the network, then encoding it.
A suite of utilities is available for use with Kryptomax to allow the package to be installed on a network and intercept files before they hit the network in unencrypted format.
One interesting feature of the package's claimed high level of security, is that a file can be split into two, and each assigned a different encryption algorithm and password, only to recombined by the recipient when needed. Using this approach, Alliance Sales claims makes life difficult for the would-be eavesdroppers, because without one file, the other file is little more than useless.
(Steve Gold/19950405/Press Contact: Media Crystal tel +44-1332-824781, fax +44-1332-824755, Internet e-mail smallsopp@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: Alliance Sales tel +44-1794-518183, fax +44-1794-518490)
Sales tel +44-1794-518183, fax +44-1794-518490)
4/6/95
UK - New Internet Windows Encryption Software
ONLINE
Logistics Planning Workstation f
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- American Software (NASDAQ-NNM:AMSWA), The Supply Chain Management Company, has announced delivery of its new Logistics Planning Workstation (LPW) for Windows NT. The company claims LPW is the first supply chain management application available for Microsoft's Windows NT Server operating system.
"We have found our customers are getting very technical, and requiring more powerful servers," Andrew White, product director for LPW, told Newsbytes. "They need bigger processing power, and the (Windows) NT platform gives them that power."
White explained that supply chain management is the coordination of information between an organization and its customers and suppliers. The new LPW application plans the flow of information along that entire supply chain, he said.
LPW integrates the processes of: demand planning, which helps anticipate customer demand through forecasting and inventory planning; and replenishment planning, combining traditional re-order point processing distribution replenishment planning, and "fair-share" deployment using tools like electronic data interchange (EDI).
With LPW, companies can plan their own inventory targets using ABC/Pareto analysis, officials said. Service levels and inventory goals are classified and monitored, while proactive messages can be generated on a "management-by-exception" basis, which means potential problems are caught before they happen, claims the company.
The firm also said the 32-bit Windows NT version of the software also provides "significant performance improvements" for functions that use many calculations and/or access large amounts of data. The version also has increased system limits, so multiple functions can be held in memory simultaneously.
When it comes to Windows VT versus Unix, White said he is seeing a change in the networking packet winds. "The NT market is growing more rapidly than Unix," he said. "There might be a change in the market in six months. Who knows?"
A 16-bit version of LPW is available for Windows 3.1 based systems. This version can also run on Intel-based Windows NT platforms, White said.
(Bob Woods/19950405/Press Contact: Debbie Bellamy, American Software, 404-264-5422)
Debbie Bellamy, American Software, 404-264-5422)
4/6/95
Logistics Planning Workstation for Windows NT
NETWORK
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: Mitsubishi starts e-mail experiment; Communications Tokyo 1995; Sanyo's new notebook; Victor develops D-VHS; Sharp open an office in Ho Chi Minh City;
Mitsubishi Starts E-mail Experiment
Mitsubishi Electric has introduced a new company-wide electronic mail system to be used by the corporation's managers in a bid to reduce paper flowing between offices. The company said that all of its 2,800 management staff are to use e-mail to send, not just memos, but official messages to each others. The scheme is thought to be the first attempt by a major Japanese corporation to "do away" with paper. The plans call for the system to be available to all general office staff next year and to all employees by 1997.
Communications Tokyo 1995
All this week an exhibition of current and next-generation personal communications tools are being exhibited at a fair in Tokyo. The Communications Tokyo 1995 exhibit is bringing together all the manufacturers of PHS, the Personal Handy Phone System, which is a new type of cellular telephone scheduled to be introduced in July. Around 20 companies are fighting hard for the lion's share of the new PHS market with household appliance manufacturers battling against communications companies and telecom service providers. The PHS system will be introduced in the metro Tokyo area with coverage expanding to most major cities from October of this year.
Sanyo's New Notebook
Sanyo has announced a new notebook computer. The PC has an Intel DX4TM running at 100 megahertz (MHz) at its heart and also boasts a large color LCD (liquid crystal display) screen on 10.3-inches. The MBC-NJ10H3 comes with a removable 340 megabyte (MB) hard disk and is priced at 428,000 yen ($5,000).
Victor Develops D-VHS Video Format
Victor Company of Japan, the company that developed the VHS video tape format, has announced a new VHS format that allows for digital recording of images from future digital broadcasting and multimedia equipment. The format will be known as D-VHS and is capable of storing up to 49 hours of video on each tape in "long play" mode. Victor says it will be deciding on the full technical specifications soon, although the format had already received provisional agreement from Hitachi, Sony, TDK Matsushita, and Philips. Manufacture of the first next-generation video recorders could come as early as late 1996 or 1997 when France's Thomson plans to market a D-VHS machine at a small premium over regular VHS recorders.
Sharp Opens Office In Ho Chi Minh City
On April 1, Sharp Electronics opened a new office in Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam, becoming the sixth such local office in Asia. The office will be principally involved in the sale and service of the firm's color televisions. Sharp forecasts that the demand for color TVs in the country is set to surge over the next three years from the current half million a year to over one million. Sharp already have a factory in Hanoi which is producing 200,000 sets a year.
(Martyn Williams/19950405)
Williams/19950405)
4/6/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
CorelDraw 6 Delayed, CorelWorld
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Corel Corp. has announced the postponement of its CorelDraw 6 product launch and CorelWorld 95, its heavily promoted Corel trade show and professional development conference slated for early June, until mid-August. The announcement ends weeks of speculation that the release of Corel 6 would be delayed to correspond with the official release of Windows 95, also slated for August, 1995.
In a brief faxed statement, Corel's media relations division simply states that, "After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone our June Gala and CorelDraw 6 product launch until August, 1995. This new date will allow us to showcase the actual shipping version of CorelDraw 6 as well as preview our other Windows 95 products such as Corel Ventura and the Corel CD Office Companion."
The release and the conference have tentatively been rescheduled for August 10, pending "availability of accommodations and facilities."
The statement also adds fuel to the speculation that Corel Ventura, the powerful publishing application that some observers claim was rescued by Corel from oblivion a year and a half ago, will not be included in the CorelDraw 6 bundle.
In a recent media conference call, Corel chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Cowpland indicated that Corel Ventura might be split off as a stand-alone package with the release of version 6. At that time Cowpland pointed out that the package, which itself includes a number of utilities and companion applications, is a "major package" and a "major value," all by itself.
Corel CD Office Companion, a scaled-down version of what was originally to have been a complete office productivity suite, was already slated to ship in the third quarter of this year.
Corel sources note that invitees to the Corel Gala, at which the annual Corel Design Contest Awards are presented, and a glittering highlight of the Corel World conference, will receive new invitations as soon as the new date and location for the event are finalized.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Look Software Inc. has announced the release of version 4.0 of its award-winning Virus Alert DOS anti-virus application, plus two new support utilities and a new Plus pack version aimed at network and online users.
Virus Alert 3.4 also includes a new file allocation table (FAT) test designed to show up lost clusters, cross-linked files, extensive file fragmentation, and other disk abnormalities which might signal the presence of a virus.
"Such disk conditions are usually caused by system crashes and software glitches," Look representative Cliff Livingstone said, "but they can also indicate the presence of a boot sector virus, as well as generating false 'positives' in heuristic scans."
Tester is an integrated utility that allows users to scan for viruses by signature and heuristically, inside of archived files, before the files contained in the archive are let loose on their system. Tester also contains a real-time code emulator to allow scanning for polymorphic viruses, says the company.
"This will be extremely useful to those users who exchange a lot of files via a network or download a lot of executables from bulletin board systems (BBSs) or the Internet," Livingstone noted.
Scheduler is a "scan-later" manager, which allows users and network managers to prescribe automatic virus scans of all or part of a file system at pre-arranged times, as desired. Scheduler can also be configured to run other maintenance utilities, such as Tester, or even other virus scanners, for a back-up "second opinion." Scheduler can manage up to 100 separate scheduled events.
Virus Alert version 3.4 is available now at US$69.95, stand-alone. Virus Alert Plus, which includes Tester, is priced at US$89.95 for the single-user pack and US$299.95 for the corporate 10-pack. Vasched (Scheduler) is available separately at US$39.95.
) OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- A group of Ottawa Canada, high school students and their teacher have done what many would have said was impossible -- they have licensed an education oriented software application, which they developed over the past year, to Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL), for distribution across the US.
Also, notes teacher Kerry Chalmers, they did not even have to pitch the package to Apple, because the firm's Education Division called them about three months ago. The deal was finalized last week.
The program, called The Virtual Classroom, is a custom front-end for educational bulletin board systems (BBSs) and online systems using the popular FirstClass graphical online platform by SoftArc of Toronto Canada. It is already in use in a number of Ottawa-area schools and several high schools in Toronto.
When users dial in to The Virtual Classroom, they are presented with an image-mapped graphical menu screen, actually a picture of a schoolhouse flanked by a tree with treehouse (for extra-curricular activities) and other iconic elements which kids can click to enter online chats consult research materials, and access various other educational online services plus the Internet.
Chalmers says Apple wanted only a few small changes in the package for the US market -- including replacing the Canadian red maple leaf flag atop the schoolhouse in the graphical main menu screen with the "stars and stripes" -- but the package was picked up essentially "as is."
Chalmers and three students -- Bryan Zabchuk, Michael Jamieson and Eric Verspoor -- incorporated their enterprise last fall under the lyrical name Dream Weaver Communications Inc., in anticipation of bigger things, but all involved expressed surprise when Apple came to them. Apple says its usual policy is to buy software from established developers and university students, but they do deal with smaller companies if their product is innovative and fits Apple's marketing strategy.
Chalmers would not say how much the deal with Apple is worth to Dream Weaver, but he did confirm that the proceeds will pay for development costs to date and fund further research and development on The Virtual Classroom.
Chalmers, c/o Sir Wilfrid Laurier H.S., 613-834-4500)
4/6/95
High School Kids License Education Software To Apple
EDUCATION
WebFax Browses Web With Fax Mach
SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Universal Access Inc. has announced what the company describes as "the first product to search the Internet's World Wide Web without a computer." According to company spokesperson, Antonia Inman WebFax enables its users to navigate the Web during a touch-tone telephone call and transmit hypertext documents directly to a fax machine.
Inman told Newsbytes that, when using the WebFax system, all users have to do is "dial into the WebFax service with a standard telephone or the telephone headset on their fax machine" and "a short time later the Web pages selected appear on the users' fax machine."
Callers are able to select Web pages from a voice-menu system and the selected documents can be faxed during the same phone call or call forwarded to another fax machine.
WebFax supports graphics and audio. The inline (on the Web) picture is marked with a hyperlink ID number. The system allows users to get the picture separately by assigning the ID number. If there are any audio files associated with the Web page, they can be played through the users' telephone.
The web documents (pages) are formatted for transmission with all hyperlinks referenced by numeric ID. On the fax, the numeric ID appears beside or under the hyperlink and can be used by the caller at any time to follow the links.
The final production version of the software will have a function to limit the scope of searches to avoid having lengthy faxes sent unless the user really wants them. It does this by alerting the user as to the page length of each request and enabling them to cancel a request if the search or results are too long.
Inman told Newsbytes that the WebFax service is being launched at a time when the Web is evolving into a "principal site of electronic commerce." Inman cites the Internet Index, which shows "in the last year alone, traffic on the Web increased 2,500%." Inman also points out the Internet Index shows the increase in new Web sites is far greater than the increase in new users.
Universal Access is targeting the WebFax service to "further extend" the content of the Web to users who have not yet invested in an Internet connection, as well as to countries that do not support the Internet Protocol.
The WebFax service costs $25 for activation and $7.77 per month for a basic membership. The service is available now for guest members and will be "completely functional" during the third quarter. Universal Access also provides fax services such as fax broadcast and custom fax utilities.
(Nick Anis/19950406/Press Contact: Antonia Inman, Cyberspace PR for Universal Access, 805-388-7055, Internet e-mail 73552.3135@compuserve.com; Reader Contact: 805-730-7775 Internet e-mail info@ua.com)
730-7775 Internet e-mail info@ua.com)
4/6/95
WebFax Browses Web With Fax Machine
ONLINE
Encyclopaedia Britannica Looking
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- The people who publish the world's most famous paper-based reference work is facing stiff competition from a new kid on the block -- CD-ROM encyclopedias. As a result, the owners of Encyclopaedia Britannica have announced they must find new investors, or they will sell the company.
"To continue to grow and develop our business, we must continue to invest," said a statement from the company. "We are now in the process of identifying new sources of capital so we can develop our new products and explore alternative sales channels. We're confident we will secure the financial resources, which might be in the form of joint venture partners, outside investors, or even a new owner, that will keep Encyclopaedia Britannica in the forefront of the industry as the world's premier provider of information."
Added the company, "Technology and the 'information age' have radically transformed our landscape, and will require our company to make a significant transformation from our historical past."
Chicago Tribune writer James Coates reported the statement was issued in response to an inquiry made about the company's sale, after rumors flew of such a transaction at Britannica's Chicago headquarters.
The Tribune had reported Wednesday that Britannica has been in the red since 1990, with one of the reasons being that it has continued to publish sets of leather-bound books selling for $1,500 or more, while other encyclopedias are now available on CD-ROM for much less.
But in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Britannica said it has generated a pre-tax profit in "every year since 1973, with the exception of 1993." In 1973, the company said it made heavy investments in the development of the encyclopedia which contributed to the red ink that year, while in 1993 Britannica "invested aggressively in the development of its electronic products."
The company said it issued Wednesday's statement to "correct erroneous information recently published about the company's results."
In the same news release, Britannica pushed its non-traditional offerings, calling itself "a pioneer in electronic publishing." Britannica President and Chief Executive Officer Peter B. Norton said, "Our investment in electronic products, just as that for the development of the 15th edition, is designed to maintain Encyclopaedia Britannica's leadership in the industry over the long term."
In fact, Britannica has countered with an electronic version of its encyclopedia recently, the Tribune said, but at a price far higher than its main competitors, Microsoft's Encarta, Groliers, or Compton's.
am Pesavento, Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart, 312-988-2513)
4/6/95
Encyclopaedia Britannica Looking For New Investors
BUSINESS
Touchstone's Fastmove! Windows F
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) Touchstone Software is shipping FastMove!, a Windows-based PC-to-PC file transfer program with built-in virus scan, with a street price of under $50 for the software with cable.
Leigh Ann Panaro, director of marketing, told Newsbytes that the program is targeted at people using multiple PCs such as a system at work, a PC at home, and/or a notebook for traveling. According to Panaro, using multiple PCs or changing PCs when upgrading to newer better systems can be a "hastle" without the right tool for transferring over the user's files.
Panaro told Newsbytes that FastMove! is "just the tool" because of its "extremely easy" interface. The graphic interface allows users to visually synchronize PCs and drag-and-drop selected files without leaving the main screen. According to Panaro, the program was tested against competing offerings for "usability" and it was rated almost "twice as fast" in some categories.
The virus remover scans each file as it is transferred, which Panaro says keeps PCs safe from contamination. Panaro claims that despite the virus scan, the transfer across FastMove!'s PC-to-PC parallel port cable still averages over 20% faster than other transfer methods, either hardware (serial port, modem) or competing software.
(Nick Anis/19950406/Press Contact: Leigh Ann Panaro, Touchstone Software, tel 800-531-0450 or 714-969-7746, fax 714-960-1886 Internet e-mail: 75372.546@compuserve.com; Reader Contact: tel 714-969-7746 or 800-531-0450, fax 714-960-1886)
ct: tel 714-969-7746 or 800-531-0450, fax 714-960-1886)
4/6/95
Touchstone's Fastmove! Windows File Transfer Software
WINDOWS
IBM To Announce High-Performance
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) next week will announce new tape storage technology for its large computers. The company is telling some customers that the new technology will cut the cost of tape processing by 80 percent.
IBM's new tape products will use linear technology, which has been common in data processing since the early days of mainframe computing, rather than the helical-scan technology adapted from videocassette recorders. Helical-scan technology packs more data onto the same tape area, but the recording and playback heads actually touch the tape, which causes tape wear. In linear technology, the heads do not touch the tape.
According to a paper by IBM researcher Sal Causi, helical-scan tape cartridges can start to deteriorate after 50 to 250 passes. The more the capacity of the tapes increases, the more they will be used, Causi wrote, so helical-scan technology becomes less practical.
IBM said its new tape systems will store 50 times more data than the current industry-standard tapes. It will read and write data one and a half times as fast as the nearest competitor, the company said.
This will mean savings in the hardware needed to read and write tapes -- such as automated tape libraries -- in floor space, in power and cooling, and in staff time, IBM is telling its customers.
The new technology is expected to work with IBM's existing System Managed Tape methodology and customers will be able to mix and match new and existing tape-storage technology, IBM said. Customers may need to retain older technology so they can exchange tapes with customers, suppliers, and disaster recovery sites, Causi noted.
Causi's paper also said that in the near future, linear tape technology will be able to store the density of data needed for voice and image processing.
(Grant Buckler/19950406)
and image processing.
(Grant Buckler/19950406)
4/6/95
IBM To Announce High-Performance Tape Technology
North American Software Sales Hi
Oracle, Siemens & Pyramid To Dev
Oracle7 Chosen By Continental Ca
Canadian Info Highway Group Pond
Announce High-Performance
Interleaf Pays To Settle Govt Fr
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Interleaf Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAF), has agreed to pay the United States government $330,000 to settle a 10-year-old dispute over the prices it charged on a major government contract. The government's General Services Administration (GSA) had accused Interleaf of fraud for giving other customers deeper discounts than it gave the government.
Dick Delio, senior vice-president and chief financial officer at Interleaf, denied any wrongdoing and described the matter as a price negotiation between Interleaf and the government.
Interleaf's name was on a procurement schedule issued by the GSA in the mid-1980s. This schedule serves as a catalogue of approved suppliers from which government agencies can order goods at prices negotiated with the GSA. The government's policy is that any supplier listed on such a schedule must treat the government as a most favored customer, meaning it must give the government at least as much of a discount on its products as it gives any other customer.
Interleaf did give some non-government customers larger discounts than it gave the government, Delio told Newsbytes, but this happened because of the difficulty of keeping track of the terms of different contracts and was unintentional. The company and the government negotiated what amounted to a price rebate, he said. "This is a very common thing if you deal with the GSA."
Nonetheless, the payment was announced by US Attorney Donald Stern as the settlement of a fraud claim.
Interleaf's total sales to the government under the GSA contract were more than $3.5 million, according to the US Attorney's office. Delio said the company no longer is listed directly on the GSA schedule, but sells its products to the government through distributors or dealers. Interleaf makes publishing software.
Delio said the settlement will have no financial impact on Interleaf, since "the company had reserved for this years ago."
(Grant Buckler/19950406/Press Contact: Joy Fallon or Kathleen Griffin, US Attorney's Office, 617-223-9445; Dick Delio Interleaf, tel 617-290-0710, fax 617-290-4943)
erleaf, tel 617-290-0710, fax 617-290-4943)
4/6/95
Interleaf Pays To Settle Govt Fraud Claim
Does US Need Science Czar?
C WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Does the US need a science czar heading a single science agency? Rep. Robert Walker (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Science Committee and an ally of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), proposed that idea at a recent Association of American Engineering Societies meeting, but got a somewhat cool reception from a panel of former presidential science advisors, organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Walker told the group that "government is too big and spends too much," and needs to concentrate its science programs, now spread out among a dozen or more agencies, with the private sector picking up the research and development slack. Walker called for the creation of a Department of Science, to combine R&D functions of agencies including the Energy Department, NASA, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others.
"What we want to do," Walker said, "is take programs doing advanced work and basic research and put them in the Department of Science, which would allow them diversity across the government as well." Walker said he would exempt the R&D programs of the Defense and Transportation departments from his consolidation.
But the panel of former science advisers offered a mixed review of the idea. "I believe one of the fundamental strengths of our system is we don't have the single-spigot approach," said Allan Bromley, science adviser to President Bush. "We have over 20 agencies that support significant national programs and if one of them turns out not to like your project, the odds are still pretty good that one of the others will. And we've been able to say that, over the years, no really decent idea waited very long to get support."
Guyford Stever, science adviser to President Ford, reminded the panel of historical resistance to one cabinet agency having hegemony over science and engineering and cautioned against coronation of a science czar.
Edward David, science adviser to President Nixon, questioned whether Walker's proposal would really save money. "Is this really a cost-saving measure?" he said. "If so, how much would it save? Or, if not, how much would it cost?"
(Kennedy Maize/19950406/Press Contact: Christopher Currie IEEE, 202-785-0017 ext 342, Internet e-mail c.currie@ieee.org)
et e-mail c.currie@ieee.org)
4/6/95
Does US Need Science Czar?
SPA Says Don't Cut School Tech F
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Save spending for technology in schools, the Software Publishers Association has told Congress.
In a written statement before the Senate Appropriations Committee's education subcommittee, the SPA urged restoration of funds for education programs that "bring technology to the classroom including proposed cuts to remedial education learning programs for disadvantaged students, teach training and education reform."
The House has cut the funds in its proposed recisions for fiscal year 1995, but the Senate may restore all or part of the cuts. The SPA told the subcommittee that winning in the global economy requires "a significant investment" in better education of workers and that technology is rapidly becoming the foundation for effective teaching and learning.
The software trade group also said that the federal government has a "critical leadership role" to play in "addressing the increasing pressures that America's technologically driven society poses for graduates and the inability of many schools to prepare students adequately for high-tech challenges." SPA notes that hundreds of thousands of students and teachers, particularly in inner-city and rural schools, benefit from federally funded technology.
SPA also distributed a recent paper, titled "Harnessing the Future -- Investing in Technology to Drive Educational Achievement and Economic Competitiveness," which reviews the role of the federal government in supporting educational technology to improve learning and produce a stronger economy.
SPA represents 1,160 publishers of personal computer software and has offices in Washington and Paris. Information about the trade group is available through CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM) and on the World Wide Web (http://www.spa.org).
(Kennedy Maize/19950406/Press Contact: Sally Lawrence 202-452-1600 ext 320; Reader Contact: David Byer 202-452-1600 ext 325)
ontact: David Byer 202-452-1600 ext 325)
4/6/95
SPA Says Don't Cut School Tech Funds
Japan - Electronics Giants Budge
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Major Japanese electronics companies NEC and Fujitsu say they are planning their 1995 budgets with an assumed exchange rate of 90 Japanese yen to the US dollar. Last year the same companies used a rate of 100 yen to the dollar.
The 1995 budgets of some had already been completed before the dollar's plunge during March, which has meant a quick rewrite of the plans for the coming year are needed.
The Yomiuri Shimbun speculated that some major electric companies may be forced to change their business plans because of the recent rise in strength of the yen.
According to the newspaper, Hitachi has assumed at rate of 100 yen/$1, Sony 99 yen/$1, and Mitsubishi 95 yen/$1. A spokesman from Sanyo said that the company was waiting to see where the rates settled, while Toshiba said it had already written the yen's rise into their new budget.
Electronics games manufacturer Nintendo has revised its internal exchange rate to just 85 yen to the dollar effective this month after reporting it lost 20 billion yen ($230 million) of profits in fiscal 1994 because of the strong yen. The firm is also cutting its exports sales ratio to below 30% from its current 37%.
(Martyn Williams/19950406)
% from its current 37%.
(Martyn Williams/19950406)
4/6/95
Japan - Electronics Giants Budget For 90 Yen To US$1
BUSINESS
Digital Video-On-Demand Net For
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Alcatel Network Systems along with Lambert Communications, EMC Corporation, and other companies, is launching HealthNet 2000. The new system is described as the "first" digital, interactive, video-on-demand network for hospitals, managed-care organizations, and other healthcare-related offices.
"If you've ever seen a normal video conference call, it's kind of jerky (in quality)," Michael Newsom, Alcatel spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "This solution will almost be like watching normal TV programming." He also said HealthNet 2000 will let doctors practice "telemedicine" miles away from the patient.
Rebecca Lambert, founder, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of Lambert Communications, said HealthNet 2000 will allow hospitals to talk with each other, and will provide educational programming for heathcare professionals and patients alike.
Alcatel said HealthNet 2000 will use components of its SDVN (switched digital video network) service, along with other technologies, to link selected hospitals, doctors offices, and other healthcare facilities in California by using Pacific Bell's Advanced Video Source (AVS) network. Public utility commission approvals are needed before the project can go forward.
Lambert Communications brings to the project its multi-channel satellite network which already serves the healthcare industry. Its current network, which the company says serves nearly 700 hospitals will be converted over time to the HealthNet 2000 technology.
EMC Corporation will be providing storage and file server hardware for the digital video capabilities of the new system. The company said it believes applications like HealthNet 2000 show how versatile digital video technology is, and the new markets it will open.
Other HealthNet 2000 partners include Nuko Information Systems, which will provide digital video software and hardware, and Digital Equipment Corporation, systems integrator and a provider to Nuko of products and services related to the transmission of digital video images. Nuko is also a contributor to a company in the partnership -- it contributed MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Experts Group-2) technology to Alcatel's SDVN.
Alcatel and partners say they will be demonstrating the full range of SVDN at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, from April 10-13, in booth 18084.
(Bob Woods/19950406/Press Contact: Michael Newsom Alcatel Network Systems, 214-996-7896, Internet e-mail michael_newsom@aud.alcatel.com)
ernet e-mail michael_newsom@aud.alcatel.com)
4/6/95
Digital Video-On-Demand Net For Healthcare
HEALTH
Japan - Council Begins Study Int
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- The Japanese Post and Telecommunications Ministry today asked the Telecommunications Council to study ways of reforming Japan's Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT).
A report was submitted to the advisory council that recommends they study the future structure and make up of NTT with a view to making the Japanese telecoms market open to fair competition. The report says that the industry will be a driving force in the Japanese economy in the next century and any reforms should be beneficial for consumers.
In 1990, a report recommended that NTT, which provides a domestic telephone service in Japan, be split up into two companies. One would service the local telephone market and the other would concentrate on the long-distance sector, but the report was scrapped after fierce objections by the government's finance ministry and NTT. The council will study a similar proposal to split NTT into two or more companies and now looks at an industry that has changed dramatically in five years.
NTT's competitors say that the splitting up of the company, which has a monopoly on the local telephone market, is essential if fair competition is to be achieved. In December of last year the government ordered NTT to allow competing telephone carriers access to NTT local lines in order to connect to businesses for new telephone lines.
Reaffirming his opposition to any future split, Masashi Kojima, president of NTT, said yesterday that, "Real competition takes place in a setting where many smaller companies are struggling to catch up with one big entity."
NTT is the world's largest telecommunications company and currently faces competition from three other suppliers for the domestic long distance market. Despite this, the combined profits of the three competitors are only one tenth of those of NTT.
The study into NTT is part of a broader investigation into the Japanese telecoms market which includes a government study of KDD, Japan's major international telephone company. The government study into NTT will report back within a year with their recommendations.
(Martyn Williams/19950406)
recommendations.
(Martyn Williams/19950406)
4/6/95
Japan - Council Begins Study Into NTT Changes
TELECOM
Is Cyberspace Bad for the Enviro
Canadian Multimedia Firms Merge
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Two Canadian multimedia communications firms -- McGill Multimedia Inc. and Frameworks Communications Inc. -- have announced a merger. The combined company will keep the McGill name.
Steven Koskie, director of marketing for McGill Multimedia, told Newsbytes that the merged company has about 23 employees and is hiring. McGill, which currently has an office in Windsor Ontario, in addition to its Toronto base, plans to expand soon into neighboring Detroit, he said. The company will be hiring more staff in the production and sales areas, probably adding as many as 10 to 15 people over the next few months.
Though it started as a producer of computer-generated 35 millimeter (mm) slide presentations, seven-year-old McGill Multimedia has focused more recently on compact disk interactive (CD-I) technology. The company said it has produced more than 25 interactive titles during the past year. Company officials said the advantage of CD-I is it does not require that users have any computer experience.
Frameworks Communications has been in business for five years Koskie said. Its strengths lie in CD-ROM and video production. Officials of the two companies said they share similar philosophies, including an interest in stretching multimedia technology to do new things.
Rob Whent will remain president of McGill Multimedia after the merger, while Michael Holland, former president of Frameworks becomes vice-president of business development in the new company. The merged firm will serve corporate, retail government, automotive, and financial clients.
(Grant Buckler/19950406/Press Contact: Steven Koskie, McGill Multimedia, tel 416-364-1268 ext 32, fax 416-364-1267; Public Contact: McGill Multimedia, tel 416-364-1268, fax 416-364 1267/MCGILL950406/PHOTO)
416-364 1267/MCGILL950406/PHOTO)
4/6/95
Canadian Multimedia Firms Merge
BUSINESS
The Great Internet Easter Egg Hu
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Easter eggs in cyberspace? They are indeed there, the Branch Information Services said, and the race to find them is on!
Branch Information Services, the originators of the Branch Mall is sponsoring what it calls "the first ever Easter Egg hunt on the Internet."
The idea behind the hunt is "to demonstrate how easy the World Wide Web is to use, and to promote commercial services on the Web," said Beth O'Connor, Branch spokesperson.
In conjunction with the USA Citylink Project, Branch has hidden graphical Easter eggs in various parts of the World Wide Web. Users have until April 16 to locate the eggs. When the eggs are found users will electronic-mail (e-mail) the locations to an address that will be named later. The prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the "surfer" who finds the most eggs. The company said in case of a tie, the first entry received will be declared the winner. The winner will be selected on April 18.
O'Connor wouldn't tell Newsbytes approximately how many eggs are up for electronic "grabs." But she did say they can be found in the pages of the Branch Mall and the USA Citylink Project. Hotlinks are provided to those pages from the Easter Egg Hunt information page, which can be found at URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://branch.com/. Information about the hunt can also be e-mailed back to the user by writing branch-info@branch.com.
And who will go Easter egg hunting? O'Connor said "anybody who has the time or who wants to take a break from working. Kids can do it, and so can adults -- although adults will probably be searching the most."
She concluded: "We want everyone to have fun. But in that fun, people will learn about commerce and the Web."
(Bob Woods/19950406/Press Contact: Jon Zeef, Branch Information Services, 800-349-1747; Public Contact: Branch Information Services 800-349-1747; Internet World Wide Web http://branch.com/ Internet e-mail branch-info@branch.com)
.com/ Internet e-mail branch-info@branch.com)
4/6/95
The Great Internet Easter Egg Hunt Is On!
ONLINE
B l P
Fonix Attempts Voice-Recognition
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Fonix Corp. (NASDAQ: FONX) hopes to grab the lead in the voice-recognition arena when it produces an Alpha-test prototype system in the next few months that does not need to be trained in order to understand dictation and spoken computer commands.
The company said the prototype system will include speaker independence, continuous speech, minimum speaking speed of 120 words per minute and a minimum of a 2,500 root-word dictionary derived from the America Standard Dictionary.
A company executive said about 80 percent of most people's daily conversations are conducted used 1,500 to 1,800 words. When the system enters the retail market in the fall of 1995 Fonix expects to ship it with a 50,000 root word dictionary and will also have the capacity to store a 14,000 word user-defined dictionary in order to provide for specialized and technical terms.
Thomas Murdock, Fonix president, said the company has already successfully demonstrated and tested a system with male, female and children's choices and required no training to get used to the user's voice. The test system used a limited dictionary operating under Windows on a 486-based PC. "User independence, a key element to the Fonix voice technology, is now a reality," said Murdock.
Voice technology is not new to personal computer users, but early systems have required varying lengths of time to be trained to recognize the way the user pronounces words, and some systems require slow, careful pronunciation in order to be understood. Another problem is the need to train the system to recognize each person who will use the computer.
However, Fonix executive Roger Dudley told Newsbytes those roadblocks are now a thing of the past. "What our technology is about is to eliminate the training, be truly independent, and have a speaking speed of a minimum of 120 words a minute."
Dudley acknowledged that people speak at varying rates, from very slow to very rapidly, but said the average is from 110 to 150 words per minute. He doesn't see those speeds as being a challenge to the Fonix technology. "When we set out on this project we said we will do at least 120 words a minute, but in our testing facility right now we are actually exceeding 200 words a minute," he stated to Newsbytes.
Dudley said the Fonix technology addresses both speaking speed and accuracy. "Speaking speed will allow the normal PC user who wants to be involved with dictation to just let it fly and let the words appear on the screen." Addressing accuracy, Dudley said the company won't ship the product until it can provide a 99.9 percent word recognition rate, including recognizing the multiple pronunciations possible of words like "potato" and "tomato."
Lloyd said the company expects to start shipping to PC makers by mid-summer and to retail outlets in the fall. The retail version will consist of the patented software loaded into a six-inch by eight-inch external box that connects to a PC through a RS-232 serial port. The box contains a microprocessor and a microphone as well as some circuitry. Dudley said the suggested retail price of the complete system will be about $1,000. He anticipates that when the Fonix system is included in a personal computer it will add less than that to the price of the PC.
(Jim Mallory/19950406/Press contact: Roger Dudley, Fonix Corp. 801-328-0161; Public contact: Fonix Corp., 801-328-0161)
8-0161; Public contact: Fonix Corp., 801-328-0161)
4/6/95
Fonix Attempts Voice-Recognition Technology Lead
TRENDS
UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem R
SHIPLEY, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Pace has announced it has completed its family of V.34 (28,800 bits-per-second -- bps) modems, making it the first company in the UK to do so.
The completion comes with the shipment of the V.34 PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) modem, which joins the other Microlin pocket (battery powered) and PC internal units, as well as the Linnet V.34 desktop modem.
Announcing the launch of the V.34 PCMCIA Microlin at UKP349, Steve Lister, Pace's managing director, said that the development allows modem-using companies to "implement V.34 across every commercial application, with the confidence gained from using a single manufacturer's products."
All the modems support all data speeds through to 28,800 bps to V.FC and V.34 standards, as well as fax facilities to 14,400 bps. In addition, all the modems support the MNP 10 error correction and data compression standard.
Derek Oliver, Pace's technical director, said that Pace was unusual in supporting MNP Class 10 on all its modems, and not just on the portable and PCMCIA modems. This is because the company sees MNP 10 as a viable error correction system for cellular modem calls.
(Steve Gold/19950406/Press & Reader Contact: Pace Micro Communications, tel +44-1274-532000, fax +44-1274-537029 Internet e-mail pace@cix.compulink.co.uk)
ernet e-mail pace@cix.compulink.co.uk)
4/6/95
UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem Range
TELECOM
France - Alcatel Unveils Avanza
PARIS, FRANCE, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Alcatel Data Networks, the new joint venture company set up by Alcatel and Sprint, has unveiled Avanza, a "multi-service architecture" that the company claims was designed to create a "seamless switching environment" through the public and private enterprise networking marketplace.
According to Josef Cornu, president of the Alcatel Network Systems group, the Avanza architecture creates a "true desktop to desktop switching fabric." Previously, switching systems have been "restrained by networking performance and simplicity."
The first Avanza technology compliant device to hit the market is the Alcatel 1100 HSS, a network switching system that the company claims integrates both local and wide area services on a single platform, supporting ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), frame relay and time division multiplexing (TDM) switching.
Cornu says that the Avanza technology is a totally scalable networking system. The idea behind the system is to create an environment that "seamlessly" links the LAN (local area network) with the public wide area networks (WANs), such as public PDN (packet data network) and X.25 links.
The 1100 HSS is billed as the world's first integrated switching architecture and, according to Alcatel, was designed to "integrate and consolidate" existing disparate networks into a "seamless, managed network infrastructure."
The system supports ATM, frame relay, X.25, TDM, SNA (System Network Architecture) and ISDN (integrated services digital network) switching. It can cope with up to 512 ports for frame relay, and 120 ports for ATM, at speeds of up to 622 megabits-per-second (Mbps).
No pricing on the 1100 HSS has been announced. This will be announced closer to shipment date. Full technical specifications on the technology and product are available on Alcatel's World Wide Web page at http://www.adn.alcatel.com.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950406/Press & Reader Contact: Alcatel Data Systems in France, +33-1-40585858l; Alcatel Data Systems in US 703-243-1888)
8l; Alcatel Data Systems in US 703-243-1888)
4/6/95
France - Alcatel Unveils Avanza Networking
NETWORK
Lotus Ships ScreenCam 2.0, Intro
Unveils Avanza
UK - Psion-Dacom's Budget PCMCIA
MILTON KEYNES, BEDFORDSHIRE, U.K., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Psion Dacom has come up with a product for PC users of PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) technology with a desktop PC. It is called the Gold Drive, and is a PCMCIA slot in standard 3.5-inch disk casing for fitting inside a desktop PC.
According to Gareth Hughes, the company's managing director, the UKP129 "drive" fits into any 3.5-inch disk drive bay and allows all Type I, II, or III PCMCIA cards to be used.
"The Gold Drive delivers full front-loading PCMCIA capabilities to desktop users at a realistic price," he said, adding that, for desktop PC users who already have a portable, the drive is a "useful product at a realistic price."
He added: "We believe that PCMCIA will soon be a standard facility on new desktop PCs and existing desktop users looking to the future would be wise to thoroughly investigate the benefits of PCMCIA."
The Gold Drive comes with all relevant software drivers, plus card and socket services, that ensures universal compatibility with any PCMCIA compliant cards, according to the firm. The drivers include full support for the Flash file systems, eXecute-In-Place (XIP), and Quickswap protocols.
(Steve Gold/19950406/Press & Reader Contact: Psion-Dacom tel +44-1908-261686, fax +44-1908-261688, Internet e-mail sue_star@cix.compulink.co.uk, Internet World Wide Web http://www.u-net.com/p-dacom/ -- DACOM040695/PHOTO)
Web http://www.u-net.com/p-dacom/ -- DACOM040695/PHOTO)
4/6/95
UK - Psion-Dacom's Budget PCMCIA Slot Drive For PCs
Online Marketplace '95 - Revenue
Firefox Offers Free Novell/Inter
Media Vision To Ship Quad-Speed,
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Media Vision Technology has announced a quad-speed CD-ROM multimedia kit which includes a wavetable sound card and is ready for the Windows 95 "Plug and Play" feature. The company also announced a series of wavetable sound cards to be shipped next month.
When manufacturers of CD-ROM drives announced retail prices below $200 for the quad-speed drives, a number of analysts began to announce the end of the double-speed market. Stepping into the picture, Media Vision took multimedia kits a step further with the addition of a wavetable sound cards, powered speakers and "Plug and Play" capabilities.
Wavetable synthesis sound differs from FM synthesis by using real instrument samples to create sound. It is rapidly becoming a desktop standard.
The new kit, MV3200, also offers a game pad, a microphone, and 11 multimedia applications. The included quad-speed drive has a transfer rate of 600 kilobytes-per-second (KBps), and access time of 150 milliseconds (ms), and a 256KB buffer.
In addition, the company also is shipping MV2200, a quad-speed kit with a 16-bit FM synthesis sound card. The MV2200 also includes the applications, microphone, and speakers.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Tony Le, the product marketing manager for Media Vision, said, "With the MV 3200, we want to deliver a multimedia kit to the customer which will have value in the coming years. Quad speed drives, wavetable sound, powered speakers, and the Plug and Play capabilities allow us to offer customers exactly what they want. The time for the dual-speed kits is coming to an end. We intend to continue to offer a full line of kits from the low-end to our high-end MV3200."
MV3200 will be available sometime in May with a suggested retail price of $449. MV2200 should appear at most superstores this week with a street price in the area of $300. As the dual-speed market decreases, Le said the price of the MV1200 should drop below $200. He suggested the price may be that low by the end of the summer.
The new quad-speed kit includes Media Vision's Pro Audio Wavetable/SRS sound card, the high-end product of the new wavetable series. The new line of wavetable 16-bit sound cards also includes an entry-level card Pro Audio Wavetable. Pro Audio Wave table will have a suggested retail price of $129. An optional daughter card called Korg Pro will continue to be sold as a wavetable upgrade. The Wavetable/SRS will retail for $199 and the daughter card featuring the Korg engine for professional
musicians will retail for $199. The SRS card will ship in June.
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Marnee Clement Media Vision, 510-252-4715)
ss Contact: Marnee Clement Media Vision, 510-252-4715)
4/6/95
Media Vision To Ship Quad-Speed, Wavetable Sound Kit
Compaq Offers Pentium PCs To Con
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Saying it is the right time, Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) has announced it is entering the home computing market with Pentium-based PCs as part of a 12 model rollout.
The Pentium-based PCs for home use are new offerings in Compaq's Presario line. Some of the new models will come with an integrated monitor with built-in stereo speakers, a speakerphone, and the ability to display television pictures. All the new models include a quad-speed CD-ROM drive.
Compaq spokesperson, John Sweney, told Newsbytes the company is offering Pentium-class systems for the home user for the first time because the company feels the time is right. "We made a conscious decision not to put Pentiums into that market last year because we felt the 'sweet spot' of the market was still in 486's." Compaq reported record sales in 486-based PCs during the fourth quarter of 1994.
Sweney told Newsbytes the factors that make the "timing right," include the availability of parts at the "right price" and a system that "balances high performance components" like a quad-speed CD-ROM with a "powerful processor" like the Pentium. "Then you have a system that doesn't have a bottleneck," said the Compaq spokesperson.
The new systems include 500, 700, and 900 models. The 500 series estimated selling prices range from $1,849 to $1,999, and will include the integrated monitor. Eight megabytes (MB) of memory is standard with all three 500 models, and you can get hard drives of 420MB or 535MB capacity. All 500 models are powered by a 486 chip.
The three models in the 700 series with hard drives of 535MB and 725MB range from $1,699 to $2,099, but that does not include the multimedia monitor, which adds built-in speakers and microphone. One is powered by a 486 chip, while the others come with the Pentium chip.
The 900 series is a line of six mini-towers that will start at $1,799 and run up to $2,999 without the multimedia monitor. All but one, which uses a 486 chip, are equipped with Pentium processors. Hard drives are available in 535MB, 725MB, and one gigabyte capacities.
Buyers also get a range of software with the Compaq systems and a games disk configuration utility that lets you create a DOS boot diskette so you can install and play DOS-based games more easily. The game disk utility is designed to help avoid possible incompatibilities and memory conflicts with DOS-based games.
(Jim Mallory/19950406/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq 713-374-1564; Public contact: Compaq, 713-374-1459)
74-1564; Public contact: Compaq, 713-374-1459)
4/6/95
Compaq Offers Pentium PCs To Consumer Market
CompuServe UK Prepares Online Sh
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- CompuServe will launch the UK's first comprehensive online home shopping service on April 27, Newsbytes can reveal.
According to CompuServe, the company has established a good line up of major retailers and mail-order companies to offer a UK version of the Electronic Mall, the US online shopping service. UK companies signed up to the Home Shopping service include: Virgin/Our Price CDs and videos; PC World, for hardware and software; Dixons, for audio visual entertainment products; Great Universal Stores, for sports and leisure; Tesco, for wine; W H Smith for books; and Interflora for flowers.
Plans call for the CompuServe UK Shopping Center to include up to 25 retailers by the end of the year.
Paul Stanfield, the center's manager, said: "Shoppers using CompuServe will be able to view hundreds of color images of goods across all markets and price brackets. In addition, secure credit card payments will be backed up by rapid dispatch to your home."
Sources also suggest that April 12 has been earmarked as the date when CompuServe will announce a radical change in its charging structure.
According to online industry sources, CompuServe is planning to axe its free off-peak "basic" services in favor of a two-tier charging system. Extended services will continue to cost around UKP3 an hour, but the basic services will cost UKP1.
CompuServe declined to comment on such suggestions. Newsbytes sources suggest that the new charging structure will commence in June.
(Steve Gold/19950406/Press Contact: SMI Group, +44-181-563-2222 Internet e-mail 75300.3310@compuserve.com; Reader Contact: CompuServe UK, tel +44-1734-391064, fax +44-1734-566458)
el +44-1734-391064, fax +44-1734-566458)
4/6/95
CompuServe UK Prepares Online Shopping
0NLINE
New Pricing For Prodigy, New Loo
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A, 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- Effective today, Prodigy is offering a new online pricing package called 30/30 which offers almost all of the online service's areas, including its World Wide Web service. The company also announced a new look to its interface within the next 60 days.
The 30/30 pricing program is a straight-forward 30 hours per month for $30. For the monthly fee, members will have full access to all of the standard features offered at the company's hourly rate. This includes electronic-mail, chat and the full Internet/Web offering.
Brian Ek, director of Prodigy communications, told Newsbytes, "We have heard that a number of our competitors are planning to announce a $1 per hour offering of Internet services including the Web. In response we decided to offer a package which offers our almost our entire service at that rate."
Members who opt for the 30/30 program will be charged Prodigy's standard hourly rate of $2.95/hour for any use of the service beyond the 30 hours.
Regarding the new interface look and additional features, Ek said, "We had planned to unveil P2 (an entirely new interface for the eight megabyte environment) to complement a prediction that Christmas sales of computer systems in 1994 would feature 8MB of RAM. Perhaps because of the delay of Microsoft's Windows 95, most of the systems sold were with 4MB of RAM during that time. This means most of our customers are using that configuration and we have now decided to incorporate the P2 features into our existing P1 look."
The changes to the interface and the features will be introduced in phases, the first of which will begin within 60 days. The P1 changes will be available to members accessing the service on the Windows platform. Macintosh members will have to wait until P2 is released.
At this time, the release of P2 remains unannounced, but according to Prodigy, development for P2 will continue for both platforms and an 8MB environment.
"Eventually, we plan to incorporate almost all of the P2 features into P1. The only thing from P2 you will definitely not see, is the true multitasking features and the full off-line manager," said Ek.
(Patrick McKenna/19950406/Press Contact: Brian Ek, Prodigy 914-448-8811)
s Contact: Brian Ek, Prodigy 914-448-8811)
4/6/95
New Pricing For Prodigy, New Look Coming
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
!M!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Dept. Of Defense Funds Holographic Storage Development 04/06/95 The Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) has agreed to provide about half of the funding for a project intended to develop a new type of optical data storage system.
2 -> Digiphone Internet Phone On 4-City Tour 04/06/95 Digiphone the software that lets you carry on long-distance phone conversations over the Internet without incurring long-distance phone charges, is taking to the road.
3 -> UK - Sheet Music By Fax Service 04/06/95 Music by Fax, a subsidiary company of Music Sales Limited, has started offering music sheets over the new British Telecom super-premium rate service. The service offers music sheets for 1,000 of "the world's greatest hits" by fax.
4 -> UK - New Internet Windows Encryption Software 04/06/95 Alliance Sales has unveiled Kryptomax for Windows, a Windows application that company officials claims is extremely easy to use. A key feature of the package is that encrypted files are self-decrypted -- the recipient can decrypt the file without the original Kryptomax package, provided the right password is keyed in by the recipient.
5 -> "Logistics Planning Workstation" for Windows NT 04/06/95 American Software (NASDAQ-NNM:AMSWA), The Supply Chain Management Company, has announced delivery of its new Logistics Planning Workstation (LPW) for Windows NT. The company claims LPW is the first supply chain management application available for Microsoft's Windows NT Server operating system.
6 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/06/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: Mitsubishi starts e-mail experiment; Communications Tokyo 1995; Sanyo's new notebook; Victor develops D-VHS; Sharp open an office in Ho Chi Minh City;
7 -> CorelDraw 6 Delayed, CorelWorld 95 Postponed 04/06/95 Corel Corp. has announced the postponement of its CorelDraw 6 product launch and CorelWorld 95, its heavily promoted Corel trade show and professional development conference slated for early June until mid-August. The announcement ends weeks of speculation that the release of Corel 6 would be delayed to correspond with the official release of Windows 95, also slated for August, 1995.
8 -> Virus Alert 3.4 For DOS Adds Tester, Scheduler 04/06/95 Look Software Inc., has announced the release of version 4.0 of its award-winning Virus Alert DOS anti-virus application, plus two new support utilities and a new Plus pack version aimed at network and online users.
9 -> ****High School Kids License Education Software To Apple 04/06/95 A group of Ottawa, Canada, high school students and their teacher have done what many would have said was impossible they have licensed an education- oriented software application which they developed over the past year, to Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AAPL), for distribution across the US.
10 -> WebFax Browses Web With Fax Machine 04/06/95 Universal Access Inc. has announced what the company describes as "the first product to search the Internet's World Wide Web without a computer." According to company spokesperson, Antonia Inman WebFax enables its users to navigate the Web during a touch-tone telephone call and transmit hypertext documents directly to a fax machine.
11 -> Encyclopaedia Britannica Looking For New Investors 04/06/95 The people who publish the world's most famous paper-based reference work is facing stiff competition from a new kid on the block -- CD-ROM encyclopedias. As a result, the owners of Encyclopaedia Britannica have announced they must find new investors, or they will sell the company.
12 -> Touchstone's Fastmove! Windows File Transfer Software 04/06/95 Touchstone Software is shipping FastMove!, a Windows-based PC-to-PC file transfer program with built-in virus scan, with a street price of under $50 for the software with cable.
13 -> IBM To Announce High-Performance Tape Technology 04/06/95 IBM (NYSE:IBM) next week will announce new tape storage technology for its large computers. The company is telling some customers that the new technology will cut the cost of tape processing by 80 percent.
14 -> Interleaf Pays To Settle Govt Fraud Claim 04/06/95 Interleaf Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAF), has agreed to pay the United States government $330,000 to settle a 10-year-old dispute over the prices it charged on a major government contract. The government's General Services Administration (GSA) had accused Interleaf of fraud for giving other customers deeper discounts than it gave the government.
15 -> Does US Need Science Czar? 04/06/95 Does the US need a science czar heading a single science agency?
16 -> SPA Says "Don't Cut School Tech Funds" 04/06/95 Save spending for technology in schools, the Software Publishers Association has told Congress.
17 -> Japan - Electronics Giants Budget For 90 Yen To US$1 04/06/95 Major Japanese electronics companies NEC and Fujitsu say they are planning their 1995 budgets with an assumed exchange rate of 90 Japanese yen to the US dollar. Last year the same companies used a rate of 100 yen to the dollar.
18 -> Digital Video-On-Demand Net For Healthcare 04/06/95 Alcatel Network Systems, along with Lambert Communications, EMC Corporation, and other companies, is launching HealthNet 2000. The new system is described as the "first" digital, interactive video-on-demand network for hospitals, managed-care organizations and other healthcare-related offices.
19 -> Japan - Council Begins Study Into NTT Changes 04/06/95 The Japanese Post and Telecommunications Ministry today asked the Telecommunications Council to study ways of reforming Japan's Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT).
20 -> Canadian Multimedia Firms Merge 04/06/95 Two Canadian multimedia communications firms -- McGill Multimedia Inc. and Frameworks Communications Inc. -- have announced a merger. The combined company will keep the McGill name.
21 -> "The Great Internet Easter Egg Hunt" Is On! 04/06/95 Easter eggs in cyberspace? They are indeed there, the Branch Information Services said, and the race to find them is on!
22 -> Fonix Attempts Voice-Recognition Technology Lead 04/06/95 Fonix Corp. (NASDAQ: FONX) hopes to grab the lead in the voice-recognition arena when it produces an Alpha-test prototype system in the next few months that does not need to be trained in order to understand dictation and spoken computer commands.
23 -> UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem Range 04/06/95 Pace has announced it has completed its family of V.34 (28,800 bits-per-second -- bps) modems, making it the first company in the UK to do so.
24 -> France - Alcatel Unveils Avanza Networking 04/06/95 Alcatel Data Networks, the new joint venture company set up by Alcatel and Sprint, has unveiled Avanza, a "multi-service architecture" that the company claims was designed to create a "seamless switching environment" through the public and private enterprise networking marketplace.
25 -> UK - Psion-Dacom's Budget PCMCIA "Slot Drive" For PCs 04/06/95 Psion Dacom has come up with a product for PC users of PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) technology with a desktop PC. It is called the Gold Drive, and is a PCMCIA slot in standard 3.5-inch disk casing for fitting inside a desktop PC.
26 -> Media Vision To Ship Quad-Speed, Wavetable Sound Kit 04/06/95 Media Vision Technology has announced a quad-speed CD-ROM multimedia kit which includes a wavetable sound card and is ready for the Windows 95 "Plug and Play" feature. The company also announced a series of wavetable sound cards to be shipped next month.
27 -> Compaq Offers Pentium PCs To Consumer Market 04/06/95 Saying it is the right time, Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) has announced it is entering the home computing market with Pentium-based PCs as part of a 12 model rollout.
28 -> CompuServe UK Prepares Online Shopping 04/06/95 CompuServe will launch the UK's first comprehensive online home shopping service on April 27, Newsbytes can reveal.
29 -> ****New Pricing For Prodigy, New Look Coming 04/06/95 Effective today, Prodigy is offering a new online pricing package called 30/30 which offers almost all of the online service's areas, including its World Wide Web service. The company also announced a new look to its interface within the next 60 days.
(Ian Stokell/19950406)
(Ian Stokell/19950406)
4/6/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Belgacom Offers New Services, Cu
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Even though phone rates to call the US from Belgium are around 30 percent cheaper than they were five years ago, Belgacom, the former state controlled telecom company of Belgium, is having to face up to the competitive market. The company has just announced major discounts for its larger customers. At the same time, the company has upgraded its Virtual Private Network (VPN) services for data customers.
Under the new volume purchase agreements (VPAs) from Belgacom companies with annual combined gross billings of around $625,000 using national and international telephone lines, leased lines, VPNs, toll free circuits, telex and Inmarsat links, qualify for significant discounts.
Susan Mirback, president of Belgacom's US operations, describes the discounts as healthy. "Since we introduced VPAs last year, customer response has been very strong... as a market driven company, we know it is important to constantly refine and improve these kinds of discounts to better serve our customers' requirements. In fact, we are planning even further enhancements to our VPAs later this year," she said.
Discounts under VPAs now range from 21.5 to 36 percent depending on volume and destination. What's also interesting is that Belgacom has streamlined its world zones to just three: Western Europe, the US and Canada, and the rest of the world.
But companies can go elsewhere and get better deals on their calls Newsbytes notes. That's why Belgacom is also looking to keep existing as well as attract new customers with its VPN service, which has just been upgraded to fully redundant status.
This means that if, for any reason, a link should go down on the VPN servicing the customer, a backup route will kick in, no matter where on the virtual net the failure is. Coupled with support for variable length dialling codes (useful for international switching connections), Belgacom claims its VPN services are now the best in the business.
Belgacom +32-2-202 3111; Belgacom US 202-221-5270)
4/7/95
Belgacom Offers New Services, Cuts Telecom Rates
TELECOM
InContext Spider Called 1st Web
HP Intros New Consumer PCs Throu
Clarification - CompuServe UK Pr
GEnie Launches Internet Access T
France - Hot Bird 1 Sat TV Satel
PARIS, FRANCE, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Eutelsat has announced that Hot Bird 1, the new Arianespace TV satellite, has been launched successfully and is now being "nudged" into its 13 degrees east position where it will co-site with Eutelsat II-F1, one of the several Eutelsat TV satellites. The successful launch of Hot Bird 1 means that Astra's three satellites now have some serious competition in the Direct To Home (DTH) satellite broadcast business.
Hit Bird 1 will carry 16 channels, including European Business News (EBN), Eurosport, MTV Europe and the Sci-Fi Channel Europe.
The launch itself took place at 23:14 on March 28. The satellite will be put into a geostationary orbit using its three apogee motors. Once the satellite is in position, which should happen within the next few days, the full solar power array -- the power for the satellite itself -- will be deployed.
According to Eutelsat's spokeswoman, Vanessa O'Connor, Hot Bird 1's signal transponders are expected to go into commercial service at the end of this month. The satellite will be dedicated solely to TV and radio channels for broadcast on DTH and cable systems, with viewers ranging from Western Europe right over to the Mediterranean Basin.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, Eutelsat plans to launch two more satellites next year -- Hot Bird 2 in the summer, and Hot Bird 3 in the fall. Both the Hot Birds will support 20 TV channels each.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) told Newsbytes this week it has picked the image enhancing software that will be bundled with its latest digital camera. Kodak said it has selected PhotoEnhancer from PictureWorks Technology Inc., to include with the DC 40 digital camera.
PictureWorks is located in Danville, California.
PictureWorks said it will provide both Macintosh and Windows versions of its digital enhancement software to be packaged with the color digital camera.
As reported earlier by Newsbytes the point-and-shoot DC 4 will have a suggested retail price of less than $1,000 and stores images at 756 by 504 pixel (picture element) resolution. The flash memory used to store the images in the DC 4 until they are transferred to a personal computer was developed by Intel Corp. Intel spokesperson Anne Hall told Newsbytes the embedded flash memory uses four 8-megabit chips to store up to 48 images. The images are retained in memory when the camera is turned off. Images are downloaded to a PC via a serial cable.
PictureWorks said PhotoEnhancer was designed specifically for use with color digital cameras. The software has a feature called SmartPix, a technology that provides automatic correction for what PictureWorks describes as "a wide range of tricky lighting conditions that can impact picture quality." The company is referring to factors such as glaring sun, clouds, heavy shadows fluorescent light and the use of flash, the same things that affect pictures taken on conventional film.
PictureWorks said SmartPix uses a set of algorithms that can differentiate between pictures taken in fluorescent light and ones taken in normal daylight.
PhotoEnhancer also has a feature called "By Example," which provides on-screen visual examples for correcting common picture taking problems like over- or under-exposure, excessive brightness and too much contrast. "By Example" offers the user nine choices for improving the characteristics of the image. All you have to do is click on the one you like best.
PhotoEnhancer also comes with a picture browser. In addition to images made with a digital camera the software can also show images from scanners or those stored on photo CDs. The browser allows the user to view and sort pictures.
You also get the ability to change camera settings of the camera from the software, as well as download images or view pictures still stored in the digital camera.
(Jim Mallory/19950406/Press contact: David Beigie, Kodak 716-724-4244 or Lisa Wood Pictureworks Technology 510-855-2012/DC40950406/PHOTO)
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Tokyo IBM Japan enter the ATM market, high yen boosts PC sales; Itoh Shu enters global mobile phone market; Fujitsu exchanges technology with Samsung.
IBM Japan Enters The ATM Market
IBM Japan has announced it will begin building automatic teller machines from this autumn. The machines include computers running IBM's OS/2 Warp 32-bit operating system which, as well as providing standard ATM functions, will also enable operators to add optional audio and video to promote the services offered by the machine and bank in general.
High Yen Boosts PC Sales
A survey carried out by Japan's NHK News has found that sales of imported personal computers have been rising since the end of last year last year due to price cuts possible because of the strong yen. The survey found that computers imported from the United States directly by stores have seen price reductions of around 10% in just three months.
Itoh Shu Enters Global Mobil Phone Market
Itoh Shu has become the third major Japanese company to enter the global mobile telephone market. The company is to create a joint company by the end of this month with Airtouch Communications of the United States that will compete for the Japanese sector of the satellite phone market. Competition is expected to be fierce. Itoh Chio will use the satellites of the Globalstar a consortium that includes Loral, France Telecom and Daimler Benz. There are two other consortia also planning similar services to compete with the Globalstar system that will launch in 1997. Starting the same year will be a service operated by Motorola which is backed in Japan by DDI and Kyocera. A year later an Inmarsat service will begin which is being marketed in Japan by KDD, NTT DoCoMo, Nippon Telecom and others. The prices that Globalstar plans to charge, 35 to 53 cents a minute, are much lower than its competitors who plan charges of $3 and $2.50 respectively. The phone system allows for worldwide coverage with a single mobile phone thanks to a network of around 40 low earth orbiting satellites.
Fujitsu Exchanges Technology With Samsung
Fujitsu has arranged a technology exchange deal with South Korea's Samsung Electronics. Under the deal Fujitsu will gain knowledge in the manufacture of low cost, high quality thin film transistor, TFT, LCD display units. Fujitsu is anxious to catch up with its Japanese competitors in this field, having only completed their first TFT LCD factory last year. Samsung has access to Fujitsu technology for developing its own products.
(Martyn Williams/19950406)
Williams/19950406)
4/7/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Faxback Will Support Windows 95
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Faxback Inc., has announced it will support the poll-retrieve and binary file transfer features that will be part of Windows 95 when Microsoft's new operating system ships in August 1995. The Windows 95 support will allow users of personal computers equipped with Windows 95 to retrieve information from Faxback fax servers.
Windows 95 is expected to provide access to all Group II poll-retrieve fax devices as well as file transfer capabilities using the Microsoft At Work binary file transfer protocol. All you need in addition to Windows 95 is a Class 1 fax modem.
Faxback allows companies to make information about their products available via fax. An interested party with a touch-tone phone and a fax machine calls the product or service provider responds to a series of voice prompts by pressing keys on their touch-tone phone to indicate what information they want, and then enters their fax number. The Faxback system automatically faxes the requested documents.
Faxback spokesperson Ron Ares told Newsbytes Windows 95 users will also be able to conduct a file transfer between a Faxback server and their desktop once Windows 95 is installed there. While transferring native files and receiving faxes within the same call is not new, Ares said the capabilities of Windows 95 will make it a much more commonly used feature.
A year ago this month Faxback upgraded its fax-on-demand software to include a Microsoft Windows front end, a document manager and a fax server. The Faxback Docmanager allows tracking, creation and updating of documents, a feature the company said should be particularly helpful to users faxing large numbers of documents to callers. The fax server adds fax broadcast ability as well as allows any network workstation to access and send fax documents from a networked Faxback system. The software provides a phone book for fax broadcast number storage.
Ares told Newsbytes Faxback pricing starts at $8,500, depending on the number of add-on modules required. The basic system can handle up to nine document catalogs. Each additional module adds capacity for nine more catalogs.
Faxback was formed as a spinoff company of computer microprocessor maker Intel Corp., in June 1990 and is privately owned.
(Jim Mallory/19950406/Press contact: Ron Ares, Faxback 503-690-6355; Public contact: Faxback, tel 800-873-8753 or 503-690-6350 or fax 800-329-2225 or 503-690-6390)
fax 800-329-2225 or 503-690-6390)
4/7/95
Faxback Will Support Windows 95
WINDOWS
Philippines - Satellite Consorti
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 1995 APR 7 (NB) - Philippine Global Communications Inc., (Philcom) a private telecommunications firm, will be joining the Philippine Agila Satellite, Inc. (PASI) , a government-backed consortium of telecom firms, in the launch of a Phillipine-owned satellite.
According to PASI President Wigberto Clavecilla, other groups have expressed plans to join the consortium: Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (The Association of Professional Broadcasters of the Philippines); the state-owned television channel, People's Television 4 (PTV-4); and the Kampana Broadcasting Corp. (KBC) which operates the popular ultra- high frequency (UHF) television station, Southern Broadcasting Network (SBN) Channel 21.
The other group which has the same plan to launch the first Philippine satellite, Mabuhay, is likewise gaining headway with their project. Led by telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT), Mabuhay has enlisted the support of foreign partners like PT Telecom and Pacific Satellite Nusantura of Indonesia, China's Everbright, and three local companies: Philippine Communications Satellite Corp. (Philcomsat), Republic Broadcasting System - GMA Channel 7, and Cable Entertainment Co.
PASI on the other hand is composed of at least 12 private telecom companies which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC). The department made an earlier announcement that the first Philippine satellite will be launched on December 31, 1996.
Alfredo Panizales, vice president and general manager of Domestic Satellite Philippines, Inc. (Domsat) said Channel 21 has also expressed interest in investing and acquiring five transponders from PASI. PTV-4 also wants to invest in the consortium.
Panizales said in a press statement that they have started to issue requests for procurement with satellite suppliers last week.
The consortium has considered offers from four contractors so far: US-based firms Martin Marietta and Space Systems Loral, GE Amerikom and French firm Aerospatiale.
Another French firm, Arianespace, still fresh from the successful launch of its 71st rocket last March 28, offered to launch the country's first satellite.
Panizales said PASI is assured of acquiring at least one orbital slot specifically 161 degrees by June 1996 at the latest.
Barring any hitches, two satellites will be simultaneously launched come 1996. The first one is composed of 26-C-band transponders and either 14 or 16 Ku-band transponders, primarily for domestic and regional use to be beamed to the West Coast, Hawaii and Guam. The second one, a potential backup, will have additional coverage of the ASEAN region, particularly Taiwan, Hong King and Brunei Darussalam.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- We've entered the second phase of networking. Until now we've thought of our networks as something you can draw on a piece of paper. Show a box here for a server, 50 boxes for PCs scattered around, perhaps in a few groups, add a couple of printers and a perhaps fax server. Then draw lines to show how they all connect together, with some more boxes for wiring closets and hubs.
Later you can add some more boxes for PCs and the associated lines but you'll always know that everything on the pages equates to a real piece of equipment, located in a fixed spot. In fact, with some of the new intelligent hubs like Distributed 5000 from Bay Networks, you can wire everything back to the hub in the wiring closet, then make the connections on screen. That way as you change the network layout picture, the real thing changes too.
But in many ways, that's yesterday's thinking. It's nice and neat and you know where everything is, but it doesn't allow for the one thing that many people do in their working day. They move around. And not only do they move around, but sometimes they won't need the network and sometimes you'll have lots of visitors who do.
For network services to continue to grow more like the people who use them, we'll have to throw away the idea of hard wiring and think in terms of offering services where and as they're needed.
For instance, take a modern department store. Each sales position needs mains power, access to the store's computer system for pricing stock control, discounts and so on, as well as access to the central credit card facility which may be on the other side of town or in another city completely.
The floor is no longer equipped with built-in counters and display units. Everything is modular and moveable at the floor manager's whim. She might decide to move the men's accessories counter a couple of meters closer to the escalator while also moving the shirt counter a couple of meters in the opposite direction.
Power isn't usually a problem as the floor is equipped with power wells every few meters in any direction. All they have to do is place the counter over one of these wells, open the trapdoor and plug in. But access to the computer and credit approval line used to involve hard wiring a network cable and a telephone cable to the counter - not easy to move in a hurry.
The answer is elegant and simple. Combine the entire sales data into one stream and connect this terminal back to the store's computer, not by hard-wired network, but by a relatively inexpensive wireless network card. That way you only need to place wireless concentrators every hundred meters or so around the sales area, probably in the ceiling, out of the way.
While these units may only have data rates of around one megabit per second, that won't slow the transaction a bit. And it allows for spontaneous changes such as sending an extra terminal to a busy sales counter, or to a promotional counter set-up at the entrance of the store over the lunch-time peak hour. Now equate that to the traditional office and you start to see how the flexibility could be used.
Just as a wireless LAN adaptor can be used for a relocatable network station, it can also be used for a truly portable or roaming application. In our department store example, the floorwalker could be equipped with a handheld terminal and be able to roam throughout the shop floor, or even between floors, with constant access to the network. This is much the same way a cellular phone system works, with the closest or most appropriate wireless hub connecting the floorwalker's computer to the network.
Of course, this flexibility comes at a price. Our existing network hierarchies will have to be modified to allow for the new ways it will be used. If the floorwalker moves outside the network's reach for a while, he will expect it to be aware that he doesn't want to be logged off due to inactivity, but simply placed on hold. Any network traffic should be delayed until his computer is accessible again. That means more-flexible network operating systems.
It isn't only radio-based network connections that will change our networks either. A number of manufacturers are standardizing on infra-red communications between devices. Hewlett-Packard has had infra-red communications on its hand-held computers for some time and now offers a complementary printer and optional infra-red port on its desktop computers. IBM has placed an infra-red port on its new Butterfly notebook computer and various other manufacturers have similar features or options.
This means that over the next couple of years, network administrators will have to decide how to handle guest privileges on their networks. If you have an area where the company's sales reps can sit down with their notebook computers and be given access to the network for transferring their day's orders, what do you do about visiting reps from interstate offices? That's no different to having them use a fixed PC, so if they have rights in another area, these can be transferred. But what about a guest who doesn't have any network rights? How do you allow her to have limited network access without going through a complicated authorization process?
Before you say that's asking too much, if all you had in the room was a printer with an infra-red port, the visitor would presumably be able to use it if she had compatible equipment, so why not offer similar services through the network. It isn't too big a jump to the day when a group of visitors from a number of different organizations assemble in your boardroom for a meeting. They all take out their Apple Newtons, or whatever, and as they switch them on, the company network recognizes them and announces "Welcome to Acme Engineering. The services we have available for you include Internet access, printing internal company mail and a fax server. Enjoy!"
So far we've still been inside the building. But it doesn't stop there. Most countries now have a wireless digital public network which allows users to roam around the city, or around the country, yet still stay connected to the company network. It might be too expensive to maintain a permanent, real-time connection, but ad-hoc connections are quite economical. For example, the insurance company assessor can go on-site and, if necessary, query the database back at head office send an urgent e-mail to a colleague, take a photo with a digital camera, then send it back to the office instantly, then finally get the go-ahead, or whatever.
Network hierarchies need to become more flexible to allow for these new ways of accessing the network. But this also means a more flexible approach to network security. That doesn't mean reducing security, it may even mean adding more security as the ways of connecting to the network increase.
Finally, a reminder that all of this new technology must be used sensibly. It's all too easy to get caught up in the technology rush installing each new feature as it comes on the market, whether it's useful or even appropriate in your situation
(Paul Zucker/19950406)
appropriate in your situation
(Paul Zucker/19950406)
4/7/95
Editorial - The Second Phase Of Networking - No Wires!
EDITORIAL
NETWORK
Novell/Ericsson Computer Telepho
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Novell and Ericsson Business Networks have announced the availability of a new range of jointly branded products which they claim deliver fully integrated computer telephony integration (CTI), teleworking and multimedia systems for the commercial marketplace. Products available in this new range include the High Security Teleworker, High Speed Teleworker Portable Teleworker, the Teleworker Access kit and a Telephony Server Applications Programming Interface (TSAPI) system for the Consono MD110 Private Branch Exchange (PBX).
According to Lars Boman, vice president and general manager for Ericsson Business Networks, the products are the result of a relationship between the two companies dating back to last December.
"Users will now have easy to use and flexible access to both European data and voice networks, despite where they are physically located," he explained.
Over at Novell's European headquarters, Ian Fraser, the company's vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that the successful integration of data and comms networks "is a critical factor in the ultimate delivery of the information superhighway."
This, he claims, is part of Novell's "Pervasive Computing" strategy. "The products which Novell is developing and marketing in partnership with Ericsson clearly define the ways in which people will use computing and telephony in the future," he said.
The linkup between Novell and Ericsson, initially at least, will apply to products sold through Ericsson's existing channels in Europe. Ericsson is in the process of creating the "required channel programs to ensure that the products will be supplied and supported through this new channel."
So what are these new products? The High Security, High Speed and Portable Teleworker products are all hardware/software combinations that allow PC users at home to gain dial-up modem access to their Novell NetWare computer networks at work, as well as other host computer systems and any TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)-based network to retrieve centrally held files and e-mail.
The systems are billed as easy to install and are capable of sending and receiving faxes as well as data calls. The High Security system includes Novell's LAN Workplace v4.2 and NetWare remote Node, plus an encrypted high speed modem. The High Speed system includes LAN Workplace 4.2, NetWare Remote Node and an encrypted high-speed modem working at speeds up to 28,800 bits per second (bps).
The Portable Teleworker, meanwhile, is a PCMCIA modem-based version of the High Security system, but without the encryption features.
The Network Access Kit is a kit that allows the network manager to create a high security modem pull for a Novell NetWare network. The system can be configured to support four or more modems.
Pricing on the new products depends on which reseller channel the systems are being sold through, and which products are bundled together.
(Steve Gold/19950407/Press Contact: A Plus +44-1753-790700; Reader Contact: Novell UK +44-1344-724000)
1753-790700; Reader Contact: Novell UK +44-1344-724000)
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- As Cellnet and Vodafone report record signups to their analog and GSM (global system for mobile) cellular networks for the first quarter of this calendar year, the two PCN (personal communications network) services are also slugging it out in the 1.8 gigahertz (GHz) waveband in the UK.
Mercury One-2-One has announced that its subscriber numbers reached 260,000 at the end of March of this year, up from 205,000 subscribers at the end of 1994. This puts One-2-One ahead by 100 percent of Orange, the Hutchison-Whampoa-owned PCN network.
What's interesting is that One-2-One was launched in September '93 while Orange was launched a year ago. Plotting the sales figures on a graph suggests that, despite its regional nature, One-2-One is growing faster. This may have something to do with its free off-peak local calls campaign, although, as reported recently by Newsbytes, customers on this tariff have seen their monthly line rental creep up from UKP 12-50 to UKP 15-00 a month.
Richard Goswell, One-2-One's managing director, said that he was pleased when announcing the figures. Although careful not to mention Orange, he said that " breaking through a quarter of a million customers after just 18 months in service is a major achievement."
"In the highly competitive market for mobile phones, reaching 260,000 customers is testimony to the success of the One-2-One service. Looking to the future, we expect to continue the rapid growth of our customer base and increase market share by maintaining our leadership position in providing value for money tariffs and services attractive to both businesses and consumers," he said.
So what about Orange? The last few weeks have seen dealers and end users alike bemoaning the fact that there is a shortage of Nokia phones for the Orange network. Orange itself has blamed Nokia for failing to anticipate the chipset requirements of the phone.
Against this backdrop, Orange is preening itself instead on the basis of its performance at last week's Mobile News awards, held at the Cafe Royale, London. Orange won Best Customer Service and Best Advertising/Marketing Campaign Awards.
In the Best Customer Service category, the judges noted that "Orange succeeds at conveying a customer oriented approach and seems to have a commitment to customer service."
Lisa Gernon, group director at Hutchison Telecom, said that the two awards "demonstrate how Orange continues to break the mold in the UK through outstanding customer service, distinctive branding, as well as providing a better value deal for the customer on a quality national network."
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to set up a series of investigative committees to look at the possibility of "steering" the development of multimedia technology and the information superhighway generally in Europe. As part of the investigations, the EC plans to set up an office to promote multimedia and the info superhighway.
The aim is to set up a library facility at the Commission's headquarters to allow visitors to listen to audio files, look at video files and "visit" museums across the Internet.
As part of the multi-million dollar project, The Ministry for Culture within the EC has formed a working party to look at the technical and legal challenges these technologies offer European citizens. The working party will report back to the Council of Ministers next March.
In an outline mission statement, the EC said that "member states and the European Community have important and catalytic roles in developing the creation, the production, and the distribution of quality multimedia cultural works."
Ministers have refuted suggestions that the working party approach will assist, and not block the development of information technology (IT) in Europe. Industry watchers, however, remain extremely skeptical of the EC's plans in this area, Newsbytes can report.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950407/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission 32-2-299-1111)
07/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission 32-2-299-1111)
4/7/95
European Commission Looks At Multimedia & Info Superhighway
Clarification - CompuServe UK Pr
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- In a story headed "CompuServe UK Prepares Online Shopping 04/06/95," some editions of Newsbytes made reference to industry suggestions that a rate change is in the offing for CompuServe, with the possibility that the off-peak free basic services rate would be abolished. Debra Young of CompuServe's public relations division has contacted us to say that the free off-peak basic services facility will remain in place, but that a rate change announcement will be made early next week.
This rate change, Young told Newsbytes, will involve the introduction of a new rate for Internet usage, to take account of the recent introduction of Internet services for CompuServe's subscribers.
Full details of these rate changes will be revealed on Monday, Young told Newsbytes.
Our apologies for the misunderstanding.
(Steve Gold/19950407/Press Contact: Debra Young, CompuServe US 614 538-4553)
/Press Contact: Debra Young, CompuServe US 614 538-4553)
4/7/95
Clarification - CompuServe UK Prepares Online Shopping
CORRECTION
ONLINE
Joint Lexis-Nexis Venture To Hav
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Lexis-Nexis, Philips Dictation Systems, and US MicroShare Inc., have announced plans to work together on a large-vocabulary speech recognition system for lawyers. The system will let lawyers perform searches on Lexis-Nexis' online databases as well as do other computing chores using voice commands.
The system will be based on technology developed by Philips Dictation Systems, a Vienna-based subsidiary of Philips Electronics N.V. of the Netherlands, and currently in use in medical applications.
Lexis-Nexis (formerly Mead Data Central), a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., and operator of the Lexis online legal database, is contributing legal text to help develop the vocabulary. Lorain Ohio-based technology consulting firm US MicroShare is to create the legal vocabularies for specific practice areas. Lexis Nexis and US Microshare will sell the system under an existing joint marketing agreement between the two companies.
The system will have a vocabulary of about 50,000 words, a spokeswoman at Philips told Newsbytes. Judi Schultz, a spokeswoman for Lexis-Nexis, explained that a key point about the new system will be its ability to recognize continuous speech. Lexis-Nexis already offers Talk Time, a system that makes it possible to search the company's databases using voice commands but Talk Time, like many of today's speech-recognition systems requires the user to leave a distinct gap after each word.
Besides Lexis-Nexis searches, the system will let lawyers do word processing, time entry, document preparation and assembly, and assorted administrative tasks on computers using spoken commands Lexis-Nexis said.
The companies hope to release the continuous speech recognition system by the middle of this year. Marketing will probably focus on the United States at least initially, Schultz told Newsbytes.
(Grant Buckler/19950407/Press Contact: Judi Schultz, Lexis-Nexis 513-865-7466, Internet judith@lexis-nexis.com; Koen Bouwers Philips Dictation Systems, 415-434-7715, fax 415-434-7729; Peter Grey, U.S. MicroShare, 216-282-3848, fax 216-282-3807)
rey, U.S. MicroShare, 216-282-3848, fax 216-282-3807)
4/7/95
Joint Lexis-Nexis Venture To Have Voice Recognition
ONLINE
Canadian Info Highway Group Pond
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- The Canadian government's Information Highway Advisory Council is discussing proposals to control access to certain kinds of content on online networks, and possibly to discourage or prohibit online pornography or hate literature.
The recommendations of the Access and Social Impacts Working Group, presented to the council at a recent meeting, focus mainly on voluntary measures and ways of restricting access to some material. However, there are hints of censorship, especially in the recommendation that "the federal government should actively pursue bilateral and multilateral arrangements at the international level in order to deal with jurisdictional problems in the control of offensive communication on global networks."
The key practical argument against censorship of the Internet and other global networks is that no government either has jurisdiction over the whole network or can control access to material posted on the network outside its borders. The working group seems to be suggesting an attempt to change that.
The task force also has on its agenda plans to develop legislation "clarifying the liability of (electronic bulletin board system) operators for content on their systems," David Sutherland, co-chair of the Access and Social Impacts Working Group, told Newsbytes.
Other recommendations of the working group call for the development of a model code of ethics for information providers and a method for dealing with complaints related to it, and for a technical committee to study ways of restricting access so that for instance, parents and schools could stop children from viewing violent or sexual material via electronic networks.
The task force's Learning and Training Working Group made similar recommendations about controlling children's access to "inappropriate materials."
The working group also urged the federal government to mount a publicity campaign to spread the message that existing laws apply to computer communications.
(Grant Buckler/19950407/Press Contact: Nick Heseltine Information Highway Task Force, 613-993-3508)
eseltine Information Highway Task Force, 613-993-3508)
4/7/95
Canadian Info Highway Group Ponders Content Controls
ONLINE
SPA Wins First Rental Case
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- A federal court has ruled in favor of the Software Publishers Association in the first case to test the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990, which prohibited unauthorized rental of computer software.
The court ruled against Global Software & Accessories, which operates three stores on Long Island. At the stores, according to Sandra Sellers, SPA litigation director, software is offered under a "deferred billing plan." The plan allows customers to take software home and keep it for up to five days for a fee called a "non-refundable deposit" that is only a fraction of the purchase price.
If the customer keeps the software for more than five days, the customer is charged the difference between the deposit and the purchase price. Global Software argued that this practice did not constitute a rental.
But the evidence showed that the software is returned 99 percent of the time and US District Judge Leonard Wexler rejected the argument. Wexler ruled that the deferred billing plan is copyright infringement, which could result in up to $100,000 in damages.
Sellers told Newsbytes that "apart from being the first decision under the 1990 law, this case reaffirms that copyright laws are not easily circumvented. A court will look behind the label and call a rental by its true name."
Sellers said the case was brought in 1993, because the law could not go into effect until the software rental company purchased new software for rent. "That happen in 1992," she said.
According to Sellers, there are no other cases pending under the 1990 law. "But we have a whole list of firms we may go after," she said. "Our hope is that they will fold when they see this decision."
Global Software has filed a motion for a new trial, Sellers said. They also have 60 days to appeal the decision. The company did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Whatever funds SPA collects from the suit will go into its special anti-piracy account, Sellers said. She added that the account had accumulated $14 million over the years.
~ FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Today's computer-savvy kids can use their computer skills to help them find the right private school or college, says the Independent Educational Consultants Association.
"This is the time of the year juniors are beginning their college search in earnest," Eileen Kugler of IECA told Newsbytes. "In addition, parents of many students of all ages are exploring private school options." And in that environment she says, technology can be a help.
According to Mark Sklarow, executive director of the group that represents educational consultants in Washington, a number of online services provide information on colleges, with a wide variety of information on issues such as financial aid admissions, and testing.
Also, many colleges and universities have useful home pages on the World Wide Web. And, says Sklarow, an increasing number of schools and colleges offer videotaped tours to supplement traditional printed catalogs and information packets.
CD-ROMs are also in the picture. "A young person who is more comfortable with a computer than a guidebook may gain a great deal from visiting a college through an interactive CD-ROM program," says Steve Antonoff, an educational consultant in Denver.
But human judgment is still important. "Technology can help a family be better informed, but that doesn't always makes the choice clearer," says Antonoff. "Families still need to analyze the best learning environment for the student and make a judgment about the appropriateness of a school or college."
That's where a consultant may be useful, says Antonoff. "While a video tour can be useful, there is nothing like the personal experience of a consultant who has visited schools and colleges all over the country," he says.
Educational consultants are also turning to computer technology to increase productivity, says IECA. For example, Ethna Hopper of Washington, DC, uses e-mail to communicate with overseas clients. Miriam Bodin says her Los Altos, Calif., firm has "computerized our job-tracking and billing so we spend less time on those tasks and more with our clients."
IECA is sponsoring a conference on technology issues in Pittsburgh early next month, including a presentation on "Technology and Moral Drift" by Randy Testa of Dartmouth College.
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- DEC has unveiled a trio of network configuration switches aimed at rounding out its "three-by-three matrix" of workgroup, departmental, and enterprise switches, along with Hubwatch 4.0, an upgrade to its network management software that adds the new "Hubloader" software upgrade capability, a fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) tree, and FDDI loop protection.
"DEC's been the only vendor to offer Ethernet, FDDI, and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) switching. And now, with the three new port-level configuration Portswitch 900 switches, we have a complete line of workgroup, departmental, and enterprise switches for each of the three topologies," maintained Bruce Sweet engineering manager in DEC's Network Products Business Group, in an interview with Newsbytes.
The three new Ethernet switches also provide new "intrusion protection" and "autolearning" security features, Sweet told Newsbytes.
The Portswitch 900 configuration switches are designed to let users build "virtual local area networks (LANs)" by interconnecting any combination of ports to "individual, secure" LAN segments. Each of the configuration switches can be used as a stand-alone switch, or as a module in the DEChub 900 MultiSwitch hub, according to the engineering manager.
DEC's new Portswitch 900FP is a 12-port, 10BaseFL/FOIRL fiber optic configuration switch targeted at enterprise switching, Sweet added. "The 900FP would generally be used as a vertical riser in a building, or when multiple fibers are being run out of a building to bring other hubs in," he explained.
The new Portswitch 900TP and Portswitch 900CP are both workgroup switches, typically used "to cluster users together," noted the DEC exec. The 900TP is a 32-port, 10-BaseT configuration switch. The 900CP is a 16-port, 10-Base2 (Thinwire) configuration switch.
Through a newly added intrusion protection mode, the network manager can opt to have a Portswitch 900 switch "literally `step' on packets, and so prevent unauthorized users from entering the network," said Sweet.
The new autolearning capability, on the other hand, monitors the network to learn MAC addresses, and then "binds" the MAC addresses to the port when instructed by the administrator to "lock down," he told Newsbytes.
To illustrate how autolearning might be used, Sweet gave the example of dorms on a college campus. During the first week of the semester, when students are first setting up their laptops, the Portswitch 900 switch would "learn" the MAC addresses of each PC he said.
Then, after being told by the college network administrator to "lock down," the switch would be able to detect the addition of any other computers.
The new edition of DEC's Windows-based, simple network management protocol (SNMP)-based Hubwatch software adds support for DEC's GigaSwitch ATM, as well as for the three new Ethernet configuration switches, so that all of DEC's network switches are now supported according to Sweet. Support for Novell's NetWare Management System (NMS) has been added, as well.
Sweet described the new Hubloader feature in Hubwatch 4.0 as a "graphical, point-and-click software upgrade capability that is much easier to use than the previous, command line-driven interface."
The new FDDI loop protection feature is a piece of software that "goes out and calculates the topology the user is building in the hub, and then prevents the user from inadvertently creating a loop," he reported.
The new FDDI tree is intended to provide new ways of building FDDI rings. Hubwatch 4.0 also includes new capabilities for fault tolerance, Newsbytes was told.
Aside from Novell's NMS, the network management software supports Hewlett-Packard's OpenView, Polycenter Netview, and DEC ManageWorks, according to Sweet.
DEC's Portswitch 900FP is shipping now, at pricing of $5,990. Portswitch 900TP, Portswitch 900CP, and Hubwatch 4.0 are slated for availability in May. Pricing is $5,500 for Portswitch 900TP $5,500 for Portswitch 900CP, and $495 for Hubwatch 4.0. Hubwatch upgrades start at $99.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950406/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Susan Ursch, DEC, 508-486-5198; Lisa Downey, Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
ey, Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
4/7/95
DEC Portswitch 900 Switches, Hubwatch 4.0
NETWORK
Newsbytes Week In Review
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- This is a regular Friday feature, summarizing some of the more interesting stories covered by Newsbytes this week: Motorola Licenses Radio System McCaw Invests In Nextel; McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In Nextel; Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave; Berkeley Speech & Franklin In 'Harassment' Suit; US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network Connectors; Free Security Software Could Cause Internet Havoc; and High School Kids License Education Software To Apple.
In the story "Motorola Licenses Radio System, McCaw Invests In Nextel" from 04/05/95, Newsbytes reported that Motorola's Land Mobile Products Sector (LMPS) said it will begin licensing the "essential intellectual property rights" for "infrastructure and subscriber interfaces" for its MIRS (Motorola Integrated Radio System) technology. The company said it will sell the rights to alternate suppliers in the wireless communications industry. The firm also said it is changing MIRS's name to iDEN, or Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network, to reflect the change to a non-proprietary system, and to emphasize the target market of providing wireless communications for workgroups.
In the story, "McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In Nextel" from 04/05/95 Newsbytes reported that Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CALL) announced it is receiving a cash infusion of up to $1.1 billion, and a new member of its board of directors, courtesy of wireless communications pioneer Craig McCaw. He and members of his family will be making the investment, while McCaw will take the seat on the board. McCaw also said he would provide strategic direction of the company to focus on enhanced two-way radio dispatch services for business users who need integrated wireless communications. He has said the development of multiple wireless services packaged into one device is important and he wants Nextel to develop that customer base. McCaw feels that by combining dispatch, messaging, and data in combination with telephone connect, Nextel will enhance the quality of life for mobile work teams.
In the story, "Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave," from 04/05/95, Newsbytes reported that Michael Spindler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced major organization changes in the company. Part of that announcement included the resignation of Ian Diery, executive vice president of Apple's Personal Computer division. Apple said the new changes are designed to create a new focus on the company's strongest markets home, education, business, and entertainment.The first new division created is the Worldwide Marketing and Customer Solutions organization to be headed by Daniel Eilers who recently served as president and CEO of Apple's Claris software subsidiary. The new organization will focus on the home, business, and education markets, with the addition of a new entertainment industry unit. Both Claris and eWorld will also be under Eilers' direction.
In the story, "Berkeley Speech & Franklin In 'Harassment' Suit," from 04/05/95, Newsbytes reported that Berkeley Speech Technologies (BST) filed suit against Franklin Electronic Publishers, charging that Franklin has "harassed" Seiko and Group Sense Limited with threats of lawsuits, and that Franklin also threatened Seiko with seizure of its products by US Customs. Franklin Electronic Publishers denies all allegations. The complaint revolves around "The Franklin Exception Dictionary (FED)," a piece of software code containing "phonemic representations" produced by BST "on or about 1987" that modified BST's existing text-to-speech (TTS) dictionary for use "in a contemplated talking dictionary to be marketed by Franklin," according to a copy of BST's suit obtained by Newsbytes.
In the story, "US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network Connectors," from 04/05/95, Newsbytes reported that Farallon Computing said the US Customs Service in San Francisco located and seized 4,000 network connectors which infringe the company's patented technology for Phonenet connectors. There are more than five million Phonenet network connectors in use worldwide on the Macintosh platform. In an interview with Michael Zukerman, in-house legal counsel for Farallon, Newsbytes learned the company had inside information regarding a number of suspicious shipments entering the US. Farallon relayed that information to the Customs agents.
In "Free Security Software Could Cause Internet Havoc," from 04/05/95, Newsbytes reported that a program which some say has the potential of wreaking havoc with computer systems worldwide dubbed "Satan" (Security Administrator Tool For Analyzing Networks) was made available free of charge to the public. Billed by its creators as a tool "to help system administrators," Satan is designed to locate security flaws in a computer system and report them back to a user. The authors of the program said it recognizes several common networking-security problems and reports them "without actually exploiting them."
In the story, "High School Kids License Education Software To Apple," from 04/06/95, Newsbytes reported that a group of Ottawa, Canada high school students and their teacher have done what many would have said was impossible -- they have licensed an education-oriented software application, which they developed over the past year, to Apple Computer, for distribution across the US. Also, notes teacher Kerry Chalmers in the story, they did not even have to pitch the package to Apple, because the firm's Education Division called them about three months ago. The deal was finalized last week.
(Ian Stokell/19950407)
(Ian Stokell/19950407)
4/7/95
Newsbytes Week In Review
GENERAL
UK Firm Intros Business TV Distr
Newsbytes Week In Review
CA To License Gupta Database Tec
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Computer Associates International Inc., (NYSE:CA) has announced that it will license database technology from Gupta Corp. (NASDAQ:GPTA) to extend its CA-OpenIngres database line. Gupta's SQLBase technology will be the basis of CA-OpenIngres/Desktop, a database package for Microsoft Windows.
In a teleconference announcing the deal, Sanjay Kumar, president and chief operating officer of Computer Associates, said his company had been thinking for some time of extending the Ingres line -- which it bought from Ask Group Inc., in June, 1994 farther down into client/server computing. "We're now able to offer our clients a Windows database and a Windows 95 database," he said.
The initial version of CA-OpenIngres/Desktop will probably be available in about a month, Kumar said. Computer Associates and Gupta have agreed to joint development work aimed at better integrating SQLBase with OpenIngres. That will take several months, Kumar said, but in time the software will be able to "fully participate in the Ingres family," sharing capabilities such as database replication with the existing versions of CA OpenIngres.
For Gupta, the deal brings a welcome cash infusion as well as an endorsement of its SQLBase technology, said Umang Gupta president and chief executive of the Menlo Park, California firm. Computer Associates is to pay Gupta $7 million in cash for non exclusive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) rights to SQLBase, and will also give Gupta a long-term loan of $10 million.
Gupta denied that the CA deal rescued his company from financial trouble. Though he admitted the company did poorly in fiscal 1994, he said Gupta still had substantial cash reserves, even before the CA deal, which will augment those reserves further.
"I hope (the deal) helps to renew confidence in our company's strategy and ability to be an independent supplier of database technology," Gupta said. He also noted that the deal seems particularly appropriate since Gupta got its start thanks to an OEM agreement with Computer Associates that funded early development of SQLBase.
Pricing and shipment plans for CA-OpenIngres/Desktop will be announced later this month, Kumar said.
(Grant Buckler/19950407/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer Associates, 516-342-2391; Emily Cohen, Gupta, 415-975-2225; Public Contact: Computer Associates, 516-342-5224, fax 516-342
ter Associates, 516-342-5224, fax 516-342
4/7/95
CA To License Gupta Database Technology
WINDOWS
UK -- PPCP Full Motion Video PCM
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Even as recently as a year ago full motion video card technology was an expensive business, with users reporting full length PC cards as the norm. Now PPCP the portable products specialist, has come up with a successor to the bulky full motion video capture PC card, the Nogavision PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Assn.) card.
The UKP 399 card is a PCMCIA Type II card and is capable of turning a color notebook PC into a multimedia system, according to Mike Welbrock, PPCP's marketing director. With the card inserted and the supplied Windows applications loaded, the PC's screen can play full motion video at 25 frames per second from any source. Input can be taken from TV, camera, VCRs or laserdisc players.
"This is the first truly professional video PC card. It presents real time video in a much larger frame than other products for better viewing control of image recording," Welbrock explained, adding that the system offers a lot more to users "than still pictures and audio alone, while giving the added flexibility of being able to remove the card when it isn't needed."
The Nogavision PCMCIA card can accept both US and European (excluding France) video inputs (PAL or NTSC). The video display operates at 25 frames per second in PAL and 30 frames per second in NTSC format, in an on-screen window of up to 384 x 288 pixels in PAL or 320 x 240 in NTSC format. Still pictures are captured at 640 x 480 pixels resolution in 24 bit format.
The recommended host PC is a 386-based system or better, with at least 4 megabytes (MB) of memory and 3MB of hard disk space. In use, the card can be hot swapped, meaning that it can be removed and inserted into a PCMCIA slot while the PC is on.
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Catalink Direct an "online VAR (value-added reseller)" with a catalog of over 18,000 PC products, has set up shop on the Internet, with a new World Wide Web home page tailored to organizations as well as individual end users.
In a meeting with Newsbytes at Catalink headquarters in Norwood Massachusetts, William T. Murray, VP of sales, said that Catalink's "full" electronic PC product catalog -- accessible direct by modem for over a year now -- allows instant ordering and same-day delivery of all inventory from two "master VARs": Ingram-Micro and Intelligent Electronics.
Unlike traditional paper-based product catalogs, which can become quickly outmoded, the Catalink catalog gets real-time updates from Ingram Micro's product database, along with frequent batch updates from Intelligent Electronics, added Howard Samuels, Catalink's director of sales operations and business development, also during the meeting with Newsbytes.
"We're providing over $500 million in inventory, straight from the PC desktop," Murray told Newsbytes. The multimedia online catalog is aimed at providing the volume, variety, and immediate ordering and delivery needed by corporate buyers, but individual end users are also welcome to log on, browse, and place PC product orders, he explained.
Catalink also performs the same services as conventional VARs including systems integration and toll-free technical support Samuels asserted. To accommodate users on both coasts, Catalink's customer support phone line is open from 8 am to 9 pm. Catalink provides a 30-day money-back guarantee on all products.
Robert J. Crowell, Catalink's founder, president and CEO previously established NEECO, then the world's largest company owned PC reseller, Newsbytes was told. After NEECO's acquisition in 1990 by JWP Inc., Crowell became chairman and CEO of the $1.6 billion JWP Information Services. Catalink launched a direct-by modem catalog service in January, 1994, and purchased Computerware a VAR and systems integrator for the commercial, government and educational markets -- in February of this year.
Catalink's new Web home page is located at http://www.catalink.com. The home page is designed to let Internet users "preview" Catalink's full Personal Electronic Catalog and Ordering System (PECOS), according to the two officials.
After downloading a 1.2 megabyte (MB) "lite" version of the Windows-based PECOS software, a procedure that is estimated to take three to 15 minutes, Web users can view an electronic catalog of more than 50 pages of text, graphics and photos, plus a database of information on over 1,800 products.
Access to Catalink's full catalog, database and ordering system is then available, although at this point, Web users need to switch to direct-by-modem access to obtain these services. Catalink expects to provide a "completely secure" version of PECOS supporting Internet communications by the third quarter of this year.
Users also require the "full" version of PECOS for full access to Catalink services. But this software, offered on CD-ROM as well as on floppy, is available free-of-charge. Users can order PECOS from Catalink "through a simple mouse-click," Murray said.
In a demo for Newsbytes, conducted just before Catalink's Web home page announcement, Murray and Samuels showed Newsbytes how the full version of PECOS can be used to view product information, build electronic purchase lists, send purchase requisitions through a company's internal electronic mail system, and order products from Catalink via fax or e-mail.
Samuels told Newsbytes that after the user loads the PECOS floppy or CD-ROM on to the PC hard drive, the PECOS database/catalog is then automatically updated each time the user dials in to Catalink to reflect changes in product inventory and pricing.
PECOS provides essentially the same interface on floppy and CD-ROM except that CD-ROM users have access to product videos, whereas floppy users are restricted to text, graphics, animation and audio according to Samuels.
For "full credit security," PECOS uses passwords, as well as encryption on the graphical user interface (GUI) front end and de encryption on the Catalink server, the Catalink executive added.
PECOS was developed by Elcom Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Catalink that also licenses the PECOS technology to other companies, according to the officials.
Catalink is currently negotiating with other distributors or "master VARs" to include their product inventories in Catalink's online database, Samuels reported. "We're looking to establish a `live link' to MicroAge," the Catalink director told Newsbytes.
The PECOS software requires Windows 3.1 or higher. A sound card is needed for access to audio. For the CD-ROM edition of the software a double-speed CD-ROM drive is required.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950406/Reader Contact: Catalink Direct, 617 762-0202; Press Contact: Todd S. Defren, Sterling Hager for Catalink Direct, 617-259-1400, extension 228)
Hager for Catalink Direct, 617-259-1400, extension 228)
4/7/95
Catalink Direct's Online PC Catalog Adds Web Service
ONLINE
Net Day Gives Internet News Dail
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- To get Internet related news, it makes sense to get it from the Internet (except for Newsbytes, of course). To that end, Mecklermedia Corporation's (NASDAQ:MECK) MecklerWeb will start featuring "Net Day," a World Wide Web site devoted to the Internet and other communications technology.
"What's become increasingly clear is we needed to provide a separate area for not only what is going on in MecklerWeb, buy across the 'Net both globally and certainly the Web," Tony Abbott, senior vice president and general manager of MecklerWeb, told Newsbytes.
Abbott characterized Net Day as the first stop for people who are just getting out in the Internet, as well as for 'Net pros. Net Day will provide a hotlink to the "Web Site of the Day," which will be reviewed by Mecklermedia staff, along with offering a link to the popular net.Happenings site.
Net Daily will also offer news and reports updated each day, Abbott said. Stories from Mecklermedia staffers will be at the site, as well as selected back articles from Mecklermedia magazines Internet World, WebWeek, and VR World. In fact, the company said Net Day is designed to compliment the new WebWeek publication, which Newsbytes reported earlier this week. Abbott said news from other sources including Cowles/Simba Media Daily, will be in the Net Day site.
Abbott said "bits and pieces" are being added daily to the site, which is up and running. But the formal launch for Net Day is April 10, to coincide with Mecklermedia's Spring Internet World '95 Conference and Exhibition in San Jose, California. Live, hourly reports from the conference will appear on Net Day, a practice Abbott said should work with other shows and conferences.
A contest is also underway in Net Day. Abbott said the competition is pitting personal Web home pages against each other. Links are also provided to the pages. He said this is a fun contest, with a serious side, in that Net Day will look at developing standards for Web sites from the judging of the personal home pages.
Other future plans for the site include more news feeds, and a chat room.
The URL (uniform resource locator) that links to Net Day is http://www.mecklerweb.com.
Another recent enhancement to MecklerWeb is "VR Metropolis," which offers virtual reality fans weekly news stories. In the near future it will feature upcoming technologies that Abbott said will bring VR to the Internet.
(Bob Woods/19950407/Press Contacts: Nancy Melin Nelson, or Tony Abbott, of Mecklermedia Corporation, 203-226-6967, ext's 238 and 231, respectively. Public Contact: World Wide Web http://www.mecklerweb.com)
d Wide Web http://www.mecklerweb.com)
4/7/95
Net Day Gives Internet News Daily
ONLINE
Multimedia Software Teaches Pres
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across Stor
MCI Opens Internet Fashion Site
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 6 (NB) -- The lights from television cameras and the whir of autowinders from photographers might be missing, but the thrill of a fashion runway show and the hottest new clothes are now in cyberspace. MCI (NASDAQ:MCIC) announced what it calls the "first virtual aisle of style" on the Internet with the debut of "@fashion," to coincide with the fall fashion previews happening today in New York City.
The "@fashion" site, located on the World Wide Web, will offer unique "insider access" to the fashion world, MCI said. Included in the site will be monthly profiles of the hottest designers, "hip happening" reports, and beauty and glamour tips.
"We're bringing fresh, vibrant content and graphics to something that's more of a research tool," Paul Sims, MCI spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "We're hoping to bring a lot of new content similar to this to the Internet. We're providing the content, as well as the channel, and we see endless such 'channels' for Internet users. There might be an '@sports' channel or something similar soon."
MCI said "@fashion's" content will change with the seasons. Some of the site's offerings include the Internet's "first cyberfashion show," featuring Victor Alfaro and Mark Edge's clothing and jewelry fashions. Also, a "clothes circuit" section featuring VH-1's "Fashion TV" host Jeanne Beker will track trends in the fashion industry. Her first report focuses on fashions from Isaac Mizrahi, Todd Oldham, and Cynthia Rowley, MCI said.
A big reason behind this new site, Sims said, is to broaden Internet offerings beyond the typical 'Net user, which happens to be male. "This is a place where you can go to get fashion trends and fresh styles, so you don't have to be in New York City to see these fashions."
"@fashion" is located at the address of http://www.internetMCI.com part of MCI's Web "supersite."
(Bob Woods/19950407/Press Contacts: Mark Pettit or Paul Sims, MCI Business Markets, 800-644-NEWS (6397) or MCI_News_Bureau@MCI.com; or Kirsten Allen, Ketchum Public Relations, 404-877-1813. Public Contact: http://www.internetMCI.com)
tact: http://www.internetMCI.com)
4/7/95
MCI Opens Internet Fashion Site
ONLINE
Commercial Online Services Subsc
WASHINGTON DC, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Despite the continued growth of computer users accessing the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, the commercial online services are not just holding their own, they are signing up new members at a phenomenal rate, according to a quarterly census of 73 electronic services published by Information & Interactive Services Report (IISR).
According to the report, at the end of March, 7,303,300 subscribers used online services, up 982,650 from the 6,320,650 recorded in IISR's 1994 year-end census. This represents a 15.5 percent increase during the past three months and a 47 percent increase since March 1994. Said IISR Editor Rod Kuckro: "The rate of growth in the first quarter indicates that in excess of 10,000 people on average are signing up with an online service every day. If the pattern holds -- and there's no reason to believe it won't -- we'll break the 10 million mark before the end of this year."
Not surprisingly, America Online (AOL) continues to be the fastest-growing system, according to the report. The service added 500,000 new subscribers, a 33 percent increase during the first quarter. CompuServe, widely regarded as the premier business-oriented service, and certainly the largest online service overall, also registered considerable growth of 250,000. CompuServe's total includes 700,000 customers outside North America.
Interestingly, the report claims Prodigy's numbers are far less than those claimed by the service, which is something Prodigy's competitors have been saying for some time, with little mainstream media interest.
The online market divides into the top three services posting huge subscriber bases, and also-rans fighting out for a distant fourth place. According to the report, six online services represent 86 percent of the total online audience.
The top six are: CompuServe, with 2.7 million users; America Online with 2.0 million users; Prodigy, with 1.3 million users; Delphi, with 140,000 users; eWorld, with 80,000 users; and GEnie, with 75,000 users.
Interestingly, the report says that about 20 percent of users subscribe to two or more services, which brings the actual number of online households closer to 5.9 million.
Is it a crowded market? Consumer choices will certainly increase later this year when Microsoft Network, AT&T Interchange and MCI Communication Corp.'s online service all make their debut. A shake up in the online services is seen as inevitable, probably starting as early as next year.
There are a number of other highlights identified in the report. Apple Computer Inc.'s eWorld plans to ship its next release, code named Golden Gate, this spring. The release will provide intelligent electronic-mail management and Internet access, with World Wide Web access to follow later this year.
About one third of Prodigy's members -- 360,000 subscribers -- have signed up for its Web browser service since it was introduced a little over a month or so ago. Also, about half of the Web users are new Prodigy subscribers. February was the first month that Prodigy didn't post red ink, 10 years after the company was formed.
FInally, the report says that AT&T has 20,000 beta testers nationwide for its Interchange Online, set for commercial operation by June. Newsbytes notes that the biggest threat to the commercial online services has come from the availability of direct connection to the Internet from commercial Internet Providers, since the rules were changed to allow public access to the worldwide network. More recently, that threat has turned into an explosion of interest in the graphical World Wide Web, where users can jump from document to document using underlined and colored references, or "hyperlinks," contained in the document's text. Documents can contain references to other documents, images, even motion video.
Newsbytes also notes that most online services have in the past year or so begun offering at least partial access to the Internet, most notably America Online and Prodigy. Prodigy recently began offering World Wide Web access to its subscriber base, and as reported yesterday by Newsbytes, has just implemented a basic 30 hours for $30 program which includes the Web.
In addition, both America Online and Compuserve plan to offer Web access to their combined 4-5 million subscriber base in the next month or so, thereby negating the need for casual Web "crawlers" to subscribe to both their online service and a separate local Internet Provider for direct connection.
Newsbytes notes that this will only add to their continued appeal in the eyes of the casually computer-literate public, whose interest in the Web has been peaked over the past six months by unprecedented mainstream media hype.
(Ian Stokell/19950407/Press Contact: Rod Kuckro, Business Research Publications, 202-842-3022 ext 325)
Business Research Publications, 202-842-3022 ext 325)
4/7/95
Commercial Online Services Subscriber Base Explodes
ONLINE
More US Firms Head For Mexico
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- United Artists (UA) has reported it has established "the most expensive web site ever created for a film" (http://www.mgmua.com/tankgirl) to promote its futuristic action adventure "Tank Girl." The web site "combines and expands" the efforts of UA's publicity promotions, distribution, creative advertising, licensing and merchandising, and music departments to bring the "outrageous post-apocalypse heroine" to cyberfans worldwide.
The web site made its nationwide debut on March 31. According to MGM/UA spokesperson, Terry Curtin Tank Girl is the screen incarnation of the outrageous cult comic book starring Lori Petty Malcolm McDowell, Ice-T and Naomi Watts. The film was directed by Rachel Talalay and produced by Richard Lewis, Pen Densham and John Watson under their Trilogy Entertainment Group banner.
The setting for the story is in the year 2033 where a cosmic cataclysm has robbed the earth of its life-giving resource water. That simple compound has become the world's most valuable currency in a dangerous society, populated by mutants, killers and thieves. Enter Rebecca Buck a.k.a. Tank Girl. Sexy, smart outspoken and irreverent, Tank Girl takes on the villainous Water and Power Company and an action-adventure ensues.
According to Curtin "in an unprecedented move," United Artists has included the address for the Tank Girl web site in selected advertising for the film, including newspaper and magazine ads and television spots. Curtin told Newsbytes promotional items and a line of licensed Tank Girl fashions are also emblazoned with the Internet location.
The Tang Girl Web site is also hyperlinked with the Digital Campus Hot Wired web sites, and The Lion's Den, MGM/UA's corporate web site containing information about all upcoming film releases.
Online users will also be referred to the site from D.C. Comics on America Online, Times Link, which is the joint online service from the Los Angeles Times, and New York Daily News, and CompuServe.
According to Curtin every segment of the Tank Girl Web site is highlighted by color Digital Planet-created color graphics featuring scenes and characters from the film.
The multimedia offerings include actual clips from the film and samples from its soundtrack. In addition, the advertising spots and trailer can be viewed in their entirety. There is even a sneak peek at the eclectic Tank Girl fashion line, which Curtin says is now available in retail outlets.
E-mail can be sent directly to Tank Girl directly from the Web site and users can learn the history of the comic book from which she sprang. Users can also enter a promotional essay contest sponsored by D.C. Comics, the winner of which will have his or her likeness immortalized in a Tank Girl comic strip.
(Nick Anis/19950407/Press Contact: Terry Curtin, MGM/UA, Tel: 310-449-3397 or 310-449-3333, internet: http://www.mgmua.com/tankgirl)
7 or 310-449-3333, internet: http://www.mgmua.com/tankgirl)
4/7/95
United Artist Spends Fortune Creating TankGirl Web Site
ONLINE
Paul Allen Buys 10% Of Precision
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Precision Systems (NASDAQ:PSYS) said new media investor Paul G. Allen bought approximately 10% of the company's total equity, at a price of $5 million. Precision Systems said it provides state-of-the-art network-based enhanced services communications systems.
Precision Systems sold 1,250,000 shares of common stock to Allen at $4.00 per share, giving Precision an indicated market value of approximately $50.6 million, the company said. The investment was made through Vulcan Ventures, Allen's investment organization. Vulcan will also nominate one member to Precision Systems' board of directors Precision officials said.
With this cash infusion, Precision Systems said Allen also bought the rights to increase his stake in the company to approximately 20% of the company's common equity. Should Allen exercise his option, his investment in Precision Systems would equal $14 million, the company said.
The company said its product lines deploy interactive voice, data and video technologies on a unified software platform. This enables wireless and wired communications providers to be first in the marketplace with "value-added" service offerings, officials said.
At Precision Systems headquarters, the mood is charged with excitement if a Newsbytes interview with company president, Russell I. Pillar, is any indication. "We're very excited about Paul Allen's investment," he said. "This opens us to opportunities that we would have had trouble getting access to otherwise."
Besides the monetary gain, Pillar said his company will also gain from Allen's creativity. "Paul and his company have a very dynamic vision for the interactive future. I'm looking forward to having Performance Systems playing a part in that future." He said the company has already had discussions with other companies in which Allen has investments regarding "how to work together," but Pillar wouldn't elaborate on any definite plans.
Companies Allen either owns outright or has investments in include Microsoft, Medio Multimedia, TicketMaster, Egghead, Starwave, and DreamWorks SKG.
Susan Pierson, Vulcan Ventures spokesperson, said Allen "looks for companies to invest in that have a 'wired world' vision, or an interactive world. With Precision Systems, we found a company with a product, services, and a group of people to help fulfill that future." Pierson said Precision Systems fits in well with the other companies in Allen's holdings.
At 12:45 PM EDT, Precision Systems stock was trading at 4 7/8, up 5/8 from its previous close.
(Bob Woods/19950407/Press Contacts: Russell I. Pillar, Precision Systems Inc., 813/572-9300, ext. 3000; Susan Pierson, Vulcan Ventures Inc., 206/453-1940)
erson, Vulcan Ventures Inc., 206/453-1940)
4/7/95
Paul Allen Buys 10% Of Precision Systems
NETWORK
Harris Says Cyberguard Not Vulne
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Hot on the heels of the release of Satan, a program some industry experts fear could wreak havoc on the Internet, a Florida company has announced its protection software is impervious to the program that finds network security flaws.
Satan, an acronym for Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks, was released this week on the Internet at no charge. As Newsbytes reported earlier, the Unix-based Satan designed as a tool to help system administrators locate flaws in their security, has the potential to provide the information necessary to make a computer network vulnerable to hackers.
Newsbytes asked Michael Krenzin, the lead engineer in Harris Computer Systems Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NHWK) secure systems business team if Harris's CyberGuard Firewall product is really impervious to Satan. "The answer to that is according to the tests we ran yesterday against the version of Satan that was released over the Internet on the fifth (of April) the answer is yes," responded Krenzin in a typically precise engineering manner.
Krenzin said the caveat to that response is that Cyberguard must be properly configured. "If someone opens up an FTP channel and does not stipulate who can use and what they can use it for you have a major hole in any firewall. But properly configured ours is impervious.
Newsbytes asked if the release of a program with the potential for harm included in Satan is a responsible action, in his view. He told Newsbytes that was a difficult call to make, but compared the release of Satan to letting people in a burning building know about the fire. "If you're the town crier and it's your responsibility to tell people when buildings are burning down and you yell 'Fire' it's a responsible act. If you aren't, the town crier maybe you shouldn't be yelling 'Fire' all the time," said the engineer.
Silicon Graphics, the employer of Satan co-author Dan Farmer reportedly terminated Farmer's employment when it learned he intended to release Satan to the public.
According to Krenzin the tools in Satan have long been available on the Internet and available to hackers for some time in different forms. "But now that they are easier to use and found all in one place, making them available ... to some of the first-time people that new access causes a challenge to the security professional." Making those tools readily available to a whole new class of people is "questionable," he stated.
CyberGuard Firewall, which Newsbytes reported on in January 1995 puts up a firewall to protect against Internet intruders. The company describes CyberGuard as a multi-level secure computer that sits between a company's internal network and other wide area networks (WANs) such as the Internet.
Katherine Hutchison, director of secure business at Harris, sees the release of Satan as a good news/bad news situation. "Although the release of the Satan software over the Internet will make computer hacking much easier for the amateur, it will also increase awareness for the need for security and force many companies to revisit their security policies and procedures," said Hutchison.
Hutchison said Cyberguard is a combination of RISC (reduced instruction set computing)-based hardware and a secure Unix operating system integrated with a secure networking product.
Harris defines a firewall as a collection of components placed between two networks. All traffic from inside to outside, as well as outside to inside, must pass through the firewall. Only authorized traffic as defined by the user's security policy is allowed to pass through.
Cyberguard can be programmed to allow two-way communication blocking only dangerous commands such as rlogin, telnet and FTP (file transfer protocol), or can be customized to allow only outbound communication with no in-bound access. Another option is to allow only incoming communication with no outgoing access. All of those general parameters can be further customized.
There is already a counter-program to stop Satan. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has developed a program it calls Courtney, which is designed to warn users that Satan is trying to analyze a system's security.
Harris spokesperson Lisa Thornhill told Newsbytes CyberGuard Firewall has a suggested retail price of $24,995.
(Jim Mallory/19950407/Press contact: Lisa Thornhill, Harris Computer Systems, 305-977-5615; Public contact: Harris Computer Systems, tel 305-974-1700; faxback info 800-344-4297)
ms, tel 305-974-1700; faxback info 800-344-4297)
4/7/95
Harris Says Cyberguard Not Vulnerable To Satan
Sony Intros 4x Recordable CD Dis
PARK RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Sony announced the immediate availability of three new CD-R (Recordable CDs) disks especially designed for demands of four-speed recordable drives. Sony says the new disks will decrease production time and provide greater reliability.
Two of the three new disks, CDQ-74A and CDQ-74SZA have 650 megabyte (MB) capacity. The two differ in that the SZA model has a blank space for printing and labeling. The third model, CDQ-63A offers 553MB capacity. All of the new disks may be used to record audio, video, data and multimedia applications and formats.
According to Sony, CDQ-74A and CDQ-63A have a special coating on the labeling side of the disk which enhances bonding with felt pens and rubber stamp imprinting. The blank space provided in the SZA model allows for more creative artistic work because of the blank space.
A Sony spokesperson told Newsbytes, "We have found that developers and companies using four-speed CD-R drives with standard blank disks used for two-speed recording, are not satisfied with the speed. Because the four-speed drives are spinning so fast there is a possibility of recording error. What we have done and are saying in this announcement is that we have optimized the disks to operate more efficiently on the 4x platform."
The three disks are immediately available through authorized Sony data media retailers. The CDQ-74A has a suggested retail price of $19.50. The CDQ-74SZA and the CDQ-63A have are priced at $17.50.
(Patrick McKenna/19950407/Press Contact: Jim Leal, Technology Solutions, tel 415-617-4513)
hnology Solutions, tel 415-617-4513)
4/7/95
Sony Intros 4x Recordable CD Disks
GENERAL
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70
Trade Groups Sponsor Consumer El
New Remote E-Mail Application Fo
Impulse Intros Large-Screen Note
Zeos, Micron Shareholders OK Mer
BOISE, IDAHO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- The shareholders of Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ: ZEOS), Microsoft Computer Inc., and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services Inc., met in special session recently and approved the merger of the three companies. Newsbytes first reported the proposed merger in October 1994.
The new company will be known as Micron Electronics Inc., and will be traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol MUEI, and will have approximately 91 million shares outstanding. ZEOS shareholders will be able to exchange their shares on a one-for-one basis for Micron Electronics.
The merger will be handled as a tax-free transaction to Micron, and 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. Eight-nine percent of the Zeos common will be held by Micron and certain employees of the two Micron companies, which according to a company spokesperson are employee-owned. Steven Laney, Micron director of investor relations told Newsbytes no significant reduction of staff is anticipated. In fact the company expects some additional hiring as a result of normal business growth. Laney said Zeos will remain in Minneapolis.
Both Zeos and Micron Computer manufacture and market personal computers. Micron custom manufacturing services provides turnkey contract manufacturing services for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Micron spokesperson Julie Nash told Newsbytes the new company will continue to sell personal computers under both the Zeos and Micron brand names.
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- Data Broadcasting Corp. (DBC) (NASDAQ:DBCC) announced it has acquired Computer Sports World (CSW), described as a "major online sports and horse racing handicapping information database company."
"This means we're getting into the online business, and that gives us more data types than we could offer before," Larry Kramer, DBC vice president for sports and news, told Newsbytes.
The CSW database includes almost two decades worth of historical sports data, including individual and team statistics, details of every game played, and the performance of teams against the "spread" set by Las Vegas. Professional football, basketball baseball, and hockey, along with college football and basketball are in the CSW database. CSW also sells horse racing charts and data from the Daily Racing Forum.
It's this online nature of the historical data that Kramer sees as being the key to this acquisition. He said since DBC had focused on real-time wireless data and news feeds from the sporting world there was no way to provide his customers with a link to historical data. Now, they can dial in and get all the information they need he said.
Kramer also said DBC is getting a fair amount of software from the CSW deal, including a "hedge program" that tells gamblers what bets to place to stay in the black while they're waiting for parlay bets to play out.
In general, Kramer said DBC can now "develop more content for our customers because we're not dependent on the delivery system." He also called the gaming industry "a very sophisticated market with a lot of money involved."
DBC provides real-time news for both the gaming and financial worlds over wireless systems, TV cable, and proprietary telecommunications networks to its subscribers.
(Bob Woods/19950407/Press Contact: Julie Craig, Data Broadcasting 415-571-1800)
ntact: Julie Craig, Data Broadcasting 415-571-1800)
4/7/95
Data Broadcasting Acquires Horse Racing Info Firm
BUSINESS
InContext Spider Called 1st Web
HP Intros New Consumer PCs Throu
Clarification - CompuServe UK Pr
GEnie Launches Internet Access T
Hayes Shows Profit Again, Sees R
Newsbytes Daily Summary
+L+MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 7 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Belgacom Offers New Services, Cuts Telecom Rates 04/07/95 Even though phone rates to call the US from Belgium are around 30 percent cheaper than they were five years ago, Belgacom, the former state controlled telecom company of Belgium, is having to face up to the competitive market. The company has just announced major discounts for its larger customers. At the same time, the company has upgraded its Virtual Private Network (VPN) services for data customers.
2 -> France - Hot Bird 1 Sat TV Satellite Enters Orbit 04/07/95 Eutelsat has announced that Hot Bird 1, the new Arianespace TV satellite, has been launched successfully and is now being "nudged" into its 13 degrees east position where it will co-site with Eutelsat II-F1, one of the several Eutelsat TV satellites. The successful launch of Hot Bird 1 means that Astra's three satellites now have some serious competition in the Direct To Home (DTH) satellite broadcast business.
3 -> Kodak Selects Software For Digital Camera Images 04/07/95 Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) told Newsbytes this week it has picked the image enhancing software that will be bundled with its latest digital camera. Kodak said it has selected PhotoEnhancer from PictureWorks Technology Inc., to include with the DC 40 digital camera.
4 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/07/95 In this roundup of news from Tokyo, IBM Japan enter the ATM market, high yen boosts PC sales; Itoh Shu enters global mobile phone market; Fujitsu exchanges technology with Samsung.
5 -> Faxback Will Support Windows 95 04/07/95 Faxback Inc., has announced it will support the poll-retrieve and binary file transfer features that will be part of Windows 95 when Microsoft's new operating system ships in August 1995. The Windows 95 support will allow users of personal computers equipped with Windows 95 to retrieve information from Faxback fax servers.
6 -> Philippines - Satellite Consortium 04/07/95 hilippine Global Communications Inc., (Philcom) a private telecommunications firm will be joining the Philippine Agila Satellite, Inc. (PASI) , a government-backed consortium of telecom firms, in the launch of a Phillipine-owned satellite.
7 -> Editorial - The Second Phase Of Networking - No Wires! 04/07/95 We've entered the second phase of networking. Until now we've thought of our networks as something you can draw on a piece of paper. Show a box here for a server, 50 boxes for PCs scattered around, perhaps in a few groups, add a couple of printers and a perhaps fax server. Then draw lines to show how they all connect together, with some more boxes for wiring closets and hubs.
8 -> Novell/Ericsson Computer Telephony/Multimedia Product 04/07/95 Novell and Ericsson Business Networks have announced the availability of a new range of jointly branded products which they claim deliver fully integrated computer telephony integration (CTI), teleworking and multimedia systems for the commercial marketplace. Products available in this new range include the High Security Teleworker, High Speed Teleworker Portable Teleworker, the Teleworker Access kit and a Telephony Server Applications Programming Interface (TSAPI) system for the Consono MD110 Private Branch Exchange (PBX).
9 -> UK - PCN Networks Competing Head To Head 04/07/95 As Cellnet and Vodafone report record signups to their analog and GSM (global system for mobile) cellular networks for the first quarter of this calendar year, the two PCN (personal communications network) services are also slugging it out in the 1.8 gigahertz (GHz) waveband in the UK.
10 -> European Commission Looks At Multimedia & Info Superhighway 04/07/95 The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to set up a series of investigative committees to look at the possibility of "steering" the development of multimedia technology and the information superhighway generally in Europe. As part of the investigations, the EC plans to set up an office to promote multimedia and the info superhighway.
11 -> Clarification - CompuServe UK Prepares Online Shopping 04/07/95 In a story headed "CompuServe UK Prepares Online Shopping 04/06/95," some editions of Newsbytes made reference to industry suggestions that a rate change is in the offing for CompuServe, with the possibility that the off-peak free basic services rate would be abolished. Debra Young of CompuServe's public relations division has contacted us to say that the free off-peak basic services facility will remain in place, but that a rate change announcement will be made early next week.
12 -> Joint Lexis-Nexis Venture To Have Voice Recognition 04/07/95 Lexis-Nexis, Philips Dictation Systems, and US MicroShare Inc., have announced plans to work together on a large-vocabulary speech recognition system for lawyers. The system will let lawyers perform searches on Lexis-Nexis' online databases as well as do other computing chores using voice commands.
13 -> Canadian Info Highway Group Ponders Content Controls 04/07/95 The Canadian government's Information Highway Advisory Council is discussing proposals to control access to certain kinds of content on online networks, and possibly to discourage or prohibit online pornography or hate literature.
14 -> SPA Wins First Rental Case 04/07/95 A federal court has ruled in favor of the Software Publishers Association in the first case to test the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990, which prohibited unauthorized rental of computer software.
15 -> Using The Infopike To Find A School 04/07/95 Today's computer-savvy kids can use their computer skills to help them find the right private school or college, says the Independent Educational Consultants Association.
16 -> DEC Portswitch 900 Switches, Hubwatch 4.0 04/07/95 DEC has unveiled a trio of network configuration switches aimed at rounding out its "three-by-three matrix" of workgroup departmental, and enterprise switches, along with Hubwatch 4.0 an upgrade to its network management software that adds the new "Hubloader" software upgrade capability, a fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) tree, and FDDI loop protection.
17 -> Newsbytes Week In Review 04/07/95 This is a regular Friday feature, summarizing some of the more interesting stories covered by Newsbytes this week: Motorola Licenses Radio System, McCaw Invests In Nextel; McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In Nextel; Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave; Berkeley Speech & Franklin In 'Harassment' Suit; US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network Connectors; Free Security Software Could Cause Internet Havoc; and High School Kids License Education Software To Apple.
18 -> CA To License Gupta Database Technology 04/07/95 Computer Associates International Inc., (NYSE:CA) has announced that it will license database technology from Gupta Corp. (NASDAQ:GPTA) to extend its CA-OpenIngres database line. Gupta's SQLBase technology will be the basis of CA-OpenIngres/Desktop, a database package for Microsoft Windows.
19 -> UK -- PPCP Full Motion Video PCMCIA Card 04/07/95 Even as recently as a year ago, full motion video card technology was an expensive business, with users reporting full length PC cards as the norm. Now PPCP, the portable products specialist, has come up with a successor to the bulky full motion video capture PC card, the Nogavision PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Assn.) card.
20 -> Catalink Direct's "Online PC Catalog" Adds Web Service 04/07/95 Catalink Direct, an "online VAR (value-added reseller)" with a catalog of over 18,000 PC products, has set up shop on the Internet, with a new World Wide Web home page tailored to organizations as well as individual end users.
21 -> "Net Day" Gives Internet News Daily 04/07/95 To get Internet- related news, it makes sense to get it from the Internet (except for Newsbytes, of course). To that end Mecklermedia Corporation's (NASDAQ:MECK) MecklerWeb will start featuring "Net Day," a World Wide Web site devoted to the Internet and other communications technology.
22 -> MCI Opens Internet Fashion Site 04/07/95 The lights from television cameras and the whir of autowinders from photographers might be missing, but the thrill of a fashion runway show and the hottest new clothes are now in cyberspace. MCI (NASDAQ:MCIC) announced what it calls the "first virtual aisle of style" on the Internet with the debut of "@fashion," to coincide with the fall fashion previews happening today in New York City.
23 -> ****Commercial Online Services Subscriber Base Explodes 04/07/95 Despite the continued growth of computer users accessing the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, the commercial online services are not just holding their own, they are signing up new members at a phenomenal rate, according to a quarterly census of 73 electronic services published by Information & Interactive Services Report (IISR).
24 -> United Artist Spends Fortune Creating "TankGirl" Web Site 04/07/95 United Artists (UA) has reported it has established "the most expensive web site ever created for a film" (http://www.mgmua.com/tankgirl) to promote its futuristic action adventure "Tank Girl." The web site "combines and expands" the efforts of UA's publicity, promotions, distribution, creative advertising, licensing and merchandising, and music departments to bring the "outrageous post-apocalypse heroine" to cyberfans worldwide.
25 -> ****Paul Allen Buys 10% Of Precision Systems 04/07/95 Precision Systems (NASDAQ:PSYS) said new media investor Paul G. Allen bought approximately 10% of the company's total equity, at a price of $5 million. Precision Systems said it provides state-of-the-art network-based enhanced services communications systems.
26 -> Harris Says Cyberguard Not Vulnerable To Satan 04/07/95 Hot on the heels of the release of Satan, a program some industry experts fear could wreak havoc on the Internet, a Florida company has announced its protection software is impervious to the program that finds network security flaws.
27 -> Sony Intros 4x Recordable CD Disks 04/07/95 Sony announced the immediate availability of three new CD-R (Recordable CDs) disks especially designed for demands of four-speed recordable drives. Sony says the new disks will decrease production time and provide greater reliability.
28 -> Zeos, Micron Shareholders OK Merger 04/07/95 The shareholders of Zeos International Ltd. (NASDAQ: ZEOS), Microsoft Computer Inc., and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services Inc., met in special session recently and approved the merger of the three companies. Newsbytes first reported the proposed merger in October 1994.
29 -> Data Broadcasting Acquires Horse Racing Info Firm 04/07/95 Data Broadcasting Corp. (DBC) (NASDAQ:DBCC) announced it has acquired Computer Sports World (CSW), described as a "major online sports and horse racing handicapping information database company."
(Wendy Woods/19950407)
(Wendy Woods/19950407)
4/7/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Mastersoft's Upgrade To Windows
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Mastersoft Inc. has announced it will ship Viewer 3.1, an upgrade to its file-viewing utility program for Windows 3.1, by late April or early May.
The company said Viewer 3.1 users can view files such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, databases, and even graphics images from more than 120 formats, and do it even faster than when using the source application. It is also a useful tool for viewing files that were created in an application that isn't on your PC.
According to Mastersoft, Viewer 3.1 can be used either as a standalone application or can be integrated with custom applications. In addition to viewing a file you can zoom, print from view, copy to clipboard, search for text, view multiple files simultaneously and even launch applications.
Viewer also includes some file management capabilities. The user can find directories or files, move, delete and rename files. File formats from DOS, Windows, Apple Computer's Macintosh and Unix platforms are supported.
Robert Ellison, Mastersoft product manager, told Newsbytes that Viewer 3.1 is just the first of a family of viewing products the company will announce this year. Ellison said a professional version of Viewer is scheduled to ship this summer that will have more file management features and additional document utility tools. "It will also be able to create a portable viewable package where we wrap together the viewer and the file you are viewing into an executable package," he stated.
Ellison said the pro version of Viewer will carry a $79 price tag for the single user version, with a street price of around $50. A five-user pack will sell for $219, while the 10-user pack will be priced at $319.
Ellison said Viewer is the hub product that will connect a suite of Mastersoft products, including: Word for Word, the company's document format conversion utility; DocuComp, a utility for comparing the differences between two documents; and a graphics editing program scheduled for release in the late summer. The product manager described the program as "a very nice re-touching and raster graphic editing engine."
Viewer 3.1 has a suggested retail price of $49. The company offers local area network (LAN) and site license pricing as well as custom configurations.
Mastersoft is also shipping version 3.1 of its DocuComp - Windows document comparison and redlining utility. DocuComp compares two versions of a document and detects text insertions, deletions, moves or changes. You can display the results or export them to a composite file with all the revisions marked.
DocuComp attaches to the Tools menu in Wordperfect, Microsoft Word and Ami Pro for use from within those word processing programs. The program has a suggested retail price of $179, and users of earlier versions can upgrade for $39.95.
(Jim Mallory/19950407/Press contact: Lise Lambert, Mastersoft 602-948-4888; Public contact: Mastersoft, tel 602-948-4888 fax 602-948-8261/VIEWER950407/PHOTO)
948-4888 fax 602-948-8261/VIEWER950407/PHOTO)
4/10/95
Mastersoft's Upgrade To Windows File Viewer
WINDOWS
Autodesk To Ship AutoCAD LT For
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Autodesk well known developer of computer-aided design (CAD) software, has announced a new release of AutoCAD LT for Windows for a late April shipment. The company also announced AutoCAD LT Symbols for the US and Canadian markets.
AutoCAD LT for Windows Release 1 was first shipped in November of 1993. According to Autodesk, the program set record sales in the early months after the release. Within nine months, more than 100,000 packages of the program had shipped.
Jennifer Heller, spokesperson for Autodesk, said, "The LT program was designed as a good first step into AutoCAD. It breaks down the move from the drafting board to the our full AutoCAD products."
According to Heller, the LT product differs from the full version AutoCAD by focusing on two-dimensional (2-D) drawings with three-dimensional (3-D) viewing features instead of the full 3-D features of AutoCAD.
"AutoCAD LT for Windows is still a professional product. We designed it for professionals working at home or in the field with a portable computer. We recommend eight megabytes (MB) of RAM, but the product will run on 4MB. Skills developed using the LT product are directly transferable to AutoCAD."
AutoCAD LT release 2 features include an easy installation, easier use and upward compatibility with AutoCAD Release 13. Heller said the company uses the term "upward compatibility" because Release 2 of AutoCAD LT does not have 100% file compatibility with Release 13. It does have 100% compatibility with Release 11 and 12 of AutoCAD.
Other new features of Release 2 include tooltips, predrawn title blocks properties modification via dialog boxes, online orientation, DIVIDE and MEASURE commands, and true associative Hatching.
The AutoCAD LT Symbols come in three different packages: one each for Mechanical, Electrical, and Architectural. Each package contains more than 1,500 industry-standard symbols and they are all designed to "easily interface" with any release of AutoCAD LT. Each package has a suggested retail price of $99.
The suggested retail price for Release 2 is $495. Autodesk provides an upgrade path for registered users of AutoCAD LT Release 1, its Generic CADD product, and AutoSketch. The company expects to ship Release 2 in an English language version on April 28. German, French, Spanish and Italian versions are expected to ship 60 days after that date.
(Patrick McKenna/19950407/Press Contact: Jennifer Heller, Autodesk 415-507-6536; Upgrade Information: Autodesk, 800-228-3601 or 415-507-5000)
nformation: Autodesk, 800-228-3601 or 415-507-5000)
4/10/95
Autodesk To Ship AutoCAD LT For Windows Release 2
WINDOWS
Research Grants For SGML Librari
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Electronic Book Technologies (EBT) has launched an Educational Grant Program to support research into the publishing of SGML (standard generalized markup language)-based "digital libraries" on the Internet. The University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) has been named the first grant recipient.
During an interview with Newsbytes, Kent Summers, EBT's director of marketing, predicted that development of SGML-based digital libraries will ultimately spare advanced scholars from their current practice of traveling to libraries worldwide for thorough research into a given topic by providing "well structured, easily searchable documents" that can be physically located virtually anywhere.
"We're particularly excited about this announcement because the university environment is `from whence we came.' Now, through the Educational Grant Program we'll be able to `give something back,'" Summers added.
EBT's SGML-based product line, he explained, is rooted in FRESS (File Retrieval Editing SyStem), an IBM 360-based hypertext system that EBT co-founder Andy Van Dam helped to develop at Brown University back in 1968.
"FRESS -- along with HESS (Hypertext Editing SyStem) -- were probably the earliest hypertext systems online. These were things that keyed off of Theodor Nelson's research into hypertext in 1965 and even earlier than that, Vannovar Bush's Memex -- which was a microfilm-based personal information manager -- in 1945, and Doug Engelbart's work in the mid-1950s with a system called NLS Augment. Engelbart's stuff was really the first hypertext system, and it was what inspired Xerox and Apple," Summers told Newsbytes.
Dr. Steve DeRose, an EBT co-founder who holds a degree from Brown in computational linguistics, "was the person who put together online parsing, or indexing, with SGML," Somers added. Jeff Vogel another colleague, developed EBT's product. "And Lou Reynolds, our company president, had the vision to establish our company."
The development and use of digital libraries requires three elements, Somers maintained. Two of these elements, he said, are now in place: "the widespread adoption of affordable computing power, and the proliferation of word processing and authoring systems."
Summers added that EBT has created the new grants program to spur development of the third required element -- a "standard for online content that the vendors can rally around."
Under the new program, UC Berkeley and other grant recipients will receive up to $200,000 worth of the following EBT tools: DynaText Indexer; DynaText InStEd (Interactive Stylesheet Editor); DynaText PubPac; the DynaWeb Server, a server for the World Wide Web (Web); DynaTag, a product for converting proprietary word processing documents into SGML; DynaText Books and InStEd Stylesheets; and DynaText Browsers (unlimited).
All universities are encouraged to apply to EBT for grants according to Summers.
In cooperation with ten collaborators, UC Berkeley will use the EBT tools to research and demonstrate SGML-based methods for publishing source materials including manuscripts and other text, photos, and music scores from scholarly works, he reported.
"Finding aids" -- or "documents providing intellectual control and access to archival collections" -- will be encoded into an SGML DTD (Document Type Definition). Primary source materials will then be linked to the "finding aids," after being scanned for conversion into digital form.
UC Berkeley's ten collaborators plan to use the Berkeley DTD as part of the American Heritage Virtual Digital Archive Project. The collaborators include: the Library of Congress; the National Archives and Records Administration; the British Library; the National Library of Australia; Columbia University Library; Cornell University Library; Harvard University Library; Stanford University Library; the California State Historical Society; and the Minnesota State Historical Society.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950407/Reader Contact: Electronic Book Technologies, 401-421-9550; Press Contacts: Paul Lamoureux, EBT 401-421-9550; Craig Librett, Miller Communications for EBT, 617 536-0470)
iller Communications for EBT, 617 536-0470)
4/10/95
Research Grants For SGML Libraries On Web
ONLINE
Mindscape Ships How Your Body Wo
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 10 (NB) -- Software and multimedia developer, Mindscape, is shipping "How Your Body Works," a CD-ROM title which explores the 12 body systems. Based on the Ziff-Davis Press book of the same name, the CD also provides current health information.
Available for Windows and Macintosh platforms, the new title takes users on 12 different body tours. In the tour of the circulatory system users "fly" through the veins and arteries and into the heart, listening to the sounds of its beating. The new title also provides information on over-the-counter and prescription drugs, disorders, and first-aid hints.
Nancy Van Natta, Mindscape's director of marketing communications told Newsbytes, "There are a number of competing products focusing on anatomy and how the human body works. These other products are more like reproductions of books. This title is really fulfills the promise of multimedia with an entertaining and educational experience."
According to Mindscape, How Your Body Works uses "sophisticated animated video" and original music to "deliver an experience" for children from the age of 12 to adults of all ages. The program allows an adult to control access to the body tour of the reproductive system.
A "Wellness" section offers 37 video vignettes of interviews with leading medical experts and a "Nurses Notebook" offers 25 consumer health segments by nursing expert, Pat Caroll. The CD also offers information on more than 200 health organizations and contains in-depth written articles about various medical topics.
For the younger audience, Van Natta, said the CD is full of special effects for kids. A medical lab interface is filled with objects ready to be explored and users can also play a scavenger game.
Van Natta said, "How Your Body Works is designed for both home and educational markets. It is not a curriculum, but many teachers will find it a great enhancement to anatomy and biology courses. We have created a teacher guide for the program.
The $49.95 CD will appear in most superstores and other software retail outlets. For Windows users, it requires a 25 megahertz (MHz) 486 processor or better, four megabytes (MB) of RAM, 4MB of hard disk space Super VGA, 256 colors, a MPC-rated sound card, a dual speed CD-ROM drive, a pointing device, MSCDEX Version 2.21 or higher, and Windows 3.1 or higher.
Mac users will need a Macintosh computer with a 25MHz 68030 or faster processor, 4MB of RAM, a 13-inch 256 RGB color monitor, a dual-speed CD-ROM drive, System 7.1+, and a pointing device.
(Patrick McKenna/19950407/Press Contact: Pat Meier, Pat Meier Associates, 415-957-5900; Public Information: Mindscape 415-883-3000)
ublic Information: Mindscape 415-883-3000)
4/10/95
Mindscape Ships How Your Body Works CD
GENERAL
Oracle Opening Research Institut
SEOUL, KOREA, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Oracle Systems (NASDAQ:ORCL) plans to launch a tentatively named "Information Highway & Multimedia Research Institute" this month in Korea designed to provide its technologies to KT (Korea Telecom), LG Electronics, and Samsung Electronics.
The company plans to locally produce next-generation equipment like PDAs (personal digital assistants) and video phones by supplying video access technology from Apple Computer, Inc.
The products will be exported to the United States.
Oracle plans to install a super-parallel computer and Oracle Media Server worth $100 million at the institute. Oracle will have the first research institute in Korea among its 93 overseas divisions.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
eas divisions.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/10/95
Oracle Opening Research Institute In Korea
GENERAL
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
Motorola To Invest In Mexico
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Motorola de Mexico plans to invest $72 million in Mexico in 1995, $50 million of which will be put toward building a new plant to manufacture pagers in Chihuahua. Construction of the new plant will begin in June and it should be operational by mid-1996.
The demand for pagers has risen more than 100% since 1990, but the market is expected to shrink in the short term. 20% of the products manufactured in Chihuahua will be sold on the Mexican market, with the remaining 80% to be exported to the US.
Some $10 million of the $72 million investment will be used to expand the capacity of Motorola's semiconductor plant in Guadalajara. Another $12 million will be used to build new corporate offices for Motorola de Mexico in Mexico City. The new building should be ready by August.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/10/95
Motorola To Invest In Mexico
TELECOM
High-Speed Laser Optic LAN Intro
IPC Peripherals To Intro 3-D Cyb
Correction - Online Pollution Tr
European Commission Ready To Sus
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- The European Commission may suspend anti-dumping measures against Japanese DRAMs and waive agreements affecting similar products imported from South Korea.
DRAMs (dynamic random access memory) imported from Japan are subject to a reference price agreement which, if broken, triggers a 60 percent punitive duty.
South Korean manufacturers have to provide quarterly cost and price data, which is analyzed if there is a suspicion of dumping.
The recommendations for the suspension are included in a document drawn up by the EC's dumping division. They are at an administrative stage and have yet to be forwarded to the Commissioner. The document has been compiled against a backdrop of sustained high prices for DRAMs in Europe, underpinned by demand outstripping supply.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
outstripping supply.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/10/95
European Commission Ready To Suspend DRAM Tariffs
European Firms Team Up To Recycl
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Four European companies have struck a deal to jointly promote a 100 percent recyclable PCB (printed circuit board). IBM Germany, DuPont, Sorep and Alcatel SEL have signed a joint agreement to promote the wider use of low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technology in Europe.
LTCC was originally developed for military "hybrids." The costs of LTCCs per square-inch is typically two or three times that of conventional boards but, according to DuPont, far higher densities can be achieved.
Via diameters down to 100 microns and track widths of 200 microns more components can be fitted into a smaller space.
Telecommunications and automotives are seen as the largest potential markets outside the diminishing European defense industry. The telecoms industry has used LTCC for at least 10 years in areas where high frequencies demanded special dielectric materials. The fact that LTCCs can be recycled and the metals recovered should make this technology attractive to mobile phone manufacturers which wish to adopt eco-friendly materials as a selling point.
The decision to jointly promote LTCC circuits will make multi-sourcing in Europe possible, and will enable the partners to work together on enhancements, such as buried components.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
s buried components.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/10/95
European Firms Team Up To Recycle Circuit Boards
CHIPS
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A.,1995 APRIL 10 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
JPEG files are larger in size, PICT files are designed as thumbnails for onscreen viewing.
The photos are titled with name/year/month/day. Pict/thumbnail pictures are now black and white (that is gray scale). File message will indicate color if the JPEG image is color. This will reduce file size and streamline transfers.
Some of the larger 'for use' images, may also be pict files. To distinguish these files from the thumbnail preview pict images, the tag for the color "for use" image will have PICT, all caps. The thumbnail will remain noted as "pct."
To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 (US) or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of APRIL 10 - APRIL 14,1995
ATLAS950329 - color / Microsoft Trip Planning Software Hits The Road: screen shot of Lake Tahoe CA area.
BOOKSHLF950329 - color / Microsoft Ships Bookshelf 95: screen shot of elephant and text.
PERFECT950404 - color / Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 For Windows: screen shot of PerfectWorks with some graphics.
LAPLINK950404 - color / Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs For Remote Support: screen shot with LapLink graphics.
XBAND950331 - color / Catapult To Expand National Game Network To PCs: screen shot of game character matchup.
CINEMAR950403 - color / Multimedia Software Teaches Presentation Techniques: nice screen shot of virtual environment.
CAERE950331 - color / Caere Increases OCR Accuracy By 40%: screen shot using text from Jane's Armour & Artillery.
EZSPOOLR950322 - color / Easyspooler A Print Manager, Spooler For Unix: software logo/art.
C/NET950327 - color / Simpson Murder Reconstructed By Computer: great rendition of entry gate with Nicole and male. C/Net logo lower left.
CREATIVE950327 - color / Creative Technologies In Modem Phone Business: shot of software package.
SMHOUSE950324 - b&w / Bell Atlantic's Hi-Tech "Smart House": kids around keyboard with monitors in background.
PHOTONICS950322 - color / Photonics Intros Wireless GameNet For Macs: product shot of the retail package.
KBOARD950324 - color / More Input Devices For Kids: shot of the keyboard.
TOSHIBA031395 - color / Cebit - Toshiba Notebooks: shot of the T2100CS Satellite notebook computer.
TANGO950323 - color / Nationwide 2-Way Reflex Messaging Net Planned: the Motorola "Tango" two-way pager used by the Destineer. Passport and pen for scale.
PANCELL950315 - color / Cebit - Panasonic Pitches Hard On Telecoms: the GS300 on nice background, can and string kid phone motif.
DURACELL950316 - color / Europe - Duracell's Smart Laptop Batteries: the laptop batteries.
(Newsbytes/199500410)
ptop batteries.
(Newsbytes/199500410)
4/10/95
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
Correction - Scandinavia Online
OSLO, NORWAY, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- In a Newsbytes article titled "Scandinavia Online opens for Norway" on 31 March we erroneously reported the World Wide Web address of the new Scandinavian Online service.
The correct address is http://www.telepost.no/
Newsbytes regrets the error.
(Martyn Williams/19950407)
regrets the error.
(Martyn Williams/19950407)
4/10/95
Correction - Scandinavia Online Opens For Norway
CORRECTION
GENERAL
DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across Stor
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- DEC plans to roll out wide small computer systems interface (SCSI) technology to its entire StorageWorks product line, starting with three newly unveiled wide SCSI products for its Alphaserver 2100 systems running DEC Unix.
"We've determined that applications where you can run a wire directly from the host to the storage subsystem is where we want to put our initial investment," said Ed McCarren, DEC Unix marketing manager for Digital's Storage Business Unit, elaborating on Digital's wide SCSI strategy in an interview with Newsbytes.
"That means you'll soon be seeing more attachment of wide SCSI on systems that can handle direct attachment -- and this is particularly relevant for PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus systems," McCarren told Newsbytes.
The three new wide SCSI products for Alphaserver 2100 -- a line of servers equipped with PCI buses -- include the RZ26L-W and RZ28-W wide SCSI disk drives, the DWZZB-VW 16-bit SCSI Bus Extender/Signal Converter, and the BA356C-KC Wide Deskside Expansion Unit according to McCarren.
In addition, DEC recently introduced wide SCSI offerings for Sun HP-UX, AIX, and Novell NetWare platforms, according to the DEC exec, who noted that StorageWorks' future wide SCSI products will also be for DEC and non-DEC environments alike.
The PCI bus "aggregates" the benefits of advancing from 8-bit SCSI to 16-bit wide SCSI, for even greater bandwidth, McCarren said drawing the analogy of moving from an eight-lane highway, to a 16-lane highway, to a 64-lane thoroughfare.
"At first, our customers will see the greatest gains at the departmental and workgroup levels. But ultimately, as PCI becomes more available, the benefits of wide SCSI attached to PCI will scale up the line," he predicted.
DEC plans to roll out wide SCSI devices gradually over the next 12 to 18 months, as systems capable of handling direct attachment become available, according to the marketing manager.
Wide SCSI will not speed up the rate at which data is transferred internally from the drive to the head media interface, but the new architecture does allow much faster data transfer from the drive to the host, McCarren told Newsbytes.
For this reason, applications expected to see the biggest benefits are those involving "large numbers of large data transfers," such as seismic, telemetry, imaging, and host-based redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) 0 applications.
DEC's new one gigabit (GB) StorageWorks RZ26L-W disk drive, priced at $950, and 2GB RZ28-W disk drive, priced at $1,829, each provide SCSI support of 20 MB per second, according to McCarren.
The 3.5-inch disk drives each offer an average access time of 15.1 milliseconds (ms) and an average seek time of 9.5 ms. The two drives are backward-compatible.
The new DWZZB-VW extender/signal converter also handles data rates up to 20 megabits-per-second (Mbps). The new product, though, is "fully compatible" with the two to 5Mbps data rates of earlier SCSI interconnects, McCarren said. The DWZZB-VW extends the SCSI bus from 3/16 to 25 meters. Priced at $600, the DWZZB-W offers a one-year on-site warranty and an additional two-year return-to-factory warranty.
DEC's new Wide Deskside Expansion Unit supports the new RZ26L-W and RZ28-W disk drives and DWZZB-VW converter, as well as StorageWorks' 7200 revolutions per minute (rpm) disk drives and recently announced KZPSA wide SCSI to PCI adapter. Pricing is $1,200, including a shelf, power supply, pedestal kit, and power cord. The unit is accompanied by a one-year on-site warranty plus a two-year return-to-factory warranty.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950410/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Tom Madden, 508-841-5365; Heather McLellan, The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900)
r McLellan, The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900)
4/10/95
DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across StorageWorks Line-Up
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Aga
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- If you're thinking of trying out the new SATAN (Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks) security software -- which was just released over the Internet and other online services -- be careful you know how to "play with fire," some network security experts are warning.
"If I were an IS (information systems) manager, and I'd been reading some of the initial press reports about SATAN, I might assume the best thing to do is rush out, grab SATAN off the net and put it on my system," said Rob Clyde, VP of security technology for Axent, in an interview with Newsbytes that also addressed Axent's new OmniGuard/Enterprise Access Control (EAC) security system.
"In the hands of a highly skilled individual, under carefully controlled circumstances, (use of SATAN) might make sense. But the next thing you know, we'll have thousands of people indiscriminately running SATAN due to curiosity and fear," Clyde added.
The Unix-based SATAN, which investigates the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ports of systems connected to the Internet, is being touted as a security tool by its creators: Dan Farmer, who previously authored the COPS (Computer Oracle and Password System) computer security analyzer, and Wietse Venema from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.
But Clyde and other critics point to the fact that SATAN can be used in two ways. The system weaknesses discovered by a SATAN probe can either be reported to the user, or abused by a security cracker. "Another thing we have against SATAN is that it `reaches out and touches' other people's systems," Clyde noted.
Also over the Internet, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has released a new tool called Courtney designed to protect against SATAN. According to a recent report from Livermore, SATAN contains a "target selection" component which allows users to choose which computer or group of computers to attack, as well as the extent of the attack.
A "light" attack reports what hosts are available, and which remote procedure call (RPC) services they offer. A "normal" attack probes the targets by establishing common service connections which are then used to determine operating system and version, along with any vulnerabilities. A "heavy" attack will search for several additional vulnerabilities, including "writeable" anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) directories.
"Basically, SATAN is just another hacker's toolkit -- like ISS (Internet Security Scanner), for example -- but SATAN does have a couple of unique attributes," contended Clyde.
Aside from its "provocative" name, SATAN provides a "pretty nice" hypertext markup language (HTML)-based graphical user interface (GUI) that makes the program "fairly easy to use," he elaborated.
Misuse of SATAN can take place either accidentally or intentionally. But in either case, companies will be faced with "some interesting liability issues" if employees who have loaded SATAN on to their systems then break in to other organizations' systems, he observed.
"One action companies should take immediately is to issue policy statements that running tools like SATAN will require prior approval from appropriate people in management,'" he advised.
Beyond preventing unqualified employees from using SATAN companies should also install `active controls' against intrusion like those provided by Axent's OmniGuard/EAC, he said.
Clyde told Newsbytes that the virtually simultaneous release of OmniGuard/EAC and SATAN is coincidental. Axent had been working toward the current release date "for some time," according to the VP. Priced starting at $395, OmniGuard/EAC is currently available for SunOS, Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX.
Clyde added that OmniGuard/EAC differs from other Unix-based security systems by offering a GUI for establishing levels of privilege. As a result, this task no longer needs to be performed only by a company's "best and brightest," he reported.
Through the GUI, he said, the administrator can set up a wide range of password controls for individual users, user groups, or global enforcement, such as specifying a format that all passwords must follow, or a minimum and maximum password length, preventing the creation of passwords that match a list of "easily guessed" passwords, and requiring password expiration after a specified length of time.
OmniGuard/EAC can also be used in conjunction with a "firewall." The Axent product is able to restrict access to each computer behind the firewall by source: internal network, external network, or dial-up modem. Unauthorized users can be prevented from privileged access even when the root password is known, Newsbytes was told.
In addition, OmniGuard/EAC will "lock" unattended workstations until users reauthenticate themselves, restrict the number of concurrent log-in sessions, and limit access by time or day or day of week. If repeated break-in attempts are made, OmniGuard/EAC will detect the activity and "prevent entry," said Clyde.
Courtney, the new anti-SATAN tool from Livermore, is intended to monitor networks for the connection-attempt pattern applied by Saturn, assume that this pattern indicates a SATAN attack, and log the event.
Marvin Christenson, Courtney's developer, acknowledges that Courtney is only able at this point to report the assumed attack and the network address of the attacker, but he is now working with other security experts to "strengthen" Courtney, according to the Livermore Lab. Courtney is available free of charge at http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/ToolsUnixNetMon.html#Courtney.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950407/Reader Contacts: Axent Technologies 301-258-2620; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 510-422-1100; Press Contacts: Clay Helm or Jennifer Costello, FitzGerald Communications for Axent, 617-494-9500; David Schwoegler Livermore Lab, 510-422-6900)
17-494-9500; David Schwoegler Livermore Lab, 510-422-6900)
4/10/95
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Against SATAN Security Prgm
ONLINE
Internet World - Apple's Server,
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Aga
Canadian Product Launch Update
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 10 (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: Digital Equipment's new Portswitch 900 line of switching products and Hubwatch Version 4.0 network management software, Hewlett-Packard's Telepace workstation, and new database and client/server tools from Oracle.
Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd., in Toronto, announced new per-port switching products and network management software (Newsbytes, April 7). The Portswitch 900 line of high-density Ethernet configuration switches include the 32-port 10-BaseT Portswitch 900TP and the 16-port, 10-Base2 900CP. Both new models are to be available in May, Digital said, and both are priced at C$7,700.
DEC's Hubwatch Version 4.0 is an update of graphical Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) network management software that works with the full line of DEChub products, according to Digital. The new release will be available in May at C$500, the same price as the previous version. Current customers can upgrade for prices starting at C$140.
Mississauga, Ontario-based Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Inc. introduced Telepace (Newsbytes, April 5), a telecommunications system based on the company's HP 9000 servers and workstations. Telepace is now shipping in volume, the company said, and prices start at C$45,600.
Oracle Corp. Canada, of Mississauga, Ontario, unveiled Developer/2000 and Designer/2000, both client/server application development tools for Microsoft Windows, as well as Oracle7 MultiDimension, technology for managing spatial and attribute data within a single relational database (Newsbytes, April 4).
Developer/2000, available now, costs C$5,750 per developer, with free run-time licenses available for Windows. Designer/2000, to be available in April, will list at C$5,750.
Oracle7 MultiDimension, which was developed at Oracle's Canadian Research and Development Centre in Hull, Quebec, starts at C$6,510 for an eight-user license and is due to be available in May for Sun Microsystems Inc. Solaris, Hewlett-Packard Co. HP-UX and Digital Equipment Corp. OSF/1 systems. The company said it plans to support other systems in the future.
(Grant Buckler/19950409/Press Contact: Peter Sereda, Digital Canada, 416-730-7288; Andrew Piekarski, Hewlett-Packard Canada 905-206-3310; Paul Christlaw, Oracle Canada, 905-890-8100; Jim Rawlings, Oracle Canada, 819-772-2606; Elisse Fulop, BenchMark Communications for Oracle Canada, tel 416-423-6605, fax 416-423-5154; Public Contact: Digital Canada, tel 416-730-7000, fax 416-730-7070)
416-730-7000, fax 416-730-7070)
4/10/95
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
HP, Novell, Ingram Offer Interne
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- A hardware-and-software bundle for linking local area networks (LANs) to the Internet grew out of a "brainstorming session" between two employees of Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Inc. and Novell Canada Ltd. So far the bundle is only available in Canada, through distributor Ingram Micro, but Novell and HP may just export the idea to other countries.
Erik Moll, a product manager with HP Canada, said the Canadian HP and Novell subsidiaries saw the project as "an opportunity to work in partnership" and a way to make it easy for resellers to offer their customers complete Internet gateways.
Hewlett-Packard is providing hardware -- its HP NetServer 5/66 LC equipped with 32 megabytes (MB) of memory, a one gigabyte (GB) hard disk, a CD-ROM drive, a LAN adapter, and a monitor. Novell provides the UnixWare 2 application server and other software. The Canadian arm of Ingram Micro will be distributing the bundle to affiliated resellers, at a suggested list price of C$11,757, starting May 1.
Resellers must do the final integration work, Moll told Newsbytes. Ingram will provide training and support.
The bundle will support World Wide Web use, anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet electronic-mail, information browsing, and central access and administration, officials said.
Moll said the initiative is currently a Canada-only project, with the blessing of the vendors' corporate head offices. However, he said officials at HP headquarters in California have expressed interest in the idea, and might expand it to Latin America or possibly the United States in future.
(Grant Buckler/19950410/Press Contact: Erik Moll, HP Canada tel 905-206-3738, fax 905-206-4739; Owen Sagness, Novell Canada, 905-940-2670 ext 243)
HP, Novell, Ingram Offer Internet Bundle In Canada
ONLINE
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
HP, Novell, Ingram Offer Interne
Designer Comms Devices From Swat
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Siemens' mobile communications technology is to be combined with the marketing flair of the company which invented the Swatch watch in a deal to develop a new generation of personal communications devices.
Swiss company SMH and Siemens have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop and market wireless and mobile phones "that will differ from competitive products through their shape, color, certain functions, and price."
Under the agreement, some of Siemens' existing mobile phones will be sold under the Swatch brand name and, in the longer term, the two companies plan to develop novel mobile phones.
Neither Siemens nor SMH would comment on the value of their investment in the joint venture. SMH has already lent its Swatch brand name to a range of mobile phones and is also developing a range of cars dubbed the Swatchmobile, with Mercedes Benz.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
th Mercedes Benz.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/10/95
Designer Comms Devices From Swatch Watch Firm
TELECOM
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- By John Hastings. Microsoft appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Following several postponements, it has announced it will release its next operating system, Windows 95, in August. However, the most recent beta, or test, version of the software shows many problems have yet to be solved.
If these problems cannot be completely eradicated before August the ship date will slip once again. This could cost Microsoft millions of dollars of anticipated revenue for this year. Even a minor slippage will preclude computer manufacturers from preinstalling the new operating system on the computers they will sell through the fourth quarter, the largest sales quarter of the year. In addition, IBM and Apple are making major improvements in their software to stay ahead of Microsoft's efforts. IBM's OS/2 continues to get rave reviews and is selling in record numbers. If Microsoft does not respond soon it could face a shrinking market.
On the other hand, if Microsoft rushes a buggy product to market to meet fourth quarter goals, the support problems that could create could cost the software giant as much in additional support costs customer frustration and tainted reputation as the other alternative.
This will easily be the largest software upgrade in the history of computers. Even the slightest flaw will be amplified by millions of users. When Windows 3.0 was released, the software was so unstable it was almost unusable. But, with a relatively small number of users the problems were manageable. The large adoption of Windows did not occur until after the more stable version 3.1 was released.
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 April 10, 1995.
Average Average
Buyer's Seller's
Machine Bid Ask Close Change($)
IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB $350 $600 $375 ..
IBM PS/1 486DX2/50 253MB 900 1350 950 -25
IBM PS/2 Model 90 160MB 1000 1500 1075 +25
IBM ThinkPad 350C 1900 2400 1900 ..
IBM ThinkPad 700 900 1500 1100 -50
IBM ThinkPad 720 1300 2000 1425 ..
AST 486SX/25 170MB 700 1250 825 -25
AST 486DX/66 340MB 950 1450 1050 ..
Dell 386/33, 100MB 500 950 575 -25
Dell 486DX/33 240MB 850 1500 950 -25
Gateway 386/25, 80MB 400 800 500 ..
Gateway 486/33 120MB 800 1200 950 ..
Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB 500 900 525 -25
Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA 450 900 500 ..
Clone 486/25 120MB, VGA 700 1200 975 ..
Clone 486DX/33 240MB 800 1425 1025 -50
Compaq LTE 286 40MB 250 675 325 +25
Compaq Contura 320 60MB 500 1000 725 -50
Compaq Contura 4/25 120MB 900 1400 1100 -25
Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB 500 800 525 ..
Compaq Deskpro 486/33 120MB 1100 1650 975 ..
Mac Classic II 80MB 350 800 400 -25
Mac IIsi 160MB 500 900 600 ..
Macintosh IIcx 80MB 250 600 300 ..
Macintosh IIci 80MB 500 950 600 -25
Macintosh IIfx 80MB 700 1050 750 -25
Mac Quadra 700 230MB 1100 1600 1275 +75
Mac Quadra 800 500MB 1800 2525 1925 ..
PowerBook 140 40MB 700 1100 800 -25
PowerBook 170 40MB 800 1350 975 ..
PowerBook 180 80MB 1200 1850 1600 -25
LaserWriterPro 630 1300 1775 1425 ..
Toshiba 1900 120M 675 1150 800 -25
Toshiba 3200 SXC, 120MB 1850 2950 2175 -50
Toshiba 3300SL 120MB 850 1300 925 ..
Toshiba 5200 100MB 750 1050 850 ..
HP LaserJet II 350 850 450 ..
HP LaserJet IIIP 350 950 375 ..
HP LaserJet III 500 900 625 +25
HP LaserJet IV 900 1300 950 ..
Since 1988, the American Computer Exchange has matched buyers and sellers of used microcomputer equipment. For more information contact the American Computer Exchange at (800) 786-0717.
(AMCOEX/19950410)
(800) 786-0717.
(AMCOEX/19950410)
4/10/95
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
GENERAL
India - VSNL-Inmarsat Pact To In
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Following the "walkie talkie," mobile telephone and the latest cellular phone, another portable telecom product is all set to make inroads in the Indian market. Christened "Satphones" they will shortly be introduced by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL).
The Union Ministry of Communications has joined with British Telecom's International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) for availing of its various services. A memorandum of understanding has already been signed between the ministry and Inmarsat for initiation of a joint pilot project to evaluate the use of the company's mobile satellite communications in India in certain new found sectors where "these facilities can gainfully be engaged."
This pilot project will evaluate the feasibility of using the Inmarsat-M Satphones for communications on high speed passenger trains with two prototype vehicle-mounted terminals on trains throughout India's network in the middle of this year. In addition, Inmarsat-A will be evaluated for interactive data transmission to remote sites such as marshaling yards for computerized freight operations. The project will also include the briefcase Inmarsat-M Satphones for supervision and control at accident and construction sites.
India is one of Inmarsat's longest-standing and most active members and it recently took a major stake in the recently formed Inmarsat-P affiliated company. India's land earth-station at Arvi has provided Inmarsat-A and Inmarsat-C services since 1992 and is considered the second biggest earth station in the Indian ocean region.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950410)
e Indian ocean region.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950410)
4/10/95
India - VSNL-Inmarsat Pact To Intro Satellite Phones
TELECOM
India - Nokia Plans Fully Owned
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- In order to strengthen its presence in the Indian telecom sector, Finland-based Nokia Telecommunications has announced plans to set up a 100 percent-owned subsidiary. It has approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) with a proposal.
Nokia has proposed to set up a manufacturing base for wireless network (GSM and other wireless systems) in India with an initial investment of $3 million which would be increased to $10 million in the next ten years. The company has also indicated its willingness to install and commission the wireless network systems in India, besides marketing GSM and other wireless and developing "solutions" for transmission and fixed wireless networks in India.
Nokia has also proposed to provide customer support which would include project management, installation, planning, testing and commissioning technical and system support, besides customer financing. Nokia had recently finalized an agreement with Skycell Communications Ltd., for the supply of first phase of the GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular network for Madras. This network is likely to become operational by June. Nokia will be delivering the total GSM system including mobile switching centers, base stations, base station controllers, and transmission equipment.
In another development, Nokia has signed an agreement with Wipro Infotech Ltd., under which Wipro Infotech will support services of Nokia's telecom equipment supplied to India. Wipro Infotech will provide technical personnel to install and maintain the switching equipment supplied by Nokia to its various customers in India in the cellular phone services. Nokia will train Wipro's engineers and also provide the necessary technical expertise for commissioning the equipment to be supplied to Indian operators.
In addition, Nokia Group's mobile phone division entered into an exclusive agreement with HCL Ltd., for marketing its FM RDS Radio Pagers in the Indian market.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950410)
ndian market.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950410)
4/10/95
India - Nokia Plans Fully Owned Subsidiary
TELECOM
UK - Advanced Text Editor For DO
UTTOXETER, WEST MIDLANDS, U.K., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- The Thompson Partnership has announced that version 7.0 of Boxer, the advanced text editor, is now available.
According to Marketing Director Steve Townsley, the package is available in several versions, with prices ranging from UKP27 through to UKP76.
"The UKP27 price is for a license for the DOS version of the package without a manual. Further up is the extended DOS version with a manual, right through to the OS/2 and DOS versions with manuals," Townsley told Newsbytes.
The extended DOS version allows the package to by-pass the normal 640 kilobyte (KB) limit imposed by DOS on file sizes, Townsley explained. Using the built-in file extender, the extended DOS version can cope with file sizes of up to 16 megabytes (MB).
According to Townsley, Boxer 7.0 is a text editor for programmers that has become the editor of choice for people who need fast editing of ASCII text files.
The major features of Boxer include pull-down menus, mouse support cut, copy, paste, and multiple windows. The package also supports block marketing, copying and fill marked area functions. Up to 100 macros can be loaded simultaneously, with the package allowing the user to execute macros by name or via the keyboard.
Other features of the package include optimized program code for 80286 or better Intel processors, multi-level undo, and full support for non-US keyboards. Townsley explained that, as well as being useful for programming, Boxer can be used to edit all types of files including eight bit files.
Typical uses include: search and replace across multiple files editing Windows INI files, off-line electronic-mail readers. and preparation of disk documentation plus file viewing.
Boxer 7.0 is a shareware package, allowing users to "try before you buy." The shareware version of the software is available for download from the company's bulletin board system (BBS) at +44-1889-568-625 or from CompuServe's UKSHARE Forum (Section 7).
(Steve Gold/19950410/Press & Reader Contact: The Thompson Partnership, tel +44-1889-564601, fax +44-1889-563219, Internet e-mail steve@ttp.co.uk)
9-563219, Internet e-mail steve@ttp.co.uk)
4/10/95
UK - Advanced Text Editor For DOS & OS/2
Quarterdeck Ships Word For Windo
CHELMSFORD, ESSEX, U.K., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Quarterdeck says it is shipping US and UK English versions of WebAuthor, its World Wide Web add-in for Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0.
According to Caroline Edney, general manager of the company's UK operation, the US and UK English versions of the package sell for UKP99, and French and German versions are also in the pipeline.
"These are about eight weeks away from shipment," she told Newsbytes adding that versions for four other European languages are also under consideration/development.
"Quarterdeck UK is turning into a European division. We're finding sales are starting to take off in Europe, and interest in European language versions of our software is very high," she explained.
According to Edney, WebAuthor acts as a drop in utility for Word for Windows 6 and allows anyone familiar with the word processor to create and edit hypertext linked multimedia documents, often referred to as "home pages" on the Web, using the hypertext mark-up language (HTML).
In use, WebAuthor allows the editing of HTML files using Word for Windows 6's pull-down menus and dialog boxes, as well as toolbars. The complexities of HTML do not need to be entered, as the utility enters them for the user, Newsbytes notes.
Quarterdeck claims that it has been carrying out extensive beta tests on the package, with the result that the shipping version includes a number of enhancements to the original specification of the software including the recognition of, and the ability to insert, non-standard HTML tags, such as Netscape extension and the proposed HTML 3.0 tags.
According to Edney, WebAuthor is one of four Internet packages that Quarterdeck plans to introduce in the first half of the year. The other packages include a Quarterdeck version of Mosaic, a next generation Web browser, Quarterdeck's Web Server for Windows and the Internet toolbox, which includes e-mail and UseNet newsgroups functions.
(Steve Gold/19950410/Press Contact: Nick Spencer, tel +44-1344-873445 fax+44-1344-873446, Internet e-mail nspencer@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: Quarterdeck UK, tel +44-1245-496699, fax +44-1295 495284, Internet e-mail pr@qdeck.com; Quarterdeck France tel +33-1-4320-3840, fax +33-1-4320-0380, Internet e-mail susanl@qdeck.com)
+33-1-4320-0380, Internet e-mail susanl@qdeck.com)
4/10/95
Quarterdeck Ships Word For Windows 6 Web Addition
WINDOWS
Scottish Firm Intros Desktop Fil
DUNBAR, U.K., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Medical Document Imaging Systems (Mdi) has unveiled, what its claims is, a revolutionary desktop filing system known as Easifile.
According to John Donald, the company's managing director, most competing systems tend to cost from UKP10,000 and up, while Easifile costs from UKP5,750 and upwards."That price includes a PC with 3.5-inch magneto optical disk, 16 megabytes (MB) of memory and 512MB of ordinary hard disk storage, plus our own document imaging software. The scanner is an integral feature of the system," he told Newsbytes.
Donald claims that the Easifile system is the cheapest "inclusive" system available on the market and, because of this, has attracted a lot of international attention.
"Most document imaging companies fall in to one of two categories: the software companies that sell their software for installation on the user's existing system, and the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Canon and Minolta," Donald said.
"We have produced our own software, but we've gone one stage further and build our own self contained systems that the user just plugs in and it works, rather than having to fiddle about with an existing system," he said.
Donald told Newsbytes that he is aware of companies claiming to offer document imaging systems at prices below that of Easifile. "What users find, unfortunately, is that such systems are little more than 'Mickey Mouse' systems, as they require extensive installation and fiddling about to get running. Even then, they can't be used for intensive imaging applications," he commented.
With Easifile, the system is based around standard PC. "So far we've been shipping the system with a 66 megahertz (MHz) DX2 processor, but we're now offering a 100MHz DX4 processor or a Pentium P90 with extra memory for a little extra on the price tag. With document imaging, you need that extra processor power," he explained.
As the name implies, Mdi started out as a company specializing in medical imaging for the health care industry. The company started from Donald's garage five years ago, but has now expanded its operations to include all types of business imaging applications. According to Donald, the company recently clinched a deal with InteliSys in the US for the supply of a system for the White House.
Easifile is claimed to be able to scan up to 10 pages per minute into the system, with each page appearing on the PC's screen as it is scanned in. The system can store up to 4,000 images on a single 3.5-inch removable magneto optical disk.
The software runs on a multitasking basis and versions are available for DOS. Windows, and OS/2. As an added advantage, the system PC can be used under Windows or OS/2 to run other applications, even while Easifile is working in the background.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- The New York Times has spruced up its online service on America Online, @times, adding a Science Times era, a new Technology & New Media area, and other new services.
Included in the new offerings is a photo gallery with over 100 instantly-viewable and downloadable photographs from the venerable newspaper, some going back to the turn of the century. The Times has posted five photo categories -- Central Park Famous New Yorkers, Music Greats, New York Landmarks, and Yankee Greats -- and editor Elliott Rebhun says there will be more photo categories in the future.
In the Science Times area, all the stories that appear in the science section each Tuesday are available, plus science stories run in the rest of the week. The area also contains a complete archive of science stories, back to the beginning of the year.
Another new feature is access to the classified ads that appear in the Sunday Times in the help wanted, real estate and automotive listings. The area also contains a search function to find jobs, homes and cars easily.
Like the science area, the Technology & New Media area includes news and features of everything from the computer and online worlds, plus an archive to the beginning of the year.
The editors have also moved The Times Looks Back feature to the main screen. It has collections of articles and pictures from the past, including a recent collection on the Oscars. Coming is material on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and the fall of Saigon 20 years ago.
Editor Rebhun says big things are coming for the electronic version of the Times, including increasing the number of stories from the paper that appear on the electronic edition, op-ed page columnists, including William Safire, and the daily crossword puzzle. The company says it will roll out an entirely new look for @times later this spring.
(Kennedy Maize/19950410/Press Contact: Elliott Rebhun, on AOL keyword "@times")
tt Rebhun, on AOL keyword "@times")
4/10/95
NY Times Polishes Online Offering
ONLINE
: d H
House Speaker Gingrich Lauds Wir
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- The wireless industry is a "tremendous job creator," said House Speaker Newt Gingrich in his first speech following House passage of the $189 billion tax cut package. Speaking to the Personal Communications Industry Association, Gingrich called on industry leaders to "help accelerate the transition to the information revolution.
"We want to help you maximize jobs," Gingrich said. "We want to work with you on telecommunications. Tell us what you need." Sounding the deregulation theme that has become his mantra Gingrich asked the wireless lobbying group, "To what degree can we do better? To what degree does the Federal Communications Commission become a job killer instead of a job creator?
"We need your help at the vision level," Gingrich said. "And we need you as an industry to help us communicate to the American people about the extraordinary opportunities available using modern technology. Help us identify the laws, taxes, regulations and bureaucracies we need to clear out of the way so you can, in fact, bringing those dreams to life."
Accepting Gingrich's challenge, Jay Kitchen, PCIA president said, "First and foremost, we need a uniform and reasonable manner for dealing with the 38,000 local governments that control the location of transmission sites -- key to the development of personal communication systems (PCS) networks. We are anxious to help lawmakers address the new realities of the communications marketplace."
PCIA says its legislative priority is removing barriers that threaten the roll-out of PCS, including the multiplicity of local governments, which means a multiplicity of licensing zoning and taxing rules standing in the way of siting facilities. The wireless industry recently spent $7.7 billion at the FCC in the spectrum auction and is expected to spend additional billions developing the service.
(Kennedy Maize/19950410/Press Contact: Jonathan Osmundsen, PCIA, 202-467-4770)
Contact: Jonathan Osmundsen, PCIA, 202-467-4770)
4/10/95
House Speaker Gingrich Lauds Wireless Industry
TELECOM
H r V
Radio Broadcast Data Coming To M
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) The Electronic Industries Association's Consumer Electronics Group says it plans to equip 500 FM radio stations in the 25 largest metropolitan areas with the Radio Broadcast Data System, a way to broadcast text with radio signals.
RBDS permits stations to offer digital information over their broadcast signal, but it will require new home and car radios to use the new broadcast product. EIA, a trade group based outside Washington, launched the new service in Philadelphia, and will follow with roll outs in San Francisco and Chicago.
"Not since the advent of FM radio has there been such a major advancement in radio," said Gary Shapiro of EIA. "In providing the technology to broadcasters, we expect to create a market demand which will enable manufacturers to begin marketing more home and car radios with RBDS features." The trade association for the manufacturers says it will put $2.5 million into radio advertising promoting RBDS.
RBDS stations will be able to transmit text information that can be displayed on the face of a car or home radio, along with the sound. RBDS also allows listeners to set their radios to tune in specific types of programming, such as talk, light rock, or religious broadcasting. It can also tune radios to emergency frequencies automatically or traffic reports or provide private paging services.
The technology has been used widely in Europe since 1985, with considerable consumer acceptance, says EIA. "We've seen tremendous growth in the European market for RBDS radios," says Mike Fidler of Pioneer Electronics.
EIA says it will furnish RBDS hardware and software to stations at no cost, in return for receiving advertising and underwriting credits from the stations. Both commercial and listener-supported stations have been targeted.
EIA says it will also work with retailers to promote the new radio technology and products, and explain to advertisers and ad agencies about the promotional aspects of the technology.
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan, NEC to import more PC parts, and New investors at Video Guide.
NEC To Import More PC Parts
NEC has announced it will import more of the parts that make up its PC-98 range of personal computers. The move is a result of an attempt to cut manufacturing costs in the wake of the strong yen and a more competitive marketplace. The introduction of non-Japanese parts is expected to cut around 40% off the cost of production of a PC-98 machine, a saving which will be passed onto the customer. The company is changing the specifications of some of the parts so they can use the cheaper foreign sourced components. Most of the parts will come from East Asian manufacturers including many of NEC's subsidiary companies in the region, principally Hong Kong.
New Investors At Video Guide
Video Guide, the US cable TV information service, has two new Japanese investors. Sanyo Electric and Marubeni have announced that they have both taken a share in the company. Sanyo invested $6 million to Marubeni's $3 million. The two companies now own more than 10% of Video Guide. The investment is ahead of an expected launch of the service on cable TV networks in Japan in June. Sanyo is building a factory in Mexico that will manufacture the Video Guide receivers for the Japanese market. Marubeni is understood to be involved in the marketing of the units to Video Guide in the United States.
(Martyn Williams/19950410)
Williams/19950410)
4/10/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Cognos Net Income Nearly Triples
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN; NASDAQ:COGNF) has reported impressive year-end results with net income approaching three times what it was last year and revenue up 12 percent from fiscal 1994. The company credits cost containment and new products for the good news.
In the year ended February 28, Cognos earned net income of C$11.4 million, or 86 cents per share, on revenue of C$168.2 million. This compared with net income of C$4.0 million, or 31 cents per share, on revenue of C$150.1 million last year.
In the fourth quarter, Cognos reported net income of C$5.4 million, or 40 cents per share, on revenue of C$47.5 million. Net income more than doubled year-over-year, from C$2.3 million or 18 cents per share, while revenue was up 20 percent from C$39.5 million.
Michael Potter, chairman and chief executive of Cognos, told Newsbytes that growth in the sales of the company's PowerPlay and Impromptu software products contributed heavily to the results as did "very effective management of the PowerHouse revenue stream."
Cognos describes PowerPlay and Impromptu as "business intelligence products," and Ron Zambonini, president and chief operating officer, told Newsbytes that sales of these products grew 163 percent in the past year, while the over-all business intelligence market is estimated to have grown 70 to 80 percent.
PowerHouse is application development software and the oldest of Cognos' products. By looking closely at how PowerHouse is sold and to whom, Zambonini said, Cognos has been able to reduce its cost of sales, contributing to an across-the-board increase in sales productivity for the company. Zambonini said the productivity of Cognos' field representatives rose about 20 percent in the past year.
Meanwhile, Axiant, a new application development system, chalked up C$2.3 million in sales in the year, which Zambonini said was better than the company expected.
While "no-one expects the sort of more-than-doubling that went on" over the past year, Potter said, Cognos is comfortable with investment analysts' estimates that its strong growth will continue over the coming year.
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Tele Communications Inc. may soon be in Colorado schools, but not as a student. Instead, the nation's largest cable television company is studying the feasibility of providing a turnkey package of hardware software, and network connections to school districts on a lease basis that would help bring the state's schools "into the 21st century."
While many schools have computers in the classroom, two federal studies say most public schools lack the technology students need to prepare for "life and work in the next century." According to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report, while three-quarters of schools have enough computers, they don't have the necessary phone lines and modems to take full advantage of new technology. The GAO also reported that, even when enough computers are present, they often aren't networked or connected to any other computers in the school or in the outside world. "They cannot access the information superhighway," said the GAO.
Teacher skills also reportedly play a role in student computer competence. The congressional Office of Technology Assessment said that, while there is one computer for every nine pupils in US classrooms, students often don't get the full benefit from the equipment because of a lack of teacher technical training.
Donovan Merck, manager of the Educational Technology Office in the California Department of Education, recently told the San Francisco Examiner it would take billions of dollars to wire that state's schools and provide the necessary hardware, software, and training.
That's where companies like TCI come in. TCI spokesperson Chris Rapp, a former school teacher himself, told Newsbytes that TCI has already entered into a 60-day, $35,000 feasibility study with one Colorado county. The contract calls for TCI to evaluate what Douglas county, south of Denver, has in the way of equipment and what it needs to connect schools, administrative offices, and homes to a wide area network to provide video, data, and possibly voice services. The study will also examine how to train teachers and staff to use computers in teaching, as well as whether the technology actually enhances instruction.
"The key to our approach is the idea of leasing," said Rapp. He told Newsbytes the company has been working with school districts around the country for the past several years. "In many cases, a school may pass a school bond referendum for technology but by the time they purchase that technology two or three years later it is already out of date."
Rapp said TCI leases are structured to replace the equipment every two or three years in order to keep the school district on the leading edge of technology. "A lease is predictable pricing for a school district," Rapp stated, referring to a constant cost versus the having to deal with the frequent fluctuation of hardware prices.
TCI doesn't seem concerned about the availability of school money for technology, even though some districts across the country are having difficulty getting bond approval for new facilities or the additional teachers they say they need. Rapp said money put into computer networks can be offset by techniques such as distance learning, in which one teacher teaches at several sites via teleconferencing. Large districts can also save on travel expenses by having teachers and administrators meet via teleconferencing instead of traveling to a central location for meetings.
Education and TCI are not new acquaintances. Last Spring the company opened its J.C. Sparkman Center for Education Technology in Littleton to teach teachers how to use new multimedia tools for education.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Nintendo of America and Samsung Electronics have announced a settlement of their legal battle in the US and say they will resume their business relationship.
That relationship was strained in January of this year when Nintendo alleged Samsung was counterfeiting read-only-memory (ROM) chips containing Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country and other Nintendo video game software. Howard Lincoln, Nintendo of America chairman called Samsung "a crook."
Samsung denied Nintendo's allegations and counter-sued Nintendo charging defamation of its reputation and interfering with its customer relationships. Both lawsuits will be dismissed "with prejudice," meaning they cannot be re-filed later. Neither company will have to pay damages.
The agreement calls for the two companies to work together to identify unauthorized copies of Nintendo game software using expertise, including a proprietary screening system, provided by Nintendo. Nintendo said Samsung was not the origin of the counterfeit Nintendo software. A prepared statement released by Nintendo said that software came from a third party.
Neither Nintendo or Samsung officials were available at Newsbytes' deadline to identify that company.
In conjunction with the settlement, a Samsung official issued a statement saying the company condemns illegal copying and piracy of products. "With the screening system provided by Nintendo, Samsung will now be able to detect counterfeits for Nintendo as it already does for other customers," said H.G. Kim, Samsung senior vice president.
(Jim Mallory/19950410/Press contact: Nintendo of America 206-882-2040)
: Nintendo of America 206-882-2040)
4/10/95
Samsung & Nintendo Settle Lawsuit
LEGAL
Intersolv Expands Unix Data-Acce
China - Microsoft Opens Free Tra
DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Price
Novell's PerfectWorks To Ship in
GEnie To Launch Full Internet Ac
c ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- Online service provider General Electric Information Services has announced it will offer full Internet access to subscribers to its GEnie online service as part of a beta test that starts tomorrow, April 11.
The company will also open its Internet Education Center on that date. GEnie spokesperson, Andrew Finkenstadt, told Newsbytes that the center will offer a collection of materials GEnie managers think best describe what is available on the Internet, what you can do while online on the World Wide Web and how to do it. You can read the information online or download the files for off-line reading in order to conserve connect time. The files are available in both standard text and compressed formats.
In conjunction with GEnie's announcement, the service said it is extending its Internet Roundtable Help Desk hours. The new hours will run from 6pm to 3am Eastern Time seven days a week.
GEnie has opened a special section on its Internet Bulletin Board where users can report bugs and offer comments and suggestions about the new service.
In October, 1994, Newsbytes reported GEnie would launch phase I of its Internet Access Service by the end of 1994, with Phase II to follow sometime this year. At that time phase I was projected to include File Transfer Protocol (FTP), UseNet newsgroups, outbound Telnet service, Gopher service, and Wide Area Information Server (WAIS). Phase II called for the addition of access to the World Wide Web sometime in 1995.
GEnie spokesperson Scott Melnick told Newsbytes the service being launched tomorrow is the same as the initial Phase I plan announced plus a World Wide Web text browser. Melnick said graphical Web browser service will be added later this year.
The March 1995 Information and Interactive Services Report said there are presently more than seven million subscribers to online services. CompuServe leads the pack with 2.7 million users. America Online claims about 2 million, Prodigy 1.3 million and Delphi 140,000. The report said GEnie has about 75,000 subscribers, but GEnie spokesperson Scott Melnick could not confirm that number. Online service subscribers have reportedly grown by about 47 percent in the past 12 months.
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 10 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Mastersoft's Upgrade To Windows File Viewer 04/10/95 Mastersoft Inc. has announced it will ship Viewer 3.1, an upgrade to its file-viewing utility program for Windows 3.1, by late April or early May.
2 -> Autodesk To Ship AutoCAD LT For Windows Release 2 04/10/95 Autodesk, well known developer of computer-aided design (CAD) software, has announced a new release of AutoCAD LT for Windows for a late April shipment. The company also announced AutoCAD LT Symbols for the US and Canadian markets.
3 -> Research Grants For SGML Libraries On Web 04/10/95 Electronic Book Technologies (EBT) has launched an Educational Grant Program to support research into the publishing of SGML (standard generalized markup language)-based "digital libraries" on the Internet. The University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) has been named the first grant recipient.
4 -> Mindscape Ships "How Your Body Works" CD 04/10/95 Software and multimedia developer, Mindscape, is shipping "How Your Body Works," a CD-ROM title which explores the 12 body systems. Based on the Ziff-Davis Press book of the same name, the CD also provides current health information.
5 -> Oracle Opening Research Institute In Korea 04/10/95 Oracle Systems (NASDAQ:ORCL) plans to launch a tentatively named "Information Highway & Multimedia Research Institute" this month in Korea, designed to provide its technologies to KT (Korea Telecom) LG Electronics, and Samsung Electronics.
6 -> Motorola To Invest In Mexico 04/10/95 Motorola de Mexico plans to invest $72 million in Mexico in 1995, $50 million of which will be put toward building a new plant to manufacture pagers in Chihuahua. Construction of the new plant will begin in June and it should be operational by mid-1996.
7 -> European Commission Ready To Suspend DRAM Tariffs 04/10/95 The European Commission may suspend anti-dumping measures against Japanese DRAMs and waive agreements affecting similar products imported from South Korea.
8 -> European Firms Team Up To Recycle Circuit Boards 04/10/95 Four European companies have struck a deal to jointly promote a 100 percent recyclable PCB (printed circuit board). IBM Germany, DuPont Sorep and Alcatel SEL have signed a joint agreement to promote the wider use of low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technology in Europe.
9 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 04/10/95 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
10 -> Correction - Scandinavia Online Opens For Norway 04/10/95 In a Newsbytes article titled "Scandinavia Online opens for Norway" on 31 March we erroneously reported the World Wide Web address of the new Scandinavian Online service.
11 -> DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across StorageWorks Line-Up 04/10/95 DEC plans to roll out wide small computer systems interface (SCSI) technology to its entire StorageWorks product line, starting with three newly unveiled wide SCSI products for its Alphaserver 2100 systems running DEC Unix.
12 -> ****OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Against SATAN Security Prgm 04/10/95 If you're thinking of trying out the new SATAN (Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks) security software which was just released over the Internet and other online services be careful you know how to "play with fire," some network security experts are warning.
13 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 04/10/95 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: Digital Equipment's new Portswitch 900 line of switching products and Hubwatch Version 4.0 network management software Hewlett-Packard's Telepace workstation, and new database and client/server tools from Oracle.
14 -> HP, Novell, Ingram Offer Internet Bundle In Canada 04/10/95 A hardware-and-software bundle for linking local area networks (LANs) to the Internet grew out of a "brainstorming session" between two employees of Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Inc. and Novell Canada Ltd. So far the bundle is only available in Canada, through distributor Ingram Micro, but Novell and HP may just export the idea to other countries.
15 -> Designer Comms Devices From Swatch Watch Firm 04/10/95 Siemens' mobile communications technology is to be combined with the marketing flair of the company which invented the Swatch watch in a deal to develop a new generation of personal communications devices.
16 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 04/10/95 By John Hastings. Microsoft appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Following several postponements, it has announced it will release its next operating system, Windows 95, in August. However the most recent beta, or test, version of the software shows many problems have yet to be solved.
17 -> India - VSNL-Inmarsat Pact To Intro Satellite Phones 04/10/95 Following the "walkie- talkie," mobile telephone and the latest cellular phone, another portable telecom product is all set to make inroads in the Indian market. Christened "Satphones" they will shortly be introduced by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL).
18 -> India - Nokia Plans Fully Owned Subsidiary 04/10/95 In order to strengthen its presence in the Indian telecom sector, Finland-based Nokia Telecommunications has announced plans to set up a 100 percent-owned subsidiary. It has approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) with a proposal.
19 -> UK - Advanced Text Editor For DOS & OS/2 04/10/95 The Thompson Partnership has announced that version 7.0 of Boxer, the advanced text editor, is now available.
20 -> Quarterdeck Ships Word For Windows 6 Web Addition 04/10/95 Quarterdeck says it is shipping US and UK English versions of WebAuthor, its World Wide Web add-in for Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0.
21 -> Scottish Firm Intros Desktop Filing System 04/10/95 Medical Document Imaging Systems (Mdi) has unveiled, what its claims is, a revolutionary desktop filing system known as Easifile.
22 -> NY Times Polishes Online Offering 04/10/95 The New York Times has spruced up its online service on America Online, @times, adding a Science Times era, a new Technology & New Media area, and other new services.
23 -> House Speaker Gingrich Lauds Wireless Industry 04/10/95 The wireless industry is a "tremendous job creator," said House Speaker Newt Gingrich in his first speech following House passage of the $189 billion tax cut package. Speaking to the Personal Communications Industry Association, Gingrich called on industry leaders to "help accelerate the transition to the information revolution.
24 -> Radio Broadcast Data Coming To Metro Markets 04/10/95 The Electronic Industries Association's Consumer Electronics Group says it plans to equip 500 FM radio stations in the 25 largest metropolitan areas with the Radio Broadcast Data System, a way to broadcast text with radio signals.
25 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/10/95 In this roundup of news from Japan NEC to import more PC parts, and New investors at Video Guide.
26 -> Cognos Net Income Nearly Triples 04/10/95 Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN; NASDAQ:COGNF) has reported impressive year-end results, with net income approaching three times what it was last year and revenue up 12 percent from fiscal 1994. The company credits cost containment and new products for the good news.
27 -> TCI May Go Back To School - As Network Provider 04/10/95 Tele Communications Inc. may soon be in Colorado schools, but not as a student. Instead, the nation's largest cable television company is studying the feasibility of providing a turnkey package of hardware software, and network connections to school districts on a lease basis that would help bring the state's schools "into the 21st century."
28 -> Samsung & Nintendo Settle Lawsuit 04/10/95 Nintendo of America and Samsung Electronics have announced a settlement of their legal battle in the US and say they will resume their business relationship.
29 -> ****GEnie To Launch Full Internet Access Tomorrow 04/10/95 Online service provider General Electric Information Services has announced it will offer full Internet access to subscribers to its GEnie online service as part of a beta test that starts tomorrow April 11.
(Ian Stokell/19950410)
(Ian Stokell/19950410)
4/10/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Public Involvement Net Fosters C
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- An online service on the Internet called The Public Involvement Network (PIN) is making resources available to decision makers in public agencies and businesses, as well as community leaders.
PIN is the official network of the International Association of Public Participation Practitioners. Mike Dolan, host of the Network and president of the non-profit Rosemary Institute for Public Involvement in Portland, Oregon, said the service plans to bring active citizens and professional organizations together on the Internet to access information and case histories in PIN's 12 file libraries on subjects like environmental protection, land use and transportation, costing and accountability and dispute resolution.
Like most online services, members can start any message topic they want. Network members get local dial-up access to NovaLink Interactive Networks, an online Internet service, from anywhere in the US for $9.95 per month. Service is also available in Canada for a comparable charge. That charge provides up to five hours of access per month.
In addition to the monthly charge, an individual subscriber also pays a one-time sign-up of $50. Dolan said that fee is waived for members of the International Association of Public Participation Practitioners. Dolan hopes to add other organizations to that fee-exempt list.
"The key distinguishing characteristic (between PIN and the Internet) is specific how-to information," Dolan stated. He said that, while lots of public issues are discussed on the Internet, PIN offers step-by-step analyses of how to proceed, or an evaluation of what was done correctly or incorrectly.
Dolan told Newsbytes that PIN subscribers can provide a credit card number when they sign up, then cancel their subscription within the first 30 days if they aren't satisfied with what is offered on the network. If they cancel within that 30 days period they won't be charged anything. PIN members have full Internet access in addition to the resources of the public interest net.
(Jim Mallory/19950410/Press contact: Michael Dolan, Public Involvement Network, 503-287-4876; Public contact: Public Involvement Network, 503-287-4876 or 800-274-2814 Internet e-mail Rosemary@Novalink.com)
876 or 800-274-2814 Internet e-mail Rosemary@Novalink.com)
4/11/95
Public Involvement Net Fosters Community Decision-Making
ONLINE
Lotus Plans 1st European Technol
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, U.K., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Lotus has announced it is hosting the first European Technology Conference on April 25 and 26. The event is being co-hosted by the European Lotus cc:Mail User Group.
According to Debra Thompson, Lotus' European communications product marketing manager, the event will be held at Brighton's Metropole Hotel and builds on the success of last year's cc:Mail '94 conference which attracted more than 450 European corporations. More than 1,000 European customers and partners are expected at the event.
The conference aims to cover a broad range of topics, including both messaging and team computing technologies. The conference is billed as being relevant to Lotus customers and Business Partners (resellers) who design, develop, integrate, or support Lotus products.
The event will be opened by James Finger, vice president of Lotus Europe, Middle East, and Africa and will feature a keynote speech from John Landry, chief technology officer with Lotus' US operation.
Delegates to the event can select from more than 40 technical sessions that explore all aspects of Lotus' products, including Notes ViP and Notes FX. Sessions aim to cover the enterprise wide deployment of cc:Mail and cc:Mail Mobile, as well as application development.
An exhibition of 50 stands has been scheduled to run in parallel with the conference. According to Thompson, these stands will showcase several third-party products and services for all aspects of Lotus' product family.
"The technology conference gives our users and partners an ideal opportunity to see our full product range, access our technical experts, and network with other users from different business sectors and many different European countries," Thompson explained
Admission to the event costs UKP395, and interested parties are asked to contact Lotus' new Conference Line on +44-1628-419955.
BOCHUM, GERMANY, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Nokia Mobile Phones has announced plans to build a new distribution center in Bochum, Germany. The new building will be in addition to the company's existing manufacturing facility in Bochum and will consist of a 14,000 square-meter distribution center, as well as a new 6,000 square-meter office building.
According to Pekka Ala-Pietila, the foundation stone for the facility was laid last month and construction should be finished by the end of the year, ready for occupation early in 1996.
Ala-Pietila, Nokia's president, said the new distribution center is required owing to the growth that the company has experienced over the last few years. "Managing growth is the main challenge for the whole industry during this year. The world's total cellular subscriber base of more than 50 million will continue to increase for several years to come," he said.
According to Ali-Pietila, this requires a fast market response and investments into logistics and marketing. "During the 1990s, Nokia Mobile Phones has gained market share each year and we intend to stay ahead," he said.
Bochum joins Nokia's existing distribution center in Salo, Finland and will service the company's European distribution network for products and services. According to Nokia, more than 1,000 people are now employed within the company in cellular phone production a figure that is expected to increase steadily.
According to the firm, the US cellular phone market is on the increase as well. Plans call for the company's manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to move to a new complex nearby later this year, while sales of Nokia hardware climb in the US cellular marketplace.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950410/Press & Reader Contact: Nokia Mobile Phones, +358-10-505-5750)
r Contact: Nokia Mobile Phones, +358-10-505-5750)
4/11/95
Nokia Builds New Distribution Center In Germany
BUSINESS
Germany - Nortel Unveils Mini-GS
HAMBURG, GERMANY, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Whilst zooming down the highway, you can scarcely miss a cellular base station, which, complete with sprouting aerials, stands out like a sore thumb on the horizon. The problem for the cellular companies is that the aerial needs to be sited at a high point, and the electronics all gobble up room, not to mention the network's bank balance.
Now Nortel (previously known as Northern Telecom) has come up with an interesting alternative -- a Micro Base Transceiver Station (MBTS) for GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular networks.
The MBTS operates like a TV booster repeater, receiving signals from either the base station or the mobile, and repeating them in a beamed direction. This makes the mini-base station suitable for fill-in sites such as shopping malls or underground locations -- areas that would previously have needed an extra full base station to service them effectively.
The MBTS does not need connection to the landline or microwave network like a full-sized base stations. Instead, the unit, which comes in a casing with a "footprint" of 60 by 70 centimeters (cm) and a depth of 30 cm, simply requires a mains power supply.
The MBTS can be used on the GSM networks operating at 900 megahertz (MHz), while versions for the European 1,800 MHz PCN (personal communications network) and the 1,900 MHz PCS (personal communications system) services in the US are also available.
Nortel isn't saying how much the MBTS costs, but sources suggest that typical pricing is in the $2,000 to $3,000 price bracket, putting it beyond the pocket of even the most well heeled GSM, PCN, or PCS network user. Nevertheless, Nortel officials claim that the company expects to make considerable sales to the networks around Europe who are looking at ways of improving coverage to so-called black spots, areas where reception is very poor or non-existent.
(Steve Gold/19950410/Press Contact: Christian Erhard, Nortel Europe, +49-89-35050)
: Christian Erhard, Nortel Europe, +49-89-35050)
4/11/95
Germany - Nortel Unveils Mini-GSM Base Station
TELECOM
Microsoft Upgrades Visual C++
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Microsoft has announced an upgrade to Microsoft Visual C++, its entry-level development tool for the Windows operating system.
The company said the 16-bit Visual C++ version 1.52 will be available later this month from Microsoft or authorized distributors at a suggested retail price of $99.95 and will make an academic version available for $49.95.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that retail buyers will get a rebate card in the software package which earns them a $15 rebate when the card is mailed to Microsoft.
Microsoft describes Visual C++ as "an entry-level development tool for developers who want an inexpensive way to learn programming for the Windows operating system in C++ and Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), and who need to develop professional quality applications on Windows and the MS-DOS operating system quickly."
Visual C++ version 1.52 is also available to members of the Visual C++ development subscription program who have received their first CD-ROM update to the toolkit, version 2.1.
Version 1.52 adds support for object linking and embedding (OLE) and ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) programming through MFC classes and wizard technology. Wizards aid users in performing a desired task.
The new release supports both Windows and MS-DOS-based programming. It also provides new 16-bit MFC Windows programming, Simple MAPI Windows Sockets, and property pages. Users get more than 20,000 lines of MFC code to assist in OLE development and database support with the new Jet-based ODBC drivers. The supported data bases include Microsoft Access 2.0, Microsoft SQL (structured query language) Server version 4.21, the FoxPro data base management system version 2.6, Paradox 4.x, dBase III and dBase IV, Microsoft Excel 5.0 and Btrieve.
You also get a MFC Migration Kit to help migrate legacy C code to MFC, more than 2,500 pages of printed documentation including a step-by-step C++ tutorial and eight of the games from the Windows Entertainment Packs.
To use Visual C++ you need an IBM-compatible personal computer running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, a 80386 microprocessor eight megabytes (MB) of available memory, a CD-ROM drive and a hard disk with at least 40MB of available space for the minimum configuration and twice that amount for the full installation.
(Jim Mallory/19950410/Press contact: Jill Pembroke, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-224-9880; Public contact: Microsoft 800-426-9400 or 206-882-8080)
t 800-426-9400 or 206-882-8080)
4/11/95
Microsoft Upgrades Visual C++
WINDOWS
DEC Follows 5Rs In Downsizing Ma
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- These days more and more companies are using DEC systems based on OpenVMS, DEC Unix and Windows NT to move legacy applications off of mainframes said Steve Koenig, director of DEC's Mainframe Downsizing Program.
The DEC systems hold an edge over IBM MVS in several key ways including system availability, fault tolerance, data access, and cost of ownership, Koenig contended, in a recent strategy briefing for Newsbytes at DEC headquarters in Maynard, Massachusetts.
It is not surprising that mainframe systems are migrating to DEC environments today, because ever since the 1960s with its first minicomputers, DEC has been offering alternatives to the mainframe according to the program director.
DEC computers constituted the first non-mainframe platform to "co-exist" with the mainframe, and DEC was also the first vendor to come out with an SNA gateway, Koenig told Newsbytes.
DEC's current mainframe downsizing efforts, he added, fall into five major categories, which Digital dubs the "5Rs": reface rehost, replace, rearchitect, and reengineer.
"Refacing" is typically performed on "business-critical" applications such as transaction processing (TP), in situations where it would be too costly, inconvenient, or time consuming to replace the actual mainframe applications, Koenig reported.
In these instances, DEC generally builds object-oriented, client server front-ends to the legacy applications, often integrating existing desktop applications as well.
"Rehosting," he explained, takes place when entire mainframe applications are physically migrated from the mainframe to DEC systems such as OpenVMS clusters.
In "rearchitecting," the legacy applications are "restructured" as well as being moved to decentralized client-server environments.
In "replace," on the other hand, DEC replaces some or all of a company's legacy application code with accounting, manufacturing or other off-the-shelf packages from DEC or third-party vendors running on Digital systems connected over a network.
Through "reengineering," DEC builds new systems that are designed to embody a customer's business processes, according to the DEC exec.
What prompts customers to downsize from mainframes? A number of factors, including reduced maintenance and cost of ownership greater "performance and functionality," more flexible access to data, and the lure of client-server computing, Koenig responded.
Five-year cost-of-ownership studies, for example, show that the combined maintenance, power consumption, and floor space of a 64 bit AlphaServer 2100 rated at up to 65 MIPS is less than one percent of the 45 MIPS IBM 3090 mainframe, representing a cost savings of almost $650,000 for the hardware alone, according to the DEC exec.
Beyond that, he added, most applications now running on mainframes were custom-written by in-house users -- sometimes decades ago and this "spaghetti code" is difficult to use and maintain today.
The number one application area for downsizing, according to Koenig, consists of databases, including data warehousing structured query language (SQL) querying and reports, information distribution, and database maintenance.
A major ingredient of DEC's downsizing activities is AccessWorks a middleware framework, available for OpenVMS as well as DEC Unix which provides access to more than 80 relational and non-relational databases, flat files, and proprietary data sources, he told Newsbytes.
DEC also holds "strong partnerships" with many leading database vendors, including Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Ingress, Progress, and Cincom, Koenig added.
Digital's recent sale of its Rdb relational database management system (RDBMS) to Oracle was based on Oracle's "core competency" in RDBMS, he noted.
DEC also provides data warehousing to customers, and has established partnerships in this category with companies that include Red Brick Systems, Prism, and Oracle, according to Koenig.
Koenig also told Newsbytes that a mainframe computer typically experiences about eight hours of system downtime each week. The downtime presents significant potential for serious disruptions, a problem that can have particularly serious ramifications in applications like electronic funds transfer (EFT) he continued.
In contrast, DEC's cluster and symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems use technologies such as parallel processors, redundant components, and software failover techniques to achieve "24-hour availability" as well as fault tolerance, Koenig maintained.
Digital's Business Recovery Server product line, for example allows nodes in a cluster to be physically separated by up to 200 miles, with automatic failover "within seconds" in case of an earthquake or other disaster, Newsbytes was told. The configuration can be administered from either the primary or secondary site.
Also for the TP market, Koenig added, DEC provides Reliable Transaction Router (RTR) software aimed at protecting local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) from system failures initiated by DOS-based PCs on the network. The software uses both OpenVMS and MS-DOS to confirm that transactions have been processed.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950410/Reader Contact: 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Kenneth McDonnell, DEC, 508-264-5207; Marc Gendron Creamer Dickson Basford for DEC, 617-467-1502)
c Gendron Creamer Dickson Basford for DEC, 617-467-1502)
4/11/95
DEC Follows 5Rs In Downsizing Mainframe Applications
GENERAL
Philippines - Autodesk Plans Loc
IBM In Microkernel Deals With Fi
llows 5Rs In Downsizing Ma
Internet World - CommerceNet's C
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- CommerceNet a non-profit consortium of companies chartered to develop commerce on the Internet, has introduced a pilot certification program for buyers and sellers on the "Net." Based on public key encryption, the certification system is designed to secure Internet business-to business transactions.
One of the main topics here at Spring Internet World '95 is security issues surrounding financial transactions over the Net. Officials at CommerceNet say one of the basic business elements on the Net is to determine who you are dealing with and whether or not they are reputable. The CommerceNet solution is to introduce a third party which will authenticate both the buyer and the seller and create an electronic certificate. The certificate is based on public key encryption.
CommerceNet's executive director, Cathy Medich, told Newsbytes, "We do not want to be in the business of certification. This certification program is a pilot which we hope will be a model other companies will develop. We do not intend to be in the business of certification. Much like VISA operates as a third party which authenticates and certifies buyers and sellers, our program establishes CommerceNet as the third party to issue electronic certificates for Internet businesses as an example for others to pursue."
In the first phase of this pilot program, CommerceNet will concentrate on the seller part of the business transaction. Some of its members are already participating in the pilot.
Medich continued, "With this certification system in place, companies will begin a business transaction with an exchange of credentials based on public key encryption. Computers on both ends of the transaction will read the electronic certificate of each company. Based on the users conditions of acceptance, the transaction will either proceed or terminate."
Beyond the authentication process, the certification program involves maintenance by the third party to assure the data used to certify the company remains constant, and a protocol to cancel certificates of any participant unable to maintain their status. Medich used the example of a Visa card holder whose card is canceled for its inability to pay.
CommerceNet also introduced a new level of membership for small businesses. Originally set at $1,250, subscriber participation for a small company is now being offered for $400, plus a one-time $250 set-up fee. Medich said, "We want to encourage small companies to participate in the development of Internet commerce."
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Patrick Corman, Corman/Croel Marketing and Communications, 415-326-9648; Public Information: CommerceNet, 415-617-8790)
6-9648; Public Information: CommerceNet, 415-617-8790)
4/11/95
Internet World - CommerceNet's Certification Program
ONLINE
Media Planning Directory Online
Infocorp Reports On Mac, Windows
UK - Pipex's 2Mbps Leased Line I
India's Pentafour Plans Software
Internet World - Apple's Server,
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced a new server package for the World Wide Web, a Personal Internet Solution Bundle for the education market, and Web access for its online service, eWorld. In a press conference, the company stressed its goal to deliver Internet access and related products to every level of its customer base.
The new server, Apple Internet Server Solution for the World Wide Web is designed for small office/home office users, educational institutions and large companies building an Internet presence on the Web.
Apple's vice president and general manager for the Apple Business Systems, Jim Groff, told Newsbytes, "We know our customers are looking for ways to create a Web site without all of the complexity of Unix-based systems. We have created a complete server/software package which does that and it does it at a price one-third to one-half the cost of competitive products. Most importantly, we are giving the customer an 'out-of-the-box experience.' This whole system can be booted and running in a minute and a half."
The Apple Internet Sever Solution has an entry price of $2,909 for the Workgroup Server 6150/66 with 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM, 700MB hard disk, and quad-speed CD-ROM drive. An 8150/110 model and a 9150/120 model are also available. All systems include: MacHTTP from BIAP Systems; BBEdit from Bare Bones Software; Netscape Navigator; AppleSearch; Adobe Acrobat Pro; Common Gateway Interfaces; Apple RAID Software; and AppleShare Client for Windows. These Web servers will be available in thirty days.
Apple's Personal Internet Solution Bundle comes with either a Power Mac 5200/75 LC or a Macintosh LC 580, and both are expected to be in the retail channel by the middle of May. The Bundle will also be available as a stand-alone kit. The Solution Bundle includes: an Internet software package with Netscape Navigator; Eudora and an Internet serial line connection package; an extensive pack of CD-ROM research titles such as Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia and Infopedia from Mindscape; an Internet Provider for access; a Global Village 14.4 modem; a Getting Started Guide; discount coupons for additional reference materials; and a three month subscription to "Classroom Connect."
The Power Mac 5200/75 LC with the bundle is priced at $1,899. The Mac LC version is $1,549 and the stand-alone kit is $299.
The next version of eWorld, code-named Golden Gate, will offer its members expanded multimedia capabilities and intelligent mail features. Shortly after Golden Gate is released this summer, Apple intends to add World Wide Web access. The latest figures from Apple show the online service with more than 80,000 members.
(Patrick McKenna/19950411/Press Contact: John McCreadie Regis McKenna, 408-974-4398)
s Contact: John McCreadie Regis McKenna, 408-974-4398)
4/11/95
Internet World - Apple's Server, Education Offerings
APPLE
Internet World - CompuServe's Ne
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- CompuServe has announced new pricing for its Internet services, including the Web. The changes include three free Internet browsing hours and an optional Internet Club which offers 20 additional Internet browsing hours for a $15 monthly fee.
The three hours are available for all CompuServe members registered in the standard $9.95 per month pricing plan. The company also said any usage of Internet services beyond the first three hours each month would be billed at $2.50 per hour. The new plan applies to access at 9,600, 14,400, and 28,800 bits-per-second (bps).
CompuServe also announced World Wide Web access for Windows users through CompuServe's Net Launcher which will take users into the Spry browser. Net Launcher is composed of two parts, Spry Mosaic and CompuServe Internet Dialer. It can be downloaded for free on CompuServe. Users wishing to use a different browser such as Netscape's Navigator or any other Winsock-compatible application may script the necessary commands and use the CompuServe Internet Dialer.
The new Internet pricing is effective immediately for access through Net Launcher.
CompuServe's standard Internet service offering of UseNet newsgroups File Transfer Protocol, and Telnet will be charged at the standard hourly rate of $4.80 per hour until May 1, when this area will reflect the new Internet rates. Web access integrated into CompuServe's Information Manager as part of its Internet services is not expected until a new version is available.
Russ Robinson, director of public relations at CompuServe told Newsbytes, "Through the acquisition of Spry, we have been able to move very fast in the development of Internet services. Our 'Internet Made Easy' strategy is designed to provide the easiest and most affordable service possible. This new pricing plan allows our members to have all of their online needs met with just one service. Our next goal will be the development of local access at 28,800 bps. You will see significant progress in that area in the coming months."
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- At least five major electronics firms are developing products based on all-polymer transistors, amid claims that the technology could eclipse amorphous silicon in applications such as flat panel displays and smart cards by the end of the century.
Japanese giants Matsushita and Mitsubishi, US-based Motorola and IBM, and European firm Philips, are all working on all-polymer transistor systems.
Matsushita and Mitsubishi have already published research papers on the subject and Mitsubishi is reported to be very close to the world's first all-polymer transistor-based flat panel display prototype for laptops.
Flexible polymer transistors have been pioneered in France. The main advantage of polymer transistors over silicon ones is their mechanical flexibility which may allow complete bending or rolling without affecting their electrical properties. They should also be cheap to produce in volume and the devices can be made transparent making them suitable for windshield applications in planes and cars.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/11/95
Bendable Chips Of The Future
CHIPS
Latin American Telecom Firms For
BOGATA, COLUMBIA, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador are looking for buyers for their telephone companies that will be privatized in the near future.
Bolivia has already announced the sale of Entel-Bolivia, and is accepting offers until July. Already, more than 30 offers have been made, some of which came from Korean, French and Chilean companies.
According to an international consultant, Entel-Bolivia is worth approximately $200 million. Currently, Bolivia has 3.1 telephones per 100 residents. The objective is to raise that number to seven by the end of the century, and 16 by 2005.
In Colombia, new telecommunications laws are still being created by the government, but local and long distance telephone concessions should be sold beginning in 1996. In Colombia, there are 11 lines per 100 inhabitants. The goal is to raise that number to 18 per 100 by 1998.
Meanwhile, telecommunications in Mexico may not be as lucrative as once thought. Because of the peso crisis, revenues in telecommunications will be lower than originally expected, and the Mexican government is likely to ask for more concession fees maybe as high as $500 million.
Since any telephone service provider could only bill in pesos for Mexican services, earnings would be about half of what they would have been before the devaluation. Some industry observers believe the new economics of the opening of the telecommunications industry is likely to scare off some smaller investors, but the big companies, such as AT&T, MCI, and Bell Atlantic will most likely carry investment plans through.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
through.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/11/95
Latin American Telecom Firms For Sale
TELECOM
Internet World Opens
e SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Last year Mecklermedia's Internet World was a small show with a lot of interest and a rather mild attendance. On the first day this year, lines of eager attendees were still registering at three o'clock in the afternoon.
This show is filled with conferences and tutorials on Internet commerce security issues, electronic publishing tools and issues, electronic-mail topics, Mosaic, access, navigation, the Web, and nearly every other imaginable related topic.
While FTP (File Transfer Protocol), newsgroups, gopher and Veronica were commonly heard and discussed last year, this is the year of the World Wide Web. The Web is almost synonymous with the term Internet. When people here speak of "the Net," they are often referring to that part of the Internet which offers access to individual and corporate sites capable of displaying combined graphics, video, audio and text-based presentations -- the World Wide Web.
Monday was supposed to be the slow day here. Tuesday is the day for keynote speeches, announcements from IBM, Sun Microsystems Netscape, the Atlanta Olympic Committee, and ABC Television. Before the convention doors opened on Monday, Apple announced a new Web server series, an educational Internet bundle, and planned Web access for a new version of its online service, eWorld.
Other announcements included CompuServe's new Internet pricing strategy, CommerceNet's certification pilot program for secure Internet commerce, Nectar's new version of NetCruiser, Spry's (now part of CompuServe's Internet division) Internet In a Box version 2.0 Prodigy's release of its browser version 1.2e, and a stream of other tools, providers and magazines.
A spokesperson for Mecklermedia told Newsbytes, "We knew by the pre registrations that this show would be well attended, but the turn-out for the first day has been an unexpected good sign. It shows how important and accepted the Internet has become. Now that both access and navigation have become so easy, more people are willing to investigate it and find that they have a good experience."
Where else could you go and see IBM put on a skit of Dwayne's World with Dwayne and Bart moving from on-stage into a full-screen video? Ask the shark mascot of the National Hockey League San Jose Sharks who is walking the showroom floor!
(Patrick McKenna/19950411)
rick McKenna/19950411)
4/11/95
Internet World Opens
ONLINE
Poland - AT&T Offers Accunet Dig
WARSAW, POLAND, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- After several years of customers patiently waiting, AT&T's new terrestrial digital transmission service is now available in selected cities across Poland.
According to AT&T, the new Accunet system, which was developed in close cooperation with Polish Telekom, provides transmission of high volume voice and data information between networks in the US and 30 other countries.
According to AT&T officials, the Accunet services takes advantage of new technologies available. The end-to-end private line service uses fiber optic technology to transfer bulk data, distribute electronic documents and connect local area networks (LANs) together on a wide area network (WAN) basis.
AT&T claims that such tasks would be impossible to implement in the 1980s or even early 1990s, due to the lack of sophisticated telecommunication systems and the rusty, outdated basic telephone network that existing in Poland until just a few years ago.
Newsbytes notes that the introduction of Accunet switched digital service this year is a milestone for the Polish telecoms network which, as recently as five years ago, was incapable of supporting standard speed fax (9,600 bits-per-second) communications on its trunk telephone network.
The opening of the AT&T Accunet network came close to not happening last summer when, as reported by Newsbytes at the time, AT&T and Polish Telekom "fell out" over contractual terms.
Looking back, this falling out is conspicuous. In the first half of 1992, AT&T installed 56 telephone and data exchanges in Poland serving the needs of around 87,500 subscribers. In the next 18 months however, only 205 lines were commissioned. Polish Telekom was quoted at the time as claiming that losses from the resultant non-connection of new lines was around the $500,000 mark.
The problems between the two companies were summed up by Mr Kalinowski, a spokesman for Polish Telekom, when he said that the deal with AT&T should have been self financing, yet it cost Polish Telekom money.
"I had this nagging question: for how long are we going to work for Americans and when will we start for ourselves? I think it was the most awkward question to ask. Even a few months ago nobody really knew the market and its profits we are really holding," he said last July.
Today, all the acrimony between the two companies seems to be in the past. AT&T is now actively promoting its AT&T card in Poland something that Polish Telekom is happy to allow, since it does not have its own charge card, preferring instead that citizens use pre-paid debit cards.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950411)
-paid debit cards.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950411)
4/11/95
Poland - AT&T Offers Accunet Digital Services
TELECOM
More US Firms Head For Mexico
Dell Ships 75MHz Dual-Processor
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70
WARSAW, POLAND, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- After a 70 year wait, Polish citizens in Warsaw can now do what people in most other capital cities do when moving around -- take the subway. The Warsaw Council has now opened the subway -- a seven miles long stretch of underground railway is -- to the public.
The long-delayed project has been a very long time coming, Newsbytes can report. The first stage of the project -- started more than 70 years ago -- is now complete, and the next phase, planned 65 years ago, is now under way.
For Professor Jan Podolski, who devoted most of his life to the project, the opening of the subway is a miracle, even if, at the age of 91, he is almost too frail to use the system. Podolski's dream has been made possible by the use of computers to control the limited network's traffic -- relying on humans to control the trains in the confined space of the tunnels would not have been viable officials have said.
The idea of a subway in Warsaw was started 70 years ago, when Poland became a free country after the 150 year period German/Russian/Austrian occupation. Unfortunately, the economic crises of the 1930s delayed any further planning on the network, and the outbreak of the Second World War left the project on the drawing board.
In 1949, the project was revived and Poland's "influential" Soviet advisers demanded ruinously expensive deep tunnels to be built and serve the dual purposes of transporting people and providing shelter in case of an air raid.
What many could not understand at the time was that the subway was designed to run East to West under the Wisla river instead of the logical and more convenient option -- North to South.
There was a hidden reason for this apparently illogical approach. Although an East-West route was hugely expensive, the underground's primary aim was to protect Soviet military transports in case the bridges were bombed. According to Poldoski, anyone who objected to the expense of the subway was simply thrown in jail.
"I would have gone to prison for that protest, if I had not been convicted of spying instead," Podolski explained.
As work on the tunnels progressed in the 1950s, the predictable happened -- the project simply ran out of money and, after several years of public arguments, the tunnels were mothballed.
Then in 1990, after the sweeping changes in the politics of Poland the project was revived and work on getting the tunnels back to viability commenced. Unfortunately the engineers of today faced the problem that the very necessary safety features could not be implemented without great expense on computer equipment, so officials had to "soft-peddle" until the price of number-crunching computers fell to realistic levels.
It took until last year before the City officials decided that the technology costs were outweighed by the congestion problems of Warsaw, and the mainframe-based computer system was installed. That mainframe now controls the signaling, while PCs are used to issue tickets on the subway.
According to Bohdan Zun, the Warsaw Subway's director, the subway system now combines the outmoded and the modern: "It is as if you were living in an old castle and installed all the latest lights, air conditioning and fittings," he told journalists at the opening ceremony earlier this month.
Newsbytes can report that the subway trains were designed for technology available in the old Communist Bloc, where parts were sometimes difficult to get. As a result, there has been a lot of new technology modifications, with extensive use of CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/manufacturing) to machine-tool the necessary components for the subway cars.
Despite the use of CAD/CAM, machining tolerances on the subway cars could be better, as the cars are very noisy and require large amounts of electrical power to keep the cars rattling through the tunnels. Polish officials claim that, at $300,000 per train, the subway trains are still around five times cheaper than the trains seen on the Chicago and New York subways.
City council officials also claim that, since the signaling system telecoms equipment, automated traffic controls, and surveillance systems were designed from the ground up in the last year, the Polish subway is one of the safest in the world.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950411)
t in the world.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950411)
4/11/95
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70 Years Late
TRENDS
UK - Cylink Intros NetGate Dial-
BASINGSTOKE, U.K., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Cylink has unveiled NetGate a hardware-based security management server that it claims offers centralized management and control of all dial-up data communications.
David Mosely, European general manager with Cylink, claims that the NetGate server ensures "complete security" of the corporate network by verifying the identity of dial-in users, only allowing access to the appropriate information sources, and ensuring the privacy and integrate of any sensitive information sent out or received.
The NetGate system is a central gateway and administrator of a number of products which feature in the company's Remote Access Management System (RAMS). Additional elements of RAMS include a client-based software remote security and encryption, called SafeComm Link for Windows, and the Low Speed Certificate Encryptor client-based hardware security system.
"NetGate offers unparalleled flexibility for users such as corporate or government entities whose information networks tie together large numbers of remote and/or mobile users," Moseley explained, adding that the system allows the user to customize specific safety features to unique network needs "ensuring a higher level of manageability and security than ever before."
Cylink claims that the NetGate system is the first product to incorporate the company's Enterprise Security Architecture. This consists of an integrated set of self-contained, intelligent software security modules which provide four levels of information security: verification, access control, integrity, and privacy.
A single NetGate system starts from around the UKP20,000 mark, but is capable of handling up to 896 lines using a variety of authentication mechanisms, as well as monitoring and recording all input/output information to disk for later investigation. Cylink recommends that the data files be searched for what it calls "dirty words" such as "copy" or "erase."
Netgate runs on a Sun hardware platform using an Informix SQL (structured query language) database. The software makes extensive use of X.509 certificates, public key techniques, and various encryption algorithms, including the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and several proprietary algorithms. X.509 certificates, are a new standard for cryptographic verification, which can be used for access control of individual users or devices.
UK - Cylink Intros NetGate Dial-Up Security System
NETWORK
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled
IBM Plans Global Network in Indi
Electronic Telegraph Newspaper U
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Electronic Telegraph, the electronic version of the Daily Telegraph newspaper, celebrated its 100th edition on April 6.
According to Hugh Drayton, marketing manager of the Daily Telegraph the electronic newspaper has become the busiest site on the World Wide Web, since being launched last year.
The Electronic Telegraph has more than 50,000 registered users and claims to receive one page access per second. This translates into 250,000 "hits" to the home page in Web traffic terms, and represents a transmission volume of 500 million words -- 2.5 gigabytes -- per day.
The number of daily users of the Web site has doubled over the last month to more than 10,000, following the site's connection to the Internet being boosted to a two megabit (megastream) T1 line. The newspaper also receives around 1,000 mail items per day from around the world.
"Readers of the Electronic Telegraph include increasing numbers of professionals and executives, along with many students in higher education. Around a third of our readers come from overseas," Drayton explained.
According to Drayton, the paper has "already responded to the demands of these readers by adding a daily crossword, a weather page, and a weekly horoscope. We will soon be adding Alex cartoons and an Appointments section," he said.
Access to the Electronic Telegraph is at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/.
Starting next month, readers of the paper edition of the Telegraph, as well as "wanna be" Web users, can take advantage of a special Internet deal the paper has put together with Demon Internet Services, an Internet service provider.
The deal involves a package of a customized version of Netscape, plus Internet software for the Demon Internet service, plus a user manual for UKP25 registration, and UKP15 a month.
(Steve Gold/19950411/Press Contact: Kate Hatfield, +44-171-538 6256, Internet e-mail pr@telegraph.co.uk; Reader Contact: Electronic Telegraph, +44-181-371-1200)
Electronic Telegraph Newspaper UK's Busiest Web Site
ONLINE
Barclaycard Visa Into Germany Wi
HAMBURG, GERMANY, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Barclaycard, the first issuer of Visa credit cards in the UK back in the 1960s, has announced that it is signing up subscribers to its fledgling Visa and Mastercard credit card service in Germany at significant rates.
At the same time, the card subsidiary of Barclays Bank has announced plans to enhance its magnetic stripe Visa cards with the addition of smart card technology during next year. The enhancement will only apply to German Visa cards, as Visa has not "upgraded" the UK's network to support such technology yet
Barclaycards issued in Germany are issued in both Visa and Eurocard (Mastercard) flavors, although usually both cards are combined on to one statement. Although Barclaycard is a main Visa card issuer Eurocard's branding is still very strong in Germany.
At the start of this year, Barclaycard has around 450,000 card holders in Germany. By the end of this year, according to Chris Davis, general manager of Barclaycard Deutschland, that figure should rise to 650,000, as more and more Germans are looking beyond their own bank to get enhanced credit card services.
According to Davis, the introduction of smart card technology to Barclaycard's German credit cards will greatly reduce fraud levels.
Interestingly, Davis said that he does not see the German-specific smart debit card, the Bahncard, as competing with existing credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard. He sees that the Bahncard technology actually increasing awareness of the usefulness of plastic cards, and something that will be to Barclaycard's advantage in the longer term.
(Steve Gold/19950411/Press Contact: Barclaycard UK 44-1604-234234)
9950411/Press Contact: Barclaycard UK 44-1604-234234)
4/11/95
Barclaycard Visa Into Germany With Smart Card Plans
BUSINESS
Avid Intros CamCutter For On-The
TEWKSBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Avid has announced CamCutter, a disk-based, full-motion field recorder for "anytime, anywhere" news gathering, viewing, capture, and editing. It is being billed as the final step in the first end-to-end digital production system for TV broadcast news.
"CamCutter represents a paradigm shift from videotape to digital media that is just as dramatic as the broadcast industry's earlier transition from film to tape," asserted Avid's Blair Wheeler speaking with Newsbytes in Boston over a cellular phone from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas where CamCutter is being introduced.
By letting news professionals do nonlinear editing in the field CamCutter will allow news stories to be completed on location for the first time ever, for faster playback to TV audiences, predicted Wheeler, who is manager of product marketing for Avid's Broadcast Products Group.
Unlike traditional videotape-based systems, CamCutter will permit random access "right at the point of acquisition," Wheeler told Newsbytes. News pros will be able to move video shots, delete unwanted sequences, and otherwise edit news material directly from the field, the product marketing manager explained.
CamCutter will offer: an "intuitive interface" for digital editing; along with a "RetroLoop" feature for "constant recording in a predefined loop of time;" Intelligent Record Management, to prevent accidental recording over material; and automatic clip numbering for "fast, nonlinear access" to clips, according to Wheeler.
Other capabilities will include: SMPTE/EBU timecode for frame-based navigation and control; separate record control of video and four tracks of digital audio tape (DAT); and use of Open Media Framework (OMF) Interchange files for interchange with additional OMF-compatible applications and platforms, including other Avid editing and playback systems.
The CamCutter field recorder is designed for end-to-end use with these digital editing and playback products from Avid: the NewsCutter editing, AirPlay playback and Media Recorder feed capture systems; AvidNet/ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) networking; and Avid's Unix-based MediaServer.
CamCutter, noted Wheeler, will be marketed as part of a dockable system from Avid for existing Ikegami cameras, and also as an integrated component in two upcoming cameras from Ikegami, the DNS11 and DNS101. The new Ikegami cameras are being unveiled at NAB, as well.
The dockable Avid Field System will include the CamCutter recorder in addition to the FieldPak removable hard disk and MediaDock docking station.
Avid's new FieldPak is a shockproof, weatherproof, 2.4 gigabyte (GB) removable hard disk, capable of storing up to 20 minutes of broadcast quality images, according to the Avid exec.
The new MediaDock, he added, is able to transfer media immediately to MediaServer, to let multiple news pros share video information and participate simultaneously in story editing.
MediaDock can connect up to three FieldPaks, and can also be stacked with additional MediaDocks, or combined with other Avid video storage systems.
Slated for availability in the second half of this year, CamCutter FieldPak and MediaDock will initially be sold through Ikegami sales offices worldwide. The dockable CamCutter will sell for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $19,000, and will retrofit to the entire line of the Unicam camera family, the HL Series. FieldPak will be priced at about $2,500, and MediaDock at about $4,900. The integrated CamCutter-based cameras from Ikegami will sell for $35,000 to $60,000, depending on model, configuration, and accessories.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950410/Reader Contact: Avid, 508-640-6789; Press Contacts: Julie O'Brien, Avid, 508-640-3071; Donna Danis Avid, 508-640-3131; Christa Degnan; Deirdre O'Connell or Pam Hamilton, Schwartz Communications for Avid, 617-431-0770)
lton, Schwartz Communications for Avid, 617-431-0770)
4/11/95
Avid Intros CamCutter For On-The-Spot Video Editing
BROADCAST
Philippines - Autodesk Plans Loc
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 1995 APR 11 (NB) - Autodesk, the leading supplier of computer-aided design (CAD) software, is planning to opening a Philippine office next year.
This was disclosed by Peter Abashian, Autodesk's director of marketing for the Southeast Asian and Indochina regions to Newsbytes, during the Autodesk Philippine Expo held March 29.
According to Abashian, Autodesk has to generate a net revenue of US$1 Million from its Philippine operations at the end of the year for the plan to materialize. Abashian declined to elaborate as to how close to that figure the country was.
"What we can say is, there are more software (in the Philippine market) than in Indonesia," he said. According to industry estimates the packaged software applications market in the Philippines is about US$15-20 million annually.
Filipino Edmun Laurea, senior marketing manager for applications in Asia/Pacific supported the idea of an Autodesk Philippine office. "Philippines has a lot of potential," he said.
"Our country only needs to build its software industry to be able to raise its level of skills. Once we have the industry, the perception will be that we have skilled manpower. And when that time comes there is no longer a need for us to export skills because we'll be exporting software instead," Laurea said.
In line with this, Autodesk has established two training centers in the Philippines: the Crescent Technologies Institute and the MicroCADD Technologies Co.
Asked about competition, Abashian, in an interview with Newsbytes pointed to the "illegal software users" as their nearest competitor. According to him, 98 percent of the CAD software being used in the Philippines is pirated.
"With the help of BSA (Business Software Alliance), we'll do our very best to protect IPR (intellectual property rights) here, and start educating the users of the benefit of using legal software. Very soon, we'll no longer tolerate the 'theft' of our software," Abashian stressed.
Last year, Autodesk had a net revenue of US$435 million, up 23 percent from the previous year. The Asia Pacific region accounted for 22 percent.
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Three quarters of the participants in a recent survey say computers have increased their job satisfaction, but about one third of those surveyed still feel intimidated by the ubiquitous device that sits on millions of home and office desktops.
The National Computing Survey was commissioned by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that of the 2,800 respondents who returned the survey form, about 75 percent believe computer skills are important to achieving business or educational success and think technology is a tool that can give them an edge in life.
More than 65 percent of the respondents said they need computer skills to achieve financial success and 87 percent believe that someday all work will involve computers.
Other findings of the survey indicate that about 90 percent of Americans believe computers have made information more readily available than ever before, and 73 percent of employed women and 70 percent of employed men said computer use is essential to getting ahead on the job.
Microsoft hopes that the one third of the respondents who indicated they are still intimidated by computers might want to meet Bob. Microsoft Bob, that is. That's the name for the "social user interface" recently introduced by Microsoft Corp. Bob is a nerdy looking guy with heavy glasses that is the symbol for the user interface that overlays the Microsoft Windows Program Manager. The interface uses a room metaphor instead of program groups and is intended to make it less intimidating to use a PC.
While Bob is the visible symbol of the new interface Microsoft hopes will attract computerphobes, he never appears in the program. Instead, the user is able to select one of various cartoon-like characters to lead them through the various applications that come with Bob.
Microsoft hasn't released sales figures for Microsoft Bob, but Pete Higgins, Microsoft senior vice president, said this week the company is "very happy with the results." Higgins said Microsoft will eventually introduce the social user interface approach in its other home and office computing products.
The Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes the National Computing Survey prompted responses from about 500 children 11 to 17 years of age. Kids and parents seemed to be on the same track when it comes to computers, with a majority of parents believing the computer is the most beneficial technology product they can buy for their children, while most of the kids responding said if someone gave them $2,000 they would either save it for college or use it to buy a PC.
(Jim Mallory/19950411/Press contact: Catherine Merten, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)
ine Merten, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)
4/11/95
Survey Says PCs Essential, Some Users Still Intimidated
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Says PCs Essential, Some
DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has announced two new servers, based on its Alpha processor chips, that the vendor claims can outperform IBM and compatible mainframes at a lower price. Complementing the announcement, Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) chimed in with new database technology designed to take advantage of the Alpha systems' 64-bit architecture.
The Oracle7 Very Large Memory (VLM) option running on DEC's new AlphaServer 8200 or 8400 can deliver performance "dramatically faster than mainframes," said Larry Ellison, chief executive of Oracle Corp., during a teleconference with reporters. Ellison referred to a test he said was conducted by an unnamed health-care company, in which a test program that took nine hours to run on an IBM mainframe ran in only 30 minutes on a single-processor Alpha server.
If the new DEC systems can consistently deliver that kind of performance improvement, a principal reason would be the amount of memory they can address. The 64-bit architecture of the Alpha reduced instruction set computing (RISC) chips extends their range well beyond the two gigabytes (GB) that a 32-bit chip can address directly, said Robert Palmer, president and chief executive of Digital. The new 8200 and 8400 AlphaServers can address as much as 14GB of memory directly. This could speed processing a good deal by allowing the systems to hold data in memory rather than relying on frequent reading and writing of much slower disks.
Oracle7 VLM is meant to let the database software take advantage of this by keeping larger portions of the database in memory.
The result, Palmer said, is "a revolutionary leap, not an incremental change" in computer performance.
According to Ellison, the new AlphaServers' performance will address one of the key barriers that has slowed the acceptance of open systems to date. While open systems are widely agreed to be less expensive than mainframes and to have some other advantages he said, they have never been able to match mainframe speed and reliability. With this announcement, Ellison claimed, "what we have here for the first time is an open system computer that is actually faster than a mainframe computer on a one-up comparison."
As for reliability, Ellison pointed to the clustering capability of the DEC servers, which allows them to be grouped together sharing tasks so that if one fails, the others can continue the work uninterrupted.
On the cost front, officials said, the AlphaServers also outrun mainframes. The most basic AlphaServer 8200, designed as a workgroup server, starts at $100,000, with a five-slot system bus, 128 megabytes (MB) of memory, an integrated input/output module with small computer systems interface (SCSI) and communication ports, a CD-ROM reader, and a choice of DEC's Digital Unix or OpenVMS operating systems. Similarly configured a basic AlphaServer 8400 enterprise server costs $195,000. Both models come with a one-year, on-site hardware warranty and a 90-day software warranty.
Ellison said the system used in the test he described against a mainframe would cost about $1 million, and if two servers were linked together for added reliability the cost would be $2 million, while the mainframe in question sells for about $20 million.
Palmer said likely users for the systems include retailers and marketers who want to analyze huge databases of customer data to spot trends and sales opportunities. Other large commercial applications, as well as scientific uses, should also be fertile ground for the new AlphaServers, he said.
The systems are the first ones built around the Alpha 21164 processor, a 300 megahertz (MHz) chip that Digital claims is the fastest microprocessor available. The AlphaServer 8200 is available with a maximum of six of these processors, and the 8400 with as many as 12.
Palmer said Digital has already received about 75 pre-announcement orders for the AlphaServer systems, which are due to begin shipping in May. Oracle7 VLM is available now.
(Grant Buckler/19950411/Press Contact: Ed Canty, Digital 508-264-6672; Sarah Miller, 508-264-6673; Brenda Hansen, Oracle 415-506-4176; Public Contact: Digital Equipment, tel 508-493-5111 fax 508-493-8780; Oracle, tel 415-506-4176, fax 415-506-7132)
Oracle, tel 415-506-4176, fax 415-506-7132)
4/11/95
DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun Mainframes
Compaq Says Packard Bell Sells U
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) has filed a lawsuit charging Packard Bell Electronics Inc. of selling products that contain used components and passing them off as new. But Packard Bell called the lawsuit "a public relations strategy to divert our efforts and slow our growth."
The two companies are in hot competition for computer buyer's dollars. Compaq finished 1994 as the number one seller of PCs overall. Packard Bell captured the number four position on the worldwide sales list last year and was third in US sales. PB increased its sales by more than 100 percent to move up one position on the list. The company said it shipped almost 2.5 million PCs in 1994.
This isn't the first time Compaq and Packard Bell lawyers have packed their briefcases and headed for court. In December, 1994 Newsbytes reported Compaq had filed a patent infringement suit against Packard Bell that alleged willful infringement of three Compaq patents on desktop and laptop computer power functions and video displays. Compaq spokesperson Yvonne Donaldson told Newsbytes that suit is still pending.
Compaq also re-uses PCs that are returned to it, which include unsold dealer inventory, allegedly defective products, and what the company called "convenience returns" from consumers. Compaq said a computer is considered new if it is returned in an unopened original box. If the box has been opened, the company said it tests the unit to determine if it has been used. If the PC has been used said Compaq, it may be sold as "refurbished." If there is no evidence of use, it might be sold as new, possible with upgraded features said the company.
Donaldson told Newsbytes Compaq technicians look for use indicators such as user-installed software, commands issued to the operating system or if software shrink-wrapped packages have been opened.
(Jim Mallory/19950411/Press contact: Yvonne Donaldson, Compaq 713-374-4463 or Liz O'Donnell, The Bohle Co. for Packard Bell 310-785-0515)
nell, The Bohle Co. for Packard Bell 310-785-0515)
4/11/95
Compaq Says Packard Bell Sells Used Parts As New
LEGAL
GTSI Wins Big Govt-Wide Contract
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- The General Services Administration has awarded Government Technology Services Inc. (NASDAQ:GTSI) a government-wide contract for microcomputer hardware, software, and peripherals for the period from April, 1995, to March, 1996.
Last year, total GSA schedule B/C contract sales totaled about $684 million, of which GTSI, the largest holder of the schedule B/C contract, captured about $100 million. Also last year Falcon Microsystems, which has been acquired by GTSI, sold about $54 million in products on the GSA schedule.
The schedule offering is available on GTSI Online, the company's new electronic catalogue and ordering system on the World Wide Web. It is the first online service to provide electronic selection, ordering and payment for products on GSA schedule contracts. The address is http://www.gtsi.com.
The schedule provides over 9,000 microcomputer and related products from 115 manufactures including IBM, Apple Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Microsoft, Lotus, AT&T, Digital, and Panasonic. Products include Pentium computers, Power Mac computers, H-P laser printers, and laptops including the IBM Thinkpad 755 and Panasonic's V41 Pentium notebook.
GTSI spokesman Carter Cromley told Newsbytes that new regulations streamlining government procurement will have a positive impact on sales on the GSA schedules. "They remove restrictions that previously required government agencies to advertise their intent to buy on GSA schedule for purchases in access of $50,000," he said. The new regulations also encourage orders of less than $2,500 to be made electronically and paid for with government authorized credit cards.
In other news at GTSI, the company today said it had hired the Robinson-Humphrey Co., an investment banking firm, "to evaluate various strategic options for enhancing shareholder value." When Diana Corp. made a run at GTSI recently, offering to buy the company outright, GTSI set up a special committee on the board of directors, which picked Robinson-Humphrey to help the company evaluate its options.
Despite solid sales growth and profits, GTSI's stock has been trailing the market and many believe the company is under-valued making it an ideal takeover candidate.
GTSI is the leading reseller of microcomputer and Unix hardware software and networking products to the federal government market. In addition to the basic GSA schedule, GTSI, based in Chantilly, Va., makes its products available through a variety of other government contracts, including major contracts with the Army, Navy and Air Force, NASA, and hundreds of smaller agency contracts.
(Kennedy Maize/19950411/Press Contact: Carter Cromley, GTSI 703-502-2035)
Carter Cromley, GTSI 703-502-2035)
4/11/95
GTSI Wins Big Govt-Wide Contract
UUNET To Go Public
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- UUNET Technologies, one of the major Internet players, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public stock offering.
According to the filing, privately owned UUNET hopes to sell more than four million shares in its initial public offering, at an average of $10 per share, or a total of $40 million. The company, based in Fairfax, Va., says it will use the funds to expand its services.
"I can only confirm that we have filed with the SEC," UUNET's Paula Jagemann told Newsbytes. "Other than that, I can't say anything until the SEC says it is OK."
Microsoft Corp. recently picked UUNET to help it offer full Internet access through its Microsoft Network, which will be bundled with the new Windows '95 operating system. Windows '95 is scheduled for release this August, although many industry observers expect Microsoft will once again miss its announcement date.
When it said it would use UUNET to develop its Internet "onramp," Microsoft also said it was investing in an equity share of the Virginia company. In its SEC documents, UUNET said Microsoft's stake in the company is 18 percent, which will fall to 15 percent after the initial stock offering.
UUNET operates the AlterNet system as its link to the Internet. The UUNET system has points-of-presence across the US and direct links to Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia, Japan South Africa, India, and Thailand.
Other Internet companies are also looking to capitalize on the booming interest in the Internet. Performance Systems International, also based in Washington's Virginia suburbs, has announced plans for an initial public offering, expecting to raise some $230 million.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Software vendor Corel Corp. (TSE:COS; NASDAQ:COSFF) has begun paying some of the people who beta-test its software, as part of efforts to improve testing and recognize the contribution of the testers.
Beta testers, who try out new software before it is officially released to the mass market, have traditionally been volunteers. Usually people who already use previous versions of the package being tested, or comparable products, their only reward is free use of the new software and an advance peek at what is coming.
However, said Michael Cowpland, "a lot of these kind of amateurs out there you could say are actually very high value-added in their testing power."
Thorough beta testing takes a lot of time, especially with recent software packages that build in more capabilities, Cowpland told Newsbytes. "We're kind of recognizing the fact that they're dedicating many man-days to do that. Some of these people spend more time on the product than any of us at Corel do. You know, they're 18-hour-a-day people."
Cowpland believes his company is the first to pay beta testers but he said the move might well start a trend.
Corel has also taken other steps to improve its beta-testing program, such as insisting that all beta testers have access to the CompuServe online service for easier communication.
Corel has a long-standing policy of releasing a new version of each of its software packages once a year. Cowpland said this is meant to keep the company ahead in a fast-moving industry. In the past, though, some have suggested that it can lead to packages being rushed to market without enough testing.
This year, Corel has held back the latest version of its flagship graphics package, CorelDraw 6, until Microsoft ships its repeatedly delayed Windows 95 software. That is currently expected to happen in late summer. Chris Dickman, editor and publisher of the Toronto-based CorelDraw Journal and a CorelDraw beta tester, welcomed the delay, saying it will "give them longer to get a really slick, nicely working product out the door."
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- General Electric Information Services will launch its first Internet access service today for subscribers to the online GEnie service.
The text-based service will go online tonight at 6pm Eastern time. GEnie subscribers can access the Internet menus by typing M5000 at any prompt. If you are using GEnie's latest Windows-based user front-end, clicking on the Internet icon on the main menu will take you to the Internet access menu.
Although the first item on the Internet menu shouts "READ ME! it was last updated on April 3, 1995, at the time Newsbytes accessed the service for a special preview arranged by Genie's Scott Melnick. If you are an Internet veteran traveler you can select the "Enter the Internet" choice immediately, otherwise seriously consider reading some of the other items first. It also helps to turn on your communication program's text capture feature or send your screen output to your printer so you can review your first GEnie Internet access session and review the extensive online help.
A menu item titled "Fingertip Guide to Genie's Internet Services" is an excellent starting place for the Internet novice, since it offers a series of helpful items, such as defining terms like "Gopher," "Veronica," "WAIS" (Wide Area Information Server), "FTP" (File Transfer Protocol), and other useful information.
During Newsbytes' preview tour, all the GEnie Internet features were not yet active. The main Internet menu on page 5000 lists what works and what doesn't. there is also a short section listing any bugs GEnie programmers are aware of and haven't had a chance to fix yet. If you should run into any problems with the system, there is a menu item that lets you report those.
GEnie is one of the last major online services to offer Internet access to its users, and spokesperson Scott Melnick told Newsbytes he isn't prepared to estimate when the service will offer a graphical user interface that other Internet providers such as America Online already have, other than to say he expects it will be before year-end.
GEnie online service has a basic $3 per hour connect charge and there is no special surcharge for Internet access other than those added by high-speed modem use or accessing the system during prime time. GEnie users pay $8.95 per month which covers the first four hours of standard connect time. If you connect during prime time i.e., normal business hours -- add $2 per hour. If you are using a 9,600 baud modem add $6 per hour for the higher speed connection
GEnie competitor CompuServe, the nation's largest online subscription service, announced this week it will broaden the Internet services it provides and said it will invest more than $300 million in new equipment, software, and security. Compuserve lets it estimated 2.7 million subscribers have three hours of access to the Internet as part of its regular $9.95 monthly fee, then charges $2.50 per hour for Internet online time above the three hours. Compuserve also offers a package of 20 Internet access hours per month for an additional $15 above the basic $8.95 rate.
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Checkfree Corporation says it has developed "The Checkfree Wallet," described as a "secure, cheap, and easy to use Internet transaction product for World Wide Web users."
Company officials say The Checkfree Wallet lets consumers buy goods and services "safely" from online merchants.
"The difference (between this and other payment systems) is this solution does not require the consumer or the merchant to change what they're doing now," Michael Sapienza, vice president of marketing for Checkfree, told Newsbytes. "The consumer doesn't have to open any new accounts or pre-register (to use the Wallet)."
Checkfree said the Wallet system takes the place of a clerk in a physical mall, or a mail-order operator. The online shopper enters a password on their computer to open an on-screen wallet and select a payment option, instead of handing a credit card to a merchant or reading an account number over the phone to an operator. After reviewing the order, the customer clicks a "pay" button to complete the transaction.
The order is then transmitted to the merchant. In the order, the customer's shipping address and other information is sent to the merchant with encryption codes. Payment instructions are then transmitted to Checkfree for decryption, authorization, and processing. Once authorized, the payment is debited from the customer's credit card and credited to the merchant's account.
The Wallet integrates into browser packages, and existing retail order and fulfillment systems, among other applications, the company said. Sapienza said the Wallet will be developed under an open system, will accommodate all existing standards, and will adapt to emerging standards being adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as they become finalized. Also, Sapienza said future versions of Spyglass' Enhanced Mosaic will include the Checkfree Wallet.
Information about the Checkfree Wallet will be available on the Checkfree Web home page at http://www.checkfree.com beginning in May. Sapienza said a commercial version of the package should be available in late June or July.
(Bob Woods/199500411/Press Contacts: Jennifer Sims or Kathy Tom Access Public Relations, 415-904-7070. Public Contact: Internet World Wide Web http://www.checkfree.com)
nternet World Wide Web http://www.checkfree.com)
4/11/95
Checkfree Enables Secure Internet Transactions
ONLINE
Lotus Ships ScreenCam 2.0, Intro
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- Lotus has started shipping ScreenCam 2.0 -- a major update to its tool for creating multimedia "movies" that capture screen activity, cursor movements, and sound. The product can be ordered from Lotus' new World Wide Web (Web) site over the next 60 days at a special introductory price of $79.
Lotus has also announced the Lotus ScreenCam First Annual Movie Festival, along with a ScreenCam Innovation Contest for PC User Groups.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Steve Barlow, director of Lotus' Multimedia Products Group, maintained that by adding captioning sound compression, Notes/FX integration, and new editing features ScreenCam 2.0 brings new flexibility for meeting the needs of different types of movie creators and viewers.
"Some people have asked us whether we're somehow `going backwards' by allowing captioned, soundless movies as well as movies with sound. But the answer is that we're going forward in a big way," Barlow told Newsbytes.
The new captioning capability allows production of ScreenCam movies that are 90 percent smaller in file size than their ScreenCam 1.0 counterparts, according to Barlow.
Meanwhile, a new sound compression algorithm from VocalTec is reducing file size by 50 percent. So, although both captioned and sound-enhanced ScreenCam movies have been optimized for distribution online or via floppy disk, the captioned movie files are even slimmer, he said.
ScreenCam's new F/X integration allows users to build, archive and manage "libraries" of online movies, according to the Lotus exec.
In addition, ScreenCam 2.0's editing capabilities permit screen and voice "tracks" to be separately recorded, and multiple "voiceovers" to be generated, as well.
As a group, he said, the new features in ScreenCam 2.0 provide for greater customizability -- allowing "professional" users to produce very small files for wide-scale Web distribution of marketing materials, software demos, and magazines, for example, or MIS (management information systems) pros to create movies with highly specific voiceovers for use in internal training.
The F/X integration will let MIS staffers quickly "pop" new movies into users' ScreenCam libraries, as well as helping users to organize the movies and locate individual movie "titles," he pointed out.
The availability of multiple "voiceovers" permits the same movie to be used with vocal tracks in a variety of languages, Barlow added.
All those who purchase ScreenCam 2.0 are invited to participate in the Lotus ScreenCam First Annual Movie Festival, according to Barlow. Prizes will be awarded at Fall Comdex 1995. Movies should be submitted to Lotus by September 30 of this year for consideration.
Participants in the ScreenCam Innovation Contest for PC User Groups will have the chance to win a free trip to Fall Comdex. Details are available on the ScreenCam 2.0 box.
ScreenCam 2.0 is regularly priced at $99. Upgrades are $49. To order the product at the special $79 introductory price, or to download ScreenCam 2.0 demos, visit Lotus' home page on the Web at http.///www.lotus.com.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950410/Reader Contact: Lotus, 800-343-5414; Reader Contact: Jessica Horwitz or Victor Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
uz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
4/11/95
Lotus Ships ScreenCam 2.0, Intros $79 Web Offer
GENERAL
AOL & Illustra In Internet Allia
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- America Online's (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER) Internet Services Company (ISC) and Illustra Information Technologies have announced an alliance both companies claim will deliver "sophisticated new products and services" to the Internet, as well as other private and public networks.
The two companies say they will work together to provide additional capabilities and services "to the Internet of today and tomorrow," for example, utilizing the services to develop and manage large World Wide Web sites for major corporations.
ISC and Illustra also say they are creating "sophisticated programs" for searching the huge amounts of information the Internet contains making it easier for users to sort through and find the most valuable data they need.
ISC said it has embraced Illustra's media asset management technology for current and future networking technologies including Illustra's NaviServer product, part of the NaviSoft line.
David Cole, ISC president, is quoted as saying "With Illustra's 'best of breed' technology embedded, NaviSoft offers companies a level of content development, search and management capabilities that is unprecedented in the industry."
Company officials were unavailable for comment by Newsbytes' press time.
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 11 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Public Involvement Net Fosters Community Decision-Making 04/11/95 An online service on the Internet called The Public Involvement Network (PIN) is making resources available to decision makers in public agencies, and businesses, as well as community leaders.
2 -> Lotus Plans 1st European Technology Conference 04/11/95 Lotus has announced it is hosting the first European Technology Conference on April 25 and 26. The event is being co-hosted by the European Lotus cc:Mail User Group.
3 -> Nokia Builds New Distribution Center In Germany 04/11/95 Nokia Mobile Phones has announced plans to build a new distribution center in Bochum, Germany. The new building will be in addition to the company's existing manufacturing facility in Bochum and will consist of a 14,000 square-meter distribution center, as well as a new 6,000 square-meter office building.
4 -> Germany - Nortel Unveils Mini-GSM Base Station 04/11/95 Whilst zooming down the highway, you can scarcely miss a cellular base station, which, complete with sprouting aerials, stands out like a sore thumb on the horizon. The problem for the cellular companies is that the aerial needs to be sited at a high point, and the electronics all gobble up room, not to mention the network's bank balance.
5 -> Microsoft Upgrades Visual C++ 04/11/95 Microsoft has announced an upgrade to Microsoft Visual C++, its entry-level development tool for the Windows operating system.
6 -> DEC Follows "5Rs" In Downsizing Mainframe Applications 04/11/95 These days, more and more companies are using DEC systems based on OpenVMS, DEC Unix and Windows NT to move legacy applications off of mainframes, said Steve Koenig, director of DEC's Mainframe Downsizing Program.
7 -> Internet World - CommerceNet's Certification Program 04/11/95 CommerceNet, a non-profit consortium of companies chartered to develop commerce on the Internet, has introduced a pilot certification program for buyers and sellers on the "Net." Based on public key encryption the certification system is designed to secure Internet business-to business transactions.
8 -> Internet World - Apple's Server, Education Offerings 04/11/95 Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced a new server package for the World Wide Web, a Personal Internet Solution Bundle for the education market, and Web access for its online service, eWorld. In a press conference, the company stressed its goal to deliver Internet access and related products to every level of its customer base.
9 -> ****Internet World - CompuServe's New Internet Rates 04/11/95 CompuServe has announced new pricing for its Internet services including the Web. The changes include three free Internet browsing hours and an optional Internet Club which offers 20 additional Internet browsing hours for a $15 monthly fee.
10 -> Bendable Chips Of The Future 04/11/95 At least five major electronics firms are developing products based on all-polymer transistors, amid claims that the technology could eclipse amorphous silicon in applications such as flat panel displays and smart cards by the end of the century.
11 -> Latin American Telecom Firms For Sale 04/11/95 Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador are looking for buyers for their telephone companies that will be privatized in the near future.
12 -> Internet World Opens 04/11/95 Last year, Mecklermedia's Internet World was a small show with a lot of interest and a rather mild attendance. On the first day this year, lines of eager attendees were still registering at three o'clock in the afternoon.
13 -> Poland - AT&T Offers Accunet Digital Services 04/11/95 After several years of customers patiently waiting, AT&T's new terrestrial digital transmission service is now available in selected cities across Poland.
14 -> ****Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70 Years Late 04/11/95 After a 70 year wait, Polish citizens in Warsaw can now do what people in most other capital cities do when moving around -- take the subway. The Warsaw Council has now opened the subway -- a seven miles long stretch of underground railway is -- to the public.
15 -> UK - Cylink Intros NetGate Dial-Up Security System 04/11/95 Cylink has unveiled NetGate, a hardware-based security management server that it claims offers centralized management and control of all dial-up data communications.
16 -> Electronic Telegraph Newspaper "UK's Busiest Web Site" 04/11/95 Electronic Telegraph, the electronic version of the Daily Telegraph newspaper, celebrated its 100th edition on April 6.
17 -> Barclaycard Visa Into Germany With Smart Card Plans 04/11/95 Barclaycard, the first issuer of Visa credit cards in the UK back in the 1960s, has announced that it is signing up subscribers to its fledgling Visa and Mastercard credit card service in Germany at significant rates.
18 -> Avid Intros CamCutter For On-The-Spot Video Editing 04/11/95 Avid has announced CamCutter, a disk-based, full-motion field recorder for "anytime, anywhere" news gathering, viewing, capture, and editing. It is being billed as the final step in the first end-to-end digital production system for TV broadcast news.
19 -> Philippines - Autodesk Plans Local Office 04/11/95 Autodesk, the leading supplier of computer-aided design (CAD) software, is planning to opening a Philippine office next year.
20 -> Survey Says PCs Essential, Some Users Still Intimidated 04/11/95 Three quarters of the participants in a recent survey say computers have increased their job satisfaction, but about one third of those surveyed still feel intimidated by the ubiquitous device that sits on millions of home and office desktops.
21 -> ****DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun Mainframes 04/11/95 Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has announced two new servers, based on its Alpha processor chips, that the vendor claims can outperform IBM and compatible mainframes at a lower price. Complementing the announcement Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) chimed in with new database technology designed to take advantage of the Alpha systems' 64-bit architecture.
22 -> ****Compaq Says Packard Bell Sells Used Parts As New 04/11/95 Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) has filed a lawsuit charging Packard Bell Electronics Inc. of selling products that contain used components and passing them off as new. But Packard Bell called the lawsuit "a public relations strategy to divert our efforts and slow our growth."
23 -> GTSI Wins Big Govt-Wide Contract 04/11/95 The General Services Administration has awarded Government Technology Services Inc. (NASDAQ:GTSI) a government-wide contract for microcomputer hardware software, and peripherals for the period from April, 1995, to March 1996.
24 -> UUNET To Go Public 04/11/95 UUNET Technologies, one of the major Internet players, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public stock offering.
25 -> ****Corel Paying Some Beta Testers 04/11/95 Software vendor Corel Corp. (TSE:COS; NASDAQ:COSFF) has begun paying some of the people who beta-test its software, as part of efforts to improve testing and recognize the contribution of the testers.
26 -> ****GEnie Launches Internet Access Today 04/11/95 General Electric Information Services will launch its first Internet access service today for subscribers to the online GEnie service.
27 -> ****Checkfree Enables Secure Internet Transactions 04/11/95 Checkfree Corporation says it has developed "The Checkfree Wallet," described as a "secure, cheap, and easy to use Internet transaction product for World Wide Web users."
28 -> Lotus Ships ScreenCam 2.0, Intros $79 Web Offer 04/11/95 Lotus has started shipping ScreenCam 2.0 -- a major update to its tool for creating multimedia "movies" that capture screen activity, cursor movements, and sound. The product can be ordered from Lotus' new World Wide Web (Web) site over the next 60 days at a special introductory price of $79.
29 -> AOL & Illustra In Internet Alliance 04/11/95 America Online's (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER) Internet Services Company (ISC) and Illustra Information Technologies have announced an alliance both companies claim will deliver "sophisticated new products and services" to the Internet as well as other private and public networks.
(Ian Stokell/19950411)
(Ian Stokell/19950411)
4/11/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
In Focus Systems Intros LCD Proj
WILSONVILLE, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- In Focus Systems Inc. has introduced three new LCD (liquid crystal display) devices to project color images from a computer screen or video source for group presentation and other uses.
The new devices add to In Focus's LitePro series. The LitePro 570 and LitePro 560 provide a light source of 170 lumens, which the company said is enough to allow the room lights to stay on during a presentation on so viewers can take notes. Both systems support 800 by 600 resolution and 16.7 million colors.
The LitePro 570 has two video in ports and supports both NTSC ( North American Television Standards Committee) and PAL/SECAM (the European standard) video signals. You can also connect a VCR CD-ROM drive or laser disk to the LitePro 570 to display full-motion video at 30 frames-per-second (fps).
Both systems measure 11.5-inches by 8-inches by 20-inches. The 570 weighs 21.5 pounds, while the 560 weighs 19 pounds. Both can be used with most IBM-compatible and Macintosh PCs, and come with a universal power adapter for use in the US or other countries.
In Focus has also introduced the LitePro 580, a polysilicon active-matrix LCD projector that contains three 1.3-inch diagonal polysilicon active matrix LCDs the company said can project images at more than 200 lumens, or 30 percent brighter than any other portable LCD projector. The 580 measures 14-inches by 11-inches by six-inches and weighs less than 17 pounds.
The 580 has 640 by 480 screen resolution and a palette of 16.7 million colors, a contrast ratio of 100:1, and a 25-millisecond response time. It also supports full-motion video, is compatible with VGA resolution, and can project an image as large as 300 inches across. It includes two integrated stereo speakers and audio output for use as a public address system. A remote control unit about the size of a typical TV remote control has large backlit buttons and a built-in trackball for controlling the computer from up to 35 feet away.
All LitePro systems can be equipped with Liteshow, an In Focus electronic presentation manager that allows users to store up to 50 images on a disk from a PC or Mac software program and project those images as desired.
The LitePro 570 has a suggested retail price of $7,499, while the 560 carries a $6,999 price tag. The LitePro 580 is priced at $9,999. The LiteShow option sells for $1,000.
(Jim Mallory/19950411/Press contact: Scott Niesen, In Focus Systems, 503-685-8637; Public contact: In Focus, tel 503-685-8888 fax 503-685-8887)
ocus, tel 503-685-8888 fax 503-685-8887)
4/12/95
In Focus Systems Intros LCD Projectors
GENERAL
Info Highway Standards Requireme
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- The Information Infrastructure Standards Panel (IISP) has produced draft descriptions of 16 standards requirements said to be important to establishing the much-talked-about information infrastructure or information highway. The panel said it will now begin distributing the requirements to standards development groups.
Set up by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) last year, the panel is funded by government and private industry. More than 100 companies, organizations, and government agencies have taken part in its work, officials said.
R.M. ("Chick") Hayden, director of information infrastructure programs at ANSI, told Newsbytes that having determined what standards will be needed to make the information highway work the panel now wants to get input from other standards groups to see if some of the requirements are met by existing standards and also whether there are other needs it has not considered.
The framework the ANSI panel has put together will be handed out to other standards groups, so that they can suggest where existing standards can meet the needs and what new standards will have to be developed.
Hayden said it is not known exactly how long this will take, but "the process of evaluating whether the need is valid or not I don't think will be a long time." That stage should be complete this year, he said. Once needs for new standards are clearly identified, ANSI and other standards groups will begin the usual process of drafting and approving them.
The information infrastructure panel is largely seeking to coordinate the work of a wide variety of standards groups that deal with various aspects of the information infrastructure, Hayden said.
During ANSI's recent conference in Washington D.C., the information infrastructure panel held two days of working sessions. In the course of these sessions, ANSI said, a new automated system for processing standards requirements was accepted, and it will be working within 45 days. The panel also held discussions with book publishers on how books can be made available on the information highway, and set up a working relationship with comparable groups in Canada, France, Italy Japan, and Sweden to collaborate on information infrastructure implementation.
The panel is to meet again in late May, when the working groups will report on their progress and future action plans.
(Grant Buckler/19950411/Press Contact: Marilyn Hernandez American National Standards Institute, 212-642-4915; Esra Ozer or Henry Feintuch, KCSA Public Relations for ANSI, 212-682-6565)
KCSA Public Relations for ANSI, 212-682-6565)
4/12/95
Info Highway Standards Requirements Drafted
ONLINE
Japan - Fujitsu Offers Personal
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Japanese computer and electronics giant Fujitsu has announced the beginning of a new Internet access service aimed at personal users.
The service is an extension of the Infoweb Internet service that has been available to businesses since June of last year. That service was initially begun in the Tokyo and Osaka areas and slowly spread nationwide as the access network was upgraded.
The new personal service will be priced at 2,000 yen ($23) a month with a one-off joining fee of 5,000 yen ($60). Once online, the users will face time-based charges of 20 yen ($0.24) a minute for the access. Fujitsu hopes it will get 10,000 users in the first year.
Infoweb offers Internet access via the SLIP protocol, which means users are free to choose which software to use to access the network, and also enjoy all the benefits of a full connection, but via a dial-up line.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Fujitsu's Mike Beirne explained the new service will be available via Fujitsu's nationwide "Fenics" packet network which is being upgraded to cope with the increased speed demanded by Internet use. "We have nine access points at present -- Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima Sapporo, Sendai, Toyama, Kawasaki, Nagoya, and Fukuoka -- which allows access with a local phone call in most of Japan."
These cities represent the upgraded Fenics points-of-presence which have been equipped with modems capable of high speed and ISDN (integrated services digital network) access, but the network building will continue. "Our goal is to mirror the access of Nifty," Beirne added. Nifty, via the Fenics network, has phone numbers in just about every middle sized and above town in Japan.
The new service will complement Nifty, according to Bierne. "Nifty is still supporting a text-only interface, but allows Internet access via Telnet. Infoweb is designed for full Internet access."
Nifty will also benefit from the upgraded Fenics network, which is the main access method to the online service. Nifty is currently looking at offering 28,800 bits-per-second and ISDN access into the service according to Beirne.
(Martyn Williams/19950411/Press Contact : Mike Beirne, Fujitsu Limited, +81-3-3215-5236, Internet e-mail mike@fjcug.fujitsu.co.jp Nifty e-mail RHC03153)
l mike@fjcug.fujitsu.co.jp Nifty e-mail RHC03153)
4/12/95
Japan - Fujitsu Offers Personal Internet Access
ONLINE
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: New High Capacity Hard Disks From Toshiba, Fujitsu Cuts Internet Access Price, DDI And KDD Reach VPN Agreement.
New High Capacity Hard Disks From Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation has announced two new 2.5-inch hard disk drives that it says are the largest, in storage size, in the world. The higher capacity of the two -- the MK2720F -- is capable of holding up to 1.35 gigabytes (GB) of computer data while being 19 millimeters (mm) high. The MK1926F is a thinner "superslim" model, at just 12.6mm high, and can hold 815 megabytes (MB) of data. Sample versions of the new units are priced at 150,000 yen ($1,785) and 100,000 yen ($1,190) respectively.
Fujitsu Cuts Internet Access Price
Fujitsu has slashed the price of its Infoweb Internet access service for companies. The dedicated line IP (Internet Protocol) service is now priced at 196,000 yen ($2,333) a month -- a nearly 49% cut from the previous price of 385,000 yen ($4,583). The new prices are effective April 21.
DDI & KDD Reach VPN Agreement
Two Japanese telephone companies -- DDI and KDD -- have agreed in principle to join their virtual private networks (VPNs), allowing mutual access to the two. Both companies say there are some technical difficulties that need to be ironed out, but that should be accomplished sometime this year.
(Martyn Williams/19950411)
Williams/19950411)
4/12/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Chicago Gets Web Page
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Chicago's skyline always looks breathtaking in person. Now, landmarks like the Sears Tower are floating in cyberspace for the world to see, because the City of Chicago has its own World Wide Web page.
Dubbed "Chicago Mosaic," Internet "surfers" can travel to the Windy City without ever boarding a plane, driving a car, or getting on a train.
"When it comes right down to it, the Internet is really about connecting people," Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said. "Chicago Mosaic lets us maximize the ever-expanding potential for communicating with Chicago's residents, visitors, and international neighbors."
For the visitor, a multimedia electronic tour guide of the Windy City will be available, Jim Sweet, Chicago Mosaic project manager, told Newsbytes, "because of the need to bring to the Web information about Chicago."
Sweet also said city residents will also find Chicago Mosaic beneficial. He called it an "effort to explore ways of increasing interactivity between citizens and government." For example, he said Chicago's community policing program has its own page, listing police beats, and crimes committed. Sweet said as time goes on, other neighborhood information will be placed in the Web page.
To that end, Sweet said seven Chicago libraries will have access to the Chicago Mosaic page, for people who do not otherwise have Internet access. Mayor Daley has said he hopes to provide public Internet access from every library branch in the city.
"We're interested in technology as a tool," Sweet said. "Government has an obligation to use whatever tools are available to do the job. That's the interest Mayor Daley has in this. It's not a 'gee-whiz' attitude."
Chicago Mosaic can be found at URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://www.ci.chi.il.us. Partners in the project include: the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the University of Illinois at Chicago; Ameritech; Compaq; Motorola; Spry; Sun Microsystems; and Tele Communications.
(Bob Woods/19950411/Press Contacts: Kimberly Costello, Mayor Daley's Press Office, 312-744-3334. Public Contact: Internet World Wide Web http://www.ci.chi.il.us)
ttp://www.ci.chi.il.us)
4/12/95
Chicago Gets Web Page
ONLINE
Bell Canada Seeks To Change Loca
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Bell Canada the largest of Canada's regional telephone companies, has asked federal regulators for permission to move local phone rates for business customers closer to the actual cost of providing the services. The company also hopes to introduce pay-per-call billing for local business calls in about two years.
Bell's proposal to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) would lower the monthly cost of business trunks and individual lines in large cities, while raising the cost of individual lines in smaller centers. The cost of business trunk lines would drop across the board, while the plan's effect on individual business lines would vary with the size of the town or city.
Today, both business and residential rates are based on the number of other phones the subscriber can reach with a local call. This means customers in the largest cities pay the highest rates. However, Bell said, the real cost of providing service is lowest in big cities and highest in remote rural areas.
Bell proposes to introduce the rate changes in two stages. Bell wants the first phase of the changeover to take effect July 1 1996, and the second a year later. Business users in Toronto and Montreal would pay C$11.25 per month less for individual lines while customers in small towns and rural areas could pay as much as C$18.25 per month more. Rates for business trunks would drop by as much as $31.15 per month, with the largest reductions in the two biggest cities but cuts of nearly as much in some smaller centers.
The company said its present proposal would not affect residential customers. However, Bell also said it is considering a similar pricing plan for residential service. Expecting that regulators will open the door to competition in local telephone service fairly soon, the national Stentor consortium, which includes Bell, has already told the CRTC that it believes local rates must be brought in line with costs by the time such competition begins.
Bell said the rate changes would not bring it additional revenue.
Bell Canada is also proposing to introduce pay-per-call billing for local business service, a concept familiar in some countries but not in North America. The company said it would reduce its flat-rate monthly charge by 30 to 35 percent but levy a per minute charge on "certain outgoing calls," starting July 1, 1997.
This is also subject to approval by the CRTC, though the regulatory body has already given its blessing for the principle of per-call local billing, and only the details of the billing structure and the timing of its introduction remain to be approved, company spokeswoman Valerie Ward told Newsbytes. The company plans to file its proposed rates by May 31.
Under the pay-per-call plan, there would be no charge for calls within the customer's own branch exchange or Centrex system, for calls to the operator or to 411 (directory assistance), 611 (repair service), 711 (hearing-impaired relay service), or 911 (emergency) numbers. Customers also would not pay for incoming calls and would not pay local charges for long-distance calls Ward said.
Bell said it expects the average customer will pay about the same under the proposed pay-per-call billing structure. The company said it will provide "shadow billing" in advance of the actual changeover to pay-per-call billing, so that customers can see in advance what their calling habits will cost under the new regime.
(Grant Buckler/19950411/Press Contact: Valerie Ward, Bell Canada, 613-781-2443; Public Contact: Bell Canada, Internet World Wide Web http://www.bell.ca)
anada, Internet World Wide Web http://www.bell.ca)
4/12/95
Bell Canada Seeks To Change Local Business Rates
TELECOM
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- PR Newswire one of the major American press-release wire services, said it is preparing to launch its own site on the Internet's World Wide Web. The Web site should be operational within about a month.
PR Newswire publishes press releases which, besides serving as news leads for the media, are available on commercial online services such as CompuServe, America Online, and Delphi.
Ian Capps, president of PR Newswire, told Newsbytes that on its Web site, PR Newswire does not plan to post all of its press releases, but will offer various special services and information about what it does.
One special service might be a news-on-call operation that would allow an Internet user to look through a list of press releases issued by a particular company over the past several months and then retrieve copies of certain releases, Capps said. This would be analogous to a fax-on-demand service that PR Newswire already operates, he said.
Another service PR Newswire already offers is a listing of new Web sites that have been announced in press releases the service has carried. Currently this is available through other database services, and Capps said it is not definitely on the list of services to be included in the Web site, but it might be added in future. PR Newswire also offers bulletin board services for its members.
Some of PR Newswire's services on the Web will be available at no charge, Capps said, while others may carry a fee to Internet users.
PR Newswire is working with Pipeline New York, an Internet access provider and a subsidiary of PSINet. The URL (address) of the new Web site has not received formal approval yet and so cannot be announced, Capps said.
(Grant Buckler/19950411/Press Contact: Ian Capps, PR Newswire 212-596-1510; Ashley Suhler, PR Newswire, 212-596-1544 Internet e-mail ashley212@aol.com)
et e-mail ashley212@aol.com)
4/12/95
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
ONLINE
US Firms Get Pakistan Business
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- US computer and telecommunications companies are smiling following the visit to Washington of Pakistan's Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. At a ceremony in the National Building Museum, Bhutto signed memoranda of understanding for investments in Pakistan: more than $6 billion, with a good share going to high-tech industries.
Last fall, when Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary visited Pakistan some $4 billion in deals were signed, all of them in the energy sector. According to the Pakistan embassy, more than 90 percent of those agreements have progressed to the next stage of development and several are scheduled to break ground this year.
A major aim of Bhutto's current visit is to work on building her nation's communications infrastructure. Bhutto's signing ceremony was joined by O'Leary, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. Also on hand were Robert "Bud" McFarland, former National Security Advisor in the Reagan administration, who now represents United States Medical International, and John Imle, president of Unocal Corp.
Among those high-tech companies slated for new business in Pakistan are:
Northern Telecom, which has been working in Pakistan with Pakistan Telecom since the 1980's and is upgrading the phone network in rural areas.
Cylink Corp., which intends to transfer spread spectrum radio systems to Pakistan.
IBM SEMEA, which will work with the Pakistani government on information technologies and services for modernizing the port at Karachi. IBM is also working on improving utility billing systems in Pakistan.
MCI International, which intends to provide Pakistan Telecom access to MCI Internet, giving Pakistan a lane on the "information superhighway."
Sprint, which already works with Pakistan Telecom to provide overseas links to the US, says it wants to invest in messaging and data services.
Tech Man International Corp., which has installed satellite equipment in Pakistan, will operate a joint venture fiber optical facility. The company also plans to install and operate an Inmarsat satellite station in the country.
AT&T, which already provides a large number of circuits between the US and Pakistan, says it wants to expand those links and provide satellite equipment for upgrading telecommunications.
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- HealthCare Research Systems, a firm affiliated with The Ohio State University, said it plans to make its quality-measuring data of the healthcare industry available by dial-up this summer.
"We are basically a company that's like a public accountant," Dr. Stephen Strasser, Ph.D., founder of HealthCare Research Systems told Newsbytes. "But instead of doing books, we are measuring quality."
The name of the game is accountability, Dr. Strasser said. If doctors hospitals, and healthcare plans are held accountable, the quality of care should increase, he said. The idea of patients and employers holding the healthcare industry accountable for quality is a new one Dr. Strasser said, but is important to the survival of the players of the medical marketplace.
HealthCare surveys patient satisfaction and outcomes, and measures "perception" of medical outcomes and health status for inpatient, ambulatory, and rehabilitative settings, among others. It also measures "satisfaction" with health plans on issues like cost access, quality of care, and patient perception of outcome and "wellness."
In addition, the company surveys the "satisfaction" of health care employees, including doctors and nurses, to improve morale among staff, as well as "decrease turnover or unionization rates," according to the company.
The data can then be accessed via a Windows-compatible software program called "HRS Ideas," which Dr. Stasser said can be accessed by people who "don't have any computer training." He also said data from the software can be broken out in individual groups, and can even be printed into different charts and graphs for presentation purposes.
"We are trying to empower our clients with information, without making them dependent on us to supply them with every bit of information they need," he said.
While plans for the dial-up site call for it to begin in mid-July Strasser said the data from the study is currently sent to clients via floppy disks.
(Bob Woods/19950412/Press Contact: Heidi Ehrler Schwartz Public Relations, 212-677-8700)
Schwartz Public Relations, 212-677-8700)
4/12/95
Dial-Up Link To Healthcare Quality Data
HEALTH
Electronic Marketplace Revenues
WILTON. CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Electronic transactions of tangible goods in 1994 rose 27% over 1993, Simba Information Inc. maintains. In its report "The Electronic Marketplace 1995: Strategies For Connecting Buyers and Sellers," the company claims that electronic commerce raked in $362 million last year.
Simba says the study is the first to take a look at the electronic marketplace, how it is growing, how big it is right now, and the scope of electronic purchasing.
The report found that online services account for the vast majority of electronic transactions, representing 90% of the market, to the tune of $324.9 million in 1994. Also, the Internet saw only six percent of transactions in 1994. However, by the year 2000, that figure will be the second largest electronic marketplace, with revenues nearing $950 million, the study claims.
The report also said another trend that is not taking off now, but will soon, is "interactive television." The study said this technology will come into its own in 1998, and that revenue generated through interactive television will grow 200% from 1998 through the year 2000.
Other trends emerging in the next few years, author and analyst Karen Burka told Newsbytes, include more women making electronic purchases and database marketing taking a "one-on-one" approach with customers.
Some of the challenges the electronic marketplace has to overcome include the securing of information like credit card numbers electronically. "There's challenges, but a lot of opportunities as well," she said.
"This is for companies and marketers who are trying to sell products through new media, like online services, the Internet, CD-ROM, and multimedia kiosks," Simba Burka said, "as well as marketers trying to sell their services to companies who may want to use new media."
The report costs $1,150, and is available by calling Hillary Veeder at 203-834-0033 extension 173. Simba also publishes "Electronic Marketplace Report," a newsletter covering electronic shopping and commerce, among other offerings.
(Bob Woods/19950411/Press Contact: Karen Burka, SIMBA Information Inc., 203-834-0033 ext 127. Public Contact: Hillary Veeder, Simba 203-834-0033 ext 173, Internet e-mail simba99@aol.com)
-0033 ext 173, Internet e-mail simba99@aol.com)
4/12/95
Electronic Marketplace Revenues Surge - Study
TRENDS
Czech Telecoms Tender Wins Court
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- The international tender stake in SPT Telecom, the Czech Republic's state telecom operator is back on track after an appeal court in Prague overturned an order that the government stop the sale. A municipal court is understood to have upheld the government's appeal against the order.
The initial order to stop the tender was granted to Telis, a Czech telecommunications company, which claimed it had been unfairly excluded from making a bid for the 27 percent stake in SPT, in contravention of the country's commercial code. Large-scale Czech privatizations are carried out by decree and are not governed by the code. However, the courts are understood to have no jurisdiction to rule on their validity.
Telis intends to fight the ruling, explaining that it is the only Czech company to express serious interest in acquiring the SPT stake. The economy ministry said Telis' approach was rejected at an early stage because of its lack of operational experience and its perceived inability to pay the price the government was seeking for the stake.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
or the stake.
(Terry Silveria/19950410)
4/12/95
Czech Telecoms Tender Wins Court Go-Ahead
TELECOM
Univs Trade Network Security For
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Although computer network administrators are growing more concerned about hackers infiltrating their systems via the Internet, most universities are reluctant to take drastic measures to prohibit unauthorized access according to Ellen Germain in "Guarding Against Internet Intruders" (Science, Feb. 3, 1995, pp. 608-610).
Germain reports that while security strategies such as "firewalls" and one-time passwords are effective, most universities fear measures such as these will compromise the institution's policy of encouraging the free flow of information.
"Overall statistics on hacking incidents or attempts are impossible to come by, but some universities estimate that they get from 10 to 30 'doorknob-rattling' attempts a week," Germain writes. "When hackers do succeed in breaking in, the opportunities for mischief range from altering mission-critical scientific data to tarnishing someone's reputation by sending false electronic-mail in his or her name."
The article includes examples of innovative security measures adopted or being tested by Texas A&M University, Stanford University, and the University of California at Davis.
This story is republished with permission from the April, 1995 Cybernautics Digest, a monthly summary of reports about converging information technologies.
(Contact: Terry Hansen, Cybernautics Digest, c/o KFH Publications Inc., 3530 Bagley Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; 206-547-4950; Fax: 206-547-5355; E-mail: cybernba@cuix.pscu.com. U.S. subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
.com. U.S. subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
4/12/95
Univs Trade Network Security For Academic Freedom
ONLINE
Motorola Licenses Radio System,
Sweden - Ericsson's 1st Major Wa
Autodesk To Ship AutoCAD LT For
House Speaker Gingrich Lauds Wir
Dial-Up Link To Healthcare Quali
More On Wang-Microsoft Settlemen
Apple Upgrades QuickTake Digital
China - Govt Calls For Tough Cop
UK - Greenscreen's In-House Help
Boca Research Intros VoiceView-C
CD-ROM For Driver Training
Unitel Officers Resign, Future U
Philippines - IBM To Offer Inter
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 1995 APR 12 (NB) - IBM Philippines says it is set to offer commercial access to the Internet beginning May.
The service, considered a breakthrough in the country's on-going connectivity efforts, will be offered to Philippine based corporations or other interested individuals, a company statement said.
IBM Global Network Manager Ricardo F. Banaag said a local number is all there is to connect to the Internet, unlike utilizing expensive international interconnection. He also said that the Philippines will be among the many countries hooked up to the IBM gateway facility in Tampa Florida.
Countries currently using IBM's services include: Australia Japan, New Zealand, the US, and the European community. Soon, Hong Kong and Indonesia will also join the list.
New IBM products have utilized technology possible for Internet connectivity. OS/2 Warp has included Internet-ready functions to provide users with a "one-button" sign-up to IBM's global Internet access provider. Part of OS/2 consists of software that lets users download files, search and log onto other computers. Downloading documents , sound and video through the IBM World Wide Web browser is also possible.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1995 APR 12 (NB) - Manila's main electricity distribution company, Meralco, is using state-of the-art technology from Australian information technology (IT) firm MITS to remotely control the supply of electricity.
MITS is a builder of major software applications in the areas of real-time systems, spatial systems, rapid asset mapping, and financial systems. The company also provides a range of services to government and corporate clients including facilities management, systems integration network integration, consulting, and training. Based in Melbourne, with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Thailand, the firm employs 350 full-time staff.
Meralco, which looks after the power needs of the greater metropolitan area of Manila, was manually controlling the system that supplied electricity to households and industry prior to the MITS installation.
Manual control was decentralized then, with substations located out in the suburbs, while coordination came from a central control room and was largely verbally based.
After a lengthy tender process, Meralco selected MITS and its SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) System, which enables remote control and the collection of data. "Essentially, the company was looking for a system that would enable it to control the distribution of power. Our SCADA system essentially allows Meralco to monitor what power they are buying from the generating utility," said Eric Metzke, MITS project manager.
The SCADA "solution" also provides a number of operational advantages. "There are a number of transmission lines taking power to between eight and 10 million people throughout the city. Each area has more than one line going to it so that in the event of a line failing, they can disconnect it at the circuit breaker and connect that power via another line to re-power the substation," explained Metzke.
SCADA enables Meralco to operate these circuit breakers from the central control room to switch power easily through different lines.
It also enables the company to record on an "hour basis" the usage of electricity at different feeders. The operators can look at graphs to see trends of traffic on any particular line. If maintenance is required on a feeder, the operator can look at its history and determine when usage will be at its lowest.
Circuit breakers have a limited number of operating cycles and regularly need to be refurbished, according to Metzke. SCADA enables Meralco to keep a tally of the number of operations and schedule maintenance accordingly.
Meralco also implemented an Energy Management System (EMS), which gives it an accurate metering of power distributed. This helps detect losses, such as when customers bypass meters or tap into lines. Meralco can then take the necessary action to recover that power or minimize the loss, claims the company.
EMS also serves as a modeling tool, allowing Meralco to model hypothetical scenarios and plan the best way to overcome them.
Metzke supervised the Meralco installation, with a core of seven people from MITS. Meralco personnel then went to Australia for the factory testing of the SCADA system before it was sent to Manila.
They also underwent training in Sydney while equipment was being prepared. This was followed up by six to eight weeks of training on site.
MITS has set up a data link between its office in Sydney and Meralco in Manila, to provide maintenance and support.
The SCADA system is now operational with over 20 of the 57 remote terminal units online. MITS is also assisting Meralco to commission the Energy Management System and this will be completed in the first half of the year.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Datamatics Ltd., has entered into an alliance with Itochu Techno-Science Corp. (CTC) a subsidiary of Itochu Corp., Japan, that calls for Datamatics to set up an Itochu-dedicated software development facility in India within Bombay's free trade zone (SEEPZ).
The agreement was finalized by Hiro Satake, president Itochu Techno-Science Corp., during his recent visit to India. The software development facility will be exclusively dedicated to Itochu and focus on both software development activities and migration strategies using leading edge technologies.
The objective behind setting up the facility is to provide Itochu with a "reliable, cost-effective and high quality application software development infrastructure," which will assist the Japanese company in "acquiring a cost advantage."
Itochu and Datamatics will jointly develop the necessary infrastructure in terms of specific computing environment training for software development, methodologies, and quality standards.
Affiliate companies of the Datamatics Group provide sales and service support for the information technology-related products to Indian businesses. Products marketed include laser printers from Itochu, modems from Hayes, networking hardware from Ascom Timeplex, and enterprise-wide networking products from Banyan Systems.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950412)
om Banyan Systems.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950412)
4/12/95
India - Datamatics To Build Itochu's R&D Center
BUSINESS
Correction - Online Pollution Tr
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- This is a correction to the press contact line in a story of this title which ran on the Newsbytes wire April 14. The contact is Seth Jacobson, 310-471-6669, or email to ams@hss.caltech.edu.
(Ken Maize/19950421)
mail to ams@hss.caltech.edu.
(Ken Maize/19950421)
4/21/94
Correction - Online Pollution Trading In California
CORRECTION
TRENDS
EMC Intros Products & Features F
Quarterdeck Offers Free Internet
India - Fidelio Plans R&D Center
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Munich-based Fidelio Software, which offers property management software to the hospitality industry, has drawn up plans to set up a full fledged research and development center in India. The new facility will be set up in Bangalore at an investment of US$300,000.
According to Marc Boucher, chief executive officer of Fidelio (India), the software development center will begin operations by May. It will develop computer-based multimedia training tools.
The center will take up project development of OPERA, an open reservation system which provides a database link between hotels and the global distribution system of airline companies.
It will also take up limited customization of software and value-added additions for the Indian hotel industry. However Fidelio's prime focus in India will be to target the hospitality industry: first addressing four and five-star hotels and, later large restaurant chains.
Set up in 1987, Fidelio offers an integrated package of products consisting of front-office management, inventory management back office management, engineering management, and sales and catering management modules among other utilities for the hotel and catering industry. The company has already won an order for the complete computerization of the Taj Group of hotels.
From its Indian operations, Fidelio expects to earn a revenue of R100 million by the end of the next financial year. Presently operating from Bangalore, the company is planning to open its offices in Bombay and Delhi.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950412)
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950412)
4/12/95
India - Fidelio Plans R&D Center
BUSINESS
Internet World - IBM's Patrick D
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- In his keynote speech for Spring Internet World 95, John Patrick, vice president of Internet Applications at IBM (NYSE:IBM), outlined the value and perspective of the Internet for businesses. His brief, inspiring speech was delivered to more the 2,000 tradeshow attendees.
The speech began with a the description of a paradigm shift. "Computer technology began with mainframes which became supplemented by local area networks which were supplemented by wide area networks. Internet incorporates all of that -- and is more than that. It is an inversion of the client/server environment," said Patrick. Instead of a server distributing to clients, the clients are controlling and building the Internet.
His speech focused on six important ideas which he said developed over a period of time. These are six ideas which he hoped would inspire universities, businesses and government institutions to get on the Internet. In order, they were: electronic-mail; an information directory; online executive access; delivering and getting documents; sales and services; and the World Wide Web.
Regarding e-mail, he said, "A company needs to open its doors to let people come into the company. There is an attitude that e-mail is sacred and for internal company use only. I suggest that attitude change to an open atmosphere which allows customers, stockholders and interested parties enter into the system."
His second step, called "555-1212," asks what good is an e-mail address without a directory. "How can anyone find you if you do not have some type of "Who is" server? Once you open your attitudes about e-mail, you have to make yourself known," said Patrick.
Continuing his open business concept, he said, "The third idea is make top executives available to people online. It is here where they will be able to meet and hear early adopters and begin to communicate who they are and learn what others are thinking.
The fourth idea is simply "information." he said: "Get it online. Put it out there. Get it from other companies. Deliver it to others. Tell people what your company does. Once you have accomplished that the fifth concept, 'sales and services' naturally follow. When you communicate what you do, you will see sales develop. What you see on the Internet today is just a blip on the screen. In a very short time you will see security on the Internet that is better than is it not on the Internet. You give out your credit card to strangers all of the time and think nothing of it. Internet security will far surpass that level of security," said Patrick.
Concerning his last idea, the World Wide Web, he said, "Your company has to be on the Web. It has to have a home page which is updated and gives people a reason to come back. At IBM, we have created a job position for our home page editor." He continued, "There is a great deal to learn about this, the Internet and the Web, and we are just beginning to learn."
In closing, Patrick said there are three critical success factors for a business or institution on the Net. "The first is grass roots support. Look to those people in your company who are already on the Net. Listen to them, talk to them. Secondly, success requires a commitment from the top down. Take your marketing money and spend it on the Net. I learn more about other companies from their home pages than I could with a long marketing study. Look at the home pages of other companies. The positions they are trying to fill will tell you where they are going and what they are developing. Third, you have to have a technical infrastructure. If your company is on the Web, it has to be on seven days a week, 24 hours a day."
Where is this all going? Patrick says, "We are not looking at a system with millions of users. We are looking at billions of users using everything from a palmtop to a mainframe to access the system. This is an environment made up of unlimited communication and infinite choices. Go back to your company and become part of this world. You and I make the difference."
(Patrick McKenna/19950412)
e the difference."
(Patrick McKenna/19950412)
4/12/95
Internet World - IBM's Patrick Delivers Keynote
ONLINE
Computing At 29,000 Feet Atop Mo
< HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) says computing will reach new heights -- pun intended when three of its LTE Elite notebook computers accompany the Americans on Everest 95 Expedition.
The ascent team, which Compaq said requested the LTE Elites as their notebook of choice to track and record the expedition, plans to reach the summit of the forbidding, and often deadly, mountain sometime in May following a two-month climb.
Mt. Everest is the world's highest mountain and is located in the Himalayan mountains on the Tibet-Nepal border. The first known successful climb to the top of Everest is credited to Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norkay after eight known attempts failed.
Compaq spokesperson Yvonne Donaldson told Newsbytes that in addition to recording the team's ascent and its impact on the environmental impact of climbing teams on the mountain, the PCs will also be used to communicate via wireless modem with the expedition's base camp located at the 17,800 foot level. A record of the climber's daily progress, which will be updated weekly will be available on the Internet beginning April 17. To keep track of the expedition's progress check Compaq's home page on the Internet at http://www.compaq.com.
Donaldson told Newsbytes the LTE Elite PCs accompanying the climbers have not been weatherized in any way, but were tested in the company's environmental test labs, including an altitude chamber. "One of the stresses that is placed on a notebook computer is taking it from a warm, cozy house to your car and throwing it in the trunk. That very quick change in temperature can stress and test the durability of the unit."
The climbers will also be providing photos of the expedition, which are expected to be distributed by Compaq. Donaldson couldn't say if the photos would be distributed on the Internet.
In addition to scaling the 29,828 foot (8,848 meters) peak, the climbing team has set a goal of cleaning up its own debris as well as cleaning up debris left behind from past expeditions. An experienced Mt. Everest guide and climber told Newsbytes the routes up Mt. Everest are strewn with debris.
(Jim Mallory/19950412/Press contact: Compaq Public Relations 713-374-0484; Public contact: Compaq, 800-345-1518, Internet World Wide Web http://www.compaq.com)
nternet World Wide Web http://www.compaq.com)
4/12/95
Computing At 29,000 Feet Atop Mount Everest
TRENDS
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70
Trade Groups Sponsor Consumer El
New Remote E-Mail Application Fo
Impulse Intros Large-Screen Note
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-
Online Marketplace '95 - Revenue
Firefox Offers Free Novell/Inter
Australia - Microsoft Sets Up Re
Kao Infosystems Increases CD-ROM
ry Gaining Popularity
Microsoft Intros Softimage Eddie
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced version 3.2 of Softimage Eddie for the Silicon Graphics platform, a digital compositing package with special effects and paint capabilities.
Softimage Eddie version 3.2 is designed for use by image post-production, special effects, and interactive media developers. Users can combine images from various media sources, such as video, film, computer animation, titles, paint, and scans into a single interface. The program has a preview feature that lets the user see the finished effects prior to output and final rendering.
Microsoft says more than 30 tools are included in the program to perform compositing, paint, color correction, titling, filtering morphing (a smooth transition from one image to another), motion tracking, and input/output. The user can mix and match various resolutions and formats and output the results at various resolutions.
Image import and export is "resolution independent" and supports a maximum resolution of 8,000 by 8,000 pixels, or picture elements. The user can create keys based on HLSA, Luminance, Alpha or weighted RGBA values, and the color correction works on HLSA RGBA, and Luminance color space and provides full spline controls.
Text controls in Softimage Eddie include font, scale, aspect letter spacing, line spacing, rotation and justification. Images can be translated, rotated and scaled in three dimensions.
Softimage Eddie supports network batch rendering, 32-bit and 64-bit processing and an open architecture for the use of custom tools.
Microsoft also announced it will soon release Eddie SCSI Video, a module for Softimage Eddie that allows the user to input, output and organize video sequences at variable resolutions using motion JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) compression.
Special effects included in Eddie SCSI Video include: Xfade, a soft cut; loop, to repeat in and out; reverse; TimeWarp, to change the length of the original clip; and Strobe, a strobe lighting effect. Other features include real-time capture, full resolution previewing and a user interface Microsoft says is so intuitive it can be used "without a manual."
SoftImage Eddie has a street price of about $7,995. Eddie SCSI Video is scheduled to ship this summer and will sell for about $1,995.
(Jim Mallory/19950412/Press contact: Lisa McKenzie, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-699-0856; Public contact: Softimage 800-576-3846)
, 503-699-0856; Public contact: Softimage 800-576-3846)
4/12/95
Microsoft Intros Softimage Eddie For Silicon Graphics
GENERAL
Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, F
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Wang Laboratories (AMEX:WANG) have resolved their patent fight. In addition, Microsoft is taking up to a 10 percent stake in Wang.
The settlement seems to leave Microsoft the winner in the 21-month patent fight, with the software company acquiring $90 million of convertible preferred stock, which matures in the year 2003. The preferred stock represents 10 percent of Wang's common stock after conversion.
At issue in the dispute was control of the technology for manipulating portions of software code, known as objects, across various programs. Microsoft publishes software called OLE (object linking and embedding), which allows users to embed an object such as a picture or a motion video, in a file. An object can also be linked to another file. In the case of a spreadsheet, when the original document is updated, the linked version in a second file is also updated.
The agreement gives Microsoft the right to use Wang's object controls in future releases of Microsoft operating systems, including future versions of soon-to-be-released Windows 95 and Windows NT. The deal also calls for Wang image controls to be included in Microsoft's Visual Basic software. Wang will develop Windows NT versions of its imaging and workflow server products, which it will also market and sell.
Wang's imaging technology enables images of scanned documents including text and graphics, to be embedded in Windows applications such as electronic-mail, word processing, and databases. The company's workflow technology manages the routing and delivery of those files.
Wang common stock rose 87.5 cents per share to $14.31 yesterday after rumors of the settlement surfaced. The stock continued to rise today and was at $15.875 at Newsbytes deadline.
(Jim Mallory/19950412/Press contact: Claire Lematta, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097)
ematta, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097)
4/12/95
Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, Firms Settle Dispute
BUSINESS
Internet World - An Overview
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Mecklermedia producer of Spring Internet World '95, says it is surprised by the number of attendees still registering for the show. At 4 pm people in the registration line were still hoping to get into the show.
Alan Meckler, head of Mecklermedia, told Newsbytes, "We originally expected attendance to be in the area of 15,000 people. Looking at yesterday and today, I have to say that number is closer to 25,000. We put additional stations in the self-registration process and we are moving people through the process quickly." Newsbytes spoke to a few of the people in line who confirmed that the wait was only seven to ten minutes.
The second day of the show was filled with announcements from IBM and the Atlanta Olympic committee, Progressive Networks and their real audio for the Net, ICVerify with secure VISA transactions, Point Communication's Web page review and tour site, and a Sun Microsystems and Netscape press conference.
Speaking about the show, Meckler said, "This is the place for rolling out Internet announcements of related products and services. Things have changed dramatically over the Internet this past year and I attribute the growth to the arrival of Internet applications which are easy to install and use. On the consumer end, we have the development of browsers which have made access very easy and, on the business-to-business end, we are seeing significant progress with server hardware and software solutions from companies like Sun, IBM, and Apple."
Meckler continued, "Over the next four to six months, we will witness a real revolution on the Internet. A number of people have said the Internet business has paralleled the personal computer (PC) business and it has. But by the end of the century, it will outgrow the PC business. This is the place to be."
While it seems many people at the show interchange the Web and the Internet, Meckler said, "Studies show that less than three or four percent of Internet users are access the Web. That number is rapidly changing but it is important to remember that the Internet is still very much a system of electronic-mail, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), newsgroups and other features."
On the tradeshow floor, people jammed the Progressive Networks booth to listen to "Real Audio." A product still in its beta tests, Real Audio, is a client/server product which allows a company or individual to post speeches and other voice files on a Web page. Viewers with the client software may download entire speeches, radio programs or any type of voice file. In a press conference, Progressive was supported by ABC television and National Public Radio (NPR). Attendees were able to listen to NPR programs listed on Progressive's home page.
Is Internet World just the latest trend for the tradeshow circuit? IBM Microsoft and CompuServe/Spry would say, "No." All three of these companies have already signed for next year's show and reserved an even larger space on the exhibition floor.
What's a trade show without good rumors? When Jim Clark, president and chief executive at Netscape, was asked about three-dimensional effects to be added to Netscape products, he looked at Mark Andreessen his partner and the creator of Mosaic, paused for a moment and said "I am sure a company somewhere must be working on it."
Another widely heard statement: CompuServe's almost three million members are going to be able to create their own World Wide Web home page with the necessary tools and tutorials.
(Patrick McKenna/19950412/Press Contact:)
Kenna/19950412/Press Contact:)
4/12/95
Internet World - An Overview
ONLINE
Seybold - PCs To Ship With SGML-
India - VSNL-Inmarsat Pact To In
Europe - Landmark Legal Ruling O
PSINet's New Online Internet Ser
Personnel Roundup
Reflex Shipping Security, Anti-V
Intersolv Expands Unix Data-Acce
China - Microsoft Opens Free Tra
DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Price
Novell's PerfectWorks To Ship in
ABI, Yellownet Collaborate On In
Dynatek Intros CD-ROM Recorder
America Online Possibly to Acqui
Hong Kong Digital, Reuters In Se
Cadkey Opens Web Site
WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Cadkey Inc. developer of two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) software, said it has opened a home page on the Internet's World Wide Web.
Cadkey develops and sells DataCAD Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) and CADKEY mechanical CAD software. Company officials say the new Web site offers the latest product information company news, educational support, and technical support information for the two products. Cadkey claims to have almost 200,000 installations worldwide.
When Newsbytes "surfed" into the site, we were greeted by a 27 kilobyte map that had hyperlinks to topics including "About Cadkey," "News Updates," and downloading demo software. Links were also provided for those users who don't have graphical browsing software like Mosaic or Netscape.
The company said additional information on its Web page includes special product promotions, product reviews and end-user stories and trade show user group meetings.
Ron Cote, Cadkey spokesperson, told Newsbytes the site is intended to be much more than a Web "presence." He said some companies put up Web pages because they see other corporations doing the same but that's not the case with Cadkey. "We'd rather spend a dollar on the Internet rather than spend it on normal advertising. More people will see the Internet page than the ad. The advertising salespeople we deal with don't like it."
Cote said the company will also be constantly updating information, so the user's perception will be that the site is always changing. "We want the perception to be that the Web page will change from month to month, and even more than that," he said.
Cote said the company believes that, with the Web page, an important development will take place. "One good way to advertise is by word of mouth. By using the Internet, people will tell their friends of our company's site. It's like the snowball theory: it starts out small at the top, but it grows as it goes downhill. That's what we hope will happen with the Internet."
(Bob Woods/19950412/Press Contacts: Ron Cote, Cadkey 203-298-8888, Internet e-mail coter@cadkey.com; Becky Stevens, Virtual Marketing, 203-347-5042, Internet e-mail 74561.3385@compuserve.com)
61.3385@compuserve.com)
4/12/95
Cadkey Opens Web Site
ONLINE
Noted Writers Contemplate Techno
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Retrieving data will be more important than remembering it, employment security will give way to employability security, and the home will again be the center of work. These are some of the ideas six noted authors offer in essays written for Northern Telecom Ltd.'s (NYSE:NT) 1994 annual report.
Corporate annual reports are usually a mix of detailed financial data -- sleep-inducing for all but accountants and stock-market initiates -- and self-congratulatory messages from corporate executives. Northern Telecom's report this year contains the usual, but in honor of the company's centennial, it also contains six brief essays by prominent writers with some connection to technology.
A thread running through several of the essays is the idea that in the information society, having information is no longer the important thing. Because so much information is now available the key to success is now knowing how to find it when you need it and what to do with it once you get it. "The age-old notion of 'knowledge is power' is overturned when all memory is copy- and paste-able," writes Douglas Coupland, Canadian author of Generation X and the new novel Microserfs. "Knowledge becomes wisdom, and creativity and intelligence, previously thwarted by lack of access to new ideas, can flourish."
"Just as Gutenberg's book brought the need to be able to read," writes James Burke, host of the BBC's acclaimed television series Connections, "the new systems will require the ability to navigate the network rather than to know things, to be able to retrieve data rather than remember it. A life-long qualification in a single discipline will be meaningless, and along with it will go the habit by which people characterize themselves according to the job they do."
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author of When Giants Learn to Dance and a professor of business administration at Harvard University points out that "large organizations can no longer guarantee long-term employment.... But employability security -- the knowledge that today's work will enhance the person's desirability for future opportunities -- is a promise that can be made and kept. Employability security comes from the chance to accumulate human capital -- skills and reputation -- that can be invested in new opportunities as they arise."
George Gilder, author of Wealth and Poverty, Microcosm and Life After Television, maintains that a rapidly growing telecommunications infrastructure will make it easier for people to work where they wish. "Equipped with ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) and fiber-optic links, small towns will become creative centers in the information economy. Productive citizens will retreat to rural redoubts and reach out to global markets and communities. Hollywood and Wall Street will become historic curiosities as their businesses diffuse to all points of the continent and the globe."
A constant theme, in Gilder's view, will be the empowerment of individuals and families against remote and irresponsible organizations.
In fact, for better or worse, the power of governments is already being eroded by communications technology, argues Kenichi Ohmae author of The Borderless World and a former chairman of the Japanese arm of consultancy McKinsey & Co. And emerging economies will compete by surrendering more of their regulatory power Ohmae suggests. "The fact that they do not produce the key ideas or technologies themselves is no problem. There are many entrepreneurs and corporations that do -- and they would be happy to develop them in places where their full potential is not retarded by the host countries' legal systems.
"While advanced countries are still debating whether cable TV can be used for telephone service and stock information, whether pagers can creep into FM broadcasting bands, and whether signatures can be sent via facsimile," Ohmae continues "multimedia-friendly countries will all say 'yes,' and 'why not?'"
The tone of the six essays is overwhelmingly optimistic, as when Gilder concludes that new technology, far from widening the gap between rich and poor, will mean that "the poorest citizens will gain access to new worlds of education, employment, entertainment medical care, and communication new commanded only by elites." Concerns about privacy may occur to some readers when Ohmae calls for a national computer database to replace files of registration and birth certificates in Japan, and voice-printing of citizens at age 18 so that they can vote by telephone -- but Ohmae does not mention the issue.
Burke comes closer than any of the other writers to touching on the possible problems new technology could raise when he points out that "only an educated electorate will be able to make informed decisions about the social changes that will be triggered by information surge in the next century.
"To meet this requirement," Burke argues, "education itself will need to change. Schools and universities will need to replace their outdated reductionist forms of learning with the cross disciplinary knowledge necessary for riding the information networks of the future."
One thing that will not change in education, according to University of Toronto professor and Nobel laureate John Polanyi is the role of teachers. "Not even the invention of the printing press, until now the greatest single leap forward in the information age, could change that," Polanyi writes. He maintains that the teacher's still important role is to be a "guide and interpreter," and that this role will remain because "the likelihood is that the computer's ability to instill meaning will continue to lag behind its ever-growing ability to present information."
(Grant Buckler/19950412/Press Contact: Peter Janecek, Northern Telecom, 905-566-3279)
necek, Northern Telecom, 905-566-3279)
4/12/95
Noted Writers Contemplate Technology
TRENDS
Lotus Ships Update To Phone Note
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Lotus has released Phone Notes Application Development Kit 2.0, an update to its product for building "voice and touchtone front ends" to Notes applications.
"One of the beauties of Phone Notes is that callers do not necessarily have to be Notes users to access Notes," reported Loretta Jones, Lotus' telephony product manager, in an interview with Newsbytes.
The Phone Notes development kit allows creation of phone-enabled applications that employ a variety of technologies, including text to-speech, keypad entry, and voice record, as well as faxback and electronic-mail, according to Jones.
Help desk applications constitute the most popular application category for Phone Notes, Jones told Newsbytes. "People like to phone-enable their help desks so that during `off' hours, when nobody is there, users can deposit their support problems into a Notes database," she explained.
When a call comes in, a menu might come up that says, "Enter 1 if this is a priority call," she added. At the end of this menu, the user might be ask to give a description of the problem, which would then be recorded as a voice object and stored in Notes.
Other widely used applications include phone surveys -- where customers call in to an "800" number to leave their responses and applications in which text-to-speech technology is used to "read" the user's e-mail over the phone, Newsbytes was told.
The new Lotus Phone Notes Application Kit 2.0 is designed for use with Big Sky Technologies' Remark! PhoneClient 3.0, Jones noted. Big Sky, she pointed out, recently upgraded the Remark! client from Version 2.0, whereas Lotus has updated Phone Notes Application Development Kit to Version 2.0 from Version 1.0 of its product.
The improved Lotus Phone Notes development kit gives developers eight new "Phone Notes command forms" -- bringing the total to 25 as well as a new Auto Attendant sample application, and enhanced editions of several other sample applications.
One of the new command forms, "call subroutine," lets developers give callers control over the "play" command. "Before, when users started to play a piece of text or a voice object, they no longer had control. They could not, for example, hit `1' to go back to the beginning, or `5' to rewind," maintained Jones.
Another new command form, "execute operating system (OS)," allows a program to be executed in the OS, according to the Lotus exec.
Also new in Version 2.0 are the following command functions: Case Convert DTMF to String, Execute Notes Macro, Copy, Trigger Event and Wait Time.
Jones described the new Auto Attendant sample application as a caller interface that "takes incoming calls in a workgroup or a department, and then transfers callers to either a live rep or a mailbox."
Added the product marketing manager: "(Auto Attendant) might say for example, `Welcome to the such-and-such department. If you would like to speak to a member of this department, press 1 for a list of all department members. If you would like to receive the latest information on our products, press 3, and that information will be faxed to you.'"
Lotus has also enhanced several sample applications that originated in Version 1.0 with support for the new command functions in Version 2.0, according to Jones. Developers can customize any of the sample applications "to make them even richer," she told Newsbytes.
The additional sample applications include Customer Support Helpdesk, Notes Document Faxback, Human Resource Benefits Selection, and User Validation.
Lotus Phone Notes Application Development Kit 2.0 is available now through Lotus resellers for an estimated retail price of $695. Upgrades are $215 through Lotus Business Partners.
Phone Notes applications can be developed with the Phone Notes Application Development Kit, using the Lotus Notes Client Edition on any supported platform, including Windows, Mac, OS/2, and Unix. To run Phone Notes applications, OS/2 2.1 and the Lotus Notes Server Edition for OS/2 3.0 are both required.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950312/Reader Contact: Lotus, 800-346-1305; Press Contact: Kathleen Healey or Meryl Franzman, Lois Paul & Partners, 617-862-4514)
ryl Franzman, Lois Paul & Partners, 617-862-4514)
4/12/95
Lotus Ships Update To Phone Notes App Dev't Kit
GENERAL
France - Groupe Bull Plugs Into
PARIS, FRANCE, 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Groupe Bull has announced that, of the nine "information superhighway" projects put forward as part of an invitation to tender, organized by the French government, seven projects with Bull as the primary contractor have been selected.
The projects involve several sectors, including health care, the arts press and advertising, electronic mediation services, trading, and remote purchasing.
According to Bull, two of the projects have received the SERICS label (the French Ministry of Labor) for immediate implementation. These two projects are the Ikebana project and the Public Service for Information on Cultural Heritage project.
The Ikebana project entails the development of an interactive multimedia platform with video-on-demand. According to Bull, this will also offer extended business directory services (restaurant and show guides, for example), as well as transaction services with animated images. The project is based on Bull and NEC's expertise and products in the multimedia and video-on-demand system, and is expected to become part of France Telecom's JASMIN project.
The Public Service for Information on Cultural Heritage project is being developed in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and INRIA. The project's purpose is to promote French cultural heritage through the development and deployment of new multimedia services -- in particular on the Internet -- using Mistral (the document database software) databases.
Some databases already installed include: Joconde, a collection of works of art; Merimee, a collection of historical documents; and Palissy, the protected historical objects database. The project is based on expertise developed for the French Ministry of Culture's Internet information service (W3) which was recently presented by Bull to the inter-governmental G7 conference on information superhighways.
The other five projects put forward by Bull, and which have been selected, are: the Electronic Business Exchange; the Sales Machines Project, which allows remote access to home mass distribution; the Systeme d'Information Strategique d'Enterprise (Strategic Business Information System; The Customized Multimedia Journal; and the Integrated Comms Server for Regional Medical Imagery Network.
To implement these projects, Bull plans to take advantage of the specific expertise of its new Multimedia Business Unit with its Emerging Technologies Division, and its integration skills in all divisions.
Does this surge of activity on the information superhighway mean that Bull is close to opening up its own official World Wide Web server site? According to Alison Campbell of Bull's press office, the Web site is very close to opening, although there are a number of Bull-relevant Web sites around on the Internet.
(Steve Gold/19950412/Press Contact: Alison Campbell, Bull Press Office, +44-181-479-2751; Reader Contact: Groupe Bull tel +44-181-568-9191, fax +44-181-479-2599)
ll tel +44-181-568-9191, fax +44-181-479-2599)
4/12/95
France - Groupe Bull Plugs Into Info Highway
ONLINE
Daily Telegraph's Electronic You
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Hard on the heels of celebrating its 100th Electronic World Wide Web site issue, the Daily Telegraph has announced another innovation, the Electronic Young Telegraph (EYT).
According to Hugo Drayton, marketing manager with The Daily Telegraph the EYT is a 3.5-inch disk -- available in both PC and Apple Mac versions -- that aims to be the first interactive kid's magazine on disk. The launch issue, which has just started shipping, costs UKP2.95 including two start-up disks -- with subsequent issues costing UKP4.95 each.
The first issue contains a feature on astronomy and wind, and claims to pose such questions as "Why do stars twinkle?" and "What is a Galaxy?" There is also a guide on how to find the windiest place and how to measure gales.
Drayton explained that the disks will be available by mail-order and will be released on a monthly basis. "The Telegraph has proved to be the leading player in the development of electronic titles," he said adding that the disk is a lot more than just another computer game.
"Just like Young Telegraph (the Saturday kid's edition of the Daily Telegraph), it is educational and entertaining, and is an excellent way of teaching children while they play. The success of Young Telegraph since its launch in 1990 has been unparalleled and the development of the title in an electronic version is a natural progression," he said.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950412/Press Contact: Kate Hatfield 44-171-538-6256, Internet e-mail pr@telegraph.co.uk; Reader Contact: Electronic Telegraph, +44-181-371-1200)
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) said it is delaying release of its "K5" microprocessor, which is designed to compete with Intel's Pentium processor, to make sure it functions properly. The company also said it will use the newfound production capacity from the K5 "void" to produce more 486-class microprocessors.
AMD had said it planned to sell 500,000 to one million K5s in the second half of this year. AMD spokesperson Chuck Mulloy told Newsbytes that the company will not make production quantities of K5 until 1996, when it plans to make five million K5 processors.
He did say the only way the company will manufacture production quantities of K5 is if Compaq Computer Corp. wants them. Also. Mulloy said the company is also using its .35 micron technology in K5 as well as .5 micron.
Instead, AMD said it will make more 486 processors. Mulloy said the market is demanding more 486's, especially because it appears microprocessor leader Intel is getting out of the 486 business. In fact, Mulloy said, AMD will be the 486 industry leader, as it plans to manufacture 10 million of the processors in 1995. Also, Mulloy revealed the company has signed three major computer suppliers in Japan, and will add another major US computer company to its 486 supply list.
AMD's stock was up $0.625 at $34.125 at 12:30 EDT today. It dropped $3.25 to $33.50 a share yesterday, in reaction to the K5 news. Rival Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) stock was buoyed by the AMD announcement. Yesterday, the stock went up $2.625 at $91.125, and even reached an all-time high of $91.50 in the day's trading. Today, it was down $0.50 at $90.75 at 12:30 EDT.
In response to the drop, Mulloy said, "We don't understand how the analysts who follow AMD can raise their earnings estimates (for AMD) in 1995 at the same time the market took it down three dollars. I think the only conclusion you can reach is this is an emotional reaction to the (launch delay) of K5."
Mulloy said the company made the best business decision in delaying K5's launch. "We'd rather make sure that when K5 ships, that it is properly qualified, it meets the specs, and our customers are satisfied."
In related financial news, on Monday, AMD reported first quarter earnings of $96.8 million, or 91 cents a share, up 14 percent from earnings of $84.6 million, or 82 cents a share, from the same period in 1994. Also, sales were up 21 percent to $620.1 million compared to $513.1 million from the same 1994 period. United Press International had reported AMD had been expected to earn 86 cents a share.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Chief executive officers, Jim Clark of Netscape and Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems held a press conference to announce their two companies have agreed to work together on Internet products and technologies. Specific product announcements are being held until later next month.
Any press conference which offers Jim Clark and Scott McNealy together in one room is going to gather a crowd and the Internet World press were packed to hear their words even if they were only to say "We are working together."
In opening, both agreed it was good to be working together instead of competing against one another. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics before starting Netscape, had long been a chief competitor of Sun Microsystems.
Speaking first, Clark told the press, "From the beginning, Netscape has been a pure software company. We intend to remain that way and we are creating real software products for secure commerce on the Net. We believe in the creation of an open system of security, not a proprietary solution. Much like the nature of the Internet, which is based on open and free communication, we believe the secure system necessary for commerce must be open and available to everyone conducting business on the Net."
He continued, "We are seeing unbelievable growth, our home page is getting three million hits a day and in the past four-and-a-half months we have moved six million copies of Navigator (the Netscape Web browser)."
In response to the Sun agreement, Clark said, "I think Unix is the solid platform for high volume activity which is commonly seen on an active Web site. From experience, I can tell you that as soon as people see the problems related to high volume access, they will see why Unix is the best way to handle these problems. It is one of the reasons we have chosen to work with Sun."
Scott McNealy opened his statement with: "What's the point of all this interest in the Internet as if it were something new? We have been here all along. We were 'surfing' when 'surfing' was not cool. Today, our company has more than 1.8 million electronic-mails a day. Whatever is going on with all this craziness, it is certainly creating an interesting market. When we found out we had 65% of the Internet server market, I told the marketing group to go out and develop the Netra i server line."
He continued, "The Internet will go in all sorts of different directions. That is its nature. It will not tolerate control and management. It is an open system which is based on the collective intelligence of human beings. Nobody knows what it is all about, or where it is going. But, I do know Sun will be there."
How fast is the Web growing? McNealy says the number of servers on the Net is doubling every 57 days. "At this rate, in four years every human being will have their own server. That will not happen, but it does show what is currently happening right now," said McNealy.
He also said he had recently returned from Europe, "where they do not get it, yet. They do not understand the value of the Internet or are not ready but there is a tidal wave out there just waiting to hit the shore. The Pac-Rim countries, on the other hand, do get it, and are putting it to use. We are and will continue to be the volume player as the Net grows around the globe."
In closing, Jim Clark responded to a question about going public saying he expects Netscape to make that move sometime next year.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- Internet World honors outstanding product and service awards annually from nominated companies and individuals. This years awards ceremony was capped by a "Best of the Internet" award given to Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang and David Filo who represented the Yahoo Web Server, and the company also won the award for Outstanding Service.
To no-one's surprise, the Outstanding Software Product award winner was Netscape Communications for its Netscape Navigator 1.1. Company chairman, Jim Clark, accepted the award and thanked his staff and the Internet community.
IBM's SOHO Assistant, a standalone desktop data/fax/voice-mail modem won the Outstanding Hardware Product award. It was chosen for its role in facilitating Internet access for the small office/home office (SOHO) market. A second Outstanding Hardware Product award was given Rockwell Communication for its Nethopper, an economical router with 14.4 bits-per-second (bps) modem.
Excellence in Promotion is given to that company and/or individual promoting the Internet as a tool for education, communication, and business. This year's winner was Mark Godwin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The final award, the Individual Achievement award, went to Philip Zimmerman for his freeware electronic-mail security package, Pretty Good Privacy.
Acknowledged for their support of the event were: NEC Technology Moon Valley, McAfee Associates, Claris Corporation, Netmanage, and CompuServe/Spry, and Prodigy.
(Patrick McKenna/19950412)
rodigy.
(Patrick McKenna/19950412)
4/12/95
Internet World - Awards Presentation
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 12 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> In Focus Systems Intros LCD Projectors 04/12/95 In Focus Systems Inc. has introduced three new LCD (liquid crystal display) devices to project color images from a computer screen or video source for group presentation and other uses.
2 -> Info Highway Standards Requirements Drafted 04/12/95 The Information Infrastructure Standards Panel (IISP) has produced draft descriptions of 16 standards requirements said to be important to establishing the much-talked-about information infrastructure or information highway. The panel said it will now begin distributing the requirements to standards development groups.
3 -> Japan - Fujitsu Offers Personal Internet Access 04/12/95 Japanese computer and electronics giant Fujitsu has announced the beginning of a new Internet access service aimed at personal users.
4 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/12/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: New High Capacity Hard Disks From Toshiba, Fujitsu Cuts Internet Access Price, DDI And KDD Reach VPN Agreement.
5 -> Chicago Gets Web Page 04/12/95 Chicago's skyline always looks breathtaking in person. Now, landmarks like the Sears Tower are floating in cyberspace for the world to see, because the City of Chicago has its own World Wide Web page.
6 -> Bell Canada Seeks To Change Local Business Rates 04/12/95 Bell Canada, the largest of Canada's regional telephone companies, has asked federal regulators for permission to move local phone rates for business customers closer to the actual cost of providing the services. The company also hopes to introduce pay-per-call billing for local business calls in about two years.
7 -> PR Newswire Plans Web Site 04/12/95 PR Newswire, one of the major American press-release wire services, said it is preparing to launch its own site on the Internet's World Wide Web. The Web site should be operational within about a month.
8 -> US Firms Get Pakistan Business 04/12/95 US computer and telecommunications companies are smiling following the visit to Washington of Pakistan's Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. At a ceremony in the National Building Museum, Bhutto signed memoranda of understanding for investments in Pakistan: more than $6 billion, with a good share going to high-tech industries.
9 -> Dial-Up Link To Healthcare Quality Data 04/12/95 HealthCare Research Systems, a firm affiliated with The Ohio State University said it plans to make its quality-measuring data of the healthcare industry available by dial-up this summer.
10 -> Electronic Marketplace Revenues Surge - Study 04/12/95 Electronic transactions of tangible goods in 1994 rose 27% over 1993 Simba Information Inc. maintains. In its report "The Electronic Marketplace 1995: Strategies For Connecting Buyers and Sellers," the company claims that electronic commerce raked in $362 million last year.
11 -> Czech Telecoms Tender Wins Court Go-Ahead 04/12/95 The international tender stake in SPT Telecom, the Czech Republic's state telecom operator, is back on track after an appeal court in Prague overturned an order that the government stop the sale. A municipal court is understood to have upheld the government's appeal against the order.
12 -> Univs Trade Network Security For Academic Freedom 04/12/95 Although computer network administrators are growing more concerned about hackers infiltrating their systems via the Internet, most universities are reluctant to take drastic measures to prohibit unauthorized access, according to Ellen Germain in "Guarding Against Internet Intruders" (Science, Feb. 3, 1995, pp. 608-610).
13 -> Philippines - IBM To Offer Internet Access 04/12/95 BM Philippines says it is set to offer commercial access to the Internet beginning May.
14 -> Philippines Electricity Firm Uses Remote Control 04/12/95 anila's main electricity distribution company, Meralco, is using state-of- the-art technology from Australian information technology (IT) firm MITS to remotely control the supply of electricity.
15 -> India - Datamatics To Build Itochu's R&D Center 04/12/95 Datamatics Ltd., has entered into an alliance with Itochu Techno-Science Corp. (CTC), a subsidiary of Itochu Corp., Japan that calls for Datamatics to set up an Itochu-dedicated software development facility in India, within Bombay's free trade zone (SEEPZ).
16 -> India - Fidelio Plans R&D Center 04/12/95 Munich-based Fidelio Software, which offers property management software to the hospitality industry, has drawn up plans to set up a full fledged research and development center in India. The new facility will be set up in Bangalore at an investment of US$300,000.
17 -> Internet World - IBM's Patrick Delivers Keynote 04/12/95 In his keynote speech for Spring Internet World 95, John Patrick, vice president of Internet Applications at IBM (NYSE:IBM), outlined the value and perspective of the Internet for businesses. His brief inspiring speech was delivered to more the 2,000 tradeshow attendees.
18 -> Computing At 29,000 Feet Atop Mount Everest 04/12/95 Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) says computing will reach new heights pun intended -- when three of its LTE Elite notebook computers accompany the Americans on Everest 95 Expedition.
19 -> Microsoft Intros Softimage Eddie For Silicon Graphics 04/12/95 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced version 3.2 of Softimage Eddie for the Silicon Graphics platform, a digital compositing package with special effects and paint capabilities.
20 -> ****Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, Firms Settle Dispute 04/12/95 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Wang Laboratories (AMEX:WANG) have resolved their patent fight. In addition, Microsoft is taking up to a 10 percent stake in Wang.
21 -> Internet World - An Overview 04/12/95 Mecklermedia, producer of Spring Internet World '95, says it is surprised by the number of attendees still registering for the show. At 4 pm, people in the registration line were still hoping to get into the show.
22 -> Cadkey Opens Web Site 04/12/95 Cadkey Inc., developer of two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) software, said it has opened a home page on the Internet's World Wide Web.
23 -> ****Noted Writers Contemplate Technology 04/12/95 Retrieving data will be more important than remembering it, employment security will give way to employability security, and the home will again be the center of work. These are some of the ideas six noted authors offer in essays written for Northern Telecom Ltd.'s (NYSE:NT) 1994 annual report.
24 -> Lotus Ships Update To Phone Notes App Dev't Kit 04/12/95 Lotus has released Phone Notes Application Development Kit 2.0, an update to its product for building "voice and touchtone front ends" to Notes applications.
25 -> France - Groupe Bull Plugs Into Info Highway 04/12/95 Groupe Bull has announced that, of the nine "information superhighway" projects put forward as part of an invitation to tender, organized by the French government, seven projects with Bull as the primary contractor have been selected.
26 -> Daily Telegraph's Electronic "Young Telegraph" Disk 04/12/95 Hard on the heels of celebrating its 100th Electronic World Wide Web site issue, the Daily Telegraph has announced another innovation, the Electronic Young Telegraph (EYT).
27 -> ****AMD Delays Pentium Rival 04/12/95 Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) said it is delaying release of its "K5" microprocessor which is designed to compete with Intel's Pentium processor, to make sure it functions properly. The company also said it will use the newfound production capacity from the K5 "void" to produce more 486-class microprocessors.
28 -> ****Internet World - Sun & Netscape To Work Together 04/12/95 Chief executive officers, Jim Clark of Netscape and Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems held a press conference to announce their two companies have agreed to work together on Internet products and technologies. Specific product announcements are being held until later next month.
29 -> Internet World - Awards Presentation 04/12/95 Internet World honors outstanding product and service awards annually from nominated companies and individuals. This years awards ceremony was capped by a "Best of the Internet" award given to Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang and David Filo who represented the Yahoo Web Server, and the company also won the award for Outstanding Service.
(Ian Stokell/19950412)
(Ian Stokell/19950412)
4/12/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
UK Firm Intros Business TV Distr
CRAWLEY, SUSSEX, U.K., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Maddox Broadcast has unveiled Newslink, a modular business TV distribution system designed for distributed feeds of TV and other broadcast video signals, to networks of PCs.
Mark Robinson, a spokesman for Maddox, told Newsbytes that NewsLink uses existing structure unscreened twisted pair cabling to distribute video and audio channels to users of PCs on a network.
"Unlike other systems that feed a digitized video signal to the desktop, with a compression system that reduces the resolution of the video image to the end-user, our system is a standalone system box that feeds a baseband analog video signal through to the desktop. That means that resolution is as good as a standard TV, and the image window can be expanded to fill the whole screen, or shrunk to a Windows icon," he told Newsbytes.
Pricing on the system depends heavily on what system the user wants. The company is about to unveil a basic standalone system box with eight video inputs and 16 channel outputs (to the desktop PC users) with a price tag of around the UKP11,000 to UKP12,000 mark.
"This system will be ideal for companies that want to get into video distribution to the desktop, but who don't want to commit to an entire system, such as our full customizable system," he explained.
So who will use distributed TV on the desktop? Is it just a fancy method of watching TV on the PC? Robinson says that all manner of PC users are taking an interest in the Maddox system. "They range from financial systems houses that want to have access through to the latest news information, right through to medical imaging users who want to be able to view video feeds of several types," he said.
NewsLink is billed as having several unique and unusual features. These include a Dual Language facility, restricted password access for security purposes, and the ability to monitor channel selection.
According to Maddox, this latter feature is of particular interest as it allows authorized users password access to the central server PC either from the site or via a modem link. From this point, users can monitor all the statistics relating to who is watching what and when -- a feature that the company claims will be useful for channel providers that charge per user or by the hour of usage.
NewsLink also monitors when a user is trying to switch to a particular channel, but is unable to, owing to restricted usage. The company says that this feature will be useful from a security angle, as well as allowing broadcasters to approach a user company asking them if they wish to increase their licensed number of users.
Robinson told Newsbytes that NewsLink is a highly modular system and can cope with as many as 2,000 channel inputs or, more normally, up to 2,000 user desktop PCs.
PARIS, FRANCE, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- After years of operating a smart card division, Groupe Bull has announced plans to spin-off the division into a new company, called CP8 Transac.
The new company will specialize in electronic and smart card transactional processing. To start with, the company will assume day to-day control of Bull's existing cash register, smart card and ATM (automated teller machine) operations.
According to Bull, CP8 Transac will work closely with Bull's smart card joint ventures, notably the company's link with IPC in Singapore as well as a joint venture with Zenith Data Systems in the US.
This latter joint operation could become a major money spinner for Bull, Newsbytes notes, as both companies claim to be working steadily towards the "Holy Grail" of electronic transactions -- a secure electronic transactions system for the Internet.
Although neither Bull nor Zenith has said anything so far about this venture, the companies are known to be working on a modified version of Bull's existing smart card terminal system that links electronically across Minitel, the French viewdata network.
Smart card technology is a natural for Bull, as France is at the heart of smart card development. Already, most Visa card transactions in France use smart cards and a possible link with Visa International in the US looks certain, now that Visa is piloting a smart card electronic purse project in the South East of the US in preparation for next year's Olympics in Atlanta.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19950412/Press Contact: Alison Campbell Bull Press Office, +44-181-479-2751; Reader Contact: Groupe Bull tel +44-181-568-9191, fax +44-181-479-2599)
tel +44-181-568-9191, fax +44-181-479-2599)
4/13/95
France - Bull Forms Smart Card Subsidiary
BUSINESS
UK - BrainTree Diversifies Into
MANCHESTER, U.K., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- BrainTree Technology, a name more readily associated with specialist software, has announced it is branching out into IT (information technology) risk analysis.
David Childs, a spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that the new service is based around a package called Risk Pack, which has been licensed from Wokingham, UK-based CPA. "The package is a Paradox 4GL (fourth generation language) application that we've secured the rights to modify for the IT security industry. What we're doing is offering the package as part of our Risk Analysis service, which costs from UKP1,500 upwards," he explained.
According to Childs, the Risk Analysis service includes two full days of on-site consultancy and aims to provide clients with a detailed report on current risks and their potential impact on the organization.
The report also includes practical suggestions on what steps are needed to improve IT security in the organization.
"It's a new area for BrainTree, but one we feel well able to offer, as the software is excellent at analyzing the risks that companies face," Childs explained, adding that the company already produces a number of security packages and solutions for Open VMS, most Unix platforms and PC compatibles.
Risk analysis, Newsbytes notes, is the analysis of the risks that an organization faces with regard to its IT resources. Analyzing the risks is balanced against the cost of protecting against those risks, and a middle course is steered as a result. The process is extremely specialized and consultants in the area can command daily fees of $1,500 and up.
r Contact: BrainTree Technology, +44-161-945-1511)
4/13/95
UK - BrainTree Diversifies Into IT Risk Analysis
BUSINESS
Microsoft Intros More Screen Sav
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced two new screen savers, one that uses the stereogram hidden three-dimensional (3-D) pictures that have achieved recent popularity.
Screen savers practical application is to display a moving image on a PC monitor in order to avoid burning into the face of the tube a "ghost" of whatever image remains motionless for too long. A secondary benefit is seeing interesting and often entertaining pictures such as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates cleaning your monitor screen from the inside with a squeegee. However, that particular image is not contained in the newest screen saver releases being announced.
The Microsoft Scenes Stereogram Collection version 2.0 includes random dot and landscape stereograms which comprise actual photographs from nature that also have the hidden 3-D images. When the user defocuses his or her vision or looks "through" the displayed image they see the second image.
The recent popularity of stereogram images has inspired books posters, postcards, and even a nationally syndicated feature in the Sunday comics.
Also being announced is the Microsoft Scenes Personal Screen Saver. It allows users to add their own photographs to the images provided by Microsoft. The program comes with a prepaid coupon for the processing of 10 of your own photographs as well as a discount coupon on a disposable Kodak camera, additional film and photo development, and a medley of images from existing Microsoft Scenes screen saver collections.
Microsoft said the Stereogram screen saver sells for about $24.95 while the Personal collection is expected to sell for about $29.95. Both programs are immediately available.
(Jim Mallory/19950412/Press contact: Michelle Mihalick Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 408-986-1140)
Edstrom for Microsoft, 408-986-1140)
4/13/95
Microsoft Intros More Screen Savers
WINDOWS
HSC's Convolver Special-Effects
CARPINTERIA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- HSC Software is shipping the Windows/Windows NT edition of KPT Convolver, a 1995 Seybold Award-winning product, previously available for Macintosh only, that is aimed at letting users add new special effects to graphic design software packages.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Phil Clevenger, development manager, said that the Windows/Windows NT edition ships with Micrografx Picture Publisher LE, but can be also used with virtually any package that supports the Adobe Photoshop standard plug-in architecture.
The previously released Mac edition of Convolver, on the other hand, ships with Micro Frontier's Color it. The Mac version also works with Photoshop or Fractal Design Painter, and will soon be supported through patch upgrades by both Pixel Paint Pro 3.0 and Debabelizer, according to Clevenger.
Clevenger told Newsbytes that Convolver eases the use of custom filters, as well as allowing users to add a wide range of special effects to the 10 or 15 effects typically available in graphic design packages.
Custom filters in graphic design software generally use a numeric grid interface to provide effects like "blur, more blur, sharpen more sharpen, emboss, and fine edges," Clevenger elaborated.
"You cannot obtain an effect like `horizontal blur' with these products, although theoretically, there's no reason not to have `horizontal blur' in that space," he explained.
Convolver replaces the numeric grid with a graphical user interface (GUI) that offers "different levels of undo and redo" and permits users to experiment with various effects before making a decision he maintained. "You can even hit a `randomize' button and -- boom! you get 10 or 15 new and different cool effects," he added.
Users can "mix and match" traditional effects -- such as blur sharpen, and emboss -- as though they were working with swatches of paint on a pallet, Newsbytes was told.
"Without Convolver, you'd have to apply each of these effects separately -- and you'd be losing data each time you applied a new one," Clevenger reported.
Designed by HSC Executive VP Kai Krause, KPT Convolver combines three modes -- Explore Mode, Design Mode, and Tweak Mode -- in a three-dimensional (3-D) interface.
The Windows/Windows NT version provides a 16-bit Windows edition and a 32-bit Windows NT edition in a single package, priced at $199.
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- SBT Accounting Systems said it will ship WebTrader , a software module that the company said permits businesses to sell directly from the Internet's World Wide Web.
WebTrader is designed for businesses that use SBT's Pro Series 3.0 Windows-based accounting software, company officials said, to post order forms on the Web, and immediately receive customer orders for products and services.
"We're really big in the accounting area," David Harris, SBT Accounting Systems spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "We figured who better than an accounting company to help people actually do business on the World Wide Web?"
The company said WebTrader includes a sales order form that can be placed "out of the box" onto the World Wide Web. When a customer completes the form, the document is sent to the vendor via electronic mail (e-mail). The software then converts the form to a proprietary SBT sales order bid, which is then changed to a firm order after the bid is authorized.
Harris also said three separate levels of proprietary encryption keeps sensitive information like credit card numbers secure and private. What's more, WebTrader will incorporate the Terisa encryption standard when it becomes available this summer.
What makes this product different, Harris said, is that it is ready to conduct electronic business of the box. "It is shrink-wrapped software that's ready to go. It includes home page templates, an HTML (hypertext markup language) editor, the forms to capture lead prospects and everything you need to do business on the Web."
In addition, officials said the software includes a prospect inquiry form, a product registration form, and a customer satisfaction form.
SBT officials said a beta version of WebTrader is running on the Web at URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://www.sbtcorp.com. The site is already receiving 2,000 "hits" a day, Harris said. The software is scheduled to ship at the end of July.
WebTrader sells for $895. A separate module, called WebSpace, provides a one-year lease to a 10 megabyte home site on SBT's own Internet server. That service costs $295, and Harris said companies that already have their own Internet servers lease space on SBT's machines because they are secured, regularly backed-up, and mirrored at two sites.
(Bob Woods/19950412/Press Contacts: David Harris, SBT Accounting Systems, 415-444-9996; George Boardman or Cathy Morley Foster, White & Company, 415-274-8100; Public Contact: SBT Accounting Systems 415-444-9777, Internet e-mail rkoc@sbtcorp.com, Internet World Wide Web http://www.sbtcorp.com)
et World Wide Web http://www.sbtcorp.com)
4/13/95
WebTrader Software For Direct Web Sales
ONLINE
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: Japanese Software Dealer Sued by Microsoft, Lotus; Supercomputers Re-classified By US & Japan; Mobile Phone Market Set To Soar; Sega Adds Information To CATV; and New Transmission System For Hospital Scans.
Japanese Software Dealer Sued by Microsoft, Lotus
A software dealer in the southern Japanese town of Kagoshima is being sued by both Microsoft and Lotus over alleged software piracy. The two companies allege that the Sogo Jimuki Sanwa Company copied a set of Microsoft and Lotus products onto machines that were sold and leased. The papers were filed at the Kagoshima District Court and call for the dealer to pay the two US companies 2.3 million yen ($27,380) in damages. The owner of the shop, Tamotsu Oiwane, quoted by the Kyodo News Agency said he was surprised by the legal action.
Supercomputers Re-classified By US & Japan
A re-classification of supercomputers under US/Japanese trade law will result in a more competitive edge for US companies, according to chief US trade negotiator Mickey Kantor. The two nations have re-defined supercomputers from their original 1990 definition. Kantor said in a statement that: "The revision, which we proposed in close consultation with US industry, will enable US firms to compete more effectively in the growing high-performance computing market in Japan." He also noted that in fiscal 1993, the Japanese government bought seven American supercomputers out of a total purchased of fifteen. In the last fiscal year the figure was six out of twelve.
Mobile Phone Market Set To Soar
An advisory panel reporting to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has said that the Japanese mobile telephone market is set to soar from its current 1.7 trillion yen to 15.7 trillion yen in 2010. This market expansion will also create over half a million new jobs by the same year. The panel also expects a portable telephone capable of transmitting still pictures will be available by the year 2000.
Sega Adds Information To CATV
Sega Digital Communications is to add bus, railway and airline timetables and a home shopping service to its existing games software cable service. Sega say they hope to get carriage on 35 systems nationwide with 15,000 subscribers signed up to the service.
New Transmission System For Hospital Scans
Kowa Corp. has developed a system capable of transmitting hospital scan images between hospitals using ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines. The new system is designed for sending CT (computerized tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans more accurately then conventional TV based systems. The company says they expect the new service will greatly speed the development of digital networks between hospitals. A demonstration of the new system expected to cost between seven and eight million yen ($83,000 and $95,000), is planned for April 14 in Nagoya.
(Martyn Williams/19950412)
Williams/19950412)
4/13/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- The 1996 Summer Olympic Games may be over a year away, but IBM and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games have already teamed up to produce an information service on the Internet's World Wide Web.
The new service debuted this week and is already serving Olympics related information, facts, figures, photos, illustrations, video and audio to users from IBM Scalable Powerparallel System SP2 and RISC System/6000s. The information itself will be continually updated and as its volume increases the computers will also be upgraded with the addition of more processors and hard disk space.
Speaking at the Internet World Show, John Patrick, IBM vice president of Internet Applications commented, "The 1996 Olympic Games Server is a great example of how organizations and companies can benefit from the power of the Internet. Information on the 1996 Olympic Games is in high demand around the world. By putting it on the Internet, the data will be available to more people than ever before. It will be available at any time and it can be updated instantly. As we've learned from other customers the Internet is an invaluable tool for making information easily accessible to a very wide audience."
The series of pages, accessed via http://www.atlanta.olympics.org/, is the first ever such service for an Olympic Games and a sign that the Internet is becoming more and more mainstream. Another sign of this is the selection of IBM as the "first ever" official Internet Information provider to the games.
Sections accessible via the home page include a Welcome Booth, details of sports and venues, the official program, local travel information, ticket availability, merchandising, sponsors, the cultural side of the games and a what's new section.
Even though this week marked the official launch of their own service, the Atlanta Committee are no strangers to the Internet. In December, 1994 they told local businessman Alan Martin that his Olympics information service, also on the World Wide Web, could not use the word "Olympic" in connection with his service.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Lotus has unveiled updates to the desktop and mobile editions of cc:Mail for Windows that add over 150 viewers for file attachments ranging from legacy formats to presentation packages, plus Addressing Assistants for helping users to send mail to the Internet and other outside messaging systems.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Jay Gallinatti, director of product marketing for Lotus cc:Mail, said that the new features are meant to meet the needs of organizations and end-users in a "new era of increased intercompany mail messaging."
The new viewers in cc:Mail Desktop for Windows and cc:Mail Mobile for Windows Release 2.2 are designed to let users view and print file attachments from outside applications in their native formats without exiting cc:Mail, and also without having to own the applications in which the attachments originated, according to Gallinatti.
"You can't edit (the attachment documents) with the viewers, but from the perspective of viewing and printing, cc:Mail becomes a `universal translator' for all different kinds of applications," the Lotus exec maintained.
File formats handled by the viewers run the gamut from Wang word processing, PICT for Macintosh, OS/2 Bitmap, Wordstar for DOS, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), DB3, Rbase, Supercalc, Xyrite and Corel Draw to Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, PowerPoint, Ami Pro, and Microsoft Mail for Windows.
"You can see slides created in PowerPoint or Freelance, for instance, as though you were looking at a screenshow," Gallinatti reported. All documents are presented with their original formatting, so that highlighting, bold, colors, tables, graphs, and tabbed sheets remain intact, according to the product marketing director.
Users access the file viewers by clicking on the file attachment icon within cc:Mail message. You can then view the document scroll, and print from directly within cc:Mail, without having to launch the application.
The previous desktop and mobile editions of cc:Mail for Windows came with viewers for 16 file formats, but the capabilities of the earlier viewers were not as extensive, said Lotus officials and users.
Gallinatti told Newsbytes that the new Addressing Assistants in Release 2.2 provide templates that build addresses for outside mail systems such as X.400 and the Internet, based on information entered by the user.
"The Addressing Assistants make it much easier to send mail to an (outside) mail system. Once again with this feature, we're tackling the expanding volume of messages being transmitted across companies," he asserted.
Offered through a dialog box, the Addressing Assistants are customizable to special addressing schemes, Gallinatti added. The new assistants also prompt users to correct any characters that may have been entered in error.
Release 2.2 also adds new printing features, such as the ability to decide what information will appear at the top of each message including author, date/time, subject, recipients, and priority according to Gallinatti.
Users corroborated the current increase in intercompany messaging and also told Newsbytes that the new viewers in cc:Mail for Windows Release 2.2 are saving them time and money.
"We get an enormous amount of cc:Mail, and most of the mail comes with attached documents," said Steve Sullivan, manager of network operations for Continental Medical, a nationwide chain of rehabilitation hospitals headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
"In the old days, all you could see was the top few lines of the attachment, so most of the time, we would just save the attachment to the hard disk. The new viewers are saving a huge amount of time since you no longer have to save the document, or leave cc:Mail to see the attachment," Sullivan told Newsbytes.
Walt Hadzinsky, VP of information systems for Armor All Corporation, told Newsbytes that by sparing users from the need to save attachments to disk, the viewers are also preventing a "lost document" problem at Armor All, a Saddleback, California-based firm with 2,500 trading partners.
In the past, Hadzinsky explained, users would often save the attachments as temporary files. "Later, when they went into, say 1-2-3 or WordPerfect, they would be unable to find the attachments. The documents would have gone into the cc:Mail home directory by then," he noted.
By preventing lost documents, the viewers consequently save on technical support, according to Hadzinsky. "And now, I don't have to go out and buy Paradox or Word, for example, just because one of the users is receiving documents done in that package," the VP added.
Lotus cc:Mail for Windows Release 2.2 is shipping immediately in the US. The product is expected to ship within 30 days in French and German, and within 60 days in most other European languages. Lotus cc:Mail is also available for Macintosh, OS/2, Unix, MS-DOS and the HP 100/200 and Simon personal communicators. The Macintosh edition is currently outfitted with about 25 viewers.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950413/Reader Contact: Lotus, 800-343-5414; Press Contacts: Mark McHarry, 415-335-6786; Helen Stefan, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 415-286-3990)
en Stefan, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 415-286-3990)
4/13/95
Lotus cc:Mail Adds 150 Viewers For Intercompany Mail
WINDOWS
High-Speed Laser Optic LAN Intro
LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Laser Communications Inc. (LCI) has announced its new high-speed laser optic network communication system. Dubbed the OmniBeam 4000, the company claims the new product, which uses a laser beam instead of wiring to connect sites up to a kilometer away, zips along at communications speeds ranging from 34 megabits-per-second (Mbps) to 155 Mbps.
LCI President Dick Guttendorf said the 4000 system is ten times faster than the company's OmniBeam 2000 system, and that it supports many different protocols, including E-3, T-3, OC1, Fast Ethernet 100 BaseVG FDDI (fiber distributed data interface), and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) 155.
"As users are having higher requirements for multimedia and graphics it takes a bigger 'pipe' to push all of this data through," Guttendorf told Newsbytes. "So the marketplace is in need of higher bandwidth in order to accommodate all of their communications needs."
Besides providing high-speed communications, the OnmiBeam 4000 also gives the user simultaneous send/receive capability, company officials said. Also, the new system can be connected to the user's existing network through third-party manufacturer products.
Guttendorf said it is useful for companies that are in a campus environment and need quick set-up time for a LAN (local area network). Also, he said customers who can't get approval from regulatory agencies or local governments to dig up land for wiring will benefit from an OmniBeam system. Current LCI customers include AT&T, American Cyanamid, Rockwell, and the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, he said.
Guttendorf also said the OmniBeam is built on the 2000 platform meaning customers who have the older system can upgrade to the higher speeds of the 4000 by just installing a "new board" into the 2000 model. The OmniBeam 2000 supported speeds of 10Mbps with Ethernet protocol, and 16Mbps in Token Ring protocol.
The company said the OmniBeam 4000 system is priced at a range of $17,995 to $19,995, depending on the configuration, and is also available with optional remote monitoring capability.
(Bob Woods/19950413/Press Contact: Phil Hall, Open City Communications, 212-714-3575. Public Contact: Laser Communications, 717-394-8634, Internet e-mail lasercom@epix.net)
, Internet e-mail lasercom@epix.net)
4/13/95
High-Speed Laser Optic LAN Intro'd
NETWORK
WorldLinx, Silicon Graphics In D
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Silicon Graphics Canada Inc. has announced an alliance with WorldLinx Telecommunications Inc., a Bell Canada spin-off, to offer a Canadian network service for digital media similar to one that parent company Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE:SGI) operates in conjunction with Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON) in the United States.
The StudioLinx network, which will use the existing infrastructure of WorldLinx's LAN-WAN (local area network-wide area network) Service, will let the creative and entertainment industries send digital media such as audio, video, animation, three-dimensional (3-D) graphics, film, and text electronically among remote locations.
A major benefit of this will be doing away with courier costs spokeswoman Heather Finlayson of WorldLinx told Newsbytes, since such companies have in the past had to ship films and tapes physically from place to place.
Customers will also be able to use the network for videoconferencing and to let audiences spread across more than one location view work in progress, according to Silicon Graphics and WorldLinx.
In a prepared statement, Dave Black, president of Silicon Graphics Canada, said the StudioLinx service will provide "Canada's first true virtual studio."
The network is in place now and Silicon Graphics is in final negotiations with at least four prospective customers, Finlayson said. She said more than 35 companies currently use the similar network that Silicon Graphics and Sprint operate in the United States.
WorldLinx will manage the network, as well as the related equipment on customers' premises, including routers and workstations. The communications firm said it will also provide a round-the-clock help desk for users of StudioLinx. The network can be customized to the needs of each customer.
Pricing will be based on usage, and will vary according to customers' speed and volume requirements, Finlayson said.
WorldLinx, Silicon Graphics In Digital Media Network
NETWORK
Seybold - PCs To Ship With SGML-
India - VSNL-Inmarsat Pact To In
Europe - Landmark Legal Ruling O
PSINet's New Online Internet Ser
Personnel Roundup
Reflex Shipping Security, Anti-V
Intersolv Expands Unix Data-Acce
China - Microsoft Opens Free Tra
DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Price
Novell's PerfectWorks To Ship in
Dynatek Intros CD-ROM Recorder
Toronto Gets City-Wide Internet
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- A Toronto pizzeria chain claims to be the first in the world to offer city-wide delivery of pizzas ordered on the Internet. Panzerotto Pizza began accepting online pizza orders for delivery anywhere in Metropolitan Toronto on April 1.
Working with Toronto Internet access provider Internet Direct Panzerotto Pizza has set up a World Wide Web site at http://pizza.idirect.com. Orders placed online are transmitted to Panzerotto Pizza's call center through a high-speed fax gateway. A data room at the call center sends each order on to the store nearest the customer via modem. Panzerotto Pizza operates 30 locations in the Toronto metro area.
Online orders are delivered within 30 minutes, Joe Schiavone president of Panzerotto Pizza, told Newsbytes.
Besides pizzas, hungry "net surfers" can order chicken wings and chicken fingers, sandwiches, spicy fries, garlic bread, lasagna apple turnovers, and panzerotto -- essentially a pizza folded over with the toppings on the inside -- online. The company also offers an assortment of specialty pizzas.
"The response has been excellent," Schiavone said, with orders increasing every day since the Internet service started.
In time, Schiavone hopes the Internet service will help Panzerotto Pizza expand its business. As long as the company relies on telephone orders, he explained, it is complicated to expand outside the Toronto local calling area and still handle orders efficiently through a central dispatching center. The Internet could bring orders from anywhere to one central site with no long-distance charges for the customer.
Though other pizza outlets have experimented with the Web Panzerotto Pizza said all those projects -- such as Pizza Hut's trial in Santa Cruz, California -- have been limited to small delivery areas.
(Grant Buckler/19950413/Press Contact: Joe Schiavone, Panzerotto Pizza, 416-362-5555; John Nemanic, Internet Direct, 416-233-7150 ext 13; Public Contact: Panzerotto Pizza, Internet World Wide Web http://pizza.idirect.com)
nternet World Wide Web http://pizza.idirect.com)
4/13/95
Toronto Gets City-Wide Internet Pizza Ordering
ONLINE
TECO & IBM - The Smart House Is
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Tampa-based TECO Energy and IBM believe that the smart house is not a technology of the future, but a technology of today. The two firms have announced a pilot project to demonstrate and evaluate an advanced smart home energy management and communications system that would enable residential electric customers to track and control their energy use, right down to the toaster, using off-the-shelf hardware and software.
The system would also serve as the communications gateway to the home by providing a combined interface for voice, video and data. The system connects energy measuring and monitoring devices with both a personal computer inside the home and a control processor attached to the outside of the home.
Pat Howard, director of industry solutions in IBM's utilities marketing unit, told Newsbytes, "The electric utility in the future will have an important role in the national information infrastructure." He said the important factor about the electric utility is that, unlike the telephone, "electricity is being delivered every minute of every day. The electric outlet has been a great success, although most people don't think about it very much. We hope that this technology will be the information outlet."
The outside processor, named Shubox, is a component conceived by TECO Energy and driven by IBM's PowerPC. IBM will make the Shubox and IBM Aptiva PCs will be used inside the house in the pilot project. The Shubox will run under the Unix operating system. Customers who already own personal computers will be able to use them in the system, according to IBM's Howard.
The Shubox, which is connected to the electric meter, acts as a central controller for a local area network using the existing in-house electrical wiring. Through this network, homeowners can control and measure their energy use and costs 24 hours a day and utilities can efficiently operate energy management programs including load control. Customers will be able to control their appliances remotely, over the phone or through wireless technology. The system will also inform the utility of a power outage in the home, and trace it down to the source.
"If you have house wiring and an electric meter," TECO spokesman Mike Mahoney said in an interview, "the outside box turns your house into a local area network. It means that virtually every house in the nation can become a smart house, at extremely low cost. Also, the Shubox offers an interconnection to every communications device and is completely scalable."
The system uses the Electronic Industry Association standard communications protocol, CEbus, and other protocols to allow smart appliance and other devices to communicate.
TECO Energy, which supplies electricity to the Tampa region through its Tampa Electric subsidiary, has been testing prototype units in Tampa for the past two years. A subsidiary TECO Energy Management Services Corp., or TEMS, has filed a patent application covering key aspects of the system. "Until now," says TEMS President Gregg Ehlers, "it has been impossible economically to justify extensive automation in the home, since it was assumed high-capacity networks would first have to be built. The TEMS system with the Shubox creatively overcomes that large obstacle."
"What we have found in the two years of tests is that this system really works, today, with what's immediately available on the market," says Mahoney. He said TECO hopes to compete a licensing agreement with IBM and roll out the technology commercially by the end of the year. The company is also developing a business plan and hopes to offer the technology nationwide.
Factors to be studied in the demonstration project include reliability, ruggedness, ease-of-use, costs, and customer acceptance. TECO and IBM say they believe they can offer the system for substantially less than the cost of a personal computer.
(Kennedy Maize/19950414/Press Contacts: Mike Mahoney TECO, 813-228-4271; John Boudreaux, IBM, 914-642-5828)
4271; John Boudreaux, IBM, 914-642-5828)
4/13/95
TECO & IBM - The Smart House Is Here
TRENDS
Electronic Tax Filing Down
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- The Internal Revenue Service says electronic filing of income tax returns is down significantly this year. The downturn is probably because of IRS efforts to stamp out fraud, says the agency.
The number of new returns filed electronically was 10.2 million as of last week, according to the IRS, down from 12.7 million at the same point last year. The decline is nearly 20 percent.
The IRS had expected 17 million electronic returns this year said Peggy Rule, the IRS executive in charge of the program, but now expects the number to the well short of the 14 million electronic returns it received last year.
The IRS says it began cracking down on electronic filing when it discovered that some filers were using the technique for fraudulent purposes. One technique was to file returns claiming refunds, using bogus social security numbers, and then getting refund anticipation loans on the claimed refunds.
To prevent that practice, Rule said, the IRS for the first time is checking social security numbers on electronic returns. The agency also has stopped making direct refund deposits under the low-income earned income tax credit program and changed its procedures so that refund anticipation loans are more expensive.
As of mid-March, the IRS says its computers have rejected nearly four million invalid or mismatched social security numbers, most of them on electronic returns.
The agency says it hopes that this year's slump in electronic filing is temporary, and can resume its upward trend.
Electronic filing helps the agency by making returns much easier to process. Today, electronic returns must be filed by tax preparers with special software. But the agency hopes that one day individual tax payers will be able to file their own returns electronically.
"This is one of those years where you really have to wait and see how it all plays out," Lynda Willis of the General Accounting Office told the Washington Post. "But the numbers certainly aren't where we expect them to be at this time."
(Kennedy Maize/19950413/Press Contact: Anthony Burke 202-662-4000; Reader Contact: IRS, 202-662-5000)
Contact: IRS, 202-662-5000)
4/13/95
Electronic Tax Filing Down
Multimedia Software Teaches Pres
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
DEC To Add Wide SCSI Across Stor
GTSI Wins Big Govt-Wide Contract
US Firms Get Pakistan Business
Microsoft Intros More Screen Sav
High-Speed Laser Optic LAN Intro
IPC Peripherals To Intro 3-D Cyb
Correction - Online Pollution Tr
CBS To Help Affiliates Build Web
National ID Card Row Breaks
Europe - Gateway 2000 Buys Norte
Internet World - Listen To The N
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- One of the big attractions at Internet World has been Progressive Networks' RealAudio system. The Seattle-based company's demo allows tradeshow attendees to listen to National Public Radio (NPR) programs and other voice files.
The RealAudio system contains three parts: the RealAudio Player which is the consumer client software; RealAudio Studio for content creation; and RealAudio Server for online publishers.
Progressive Networks' strategy is to deliver the client product free, as a trial version, and sell the Studio and Sever products to individuals and companies with World Wide Web sites.
Along with NPR, ABC has agreed to allow Progressive Networks to distribute its "content." The company's Web page has news from ABC and selected programs from four of NPR's radio shows including "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition."
"Basically, this is audio-on-demand for the Internet. A company can put a speech from its CEO (chief executive officer) on its Web site or any kind of voice file. It is not a delayed download like the conventional delivery of audio over the 'Net.' This is instant audio," said a spokesperson from Progressive Networks.
Newsbytes learned the Real Audio products focus on the delivery of voice and are not designed for the delivery of sophisticated music audio files. Sounds like a crowd at a baseball game can be easily delivered over the system.
If there were a list of "hot" products at this show, RealAudio would top the list. Besides the crowds at its booth, Progressive Networks has announced deals to distribute its RealAudio Player with browsers from Microsoft, CompuServe/Spry, Netscape Communications, and Spyglass.
HotWired, Hollywood Online, GNN, Metaverse and the RadioNet/Human Factor have already committed to implementation of the RealAudio Server. Even Marc Andreessen, creator of Mosaic and vice president of technology at Netscape communications is quoted by Progressive Networks as saying: "We're excited about the Progressive Networks' technology and the value it can add to Netscape's products. We look forward to working with Progressive Networks to make RealAudio widespread and ubiquitous on the Net."
Even better news is that this service is delivered over a standard phone line at 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) and interested parties are able to download the client product through Progressive Networks' Web site at http://www.realaudio.com. The player product runs on Windows Macintosh, and select Unix platforms.
The RealAudio Studio is designed for the Macintosh and Windows platforms, while the Server product runs on Windows NT and Unix platforms. Pricing for the Studio and Server products are yet to be determined.
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Allison Thomas, KillerApp Communications, 818-509-3700; Public Information, Progressive Networks, 206-447-0576; Internet e-mail info@prognet.com)
orks, 206-447-0576; Internet e-mail info@prognet.com)
4/13/95
Internet World - Listen To The News On The Internet
ONLINE
More On Wang-Microsoft Settlemen
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- When Wang Laboratories Inc. settled its patent dispute with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) this week, it got an infusion of cash that could go as high as $90 million. Whether it also got a "camel's nose in its tent" is not yet clear, but it is certain that Microsoft got clear title to the technology known as "object linking and embedding" (OLE).
Wang, once a leader in the field of proprietary word processing fell on hard times in the early 1990's and sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August, 1992, after it spent a year unsuccessfully trying to find a "white knight" to fight its financial battles. Thousands of employees lost their jobs and the price of common stock fell to below $1 per share as the company went through a huge shakeup from which it eventually emerged battered, but alive.
Under the agreement announced this week, Wang and Microsoft will try to make OLE an industry standard. But powerhouses Apple, IBM and Novell offer OpenDoc, a competing technology those companies would like to see as the industry yardstick.
From the user perspective, object linking and embedding is the technology that allows users to embed all or part of one file, such as a spreadsheet or graphic, into the file they are working on. It also allows one file to be linked with another so that when the original file is changed, its embedded copy in another file is also updated.
This week's settlement is the result of a patent infringement suit filed by Wang against Microsoft in mid-1993 that alleged Wang owned the patent on OLE. The deal also calls for Wang's workflow and imaging software to be incorporated into future releases of Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT, Microsoft Office, and the Microsoft Visual Basic toolkit.
The two companies will also collaborate to define application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable applications to use workflow functions. Both companies said those APIs will be "open" and available to vendors and will be supported by Microsoft Exchange and Wang's Open/workflow. Wang will also develop Windows NT versions of its imaging and workflow server products to complement Microsoft's BackOffice suite of Windows NT server applications.
Workflow software allows users to automate and link various procedures such as product manufacturing, cost and shipping information. Imaging technology allows documents to be scanned stored and manipulated in a computer and provides the technology necessary if companies are ever to achieve the "paperless office" futurists have long envisioned but business apparently isn't ready to accept.
This isn't the first time Wang has been involved in a patent fight. In 1993, a federal judge reversed an earlier court decision which had ruled that several Japanese computer companies were violating Wang patents on the way computer memory chips are mounted on small strips for easy insertion in computer expansion boards and motherboards. The mounted multiple memory chips are known as single in-line memory modules, or SIMMs.
DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Pro CD Inc. said it is shipping a software title called "Net Phone," the company's newest resource for telephone directory information. The firm already produces other directory titles, including Select Phone ProPhone, Home Phone, and Canada Phone.
The company said Net Phone is designed mainly for network usage although the product can be used on an individual computer. The main reason why Pro CD introduced a network version of the product is one of demand. "Libraries were interested in having a network version of this, rather than a single-user version, because they wanted to have their whole library access to it. On the corporate side, it was the same sort of response from our customers."
The product is actually a combination of Select Phone, Free Phone, and Direct Phone, Beatty said. Users have access to more than 84 million published business and residential listings from current yellow and white pages listings across the US.
Net Phone includes eight CD-ROM discs, company officials said, and is multi-platform, meaning it can run on DOS, Windows, or Macintosh operating systems. The product can be customized to allow access to three different levels of functionality, or combinations of those levels. Other features include access to AT&T's Toll Free 800 directory, and access to the full database of business and residential listings, with the ability to search by name, address, city, state zip code, telephone number, and business heading.
Manufacturer's suggested retail price on the product is $999, although Beatty said it should retail in the $800 to $900 range. He also said in the first few days of sales, 100 copies have already been bought. Net Phone is available now through local resellers, catalogs, or directly from Pro CD.
(Bob Woods/19950413/Press Contact: Julie Garner, Alexander Communications, 404-897-2300, Internet e-mail 71154.2445@compuserve.com; Public Contact: Pro CD, 800-99-CD-ROM or 508-750-0000, Internet e-mail sales@procd.com, Internet World Wide Web http://www.procd.com)
ternet World Wide Web http://www.procd.com)
4/13/95
Phone Directory CD-ROM For Networks Ships
GENERAL
MCI Wins Prison, Postal Deals
DEC Adds Faster Alpha Workstatio
Lotus Sharpens Its Imaging
Scottish Firm Intros Desktop Fil
Bendable Chips Of The Future
Reporter Arrested At Gates' Wedd
Media Planning Directory Online
Infocorp Reports On Mac, Windows
UK - Pipex's 2Mbps Leased Line I
India's Pentafour Plans Software
US Says NTT May Be Violating Tra
Oklahoma Bombing Info On Interne
Novell To Offer Products For Hom
Franklin Electronic Enters Consu
DEC Forms Database Centers, Virt
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- DEC is establishing a set of three Database Centers in Palo Alto, Munich and Tokyo, along with a series of "virtual" Expertise Centers for the delivery of industry-specific systems and products.
At the three new Database Centers, DEC will work with database vendors to "optimize the migration, development, and characterizations" of database applications on Alpha, as well as to provides sales support, said Ken McDonnell, a Digital spokesperson.
The Database Center in Palo Alto will service the North American market, whereas the centers in Munich and Tokyo are targeted at Europe and Asia, respectively, he told Newsbytes.
Unlike the Database Centers, DEC's new Enterprise Centers will not be located in specific "physical places," McDonnell noted.
Instead, he said, Digital will come together with Oracle and other vendors as well as with customers on an "as needed" basis to work on the delivery of industry-specific applications in the telecommunications, financial, industrial, and integrated systems areas.
If, for example, a customer needs a database for use in an enterprise environment, DEC will work with the customer to "evaluate the appropriateness" of database options from various vendors.
Customers will also be able to see demos at the Enterprise Centers and to prototype and deploy client-server systems, according to McDonnell.
93-5111; Press Contact: Ken McDonnell, DEC, 508-492-5258)
4/13/95
DEC Forms Database Centers, Virtual Expertise Centers
BUSINESS
UK Phone Code Change This Weeken
` / LONDON, UK, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- At 1am this Easter Sunday, most of the UK's area codes will change. In some cities, even the numbers will change (from six to seven digit working). Virtually all "geographic" area codes change, while "non geographic" codes, such as mobiles virtual numbers, pagers, toll-free and the like, remain unchanged.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, the code and number changes are the biggest seen in the UK and are known as PhONEday. According to Oftel, the British Government sponsored telecoms watchdog, which is organizing the code change, the changes will allow large tracts of numbers to be "released" for use in the future.
The bulk of the UK's area codes will change by the insertion of a "1" in front of the two or three digit area code. The trunk access code of "0" remains unchanged. So, for example, 0754-123456 will become 01754-123456, while the international number would change to +44-1754-123456.
In the cities of Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield the numbers change from six to seven digit working. For example, this bureau's fax number (+44-742-686900) changes to +44-114-268-6900 since the Sheffield area code changes from 742 to 114, and all numbers have a "2" added in front of them.
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); Bristol 0117 (0272). These city code changes will multiple the number of available numbers in the cities concerned by more than 10, BT claims.
PhONEday has been planned for several years, but British Telecom (BT) has warned that as many as a quarter of all businesses around the UK have still not made the necessary changes to their PABX (private automatic branch exchanges).
BT is less concerned about people-originated calls and more keen to see telephone alarm systems changed. According to Alan Croft, BT's PhONEday project manager, many businesses and householders with phone alarm systems may find their systems not working when triggered, owing to the area code changes.
"We are still concerned about a minority of businesses which appear to be waiting until the very last minute," Croft told journalists.
CHELMSFORD, ESSEX, U.K., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Quarterdeck UK has announced a free Internet guide called "Discover A New World," which is available to anyone writing in, phoning, faxing or electronic-mailing the company.
According to Quarterdeck, the guide is aimed specifically at those people with little or no understanding of the Internet, and aims to provide a basic, "well structure" overview of the Internet, as well as offering advice as to the considerations and steps that potential users should take before signing up to a service provider.
Caroline Edney, Quarterdeck UK's general manager, explained that the style of writing in the guide is both humorous and clear, making it a "highly enjoyable, yet informative" read.
"Estimates suggest that there are already 35 million users worldwide on the Internet and over 27,000 Web sites. However, for those who are unfamiliar with Internet technologies, trying to get on the Internet can be like treading a minefield. Our free guide will help the less technical user make the right decisions and get on to the Net," he said.
"Discover a New World" has been written by two well-known UK journalists -- Chris Long and Jonathan Burchill -- and begins with the history of the Internet, how it evolved, and then goes on to look at the necessary hardware and software needed for users to go online. As well as listing a number of interesting Internet addresses to get users started, the guide has a glossary of terms, which the company claims is designed to simplify the technical computing jargon associated with the Internet.
One area that the guide covers is "Net Etiquette" -- the "how to," and "how not to" do things on the Internet. The guide illustrates this with some amusing examples of how individuals and companies have abused the Internet.
The guide has been produced to lay the foundations for Quarterdeck's product strategy on the Internet. As reported previously by Newsbytes Quarterdeck has begun shipping WebAuthor, a UKP99 add-in for Microsoft Word for Windows, that allows HTML (hypertext markup language) files to be created and edited.
Other upcoming packages from Quarterdeck in the next few months include a Mosaic Web Browser, a complete Internet toolbox, including e-mail and newsgroups functions, and a Windows Web server.
According to Quarterdeck, the most popular component of the company's planned portfolio of Internet titles is likely to be the information and navigating utility. Based on concepts developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the utility allows users to locate and examine documents located anywhere on the Internet.
(Steve Gold/19950413/Press Contact: Nick Spence tel +44-1344-873445, fax +44-1344-873446, Internet e-mail nspencer@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: Quarterdeck UK 44-1245-496699, Internet e-mail pr@qdeck.co.uk)
-496699, Internet e-mail pr@qdeck.co.uk)
4/13/95
Quarterdeck Offers Free Internet Guide
ONLINE
Sweden - Nokia Looks To Expand U
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Nokia Telecom has revealed it is considering expanding its US operations to include manufacturing plus research and development facilities.
The move marks an interesting change of strategy for Nokia, which, to date, has always produced its mobile phones and associated hardware in Sweden, for export to the rest of the world. The company, however, has done extremely well with PCN (personal communications network) technology sales in the UK, and clearly plans to exploit the soon-to boom US market in PCN/PCS (personal communications service) handset sales.
Representatives of Nokia have declined to comment on which sites are up for consideration in the US, but European media sources quote Jryki Salo, head of Nokia's US operation, as saying that the decision on where to site the new facilities will be made by the end of the month, and the plant will be operational within the year.
Earlier this week, Nokia announced plans to build a new distribution center in Bochum, Germany, with a floor space of around 14,000 square meters. This facility should be "live" by the early part of next year.
According to Nokia, the US cellular phone market is about to enter a "boom" period. Plans are already in hand to move Nokia's existing small scale assembly facility to a new plant (the new site in the US) later this year, ready for the launch of PCS networks over the next 18 to 24 months.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950413/Press & Reader Contact: Nokia Mobile Phones, +358-10-505-5750)
ontact: Nokia Mobile Phones, +358-10-505-5750)
4/13/95
Sweden - Nokia Looks To Expand US Operations
TELECOM
MCI Opens Web Developer Lab Site
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- MCI (NASDAQ:MCIC) has announced the opening of its "networkMCI Developers Lab" site on the Internet's World Wide Web. MCI is dubbing the site an online source for information on the so-called "information superhighway," along with a way for developers to test their new technologies using MCI's live voice and data network.
The Web site gives information on the physical Developers Lab in Richardson, Texas. At the Richardson site, MCI customers and developers can test products and services via MCI's services, including its voice network services, and data services like frame relay Internet access, and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode).
"The Internet site we announced today is like hanging our shingle out and getting more exposure to the community for the best use of the lab," Chuck Daniels, program manager for the "networkMCI Developers Lab, told Newsbytes. "The Web site is just another way for them to find out information about the Developers lab, and the services we have there."
MCI said it has sunk $5 million to create the Richardson facility where developers can test their equipment on a "live network" to make sure their applications will work on a network properly and efficiently. Interested developers must meet eligibility requirements to gain entry into the Richardson lab. Forms for lab entry can be accessed from the Developers Lab Web site.
Also at the lab's Web site is a "cyber-encyclopedia," for the more casual Internet "surfer." Company officials describe this offering as a "multimedia experience." Voice, video, and text files can be accessed from the Web site. The encyclopedia offers the history of the technologies behind the information superhighway, from the creation of first telephone systems to the current virtual reality trend. MCI promises quick-loading, dynamic graphics as users browse through the information at the site.
After users have browsed through the cyber-encyclopedia, they can put their knowledge to the test with the Developers Lab Quiz. High scorers will see their names placed in the "Developer's Lab Honor Roll," and be officially welcomed to cyberspace. Also they will be able to download a screen saver once the quiz is passed, Daniels said.
The "networkMCI Developers Lab" site can be accessed on the World Wide Web at URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://www.mci.com/developerslab.
(Bob Woods/19950413/Press Contacts: Frank J. Walter, MCI Business Markets, 800-644-News, Internet e-mail MCI_News_Bureau@MCI.com; Jenny Carter, Ketchum Public Relations, 404-877-1800; Public Contact: Internet World Wide Web http://www.mci.com/developerslab)
http://www.mci.com/developerslab)
4/13/95
MCI Opens Web Developer Lab Site
ONLINE
Deal With IBM To Add Speech To 4
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- 4Home Productions, a division of Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA), has announced a deal with IBM (NYSE:IBM) aimed at adding speech recognition to consumer software developed with 4Home's Meta4 technology.
4Home plans to use IBM's VoiceType speech recognition technology to add to its products the ability to accept spoken commands. 4Home will use the technology both in consumer software it sells under its own name and in custom interfaces it develops for personal-computer manufacturers, company spokeswoman Amy Lyon told Newsbytes. An example of this type of product is the interface 4Home recently developed for Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new Multimedia 6100 line of home PCs (Newsbytes, April 5).
4Home expects the first commercial products using the IBM speech recognition technology will come to market some time this summer Lyon said.
They will be built using VoiceType Application Factory, a set of tools from IBM for creating applications that recognize natural speech patterns based on a 30,000-word dictionary. IBM said this dictionary can be expanded to meet the needs of specific applications. The VoiceType technology can handle continuous speech, according to IBM, rather than requiring that the speaker leave a slight pause after each word so the system can distinguish one word from another. The system is also speaker-independent.
4Home announced Meta4 in late March, describing it as a multimedia development tool for building graphical "social interfaces" on personal computers. The CA unit is developing its own consumer software packages based on the technology but also plans to use it to create custom interfaces for personal computer manufacturers.
(Grant Buckler/19950413/Press Contact: Amy Lyon, 4Home Productions, 516-342-4203; Joan Wilson, 4Home Productions Canada 905-676-6740; John Crowe, IBM, 512-823-1717; Public Contact: 4Home Productions, 800-773-5445; IBM, 800-TALK2ME)
me Productions, 800-773-5445; IBM, 800-TALK2ME)
4/13/95
Deal With IBM To Add Speech To 4Home Products
BUSINESS
F p T
United Artist Spends Fortune Cre
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70
Trade Groups Sponsor Consumer El
New Remote E-Mail Application Fo
Impulse Intros Large-Screen Note
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-
Online Marketplace '95 - Revenue
Firefox Offers Free Novell/Inter
Australia - Microsoft Sets Up Re
Kao Infosystems Increases CD-ROM
US Electronics Sales Up 13%
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Deal With IBM To Add Speech To 4
Compaq & Taiwanese Firm To Produ
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) said this week it has teamed with MITAC International Corp. of Taipei, Taiwan, to develop and manufacture a select number of desktop computers for the consumer market. The new systems are scheduled to ship in the second half of this year.
Compaq said the new computers will be produced by a joint development team comprised of engineers and designers from both companies. Compaq will manage the design, engineering manufacturing and test procedures, with the new computers being manufactured at MITAC facilities. The availability of the new PCs which will carry the Compaq brand name, is scheduled to coincide with the peak retail buying season.
Compaq spokesperson Yvonne Donaldson told Newsbytes the model name hasn't been decided yet. Donaldson declined to state specifically what processors the new models would offer, but did say the systems would offer multiple types of processors. She declined to rule out the possibility of Pentium-class machines being offered in the product line.
Last month Compaq announced a joint manufacturing agreement with Inventec of Taiwan to manufacture notebook computers which are also scheduled for release in the second half of 1995. Compaq's LTE Lite notebook PCs were developed in partnership with Citizen of Japan. Inventec also builds computers for Apple and Texas Instruments.
Donaldson said Mitac has manufacturing facilities at: Shun-de, China; Telford, England; Fremont, California; and Taipei, Taiwan.
Compaq's Presario desktop PCs for the consumer market are manufactured in its factories in: Houston, Texas; Erskine Scotland; Singapore; Shenzhen, China; and Jaguariuma, Brazil.
Compaq's Brazilian operation is its latest manufacturing startup. The plant opened in September, 1994, in a former Johnson and Johnson facility. The 230,000 square-foot plant manufactures desktop systems for the Latin American market.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- The little guys proved this week that the big guys don't always get away with kicking sand in their faces when a television reporter arrested while covering software mogul Bill Gates' Hawaiian wedding won an apology and an undisclosed amount of money.
The settlement is the result of a civil rights lawsuit filed by 33-year old Scott Rensberger, a reporter at Seattle television station KIRO-TV, after he was arrested while reporting on the security arrangements surrounding Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates marriage to Melinda French, a Microsoft executive.
Those security provisions included booking every campsite, hotel room and rental car on the island and available helicopters in the area, apparently to make it difficult for journalists to cover the event.
Both Gates and the Dole Food Company Inc., which owns a large part of the island where the wedding took place in January, 1994 apologized in writing to Rensberger.
The British news service Reuters reported that Gates' letter of apology to Rensberger said in part, "I sincerely regret the way you were treated while you were on assignment on Lanai (the island where the wedding was held), as well as any harm done to you or your reputation."
Dole Chief Executive Officer David Murdock also signed a personal apology which Reuters said noted that Lanai "is not a private island."
Dole reportedly owns about 95 percent of Lanai, but Rensberger claimed he was on public land when he was arrested and ordered off the island. Hawaii Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto, who approved the settlement, agreed that Rensberger was arrested on public property.
As part of the settlement, Rensberger will donate $25,000 to establish a scholarship fund at Lanai High School and another $25,000 to a community group on the island.
Gates publicist Karen Frey, who was also a defendant in the lawsuit, will provide 40 multimedia computers worth an estimated $67,000 and equipped with Microsoft software to Lanai High School as part of the settlement.
Reporter Arrested At Gates' Wedding Gets Apology, Money
LEGAL
DEC & IBM Port CICS/6000 To DEC
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- DEC and IBM have ported the latest version of IBM's AIX CICS/6000 (Version 1.2) transactional processing (TP) system to the DEC Unix environment running on Alpha, for what is being billed as the fastest CICS open application server.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Iain Smith, product manager for CICS, said that CICS on Digital Unix represents a reference port of the same CICS code that is already available on IBM AIX, and more recently, on Hewlett-Packard systems.
But, he noted, the Digital port also takes advantage of the 64-bit architecture and clustering capabilities of Alpha. Alpha provides high speed as well as the ability to support very large databases such as Oracle's new relational database management system (RDBMS), he maintained.
Also during the interview, Don Aleusic, operations manager, pointed out that Digital is not new to the TP market, having previously ported ACMS, Tuxedo and Encina to DEC environments.
DEC's experience in distributed networking is turning out to be quite useful for TP systems, Aleusic told Newsbytes.
Smith added that DEC and IBM have a long-standing relationship. DEC was the first vendor, for example, to offer a SNA (Systems Network Architecture) gateway, he noted.
CICS for Digital Unix is designed to provide full interoperability with CICS applications running on mainframes and other systems using SNA or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), as well as a high level of interoperability with Encina and the OSF's Distributed Computing Environment (DCE), according to the two DEC officials.
The new TP system will support Ingres, in addition to Oracle databases. Support will be provided, as well, for 3270 protocols. CICS for Digital Unix will be offered with a choice of character based or graphical user interface (GUI)-based PC and workstation screens.
CICS for Digital Unix is available immediately. Pricing starts at $7,800 for a server, including "necessary Transarc Encina components," and $300 per client.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- The overall view at Internet World is that simple access to Internet and the Web has arrived. What to do once you get there is being addressed by Point Communications' Web site which will review and critique both entertaining and serious Web sites, according to the company.
Along with the reviews, Point will provide a guided tour and tutorial for Internet novices. Chris Kitze, founder of Point Communications, told the assembled press, "It is now very easy to access the Web. Many people are going there but not sure how to find what they want or whether or not the time spent downloading a home page will be worth the trouble. Point will be the place where people go first to find out which Web sites are worth visiting and which sites are not worth the trouble before any time is actually spent downloading a specific site."
He confuted, "Much like a restaurant, a Web site may have some good points and some bad points. For instance, it might have great graphics and poor content. We rate each site on presentation, content and overall user experience. With that rating, we also include a professionally written review. For entertaining sites the review will be fun and with more serious sites we will offer a more constructive criticism."
Point's Web service will be supported by paid advertising areas. FlowerStop, Zima, and Southwest Airlines are the first companies to commit to the Point project. The Point Web site is designed to be free to Internet users.
Kitze also said, "We will be adding more than 1,000 new reviews every month and we will maintain a check on which sites are no longer available. We are also working with a number of online services which will list us in their directories. We have already established a relationship with Netcom and received strong support from them."
Point says its guided tour service helps users, both new and experienced learn to tap the resources of Internet, including the Web. It offers claims to offer interesting sites to tour and provide a link to get users back to Point's home page. For more advanced users, it reportedly offers a list of sites for business files and programs. The area also offers hypertext markup language (HTML) tools for making a Web page.
Point's site will be available April 24 at http://www.pointcom.com. Kitze plans to add business transaction capabilities in the near future.
(Patrick McKenna/19950413/Press Contact: Rolly Going, The Terpin Group, 310-821-6100; Public Information: Point Communication 617-232-6200)
Information: Point Communication 617-232-6200)
4/13/95
Internet World - Free Web Directions Offered
ONLINE
Europe - Landmark Legal Ruling O
1 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- The European Court of Justice has ruled that TV stations have no right to copyright in their listings, which by virtue of their nature, are in the public domain.
The ruling on the so-called Magill case from Ireland, centered around whether the three TV companies -- The British Broadcasting Corporation, ITV and Radio Telefis Eireann -- could legally withhold their TV listings from Magill, an Irish publisher, on grounds of copyright.
Although the case was viewed initially as a civil one, the case went through to the European Courts of Justice on the grounds that it was in the public's interest that a decision on such matters be decided by the highest court in the European Community (EC).
Legal experts have hailed the ruling as a significant victory for consumers of information, as well as for free competition in the European Community. At its most basic, it means that a holder of copyright on a publication or similar can now be legally forced to license such information to a competitor company, where that information is regarded as being useful to the public at large.
The case is an interesting one since, under EC competition legislation, licensing of information to the competition is regarded as automatic. Defense lawyers claimed that, since the information was copyrighted, normal EC competition laws do not apply. The case ruled that this is not so.
In court, the bench upheld a 1991 ruling by the EC's Court of First Instance, which said that the three TV companies "had abused their dominant position" by not allowing Magill's TV Guide a license to reprint their respective weekly program listings
The court concluded that, in preventing Magill's TV Guide from printing the TV listings from the three companies, those companies were effectively eliminating a competition from the market, as well as illegally signally that the market for such listings was closed.
Legal industry experts have said that the case has important ramifications for the "information superhighway," as with the Internet, the cost of publishing falls dramatically. Under EC laws if a competitor so wishes, they can now publish information that is copyrighted (and published) by the originator, providing a "reasonable" license fee can be agreed upon.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950413)
cense fee can be agreed upon.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950413)
4/13/95
Europe - Landmark Legal Ruling On Info Highway Copyright
LEGAL
Internet World - IBM Offers Inte
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- From a press conference at Internet World, IBM (NYSE:IBM) introduced InfoMarket Search, a suite of services designed to search and connect diverse information over the Internet. A beta offering will be available in May to selected companies.
InfoMarket Search is a network service which searches, retrieves and prioritizes information from the Internet or a private network and allows the delivery of that database information to almost any "desktop environment." After its final beta test, the service will be offered over IBM's Global Network. It is designed for content publishers on the "Net" who need to search and organize diverse digital data, including multimedia content.
The new product is based on intelligent software IBM has developed for the US and several foreign governments. With the use of agents, the product allows users to create a single query to search most database formats including Oracle, Sybase, PAT, Topic, BRS, WAIS, and Basis Plus. The InfoMarket service supports many popular search engines and can deliver content to Macintosh, Windows, Nextstep, NCSA Mosaic and Unix (employing X/Motif) environments.
IBM also has a large exhibition area at Internet World to demo its products and show tradeshow attendees how to build their own Web page with photos and audio files. The eager attendees also learned how to post the final product on the Web.
IBM also said it will introduce a Web tool which offers a compiler that accepts files from common word processors and a server that posts documents, books or entire libraries on the Net.
(Patrick McKenna/19950413/Press Contact: Mike King, IBM 914-766-1119)
9950413/Press Contact: Mike King, IBM 914-766-1119)
4/13/95
Internet World - IBM Offers Internet Search Tools
ONLINE
InContext Spider Called 1st Web
HP Intros New Consumer PCs Throu
Clarification - CompuServe UK Pr
GEnie Launches Internet Access T
Hayes Shows Profit Again, Sees R
Lotus Notes VIP Developers Conf
Is Cyberspace Bad for the Enviro
Online Marketplace '95 - Lycos P
MCI Opens Own Baseball Season on
Lotus Beta Testing Notes VIP Upd
Prodigy Offered At Harrison Conf
Telematics Intros WAN Switches
EMC Secures China Banking Contra
FAA & Inmarsat Approve In-Flight
ers Inte
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 13 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> UK Firm Intros Business TV Distribution System 04/13/95 Maddox Broadcast has unveiled Newslink, a modular business TV distribution system designed for distributed feeds of TV and other broadcast video signals, to networks of PCs.
2 -> France - Bull Forms Smart Card Subsidiary 04/13/95 After years of operating a smart card division, Groupe Bull has announced plans to spin-off the division into a new company, called CP8 Transac.
3 -> UK - BrainTree Diversifies Into IT Risk Analysis 04/13/95 BrainTree Technology, a name more readily associated with specialist software, has announced it is branching out into IT (information technology) risk analysis.
4 -> Microsoft Intros More Screen Savers 04/13/95 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced two new screen savers, one that uses the stereogram hidden three-dimensional (3-D) pictures that have achieved recent popularity.
5 -> HSC's Convolver Special-Effects Prgm For Windows 04/13/95 HSC Software is shipping the Windows/Windows NT edition of KPT Convolver a 1995 Seybold Award-winning product, previously available for Macintosh only, that is aimed at letting users add new special effects to graphic design software packages.
6 -> WebTrader Software For Direct Web Sales 04/13/95 SBT Accounting Systems said it will ship WebTrader , a software module that the company said permits businesses to sell directly from the Internet's World Wide Web.
7 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/13/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: Japanese Software Dealer Sued by Microsoft, Lotus; Supercomputers Re-classified By US & Japan; Mobile Phone Market Set To Soar; Sega Adds Information To CATV; and New Transmission System For Hospital Scans.
8 -> Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web Site 04/13/95 The 1996 Summer Olympic Games may be over a year away, but IBM and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games have already teamed up to produce an information service on the Internet's World Wide Web.
9 -> Lotus cc:Mail Adds 150 Viewers For "Intercompany Mail" 04/13/95 Lotus has unveiled updates to the desktop and mobile editions of cc:Mail for Windows that add over 150 viewers for file attachments ranging from legacy formats to presentation packages, plus Addressing Assistants for helping users to send mail to the Internet and other outside messaging systems.
10 -> High-Speed Laser Optic LAN Intro'd 04/13/95 Laser Communications Inc. (LCI) has announced its new high-speed laser optic network communication system. Dubbed the OmniBeam 4000, the company claims the new product, which uses a laser beam instead of wiring to connect sites up to a kilometer away, zips along at communications speeds ranging from 34 megabits-per-second (Mbps) to 155 Mbps.
11 -> WorldLinx, Silicon Graphics In Digital Media Network 04/13/95 Silicon Graphics Canada Inc. has announced an alliance with WorldLinx Telecommunications Inc., a Bell Canada spin-off, to offer a Canadian network service for digital media similar to one that parent company Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE:SGI) operates in conjunction with Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON) in the United States.
12 -> ****Toronto Gets City-Wide Internet Pizza Ordering 04/13/95 A Toronto pizzeria chain claims to be the first in the world to offer city-wide delivery of pizzas ordered on the Internet. Panzerotto Pizza began accepting online pizza orders for delivery anywhere in Metropolitan Toronto on April 1.
13 -> TECO & IBM - The "Smart House" Is Here 04/13/95 Tampa-based TECO Energy and IBM believe that the smart house is not a technology of the future, but a technology of today. The two firms have announced a pilot project to demonstrate and evaluate an advanced smart home energy management and communications system that would enable residential electric customers to track and control their energy use, right down to the toaster, using off-the-shelf hardware and software.
14 -> ****Electronic Tax Filing Down 04/13/95 The Internal Revenue Service says electronic filing of income tax returns is down significantly this year. The downturn is probably because of IRS efforts to stamp out fraud, says the agency.
15 -> ****Internet World - Listen To The News On The Internet 04/13/95 One of the big attractions at Internet World has been Progressive Networks' RealAudio system. The Seattle-based company's demo allows tradeshow attendees to listen to National Public Radio (NPR) programs and other voice files.
16 -> More On Wang-Microsoft Settlement 04/13/95 When Wang Laboratories Inc. settled its patent dispute with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) this week, it got an infusion of cash that could go as high as $90 million. Whether it also got a "camel's nose in its tent" is not yet clear, but it is certain that Microsoft got clear title to the technology known as "object linking and embedding" (OLE).
17 -> Phone Directory CD-ROM For Networks Ships 04/13/95 Pro CD Inc. said it is shipping a software title called "Net Phone," the company's newest resource for telephone directory information. The firm already produces other directory titles, including Select Phone, ProPhone, Home Phone, and Canada Phone.
18 -> DEC Forms Database Centers, "Virtual" Expertise Centers 04/13/95 DEC is establishing a set of three Database Centers in Palo Alto, Munich, and Tokyo, along with a series of "virtual" Expertise Centers for the delivery of industry-specific systems and products.
19 -> ****UK Phone Code Change This Weekend 04/13/95 At 1am this Easter Sunday, most of the UK's area codes will change. In some cities, even the numbers will change (from six to seven digit working). Virtually all "geographic" area codes change, while "non geographic" codes, such as mobiles, virtual numbers, pagers toll-free and the like, remain unchanged.
20 -> Quarterdeck Offers Free Internet Guide 04/13/95 Quarterdeck UK has announced a free Internet guide called "Discover A New World," which is available to anyone writing in, phoning, faxing or electronic-mailing the company.
21 -> Sweden - Nokia Looks To Expand US Operations 04/13/95 Nokia Telecom has revealed it is considering expanding its US operations to include manufacturing, plus research and development facilities.
22 -> MCI Opens Web Developer Lab Site 04/13/95 MCI (NASDAQ:MCIC) has announced the opening of its "networkMCI Developers Lab" site on the Internet's World Wide Web. MCI is dubbing the site an online source for information on the so-called "information superhighway," along with a way for developers to test their new technologies using MCI's live voice and data network.
23 -> Deal With IBM To Add Speech To 4Home Products 04/13/95 4Home Productions, a division of Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA), has announced a deal with IBM (NYSE:IBM) aimed at adding speech recognition to consumer software developed with 4Home's Meta4 technology.
24 -> Compaq & Taiwanese Firm To Produce Desktop PCs 04/13/95 Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) said this week it has teamed with MITAC International Corp. of Taipei, Taiwan, to develop and manufacture a select number of desktop computers for the consumer market. The new systems are scheduled to ship in the second half of this year.
25 -> Reporter Arrested At Gates' Wedding Gets Apology, Money 04/13/95 The little guys proved this week that the big guys don't always get away with kicking sand in their faces when a television reporter arrested while covering software mogul Bill Gates' Hawaiian wedding won an apology and an undisclosed amount of money.
26 -> DEC & IBM Port CICS/6000 To DEC Unix On Alpha 04/13/95 DEC and IBM have ported the latest version of IBM's AIX CICS/6000 (Version 1.2) transactional processing (TP) system to the DEC Unix environment running on Alpha, for what is being billed as the fastest CICS open application server.
27 -> Internet World - Free Web Directions Offered 04/13/95 The overall view at Internet World is that simple access to Internet and the Web has arrived. What to do once you get there is being addressed by Point Communications' Web site which will review and critique both entertaining and serious Web sites, according to the company.
28 -> Europe - Landmark Legal Ruling On Info Highway Copyright 04/13/95 The European Court of Justice has ruled that TV stations have no right to copyright in their listings, which by virtue of their nature, are in the public domain.
29 -> Internet World - IBM Offers Internet Search Tools 04/13/95 From a press conference at Internet World, IBM (NYSE:IBM) introduced InfoMarket Search, a suite of services designed to search and connect diverse information over the Internet. A beta offering will be available in May to selected companies.
(Ian Stokell/19950413)
(Ian Stokell/19950413)
4/13/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
France Selects NEC & Motorola Fo
PARIS, FRANCE, 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- France Telecom, in cooperation with the French Government, has announced that it has accepted tenders from NEC and Motorola to become equity shareholders in Groupe Bull. NEC, already a Bull shareholder, will increase its stake in Bull to 17 percent, while Motorola's stake in the company will be at least 10 percent, with an option to boost the share to 17 percent by the middle of 1997. France Telecom will consolidate its share to 17 percent, meanwhile.
Dai Nippon and IPC also have options to take between three and four percent stakes in Bull. These offers are still under active consideration by all interested parties, Newsbytes understands. IBM meanwhile, has indicated its intention to retain the 1.8 percent stake it has in Groupe Bull.
As part of the shuffle in ownership, Bull employees will be offered the option to take up to 10 percent of the share capital of Bull between them. The exact mechanics of this arrangement have yet to be announced.
The equity shuffles mean that the French government's equity stake in Bull, which currently stands at 79.6 percent, will be almost halved to around the 40 percent mark.
Announcing the acceptance arrangements, Marcel Routel, France Telecom's chairman, said that he is very pleased that Bull, "thanks to the entry of new major players in its capital, is putting together the key strengths that are necessary in a rapidly changing and competitive market."
"Together with the new partners, France Telecom intends to fully play its role as a shareholder in the new phase which is opening for Bull taking advantage of the synergies between our two companies," he said.
Jean-Marie Descarpentries, Bull's chairman, explained that the first stage of the privatization is a milestone for the company, and has come ahead of the timescale that the company originally envisioned.
"I'm delighted by the quality of our three major industrial shareholders and by the confidence that they have shown in Bull's future," he said, adding that "their respective and complementary contributions will enable us to meet the challenges we currently face growth, profitability and technical excellence -- in the service of each of our customers."
According to Descarpentries, the equity stake by NEC and Motorola will call for Bull to form a "strategic committee."
"In this way, we shall be able to take best advantage of the contribution of each partner and guarantee the cohesion of the group's industrial and technological strategy," he said.
Phil Crawford, Bull UK & Ireland's CEO, said that he sees the move as a decisive step for the company. "It marks the culmination of a great deal of hard work put in by Bull UK and Ireland over the last few years to re-engineer the business and bring it back to profit and success," he said.
Crawford went on to say that he sees the company as moving into an exciting era. "Working in partnership with such leading edge players our expertise in systems integration will harness these complementary technologies and turn them into advanced solutions for our customers," he explained.
According to Crawford, this strength is systems integration will fuel growth in the company's services business. "These factors, combined with our customer driven approach and improving financial performance can only make it easier for customers to choose Bull as a long term business partners," he said.
Y ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Denniston & Denniston, Inc., (DDI) announced it is now integrating voice recognition capabilities into its automated time and attendance system. Called "VoiceTACS (time and attendance collection system)," the system allows hospital staff to clock their activity via the spoken word.
Company officials say with VoiceTACS, employees can check into the system with a combination of spoken words and a PIN (personal identification number) at a designated workstation phone. All entries are then verbally confirmed. Then via network or modem VoiceTACS inputs data to the transaction processing systems (TPS), to apply all pay rules for automatic time calculation. VoiceTACS can be used with TPS scheduling modules or third-party scheduling systems the company said.
Also, the company has introduced HomecareTACS, which allows home healthcare workers, like visiting nurses and drivers of medical equipment, to use touch-tone phones at remote sites to log in work hours, length of patient visit, travel time, mileage, and other options.
DDI vice president of sales and marketing, Chris Denniston, told Newsbytes her company helps its customers be more productive via telephone information systems like HomecareTACS and VoiceTACS. "Managing time and attendance collection is something that saves the hospital money, helps them become more efficient, helps them to understand how to operate their business better and better," especially when labor is the highest cost of doing business that hospitals have to contend with, she said.
The idea of helping hospitals and healthcare institutions better understand their labor costs is also important nowadays, when those businesses are being told they need to watch their costs, Denniston said.
Eventually, Denniston said companies like hers will develop voice applications to help hospitals do more with fewer people. For example she said a system might be developed where patients can call the hospital and receive their account information using voice commands without having to talk with anyone. "Systems like these will help the hospital become more efficient," she said.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Performance Systems International, Inc., (PSINet) said it has distributed more than 10,000 beta versions of its new "online Internet" service, called "Pipeline USA." The beta version provides the consumer market with unlimited, free Internet access through May 31, 1995, the company said.
PSINet officials said they are offering 25,000 beta copies to users on a "first come" basis, and company officials said the copies are going fast. The production version of the service, which is designed for Windows-based PCs, will start June 1. It will provide unlimited Internet access for a flat rate of $19.95 per month officials said.
Pipeline USA brings together simple point-and-click Internet software access with PSINet's nationwide ATM (asynchronous transfer mode)-based telecommunications service. Officials said service to 120 metropolitan areas by mid-1995 is planned for modems up to 14.4Kbps (kilobits per second). PSINet said it is also rolling out the V.34 standard for 28.8Kbps connectivity throughout much of the US. Customers who need ISDN (integrated services digital network) service can sign up for the company's "power user" service called InterRamp, the company said.
Officials said Pipeline USA will give users World Wide Web access access to thousands of Internet newsgroups, the use of FTP (file transfer protocol) and Telnet, and an electronic mail (e-mail) address. Plus, the software allows the customer to use all of these features at once, the company said; a user can "surf" to a Web home page download e-mail, and retrieve newsgroup messages at the same time.
"This service fits the niche market we weren't filling, which is consumer Internet access," James Bergmann, assistant manager of marketing and communications for PSINet, told Newsbytes. "The online services are trying to migrate their software to support Internet access. Pipeline was built for Internet access from the ground up."
Bergman also said PSINet feels "a need for flat-rate Internet access. This is something people are clamoring for, and we hope to sign up many customers."
Bergman said future plans for Pipeline USA include offering more traditional online content, to make it more like online, Bergman said. But the focus of Pipeline USA will be Internet access for the consumer market, he said.
Users should call 800-453-PIPE to check for availability of Pipeline USA beta copies.
(Bob Woods/19950412/Press Contact: Jeff Luther, Pipeline USA 703-810-1517, e-mail lutherjpsi.com or jlutherusa.pipeline.com. Public Contact: PSINet, 800-453-PIPE; or World Wide Web http://www.psi.net)
or World Wide Web http://www.psi.net)
4/14/95
PSINet's New Online Internet Service
ONLINE
British Telecom Forms Italian Al
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- British Telecom (BT) has announced an alliance with Banca Nationale del Lavoro (BNL), an Italian bank that operates one of Italy's largest private telecoms networks. The alliance will see the creation of a joint venture known as Albacom, which will be 50.5 percent owned by BT, with the remaining 49.5 percent owned by BNL.
The idea behind the joint venture, according to BT, is combine the international telecoms activities of both companies in each other's countries. BT has had a presence in Italy for the last five years while BNL has only a limited presence in the UK, Newsbytes notes.
BNL is perhaps best known in the US for its Atlanta, GA branch, which extended around $3 billion in unauthorized loans to Iraq in the late 1980s. That is in the past, however, and plans call for Albacom to invest around $250 million over the next ten years to update BT and BNL's Italian telecoms network.
Announcing the linkup, Mike Hepher, BT's managing director, said that Albacom's aim was to capture at least 20 percent of the Italian telecoms marketplace, which is worth around $2.5 billion in corporate terms alone.
The alliance with BNL to produce the Albacom operation is BT's third alliance of this type in Europe. The telecoms company recently formed similar joint venture operations with Viag, the German industrial group, in January of this year, and Banco Santander in Spain.
The formation of Albacom is just another step in the global gameplay for BT, Newsbytes notes. The company is quietly planning to take on AT&T in the global marketplace, as proven by its decision to take a 20 percent stake for $4.3 billion in MCI, AT&T' arch rival in the domestic US network stakes.
AT&T's approach differs significantly from that of BT, Newsbytes notes. Instead of forming joint ventures, the US telecoms giant has tapped its cash reserves and taken equity stakes in foreign telecoms carriers under the WorldPartners banner. Partners in the AT&T conclave include KDD of Japan, and Singapore Telecom.
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Police have raided a Hertfordshire-based BBS known as "The Farm," and seized 20 computers plus thousands of floppy disks and CD-ROMs, Newsbytes has learned.
The raid, which followed lengthy investigations by Computing, a weekly computer publication, and the Sunday Times, was staged on the premises of Precision Software Publishing, although police have only confirmed that the raid took place some time last week.
According to media reports, Alan Stocker, the managing director of PSP, and his wife, have been questioned by police, although no action has been taken at this time. The files on the BBS are understood to have include "explicit sex, mutilation and human debasement," according to this week's issue of Computer Weekly.
According to Newsbytes' sources, most of the material confiscated by police is known to have been downloaded across the Internet. The Farm has been charging UKP 25 for three months access to the files. The storage space on the BBS is thought to have exceeded 7.2 gigabytes.
At a meeting of the Manchester British Computer Society (BSC), Sergeant John Ashley of Greater Manchester Police, a member of the police's special computer porn and virus division, said that the incidence of computer pornography is growing.
"The cost of PCs, modems and storage generally has been falling to such an extent that it's now very easy -- too easy -- for a juvenile or child to get hold of these images, both by modem and increasingly across the Internet," he told attendees to the BCS meeting.
The problem of the Internet, he said, is that, while laws might exist in some countries that allow certain types of pornography those same images are deemed to be illegal in other countries. Policing the Internet is a very difficult task, he said.
Coupled with the arrival of recordable CD-ROM, he explained, the Internet porn files are now being sold on CD-ROM for around the UKP 20 mark. The volume of porn that can be stored on a CD-ROM, he said, "is quite staggering."
"We are not talking about 'top shelf' adult magazines when we talk about computer porn on the Internet. We are talking about scenes of sex involving children, bestiality, and many other aspects of sexual activity which the vast majority find abhorrent. We are working in close cooperation with colleagues in other countries to tackle the problem," he said.
Sergeant Ashley said that although he could not comment on cases going through the legal system at the moment (a reference to The Farm incident last week), he found that the types of computer pornography on the Internet were definitely getting worse.
"I don't know what the solution to the problem is," he told Newsbytes adding that some sort of Internet policing authority may be necessary to control the obscene material flowing across the Internet. "The biggest problem is who is going to pay for such policing, given the international nature of the service," he said.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19950414)
a Dennis & Steve Gold/19950414)
4/14/95
UK Police Raid The Farm BBS
LEGAL
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan, Oki To Launch Machine Translation Via People Network; New Software From Microsoft Japan; Government On The Internet; Fujitsu's Ringowin Allows Easy Data Transfer; New Telephone Service Readies For Launch; KDD To Establish Asian Telecom Association; NEC Develop Internet Transmission Protocol.
Oki To Launch Machine Translation Via People Network
Oki Software Kansai has announced plans to start a machine translation service from Japanese to English via IBM Japan's People online service. The new service will be able to deliver translated documents, which are sent as e-mail, in around 10 minutes. The service has set an initial charge of 1 yen ($0.012) per byte. A similar service on Fujitsu's NiftyServe network charges 1 yen per English character. The service hopes to bring in around 15 million yen ($178,517) in its first year.
New Software From Microsoft Japan
Microsoft Japan is planning to release Japanese versions of Word 6.0 and Office 4.2 for the Apple Computer Macintosh during the next two months. Until August a special promotion from Microsoft will mean the software is available at half the recommended retail price. Microsoft say it hopes to sell 120,000 copies of Word 6.0 in its first year of release here. The company already produces a Japanese Macintosh version of its Excel software.
Government On The Internet
The Japanese government's Ministry of International Trade and Industry can now be found on the Internet. The ministry has set up a World Wide Web server which began operation today. The server only carries a small amount of information at present but will get more over the coming months to eventually include a full complement of information and ministry-released statistics. The World Wide Web address is http://www.miti.go.jp/
Fujitsu's Ringowin Allows Easy Data Transfer
Fujitsu has announced computer software aimed at making data exchange between PCs running Windows and the Apple Macintosh easier. The software is part of a new system that utilizes magneto-optical disks to accomplish the task. Fujitsu is hoping to sell over 5 million units of the "Ringowin" system over the next three years.
New Telephone Service Readies For Launch
Another new operator of international telephone services is about to enter the Japanese market. The company, Forval International, is offering savings of around 20% on market leader KDD. Japan currently has three official international telephone service providers - KDD IDC and ITJ - plus a host of operators providing callback schemes. The Forval service will not rely on international callback user call the company's exchange in Tokyo and connect onto the worldwide telephone network from there. Recent drops in the value of the dollar have made many callback services even cheaper than they previously were.
KDD To Establish Asian Telecom Association - Nikkei
Reports in the Nippon Keizai Shimbun detail plans by KDD to establish a pan-Asian association of international telecommunications providers within the year. The association will serve as a forum for such issues as callback services and international free dial phone services. The newspaper also reports that KDD hopes to make some partners out of association members with a view to offering new telecommunications services throughout Asia.
NEC Develops Internet Transmission Protocol
NEC has a new data communications protocol that it says increases the transfer rate of data by 150%. The new process achieves the time saving by doing away with the process of copying the incoming data into the computer's memory - so called Zero Copy Architecture. NEC is building the new protocol into its EWS4800 workstation and claims data transfer rates of up to 220Mbps are now possible.
(Martyn Williams/19950414)
Williams/19950414)
4/14/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
America Online Opens New Call Ce
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Online service America Online (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER) seems to be adding content and special interest areas to its corner of cyberspace on an almost daily basis. Now, the company that claims to be the nation's largest and fastest growing online service is expanding physically, with the opening of a new call center in Jacksonville, Florida.
AOL officials said it plans to employ between 850 and 1000 people over the next two years in the Jacksonville area. The company said it needs to add staff because its subscriber base has tripled to two million over the past year. Currently, AOL employs about 200 technical support representatives at its Vienna, Virginia headquarters, as well as 400 tech support reps in Tucson, Arizona.
AOL said it chose to open the call center in Jacksonville because of the area's skilled labor force comprised of professionals, college students, military families, and retirees. Also, the fact that Jacksonville is in sunny Florida was also a factor. "The climate provides for offices to be open through the year," Margaret Ryan AOL spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "Plus labor rates are less expensive there."
Other recent developments at AOL reported by Newsbytes include an alliance between the online service's Internet Services Company (ISC) and Illustra Information Technologies. The two companies say they'll work together to provide additional capabilities and services for the Internet of today, and the Internet of tomorrow.
In preparation for accessing today's Internet, AOL recently announced high speed access of 14.4Kbps (kilobits per second) over Sprintnet and 28.8Kbps over AOL's own data carrier network, called AOLnet. The higher speeds will be needed when AOL introduces full Internet access, including the graphic-intensive World Wide Web. Already AOL offers some Internet access, including FTP (file transfer protocol) gopher, and newsgroups.
Speaking of the Web, Ryan said AOL now expects access to the Web to happen around late April or early May.
America Online software can be obtained at major retailers and bookstores, or by calling 800-827-6364.
(Bob Woods/19950414/Press Contact: Margaret Ryan, America Online, 703 883-1625. Public Contact: America Online, 800-883-1625)
Contact: America Online, 800-883-1625)
4/14/95
America Online Opens New Call Center
ONLINE
DEC Plans Memory Channel-Based U
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- DEC plans to deliver a "third wave" of Unix clusters for Alpha, which will use the Memory Channel interconnect over the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. Slated to ship later this year, the new Memory Channel-based clusters will join two other Unix clusters for Alpha, according to Bob Price, a DEC spokesperson.
An Ethernet scheme that uses DEC's Gigaswitch has been shipping for over a year now, he told Newsbytes. DEC has also demonstrated another Unix cluster architecture for Alpha, which uses asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) as an interconnect, he added.
The new Memory Channel configuration will be known as AdvantageCluster Protection Server, according to Price. When used with parallelized products like the Oracle Parallel Server, the new configuration will permit up to four symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) systems to work as a single logical system.
The new capability will be available on AlphaServer 2x00 systems and on the new AlphaServer 8200 and AlphaServer 8400.
DEC is only issuing a "statement of intention" on the Memory Channel configuration, and will have more details available on the new architecture in late summer or early fall, said Price.
Digital will also be talking about some new developments with the Ethernet configuration within the next few weeks, he noted.
DEC plans, in addition, to deliver the same failover capability now available on AlphaServer 2x00 systems (DECsafe) Available Server Environment) on AlphaServer 8000 systems this summer, according to the Digital spokesperson.
8-493-5111; Press Contact: Bob Price, DEC, 508-264-6746)
4/14/95
DEC Plans Memory Channel-Based Unix Clusters For Alpha
DEC's SCSI Clusters, OpenVMS 6.2
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- DEC has unveiled a series of low-end to midrange SCSI (small computer systems interface)-based OpenVMS clusters, along with OpenVMS 6.2 an update that adds support for the new clusters as well as for DEC's new AlphaServer 8400, 8200, 2100 and 2000, VAX and VaxStation 4000, and MicroVAX 3100 systems.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Nick Carr, DEC's OpenVMS product manager, reported that Digital's first SCSI-based clusters bring the "high availability, ease of management, and mix-and-match configurability" of server and workstation clustering to price levels as low as $35,000.
DEC, he explained, is obtaining the lower pricing in two ways: by offering clustering technology on smaller Alpha servers and workstations, and by using SCSI to eliminate the need for a separate controller.
Larger Alpha workstations and servers are also used in OpenVMS clustering, but although they are more "expandable," the bigger machines currently use CI or DSSI interconnects that "add cost" by requiring controllers, he told Newsbytes.
"But this is only the beginning of the road. In the future, we'll be extending SCSI-based OpenVMS clusters to larger systems," the DEC executive revealed.
Users can configure any combination of two or three AlphaStation 200 or 400 or AlphaServer 1000, 2000, or 2100 systems to form a SCSI-based cluster, including DEC's newly announced AlphaServer 2100 4/233 and 5/250 servers and AlphaServer 2000 4/275 and 4/233 servers, he noted.
The AlphaServer 2100 4/233, 2000 4/275 and 2000 4/233 represent upgrades of earlier entry-level AlphaServer models. The higher-end AlphaServer 2100 5/250 is billed as providing substantially greater performance than either the HP 9000 K400, Sun SPARCserver 1000E, or IBM RS/6000 Powerserver Model J30.
All four of the new AlphaServer systems use DEC's new 21064A Alpha microprocessor, previously code-named the EV5 and reportedly the fastest Alpha chip yet.
Carr added that each of the new SCSI-based OpenVMS clusters can be configured to share up to two SCSI buses between them. Each SCSI bus can then be configured with a storage capacity of up to 24 gigabytes (GB) through use of a StorageWorks SCSI disk bay containing up to six disks.
The OpenVMS product manager also told Newsbytes that DEC's new OpenVMS 6.2 is slated to ship in May. The update, he said, provides: new OpenVMS CD packaging; new OpenVMS Cluster pricing; "enhanced functional equivalence" between Alpha and VAX architectures; improved integration between OpenVMS and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol); and support for greater than 130-member shadow sets.
The CD packaging includes OpenVMS VAX and Alpha, documentation and freeware, and is aimed at easier installation of "core enabling technologies" such as Motif; TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS; DCE (Distributed Computing Environment); Posix; and DECmigrate.
Freeware supplied in OpenVMS 6.2 includes more than 100 DEC tools in addition to Internet and transfer tools like Mosaic server Newsreader, EMacs, and Zip/Unzip.
Also bundled with the OS is PC-based OpenVMS Management Station software for "simplified management across multiple clusters," according to Carr.
DEC's new AlphaServer 2100 4/233 and 5/250 and AlphaServer 2000 4/233 and 4/275 servers all support OpenVMS in addition to Digital Unix and the Windows NT Server OS.
The entry-level AlphaServer 2000 4/233 uses the 233 megahertz (MHz) Alpha 21064A microprocessor to deliver up to 400 tps of performance. The system supports up to 1 GB of memory as well as fast, wide SCSI.
The AlphaServer 2000 4/275 gives users a choice or either one or two 275 MHz Alpha 21064A microprocessors. The model 2000 4/275 is said by DEC to bring 60 percent higher performance to the AlphaServer 2000 line, with performance ratings of 202.9 SPECint92 and 292.6 SPECfp92.
The AlphaServer 2100 4/233, which uses the 233 megahertz (MHz) 21064A microprocessor, is aimed at offering up to 675 tps for the same price as its predecessor. The model 4/233 provides up to four SMP processors and up to 32 GB of internal, hot swappable storage.
The AlphaServer 2000 4/233, AlphaServer 2000 4/275, and AlphaServer 2100 4/233 are priced at $18,070, $26,500, and $21,940 respectively, for a base system with 64 MB memory, a 2 GB disk CD-ROM, a 2.88 floppy, Ethernet, Windows NT server license and media, and a video graphics adapter, keyboard, and mouse.
The faster AlphaServer 2100 5/250 comes with one to four 275 MHz 21064A microprocessors, furnishing 277.1 SPECint92, 410.4 SPECfp92 and up to 1,200 tps of performance.
The model 5/250 is priced at $59,960 for a base system consisting of 128 MB memory, a 2 GB disk, CD-ROM, a 2.88 MB floppy, Ethernet DEC Unix licensing and media, NAS 200 software, and a video graphics adapter, keyboard, and mouse. AlphaServer 2100 4/200 and 4/275 systems are board-upgradable to the AlphaServer 2100 5/250.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950415/Reader Contact, DEC 508-493-5111; Press Contact: Judith Abrahamovich, DEC, 508-493-5660; Ken McDonnell DEC, 508-493-5258)
, DEC, 508-493-5660; Ken McDonnell DEC, 508-493-5258)
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 199 APR 14 (NB) -- The European Commission has announced plans to pass legislation that would make it illegal for any one company to exploit a monopoly position in the mobile telecoms market-place. The legislation, which will take effect from January 1, 1996, stems from the apparent "feet dragging" that many state telecoms companies are taking to previous suggestions that their telecoms markets -- and in particular the mobile telephony market should be open to free market competition by January 1, 1998.
The announcement will have caused many state telcos more than a few deep breaths, as many -- notably the German and Spanish governments had been expecting the crunch date would be January 1, 1998, and not two years earlier.
Under the proposed legislation, EC mandarins have mandated that it will be legal for third party companies to bypass a state telecoms company and set up their own networks to offer mobile phone services provided the European Commission (EC) was happy with the situation.
The legislation forms an extension of Article 90 of the European Commission Treaty of Rome, which allows the EC to act without the approval of an EC member country, where such action is to the benefit of consumers.
While many have accused the EC from moving too swiftly over the issue of mobile telecoms, officials with the EC have pointed out that they issued a green discussion paper last year, although Newsbytes notes that much of the contents of that paper were largely ignored.
Perhaps more interestingly, the amendment will allow new telecoms entrants to lease their lines from other third party companies, rather than be forced to licence lines from the state telecoms company. This could, Newsbytes notes, open the doors to some highly aggressive pricing on mobile phone calls.
Steve Gold/19950413/Press & Reader Commission +32-2-299-1111)
4/14/95
European Commission Moves To Open Up Mobile Telecoms Market
TELECOM
Hungary - Pannon GSM's Ambitious
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- After several month of being viewed as a poor underdog of Western GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular companies, Pannon GSM has revealed that it should enter a period of profitability next year.
In a news conference held to dispel fears that the company was not meeting its targets, Erik Bedo, a senior spokesman for Pannon, said that the start up costs of the network were now being recouped, and that, despite the huge investments required, the company should enter profitability next year.
Bedo explained that, although Pannon is only one of the two GSM networks operating in Hungary, it expected to be able announce as many as 90,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
As a result of the need to stay competitive, Pannon officials said that service should be available to around 85 percent of the population by the end of this year, and near 100 percent coverage by the end of 1996. Currently, GSM service is only available in major cities in Hungary, Newsbytes notes.
Pannon GSM is fast becoming a watchword among the movers and shakers in Hungarian IT (information technology) circles. In February of this year, Newsbytes reported that the company had contracted with Laser Communications of New York to installed a laser link to the nearest GSM access point from Pannon's headquarters in Budapest.
Pannon GSM is just over a year old. The service started up in March of last year in the Budapest area, with plans to expand out across 70 percent of Hungary by the end of next year.
Newsbytes reported at the time that the opening of the Pancomm network meant that Hungary was the first former-Eastern Bloc country to have its own GSM network, although other networks are in the process of being built in Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Pannon is a joint venture between Nortelinvest (Norway), Telecom Denmark, Telecom Netherlands, Telecom Finland, Telia International (Sweden), and four Hungarian companies: Antenna Hungary, MOL Retva, Videoton and Wallis International.
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Photographers use the Eastman Kodak's (NYSE: EK) new digital cameras to capture images digitally and move them directly to a computer without ever exposing or developing a single frame of film. But the process of transferring those images to a Macintosh computer hasn't been particularly fast until Kodak teamed with Adaptive Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSO) to optimize an existing Adaptive accelerator board that works with Apple Computer's Macintosh and Adobe's Photoshop pre-press imaging software.
The two companies said they have entered into a technology and marketing relationship to optimize digital image acquisition time when Kodak's Professional DCS 460 and 465 Digital Camera is used with Adaptive's PowerShop, a parallel processing accelerator board.
Kodak introduced its DCS 460 high resolution color digital camera at the Seybold conference and expo in San Francisco in September 1994. The camera uses a 3,060 by 2,036 pixel (picture element) charged coupled device (CCD) imager, an array of photo elements used to measure the light reflected from an image as voltage.
The $27,995 460 device is not truly a complete camera. It's actually an electronic back designed for use with Nikon's N90 35mm single lens reflex camera body. The 460 provides 36-bit color (12 bits per red, green and blue each). An Adaptive Solutions spokesperson told Newsbytes the camera can store up to 28 images. The DCS battery pack is rated for at least 30 images, and takes one hour to recharge. A standard SCSI (small computer system interface) cable connects the camera to a Macintosh computer. A built-in microphone allows the photographer to annotate the images. It takes about 12 seconds for the system to re-cycle after each picture.
Black and white and infrared models are also available.
Adaptive said Powershop can speed up digital image acquisition time by a factor of eight on a Apple Quadra system and by as much as five times on a Power Macintosh systems. The board combines up to 64 processors on a single chip, which is in turn deployed on a Macintosh NuBus expansion card.
The Kodak Professional DCS 460 Digital Camera stores its images on a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) Type III card. PCMCIA cards are credit card-size boards that are inserted into computers to provide additional memory, add a modem, or store applications and data, including images. The Adaptive spokesperson told Newsbytes a user with a PowerShop-equipped PC can transfer all 28 images in less than 10 minutes, versus as much as 70 minutes on slower systems.
The DCS cameras offer 8-bit color unless you use the provided Acquire Module. Adaptive told Newsbytes the DCS offers 24-bit color without using the PowerShop and that can be enhanced to 48-bit color with PowerShop.
PowerShop was first introduced in September 1994 and is based on CNAPS (Co-processor Node Architecture for Parallel Systems) architecture. When first announced Powershop had a suggested retail price of $3,995. The Adaptive spokesperson said a decision is still pending regarding whether the modified version for the Kodak cameras will be bundled with the cameras or sold separately.
Powershop will be available at the same time the DCS camera ship.
(Jim Mallory/19950413/Press contact: Laura Luthi, KVO Public Relations for Adaptive Solutions, 503-221-2355)
KVO Public Relations for Adaptive Solutions, 503-221-2355)
4/14/95
Kodak, Adaptive Solutions Puts Digital Pedal To The Metal
APPLE
Aussie Flap Over Appt Of Microso
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- There are concerns in the Australian information technology community over an appointment to the Australian Multimedia Enterprise (AME), a body meant to promote multimedia development in Australia. The person in question is Daniel Petre, Microsoft's director of advanced technology.
The AME was formed as a result of recent federal government moves to fast-track the development of multimedia in Australia potentially making the country a leader in the provision of multimedia software. It is funding a number of projects including multimedia training centers around the country. It will also help in the production and marketing of products.
While no one in the industry doubts Petre's personal ability to serve on the board, some people have suggested that he has a conflict of interest. This is because Microsoft is the world's leading manufacturer of multimedia software.
"By being on this board he will inevitably have access to the development, marketing and production plans of dozens of Microsoft's competitors," one local developer of multimedia products and training told Newsbytes. "He can't help but be influenced by what he learns." he added.
Speaking to ComputerWorld Today's Monique Haylen, Petre said that if there ever was a conflict of interest he would "exclude himself from the discussion." He add that he was on the board not as a Microsoft representative, but because of his own knowledge and expertise.
(Paul Zucker/19950412)
dge and expertise.
(Paul Zucker/19950412)
4/14/95
Aussie Flap Over Appt Of Microsoft Director
GENERAL
Australia - Visa's Stored Value
IPC Australia Boss Moves To Sing
UK Firm Ships Single Memory Modu
HP Consumer PCs To Ship With Nov
Kodak Selects Software For Digit
Research Grants For SGML Librari
Microsoft Upgrades Visual C++
Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, F
Noted Writers Contemplate Techno
Power Computing's First Mac Clon
Powersoft Staff Flee HK Office
LANcity Intros Cable TV Modem
Corporate Software & Donnelley I
Wildlife Group Gets Novell Gift
FTC Keeps Quiet On Used Computer
Philips NV Sees India As Gateway
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- At a time when several international information technology giants are coming in hordes to tap the vast potential of the Indian market, Philips NV also has identified India as the vehicle to lead its invasion of the Asian market in the areas of television, sound systems, computer hardware telecom and lighting. So far, Singapore has been the company's major outpost in Asia.
According to Jan Timmer, president of Philips Electronics, the upgrading of Philips India Ltd., promises to make the local operation the best in the entire Philips family in the next few years. With constant infusion of technology and capital resources, Philips India will emerge not only as a leader in the Indian market but will also play a major role in the global operations of the parent company as well, he predicts.
Philips NV's strategy is to build Philips India on the lines of its operations in Brazil. The South American country houses one of Philips' largest networks outside Europe. On similar lines massive investment has been earmarked for the Indian operations and almost every single existing business is going through large capacity expansions. Substantial funds have been finalized for the lighting division and total upgrading of the ELMI factory at Calcutta.
Likewise, Philips India is planning to set up manufacturing facilities for computer hardware like high resolution colour monitors and NB460 notebook PCs.
For consumer electronics, the company proposes to introduce the entire range of Micro hi-fi W 17 CD systems. Two of the immediate products on the Philips launch are a three-head video cassette recorder and the compact disc interactive home entertainment system.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950414)
ntertainment system.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950414)
4/14/95
Philips NV Sees India As Gateway For Asian Assault
BUSINESS
Philippines - Industry Showcase
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 1995 APR 14 (NB) - It's just less than two months away before an ambitious information technology exposition, Unified National Information Technology Events in 1995 (UNITE `95), gets underway in Manila. The events are designed to showcase software and hardware talent in the Philippines.
Around 20,000 visitors are expected to participate including over a thousand local and foreign delegates from the United States Europe, Canada, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries.
The events that will comprise UNITE include Informatex Asia at the Shangri-La Hotel Manila; COMDDAP `95 at the Hotel Nikko Manila Garden; PCS `95 at The Peninsula Manila; Open Computing `95 (formerly the International Unix Users Convention) at the Shangri-La Hotel Manila; the National Computer Center's IT Month at the University of the Philippines Diliman; TACT `95 at the Shangri-La Hotel Manila; and the Junior PCS's Explore IT `95 at the Makati Sports Club.
UNITE chairman, Vince Vargas, said UNITE `95 is a venue for the Philippines to showcase its wares in the "global challenge of change and advancement."
All events of UNITE `95 are organized by the Philippine Electronics and Telecommunications Federation (PETEF), the Computer Dealers and Distributors Association of the Philippines (COMDDAP) the Philippine Computer Society (PCS), UUCP: The Association for Open Computing, the National Computer Center (NCC), Government Organization for Information Technology (GO-IT), the Philippine State Universities and Colleges Computer Education and Systems Society (PSUCCESS) and the Junior PCS (JPCS).
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 1995 APR 14 (NB) - Acer is now the world's seventh largest brand name PC vendor, according to data released this week to Newsbytes by International Data Corporation (IDC) a Boston-based computer market research firm.
According to IDC, Acer ranked seventh among the world's PC vendors for 1994, up seven places from its 14th place standing in 1993. The company shipped 1,260,000 personal computers during the year achieving a growth rate of 102.7 percent compared to 1993. According to the report, Acer's share of the world brand name PC market rose to 2.6 percent from 1.6 percent in 1993.
Acer's performance in 1994 continues the trend which saw the company rank among the 10 largest PC companies for the first time in 1993. The IDC report also listed Acer as the ninth largest PC vendor in the US.
The report attributes Acer's growth to three factors. First of these was a product design, shipping and logistics model based on the way fast-food franchises operate. Another factor is its "client-server" management organization structure that links all its member companies. The firm has been working to implement a "local touch global brand" philosophy by entering into several partnerships with strong local partners in high growth markets around the world.
According to IDC's "1994 Year in Review" report, Acer's share of the LAN server market grew 28 percent to 4.3 percent in 1994. In the competitive global notebook business, shipments grew by 55.6 percent to 112,000 units, giving Acer 1.5 percent of its market.
Stan Shih, chairman and chief executive officer, Acer Group said only those companies that are able to ensure fast delivery of leading edge systems at competitive prices will survive in today's marketplace.
"Acer has strong momentum, and we are striving to become a top five PC manufacturer. Right now, we are seventh in terms of brand name shipments, but including non-brand PC shipments, Acer produced 2.2 million PCs in 1994.
"This puts us among the world's top five PC suppliers already in terms of total shipments. I am confident that our broad range of component technologies and advanced business strategies will lead to an even stronger brand name market position for Acer in the years ahead," Shih declared.
On the March, 1994 issue of World Executives' Digest, Acer reported approximately US$3.22 billion in combined revenues and over $207 million in earnings for 1994.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Yamaha is now looking towards the growing multimedia field with its YST-SS1010 system. Consisting of a subwoofer and two satellite speakers, it comes ready to plug into a computer. Included are two adaptors to help out with cable matching.
Yamaha is known in both the music and motorcyle world. In music it's a major player in acoustic pianos, synthesizers, and audio processing. Its NS10M near field monitor is currently one of the top recording industry favorites.
The satellite speakers (YST-M10) can be used alone or with the sub-woofer (YST-MSW10). The YST-M10s are shielded. An inexpensive set of satellite speakers can also be used (YST-M5). The Yamaha system was awarded the Innovations '95 award at the 1995 Consumers Electronics Show. The M10s are rated at 10 watts, the M5s at 3.
The YST-MSW10 sub-woofer has a separate volume control. It also has a filter select to eliminate any midrange you might hear. An auto power off switch is handy. It's rated at 25 watts. The cones are made of spruce shavings from the Yamaha grand pianos.
Now let's get to the problems. There are two. First, the volume and presence controls on the M10s are very low profile, with no grip serrations. They seem difficult to easily grasp and turn. If you don't apply the anti-skid pads included, you might end up pushing the speaker around trying to get a grip.
Secondly, locating the "sweet spot," that ideal listening area for spatial separation, is a challenge for any speaker system. It's a problem on the desktop where speaker size and placement is an issue. The YST-M10s have only one volume control. The right speaker feeds the left, which has no independent volume control. This gives you no balance control between the speakers.
However, I must say, it was great using the speakers after dealing with the limitations of conventional monitoring. My 8-year-old son had a field day with the sound on the game Warcraft. He loved being able to make his chair literally vibrate as the Orcs and Humans hacked at each other. I played with the Residents' Freak Show by Voyager and the speakers added punch to the whole presentation. The ominous quality of the Residents' audio constructs were realized. Maris' Warplanes had a much more convincing rumble and jet engine ambience than with the standard issue speakers.
Good speakers reveal audio limitations. You will hear the real noise level in the audio samples. The system may not be the best for multimedia authoring. It may be too easy to overemphasize the bass in monitoring.
The Yamaha system can definitely cure a computer user's audio anemia. These speakers will give games and multimedia programs a new "wow" level. The Yamaha reputation is also a plus.
The speakers are available in black and computer beige. The system lists for $349.95, but street prices are discounted $100 or more. All speakers are available separately.
(NIck Gorski/19950319/Press Contact: Peter Giles, Giles Communications tel. 914-241-9112, internet - peter@giles.com/ YAMAHA950324/PHOTO)
-241-9112, internet - peter@giles.com/ YAMAHA950324/PHOTO)
4/14/95
Review - Yamaha YST-SS1010 Speaker System for Multimedia
REVIEW
GENERAL
Italy - 1st Digital Mobile Phone
America Online Stock Splits Agai
Seybold - Optronics Previews Dru
Telecom Bill Hits A Snag...Named
Microcom Buys Into European ISDN
Digital Video-On-Demand Net For
Philippines - Autodesk Plans Loc
IBM In Microkernel Deals With Fi
Berman Ships TimeWise 5 Workgrou
West Wins In Virtual Computer Bo
World Wide Web Top Of NSFnet Tra
India - ITI & James Martin In CA
mart Networking Upgrad
Microsoft Profits Climb
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) earnings continue to climb as the software company reported net income of $396 million, or $0.63 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 1995 on sales of $1.59 billion.
The results of the quarter that ended March 31 are up 28 percent over the same period last year when Microsoft took a one-time charge for litigation in its battle with Stac Electronics over data compression technology. Even without considering that item this year's second quarter earnings were up 18 percent, although Microsoft continued to increase the amount of money being spent on research and development. In the second quarter of this fiscal year Microsoft spent $516 million of R&D compared to $359 million for the same quarter last year.
In the second quarter of this year Microsoft reported net income of $373 million on sales of $1.48 billion. For the first quarter of the fiscal year the company said revenues were $1.25 billion and net income was $316 million.
General and administrative costs were also up significantly, from $41 million in the second quarter last year to $68 million for the same period this year. Microsoft did a two-for-one stock split in May 1994.
Microsoft reports cash and short term investments at $4.5 billion net accounts receivables at $580 million and inventories at $87 million. Property, plant and equipment are valued at just over $1 billion. The company reported accounts payable of $524 million
Company officials attributed the continued growth to several factors. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Mike Brown said continued sales of Microsoft Windows, growing acceptance of the BackOffice family of products, and strong sales of Microsoft Office all contributed to the growth.
Charles Stevens, Microsoft vice president for Far East operations said sales of Office and Windows led the record sales in that market.
During the quarter Microsoft sent the latest beta test version of Windows 95 to about 40,000 testers and later in the quarter announced the Windows 95 Preview Program that brought in about 400,000 users willing to put up $32 each for a pre-production copy of Windows 95.
During the third quarter of this year the company entered into a joint venture with DreamWorks SKG, movie and television producer/director Steven Spielberg's company, to form a company that will produce multimedia entertainment titles. Microsoft also acquired Rendermorphics Ltd., a company that produces three-dimensional programming tools. Both moves appear to signal Microsoft's intent to be a serious player in the world of film television and computer animation.
(Jim Mallory/19950414/Press contact: Pam Edstrom, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Public contact: Microsoft tel 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
882-8080 or 800-426-9400)
4/14/95
Microsoft Profits Climb
BUSINESS
Review of - Apple PowerBook Duo
From: Apple Computer Inc., 20525 Mariani Ave., Cupertino CA 95014.
Price: The 280c is around $3,400 with 4MB of RAM and a 320MB hard drive, but prices vary with configuration.
PUMA Rating: 3.9. (on a scale of 1 to 4, 4 being highest)
Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Ian Stokell 04/14/95
Summary: The PowerBook Duo platform is an excellent choice for the user who needs to take a Mac on the road and doesn't want to deal with the transfer of files between a desktop system and a separate PowerBook on their return to the office.
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REVIEW
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Few notebook computer users have not experienced the inconvenience of trying to get their files and documents on their portable machine in sync with the versions on their desktop systems. It's very easy to lose track of which file is the most current. Then there's the need to install two copies of every application you're likely to need. And coming back to the office, if you don't have a desktop machine or want to hook up your notebook to peripherals like a full-sized keyboard and monitor, you have to mess around with lots of cables and leads and input sockets.
The PowerBook Duo was designed with such a mobile and out-of-office user in mind. The Duo, now only available in the 280c color model as the monochrome 230 and 280 versions have been discontinued, are PowerBook sub-notebooks, lighter than their notebook brothers, and minus a built-in floppy disk drive.
When you go out on the road, you take the Duo with you as you would any other notebook. Upon returning to the office, however, instead of going through the "update ritual" with files on the desktop system, you just slip the Duo into the Duo Dock II docking station that sits on the desk (about $900). The docking station has a full-sized keyboard and monitor (and other peripherals such as a CD-ROM drive, if you want) connected all bought separately from the docking station, which acts as the permanent desktop part of the combination.
The relevant sockets and parts at the back of the Duo hook up automatically with the necessary connections on the Duo Dock and you have an instant, fully functioning desktop system, using the same hard drive that is in the portable Duo. A monitor and full-sized keyboard are connected to the Duo Dock and stay on the desk. No need to change any files over, or update anything. The files and applications you use on the road are the files and applications you use in the office.
The PowerBook Duo sub-notebook doesn't come with a floppy disk drive built-in, unlike the heavier PowerBook notebook series. If you want to use one on the road (there is a floppy drive built in to the Duo Dock II) you need a Floppy Adapter (about $105), which plugs into the back of the PowerBook Duo, into which you then plug an external floppy drive (about $140).
Or you can use the MiniDock (about $300) which is larger than the floppy adapter and includes built-in video support for 256 colors support for Apple and VGA/SVGA displays, nine built-in ports, an external floppy drive port, and a slot for a security cable.
And I'll let you in to a secret -- you have no idea how much you use a floppy drive until you don't have one with you! So be forewarned! You may think you can do all your floppy disk work at the desktop in the office when the Duo is plugged into the Duo Dock, but there will definitely be something you want to put on a floppy while on the road! But then, unless you have the necessary accessories, it will be too late! Still, forethought and experience may eventually cut such occurrences down to a minimum -- but don't count on it.
I found the PowerBook Duo built-in keyboard fine to work with, and the front-center positioned trackball convenient to use -- after you get used to it. However, one tip: I always took a "real" mouse with me on the road to plug in and use when the situation and desk or table permitted. Even with trackball practice, it is really no match for the speed and ease-of-use of the "real" mouse. But of course, by the time you add the floppy adapter and external floppy disk drive your computer bag is beginning to look like a portable CompUSA store!
And then, of course, there comes the modem. You have to have a modem. While an external modem is easier to upgrade, it can be a major pain taking it on the road, what with a cables for connecting it to the Duo and a mains lead, and a telephone line into the wall! Buying a built-in modem is a good move -- although don't consider anything less than 9,600 bits-per-second (bps), and even that is slow for such things as the World Wide Web. A 14,400 bps modem would be a sensible buy, even if it does put the price of the overall system up.
The Duo display is pleasantly readable, although as with virtually all portables it doesn't match the resolution of a desktop system. But it is ok for hours of continuous work on the road.
The Duo could be a little more rugged -- the sub-notebook architecture gives it a slightly fragile feel. Holding either side of the display and gently twisting, I almost had the impression that it would break open! I would say that the Duo, because of its lighter design, needs a little more care when in use on the road than the sturdier Powerbook notebook.
The PowerBook Duo 280c is PowerMac upgradable, should the power-user in you prevail in the future. Prices vary considerably depending on where you buy (mail-order or retail) and system configuration. I've seen the Duo 280c (for color) available via mail-order for about $3,400 with four megabytes (MB) RAM and a 320MB hard drive. Don't forget to factor in the Duo Dock, plus an external keyboard and monitor for the desktop setup, and a modem.
In conclusion, the PowerBook Duo and Duo Dock are an excellent answer for users that have to take a Mac on the road with them, or who want to take work home from the office. You cannot beat the convenience of the combination. A press of a button and you have a portable machine; slip the Duo into the front-loading opening of the docking station and you're instantly working with a full-sized keyboard and monitor. Not only that, but you can attach other peripherals to the Duo Dock desktop system for added convenience.
======
PUMA RATING
======
PERFORMANCE: 3.5. A sub-notebook is not going to be as sturdy as a full notebook. As a result, you need to take a little extra care with the machine on the road. You also need to get used to no floppy drive, or buy the external floppy peripherals.
USEFULNESS: 4.0. The Duo platform is designed for convenient computing for mobile users, and does that job well.
MANUAL: 4.0. Accompanying documentation is up to Apple's usual high standards.
AVAILABILITY: 4.0. Available by mail-order or from Apple retailers.
(Ian Stokell/19950414)
der or from Apple retailers.
(Ian Stokell/19950414)
4/14/95
Review of - Apple PowerBook Duo sub-notebook platform
APPLE
REVIEW
Correction - Atlanta Olympic Gam
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- In a Newsbytes article titled "Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web Site" on April 13 we erroneously reported the World Wide Web address of the new Olympic Games home page.
The correct address is http://www.atlanta.olympic.org/.
Newsbytes regrets the error.
(Martyn Williams/19950417)
s regrets the error.
(Martyn Williams/19950417)
4/17/95
Correction - Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web Site
CORRECTION
ONLINE
Review - Yamaha YST-SS1010 Speak
Online Pollution Trading In Cali
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- An electronic market for trading pollution rights in Southern California over the Internet began operations yesterday, with the giant regional utility Southern California Edison one of the early traders.
"SCE is putting in 50 credits to see how it will work," Caltech economist Ann Sholtz, who conceived the online market, told Newsbytes.
So far, Sholtz said, the exchange is designed to trade pollution credits under the RECLAIM program of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Southern California, which has one of the most difficult ozone pollution problems in the country.
The innovative program allows emitters of pollutants to comply with emissions limits by buying rights from other polluters who have over-controlled and gone beyond what they need to in order to be clean. The idea is to get more pollution reductions cheaper, by using market mechanisms rather than conventional command-and-control regulation. "This idea has been in the economics literature for 30 years," says Sholtz, "but it is only now being implemented in real programs."
"The RECLAIM program is very complex, and involves some 36 tiers of trading," says Sholtz. "In that kind of auction, an iterative process where bidders can see the response to their bids by the next day and react promptly works best." She said the automated credit exchange grows out of work she did at Caltech for NASA. "We started this as a technology transfer opportunity to move something we had worked on to the public sector."
The key to the trading system, Sholtz said, is Windows-based software that makes the trades a simple, point-and-click proposition. "It couldn't be simpler," she says. "It even automatically dials into the Internet and connects with our site," she says.
How does Sholtz plan to make money in this business? The environmental economist says her service charges a registration fee that includes the software and takes a commission on trades. The Pacific Stock Market and Bank of America will clear and settle trades and handle the monetary exchanges.
The system is designed to trade only in the Southern California market so far, but Sholtz says she has plans to expand, probably into carbon dioxide trading if the world gets serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She said she may also get into the market for sulfur dioxide emissions allowances, created by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. "We are prepared to expand to acid rain credits," she says.
Electric utilities have been trading SO2 acid rain allowances since 1993 over the Chicago Board of Trade and in private sales. The result has been quite successful, driving the cost of reducing pollution to less than half what the experts said in 1990 would be the cost of reductions.
Sholtz says she has had an interest in environmental issues since high school, when she won a national science award for a project on acid rain. Before joining the prestigious Caltech faculty, she was a fellow at the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University in St. Louis, where she was an environmental economics specialist.
(Kennedy Maize/19950414/Press Contact: Ann Sholtz, 818-970-8623)
Press Contact: Ann Sholtz, 818-970-8623)
4/14/94
Online Pollution Trading In California
ONLINE
Wireless Industry Helps Out Secr
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has given the US Secret Service some $50,000 worth of wireless testing equipment. The Secret Service is the primary law enforcement agency to investigate telephone and electronic fraud.
The equipment will be used in a new forensic analysis laboratory, which uses state-of-the-art equipment to analyze "cloned" cell phones. Clone phones are stolen phones that are then reprogrammed into a stolen account number. They are rampant in many places, especially New York City.
"By enabling the Secret Service to develop its forensic capabilities in this area, we can enhance our wireless telephone and electronic fraud investigations," said Eljay Bowron director of the Secret Service. Secret Service agents give expert court testimony in fraud cases.
CTIA's fraud task force will also be providing training courses for agents who specialize in cellular phone fraud.
The fraud task force estimates that the cellular industry lost $482 million -- $1.32 million daily -- last year. The group says drug dealers and organized crime have emerged as major players in cloning phones.
CTIA formed its fraud task force in 1991 to support field investigations of criminal operations, run educational programs and support research. "The wireless industry, along with local state and federal law enforcement agencies, is doing everything possible to prosecute criminals and prevent the proliferation of cellular fraud," says Thomas Wheeler, CTIA president.
Wheeler notes that cell phone fraud can deny legitimate customers access to their systems, inconvenience customers who have to change their numbers or have their phones reprogrammed and drives up the cost of doing business.
Persons found guilty of phone fraud can get up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
(Kennedy Maize/19950414/Press Contact: Mike Houghton 202-736-3207)
4/Press Contact: Mike Houghton 202-736-3207)
4/14/95
Wireless Industry Helps Out Secret Service
TELECOM
Windows-Based Video Production S
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- This was the week that the National Association of Broadcasters gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada to see the latest and greatest products for their industry, and software developers were there in force to roll out their newest Windows-based video production software.
Microsoft was more than happy to help display those new products, and made space available in its own booth for the developers to show what Paul Osborne, director of multimedia technology for the Microsoft personal systems division, called "some of the coolest professional video solutions available today."
While Osborne's view may not be entirely objective, developers were showing NAB show attendees products such as three-dimensional video effects accelerators, video chipsets, 60-field JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) cards and software-based MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group), and various editing and special effects systems.
DVision Systems Inc., was demonstrating D-Vision Online, a family of Windows-based digital editing products. Elastic Reality Inc., the company that created the special effects technology used in the movies "Forrest Gump," "Star Trek: Generations," "Interview With a Vampire," The Santa Clause," and the television show "Northern Exposure," was there with its distributed processing special effects system that renders sophisticated digital video, film and multimedia special effects across a local area network (LAN) controlled from a single Windows 95-based workstation.
ArtI showed its Media Performance System (MPS 95), a high-end control system for graphics, special effects, lighting, sound and video. The software was demonstrated on a PC running a beta copy of Windows 95 to combine the interaction of live actors and some footage produced for the opening number of the 1995 Academy Awards presentation. The company said MPS 95 was also used on the Rolling Stones "Voodoo Lounge" tour.
Alpha Systems Labs showed off its MegaMotion, a MPEG video capture card with hardware digital video effects acceleration for the PC. The company claims speed increases of up to 40 times for key digital video effects. MegaMotion is compatible with Adobe Premiere and Asymetrix's Digital Video Producer.
Show-goers also got to see NewTek's Video Toaster for Windows, a stand-alone unit for broadcast quality digital editing; and Play's Trinity Desktop Video System, a digital, expandable, PC-based desktop video system that includes a 10-input production switcher; video router; time-line-based editor; two real-time digital video effects channels with custom effects creation software; a character generator, dual channel still store; paint, animation and compositing software; an automated audio mixer; chroma keyer, and a color effects processor.
LIVINGSTON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- The seven regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) that provide local telephone service across the United States have announced that they plan to sell Bellcore, their shared software, consulting and research operation. The sale is subject to necessary approvals and to obtaining satisfactory financial and other terms.
Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Nynex, Pacific Telesis, SBC Communications, and US West have owned Bellcore since 1984, when it was set up in the wake of the government-mandated breakup of AT&T. Bellcore was conceived to provide the RBOCs with products and services that all of them were expected to need, and with the belief that as local service companies the RBOCs would not be competitors, Bellcore spokesman Ken Branson told Newsbytes. Today, though, the RBOCs are gaining the freedom to offer new services that will lead to their competing among themselves, and their needs are diverging.
While they still need the services and products Bellcore can provide, Branson said, by selling it the RBOCs can enjoy "all the benefits of being customers but none of the burdens of being owners."
The sale would also free Bellcore from the burden of being regulated as an affiliate of the RBOCs, which makes it subject not only to federal regulators but to state regulators in its dealings with the RBOCs.
The move is logical extension of a trend, since Bellcore and the RBOCs have drifted apart somewhat in recent years. Bellcore has nearly doubled its sales to companies other than its RBOC owners in the past two years, bringing those non-owner sales to 16 or 17 percent of its total, Branson said.
At its formation Bellcore drew most of its employees from AT&T Bell Laboratories, and Western Electric, and for several years thereafter employees without a background in the old Bell family were referred to as "off the street," Branson said, but today that term has fallen into disuse. The RBOCs themselves are no longer the family they once were, he remarked: "We are what they have in common, and they have less and less in common every day."
Officials of the RBOCs said Bellcore will continue to be an important technical resource for the regional companies, but as an independent company will be able to provide services to a wider range of customers, which could in turn make it a more valuable resource to the RBOCs.
Bellcore had revenues of more than $1 billion in 1994, and employs some 6,000 people. Contrary to popular perceptions Branson noted, the company is not primarily a research organization. About 10 percent of Bellcore's revenue is spent on applied research, he said. "We are not an applied research lab," he said. "We are a company that has one." Software and consulting are the real backbones of Bellcore's business, according to Branson.
The owner companies have not yet approached or negotiated with potential buyers, Branson said, but some possible purchasers have expressed interest. He added that he is not aware of any regulation or other barrier that would prevent non-American interests from purchasing Bellcore.
(Grant Buckler/19950414/Press Contact: Ken Branson, Bellcore 201-740-6111; Barbara McClurken, Bellcore, 201-740-6467)
rken, Bellcore, 201-740-6467)
4/14/95
RBOCs Plan To Sell Bellcore
TELECOM
Shamrock, DEN Standards To Merge
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- The backers of two document management standards have agreed to join forces. They will merge the Document Enabled Networking (DEN) initiative with the Shamrock Document Management Coalition to form the Document Management Alliance (DMA).
The two initiatives, both begun last year, were more complementary than competitive in the first place, according to spokesman John Derryberry. "They were really tackling different aspects of the document management puzzle." That means that combining the two will be largely a matter of fitting them together and eliminating the small areas of overlap, rather than choosing between two different approaches.
The new DMA hopes to put together a draft specification for its combined standard by July, Derryberry said. After that, the draft will be made available for industry comment.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Saros Corp., launched the Shamrock initiative in February, 1994, while Xerox Corp., (NYSE:XRX) and Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) started the DEN effort in May of last year. Altogether more than 35 companies have been involved in the two groups, which have been cooperating for several months in an effort to ensure the two specifications would be interoperable.
The goal of the DMA specification is to make it easy to find and use documents over networks, giving users uniform access to documents regardless where and in what form they are stored. It will define an enterprise-wide document management specification for library services, plus a middleware layer specification to make it possible to search for and retrieve documents across different document management systems. An object-based data model will allow access to enterprise library services.
Novell plans to build support for the final specification into its NetWare local-area network operating system, Derryberry said.
The DMA is to operate as a task force of the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM). Companies can become DMA members for a $2,500 annual fee, which also includes an individual membership in AIIM.
Representatives of the four founding companies will be co-chairs of the DMA Advisory Council until the end of 1995, when a new administrative chair and technical subcommittee administrator are to be elected.
(Grant Buckler/19950414/Press Contact: Maria Amundson, A&R Partners for DMA, 415-363-0982 ext. 12; Beth Kitchener, Brodeur & Partners for DMA, 617-622-2848; Public Contact: Judy Kilpatrick AIIM, 301-587-8202 ext. 607)
trick AIIM, 301-587-8202 ext. 607)
4/14/95
Shamrock, DEN Standards To Merge
GENERAL
DEC - 3 New VAXes, Continues VAX
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- With a trio of newly announced VAX systems, DEC aims to continue a "commitment to VAX" issued last fall, by offering 20 percent greater performance on the new systems for the same or lower pricing, according to Vaughn Mackie, Digital's director of VAX products.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Mackie said that the new VAXstation 4000 Model 96 graphics workstation, VAX 4000 Model 106A, and MicroVAX 3100 Model 96 also extend the one-year warranty of their predecessors to a total of three years each.
Mackie told Newsbytes that DEC issued a public statement of its intentions to "continue to enhance and expand" its VAX line-up last October.
At the same time, he noted, the company debuted seven new VAX systems with doubled input/output (I/O) capacity, as well as 100 percent higher performance for single-processor and 50 percent higher performance for multiprocessor systems.
In January, DEC announced that VAX systems represent 12 percent of all company revenues, according to Mackie. As of fourth quarter 1994, these revenues amounted to $14 billion, he reported.
The DEC executive added that VAXes were the first systems ever to be used for clustering, back in the early 1980s when Digital "invented" that technology.
Customers, he said, continue to connect VAXes to one another -- and now, through shared use of OpenVMS, to Alpha systems, as well for redundant configurations without a "single point of failure."
VAX tends to be particularly popular for commercial transaction processing (TP), databases, and other applications demanding fault tolerance or involving high availability workloads, according to DEC's director of VAX products.
Industry standard benchmark tests show that VAX hardware and OpenVMS software demonstrate "more than competitive price performance" as well as greater "ease of integration" than competing systems from Sun and Hewlett-Packard, he maintained.
DEC's new VAXstation 4000 Model 96 graphics workstation provides 20 percent more power than the Model 90A, at pricing of $13,220 to $19,270, or about $300 less, Mackie told Newsbytes.
In addition, the Model 90A's one-year on-site warranty has been replaced with a three-year warranty on the Model 96 that includes one year of on-site service, plus a two-year factory replacement warranty.
The new VAX 4000 Model 106A and MicroVAX 3100 Model 96 servers also offer 20 percent better performance, and for precisely the same pricing as their predecessors, according to Mackie.
Also, the two new servers each come with a three-year warranty for on-site service, instead of the previous one-year warranty for on site service.
The VAX 4000 Model 106A, a desktop system, starts at $35,200. It features an enhanced DSSI cable port for "more flexible" DSSI clustering configurations.
The MicroVAX 3100 Model 96, a smaller. 16-pound desktop system boasts system performance of nearly 200 tps, according to Mackie. Pricing on the new MicroVAX starts at $25,063. All three of the new VAX systems from DEC are slated to ship in May.
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Quarterback Corp., Softworks Inc., Comsat Corp., Trident Microsystems Inc., Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc., Texas Instruments, and Convex Computer Corp.
Bill Ethier has been appointed vice president of worldwide operations for Quarterdeck Corp. (NASDAQ:QDEK - 310-314-4270), effective immediately. In the newly created position, Ethier, 46, will oversee the company's US and overseas manufacturing and have responsibility for product testing, quality assurance, facilities and operational planning. Ethier previously held senior operations management positions at XTree Software, Central Point Software and Peter Norton Computing.
Barbara M. Bouldin has been named vice president, technology and business development at Softworks Inc. (703-317-2424) a provider of systems and data management software and services. Bouldin will have specific responsibility for product development support, distribution, and business development. The firm says that she will be "instrumental" in its expansion into client/server and workstation data management. Bouldin was previously with Micro Focus.
C. Thomas Faulders III, vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Comsat Corp. (301-214-3658), has resigned effective April 21, to pursue "an opportunity" at BDM International Inc. in McLean, Va. Faulders joined Comsat in 1992 as vice president CFO, and treasurer. He previously worked at MCI, where he served as senior vice president of business marketing and also as senior vice president of the MCI Enterprise Group. A replacement for Faulders has not yet been named.
Trident Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:TRID - 415-691-9211) has announced three senior management promotions. They include Peter Jen, vice president, sales; Richard Silverman, vice president, marketing; and James Lindstrom, vice president, finance and administration and chief financial officer. The company also announced that Michael Morrione, senior vice president and general manager, and Michael Hollabaugh, vice president, marketing, have left the company. Peter Jen assumes the new role of vice president, sales responsible for worldwide sales activities. Richard Silverman was previously Trident's vice president, strategic planning. He will now coordinate the activities of new product planning, product marketing applications engineering, and marketing communications. In his new position, Lindstrom will be responsible for overall management of administration and will continue as chief financial officer, a position he has held since joining the company in 1992.
Gary M. Schwartz, an executive vice president and a director of Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. (NYSE:FEP - 609-261-4800), has resigned to "pursue other opportunities." The company says his domestic consumer responsibilities will be assumed by Michael R. Strange, the company's executive vice president.
Richard B. Barker, vice president and treasurer of Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:SUNW), has reportedly died from a heart attack while at work. He was just 45.
Dr. Yoshio Nishi has been appointed director of research and development and vice president of Texas Instruments' (NYSE:TXN 214-995-2984) Semiconductor Group. Nishi joins TI from Hewlett-Packard Laboratories where he was director of the Ultra-Large Scale IC (ULSI) Lab. He received a doctorate in electronics engineering in 1973 from the University of Tokyo, and spent over 20 years with Toshiba Corporation in Japan.
Jay H. Atlas has joined Convex Computer Corporation (214-497-3061) as vice president and general manager, worldwide sales and marketing. Atlas will report to Convex President Terry Rock, and will be responsible for Convex sales, marketing, service and channel partnerships worldwide. Atlas began his career as a research analyst and marketing manager for GTE Sylvania in Waltham, Mass. From 1972 to 1993, he held various management positions at Digital Equipment Corporation.
(Ian Stokell/19950414)
n Stokell/19950414)
4/14/95
Personnel Roundup
GENERAL
Newsbytes Week In Review
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, reviewing major stories of the past week covered by Newsbytes: OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Against SATAN Security Prgm; Internet World - CompuServe's New Internet Rates; Poland Warsaw Opens Subway 70 Years Late; DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun Mainframes; Compaq Says Packard Bell Sells Used Parts As New; Corel Paying Some Beta Testers; GEnie Launches Internet Access; Checkfree Enables Secure Internet Transactions; Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, Firms Settle Dispute; Noted Writers Contemplate Technology; AMD Delays Pentium Rival; Internet World - Sun & Netscape To Work Together; Electronic Tax Filing Down; Internet World - Listen To The News On The Internet; UK Phone Code Change.
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Against SATAN Security Prgm (ONLINE)
If you're thinking of trying out the new SATAN (Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks) security software -- which was just released over the Internet and other online services -- be careful you know how to "play with fire," some network security experts are warning. "If I were an IS (information systems) manager, and I'd been reading some of the initial press reports about SATAN, I might assume the best thing to do is rush out, grab SATAN off the net and put it on my system," said Rob Clyde, VP of security technology for Axent, in an interview with Newsbytes that also addressed Axent's new OmniGuard/Enterprise Access Control (EAC) security system.
Internet World - CompuServe's New Internet Rates (ONLINE)
CompuServe announced new pricing for its Internet services, including the Web. The changes include three free Internet browsing hours and an optional Internet Club which offers 20 additional Internet browsing hours for a $15 monthly fee. The three hours are available for all CompuServe members registered in the standard $9.95 per month pricing plan. The company also said any usage of Internet services beyond the first three hours each month would be billed at $2.50 per hour. The new plan applies to access at 9,600, 14,400, and 28,800 bits-per-second (bps).
Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70 Years Late (GOVT)
After a 70 year wait, Polish citizens in Warsaw can now do what people in most other capital cities do when moving around -- take the subway. The Warsaw Council has now opened the subway -- a seven miles long stretch of underground railway is -- to the public. The long-delayed project has been a very long time coming, Newsbytes can report. The first stage of the project -- started more than 70 years ago -- is now complete, and the next phase, planned 65 years ago, is now under way.
DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun Mainframes (TRENDS)
Digital Equipment Corp. has announced two new servers, based on its Alpha processor chips, that the vendor claims can outperform IBM and compatible mainframes at a lower price. Complementing the announcement, Oracle Corp. chimed in with new database technology designed to take advantage of the Alpha systems' 64-bit architecture.
Compaq Says Packard Bell Sells Used Parts As New (LEGAL)
Compaq Computer Corp. has filed a lawsuit charging Packard Bell Electronics Inc. of selling products that contain used components and passing them off as new. But Packard Bell called the lawsuit "a public relations strategy to divert our efforts and slow our growth."
Corel Paying Some Beta Testers (TRENDS)
Software vendor Corel Corp. has begun paying some of the people who beta-test its software, as part of efforts to improve testing and recognize the contribution of the testers. Beta testers who try out new software before it is officially released to the mass market, have traditionally been volunteers.
GEnie Launches Internet Access (ONLINE)
General Electric Information Services has launched its first Internet access service for subscribers to the online GEnie service. GEnie subscribers can access the Internet menus by typing M5000 at any prompt. If you are using GEnie's latest Windows-based user front-end, clicking on the Internet icon on the main menu will take you to the Internet access menu.
Checkfree Enables Secure Internet Transactions (ONLINE)
Checkfree Corporation says it has developed "The Checkfree Wallet," described as a "secure, cheap, and easy to use Internet transaction product for World Wide Web users." Company officials say The Checkfree Wallet lets consumers buy goods and services "safely" from online merchants.
Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, Firms Settle Dispute (LEGAL)
Microsoft Corp. and Wang Laboratories have resolved their patent fight. In addition, Microsoft is taking up to a 10 percent stake in Wang. The settlement seems to leave Microsoft the winner in the 21-month patent fight, with the software company acquiring $90 million of convertible preferred stock, which matures in the year 2003. The preferred stock represents 10 percent of Wang's common stock after conversion.
Noted Writers Contemplate Technology (TRENDS)
Retrieving data will be more important than remembering it employment security will give way to employability security, and the home will again be the center of work. These are some of the ideas six noted authors offer in essays written for Northern Telecom Ltd.'s 1994 annual report.
AMD Delays Pentium Rival (CHIPS)
Advanced Micro Devices said it is delaying release of its "K5" microprocessor, which is designed to compete with Intel's Pentium processor, to make sure it functions properly. The company also said it will use the newfound production capacity from the K5 "void" to produce more 486-class microprocessors.
Internet World - Sun & Netscape To Work Together (BUSINESS)
Chief executive officers, Jim Clark of Netscape and Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems held a press conference to announce their two companies have agreed to work together on Internet products and technologies. Specific product announcements are being held until later next month.
Electronic Tax Filing Down (GOVT)
The Internal Revenue Service says electronic filing of income tax returns is down significantly this year. The downturn is probably because of IRS efforts to stamp out fraud, says the agency.
Internet World - Listen To The News On The Internet (ONLINE)
One of the big attractions at Internet World was Progressive Networks' RealAudio system. The Seattle-based company's demo allowed tradeshow attendees to listen to National Public Radio (NPR) programs and other voice files.
UK Phone Code Change (TELECOM)
At 1am this Easter Sunday, most of the UK's area codes will change. In some cities, even the numbers will change (from six to seven digit working). Virtually all "geographic" area codes change, while "non geographic" codes, such as mobiles, virtual numbers, pagers toll-free and the like, remain unchanged.
(Ian Stokell/19950414)
(Ian Stokell/19950414)
4/14/95
Newsbytes Week In Review
GENERAL
DEC Intros StorageWorks TL810 Au
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- DEC's newly rolled out StorageWorks TL810 Automated Tape Library (ATL) complements the company's higher capacity TL820 ATL by offering "affordable" tape storage for the department or data center, said John Celi, technology marketing manager for DEC's Storage Business Unit. Like the earlier TL820 ATL, the TL810 was jointly developed by DEC and ATL, with DEC contributing its tape technology, and ATL providing "highly robust robotics," Celi explained, during an interview with Newsbytes.
Both tape libraries are "competitively priced" versus other DLT (digital linear tape) products, and supply higher capacity and better price performance than 8 millimeter (mm) products, according to the DEC official.
But the new TL810, he said, supplies a smaller footprint than the 5 terabyte (TB) TL820, a tape library suited to "enterprise" and very large database applications, including support for the new TurboLaser. The TL810 is priced lower, too, at $58,500.
Targeted at automated backup, archiving, and hierarchical storage management (HSM), the new TL810 provides up to 1.1 terabytes (TB) of near-line tape-cartridge storage, according to Celi.
Through robotic hardware and firmware, the TL810 can store and move up to 52 DLT cartridges, he added. Single cartridge capacity is 10 gigabytes (GB) native and 20 GB (compressed).
The new departmental tape library uses a SCSI (small computer systems interface)-2 interface, and is compatible with both VAX and Alpha hardware and both the OpenVMS and Digital Unix operating systems.
DEC is accepting orders for the new TL810 ATL immediately. Orders are scheduled to start shipping in July.
In the future, DEC plans to add applications support that will include the Polycenter suite of Networker Save and Restore Polycenter HSM for OpenVMS, the Storage Library System, PolyCenter Archive Backup, Polycenter, Sequential Media File System, and the DEC Library System, according to Celi.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950414/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Tom Madden, DEC, 508-841-5365; Kristin Holmes, The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900)
Kristin Holmes, The Weber Group for DEC, 617-661-7900)
4/14/95
DEC Intros StorageWorks TL810 Automated Tape Library
GENERAL
DEC Adds New Data Warehousing Co
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- DEC has announced a set of data warehousing systems integration and consulting services known as the Data Warehouse Awareness Advisory Architecture Service, and Pilot Implementation.
The Data Warehouse Awareness Advisory will consist of seminars typically presented on customer premises, designed to "demystify" data warehousing for users, explained Wayne Toye, DEC's TurboLaser marketing director, in a conference call with Newsbytes in Boston.
"We'll be talking to IT (information technology) and business executives about what a data warehouse really is, and how it might be useful. We'll also help them to develop a `vision' of what a data warehouse could be for their company," Toye noted.
The Data Warehouse Architecture Service will focus on how the customer will go about building a data warehouse, the executive continued.
Issues to be considered in this evaluation process include where the company's data resides, and what kinds of modeling, extraction copying, and decision support the customer will want to perform, he reported.
As its name strongly suggests, DEC's third program -- Data Warehousing Pilot Implementation -- is the actual implementation to be built around decisions reached during the evaluation phase.
Newsbytes asked Toye about the most common misconceptions concerning data warehousing. "A common misconception is that data warehousing means taking all the data out of operational systems and giving you access. But that's just data access, not data warehousing," he replied.
Instead, he said, data warehousing requires "looking at the totality of the data, both operational and historic, as well as the subject matters within that data, so that decision support tools and knowledge workers can get at the information they really need," Toye told Newsbytes.
If, for example, a company's business executives want to track customer buying behavior, "customer names" will be a more useful "subject matter" than purchase orders or part numbers, he illustrated.
Toye also told Newsbytes that, over the next 12 to 18 months, he foresees increased consolidation and partnering in the data warehousing industry, by other vendors as well as DEC.
DEC, he added, will also continue to provide the following consulting services for AlphaServer: Performance Analysis Service; Performance Optimiziation Service; Database Performance Analysis; Database Performance Tuning; I/O (input/output) Performance Analysis; VAX-to-Alpha Assessment Services; and Alpha Migration Service.
Also during the conference call, Dick Calandrella, a DEC spokesperson, mentioned to Newsbytes that Digital's newly announced AlphaServer 8200 is available in a rackmounted version for military and scientific applications and other "space-conscious" environments. The rackmounted edition, which is accessible through the back panel, is available now, he added.
Press Contact: Dick Calandrella, DEC, 508-496-8626)
4/14/95
DEC Adds New Data Warehousing Consulting Services
GENERAL
Newsbytes Daily Summary
*MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 14 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> France Selects NEC & Motorola For Shares Of Bull 04/14/95 France Telecom, in cooperation with the French Government, has announced that it has accepted tenders from NEC and Motorola to become equity shareholders in Groupe Bull. NEC, already a Bull shareholder, will increase its stake in Bull to 17 percent, while Motorola's stake in the company will be at least 10 percent, with an option to boost the share to 17 percent by the middle of 1997. France Telecom will consolidate its share to 17 percent, meanwhile.
2 -> Voice Recognition For Healthcare Mgmt 04/14/95 Denniston & Denniston, Inc., (DDI) announced it is now integrating voice recognition capabilities into its automated time and attendance system. Called "VoiceTACS (time and attendance collection system)," the system allows hospital staff to clock their activity via the spoken word.
3 -> PSINet's New Online Internet Service 04/14/95 Performance Systems International, Inc., (PSINet) said it has distributed more than 10,000 beta versions of its new "online Internet" service called "Pipeline USA." The beta version provides the consumer market with unlimited, free Internet access through May 31, 1995, the company said.
4 -> British Telecom Forms Italian Alliance 04/14/95 British Telecom (BT) has announced an alliance with Banca Nationale del Lavoro (BNL) an Italian bank that operates one of Italy's largest private telecoms networks. The alliance will see the creation of a joint venture known as Albacom, which will be 50.5 percent owned by BT, with the remaining 49.5 percent owned by BNL.
5 -> ****UK Police Raid "The Farm" BBS 04/14/95 Police have raided a Hertfordshire-based BBS known as "The Farm," and seized 20 computers plus thousands of floppy disks and CD-ROMs, Newsbytes has learned.
6 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/14/95 In this roundup of news from Japan Oki To Launch Machine Translation Via People Network; New Software From Microsoft Japan; Government On The Internet; Fujitsu's Ringowin Allows Easy Data Transfer; New Telephone Service Readies For Launch; KDD To Establish Asian Telecom Association; NEC Develop Internet Transmission Protocol.
7 -> America Online Opens New Call Center 04/14/95 Online service America Online (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER) seems to be adding content and special interest areas to its corner of cyberspace on an almost daily basis. Now, the company that claims to be the nation's largest and fastest growing online service is expanding physically, with the opening of a new call center in Jacksonville, Florida.
8 -> DEC Plans Memory Channel-Based Unix Clusters For Alpha 04/14/95 DEC plans to deliver a "third wave" of Unix clusters for Alpha, which will use the Memory Channel interconnect over the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. Slated to ship later this year, the new Memory Channel-based clusters will join two other Unix clusters for Alpha, according to Bob Price, a DEC spokesperson.
9 -> DEC's SCSI Clusters, OpenVMS 6.2, 2100/2000 Servers 04/14/95 DEC has unveiled a series of low-end to midrange SCSI (small computer systems interface)-based OpenVMS clusters, along with OpenVMS 6.2, an update that adds support for the new clusters as well as for DEC's new AlphaServer 8400, 8200, 2100 and 2000, VAX and VaxStation 4000 and MicroVAX 3100 systems.
10 -> European Commission Moves To Open Up Mobile Telecoms Market 04/14/95 The European Commission has announced plans to pass legislation that would make it illegal for any one company to exploit a monopoly position in the mobile telecoms market-place. The legislation, which will take effect from January 1, 1996, stems from the apparent "feet dragging" that many state telecoms companies are taking to previous suggestions that their telecoms markets -- and in particular the mobile telephony market -- should be open to free market competition by January 1, 1998.
11 -> Hungary - Pannon GSM's Ambitious Expansion Plans 04/14/95 After several month of being viewed as a poor underdog of Western GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular companies Pannon GSM has revealed that it should enter a period of profitability next year.
12 -> Kodak, Adaptive Solutions Puts Digital Pedal To The Metal 04/14/95 Photographers use the Eastman Kodak's (NYSE: EK) new digital cameras to capture images digitally and move them directly to a computer without ever exposing or developing a single frame of film. But the process of transferring those images to a Macintosh computer hasn't been particularly fast until Kodak teamed with Adaptive Solutions Inc., (NASDAQ: ADSO) to optimize an existing Adaptive accelerator board that works with Apple Computer's Macintosh and Adobe's Photoshop pre-press imaging software.
13 -> Aussie Flap Over Appt Of Microsoft Director 04/14/95 There are concerns in the Australian information technology community over an appointment to the Australian Multimedia Enterprise (AME), a body meant to promote multimedia development in Australia. The person in question is Daniel Petre, Microsoft's director of advanced technology.
14 -> Philips NV Sees India As Gateway For Asian Assault 04/14/95 At a time when several international information technology giants are coming in hordes to tap the vast potential of the Indian market Philips NV also has identified India as the vehicle to lead its invasion of the Asian market in the areas of television, sound systems, computer hardware, telecom and lighting. So far, Singapore has been the company's major outpost in Asia.
15 -> Philippines - Industry Showcase Set For June 04/14/95 t's just less than two months away before an ambitious information technology exposition, Unified National Information Technology Events in 1995 (UNITE `95), gets underway in Manila. The events are designed to showcase software and hardware talent in the Philippines.
16 -> Acer Now Seventh Largest PC Vendor 04/14/95 cer is now the world's seventh largest brand name PC vendor, according to data released this week to Newsbytes by International Data Corporation (IDC), a Boston-based computer market research firm.
17 -> Review - Yamaha YST-SS1010 Speaker System for Multimedia 04/14/95 Yamaha is now looking towards the growing multimedia field with its YST-SS1010 system. Consisting of a subwoofer and two satellite speakers, it comes ready to plug into a computer. Included are two adaptors to help out with cable matching.
18 -> ****Microsoft Profits Climb 04/14/95 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) earnings continue to climb as the software company reported net income of $396 million, or $0.63 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 1995 on sales of $1.59 billion.
19 -> Review of - Apple PowerBook Duo sub-notebook platform 04/14/95 From: Apple Computer Inc., 20525 Mariani Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014.
20 -> Online Pollution Trading In California 04/14/94 An electronic market for trading pollution rights in Southern California over the Internet began operations yesterday, with the giant regional utility Southern California Edison one of the early traders.
21 -> Wireless Industry Helps Out Secret Service 04/14/95 The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has given the US Secret Service some $50,000 worth of wireless testing equipment. The Secret Service is the primary law enforcement agency to investigate telephone and electronic fraud.
22 -> Windows-Based Video Production Software 04/14/95 This was the week that the National Association of Broadcasters gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada to see the latest and greatest products for their industry, and software developers were there in force to roll out their newest Windows-based video production software.
23 -> RBOCs Plan To Sell Bellcore 04/14/95 The seven regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) that provide local telephone service across the United States have announced that they plan to sell Bellcore, their shared software, consulting, and research operation. The sale is subject to necessary approvals and to obtaining satisfactory financial and other terms.
24 -> Shamrock, DEN Standards To Merge 04/14/95 The backers of two document management standards have agreed to join forces. They will merge the Document Enabled Networking (DEN) initiative with the Shamrock Document Management Coalition to form the Document Management Alliance (DMA).
25 -> DEC - 3 New VAXes, Continues VAX "Commitment" 04/14/95 With a trio of newly announced VAX systems, DEC aims to continue a "commitment to VAX" issued last fall, by offering 20 percent greater performance on the new systems for the same or lower pricing according to Vaughn Mackie, Digital's director of VAX products.
26 -> Personnel Roundup 04/14/95 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Quarterback Corp., Softworks Inc., Comsat Corp., Trident Microsystems Inc., Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. Texas Instruments, and Convex Computer Corp.
27 -> Newsbytes Week In Review 04/14/95 This is a regular feature reviewing major stories of the past week covered by Newsbytes: OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Against SATAN Security Prgm; Internet World - CompuServe's New Internet Rates; Poland - Warsaw Opens Subway 70 Years Late; DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun Mainframes; Compaq Says Packard Bell Sells Used Parts As New; Corel Paying Some Beta Testers; GEnie Launches Internet Access; Checkfree Enables Secure Internet Transactions; Microsoft Takes Stake In Wang, Firms Settle Dispute; Noted Writers Contemplate Technology; AMD Delays Pentium Rival; Internet World - Sun & Netscape To Work Together; Electronic Tax Filing Down; Internet World - Listen To The News On The Internet; UK Phone Code Change.
28 -> DEC Intros StorageWorks TL810 Automated Tape Library 04/14/95 DEC's newly rolled out StorageWorks TL810 Automated Tape Library (ATL) complements the company's higher capacity TL820 ATL by offering "affordable" tape storage for the department or data center, said John Celi, technology marketing manager for DEC's Storage Business Unit. Like the earlier TL820 ATL, the TL810 was jointly developed by DEC and ATL, with DEC contributing its tape technology, and ATL providing "highly robust robotics," Celi explained, during an interview with Newsbytes.
29 -> DEC Adds New Data Warehousing Consulting Services 04/14/95 DEC has announced a set of data warehousing systems integration and consulting services known as the Data Warehouse Awareness Advisory Architecture Service, and Pilot Implementation.
(Wendy Woods/19950414)
(Wendy Woods/19950414)
4/14/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
+P+|+^+
ADI Warns Of Upcoming Monitor Sh
BOREHAMWOOD, HERTS, U.K., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- ADI, which claims to be one of the world's largest computer monitor manufacturers, has warned about a looming shortage of cathode ray tubes (CRT) stocks, as well as a probable price rise that will hit the global computer industry this summer.
Alan Jai, ADI's sales and marketing director for the UK, explained that supplies of 14- and 15-inch monitors -- which are supplied as a standard feature with most computer systems on both sides of the Atlantic -- are going to be the most affected by the shortage.
"There is no single identifiable reason for the impending problems," he said, adding that the problems come down to the fact that a series of otherwise unrelated events "have occurred at almost the same time to create a very difficult situation for monitor makers.
"First, worldwide demand for 15-inch monitors has taken everyone by surprise. The trouble is that Japanese manufacturers are still in the process of moving 15-inch CRT production offshore in order to benefit from lower costs," he said.
"Neither the Japanese-based factories, nor their new overseas plants can make enough 15-inch CRTs to keep up with demand. The resulting shortages are having a knock-on effect on 14- and 17- inch tubes as well," he added.
Another factor is the Kobe earthquake earlier this year. "While everyone was predicting earlier this year that the Kobe earthquake would have a bad effect on monitor production, that hasn't happened. Manufacturing escaped relatively unscathed from the quake," Jai said.
Despite this, he continued, a significant proportion of monitor stocks in Japan were destroyed by the earthquake. "That certainly hasn't helped," he said.
"Then there's the unprecedented weakness of the dollar against the yen and other south-east Asian currencies. That means that all raw material costs for monitors have gone up. Monitor makers have had little option but to swallow price increases of around 10 percent. With supply shortfalls and higher production costs occurring right now, we're bound to see price rises this summer," he explained.
(Steve Gold/19950414/Press Contact: David Bridson, tel +55-1295 811009, fax +44-1295-811160; Reader Contact: ADI Systems tel +44-181-236-0801, fax +44-181-207-3842)
l +44-181-236-0801, fax +44-181-207-3842)
4/17/95
ADI Warns Of Upcoming Monitor Shortages
TRENDS
UK Homes Spend More On PCs Than
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- It's now official -- the Brits are computer crazy. According to research published by GfK Marketing Services, British households spent more on computer equipment for the home than on any other consumer durable during 1994.
According to GfK's figures, over one million home computers were sold in the year to December, 1994, which represents a total market worth UKP827 million. This compares with UKP644 million for large screen televisions, UKP587 million for VCRs, and UKP508 million for audio systems.
Martin New, information technology (IT) specialist with GfK, explained that the majority of new machines bought were high-specification systems, with 61 percent of all new machines bought equipped with CD-ROM drives. The average purchase price logged by GfK for a new computer was just over UKP1,000.
"The price of new machines still seems to be too high for the average British family," he commented, adding that "this is why a growing number of people buy their first computer second-hand."
Second-hand computer sales in the UK, as recorded by GfK's research grew from 28 percent of the home computer market in December, 1993 to 41 percent in December, 1994, and the average purchase price for a second-hand machine was just under the UKP250 mark.
So how did GfK arrive at these conclusions? According to the market research company, its quarterly "Computers in the Home" ownership monitor is derived from two sources.
The first source of information is GfK's quarterly "Home Audit," in which a rolling sample of 25,000 households in Great Britain reports on purchases and rentals of consumer durables.
GfK also conducts an annual ownership study of 10,000 homes throughout the UK, to give the installed base of computers and printers. This forms the second source of information for the company.
GfK Marketing Services is the UK subsidiary of GfK Holding AG based in Nurnberg, Germany. The group has around 2,500 staff around Europe and claims to be Europe's second-largest market information company, and the leader in the consumer durables area.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950414/Press Contact: Roger Staton Associates 44-1628-487222, Internet e-mail rstaton@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: GfK Marketing Services, +44-1932-354911)
ontact: GfK Marketing Services, +44-1932-354911)
4/17/95
UK Homes Spend More On PCs Than Other Durables
TRENDS
Quantum Plugs Into World Wide We
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Quantum Corporation has joined the growing list of companies opening its own server on the Internet's World Wide Web. According to the company, the new site provides "up to the minute information of interest to customers, investors, analysts, the press, and computer users at large."
Announcing the opening of the Web site at http://www.quantum.com William Miller, the company's chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), said that rapid advances in storage technology have allowed the electronic age, and in particular, the World Wide Web, to flourish.
"In fact, storage products are one of the key building blocks of cyberspace -- we provide the 'parking lots' on the information superhighway which make it possible for computer users to create and capture the data, images and sounds that are at the heart of the information revolution," he explained.
To encourage Internet users to access its Web site, Quantum is giving away hard disk drives. All the company asks is that "Net" users "surf" into Quantum's Web site and register their details to be entered into the prize draw.
(Steve Gold/19950414/Press Contact: Maria Heavey, Shandwick Communications, +44-171-835-1001)
k Communications, +44-171-835-1001)
4/17/95
Quantum Plugs Into World Wide Web
ONLINE
Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 F
Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Fre
Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC
UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem R
UK - PCN Networks Competing Head
UUNET To Go Public
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled
IBM Plans Global Network in Indi
Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open M
Burst Memory Gaining Popularity
UK - Firms Dissatisfied With Int
Israel - Smart Networking Upgrad
More On PictureTel's Videoconfer
Gupta Establishes Asian HQ, Chin
SMTP To Dominate Fortune 1,000 M
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) backbones will replace the current hodgepodge of local area network (LAN) and host electronic-mail systems in large companies, according to Forrester Research Inc. Forrester made the prediction in a report entitled "Scaling Mail," part of its Computing Strategy Service.
According to Forrester, SMTP will unify internal mail systems simplify connection to the Internet, and help solve some of the problems associated with expanding e-mail. SMTP, and not the international X.400 mail protocol, will fill this role because it is the lingua franca of the Internet and because the complex X.400 protocol has never caught on widely in the United States Forrester maintained.
Not only will internal use of SMTP make connections to the Internet easier, said the Forrester report, but it also supports attachments such as documents and spreadsheets and an e-mail security feature called "privacy-enhanced mail."
Forrester predicts that by next year, the major vendors of electronic-mail for LANs -- Lotus Development Corp., Microsoft and Novell Inc. -- will include native support for SMTP in their mail products.
The report goes on to say that once all three major mail vendors move to the SMTP protocol, they will have to find other ways to differentiate their products. They will do so through features such as cross-platform directory synchronization and management which are major issues for mail users struggling to deploy and support enterprise-wide mail. Comparing these capabilities in current releases of the major e-mail packages, Forrester says Microsoft makes the weakest showing.
Wider adoption of SMTP will also help speed up the move away from e-mail systems based on mainframe computers, Forrester said because it will solve many of the problems companies have run into in trying to move from mainframe to LAN-based mail systems.
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- "The Macintosh Product Registry" and the "World of Macintosh Multimedia" publications will be combined into one offering, according to Redgate Communications Corp. The new publication, called "Macintosh Multimedia and Product Registry," will debut with the July/August/September issue on July 1.
"We feel this is the most comprehensive book on the market because it brings multimedia and non-multimedia products under one roof," Kevin Fallon, vice president of publishing for Redgate, told Newsbytes. He called the new publication "one-stop shopping" for people interested in Macintosh products, and he said it also offers readers a more cost effective alternative than buying two separate magazines.
The Multimedia and Product Registry will be available in magazine and online versions on a quarterly basis. The magazine will cost $14.95 per issue, while the online offering can be accessed via America Online, PressLink, and Apple Computer's eWorld. A CD-ROM version of the publication will be offered twice a year, Fallon said. Also, the company plans to provide Internet access to the new publication in conjunction with its launch.
Fallon said Macintosh Multimedia and Product Registry contains a complete multimedia section with editorials, product reviews, and multimedia case histories. A section for Redgate's directory of non multimedia, Macintosh-related products and reviews will also be provided, although it will be separate from the multimedia area. More product reviews and editorials will appear in the combined edition than the separate publications, he said.
Advertisers can buy expanded listings in the Registry, Fallon said. More detailed content, screen shots, and logos can be added to a company's listing, he said. Also, companies can be put on Redgate's fax-on-demand system, where readers can call an 800 number to retrieve more information on a particular company, Fallon said. The Registry will also have display advertising.
Fallon said he is not worried about combining two publications into one from a profit perspective. "We feel it will be a more powerful product, and we feel we'll sell more units by combining them and probably attract more advertising by putting everything under one roof."
(Bob Woods/19950414/Press Contact: Scott Freeland, Redgate Communications, 407-231-6904, Internet e-mail free@redgate.com; Public Contact: Redgate Communications, 407-231-6904, Internet e-mail kevin_fallon@qm.redgate.com, America Online keyword: Redgate)
on@qm.redgate.com, America Online keyword: Redgate)
4/17/95
Macintosh Multimedia & Product Registry Intro'd
APPLE
Novell NetWare Services For Unix
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has announced NetWare NFS Services 2.1 - NetWare 4 Edition, a product that provides users with "transparent" file, print and resource sharing between NetWare 4 and the Unix operating system. The software provides network managers the ability to administer user accounts across both environments from a single point.
Novell said NetWare NFS Services run as a set of NetWare Loadable Modules (NLMs) on NetWare 4.1 servers and need no additional hardware or software on the Unix system.
The company said it designed version 2.1 specifically for NetWare 4 and adds full integration with Novell's NetWare Directory Services (NDS), full Domain Name System (DNS) and Network Information Service (NIS) support, in addition to the centralized management capability. The single-point administration is accomplished through use of Novell's Unicon utility. An estimated 29 percent of the nation's NetWare sites also have Unix installed.
The bi-directional resource access provided by the NetWare NFS NLM allows Unix clients access to files on NetWare 4 servers just as they would on any other NFS server. Similarly, NetWare clients have transparent access to NFS servers. Novell said remote NFS file systems appear as NetWare volumes to NetWare clients, using NetWare NFS Services.
Remote NetWare 4 server management is also provided, with users able to administer NetWare 4 servers remotely from X Window VT100 or VT220 terminals.
Novell also announced it is bundling two previously independent Unix-to-NetWare 3 products -- NetWare NFS 1.2C and NetWare NFS Gateway 1.2. Called "the Bundle for NetWare 3," the combined package reduces, from as much as $18,000 down to $3,995, a server license.
Also being released is NetWare Unix Print Services 2.1 - NetWare 4 Edition, a bi-directional printing utility that gives both NetWare and Unix users access to a common set of printers and print services. The print NLM lets Unix users spool their print jobs to any NetWare printer via Unix "lpr" commands, while also allowing NetWare users to print to Unix-attached printers using the NetWare commands.
The module also included File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software and remote NetWare server management capabilities via Novell's XConsole utility.
Novell spokesperson Gabrielle Capoluto told Newsbytes that NetWare NFS Services 2.1 - NetWare 4 Edition is scheduled to ship next week with a suggested list price of $3,995 per server license. NetWare Unix Print Services 2.1 - NetWare 4 Edition, with a $995 price tag, is also scheduled to ship next week, said Capoluto.
(Jim Mallory/19950414/Press contact: Rick Myllenbeck, Novell 408-577-8206)
k Myllenbeck, Novell 408-577-8206)
4/17/95
Novell NetWare Services For Unix
NETWORK
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: Fujitsu Pretax Earnings Double; Company Director Accused Of Porn Transmission; Fujitsu To Source More Parts From Asia; Softbank Brings Comdex To An Internet Terminal Near You; Oki Adopts Merit-Based Pay System.
Fujitsu Pretax Earnings Double
Pretax earnings at Fujitsu, the worlds second largest computer manufacturer, have doubled in the last financial year. The earnings helped by good sales in their semiconductor business, reached 60 billion yen ($714 million). The strong yen hit the export side of the business with earnings of 30 billion yen ($357 million), a big short fall from the target figure of 70 billion yen. The company also announced losses of four billion yen ($47 million) due to the great Hanshin earthquake.
Company Director Accused Of Porn Transmission
In the first case of its kind in Japan, a company president has been arrested for transmission of obscene pictures using a personal computer. The man was identified by the Yomiuri Shimbun as Masahiro Otake, the 32 year old president of Lucky Point Co, a computer information company based in Kawaguchi, Saitama prefecture. Allegedly Otake's network counted 1,000 subscribers who each paid 30 yen per minute to gain access to his seven computers via a bank of 14 modems. Last year the company made a profit of 7.6 million yen ($90,476) whilst sending over 20,000 copies of the pictures according to the arrested man.
Fujitsu To Source More Parts From Asia
Fujitsu has announced a new office in Hong Kong, to be opened in June that will buy more computer parts from China and Hong Kong. The new office joins several similar centers worldwide. The company already has overseas purchasing offices in Singapore and Taiwan. A new office in San Jose, California, is set to procure parts from North America and Europe when it opens in May. The move is partly to safeguard Fujitsu against price rises caused by the soaring yen which has had a bad effect on many Japanese companies. In the last financial year Fujitsu used 12% foreign parts and hopes to increase this to 17% in the current fiscal year.
Softbank Brings Comdex To An Internet Terminal Near You
Japanese publishing and exhibitions company Softbank has announced a service that will put every new product announcement onto the Internet at a special "Virtual Comdex" available to users of the network worldwide. The information will be presented and indexed by company or subject and, according to Softbank, will feature three-dimensional graphics that "actually make you feel as if you were there."
Oki Adopts Merit-Based Pay System
Oki Electric has announced an end to seniority bonuses, opting instead for performance-related bonuses. The changes, which will be brought in for all its 19,800 employees in financial year 1996, will mean a reduction in regular pay increases with the saved money being put into the merit-based system. Currently 82% of an employee's salary is increased each year with just 15% subject to a performance based increase. The new scheme will mean that half an employee's annual wage is subject to merit-based increases.
(Martyn Williams/19950516)
Williams/19950516)
4/17/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
China - Compaq To Promote New PC
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Compaq has announced that a news conference will be held on April 26 at the Beijing Kemtinski Hotel to introduce its product lines. In addition, presentations will be given during the conference.
Compaq's high-profile, one-page announcement was published in a popular newspaper, Beijing Evenings. The products to be displayed will include the Presario PC line, the ProLinea and Deskpro PCs, and the Contura 410 and LTE Elite portables. Compaq's ProSignia and ProLiant servers will also be exhibited.
Compaq will also present its business expansion plan, including its close cooperation with Microsoft. The presentations will also discuss trends in computer hardware and software development.
Compaq declined to name the speakers, but said they will be "authoritative" Chinese or foreign persons. In the announcement Compaq also said that it has been making a "great effort" to promote computer education and popularize computer applications in China
In recent years, Compaq has been the computer sales leader in China. Although the price of Compaq computers is higher than those of other brands, the high quality and good after-sales service make its products attractive.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950414)
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950414)
4/17/95
China - Compaq To Promote New PCs
GENERAL
Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective
Seybold - Graphic Designers Grap
Apple Makes Organizational Chang
US Customs Seizes 4,000 Network
Sony Intros 4x Recordable CD Dis
Germany - Nortel Unveils Mini-GS
Philippines - IBM To Offer Inter
India - Fidelio Plans R&D Center
Philippines - Industry Showcase
AT&T Intros 2 Multimedia PCs
CD-ROM Offers At-Home IQ Testing
Online Marketplace '95 - Shoppin
India - Silicon Graphics Highlig
Apple & UDA Demystify the Intern
Sneak Preview Of Simply Village,
France's Pallas Takes 25% Of Ger
Philippines - IBM Plans Unix Con
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 1995 APR 17 (NB) - IBM will hold POWERtech '95, the first Unix technology conference to be held in Manila, on April 24.
The conference, claimed to be the "first-of-its-kind" by IBM will also be held in other major ASEAN cities including Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Bangkok.
Speakers from Asia Pacific, the US, and the UK will share their experiences with Manila-based users and information technology professionals in making Unix technology work for businesses from the perspectives of increased productivity, improved cost, and enhanced competitiveness.
POWERtech '95 will also provide input and updates on the various Unix technology components which integrate users' business applications in providing a "complete" open environment for the enterprise. It will also provide insights into the past present and future of Unix technologies from IBM, said the firm.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Australian computer products distributor Sourceware has released a new way to connect to the Internet. By using a digital wireless modem, users can have access to the Internet wherever they are from their notebook PC.
The hardware is a Motorola Personal Messenger PM100D modem which retails for around AUS$1,000 (around US$730) in Australia. This plugs into the user's notebook PC, connecting it to Telecom's Mobile Data network. The last link in the chain is the Internet service provider OzEmail which, not only provides Internet access, but other online services such as fax delivery.
Sourceware Managing Director Moheb Moses told Newsbytes the OzEmail service offered the extra services that users needed. These include MCI Mail, CompuServe mail, file transfer (as mail attachments) and local area network (LAN) access. "We sell everything the user needs except the PC. Our dealers all specialize in different brands of these so there's not point us selling another brand."
He said that most networks were able to be set-up to accept a remotely connected user as if they were wired to the network. "If an electronic-mail message comes through for the user, the system sends it as a quick burst of data, and that's all the user pays for. Their notebook beeps to say there is a new message to read, and all its cost is a few seconds of system time to transfer the message. Gone are the days when the user has to keep logging on to see if there are any new messages waiting."
OzEmail is Australia's largest Internet service provider, offering Telnet, FTP (File Transfer Protocol, Gopher, and World Wide Web access. Telecom's Mobile Data Network is a digital packet data network similar to the cellular phone network. It is compatible with other digital data networks throughout Europe and Asia, but not those in North America.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A.,1995 APRIL 17 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
JPEG files are larger in size, PICT files are designed as thumbnails for onscreen viewing.
The photos are titled with name/year/month/day. Pict/thumbnail pictures are now black and white (that is gray scale). File message will indicate color if the JPEG image is color. This will reduce file size and streamline transfers.
Some of the larger "for use" images, may also be pict files. To distinguish these files from the thumbnail preview pict images the tag for the color "for use" image will have PICT, all caps. The thumbnail will remain noted as "pct."
To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 (US) or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of APRIL 17 - APRIL 21,1995
YAMAHA950414 - color / Review - Yamaha YST-SS1010 Speaker System for Multimedia: the speakers.
FLAMES950324 - color / Flame Away On The Flames Web Site: logo for the web site.
ALPS950330 - color / ALPS' New PC Pointing Device: the unit.
MCGILL950406 - b&w / Canadian Multimedia Firms Merge: Steven Koskie, director of marketing for McGill Multimedia
ATLAS950329 - color / Microsoft Trip Planning Software Hits The Road: screen shot of Lake Tahoe CA area.
BOOKSHLF950329 - color / Microsoft Ships Bookshelf 95: screen shot of elephant and text.
PERFECT950404 - color / Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 For Windows: screen shot of PerfectWorks with some graphics.
LAPLINK950404 - color / Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs For Remote Support: screen shot with LapLink graphics.
XBAND950331 - color / Catapult To Expand National Game Network To PCs: screen shot of game character matchup.
CINEMAR950403 - color / Multimedia Software Teaches Presentation Techniques: nice screen shot of virtual environment.
CAERE950331 - color / Caere Increases OCR Accuracy By 40%: screen shot using text from Jane's Armour & Artillery.
EZSPOOLR950322 - color / Easyspooler A Print Manager, Spooler For Unix: software logo/art.
C/NET950327 - color / Simpson Murder Reconstructed By Computer: great rendition of entry gate with Nicole and male. C/Net logo lower left.
CREATIVE950327 - color / Creative Technologies In Modem Phone Business: shot of software package.
SMHOUSE950324 - b&w / Bell Atlantic's Hi-Tech "Smart House": kids around keyboard with monitors in background.
PHOTONICS950322 - color / Photonics Intros Wireless GameNet For Macs: product shot of the retail package.
KBOARD950324 - color / More Input Devices For Kids: shot of the keyboard.
(Newsbytes/199500421)
f the keyboard.
(Newsbytes/199500421)
4/17/95
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
Canadian Product Launch Update
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 17 (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: Apple's new Workgroup Servers, and Lotus Development's ScreenCam Release 2.0, Phone Notes Application Kit 2.0, and cc:Mail upgrades.
Apple Canada Inc., of Markham, Ontario, announced three new Workgroup Servers (Newsbytes April 11). The new Workgroup Servers 6150/66, 8150/110, and 9150/120 were due to be available from Apple Canada dealers by mid-April, the company said. Prices range from C$4,549 to C$12,049. Upgrade kits for the Workgroup Server 8150 and 9150, including a higher-speed logic board, System 7.5.1, Apple RAID Software 1.0.2, and other components, are due to be available in May.
Lotus Development Canada Ltd., based in Toronto, announced Release 2.0 of ScreenCam for Windows (Newsbytes, Apr. 11), its sales, training, and publishing software. Available immediately ScreenCam for Windows 2.0 has an estimated Canadian retail price of C$135. Canadians as well as Americans can also order the software from Lotus' site on the World Wide Web, at http://www.lotus.com, for US$79 for 60 days.
Lotus Canada also launched Release 2.0 of its Phone Notes Application Kit (Newsbytes, Apr. 12). This software is available now for an estimated Canadian retail price of C$829, while the estimated retail price for upgrades is C$259.
Finally, Lotus upgraded the desktop and remote editions of its cc:Mail electronic-mail software (Newsbytes, Apr. 13), adding more than 150 new viewers to let users view and print files, plus other changes. The upgrades are available now, with retail prices expected to be C$95 for the desktop edition and C$189 for the mobile software.
(Grant Buckler/19950416/Press Contact: Linda Grant or Susan Taylor, Apple Canada, 905-477-5800, Internet e-mail s.taylor@eworld.com; Marsha Connor, Lotus Canada, 416-364-8000)
nor, Lotus Canada, 416-364-8000)
4/17/95
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
From DirecTV To DirecPC
GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- The folks who helped bring us DirecTV -- the small, affordable satellite dish that picks up digital TV signals from the air -- are now offering DirecPC -- a small, "affordable" satellite dish that picks up digital signals from the air on personal computers.
Hughes Network Systems is now offering the product on a commercial basis, after testing at 35 customer sites.
Hughes says CNN, Reuters, and Data Broadcasting will offer news sports and stock information as part of a "basic access" content package, at $15.95 per month. The basic service also includes a "turbo Internet" application so subscribers can receive up to 30 megabytes of Internet documents at high speed.
"The audience of the World Wide Web is growing, and an increasing number of people are using Web browsers for low-speed requests," says Jack Malone of DirecPC. But the wait times for large files such as multimedia and video are very long at modem speeds. Turbo Internet customers are able to retrieve information from the Internet at speeds of up to 400 (kilobytes per second)."
The difference can be a file that downloads over a 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) modem in a hour coming across in 90 seconds on DirecPC, says Hughes.
Hughes spokeswoman Judy Blake told Newsbytes that an Internet user would continue to browse the usual phoneline connection. "But when you request a download of a file, our system can intercept that request and get your file via satellite," she said.
Hughes was offering a special introductory package at the recent Internet World trade show in San Jose, Calif., for $999, which included 130 megabytes of Internet download usage for $40 per month.
The DirecPC access kit consists of a 24-inch satellite receiver a 16-bit ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) adapter card and Windows-based software. Hughes says the system can be installed by the user or professionally installed by Hughes personnel.
Hughes Network Systems is a business unit of Hughes Electronics a General Motors (NYSE: GM) subsidiary that has been in satellite and digital communications, mostly as a defense contractor, for some 20 years.
According to Blake, Hughes did some of the development for the RCA DirecTV product that has taken the market by storm in the past year. "We developed one of the cards in the controller box in the house," she said. "And then we modified that for DirecPC."
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- The Software Publishers Association has joined with the Electronic Industries Association to sponsor a major consumer electronics show in Orlando next month. "CES Orlando...The Digital Destination," scheduled for May 23-25, will focus on retailing of new digital consumer products, as many new products are timed to hit the mainstream market in the fourth quarter to tap into holiday buying.
"When EIA approached us with the idea of CES Orlando, we jumped at the chance to help create a trade show that fills an important void for our customers," said Ken Wasch, executive director of SPA. "The SPA has long recognized the need to support the retail side of the electronics industry." Wasch said SPA's board backed the EIA show unanimously.
EIA's consumer electronics group owns, manages and sponsors several industry trade shows.
The Orlando show, headquartered at the Orange County Convention Center, will display interactive television, online services multimedia, cable, satellite, home office hardware and software home automation productions, digital video and audio hardware and communications hardware, software, and services. The show will also have conference sessions covering new digital technology and display and merchandising strategies.
"This show is expected to deliver a complete view of what will emerge as the hot products, technologies, platforms and content from the premier players in the world of digital entertainment education and information," says Richard Scarfo, show manager for EIA.
EIA has also struck a deal with Disney and will be collaborating with the entertainment giant and its local theme park on several special events and attractions, says EIA.
EIA, based in Arlington, Va., is the Washington trade group for the electronics manufacturing industry. Its consumer electronics group represents US manufacturers of audio, video, home office mobile electronics and multimedia products and accessories.
EXTON, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Accent Software International Limited will introduce Accent Professional 2.0 next week. The new version of the word processing program adds bi-directional Arabic and Hebrew to the 31 languages supported in the initial version of the program.
Other new features of Accent Pro 2.0 include: Arabic and Hebrew keyboard maps, interfaces and fonts; Hungarian and Danish interfaces; more than 70 additional fonts; and expanded column table, and section capabilities.
Accent has increased the number of languages in which "balloon help" is available to 19, and added a globe icon for menu language selection. Users also get the ability to send and receive faxes and keep track of appointments, addresses and phone numbers with the inclusion of Winfax Lite and Lotus Organizer.
What makes Accent Pro unique is its ability to instantly switch to any of the 19 supported languages by clicking on the appropriate country flag, claims the company. When the user selects a language program features such as menus, dialog boxes, keyboard layout fonts and the thesaurus and spelling checker automatically switch to the selected language.
With the addition of Arabic and Hebrew the user who writes in those languages will be able to select right to left or left to right typing. The company said the new release also handles complexities of Arabic, including contextual analysis, kashida ligatures, and diacritics.
Contextual analysis is the selection of the correct letter shape depending on whether the letter stands alone or appears at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Accent said the new software automatically makes the correct shape selection.
Kashida is the process of justifying text in Arabic by adding width to the characters in order to stretch out the text. Accent said version 2.0 automatically performs that function in single or mixed-text lines, and uses spaces to justify the text in non-Arabic lines.
Ligatures are a combination of two or three Arabic characters into one shape. Accent Pro 2.0 supports 61 Arabic ligatures in its Traditional Arabic font, forming them automatically when the component characters are typed in succession by the user. If the user deletes one character the remaining ones revert to the correct shape according to context.
Diacritics are vowel or accent marks which appear above or below the letter. The company said Accent Pro 2.0 automatically positions the diacritic correctly in relation to the Arabic letter then kerns it vertically if necessary. Kerning is the process of proportionately spacing letters.
Accent spokesperson Alan Weinkrantz told Newsbytes the program will be available for use by journalists covering the Spring Comdex computer trade show which opens in Atlanta next week. The earlier version of the program was available to journalists covering the 1994 Fall Comdex trade show in Las Vegas and Cebit 94 and 95 in Hanover, Germany.
Accent Pro 2.0 will run on any language version of Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later running on at least a 386-based PC with a minimum of four megabytes (MB) of memory and at least 6MB of available disk space.
Accent Pro has a suggested list price of $399. The company also publishes Dagesh2, a Hebrew word processor for Windows for $229, and Dagesh Lite, a basic Hebrew word processor for Windows priced at $49.
(Jim Mallory/19950417/Press contact: Alan Weinkrantz for Accent Software International, 210-820-3070; Public contact: Accent Software International, tel 800-535-5256 in the US or 011-972-2-793-723 ext 212 outside the US/ACCENT950417/PHOTO)
23 ext 212 outside the US/ACCENT950417/PHOTO)
4/17/95
Accent Adds Arabic/Hebrew To Word Processor
WINDOWS
Tektronix Upgrades PhaserShare P
WILSONVILLE, OREGON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Tektronix Inc. (NYSE: TEK) has announced Phasershare 2.1, an upgrade to its network printer management hardware-software combination for managing and monitoring the company's Phasershare card-equipped color printers.
The hardware part of Phasershare consists of multi-protocol cards that can automatically switch ports and protocols. Phasershare supports Novell NetWare, EtherTalk, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and TokenTalk networks, and the company offers a LocalTalk option.
Phasershare works with Tektronix' Phaser 540 and 340 workgroup color printers. The Phaser 540 is a 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) color laser printer for use in large workgroups, while the 340 is the company's newest office color printer. The 340 can produce color output at four pages-per-minute (ppm) on plain paper.
Phasershare can provide a network administrator with information about the kind of media in the paper trays, ink and toner levels interpreters or filters selected, notification of critical error states, print job user identification, and print queue status. The remote management software provided with Phasershare allows the administrator to install printer drivers and otherwise configure a printer. Phasershare can also provide job accounting information.
The Phasershare card for an Ethernet network has a suggested retail price of $595. The Token Ring version sells for $895, and the Local Talk edition is priced at $245.
The company said users of Phasershare 2.0 and earlier versions will receive a free software upgrade. PhaserShare 2.1 is scheduled to ship May 1.
(Jim Mallory/19950417/Press contact: Jennifer Jones, Tektronix 503-685-3150; Public contact: Tektronix, tel 503-682-7377, fax 503-682-7377, Internet World Wide Web http://www.tek.com/CPID)
rnet World Wide Web http://www.tek.com/CPID)
4/17/95
Tektronix Upgrades PhaserShare Printer Mgt
Quantum Intros Atlas II/Empire I
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Quantum has rolled out 9.1 gigabyte (GB), 4.1GB, and 2.1GB 3.5-inch hard disk drives that are being billed as the first duo of simultaneously introduced high-end and mid-range disk drive families to offer exactly the same storage capacities.
The new Quantum Atlas II and Empire II disk drives are set apart by price and performance, instead of the conventional criterion of capacity, explained John Toors, product line manager for Empire II during a briefing for Newsbytes in Boston.
Atlas II, a family of 9.1GB, 4.1 GB, and 2.1 GB drives that operate at 7,800 revolutions-per-minute (rpm), is aimed at superservers and video and database servers and high-end RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) subsystems, as well as at single-user technical and "career-critical" applications, according to Toors.
The Empire II series of 9.1GB, 4.1GB, and 2.1 GB drives, which run at 5,400 rpm and cost about 15 percent less, are tailored to server applications on smaller local area networks (LANs), in addition to single-user applications on PCs and workstations.
"We believe there's a strong market for drives that operate at 5,400 rpm, and are priced a little lower, but there is also huge demand for drives that are the fastest you can possibly get," Toors told Newsbytes.
Quantum's Atlas II and Empire II drives were also designed with connectivity and throughput in mind, Toors indicated. "We're seeing very different demands on high-end drives today as opposed to even a few years ago," he recalled.
"It's easy to think of situations today where guys are putting 70 or even 80 drives together in a single storage cabinet. When you've got that kind of investment tied up in a box, you certainly don't want to be wasting time. So we've done a number of things inside the box to raise throughput," added the product line manager.
The two new families of drives are also the first from Quantum to provide ultra small computer systems interface (SCSI), and the Atlas II drives are the first from the company to come with a fiber channel (FC) interface, according to Toors.
"For the smaller servers, we'll have ultra SCSI, which is capable of 40 megabytes-per-second (MBps), and for the larger servers we'll have fiber channel, running at up to 200 Mbps," Newsbytes was told. The high-end Atlas drives will provide differential SCSI, as well.
Like all Quantum drives, Atlas II and Empire II also use embedded servo technology for "continuous throughput. Maintained Toors: "Basically, there's never a need to go offline to do any kind of recalibration."
The new Atlas series provides extra features for added throughput noted the Quantum exec. "For real `power users,' the fact that we've pushed to below 7.9 milliseconds (ms) in seek-time provides improved random throughput, and our new read channel with a top-end at 110 MBps reaches new heights in sequential throughput. So we've pretty much bracketed the needs of the high-end marketplace," he added.
The Atlas drives also provide a "very robust" 198-bit error correction code. "To the user, this means two things. First, of course, we can correct more errors. But there's another point that's a little more subtle: the ability to perform error correction "on-the-fly" -- that is, in real time, without any interruptions."
Video applications are one area in which on-the-fly error correction is especially important, he said. "People producing video applications have said to us, "`What we really need is continuous availability of data.'"
For most users though, sequential throughput is the most meaningful statistic, according to Toors. "If you're reading large files off your disk, what you really care about is how quickly a file gets back into your processor," he illustrated.
The mid-range Empire II drives "excel" in sequential throughput with a 90 MBps read channel that is faster than the read channel in any previous Quantum drive, said Toors. "And with an 8.9 ms seek time, (the Empire II drives) have plenty of random throughput for any end user application," he contended.
The Empire II drives, he added, are the first from any vendor aside from IBM to combine partial response-maximum likelihood (PRML) with magneto-resistive (MR) head technology.
Quantum first unveiled products featuring PRML two years ago according to the product line manager. The company debuted its first drives with MR heads at the start of this year, after acquiring Rocky Mountain Magnetics Inc. last October as part of Quantum's purchase of part of DEC's storage business.
The Empire II drives use single-chip PRML, for lower cost and less power consumption than Quantum's earlier two-chip implementation he said. MR head technology is also used in the Atlas II drives. PRML and MR head technology are both designed to improve areal density, for packing greater capacity into the disk.
The Empire II and Atlas II drives each feature a mean-time-between failure (MBTF) rating of 1,000,000 hours, Toors reported. In addition, each series offers Quantum's SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Recording Technology) for monitoring drives' performance on servers, networks, and disk arrays through diagnostics at the host level.
Volume production of the Atlas II and Empire II drives is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 1995, with evaluation units available in the third quarter. The new FC-AL interface is expected to be available for the Atlas II drives in the first quarter of next year.
Single-unit original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pricing for Quantum's new Atlas II drives is $2,995 for a 9.1GB drive, $1,795 for a 4.3GB drive, and $1,195 for a 2.1GB drive. For the Empire II drives, single-user OEM pricing is $2,495 for a 9.1GB drive, $1,495 for a 4.3GB drive, and $995 for a 2.1GB drive.
; Hi-Tech Communications for Quantum, 415-904-7000)
4/17/95
Quantum Intros Atlas II/Empire II Multi-GB Drives
GENERAL
Norman & Thunderbyte Team Up On
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- "The virus writers help each other, but the vendors traditionally have not helped each other," reported David Stang, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Norman Data Defense Systems Inc., in a conference call with Newsbytes concerning a deal between Norman and Thunderbyte to team up on a "new generation" of anti-virus products.
Under the deal, Norman Data, itself a major producer of anti-viral software, has acquired the rights to the Thunderbyte Anti-Virus (TBAV) products, and has also signed a long-term co-development pact with Thunderbyte.
Together, the two vendors' products are used by some 2.3 million individuals worldwide, a number that represents the fifth or sixth largest installed customer base in the anti-virus market, said J. Arthur Olafsen, president and CEO of Norman Data Defense Systems Holding AS, also during the conference call with Newsbytes in Boston.
"Through this union, we are forming one of the largest R&D (research and development) groups in the world for combating viruses," Olafsen told Newsbytes.
But the agreement will not result in any changes in the product line-up, staffing, general operations, or distribution channels of either company, Olafsen added. Norman is based in North America Norway, and Germany, with additional operations in Malaysia and Australia, whereas Thunderbyte is headquartered in the Netherlands he noted. Norman Data Defense Systems Inc. is Norman's North American arm.
Norman and Thunderbyte each target private industry as well as government organizations, the CEO explained. But where Thunderbyte sells only through distributors out of its headquarters in the Netherlands, Norman's sales are primarily direct, with the exception of some distributors in Europe.
"Aside from tighter cooperation between the two companies' development teams, everything will remain intact. We will continue to offer the same brand names through our existing channels. But by pulling our R&D resources together, we will not analyze the same virus twice. This will mean improvements on both sides when it comes to the scanner engine and the removal engine," Olafsen contended.
Agreed Stang: "We are setting a precedent in helping each other to keep up with the growing threat of viruses, and in helping our users as a result."
New computer viruses are now being written at such a rapid rate that the number of viruses in the world is doubling every eight and-a-half months, according to the Norman exec.
"In today's computer market, a virus written anywhere becomes a worldwide problem immediately. The benefit of being so multinational is that a virus received from any of our sources in the various countries in which we operate will get to our developers immediately. So we will have an `answer' to the user's problem before the user even has a problem," he asserted.
Corporations and government agencies throughout the world tend to be light on help desk staff and heavy on numbers of users, Stang reported. "Customers need something that can be installed and upgraded efficiently -- and something that doesn't particularly need upgrades to be effective," he told Newsbytes.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950417/Reader Contact: Norman Data Defense Systems, 703-573-3919; Press Contact: Eileen Pacheco or Sue Vaillancourt, Creamer Dickson Basford for Norman Data Defense Systems, 617-329-6400)
asford for Norman Data Defense Systems, 617-329-6400)
4/17/95
Norman & Thunderbyte Team Up On Anti-Viral Software
BUSINESS
Prentice Hall Illustrated Comput
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Jonar Nader, lexicographer to the information technology industry, has struck again. The second edition of his computer dictionary has been released, bigger, brighter and more controversial than ever.
The full title of the 680-page book is Prentice Hall's Illustrated Dictionary of Computing, and it is being distributed around the world. The price varies from country to country, but is approximately US$25. This edition has 1,000 new entries, new photos and tables, official standards, and a style manual.
The first edition had International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard definitions, but this one also takes into account ANSI CCITT, and IEEE standards. The style manual shows the correct way to use technical terminology (and English in general) making it useful for authors, technical writers, and journalists. It shows grammar ambiguity, numbers, capitalization, word breaks, punctuation, layout and more.
Author Nader explained to Newsbytes that this book is more than just a dictionary. "It has fun facts, predictions, history, play-on-words and solid information," he said. "Much of it makes for interesting conversation pieces. And while it has in-depth information, it doesn't assume that the reader is a technical expert, making it suitable for office, school, and home."
The dictionary is full of words most users would not expect to find such as the acronym WYPIWYFIWYCIWYS (pronounced "whippy wiffy wicky wizz") or what-you-print-is-what-you-fax-is-what-you-copy is-what-you-see. Then there is Crunchy Caffeine -- dry instant coffee apocryphally eaten by the spoonful to keep programmers awake.
As with many books, each chapter (letter) is preceded by a quote. Not just any quote, but a quote from the pen of Jonar Nader. "I couldn't see any point in finding other people's quotes when mine are better anyway," he explained. These include: "In the future, the data highway will penetrate everything. To boast about it will be unthinkable. It will be as commonplace as the telephone;" or "I don't mind rebellion, as long as it's done in an orderly fashion;" and "The trouble is that trouble comes your way without any trouble at all."
When asked why the industry needs another dictionary, Nader replied: "The others don't adhere to standards. If you look in thirteen of them to find out how to abbreviate megabyte, you'll probably find 13 different, incorrect ways." When pressed to give an opinion on competing products, he said the Microsoft computer dictionary was good in the PC area, but did not cover other areas. "And it's published by one of the player's in the industry making it difficult to be independent."
(Paul Zucker/19950407/Press Contact: Prentice Hall Australia tel +61-2-939 1333, fax +61-2-938 6826)
tralia tel +61-2-939 1333, fax +61-2-938 6826)
4/17/95
Prentice Hall Illustrated Computing, 2nd Ed.
GENERAL
UK Mercury One-2-One's New Busin
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Mercury's One-2-One has announced a new tariff known as StandardCall. The new tariff is unusual, since it combines a low monthly rental (UKP9.99) with relatively low peak-time calling rates (20 pence per minute).
Announcing the new rates, Richard Goswell, One-2-One's managing director, said that the tariff, which is available to subscribers immediately, is aimed at business customers. Newsbytes notes that traditionally in the UK cellular marketplace, business tariffs have seen a relatively high line rental and low calling rates, while leisure/consumer tariffs are low rental with high calling rates.
Goswell claims that StandardCall broadens the company's portfolio of tariffs "by offering the best of both worlds -- a low monthly charge and low call charges."
"This is a great value tariff, designed to meet the needs of customers who don't know how much they will be using their mobile when they are buying, or whose usage varies from month-to-month. StandardCall explodes the myth that low monthly charges mean punitive calling rates," he said.
One-2-One claims that a typical business user of a One-2-One mobile on the new rates would pay around UKP30 if they make 100 minutes of peak-time calls a month (five minutes per day). On a Cellnet or Vodafone business tariff, the expenditure, the company claims, rises to around UKP50.
So why introduce yet another new tariff? According to Goswell extensive research amongst potential mobile phone users has revealed that the fear of choosing the wrong tariff is a major barrier to purchase.
Research also indicates a convergence between personal and business tariff -- individuals who buy a mobile phone do not want to incur high call charges for calls made in the course of their work, while employers wish to control the levels of personal calls made on business owned phones.
StandardCall, One-2-One claims, counters all these potential and perceived problems.
In parallel with the introduction of StandardCall, One-2-One has added a number of new options to its business services. These include: an Extended Inside Option, which offers reduced calls charges in a large nominated area (rather than a home cell) in return for an increased monthly line rental fee; and Private Wire, which allows major users of One-2-One to be "hot wired" into the One-2-One network to allow low call costs between the headquarters and mobiles (and vice versa).
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Ericsson has revealed it is servicing a major order from the Siberian Cellular Communications Company in Omsk, Russia.
Terms of the contract call for the telecoms giant to install the first digital cellular network -- working to Digital American Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS) standards -- in the Omsk area.
According to Bo Carlsson, Ericsson's marketing director for Russia the system contract, which is worth $2.5 million, is the first digital network to be installed in Russia, where analog networks have predominated for some time.
The Siberian Cellular Communications Company is partially owned by Millicom, an enthusiastic supporter of digital cellular, Newsbytes notes. Ericsson seniors, meanwhile, claim that five other D-AMPS networks are on order in Russia.
The move towards D-AMPS, rather than the European GSM (global system for mobile communications) and PCN/PCS (personal communications network/service) standards, is interesting, Newsbytes notes. While Russia has sided with the European Commission (EC) -- even making noises about joining the EC some time in the next decade -- many of the companies investing in Russia at the moment are US or Canadian in origin. Since the US is a D-AMPS stronghold, it is thought that this business trend influenced the Siberian Cellular Communications Company's choice of network technologies.
The arrival of D-AMPS into Russia also opens up the possibility of roaming between networks in the US and the Siberian network. Although technically feasible, political and economic problems could prevent a roaming agreement being in place for some time, Newsbytes notes.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950417/Press & Reader Contact: Siberian Cellular 8391-225-2260; Ericsson Radio Systems AB, +46-8-757-0513)
60; Ericsson Radio Systems AB, +46-8-757-0513)
4/17/95
Ericsson Installs 1st Digital Net In Siberia
TELECOM
World's 1st Supersonic Car Gets
READING, BERKSHIRE, U.K., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Digital has sponsored a World Wide Web site for Thrust SSC, the world's first supersonic car.
The Web site, which is on http://thrustcc.digital.co.uk, will allow interested Internet users to follow the progress of the card from the workshop to its run through the sound barrier.
Because the Web site is still in its early stages of development Newsbytes readers may experience difficulty connecting to the official address, in which case they should use http://thrustscc.dec.co.uk.
Dave Probert of Digital's European Internet Business Group, said that the Web project in very exciting for a number of reasons, such as making innovative use of the Web site to allow interactive shopping.
Plans call for the Web site to offer a "cybermarket" later this year allowing official merchandise such as prints, models, and posters to be ordered. The Web site will also have a variety of information including press releases, images, and background information for the world's media.
"Through the use of special encryption software, people all over the world will be able to use their credit cards to purchase merchandise and subscribe to the Mach 1 club," Probert explained, adding that Website will allow direct access to the Thrust SSC team. "It will be as easy as shopping in the high street," he said.
Thrust SSC's Internet address has been incorporated into the official project logo and will be emblazoned on the engines of the car itself. The Web site, meanwhile, is capable of supporting more than a million accesses a day, and already as more than 200 photos and images online.
Information on the car's development will be added continuously, right up to its attempt to break the sound barrier, a project that will played "live" on the Internet as it happens.
Richard Noble, holder of the world land speed record and billed as the driving force behind the Thrust SSC project, said that, although the car is British, it is being built with the assistance of 104 companies around the world. "Right from the start, we planned to share the experience with our global audience, and now, with Digital's help this has become possible," he said.
Noble's current land speed record stands at 633 miles per hour (mph) but he says this can be broken, at the same time as the sound barrier.
Noble, however, is stepping back from driving the SSC. The driver will be RAF Tornado pilot Andy Green.
(Steve Gold/19950417/Press Contact: James Carter, Shandwick Communications, +44-171-835-1001; Reader Contact: Digital Press Office, Internet e-mail press.office@reo.mts.dec.com tel +44-1734-202180/THRUST041795/PHOTO)
.com tel +44-1734-202180/THRUST041795/PHOTO)
4/17/95
World's 1st Supersonic Car Gets Web Site
ONLINE
Reflex Shipping Security, Anti-V
LYNNWOOD, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Reflex Inc. has announced the availability of upgrades to its security and anti-virus programs PC-Watchman ACS Plus and Disknet 3.03.
PC Watchman ACS Plus is designed to prevent unauthorized access to to individual terminals. Passwords cannot be bypassed by booting from a floppy disk, according to Reflex. The system hides up to four physical disks and as many as 12 logical drives if the workstation is booted from a floppy.
A secondary user identification procedure provides a challenge/response dialog setup. The password and the dialog are stored in encrypted format. On LAN (local area network) workstations the installation can be configured to use the network security file for operator authentication and to have the login procedure executed automatically.
ACS Plus allows the user to restrict access at the file, program subdirectory or drive level. The display, mouse and keyboard can be programmed to lock up after a user-specified period of no activity, using a special hot-key sequence. A second time-out interval can be set for local area network (LAN) workstations to automatically log off the network to free the connection for other users. The company said the time-outs work in both DOS and Windows environments. Programs such as communications and printing that is running in the background are not interrupted.
The program also provides a secured "back door" to allow the administrator access to a PC if the authorized operator is not available. A log records signons, logoffs and program executions including user names, program names, and times. Only the system administrator can access the audit trail. There is also a login/failure log to track login attempts, with the option of automatically notifying a LAN supervisor of an unsuccessful login attempt.
The other upgrade being announced by Reflex, Disknet 3.03, is a multi-level defense system against drive corruption by viruses. When the program is running, it automatically scans any floppy drive a user attempts to access. The software is designed to block any detected viruses and send the network administrator a warning notification. The software prevents an unprotected PC from accessing the network.
Features of Disknet include Lock, which prevents unauthorized removal of the program. Reflex said C:Cure provides dual password access control and automatically cures partition/boot sector virus infection. The system is also protected from being attacked through a COM port during data transfers by Disknet's Program Security Guard.
PC Watchman ACS Plus has a suggested retail price of $179, with multiple unit discounts offered. ACS Plus network interface options are currently available for NetWare 3.x and the company said it plans to ship interfaces for NetWare 4.1, LAN Manager, and Banyan later this quarter.
Disknet 3.03 starts at $499, with discounts for multiple unit purchases.
(Jim Mallory/19950417/Press contact: Ann Revell-Pechar 206-462-4777; Public contact: Reflex, tel 206-776-2524 or 800-673-3539, fax 206-776-2891/REFLEX950417/PHOTO)
-673-3539, fax 206-776-2891/REFLEX950417/PHOTO)
4/17/95
Reflex Shipping Security, Anti-Virus Upgrades
WINDOWS
Softbank Names Comdex Subsidiary
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Softbank Corp., the Japanese firm which in February purchased the trade show operations of Interface Group Inc., has closed that deal and announced that its new trade-show subsidiary will be named Softbank Comdex Inc. The new company will operate all 17 information technology trade shows and conferences acquired from the Interface Group.
Tokyo-based Softbank announced in early February that it would pay $800 million in cash for the Interface shows. That deal closed in early April, spokeswoman Suzanne Lonergan told Newsbytes. It came soon after Softbank acquired the trade-show operations of publishing firm Ziff-Davis Corp. late last year. Taken together, the two deals make Softbank the largest operator of computer-related trade shows and conferences in North America.
The new subsidiary, Softbank Comdex, will employ all 217 employees who previously worked in Interface Group's trade-show operations, and will be headed by Jason Chudnofsky, formerly president and chief operating officer of the Interface trade-show unit and now president and chief executive officer of Softbank Comdex. The rest of the management team will also remain officials said.
This subsidiary remains separate from Softbank Exposition & Conference Co. (Softbank Expos) the unit that runs the former Ziff-Davis shows, Lonergan said.
Softbank Comdex's operations include the huge Comdex/Fall show which attracted close to 200,000 visitors in Las Vegas last November, seven other Comdex shows in North and South America and Singapore, and other shows including UniForum, New Media Expo Windows World, and Enterprise Computing Solutions.
Softbank had revenues of about $640 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1994, and is predicting revenues of close to $900 million this fiscal year. It has about 700 employees in Japan and its operations in the United States include Softbank America the telemarketing firm Alexander & Lord, and Phoenix Publishing Systems.
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- AT&T's (NYSE:T) Global Information Solutions has announced two new PCs with built-in audio and advanced graphics features. The Globalyst 720 and 730 also use dual Intel Pentium microprocessors running at 75 and 100 megahertz (MHz).
Built into both new models is support for 16-bit stereo audio microphone input, and connection to a compact disk player, AT&T said. This means the systems have the hardware to support voice annotation and commands. However, company spokeswoman Kate Bochonko told Newsbytes, applications software with support for voice input is needed to take advantage of this.
Another unusual feature of the new Globalyst PCs is a screen saver called NoteIt! that lets visitors leave spoken or typed messages on a personal computer when its owner is not around. The user can play back or read these messages when he or she returns. AT&T developed this software and is offering it for the first time with the Globalyst 720 and 730, Bochonko said.
The PCs also come with AT&T's MailFlash software, which can send messages to pocket pagers' liquid-crystal displays, and its Vistium Share document-conferencing software, the company said.
The dual-processor machines support symmetric multiprocessing AT&T said. They have both Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion slots -- a total of four in the 720 and eight in the 730 mini-tower. The Globalyst 720 has three drive bays while the 730 has six. Eight megabytes (MB) of memory is standard, expandable to 192MB. The machines also have integrated 64-bit PCI graphics.
AT&T said typical retail prices should range from $2,550 for a 75-MHz PC up to around $6,700 for a dual-processor Globalyst 730.
(Grant Buckler/19950417/Press Contact: Kate Bochonko, AT&T 212-213-7061; Public Contact: AT&T Global Information Solutions 800-447-1124)
mation Solutions 800-447-1124)
4/17/95
AT&T Intros 2 Multimedia PCs
Power Computing's First Mac Clon
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- They will look more like an IBM clone than an Macintosh, but Power Computing's new Mac clones have passed all of Apple's full compatibility tests. Limited direct shipping of desktop models begins on May 1 with tower systems scheduled for June 15.
Power Computing's founder Stephen Kahng plans to attack the home education, and business computer markets with direct sales, lower prices than comparable Macs, higher performance and built-in video customizable systems, a $900 software bundle, a keyboard inclusive system, quad-speed CD-ROM drives, and a guaranteed service and support program.
The new customizable systems are called Power 80, 100 and 110 based on use of the Power PC 601 80 megahertz (MHz), 100MHz, and 110MHz processors. The Power systems are designed to compete with Apple's Power Macintosh 7100 and 8100 systems.
Price range for Power Computing's desktop systems range from $1,995 to $2,899, but will only be available through direct sales. This price range is approximately 20% less than current Apple prices for comparable systems. Pricing on the tower systems will be available at a later date. Power Computing expects volume shipments of the standard desktop systems by July.
All Power systems feature eight SIMM (single in-line memory module) expansion slots, built-in Ethernet support, 256 Kilobytes (KB) of level-2 cache, dual-channel, and asynchronous small computer system interface (SCSI) for RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) implementation. The new systems ship with two megabytes (MB) of video RAM with an option to upgrade to 4MB. Hard disk storage is available in drives as low as 355MB and up to nine gigabytes (GB). These systems include and operate on System 7.5.
The software bundle includes ClarisWorks 3.0, Intuit's Quicken 5.0 Now Utilities, Now Contact, Now Up-To-Date, and Bitstream fonts. The Bitstream product contains 300 TrueType and Type 1 fonts. Power Computing also plans to offer attractive discounts for other software bundles especially developed for the home, education, and business markets.
Many analysts question whether the Mac clones will cut into or expand Apple's existing market share which the Wall Street Journal claims is 8%. In an interview with Newsbytes, Laurence Clavere, spokesperson for Apple, said, "Licensing is only one way for Apple to build market share. Yes, we expect there may be some cannibalization of our Power Mac sales, but in the long run we are sure this will increase our overall share of the personal computer market."
Asked if the pricing of the Mac clones would cause a reduction in Apple's pricing strategy, Clavere said, "We cannot comment on that at this time. There are a lot of other areas in which we can introduce new solutions to be competitive. For instance, we could offer additional service. Power Computing's Mac clones and others soon to be available are part of our strategy and we are happy to see their development."
When it comes to service, Power Computing may be difficult to match by any computer company. Stephen Kahng offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, a product lifetime of technical toll-free support, next-day delivery of orders, a follow-up phone call to answer any immediate questions, and a three-minute response time to all inquiries.
Newsbytes also asked if Apple's agreement with Power Computing included an agreement to restrict its sales to direct shipments. Clavere said, "Our agreement with Kahng, does not prevent him from entering other retail channels. He has total freedom in how he markets his new systems." Exact details of the licensing agreement are confidential, but it is widely believed Apple will receive slightly less than 10% of the sales of Power Computing clones.
By the April of next year, Kahng plans on selling 100,000 of his Mac clones. A number of analysts suggest he could stay in business if he sold a third of his goal in the first year. He is described as an "all-business" manager known for his fiscal conservatism. Power Computing has a small staff in Milpitas, California, and its assembly and shipping operation in Texas consists of 20 employees.
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: SoHana Park, Stirling & Cohan, tel 415-513-0976; Public Information: Power Computing, tel 800-999-7279 or 512-258-1350, Internet e-mail info@powercc.com Internet World Wide Web http://www.powercc.com)
rld Wide Web http://www.powercc.com)
4/17/95
Power Computing's First Mac Clones
APPLE
CD-ROM Sales More Than Triple In
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- Sales of software on compact disk (CD) hit $648 million in 1994, with 22.8 million units sold the Software Publishers Association (SPA) has reported. The SPA said the dollar figure is a 229% increase over the 1993 numbers.
Also, the SPA said in the fourth quarter of 1994, companies reporting in the SPA program said they sold $298 million of CD's alone, representing 10.2 million copies of software flying off the shelves during the busy holiday buying season.
Breaking down sales by category, three segments led sales for the year. The Games/Other Home products and the Content Products categories each accounted for about one-quarter of CD software sales in 1994. Consumers snatched up Games/Other Home software to the tune of almost $170 million, while Content Products sold about $156 million dollars worth of titles. The SPA did say Content Products, which represents software like encyclopedias, guide books, and reference works, has been losing ground to other categories.
Home Education software represented one-sixth of total CD software sales, at $113 million. Other sales categories included Languages and Tools at $102.6 million, and Other Products at $113.1 million.
"The sales growth is very strong," David Tremblay, SPA research director, told Newsbytes. "The Christmas season last year was a boom, and we found it to be the same for the rest of 1994."
One aspect of the sales figures that Tremblay found "interesting" was the fact that non-bundled CD software, the kind that doesn't come with the computer when the unit is purchased, showed stronger sales growth than bundled programs. For all of 1993, non-bundled software accounted for 49% of all units sold. In 1994, that number grew to 61%. Tremblay said bundled units are also growing but "to see the growth in the non-bundled says that consumers are going out and buying the stuff themselves and making a purchase decision that once they buy the CD drives, the programs that come bundled with the CD drive aren't enough."
Tremblay said it was encouraging to see the growth in the non-bundled sales category. "Consumers are voting with their pocketbooks to go out and buy additional products. This is good news for the industry. It means they are bringing stuff to market that people actually want to buy."
(Bob Woods/19950417/Press Contacts: David Tremblay, Software Publishers Association, 202-452-1600 ext 317; Public Contacts: Internet World Wide Web http://www.spa.org, CompuServe type GO:SPAFORUM, faxback 800-637-6823)
type GO:SPAFORUM, faxback 800-637-6823)
4/17/95
CD-ROM Sales More Than Triple In 1994
TRENDS
Brooktrout In Deal With FaxBack
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- In a deal that could have significant ramifications on the fax-on-demand market Brooktrout and FaxBack Inc., an IBM spin-off, have reached a settlement agreement over infringement claims on a patent awarded to Brooktrout in 1990 for a series of five fax-on-demand "innovations."
In an interview with Newsbytes, Andrew O'Brien, Brooktrout's VP of marketing, said that the settlement calls for FaxBack to license Brooktrout's fax-on-demand technology.
O'Brien declined to disclose specific financial terms. But, he revealed, the agreement with FaxBack represents the second licensing deal that Brooktrout has completed for its fax-on-demand technology. In August, 1994, Brooktrout licensed the technology to AudioFax, according to the Brooktrout VP.
About 100 other vendors, he added, are now selling fax-on-demand products, but so far, Brooktrout has instituted litigation against only two of these companies: FaxBack and Ibex.
Brooktrout won US patent number 4,918,722 for its fax-on-demand technology in 1990, and initiated the litigation against FaxBack and Ibex in 1992, according to O'Brien.
"FaxBack then sought the protection of the court because they thought we were going to sue them," the Brooktrout VP explained. The matter with Ibex is still pending.
Brooktrout chose FaxBack and Ibex as initial targets of litigation because the two vendors were two of Brooktrout's first competitors in the fax-on-demand market, and also two of the "best known," Newsbytes was told.
Brooktrout's patent, he said, covers the use of DTMF or "tone" technology "to cause fax messages stored at a remote location" to be sent to either a single remote location, or to multiple other remote locations.
Other "innovations" spelled out in the Brooktrout patent include "the use of voice prompts to aid a user in entering the DTMF tones," and the use of either fax machines or "computers equipped with facsimile receivers" to receive messages from a "remotely controlled information delivery system."
Vendors can use alternative technologies to those specified in Brooktrout's patent, including pulse detection and voice recognition, O'Brien acknowledged. "But these five `innovations' (in the Brooktrout patent) are really kind of fundamental," he maintained.
Brooktrout, he added, is hoping to reach licensing pacts with additional vendors in the fax-on-demand market. "We think our technology is a valuable technology," the VP told Newsbytes.
"w"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> ADI Warns Of Upcoming Monitor Shortages 04/17/95 ADI, which claims to be one of the world's largest computer monitor manufacturers, has warned about a looming shortage of cathode ray tubes (CRT) stocks, as well as a probable price rise that will hit the global computer industry this summer.
2 -> UK Homes Spend More On PCs Than Other Durables 04/17/95 It's now official -- the Brits are computer crazy. According to research published by GfK Marketing Services, British households spent more on computer equipment for the home than on any other consumer durable during 1994.
3 -> Quantum Plugs Into World Wide Web 04/17/95 Quantum Corporation has joined the growing list of companies opening its own server on the Internet's World Wide Web. According to the company, the new site provides "up to the minute information of interest to customers investors, analysts, the press, and computer users at large."
4 -> SMTP To Dominate Fortune 1,000 Mail - Report 04/17/95 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) backbones will replace the current hodgepodge of local area network (LAN) and host electronic-mail systems in large companies, according to Forrester Research Inc. Forrester made the prediction in a report entitled "Scaling Mail," part of its Computing Strategy Service.
5 -> "Macintosh Multimedia & Product Registry" Intro'd 04/17/95 "The Macintosh Product Registry" and the "World of Macintosh Multimedia" publications will be combined into one offering, according to Redgate Communications Corp. The new publication, called "Macintosh Multimedia and Product Registry," will debut with the July/August/September issue on July 1.
6 -> Novell NetWare Services For Unix 04/17/95 Novell Inc., (NASDAQ: NOVL) has announced NetWare NFS Services 2.1 - NetWare 4 Edition, a product that provides users with "transparent" file, print, and resource sharing between NetWare 4 and the Unix operating system. The software provides network managers the ability to administer user accounts across both environments from a single point.
7 -> Correction - Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web Site 04/17/95 In a Newsbytes article titled "Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web Site" on April 13 we erroneously reported the World Wide Web address of the new Olympic Games home page.
8 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/17/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: Fujitsu Pretax Earnings Double; Company Director Accused Of Porn Transmission; Fujitsu To Source More Parts From Asia; Softbank Brings Comdex To An Internet Terminal Near You; Oki Adopts Merit-Based Pay System.
9 -> China - Compaq To Promote New PCs 04/17/95 Compaq has announced that a news conference will be held on April 26 at the Beijing Kemtinski Hotel to introduce its product lines. In addition, presentations will be given during the conference.
10 -> Philippines - IBM Plans Unix Conference 04/17/95 BM will hold POWERtech '95, the first Unix technology conference to be held in Manila on April 24.
11 -> Australia - Wireless Internet Connection Package 04/17/95 Australian computer products distributor Sourceware has released a new way to connect to the Internet. By using a digital wireless modem, users can have access to the Internet wherever they are from their notebook PC.
12 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 04/17/95 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
13 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 04/17/95 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: Apple's new Workgroup Servers, and Lotus Development's ScreenCam Release 2.0, Phone Notes Application Kit 2.0, and cc:Mail upgrades.
14 -> From DirecTV To DirecPC 04/17/95 The folks who helped bring us DirecTV -- the small, affordable satellite dish that picks up digital TV signals from the air -- are now offering DirecPC -- a small, "affordable" satellite dish that picks up digital signals from the air on personal computers.
15 -> Trade Groups Sponsor Consumer Electronics Show 04/17/95 The Software Publishers Association has joined with the Electronic Industries Association to sponsor a major consumer electronics show in Orlando next month. "CES Orlando...The Digital Destination," scheduled for May 23-25 will focus on retailing of new digital consumer products, as many new products are timed to hit the mainstream market in the fourth quarter to tap into holiday buying.
16 -> Accent Adds Arabic/Hebrew To Word Processor 04/17/95 Accent Software International Limited will introduce Accent Professional 2.0 next week. The new version of the word processing program adds bi-directional Arabic and Hebrew to the 31 languages supported in the initial version of the program.
17 -> Tektronix Upgrades PhaserShare Printer Mgt 04/17/95 Tektronix Inc. (NYSE: TEK) has announced Phasershare 2.1, an upgrade to its network printer management hardware-software combination for managing and monitoring the company's Phasershare card-equipped color printers.
18 -> Quantum Intros Atlas II/Empire II Multi-GB Drives 04/17/95 Quantum has rolled out 9.1 gigabyte (GB), 4.1GB, and 2.1GB 3.5-inch hard disk drives that are being billed as the first duo of simultaneously introduced high-end and mid-range disk drive families to offer exactly the same storage capacities.
19 -> Norman & Thunderbyte Team Up On Anti-Viral Software 04/17/95 "The virus writers help each other, but the vendors traditionally have not helped each other," reported David Stang, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Norman Data Defense Systems Inc., in a conference call with Newsbytes concerning a deal between Norman and Thunderbyte to team up on a "new generation" of anti-virus products.
20 -> Prentice Hall Illustrated Computing, 2nd Ed. 04/17/95 Jonar Nader lexicographer to the information technology industry, has struck again. The second edition of his computer dictionary has been released, bigger brighter and more controversial than ever.
21 -> UK Mercury One-2-One's New Business Rates 04/17/95 Mercury's One-2-One has announced a new tariff known as StandardCall. The new tariff is unusual, since it combines a low monthly rental (UKP9.99) with relatively low peak-time calling rates (20 pence per minute).
22 -> Ericsson Installs 1st Digital Net In Siberia 04/17/95 Ericsson has revealed it is servicing a major order from the Siberian Cellular Communications Company in Omsk, Russia.
23 -> World's 1st "Supersonic Car" Gets Web Site 04/17/95 Digital has sponsored a World Wide Web site for Thrust SSC, the world's first supersonic car.
24 -> Reflex Shipping Security, Anti-Virus Upgrades 04/17/95 Reflex Inc. has announced the availability of upgrades to its security and anti-virus programs PC-Watchman ACS Plus and Disknet 3.03.
25 -> Softbank Names Comdex Subsidiary 04/17/95 Softbank Corp., the Japanese firm which in February purchased the trade show operations of Interface Group Inc., has closed that deal and announced that its new trade-show subsidiary will be named Softbank Comdex Inc. The new company will operate all 17 information technology trade shows and conferences acquired from the Interface Group.
26 -> AT&T Intros 2 Multimedia PCs 04/17/95 AT&T's (NYSE:T) Global Information Solutions has announced two new PCs with built-in audio and advanced graphics features. The Globalyst 720 and 730 also use dual Intel Pentium microprocessors running at 75 and 100 megahertz (MHz).
27 -> ****Power Computing's First Mac Clones 04/17/95 They will look more like an IBM clone than an Macintosh, but Power Computing's new Mac clones have passed all of Apple's full compatibility tests. Limited direct shipping of desktop models begins on May 1 with tower systems scheduled for June 15.
28 -> CD-ROM Sales More Than Triple In 1994 04/17/95 Sales of software on compact disk (CD) hit $648 million in 1994, with 22.8 million units sold the Software Publishers Association (SPA) has reported. The SPA said the dollar figure is a 229% increase over the 1993 numbers.
29 -> ****Brooktrout In Deal With FaxBack On Patent Claim 04/17/95 In a deal that could have significant ramifications on the fax-on-demand market, Brooktrout and FaxBack Inc., an IBM spin-off, have reached a settlement agreement over infringement claims on a patent awarded to Brooktrout in 1990 for a series of five fax-on-demand "innovations."
(Ian Stokell/19950417)
(Ian Stokell/19950417)
4/17/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Australia's Telstra Launches Tel
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Telstra, the largest Australian telecoms operator and the biggest full service carrier in the Pacific region, has entered the UK market.
Confirming plans outlined to Newsbytes at the Telecom Manager's Association (TMA) late last year, Telstra has begun offering voice and fax services to British companies who have what the company describes as a "significant demand for telecom connections to the Asia-Pacific."
For the moment Telstra is concentrating on selling basic services, but the company is planning to add further products later this year. All of the service offerings, company officials explained, are designed to serve British - Pacific connections.
"Our research shows that potential customers in the UK will welcome a new telecoms service provider which is very much focused on meeting their Asia-Pacific requirements," said Telstra UK's Managing Director Boyd Faulks.
According to Faulks, Telstra has an obvious strength in Australia and in more than 20 Asia-Pacific locations. "Our aim is to provide UK companies, trading within this region, with a better value service than they are getting from existing carriers," he explained.
Initially, three main services are available from Telstra: Telstra Link, a directly connected international voice service; Telstra Net an international voice service for business with smaller international direct dial demands, switched to Telstra over users' existing British Telecom circuits; and Telstra Fax, an international fax service operating in a similar manner to the Telstra Net service.
Later in 1995, a wide range of intelligent network-based services such as calling card services, advanced free-call services, and a virtual private network service will be added to the company's range of services.
Faulks speculated that the value of the Asia-Pacific direct dial market from Great Britain is currently worth approximately UKP130 million per year. He also said that Telstra is aiming to become a leader in this area by the end of 1997.
According to Faulks, Telstra is presently discussing telecoms facilities with at least 25 major UK corporations. These discussions center on international voice and fax calls to the Asia-Pacific region.
By the end of this year, Telstra claims that its direct connection customers will number at least 30, while its indirect Telstra Net customers "will number in the hundreds."
In parallel with the launch of its first phase of UK operational service, Telstra has revealed that it has spent around UKP4 million in establishing a new high technology operations center in Central London.
Progress is also being made on the expansion of the center which already has two Ericsson AXE-10ks
Telstra, tel +44-171-828-2328 fax +44-171-828-7938)
4/18/95
Australia's Telstra Launches Telecom Service In UK
TELECOM
Apple Upgrades QuickTake Digital
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is replacing its QuickTake 100 digital camera with the QuickTake 150. The new 24-bit color camera offers additional features without a price increase.
The new features include improved image quality and resolution, a doubling of storage, and a close-up capability. With the 150, users may choose between standard quality or high-quality settings which allow the user to store 32 images or 16 images. Apple says a review of QuickTake customers showed that some users did not require high quality, storage-demanding images all the time, but wanted an option to have the option of storing additional images or using that storage for high-quality images.
"We also learned that our customers wanted better resolution and a close-up feature," said Dave Stallard, Apple's senior director of value added displays and image capture devices. "The new camera looks the same as the QuickTake 100 and it has the same price, but we have increased the base resolution to 640 by 480 pixels by using a new compression algorithm. We have also added a special lens for the close-up feature and it is included in the box," he said.
The new close-up lens allows a user to take pictures as close as one foot and has a flash diffuser for shooting close-up without washing the subject in light. Viewfinder optimization allows the photographer to see the same thing the camera is shooting.
Stallard told Newsbytes, "The camera has been very successful with people developing newsletters, presentations, reports, and online communications with photographs. At the same time, it seems the concept of a digital camera is not always easily understood. The idea of a camera without film and without processing fees still surprises some people. This is changing as the technology becomes more affordable and more widely used."
The QuickTake 150 ships as a Macintosh version or a Windows version. The Mac version comes with PhotoFlash 2.0 and QuickTake Image Access software to assist in management and editing. The Windows version includes QuickTake 1.5 software and PhotoNow! TWAIN driver from PictureWorks.
The new camera remains at $739, the same price of QuickTake 100. A cross-platform connection kit is available for either camera. The kit allows a Mac version of the camera to be connected to a Windows platform, or the Windows version to be connected to a Mac platform for $99. Back-up batteries, AC adapter, a battery booster kit and a travel case are also available.
(Patrick McKenna/19950417/Press Contact: Jayme Curtis, Apple 408-974-6296)
ontact: Jayme Curtis, Apple 408-974-6296)
4/18/95
Apple Upgrades QuickTake Digital Camera
APPLE
UK - Small Firms Left Behind In
LONDON, U.K., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- According to a report issued this week from Lloyds Bank, over two thirds of small businesses admit to having difficulties in keeping up with the fast-moving world of information technology (IT).
Only just over half of businesses surveyed regard themselves as computer literate. Problems such as lack of technical support suitable training courses, and objective advice, are claimed to be the IT problems for small firms.
The survey, which was conducted by the Small Business Research Trust on behalf of Lloyds Bank, also identified areas of missed potential where small firms are ignoring or remain unaware of the benefits of IT. The report also notes that around 20 percent of the larger firms polled in the survey still do not use computers for invoicing and credit control.
John Spence, Lloyds Bank Head of Business Banking, said that IT can be an invaluable ally for small firms wanting to strengthen their competitive edge. "However, it is clear from these findings that many consider themselves to be inadequately informed on the subject. As we are increasingly moving towards a world dominated by technology, this is clearly a cause for concern," he explained.
"As a bank, we are constantly striving to adapt technology to help our customers unlock their potential. Our new Grantfinding service, for example, is a database of over 300 local, national and European Community business grants contained on a computer disk," he said.
According to Lloyds, the other main findings of the survey included:
[] Some 85 percent of firms surveyed have computers. Fax machines are now universal, with 94 percent of firms having access to one. Telex once widespread amongst manufacturers, is now used by just one percent of respondents.
[] Recruitment of computer-trained staff appears not to be a problem for the majority. Only 18 percent of respondents report difficulty in recruiting computer literate staff -- manufacturing businesses report a figure of only 12 percent.
[] Larger companies are more apt to have explored alternative uses of IT. For example, less than a third of companies employing between five and nine staff have computerized their payroll functions. In the 20 to 49 employee category, the figure is 70 percent.
The survey was compiled from responses from a panel of 300 small businesses in the North, Midlands, and South East of the UK. Small Business Research Trust (SBRT) researchers claim to poll successful small businesses on factors contributing to their survival and success.
The SBRT supplies copies of this quarterly survey and previous surveys at a cost of UKP15 per copy or UKP45 per annual subscription.
UK - Small Firms Left Behind In IT Stakes - Report
TRENDS
Novell Intros NetWare For DEC Ac
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has announced NetWare for DEC Access software, a product designed to connect NetWare networks using IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) networks.
Novell said the software will provide users a single "transparent" point of access to both Internet and DEC resources. Supported capabilities include terminal access, bi-directional printing, and file transfer.
NetWare for DEC Access will also support Novell's directory services to provide a single login capability for access to any NetWare server or DEC system on the network. Network administrators can configure NetWare for DEC Access to restrict access to a specified group of network users. NetWare for DEC Access supports up to 128 concurrent users.
The company said the software adds an additional "firewall" layer for greater network protection against entry by unauthorized users. The additional firewall protection lets network administrators control monitor, and audit Telnet sessions between the Internet and any DEC computer on the network.
The software provides an audit trail and trace functions. A status display monitors NetWare performance in real-time, and a menu-driven configuration utility is provided to make the process of adding authorized users easier.
Novell said the new software is an updated version of NetWare for LAT, the existing server-based NetWare-to-DEC host connectivity software that lets NetWare users simultaneously access DEC and NetWare services from anywhere on the network.
NetWare for DEC Access supports most TCP/IP Telnet client emulators, including Novell's LAN (local area network) Workplace and Unixware software, regardless of the network operating system in use. No additional software or hardware is required on a PC or workstation to provide the terminal emulation function, according to Novell.
NetWare for DEC Access can be loaded on the same server that is running Novell's NetWare for SAA enterprise software. Novell said that will streamline network complexity, improve performance, and minimize network equipment costs.
Novell said NetWare for DEC Access, including run-time versions of NetWare 4.1 and 3.12, will ship in May, with a suggested retail price that starts at $1,095. Pricing tops out at $9,495. The software is available in 8-user, 16-user, 32-user, 64-user, and 128-user configurations. Upgrade packages are available for users of NetWare for LAT.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Interactive Traffic is set to introduce Traffic Resource, which is being dubbed "the first media-planning directory for online marketers."
Company officials said the new World Wide Web site is a resource designed to help companies generate traffic to their corners of cyberspace, and is a free service. The site is a link for "link-buying," which is a model that calls for online publications and advertisers to have their own independent sites, with the advertiser paying for a link to their own site from the publication.
When Newsbytes pointed its browser to the Traffic Resource site, a message appeared promising the site would be up late yesterday. It also said, "This is a directory of sponsorable online sites. It is meant to help advertisers (and their agencies) generate traffic to 'their' online sites by linking up with sites in this directory."
It is that thinking that drives the site, Interactive Traffic spokesperson Scott Heiferman told Newsbytes. "All that we did is create a framework where users can add listings to the directory. In our business, we recognized there was no central place where sponsorable online sites were listed in an organized fashion."
The directory helps online marketers sort through the growing list of these "advertiser-ready" sites, the company said. Initial "seed" listings include Time Warner's Pathfinder site, Wired Magazine's Hotwired page, Netscape's site, and Prodigy's internal Web Directory.
Heiferman said what makes his site special is the fact that its customized to the particular subject. "It helps people responsible for advertising find links to their sites through some of these paid links," he said. "All of the effort is put into the development side of online sites, but not too much effort yet is put into making up strategies to make sure people know it's out there."
The Traffic Resource's Web page can be found at URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://www.i-traffic.com/10.html.
(Bob Woods/19950417/Press Contact: Scott Heiferman, Interactive Traffic, 718-932-1460, Internet e-mail scott@i-traffic.com; Public Contact: Internet World Wide Web http://www.i-traffic.com/10.html)
et World Wide Web http://www.i-traffic.com/10.html)
4/18/95
Media Planning Directory Online For Web Marketing
ONLINE
Intersolv Expands Unix Data-Acce
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Hoping to capture a larger share of the Unix data-access market, Intersolv Inc. (NASDAQ:ISLI), has added drivers for two more Unix platforms to its DataDirect line. By adding support for Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX and IBM's AIX, Intersolv said it has provided support for 70 percent of the Unix market.
Intersolv previously supported Solaris, from Sun Microsystems Inc., as well as Microsoft's Windows, Windows NT, and Windows 95 IBM's OS/2, and Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh. Adding the two new Unix platforms roughly doubles the number of Unix systems for which Intersolv now offers support, said Dave Waller, DataDirect product line manager.
"It greatly increases (the potential market for DataDirect) because it takes the number of platforms that we have from six to eight," Waller told Newsbytes. Waller said open systems are increasingly popular for data warehousing, a key application for Intersolv DataDirect software. Research has shown that the average corporation has more than eight different database systems containing critical information needed for data warehousing.
The Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard, which DataDirect supports, thus has a major role to play in data warehousing on Unix systems, Waller said. Because of the number of different database systems which ODBC supports, it is "a natural technology for that," Waller maintained. According to Intersolv the DataDirect drivers support more than 35 database and more than 100 combinations of cross-platform data access.
Intersolv expects that by extending DataDirect into the Unix environment, it will help to make ODBC, already a widely accepted standard on Windows systems, a standard in the Unix world as well.
Waller said Intersolv is considering adding support for other Unix platforms. Possible candidates include Unix variants from Digital Equipment Corp. and Santa Cruz Operation Inc.
The Intersolv DataDirect ODBC Pack 2.01 and individual DataDirect ODBC drivers carry list prices of $499 and $99 respectively. Upgrades for DataDirect ODBC Pack 2.0 cost $199, or $299 with the company's Support Plus option. The new AIX and HP-UX drivers are now available, the company said.
(Grant Buckler/19950417/Press Contact: Larry Death, Intersolv 301-230-3228; Dave Waller, Intersolv, 301-230-3780; Heather Robb, FitzGerald Communications for Intersolv, 617-494-9500)
Communications for Intersolv, 617-494-9500)
4/18/95
Intersolv Expands Unix Data-Access Support
Dual-Function Optical Drive From
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Panasonic Communications and Systems Co. (PCSC) has announced a dual-function optical disk drive unit. The PD PowerDrive handles both rewritable optical disks and CD-ROMs in a single storage device, Panasonic said.
Panasonic showed the new drive for the first time at the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) trade show and conference in San Francisco last week.
Enclosed in a standard half-height drive unit, the PD PowerDrive reads and writes 650 megabyte (MB) phase-change optical disks which can be rewritten multiple times, according to the company. The same drive can accept standard CD-ROM disks, and operates at quad-speed, a spokeswoman for the company told Newsbytes.
The drive uses the small computer systems interface-2 (SCSI-2) interface, and includes device drivers for System 7 on the Apple Computer Inc. Macintosh as well as DOS and Microsoft Windows Panasonic said.
The read/write cache function is implemented in the buffer memory of the controller chip to improve read/write throughput officials said.
Panasonic claimed in announcing the disk drive that it will be offered at a "breakthrough price point." However, the spokeswoman said the exact price has not been announced yet. She added that it will probably be announced during the upcoming Comdex/Spring trade show and conference in Atlanta. The new drives are expected to begin shipping in July, she added.
One use for the new drive is likely to be storing the large amounts of video and audio data needed for increasingly popular multimedia applications.
(Grant Buckler/19950418/Press Contact: Nancy Garry, Barton Gilanelli & Associates for Panasonic, 215-592-8601; Public Contact: Panasonic, 800-742-8086 or 201-348-7000)
ct: Panasonic, 800-742-8086 or 201-348-7000)
4/18/95
Dual-Function Optical Drive From Panasonic
GENERAL
CardWizard Pro Said To Solve PCM
NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- SystemSoft Corp. (NASDAQ:SYSF) has announced software that replaces the Card and Socket Services software supplied with Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) add-on cards. According to SystemSoft, the CardWizard Pro software clears up many incompatibility problems and includes diagnostics to help users resolve card conflicts.
CardWizard Pro is based on software called CardWizard that SystemSoft sells exclusively to the makers of PCMCIA cards and computers that contain PCMCIA slots. It takes the place of the Card and Socket Services software supplied with the cards, which spokesman Tim Hurley told Newsbytes, frequently causes incompatibility problems because multiple different versions are in use.
"This is the most up-to-date card and socket services software," Hurley said.
CardWizard Pro's installation routine includes facilities for cleanly removing old Card and Socket Services software from the system, company officials said.
Besides replacing existing Card and Socket Services, CardWizard Pro includes diagnostics that walk the user through the process of resolving any incompatibilities or other card problems. Without such software, Hurley said, when an incompatible card is installed "you get an annoying beep and then it's 'pick up the phone time' and call your manufacturer." CardWizard Pro not only diagnoses the problem, but will remember the card so that when it is next inserted it will work without any trouble, he said.
According to SystemSoft, CardWizard Pro is compatible with all major notebook computers and with more than 400 PCMCIA cards now on the market. It includes SystemSoft's CardSoft PCMCIA software.
Due to be available in May, CardWizard Pro will have a suggested retail price of $69.95.
(Grant Buckler/19950418/Press Contact: Paul Sereiko, SystemSoft 508-651-0088; Tim Hurley or Jon Bornstein, Copithorne & Bellows for SystemSoft, 617-252-0606; Public Contact: SystemSoft 508-879-0050)
0606; Public Contact: SystemSoft 508-879-0050)
4/18/95
CardWizard Pro Said To Solve PCMCIA Problems
WINDOWS
June Shareware Conf Set For Scot
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- The shareware software industry will both teach and honor its own in June the Shareware Industry Award Foundation (SAIF) announced. The fifth annual Shareware Industry Conference (SIC) will be held at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, June 22-25.
SAIF Director and Chief Executive Officer of Rhode Island Soft Systems Eric Robichaud told Newsbytes the shareware industry pulled in more than $250 million in 1994, and is growing fast. "Anyone who wants to get into the shareware business can't afford to miss this. The movers and shakers from the shareware industry will be there. Media representatives, magazine people, and others will be there for people to talk with."
Robichaud said the keynote speaker will be Jeff Duntemann, who is editor of "PC Techniques" magazine and president of the Coriolis Group. Topics will include how the online and electronic industries will have an effect on shareware businesspeople, how to localize products for overseas markets, how to break into the retail market, and more than 30 other topics.
In the past, representatives from Ziff-Davis, Apogee Games, and Id Software have attended and spoken at the conference, Robichaud said. This year, the SIAF is trying to get IBM and Microsoft representatives to attend the conference, so they can talk to shareware developers about their OS/2 Warp and Windows '95 platforms.
The shareware industry in general is growing very quickly, Robichaud said, because the concept of shareware, or "try before you buy" software, is becoming accepted by not only game publishers, but from business leaders like Microsoft.
(Bob Woods/19950417/Press Contact: Phil Hall, Open City Communications, 212-714-3575. Public Contact: Jim Perkins Shareware Industry Awards Foundation, 602-443-4109)
ndustry Awards Foundation, 602-443-4109)
4/18/95
June Shareware Conf Set For Scottsdale
GENERAL
German Govt's Telecoms Liberaliz
Free Security Software Could Cau
High School Kids License Educati
Belgacom Offers New Services, Cu
Data Broadcasting Acquires Horse
Internet World - IBM's Patrick D
WebTrader Software For Direct We
From DirecTV To DirecPC
Brooktrout In Deal With FaxBack
Miro Intros Integrated Comms Car
Times Mirror/Cox To Invest $200M
UK Schools Plug Into The Interne
New Remote E-Mail Application Fo
RESTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- ICL Enterprises North America will introduce an electronic-mail (e-mail) system the company claims will make retrieving mail via a remote connection easy. The new program, called Embla The PC Mail Manager, supports the emerging Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP).
Company officials said Embla is a mail application for PC users on a Windows platform who have to access Unix networks for e-mail. Using the IMAP standard, remote dial-in users can see headers of messages waiting in their server mailbox. "Users can then selectively download messages. With Embla, you can drag-and-drop those messages down to your PC," Anne Prine, ICL spokesperson, told Newsbytes.
She also said IMAP is not widely-used right now. As a result, the company provides the IMAP software with the Embla product. Prine also said IMAP support must be on both the PC and the Unix server or Internet server, for Embla to work properly.
Embla also supports the multimedia e-mail standard MIME (Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extension), which the company said enables users to send and receive document and spreadsheet files, as well as multimedia images and sound.
The company said it will demonstrate Embla at EMail World '95 in Santa Clara, California, this week.
Also, the company announced that Internet users worldwide can now buy and download the Embla software through "software.net," which is claimed to be "the first Internet-based electronic distribution channel for software.
"We have not distributed through an online service before," Prine said "but we feel this is a natural for an Internet-based product."
For more information on purchasing Embla via the Internet go to http://www.software.net. ICL has its own Web page at http://www.pro.icl.se.
(Bob Woods/19950417/Press Contact: Anne Prine, ICL Enterprises North America, 714-855-5505, Internet e-mail 6308359@mcimail.com; Public Contact: ICL, Internet World Wide Web http://www.pro.icl.se; software.net, Internet World Wide Web http://www/software.net)
World Wide Web http://www/software.net)
4/18/95
New Remote E-Mail Application For PCs
NETWORK
Parsons' $49 Windows Desktop Pub
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Parsons Technology Inc., a company known for its low cost legal, personal finance and tax preparation software, has introduced a desktop publishing package for Microsoft Windows that comes with 30 customizable layout templates and 50 clip-art images.
The company said Parsons Power Publisher for Windows 1.0 is suitable for company newsletters, ad layouts, manuals, forms and other publications
Other features of Power Publisher include drag-and-drop editing the ability to import, 25 True Type fonts, automatic text wrapping support for BMP, TIF, EPS, and WMF file formats and ruler and shape to grid tools. In addition to using clip art, you can use Power Publisher's drawing tools to create shapes, lines, and curves.
You also get the ability to stretch, shrink, copy, rotate, move and modify colors in your images. A zoom capability lets you do close-up editing. Power Publisher can also do spot and process color separations so you can send your Power Publisher file to a printer or service bureau for professional quality printing.
Parsons said Power Publisher text will wrap around irregularly shaped objects. Parsons spokesperson Joan Dyal told Newsbytes the program also allows the user to rotate text as well as images.
To run Power Publisher for Windows you need: an IBM-compatible PC with four megabytes (MB) of memory and at least the same amount of available hard disk space; Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later; and a mouse. If you want to install the templates, fonts and clip-art you will need 8MB of disk space. Dyal said Power Publisher has a suggested retail price of $49, but will have a street price of $29.
Parsons also publishes software in the fields of genealogy, golf education, church management, and other areas. Formerly a privately held company, Parsons was purchased for $64 million in September 1994, by Intuit, the California-based firm that publishes the personal tax program Quicken.
Dyal expects some changes in Parson's tax program Personal Tax Edge and some crossover in product distribution as a result of that ownership change. "We're a direct-mail company. We hope to mail some of their products and they hope to get some of our products in stores. There might be some name changes," Dyal told Newsbytes.
Microsoft has announced a $1.5 billion deal to acquire Intuit which would make it the ultimate owner of Parsons Technology but that agreement is still being examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is being opposed by at least one trade group. Microsoft sold its Microsoft Money personal finance program to Novell Inc., in the hope that the action would forestall any "conflict of interest" allegations.
(Jim Mallory/19950418/Press contact: Joan Dyal, Parsons Technology 319-395-9626; Public contact: Parsons Technology, tel 800-223-6925 fax 319-393-1002)
Technology, tel 800-223-6925 fax 319-393-1002)
4/18/95
Parsons' $49 Windows Desktop Publishing Prgm
WINDOWS
China - Govt Calls For Tough Cop
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- A national meeting of leaders of the (central and provincial) copyright bureaus has been held in Beijing with the leaders calling for enforcement of copyright laws and severe punishment for violators.
Protection of intellectual rights is fundamental to the creation of a market economy, said Mr. Song Jian, in the meeting on copyright protection. Song is a state councilor in charge of the intellectual property protection working conference under the state council.
"Our law enforcement is weak and the punishment for violators appears to be too light," Song said. Protection of copyright is weaker than protection of patents and trademarks, he added. "We will especially strengthen awareness of video, audio, film, and computer software copyrights," he added.
A legal system is insufficient if people do not observe the laws," Ren Jainxin, president of the supreme people's court said at the meeting. "The fight against pirated CDs has paid off. However, the campaign will still be a long, complicated, and arduous process," he added.
Unrelenting efforts should be made by government at all levels, he added. Jainxin is also a member of secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950416)
entral Committee.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950416)
4/18/95
China - Govt Calls For Tough Copyright Law Enforcement
Australia - Acct Prgm Distributo
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Australian software distributor Brad Schofer sells MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) accounting software. In fact, he told Newsbytes, he has made it a "vocation," and even the US manufacturer has acknowledged his success.
In 1991, Melbourne-based Data-Tech presented an Australian distribution proposal to Chris Lee, president of Best!Ware, a US software house which publishes MYOB. Projecting sales which even the Americans doubted, Brad Shofer, Data-Tech co-owner, was given the Australian distribution rights for the up-and-coming accounting program.
Now, with a user base second only to the US, and 1994 sales at around the 10,000 unit mark, Data-Tech has established itself as the model that Best!Ware points to when establishing further overseas distribution operations.
Data-Tech actively works with the US programmers on the development of localized versions of the products and carries out all levels of the product's publishing within Australia. Now, around 90 cents in every dollar earned in the sales of MYOB and BestBooks -- a book-keeping program based on MYOB -- stays in Australia. It has also established an export business into New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa and the South Pacific islands -- including Fiji, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands.
According to Shofer, one of the most successful marketing programs initiated by Data-Tech in Australia is the Quality Consultants Panel (QCP) -- a group of experienced accounting and MYOB installers and trainers. The program centers around the establishment of relationships between MYOB and BestBooks resellers, and QCP members.
In all cases, QCP members are able to demonstrate skills in computers and the products. In order to join the QCP, applicants must successfully complete a short questionnaire dealing with those three subjects. Further, they must also be able to demonstrate a history of MYOB or BestBooks installations with a requirement to list four reference sites where they have installed the programs and trained the operators.
Where the program differs from those of other vendors issuing reseller ratings, is that it does not necessarily apply to the resellers. Rather QCP members are, in the majority of cases, people who having nothing to do with business of selling PCs. So a situation exists where they work with the resellers and not in competition with them.
According to Lance Shofer, Data-Tech's reseller sales manager, the success of the program has been so great, that now Data-Tech is working with both the QCP members and resellers in formalizing the relationships. This includes assisting in working together to conduct product demonstrations, staff training, selling overviews, and in-store product seminars.
The benefit to resellers is in the sharing of responsibility. Instead of having to comprehensively discuss the features of MYOB and BestBooks the reseller only has to point the customer towards a local QCP member.
According to Lance, a recent in-store event was, "an unbridled success." Customers to the store were able to ask the QCP comprehensive questions about the products and receive "informed and accurate" answers. The store moved more product and the QCP got new clients a win/win situation, he said.
"We'll be carrying out more of these events," said Lance, "but as the momentum builds and resellers and QCPs become more familiar and comfortable with the program, we'll take a more hands-off approach."
Even Best!Ware's Chris Lee freely admits his company is learning from its Australian distributor how to best market its own products. Now whenever Best!Ware expands its distribution operations into another country, they look to see how they can establish the model introduced by Data-Tech in Australia. Lee even jokes about how Best!Ware and Data-Tech will start fighting over market share when the distribution areas of both company meets somewhere in the middle of Africa.
(Paul Zucker/19950412/Press Contact: Data-Tech tel +61-2-955-3611, fax +61-2-955 3923)
tact: Data-Tech tel +61-2-955-3611, fax +61-2-955 3923)
4/18/95
Australia - Acct Prgm Distributor Sets Selling Example
BUSINESS
Philippines - Andersen Targets O
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 1995 APR 18 (NB) - With oil demand expected to increase at four percent per annum, Andersen Consulting projects that information technology (IT) will play a vital role in developing the oil and energy industry's growth potential.
Malcolm Dunn, managing partner of the Asia Pacific Oil and Gas unit of Andersen Consulting and a recent Manila visitor, said that the local industry exhibits "robustness" even as competition in special gasoline and lube products increases. "There's a lot of infrastructure and systems building, and realignment of strategies as the Philippine industry prepares for deregulation," he said. "They're gearing up for Philippines 2000 here. The country is ready for its final petrochemical plant."
The Philippines is also considered a high growth area for building new refineries with higher capacity and multi product outputs. "However, the challenges that lie ahead include finding new reserves, along with environmental health and safety concerns, as well as the continuing pressure on costs and prices," Dunn said.
Worldwide, the emergence of alternative fuels, the decline of traditional oil and energy supply sources even the Western trend of building gas stations beside supermarkets, are major developments in the industry.
To meet these challenges, Andersen Consulting has set up centers specifically focusing on IT applications for oil and gas. Called Oil 2020, three centers have already been established in different countries in a record of nine months. The centers feature "business solutions" for oil and gas companies, even a customer service station of the future.
Oil 2020 also has a compilation of the best industry practices, with case studies of successful applications. Andersen Consultant's work with key industry players worldwide has resulted in reduced operating costs of up to 30 percent.
"Here in the Philippines, we will be exploring ways to assist potential clients face the forthcoming deregulation organizing for better price margins, automating systems and possibly provide assistance in implementing software packages, such as SAP, for example," Dunn said.
"The local industry is more focused on downstream activities although upstream exploration is on the move and peaking. The retail business is at par with the rest of the region," he added. "Large multinationals seem positive and have put in substantial investments or established partnerships for exploring oil and gas sources."
Andersen Consulting has serviced large oil companies like Caltex, Mobil, Petronas, and Shell. Dunn's Manila trip included meetings with Petron, Shell, and the Philippine National Oil Corporation.
er Times/19950410/Internet e-mail dilips@netcom.com)
4/18/95
Philippines - Andersen Targets Oil & Energy For IT
GENERAL
Gateway's 120MHz PC With 3-Disk
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) Gateway 2000 has introduced a personal computer it calls the "fastest PC in the world" that comes with a three-disk CD changer.
The company said the new PC will be available in two models, both using Intel's 120 megahertz (MHz) microprocessor and the Triton PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) chipset. Both models come standard with 16 megabytes (MB) of EDO (extended-data-out) memory and a 256 kilobyte (KB) pipelined burst cache. Gateway said the EDO memory improves speed by reducing the number of wait states -- the time the central processing unit (CPU) sits idle waiting for instructions.
Gateway's new P5-120XL includes the three-disk quad-speed (4x) CD changer and carries a $3,999 retail price tag. The more stripped down model with a smaller hard drive and a smaller monitor, the P5-120, has a $2,999 suggested retail price.
According to Ted Waitt, Gateway chairman and chief executive officer, the P5-120 systems are up to 30 percent faster than a 100MHz-based Pentium PC.
In addition to the CD-changer, the 120XL comes with a 1.6 gigabyte (GB) IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drive, a 17-inch Gateway monitor, an ATI Mach 64 video card with 2MB of video memory, a built-in 14.4 bits-per-second (bps) data/fax modem and a telephone answering device, all in a tower-style case.
The 120XL also comes with Ensoniq's 16-bit sound card and Altec Lansing ACS-31 speakers. The three-piece speaker system has a separate powered sub-woofer.
The stripped down 120 model does not have the three-disk changer but does come with a 4x CD-ROM drive, the same system and video memory and cache as the 120XL, a smaller (1.2GB) hard drive, a 15-inch monitor, and no sound card or speakers. The 120 comes in a desktop case.
Gateway spokesperson Michelle Gjerde told Newsbytes software pre-loaded on both new models includes MS-DOS, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Microsoft Office Professional 4.3, Microsoft Bookshelf, and Microsoft Money 3.0, a personal finance program.
Gjerde said the 4x changer lets the user load up to three CDs and switch among them without further handling. The changer supports multi-session photo CDs and XA format, and has a headphone jack volume control, skip function, play indicators, and play/pause controls.
Gjerde said the CD changer is available as a $100 system upgrade on any Gateway 2000 Professional or Family PC. The unit has a data transfer rate of 600 KB-per-second and an access time of 250 milliseconds. It fits in a half-height drive bay.
(Jim Mallory/19950418/Press contact: Michelle Gjerde, Gateway 2000 605-232-2253l; Public contact: tel 605-232-2000 or 800-846-2000 fax 605-232-2023/P5-120950418 & CHANGER950418/PHOTO)
232-2023/P5-120950418 & CHANGER950418/PHOTO)
4/18/95
Gateway's 120MHz PC With 3-Disk CD Changer
AT&T & Univ Start Videoconferenc
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- AT&T and Emory University have launched a 30-day test of what both parties say will be the first desktop videoconferencing system in a university setting aimed at helping librarians walk students through the research process.
The experiment uses a two-monitor AT&T Vistium Personal Video System hooked up to a dedicated 112 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) ISDN (integrated services digital network) line to connect librarians at Emory University's Woodruff Library Center for Business Information with students in the Goizueta Business School, normally a five minute walk across the congested suburban Atlanta campus.
One video monitor has been placed in each building. In a typical exchange, a student states their reference request to the librarian. Both terminals are equipped with a small stationary camera and a built-in microphone. Each party sees an image of the other in a small area on the right side of the screen. Then after the desired information is identified, the librarian loads the particular CD-ROM on which the requested information resides downloads the relevant data, and ships it to the Business School terminal where the student can view and download it.
Emory and AT&T officials say that the ability for the student and the librarian to see each other adds a note of "utility and comfort" to the research process. They say that the "personal" aspect of being able to visually and descriptively walk a student through a research session is a friendlier way than text-only online searching or a telephone research help desk.
"The whole idea of virtual libraries like this is that you won't have to physically come to the library to use information. Still information resources are not easy to use for many students. With this in mind, we are looking at different ways that we can be consultants and trainers to students who aren't on site," said Ruth Pagell, director of Emory's Center for Business Information located in the Woodruff Library on campus.
"With the AT&T Vistium, we can play the role of distance reference librarian, sharing pieces of documentation and modifying it so that the person on the other end can (use it). It's a teaching and a training tool," she added.
"This is the first time Vistium has had students as real end-users," said Theresa Spralling, video applications manager for AT&T Global Business Communications Systems. "We are bringing the technology to them to enhance their cost of study. Rather than a student having to get in a car, drive over to the library and wait for a reference librarian to get their questions answered, we are providing the hardware and microelectronics for full, two-way interactive video."
Without specifying a timetable, Spralling added that AT&T "absolutely hopes that" Vistium will be used in more university sites around the nation. Emory's Pagell said that after the 30-day period Vistium will be evaluated with an eye toward possible permanent installation at more sites on campus.
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Apple is beginning to make up ground in its race for the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of America's computer users, according to Computer Intelligence Infocorp (CII), a market research firm. CII's 1994 survey of the computer marketplace found that Apple had grown its installed base by 10 percent to 6.1 million users.
"This is, relatively, a significant gain in share by Apple," says CII's report on its survey, "especially given the fact that the survey was conducted in early 1994 and does not reflect whenever boost Apple hopes to gain by introducing its fastest RISC (reduced instruction-set computer)-based Power Macintosh computers."
But Apple is only making slight headway against the giant Windows base, says CII. Windows saw a seven percent gain in its installed base in 1994. Windows had 24.5 million users constituting 39 percent of the entire US market and 52 percent of the IBM PC-travel base.
DOS continues to be boss for a large but shrinking market according to the survey. Some 33 percent of the total market is held by the DOS holdouts, some 15 million users.
The survey found OS/2 holding steady with a tiny two percent market share, but found that "a very respectable 10 percent of all PC users plan to move to OS/2 at some time. Because Windows 95 will be delayed until at least August, 1995, IBM's challenge and opportunity will be to bring these fence sitters into the fold."
The survey found that most PC users work in firms with fewer than 100 employees. "The distribution of Macintosh users is not substantially different from that of PC users overall; contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no focus on small business or on the self-employed," said CII. "In fact, Macintoshes are relatively under-represented in sites with fewer than 20 employees."
On the other hand, OS/2 users tend to be concentrated in large companies with more than 2,000 employees and are under-represented at sites with fewer than 20 employees and among the self-employed.
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- A panel of experts in the flat panel display industry will look at developments in that field at a public forum in Palo Alto this Thursday, April 20.
The flat panel display industry is the fastest growing segment of the world electronics market, ramping from $1.5 billion in 1986 in an estimated $20 billion by 2000. But Japan currently dominates the market.
With government assistance, the industry last year created the US Display Consortium in order to beef up the industry position.
The Palo Alto panel will look at the following issues: availability of financing and government support; escalating production capacity in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan; technological challenges and opportunities; new applications; and competitive and market forces.
The analysts include: Harry Marshall, chief executive officer (CEO) of Silicon Video Corp., who previously worked for venture capital firms and has held operating roles in several electronics companies; Peter Mills, the CEO of the US Display Consortium; M. Robert Pinnel, the chief technical officer at the consortium and on loan from AT&T; and Malcolm Thompson, chief technologist at Xerox PARC in Palo Alto, who has had extensive experience in semiconductor technology and has done pioneering work in flat panel displays.
Hosting the discussion is the Churchill Club, a non-profit organization providing Silicon Valley with a non-partisan forum for exchange of ideas, particularly on issues in which business and politics converge.
(Kennedy Maize/19950418/Public & Press Contact: Lisa Taylor 408-559-6090)
Press Contact: Lisa Taylor 408-559-6090)
4/18/95
Flat Panel Policy Discussion Forum Set
GENERAL
LANcity Intros Cable TV Modem
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- LANcity Corp. has announced a cable-television modem that the company claims is the fastest and least expensive such device on the market. The LANcity Personal Cable TV Modem reportedly works at 10 megabits-per-second (Mbps) -- the same speed as Ethernet local area networks.
While LANcity has had cable-TV modems for business on the market since 1990, the company said the new Personal Cable TV Modem is the first designed to work over any commercial cable TV channel from the home. Its high speed takes advantage of the fact that cable television lines can carry far more data than telephone lines. As a result, according to the company, a huge graphics file that takes two and a quarter hours to download using a conventional modem would take about eight seconds over cable-TV connections.
The catch is that the modem will only work where cable-television operators have installed support for data transmission. This is not everywhere, company spokeswoman Sharon Brucato admitted although she told Newsbytes that LANcity and other cable-modem manufacturers are talking with major cable operators to try to get the necessary equipment installed. Cable operators in a number of major centers already have it, she said, largely because of demand from business customers.
Another issue is interconnection of the cable systems, so that data can be transmitted beyond the local area. Some cable operators are connecting their systems to other cable systems and also to the Internet, Brucato said. Cable operators are still developing structures for charging for data services, she added.
According to the vendor, the cable modem is especially suited to home-based consultants, telecommuters, and small businesses.
The LANcity Personal Cable TV Modem will sell for $595, LANcity said.
(Grant Buckler/19950418/Press Contact: Sharon Brucato, LANcity tel 508-475-4050 ext 327, fax 508-475-0550; Public Contact: LANcity, 800-LANCITY or 508-475-4050; Internet e-mail lcb@lancity.com)
nternet e-mail lcb@lancity.com)
4/18/95
LANcity Intros Cable TV Modem
BROADCAST
IBM In Microkernel Deals With Fi
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) said it has signed agreements with five universities and research institutions that will use its microkernel technology in various research projects.
The University of Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon University, Oregon Graduate Institute, and IRISA (University of Rennes) in France are working with the microkernel in research. IBM also said the Open Software Foundation Research Institute is evaluating the microkernel technology.
The microkernel technology is designed to act as an instruction interpreter between hardware and operating system services and applications. The point of the microkernel approach is to make it easier to move software to different hardware platforms.
The University of Notre Dame is using the microkernel in teaching and research programs. Graduate students are experimenting with interprocess communication mechanisms, memory management tools, and task migration, while the microkernel is also the basis of research projects at Notre Dame's Distributed Computing Research Laboratory.
At Carnegie Mellon, the microkernel is being used in the school's Real-Time Mach effort, part of the Advanced Real-Time Technology project.
The Oregon Graduate Institute and IRISA are working on a joint project aimed at developing generic high-performance adaptive operating system software. This is based on specialized system components and tuning performance by taking advantage of information as it becomes available as software is compiled linked, loaded, and run.
The Open Software Foundation is developing an industrial microkernel specification that incorporates the IBM Microkernel interfaces, IBM said.
The agreements give IBM the right to make use of the results of the institutions' research, IBM spokesman Jeff Tieszen told Newsbytes, although IBM's main purpose is to make the microkernel technology more visible in the academic world.
(Grant Buckler/19950418/Press Contact: J.P. Versace, Jr., IBM 800-354-0978 or 512-823-1988)
. Versace, Jr., IBM 800-354-0978 or 512-823-1988)
4/18/95
IBM In Microkernel Deals With Five Institutions
Germany's Quelle Plans Polish Ex
HEPPENHEIM, GERMANY, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Quelle Schickedanz AG und Co, a German electronics mail-order company, has announced plans to significantly raise its profile in Poland.
According to Herbert Bittlinger, the company's chairman, plans call for the company to expand its Quelle Polska subsidiary, which was created in January, 1992, to offer computer mail-order facilities in Poland.
The last few months, Bittlinger said, have seen the company move into retail sales directly, with the opening of Quelle outlets in Poznan and Leszno, two Polish cities. Plans also call for Quelle computers and peripherals to be stocked in Escom's 27 shops in Poland. Quelle has a 25 percent stake in Escom, Newsbytes notes.
Bittlinger went on to say that, as well as boosting Quelle Polska's operations in Poland, plans call for the company to establish a purchasing quality control office in Warsaw, with the express aim of buying products and services from Polish companies to sell throughout the Quelle empire.
Quelle Polska's fortunes are very good, Newsbytes notes. During its first year of trading -- 1993/94 -- the company generated revenues of DM8 million, while in its second year of operation (to March 1995) the company has doubled its revenue to DM16 million. Quelle has refused to be drawn on profits from the Polish operation, however.
The bulk of the second year revenue derived from mail-order sales with around 450,000 copies of the Quelle catalog being produced in a Polish language edition. The mail-order operation, which is centered on Poznan in Poland, handles around 17,500 packages each week.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950418/Press & Reader Contact: Quelle tel +49-6252-7090, fax +49-6252-709442)
e tel +49-6252-7090, fax +49-6252-709442)
4/18/95
Germany's Quelle Plans Polish Expansion
BUSINESS
CompuServe Plans 28,800 Bps Netw
h READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Following hard on the heels of its introduction of a full array of Internet services for its subscribers, CompuServe has announced plans to update all of its 420-plus dial-up locations around the world to support 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) networking.
At the same time, the company plans to introduced 64,000 bps access using ISDN (integrated services digital network) access in eight European cities.
The time-frame for these upgrades is over the next 12 months, with all the upgrades to be in place by April, 1996. The dial-up upgrade is significant, as CompuServe maintains around 42,000 dial-up ports on its own network around the world. According to CompuServe, plans call for this number to be doubled to 85,000 modem ports, also by April of next year.
Despite the improvements in access speed, CompuServe is not planning to surcharge for 28,800 bps access. Greg Moore, CompuServe's vice president of network marketing, in a prepared statement, said that a revenue growth of around 35 percent in recent years have allowed the company to finance its network upgrades.
"We're making a tremendous investment of resources to meet these upgrade commitments. Both our business networking customers and information service members worldwide rely on our comprehensive Internet services and value-added, integrated services," he said.
Meanwhile, online reaction to the introduction of CompuServe's new NetLauncher Internet services, which were launched worldwide last week, has been mixed. Some users, accessing CompuServe over packet data network (PDN) connections rather than through the main CompuServe dial-up network, have reported that the negotiation when logging on to CompuServe's WebServer can be slow.
This bureau's analysis of the situation confirms this to be the case. The problem appears to be due to the relative slowness at which data is transmitted in TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) format across PDNs. Subscribers would be well advised to use CompuServe's main dial-up network nodes instead of PDN access services when accessing CompuServe's World Wide Web/Internet Dialer facilities.
(Steve Gold/19950418/Press Contact: SMI, +44-181-563-2222 Internet e-mail 75300.3310@compuserve.com; Reader Contact: CompuServe UK, +44-1734-391064, Internet e-mail 70004.3466@compuserve.com)
4, Internet e-mail 70004.3466@compuserve.com)
4/18/95
CompuServe Plans 28,800 Bps Network Upgrade
ONLINE
Ericsson In $182Mil Malaysian Te
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Ericsson has revealed it has made its first breakthrough in Asia with its personal communications network (PCN) digital cellular phone technology. The contract calls for the Swedish telecoms giant to supply $18 million-worth of PCN systems equipment to Mutiara Telecoms, the Malaysian telecoms company.
According to Olle Ulvenholm, Ericsson Telecom's managing director for Malaysia, the contract calls for the company to supply the network infrastructure, switching equipment and base stations, along with mobile phones, for the Malaysian PCN service, which will initially service the Peninsular Malaysian region.
"We're very pleased to have been chosen by Mutiara Telecommunications for this PCN project. The cellular market in Malaysia, as well as in many other countries in the world, is experiencing tremendous growth," he said.
According to Ulvenholm, there are already around 600,000 subscribers in Malaysia, which is about three percent of the country's population. "We believe that, on the now liberalized and highly competitive mobile phone market, the new PCN systems will stimulate growth to well over one million users before the end of this year. Penetration could approach 15 percent by the year 2,000, which would translate into over three million mobile phone subscribers," he said.
Ulvenholm went on to say that the market for PCN is poised for take off in Malaysia, where eight cellular system licenses have already been issued.
Ericsson claims that it is now the major force in PCN services around the world. The company's largest installation is the Mercury One-2-One network, which has more than 260,000 subscribers, making it the largest system in the world.
Ericsson's representation in Malaysia is handled by Ericsson Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and Perwira Ericsson Sdn Bhd. Both companies have around 900 staff, Newsbytes notes.
(Steve Gold/19950418/Press Contact: Per Bengtsson, Ericsson Business Area Radio Communications, +46-8-757-2159; Reader Contact: Ericsson Telecom Malaysia, +60-3-559-1821)
t: Ericsson Telecom Malaysia, +60-3-559-1821)
4/18/95
Ericsson In $182Mil Malaysian Telecoms Deal
TELECOM
UK - Pipex's 2Mbps Leased Line I
Y CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Pipex, one of the UK's major Internet service provider, has announced it is offering a 2 megabits-per-second (Mbps) leased line service into the Internet.
This makes Pipex the fastest link Internet service provider in Europe Newsbytes notes, and, according to David Mooring, Pipex's marketing consultant, offers a "serious connectivity option" to major corporations. "We have been talking for some time to a number of our existing and prospective customers about a 2Mbps leased line service and the enthusiasm has been extremely encouraging," he said.
According to Pipex, the availability of 2Mbps leased lines into the Internet is the latest stage in a serious pitch the company has been making for the corporate Internet market. The company claims that it now has around 600 corporate Internet customers, and is adding to its stable at the rate of between 10 and 15 percent per month.
Mooring went on to say that corporate customers expect to generate large numbers of accesses to their sites, "or need to move large chunks of data around the world. Companies who are serious about using the Internet as a strategic business tool are understandable anxious to have the appropriate bandwidth in place well ahead of demand from their own customers," he said.
David Barrett, a senior spokesman for Pipex, told Newsbytes that the company now has several companies using its 2Mbps leased line service although no names are available due to commercial confidentiality. "What we are seeing is a shift by corporations away from international X.25 circuits and over to the Internet, as companies can achieve the same levels of communication -- effectively having their own virtual private network -- for a tenth of the cost of an international X.25 network," he said.
"Obviously, because of the costs involved, only corporations can afford a 2Mbps leased line into the Internet. But the cost-savings available for serious data network users are significant. People don't believe us when we say that 2Mbps is possible across the Internet, but it can be achieved, especially where two sites need to move data at such speeds across the Atlantic," he said.
(Steve Gold/19950418/Press Contact: Amanda Hassall, +44-181 332-7022, Internet e-mail mandy@gbc.co.uk; Reader Contact: Pipex 44-1223-250100, Internet e-mail davidb@pipex.net)
44-1223-250100, Internet e-mail davidb@pipex.net)
4/18/95
UK - Pipex's 2Mbps Leased Line Internet Service
ONLINE
TI Records Best Qtr Ever, Ups Di
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) said it has recorded its best financial quarter in the company's history and will recommend a 30 percent increase in its quarterly dividend on common stock.
The semiconductor company has also revised its market share estimate, saying it believes it now holds 28 percent of the world's semiconductor market. That's an increase over the previous estimate of 21 percent TI issued earlier this year.
TI shareholders should not spend their dividend checks yet, since the approximately 30 percent jump in the quarterly dividend is still only a recommendation to the board of directors. The board will consider the increase at its June meeting. If approved, the increase would be effective with the July dividend payment.
Net TI revenue for the first quarter of 1995 was $2.86 billion, a 17 percent increase over the same period last year. The company said the increase resulted primarily from strong growth in semiconductor revenues, particularly memory products.
TI said profit from operations for the quarter was $344 million compared with $209 million in last year's first quarter. The biggest contributor to the increased profits was credited to higher semiconductor operating profit. Net income for the quarter was $230 million, versus $134 million in 1994.
Operating profits were up because the company took several cost-reduction actions, including consolidation of its custom manufacturing services and personal productivity products businesses.
The period's results included a one-time pretax restructuring and divestiture charges of $132 million and one-time royalty revenues of $69 million.
The company is now estimating that the long-term growth rate of the world semiconductor market may exceed the annual 15 percent historical average. TI points to the increasing semiconductor content in electronic end-equipment as more products become digital, faster growth of the computer and communications industries, and rapidly growing markets in Asia and other parts of the world as indicators of accelerated growth.
TI said it will allocate about $850 million to research and development in 1995, a significant increase from the $689 million spent for R&D in 1994 and also an increase from the 1995 budget item of $800 the company announced at the beginning of the year.
(Jim Mallory/19950418/Press contact: Neil McGlone, Texas Instruments, 214-995-4961; Public contact: Texas Instruments 214-995-2011)
contact: Texas Instruments 214-995-2011)
4/18/95
TI Records Best Qtr Ever, Ups Dividend
BUSINESS
Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 F
Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Fre
Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC
UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem R
UK - PCN Networks Competing Head
UUNET To Go Public
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled
IBM Plans Global Network in Indi
Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open M
Burst Memory Gaining Popularity
UK - Firms Dissatisfied With Int
Israel - Smart Networking Upgrad
More On PictureTel's Videoconfer
Gupta Establishes Asian HQ, Chin
DEC Plans Switch, Controller For
More On Prodigy's CEO Change
Apple Intros StyleWriter 1200 Pr
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) monochrome inkjet printer, StyleWriter II, is being replaced by StyleWriter 1200. The 1200 has the same design as its predecessor and a street price of about $249.
Rick Armstrong, one of Apple's product managers, told Newsbytes "There is still a very strong market for monochrome printers. In spite of all the attention that has been directed towards color inkjets, we have found about 60 to 70% of their use is still black-and-white printing."
StyleWriter 1200 new features include faster speed, better print resolution, a desktop printer icon, two and four-up printing, and a watermark option, according to the company. The new model prints at three pages-per-minute (ppm) in normal print mode and offers greater resolution than StyleWriter II with 720 by 360 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution for smooth edges on black-and-white pages. Resolution for pages containing grayscale images is 360 by 360 dpi.
The desktop icon allows users to drag a file and drop it on the icon to automatically launch the application and the print dialog box.
Two and four-up printing means a user may print either two or four documents on one page. This feature is often used for pre-press work and for many internally transmitted office documents. Apple says the feature is also useful in producing half-sheet flyers, handbills, and greeting cards. Two and four-up printing also saves on ink and paper.
Wartermarks are imprints of a light gray image or text across a document. Commonly, a watermark will be a company logo or a one word message such as "urgent." Apple is shipping eight standard watermarks including, Confidential, Contract, Do No Copy, Draft Final, FYI, Personal, and Proposal.
The new Printer is immediately available and comes with 64 TrueType fonts. StyleWriter 1200 prints to plain paper, glossy and premium paper, envelopes, transparencies and Apple's back-print film. It connects to any 68020-based processor or higher Macintosh computer. An automatic "off-on" feature on this printer complies with the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star guidelines and StyleWriter 1200 features a Power PC-native driver.
(Patrick McKenna/19950418/Press Contact: Jayme Curtis, Apple 408-974-6296)
tact: Jayme Curtis, Apple 408-974-6296)
4/18/95
Apple Intros StyleWriter 1200 Printer
APPLE
EMC Intros Products & Features F
HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- EMC has made ten announcements about its Symmetrix family of Integrated Cached Disk Array (ICDA) subsystems for mainframes. These include two new product introductions: the Symmetrix 5100 ICDA subsystem which extends EMC's Symmetrix 5000 series to low-end storage requirements; and the RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks)-S parity-based data protection implementation.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Dick Blaschke, VP of mainframe marketing, maintained that by providing "Symmetrix 5000 performance" to customers requiring under 200 gigabytes (GB) of storage, the Symmetrix 5100 positions EMC well against competing products like Iceberg and IBM's Ramac.
With the addition of Symmetrix 5100, the Symmetrix 5000 series can now be used by customers needing anywhere from 35GB to one terabyte (TB) of subsystem storage, Blaschke told Newsbytes. "In contrast IBM's success has been limited to the low end," he asserted.
EMC's new RAID-S, he contended, represents an "industry first" by allowing users to intermix RAID-S with Mirrored (RAID-1) protected disks, Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) protected disks, and non-RAID disks in the same subsystem.
Through this "scalable" approach, he said, EMC is allowing to users to make their own decisions as to whether or not they want protection, and if so, what kind of protection. "Nobody else is doing that," according to Blaschke.
In contrast to other RAID products, RAID-S calculates disk parity at the disk drive rather than the controller, he pointed out. "The `S' in RAID-S could stand for Symmetrix, but it could also stand for `superior,'" Newsbytes was told.
RAID-S is also designed to utilize EMC's automatic caching algorithms and "large" cache sizes of up to 4GB, said Blaschke adding that EMC began to develop "expertise" in cache during its early days as a memory board maker for IBM-compatible, Prime, and DEC systems. Today, EMC produces storage subsystems for Unix systems as well as mainframes.
Also among EMC's announcements are eight new functions for the Symmetrix 5000 series. One of these new capabilities allows users with data stored in early IBM mainframe emulation modes to take advantage of RAID technology, he said.
"Many of our users still have a lot of older IBM equipment, such as early IBM 3380 and 3390 mainframes, and haven't been able to move to RAID till now because of the difficulty of converting the data," he reported.
The new capability permits intermixing of IBM 3380 and 3390 disk emulation on a Symmetrix 5000 subsystem, according to the EMC VP.
In a related enhancement, users will now be able to intermix 3GB and 9GB disks on the same Symmetrix subsystem, Newsbytes was told. The 3GB disks are aimed at high performance, and the 9GB disks at high capacity storage.
Another new feature, Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) Extended Distance, is an expansion of a previous capability, introduced by EMC in September, that permits remote mirroring -- or "copying of data in two locations" -- on campus networks.
"What we're announcing now extends that function to T3 and E3 lines, for remote mirroring around the world," Blaschke explained.
Also new, he said, is Multi-Path Lock Facility (MPLF), a feature designed to let users of the TPF operating system share Symmetrix 5000 systems from multiple hosts through multiple channel paths with data integrity and "lock management."
"MPLF is required in very high transaction applications in which multiple systems are going after the same database. We've been very successful with this is the airline industry," the EMC exec told Newsbytes.
In other mainframe storage announcements, said Blaschke, EMC has added: the Symmetrix Manager graphical user interface (GUI); integrated 4GB 3.5-inch disks into the Symmetrix 5200 system, for increased performance and capacity; and enhanced its Hyper-Volume Extension option, which raises the number of hyper-volumes per physical disk from three to eight.
Jose Nunez, director of technical planning for information technology, told Newsbytes that the new Symmetrix 5100 subsystem is providing "excellent performance and reliability" in storing accessing, and updating information for a "heavy-duty I/O (input output) application at HBO. HBO is one of about 50 early users of the subsystem worldwide, according to Blaschke.
In the HBO application, which is online 22.5 hours each day, HBO's Direct Broadcasting Satellite is being used to market HBO programming to several thousand satellite subscribers throughout the US. The application calls for processing an average of up to 250,000 transactions per day, with each transaction involving up to 300 I/Os.
"We have 51GB of data. But because of the remote mirroring on the Symmetrix 5100, we have 102GB `behind the scenes.' That's reliability, right there. We also have a big cache of 768K. And the response time is magnificent," Nunez reported. For about 93 percent of the transactions, response time is less than one second, he estimated.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950418/Reader Contact: EMC, 508-435-1000; Press Contacts: Mark Fredrickson or Rick Lacroix, EMC, 508-435 1000; Len Cercone, Mullen PR for EMC, 508-468-1155)
1000; Len Cercone, Mullen PR for EMC, 508-468-1155)
4/18/95
EMC Intros Products & Features For Mainframe RAID
SUPERCOMPUTER
Hayes Shows Profit Again, Sees R
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. has reported an operating profit for the second successive quarter and its president predicts the company is on track for a solid recovery.
Privately owned Hayes, which has been under Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection since mid-November of last year, reported an operating profit of about $1.5 million on sales of roughly $65 million for the second quarter of fiscal 1995. The company reported a $442,000 profit in the first quarter of this year.
Dennis Hayes, president and founder of the company, said the financial results confirm that the cost reductions and operational improvements made by the executive team are starting to take hold. "The company had made great strides in strengthening its executive team, improving capacity and reducing supply constraints. Clearly we are on track for a solid recovery," said Hayes in prepared statement.
Following the company's filing for Chapter 11 protection, Dennis Hayes hired a team from Arthur Andersen & Company to help develop the requisite reorganization plan.
The company said it has booked record sales levels for the second quarter, with sales orders exceeding $74 million. The company said those results reflect a 34 percent increase in year-to-year total unit shipments, and are more than a 100 percent increase in PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) and high-speed modems.
Hayes said several operational changes are playing a key role in the company's turnaround. The company said the merger of Practical Peripherals Inc. and Hayes is now complete and is beginning to have a significant economic impact. It also credited manufacturing improvements as contributing to bringing gross margins back to near 1993 levels.
Hayes owned Practical Peripherals since 1989 and operated independently until the two firms merged in November, 1994, a move almost lost in the shock wave caused when the company that set the standard for modem communications filed for bankruptcy protection.
(Jim Mallory/19950418/Press contact: Susan Merkel, Hayes Microcomputer Products, 404-840-6824; Public contact: Hayes Microcomputer Products, 404-441-1617)
yes Microcomputer Products, 404-441-1617)
4/18/95
Hayes Shows Profit Again, Sees Recovery
BUSINESS
Miro Intros Integrated Comms Car
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- Offering what it calls a communications card, Miro Computing Products has announced its Miroconnect 34 Wave. The company's new board and kit offers a modem with fax and data capabilities, Internet access voice-mail, speaker phone capabilities, and CD-quality sound.
A preview of the new board is scheduled for Spring Comdex in Atlanta. The company will demonstrate the telephony features, along with the 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) modem, wavetable sound "plug-and-play" capability and faxing features of Miroconnect Wave 34.
The new card is designed for the SOHO (small office/home office) market and Miro says the device combines the work of several different devices into one card. "The small office is changing rapidly and the need for affordable products is extremely important. With this one card we are offering a complete answering machine, send and receive fax capabilities, Internet access, and high-end sound features," said Bob Butchko, president of the company.
He continued, "There have been a number of voice-mail/fax/modem cards on the market, but by design they required substantial processing from the CPU (central processing unit) and of course none of them offer wavetable sound. One of the main advantages with the Miro card is that we have integrated a processor on the board. This increases the speed of operations and allows us to deliver more options. It also eliminates some of the conflicts which are caused by placing too much of a load on the CPU."
The telephony features of Miroconnect 34 Wave include a duplex mode which allows two users of the card to send voice and data at the same time. This allows for a live voice conversation while editing a shared document with the other party and uses a single analog phone line. The complete kit has a headset included for use with a telephone interface which includes a dial pad, speed-dialing, and a directory. A standard telephone may be used in place of the headset. Multiple mailbox capability is also included.
Among its fax features, Miroconnect 34 Wave includes a fax-back capability which allows users to send fax-on-demand to customers and interested parties. "What we have created is the ability for a small office to give the appearance of a much larger company at a very affordable price," said Butchko.
The card's wavetable, 16-bit sound is fully compatible with Windows 3.1 and higher and Windows sound system 2.0. It uses 32 voice wavetable synthesis and Q-sound (three-dimensional sound) to provide CD-quality sound to both business and entertainment applications says the company. CD-ROMs can be connected directly to the board with one of three different pin connections for standard IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics), Sony, or Mitsumi.
The $349 price tag includes the headphone and an Internet access package yet to be announced. Butchko said the Internet kit will include a World Wide Web browser. The Miroconnect 34 Wave is expected to be on retail shelves by the end of May.
(Patrick McKenna/19950418/Press Contact: Chris McKie, Neale-May & Partners, 415-328-5555; Public Information: Miro Computer Products, 415-855-0940/MIRO041895/PHOTO)
cts, 415-855-0940/MIRO041895/PHOTO)
4/18/95
Miro Intros Integrated Comms Card
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`!8!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Australia's Telstra Launches Telecom Service In UK 04/18/95 Telstra, the largest Australian telecoms operator and the biggest full service carrier in the Pacific region, has entered the UK market.
2 -> Apple Upgrades QuickTake Digital Camera 04/18/95 Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is replacing its QuickTake 100 digital camera with the QuickTake 150. The new 24-bit color camera offers additional features without a price increase.
3 -> UK - Small Firms Left Behind In IT Stakes - Report 04/18/95 According to a report issued this week from Lloyds Bank, over two thirds of small businesses admit to having difficulties in keeping up with the fast-moving world of information technology (IT).
4 -> Novell Intros NetWare For DEC Access 04/18/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has announced NetWare for DEC Access software, a product designed to connect NetWare networks using IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) networks.
5 -> Media Planning Directory Online For Web Marketing 04/18/95 Interactive Traffic is set to introduce Traffic Resource, which is being dubbed "the first media-planning directory for online marketers."
6 -> Intersolv Expands Unix Data-Access Support 04/18/95 Hoping to capture a larger share of the Unix data-access market Intersolv Inc. (NASDAQ:ISLI), has added drivers for two more Unix platforms to its DataDirect line. By adding support for Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX and IBM's AIX, Intersolv said it has provided support for 70 percent of the Unix market.
7 -> Dual-Function Optical Drive From Panasonic 04/18/95 Panasonic Communications and Systems Co. (PCSC) has announced a dual-function optical disk drive unit. The PD PowerDrive handles both rewritable optical disks and CD-ROMs in a single storage device, Panasonic said.
8 -> CardWizard Pro Said To Solve PCMCIA Problems 04/18/95 SystemSoft Corp. (NASDAQ:SYSF) has announced software that replaces the Card and Socket Services software supplied with Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) add-on cards. According to SystemSoft, the CardWizard Pro software clears up many incompatibility problems and includes diagnostics to help users resolve card conflicts.
9 -> June Shareware Conf Set For Scottsdale 04/18/95 The shareware software industry will both teach and honor its own in June, the Shareware Industry Award Foundation (SAIF) announced. The fifth annual Shareware Industry Conference (SIC) will be held at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, June 22-25.
10 -> New Remote E-Mail Application For PCs 04/18/95 ICL Enterprises North America will introduce an electronic-mail (e-mail) system the company claims will make retrieving mail via a remote connection easy. The new program, called Embla The PC Mail Manager, supports the emerging Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP).
11 -> Parsons' $49 Windows Desktop Publishing Prgm 04/18/95 Parsons Technology Inc., a company known for its low cost legal, personal finance and tax preparation software, has introduced a desktop publishing package for Microsoft Windows that comes with 30 customizable layout templates and 50 clip-art images.
12 -> China - Govt Calls For Tough Copyright Law Enforcement 04/18/95 A national meeting of leaders of the (central and provincial) copyright bureaus has been held in Beijing, with the leaders calling for enforcement of copyright laws and severe punishment for violators.
13 -> Australia - Acct Prgm Distributor Sets Selling Example 04/18/95 Australian software distributor Brad Schofer sells MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) accounting software. In fact, he told Newsbytes, he has made it a "vocation," and even the US manufacturer has acknowledged his success.
14 -> Philippines - Andersen Targets Oil & Energy For IT 04/18/95 ith oil demand expected to increase at four percent per annum, Andersen Consulting projects that information technology (IT) will play a vital role in developing the oil and energy industry's growth potential.
15 -> Gateway's 120MHz PC With 3-Disk CD Changer 04/18/95 Gateway 2000 has introduced a personal computer it calls the "fastest PC in the world" that comes with a three-disk CD changer.
16 -> AT&T & Univ Start Videoconferencing Test 04/18/95 AT&T and Emory University have launched a 30-day test of what both parties say will be the first desktop videoconferencing system in a university setting aimed at helping librarians walk students through the research process.
17 -> Infocorp Reports On Mac, Windows Duel 04/18/95 Apple is beginning to make up ground in its race for the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of America's computer users, according to Computer Intelligence Infocorp (CII), a market research firm. CII's 1994 survey of the computer marketplace found that Apple had grown its installed base by 10 percent to 6.1 million users.
18 -> Flat Panel Policy Discussion Forum Set 04/18/95 A panel of experts in the flat panel display industry will look at developments in that field at a public forum in Palo Alto this Thursday, April 20.
19 -> LANcity Intros Cable TV Modem 04/18/95 LANcity Corp. has announced a cable-television modem that the company claims is the fastest and least expensive such device on the market. The LANcity Personal Cable TV Modem reportedly works at 10 megabits-per-second (Mbps) -- the same speed as Ethernet local area networks.
20 -> IBM In Microkernel Deals With Five Institutions 04/18/95 IBM (NYSE:IBM) said it has signed agreements with five universities and research institutions that will use its microkernel technology in various research projects.
21 -> Germany's Quelle Plans Polish Expansion 04/18/95 Quelle Schickedanz AG und Co, a German electronics mail-order company, has announced plans to significantly raise its profile in Poland.
22 -> CompuServe Plans 28,800 Bps Network Upgrade 04/18/95 Following hard on the heels of its introduction of a full array of Internet services for its subscribers, CompuServe has announced plans to update all of its 420-plus dial-up locations around the world to support 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) networking.
23 -> Ericsson In $182Mil Malaysian Telecoms Deal 04/18/95 Ericsson has revealed it has made its first breakthrough in Asia with its personal communications network (PCN) digital cellular phone technology. The contract calls for the Swedish telecoms giant to supply $18 million-worth of PCN systems equipment to Mutiara Telecoms, the Malaysian telecoms company.
24 -> UK - Pipex's 2Mbps Leased Line Internet Service 04/18/95 Pipex one of the UK's major Internet service provider, has announced it is offering a 2 megabits-per-second (Mbps) leased line service into the Internet.
25 -> TI Records Best Qtr Ever, Ups Dividend 04/18/95 Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) said it has recorded its best financial quarter in the company's history and will recommend a 30 percent increase in its quarterly dividend on common stock.
26 -> Apple Intros StyleWriter 1200 Printer 04/18/95 Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) monochrome inkjet printer, StyleWriter II, is being replaced by StyleWriter 1200. The 1200 has the same design as its predecessor and a street price of about $249.
27 -> EMC Intros Products & Features For Mainframe RAID 04/18/95 EMC has made ten announcements about its Symmetrix family of Integrated Cached Disk Array (ICDA) subsystems for mainframes. These include two new product introductions: the Symmetrix 5100 ICDA subsystem, which extends EMC's Symmetrix 5000 series to low-end storage requirements; and the RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks)-S parity-based data protection implementation.
28 -> Hayes Shows Profit Again, Sees Recovery 04/18/95 Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. has reported an operating profit for the second successive quarter and its president predicts the company is on track for a solid recovery.
29 -> Miro Intros Integrated Comms Card 04/18/95 Offering what it calls a communications card, Miro Computing Products has announced its Miroconnect 34 Wave. The company's new board and kit offers a modem with fax and data capabilities, Internet access, voice-mail speaker phone capabilities, and CD-quality sound.
(Ian Stokell/19950418)
(Ian Stokell/19950418)
4/18/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Europe - Gateway 2000 Buys Norte
DUBLIN, IRELAND, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Nortel (Northern Telecom) through Telecom Eireann Information Systems (TEIS), has received a contract from Gateway 2000, the pan-European direct-sell PC company.
Terms of the contract call for Nortel to install a Meridian 1 telecoms switch for Gateway 2000. The switch will be linked into Gateway's European call center in Dublin.
The installation of the new switchgear comes as Gateway 2000 is planning to expand its current sales operations in the UK, France, and Germany, to include Austria and Switzerland, Newsbytes notes. Last week saw Ted Wait, Gateway 2000's chairman, announce plans to expand into these two new markets.
"We are extremely pleased with our experience in the United Kingdom France, and Germany," he said. "These two additional markets fit the Gateway 2000 direct business model perfectly."
Both Nortel and TEIS are currently installing the Meridian 1 Option 71 business communication system at Gateway's Dublin headquarters. The system will include the Meridian Mail voice-messaging, automatic call distribution, and customer control routing applications, and will be capable of supporting up to 250 sales agent positions initially.
Nortel and TEIS are also responsible for the maintenance and support of the equipment and staff training for the benefits of the new set up.
Martin Wickham, head of Management Information Services with Gateway, explained that the Meridian system was chosen because of the wide range of features the system offers. "Our business depends on the quality of call management and reliability of the phone system. Accurate monitoring of call patterns and effective agent management in a multi-lingual environment are critical in the operation of a high volume European call center," he said.
"We run an operation that is driven by telesales, but depends on the effective teamwork of sales, administration, customer services, and our technical support departments. This creates very different demands on the performance of our telephone system," he added.
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- AST UK has announced a new range of Advantage! Adventure multimedia PCs for the home. The new machines which are aimed at the consumer end of the market, feature a high-speed modem and a one month free introductory membership to CompuServe.
According to AST, the new Advantage! Adventure range "brings the whole world closer to everyone's tabletop, with modem-equipped models coming with everything you need to access the Internet."
The unveiling of the new AST range sees the launch of the All-In-One 4000 series, with the machine, monitor, microphone, and speakers built into an integrated design. Other new features include the latest quad speed CD-ROM drives, a bigger memory, and increased hard disk storage capacity. The flagship model in the range is the AST Advantage! Adventure 8090P, which is powered by an Intel Pentium processor.
According to Graham Hopper, AST's general manager for the UK and Ireland, there is now a much higher level of awareness about the Internet than there was last year, "so we feel that this is the right time to introduce machines with exactly the features we are now offering."
To coincide with the launch, AST, in conjunction with Microsoft and Good Housekeeping magazine are publishing an essential guide to buying a multimedia PC for the family. The Good Housekeeping Guide To Computers In The Home is available free by calling the AST hotline on 44-1756-702830
The new Advantage! Adventure range will be available at Alders, Byte Superstores, Function 4, Staples, and Tempo. The entry-level machine is the Advantage! Adventure 6066d priced at UKP1,199, while the entry-level communications-ready machine is the Advantage! Adventure 4066D at UKP1,449.
WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- New England Power is putting $4.6 million into computer hardware and software upgrades and taking over management of the system that safeguards 52 percent of the electric transmission capacity of the region. NEP will take over the emergency management system (EMS) now operated by the regional consortium of municipal and investor-owned utilities called REMVEC (Rhode Island/Eastern Massachusetts/Vermont Energy Control).
The new EMS will provide monitoring and security for transmission lines and equipment for more than 30 electric utilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. "The new EMS will increase the power, speed and functionality of the existing computer system at no cost to consumers," says Francis Flynn, EMS project manager for NEP, a subsidiary of the New England Electric System. "In fact, we anticipate a cost saving of $3.5 million over ten years as a result of operating efficiencies."
NEP is replacing four mainframe and mini-computers systems with a single high-performance Alpha system from Digital Equipment Corp., based in Massachusetts, and specialized energy management software from ABB Systems Control of Santa Clara, Calif.
"Digital's Alpha computer architecture is the ideal platform for EMS management," says Steve Koenig, Digital's director of mainframe solutions, "providing extremely fast data access, high availability and unsurpassed reliability at a fraction of the cost of mainframe systems." He noted that the need for real-time data exchange is increasingly important as the utility industry is restructured into a competitive business.
NEP says it will begin installation early next year and the new system will be operational in mid-1997. NEP owns and operates 20 generating plants and some 2,400 miles of transmission lines.
The new system will serve seven investor-owned utilities (Boston Edison, Commonwealth Energy, Eastern Utilities Associates Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light, Milford Power LP, NEES, and Vermont Electric Power) and 30 municipal systems.
(Kennedy Maize/19950419/Press Contact: Susan Stevens, New England Electric, 508-366-9011)
Susan Stevens, New England Electric, 508-366-9011)
4/19/95
New England Utility Upgrades Emergency Mgt System
BUSINESS
Viewsoft Intros C/C++ GUI Creati
Phone Markets Opening Without Le
SITA Plans Global Secure Interne
Canadian Multimedia Firms Merge
Harris Says Cyberguard Not Vulne
Lotus Plans 1st European Technol
RBOCs Plan To Sell Bellcore
UK Homes Spend More On PCs Than
CD-ROM Sales More Than Triple In
CompuServe Has 300,000 European
Planning For The Biochemical Com
UK - National ID Card Row Breaks
Germany - GSM Network Reaches Mi
America Online, New Line Plan Ge
Asian Growth Big Contributor For
India - Mitel Looks For Developm
Bell-Northern Claims Switching B
India - Onward To Sell SDRC's CA
Impulse Intros Large-Screen Note
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Impulse Computer Corp. has announced a new notebook computer with an 11.3-inch dual-scan color screen. The Toronto-based manufacturer claims its new CompuBook 600C offers the largest screen on the notebook market.
Alok Sarna, president of Impulse, told Newsbytes that the screen will appeal to people who make multimedia presentations while traveling. He also said Impulse is aiming squarely at the small-business market, believing that this market has been "lost in the shuffle" as business-oriented resellers concentrate on larger companies and superstores pay most attention to individual buyers.
Besides its large screen, the CompuBook 600C has a trackpoint pointing device of the type popularized by IBM's Thinkpad notebooks, a nickel-metal hydride battery that Sarna said can run the machine for three hours of typical use, and a Type III Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot. It comes with four megabytes (MB) of memory as standard equipment which can be expanded to 28 MB. The unit uses removable hard disks with a choice of 340MB, 510MB, or 810MB drives now available and a one gigabyte drive planned for release in June, Sarna said.
Also built into the unit is 16-bit stereo sound with internal speakers. The processor is an Intel 486DX4, available in a choice of 75 megahertz (MHz) or 100MHz speeds.
Impulse expects street prices for the machines will range from about C$3,700 for a 75MHz model with 4MB of memory and a 340MB hard drive to about C$4,900 for a 100MHz model with 8MB of memory and an 810MB hard drive.
Impulse is also preparing to launch an external CD-ROM drive for use with the notebook.
The Impulse notebooks are designed in Canada, but manufactured in the Far East, Sarna said. They are sold through dealers and through the Inmac mail-order catalog.
(Grant Buckler/19950418/Press Contact: Sheryl Steinberg, The Cohen Group for Impulse, 905-886-8086 or 416-226-6267)
Impulse, 905-886-8086 or 416-226-6267)
4/19/95
Impulse Intros Large-Screen Notebook
Online Marketplace '95 - Shoppin
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Shopping via online services, the Internet, and CD-ROMs is becoming increasingly viable for retailers, if a speakers' comments at one of Online Marketplace 95's panels on online shopping and catalogs is any indication. What's more, elements of CD-ROM and cyberspace technologies are working together to bring "cyber-shoppers" an even more interactive experience.
One company that is taking advantage of multiple technologies is 2Market -- a retailing joint venture of America Online (AOL) Apple Computer, and Medior Inc. Michael Minigan, vice president of business development for 2Market, said his company is coming out soon with a spring and summer CD, and revamping its area on AOL.
He said one marketplace perception CD and cyber-retailers have to overcome is the misconception that these new technologies are nothing but digitally transferred paper catalogs. That perception can be overcome by creating new merchandising concepts, coming up with new ways to put content together, and putting together value-added services.
He also said the keys to success include combining CD's with other platforms, leading customers down new electronic roads, and developing new programming to keep the content fresh.
Melanie McCarthy, vice president of HSN Interactive Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Home Shopping Network, presented some interesting statistics of who buys products online compared to her company's television and catalog operations. While 85% of the buyers on HSC TV (Home Shopping Club TV) are made up of women, 90% of online buyers are men, she said. She also said the average income of the HSC TV buyer is $45,000, while it is $70,000 online. She said "products sold on TV don't necessarily translate well to online."
Currently, HSN Interactive has presences on the Internet, CompuServe and Prodigy. She also said her company will be on every major commercial online service by the end of 1995.
Richard Housekamp, president and chief executive officer of WorldShop, said cyber-retailers should run their sites with the "flair of a neighborhood retail store," to give a one-on-one neighborly impression. He also said the sites should include interactive communications features, like electronic-mail provide rapid follow-ups to online reports, adopt a strong post-sales service plan, and deal quickly with dissenters among others.
Another idea Housekamp brought forward was having "blue light specials" online, to bring a real-time feel to online shopping services. To that end, he also suggested that online retailers emphasize discounts and limited quantities in their product information screens.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
information screens.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
4/19/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Shopping & Catalogs
ONLINE
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- The advertising executive who "Wired Magazine" called a "visionary" said he is excited about the online world, which has "come of age" in the past year. Chiat made his comments as the first-day keynote speaker at Jupiter Communications' Online Marketplace '95 Conference in Chicago.
Chiat did liken the experience of being in cyberspace as getting on and off the "Info Super Treadmill," because of the constant stream of information flowing into the PC's of well-connected people. He said when computers first came out, there was nothing near the feeling of being on an information treadmill, and the emerging online industries are taking over very quickly.
He then moved on to the topic most people who attended the conference wanted to hear -- making money from commercial online services and the Internet. "The most obvious way, of course, to make money is to set up conferences like this one," he said, which drew chuckles from the audience.
He then listed other ways -- some serious, others more light-hearted. One area that's doing well is books, technical magazines, and other publications relating to the subject of cyberspace. Online employment search services are another. Other ways include cyber programmers online "traffic cops" to enforce ethics codes, and people to educate others about the Internet.
Even people who help others can get into the act, Chiat said. For those who get hooked on the "Net" and online services, online therapists will make a lot of money, he said. Also, virtual PR agencies and marketers will also make a big splash, along with virtual cyber-shoppers, information aggregators, and telecommunications consultants.
Chiat also called World Wide Web advertising "the best value around." He said his company, Chiat/Day, constructs Web pages from anywhere between $15,000 and $150,000, depending on what the client wants in their page.
Finally, he said the online world isn't a "fad." The mass audience may not be there yet, but "they will be," he said. Chiat also said cyberspace could extend to children of all ages and classes, to help them "learn and grow."
(Bob Woods/19950418)
m "learn and grow."
(Bob Woods/19950418)
4/19/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chiat Keynote
ONLINE
Online Marketplace '95 - Overvi
= CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- It had the makings of a convention catastrophe -- other related conferences and trade shows occurring elsewhere, and a Bill Gates appearance not more than a hundred feet away (at a different function, no less). But those events didn't stop an estimated 350 people from attending the Online Marketplace '95 Conference in Chicago.
The conference, sponsored by Jupiter Communications, focused on the ever-growing world of commercial online services and the Internet and how business could make money from the expanding cyberspace community.
Jupiter President Gene DeRose told Newsbytes he was happy with the turnout, considering the fact that other related events were happening in other parts of the US, and this was the first Jupiter event to be held in the Windy City.
As for the Bill Gates appearance -- apparently he was making a speech to the Executive's Club of Chicago in the ballroom next to the Jupiter conference. When word got out of the Microsoft chief's presence in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers at Cityfront Center, Online Marketplace attendees wondered aloud if "the Bill" would make an appearance.
During his opening remarks, DeRose said much of the conference would mainly focus on marketing online services to the consumer. "The Internet is fertile ground for businesses, but it's important for the marketers of business services and entertainment players to understand the dynamics of integrating onto the Internet and commercial online services." That sentiment was echoed by many speakers, who represented a wide range of businesses, during the individual speeches.
Outside the conference rooms and during an evening cocktail party vendors such as America Online and Chicago Online, the Interactive Catalog Corporation, CMP Publications, and American Information Systems were presenting their wares to conference goers.
Overall, DeRose said he was happy with the conference. Intermittent audio problems and the hasty eviction of attendees from meeting rooms by Sheraton management to make way for a black-tie dinner were the only real black-marks against Online Marketplace '95. The black-tie dinner was for the Economics Club of Chicago -- where Bill Gates spoke.
(Bob Woods/19950418/Press Contact: Adam Schoenfeld, Jupiter Communications, 212-941-7423)
upiter Communications, 212-941-7423)
4/19/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Overview
ONLINE
Online Marketplace '95 - Marketi
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- One of the issues discussed at the Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago sponsored by Jupiter Communications, centered on online marketing and transactions. Up to now, some efforts at selling goods and services online have been experimental, but Jupiter officials say the environment is ripe for an explosion of transactions and advertising.
Online marketers from companies like Prodigy Services Co. Microsoft Network, and PC Flowers Inc. debated the idea of the Internet and online services as an emerging consumer marketplace.
Prodigy President Ross Glatzer commented that successful players in the online world are doing two things well -- custom tailoring their offerings to the medium, and focusing on the consumer and not the technical side of the business. "Simply hanging out a shingle on the Internet will absolutely not guarantee you sales success," he said. "Even CD-ROM is interesting, but it lacks the key attribute of the customer focus that can only explode in the (online) genre."
To be successful one needs four attributes, Glatzer said. First, the company needs a comprehensive representation of their product line. Next, the pricing needs to be competitive with what the consumer can buy on the street. Then, top-notch customer service is needed. Finally, a "sense of community," with social interaction, is required to be successful.
David Bauman, vice president of American Express, said his company's ExpressNet site on America Online is providing a "fourth channel" for his customers to reach the company, besides the phone mail, and bill payment. He also said online services in general are becoming a legitimate channel for companies and customers to communicate, although "we must be realistic about the size of the audience. The base is still very small."
Transactions were Bauman's next topic. He called the acquisition and management of information -- as part of transactions -- the major application of today. Also, two key barriers of usage are security and customer acceptance.
Bill Melton, president of CyberCash Inc., focused on payment systems. He said those systems "have to evolve into mechanisms that are easy to use, and will level the playing field" among online businesses. Melton also said of the four types of payments -- which are credit/debit cards checks, cash, and coin -- to assume credit cards will be the only form of payment on the Internet is wrong. Also, he said the online community will have to work with banks to develop a system that is acceptable to all parties.
Marty Levin, who is director of interactive advertising for Microsoft Network (MSN), highlighted his part of the discussion with a two-part definition of what the "information superhighway" contains. First, he said it has a "level of content which is information and transaction-sponsored communications" being digitized for consumer use. He then said the definition contains uncertainty because no-one knows what will work. We do know, he said, that networked PC's are the first winner in the online wars, and that "communities" are the first killer application of those wars.
The final speaker, William Tobin of PC Flowers, is a six-year veteran of online marketing. He cautioned businesses not to go online with their product if they're not ready. He said cyber consumers are particularly demanding because there's no face-to-face interaction.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
face-to-face interaction.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
4/19/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Marketing & Transactions
ONLINE
Online Marketplace '95 - Adverti
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- At the Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago, advertising and delivering the mass media revenue base is a hot topic. The big question that came out in discussions was "what comes first: a critical mass of users to draw ad accounts, or advertising funds to allow user fees" as Jupiter Communications officials, who sponsored the conference put it.
Alan Cohen, executive vice president of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) said the firm was using new media applications including online content, to foster "closer relationships with our advertising base, our affiliates, and our viewers." Those new products include NBC Online, NBC Internet, NBC Affinity Program, and Interactive Advertising. He said NBC was the first television network to produce full online and interactive content, along with the first outfit to put advertising on America Online, where NBC Online resides. "What we are trying to do is create a different look and feel each day," he said.
AT&T Interchange's (formerly Ziff-Davis Interactive) Leslie Laredo said when it comes to online advertising and marketing, it's "full-speed ahead." But to understand this new "cyberworld," some paradigms people have about marketing and advertising have to change, she said. First she called the concept of information-defined transactions "marketspace." She also said the concepts of revenue streams and the sources of revenue are also changing to be more online oriented. Finally, Laredo echoed what other speakers at this conference have said involving the creation of a customer service focus to help the online consumer.
Elliott Dahan, vice president of strategic alliances for Compton's/Tribune New Media, said another way of thinking regarding advertising and marketing involves a "trinity," as he put it, of CD-ROM Internet, and online technologies. He said the CD-ROM format is a better promotional tool than an advertising tool, and that the three "members" of the trinity should be used to support a single advertising campaign.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
ing campaign.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
4/19/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Advertising
ONLINE
Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 F
Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Fre
Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC
UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem R
UK - PCN Networks Competing Head
UUNET To Go Public
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled
IBM Plans Global Network in Indi
Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open M
Burst Memory Gaining Popularity
UK - Firms Dissatisfied With Int
Israel - Smart Networking Upgrad
More On PictureTel's Videoconfer
Gupta Establishes Asian HQ, Chin
DEC Plans Switch, Controller For
More On Prodigy's CEO Change
Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-
Online Marketplace '95 - Persona
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Some home users are seduced into buying computers so they can manage their personal finances, one of the participants said in Jupiter Communications' Online Marketplace '95 "Personal Finance" presentation. One of the main questions asked, though, was how to move the people and the software over to the online world.
Matthew Cone, financial services manager for Microsoft, first gave an overall picture of who uses personal finance managers (PFMs) in the first place. Thirty-two percent of people surveyed claimed that they bought their computers to manage their home finances, he said, and 25% of current computer users actually do count their pennies with their PC's and Macintosh's. He said of that 25%, 75% are middle-aged males with a college education, and are "well-off" financially. But as far as non-PFM users go, Cone said they want time savings, control, and convenience, without having to enter in a "bunch of numbers."
Blake Darcy is chief executive officer of PC Financial Network, an online discount brokerage service. He said many online services try to be "cool," but in the process, lose customers. He said he wants to redefine "cool, as being successful and making money."
He cited some of his company's keys to success, including a big focus on clients. He added that online customers have different needs and expectations than traditional customers, including immediate responses to complaints. So his company relies on focus groups, customer surveys, and bulletin board monitoring to help improve the product.
Darcy also emphasized a partnership approach to going online because "you can't do it alone," he said. He advised the audience to choose partners carefully, and to let the businesses become a valuable resource to the technology partner.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
echnology partner.
(Bob Woods/19950418)
4/19/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Personal Finance
ONLINE
Seagate To Manufacture Disk Driv
SINGAPORE, SEA, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Seagate Technology has announced it is expanding its worldwide manufacturing operation by investing $30 million in a new 50,000 square-foot factory in China's Jiangsu Province. The factory is the beginning of a long-term effort by Seagate to increase its presence in the country.
Expected to be operational by the middle of this year, the new facility will perform final assembly of hard disk drives to meet the needs of the Pacific Rim region, including rapidly growing demands in the China market.
"With several consecutive years of double-digit market growth, the digital revolution in China has the potential to hit the infinite data mark as quickly as anywhere else in the world," said Alan Shugart Seagate's president and chief executive officer.
In a report published by International Data Corp., Zhu Lilan, the executive vice chairwoman of China's State Science and Technology Commission said the Chinese government has established specific development goals for high technology industries, and that she expects such industries in China to double their present contribution to the national economy by the year 2000.
"Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world IT (information technology) market, and it is critical that Seagate establish a manufacturing presence that will act as a means of supplying the market as it develops," said Seagate's Senior Vice President for Worldwide Manufacturing Ron Verdoorn.
"By the year 2000, East Asia alone is projected to contribute half of the world's gross product, represent half of the volume of world trade, and hold 56% of the world's population. In terms of consumption, the potential is also great," he said.
The new Seagate plant will be built in the Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park located just outside of Wuxi, about halfway between Shanghai and the city of Nanjing. With a population of 4.4 million, Wuxi is the sixth largest economic center in China.
The industrial park is jointly developed by the investment company of the Wuxi Municipality government and a Singapore consortium led by Singapore Technologies Industrial Corp. The development is strongly supported by the China and Singapore governments.
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- The Hong Kong Government recently installed a $1.6 million mainframe computer from Hitachi Data Systems as part of a major overhaul of its Development and Disaster Recovery Bureau (DDRB).
The DDRB, which is operated by the government's Information Technology Services Department, provides both emergency backup and application development services to a large number of government departments that use IBM or compatible MVS and VSE systems.
The new computer, an HDS GX 6425, is the first system of its size to be installed in Hong Kong. It replaces an earlier HDS EX 70 mainframe at the bureau.
"The workload for the government's mainframe systems continues to grow driven both by new and existing applications," said K.H. Lau, director of the Information Technology Services Department. "In particular we're seeing significantly increased mainframe utilization by a number of departments including the Education Department, the Land Registry, the Immigration Department, and the Inland Revenue Department.
"Every time there is need for a new or redeveloped application, we take a critical look at where it should reside with a view to selecting the most cost-effective option and the one best-suited to user requirements. Some applications are best placed in a robust mainframe environment and mainframes have a major role to play as the central data server for large-scale client/server applications."
Hitachi Data Systems' GX 6000 series is a family of intermediate-level mainframes that offer "full" Summit-class architecture and capabilities claims the company. They comprises seven models spanning a performance range between 16 Mips and 74 Mips and support IBM's ESCON channel architecture.
The GX 6425 installed at the DDRB is configured with 512 megabytes (MB) of memory, expandable to four gigabytes (GB), and 64 channels expandable to 128.
Lau said the HDS mainframe was chosen on the basis of an open tender issued in July last year. "We evaluated the returns against our specification and the HDS bid emerged as the most cost-effective proposal that met with all our requirements," he said.
"We have used HDS for disaster recovery in the past so the people there have long experience of our operating environment. As a result of this contract, we will be working with HDS again to review our procedures for maintaining service to our client departments."
Hong Kong Govt Buys Mainframe For Disaster Recovery
Australia - Microsoft Exec Appoi
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- There are concerns in the Australian information technology community over an appointment to the Australian Multimedia Enterprise (AME), a body meant to promote multimedia development in Australia. The person in question is Daniel Petre, Microsoft's director of advanced technology.
The AME was formed as a result of recent federal government moves to fast-track the development of multimedia in Australia, potentially making the country a leader in the provision of multimedia software. It is funding a number of projects including multimedia training centers around the country. It will also help in the production and marketing of products.
While no-one in the industry doubts Petre's personal ability to serve on the board, some people have suggested that he has a conflict of interests. This is because Microsoft is the world's leading manufacturer of multimedia software.
"By being on this board he will inevitably have access to the development marketing and production plans of dozens of Microsoft's competitors," one local developer of multimedia products and training told Newsbytes. "He can't help but be influenced by what he learns."
Speaking to ComputerWorld Today's Monique Haylen, Petre said that if there ever was a conflict of interests he would "exclude himself from the discussion." He added that he was on the board, not as a Microsoft representative, but because of his own knowledge and expertise.
(Paul Zucker/19950412)
own knowledge and expertise.
(Paul Zucker/19950412)
4/19/95
Australia - Microsoft Exec Appointment Raises Concerns
GENERAL
China - Microsoft Opens Free Tra
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Microsoft (OTC:MSFT) has established four training centers at the Software Institute of Academy of Science, Tsinghua University (both in Beijing, Northern China) Shanghai Jaotong University (on East Coast), and Guangzhou University (in South China), to train professionals in using its software.
A notice about the training classes at those centers says that the teachers are all qualified specialists and the computers for practice are all network connected 486 PCs. "The high tech education will help you to reach a world leading position," the notice says.
The application fee is only RMB30 (about US$3.6), and all training expenses will be covered by Microsoft. "In the United States, fees for similar training class are $3,000," the notice claims.
A manager at Microsoft's Tsinghua training center told Newsbytes that training classes will include coverage of DOS, Windows networks, and database.
After training, the trainees can take exams for free. In the United States, such an exam will cost $130, the manager said. Through examinations, trainees can obtain MCPs (Microsoft Certified Professional) certification, which is accepted worldwide, the manager emphasized.
"Besides the application fee, a trainee only need to pay about RMB100 (US$12) for textbooks," the manager added.
A single training class takes three to five days, a spokesperson at Microsoft's Training center at the Software Institute told Newsbytes. However, the waiting list is quite long. "If you apply right now, you have to wait probably until June," Newsbytes was told.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950418/Reader Contact: Microsoft (Beijing) fax +86-1 849-2151; Microsoft's Training Center at Software Institute: tel +86-1 256-1239; Tsinghua center: tel +86-1 259-4746; Shanghai Jaotong: tel +86-21 252-5456 ext 88; Guangzhou University: tel +86-20 334-7348 ext 250)
ngzhou University: tel +86-20 334-7348 ext 250)
4/19/95
China - Microsoft Opens Free Training Centers
EDUCATION
Lotus Notes VIP Developers Conf
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- The first annual Lotus Notes VIP Developers Conference opens today in Boston launching a two-day slate of activities that features technical sessions by experienced VIP and LotusScript developers, plus presentations of "real-world applications" from users and partners. It also features keynotes by Scott Adams, the creator of "Dilbert," and Lotus executives John Landry and Tim Davenport.
More than 400 Notes developers from around the world are expected to attend the event, which is taking place at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, said Maria Watts, director of product management for Lotus Development Tools, in an interview with Newsbytes.
Lotus plans to repeat the VIP conference in 1996, and Boston will probably be the site again, Watts told Newsbytes. "Next year, we might cover HiTest and Lotus Forms, as well," she added.
At this year's event, Adams will speak on Wednesday, delivering an inside look at "the world of Dilbert" as well as his own experiences as "the only nationally syndicated comic strip artist to work full-time as an engineer."
Landry, who is Lotus' chief technical officer, and Davenport, VP of the Lotus Business Tools Group, will step to the conference podium on Thursday, with a discussion of the future of VIP as a "complementary development tool for Notes."
Also on Thursday, a series of seven Lotus customers and partners will detail applications they have created with the use of VIP and LotusScript, she reported.
Watts told Newsbytes that these applications will include: a scheduling application at Coopers & Lybrand, a human resources (HR) benefits application from GroupWare Concepts; and an "idea management" application at the First National Bank of Chicago.
The bank's application, she revealed, uses an "office paradigm" as a graphical user interface (GUI), with desks, filing cabinets, and the like, along with some unexpected extras.
"(The interface) is very clever. It gets people involved immediately. There are even `eightballs' that you can turn over interactively. The user would never know that Notes is underlying the entire application," she explained.
The seven talks on "Real-World Applications" constitute one of five conference tracks. In the other four tracks, experienced developers will present "tips and tricks" on the use of Notes VIP and LotusScript.
The four technical tracks are entitled" "Introductory LotusScript;" "Introductory Notes VIP;" "Intermediate/Advanced Notes VIP;" and "Advanced Notes VIP Options."
Developers are still welcome to register for the Notes VIP event according to Watts. The fee for the two-day Lotus conference is $495.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950419/Reader Contact: 800-VIP-0172; Press Contact: Victor Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
tor Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617-862-4514)
4/19/95
Lotus Notes VIP Developers Conf Opens Today In Boston
GENERAL
Software Lets Windows Users Doub
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- If you're operating a Windows-based PC and only have four to eight megabytes (MB) of memory, you might want to talk to Landmark Research International Corp. That's the company that says its new software can boost your system's effective memory by a factor of two or more times the amount of installed memory.
Landmark says the software, called MagnaRAM, will provide users with four key benefits: multitasking; faster execution of applications; the ability to run more features of complex applications like Microsoft Word for Windows; and a lower cost per MB of memory. Landmark says presently its costs about $200 for the chips needed to up your machine's memory by 4MB.
Landmark says MagnaRAM's shelf price will be $69 when it ships on June 1, 1995. It will be available through retail software stores and directly from Landmark Research. MagnaRAM works on 386-based PCs or higher running Windows 3.1 or higher in enhanced mode. PCs need a minimum of 4MB of RAM and DOS 3.0 or higher.
The company says that MagnaRAM is not a memory manager, such as Netroom from Helix Software, 386Max from Qualitas, or QEMM from Quarterdeck Corp. Those programs are designed to free up conventional memory from a 640 kilobyte (KB) block of RAM used to run DOS applications. Instead, MagnaRAM uses a compression technique that creates extra Windows Virtual Memory for running more Windows applications faster.
There are several types of memory within the Windows context. Installed memory is comprised of the physical RAM chips inserted in the PC system board. The Windows operating system extends the amount of physical RAM through the use of virtual memory, controlled by the Windows Enhanced Mode Memory Manager. The manager writes "pages" of infrequently used physical memory to a swap file on the PC's hard disk as a user executes new applications. This technique expands the amount of physical memory into virtual memory to allow application multitasking.
MagnaRAM runs as a Windows VxD driver that intercepts Windows' Memory Manager calls to the page. Data is then compressed onto the hard disk using the Windows Least Recent Used algorithm. MagnaRAM uses the same technique to store data into physical memory. Compression is mostly performed when the system is idle. Landmark says the result is fast application performance -- faster than Windows' use of a swap file.
The company says typical MagnaRAM users will double the size of physical memory. Users with 4MB of RAM installed will typically see an increase to 8MB of RAM using MagnaRAM. Some users will be able to get larger increases depending on several system factors. MagnaRAM includes an expert configuration mode to fully maximize memory.
(Jim Mallory/19950419/Press contact: Maggie Buerger, Buerger Media & Marketing for Landmark Research International, 404-495-7494; Public contact: Landmark Research International, 800-683-6696)
dmark Research International, 800-683-6696)
4/19/95
Software Lets Windows Users Double Memory
WINDOWS
More US Firms Head For Mexico
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Oracle, Gupta, Lexmark and UB Networks are the latest US-based firms to stake out territory south of the border.
Oracle has opened an office in Miami to better serve Latin American markets. The office is intended to establish better communication channels with the company's ten subsidiaries in the region. Oracle says Latin America is the fastest growing information technology market in the world. The market grew 16% in 1994, and is expected to grow 11.4% in 1995. The European market grew only 3% in 1994 and the US grew 4%.
The US company, UB Networks, will continue to invest in Mexico in spite of the economic crisis. A company official says that soon products will be offered at special rates in pesos in Mexico. The company wants to show Mexicans that the trend in networks is switches, and that that is the route to the highest and newest technology. UB Networks expects to open an office in Mexico by the end of the year. Until now, the company has invested $1.5 million in Mexico, and $4 million in Latin America as a whole.
Executives from Gupta de Mexico say they have decided to continue investing in Mexico in spite of the economic crisis. Gupta revenues rose 500% in Latin America in 1994, and the company believes that region, including Mexico, has great future potential and wants to be ready when markets improve.
And in 1994, Lexmark's printer division grew 80% in Latin America. In Mexico, the company's operations grew 30%. The company will install offices in Mexico, as well as a national technical support center.
(Terry Silveria/19950419)
(Terry Silveria/19950419)
4/19/95
More US Firms Head For Mexico
BUSINESS
Is Cyberspace Bad for the Enviro
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Most telecommuting proponents argue that it would benefit the environment by reducing automobile pollution and conserving energy. But in " The Information Superhighway as Environmental Menace" (The Futurist, Mar./Apr. 1995, pp. 16-21) James H. Snider argues that just the opposite may be true.
By making it possible for Americans to work from anywhere they want to live, the wide open spaces will be gobbled up by urban sprawl.
"If all Americans succeed in getting their dream homes with several acres of land, the forests and open lands across the entire continental United States will be destroyed," Snider writes. "Even if the US population were to quadruple to one billion, the havoc wrought on the land would not be as great as from a more even dispersal of its present 250 million."
Snider is a university fellow of political science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
If this is true, there may be trouble in paradise. A related story by Richard A. Moody explains why telecommunications companies in Hawaii can now compete on level ground with rivals in the US mainland because of two new fiber-optic cables. "The new fiber-optic connection makes the Aloha state an integral part of the information superhighway and puts it on technological par with the mainland states," Moody writes.
After reading Snider's article, though, many native Hawaiians may wonder if this is really good news.
This story is republished with permission from the March 1995 Cybernautics Digest, a monthly summary of reports about converging information technologies.
(Contact: Terry Hansen, Cybernautics Digest, c/o KFH Publications Inc., 3530 Bagley Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; 206-547-4950; Fax: 206-547-5355; E-mail: cybernbm@cuix.pscu.com. US subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
4/19/95
Is Cyberspace Bad for the Environment?
TRENDS
Berman Ships TimeWise 5 Workgrou
- OTTAWA, CANADA, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- David Berman Developments has announced TimeWise 5, the latest version of its popular workgroup time accounting and analysis software, and TimeSave 5, a stripped down "client" version of TimeWise designed to permit logging of events and access to TimeWise project information from individual workstations.
TimeWise is described as "an integrated productivity information management system" designed to help small- to medium-sized companies in the service and manufacturing sectors optimize client satisfaction product quality and -- of course -- profits. The software helps track every detail of job management from prospecting through estimating order-entry, scheduling, time and material tracking, billing, and post-job analysis.
Berman Developments claims the package has evolved over the past seven years in collaboration with business professionals in Canada and the US, incorporating management procedures from dozens of successful organizations including Corel Corporation, Occidental Petrolium, and a number of federal government departments.
TimeWise 5 offers a number of enhancements, including an improved user interface, a live task timer feature, improved security, and automatic login for users of NetWare and other local area networks (LANs). The Highspeed Option, previously available only as an extra-cost add-in, is now included free.
TimeWise 5 and TimeSave 5 are available now for DOS. A Windows version of TimeSave 5 is slated for release in May, and a Windows version of TimeWise is expected to ship before the fall. A Macintosh version is also in the works. However, no release date has yet been announced.
The recommended minimum system to run TimeWise 5 includes a 386 or faster computer running DOS 5 or later, with at least three megabytes (MB) of RAM. Users with more than 3MB of RAM can take advantage of the Highspeed Option.
TimeWise 5 carries a suggested retail price of US$695. TimeSave is included on the TimeWise Options Disk which retails for US$195. Registered users of any earlier version of TimeWise can upgrade for US$149 per license until August 31, 1995. Single upgrades to TimeSave 5 are US$25.
(Glenn Lisle 04/13/95. Media Liaison: Stephanie Langford tel 613-565-7311, fax 613-235-7067; Customer inquiries and orders: 800-665-1809)
Customer inquiries and orders: 800-665-1809)
4/19/95
Berman Ships TimeWise 5 Workgroup Time Acct
NETWORK
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Pr
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- By John Hastings. Apple has completed a reorganization that will expedite its moves to create clones of the Macintosh computer. While the company has given lip service to this direction, little real progress has been made.
Only a handful of small companies are currently planning to build clones of the Macintosh. Many say the reason Apple has not aligned with any large computer makers was due to internal resistance by some hardware departments which felt they would suffer with more competition from clone hardware. The software groups, who stood the most to gain from the cloning, could not overrule the opposition. Now these groups are under the same management. Many experts have said this is exactly what Apple needed to do to make real progress in expanding market share for the Macintosh. Some expect to see new agreements with large manufacturers signed soon. This will certainly bring lower prices to new and used Macintosh computers.
The year 2000 could be the bewitching year for many computer programs. Some experts fear there are thousands of computer programs that will begin to make many erroneous calculations on January 1, 2000. Many programs today calculate years by subtracting the last two digits from the beginning and ending dates. For example, 99 minus 95 would yield a four year difference. However, subtracting 95 from 02 would yield an answer of -93, not seven, as needed. The fix for this type of problem is fairly simple, assuming the company that developed the program is still in business and still enhancing the product.
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 April 17, 1995.
Average Average
Buyer's Seller's
Machine Bid Ask Close Change($)
IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB $350 $600 $400 +25
IBM PS/1 486DX2/50 253MB 900 1350 950 ..
IBM PS/2 Model 90 160MB 1000 1500 1075 ..
IBM ThinkPad 350C 1900 2400 1850 -50
IBM ThinkPad 700 900 1500 1125 +25
IBM ThinkPad 720 1300 2000 1400 -25
AST 486SX/25 170MB 700 1250 825 ..
AST 486DX/66 340MB 950 1450 1025 -25
Dell 386/33, 100MB 500 950 575 ..
Dell 486DX/33 240MB 850 1500 925 -25
Gateway 386/25, 80MB 400 800 475 -25
Gateway 486/33 120MB 800 1200 950 ..
Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB 500 900 500 -25
Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA 450 900 475 -25
Clone 486/25 120MB, VGA 700 1200 925 -50
Clone 486DX/33 240MB 800 1425 1025 ..
Compaq LTE 286 40MB 250 675 325 ..
Compaq Contura 320 60MB 500 1000 725 ..
Compaq Contura 4/25 120MB 900 1400 1050 -50
Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB 500 800 500 -25
Compaq Deskpro 486/33 120MB 1100 1650 975 ..
Mac Classic II 80MB 350 800 400 ..
Mac IIsi 160MB 500 900 550 -50
Macintosh IIcx 80MB 250 600 300 ..
Macintosh IIci 80MB 500 950 600 ..
Macintosh IIfx 80MB 600 1000 700 -50
Mac Quadra 700 230MB 1100 1600 1250 -25
Mac Quadra 800 500MB 1800 2525 1900 -25
PowerBook 140 40MB 700 1100 800 ..
PowerBook 170 40MB 800 1350 950 -25
PowerBook 180 80MB 1200 1850 1600 -25
LaserWriterPro 630 1300 1775 1425 ..
Toshiba 1900 120M 675 1150 800 ..
Toshiba 3200 SXC, 120MB 1850 2950 2175 ..
Toshiba 3300SL 120MB 850 1300 900 -25
Toshiba 5200 100MB 750 1050 800 -50
HP LaserJet II 350 850 450 ..
HP LaserJet IIIP 350 950 375 ..
HP LaserJet III 500 900 650 +25
HP LaserJet IV 900 1300 950 ..
(AMCOEX/19950419)
00 950 ..
(AMCOEX/19950419)
4/19/95
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices
GENERAL
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: PC-VAN Signs Millionth Subscriber; PC Shipments Up At NEC; NTT Reaches Agreement With PHS Providers; NEC Ready To Ship New Chip.
PC-VAN Signs Millionth Subscriber
PC-VAN has become the first Japanese online service to count over a million subscribers with the recent signing of their millionth member. The service, owned by NEC Corporation, is still expanding despite growing competition from Internet service providers. PC-VAN will soon be adding access to the Internet's World Wide Web for its customers as well as upgrading its access network to allow connections at speeds up to 28,800 bits-per-second (bps). PC-VAN's main competitor, Nifty-Serve, is expected to announce a million users sometime this month.
PC Shipments Up At NEC
Shipments of personal computers by NEC Corp. in the last financial year rose 32% on the previous year to 2.16 million units. Export shipments dropped 8%, principally due to increased production overseas, to 110,000 units. Total sales in fiscal 1994 were 755 billion yen ($9.43 billion), an increase of 12% in the year.
NTT Reaches Agreement With PHS Providers
Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) has reached a preliminary agreement with the service providers of the new Personal Handy Phone System (PHS) over access to the NTT network. The PHS service, which will be cheaper than the regular cellular phone service although more limited geographically, is scheduled to start this summer in certain areas.
NEC Ready To Ship New Chip
NEC Corp. is about to begin shipping a new 64 bit RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) microprocessor. The new chip, developed with MIPS Technology of the US, is called the VR-4300. According to NEC, the microprocessor achieves data processing at a speed of 125 million instructions per second and is therefore suited to chip intensive applications such as multimedia. The VR-4300 is priced at 6,000 yen ($75) and is scheduled to enter mass production in the autumn when prices will fall to 3,500 yen ($43.75) per chip for quantities of 100,000.
(Martyn Williams/19950419)
Williams/19950419)
4/19/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-
FLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- DayStar Digital views its recently unveiled Genesis MP Macintosh "clone" as being targeted at a higher-end market than Power Computing's new Power 80, 100 and 110, but at a wider audience than a competing clone from Radius, said David Methven, product manager, in an interview with Newsbytes.
Outside of DayStar Digital, Power Computing, and Radius, Pioneer is a fourth vendor that has been licensed by Apple to produce Mac clones, Methven pointed out. "But so far, it seems like Pioneer is limiting itself to the Japanese market," the product manager contended.
Unlike the Radius System 100 and the three systems from Power Computing, which are all built around the PowerPC 601 processor DayStar Digital's Genesis MP machine will use the 120 megahertz (MHz) PowerPC 604 chip for higher speed, he told Newsbytes.
Also unlike the rival systems, the Genesis MP will offer a dual processor option aimed at multiplying PowerPC performance over two central processor units (CPUs), according to Methven.
DayStar's clone is more "expandable," too, Methven maintained. In contrast to the Radius 100, which provides three drive expansion bays -- which will ship pre-installed with two hard drives and a CD-ROM-- the Genesis MP will offer eight drive bays, he said.
Three of the Genesis MP's bays will be filled by a hard drive, a CD-ROM, and a floppy. However, "more than three" of them will be left open to expansion by the user, he revealed.
In addition, DayStar is providing the PowerPC processor on a separate card, for future upgrades to higher CPU speeds, Methven reported.
Genesis MP is aimed at a "high-end vertical application market" that DayStar is dubbing "media publishing," according to the DayStar official.
DayStar's target audience, he asserted, encompasses but exceeds the two "niche markets" Radius is pursuing: prepress and "digital video," an arena that Methven further described as "very niche." Radius, he added, appears to be basing the appeal of the System 100 on ease-of-use.
The System 100 is essentially a Mac, "repackaged with Radius' own video card and FWB's internal SCSI (small computer systems interface) fast-and-wide," he elaborated.
Power Computing, on the other hand, is focusing on the "mass consumer market" with its Power 80, 100, and 110 products, Methven said.
DayStar is "pleased" over Power Computing's announcement this week of its three clones, because Power Computing is "so much bigger than any of the others that have announced so far," Newsbytes was told.
"Because of its size, Power Computing is going to be in the spotlight, and other vendors will look to see how they do. This should help to broaden the market," Methven predicted.
Methven also explained that the Genesis MP machine will use DayStar's nPower "scalable multiprocessing technology" for multiprocessor support. The MP clone will also ship with nPower Photoshop extensions, for "multiprocessing speeds straight out of the box."
Other features will include: three Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slots; internal fast SCSI-2, for support of seven devices; external SCSI, also for support of seven devices; 16-bit stereo in/out (I/O); Ethernet and AppleTalk networking; and GeoPort serial, and Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) support.
Systems will also come with: 32 megabytes (MB) of RAM, expandable to "significantly more than 512MB;" 512 kilobytes (KB) static RAM cache; an internal, quad-speed CD-ROM drive; and a keyboard, monitor and mouse. Video cards will be available separately.
The clones will be pre-installed with: Macintosh operating system (OS) 7.5x; DayStar Photomatic 2.0; ColorMatch Color Management software; and the NPower multi-processor Photoshop and color management extensions.
Genesis MP will also be bundled with the Colorimeter calibration system, Methven said. "And we're looking at bundling a fast and wide SCSI card, as well," Newsbytes was told. Vendors being considered to supply the card include FDW, Adaptec, and Atto.
DayStar Digital is already shipping a 100 MHz PowerPC card for nine different Mac platforms. The upgrade card -- initially quoted at trade shows as $2,299, and then announced upon shipment at $1,499 -- has since been re-priced at $1,799.
Methven blamed rising component costs, particularly in the static RAM area, for the price increase on the upgrade card. DayStar, he added, has honored all orders received prior to the price hike at $1,499.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950419/Reader Contact: DayStar Digital 404-967-2077; Press Contact: Gary Dailey, DayStar, 404-967-2077)
: Gary Dailey, DayStar, 404-967-2077)
4/19/95
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-End
APPLE
Europe - Gateway's Bundle Of Fun
DUBLIN, IRELAND, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- Gateway 2000 has announced Kids Stuff, a CD-ROM disk with a variety of multimedia software packages. The disk, which is being sold into the UK, French and German direct sell PC markets that Gateway services in Europe, sells for UKP69, but is only sold alongside a PC from the company.
Spokeswoman Kathleen Durr told Newsbytes that the disk offering although a one-off, could be expanded upon in the future. "Gateway has always bundled software with its PCs," she said, adding that this is the first time the company has offered a package of this type as a priced extra.
John Shepheard, Gateway 2000's manager, said that the PC has made the change from being a tool for business. "With the right software it opens up a world of possibilities to stimulate learning and to expand the horizons of children of all ages," he said.
According to Shepheard, Gateway is committed to offering high quality software products that not only add value, "but also ensure that the PC in the home can be adapted as the needs of the family evolve."
Kids stuff contains a range of stories, puzzles and games, which the company describes as "designed to stimulate the imagination" and "provide a learning experience that is both fun and educational." The packages include: "The Cat Came Back" and "Sitting on the Farm," two story applications; "Count Down," a maths program; "Amanda Stories," an interactive point and click story; "The Incredible Machine," a set of puzzles; and "Wordstuff," a discovery application.
(Steve Gold/19950419/Press Contact: Gateway 2000 European Press Office, +44-181-242-4212, Internet e-mail kathyd@text100.co.uk; Reader Contact: Gateway 2000, tel +353-1-797-2000 fax +353-1-848-2000)
teway 2000, tel +353-1-797-2000 fax +353-1-848-2000)
4/19/95
Europe - Gateway's Bundle Of Fun Kids PC Package
UK - Veterinarians Use IBM Speec
PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- DataBasics a veterinary surgery software specialist, has announced a UKP450 version of IBM's VoiceType Dictation system that interfaces with its Practicemaster range of vets' front and back office software.
"It's a vertical market for us, but we are seeing vets warm to the idea of dictation-driven software," Donna Field, Databasics' sales director, told Newsbytes.
According to Field, Practicemaster is a range of Unix modules that dovetail with each other to offer a variety of computer services to vets. The UKP450 package runs under OS/2 and is designed to interface under AIX (IBM's flavor of Unix) with Practicemaster running under Unix.
Field went on to say that the VoiceType addition to Practicemaster adds "great value" to a practice's bottom line, "improves" overall animal patient care, "as well as improving staff productivity and job satisfaction.
"While the practice that we have been working with over the last few years have been extremely happy with the PracticeMaster software range, we knew that even more productivity was possible by speeding up the information entering processor, and by making data entry easier for those people who are not as confident with their typing speeds," she said.
To interface properly with VoiceType, DataBasics has redesigned the front-end of the Practicemaster system, using VisualAge, IBM's object oriented visual programming utility. This has given the Practicemaster suite a GUI (graphical user interface) front-end that can be operated on a point-and-click basis. Data can then be entered using the keyboard and module, or by voice and mouse, or a combination of all three.
The OS/2-based front-end links to the Practicemaster suite of Unix modules and, according to Field, offers users the benefit of a GUI front-end with the reliability of a main Unix set of applications.
This front-ending approach, she said, "has enabled us to deliver the benefits of a new sleek graphical user interface without any of the risks of brand new underlying technology," she explained, adding that all the elements of the system that deal with calculations and data storage -- medical records, financial and stock control functions all remain unchanged, allowing the technology to be "bolted-on" to existing Practicemaster systems.
Using VoiceType, IBM claims that Practicemaster can now operate at up to 100 words per minute, and that current users of the technology have identified a significant boost to productivity levels.
(Steve Gold/19950419/Press Contact: Susan Scott-Ker, IBM, +44-1256 344202; Reader Contact: DataBasics, +44-1457-765858; IBM UK tel +44-1705-561780, fax +44-1705-385081)
BM UK tel +44-1705-561780, fax +44-1705-385081)
4/19/95
UK - Veterinarians Use IBM Speech Recognition
German Firms Protest Cost Of Inf
COLOGNE, GERMANY, 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- The Buro fur Deutsches Industrie (Federation of Germany Industrial Companies) has announced that it is fed up with the cost of telecoms services in Germany, and claims that the success of the InfoBahn (the German "information superhighway") depends on the prices for telecoms services falling significantly.
If this does not happen, the BDI claims, then the take-off of the InfoBahn is likely to take some time, and any possible boom period of data communications services in Germany simply will not take place.
According to the BDI, the German government needs to accelerate its pace of privatization of Germany's telecoms services, which, as previously reported by Newsbytes, should be privatized by the time 1998 rolls around.
Unfortunately, as previously reported by Newsbytes, the German Government is still dragging its heels on the privatization issue. Although licenses for private telecoms operators are being issued, no new telecoms companies are expected to start operations until January 1, 1998 at the earliest.
According to the BDI, these delays are unacceptable, since they delay the time when Deutsche Bundespost Telecom (DBT) will cut its rates to those of other European countries. Even companies that elect to place their international calls via charge cards from companies such as AT&T and Sprint, which offer automated connections to the US and other countries, are cheaper than DBT's self-dialed rates, Newsbytes notes.
The BDI has accused the German Government of offering a watered down version of its electoral promises on privatization and the general move towards a free telecoms market. In order for the prices to come down, several players must compete in the market for inland calls in Germany, and the January, 1998, time-frame means that any investment in network infrastructure will not by made until that date. In other words, call charges will remain high for the next three years.
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 -- Prodigy and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have announced integrated services digital network (ISDN) access to online service members in select areas around the country. The new service requires IBM's ISDN modem, WaveRunner which is being offered with software and connections for $495.
The areas involved are: San Jose, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Woodland Hills, California, and Nashville, Tennessee
ISDN technology allows for high speed transmission of digital data at 64 kilobits-per-second (Kbps). Rather than the single line used for residential phone lines, ISDN lines consist of three channels for simultaneous use.
By the end of the year, the company also said it plans to have 380 access points for its members to connect to the online service at 28.8 Kbps. Company officials emphasized its ability to hold hourly service rates to one price for all members regardless of which modem rate they use to access the service.
Besides the cost of the ISDN WaveRunner modem and software, users will have to pay their telephone provider any installation and monthly charges for an ISDN line. Prodigy says monthly fees for an ISDN line are about the price of an additional standard phone line to a residence or business. The ISDN access to test areas has been developed through arrangements with Pacific Bell, NYNEX, and Bell South.
In a press teleconference, Prodigy's chief executive officer, Ross Glatzer, said, "We are making two announcements today. The first is the ISDN access and the second is the announcement of 28.8 Kbps access." Regarding the ISDN offer, he said, "This really is a Web announcement and part of our Web strategy. It is designed to enhance Web activities such as browsing, file transfers, downloading and the viewing of video clips. We realize the $495 cost may seem high, but if you think back a short time, it was not all that long ago that a 2,400 bps modem was $300."
He continued, "I expect a very strong market of early adopters and a second market of home office users. After seeing the record use of the Web on Prodigy, we realized the need to stay on the forefront of Web access and we are doing that by being first again to offer ISDN access."
The press teleconference also revealed Prodigy's future plans which involve testing 128 Kbps service later this summer. Prodigy is also involved in testing the delivery of its service over cable lines -- a feature which may be available in two years with access rates at 500 Kbps and 10 megabits-per-second.
Prodigy did emphasize that cable access is very different from ISDN but cable access is not just a speculation. The company has conducted real cable tests at the said speeds.
At a later date, a software upgrade for IBM's 7845/WaveRunner ISDN modem will allow users to access other ISDN network services. Those specific services were not detailed at this time.
(Patrick McKenna/19950419/Press Contact: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8846; Public Information: Prodigy ISDN Access 800-426-7299)
nformation: Prodigy ISDN Access 800-426-7299)
4/19/95
Prodigy Offers ISDN Access In Limited Areas
ONLINE
DEC In the Black For 2nd Straigh
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- For the second consecutive quarter, Digital Equipment Corporation is "in the black," DEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Palmer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Vin Mullarkey announced today in a teleconference on Digital's third quarter financial results, which was attended by Newsbytes.
"I continue to be pleased with the progress and with the turnaround as evidenced by the third quarter results," Palmer said, pointing to growth in sales revenues from DEC's Alpha products as a major factor in DEC's success for the quarter.
Palmer reported a net income of $74 million for the third quarter ended April 1, 1995, in comparison with a net loss of $183 million for the same period in 1994.
Total operating revenues for the quarter were $3.5 billion, an increase of six percent over the $3.3 billion reported for the comparable quarter last year. DEC has now shown revenue growth year over year, for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to the president and CEO.
At the same time, DEC's gross margins and total operating expenses were both lower for the third quarter, according to Mullarkey.
"Our balance sheet reflects continued improvement. We have achieved a positive milestone. We continue to make solid progress in nearly every area," Mullarkey told the reporters.
DEC's Alpha products accounted for 22 percent of company revenues for the quarter, Palmer said. From the third quarter of last year to the third quarter just ended, Alpha's sales revenues on the Unix side rose by 62 percent, and on Windows NT, by 150 percent.
Palmer also made note of last week's introduction of the new 8400 AlphaServer 8400 enterprise server and AlphaServer 8200 departmental server, calling the 8400 "the industry's highest power server," and referring to the "well deserved fanfare" the products received at a New York press conference.
But, he said, Digital's PC systems, networking products, and storage subsystems all contributed to an overall growth in product revenue of 12 percent, or $1.961 billion. "We are pleased, but not complacent," Palmer told the press.
Also from the third quarter of last year to the quarter just ended Digital reduced its gross margin from 32.2 percent from a previous level of 33.8 percent, and decreased its total operating expenses by 19 percent to a total of $1.02 billion, according to Mullarkey.
Mullarkey also said that DEC had 160,000 employees at the close of the third quarter, a reduction of 22,600 employees over the same period last year.
During a Q&A period that followed, the officials were asked a wide range of questions. One reporter inquired about the degree to which indirect channels and other marketing strategies contributed to DEC's third quarter profitability.
Palmer responded that both factors had played significant roles recalling that when he first joined Digital during fiscal year 1993, indirect channels accounted for only 33 percent of sales revenues. For the quarter just ended, that figure was at 60 percent, he added.
"And nobody who was present at that (New York press conference) can say that Digital doesn't know how to market products," he asserted.
Other journalists wanted to know about the outlook for future Alpha sales. Palmer said that, with Alpha, DEC is way ahead of competing vendors that have announced 64-bit computing platforms. Digital first debuted Alpha back in 1992, whereas other vendors are now looking at late 1995 or 1996 for introducing their products, he maintained.
"It's not just the amount of money you can throw at a task," according to Palmer. Employee "talent" is also important, as is the "scalability" of the Alpha platform, he added.
The industry has been "astounded" by the capabilities of the AlphaServer 8400 and newly unveiled "very large database" from Oracle for data mining and data warehousing, he contended.
The financial impact of the new Alpha products will be "very small" in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1995, but there will be a "significant impact" during fiscal 1996, predicted Palmer.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- A national network for the delivery on newspaper content and services has been announced by Advance Publications, Cox Newspapers Gannett, The Hearst Corporation, Knight-Ridder, The Times Mirror Company, the Tribune Company and The Washington Post.
The joint venture forms a new company, New Century Network, to be headed by Peter Winter as its interim chief executive officer. Winter is currently vice president of market development at Cox Newspapers.
New Century Network (NCN) will coordinate a subscription-based World Wide Web site which concentrates on the delivery of local newspaper content linked to other participating newspapers across the United States. Pricing for the service is still under consideration.
In a press teleconference, attended by Newsbytes, Winter said, "We believe this will change the face of newspaper publishing. NCN creates a standard for the entire industry which we will open to almost all US daily newspapers."
Winter also said, "We do not believe we are necessarily trying to move those papers -- which already have a presence on CompuServe AOL and Prodigy -- away from that source."
The first appearance of the Web site is expected before the end of the year. NCN will focus its efforts on assisting local newspapers with complete delivery of advertising, graphics and text documents.
Winter also said, "Talks are in progress with the New York Times to become part of this Web project."
(Patrick McKenna/19950419/Press Contact: Bob Carr, Tribune 312-222-3763)
ess Contact: Bob Carr, Tribune 312-222-3763)
4/19/95
Major Newspaper Publishers Create Web Site
ONLINE
CompuServe Has 300,000 European
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- CompuServe has released a new membership record for its European service with a total of 300,000 subscribers by the end of the month. Meeting that number means the company's European membership is growing by 100% annually.
Debra Young, spokesperson for CompuServe, told Newsbytes "We are very careful about our calculations of membership numbers. We only record those memberships which are current. We do not include any complementary accounts or accounts used by content providers."
CompuServe's European service covers Germany, the United Kingdom and France. CompuServe has offered service to Germany and the UK for more than four years. Service to France has been available for about 18 months. The 100% growth has been evenly achieved in each country.
(Patrick McKenna/19950419/Press Contact: Debra Young CompuServe, tel 614-538-4553)
Debra Young CompuServe, tel 614-538-4553)
4/19/95
CompuServe Has 300,000 European Members
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
&PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Europe - Gateway 2000 Buys Nortel Call System 04/19/95 Nortel (Northern Telecom), through Telecom Eireann Information Systems (TEIS) has received a contract from Gateway 2000, the pan-European direct-sell PC company.
2 -> AST UK Intros New Advantage! PC Family 04/19/95 AST UK has announced a new range of Advantage! Adventure multimedia PCs for the home. The new machines, which are aimed at the consumer end of the market, feature a high-speed modem and a one month free introductory membership to CompuServe.
3 -> New England Utility Upgrades Emergency Mgt System 04/19/95 New England Power is putting $4.6 million into computer hardware and software upgrades and taking over management of the system that safeguards 52 percent of the electric transmission capacity of the region. NEP will take over the emergency management system (EMS) now operated by the regional consortium of municipal and investor-owned utilities called REMVEC (Rhode Island/Eastern Massachusetts/Vermont Energy Control).
4 -> Impulse Intros Large-Screen Notebook 04/19/95 Impulse Computer Corp. has announced a new notebook computer with an 11.3-inch dual-scan color screen. The Toronto-based manufacturer claims its new CompuBook 600C offers the largest screen on the notebook market.
5 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Shopping & Catalogs 04/19/95 Shopping via online services, the Internet, and CD-ROMs is becoming increasingly viable for retailers, if a speakers' comments at one of Online Marketplace 95's panels on online shopping and catalogs is any indication. What's more, elements of CD-ROM and cyberspace technologies are working together to bring "cyber-shoppers" an even more interactive experience.
6 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chiat Keynote 04/19/95 The advertising executive who "Wired Magazine" called a "visionary" said he is excited about the online world, which has "come of age" in the past year. Chiat made his comments as the first-day keynote speaker at Jupiter Communications' Online Marketplace '95 Conference in Chicago.
7 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Overview 04/19/95 It had the makings of a convention catastrophe -- other related conferences and trade shows occurring elsewhere, and a Bill Gates appearance not more than a hundred feet away (at a different function, no less). But those events didn't stop an estimated 350 people from attending the Online Marketplace '95 Conference in Chicago.
8 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Marketing & Transactions 04/19/95 One of the issues discussed at the Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago sponsored by Jupiter Communications, centered on online marketing and transactions. Up to now, some efforts at selling goods and services online have been experimental, but Jupiter officials say the environment is ripe for an explosion of transactions and advertising.
9 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Advertising 04/19/95 At the Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago, advertising and delivering the mass media revenue base is a hot topic. The big question that came out in discussions was "what comes first: a critical mass of users to draw ad accounts, or advertising funds to allow user fees" as Jupiter Communications officials, who sponsored the conference, put it.
10 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Personal Finance 04/19/95 Some home users are seduced into buying computers so they can manage their personal finances, one of the participants said in Jupiter Communications' Online Marketplace '95 "Personal Finance" presentation. One of the main questions asked, though, was how to move the people and the software over to the online world.
11 -> Seagate To Manufacture Disk Drives In China 04/19/95 Seagate Technology has announced it is expanding its worldwide manufacturing operation by investing $30 million in a new 50,000 square-foot factory in China's Jiangsu Province. The factory is the beginning of a long-term effort by Seagate to increase its presence in the country.
12 -> Hong Kong Govt Buys Mainframe For Disaster Recovery 04/19/95 The Hong Kong Government recently installed a $1.6 million mainframe computer from Hitachi Data Systems as part of a major overhaul of its Development and Disaster Recovery Bureau (DDRB).
13 -> Australia - Microsoft Exec Appointment Raises Concerns 04/19/95 There are concerns in the Australian information technology community over an appointment to the Australian Multimedia Enterprise (AME), a body meant to promote multimedia development in Australia. The person in question is Daniel Petre, Microsoft's director of advanced technology.
14 -> China - Microsoft Opens Free Training Centers 04/19/95 Microsoft (OTC:MSFT) has established four training centers at the Software Institute of Academy of Science, Tsinghua University (both in Beijing Northern China), Shanghai Jaotong University (on East Coast), and Guangzhou University (in South China), to train professionals in using its software.
15 -> Lotus Notes VIP Developers Conf Opens Today In Boston 04/19/95 The first annual Lotus Notes VIP Developers Conference opens today in Boston launching a two-day slate of activities that features technical sessions by experienced VIP and LotusScript developers, plus presentations of "real-world applications" from users and partners. It also features keynotes by Scott Adams, the creator of "Dilbert," and Lotus executives John Landry and Tim Davenport.
16 -> Software Lets Windows Users Double Memory 04/19/95 If you're operating a Windows-based PC and only have four to eight megabytes (MB) of memory, you might want to talk to Landmark Research International Corp. That's the company that says its new software can boost your system's effective memory by a factor of two or more times the amount of installed memory.
17 -> More US Firms Head For Mexico 04/19/95 Oracle, Gupta, Lexmark and UB Networks are the latest US-based firms to stake out territory south of the border.
18 -> Is Cyberspace Bad for the Environment? 04/19/95 Most telecommuting proponents argue that it would benefit the environment by reducing automobile pollution and conserving energy. But in " The Information Superhighway as Environmental Menace" (The Futurist, Mar./Apr. 1995, pp. 16-21) James H. Snider argues that just the opposite may be true.
19 -> Berman Ships TimeWise 5 Workgroup Time Acct 04/19/95 David Berman Developments has announced TimeWise 5, the latest version of its popular workgroup time accounting and analysis software, and TimeSave 5, a stripped- down "client" version of TimeWise designed to permit logging of events and access to TimeWise project information from individual workstations.
20 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 04/19/95 By John Hastings. Apple has completed a reorganization that will expedite its moves to create clones of the Macintosh computer. While the company has given lip service to this direction, little real progress has been made.
21 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/19/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: PC-VAN Signs Millionth Subscriber; PC Shipments Up At NEC; NTT Reaches Agreement With PHS Providers; NEC Ready To Ship New Chip.
22 -> ****DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-End 04/19/95 DayStar Digital views its recently unveiled Genesis MP Macintosh "clone" as being targeted at a higher-end market than Power Computing's new Power 80, 100 and 110, but at a wider audience than a competing clone from Radius, said David Methven, product manager, in an interview with Newsbytes.
23 -> Europe - Gateway's "Bundle Of Fun" Kids PC Package 04/19/95 Gateway 2000 has announced Kids Stuff, a CD-ROM disk with a variety of multimedia software packages. The disk, which is being sold into the UK, French and German direct- sell PC markets that Gateway services in Europe, sells for UKP69, but is only sold alongside a PC from the company.
24 -> UK - Veterinarians Use IBM Speech Recognition 04/19/95 DataBasics a veterinary surgery software specialist, has announced a UKP450 version of IBM's VoiceType Dictation system that interfaces with its Practicemaster range of vets' front and back office software.
25 -> German Firms Protest Cost Of Info Highway 04/19/95 The Buro fur Deutsches Industrie (Federation of Germany Industrial Companies) has announced that it is fed up with the cost of telecoms services in Germany, and claims that the success of the InfoBahn (the German "information superhighway") depends on the prices for telecoms services falling significantly.
26 -> ****Prodigy Offers ISDN Access In Limited Areas 04/19/95 Prodigy and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have announced integrated services digital network (ISDN) access to online service members in select areas around the country. The new service requires IBM's ISDN modem, WaveRunner, which is being offered with software and connections for $495.
27 -> DEC "In the Black" For 2nd Straight Qtr 04/19/95 For the second consecutive quarter, Digital Equipment Corporation is "in the black," DEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Palmer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Vin Mullarkey announced today in a teleconference on Digital's third quarter financial results, which was attended by Newsbytes.
28 -> ****Major Newspaper Publishers Create Web Site 04/19/95 A national network for the delivery on newspaper content and services has been announced by Advance Publications, Cox Newspapers, Gannett, The Hearst Corporation, Knight-Ridder, The Times Mirror Company, the Tribune Company and The Washington Post.
29 -> ****CompuServe Has 300,000 European Members 04/19/95 CompuServe has released a new membership record for its European service with a total of 300,000 subscribers by the end of the month. Meeting that number means the company's European membership is growing by 100% annually.
(Ian Stokell/19950419)
(Ian Stokell/19950419)
4/19/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
IBM & Telecom Italia Team On Mob
MILAN, ITALY, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- IBM and Telecom Italia have signed a marketing agreement to develop and sell a mobile office range of systems for business people on the move, to help them stay in contact with their office PC-based computer network.
Announcing the deal, Vito Gamerale, Telecom Italia's director general said that the aim of the project was to sell "plug-in and go" mobile PC "solutions" to allow business people to link back to their office LANs (local area networks) using a variety of wireless communication technologies.
According to Gamerale, the mobile office system will be sold through both companies' respective dealer channels, are will be based around the new GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular phone systems operating in Italy.
Elio Cantania, IBM Italia's managing director, told journalists that since a growing number of GSM service providers are now offering data over GSM facilities, the mobile office user should be able to send and receive fax and electronic-mail, as well as access a variety of online services, from almost anywhere in the world.
As reported earlier this month, Telecom Italia has been given the go ahead to formally launch its GSM digital cellular service, following an acrimonious legal dispute with Omnitel Pronto, the second GSM licensee.
The dispute between Telecom Italia, the state telecoms company, and Omnitel Pronto, a private consortium company headed up by Olivetti came to a head at the beginning of this month when the Italian Appeal Courts decided that Omnitel's request to stop Telecom Italia launching its GSM network -- made on the grounds that Omnitel could not launch its network until the third quarter of this year -- was invalid.
Immediately following the resolution of the dispute, Telecom Italia began shipping GSM handsets and marketing literature to its dealers around Italy, and new subscribers have now started to be signed up to the GSM service.
The IBM linkup is viewed by many as the perfect option for Telecom Italia, after the fraught discussions in recent months between Telecom Italia and Omnitel, the Olivetti-led mobile phone consortium.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950419/Press & Reader Contact: Telecom Italia 39-6-68461)
0419/Press & Reader Contact: Telecom Italia 39-6-68461)
4/20/95
IBM & Telecom Italia Team On Mobile Office Technology
BUSINESS
UK - DIP Intros Mobile Professio
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Distributed Information Processing (DIP) Systems, the original designers of the Atari Portfolio, and a leading light in PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) development, has unveiled the Mobile Professional Pack, a notebook PC/GSM (global system for mobile communications) phone ensemble that supports wireless data transmissions.
DIP has done what some of the more innovative dealers have been doing for a while -- bundling the Nokia 2110 GSM digital cellular handset with the Nokia data card, and a portable PC -- the HP Omnibook 4000. The ensemble is priced around the UKP4,000 mark (exact pricing depends on the Omnibook's configuration).
According to DIP spokesman Peter Heyward, the Mobile Professional Pack is the "most elegant, lightweight and physically secure system" that allows comms on the move and is billed as "ideal for anyone who travels extensively at home or abroad."
The supplied leather case for the system comes with a removable power supply, plus two spare PCMCIA card holders, as well as holders for an A4-sized paper pad or brochure. The mobile phone is strapped into the case, while the color Omnibook PC is held in place by a molded tray.
The ensemble normally comes with a DX2/50 processor (50 megahertz 486) version of the Omnibook, but there is an option to have the PC equipped with a DX4/100 processor instead. The whole package weighs around the eight pounds mark.
PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Greenscreen has released InControl Helpdesk Lite, a software-based support package for companies who want to operate their own computer help desks rather than rely on an external company.
According to Phil Brooks, Greenscreen's managing director, all of the help desk software systems available to date have been for major companies, rather than the small- to medium-sized business.
"The launch of the Lite version of InControl Helpdesk beings the opportunity of reducing the costs of supporting a PC network to small- and medium-sized businesses for the first time," he said.
In use, the package is billed as providing the users on the network with a Windows-based interface where they can "quickly and easily receive support on system problems by entering their query or problem into the system. List boxes ensure that the inquiries can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
Once an answer to a new problem is found, that data is routinely added to the historical database. Powerful database query functions help ensure common and like problems are identified, said the company.
The resolution of problems is further made easier, the company claims using a software and hardware inventory database. Easy access from the request screen to this database allows information on software level and hardware configurations to be retrieved.
In use, the software continually monitors pending requests and will automatically re-prioritize a pending request if it is still pending after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.
A single user version of Helpdesk Lite software costs UKP895, while a three user license user is UKP1,995. The normal maximum staff working on this package is five, with a license fee of UKP2,995.
(Steve Gold/19950419/Press Contact: The Right Image, +44-1932 240055; Reader Contact: Greenscreen, +44-1705-214127)
5; Reader Contact: Greenscreen, +44-1705-214127)
4/20/95
UK - Greenscreen's In-House Help Desk Software
2 P
Cognos' PowerPlay 4.1 Data Analy
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN; NASDAQ:COGNF) has announced PowerPlay 4.1, a new release of its multidimensional data analysis software.
In the new release, Cognos has added support for the EssBase multidimensional server from Arbor Software Corp., allowing for on-line analytical processing (OLAP). Cognos said it developed the EssBase support in cooperation with Arbor.
The new release can also update data files incrementally, writing only new data -- a feature Cognos expects will appeal particularly to remote and mobile users because it will cut connection time to the server.
The Portfolio module of PowerPlay has been enhanced to create an executive information system (EIS) briefing book without custom programming and to distribute PowerPlay reports automatically. Also standard reports are now upgraded automatically with ranking and lowest details, and support for Cognos' Impromptu 3.0 scheduler and encrypted security features have been built into the new release.
Other new features include: access to additional local data sources such as Clipper, dBase, Foxpro, and Paradox database software; intelligent time or relative time choices such as Prior-Year-To-Date that are automatically updated as new data appears; and batch running and printing of PowerPlay reports.
In a recent interview, Ron Zambonini, president and chief operating officer of Cognos, told Newsbytes that sales of PowerPlay and the companion product Impromptu grew 163 percent in the past year while the over-all business intelligence market is estimated to have grown 70 to 80 percent. PowerPlay was first released in January, 1990.
PowerPlay 4.1 has a list price of $695, which includes the PowerPlay Transformer software for creating and packaging multidimensional data, the Explorer and Reporter user components and PowerPlay Portfolio for assembling report collections using object linking and embedding (OLE). There are discounts for volume purchases and enterprise licenses, Cognos said.
(Grant Buckler/19950420/Press Contact: Roberta Carlton, Cognos 617-229-6600)
act: Roberta Carlton, Cognos 617-229-6600)
4/20/95
Cognos' PowerPlay 4.1 Data Analysis Prgm
WINDOWS
IDC Canada Briefing - Computing
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- In computing 1995 looks a little like 1984, according to David Moschella, senior vice-president of worldwide research with International Data Corp. Now, however, technology is turning outward rather than inward.
There are several parallels with 1984, Moschella told an audience made up mainly of computer-vendor marketing executives at IDC Canada's annual industry briefing this week. An established technology is still growing strongly -- in 1984 it was mainframes and minicomputers (their last good year, Moschella said) and now it's PCs. At the same time a new technology -- PCs in 1984, the Internet now -- is taking off rapidly.
Another parallel between 1995 and 1984 is widespread concern about the power of one dominant supplier. That supplier was IBM in 1984, but now it is Microsoft. Moschella suggested that just as subsequent events indicate the fears about IBM's power were unnecessary, worries about Microsoft today may be exaggerated as well.
"A lot of the reasons Microsoft has done so well," he said, "had to do with some very bad moves by its competitors." As examples he cited Apple Computer Inc.'s 11-year refusal to license the Macintosh operating system, which gave Microsoft time to work the initial bugs out of Windows and capture a dominant position. Unix vendors' squabbling over standards left the door open for Windows NT, he said. Lotus Development Corp.'s merger with Novell Inc. which might have created a software firm able to stand up to Microsoft, was called off because executives of the two firms could not come to terms.
As for the argument that Microsoft's dominance in systems software for PCs based on Intel Corp. chips has given it an unfair advantage in applications software, Moschella pointed out that the company has become the dominant vendor of applications software for Apple's Macintosh as well, despite the fact that it has no involvement at all with the Mac system software and a key competitor -- Claris Corp. -- is owned by Apple.
Moschella also had some words that might comfort those unhappy about Microsoft's dominance, though. The software giant was taken unawares by the success of the Mosaic browser software for the World Wide Web, and by the success of the Internet and the Web generally, he said. "Mosaic is the Windows for the network today," Moschella said. "That's a position Microsoft wanted to win."
He said that as the next wave of computer technology emerges with the emphasis on networking -- the currently powerful vendors will not all maintain their positions.
Moschella said the priorities of those who use computers are shifting from an internal focus -- on automating the workings of the organization -- to an external focus -- on communications and "pervasive connectivity" between businesses and consumers. Once this connectivity is well established -- "15 or 20 years from now people won't talk about being plugged in or wired" because it will be taken for granted, he said -- the focus will shift to content.
Moschella said 1984 was also the last year -- until 1995 -- when the information technology industry was growing in all of the world's three most economically significant regions -- the United States, Europe, and Japan -- at the same time. Since then at least one of these regions has been weak at any given time, he said, but this year, while Japan is "still fragile," all three are in growth phases.
He noted that US-based suppliers are doing increasingly well in world markets compared to those with headquarters in Japan and Europe. This is largely because the dynamics of the industry increasingly favor strategies built on working with other companies rather than doing everything in-house, an approach with which American companies seem to be more comfortable.
While both hardware and software companies have become more specialized in the past 10 years, Moschella predicted the industry will resolve itself into fewer "layers" over the rest of this decade.
(Grant Buckler/19950420/Public Contact: IDC Canada tel 416-369-0033, fax 416-369-0419)
IDC Canada tel 416-369-0033, fax 416-369-0419)
4/20/95
IDC Canada Briefing - Computing Turns Outward
TRENDS
Dell Ships 75MHz Dual-Processor
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ: DELL) says it is the first PC manufacturer to ship a 75 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based server that can use dual microprocessors.
In announcing the 75MHz PowerEdge SP-2 server the company said pricing for the dual-chip unit -- configured with a single processor, keyboard and mouse, 16 megabytes (MB) of system memory 512 kilobytes (KB) of video memory, and a one gigabyte (GB) hard drive -- starts at $3,501. A monitor, CD-ROM drive and Ethernet network interface card are among available options.
Asked why the system doesn't come with a monitor, Dell spokesperson Tricia Garner stressed that Dell doesn't build off-the-shelf systems. "We build every system to order. They are all custom configured," said Garner.
Dual processor PCs, as the name implies, use two microprocessors instead of one in order to speed operations. One can control memory and the bus while the second can manage input and output.
Garner told Newsbytes available options for the new PowerEdge model include error-checking and correcting (ECC) memory and hot pluggable (components that can be changed without shutting down the computer) hard drives. Garner said: "Error checking and correcting memory checks functions that are going on, to make sure they are correct."
In conjunction with the announcement of the new system Dell has cut the prices of all of its PowerEdge servers. Price reductions range from nine to 30 percent. Under the new pricing plan you can purchase a 90MHz Pentium-based PowerEdge 590-2 SP with 16MB of memory and a 1GB hard drive and ready for installation of a second microprocessor for $3,841. A similarly configured 100MHz 5100-2 SP system will now sell for $4,101. These systems also require the user select the preferred monitor, which costs extra.
Dell also announced the reduction in price of its 120 MHz Dimension XPS models by $400. The XPS models started shipping last month. You can now buy a Dimension XPS P12c in a mini-tower case with 256 kilobytes (KB) of SRAM (static RAM), 16MB of EDO (extended data out) memory, a 1GB hard disk, 15-inch monitor, 2MB of video memory, a 64-bit PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) local bus video card, quad-speed CD-ROM drive, mouse, and Microsoft Windows 3.1 software for $2,999.
(Jim Mallory/19950420/Press contact: Tricia Garner, Dell Computer 512-728-4100; Public contact: Dell Computer, 800-289-3355 or 512-338-4400)
puter, 800-289-3355 or 512-338-4400)
4/20/95
Dell Ships 75MHz Dual-Processor PC
Asymetrix Ships Digital Video To
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Asymetrix Corp. says it is now shipping the Digital Video Producer, a digital video capture and editing tool that lets users build video clips on their PCs.
The program combines a drag-and-drop interface with a "timeline" to assemble audio and video and add special-effects, transitions, and overlays. The program can import various file formats, including AVI, WAV, and BMP to the Media Windows. Multiple clips can then be viewed simultaneously in the two preview screens, with the user selecting ending and desired length of the imported media.
The user drags the clips onto the visual timeline, then adds and synchronizes video, audio transition, and overlay tracks. Asymetrix said video clips can be blended with a large collection of transitions, including wipes, dissolves, irises, and blizzards. Special filters including blur, ripple, and emboss can be applied and the user can adjust color, saturation, tint, and brightness.
Digital Video Producer offers two video and audio tracks, a transition track, and an overlay track for editing control. The user can overlay and animate titles, bitmaps and other video clips. Title font, size, and color can be specified.
Digital Video Producer includes a feature called Dynamic Preview that allows the user to see the project before building a final video clip. Other features include a Palette Manager, designed to eliminate palette shift, SmartEDIT to build video files by rebuilding only those frames that change during the current editing session.
DVP Capture transfers video from any source such as a VCR or video disk player to the PC's hard disk. It also supports batch recording, allowing multiple pre-selected video capture segments to be recorded.
To use the Asymetrix Digital Video Recorder you need a Windows based PC with at least a 33 megahertz (MHz) 386 microprocessor, a CD-ROM drive, a minimum of eight megabytes (MB) of available hard disk space, 4MB of memory (Asymetrix recommends 8MB) and a graphics card capable of displaying at least 256 colors. Although not mandatory Asymetrix recommends a Windows-compatible sound card and speakers.
Digital Video Recorder has a suggested retail price of $395 in the US, but the company is offering it at the special introductory price of $149 through the end of July 1995.
(Jim Mallory/19950420/Press contact; Lisa Berlin, Asymetrix 206-637-1579; Public contact: Asymetrix, tel 800-448-6543 (to order) or 206-462-0501, fax 206-455-3071)
der) or 206-462-0501, fax 206-455-3071)
4/20/95
Asymetrix Ships Digital Video Toolkit
GE To Offer Internet Connectivit
> ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- General Electric's (NYSE:GE) GE Information Services is building a bridge to the Internet. GE says it will offer Internet services that have the security of the GEIS with the breadth and reach of the global Internet.
"Our Internet strategy will serve our global customers and their trading communities who need to exchange information that is both public and private," said Anne Biehle, manager of global information for GEIS. "Our customers will realize significant increases in productivity because both their public and their private applications will be able to run from a single desktop."
It will be the best of both worlds, said Biehle, "Internet access for public transactions and the verification and certification features of our value-added applications for private transactions."
GE has had considerable success tailoring private online networks for business customers, such as EEI Online, the service run by the Edison Electric Institute to serve the US investor-owned electric utilities. Those applications include data security and the ability to conduct secure economic transaction online, areas where the Internet has problems.
"Our Internet connection will offer plenty of security for our customers, including firewalls, encryption, and the like," GE's Doug Wolford told Newsbytes. "Our clients will be able to make determinations about the level of security they need, and how much of their private network they want to open up."
Wolford said the decision to interconnect GEIS and the Internet was driven by its customers, who asked for the ability to reach out to the Internet. "The Internet protocols have become de facto standards," he said.
The GEIS Internet interconnection should be in beta testing by the third quarter of this year, with commercial operation by the end of the year, according to GE.
GEIS established its first connection to the Internet in 1993 with the introduction of an Internet mail gateway. The service currently processes half-a-million messages a month and is growing at 20 percent a month.
GEIS also has a home page on the World Wide Web with technical and product literature, client case studies and press releases. The address is http://www.ge.com/geis.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Digital Planet Corp. said it is forming a wholly-owned subsidiary, named Digital Planet NetCount, to track consumer usage of the World Wide Web mainly for advertisers. The company said the new service will also create a universally recognizable ratings system, similar to Nielsen television ratings.
An announcement of the new subsidiary was made by Digital Planet Chief Executive Officer Paul Grand at Jupiter Communication's Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago.
"The difference between our service and other measuring companies is what they're doing is targeting the people who run the Web sites," Grand told Newsbytes. NetCount, he said, can be used by advertisers to track user traffic between Web sites. "We don't care about the number of hits at any site," he said. "What's important to the people who are spending money is how many people see the ads, how long they look at them, and if they're clicking on them. Right now, you can't do that with any other system."
NetCount is currently in a test phase, with a full roll-out expected this summer, Grand said. During the initial phase prospective advertisers can subscribe to a variety of reporting services, ranging from pre-defined access to purchasing one report at a time. The company said reports are available both in print form and online, and the results are verified by an independent auditing firm for "quality control purposes."
Grant also said the new system is secure and tamper-free. NetCount's computers have the burden of processing data, not the systems at the Web sites. Also, NetCount's software checks each Web site's data for possible fraud and immediately notifies the site's administrator of fraudulent activity. Repeat offenders will be banned from NetCount's tracking services, Grand said.
Advertisers will bear the brunt of NetCount's costs, although no set figures have been determined. Web site owners will also pay to be tracked, but Grand said the cost to the Webmaster will be "nominal especially considering they'll make themselves available to thousands of dollars of advertising revenue."
Other services included with NetCount are the billing and collection of ad monies from the advertisers. This "brokerage" will also report to advertisers if a Web site has been down, and will adjust billings accordingly.
Grand said he sees a "new industry" growing out of this business, in that third parties will be able to purchase and analyze NetCount's data, and advise advertisers where to place their ads in cyberspace. These new companies would pay NetCount a kind of "franchise fee" for the records.
Digital Planet has a Web home page at http://www.digiplanet.com.
(Bob Woods/19950419/Press Contacts: Jodi Klein or David Sternstein Edelman Public Relations, 312-857-9100. Public Contact: Digital Planet NetCount, 800-700-0NET, Internet World Wide Web http://www.digiplanet.com, Internet e-mail pgrand@digiplanet.com)
ww.digiplanet.com, Internet e-mail pgrand@digiplanet.com)
4/20/95
Online Marketplace '95 - NetCount's Web Tracking System
ONLINE
Online Marketplace '95 - Web Rev
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Internet World Wide Web sites are popping up as fast as, well, Web sites. At the Online Marketplace '95 conference, sponsored by Jupiter Communications, one of the hot topics was creating and maintaining profitable Web sites and attendees heard from some of the people who are doing, or plan to do, just that.
Daniel Kohn, chief executive officer and co-founder of the NetMarket Company, said his company executed the first secure commercial on the Web in 1994. He said rather than provide "Net" surfers with an "Internet mall," his company creates independent domain names for each client, including Club Med and Noteworthy Music. "They're not looking for their site to be hidden in a mall or in another area," he said. NetMarket then works with each company from a marketing and design standpoint. Kohn also said he works to add value to each site. For example, a user can play a cut from a CD in the Noteworthy Music area.
One company that will be looking for a profit in cyberspace is SportsLine USA, a sports entertainment, information, and merchandising Web service that's expected to launch in August. Mike Levy, president and chief executive officer of SportsLine USA, said his company realized a year ago that "sports offerings online were shallow and narrow," and sports attracted well-off and well-educated males. So Levy decided to focus on developing such an offering.
He said he hired key people with online and sports experience, partnered with companies like Netscape, and gained venture capital to get SportsLine off the ground. Now he's working on "compelling, proprietary content" to attract the audience. As far as the subject of making money goes Levy said it'll come from different sources, including: "basic services;" "premium services;" from advertisers and sponsorships; and from transactions and merchandising. He also said SportsLine USA might provide content to commercial online services.
Bill Rollinson, vice president of marketing for the Internet Shopping Network (ISN), said a key to making money online is by building better customer relationships. "What it boils down to is that customers get the information they need on products, when they need it. And businesses get the feedback they need to serve their customers better," he said. He calls the Web "the world's largest focus group," mainly because companies can get instant, first-person feedback from customers. When it comes to making money, he said ISN has learned several ideas. These include: telling customers how to find a site; sellingbrand names with the right price; distribute access for free; and include as much editorial content as possible.
(Bob Woods/19950419)
h editorial content as possible.
(Bob Woods/19950419)
4/20/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Web Revenue/Transaction Models
ONLINE
Online Marketplace '95 - Transac
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- It sounded like a "battle of the World Wide Web security and transaction systems" during one of the panel discussions at Jupiter Communication's Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago.
All of the speakers agreed that people will be going online, and they will be buying goods and services. The big question was "how?" Also, the question of perception of Internet transaction security popped up, "the same kind of security that people feel when they use an ATM (automatic teller machine) or use a credit card at a restaurant," Adam Schoenfeld of Jupiter told the crowd.
Dan Eldridge, vice president of business development for DigiCash went first to explain his company's "ecash" system. He characterized his system as being similar to using traveler's checks in that the cash is replaceable, receipt generation is available, and the money is non-divertable. "But ecash is money that goes into the computer," he said. Eldridge said the customer buys ecash from a bank and loads it onto a user's hard drive. That user can then send the ecash to another person's hard drive to buy goods or services. That "other person" then turns in the ecash to the bank, which then sends back new ecash with new serial numbers. This is so no-one can replicate the "electronic money." Eldridge said that alone makes transactions secure, but his system also uses encryption.
Lee Stein is president and chief executive officer of First Virtual Holdings, which is dubbed the "first cyberbank." Stein said his system "moves money through e-mail," and is billed to a credit card. But the card number is never sent over the Internet. Instead a PIN (personal identification number) is sent, and the credit card information is kept on a separate off-line server. "Most people are not willing to put credit cards on the Internet," he said, "so you have to use a way that people will feel comfortable with." Before any purchase is actually charged to a card, the customer receives an electronic-mail asking if it's OK for the purchase to go through. Merchants can also sell through First Virtual's "InfoHaus," for much less than taking credit card transactions over a physical counter, Stein said.
Finally, Anne Perlman of Tandem Computers threw hardware, but not a monkey wrench, into the systems of the other presenters. She said any kind of software is vulnerable to attack, and electronic commerce can't be used without security residing in the hardware. End-to-end security is needed in the machines on the Internet, and not just in the software that resides in those computers. "If it really works correctly consumers and most businesspeople won't even know about security," she said.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- With so much attention on building World Wide Web sites, it seems sometimes that commercial online providers get left in the dust when it comes to the subject of making money in cyberspace. But at the Online Marketplace '95 in Chicago, plenty of talk centered on that subject, and on how companies are in the "cyber-green."
Senior Vice President of America Online (AOL) Audrey Weil said using a CD-ROM to aid in connecting with online services is a way to "turn a one-time CD sale into a ongoing revenue stream." She said she sees the CD-ROM and multimedia industries, along with the online and Internet industries, converging with interactive marketing and transactions. AOL has been working on converging those markets together, Weil said, mainly in the form of its 2Market shopping service, which combines CD, multimedia, and its online service to make purchases with a modem. Combining CD's and online services is a "win-win situation," she said, because the shopper gets the best of both worlds.
"The term 'advertising' doesn't fit very well into the online environment," Roland J. Sharette, director, J. Walter Thompson/ Online, told the audience. But he said his company tries to leverage online content in a way that will change the way in which marketing assets are viewed.
He also said there is no "killer application" that would extend itself to people not currently involved in the interactive media. But there are attributes advertisers can use to draw those people into the online way of thinking, he said, including establishing and maintaining an electronic dialogue with the consumer, and cementing the desired relation with accomplishing a transaction that involves the product or service.
"The question, 'Is advertising finally dead?' (from Wired Magazine June 1993) may be answered conclusively in the negative," he said "but it is certain that its form and function will be much different for travelers on the twenty-first century information superhighway."
Gene Foca, franchise development manager, People Magazine Online said he is learning about making money online like most other people because his service went up on January 27. "People Magazine's main goal has been to try to take a leadership position in personality journalism, and to try to translate that to the online world." He said people don't want to read magazine's online, so the online service adds value to its content by providing video clips, pictures, and other content that sometimes doesn't even appear in the weekly magazine. As far as the revenue side of the business, Foca said he sees several sources, including user fees, advertising revenues, and merchandising.
(Bob Woods/19950419)
ng revenues, and merchandising.
(Bob Woods/19950419)
4/20/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Revenue For Content Providers
ONLINE
Internet's Yahoo Becomes A Full-
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- A year ago when two Stanford University students started a small catalog of the Internet's World Wide Web, they couldn't have imagined that it would become a full-time job. Today, the Yahoo Guide to the World Wide Web draws 20,000 users a day who browse through a total of 10 million pages a week.
The success has been so great that just updating the guide each day is a major undertaking so the two students, Jerry Yang and David Filo, have decided to form Yahoo Incorporated, a company that will run the service.
Yahoo Inc. has been set up with financing from venture capital fund, Sequoia Capital, which has backed such companies as Apple Computer and Electronic Arts.
The guide is described as "irreverent and whimsical" by the founders who want to make Yahoo more than just another robot compiled list of World Wide Web sites. Co-developer Jerry Yang, speaking to Newsbytes, contributed Yahoo's success to several factors, "I think we offer a comprehensive and a usability mix that's more than others. We allow people to find things they are looking for, both through our hierarchical browsing and searching. Our response times are good, and our search quality is good as well."
Whilst listing World Wide Web sites is done by others, most of the guides make no money. However, Yahoo will have to look at ways of generating income if the company is to be successful. But how do you make money from an Internet catalog service ?
Whilst Yang and Filo could have made Yahoo a subscription service they were reluctant to do so and looked in other directions as Yang explained "We wanted to maintain our independence, so we concentrated on venture companies for financing. We chose Sequoia. Not only did Sequoia have a great reputation and track record, but we also received tremendous support from general partner, Michael Moritz. Mike supports our vision, which is to make Yahoo commercially viable without diminishing the spirit that makes it so popular. We are committed to keeping Yahoo free for the end-user, while continuing to add enhancements and maintaining our own editorial flavor."
Open access to Yahoo was important for the developers who were anxious to stay in keeping with the "Internet spirit" of free access to information. It was that commitment that impressed Mike Moritz, general partner of Sequoia Capital, "Our attraction to Yahoo was not only the vision of the founders but its impressive success which happened seemingly overnight. We support David and Jerry's commitment to keeping Yahoo free for users, and expect that gradually Yahoo will integrate some kind of sponsorship or advertising program. However that happens, it will be in keeping with the vision and spirit of the founders, which is based on respect for the Internet community and its diverse needs."
Yang and Filo have already earmarked the capital injection from Sequoia. "As the Net evolves into the world's information resource, we intend to maintain our leadership as the best available online directory," said Yang. "With this funding from Sequoia, we'll be able to focus on building an architecture that can support the increasing amount of traffic, as well as improving Yahoo's interface, features and functionality."
Whilst the service currently employs just its developers, it will also be taking on some staff to help with the work involved. World Wide Web users can visit the Yahoo database at http://www.yahoo.com/
(Martyn Williams/19950420)
.yahoo.com/
(Martyn Williams/19950420)
4/20/95
Internet's Yahoo Becomes A Full-Time Job
ONLINE
Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 F
Seybold - Macromedia Studio, Fre
Apricot Plans 120MHz Pentium PC
UK - Pace Completes V.34 Modem R
UK - PCN Networks Competing Head
UUNET To Go Public
PR Newswire Plans Web Site
Online Marketplace '95 - Jay Chi
UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled
IBM Plans Global Network in Indi
Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open M
Burst Memory Gaining Popularity
UK - Firms Dissatisfied With Int
Israel - Smart Networking Upgrad
More On PictureTel's Videoconfer
Gupta Establishes Asian HQ, Chin
More On Prodigy's CEO Change
UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- The European Research Council has announced a three-day conference to discuss the social and economic implications of Information & Communication Technologies.
Because the event, which is scheduled to be held at the QEII Conference Center in London from May 10 to 12, is organized by academics, the attendance fee is a reasonable UKP200 for all three days, Newsbytes was told by Keith Conlon of Context Communications, the company that is promoting the conference.
"It's the first conference in this particular area and we've got around 100 delegates to speak at it. Because it's by academics for academics, the pricing has been set at a non-profit level," Conlon told Newsbytes.
"It's quite an interesting area to get in on and we expect to see a wide variety of people attending it, ranging from business people to anyone with an interest in information technology (IT)," he said.
Speakers at the European conference include Paddy Ashdown, head of the Liberal Democrats, Kenneth Baker, a leading light in British Prime Minister's Government, as well as more than 100 international speakers and panelists from business, government, research and the academic world to discuss a wide range of IT issues. These will, Conlon explained, include education, social inequality (the information "haves" and "have-nots"), Britain's industrial landscape, employment, and the role of government.
The conference aims to celebrate the conclusion of a decade of wide-ranging research by the UK's Program on Information and Communication Technologies (PICT) -- funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It is probably Europe's biggest research program investigating key ICT issues, Newsbytes notes.
0 AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Philips Telecom's Private Mobile Radio division has been awarded a contact from the Lithuanian Government. Terms of the contract, which is worth around $3.5 million, call for Philips Telecom to supply an air-to-ground radio communications system to strengthen the passage of air cargo traffic through Lithuania.
The PMR contract forms part of a larger contract worth ten times that amount, with contractors including Philips Telecom, Cambridge, Philips BCS, and Philips Lighting. The PMR project will be handled by local Philips staff in Lithuania with direct support from the company's Project Center in Eindhoven.
As with most East European contracts of this type, the Lithuanian project is being financed by Samuel Montagu & Co., on behalf of Midland Bank. The bulk of the capital money will be spent on a Mincomms TN10X trunk radio system for installation at Lithuania's Siauliai airport.
Newsbytes notes that Siauliai airport is the largest ex-Soviet military air-base in Eastern Europe. The runway is 3.6 kilometers long. Lithuania, which is now an independent country, is situated in the geographical center of Europe. The recent liberalization of the country has opened new revenues for business and, according to Mike King, senior area manager for Philips Telecom's major international projects operations, the Government is taking advantage of it.
King said that the Philips contract is one of Lithuania's major projects in terms of its implementation. The Philips-Lithuania collaboration will consequently enable Lithuania to make greater use of cargo-based air traffic through Lithuania and generate greater income in the future.
Setting a new technology communication system will be very important. "This project will help strengthen the passage of air cargo traffic through Lithuania," he explained.
Adolfas Slezevicious, Lithuania's Prime Minister, is taking an active interest in the project. "We see communication as an important step forward in the growth of Lithuania," he said, adding that Philips' capabilities in the "provision of turn-key solutions and their vast experience in radio communications will have a positive effect on the growth of the country."
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- One of the biggest obstacles to the introduction of free cross-border traffic in Europe which was due to start on January 1, 1994, but was delayed for limited implementation until earlier this year, has been the lack of a European police authority.
While Interpol, the International police authority, has been in existence for several decades, Europol, its pan-European equivalent has only recently left the planning stages at the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels.
Now officials have set a formal discussion date for the approval of an accord on the precise powers that Europol will have in Europe. The details of Europol's mandate and powers will be discussed in detail at the EC's Cannes (France) summit which will take place on June 26-27.
Charles Pasqua, the ebullient French Interior Minister, who Newsbytes notes has built up an impressive public relations campaign this last few months in preparation for this month's general election in France claims that the French Government has been the linchpin in getting the EC Ministers to discuss the role of Europol.
According to Pasqua, the June meeting will adopt the draft accord for Europol's powers and coverage, as laid down in last year's white paper on the matter.
Speaking on French television earlier this week, Pasqua said that most of the minor differences of opinion between Ministers for the different EC countries have now been resolved and that an agreement will be reached at the Cannes summit.
Central to these "minor differences," Newsbytes notes, is the European police intelligence network, which has been in operation since the beginning of the year.
While Europol's headquarters is located in the Hague, its computer system is devolved around the 15 member states of the European Community. Since the beginning of this month, each of the 15 police forces in the EC have had increasing levels of access to each other's computer databases of criminals, criminal activity, and the victims of crime.
Since the beginning of the year, Customs and Police manning the borders between the Schengen group of European countries, where passports are not needed, have the right to request ID from anyone passing between the Schengen group of countries, drawing on intelligence from the Europol computer network.
As Europol gathers pace, the second stage in its evolution is just around the corner. Ernst Ballin, the Justice Minister for the Netherlands, has recommended that the EC look seriously at creating a European Law Enforcement Network (ELEN), which would oversee the operation of member countries' police forces.
The ELEN would become the next step up from EC member countries' police forces. Critics say that, as with EC budgets and legislation this removes the control of the situation from the EC Governments. Proponents argue that, because crime is international these days, it takes a pan-European agency -- ELEN -- to tackle the problem head on.
While ELEN's future has yet to be decided by the mandarins in Brussels, Europol's future looks assured. Since being set up late last year, the agency now has 77 staff at its headquarters in the Hague and is on target to have 115 staff on the payroll by the end of the year.
Ironically, while Europol's information net is used by government staff manning the Schengen checkpoints within Europe, Europol's headquarters staff are keen to disassociate themselves from the Schengen computer system, which only went live this spring, nearly two years late and way over-budget.
According to Europol, the reason for this was the change in technical specifications for the networking protocol for the Schengen computer network, which was changed half way through the project, to take account of changes in networking technology.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19950420/Press Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
tact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
4/20/95
Pan-European Policing Starts To Take Off
Online Marketplace '95 - Lycos P
CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Some of the biggest ideas in the online world have come, not from boardroom conferences, but barroom chats over pitchers of beer. Speaking at the Jupiter Communications Online Marketplace '95 Conference yesterday, Carnegie-Mellon professor Michael Mauldin, architect of the Lycos Web search engine, said that's exactly what happened during a Web conference in Germany last week.
Mauldin and colleagues from several other search engines including Aliweb, Web Arts, RBSE, and Web Crawler, got together at the Braustubl pub after a particularly long session and came out with an agreement to exchange user registration information, form a body to draft common search engine standards, and draft a protocol for robot exclusion.
Robot exclusion, for the uninitiated, is the ability for someone registering a Web site to electronically "block out" sections of text on a Web page from automatic hits from the all knowing eyes of the growing numbers of full-text web crawlers.
"There are definitely areas of infospace that don't make sense to index," said Mauldin during the "Finding It: Classifieds, Customized Searches, Electronic Yellow Pages" panel.
Also on the Lycos front, it is time to back up the moving vans they and their estimated 35 gigabytes of text are moving from their current http:\\lycos.cmu.edu .edu to http:\\www.lycos.com. Mauldin said that Carnegie-Mellon will continue "gathering the Web and handling user registrations and deletions," as well as offering an unspecified amount of free service. Yet the future model for Lycos will be more of an online information repository a role it recently announced it will handle for the Microsoft Network.
Another panelist, Nynex director of interactive services announced that the regional Bell company would experiment with a Web site starting early next month. The page, which would offer periodically updated content similar to Nynex's Electronic Yellow Page CD-ROM products, should be fully operational by next January. "The site will make the transition from promotional tool to one that can handle multi-criterion searches," she said.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- At the Jupiter Communications Online Marketplace '95 Conference, a "commandment" was issued by several prophets: "Thou shall not create and maintain a static Web page."
"In the last year, one of the key things we learned is that you are going to have to have the ability to constantly update your info. Your customers are going to insist on this," said Bill Rollinson, vice president of the Internet Shopping Network which has been on the Web for the last 12 months and has been owned since last October by the Home Shopping Network.
Technology to link Web servers to inventory control systems at companies that offer their merchandise via the Web was positioned by several speakers as an absolute must. Paul Grand chief executive officer (CEO) of interactive marketing firm Digital Planet, Culver City, California, said that one way to do this would be for companies on the web to have inventory-polling links with their warehouse or fulfillment house so that a customer hitting a given hypertext in a product-order menu could tell within seconds if the desired item is in stock.
The technology could be further advanced to include electronic data interchange (EDI) capabilities, Grand noted. With this approach, if the server at the warehouse detected that the item at a fulfillment house was out of stock, it could electronically query other storage facilities to determine whether or not it was available anywhere. For the end-user -- the customer -- the process would only mean a few seconds on "hold."
Another hot Web topic at Jupiter are tracking tools that can cut across web browser boundaries and determine the number and nature of hits to specific Web sites. With this purpose in mind Digital Planet introduced NetCount, a global http hit-tracking service that Grand said he will position as "the Nielsens of the Net."
With this technology, hits-per-browser can be tracked. "We'll be able to monitor the traffic to the extent we'll (be able to) tell an advertiser with a Web site where he's getting his hits from," said Grand.
On the multimedia front, morning keynoter Martin Nisenholtz director of content strategy for Ameritech, criticized the gulf between the Web and the content of some CD-ROM titles issued by companies with Web pages. He said that in the future, more CD-ROM titles should offer a choice of turning on the modem and dialing into the Internet to pull up the Web page.
"We're not talking about an intrusive, 'infomercial' approach, but something in the CD-ROM that can generate the impulse for a transactional experience," he said.
When it comes to Web pages, Nisenholtz noted that the emergence of ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines and cable modems will enable Web devotees to download Web site graphics at significantly higher speeds than today's 14,400 bits-per-second (bps) speed. But to make sure that the installed base of 14,000 and slower modems won't be left behind, service providers will have to work closer than they are now with their Web-site clients to customize Web pages for different speeds.
"Some users will have POTS (plain old telephone service) while others will have ISDN. Because of this there will be production problems. The challenge will be how to move creative work across different bandwidths. They'll do this by customizing output," said Nisenholtz.
"You're talking about customizing output so that you won't be appealing to the least common denominator," said Daniel Kohn CEO and founder of Internet marketing services firm NetMarket. One way in which this could be done, he suggested, would be for Web site providers to work with their access provider to detect speed of an incoming transmission, and then, depending on page, send either a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or simpler GIF graphics version of the presentation.
(Russell Shaw/19950418)
rsion of the presentation.
(Russell Shaw/19950418)
4/20/95
Online Marketplace '95 - Keep Your Web Pages Current
ONLINE
IDC Canada Briefing - Consolidat
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Mergers and acquisitions will continue in the networking industry over the next few years, according to Kathleen Barret, vice-president of communications research at International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd. Companies will also form more strategic partnerships as they face up to the reality that they cannot do everything on their own.
At IDC Canada's annual industry briefing, held at Toronto's downtown Four Seasons hotel this week, Barret noted that many people in the industry had doubts about the merger of Wellfleet Communications Inc. and SynOptics Communications Inc. last year on the grounds that the "personalities" of the two firms were too different, but SynOptics and Wellfleet -- which formed Bay Networks Inc. -- have made it work because they felt they had to do so. Cisco Systems Inc. had a 60 percent share of the router market last year, Barret added, "and yet they too realized that they cannot sit on their laurels.
"Even the big guys realize you can't go it alone any more," Barret said. She expects the trend to continue, to the point where "everybody believes that there's only going to be a few players in a couple of years."
As for technology trends, Barret said cellular telephones continue to be the hottest area in wireless communications, while wireless data communication still accounts for a small share of the market. Remote access to office networks will let people work more efficiently from home and while on the road, she said.
Videoconferencing will be increasingly popular because companies are cutting back staff and people simply do not have time to travel, Barret added. However, videoconferencing direct to the desktop will take time to catch on, she predicted, largely because people may not want to be visible to callers all the time. "How many times when you talk to someone on the phone are you going through your mail?" she asked.
Barret also said integrated services digital network (ISDN) technology may finally catch on in the near future. Although it has been talked about, and little more, for years, ISDN is becoming more attractive now partly because of the need for high-speed data connections to handle access to the Internet, Barret said.
Meanwhile asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a more recent high speed communications technology, is now going through the same slow process of acceptance as ISDN. "ATM is going to be here," Barret said. "It's just going to take it a while."
Frame relay, another emerging technology, will grow rapidly Barret predicted.
IDC Canada Briefing - Consolidation Seen In Networking
TRENDS
DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Price
` ( MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has announced price cuts as high as 26% on its Prioris server line and cuts as high 24% on its HiNote notebook line. The cuts, effective immediately, apply to the US and Latin American/Caribbean regions.
Ten models of the Digital Prioris server line effected by the cuts including the Prioris XL 466, 560, 566, 590, and 590DP. The remaining five servers come from Digital's high-end, high performance Prioris HX family. The top of the Digital Prioris HX family, 590DP (dual processor) is now listed at $10,289, a cut of more than $2,000.
In its first year of delivering x86-based servers, Digital has reached sixth place worldwide for units shipped. Howard Sholkin, US media relations manager for Digital's PC Business Unit, told Newsbytes, "We are committed to moving fast and responding to the developments in both the server and notebook markets. Since we are relatively new with our x86 servers and our HiNote notebook line, we intend to shift as quickly as possible to conditions and changes in both markets."
Sholkin continued, "Both the server market and the notebook market appear the be the fastest growing segments in the PC world. We see servers moving across the board to companies both large and small. And as notebooks become more affordable, a large number of people are willing to enter the mobile computing trend."
Responding to the quick changes in the notebook market, he said, "In the last sixty days some companies have cut their prices more than once. This exemplifies how fast the notebook market is changing."
The cuts for the Digital HiNote models include: the HiNote CS 433 monochrome and color models; the HiNote CS 450, a color model; the HiNote CT 450 with active matrix TFT (thin film transistor) color; and the HiNote CT 475 with active matrix TFT color and more storage. The high-end 475 model is reduced from $3,999 to $3,539.
Sholkin also told Newsbytes, "We pass these cuts onto our distributors and resellers. Depending on a number of factors such as inventories and other channel conditions, the price cut may not appear on the street right away."
(Patrick McKenna/19950420/Press Contact: Howard Sholkin, Digital 508-264-7802; Public Information: Digital Equipment Corp. 800-722-9332)
gital Equipment Corp. 800-722-9332)
4/20/95
DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Prices
GENERAL
Software Simplifies Corporate Tr
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- A Seattle-based travel agency has developed software it says give corporate travelers a direct, and simpler, electronic connection to the travel agent to develop a customized itinerary that meets the individual traveler's preferences.
Presently Travel Assistant is not available commercially, but Metropolitan Travel Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Schoenfeld told Newsbytes the company is moving quickly toward free distribution of the Windows-based software over the Internet. Metropolitan also plans to release a Macintosh version, which is currently in beta testing, about two months after the Windows version is made available.
Schoenfeld told Newsbytes Travel Assistant was written for the travel agency by two former Microsoft programmers.
Schoenfeld said Travel Assistant is unique from other electronic reservation software because it provides a travel itinerary that eliminates the sometimes baffling jargon and bewildering abbreviations and fare codes some reservation-making software uses.
The traveler completes an on-screen "Smart Form" then specifies his or her preferences for travel. The form is completed off-line and transmitted to the travel agent once it is completed.
The travel agent extracts the appropriate information from the computer reservation system and creates a response message with a suggested itinerary and additional options, which can be printed by the traveler. Schoenfeld said the proposed itinerary will list options as well as the best choice based on the traveler's indicated needs.
If the suggested itinerary is acceptable, the traveler clicks on a confirm button to finish the transaction. Otherwise, changes are made using point-and-click commands, and sent back to the agent for re-booking.
Jeffrey Schoenfeld, CEO of Metropolitan Travel, said the software increases efficiency and gives the traveler more control over the arrangements. Schoenfeld thinks the current hype over agentless reservations isn't what the consumer wants. "Travelers still want the expertise and the assistance of a professional, but they want a streamlined way of making arrangements. A travel agent's job is not about issuing a ticket, the travel agent's job is about sharing information," said the travel executive.
Electronic flight reservation booking is already available to subscribers to major online services such as CompuServe and GEnie, but those services require the user to understand the abbreviations and codes used in the electronic version of the Official Airlines Guide.
(Jim Mallory/19950420/Press contact: Gayle Cloud, Cloud Public Relations for Metropolitan Travel, 206-453-5583; Public contact: Metropolitan Travel, 206-441-8501/METRO950420/PHOTO)
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has announced it is shipping version 1.2 of its AppWare software, a high-level programming tool for application developers that uses pre-written, reusable software components called AppWare Loadable Modules (ALMs).
Novell also said it is making AppWare 1.2 available through retail and mail-order sales channels, a departure from the traditional reseller-only distribution method.
New features in AppWare 1.2 include a single-step debugging capability in the application editor that allows users to single step from any break-point while executing an application, in order to make it easier to locate program "bugs," or coding errors.
Novell said the new release has expanded the functionality of the Application, Button, Date, Database, File, File Operations, General List, Page Layout, Table, Text, Time, and Windows ALMs, and Novell has included some additional third-party ALMs.
New from Reach Software is WorkMan for AppWare, which provides three ALM objects -- Workflow, Stage, and Link -- and some additional functions to enhance the capability of customers using AppWare to build workflow-enabled applications.
Wall Data's Rumba ALM makes it possible for AppWare applications to import host data from an IBM mainframe, AS/400, or Digital VAX system to a desktop PC. Novell said the Rumba ALM facilitates downsizing by allowing customers to develop applications that can use existing host system data on desktop systems.
Macintosh and Microsoft Windows versions of AppWare 1.2 come on a single CD-ROM disk. Novell said it has reduced the regular suggested retail price of $495 for AppWare 1.2 to $199 through the end of August 1995. The price will revert to the announced SRP in September.
(Jim Mallory/19950420/Press contact: Michael Adams, Adams Communications for Novell, 801-756-7785)
ions for Novell, 801-756-7785)
4/20/95
Novell Ships AppWare Upgrade
NETWORK
Europe - Gateway Intros 120MHz P
Silicon Graphics & Template Team
Hyundai's Integrated MPEG-2 Vide
Novell/Ericsson Computer Telepho
Commercial Online Services Subsc
European Commission Ready To Sus
DEC Claims Alpha Servers Outrun
Voice Recognition For Healthcare
DEC - 3 New VAXes, Continues VAX
Major Newspaper Publishers Creat
Pan-European Policing Starts To
UK - DIP Intros Mobile Professio
Australia Regional Support Cente
JetForm Targets Workflow Market,
Canada/UK Joint Venture To Focus
UK - IBM's Software/Services Fir
British Telecom To Market Multim
Microsoft's Windows 95 Game Deve
Firefox Offers Free Novell/Inter
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Firefox has announced that it has released a White Paper on Internet security. According to Julie Hewitt, a spokeswoman for Firefox's UK office, copies of the paper are being issue to anyone interested in Novell NetWare/Internet security on a free-of-charge basis.
The paper was researched and written by Firefox in conjunction with Spyglass Inc., the Naperville, Ill-based developer of Enhanced Mosaic for World Wide Web access and, according to Andrew Smith of the A Plus Group, which handles public relations for Firefox in the UK, is available in Europe from Firefox, or in the US through Spyglass or Firefox's respective offices.
The report runs to 23 pages and is entitled "Internet Security: Solutions for the NetWare Environment." Newsbytes can report that the report details many of the NetWare/Internet security issues that affect network administrators.
According to Firefox, the White Paper discusses how NetWare users can manage access to Internet services while also protecting the security of information on their local area networks (LANs). The report covers methods for controlling access to the Internet by integrating NetWare's inherent security with the centralized architecture that Firefox's Nov*ix for Internet is billed as supporting.
In addition to this, the report is billed as providing users with a perspective on the ways they can protect the security of the Internet transactions they make, and describes the methods and technology available to accomplish this goal.
Phil Mercer, vice president of Firefox, claims that more than 72 percent of networks are based on NetWare, so the company recommends that users establish managed communications services through NetWare -- "and thereby leverage NetWare's inherent protection for the outside services world."
According to Firefox, in contrast to the IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) architecture seen in NetWare, the Internet Protocol (IP) world is based on architecture that hasn't been centered around core security. The TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/IP) universe is closer to a public domain, and the security features available for IP networks require specialized "solutions" that are separate from the network server and are external to the native operating system.
For a free copy the White Paper, European readers of Newsbytes can contact the Firefox UK sales desk on +44-121-703-3020. In the US readers can contact Firefox US on 408-321-8344. Firefox also maintains a Web site at http://www.firefox.com.
Firefox Offers Free Novell/Internet Security Paper
ONLINE
IPC Peripherals To Intro 3-D Cyb
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- IPC Peripherals will demonstrate a three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasonic pointing device called CyberMouse at Spring Comdex in Atlanta. A small band which wraps around the user's index finger performs traditional pointing device maneuvers and transmits hand movements for 3-D games.
The CyberMouse band has two buttons which a user controls with the opposing thumb. According to IPC, the user's wrist motion is triangulated by receivers in a frame which fits over the front of a monitor's case. This means the user simply moves his or her wrist slightly to move the mouse across the screen. The buttons on the band act as a standard two-button mouse.
"The effect we really want to emphasize with this product is the 3-D feature which is a first in the industry. To demonstrate this feature, we are shipping a 3-D game, called Rings, with CyberMouse. With this game users will be able to play a game of 3-D toss. By making a flick of the wrist as if you were actually tossing a ring the tracers in the frame will track the motion and display your toss. If you toss it too slow it will fall short of the post; if you pitch it too hard it will go beyond the post. You actually have to aim and find the right speed at which to flick the imaginary ring to get it to land on the post," said Dan Feeney, IPC's director of product marketing for multimedia.
CyberMouse is a Windows product which is expected to have a street price of $99. At this time, the device will operate within one meter of the monitor. The company is working with software game developers to incorporate the 3-D technology into new games. A next-generation device will increase the distance from which the band transmits to the receivers.
IPC says the additional distance will facilitate a golf game currently in development. The 3-D effects will allow a user to actually make a golf swing which will be triangulated and displayed on the monitor.
Feeney also said, "Anything you can do with your hands, such as throwing rings, swinging a golf club, or operating a joystick can be incorporated into this device."
IPC says installation is as simple as installing a standard mouse or pointing device. The package includes the finger band, the frame installation software and the Rings game. Feeney told Newsbytes, "We will be marketing this as an entertainment device. While it will work well as a standard pointing device, we think the real market for this product is with existing games and 3-D games which are in development."
Newsbytes learned a new version of Doom will include a 3-D sword fight which will allow users to employee CyberMouse. This new version is expected before the end of the year.
Describing other uses of CyberMouse, Feeney said, "Using CyberMouse in a painting program, a user may hold their hand close to the monitor for fine strokes and make broader strokes as the hand is moved away from the monitor."
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Chad Hill, Hill/LF Communications, 510-945-7910; Pubic Information: IPC Peripherals, 510-354-0800)
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- "We intend to be a workflow provider," said Philip Weaver, newly appointed senior VP at Jetform, in an interview with Newsbytes that centered on the major forms software maker's announcement of its membership in the Peoplesoft Inc. Open Workflow Partners Program.
As a partner of Peoplesoft, JetForm will integrate JetForms 4.0 with the PeopleSoft Workflow Messaging Agent application programming interface (API), to ease creation of forms-based financial, human resources, and distribution workflow systems added Weaver, who was recently promoted at JetForm to head up the company's marketing, sales, and service arms.
In the forms market, workflow represents a second major application area that follows closely in the footsteps of document management the senior VP contended.
JetForm, he said, will pursue both markets, while continuing an increasing emphasis on "platform independence," as well as a recent shift toward integrating the JetForm product line with services in the areas of software development, technical support, and training.
Weaver told Newsbytes that, over the past year, JetForm has been working more closely with channel partners as well as customer organizations in creating forms-based applications.
A partner or customer that is highly expert in a vertical application market such as banking, for example, might still have many questions related to electronic forms that JetForm can help to answer, he explained.
"They might be asking, `What do I do about (Lotus) Notes, or my LAN (local area network)? And what about document management?'" the JetForm executive illustrated.
In contributing insights about forms technology, JetForm is also gaining, by garnering knowledge about the problems encountered in specific vertical markets, Weaver added.
Banking is, in fact, one of the areas where JetForm has been applying this "integrated" approach, Newsbytes was told. Banks, he said, find it more cost effective to store documents like loan applications electronically at a central site -- and to distribute the electronic forms over networks to branches for printing on an on-demand basis -- than to follow the traditional paper-based method.
"Under the old method, where the forms were being centrally printed, 30 percent of those forms were being thrown out," he contended.
Major customers of JetForm's in the financial field include Bank of Boston, Bank of Montreal, and the four largest banks in Australia according to Weaver, who was previously VP of business development at SHL Systemshouse, and before that, CEO and president of Total Alert Corporation. Earlier in his career, Weaver worked at Hewlett Packard Company for nine years in a variety of managerial jobs.
Weaver added that JetForm is also working closely with Hogan Systems, a systems integrator in the banking field, as well as with a number of other partners and customers in a variety of industries, including insurance firms such as Signa Insurance, and Iai, an integrator for the US federal government market.
In the workflow area, customers are now starting to turn to electronic forms software as a mechanism for quick deployment of new applications called for by re-engineering effects, Weaver reported. "The lightbulb is going off," he noted.
Customers are also discovering forms as a means of adding functionality such as routing and database links to their electronic mail (e-mail) systems, according to the JetForm exec. "This helps them to cost justify their investments in e-mail." JetForm runs on top of both VIM (Vendor Independent Mapping)- and MAPI (Mail Application Programming Interface)-compliant systems.
In addition, JetForm is available for platforms that include Windows, Macintosh, DOS, OS/2 and Unix, Weaver pointed out. By running forms-based software across platforms, users may have to "compromise" somewhat, he acknowledged.
"You may not get every slick feature, or 110 percent of what you need," he told Newsbytes. But Jetform's "cross-platform strategy" is also useful in "leveraging" customers' existing infrastructures the senior VP maintained.
Jetform will follow a similarly "open" policy in the workflow market, teaming with Action Technologies and other vendors, in addition to Peoplesoft, to meet a wide range of customer requirements, according to Weaver.
PeopleSoft produces PeopleSoft Finances, PeopleSoft Distribution PeopleSoft HRMS, and PeopleTools, a set of client-server products that supports a Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI) and a variety of databases running on mainframe, midrange, and LAN server systems.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950420/Reader Contact: JetForm, 617-647-7700; Press Contact: Mark Demers, JetForm, 703-934-6183; Nick Berents or David Kitchen, Copithorne & Bellows for JetForm, 617-252-0606)
Kitchen, Copithorne & Bellows for JetForm, 617-252-0606)
4/20/95
JetForm Targets Workflow Market, Teams With PeopleSoft
GENERAL
MapInfo Adds Street-Level Maps F
TROY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- MapInfo has added ten new partners to its MapInfo Worldwide Data Partner Program, while also introducing StreetInfo Germany and StreetInfo Italy, two "geographic data" products that have emerged through joint development with Belgium-based Tele Atlas, an early partner in the program.
The Worldwide Data Partner Program, launched six months ago as part of MapInfo's "MapOpen initiative," is designed to provide corporate and government users with "local" information on geographic areas throughout the world, explained Elizabeth Ireland, MapInfo's VP of business development and information products, in an interview with Newsbytes.
"Our customers are moving in an increasingly international direction. They want to be able to look at markets around the globe on a very `local' basis. So having data available that will allow customers to deploy internationally is critical," Ireland told Newsbytes.
StreetInfo Germany and StreetInfo Italy will provide street-level digital maps of the countries of Germany and Italy, including highways, railways, and waterways in major cities, according to Ireland.
In addition, two of MapInfo's newly announced partners are providing data that will be available for desktop mapping for the first time, the VP maintained.
Ersis, a company based in Queensland, Australia, will supply data sets on China that are billed as the first of their kind for the desktop. The Ersis data sets contain provincial, prefecture and county municipality basis.
Horizons Technology (San Diego, California) will provide a series of seamless "raster" map data sets of the US which are based on aerial photography and satellite images.
In addition, Etak (Menlo Park, California) will furnish street level maps of the US that include zip code updates from the latest USPS zip files, Ireland said.
On Target (Pittsburgh, PA) will supply MapInfo with telecommunications data for the US, including all US area codes and cellular phone markets.
Geoplan (Harrogate, UK) is providing 1.8 million postal code points for the UK, while GeoData (Somerville, South Carolina) is offering zip code data for Puerto Rico.
In other new partnerships, Demosphere (Falls Church, Virginia) will provide demographic and map boundary information for Mexico and India; and Kampsax Geoplan (Odense, Denmark) will supply data sets for Denmark, complete with counties and municipalities, household counts, postal codes, and railways.
In addition, a new Quick Address for MapInfo product, to be produced by MapInfo with QAS (London, UK), will "geocode" UK data. Under this process, a geographic location is assigned to each data record, according to Ireland.
MapInfo, she reported, was founded in 1987 by four students at RPI who were initially interested in developing in-car navigation software.
Today, she added, MapInfo produces "third-generation" mapping software for PCs, Macintoshes, and Unix workstations.
Aside from the Worldwide Data Partners Program, MapInfo's new MapOpen program includes a series of data translators for use with MapInfo software, as well as partnerships to embed "map-enabled" technology into business productivity tools. Data translators are now available for ArcLink 3.0 and AGLink.
Microsoft plans to use a subset of MapInfo's technology in upcoming editions of Microsoft Office and Excel, according to the MapInfo VP.
Troy, New York-based MapInfo also partners with outside customers such as telecommunications providers, to produce custom desktop mapping applications, she told Newsbytes.
StreetInfo Germany is shipping now for $38,200, with regional pricing also available. StreetInfo Italy is slated for delivery late this spring. Also as part of the StreetInfo series, MapInfo produces StreetInfo Netherlands and StreetInfo Belgium.
Davis, Schwartz Communications for MapInfo 617-431-0770)
4/20/95
MapInfo Adds Street-Level Maps From Around The World
GENERAL
Australian Computer Price Watch
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Australian computer industry identity Jonathon Bailey has created a local computer industry pricing data service, reporting on used computer equipment.
The Australian Computer Price Watch is available by subscription every two months, on diskette or in hard copy. It comes in four parts: mainframe; midrange; RISC/workstation; and PCs. The annual cost is AUS$250 (around US$185) per module or AUS$750 for all four.
Bailey said that there was a common misconception that once computer equipment was unpacked it lost most, if not all, of its value. "The reality is that many organizations have no compelling, competitive need to be at the leading edge of technology in all areas, and have realized that major savings can be achieved by using quality second-hand computer equipment." he added "Where there is a demand there is supply and an active, substantial, mature market exists to service the requirements of buyers and sellers."
He developed the product last year and already has a number of corporate computer users and computer vendors as subscribers. "And the publication is also useful to equipment financiers, lessors, lessees, risk insurers and government agencies." It covers international as well as local data "on the current market value of a users installed technology base." The prices are both wholesale and retail, and the reports include trend indicators for individual models.
(Paul Zucker/19950420/Press Contact: Australian Computer Price Watch tel +61-2-9-6-5660, fax +61-2-906-5670)
Computer Price Watch tel +61-2-9-6-5660, fax +61-2-906-5670)
4/20/95
Australian Computer Price Watch - New Bimonthly Publication
GENERAL
Australia - Microsoft Sets Up Re
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Microsoft Australia is now supporting regional, high-end Microsoft product users. This follows a successful six-month pilot program.
The center will service the South East Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines Indonesia, and Vietnam. This is the first of six regional centers being established by Microsoft. The others will be in the US, Far East, UK France, and Germany.
They will service users of mission-critical products such as those running on Windows NT 3.5 and other Microsoft corporate products particularly Back Office. The Sydney center has 30 fully-trained technical support staff, on hand 12 hours a day, with critical-issue support available continuously.
(Paul Zucker/19950420/Press Contact: Greg Buchanan, Microsoft Australia, tel +61-2-870-2300, fax +61-2-805-1108)
soft Australia, tel +61-2-870-2300, fax +61-2-805-1108)
4/20/95
Australia - Microsoft Sets Up Regional Support Center
BUSINESS
India's Pentafour Plans Software
MADRAS, INDIA, 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- Madras-based Pentafour Software & Exports Ltd. (PSEL), is planning to set up a software development park in Thailand.
While PSEL will provide the blueprint and technical expertise for setting up the project, Thai Prasid, a leading insurance company in Thailand has agreed to fund the software development project.
PSEL has already set up a software development project in Madras at an estimated cost of R25 crore. It recently won a large order from the Nepal government for training professionals.
According to V. Chandrasekaran, managing director of PSEL, several international companies, including large Japanese conglomerates like Sumitomo and Mitsubishi and Soltec of US, have shown interest in sourcing their software development work from PSEL's software development park.
Chandrasekaran said the software development park will post a turnover of R50 crore in the first full year of operation. The Thai project and the Nepal order are expected to earn considerable foreign exchange for the company.
The software development park at Madras has a built up area of two lakh square feet and comprises the latest computer hardware, including an IBM ES 9000 and an AS/400 as well as systems from DEC and HP, and 300 terminals networked and connected to all platforms. It will have 125 software developers working in the park and will do a lot of specialized jobs, including software re-engineering and multimedia.
PSEL has also set up a satellite link to the US to enable offshore software development work. The company has already opened an office in Los Angeles and will shortly be opening offices in London, Paris Australia, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950420)
ng, Bangkok, and Singapore.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950420)
4/20/95
India's Pentafour Plans Software Development In Thailand
BUSINESS
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 20 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> IBM & Telecom Italia Team On Mobile Office Technology 04/20/95 IBM and Telecom Italia have signed a marketing agreement to develop and sell a mobile office range of systems for business people on the move, to help them stay in contact with their office PC-based computer network.
2 -> UK - DIP Intros Mobile Professional Pack 04/20/95 Distributed Information Processing (DIP) Systems, the original designers of the Atari Portfolio, and a leading light in PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) development, has unveiled the Mobile Professional Pack, a notebook PC/GSM (global system for mobile communications) phone ensemble that supports wireless data transmissions.
3 -> UK - Greenscreen's In-House Help Desk Software 04/20/95 Greenscreen has released InControl Helpdesk Lite, a software-based support package for companies who want to operate their own computer help desks, rather than rely on an external company.
4 -> Cognos' PowerPlay 4.1 Data Analysis Prgm 04/20/95 Cognos Inc. (TSE:CSN; NASDAQ:COGNF) has announced PowerPlay 4.1, a new release of its multidimensional data analysis software.
5 -> IDC Canada Briefing - Computing Turns Outward 04/20/95 In computing, 1995 looks a little like 1984, according to David Moschella, senior vice-president of worldwide research with International Data Corp. Now, however, technology is turning outward rather than inward.
6 -> Dell Ships 75MHz Dual-Processor PC 04/20/95 Dell Computer Corp. (NASDAQ: DELL) says it is the first PC manufacturer to ship a 75 megahertz (MHz) Pentium-based server that can use dual microprocessors.
7 -> Asymetrix Ships Digital Video Toolkit 04/20/95 Asymetrix Corp. says it is now shipping the Digital Video Producer, a digital video capture and editing tool that lets users build video clips on their PCs.
8 -> GE To Offer Internet Connectivity 04/20/95 General Electric's (NYSE:GE) GE Information Services is building a bridge to the Internet. GE says it will offer Internet services that have the security of the GEIS with the breadth and reach of the global Internet.
9 -> Online Marketplace '95 - NetCount's Web Tracking System 04/20/95 Digital Planet Corp. said it is forming a wholly-owned subsidiary named Digital Planet NetCount, to track consumer usage of the World Wide Web mainly for advertisers. The company said the new service will also create a universally recognizable ratings system, similar to Nielsen television ratings.
10 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Web Revenue/Transaction Models 04/20/95 Internet World Wide Web sites are popping up as fast as well, Web sites. At the Online Marketplace '95 conference, sponsored by Jupiter Communications, one of the hot topics was creating and maintaining profitable Web sites, and attendees heard from some of the people who are doing, or plan to do, just that.
11 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Transaction Processing/Security 04/20/95 It sounded like a "battle of the World Wide Web security and transaction systems" during one of the panel discussions at Jupiter Communication's Online Marketplace '95 conference in Chicago.
12 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Revenue For Content Providers 04/20/95 With so much attention on building World Wide Web sites, it seems sometimes that commercial online providers get left in the dust when it comes to the subject of making money in cyberspace. But at the Online Marketplace '95 in Chicago, plenty of talk centered on that subject, and on how companies are in the "cyber-green."
13 -> Internet's Yahoo Becomes A Full-Time Job 04/20/95 A year ago when two Stanford University students started a small catalog of the Internet's World Wide Web, they couldn't have imagined that it would become a full-time job. Today, the Yahoo Guide to the World Wide Web draws 20,000 users a day who browse through a total of 10 million pages a week.
14 -> UK - Info Highway Conf Scheduled For May 04/20/95 The European Research Council has announced a three-day conference to discuss the social and economic implications of Information & Communication Technologies.
15 -> Philips Telecom Wins Lithuanian Contract 04/20/95 Philips Telecom's Private Mobile Radio division has been awarded a contact from the Lithuanian Government. Terms of the contract, which is worth around $3.5 million, call for Philips Telecom to supply an air-to-ground radio communications system to strengthen the passage of air cargo traffic through Lithuania.
16 -> Pan-European Policing Starts To Take Off 04/20/95 One of the biggest obstacles to the introduction of free cross-border traffic in Europe, which was due to start on January 1, 1994, but was delayed for limited implementation until earlier this year, has been the lack of a European police authority.
17 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Lycos Promotes Search Standards 04/20/95 Some of the biggest ideas in the online world have come, not from boardroom conferences, but barroom chats over pitchers of beer. Speaking at the Jupiter Communications Online Marketplace '95 Conference yesterday, Carnegie-Mellon professor Michael Mauldin architect of the Lycos Web search engine, said that's exactly what happened during a Web conference in Germany last week.
18 -> Online Marketplace '95 - Keep Your Web Pages Current 04/20/95 At the Jupiter Communications Online Marketplace '95 Conference, a "commandment" was issued by several prophets: "Thou shall not create and maintain a static Web page."
19 -> IDC Canada Briefing - Consolidation Seen In Networking 04/20/95 Mergers and acquisitions will continue in the networking industry over the next few years, according to Kathleen Barret, vice-president of communications research at International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd. Companies will also form more strategic partnerships as they face up to the reality that they cannot do everything on their own.
20 -> DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Prices 04/20/95 Digital Equipment Corp. (NYSE:DEC) has announced price cuts as high as 26% on its Prioris server line and cuts as high 24% on its HiNote notebook line. The cuts, effective immediately, apply to the US and Latin American/Caribbean regions.
21 -> Software Simplifies Corporate Travel Arrangements 04/20/95 A Seattle-based travel agency has developed software it says give corporate travelers a direct, and simpler, electronic connection to the travel agent to develop a customized itinerary that meets the individual traveler's preferences.
22 -> Novell Ships AppWare Upgrade 04/20/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has announced it is shipping version 1.2 of its AppWare software, a high-level programming tool for application developers that uses pre-written, reusable software components called AppWare Loadable Modules (ALMs).
23 -> Firefox Offers Free Novell/Internet Security Paper 04/20/95 Firefox has announced that it has released a White Paper on Internet security. According to Julie Hewitt, a spokeswoman for Firefox's UK office, copies of the paper are being issue to anyone interested in Novell NetWare/Internet security, on a free-of-charge basis.
24 -> IPC Peripherals To Intro 3-D CyberMouse At Comdex 04/20/95 IPC Peripherals will demonstrate a three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasonic pointing device called CyberMouse at Spring Comdex in Atlanta. A small band which wraps around the user's index finger performs traditional pointing device maneuvers and transmits hand movements for 3-D games.
25 -> JetForm Targets Workflow Market, Teams With PeopleSoft 04/20/95 "We intend to be a workflow provider," said Philip Weaver, newly appointed senior VP at Jetform, in an interview with Newsbytes that centered on the major forms software maker's announcement of its membership in the Peoplesoft Inc. Open Workflow Partners Program.
26 -> MapInfo Adds "Street-Level" Maps From Around The World 04/20/95 MapInfo has added ten new partners to its MapInfo Worldwide Data Partner Program, while also introducing StreetInfo Germany and StreetInfo Italy, two "geographic data" products that have emerged through joint development with Belgium-based Tele Atlas, an early partner in the program.
27 -> Australian Computer Price Watch - New Bimonthly Publication 04/20/95 Australian computer industry identity Jonathon Bailey has created a local computer industry pricing data service, reporting on used computer equipment.
28 -> Australia - Microsoft Sets Up Regional Support Center 04/20/95 Microsoft Australia is now supporting regional, high-end Microsoft product users. This follows a successful six-month pilot program.
29 -> India's Pentafour Plans Software Development In Thailand 04/20/95 Madras-based Pentafour Software & Exports Ltd. (PSEL), is planning to set up a software development park in Thailand.
(Ian Stokell/19950420)
(Ian Stokell/19950420)
4/20/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
#0$\$>$
GEnie Strategy For Internet Acce
F ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- General Electric's (NYSE:GE) GE Information Services (GEnie) is building a bridge to the Internet. GE will offer Internet services that have the security of the GEIS with the breadth and reach of the global Internet.
"Our Internet strategy will serve our global customers and their trading communities who need to exchange information that is both public and private," said Anne Biehle, manager of global information for GEIS. "Our customers will realize significant increases in productivity because both their public and their private applications will be able to run from a single desktop."
It will be the best of both worlds, said Biehle, "Internet access for public transactions and the verification and certification features of our value-added applications for private transactions."
GE has had considerable success tailoring private online networks for business customers, such as EEI Online, the service run by the Edison Electric Institute to serve the US investor-owned electric utilities. Those applications include data security and the ability to conduct secure economic transaction online, areas where the Internet has problems.
"Our Internet connection will offer plenty of security for our customers, including firewalls, encryption, and the like," GE's Doug Wolford told Newsbytes. "Our clients will be able to determine the level of security they need, and how much of their private network they want to open up."
Wolford said the decision to interconnect GEIS and the Internet was driven by its customers, who asked for the ability to reach out to the Internet. "The Internet protocols have become de facto standards," he said.
The GEIS Internet interconnection should be in beta testing by the third quarter of this year, with commercial operation by the end of the year, according to GE.
GEIS established its first connection to the Internet in 1993 with the introduction of an Internet mail gateway. The service currently processes half-a-million messages a month and is growing at 20 percent a month, officers report.
GEIS also has a home page on the World Wide Web with technical and product literature, client case studies and press releases. The address is http://www.ge.com/geis.
BEIJING, CHINA, 1994 APR 21 (NB) -- Novell China has just released the Chinese Edition of UnixWare 1.1 (UW 1.1/CE) in Beijing. It is the first Novell product localized in Simplified Chinese.
UnixWare 1.1/CE offers all features of the English version of UnixWare 1.1 with fully translated systems messages and user interfaces, the company says.
UW 1.1/CE is a multitasking Unix operating system based on the Unix world standard and supports a broad range of peripherals. It enables MS-Windows applications to run on top of UnixWare, provides connectivity to NetWare servers, and comes with TCP/IP support in both the Personal Edition (PE, single user) and the Application Server (AS, multi-user) configurations.
UW 1.1/CE only supports limited Chinese input methods including Quwei (character-based), Guo Biao (code-based), and Full Pinyin (phonetically based). A number of bit-mapped fonts are provided to support the display of Chinese characters. All documentation has been translated to Chinese.
UW 1.1/CE is a result of a joint-project between Novell-China and the Unix System Technologies China Company, Ltd. (USTC, Beijing). "UW 1.1/CE ... demonstrates Novell's commitment to the China market," said Jim King, Novell Asia-Pacific area sales director and China country manager.
Catherine Raphel, PR manager of Novell, told Newsbytes that Novell China was formally established in Beijing in November of 1994. Currently there are eleven employees. However Novell is unwilling to reveal the total sales or earnings from Chinese market. At the present there are about 5,000 distributor and resellers in the Asia Pacific region.
UnixWare 1.1/CE will be available in May either in cartridge tape or CD-ROM through Novell's authorized distributors and resellers. The suggested retail price of the Personal Edition is $399 and the Application Server is $1,499. Special promotional and upgrade pricing will be available for a limited time, but specifics are yet to be released.
(Ning Huang & Chih-Ho Yu/19950421/Contact: Novell China 86-10-8491478)
ntact: Novell China 86-10-8491478)
4/21/95
Novell Releases Chinese UnixWare
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan, NTT To Develop Computer Communications Network; New Oki Software Translates The Internet; Printer Built In On New Canon Notebook; Independents Continue Attack On NTT Price Changes; Kyuki Sets Up On The Internet.
NTT To Develop Computer Communications Network
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) announced late yesterday that it will begin development of a public telephone network dedicated to computer communications and the network is scheduled to open within two years. The Open Data Network will use lines and switches independent of those of the existing voice network, making lower charges than regular telephone lines possible. NTT are also expects to offer other charging structures such as fixed monthly fees.
Currently, NTT, along with 127 groups, is conducting tests using an optical fiber-based network which is scheduled to become the first part of the Open Data Network when the existing experiments finish at the end of the 1996 financial year.
New Oki Software Translates The Internet
A new software package, Pensee for Internet, has been released by Oki Software in Tokyo. The new software automatically translates English language pages on the Internet's World Wide Web section into Japanese for display on Japanese-capable World Wide Web browser programs such as the new version of Netscape. Translation of each screen takes about one minute. The software is priced at 148,000 yen ($1,800) and will ship on May 15. Oki hopes to sell 3,000 copies.
Printer Built In On New Canon Notebook
A new Canon notebook personal computer will be released next week. The Note 100C comes complete with a 360dpi (dots per inch) printer as well as DOS/V and Windows 3.1 pre-installed. The computer weighs 4kg and includes a 100MHz i486dx4 microprocessor, 8 megabytes of RAM, a 500Mbyte hard disk drive, and a 9.5-inch dual-scan super-twisted nematic color LCD. It is priced at 456,000 yen ($5560); the company hopes to sell 1,000 a month.
Independents Continue Attack On NTT Price Changes
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's competitors have renewed their attack on the telecommunications giant's plan to adjust prices charged to leased line users. NTT wants to reduce charges for medium and long distance lines by around 26% while hiking prices on short distance lines by 5%. Japan Telecom, along with DDI and Teleway Japan, have called the NTT plans an attempt to bankrupt them. On Wednesday Japan Telecom claimed that the plans would lead to a 60% reduction in the company's revenue from its leased line service.
Kyuki Sets Up On The Internet
A Japanese video company specializing in adult titles is to set up a shop on the Internet. Next month the Kyuki company will begin offering its library of around 50 soft porn titles via the Internet. The online service will be available in both Japanese and English and include short previews of the videos and ordering information. It will also begin marketing a 2,500 yen ($30) CD-ROM of similar products through bookstores.
(Martyn Williams/19950420)
Williams/19950420)
4/21/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Powersoft Staff Flee HK Office
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Powersoft Corporation has announced the formation of a direct subsidiary in Hong Kong following the exodus last week of the most of the sales and support staff from Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd.
Despite its name, only one share of the new subsidiary Powersoft HK, is held by Powersoft Corp of the US. It is, in effect, "a distributor dressed up to look like a subsidiary," said one industry observer.
The move, confirmed by Powersoft HK Ltd marketing manager Hillman Lai, is the latest development in a territorial dispute which broke out between the local Powersoft distributor and the regional office of Sybase only days after the US$900 million worldwide acquisition of Powersoft Corp by Sybase, Inc.
Lai, who is said to represent Powersoft on a "part time" basis said that the former Powersoft operation in Hong Kong was virtually "closed" after seven key staff members left to join rival vendor Gupta. He said that all sales inquiries were being forwarded to Powersoft in Singapore, but there were three support staff still on hand to "support customers and help with the smooth integration to a fully owned Powersoft office" in Hong Kong.
Lai said that he expects the setting up of a direct subsidiary would "clear up the confusion" that has resulted from the public dispute which blew up over an ad that Sybase ran describing itself as "the only direct subsidiary of the merged entity selling and supporting Sybase and Powersoft products."
Former Powersoft Hong Kong general manager, Francis Ng, has charged that Sybase was confusing the market with the antagonistic approach and that many local users were "being harmed."
Powersoft's Singapore-based regional business development manager Steven Hong, told Newsbytes that in fact only five people had left Powersoft HK and none were from the support side. He claimed that Hong Kong sales calls were still being handled locally through a local telephone number.
Hong said the setting up of the direct subsidiary was not a result of the problems between Sybase and the distributor, but part of Powersoft's long-term business model for the region. The new office, he said, would be up and running within 90 days and would be totally autonomous of the Sybase operation.
In a press conference last week announcing the formation of Gupta's new regional office (see related story), Ng again lashed out at Sybase. "There are a lot of people playing different games and the Powersoft user will be hurt.
"In Hong Kong Sybase is selling direct, undercutting its own distributors, and further confusing the market. They see that if they sell direct they will gain 100% of the revenue and if they use a partner they have to share."
According to Hong, however, the pricing issue is the fault of "inflated pricing" of Powersoft products by the distributor. "The price in HK is inflated against our SRP (suggested retail price) and the local distributor did not practice price controls. The channels are free to add their markup. If Powersoft wants to add value to the price that is their decision . . . but they shouldn't complain about undercutting," he said.
(Mike Dunn, IT Daily/19950421)
(Mike Dunn, IT Daily/19950421)
4/21/95
Powersoft Staff Flee HK Office
BUSINESS
Microsoft, Novell At Odds Over A
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- In Australia, Microsoft has "spoken" to Novell about claims made in Novell ads regarding Netware 4.1 and Windows NT. Today Microsoft released a statement titled, "Microsoft pressured by its solution providers to defend Windows NT." This was followed by Novell's statement entitled "Novell denies misleading advertisements."
The Microsoft release says that its solutions providers asked it to do something about a Novell ad campaign, so it contacted Novell. "Novell replied that it disagreed with our assessment of the situation, but it would nevertheless agree, without admission to stop running the ads." Novell's statement counters this with Managing Director Graeme Inchley saying, "I am surprised that after five months of running the ad Microsoft only flagged a complaint after our campaign had finished." (Novell states that the campaign had been over for five days when it received the complaint letter from Microsoft.)
Microsoft's claim is that the Novell ad misrepresents the capabilities of Windows NT, by suggesting the only things it can do is file and print. It counters by listing the many features of NT. Then Microsoft claims that the Novell ad's list of features is incorrect. It shows NT as not having directory services integrated messaging or mutiprotocol routing, and only limited network management and security. Microsoft claims these are all fully implemented in the product.
Novell's Inchley replies, "It is our view that the basis of Microsoft's complaints are related primarily on its own definition of terms rather than those generally accepted within Novell or by the industry at large. Novell does not believe that there is any necessity, nor does it agree to undertake 'corrective advertising' as requested by Microsoft."
Anyone wishing to obtain the full statements should contact the PR representatives of both companies. Microsoft (Burson-Marseteller) tel. +61-2-922 6577 and Novell (Marketing Directions) tel. +61-2-959 4544)
(Paul Zucker/19950421)
ions) tel. +61-2-959 4544)
(Paul Zucker/19950421)
4/21/95
Microsoft, Novell At Odds Over Australian Ad Claims
GENERAL
Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The Internet is called by some the "information superhighway." That term definitely applies when it comes to covering what police call a terrorist attack on the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. World Wide Web pages, IRC (Internet Relay Chats), electronic mail (e-mail), and even video feeds are covering the tragedy.
One of the players in the Internet coverage is Internet Oklahoma or IONet. Co-owner Phyllis Johnson said her team has been covering the incident practically since they heard the explosion, which was 15 miles away from them. She told Newsbytes that phone lines in and out of the city quickly became jammed, and that her service began receiving e-mail requesting information. "We realized they could get to us through the Internet. So it dawned on us that we were an information provider, and we'd better get information out outside of the city for people who were trying to find out what's going on."
Johnson said her service usually receives about 50 hits a day. Since the bombing, her site has registered more than 19,000 visits, and she said her Sun server is "smoking." She also said her staff has worked practically 24-hours-a-day since the bombing. Her service is also providing a live video feed from a local television station, via CU SeeMe. It also has lists of hospital survivors, along with composite drawings of the bombing suspects. IONet's home page also has links to other information services and providers. IONet's URL (uniform resource locator) is at http://www.ionet.net/explode.shtml.
Another service providing hotlinks to other sites is NewsLink, which is described as being an academic and professional research and consulting firm studying electronic publishing and visual journalism. Some of the information it is providing includes the agencies that were in the building, IRC logs, the Social Workers Advocating Network summary from Kansas, and a way to subscribe to an e-mail mailing list on the bombing. To access NewsLink, point your browser to http://www.newslink.org/newslink/.
University of Oklahoma journalism students are also putting their efforts on the Web. Along with first hand reporting, users can gain access to Voice of America stories. Their home page is at URL http://www.uoknor.edu/okdaily/bombing.html.
(Bob Woods/19950421/Press Contact: Phyllis Johnson, Internet Oklahoma 415-721-1580. Public Contacts, all World Wide Web: Internet Oklahoma http://www.ionet.net/explode.shtml; University of Oklahoma student paper, http://www.uoknor.edu/okdaily/bombing.html; Newslink http://www.newslink.org/newslink/)
http://www.newslink.org/newslink/)
4/21/95
Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing
ONLINE
UK - National ID Card Row Breaks
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- A fight has broken out among MPs (Members of Parliament) in the British Government over Prime Minister John Major's Administration's "softly softly" approach on national ID cards.
As reported previously by Newsbytes, while the British Government has claimed that national ID cards are under active discussion and consultation, plans are in hand to introduce a National Insurance ID card (the UK NI is similar to the US Social Security number) that British citizens over the age of 16 will "voluntarily" carry.
Not unexpectedly, MPs are worried about the implications of the issue of such a back door method of introducing a national ID card although curiously, the worries do not stem from civil libertarian issues, but from the possibility that a national ID card system would be the precursor to the removal of border controls with the rest of Europe which is a highly contentious issue on both sides of Parliament at the moment.
Because of the issues at stake, the Cabinet has been forced to announce that a discussion paper outlining all the options the Government has, will be released within the next few months. In the interim, the Government has placed the NI card system on a temporary hold.
The whole issue of a borderless Europe is turning into a key issue for the Government, which is already readying for a possible election within the next 12 months. At a news conference called earlier this week by Environment Minister John Gummer, despite the fact that the conference was to discuss election issues, journalists tackled Gummer on the National ID card subject. In reply, he said that he is committed to national borders within the European Union (EU).
"I am a strong supporter of border controls. There's no disagreement on that," he told journalists, adding that the Government's line on border controls remains the same -- no removal of borders, despite the EU's decision to introduce border-free travel for several countries called part of the "Schengen Group" earlier this year.
The national ID card issue could be a matter that will divide the Government, as several pro-EU supporters want Britain to join the Schengen group, which allows flights between EU countries to be treated as domestic trips, and speeds up transit times through airports dramatically, but the official Government line is that border control must remain, to prevent anticipate wide spread illegal immigration.
The UK is the only country in Europe that does not have an ID card system.
(Steve Gold/19950421)
card system.
(Steve Gold/19950421)
4/21/95
UK - National ID Card Row Breaks Out
UK Cellular Provider First With
NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Vodata, the messaging/data subsidiary of Vodafone, one of the UK's cellular operators, has taken the wraps off CallMe, a personal assistant numbering system that allows controlled re-routing of calls.
The service is similar to the Flextel "number for life" service that has been available for about a year, but differs in that subscribers can elect to re-route calls from their "personal number" on the 0374-5 area code to a mobile number, paying for the extra call switching costs involved.
From a caller's perspective, there is just one contact number for the the CallMe subscriber. Rates to call the CallMe service are at British Telecom's "d" rate which is around a third of the cost of calling an analog or GSM mobile, and the rate normally charged for PCN (Personal Communications Network) services such as Hutchison Orange and Mercury One-2-One.
Like Flextel, the "d" rate tariff paid by the caller finances the switching costs of the call to any standard landline number, or a Vodafone voicemail number. Calls to mobiles are charged an extra 18 to 24 pence per minute (depending on time of day), which is billed to the CallMe subscriber.
Newsbytes pointed out to David Danielli of the Vodafone press office that Vodata is not offering CallMe subscribers a lower divert calling rate for calls to PCN mobiles (Orange and One-2-One), but classes such calls as the same as to an analog or GSM mobile, despite the fact that such calls are normally billed as "d" rates -- the same rate that CallMe is on. Danielli told Newsbytes that the curious pricing anomaly is under investigation.
Another quirk is that, while calls to the 0374 area code are billed at "m" rates (25/38p minute), the 0374-5 code for CallMe is billed at the lower "d" rates.
Newsbytes pointed out that normal telephone service users would not readily recognize the 0374-5 code and would class the CallMe code as "just another mobile phone number," something that Vodafone might wish to avoid, as calling mobile phones are often avoided because of the high calling costs involved. Again, Danielli said that the query is being investigated by Vodata.
Finally, there is the question of non-UK calls. Like 900 area code calls in the US, incoming foreign switched calls to the 0374-5 area code are switched at the discretion of the foreign telco's agreement with their British telco. Many foreign telcos have agreements with telcos other than British Telecom and their agreement may prohibit calls to non-standard calling codes. This could cause problems for CallMe subscribers with callers from overseas whose calls may be blocked.
Sign-up for the service is free of charge to most Vodafone subscribers, with an ongoing monthly rental of UKP 1-00.
Call numbers for CallMe are allocated by Vodata. Where the subscribers chooses his or her own number, there is a one-time administration charge of UKP 35, and for so-called "Gold" numbers (e.g. 0374-555555 or 0374 567890), the charge rises to UKP 100, and the monthly rental is UKP 21.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- How many times have you thought, "Am I or am I not, a total idiot?" The Multimedia IQ Test by Virtual Entertainment could help answer that question. This is a dual purpose disk that can run on the Windows and Apple Computer Macintosh platform.
Based on the AGCT (the Army General Classification Test), this test gives you the chance to find your place on the bell curve of smarts. You have the option of choosing an appropriate age level too.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Steve Thomas of Virtual Entertainment said "While this CD-ROM is based on a validated test, it is not itself a validated test. That's dependent on how and where the actual paper test is given." Simply put, officially, one does not take an IQ test by oneself if the results are to be valid. The test is designed to be administered by a professional in a controlled environment.
Thomas said the test was adapted to the CD-ROM format. He noted that the cube puzzles, which figure prominently in many of the test questions, appear on the actual paper test in black and white while the CD-ROM version offers the cubes in color. One can even have background music on while taking the test, or the music can be clicked off. All these details keep the CD-ROM in the entertainment niche as opposed to a technically qualified IQ test.
The CD also features Quicktime movie interviews with experts in the field, and a narrated introduction on intelligence. Featured in the narrative are Drs. David Wilcox and Christopher Recklins clinical psychologists from the Harvard Medical School. Project Zero at Harvard is represented by researcher Mindy Kornhaber.
The IQ Test was originally released on floppy for Windows only. This was a "bare bones," test only, no Quicktime, version. "With the success of Forrest Gump, the release of the book 'The Bell Curve' and then the movie 'I.Q.' our CD development was really motivated," Thomas said.
Other features include sample questions, bookmarks to let you return to unanswered questions, timer and test result printout. The disk lists for $19.95.
(Nick Gorski/19950420/Press Contact: Steve Thomas, Virtual Entertainment, tel 617-449-7567 xt 26, email 76433.2032@compuserve. com, internet/IQ950421/PHOTO)
rve. com, internet/IQ950421/PHOTO)
4/21/95
CD-ROM Offers At-Home IQ Testing
WINDOWS
UK - State Of The Art Call Proce
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- A new company Telecommunications Premium Services (TPS), has been set up to market a new call handling technology known as "Personal Assistant." The Personal Assistant service runs on TPS' computer hardware using the company's software. The idea is that the intelligent call router is plugged into a cellular or hard wired telecoms company's exchange system and handles calls on an intelligent basis for the subscribers of the telco's services.
According to Tamlyn Worrall, a spokeswoman for TPS, the Personal Assistant service is being beta tested for introduction later this year by Cellnet, one of the four cellular operators in the UK. The system works with callers dialling a special number allocated by the telco -- in the case of cellular telcos, the calls are either diverted from the subscriber's ordinary calling number where the mobile is not available, or the direct number is given out by the subscriber.
The exchange then plays a customized message -- usually recorded by the subscriber, such as "John Doe is unavailable at his usual location at the moment. You may press one to leave a message or wait 10 to 15 seconds for the call to be switched to another contact number."
The exchange then runs through a series of programmed contact numbers which could be the subscriber's home number, car number or paging service. If all possibilities are exhausted, the call is then routed to a voice mailbox. The caller is then invited to leave a message and an optional "keyboarded" callback number.
The system then continues to try to locate the subscriber and, when successful, plays back the message. To make life easier for the subscriber, the system offers a simple menuing service to call the caller back on his/her callback number using a single keystroke.
"The advantage of the system is that it can be completely reconfigured by the subscriber to offer those menu choices and facilities to the caller that are needed. It's completely flexible, but offers just one contact number for the caller," Worrall told Newsbytes.
A key advantage of the Personal Assistant system is that the software can automatically handle faxes on the same number. Faxes are auto detected and routed to the appropriate number. This allows the subscriber to give out just one number for all voice and fax calls.
Worrall explained that the bulk of the development of the service facilities was carried out by TPS' parent operation in New Jersey in the US, but that various options for the company as regards offering the service to various European telcos -- including Cellnet -- are under consideration.
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- IBM chairman and chief executive officer, Louis V. Gerstner Jr., recently warned the Hong Kong branch of the American Chamber of Commerce that big changes were needed in the IT (information technology) industry if we are to harness the technology that is available. Gerstner said the computer would eventually join the wheel and the combustion engine as a technology that massively changed the world, but that at present the industry was "inward looking" and run by "22-year-old propeller heads."
He warned that unless managers learned to properly use available technology, and users take a greater part in driving it, IT will not reach its true potential.
"Technology is changing the concept of how we do business," he said. "In the future post offices will disappear, libraries will disappear. In the insurance industry agencies have changed from being an asset to being a liability. In the courier industry it is who can deliver the information not the package," said Gerstner, who took the reins of a troubled IBM in 1993 as the first non-IBM chief executive.
But he added, "I have never seen such an egocentric industry. It really loves its technology and it thinks you want to embrace it as it embraces itself," he said, adding that the product development cycle has far outstripped the problem solving cycle that it is supposed to address. "This is a real problem today. There's 60,000 vendors out there developing products (faster than we can find uses for them.)"
"Open Systems," he said "is a sham. This industry doesn't work to make things easier for the consumer. The druids, the 22-year-old high priests own the technology and they don't want us to understand it. They want it to be complicated so we can't ask them tough questions."
"I have eight computers in my office. Every one turns on differently every one boots differently...and that's just the IBM stuff," he said.
Gerstner outlined four areas that he though needed immediate attention to put the IT industry on track.
First, he said IT must be part of a company's strategic plans and it must be understood by the management. "If your managers don't use IT then you will not survive."
Second, a company must decide on a policy of centralization or decentralization and support it completely. Many US companies, he claimed have decentralized their operations without a plan and the result is an "unbelievable problem" of data scattered everywhere with no controls whatsoever.
Third, there must be standards and if the industry won't create them then it is up to the customer to demand them, he said.
Last, there must be a stronger focus on application development. "Products are coming very fast, but applications still take a very long time to get to market." This, he said, may be solved by the movement toward object base applications or "reusable software."
(Mike Dunn, IT Daily/19950421)
(Mike Dunn, IT Daily/19950421)
4/21/95
IBM Chief Warns Big Changes Needed
Holland's Renderstar Sues For So
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Renderstar Technology of Holland has filed a lawsuit against Guangzhou Lantian (Blue Sky) CAD High Tech for pirating its software. This is the first case in Guangzhou that a foreign company has sued a Chinese company for software copyright infringement, Computer and Communication reports.
Renderstar started to develop its CAD (computer-aided design) software in 1986 and commercialized the software at the beginning of 1990. Renderstar CAD can be used on IBM (compatible) PCs with 386 CPU or up. At the beginning of 1992, Renderstar began to sell its CAD software inside China, and claims that Guangzhou Lantian illegally was selling the same software at a lower price. This caused a great financial loss for Renderstar, the company claims.
The lawsuit has been filed in the intermediate people's court of Guangzhou City. Renderstar has asked the court to issue an injunction against Guangzhou Lantian to stop the software infringement, destroy all illegal copies of Renderstar software, provide the list of users of the pirated software, publish an apology in a reputable newspaper, guarantee against any occurrence of infringement of Renderstar's copyrights, and award 1.35 million RMB to Renderstar in damages.
Since the Chinese government recently called for enforcement of intellectual property protection, and severe punishment of violators, much attention has been paid to this case.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950415)
aid to this case.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950415)
4/21/95
Holland's Renderstar Sues For Software Piracy In China
LEGAL
Motorola Plans Cellular Project
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The $22 billion communications giant, Motorola Inc., has identified India as a strategic market and is planning to set up a fifth project in India this year.
This could be either trunking, cellular or basic telephone, said G.K. Arora, director of corporate affairs at Motorola Singapore Pte Ltd. He said that investment for the fifth project would depend on how many tenders got accepted for trunking or cellular services.
Motorola has already set up four projects in India for datacom products, software, paging manufacturing and paging services. It is also considering possibilities of shifting some production lines to India. Motorola has already moved the entire line of its Advisor pagers to its pager manufacturing plant at Electronics City, near Bangalore.
Motorola has been considering sourcing from India for sometime but it needs surface mounted technology for use in components for pagers, cellular or radios or telecom equipment, which are not easily available in India. According to G.K. Arora, India could become a source for leather covers for cellular phones booklets, PC boards, mechanical parts, plastics and packaging material. Motorola also plans to source Duracell batteries from India.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950421)
rom India.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950421)
4/21/95
Motorola Plans Cellular Project In India
TELECOM
IBM Plans Global Network in Indi
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- IBM Corp., has drawn up plans to set up a global network in India as part of its strategy to provide worldwide access in information technology to Indian companies using IBM products. The network which is likely to be set up by the end of 1995, will be put in place through the IBM-Tata joint venture, Tata Information Systems Ltd. (TISL).
According to John R. Whiting, managing director, TISL, IBM has already set up such global networks in 55 countries. It has prepared a 'India Business Strategy' and is currently putting this through in the form of strategic alliances with local companies and business partnerships. As part of this strategy IBM is aiming to provide business partners with IBM products and expertise to help the Indian company to develop software suited to clients' needs, and to sub-contract the Indian company's expertise in software development for big contracts won by IBM and to push for sale of IBM products in the Indian information technology market through the alliance partner.
The IBM-Tata joint venture is gearing to touch a turnover of $1 billion by the turn of the century. In the current year it is looking to double the turnover of Rs 105 crore achieved in 1993-94. TISL has already established a business partnership relationship with Tata Consultancy Services, Square D Software Pentafour Software Exports Ltd., Zenith Computers, among others. It is planning to introduce a new range of IBM products called Aptiva in the Indian market.
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950421)
(C. T. Mahabharat/19950421)
4/21/95
IBM Plans Global Network in India
Australia Regional Support Cente
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Microsoft Australia is now supporting regional, high-end Microsoft product users. This follows a successful six-month pilot program.
The center will service the Southeast Asia-Pacific region including Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. This is the first of six regional centers being established by Microsoft. The others will be in the US, Far East, UK, France and Germany.
They will service users of mission-critical products such as those running on Windows NT 3.5 and other Microsoft corporate products, particularly Back Office.
The Sydney center has 30 fully trained technical support staff on hand 12 hours a day, with critical-issue support available continuously, the company claims.
(Paul Zucker/19950420/Contact: Greg Buchanan, director of technical services at Microsoft Australia tel. +61-2-870 2300 fax. +61-2-805 1108)
ustralia tel. +61-2-870 2300 fax. +61-2-805 1108)
4/21/95
Australia Regional Support Center For Microsoft
BUSINESS
Hong Kong - Internet Raids Quest
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Hong Kong legislators in Hong Kong have closely questioned the methods and motivation of Hong Kong's Commercial Crimes Bureau (CCB) in raiding and closing down seven Internet providers early in March for alleged Telecommunications Ordinance breaches.
At a packed meeting of the Legislative Council's Information Policy Panel (IIP), CCB head Chief Superintendent Neil McCabe defended the bureau's widely criticized action which cut thousands of companies and individuals from their Internet connections for more than a week.
McCabe told the panel that the raids were conducted as part of an investigation into computer hacking following a complaint from outside Hong Kong. He said that the police would rather have sought the cooperation of the providers in its investigation, but when it was established that seven of the nine Internet providers were not holding Public Non Exclusive Telecommunications Service (PNETS) licenses the CCB decided to close them down instead.
"The unlicensed providers were an unknown factor," he said. "They were not known to us, not known to the industry." McCabe added that the CCB was reluctant to seek the cooperation of illegal operators in a police investigation.
Democratic Party legislator James To voiced concern that the warrants obtained by the police were for alleged licensing breaches and made no mention of the hacking allegations. He told the panel that if CCB had used licensing as a pretext for a separate investigation the bureau could possibly open itself to legal action by the raided providers.
The IPP had earlier heard submissions from a large group of users and affected Internet providers who had demanded clarification of government policy towards secondary telecommunications services specifically the Internet and electronic bulletin boards ( BBSs) as well as an explanation as to why the police raids were carried out while the affected companies were in active discussion with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) over licensing conditions.
OFTA had all along denied instigating the raids and Chief Superintendent McCabe confirmed at yesterday's meeting that the raids were conducted by CCB but "under normal circumstances OFTA has responsibility {for enforcing licencing regulations}."
Users and legislators also expressed concern that users' private e-mail on computer systems seized by CCB was scrutinized as part of its hacking investigation. McCabe assured the panel that this was not the case and that the bureau's scrutiny extended only to e-mail headers and not message contents.
On the matter of licencing, OFTA officials told the panel that licences had since been issued to the providers and that a complaint by one provider that application forms were unavailable at its offices when requested a week before the raids was "probably due to a misunderstanding."
(Mike Dunn, IT Daily/19950421)
ng."
(Mike Dunn, IT Daily/19950421)
4/21/95
Hong Kong - Internet Raids Questioned
ONLINE
BSA - Policies For The Infopike
A WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- "Intellectual property protection," says the Business Software Alliance in a lobbying backgrounder distributed recently, "is the foundation of the information marketplace. Legal remedies must exist to safeguard innovators against the theft of technology and content by providing an opportunity to recoup research and development investments."
In the paper, BSA says it treats the trendy term of "information superhighway" as the same thing as the information marketplace. "The information marketplace must provide suppliers of information and technology with secure and open pathways to deliver their products to consumers," says the Washington software trade group. Other key policy approaches critical to the development of the digital marketplace, says BSA, include:
Private investment through private capital markets. Developing and marketing the technology to provide full and cost effective access to information is expensive. "Private capital markets must be allowed to invest in this development."
Government should foster competition. Noting that competition has been the key to the success of the computer industry, BSA says "Pro-competitive policies in the information marketplace must be implemented early and rigorously followed for the information superhighway to achieve success."
Government policy should "promote choice and variety among information management appliances, services and tools. The information superhighway is a digital marketplace where consumers and suppliers can use and/or distribute a variety of products and services. Connecting to networks in order to transfer information is a key feature of a successful information marketplace."
In terms of specifics, BSA calls for "strong, comprehensive and enforceable" copyright laws and for laws clarifying the enforceability of electronic contracts and the validity of electronic signatures in order to encourage electronic commerce.
BSA represents major personal computer software companies and was established in 1988 to focus on software piracy issues. Since then the trade group has expanded into public policy and lobbying activities, moving into the turf of the older and larger Software Publishers Association.
(Kennedy Maize/19950421/Press Contact: Kim Willard, BSA 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
A 202-872-5500, fax 202-872-5501)
4/21/95
BSA - Policies For The Infopike
ONLINE
Kenan Online/Telecom Billing Pac
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- In the online and telecommunications industries, billing has been an "unsung service," noted Kenan Sahin, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kenan Technologies, during a series of interviews with Kenan and Sun officials around a port of Kenan's Arbor/BP "flexible billing" package to SPARC/Solaris.
Until recently, providers of online, cellular, and wired services have been hampered in their pricing and promotional plans by billing packages written in Cobol, and revolving around hierarchical databases or flat files, Sahin told Newsbytes.
"There was no way of adapting the software to give customers more of a choice," according to the company chief.
In contrast, he contended, Kenan's Arbor/BP billing and "customer care" package is coded in C and based on the Sybase relational database management system (RDBMS). These two features add up to greater customizability, he told Newsbytes.
With the rise of online services, traditional notions of pricing are changing, Sahin maintained. "In the old days, if I bought a book, I had to buy the whole book," he illustrated.
Theoretically, with the availability of electronic documents these days, providers ought to be able to market books on a "per chapter" basis, but policies like this have been held up by arcane billing systems, he continued.
Arbor/BP offers greater flexibility in rating and discounting, as well as in invoice delivery and reporting, according to Kenan's president and CEO.
Patricia McWilliams of Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC) agreed with Sahin about the need for adaptable billing, adding that Arbor/BP also helps carriers to get new systems online more quickly.
As a result, Sun has been actively recruiting Kenan and other makers of "flexible billing" packages to port their products to SPARC/Solaris, according to McWilliams, who is market development manager, Business Systems, in SMCC's Telco and Cable Division.
The telecommunications market constitutes the largest single share of SMCC's business, McWilliams told Newsbytes. About two or three years ago, SMCC began to expand into the business systems end of telecommunications, she said.
Sun, she added, is also the "dominant player" in the Internet installed base. "And we have quite a number of customers in the PCS (personal communication systems) market. So we see a lot of opportunities with Kenan, moving forward."
Sahin told Newsbytes that AT&T is using Arbor/BP as the core billing and customer care system for PersonaLink, a set of wired and wireless communications services that will run under General Magic's Telescript, a language that uses "intelligent agents."
Sahin also reported that the Rochester, New York local telephone company, another Arbor/BP customer, is using Arbor/BP to provide billing and customer care services for its voice offerings.
Rochester, he said, represents one of the first markets in the US to be opened up to competition in the "local loop." Kenan also expects to be issuing a "major Internet announcement" in the near future, Sahin revealed.
McWilliams pointed out that SMCC's customers include America Online (AOL), Prodigy, AT&T, British Telecom, and Delphi, a company dubbed "the third largest Internet provider" by the Sun executive.
"SMCC and Kenan are both doing a good job in their fields. We have customers who have specifically asked for Arbor/BP, just as Kenan has customers who have specifically asked for a port to Sun," maintained the market development manager.
Arbor/BP was first introduced in 1990 on the Sequent platform, and has since been ported to both HP and AT&T/GIS (formerly NCR) workstations, said Eric Schnadig, marketing specialist at Kenan.
"Now, with the addition of Sun, we'll be running on all the major Unix vendors in the telecommunications market. This is a real validation of the value of the product," Schnadig told Newsbytes.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950421/Reader Contact: Kenan Technologies, 617 225-2224; Sun, 415-960-1300: Press Contacts: Eric Schnadig, Kenan Technologies, 202-488-3610; Craig Librett, Miller Communications for Kenan, 617-536-0470; Penny Johnson, Sun, 415-336-6180; Ted DuPont, Burson-Marsteller for Sun, 212-614-4562)
ed DuPont, Burson-Marsteller for Sun, 212-614-4562)
4/21/95
Kenan Online/Telecom Billing Package Ports To Sun
A Look Back At Cebit
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs
Delrina Intros CD-ROM Windows Bu
Philippines - Satellite Consorti
Editorial - The Second Phase Of
DEC Portswitch 900 Switches, Hub
Newsbytes Week In Review
MCI Opens Web Developer Lab Site
Shamrock, DEN Standards To Merge
German Firms Protest Cost Of Inf
Rogers Won't Buy Larger Unitel S
Europe - Gateway 2000 Buys Norte
Prodigy Announces New CEO
SITA Group Intros WW Code For X.
Europe Plans Equal Access Teleco
China - State-Run Telco To Offer
IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The personal computer market is doing well, thanks largely to a growing consumer demand for computers, according to Richard Zwetchkenbaum, manager of personal computer hardware research for International Data Corp. of Framingham, Massachusetts.
Speaking at a briefing held here by IDC's Canadian subsidiary Zwetchkenbaum said personal computers have become a kind of pop culture item. The consumer market is leading the business, he said, pointing out that Compaq Computer Corp.'s (NYSE:CPQ) move into top spot in personal computer sales could be traced to the boost it received from a good showing in the consumer market.
IDC expects the worldwide volume of personal computer sales to go on rising for the rest of this decade, at least as fast as it has since 1990. From about 57 million today, the research firm expects worldwide shipments to reach 110 million in 2000.
Helping this happen will be rapid growth in markets such as Asia and Latin America, while the United States and other mature markets continue to do quite well. This year, Zwetchkenbaum said Western Europe is the only major regional market doing poorly. IDC forecasts 13.3-percent growth in PC shipments there this year, largely due to an anticipated rebound in the fourth quarter after declining shipments in the first nine months of the year.
The Far East is a different story. IDC's forecasts for 1995 show 28.1-percent growth in the Asia/Pacific market, not including Japan, and 29.7-percent growth in the Japanese market. Meanwhile IDC is predicting 19.2-percent growth in the United States PC market this year, and 12.4 percent in Canada.
In 1994, Zwetchkenbaum said, the major personal computer vendors became cannibals, "eating each other" rather than taking market share from smaller vendors. One of the main dishes in this feast was IBM (NYSE:IBM), which saw its worldwide market share fall from 10.9 percent to 8.5 percent. Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also suffered a decline, from 9.4 percent to 8.1 percent. The full stomachs belonged to Compaq, which boosted its market share from 7.9 to 9.8 percent and became the top PC vendor, and Packard Bell Electronics Inc., whose jump from 2.9 to 5.1 percent was actually a bigger share shift than Compaq's and was due mostly to the home computer market, Zwetchkenbaum said.
While Compaq did well in the over-all PC market, its market share in portables remained almost flat, up from 13.1 to 13.2 percent in 1994. IBM increased its share of the portable market from 8.1 to 9.9 percent, but Toshiba Corp. took the lead with a 15.3 percent share of the worldwide portables market, up from 12.2 percent in 1993.
Turning to the Canadian market, Zwetchkenbaum noted that it is highly concentrated, with the top four vendors -- IBM, Compaq Apple, and AST Inc. -- accounting for more than 50 percent of sales. While IBM Canada Ltd.'s PC market share dropped in 1994 it held on to first place with a 15-percent market share versus second-place Compaq's 14.2 percent.
x TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Rogers Communications Inc.'s announcement that it will not exercise an option to buy 48 percent of Unitel Communications Inc., from Canadian Pacific Ltd., has raised doubts about the future of the largest competitive long-distance carrier in Canada.
Rogers, which already owns 29.5 percent of Unitel, decided not to exercise the option because of a variety of factors, including financial and regulatory reasons as well as general "environmental" considerations, company spokeswoman Jan Innes told Newsbytes.
One reason is that regulations governing long-distance competition, which Rogers executives have said in the past are crippling Unitel, remain unchanged. Officials of Unitel's three main shareholders -- which include AT&T as well as Rogers and Canadian Pacific -- said their major concerns about regulation include the portion of its revenues Unitel pays to the regional telephone companies to cover connection to their local networks Unitel pays about half its revenues while its counterparts in the United States pay about a third of theirs, they said -- and alleged cross-subsidization of the telephone companies' long-distance services using revenues from local-service subscribers.
During a press conference in January, when Canadian Pacific announced it had granted the option to Rogers to purchase its stake in Unitel, officials said the company has little hope of becoming profitable unless the rules change.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is due to hold hearings in May concerning long-distance regulatory issues. Unitel officials said in January that they did not expect changes before that time, but would decide the company's future based on their sense of regulators' mood. However, Innes said Rogers' decision not to exercise its option does not necessarily mean the company has given up on regulatory changes.
The Unitel shareholders and banks are discussing the company's future, Innes said, and all options are on the table. She said the possibility of Rogers purchasing a smaller additional stake in the company is still open, as is the possibility of Rogers selling its existing stake.
(Grant Buckler/19950421/Press Contact: Jan Innes, Rogers Communications, 416-864-2326, fax 416-864-2375; Philip Lind Rogers Communications, 416-864-2322; Frances Misutka, Unitel 416-345-3639)
Frances Misutka, Unitel 416-345-3639)
4/21/95
Rogers Won't Buy Larger Unitel Stake
TELECOM
IBM Reports Strong First Quarter
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) has reported a sharp increase in first-quarter earnings, results that the company claimed show its recovery is well underway.
In the three months ended March 31, IBM earned $1.3 billion, or $2.12 per common share, up from $336 million in the same period of 1994. Revenues in the first quarter of 1995 were $15.7 billion, up 17.7 percent from $13.4 billion in the same period last year.
IBM officials admitted that the 283.9-percent year-over-year earnings growth was due in part to a weak first quarter last year, which made this year's first quarter look good by comparison. They also acknowledged that currency fluctuations worked to IBM's advantage in the 1995 quarter. However, IBM maintained the results show it is making progress in its effort to recover from the bad times of the past few years.
The company said its balance sheet continued to strengthen, with $10.5 billion in cash at the end of the quarter. The cash figure remained about the same as three months ago despite some $1.4 billion worth of stock buybacks and about $900 million in restructuring costs. Debt in support of operations also remained virtually flat at $2.9 billion.
The company said its over-all gross profit margin was 42.4 percent in the first quarter, compared with 39.2 percent in the year-earlier quarter after adjusting for $296 million in software accounting charges.
Richard Zwetchkenbaum, manager of personal computer hardware research with International Data Corp. in Framingham Massachusetts, pointed to some strengths in IBM's PC business. "They have the best-of-breed portables" in the ThinkPad notebook line, he said, and "their servers are coming out from a deep sleep." However, Zwetchkenbaum added, IBM's commercial desktop business remains "in disarray."
Zwetchkenbaum expects IBM will consolidate its personal computer operations, which he said are currently too dispersed geographically, and this may help the company improve its PC performance.
(Grant Buckler/19950421/Press Contact: Rob Wilson, IBM, 914-765 6565)
ct: Rob Wilson, IBM, 914-765 6565)
4/21/95
IBM Reports Strong First Quarter
MCI Opens Own Baseball Season on
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Next week, major league baseball players will be stepping up to the plate to "play ball" for the first time in many, many months. Internet World Wide Web users can step up to the "plate" in cyberspace right now, with "Major League Baseball @Bat," described as a baseball information site and venue on the Web, sponsored by MCI (NASDAQ-NNM:MCIC) and Major League Baseball.
"Baseball is considered America's pastime, and we're finding exploring the Internet is becoming one of America's fastest growing pastimes," Paul Sims, MCI spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "Baseball and technology will prove to be great teammates with this program."
"The user no longer has to be at the ballpark. They can take part in baseball from anywhere in the world," Sims said. Some of the features for the site's "opening day" include complete National and American League game schedules, color team logos, and an article on Cal Ripkin who is chasing Lou Gehrig's record of consecutive games played. Also the rules of the game are archived at the site, "which can help remedy some of those office debates about the game," Sims said.
Soon, the site will offer previous-night game results, along with expanded box scores, statistics, player news, game text, and even a "photo of the day." MCI said later in the season the Web page will include individual team schedules, rosters, team and league history and ticket information.
"What we're trying to do is bring a lot of fun and excitement to the Internet," Sims said. "It's been a research tool, and that won't change. But what we're trying is raise the excitement level, bring non-traditional users to the Internet and give them something to do."
The site is currently located in MCI's "supersite" at URL (uniform resource locator) http://www.internetMCI.com. A new baseball site will be opening soon at URL http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com.
(Bob Woods/19950421/Press Contacts: Paul Sims, MCI Business Markets 800-644-NEWS, or MCI_News_Bureau@MCI.com; or Carole Coleman, Ketchum Public Relations, 212-339-7860. Public Contact: World Wide Web http://www.internetMCI.com)
d Wide Web http://www.internetMCI.com)
4/21/95
MCI Opens Own Baseball Season on Web
ONLINE
Lotus Beta Testing Notes VIP Upd
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Lotus has begun beta testing on Lotus Notes VIP 1.1, an update that will enable the graphical development environment for Notes with rich text functionality, said Tim Davenport, VP of Lotus Business Tools Group in an interview with Newsbytes at the Lotus Notes VIP Conference in Boston.
Davenport told Newsbytes that Notes VIP can be differentiated from other Notes development products by its graphical, point-and-click interface, as well as by its ability to let users query both Notes and SQL (structured query language) databases from the same application.
One of VIP's key graphical features, he said, is the "link," which is designed to let developers add any of 85 pre-coded behaviors to objects simply by "drawing lines."
To enable rich text functionality in VIP 1.1., Lotus will add a rich text object, Davenport revealed.
"So much of the `power of Notes' comes down to the document level. `Rich text' is where Notes really shines as a compound document container," the VP told Newsbytes.
Notes stores compound documents, including audio and video files as embedded objects, Davenport explained.
Through Notes VIP, Lotus can also keep "one step ahead" of the competition, by being the first environment to support continuing updates to Notes, he added.
At the conference in Boston, the first to take place around Notes VIP, Lotus also presented a series of technical sessions "by and for developers," along with demos of "real world applications" by Lotus customers and partners.
One of these applications, an "idea management" program developed by the First National Bank of Chicago, allows users to query both Notes and SQL databases from the same screen.
Another, a human resource (HR) benefits application created by Groupware Concepts, adds a wide range of functionality to daily extracts from a legacy mainframe application from Genesys, such as the ability to "control visibility of data," distribute data to many locations, and generate exception reports, said GroupWare Concept's Jay Elewitz, during a presentation at the conference.
Thanks to the new application's graphical user interface (GUI) office "temps" are able to learn the HR application in 30 minutes or less, he asserted.
Developers attending the two-day conference told Newsbytes that the event was well tailored to meeting the needs of developers.
Michael Bertrand, president of Uptime Computer Solutions, San Jose California, reported that he liked the way the conference offered technical sessions for developers along a continuum that ranged from "extensive experience in Notes VIP development, to experience in Notes but not in VIP, to no programming experience at all."
Richard J. Gill, president of Gill & Piette, Inc., McLean Virginia, noted that the size of the conference -- about 400 attendees -- was highly "manageable," lending itself well to networking and discussions between individual developers. "The feeling is almost like `family,'" he added.
Stuart D. Cairns, an office systems consultant for Bell Sygma in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, told Newsbytes that he came to the conference wanting to learn more about Notes VIP, and that he was impressed by what he saw.
Unlike most development environments, he said, VIP "seems to allow modifications to the application design itself, not just to the data," a capability that could be useful for quickly creating different "versions" of the same application for different users.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950421/Reader Contact: Lotus, 617-577-8500; Press Contact: Victor Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617 862-4514)
l & Partners for Lotus, 617 862-4514)
4/21/95
Lotus Beta Testing Notes VIP Update
GENERAL
Lotus Notes VIP Conf - VIP & Hi-
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Lotus is providing products like Lotus Notes VIP and the new Notes Hi-Test because Notes developers asked Lotus for additional "options," according to David G. Rosenbaum, a Notes product manager.
"Why do we have these tools?" Rosenbaum asked rhetorically, during a meeting with Newsbytes at the Notes VIP Developers Conference in Boston.
In and of itself, Notes is a development environment, and the product is also supported by a number of third-party tools including PowerBuilder, SQL (structured query language) Windows and Borland's Delphi, he pointed out. Support is on the way from Informix, as well.
"But the Notes API (application programming interface) is sort of universally regarded as a difficult API, and we wanted to address the shortcomings," the product manager told Newsbytes.
Notes VIP is similar in many ways to Visual Basic, he added showing Newsbytes a screen-to-screen comparison of the two development environments.
VIP's graphical environment is bringing a five-to-one reduction in lines of code, for much faster development and fewer errors, he contended.
But unlike Visual Basic, VIP is tailored to the Notes environment according to Rosenbaum. In contrast to Visual Basic, VIP does not support VBXes. But at some point in the future, the VIP environment will add support for Microsoft's OCXes, he revealed. "Then you'll be able to get the same visual controls that you get in Visual Basic," Newsbytes was told.
Meanwhile, he added, Notes Hi-Test is providing Visual Basic developers with Notes functionality, supplying the ability to perform such tasks as creating, reading and editing Notes views; to initiate replications; and to create administrative tools.
Notes Hi-Test, he reported, is based on a series of Hi-Test tools initially developed by Edge Research, a company acquired by Lotus last fall.
Lotus delivered the first edition, Release 2.0, of the Hi-Test C API at the end of February as part of the Lotus Toolset Collection CD.
Release 2.1 of the product, which will add the ability to place calls to the glue level, will be delivered at the end of April or the beginning of May, he predicted.
A LotusScript version of Hi-Test is now entering "informal beta," according to the Lotus official.
Lotus, he added, plans to show its Notes development tools in the Microsoft booth next week at Spring Comdex in Atlanta.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950421/Reader Contact: Lotus, 617-577-8500; Press Contact: Victor Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617 862-4514)
or Cruz, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus, 617 862-4514)
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The Wireless Data Division of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. has launched a new wireless service designed to let computing "road warriors" send and receive mail and data while on the road. The new service called AirData Business Service, uses Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) to provide high-speed wireless communications.
To use the service you will have to have a CDPD cellular modem in your portable computer.
The service is available now in Miami and the company said it will go online in Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Tulsa by the end of June. By the end of the year more than 75 percent of the McCaw service areas will be covered. McCaw provides service in numerous areas across the country, company spokesperson Beth Bousley told Newsbytes.
The company said the cellular-based data service is more cost-effective than conventional wired connections since the McCaw service charge is based on data volume, not minutes of use. "AirData is cost-effective because customers only pay when they send and receive data, even though they can stay virtually connected throughout the day," according to Jeff Damir, director of product marketing at the Wireless Data Division.
Two plans are available for the AirData service. The Flex plan is designed for customers who send and receive a total of less than 300 kilobytes per month. Flex plan subscribers pay $15 for the first 50 kilobytes, with the per kilobyte cost after that on a sliding scale that falls off from $0.16 to $0.11 per kilobyte as usage increases.
McCaw said the Select plan, for higher-volume users, costs $50 per subscriber for the first 500 kilobytes. The company said that would allow the user to send more than 330 electronic mail (e-mail) messages per month. There is no additional charge for roaming (operating outside your home area) or for long distance. McCaw offers a discount of 33 percent for off-peak hour usage. Peak time is defined as Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7p.m. Each subscriber pays a one-time $45 registration charge plus additional network connectivity charges. Bousley said the details of those additional charges are still being worked out. Companies using the service must sign up at least 10 subscribers.
McCaw said AirData is well-suited for remote database access remote host access, dispatch, data entry and messaging. The data is relatively secure since CDPD transmissions are encrypted. That feature makes the technology a candidate for wireless credit card verification.
McCaw completed tests of compatibility and interoperability among makers of equipment that use the CDPD technology in June of last year. CDPD, which can turn unused cellular calling channels into packet networks running data at 19,200 bits per second, was developed by IBM.
(Jim Mallory/19950421/Press contact: Beth Bousley, McCaw 206-803-4050; Public contact: tel 206-803-4000 or 800-552-3373; http://www.airdata.com on the Internet)
0-552-3373; http://www.airdata.com on the Internet)
4/21/95
McCaw Launches Wireless Service For Road Warriors
TELECOM
Personnel Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: HSC Software, Simple Technology Inc., United Technologies Microelectronics Center, Spectrum HoloByte Inc., Bertelsmann AG and America Online Inc., Interactive Media Resources, MAXM Systems Corp., Broderbund Software Inc., and Hayes Microcomputer Products.
Jim Mervis has been appointed vice president general counsel for HSC Software (805-566-6274). Mervis, 46, is responsible for all legal and business affairs for the company, as well as new business development. Before joining HSC, Mervis was managing director and co-founder of Crunch Media. Mervis spent a number of years as an entertainment industry consultant. HSC has also appointed Laura Selwyn Wyatt operations manager.
Ray Robidoux, formerly national sales director at AST Research Inc. has been appointed vice president of sales for Simple Technology Inc. (714-476-1180) a manufacturer of memory and PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) products. As the new vice president of sales at Simple Technology, Robidoux will head up a worldwide sales organization for memory and PCMCIA products. He joins Simple Technology from AST Research where he served for eight years in a number of sales management positions. Robidoux has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Cal Polyent and chief executive officer of CPAD Holdings Ltd. of Canada and president of BBN Systems and Technologies. Previously he spent more than 25 years at General Electric Corp. Ide holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University.
Interactive entertainment software publisher Spectrum HoloByte Inc. (NASDAQ:SBYT - 510-814-6474) announced the appointment of three new vice presidents: Peggy De Leon, VP, Human Resources; Holly Hartz VP, Marketing Services; and Jeff Wenzel, VP, Sales, Western Division. De Leon, 35, is responsible for setting the direction of worldwide human resources for Spectrum HoloByte. Hartz, 40, will oversee the marketing services function for the Spectrum HoloByte Division, to include marketing communications, product public relations, consumer promotions and graphic services. In addition, Hartz is responsible for corporate public relations for the company. Wenzel, 52, is responsible for all sales and sales related activity in the Western Region of the US, which includes states West of the Mississippi.
Bertelsmann AG and America Online Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER 703-556-3746) has named Bernd Schiphorst president and chief executive officer of their European joint venture. In his new role Schiphorst, formerly general manager of UFA Film- und Fernseh GmbH, will report to the board of the joint venture and will lead the effort to introduce next-generation online and Internet services in Europe.
Jim Thomas, former executive of two interactive multimedia companies, has formed a consulting practice, Interactive Media Resources (209-658-8020), to "assist businesses in the emerging field of interactive multimedia." Thomas, formerly president-Sierra Publishing Division, Sierra On-Line Inc.'s largest division, was responsible for development and marketing of Sierra's adventure game products. Previously, he was vice president/chief financial officer and member of the board of directors for Microprose Inc. currently a division of Spectrum Holobyte Inc.
Steven Murphy has been appointed to the position of vice president North American Sales of MAXM Systems Corporation (703-761-0522). He will be responsible for the company's sales operations. The company also announced the appointment of John Beischer as vice president Eastern Region Sales. Prior to joining MAXM, Murphy was vice president and chief operating officer for American and Asian operations at SQL Software Inc. Beischer joined MAXM from Legent Corp., where he spent more than seven years in sales management and most recently held the position of director, Indirect Channel Sales.
Mike Shannahan has joined Broderbund Software Inc. (NASDAQ:BROD 415-382-4568) as vice president and chief financial officer. He previously spent 15 years at KPMG Peat Marwick, where he was an audit partner. Shannahan reports directly to Bill McDonagh, president and chief operating officer. Shannahan, 46, will manage the finance and MIS (management information systems) organizations at Broderbund, in addition to investor relations.
Hayes Microcomputer Products (404-840-9200) has hired Daniel Aghion as vice president, corporate marketing, and Willis Young as vice president, finance & administration, and chief financial officer. Aghion is responsible for Hayes' corporate marketing, including product marketing planning, marketing communication and operation, customer service and support, creative services, and corporate communications worldwide. Willis is responsible for all areas of finance operations as well as human resources, and corporate services.
(Ian Stokell/19950421)
n Stokell/19950421)
4/21/95
Personnel Roundup
GENERAL
Apple Continues Strong Performan
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Despite taking a loss on foreign currency hedging, Apple Computer's (NASDAQ:AAPL) second fiscal quarter results show revenues up 28% over the same quarter last year. For the third consecutive quarter the company shipped more than one million Power Mac units.
Apple's international revenues are up 34% over the second quarter a year ago and account for 54% of Apple's net sales in this quarter. Apple says its international sales requires the company to hedge its identified and anticipated foreign currency flow through the purchase and sale of currency contracts and options. The recent decline in the value of the dollar caused unexpected losses which are included with interest and income (expense) for a net $50 million in expense compared to $7 million a year ago.
Revenues for the second quarter totaled $2.65 billion up $575 million from the same quarter in 1994. Net income after taxes and including the $50 million expense is $73 million or $0.59 a share. Apple also reported gross margins rising to 26.2% of net sales up from 24% from last year. Apple says the higher margins are a result of its success with the Power Mac line of computers.
The second quarter report also shows Apple reduced operating expenses by 2.5%. The increased revenues and the ability to hold operating expenses to 14% compared to last year are attributed to the operating expense reduction.
Mike Murphy, editor of California Technology Stock Letter, told Newsbytes, "This is another very strong quarter for Apple and continues to illustrate the success of the Power Macs. The only difficult sign is the loss from hedging on foreign currency and I think they will unwind this in the coming quarter. They are still exposed but if all the dollar does is to stay flat they will come out this."
Murphy continued, "Right now Apple is backlogged on its Power Macs. That will be turned around in this quarter and build another very strong performance. Apple has also cut its PowerBook prices in anticipation of the new line of PowerBooks with Power PC chips in August. These price cuts should develop strong revenues in the current quarter."
Revenues for the second quarter were down $180 million compared the first quarter of this year. Murphy said this should cause no alarm and is expected because the Apple's first quarter traditionally outperforms the second quarter. First quarter results include strong holiday sales.
Taking a longer look at Apple, Murphy said, "Power Macs are a big success for Apple. And this success is worldwide. Michael Spindler is achieving his goals and I expect to see continued success."
Responding to Power Computing's recent announcement about shipping Mac clones, Murphy said, "The clones will not have a negative effect on Apple revenues. It will only expand Apple's market share and revenues. The same will occur when Radius ships its high-end clones and when Canon delivers its Mac clone line to Japan."
(Patrick McKenna/19950421/Press Contact: Laurence Clavere, Apple Computer, tel 408-974-8643; California Technology Stock Letter, tel 726-8495)
3; California Technology Stock Letter, tel 726-8495)
4/21/95
Apple Continues Strong Performance With 2Q Results
APPLE
Newsbytes Week In Review
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Here is a look at the top stories making news this week: Two Firms Selling Macintosh Clones; Prodigy Offers ISDN Access In Limited Areas; Major Newspaper Publishers Create Web Site; Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing; and IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong.
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-End (APPLE)
FLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- DayStar Digital views its recently unveiled Genesis MP Macintosh "clone" as being targeted at a higher-end market than Power Computing's new Power 80, 100 and 110, but at a wider audience than a competing clone from Radius, said David Methven, product manager, in an interview with Newsbytes. Outside of DayStar Digital, Power Computing, and Radius, Pioneer is a fourth vendor that has been licensed by Apple to produce Mac clones.
Power Computing's First Mac Clones (APPLE)
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 17 (NB) -- They will look more like an IBM clone than an Macintosh, but Power Computing's new Mac clones have passed all of Apple's full compatibility tests. Limited direct shipping of desktop models begins on May 1 with tower systems scheduled for June 15. Power Computing's founder Stephen Kahng plans to attack the home, education, and business computer markets with direct sales, lower prices than comparable Macs, higher performance and built-in video customizable systems, a $900 software bundle, a keyboard inclusive system, quad-speed CD-ROM drives, and a guaranteed service and support program.
Prodigy Offers ISDN Access In Limited Areas (ONLINE)
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 -- Prodigy and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have announced integrated services digital network (ISDN) access to online service members in select areas around the country. The new service requires IBM's ISDN modem, WaveRunner which is being offered with software and connections for $495. The areas involved are: San Jose, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Woodland Hills, California, and Nashville, Tennessee
Major Newspaper Publishers Create Web Site (ONLINE)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 19 (NB) -- A national network for the delivery on newspaper content and services has been announced by Advance Publications, Cox Newspapers Gannett, The Hearst Corporation, Knight-Ridder, The Times Mirror Company, the Tribune Company and The Washington Post.
The joint venture forms a new company, New Century Network, to be headed by Peter Winter as its interim chief executive officer. Winter is currently vice president of market development at Cox Newspapers.
Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing (ONLINE)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The Internet is called by some the "information superhighway." That term definitely applies when it comes to covering what police call a terrorist attack on the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. World Wide Web pages, IRC (Internet Relay Chats), electronic mail (e-mail), and even video feeds are covering the tragedy. One of the players in the Internet coverage is Internet Oklahoma, or IONet. Co-owner Phyllis Johnson said her team has been covering the incident practically since they heard the explosion, which was 15 miles away from them.
IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong (TRENDS)
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The personal computer market is doing well, thanks largely to a growing consumer demand for computers, according to Richard Zwetchkenbaum, manager of personal computer hardware research for International Data Corp. of Framingham, Massachusetts. Zwetchkenbaum said personal computers have become a kind of pop culture item. The consumer market is leading the business, he said, pointing out that Compaq Computer Corp.'s (NYSE:CPQ) move into top spot in personal computer sales could be traced to the boost it received from a good showing in the consumer market. IDC expects the worldwide volume of personal computer sales to go on rising for the rest of this decade, at least as fast as it has since 1990. From about 57 million today, the research firm expects worldwide shipments to reach 110 million in 2000.
(Wendy Woods/19950421)
(Wendy Woods/19950421)
4/21/95
Newsbytes Week In Review
GENERAL
West Wins In Virtual Computer Bo
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- The East Coast took the early lead, but the West Coast came from behind to capture a 230 to 180 win in the 1995 Computer Bowl, the first edition of the annual Computer Museum fundraiser to be held in "cyberspace."
Since the first Computer Bowl in 1988, the computer trivia contest has alternated between the two coasts. But this year, the East Coast team gathered at the World Trade Center in Boston, while the West Coasters congregated at the Santa Clara Convention Center with the two sites hooked together by a coast-to-coast videoconferencing link.
Meanwhile, Chris Morgan and Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of MIT's Media Lab, moderated the event from some unknown spot in "cyberspace," and Stewart Cheifet of Computer Chronicles posed additional mind-teasers from the exhibit floor of the Computer Museum.
At the Boston component of the Computer Bowl, which Newsbytes attended, an event official prompted cheers by holding up an "applause" sign.
A large monitor above showed shots of Morgan, Negroponte and the other questioners; the West Coast players line-up, all attired in matching sweatshirts; and the audience in Santa Clara.
For the first half of the event, the bowling uniform-bedecked East Coast team was on a roll. East Coaster Carl Ledbetter of AT&T gave the first correct response of the game -- "Keven Mitnick" -- to the question: "Security expert Tsutomo Shimomura is a physicist at San Diego's Supercomputer Center. But he's better known for tracking down an alleged cyberthief. Who was it?"
The East Coast team captain gave the right answer to this one: "If you fly between Silicon Valley and Boston, you probably know that there are only two non-stop flights each day from Boston to San Francisco. Can you give either of the two flight numbers?"
Progress Software's Joe Alsop gained ten points for the East Coast on the next question, raised by Cheifet from the Computer Museum.
"I'm at the Computer Museum to take a look at some famous communications devices," said Cheifet. "Here's one that was built by a famous personal computer pioneer during the 1970s. It got him into big trouble. Who built it and what was it?"
Replied Alsop: "Steve Wozniak" and "blue box."
But gradually, the West Coast snuck up on their long-time rivals. Midway through the match, the West Coast was behind by only ten points, 130 to 120. And going into the fourth and final round, the East Coast had fallen behind, with only 150 points to the West Coast's 170 points.
Don't worry, East Coast. There's always next year. And meanwhile it might be worthwhile to look into the effects of the elimination of jet lag on virtual quiz show performance.
Aside from Clark, Alsop and Ledbetter, this East Coast team included John Landry of Lotus and Paul Gillin of Computerworld.
The West Coast team was captained by Cheryl Vedo of Tenth Planet. Other West Coast team members were Eric Benhamou, 3Com; Steve Blank, Rocket Science Games; Andy Hertzfeld, General Magic, and Roel Piper, UB Networks.
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) said this week its first quarter sales jumped 30 percent, but net income didn't keep pace with that increase, going up only $3 million to reach $216 million for the quarter. The company reported earnings per share remained flat at $0.80 per share.
Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer said sales were hampered by shortages in some products and add-on options, by product mix, and by distribution constraints late in the quarter. He also blamed a drop in Latin American business, attributing that to "well-known economic conditions."
Pfeiffer is optimistic about the future, saying demand is strong and the company's new products have been well received. March was a period of transition for the company, with announcements of over 100 models of its Prolinea and Deskpro desktop systems, many using Intel's Pentium chip. The company also introduced new ProSignia and Proliant server models designed for the Novell Netware server market.
Pfeiffer said the company will phase out older products during the second quarter, which should also help sales. A Compaq spokesperson declined to comment on the possibility of reduced prices on existing 486-based PCs, saying the company does not pre-announce price reductions. She told Newsbytes the company is comfortable with the current inventory levels and said a recent International Data Corporation survey indicates the majority of computers being purchased are still 486-based systems.
Compaq wrested the worldwide PC sales leadership crown from Apple in 1994 with sales of nearly $11 billion.
The company's unaudited balance sheet reports $760 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of the quarter, compared to $471 at the end of the 1994 fiscal year which ended December 31 1994. Accounts receivable were up slightly at the end of the first period at $2.44 billion versus $2.29 billion three months ago. Inventories remained about the same, reported in March at $2.1 billion versus $2 billion in December. Physical assets, including property, plant and equipment were also up slightly at $970 million.
On the liability side of the ledger Compaq reported accounts payable of $1.24 billion versus $888 million at the end of 94. Long term debt remained unchanged at $300 million.
Compaq shares rose when the company announced its first quarter results, closing April 20th up $3.75 to $35.87-1/2. The company has 400 million shares authorized and 261 million issued and outstanding.
(Jim Mallory/19950421/Press contact: Compaq Public Relations 713-374-0484; Public contact: Compaq, 713-374-1459)
Public contact: Compaq, 713-374-1459)
4/21/95
Compaq 1Q Sales Up 30% To $3 Billion
BUSINESS
Seybold - EFI Ships Fiery XJ Ser
Touchstone's Fastmove! Windows F
Using The Infopike To Find A Sch
India - Nokia Plans Fully Owned
Internet World - CompuServe's Ne
Electronic Telegraph Newspaper U
UK Firm Intros Business TV Distr
DEC Forms Database Centers, Virt
France Selects NEC & Motorola Fo
Novell NetWare Services For Unix
CompuServe Plans 28,800 Bps Netw
Tektronix Upgrades PhaserShare P
Apple Continues Strong Performan
IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong
China - Tianjin's Investment Cli
European Equity Deal In Sprint E
Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electr
UK - Pipex To Offer Secure Inter
UK - KNX/GNC Offer ISDN Consulta
Financing Deal Gives Unitel A Re
Newsbytes Daily Summary
'MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 21 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> GEnie Strategy For Internet Access 04/21/95 General Electric's (NYSE:GE) GE Information Services (GEnie) is building a bridge to the Internet. GE will offer Internet services that have the security of the GEIS with the breadth and reach of the global Internet.
2 -> Novell Releases Chinese UnixWare 04/21/95 Novell China has just released the Chinese Edition of UnixWare 1.1 (UW 1.1/CE) in Beijing. It is the first Novell product localized in Simplified Chinese.
3 -> Correction - Online Pollution Trading In California 04/21/94 This is a correction to the press contact line in a story of this title which ran on the Newsbytes wire April 14. The contact is Seth Jacobson, 310-471-6669, or email to ams@hss.caltech.edu.
4 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/21/95 In this roundup of news from Japan NTT To Develop Computer Communications Network; New Oki Software Translates The Internet; Printer Built In On New Canon Notebook; Independents Continue Attack On NTT Price Changes; Kyuki Sets Up On The Internet.
5 -> Powersoft Staff Flee HK Office 04/21/95 Powersoft Corporation has announced the formation of a direct subsidiary in Hong Kong following the exodus last week of the most of the sales and support staff from Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd.
6 -> Microsoft, Novell At Odds Over Australian Ad Claims 04/21/95 In Australia, Microsoft has "spoken" to Novell about claims made in Novell ads regarding Netware 4.1 and Windows NT. Today Microsoft released a statement titled, "Microsoft pressured by its solution providers to defend Windows NT." This was followed by Novell's statement entitled "Novell denies misleading advertisements."
7 -> ****Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing 04/21/95 The Internet is called by some the "information superhighway." That term definitely applies when it comes to covering what police call a terrorist attack on the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. World Wide Web pages, IRC (Internet Relay Chats), electronic mail (e-mail), and even video feeds are covering the tragedy.
8 -> UK - National ID Card Row Breaks Out 04/21/95 A fight has broken out among MPs (Members of Parliament) in the British Government over Prime Minister John Major's Administration's "softly softly" approach on national ID cards.
9 -> UK Cellular Provider First With "Follow Me" Service 04/21/95 Vodata, the messaging/data subsidiary of Vodafone, one of the UK's cellular operators, has taken the wraps off CallMe, a personal assistant numbering system that allows controlled re-routing of calls.
10 -> CD-ROM Offers At-Home IQ Testing 04/21/95 How many times have you thought, "Am I or am I not, a total idiot?" The Multimedia IQ Test by Virtual Entertainment could help answer that question. This is a dual purpose disk that can run on the Windows and Apple Computer Macintosh platform.
11 -> UK - State Of The Art Call Processing 04/21/95 A new company Telecommunications Premium Services (TPS), has been set up to market a new call handling technology known as "Personal Assistant." The Personal Assistant service runs on TPS' computer hardware using the company's software. The idea is that the intelligent call router is plugged into a cellular or hard wired telecoms company's exchange system and handles calls on an intelligent basis for the subscribers of the telco's services.
12 -> IBM Chief Warns Big Changes Needed 04/21/95 IBM chairman and chief executive officer, Louis V. Gerstner Jr., recently warned the Hong Kong branch of the American Chamber of Commerce that big changes were needed in the IT (information technology) industry if we are to harness the technology that is available. Gerstner said the computer would eventually join the wheel and the combustion engine as a technology that massively changed the world, but that at present the industry was "inward looking" and run by "22-year-old propeller heads."
13 -> Holland's Renderstar Sues For Software Piracy In China 04/21/95 Renderstar Technology of Holland has filed a lawsuit against Guangzhou Lantian (Blue Sky) CAD High Tech for pirating its software. This is the first case in Guangzhou that a foreign company has sued a Chinese company for software copyright infringement, Computer and Communication reports.
14 -> Motorola Plans Cellular Project In India 04/21/95 The $22 billion communications giant, Motorola Inc., has identified India as a strategic market and is planning to set up a fifth project in India this year.
15 -> IBM Plans Global Network in India 04/21/95 IBM Corp., has drawn up plans to set up a global network in India as part of its strategy to provide worldwide access in information technology to Indian companies using IBM products. The network which is likely to be set up by the end of 1995, will be put in place through the IBM-Tata joint venture, Tata Information Systems Ltd. (TISL).
16 -> Australia Regional Support Center For Microsoft 04/21/95 Microsoft Australia is now supporting regional, high-end Microsoft product users. This follows a successful six-month pilot program.
17 -> Hong Kong - Internet Raids Questioned 04/21/95 Hong Kong legislators in Hong Kong have closely questioned the methods and motivation of Hong Kong's Commercial Crimes Bureau (CCB) in raiding and closing down seven Internet providers early in March for alleged Telecommunications Ordinance breaches.
18 -> BSA - Policies For The Infopike 04/21/95 "Intellectual property protection," says the Business Software Alliance in a lobbying backgrounder distributed recently, "is the foundation of the information marketplace. Legal remedies must exist to safeguard innovators against the theft of technology and content by providing an opportunity to recoup research and development investments."
19 -> Kenan Online/Telecom Billing Package Ports To Sun 04/21/95 In the online and telecommunications industries, billing has been an "unsung service," noted Kenan Sahin, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kenan Technologies, during a series of interviews with Kenan and Sun officials around a port of Kenan's Arbor/BP "flexible billing" package to SPARC/Solaris.
20 -> ****IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong 04/21/95 The personal computer market is doing well, thanks largely to a growing consumer demand for computers, according to Richard Zwetchkenbaum, manager of personal computer hardware research for International Data Corp. of Framingham, Massachusetts.
21 -> Rogers Won't Buy Larger Unitel Stake 04/21/95 Rogers Communications Inc.'s announcement that it will not exercise an option to buy 48 percent of Unitel Communications Inc., from Canadian Pacific Ltd., has raised doubts about the future of the largest competitive long-distance carrier in Canada.
22 -> ****IBM Reports Strong First Quarter 04/21/95 IBM (NYSE:IBM) has reported a sharp increase in first-quarter earnings, results that the company claimed show its recovery is well underway.
23 -> MCI Opens Own Baseball Season on Web 04/21/95 Next week, major league baseball players will be stepping up to the plate to "play ball" for the first time in many, many months. Internet World Wide Web users can step up to the "plate" in cyberspace right now, with "Major League Baseball @Bat," described as a baseball information site and venue on the Web, sponsored by MCI (NASDAQ-NNM:MCIC) and Major League Baseball.
24 -> Lotus Beta Testing Notes VIP Update 04/21/95 Lotus has begun beta testing on Lotus Notes VIP 1.1, an update that will enable the graphical development environment for Notes with rich text functionality, said Tim Davenport, VP of Lotus Business Tools Group in an interview with Newsbytes at the Lotus Notes VIP Conference in Boston.
25 -> Lotus Notes VIP Conf - VIP & Hi-Test Offer "Options" 04/21/95 Lotus is providing products like Lotus Notes VIP and the new Notes Hi-Test because Notes developers asked Lotus for additional "options," according to David G. Rosenbaum, a Notes product manager.
26 -> McCaw Launches Wireless Service For Road Warriors 04/21/95 The Wireless Data Division of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. has launched a new wireless service designed to let computing "road warriors" send and receive mail and data while on the road. The new service, called AirData Business Service, uses Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) to provide high-speed wireless communications.
27 -> Personnel Roundup 04/21/95 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: HSC Software, Simple Technology Inc., United Technologies Microelectronics Center, Spectrum HoloByte Inc., Bertelsmann AG and America Online Inc., Interactive Media Resources, MAXM Systems Corp. Broderbund Software Inc., and Hayes Microcomputer Products.
28 -> Apple Continues Strong Performance With 2Q Results 04/21/95 Despite taking a loss on foreign currency hedging, Apple Computer's (NASDAQ:AAPL) second fiscal quarter results show revenues up 28% over the same quarter last year. For the third consecutive quarter, the company shipped more than one million Power Mac units.
29 -> Newsbytes Week In Review 04/21/95 Here is a look at the top stories making news this week: Two Firms Selling Macintosh Clones; Prodigy Offers ISDN Access In Limited Areas; Major Newspaper Publishers Create Web Site; Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing; and IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong.
30 -> West Wins In "Virtual Computer Bowl" 04/21/95 The East Coast took the early lead, but the West Coast came from behind to capture a 230 to 180 win in the 1995 Computer Bowl, the first edition of the annual Computer Museum fundraiser to be held in "cyberspace."
31 -> Compaq 1Q Sales Up 30% To $3 Billion 04/21/95 Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) said this week its first quarter sales jumped 30 percent, but net income didn't keep pace with that increase, going up only $3 million to reach $216 million for the quarter. The company reported earnings per share remained flat at $0.80 per share.
(Wendy Woods/19950421)
(Wendy Woods/19950421)
4/21/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Burst Memory Gaining Popularity
BOISE, IDAHO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- According to Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU) a growing list of PC makers and component vendors are embracing a memory technology called Burst extended data out (EDO).
Micron said the emerging technology will soon be available as main memory in Gateway 2000 and Micronics Computers PCs and in other PCs which use motherboards from Matsushita or Micron Electronics. The company said 75 megahertz (MHz) Burst EDO specifications are already being developed, although module-based bus speeds probably won't be able to exceed 66MHz for some time.
Terry Walther, field engineer applications manager, explained for Newsbytes the concept of Burst EDO memory. Walther said the advantage of Burst EDO is that it uses standard DRAM (dynamic RAM) parts, versus synchronous DRAM, a new functionality that requires additional input pins for the clock and other architectural changes.
Burst EDO generates a four-bit burst using a pipeline technique. That makes it compatible with Intel's Pentium chip. "The processor doesn't have to generate the addresses nor does the Burst DRAM have to accept external addresses," explained the Micron engineer. That speeds up the cycle time and consequently faster memory functions.
Walther said the user electronically programs the Burst EDO to do either an interleave burst, which works with Intel processors, or a linear burst which works with Motorola processors and IBM PowerPC chips.
In current PCs, even those powered by Pentium chips running at 100 megahertz (MHz), internal communication on the DRAM bus is done at 33MHz. The Burst EDO technology will allow speeds of up to 66MHz said Walther. "This will allow a new level of performance at very low cost," he told Newsbytes.
Walther said Micron was the first company to conceive of the Burst memory concept.
(Jim Mallory/19950420/Press contact: Sharron Bittick, Micron Technology, 208-368-4400; Public contact: Micron Technology tel 208-368-4400, faxback info 800-239-0337)
ogy tel 208-368-4400, faxback info 800-239-0337)
4/24/95
Burst Memory Gaining Popularity with PC Makers
CHIPS
Microsoft Licenses Lycos Interne
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has obtained a non-exclusive, renewable license to use Carnegie Mellon University's Lycos Catalog of the Internet. The company said the catalog will be one of the services offered on the Microsoft Network, the software company's online service scheduled to launch this summer.
The university said that, since the Lycos software became available last July, it has cataloged more than three million of the estimated four million documents on the worldwide computer network. Lycos has also handled more than nine million search requests submitted by more than 175,000 users each week. Lycos was developed by research scientist Michael Mauldin at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Machine Translation in the School of Computer Science.
Mauldin said Lycos differs from other Internet search software in that it is easier to use and produces excerpts or summaries of documents that meet the search criteria, not just titles.
The university said the Lycos exploration robot reads the World Wide Web (Web), locates new or changed documents, and builds abstracts which consist of title, headings and subheadings, the 100 most significant words, and the first 20 lines of the document, and records its size in bytes and the number of words in the file.
To perform a Lycos search, an Internet user can access the Lycos Catalog using a Web browser and type in one or more key words. The Lycos software brings up a list of documents ranked in order of relevance, and the user can access any of the documents just by clicking on the desired one.
The licensing deal with Carnegie Mellon gives Microsoft the current catalog and regular updates. Carnegie Mellon spokesperson Ann Watzman told Newsbytes the university is not releasing information regarding the licensing fee paid by Microsoft.
Users with Internet access can reach the Lycos catalog at http://lycos.cs.cmu.edu. The catalog is named after a predatory spider, according to the university.
(Jim Mallory/19950421/Public contact: Lycos, Internet World Wide Web http://lycos.cs.cmu.edu/Press contact: Anne Watzman, Carnegie Mellon University, 412-268-3830; Microsoft Public Relations 206-882-8080/LYCOS950421/PHOTO)
c Relations 206-882-8080/LYCOS950421/PHOTO)
4/24/95
Microsoft Licenses Lycos Internet Catalog
ONLINE
European Equity Deal In Sprint E
FRANKFURT, GERMANY, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom's option to take a 20 percent stake in Sprint officially expired on the 15th of this month, but Wolfgang Boestch, the German Minister for Telecoms, has confirmed that the option has now been extended to May 17.
As reported previously by Newsbytes, the proposed European buy-in to Sprint has caused something of a stir in the normally placid waters of European telecoms. In February, Esprit Telecom announced its "fundamental" opposition to the proposed alliance -- known as Atlas between Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, and Sprint.
Esprit, a Belgian telecoms company, has formally requested the European Commission block approval of the venture until the French and German governments further liberalize their respective markets.
"If the Atlas alliance goes forward, telecoms users are not going to see the greater variety of services and lower prices that the European Commission (EC) has been trying to achieve," claimed Mike Potter Esprit Telecom's president.
These arguments seem to have hit home, Newsbytes notes, as Boestch has admitted to the German media that the precise mechanics of the deal have yet to be resolved, although major steps have been taken since the deal was announced earlier this year.
Although none of the three telcos are talking about the issues that remain at the discussion stage, Newsbytes' sources suggest that the linchpin of the problem is the US Government's refusal to allow free access to the US telecoms market by Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, despite the fact that all the US telcos have operations in France, Germany, and several other European countries.
The sticking point on the reciprocity front could well be Germany which, as reported by Newsbytes earlier this month, has only just agreed to open up its telecoms market -- as mandated by the European Commission -- on the last possible date, January 1, 1998.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950421)
ary 1, 1998.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950421)
4/24/95
European Equity Deal In Sprint Extended
BUSINESS
@ j N
European Commission Signs Anti-T
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- The European Commission (EC) has signed an anti-trust agreement with the US Administration. The deal effectively extends the relevant anti-trust/anti-monopoly legislation for both continents to each respective government and could signal the end of trade war posturings.
According to a statement issued by the Press Office at the EC's headquarters in Brussels, the agreement will allow the US Administration's anti-trust officials to work closely with their counterparts -- Karel van Miert's office -- within the EC on major investigations.
In the longer term, plans call for both Administrations to work together on "routine matters."
Interestingly, although a reciprocal agreement has been in place between the US and the EC since 1991, the French Government challenged the agreement last year, claiming that, since the EC itself had signed the agreement, it was technically illegal under EC law, as the Members of the Council of Ministers should have put their seal to the document.
The French challenge came after the successful linkup which forced Microsoft to change its software licensing agreement last summer. The French Government, unhappy at the way in which the Microsoft fait accomplis was carried out, lodged its challenge with the EC, forcing Brussels to work on a second deal.
EC officials have confirmed that its Competition Department has liaised with the US Department of Justice and/or the Federal Trade Commission on at least 100 cases, many of which involved the merger or take-over of high tech companies, an area in which large companies have been known to dominate, Newsbytes notes.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950421/Press Contact: European Commission 32-2-299-1111)
1/Press Contact: European Commission 32-2-299-1111)
4/24/95
European Commission Signs Anti-Trust Deal With US
UK - IBM's Software/Services Fir
LEAMINGTON SPA, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- IBM's software and services company, CGI, has launched a toll-free advisory service for the logistics market. According to the company, the advisory service has been launched in response to the recurring arguments about the existence of a pan-European logistics system.
Spokeswoman Claire Ketteridge told Newsbytes that the toll-free services were not all altruism on the part of CGI. "At the end of the day, this is CGI's area and one that the company can advise callers on the solutions it has available," she said, adding that, in the early stages of calls, she expects that the caller's general questions on the subject will be answered.
"Obviously CGI will make some sales from it, and that's why the company is offering the freephone service," she said.
So who is the toll-free inquiry service aimed at? According to CGI, it is aimed at companies who are involved in trading across European frontiers, a task that requires a supporting logistics software system.
Neil Bannister, a senior logistics consultant with CGI, explained that international organizations are now adopting an inter-company trading approach, "and the manufacturing and distribution operations must support this.
"Discussion in the market has recently concentrated on the lack of pan-European systems and we felt we had valuable experience in this market through our products LS/400 and POPIMS (Parts Order Processing and Inventory Management System)," he said.
"Callers to the service will get answers to specific problems, such as: how to establish an IT (information technology) infrastructure to support business across boundaries; how to get visibility across the total supply/demand chain, irrespective of its geographic reach; and how to use IT to deliver a competitive edge," he added.
The service is open to callers between 10am and 5pm Monday thru Friday on 0800-834753 and will be manned by what CGI describes as "experienced logistics software professionals," with access to CGI consultants if necessary. This is the first of a series of CGI initiatives to support global trading in the coming months, officials said.
UK - IBM's Software/Services Firm Offers Free Advice
GENERAL
Planning For The Biochemical Com
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Researchers concerned with the limitations of silicon-based computers are turning their attention to computers based on protein molecules. Such "machines" promise compact size and faster data storage, according to chemistry professor Robert R. Birge of Syracuse University.
His account of how this might be achieved appeared in the March, 1995 MDRV/Scientific American.MDNM/ ("Protein-based Computers, pp. 90-95).
Birge envisions future computers as hybrids of semiconductor- and protein-based chips capable of storing vast amounts of information in a very small space. "With close to a terabyte of memory in cubes of bacteriorhodopsin, this machine would handle large databases with alacrity," Birge writes.
"Associative memory processing coupled with volumetric memory would make database searches many orders of magnitude faster than is currently possible. Because this hybrid computer can be designed to function as a neural associative computer capable of learning and of analyzing data and images in much the same way as the human brain the likely importance of hybrid computers to studies in artificial intelligence cannot be underestimated," he said.
Skeptics, or course, would point out that much about the human brain remains mysterious and therefore beyond the ability of designers to replicate.
This story is republished with permission from the April, 1995 Cybernautics Digest, a monthly summary of reports about converging information technologies.
(Contact: Terry Hansen, Cybernautics Digest, c/o KFH Publications Inc., 3530 Bagley Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; 206-547-4950; Fax: 206-547-5355; E-mail: cybernbm@cuix.pscu.com. U.S. subscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
ubscription rate: $24; $2 sample issue)
4/24/95
Planning For The Biochemical Computer
TRENDS
China - Chinese Windows Essay Co
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Computer & Communication, the China Software Industry Association, and Founder Group's Suntendy have jointly announced that the "Chinese Star Cup: Windows Chinese Platform Application Competition" is ready to accept essays. The deadline for submitting essays is August 31, 1995.
Chinese Star, developed by Suntendy, is a well-known software program that allows a user to use Chinese in any English version of Windows or related application software.
The announcement says that the purpose of "Chinese Star Cup" is to "promote computer applications, exchange experiences, and increase application levels in the field of Chinese information processing."
The subjects of the competitive essays should cover the following aspects: experiences and lessons obtained from using WCPs (Windows Chinese platforms); techniques and skills using WCPs; WCP development suggestions; application software using WCPs; comparisons and/or analyses of different WCPs; suggested ways to promote WCP applications; and WCP trends.
The members of the competition committee include: the chairman of the Chinese Information Association, the secretary general of the China Software Industry Association, the secretary general of the China Computer Association, the president of Computer & Communication and a representative from Suntendy.
The first prize will be a Pentium PC with the Chinese Star software included. Other prizes will be PC or software Chinese Star. The competition essays should be sent to: Beijing P.O. BOX 750 100039, PRC.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Attachmate Corp. has announced what it calls "the first, most advanced and universal connectivity solution for the Windows 95 desktop." It also works with Windows 3.1X and Windows NT.
Features of the product include: built-in global access and navigation to any host computer; Internet access; TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) connectivity and applications; remote access; database access; and object oriented tools.
The company says the product "automatically" navigates users through screens, triggers events, launches windows or applications, retrieves information, updates information, and integrates information via OLE (object linking and embedding) 2.0 into other Windows desktop applications.
The product is designed to allow enterprise end-users to connect with information from just about any sort of host, including mainframes and AS/400 minicomputers, as well as VAX and Unix systems. According to Bob Stewart, managing director of Attachmate Australia: "Extra! Personal Client 6.0 brings MIS (management information system) managers the ability to connect with any information source on the face of the Earth."
The 16-bit version is available now, and a CD containing the 16- and 32-bit versions will ship in the third quarter, 1995. The price in Australia is AUS$700.
(Paul Zucker/19950421/Press Contact: Attachmate Australia tel +61-2-975-7188, fax +61-2-451-4034)
tel +61-2-975-7188, fax +61-2-451-4034)
4/24/95
Australia - Extra! Personal Client 6.0
WINDOWS
Online Services Discuss Web Stra
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) At the Interactive Marketing Conference, an instant interactive poll of the more than 400 ad agency media buyers, brand marketers, and consultants caused a panel of online service executives to go on the defensive.
The poll results indicated that 48 percent predict the World Wide Web will be the dominant online marketing medium in two years. Forty-one percent said that online services and the Web would be of equal importance. Only 11 percent gave the future nod to the traditional services.
"Using 'online services and 'the Web' in their current definitions won't be valid in two years," said a slightly flustered Mark Walsh senior vice-president and general manager of Branded Internet Services for America Online. "Any online service that doesn't transform itself in the next six to 18 months is going to fall behind."
Referring to the months-old "World Wide Web coming soon" teaser on AOL's home page, Walsh promised it would be coming soon. "This will be a part of extension of the core brand," he said. AOL President Steve Case said on April 1 that the browser would be available by May.
"The Web really reopens the architecture, and allows any online services content provider to do new things, while allowing the online services to provide navigation for these communities," added Prodigy VP Chuck Fehr. "The two will come together, within the whole notion of open systems and open communities." Fehr added that with the Prodigy Web browser being a potential interface for more income from onscreen advertising, it might be possible for Prodigy to eliminate subscription-pricing in the future.
A voice of skeptical dissonance to the "seamless link" claims of competitors was then added by Marty Levin, creative director of interactive marketing for the forthcoming Microsoft Network.
"I'm amazed by the commercial online services that preface most of their remarks by saying 'we are a seamless connection to the Internet,'" he said sarcastically. "What, then, is the point of going to that particular place? I don't get it. Each of us are going to have to take a stance of some sort -- a combination of editorial vision and personality. People have said about us, 'yes, they (Microsoft) will get the technology right but they'll never understand the community and the personality.' But the reason we'll be working with talent from the ranks of filmmakers and musicians is that we realize the winners are going to offer that combination of technology and personality."
Sounding rather flushed with confidence, Levin added a plug for the comfort level he believes the Microsoft Network Web browser will offer. "Nobody wants to see us turn into the Yellow Pages of the Internet. As I look at our tool set, I see the capability of imbedding the Web browser seamlessly into our content. Rather than bouncing in and out (from the Microsoft Network to the Web and back) you'll be going to and from this rich and wonderful place. That's the vision."
Another dominant theme, heard in corridor talk as well as in several inquiries during the question and answer period, was that agency media buyers are still somewhat uncomfortable with the accuracy of the demographics the online services claim -- as well as the "hit" claims of some Web sites.
"I'm not sure that really matters," AOL's Walsh shot back. "If you the vendor, find the right customers, you've had a good day. The trick for the agency media planner, for the direct marketer, and for the product manager is to ask, 'How can I find the people I need to find?' It is a multimedia strategy to find that person. For that reason I think that insisting on blunt descriptions of our audience is really moot."
(Russell Shaw/19950424)
eally moot."
(Russell Shaw/19950424)
4/24/95
Online Services Discuss Web Strategies
ONLINE
2 More Govt Agencies On The Web
Seybold - AOL's Navisoft Intros
Seybold - Frame's Online Authori
Seybold - UMax PageOffice, BizRe
Activcard Intros Authentication
Japan - Electronics Giants Budge
Japan - Council Begins Study Int
Philippines Electricity Firm Use
AMD Delays Pentium Rival
UK - BrainTree Diversifies Into
Cognos' PowerPlay 4.1 Data Analy
Kodak, Adaptive Solutions Puts D
China - Chinese Windows Essay Co
Asymetrix Ships Digital Video To
New Jersey Regulators Push Cable
Australia - Extra! Personal Clie
Mil For Commodore
CBS To Help Affiliates Build Web
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- The CBS Television Network has formed an alliance with Landmark Communications affiliate InfiNet LC, that will help affiliate stations build their own dedicated sites on the World Wide Web.
"This alliance demonstrates our commitment to interactive marketing as an entertaining and involving way to build the CBS brand and to give our advertisers and our affiliates a new vehicle to establish a two-way relationship with their consumers," said CBS Broadcast Group Executive Vice-President of Marketing George Schweitzer at the Interactive Marketing Conference.
CBS has had its own Web site since early February. The site, CBS Eye On The Net (http:\\www.cbs.com.), claimed 5.5 million hits for a college basketball promotion that ran last month.
From May 15-19, the Web site will track CBS star David Letterman's London visit with a daily update of news, pictures sound as well as news on Letterman's activities.
"Rather than viewing the new media as a threat that will diminish network television's dominance as a mass appeal medium, we see it as a means to extend and enhance our brand as the prime source of entertainment and information. Extending our successful strategy of using branded entertainment like the Late Show to drive interest in online to the World Wide Web was a natural step in the evolution of our commitment to interactive marketing," Schweitzer added.
(Russell Shaw/19950424)
itzer added.
(Russell Shaw/19950424)
4/24/95
CBS To Help Affiliates Build Web Sites
ONLINE
Japan External Trade Organizatio
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organization, has started a new online service aimed at providing information from the organization to companies worldwide.
The service consists of Japanese government procurement information from Kampo, the governments official journal, alongside economic information about Japan. The economic information is available in English only, while the procurement information is presented in both Japanese and English.
The new service will be provided via the Internet and Japanese online services Nifty-Serve and PC-VAN. On the Internet the information can be accessed via JETRO's new home page on the World Wide Web at the address http://www.jetro.go.jp/
On the Internet the home page offers access to five areas of the new set of pages. First on the menu is a general introduction to JETRO, including details of what it is and what it does, plus a message from the chairman of the organization and details of the overseas offices.
The procurement information available is presented through a search engine that allows retrieval under several categories, including "procurement type" and "publishing date," among others.
A selection of JETRO press releases and magazine articles offer the latest snapshots of the Japanese economy and the import-export business, while a final section offers tips on doing business in and with Japan. It also includes profiles of the Japanese consumer and tips on exporting goods to the country.
(Martyn Williams/19950421/Press contact: Yuji Watanabe, JETRO International Communications Department, tel +81-3-3587-5549; Public contact, JETRO International Communication Department fax +81-3-3582-0504)
l Communication Department fax +81-3-3582-0504)
4/24/95
Japan External Trade Organization Goes Online
ONLINE
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: NiftyServe Hits A Million Subscribers; New Version Of Japanese NetWare; Microsoft Japan Launches Kanji Technical Discussion Group; Netherlands Orders Europe's Fastest Supercomputer; NTT Personal Announces PHS Rate; KDD Plans 10% Call Discount Scheme.
NiftyServe Hits A Million Subscribers
Japan's number two online service, NiftyServe, has announced it has signed up a million subscribers. The announcement comes just three days after rival service PC-VAN announced the same achievement. NiftyServe has recently announced a major upgrading of its access network as well as more Internet services. The improvements are alongside new services and forums that are attracting more subscribers every month. NiftyServe was launched in April, 1987, and took six years to reach half a million subscribers. The recent computer communications boom meant that just two years were needed double that figure to one million.
New Version Of Japanese NetWare
Novell Japan will begin shipping copies of NetWare 4.1J on May 26. The software carries a price tag of 190,000 yen ($2,289) for the five-user license version, and up to 6,240,000 yen ($75,180) for the 1,000-user product.
Microsoft Japan Launches Kanji Technical Discussion Group
Microsoft Japan has established a technical discussion group aimed at setting specifications for kanji conversion within the Windows NT 3.5 system. The group will concentrate on problems faced by many organizations currently restrained by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) for kanji characters in computer systems. Kanji is the Chinese writing system that Japan uses. The JIS specifications contain around 8,000 of the most commonly used kanji, which is enough for most applications, but not enough under certain conditions. The most common place to find the unusual kanji are in people's names, so environments that hold large databases of people have problems. Microsoft is aiming at a new standard that will include 18,000 characters. The Microsoft group includes many of Japan's leading software companies.
Netherlands Orders Europe's Fastest Supercomputer
NEC has received an order for an NEC SX-4 from the Dutch Aeronautic Technology Center. The supercomputer will replace an NEC SX-3 which was installed in May, 1991, which itself replaced an NEC SX-2 from 1987. The SX-4 32 will be around 20 times faster than the SX-3 at 64 gigaflops (floating point operations per second), making it the faster supercomputer in Europe. The order is worth around two billion yen ($24 million) to NEC.
NTT Personal Announces PHS Rate
NTT Personal has formally applied to the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to provide a new Personal Handy Phone Service (PHS) at a rate of 40 yen ($0.48) for three minutes for a local call. The rate is around a third that of the charges of using the digital mobile phone service introduced last year, and approximately four times that of a local call via an NTT domestic line. The PHS service is due to begin this summer and will offer users lower calls rates but a more geographically restricted service. Reports suggest that DDI will make an application to the MPT this week for the supply of PHS services at the same prices.
KDD Plans 10% Call Discount Scheme
Japan's major international telephone provider KDD has submitted an application to the MPT for a new international discount scheme. Under the new scheme, users will pay 300 yen ($3.61) per six months to qualify themselves for a 10% discount on all bills of between 2,000 yen ($24) and 10,000 yen ($120).
(Martyn Williams/19950421)
Williams/19950421)
4/24/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Gupta Forms Hong Kong Regional H
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Gupta has announced the formation of its Asia regional headquarters in Hong Kong under industry veteran George Billman. It also announced the formation of Gupta China/Hong Kong, a joint-venture staffed mainly by the sales and support team of Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd., and led by outspoken former Powersoft General Manager Francis Ng
Gupta China/Hong Kong is the latest in a series of exclusive franchise arrangements the US software company has put together in the region to sell and support its range of development tools. It is owned slightly less than 20% by Gupta and the remainder by a combination of local employees and Executive Director Ron Chan, co-founder of CL Computers, who also has interests in Sequent China and is managing director of Nantian (HK) Holdings Ltd.
Gupta China/Hong Kong has exclusive rights to distribute Gupta software products in China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and is the master Gupta Authorized Support Center and Gupta Authorized Training Center.
Hong Kong will also be home to the company's Asian Support Center (ASC) under the new Gupta Asia which oversees sales, marketing, and technical services for 15 Asian markets through a network of 18 distributors and 35 contracted partners. The ASC has an initial staff of five support engineers and is expected to account for most of Gupta's regional workforce in the future.
According to Billman, Gupta had seen remarkable growth in the region mushrooming 176% in 1993 over the previous year, and another 212% in 1994.
(Mike Dunn/19950421)
% in 1994.
(Mike Dunn/19950421)
4/24/95
Gupta Forms Hong Kong Regional HQ
BUSINESS
Hong Kong Brain Drain Topic Of M
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Fearing an exodus of IT (information technology) professionals in the run-up to 1997, the Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS) has met with the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) in Beijing to "clarify" the Chinese position on foreign passport holders after the UK's transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997.
According to HKCS chief, KK Yeung, the meetings were part of ongoing contacts the two organizations have been developing over the last few years to "make sure the IT industry's interests are considered" in the territory after British rule.
In a press statement, the HKCS said it had met with Zhao Bingxin director of the department of H.K. Social and Cultural Affairs and other members of the HKMAO to discuss "a wide range of issues."
However, high on the list of priorities, according to Yeung in an interview with Newsbytes, was an assurance from the Chinese side that residency status of foreign passport holders and overseas Chinese would be respected.
The statement went on to say that the "HKMAO emphasized that those who have been granted with right of residency in the United Kingdom will not in any way be discriminated against," despite Beijing's ongoing objections to the British government's policy under the British Nationality Scheme.
"This is all outlined in the Basic Law," said Yeung, "but there may still be some concern among some professionals so we wanted to clarify the Chinese position. The most important thing here is that the Chinese recognize the importance of IT professionals to the future Hong Kong. We want these people not only for their expertise, but also their global networks.
"We are greatly relieved that the Chinese have clarified this," said Yeung. He added that now was an important time to help make IT professionals with foreign passports feel comfortable about the future. "We fear that unless they do (feel confident) we will not have many people with the allegiance to the territory and there will be instability."
The statement, which was approved by the HKMAO, said that the permanent residency of a three-star Hong Kong ID cardholder who has left the territory before 1997 and obtained foreign nationality will be considered lapsed if he returns after July 1, 1997.
(Mike Dunn/19950421)
returns after July 1, 1997.
(Mike Dunn/19950421)
4/24/95
Hong Kong Brain Drain Topic Of Meeting With China
TRENDS
IBM Donates Equipment To Chinese
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- IBM Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Louis V. Gerstner Jr has committed Big Blue to US$25 million in "contributions" of computer equipment, staff support scholarships, and grants to China's State Education Commission (SEdC) during a recent visit to Beijing.
This was part of a broader agreement signed by IBM and China to establish a number of university-related programs in advanced computer technology according to an IBM statement.
Joining Gerstner in announcing the initiatives were SEdC Chairman Zhu Kaixan and Vice Chairwoman Dr. Wei Yu, as well as the heads of nearly a dozen top Chinese universities.
Under the broad ranging agreement, IBM and China will cooperate on a number of issues, including: the establishment of national projects to enhance technology curricula, with IBM providing computer equipment and helping establish overseas university partnerships; the further development of the China Education and Research network, which connects universities across the country; the introduction of advanced computer technology to leading Chinese universities, again with IBM donating equipment for classrooms and laboratories; and the establishment of scholarships, fellowships, and sabbaticals.
(Mike Dunn/19950421)
hips, and sabbaticals.
(Mike Dunn/19950421)
4/24/95
IBM Donates Equipment To Chinese Universities
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Ma
Encyclopaedia Britannica Looking
Electronic Marketplace Revenues
UK Phone Code Change This Weeken
Dual-Function Optical Drive From
CardWizard Pro Said To Solve PCM
Gateway's 120MHz PC With 3-Disk
Online Marketplace '95 - Marketi
GE To Offer Internet Connectivit
Online Marketplace '95 - NetCoun
Motorola Plans Cellular Project
Web Covers Oklahoma City Bombing
Australian Cabling Donated For K
Newspaper Execs Discuss Future O
3DO In Cross-Licensing Deal With
pe Plans Equal Access Teleco
India - ITI & James Martin In CA
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- The Bangalore-based public sector telecommunications manufacturer, ITI Ltd. has recently concluded a tripartite agreement with James Martin Holding (JMH) of the US and its Indian subsidiary, James Martin & Co. (JMC), for the development of a next-generation CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tool for the global market.
As per the project, which is spread over four years, the first commercial module is expected to appear on the US market within 18 months. The entire project entails an investment of $15 million and will have a turnover of $400 million by the year 2000.
While 10 percent of the sales will be retained by JMH under a profit-sharing agreement, the intellectual property rights of the product will be with ITI. ITI also has the option to take over the project once it develops the expertise. JMC will help ITI in marketing the product in India and abroad, and JMH will appoint and train distributors for ITI.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950424)
stributors for ITI.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950424)
4/24/95
India - ITI & James Martin In CASE Software Deal
BUSINESS
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Pub
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
JPEG files are larger in size, PICT files are designed as thumbnails for onscreen viewing. The photos are titled with name/year/month/day. Pict/thumbnail pictures are now black and white (that is gray scale). File message will indicate color if the JPEG image is color. This will reduce file size and streamline transfers.
Some of the larger "for use" images, may also be pict files. To distinguish these files from the thumbnail preview pict images, the tag for the color "for use" image will have PICT, all caps. The thumbnail will remain noted as "pct."
To become a licensed Newsbytes publisher, call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100 (US) or write to administrator@newsbytes.com on the Internet. Licensing applies to any medium.
Week of APRIL 24 - APRIL 28,1995
DEC950420 - b&w / DEC Cuts Server & Notebook Prices: pix of the HiNote laptop.
P5-120950418 - color / Gateway's 120MHz PC With 3-Disk CD Changer: the PC.
CHANGER950418 - b&w / Gateway's 120MHz PC With 3-Disk CD Changer: the changer.
IQ950421 - color / CD ROM Offers At-Home IQ Testing: screenshot of cube problems.
THRUST041795 - color / World's 1st "Supersonic Car" Gets Web Site: screen shot of the home page.
FIREFOX042095 - color / Firefox Offers Free Novell/Internet Security Paper: screenshot of the home page.
YAMAHA950414 - color / Review - Yamaha YST-SS1010 Speaker System for Multimedia: the speakers.
FLAMES950324 - color / Flame Away On The Flames Web Site: logo for the web site.
ALPS950330 - color / ALPS' New PC Pointing Device: the unit.
MCGILL950406 - b&w / Canadian Multimedia Firms Merge: Steven Koskie director of marketing for McGill Multimedia
ATLAS950329 - color / Microsoft Trip Planning Software Hits The Road: screen shot of Lake Tahoe CA area.
BOOKSHLF950329 - color / Microsoft Ships Bookshelf 95: screen shot of elephant and text.
PERFECT950404 - color / Novell Intros PerfectWorks 2.1 For Windows: screen shot of PerfectWorks with some graphics.
LAPLINK950404 - color / Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs For Remote Support: screen shot with LapLink graphics.
XBAND950331 - color / Catapult To Expand National Game Network To PCs: screen shot of game character matchup.
CINEMAR950403 - color / Multimedia Software Teaches Presentation Techniques: nice screen shot of virtual environment.
CAERE950331 - color / Caere Increases OCR Accuracy By 40%: screen shot using text from Jane's Armour & Artillery.
(Newsbytes/19950424)
our & Artillery.
(Newsbytes/19950424)
4/24/95
NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers
ADVISORY
GENERAL
America Online, New Line Plan Ge
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- New Line Television and America Online (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER) have announced they are joining forces to launch "The Hub," described as an online service targeted towards young adults (the so-called "Generation-X").
The companies said The Hub, which is scheduled to debut on AOL this summer, represents the "first" online service that specifically targets young adults, like a television, radio, or cable outlet. The difference is the companies will move those ideas into the online environment, officials say.
"We're looking at content to offer in the Hub to include entertainment food, travel, new products, comics, and a wide variety of information that young adults would be interested in," Pam McGraw, AOL spokesperson, told Newsbytes.
Other features of The Hub, New Line officials said, include on-air promotions and contests, themed special events, and a "Do-Good Center" so that young adults can have a tie-in to charitable events. New Line also said The Hub will foster a "community" where "twenty somethings" will want to "hang out."
The company also said it wants to feature companion World Wide Web sites, and CD-ROMs, as well as an interactive marketplace. "It (The Hub) will be a place that sells stuff -- stuff that in many cases you won't be able to find anywhere else," Robert Friedman, president, New Line Television, said.
"We're focusing on the young adults because we believe this group is very active computer users, and we want to provide information for them in an online environment that addresses their specific interests," McGraw said.
McGraw said New Line will be primarily in charge of bringing the content, while AOL will provide the online environment.
(Bob Woods/19950421/Press Contacts: Pam McGraw of America Online 703-556-3746; John Murphy or Rachel McCallister of Rachel McCallister & Associates, 212-727-1030 or 213-939-5991. Public Contact: America Online, 800-827-6364)
5991. Public Contact: America Online, 800-827-6364)
4/24/95
America Online, New Line Plan Generation-X Area
ONLINE
( R 6
Lotus Word Pro Emphasizes Team C
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Lotus Development Corp. (NASDAQ:LOTS) is hoping to capitalize on the success of its Notes groupware by launching a new word processor that emphasizes workgroup capabilities. The new Word Pro package will replace Ami Pro, the word processor Lotus has sold for Microsoft Windows for the past several years.
Bill Jones, senior director of desktop product management at Lotus, said Word Pro is part of a Lotus focus on what the company has dubbed "team computing." Team computing is "not just a Notes thing," Jones said. "It's a company thing."
What does team computing mean when applied to word-processing software? For Lotus, it means facilities meant to make it easier for a number of people to share and revise a single document in cooperation. Word Pro can compare two versions of the same document stored in different files and show on the computer screen where they differ. Features in the software are meant to simplify the process of agreeing on the final wording of a document based on several different people's suggestions, Lotus said.
Word Pro documents can also contain multiple versions within a single file. This is intended to make it easy to go back to a previous version of the document or compare a later revision to an earlier one. When a Word Pro file with multiple versions is exported to another format that does not support versions, the currently selected version only is exported, Jones told Newsbytes.
Another innovation in the new word processor is a "modeless" spelling checker that highlights all unrecognized words at once and lets the user click on words he or she wants to correct. This is different from the usual setup, where each unrecognized word is pointed out in turn and the user must choose to correct or ignore it before going on to the next one. With Word Pro's spelling checker, words that are unrecognized but correct can simply be ignored, Jones said.
Word Pro also incorporates an automatic correction feature that will correct common misspellings and typing errors (such as "teh" for "the") as the user types. Word Pro is not the first word processor to offer this.
SmartMasters, an idea Lotus first used in its Freelance Graphics software, also appear in Word Pro. These allow for form documents with "click here" blocks to show users where to add information. Lotus gave the example of a facsimile cover sheet with text-entry fields such as "click here to type name."
Word Pro replaces Ami Pro, Jones said, and is essentially an all new program though it will read Ami Pro files (as well as those created by other major word processors). Lotus decided to drop the Ami Pro name because "it was hard to pronounce and (customers) didn't know what it was," Jones said.
Lotus plans versions of Word Pro for Microsoft's Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 as well as IBM's OS/2 operating system. The Windows 3.1 version is now in beta testing and Lotus hopes to ship it in July. Lotus said it expects the software to sell for around $105. The Windows 95 version will ship when Microsoft delivers Windows 95, and the OS/2 version after that, Jones said. The company has no plans for a version for the Apple Computer Inc. Macintosh, he said.
Customers who buy Ami Pro 3.0 or above, or SmartSuite 3.0 or 3.1 between now and shipment of Word Pro can upgrade to Word Pro for Windows 3.1 for a shipping and handling charge of $14.95, Lotus said.
Lotus said it expects Word Pro will require a minimum of a 386 processor, six megabytes (MB) of memory, and 33MB of available hard-disk space.
(Grant Buckler/19950424/Press Contact: Kim Commerato Lotus, 404-828-5272)
Contact: Kim Commerato Lotus, 404-828-5272)
4/24/95
Lotus Word Pro Emphasizes Team Computing
WINDOWS
Canadian Product Launch Update
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 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: Apple's ColorSync 2.0 and QuickTake 150, Centron Software's Puzzle Power and Casino Master, Digital Equipment's AlphaServer 8200 and 8400, and Radius' first Macintosh clone.
Apple Canada Inc., of Markham, Ontario, announced the availability of ColorSync 2.0, an update of its color management architecture (Newsbytes, March 29). ColorSync 2.0 is available now, free of charge, via the Applelink and eWorld online services, and Apple Canada said it will be available through other major online services by the beginning of May.
Apple Canada also announced QuickTake 150 (Newsbytes, April 18) a new version of its digital color camera for its own Macintosh computer and for Microsoft Windows systems. Apple estimates the retail prices of both versions will be around C$1,030, with all necessary software, cabling, batteries, and charger.
The new Puzzle Power CD-ROM (Newsbytes, March 30), from Centron Software Technologies Inc., of Pinehurst, North Carolina, is now available in Canada through distributor Ingram Micro Canada. Ingram Micro is also handling Centron's Casino Master and Casino Master Gold Edition. The suggested retail prices of all three titles are C$59.95.
Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd., based on Toronto, announced its AlphaServer 8200 and AlphaServer 8400 systems (Newsbytes April 11). The new machines will be available in Canada in May the company said. List prices start at C$150,000 for the basic AlphaServer 8200 with five slots, integrated input/output module 128 megabytes (MB) of memory, a CD-ROM drive, and a choice of Digital Unix or OpenVMS operating system. A single-processor 8400 with the same configuration but 256MB of memory and more room for expansion is C$200,000, DEC said.
Radius Inc. Canada, of Toronto, said it will soon be shipping the Radius System 100 (Newsbytes, March 30), one of the first systems compatible with the Apple Macintosh. The suggested retail price will be no more than C$16,500, based on current component prices Radius said. Radius also announced the PrecisionView 17 monitor (available now for C$1,399) and the PressView 17 SR Color Reference Display System (due to ship in May at C$2,999).
(Grant Buckler/19950424/Press Contact: Ron Catcheside, Linda Grant or Susan Taylor, Apple Canada, 905-477-5800, Internet s.taylor@eworld.com; Ron Centner, Centron Software, 910-215-5708 fax 910-295-8908; Digital Equipment of Canada, 416-730-7000, fax 416-730-7070; Maire Kushner, Radius Canada, 416-777-9900; Public Contact: Apple Canada, 800-263-3394 or 905-477-5800, Internet http://www.apple.com; Centron Software, 800-848-2424; Digital Equipment of Canada, 416-730-7000; Radius Canada, 416-777-9900 fax 416-777-9911)
, 416-777-9900 fax 416-777-9911)
4/24/95
Canadian Product Launch Update
GENERAL
Improved Display Inventor Wins T
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- The man who invented the technology that will make possible high-definition displays approaching "lifelike images" will be recognized by an independent non-profit German foundation later this year.
The Rhein Foundation has selected Dr. Larry Hornbeck, a Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Fellow and a solid-state physicist as the recipient of the Eduard Rhein Foundation's Technology Award for 1995 for the invention of TI's Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology. DLP is currently being developed for projection display systems and hardcopy applications.
Dr. Hornbeck won out over more than 50 submissions considered for the 1995 award. Previous winners have included Dr. Marcian E. Hoff Jr. of Intel Corp. in 1994 and Sharp Corporation engineers Masao Tamioka and Shuhei Yasudamin in 1993.
The foundation is named for German inventor and philanthropist Eduard Rhein. Awards are made annually for basic research and technology in the areas of radio, television, and information technology. Dr. Hornbeck will receive 167,000 German Deutsch Marks (about $120,000 U.S. dollars) at the awards banquet October 7 1995 in Munich, Germany.
TI said DLP technology will help make possible projection display applications ranging from "small" to "very large" and capable of "colorful, vivid and lifelike images."
The DLP technology was built on the foundation of DMD, or Digital Micromirror Device, an invention of Dr. Hornbeck's. Texas Instruments describes DMD as a digital light switch on a silicon chip. The company said a standard DMD microchip contains more than 442,000 switchable mirrors on a surface 5.8-inch wide. The mirrors are switched according to memory impulses stored beneath the array, with the mirrors tilting plus or minus 10 degrees to reflect light into or away from an imaging lens.
While many workers seek to live as close as possible to their work in order to cut down commute time, Dr. Hornbeck drives his pickup truck two hours each way to work and back home. Those two hours, he said, gives him the necessary time without interruption to consider new applications for the DMD technology.
DLP integrates the DMD microchip with digital signal processors (DSPs) and memory, software, optical and electrical components and an illumination source to crease a digital imaging subsystems. DLP technology allows traditional analog broadcast and video and digital images to be digitally captured, manipulated and optically reflected from the mirrored aluminum surface of the DMD display.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Dataware experienced a 49 percent growth rate for the first quarter of 1995, results that are due to a shift from systems integration to software and services, with online services a major target, said Kurt Mueller, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), in a meeting with Newsbytes at company headquarters in Cambridge Massachusetts.
The CD-ROM specialist plans to concentrate on the text retrieval and CD recordable software areas over the coming year, in addition to products for publishing on the Internet and commercial online services, Mueller told Newsbytes.
The first quarter '95 results signal the continuation of a trend that started in 1994, when Dataware enjoyed a year-end growth rate of 68 percent to $32.4 million in revenues, plus increased staffing of 274 employees worldwide from 128 the year before, according to the CEO.
"We're especially happy with the first quarter results in that the first quarter is usually financially `soft,' for Dataware as well as throughout the software industry," added Mueller.
During the quarter, he pointed out, Dataware introduced three new software products: Total Recall, a software interface for integrating Dataware's BRS/Search text management system with outside relational database management systems (RDBMSs); and the Natural Language and Semantic Network Object Libraries, a pair of "advanced search technologies."
BRS/Search, a software product acquired early last year from Info Pro Technologies, is designed to let users search, analyze, and create kinks between large quantities of unstructured text, image sound and video data, stored on CD-ROM, hard disk, or other media.
Mueller noted that Dataware foresees a 30 to 40 percent growth rate this year for Total Recall, a product aimed at allowing the integration of BRS/Search with databases such as Oracle, Sybase Informix, and CA (Computer Associates)/Ingres through the use of development tools like PowerBuilder, SQL (structured query language) Windows, and Visual Basic.
Dataware licensed the application programming interface (API) for Total Recall from Kenesis, a software developer based in Wiltshire England.
Total Recall is now being used by about 100 customers in the UK including the Mirror Group newspaper chain, Eastern Electricity and the Securities and Investment Board, according to Mueller.
Also over the year ahead, he said, Dataware intends to add more Internet and commercial online publishers to its installed base, which now numbers over 1,700 customers all together.
Dataware products are already being employed in two major online applications, Newsbytes was told. Kodak is using BRS/Search as the search engine for Picture Exchange, a searchable database of more than 120,000 digitized stock photos.
In addition, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is employing Dataware's CD Author authoring software and CD Answer Retrieval system for D&B World Base, a 40 gigabyte (GB) database characterized by Mueller as the largest in the online client-server category.
In another software arena, Dataware will bundle its CD Recordable software with recordable disks, while also making the software available to value-added resellers (VARs), Mueller said.
About 45 percent of Dataware's sales are to customers outside the US, according to the Dataware chief. The vendor has offices in Australia and Singapore, as well as several sites in Europe. Dataware's European headquarters are located in Munich.
20; Press Contact: Ann Hawkins, Dataware, 617-621-0820)
4/24/95
Dataware Growth Continues, Shift To Software Credited
BUSINESS
Canada/UK Joint Venture To Focus
MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA, 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Phase Atlantic Ltd. is a new joint venture formed by Com Dev International of Cambridge, Ontario, and Phase Devices Ltd. of Luton, England, to manufacture products for the emerging North American personal communications systems (PCS) market.
Ken Tanner, director of marketing at Phase Atlantic, told Newsbytes the company expects the bulk of its business will be in the United States, where some 33,000 PCS base stations are expected to be built and installed this year. Phase Atlantic will build components for these base stations, which support mobile telephone service that is cheaper and shorter-range than cellular telephony.
The Canadian market will take a little longer to develop than the US market and probably will be about one tenth the size, Tanner said. However, Phase Atlantic chose to set up in Moncton partly because the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) made it practical to serve the entire North American market from a Canadian base. Other reasons for choosing New Brunswick included the heavy emphasis on telecommunications infrastructure in the province, the availability of a skilled work force, and the fact that Com Dev had space available in an existing Moncton plant according to Tanner.
Initially, Phase Atlantic employs about 30 people. This will grow to around 80 over the next few months before reaching a plateau early in 1996, Tanner said, and is expected to increase to around 175 people by the end of 1997.
Com Dev and Phase Devices are suppliers of satellite and aeronautical communications equipment. Com Dev owns a 28 percent stake in Phase Devices, which will own 49 percent of Phase Atlantic, while Com Dev holds the other 51 percent.
(Grant Buckler/19950424/Press Contact: David Hoare or Ken Tanner Phase Atlantic, 506-383-1337; Keith Ainsworth, Com Dev 519-622-2300)
7; Keith Ainsworth, Com Dev 519-622-2300)
4/24/95
Canada/UK Joint Venture To Focus On PCS
TELECOM
Microsoft & Justice Dept In Appe
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 APR 24 (NB) -- Its back to court for Microsoft and the US Justice Department. Today they are trying to persuade a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals that a lower federal court judge overstepped his bounds in refusing to accept an anti-trust settlement between the software giant and the federal government.
Justice and Microsoft argue that Judge Stanley Sporkin went too far earlier this year when he turned thumbs down on the settlement. Sporkin cited the Tunney Act as giving him the authority to reject the deal. The 1974 law was also used by Judge Harold Greene when he broke up AT&T in 1982.
In a brief filed with the court, Anne Bingaman, assistant attorney general for anti-trust, argues, "It is not the court's role to determine the scope of any particular case." She said Sporkin "vastly exceeded" his authority.
"This procedure is an invitation to anarchy in the enforcement of anti-trust laws," said Bingaman, "which depend on the ability of the Department of Justice to dispose of most or many cases by the agreement of the parties."
But critics of Microsoft, led by a group of anonymous software companies and represented by Silicon Valley attorney Gary Reback, back Sporkin. "If nothing else, the Tunney Act was intended to insure that the courts did not permit the Department of Justice to repeat its history of entering into cushy deals with particularly powerful and influential corporations," Reback wrote in his brief.
Congress passed the Tunney Act because congressional Democrats believed that the Nixon administration was failing to pursue anti-trust cases aggressively.
The first major use of the act came when Greene employed it to break up the Bell telephone monopoly. But the limits of the act were not tested in that case because neither Justice nor AT&T sought to pursue the issue.
According to Phillip Areeda, an expert on anti-trust law who teaches at the Harvard Law School, the 1974 law is internally contradictory. "On the one hand," Areeda told the New York Times, "it suggests that a judge is more than a rubber stamp and it sets up an elaborate procedure under which they can proceed. On the other hand, the judge is not supposed to be trying the case and the law doesn't allow him to allocate any resources of the government."
While Microsoft was seeking a legal solution to its anti-trust woes, a group of its adversaries, dubbing itself the Committee to Fight Microsoft Corporation, held a news conference to announce it would push legislation to break up the company.
The Orlando-based committee, said Anthony Martin, executive director, "has consistently felt that the legislative arena should also be pursued in moving towards a 'level playing field' in the computer industry. Legislation, not litigation, should be the preferred avenue of relief."
But veteran Washington observers give the committee little chance in a Congress that is probably less inclined toward trust-busting than any in the past 50 years. "A non-starter," a lobbyist for a software trade group who requested anonymity told Newsbytes.
(Kennedy Maize/19950424/Press Contact: Sherry Carter, Court of Appeals, 202-273-0312; Cheryl Wells, Committee to Fight Microsoft Corporation, 407-833-6917)
Fight Microsoft Corporation, 407-833-6917)
4/24/95
Microsoft & Justice Dept In Appeals Court
LEGAL
Wildlife Group Gets Novell Gift
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Celebrating Earth Day, Novell (NASDAQ:NOVL) last week gave $250,000 in computer software to the Washington-based World Wildlife Fund, allowing the international environmental group to link up with offices that are found in some 40 countries worldwide.
The Novell software will also allow WWF offices -- from the forests of Papua New Guinea to the deserts of Namibia -- to connect to databases and remote sites via the Internet and Compuserve.
"International corporations have long benefited from the efficient information flow provided by a well-developed computer network," said WWF President Kathryn Fuller. "Now, it's wildlife conservation's turn."
Novell's Joe Marengi, in charge of worldwide sales, said "Novell's gift of advanced networking software will enable WWF to leverage today's advanced communications tools to continue their visionary work."
WWF is one of the largest and most respected international environmental groups, with operations in more than 100 countries aimed at protecting biological diversity. WWF has less of an activist agenda and a sounder scientific base than many other "green" groups. President George Bush chose William Reilly, then head of the group, to be his Environmental Protection Agency chief.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Five major computer and telecoms suppliers have announced the formation of the Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum (ECTF). The announcement, made Dialogic Digital, Ericsson, Nortel, and Hewlett-Packard at Comdex Spring, aims to create a standard implementation of computer telephony services for the computer/telecoms market.
Paul Linquist, product marketing manager for voice telephony and CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) technology with Ericsson, told Newsbytes that the inaugural meeting of the SCTF will take place in Atlanta this Wednesday.
"It's too early to say when products that stem from the formation of the ECTF will be released, but the aim is to create a set of standards for the industry to work to," he said, adding that the standards work by Dialogic Corporation will form the groundwork for the ECTF to discuss futures standards.
According to Linquist, the five charter members of the ECTF will be supplemented in the coming months by the several dozen companies that have indicated their support for the organization. "The inaugural meeting will see ourselves, Dialogic, Digital, Nortel and HP attending along with a number of other companies. We expect to see several supporting companies turn into members in the coming weeks," he told Newsbytes
The ECTF will not select or promote specific CTI technologies, but aims to work towards interoperability between standards and technologies. In this capacity, the ECTF will provide input to the standards development process and "facilitate industry consensus" on standards implementation.
Membership of the ECTF is open to any interested suppliers, developers and users of computer telephony products and services. The annual fee for principal membership is $10,000 per company, while user membership costs $1,500.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- At Comdex MCI Communications Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bert Roberts announced the arrival of a new high-speed backbone communications service that will link five supercomputing centers around the world at speeds exceeding 155 million bits of data per second. He said eventually the network will achieve speeds of 622 million bits of data per second.
Known as VBNS (Very High-Speed Backbone Network Service), it will, according to Roberts, "transmit at the speed of 'two small public libraries per second' in the near future. It will be built for the National Science Foundation.
VBNS, Roberts said, "will link five supercomputing sites around the world over SONET, MCI's national fiber-optic technology. The new network will operate at more than four times the speed, and 14 times the traffic capability of the NSFNET's current architecture."
"VBNS," explained Roberts, "utilizes the very latest in technology, and will open up a whole new world for high-speed applications that can eventually alter how business is done. It will play a major role in the establishment of the next generation of networks. But more importantly, advanced networking like VBNS will significantly contribute toward improving the quality of life for everyone."
The benefits of the electronic marketplace are only a taste of things to come with the power of advanced networking, and the development of new technologies and applications for interactivity," he said.
Roberts then specified some of these applications as "grand challenges" that would improve the quality of life, such as "building more energy efficient autos and airplaces, designing better drugs," improving weather forecasting, and helping speed the research process in fields such as chemistry, biology, environmental science and space.
During the address, Roberts described the scientific-research applicability of VBNS via a VBNS-transmitted sound and video hook-up discussion with Vint Cerf, designer of much of the Internet biological-simulation researcher Dr. Eric Jakobsson at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and Dr. Roy Rasmussen, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
"VBNS," said Dr. Jakobsson, "moves us toward a day where we may be able to do real-time experiments in a kind of virtual laboratory, where the coordinated efforts of scientists are linked over the network, and the obstacles of time and multiple locations are practically eliminated. This will greatly increase our rate of progress on any given problem."
Roberts then outlined his vision of what VBNS will mean, not only for the scientific and research community, but for the world.
"Advanced networking is the key to solving the grand challenges with direct and immediate benefits for mankind. Second, we can expect the technology to one day have mass applications that mean business opportunities for all of us here -- just as the Internet which was once a scientific and research haven, is now a tool of writers, entertainers, artists and businesspeople," Roberts told the gathering.
"Networks will continue to evolve worldwide," he predicted. "Access will become even easier and more affordable. More and more people will be connected to the electronic marketplace. People will find new and imaginative uses for networking that will exceed our wildest expectations.
"From this moment," Roberts concluded, "the network is no longer limited to what mankind can do."
(Russell Shaw & Ken Maize/19950424)
(Russell Shaw & Ken Maize/19950424)
4/24/95
Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed Network
TELECOM
Microsoft Talks About Vaporware
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), apparently sensitive to extensive press coverage in the past few months about its business practices, has distributed a "white paper" stating the company's position on "vaporware."
Assistant Attorney General Anne Bingaman, the government's anti-trust "top gun," told federal District Judge Stanley Sporkin, who refused to approve the anti-trust settlement reached by Department of Justice and Microsoft, "Courts generally find that product pre-announcements violate the anti-trust laws, not just if they're false, but knowingly false, intentionally false (and with)...impact on the market." Bingaman was citing a 1982 case that pitted MCI against AT&T.
Judge Sporkin directly accused Microsoft of committing vaporware. "Microsoft engages in the practice of vaporware, i.e., the public announcement of computer product before it is ready for market for the sole purpose of causing consumers not to purchase a competitor's product that has been developed and is either currently available for sale or momentarily about to enter the market," he wrote.
Microsoft says there is nothing wrong with pre-announcement which it defines as being different from vaporware. The white paper defines pre-disclosure as having the intent to "engage customers and the industry in a useful dialog about products that helps customers make better decisions and developers make better products."
In the mid- to late-1980s the term vaporware came into vogue to describe products which were announced but never came to market. Microsoft has been criticized, often by competitors, for pre-announcing products such as Microsoft Windows 95, in order to keep potential customers from buying competitive products that are already in the marketplace.
Microsoft says there are good reasons for software companies to pre-announce software, including providing corporate and organizational customers with an understanding of the software company's plans and directions, and says it's unlikely the practice will be stopped. Microsoft also defends the practice as being useful to third-party developers letting them know what's coming up so applications can be ready when a product like Microsoft Windows 95 ships.
Software companies that publish operating systems and user interfaces, such as Microsoft, Novell, IBM, and other companies regularly make advance copies of new products available to applications developers. That practice is almost essential to the success of a new operating system or interface, since those products could not succeed if there were no applications to run with them.
According to Microsoft, Judge Sporkin's charges are based on the allegation that the software company pre-disclosed its QuickBasic development system version 3.0 in November, 1986, in order to keep customers from buying Borland International's Turbo Basic.
Microsoft says that while it did pre-disclose QuickBasic after Borland pre-disclosed Turbo Basic, QuickBasic was not vaporware and Borland's product was not available or "momentarily" available. Instead, says Microsoft, QuickBasic came to market a full week before Turbo Basic.
"Software isn't like soap," says Microsoft. It points out that large corporate and organizational buyers don't acquire it on impulse. "They need time to make long-term, often strategic decisions about how they will use it. Independent software developers need time to study it, to understand it, and to create additional software for it. Discussions of vaporware that only look at the time between product announcement and product availability miss the point," says the Microsoft document.
(Jim Mallory/19950424/Press and Public contact: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080)
t: Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080)
4/24/95
Microsoft Talks About Vaporware
LEGAL
Seybold - EFI Ships Fiery XJ Ser
Touchstone's Fastmove! Windows F
Using The Infopike To Find A Sch
India - Nokia Plans Fully Owned
Internet World - CompuServe's Ne
Electronic Telegraph Newspaper U
UK Firm Intros Business TV Distr
DEC Forms Database Centers, Virt
France Selects NEC & Motorola Fo
Novell NetWare Services For Unix
CompuServe Plans 28,800 Bps Netw
Tektronix Upgrades PhaserShare P
Apple Continues Strong Performan
IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong
China - Tianjin's Investment Cli
European Equity Deal In Sprint E
Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electr
UK - Pipex To Offer Secure Inter
Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Co
Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open M
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- Open Market Inc. (OMI) described as a "leading producer of software and services for the Internet," is getting a cash infusion from two different companies. Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) has announced it has bought approximately 6.5 percent of Open Market, while Advance Publications said it also is making an equity investment in the firm.
OMI officials said it will provide consulting services to support Tribune-sponsored Internet development projects. The influx of Tribune cash will be used for "further product development and marketing," Shikhar Ghosh, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of OMI, said.
Robert D. Carr, Tribune spokesperson, told Newsbytes this deal marks Tribune's increased involvement into Internet ventures. "We have the bedrock belief our content can be distributed in a variety of ways. If the customers tell us they want news and entertainment through the Internet, or through another digital environment, that's where we're going to take it. That doesn't mean we're going to abandon what we're doing now," he said.
Last month, Newsbytes reported that Open Market was teaming with First Union Bank on "CommunityCommerce," aimed at being the first Internet-based "secure electronic shopping mall."
Jonathan Guerster, Open Market spokesperson, told Newsbytes at the time that his company's Integrated Commerce Environment uses a combination of three techniques that will provide "secure" Internet transactions: encryption, authentication, and "firewall" and velocity checking.
It is that type of technology Tribune wants to use in its future Internet ventures. "We have invested in half a dozen ventures now that have digital components," Carr told Newsbytes. "We can learn things when we invest in operations like CheckFree, Peapod, or PNI, or America Online itself." Carr said that investments like the OMI deal help Tribune with the technical side of new media, so that the company can concentrate on content and take that information to new distribution channels.
OMI officials also say the company has contracted with Time Inc. to build a transaction-based subscription service on the Internet in 1995. The company also said it expects to sign other contracts this year to build similar merchandising services.
At 12:45 EDT, Tribune's stock was at $59.00, up $0.625 from Friday's close at $58.375. Tribune also has the option to acquire additional shares of OMI within six months.
(Bob Woods/19950424/Press Contact: Robert D. Carr, Tribune Company 312-222-3763, Internet e-mail carrbob@aol.com. Investor Contact: Ruthellyn Musil, Tribune Company, 312-222-3787, Internet e-mail ruthellyn@aol.com)
222-3787, Internet e-mail ruthellyn@aol.com)
4/24/95
Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open Market Inc.
BUSINESS
Oracle & Mitsubishi Team For Set
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) and Mitsubishi have agreed to work together incorporating Oracle's New Media Software into a Mitsubishi set-top box for interactive television (ITV). Mitsubishi also plans to enter Oracle's Set Top Certification Program.
Oracle's New Media software is an end-to-end package including Oracle Media Sever, Oracle Media Net and Oracle Media Objects. The software family is expressly designed for the large scale experience of ITV. The Media Server stores, manages and retrieves all types of multimedia files. Media Net software in a set-top box allows the device to access data stored on an Oracle Media Server. The database giant's Media Objects is a multimedia authoring tool.
Mitsubishi, one of the early members of Oracle's Set-Top Alliance, is said to welcome the opportunity to participate in the certification program. It allows the company to test a set-top box in a real network using Oracle New Media software.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Jeff Cirese, Oracle's director of set-top development, said, "Mitsubishi is the first company to participate in the certification program. This program emphasizes our commitment to an open strategy. We want to leverage our database technology strengths with other companies in terms of alliances and partnerships. We realize we only have part of overall solution to address the problems of ITV and we will work with those companies who have contributing technologies which contribute to the overall picture."
Both companies are committed to producing a set-top box which is compatible with various software operating systems. At this time, the New Media software works with Apple, Microware, PowerTV, and Online Media ITV operating systems. Cirese said, "Our goal is to provide a ubiquitous layer of software that enables the consumer to select any set-top device without have to worry about compatibility."
He continued, "Our Alliance Program is designed to promote ITV standards. We are not here to set those standards, but more to make companies aware of ITV activities that are taking place within the industry. We now have more than sixty companies involved in the alliance." Alliance partners include set-top box vendors, set-top component manufacturers and providers of other related ITV products.
(Patrick McKenna/19950424/Press Contact: Stephen Berger, Oracle 415-506-2700)
Press Contact: Stephen Berger, Oracle 415-506-2700)
4/24/95
Oracle & Mitsubishi Team For Set-top Box Products
GENERAL
A Look Back At Cebit
Newsbytes Daily Summary
Compaq Bundles LapLink With PCs
Delrina Intros CD-ROM Windows Bu
Philippines - Satellite Consorti
Editorial - The Second Phase Of
DEC Portswitch 900 Switches, Hub
Newsbytes Week In Review
MCI Opens Web Developer Lab Site
Shamrock, DEN Standards To Merge
German Firms Protest Cost Of Inf
Rogers Won't Buy Larger Unitel S
Europe - Gateway 2000 Buys Norte
Prodigy Announces New CEO
SITA Group Intros WW Code For X.
Europe Plans Equal Access Teleco
China - State-Run Telco To Offer
Newsbytes Daily Summary
`'''PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Burst Memory Gaining Popularity with PC Makers 04/24/95 According to Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU) a growing list of PC makers and component vendors are embracing a memory technology called Burst extended data out (EDO).
2 -> Microsoft Licenses Lycos Internet Catalog 04/24/95 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has obtained a non-exclusive, renewable license to use Carnegie Mellon University's Lycos Catalog of the Internet. The company said the catalog will be one of the services offered on the Microsoft Network, the software company's online service scheduled to launch this summer.
3 -> European Equity Deal In Sprint Extended 04/24/95 Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom's option to take a 20 percent stake in Sprint officially expired on the 15th of this month, but Wolfgang Boestch, the German Minister for Telecoms, has confirmed that the option has now been extended to May 17.
4 -> European Commission Signs Anti-Trust Deal With US 04/24/95 The European Commission (EC) has signed an anti-trust agreement with the US Administration. The deal effectively extends the relevant anti-trust/anti-monopoly legislation for both continents to each respective government and could signal the end of trade war posturings.
5 -> UK - IBM's Software/Services Firm Offers Free Advice 04/24/95 IBM's software and services company, CGI, has launched a toll-free advisory service for the logistics market. According to the company the advisory service has been launched in response to the recurring arguments about the existence of a pan-European logistics system.
6 -> Planning For The Biochemical Computer 04/24/95 Researchers concerned with the limitations of silicon-based computers are turning their attention to computers based on protein molecules. Such "machines" promise compact size and faster data storage, according to chemistry professor Robert R. Birge of Syracuse University.
7 -> China - Chinese Windows Essay Competition 04/24/95 Computer & Communication, the China Software Industry Association, and Founder Group's Suntendy have jointly announced that the "Chinese Star Cup: Windows Chinese Platform Application Competition" is ready to accept essays. The deadline for submitting essays is August 31, 1995.
8 -> Australia - Extra! Personal Client 6.0 04/24/95 Attachmate Corp. has announced what it calls "the first, most advanced and universal connectivity solution for the Windows 95 desktop." It also works with Windows 3.1X and Windows NT.
9 -> Online Services Discuss Web Strategies 04/24/95 Interactive Marketing Conference, an instant interactive poll of the more than 400 ad agency media buyers, brand marketers, and consultants caused a panel of online service executives to go on the defensive.
10 -> CBS To Help Affiliates Build Web Sites 04/24/95 The CBS Television Network has formed an alliance with Landmark Communications affiliate InfiNet LC, that will help affiliate stations build their own dedicated sites on the World Wide Web.
11 -> Japan External Trade Organization Goes Online 04/24/95 JETRO the Japan External Trade Organization, has started a new online service aimed at providing information from the organization to companies worldwide.
12 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/24/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: NiftyServe Hits A Million Subscribers; New Version Of Japanese NetWare; Microsoft Japan Launches Kanji Technical Discussion Group; Netherlands Orders Europe's Fastest Supercomputer; NTT Personal Announces PHS Rate; KDD Plans 10% Call Discount Scheme.
13 -> Gupta Forms Hong Kong Regional HQ 04/24/95 Gupta has announced the formation of its Asia regional headquarters in Hong Kong under industry veteran George Billman. It also announced the formation of Gupta China/Hong Kong, a joint-venture staffed mainly by the sales and support team of Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd., and led by outspoken former Powersoft General Manager Francis Ng
14 -> Hong Kong "Brain Drain" Topic Of Meeting With China 04/24/95 Fearing an exodus of IT (information technology) professionals in the run-up to 1997, the Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS) has met with the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) in Beijing to "clarify" the Chinese position on foreign passport holders after the UK's transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997.
15 -> IBM Donates Equipment To Chinese Universities 04/24/95 IBM Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Louis V. Gerstner Jr has committed Big Blue to US$25 million in "contributions" of computer equipment, staff support, scholarships, and grants to China's State Education Commission (SEdC), during a recent visit to Beijing.
16 -> India - ITI & James Martin In CASE Software Deal 04/24/95 The Bangalore-based public sector telecommunications manufacturer, ITI Ltd. has recently concluded a tripartite agreement with James Martin Holding (JMH), of the US and its Indian subsidiary, James Martin & Co. (JMC), for the development of a next-generation CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tool for the global market.
17 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 04/24/95 These photos correspond to recent Newsbytes stories. They are online in the Newsbytes menu on GEnie, America Online, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board system in Minneapolis.
18 -> America Online, New Line Plan "Generation-X" Area 04/24/95 New Line Television and America Online (NASDAQ-NNM:AMER) have announced they are joining forces to launch "The Hub," described as an online service targeted towards young adults (the so-called "Generation-X").
19 -> Lotus Word Pro Emphasizes "Team Computing" 04/24/95 Lotus Development Corp. (NASDAQ:LOTS) is hoping to capitalize on the success of its Notes groupware by launching a new word processor that emphasizes workgroup capabilities. The new Word Pro package will replace Ami Pro, the word processor Lotus has sold for Microsoft Windows for the past several years.
20 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 04/24/95 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: Apple's ColorSync 2.0 and QuickTake 150, Centron Software's Puzzle Power and Casino Master, Digital Equipment's AlphaServer 8200 and 8400, and Radius' first Macintosh clone.
21 -> Improved Display Inventor Wins Technology Award 04/24/95 The man who invented the technology that will make possible high-definition displays approaching "lifelike images" will be recognized by an independent non-profit German foundation later this year.
22 -> Dataware Growth Continues, Shift To Software Credited 04/24/95 Dataware experienced a 49 percent growth rate for the first quarter of 1995, results that are due to a shift from systems integration to software and services, with online services a major target, said Kurt Mueller, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), in a meeting with Newsbytes at company headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
23 -> Canada/UK Joint Venture To Focus On PCS 04/24/95 Phase Atlantic Ltd. is a new joint venture formed by Com Dev International of Cambridge, Ontario, and Phase Devices Ltd. of Luton, England, to manufacture products for the emerging North American personal communications systems (PCS) market.
24 -> ****Microsoft & Justice Dept In Appeals Court 04/24/95 Its back to court for Microsoft and the US Justice Department. Today they are trying to persuade a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals that a lower federal court judge overstepped his bounds in refusing to accept an anti-trust settlement between the software giant and the federal government.
25 -> Wildlife Group Gets Novell Gift 04/24/95 Celebrating Earth Day Novell (NASDAQ:NOVL) last week gave $250,000 in computer software to the Washington-based World Wildlife Fund, allowing the international environmental group to link up with offices that are found in some 40 countries worldwide.
26 -> Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum Formed 04/24/95 Five major computer and telecoms suppliers have announced the formation of the Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum (ECTF). The announcement, made Dialogic, Digital, Ericsson, Nortel, and Hewlett-Packard at Comdex Spring, aims to create a standard implementation of computer telephony services for the computer/telecoms market.
27 -> ****Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed Network 04/24/95 At Comdex, MCI Communications Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bert Roberts announced the arrival of a new high-speed backbone communications service that will link five supercomputing centers around the world at speeds exceeding 155 million bits of data per second. He said eventually the network will achieve speeds of 622 million bits of data per second.
28 -> Microsoft Talks About Vaporware 04/24/95 Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), apparently sensitive to extensive press coverage in the past few months about its business practices, has distributed a "white paper" stating the company's position on "vaporware."
29 -> Tribune Acquires Piece Of Open Market Inc. 04/24/95 Open Market Inc. (OMI), described as a "leading producer of software and services for the Internet," is getting a cash infusion from two different companies. Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) has announced it has bought approximately 6.5 percent of Open Market, while Advance Publications said it also is making an equity investment in the firm.
30 -> Oracle & Mitsubishi Team For Set-top Box Products 04/24/95 Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) and Mitsubishi have agreed to work together incorporating Oracle's New Media Software into a Mitsubishi set-top box for interactive television (ITV). Mitsubishi also plans to enter Oracle's Set Top Certification Program.
(Ian Stokell/19950424)
(Ian Stokell/19950424)
4/24/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Humongous Puts Children's Storyt
WOODINVILLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Humongous Entertainment has announced it is shipping CD-ROM versions of several of its interactive children's storytelling games that will take advantage of the features of Microsoft Windows 95 when that new operating system ships later this year.
The company said CD-ROM versions of "Putt-Putt Joins the Parade," "Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon," and "Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise" are now available for CD-ROM-equipped Windows-based PCs.
Humongous spokesperson Tamese Robinson told Newsbytes the company's products are designed for kids three to 12 years old. All three products being released on CD-ROM this month have an estimated street price of $39.95.
Robinson said the company will ship "Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo" on CD-ROM with an estimated street price of $39.95 in July and two titles, "The Airport" and "The Farm" in June, 1995. Both of those will sell for about $32.95, said Robinson.
Humongous started shipping Windows 95-enabled "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds" in November of 1994.
One feature of Windows 95 the company's games will take advantage of is Auto Play, a technology that automatically installs CD-ROM based software. Auto Play also automatically starts the game each time the CD-ROM disk is inserted in the drive.
Ron Gilbert, Humongous co-founder and the company's creative director, said the games also take advantage of WinG to achieve smoother video and faster animation.
The new CD-ROM disks also include a catalog of Humongous titles that offers game users an interactive demonstration of products from the Junior Adventures and Junior Field Trips product lines. Online help for technical troubleshooting has also been added.
Putt-Putt, a little purple car, explores the local car wash and a toy store, then rescues a lost puppy before participating in the Cartown Pet Parade in Putt-Putt Joins the Parade. In Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon he discovers a stranded lunar terrain vehicle does good deeds for the Moon People, builds a rocket, and meets the Man in the Moon before returning to Earth.
In Fatty Bear's Birthday surprise the overstuffed lead character plans a surprise party for friend, organizing the other toys to decorate the room and bake a cake.
To run a Humongous children's game you need an IBM-compatible computer running at least a 33 megahertz (MHz) 386 microprocessor Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, a sound card, four megabytes (MB) of memory, a super VGA display, and a double-speed CD-ROM drive.
Humongous also publishes the same titles for Apple Computer's Macintosh and the 3DO platforms. The DOS version has been discontinued.
(Jim Mallory/19950424/Press contact: Tamese Robinson, Kaufer Miller Communications for Humongous Entertainment, 206-450-9965; Public contact: Humongous Entertainment, 206-487-0505)
Humongous Puts Children's Storytelling Games On CD
GENERAL
Hummingbird Communications To Bu
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup
CorelDraw 6 Delayed, CorelWorld
New Pricing For Prodigy, New Loo
Mastersoft's Upgrade To Windows
Avid Intros CamCutter For On-The
Chicago Gets Web Page
Hungary - Pannon GSM's Ambitious
Acer Now Seventh Largest PC Vend
Prentice Hall Illustrated Comput
Seagate To Manufacture Disk Driv
Softbank Names Comdex Subsidiary
UK - Veterinarians Use IBM Speec
Software Lets Windows Users Doub
Microsoft Licenses Lycos Interne
Holland's Renderstar Sues For So
Improved Display Inventor Wins T
Online Services Discuss Web Stra
India - Comnet To Make Very Smal
Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Co
Fujitsu Plans New Chip Plant In
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Fujitsu, the Japanese chip giant says it is mulling over "various sites" in the UK and the US for the siting of a new chip fabrication facility.
According to Fujitsu UK, the investment could be worth a much as $800 million, with several hundred new jobs being generated. Fujitsu, which is already the world's fourth largest chip manufacturer, says that discussions are ongoing with UK and US authorities over the selection of the site. This, Newsbytes notes, is an obvious referral to the discussions regarding tax breaks that normally go with such negotiations.
Fujitsu has indicated that it is interested in getting the deal concluded as quickly as possible, so as to get the fabrication facility up and running by late next year. Fujitsu says that a decision will be made in the next couple of months.
The reason for the uncharacteristic speed from Fujitsu is the rise and rise of the yen, coupled with the fall in the US dollar, over the last few months. The dollar has slumped around 20 percent against the yen since the beginning of the year, while similar trends against European currencies have been noted as well.
The battle for Fujitsu's dollars now appears to be taking place between the UK and US governments, both of which are looking to expand Fujitsu's presence in their respective countries. The Japanese giant already has a facility in Durham in the North-East of the UK, while the US fabrication facility is in Gresham, Oregon.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- RIT Technologies has announced Smart ICS, an upgrade package for IBM Cabling Systems (ICS) that includes an optional management monitoring system.
According to RIT, IBM Cabling Systems technology is currently in widespread use in businesses and organizations worldwide, but is typified by bulky cables, over-sized data connectors, and distribution panels. The technology also lacks modularity and is incompatible with emerging network hubs.
RIT also claims that "patch cord chaos" in front of the wiring rack also makes it difficult to change or trace connections, resulting in "poor maintainability."
Smart ICS, on the other hand, enables an easy and inexpensive upgrade by replacing the IBM distribution panels and patch cords with RIT's Smart ICS patch panels and by introducing RIT's PatchView cabling monitoring system. The Smart ICS system provides an open infrastructure that exceeds "Class D" requirements specified for up to 100 megahertz (MHz) transmissions.
RIT is also offering an optional PatchView system that can be incorporated within the Smart ICS system. According to Ian Harvey, a spokesman for EC Technology, the UK distributor for RIT, PatchView provides real-time connectivity status for the network manager.
Any connection change made on the self-documenting patch panels is reported automatically to the scanner by the patch panels. The scanner reports the change to the management system for all local and remote sites. According to RTE, PatchView drastically reduces the maintenance cost of the system and increases productivity time of network users.
"For a typical 640 port system, including 20 by 32 port systems software, scanner and connectors, plus all cabling, you are looking at around the UKP8,500 ($14,000) mark," Harvey told Newsbytes, adding that the system is capable of monitoring up to 320 users at any one time.
According to RIT, PatchView aims to cut the time spent for engineers to locate and alter a MAC (Move, Adds & Changes). Typically, PatchView reduces the time on a MAC from 79 to seven minutes, with a cost saving in terms of staff time. RIT claims that PatchView can save an average of $2,057 per month, meaning the payback period is under a year.
In use, PatchView is billed as being capable of monitoring and providing information for up to 250 separate sites, which can be scattered around the country. Through an auxiliary adapter, PatchView can connect up to 250 auxiliary devices and receives up to 12 indications about the wiring centers environment.
Using this approach, RIT claims that PatchView can read on/off status information from temperature sensors and door alarms. The system can also activate controls in response to information received from the wiring centers, such as turning on a fan when a high temperature is measured, or sounding an alarm when a wiring closet is opened.
(Steve Gold/19950424/Press Contact: CompanyCare, tel +44-1734 582031, fax +44-1734-599595; Reader Contact: RIT, tel +44-972-3 685-8092, fax +972-3-685-1227)
RIT, tel +44-972-3 685-8092, fax +972-3-685-1227)
4/25/95
Israel - Smart Networking Upgrade For IBM Users
NETWORK
Moscow Telecom Sells 25% Stake T
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- The privatization department of the Russian Government has announced that the Moscow Committee for Science and Technology Company has won an investment of 25 percent of shares in the Moscow telephone firm. Financial details of the share acquisition have not been announced.
According to Russian officials, the company won the investment contract on the basis that it has promised to invest $75 million over the next three years improving the capital's aging and outdated telephone network.
The winner was a big surprise for everyone. According to an official with the Moscow Property Fund, the Moscow Committee for Science and Technology Company was almost unheard of before its tender for shares in the Moscow City Telephone Network. Industry watchers in Russia were surprised at the "ferocity" of the company's bid, which ousted the previously high bid from another well known telecoms company -- a reference to AT&T's stated interest in the share sale.
When questioned, one of the representatives from the Committee for Science and Technology declined to make any comment on the success of the company. One broker dealing on the Russian shares market said however, that "the firm is a straw company for the Moscow city government."
This comment suggests that the Moscow City Fathers could live to regret the decision to allow a little known company to take a 25 percent stake in the capital's telephone network operations.
Newsbytes notes that state-owned shares are distributed to private hands in Russia by the investment tender method. This works with companies which are interested in investing in shares in the companies to be privatized being required to submit sealed bids for the whole package of shares on offer. During the bidding process, such companies are obliged to present their investment plans for the firm being privatized.
The investing company also receives in advance a set of conditions from the privatization authorities.
Newsbytes notes that shares in the Moscow Telephone Company are not freely available on the market. The share price currently stands at around $200, although each share has a nominal value of 1,000 rubles 20 US cents.
Last year saw the whole project of privatization, funding and implementation of Western technologies at the planning stage, and this sale of 25 percent of Moscow's telephone company is the first stage in what could be a lucrative sale for the Russian Government.
Plans call for the entire Russian telephone network to be modernized a massive project that will involve several Western telecom companies such as Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, France Telecom, and US West.
As previously reported by Newsbytes, these companies have already contracted to supply vast amounts of telecom hardware to replace the existing telecoms infrastructure in Russia.
Last October, Premier Yeltsin announced the formalization of a large contract with Western telecoms companies for the massive modernization of Moscow's telephone network.
Terms of the ten-year rolling plan calls for three international majors -- Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, France Telecom, and US West to supply vast amounts of their telecom hardware and expertise in updating and, in many cases, actually replacing on a wholesale basis Russia's phone system.
Because of the size of the project, all the parties have agreed to form a new joint stock operating company to oversee the updating. The yet-to-be-formed company would receive operating rights for Moscow's telephony service for the next half century.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950424)
e next half century.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950424)
4/25/95
Moscow Telecom Sells 25% Stake To Mystery Buyer
TELECOM
Computerworld Australia Puts Job
Japan Newsbriefs
Job Search Software For Windows
GTSI Goes To Electronic Commerce
IBM To Announce High-Performance
Faxback Will Support Windows 95
MCI Opens Internet Fashion Site
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Aga
DEC Follows 5Rs In Downsizing Ma
UK - Cylink Intros NetGate Dial-
Electronic Tax Filing Down
Survey Says PCs Essential, Some
India - Datamatics To Build Itoc
Internet World - IBM Offers Inte
Australia - Acct Prgm Distributo
UK Mercury One-2-One's New Busin
Moscow Telecom Sells 25% Stake T
New England Utility Upgrades Eme
Kenan Online/Telecom Billing Pac
Europe Plans Equal Access Teleco
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- In one of the widest ranging pieces of telecoms legislation to pass through its doors, the European Commission is reported to be considering an "Open Network Provision" document that would ensure that all European telephone users would have equal rights to new telecoms technologies as they are offered to users.
In a nutshell, the proposed legislation, if approved, would mandate telecoms companies wanting to offer, for example, video-on-demand that they make such services available to all subscribers on their network, no matter how geographically dispersed.
The concept extends the right of "equal access" as seen in the US, to embrace all leading edge telecoms technologies. Thus, for example, if a UK telephone company wanted to offer advanced network services to subscribers in London, a traditionally profitable area, it would also have to offer those same services -- at the same charge -- to subscribers in the Orkney Isles, a remote group of islands in the Far North of Scotland.
This is the second time that the EC has attempted to force telecoms operators to offer all their services to all subscribers. Last summer saw a proposed bill fail the legislative procedure of the EC after a series of amendments failed to gain approval.
This time around, the draft document -- known as COM (94) 689 -- has taken heed of MEP's (Members of European Parliament's) comments regarding the rights of consumers and the ability to access the network, regardless of telecoms carrier being used.
If the proposed piece of legislation is passed, then it would mandate telecom companies throughout the EC to offer all their services including payphones and fixed installation charges -- to anyone in their coverage area.
Critics argue that the proposal could stifle innovation in the telecoms marketplace, as it would go against small startup companies wanting to offer selected services in small areas. EC officials meanwhile, say that smaller operators would be granted exclusion clauses under the legislation, allowing for small area trials of their new services.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950424/Press & Reader Contact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
ntact: European Commission, +32-2-299-1111)
4/25/95
Europe Plans Equal Access Telecom Rules
TELECOM
Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Co
DUBLIN, IRELAND, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Telecom Eireann (TE) has announced a wide-ranging package of price cuts that will save business customers an average of 12 percent, and residential subscribers around five percent, according to the firm.
According to officials with TE, the price cuts will cost the company around IR65 million ($100 million) a year, but the extra revenue generated as a result of extra calls from the cuts should go some way towards redressing the balance.
Announcing the price cuts, Alfred Kane, TE's chief executive said that the reductions will allow Irish businesses to cut the cost of using the phone and, hopefully, would generate more jobs.
The first effect of the price cuts come this Wednesday, when calls to the UK will fall by around 10 percent, while calls to the US and Canada will see a 20 percent call cost reduction. Anyone spending more than IR150 a quarter on international calls will also receive a special progressive discount.
Kane said that the international call charge reductions are to allow TE to remain competitive in a changing marketplace. "International rates are being driven down by fierce competition among the big players," he said, in a direct reference to the arrival of international telecoms companies such as British Telecom and AT&T, which offer major customers special discounts on international calls.
Ironically, TE is a major supplier of labor to British Telecom (BT) in the UK, as BT has laid off so many permanent staff in the last decade that it has been forced to contract with TE for the provision of special services such as telegraph pole replacement and major exchange upgrades.
Kane said that, while the bulk of the call savings were concentrated on businesses, later this year will see calls within Ireland being reduced, as well as the introduction of discounts for major users of the phone in the home.
(Steve Gold/19950424/Press Contact: Telecom Eireann tel +353-1-671-4444, fax +353-1-671-6916)
tel +353-1-671-4444, fax +353-1-671-6916)
4/25/95
Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Costs Soon
TELECOM
B l P
Entrepreneurs Resource Center On
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- An online network established to offer services to entrepreneurs has launched its own home page on the World Wide Web.
Menu items currently on the home page include Business Columnists The Web Market, Business E-zines (electronic versions of business magazines), Business Resources, Fun & Play, Cybercomm (Internet advertising and marketing), and Web Directories and Search Tools.
You can reach the organization's home page at http://entrepreneurs.com/eol/index.htm
While EO's home page is free, the organization also offers subscription services to its members that include an electronic listing of real estate trust deeds and mortgages for sale at premiums or discounted rates, and a forum for financing and producing new inventions. It also maintains electronic listings of businesses for sale, businesses seeking additional capital and public stock offerings. Other services include electronic-mail interactive online conferences, a leads exchange service business startup advice, and resource listings.
One of the first resources to be placed on the home page will be the resumes of former Houston Post employees. The Houston Post closed April 18 following its purchase by the Hearst Corp. the owner of the other Houston daily. The demise of the Post shrinks even further the number of cities across the nation that support two daily newspapers. When it closed, the paper employed 1,900. Newspapers across the country are hard pressed to maintain profitability following astronomical price increases in newsprint the material newspapers are printed on.
Entrepreneurs Online said Houston Post employees can send their resumes electronically for posting or mail them on a floppy disk to the organization's Houston headquarters. Separate categories are set up for Administration, Management, Sales, Creative, Production and Newsroom.
(Jim Mallory/19950424/Press contact: Phil Hall, Open City Communications for Entrepreneurs Online, 212-714-3575; Public contact: Entrepreneurs Online, 10550 Richmond Ave., Suite 125 Houston, TX 77042, tel 713-784-8822 or 800-784-8822, fax 713-735-2900, Internet e-mail to marketing@entrepreneurs.com; Internet World Wide Web http://entrepreneurs.com/eol/index.htm)
eb http://entrepreneurs.com/eol/index.htm)
4/25/95
Entrepreneurs Resource Center On The Web
ONLINE
Corporate Software & Donnelley I
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Corporate Software and R.R. Donnelley Global Software Services have merged to create Stream International Inc., a $1.3 billion worldwide organization aimed at providing software publishers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) with "one-stop shopping" for software manufacturing, customization, distribution, and support.
"This merger will produce a steady flow that is unstoppable, from the source to the ocean of end-users," predicted Mort Rosenthal newly named chief executive officer (CEO) of Stream International and formerly chairman and CEO of Corporate Software, during an interview with Newsbytes.
The new $1.3 billion entity will combine Corporate Software's experience in software licensing, distribution, and support with R.R. Donnelley Global Software Services' expertise in manufacturing design, distribution, and custom software publishing and printing according to Rosenthal.
"(Corporate Software) was looking to vertically integrate. Donnelley Global Software Services is the number one player in its market, and there are a lot of synergies between us around customization, rapid time-to-market, security, and system efficiency. This merger will give us greater global presence," Rosenthal told Newsbytes.
Stream International's customization services are expected to integrate products, documentation, training, and support for corporate customers.
Customization will extend to the individual end-user level, right on down to the question of whether specific users receive software or hardcopy output, said a Donnelley spokesperson.
Corporate Software and R.R. Donnelley Global Software Services a business unit of Chicago-based R.R. Donnelley & Sons -- announced negotiations around a prospective merger on March 17. The merger has now been formally finalized.
Steve Moore, previously president of Corporate Software, and Terry Leahy, formerly president of R.R. Donnelley Global Software Services, will both serve as presidents of Stream International.
Rory Cowan becomes chairman of Stream, and also continues as an executive VP of R.R. Donnelley, a $4.9 billion enterprise specializing in the production and distribution of print and digital publications such as catalogs, magazines, books directories, and financial and computer documentation.
The newly formed Stream International will be headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, at the former headquarters of Corporate Software.
No layoffs are anticipated, because the two components of the new organization perform "complementary" functions, the Donnelley spokesperson told Newsbytes.
Corporate Software, a privately held company that reported $650 million in revenues for 1994, employs over 2,000 people in the US Canada, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Japan.
R.R. Donnelley Global Software Services has over 4,000 employees in 15 countries, along with 23 manufacturing plants worldwide. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company is staffed by some 39,000 people in 20 countries.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950425/Reader Contact: Stream International 617-440-1000; Press Contacts: Paul Davis, Corporate Software 617-440-1366; David Kitchen, Copithorne & Bellows for Corporate Software, 617-252-0606; Diane Dunne, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company 312-326-8419)
.R. Donnelley & Sons Company 312-326-8419)
4/25/95
Corporate Software & Donnelley In Merger
BUSINESS
Telematics Intros WAN Switches
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Telematics has unveiled the PCP 340 and PCP 440 wide area network (WAN) switches, products designed for use as "cost-effective" edge switches on frame relay or packet switched networks, among other purposes.
"If you have an existing frame relay or packet switched network and you need to get into smaller density serving areas where the higher port concentration of a large switch is not required, you can add in 340s or 440s and `grow' your network cost-effectively that way," suggested Neal Hartsell, product marketing manager, in an interview with Newsbytes.
The PCP 340 and PCP 440, which are updates to Telematics' earlier PCP 300 and PCP 400 switches, add 68040 processors for more than double the frame or packet throughput, at pricing only 30 percent higher, according to Hartsell.
Packet throughput has increased from 600 packets per second (pps) to 1,500 pps, and frame throughput from 750 frames per second (fps) to 1,800 fps, Hartsell said. "So you're getting more `bang for the buck,' relative to the (PCP) 300 or 400," Newsbytes was told.
Also new is compliance with the ANSI T1.618 rate adaptation scheme for preventing congestion on the network backbone, according to the product marketing manager.
With the same goal in mind, he maintained, the new PCP 340 and PCP 440 switches provide buffering on forward explicit congestion notification (FECN) and backward explicity congestion notification (BECN) information from routers, network devices that unable to buffer on their own.
In addition, unlike some other switches in the same price range which are time division multiplexing (TDM) or line-speed-based, the PCP 340 and PCP 440 use statistical input/out (I/O), he reported.
"This allows any given port to utilize the process and throughput capacities of the switch, as long as you're not in a peak load operation mode. The capability lends itself especially well to the bursty nature of frame relay applications, such as LAN (local area network) interconnect," Hartsell explained.
Other capabilities of the PCP 340 and PCP 440 include T1/E1 trunking and multiprotocol access, according to the product marketing manager.
The two new switches sit at the low end to midrange of products within PCP, one of three families of switches produced by Telematics, said Claranne Anderson, product manager, Net25 platform, also during the interview with Newsbytes.
Telematics' other offerings include the entry-level Universal Network Access switches and the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)-based subscriber oriented, Networking Solution line-up according to Anderson.
Now a subsidiary of ECI Telecom, Telematics was established 12 years ago, with packet switching its original emphasis, Hartsell told Newsbytes.
The PCP 340 supports up to 26 ports, and the PCP 440 up to 50 ports, according to the Telematics execs. The two new switches are available immediately, for prices starting at $6,950.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950421/Reader Contact: Telematics 305-772-3070; Press Contact: Rourke & Company for Telematics, 617-267-0042)
ny for Telematics, 617-267-0042)
4/25/95
Telematics Intros WAN Switches
NETWORK
Janna Releases Contact Manager I
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Janna Systems Inc. has entered the United States market with Janna Contact 2.0 for Windows, a contact manager. The company has been selling Janna Contact for Windows 1.0 in Canada for about a year.
Contact managers for Windows are not scarce, but Janna claims some features not found in rival products. The key one is the ability to store an unlimited number of documents and files right with the contacts listed in the contact manager's database.
Through Microsoft's object linking and embedding (OLE), Janna Contact 2.0 can link files created with other software -- such as word processing documents or worksheets -- to contacts in its own database. "All I need to know is that it's a document attached to that contact," said Bill Tatham, president of Janna.
The software includes support for OLE 2.0 multimedia features meaning not only text and data but graphics, sound, and full motion video can be linked to a contact file.
Janna is hitching its wagon to the Microsoft star by positioning Janna Contact 2.0 as a complement to Microsoft's Office software suite. Tatham told Newsbytes that the company has tried to make Janna Contact look as much as possible like the Microsoft Office applications, using the same dialog boxes as well as the same development language and emphasizing integration with Microsoft Word, Excel, and the other Office applications.
"There's really nothing in the (contact manager) marketplace right now specifically for the Microsoft Office user," said Tatham, adding that Janna participates in Microsoft's Solution Provider program. Janna is not focusing on Microsoft customers so exclusively as to ignore its rivals totally, though; Tatham said Janna Contact also ships with macros to help it work with Novell Inc.'s WordPerfect and Lotus Development Corp.'s Ami Pro word processor.
Available now, Janna Contact 2.0 for Windows is expected to sell for about $100.
(Grant Buckler/19950425/Press Contact: Bill Tatham, Janna Systems, tel 416-483-7711, fax 416-483-3220, Internet e-mail wmt@janna.com; Public Contact: Janna Systems, 800-268-6107)
Contact: Janna Systems, 800-268-6107)
4/25/95
Janna Releases Contact Manager In US
WINDOWS
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- In this round up of news from the Japan: News Center DDI Pegs PHS Rate Below NTT; Astec Unix Product Information On Internet; MPT Adopts Two Standards For FM Pagers; Nissan Develop New Car Navigation System; and Matsushita Plans Chinese Venture.
DDI Pegs PHS Rate Below NTT
DDI Corp.'s DDI Pocket has filed an application with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) to charge for Personal Handy Phone System (PHS) services at rates broadly similar to those of NTT Personal. DDI, who are competing with NTT for the PHS market, will charge 40 yen ($0.48) per three minutes -- the same as NTT Personal. However, a surprise was DDI Pocket's long distance charges which are slightly below those of NTT -- signaling the first shots in the coming battle for PHS customers. The PHS system is scheduled to begin operation in June in greater Tokyo and Sapporo. PHS telephones offer users most of the advantages of mobile telephones, but with costs of around one third of mobile phone fees.
Astec Unix Product Information On Internet
Unix software developers Astec have just begun a new Internet service on the World Wide Web that offers information on computer products. The new service, launched with System Solution Center Tochigi, is called the Hyperdirectory and provides information on over 900 Unix hardware and software products. The company is also planning to place press releases product news and technical data on the World Wide Web site. The service is available from http://hydir.astec.co.jp/hydir/.
MPT Adopts Two Standards For FM Pagers
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has announced its decision to adopt the DARC and HSDS standards for FM pager services. The DARC system has been recommended by state broadcasters NHK and is already used in Tokyo FM's Visual Radio service which sends information such as news, weather, and the name of the current song, to specially equipped radios. The HSDS standard is currently employed by Seiko-Epson in the United States. Newspapers report that Seiko-Epson, along with radio stations Tokyo FM and J-Wave, are working together on the establishment of an FM pager service in a years time.
Nissan Develops New Car Navigation System
Nissan Motor Corp. has announced a new car navigation system that reportedly provides drivers with a panoramic view of the area they are driving in. The new system claims to display a view of the car from 350 meters above it which includes details of the car, its route and the surroundings. The system uses the global positioning system (GPS) like current models available, but features more advanced software and a greater amount of data and will be available as an optional extra on a new model to be introduced this summer. The system will also be available with a car stereo and television system will retail for 400,000 yen ($4,819).
Matsushita Plans Chinese Venture
Matsushita Electric has announced it is to set up a new company in China that will produce 460 million capacitors per year. The company will be set up jointly with the Chinese government who will take a 40% share with Matsushita owning the remaining 60%. The Beijing based company is expected to begin operation in August.
(Martyn Williams/19950425)
Williams/19950425)
4/25/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Computerworld Australia Puts Job
Japan Newsbriefs
Job Search Software For Windows
GTSI Goes To Electronic Commerce
IBM To Announce High-Performance
Faxback Will Support Windows 95
MCI Opens Internet Fashion Site
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Aga
DEC Follows 5Rs In Downsizing Ma
UK - Cylink Intros NetGate Dial-
Electronic Tax Filing Down
Survey Says PCs Essential, Some
India - Datamatics To Build Itoc
Internet World - IBM Offers Inte
Australia - Acct Prgm Distributo
UK Mercury One-2-One's New Busin
Moscow Telecom Sells 25% Stake T
New England Utility Upgrades Eme
Kenan Online/Telecom Billing Pac
PRI To Automate Taiwanese Chip M
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- In a deal billed as the first to be forged between an Asian-based chip maker and a US semiconductor manufacturing specialist, PRI Automation Inc. has won an $11 million order from Model Vitelic, Taiwan.
The contract also departs from tradition by calling for automation of a six-inch wafer manufacturing facility, instead of the eight inch wafer plants that are the usual candidates for automation said Mitchell G. Tyson, PRI's president and chief operating officer, in an interview with Newsbytes.
Tyson told Newsbytes that, under the deal, PRI will install an automated materials handling system -- supplying "monorail-like" materials transport in the cleanroom environment -- to Model Vitelic's wafer processing facility in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
In the US, Billerica, Massachusetts-based PRI has won ten of its last 11 bids against Baifuku, a Japanese company that represents its chief competition, according to Tyson.
"Prior to our entry, Baifuku had 100 percent of the (world) market. This is the first time we've been able to take an order (over) Baifuku in Asia. And for us, the ability to compete in Asia means that our total market has just effectively doubled," asserted the company president.
As a region, he added, Taiwan and nearby Singapore are moving fastest in terms of semiconductor manufacturing, increasing their spending on automation by 60 percent, in contrast to 20 percent for Japan, for example.
As a result of its new relationship with Mosel Vitelic, PRI will establish an expansion office in Taiwan, and will probably add a second Pacific Rim (Pac Rim) office in Singapore by the end of the year, he reported.
Mosel Vitelic is a $250 million company that produces dynamic RAM (DRAM), video RAM (VRAM), and static RAM (SRAM) memory chips for use in data storage, telecommunications, printer, graphics accelerator and CD-ROM applications, according to Tyson.
Although new plants are now being built for eight-inch wafers, the six-inch wafers used at Hsinchu typify wafer technology at many existing plants worldwide, Newsbytes was told.
"Eight-inch wafers are regarded as requiring automation because they are heavier, and require more space. But six-inch wafers are candidates for automation, as well," the company chief maintained.
PRI, he said, will automate Mosel Vitelic's existing six-inch wafer plant, plus an expansion facility now being built, using more than 1,000 feet of AeroTrak monorail to link "stockers," or materials storage bins, as well as to transport "intelligent cars" that will carry the wafers between the stockers.
"A semiconductor fabrication facility is laid out somewhat like a spine with ribs. There is a central corridor, and off of that, a series of perpendicular corridors. Along these horizontal corridors are "bays' for up to 400 different process tools," Tyson explained.
"In an automated facility, when an operator finishes performing a process step at a bay, the operator will place the wafer in a stocker. A robot inside the stocker will detect the wafer, lift it up, and place it in a monorail car. The car will then go to where the next process step is being performed, drop off the wafer, and wait for the wafer there," he continued.
The monorail, he noted, hangs suspended from the ceiling, above the operator level. "It's very flexible. We can route it, and create paths. And like all our products, it's cleaner than the cleanest surgical suite. Because the slight particle of dust can short out a circuit, meaning millions of dollars lost for the semiconductor manufacturer," Tyson contended.
Founded in 1982, PRI is currently concentrating exclusively on the semiconductor industry, according to the company chief. Over the past three years, company revenues have grown at the rate of 80 percent annually, he added.
"But we have formed a group inside the company that's looking for opportunities outside of semiconductors, and that group has been looking at manufacturing of flat panel displays, as well as some applications in pharmaceuticals," the PRI president revealed.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950424/Reader Contact: PRI Automation 508-663-8555; Press Contact: Michelle Goodall or Pamela Hamilton, Schwartz Communications for PRI, 617-431-0770)
lton, Schwartz Communications for PRI, 617-431-0770)
4/25/95
PRI To Automate Taiwanese Chip Manufacturing Plant
CHIPS
India - Birla & Computer Horizon
Best New Internet Sites Site
Germany - Siemens' 4-Pronged Bus
UK - Sheet Music By Fax Service
The Great Internet Easter Egg Hu
Media Vision To Ship Quad-Speed,
UK -- PPCP Full Motion Video PCM
HP, Novell, Ingram Offer Interne
Japan - Fujitsu Offers Personal
HSC's Convolver Special-Effects
WorldLinx, Silicon Graphics In D
Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web
Quantum Intros Atlas II/Empire I
Phone Directory CD-ROM For Netwo
Philippines - Andersen Targets O
World's 1st Supersonic Car Gets
Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed
Microsoft & Justice Dept In Appe
Bell Atlantic Puts Video Service
Paul Allen Buys Into 3D/Eye
Seagate Gets New VP For Asia-Pac
Novell's PerfectWorks To Ship in
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) told attendees at this year's Spring Comdex trade show it will ship PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows in June.
Three-year old PerfectWorks was released originally under the name WordPerfect Works as a challenger to Microsoft Works. It got a facelift in October of last year when version 2.0 was released. The program includes a word processor, draw and paint program database, spreadsheet, and communications modules.
QuickCorrect and Grammatik and both included with PerfectWorks. QuickCorrect automatically corrects misspellings, while Grammatik is a grammar and style checker that can also suggest replacement words, phrases and sentences and even re-write your words if you prefer.
Novell has also added automatic timed backup to protect you from your own failure to save your work, and Caller ID. Novell spokesperson Blake Stowell told Newsbytes the Caller ID feature is not an integral element of PerfectWorks. It is a memory resident program that pops up a dialog box to show who is calling, if your phone line is connected to a modem in your PC. It is similar to what you see on a Caller ID device connected to your telephone at the office or at home. Novell plans to include the Caller ID software with future versions of other company products.
PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows comes with a dedicated data transfer communications module, but no fax send/receive capability. You can import to and from other popular software, including word processing programs WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, and Ami Pro, as well as spreadsheets Quattro Pro, Excel, and Lotus 1-2-3, various database programs and a variety of graphics formats. Users can drag-and-drop information between all of the modules, and can insert multiple files into one document.
Documents can be saved as templates and you can even specify a particular template to auto-load each time you launch PerfectWorks. Novell has also added an enhanced envelope dialog that lets the user easily enter and save information for envelope addresses and return addresses, and you can print several common sizes of envelopes.
When you buy PerfectWorks for Windows 2.1 you also get the personal finance manager Quicken Special Edition for Windows which integrates with PerfectWorks and launches from the Tools pull-down menu in Novell's program.
PerfectWorks 2.1 may sound familiar to users of Ashton Tate's late 1980's program Framework. Novell said the modules of PerfectWorks are so well integrated that all you do is select the module you want to work in, create a frame and go to work.
Novell said PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows will have a suggested retail price of $99. That is $10 less than the earlier version. Version 2.0 users can upgrade for $34.95 by contacting Novell direct. The company will also offer an upgrade path from PerfectWorks to PerfectOffice, Novell's high-end software suite.
Stowell said there are no current plans for a Mac version of PerfectWorks, even though the company did publish a version of WordPerfect Works for Apple Computer's popular hardware.
PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows will run on a 386-based personal computer that is equipped with a VGA monitor, Windows 3.1, four megabytes (MB) of memory and 8MB of available hard drive space. That configuration is sufficient for a minimum installation.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Delrina Corp. (TSE:DC, NASDAQ:DENAF) has announced CommSuite for Networks, an updated network communications suite whose new approach to sending faxes will eliminate some transmission problems, Delrina said.
The new Delrina CommServer component of CommSuite for Networks uses a dynamic link library (DLL) architecture said to solve some reliability problems involved with sending faxes from client PCs on a network and from Windows PCs.
The now-superseded server component of Delrina's WinFax Pro for Networks 4.0 used communications redirector technology, which fools the application into thinking it is writing to a local device when it sends a fax, explained company spokesman Shelly Sofer. Because a fax transmission is timing-critical -- the receiving machine will time out if transmission is interrupted even briefly -- network traffic slowing down the transmission could cause the connection to be lost.
The new Delrina CommServer uses application code on the network server to send the fax, Sofer told Newsbytes. The client transfers the fax to the server, which then handles the transmission, avoiding problems with network delays.
CommServer's virtual device driver also can pre-empt Microsoft Windows during the time-critical portions of a fax transmission Sofer said. Without this feature, an operation such as loading another application as the fax software is transmitting could cause an interruption that would break the connection, he said. CommServer, however, will make Windows wait when it needs the processor's full attention. This will cause only a slight slowdown in any operation that takes place while CommServer is sending a fax, Sofer said.
CommSuite for Networks also makes it possible to share fax modems across a network for both fax and data communications. With WinFax Pro for Networks, users could only share fax modems for fax transmissions, not data.
The software provides access to Delrina's Fax Broadcast service and supports more than 600 fax modems, the company said.
A CommSuite for Networks starter kit will be available early in June, Delrina said. It will include two copies each of the network-enabled WinFax Pro 4.0 and WinComm Pro 1.1 with Internet Messenger, plus the Delrina CommServer. The list price will be US$549 or C$699. Delrina plans to continue selling WinFax Pro for Networks, but will replace the server component with CommServer.
Delrina also announced WinFax Scanner for Windows, bundling a Fujitsu multi-page scanner with its WinFax Pro 4.0 software and Xerox Corp. TextBridge document-reading technology. This bundle allows users to send faxes from existing paper documents as well as from a PC, Delrina said. The package costs US$299 or C$399.
(Grant Buckler/19950425/Press Contact: Shelly Sofer, Delrina 416-441-4702, Internet e-mail shellys@delrina.com; Public Contact: Delrina, tel 416-441-3676 or 408-363-2345, fax 416-441-0333 or 408-363-2340)
2345, fax 416-441-0333 or 408-363-2340)
4/25/95
Delrina Intros CommSuite For Networks
NETWORK
Bell South & Duke Power Launch P
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- BellSouth and Duke Power have launched a two-state wireless personal communications system (PCS) service, using a Federal Communications Commission license Atlanta-based BellSouth bought at auction last month for $70.9 million.
The new network promises a wide range of communications services to a market of 11 million people in North and South Carolina including a transportable telephone number good at home, work and in the car. "We believe wireless is a substantial growth business," says Eric Ensor, president of the BellSouth subsidiary involved in the deal.
"Whoever gets to the market first will win," says M.H. "Chip" Smith, president of DukeNet, the Duke Power subsidiary managing the PCS project. "You're going to have five or six competitors and the winner will get his or her network up first to get customers."
BellSouth holds 60 percent of the new venture, called Personal Communications Services, while Duke Power, headquartered in Charlotte, owns 20 percent. The remaining 20 percent is divided up among: CaroNet, a Carolina Power & Light subsidiary; a consortium of 32 independent telephone companies; and American Personal Communications, owned by Sprint.
While BellSouth brings the license to the deal, Duke Power brings an existing fiber optic cable network and the poles and towers that can support the antennas and repeaters needed in wireless systems. Duke runs a fiber network that can transmit voice, data and full-motion video from its headquarters to 200 offices in the Carolinas.
BellSouth, says DukeNet's Smith, "was eminently wise" to team up with an electric utility. "It was a brilliant move on their part," in part because Duke, one of the best regarded electric utilities in the country, operates extensively in the Carolinas and knows the market, as does CP&L. "Those are markets BellSouth doesn't operate in and so they provide good relationships locally," says Eric Ensor of BellSouth.
The new venture has picked Northern Telecom in Research Triangle Park, N.C., to provide equipment, which will comply with the North American PCS standard known as DCS 1900. That will enable the network to link up to other networks in the future, for a nationwide network. The standard also has encryption capability overcoming one of the problems of the conventional cellular phone system.
According to Ensor, the network will cost between $50 million and $70 million to complete, and will begin offering service in 1996.
Ensor predicts that wireless technology will capture as much as 40 percent of the phone market in coming years, up from 10 percent for the cellular phone market today.
(Kennedy Maize/19950425/Press Contact: Joe Maher, Duke Power, 704-382-8323)
ontact: Joe Maher, Duke Power, 704-382-8323)
4/25/95
Bell South & Duke Power Launch PCS Service
TELECOM
Hummingbird Communications To Bu
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup
CorelDraw 6 Delayed, CorelWorld
New Pricing For Prodigy, New Loo
Mastersoft's Upgrade To Windows
Avid Intros CamCutter For On-The
Chicago Gets Web Page
Hungary - Pannon GSM's Ambitious
Acer Now Seventh Largest PC Vend
Prentice Hall Illustrated Comput
Seagate To Manufacture Disk Driv
Softbank Names Comdex Subsidiary
UK - Veterinarians Use IBM Speec
Software Lets Windows Users Doub
Microsoft Licenses Lycos Interne
Holland's Renderstar Sues For So
Improved Display Inventor Wins T
Online Services Discuss Web Stra
India - Comnet To Make Very Smal
Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Co
Australia - Internet Provider Us
New Jersey Utility Expands Broad
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Public Service Electric and Gas Co. and AT&T have completed a proof-of-concept experiment with an interactive, two-way customer communications system.
The utility plans to roll out a demonstration to 1,000 customers later this year. By the end of 1996, PSE&G hopes to move the technology into 10,000 sites, and 500,000 by 2001.
"Our first demonstration showed that the equipment would work as designed," PSE&G spokesman Neil Brown told Newsbytes. "Next we need to find out how well it all works, how customers respond what kind of services are really desirable to our customers, and see how it all works in a more realistic setting."
The proof-of-concept demonstration involved 10 residential customers in Moorestown, N.J. The system -- the AT&T Integrated Broadband Utility Solution -- uses technology developed at AT&T Bell Labs in New Jersey along with the utility to provide services such as remote automatic meter reading, remote on-off and automatic control of appliances based on current prices, and automatic connection and disconnection of service.
PSE&G replaced existing utility meters with new meters control devices, and a telecommunications link through a hybrid fiber/coaxial network supplied by Garden State Cable TV, which supplies cable service to Moorestown. "This is all existing technology," said Brown. "What we did is figure how to put it together and make it work."
According to Brown, PSE&G hopes to work with AT&T not only to install the equipment in its service territory, but roll out a commercial product to be marketed to other utilities worldwide. "We most definitely see this as a new business opportunity," he said.
Brown said the cost of deploying the new communications technology across its system would be "in the hundreds of millions of dollars." But he added that the full cost would be justified by the energy savings alone.
(Kennedy Maize/19950425/Press Contact: Neil Brown, PSE&G 201-430-6017; Linda Edgerton, AT&T, 910-279-3024)
201-430-6017; Linda Edgerton, AT&T, 910-279-3024)
4/25/95
New Jersey Utility Expands Broadband Experiment
TELECOM
Japanese Cellular Phone Users In
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Cellular phone users in Japan are about to be thrown into the center of a price war between the established cellular telephone operators and those of a new rival system.
Ever since the mobile telephone market was deregulated a year ago and new common carriers (NCC) were allowed to compete with NTT DoCoMo the mobile communications division of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT), prices have been falling. In the summer of this year a new mobile service, called Personal Handy Phone System (PHS), will enter the market offering calls around two thirds cheaper that the conventional cellular phone system, but with a reduced geographic range and coverage area.
Last week the country's four NCC cellular phone consortiums applied to Japan's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) to lower charges that subscribers pay from May 1. That move was in response to a 20% rate reduction by NTT DoCoMo effective April 1.
The four NCCs -- Nippin Ido Tsushin Corp. (IDO), DDI Cellular, TU-KA Cellular Tokyo and Tokyo Digital -- applied to lower rates between 15% and 17% on average achieving the reductions by applying new call zones across the country.
NTT has also announced a decision to reduce fees paid by new subscribers when they sign up to the service. The price reduction totals 2,000 yen ($24) and narrows the gap between DoCoMo's price and those of the NCCs.
The NTT moves are as much to win subscribers from the competitors as to be more competitive ahead of the PHS service launch. The PHS system is scheduled to begin operation in June of this year in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Central Sapporo. PHS will offer subscribers a similar service to cellular telephones, but the units will only be useable in a smaller area of the country and are unsuitable for use in moving vehicles or trains.
Over the weekend, both PHS service providers applied their rates to the MPT for approval. Both DDI and NTT will be charging 40 yen ($0.48) for three minutes compared to cellular phone charges of around 150 to 180 yen ($1.80 to $2.16) per three minutes.
(Martyn Williams/19950425)
hree minutes.
(Martyn Williams/19950425)
4/25/95
Japanese Cellular Phone Users In price War
TELECOM
Internet World's Fair Planned Fo
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UK - Cellular Signups Skyrocket
HP Telepace Workstation, Deal Wi
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McCaw To Invest $1.1 Billion In
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Net Day Gives Internet News Dail
Motorola To Invest In Mexico
Internet World - Listen To The N
Quarterdeck Ships Word For Windo
EMC Intros Products & Features F
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MapInfo Adds Street-Level Maps F
Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focus
Escom Pays $10Mil For Commodore
Novell's Auto-Routing Fax Techno
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China - Schlumberger To Help Mak
Japan - Kobe Still Needs Help Fr
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Three months after a devastating earthquake hit the Kobe killing 5,500 people, the city is still in need of help and is using the Internet to find it.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Taisuke Matsuzaki of the Kobe City's Mayor's Office, said that it wasn't material help that was so much in need now but experience and knowledge, "We are looking for two types of suggestion. The first is rebuilding the City of Kobe, and how to avoid the disasters."
In particular the World Wide Web page asks for "Useful suggestions and ideas regarding reconstruction after an earthquake and disaster prevention programs, based on the expertise of those who have experienced a major earthquake or who have knowledge of urban planning after an earthquake."
"The second (area of information)," Matsuzaki continued, "is how to operate volunteers for the long-term. After the earthquake there were many volunteers but now there are not so many, there are very few so we want more and we need to know how to operate a long-term volunteer program."
He added that they were particularly keen to contact overseas establishments and universities who may be able to provide some assistance or knowledge. "We have received about 100 suggestions but we would like everyone to send suggestions" he continued.
The city had made extensive use of the Internet since the January 17 earthquake as Matsuzaki explained, "The Internet is very useful. We have used Eudora to receive hundreds of messages from all over the world. Junior high schools to elderly people have given us many messages."
The Internet service is housed at the computers of the City University of Foreign Studies whose ISDN (integrated services digital network) service to the Internet was restored the morning after the earthquake allowing a vital link to the world.
Anyone wishing to make contact with the City of Kobe can do so in two ways. A web page is operating that provides the latest information about the situation in the city and details of the suggestion program. Note that despite the message saying the closing date was April 21, the city is still in need of and accepting suggestions. The World Wide Web uniform resource locator (URL) is http://www.kobe-cufs.ac.jp/kobe-city. Internet users can also electronic-mail their suggestions and ideas to pmaster@kobe-cufs.ac.jp
The World Wide Web site also includes a picture gallery of images taken by Matsuzaki from the day of the earthquake onwards. He explained the pictures were taken from video, "after the earthquake there was no (photographic) developing in Kobe, so we used video capture on a Macintosh."
(Martyn Williams/19950425/Press contact: Taisuke Matsuzaki, Kobe City Mayor's Office, tel +81-78-322-5015, fax +81-78-322-6007, Internet e-mail matuzaki@staff.kobe-cufs.ac.jp; Public contact: Kobe City Mayor's Office, tel +81-78-322-5015, fax +81-78-322-6007, Internet e-mail pmaster@kobe-cufs.ac.jp)
-322-6007, Internet e-mail pmaster@kobe-cufs.ac.jp)
4/25/95
Japan - Kobe Still Needs Help From Internet Users
ONLINE
Poland - New Telecoms Legislatio
WARSAW, POLAND, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- The lower house of the Polish Parliament has approved a new communications law that aims to help local telephone companies, as well as provide more business opportunities for cellular telephone operators.
The new law now looks set to be approved by the Polish Senate, and signed by President Lech Walesa. Plans call for the new legislation to pass into law by this summer.
Under the new telecom rules, Polish Telecom -- Telekomunikacja Polska (TP SA) -- which is a state-owned company, will keep the exclusivity of processing all international telephone connections, but all long distance and local telecommunications are to be offered to any third party firms who are interested.
Polish and foreign companies are now being invited to seek licenses for these operations and Polish Telecom, which has enjoyed a monopoly on local and trunk calls to date, will be obliged to "cooperate fully" in implementing and supporting new network infrastructures, as well as interconnecting with these new networks.
Tenders to select two new cellular operators will be opened very soon by the Communications Ministry. For foreign investors a 49 percent stake in each of the proposed companies is on offer. Not unexpectedly the cellular openings have created a lot of interest amongst potential investors, both in Poland and abroad.
The impending arrival of two new cellular network operators on the Polish market will create a lot of job opportunities in the telecoms marketplace, as well as the end of extremely high mark-ups on cellular handsets and airtime, which usually has to be paid for in advance.
At present, the Polish cellular network is very small and concentrated around major cities. The reception is very poor, therefore users are forced to carry huge, heavy receivers.
Despite these limitations, demand for cellular services in Poland is astronomic. According to Henryk Kaminski, head of Sprint Poland, the downside of this is that, even with a high-power cellular handset, it is sometimes difficult to make an outgoing call. There are, Kaminski said, too many handsets chasing too few cellular channels.
The state-owned postal company Poczta Polska is also undergoing changes as a result of new legislation. Under the new postal rules, the old monopolist postal operations will continue for letters with a weight of under two kilos. Any other postal traffic is open to private competition.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950425)
ition.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950425)
4/25/95
Poland - New Telecoms Legislation
Claris Adds Novell IPX Support T
Connectware Intros Video In A Wi
Oracle Intros New Tools At Europ
Australia - Recycled Floppy Disk
Virus Alert 3.4 For DOS Adds Tes
SPA Says Don't Cut School Tech F
Internet World Opens
Toronto Gets City-Wide Internet
Sweden - Nokia Looks To Expand U
British Telecom Forms Italian Al
European Commission Moves To Ope
DEC Plans Memory Channel-Based U
Review of - Apple PowerBook Duo
Review - Yamaha YST-SS1010 Speak
SMTP To Dominate Fortune 1,000 M
Quantum Plugs Into World Wide We
AST UK Intros New Advantage! PC
TI Records Best Qtr Ever, Ups Di
GEnie Strategy For Internet Acce
Online Marketplace '95 - Adverti
US Marshals Raid Alleged Pirate
Japanese Cellular Phone Users In
Germany - GSM Network Reaches Mi
BONN, GERMANY, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- DeTeMobil, the operator of the D1 GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular network in Germany, has revealed it has signed up a million subscribers to its service.
The announcement means that GSM subscriptions for the state-owned telecoms company now exceed those of the C-Netz analog service, which currently has around 700,000 subscribers. Many of the recent signings to the D1 net, Newsbytes notes, have been old C-Netz subscribers migrating to GSM, since the service has better coverage in many parts of Germany, as well as the facility of roaming to foreign networks.
Announcing the milestone in subscription terms, Lothar Hansel, D1's chairman, said that the company is now on target to top the two million subscriber mark by the end of the year, pushing the D1 signups to 1.3 million.
At the Cebit Computer Faire in Hanover, Germany last month, D1 claimed that it plans to have at least 10 million subscribers -- the bulk of them GSM -- on its books by the end of the decade.
D2 Privat, the private consortium GSM competitor to D1, however, was skeptical of D1's ambitious plans. Although D2's subscriber levels are less than those of D1, D2 Privat has "more aggressive" tariffs than D1.
Coupled with the imminent arrival of a second PCN (personal communications network) from Veba, to complement the existing E-Plus PCN service, all eyes in Germany are on PCN, which many see as the high-volume, low-cost alternative to the expensive GSM networks.
L HEPPENHEIM, GERMANY, 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Escom, which now claims to be Europe's largest wholesale PC vendor and distributor, has announced the acquisition of the remains of the Commodore empire.
Although officially not commenting on the actual purchase price sources close to Escom are reporting that the company paid around $10 million for the rights to the Amiga range of computers, as well as a whole raft of patents relating to Commodore's PC technology.
According to Escom, the precise terms of the acquisition deal are currently being thrashed out with the liquidators of the Commodore empire in the US. The preliminary terms of the deal include Escom acquiring all of the rights to Commodore's range of personal computers, including the VIC, Max, and C616/64 series, plus all the Amiga computers and their variants.
Escom officials say that they hope to continue selling most of the Amiga range of machines, as well as the elderly C64 series, on a global basis. Sales of the C64, Newsbytes notes, are continuing to be brisk in the East European market.
Although production of the C64 range of home computers ceased last spring, Commodore was known to have stocks of the eight-bit computer whose design dates back to the mid-1980s, which were being sold into Eastern Europe, where a boom market for C64 peripherals has been created. Escom has said that it plans to look at resuming production of the C64, "if at all feasible."
Escom, meanwhile, remains vague on its plans for the Amiga. Earlier this week, some sources were reported as saying that the company intends to develop and market an Amiga-based add-in board that could be used as a multimedia module for high-end PCs.
Press reports from German quote Escom officials as saying that production of the Amiga 600, as well as the 1200 and 4000 series, will also restart. Production of these machines was frozen as soon as the company was placed into receivership last year.
Escom has also said it plans to promote the Amiga into markets the machine has not been seen in before. The German PC vendor is in active discussions with the Tianjin group of China, a multimedia specialist distributor, with a view to selling the machine into the booming Chinese computer market.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19950425/Press & Reader Contact: Escom tel +49-6252-7090, fax +49-6252-709-442)
tel +49-6252-7090, fax +49-6252-709-442)
4/25/95
Escom Pays $10Mil For Commodore Assets
BUSINESS
Prodigy Offered At Harrison Conf
N WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Prodigy and Harrison Conference Centers have announced an agreement to extend a trial offering of Prodigy's membership kit to all of its ten US conference centers. Anyone attending a conference and checking into one of the centers will be asked if they want to receive a version of the Prodigy sign-on disk.
Harrison Conference Centers are similar to a small hotel, but differ in offering its conference facilities, rooms, dining and indoor/outdoor recreation activities to small groups of senior and middle management executives.
The first test of the Prodigy offer took place on Long Island in Glen Cove. "We thought this would be a good added-value service to our centers," said Jack Kealey, senior vice president at Harrison Conference Centers, but we were really surprised by the number of conferees who wanted to receive a version of the disk. In a week we had more than 100 people requesting the complimentary disk."
With the expansion of the program to the other centers, Harrison Conference Centers will offer either a Mac, Windows, or DOS version of the disk to conference-goers when checking into the center. Kealey added, "Our rooms are designed for the business person and are equipped with the necessary phone connections to access the service."
Kealey also said the growth of the World Wide Web and Prodigy's ease-of access to the Web were important elements in the success of the trial and the agreement to expand the value-added service.
Kealey described the conference centers as "self-contained conference facilities which meet the high standards of Fortune 1000 companies. We offer sound-proof rooms, large and small meeting areas, full audio/visual services, guest rooms, and complete gourmet dining services. Typically, a meeting might consist of a small group up to a group as large as 50 people."
The Prodigy sign-up disk offers new members 10 free hours on the service. Mike Darcy, spokesperson for Prodigy told Newsbytes, "This is a new marketing strategy and it is just in its initial stages. Our membership has a very high percentage of business users who want to be able to connect to the service wherever they are. This new offering is a great way to reach more members in that segment."
(Patrick McKenna/19950425/Press Contact: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8846)
Press Contact: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8846)
4/25/95
Prodigy Offered At Harrison Conference Centers
ONLINE
Paul Allen Buys Into 3D/Eye
ITHACA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- After spending $5 million to buy a piece of a different company two weeks ago, new media investor Paul G. Allen has signed again on the dotted line. This time, through his Vulcan Ventures investment organization he has made a minority equity investment in 3D/Eye Inc.
3D/Eye is described by its officials as "an innovative developer of three-dimensional (3-D) technologies. The investment marks "an important milestone in fulfilling 3D/Eye's vision of providing true 3-D applications on Windows 95 desktops via TriSpectives 1.0," which is the company's 3D offering, the company said.
3D/Eye has participated in the research, consulting, and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) product development of high-end 3-D software which the company claims is used by 100,000 of its customers worldwide.
Paul G. Allen said of the deal: "We've selected 3D/Eye because they have the technical and marketing abilities to revolutionize the professional 3-D software market and extend it into areas other vendors haven't even considered."
When it comes to Allen's and Vulcan's investment strategies, the way companies fit into a "wired world," or interactive world, vision are important, a Vulcan spokesperson told Newsbytes previously.
Other companies Allen owns either outright or has investments in include Microsoft, Medio Multimedia, TicketMaster, Egghead, Starwave and DreamWorks SKG. Also, on April 7, Newsbytes reported Allen bought approximately 10% of Precision Systems, an interactive voice, data and video technologies company.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 3D/Eye also said that Vern Raburn, president and chief executive officer of the Paul Allen Group would join 3D/Eye's board of directors.
Officials from both Vulcan Ventures and 3D/Eye could not be reached for further comment by the Newsbytes deadline.
(Bob Woods/19950425/Press Contacts: Mark Walton, 3D/Eye Inc. 607-257-1381, Internet e-mail mawa@eye.com; Dave Walters Alexander Communications, 404-897-2300; Susan Pierson, Vulcan Ventures, 206-453-1940)
ulcan Ventures, 206-453-1940)
4/25/95
Paul Allen Buys Into 3D/Eye
BUSINESS
. B
Microsoft's Windows 95 Game Deve
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- It's common knowledge that most games for IBM-compatible PCs run on DOS, not Microsoft Windows. But now Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has introduced a developer toolkit it hopes will attract games developers to the soon-to-be-released Windows 95 operating system.
If the people who write games software decide to switch to Windows 95-based games, that could sell millions more copies of Windows 95. Microsoft said this week that 19 game makers have already started making games for Windows 95, including: Activision Inc., Mindscape Inc., Spectrum Holobyte, Viacom Inc., New Media unit and Acclaim Entertainment.
Activision President Bobby Kotick told the British news service Reuters that almost all of his company's game development is now for Windows 95.
Microsoft said other companies jumping on the Windows 95 bandwagon include 3DLabs Inc., 47-Tek, Accolade Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., ATI Technologies Inc., Brooktree Corp., Cirrus Logic, Crystal River Engineering, Deep River Publishing, Interactive Magic, Matrox Graphics Inc., MicroProse Software, S3 Inc., and Virtual iO Inc.
The game software developer kit (SDK) will be distributed to all attendees of the Windows 95 Game Developers Seminar on April 26. The toolkit contains sample code, documentation, and a new game subsystem Microsoft said is designed specifically to enable "high performance and more engaging game play" on Windows.
The subsystem includes several game application programming interfaces (APIs). Developers get: DirectDraw APIs for hardware-accelerated display performance; DirectSound APIs for high-fidelity, low-latency sound and sound mixing; DirectPlay APIs for simple multiplayer game connectivity to let players compete against each other rather than just against the computer; and DirectInput APIs for digital joystick support and control.
Microsoft said that, presently, the game subsystem is available only as part of the Game SDK, but will be built into future versions of Windows.
In another move to establish Windows as a game platform, Microsoft earlier this year acquired RenderMorphics Ltd., and said it will incorporate the Reality Lab real-time three-dimensional rendering engine into future versions of Windows.
Games for Windows 95-based PCs could also mean big money for games makers. Kotick told Reuters that Activision plans to release four or five big titles for Windows 95 in this fiscal year. Kotick estimated that Sony, Sega, Nintendo, and 3DO will sell four million units of videogame hardware next year. Microsoft reportedly expects to ship 20 to 30 million units of windows 95 in the first year.
(Jim Mallory/19950425/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft 206-882-8080)
ess & Public Contact: Microsoft 206-882-8080)
4/25/95
Microsoft's Windows 95 Game Developer's Kit
WINDOWS
Comdex - Preparing Employees For
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A,, 1995 APR 25 (NB) - According to corporate computer trainer Elliott Masie, president of The MASIE Center, of Cambridge, Mass., the design of Windows 95 will shorten the learning curve for corporate users -- but make the acculturation process more imperative.
"There's good news and hard news. Windows 95 will only succeed if you match the intensity of the effort they (Microsoft) put into the development of this product. The nice part of the user interface is that it is really easy to use. If you take a Windows 3.1 user, put them in front of a Windows 95 workstation and walk away, within two hours they will be able to do almost everything they are now doing on their 3.1 workstations," he said of the much vaunted-operating system, now projected to ship this August. Masie made his comments at a panel session at Comdex Spring in Atlanta.
"One of the critical issues will be, 'Can you put together the best technical environment?' If you don't, your users will reject Windows 95 and it won't be worth a thing to you," said Masie, whose company has computer-trained more than 23,000 users.
For companies making the upgrade to Windows 95 overnight the shift can be daunting. "Windows 95 will be the largest and quickest technological change in the history of the world. It will be similar to if everybody suddenly changed their television sets. Never before will people have had technology change like that. The challenge to be, that one day soon, people will come to work and find their desktop computer is changed forever because Windows 95 is going to be there. The issue then will be how do we prepare the workforce for this change," he said.
Yet, according to Masie, even a system with this ease can be intimidating at first to users that already are quite comfortable with Windows 3.1.
"In many ways you are going to have to figure out how to leverage your curiosity. We don't have enough seats in all the classrooms in the world to take all the new Windows 95 users to class.
"Because of this, the conversation gets to how to get the user to control the learning experiment," he said. It is here Masie believes, that Windows 95 increased functionality will allow for quick adaptability."
This adaptability comes via features integrated into Windows 95 design. "It intuitively gives people a cleaner screen, a less cluttered environment, while allowing the individual to have access to a much more aggressive and full 'help' function," Masie noted. "In an open architecture system, corporations will be able to write to, and augment, the help menu that is already there. For that reason, the help menu will live on the desktop at the operating system level."
According to Masie, another advantage in Windows 95 that will help the training process will be the "built-in ability for workers to concentrate on documents rather than programs. Users won't have to think about what documents they want, because the documents will launch the programs. This will help users learn Windows 95 using imbedded briefing and self-learning tools. The philosophical shift is very central to Windows 95."
Masie then recommended key steps in the ramp-up process.
"The first thing you should start with is a 30 to 60 minute briefing. Your organization should not give people this new technology without telling them why you are shifting. Do a learning focus demo and point to the Windows 95 features," said Masie, who advised that employees should be told not only "when" and "how," but "why," the company is shifting from 3.1.
He advised that once the shift is initiated, "a cadre of skilled technical people," already familiar with Windows 95, should be in place at the company before the conversion is complete. They would have a twin intent: onsite availability for troubleshooting, as well as for "hand-holding" for the "intimidated," from people they already know and work with. "If we want our users to be comfortable with work, we need to create that level of corporate comfort," Masie concluded.
(Russell Shaw/19950425)
Masie concluded.
(Russell Shaw/19950425)
4/25/95
Comdex - Preparing Employees For Windows 95
WINDOWS
Hummingbird Communications To Bu
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup
CorelDraw 6 Delayed, CorelWorld
New Pricing For Prodigy, New Loo
Mastersoft's Upgrade To Windows
Avid Intros CamCutter For On-The
Chicago Gets Web Page
Hungary - Pannon GSM's Ambitious
Acer Now Seventh Largest PC Vend
Prentice Hall Illustrated Comput
Seagate To Manufacture Disk Driv
Softbank Names Comdex Subsidiary
UK - Veterinarians Use IBM Speec
Software Lets Windows Users Doub
Microsoft Licenses Lycos Interne
Holland's Renderstar Sues For So
Improved Display Inventor Wins T
Online Services Discuss Web Stra
India - Comnet To Make Very Smal
Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Co
Scientific-Atlanta, Optus Vision
Australia - Internet Provider Us
Comdex - Preparing Employees For
Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focus
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) have announced an agreement that focuses on making Computer Associates software available on Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The deal extends a previous agreement to put the CA Unicenter systems management software on NT.
CA-Unicenter is now generally available for NT, Computer Associates Chairman Charles Wang said during a press conference at the Comdex/Spring computer show. Now Microsoft and CA plan to go a step farther by creating an integrated product that brings Unicenter together with Microsoft's Windows NT Server and SQL Server runtime software. Microsoft will manufacture this product, and CA will distribute it, the companies said.
Also speaking at Comdex Spring, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said, "This is a great kickoff with a lot of potential in the years to come. Customers are starting to ask for graphical interface and integration with front-end tools. As you see lots of NT servers in the enterprise, virtually all these (users) will want a rich management solution. So as the idea of client/servers being prolific at the departmental level catches on, it really creates an opportunity for CA-Unicenter."
He added: "As we get more customers and ask 'Where would you like to see more integration?' we'll use that information (in future versions)."
Also, Wang announced that CA plans to port three key software products -- its MANMAN manufacturing software, its Charisma human-resources software, and its Masterpiece 2000 financial management product -- to Windows NT.
Computer Associates also plans to make Unicenter/Star, its cross platform client/server systems management product, available for Windows NT. Unicenter/Star is currently offered for the rival OS/2 operating system from IBM.
The latest moves arose out of talks between the companies that began about a year ago, Gates said during the press conference. He said the continued growth of networks is creating a greater and greater need for "very rich tools" to manage them.
The companies also announced plans for training to complement the new product announcements. Training will begin with seminars at Computer Associates' upcoming CA-World conference in July, when those who attend training courses will get free copies of the NT Unicenter integrated product. The companies then plan touring training seminars.
Unicenter for NT is available now, Wang said, and Gates added that the integrated product will be available by July. Unicenter/Star for NT is to be available early in the fall, key modules of MANMAN for NT are due by year-end, key modules of Masterpiece 2000 will be available in the first quarter of 1996 and Charisma for NT will ship in the fourth quarter of this year Wang said.
(Grant Buckler & Russell Shaw/19950425/Press Contact: Bob Gordon Computer Associates, tel 516-342-2391, fax 516-342-5329; Erin Holland, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)
gener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)
4/25/95
Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focuses On NT
WINDOWS
Netcom Intros NetCruiser 1.6
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Netcom, a rapidly growing national Internet provider, has released its latest version of NetCruiser, a user interface for the Internet. The main addition to NetCruiser is full support for Windows Sockets.
The addition of Window Sockets support allows NetCruiser users to access the World Wide Web with any browser of their choice. The new version also features Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), a print function for the Web, built-in sound support, recognition of more modems, and one-step automatic modem detection. The addition of MIME support allows users to attach a file to electronic-mail messages.
Don Hutchinson, vice president of marketing and sales at Netcom, told Newsbytes, "This new version also includes an easier set-up and registration procedure. We have always concentrated on the ease of connecting our subscribers to the Internet and, once getting there, giving them the tools to navigate the Net and the World Wide Web as easily as possible. This latest version enhances both the ease of access and additional features for navigating and taking advantage of the features on the Net."
Hutchinson continued, "While NetCruiser includes our own Web browser we feel the ability to let users choose the browser of their choice would make it easier for potential members to sign-on if they could use a specific browser with which they were already familiar. It also allows our users to experiment with browsers such as Netscape's Navigator or Mosaic."
Netcom also announced its one hundredth point-of-presence (POPs) in the US and plans to have more than 175 local areas where users may access the service through a local phone call. Hutchinson additionally told Newsbytes, "In the past five months, all of our new POPs feature 28.8 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) access and by the end of the second quarter we will have upgraded our other POPs to 28.8 Kbps access."
Last year at this time, Netcom opened business as an Internet provider with 15,000 members. It is currently providing Internet service to more than 115,000 subscribers through a variety of personal and business accounts. For a monthly charge of $19.95, Netcom offers a NetCruiser account featuring 40 hours of prime time connectivity and unlimited use from midnight to 9:00am weekdays and 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday.
(Patrick McKenna/19950425/Press Contact: Heather Schoeny, The Weber Group, 415-325-8300)
The Weber Group, 415-325-8300)
4/25/95
Netcom Intros NetCruiser 1.6
ONLINE
Technology Brings Mug Shots To P
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- No-one knows better than police officers that a picture truly is worth a 1,000 words. As a result, police departments all over the country should be happy about a new technology that can transmit a security-camera photo of a robber direct to every police car in the area minutes after the crime occurs.
The system, dubbed Image APB, is the brainchild of Data Critical Corp. and Paging Network Inc. (Pagenet). The wireless data communications system can also be used to broadcast pictures of missing children.
Data Critical spokesperson Pam Miller explained to Newsbytes that the system, which is currently being tested by a national law enforcement agency she declined to identify, uses a palmtop computer equipped with a pager card similar to the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards used in portable computers to add modem capabilities. The images are transmitted to the palmtop computer via a wireless paging network such as the one Pagenet operates nationwide.
Miller said pricing for the system depends on how each system is configured. Once testing is completed, the service is expected to be rolled out on an area-by-area basis. No timetable for the rollout to being has been established yet.
Image APB is being demonstrated in Pagenet's booth at the Spring Comdex trade show in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The show runs through April 27, 1994.
(Jim Mallory/19950425/Press contact: Craig Kairis, Data Critical Corp., 206-885-3500 or Scott Baradell, Pagenet 214-985-6791/DATACC950425/PHOTO)
ll, Pagenet 214-985-6791/DATACC950425/PHOTO)
4/25/95
Technology Brings Mug Shots To Police Cars
TRENDS
Newspaper Execs Discuss Future O
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- As Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles T. Brumback hands over the reins of the Newspaper Association of America to Pottsville (PA) publisher Uzal Martz, both met with America Online (AOL) subscribers at 12 Noon EDT today to discuss the future of online news. Many of the questions focused on the New Century Network (NCN) deal forged last week, which will bring several newspapers to the Internet's World Wide Web.
In today's online session, one of the first questions that came up was on the idea of federations like NCN, with the comment by the questioner being "Seems like added dues with little return" (questioners were not identified by their real name or AOL screen name).
Martz responded: "Federations are a targeted way of treating the specific issues that make the difference in our daily success. The record increase in memberships indicate market acceptance." Brumback added, "The federations also are individual members who pay dues. They are not for newspaper companies."
To the question "How will this news consortium on the Internet affect the demand for commercial online services?" Brumback said cyberspace in general will grow, and he is "sure most newspapers online will continue (doing business with) a commercial service as well as (on) the Internet."
The joint venture, which was reported by Newsbytes last week, will form a national network for the delivery of newspaper content and services. The companies involved in the venture will be Advance Publications, Cox Newspapers, The Times Mirror Company, Tribune Company, and the Washington Post. The New York Times might also become a part of the project. The Web site will be subscription based, and pricing is still being determined. The site should be up and running before the end of the year.
A more general question concerned newspapers continuing to be the "keeper of truth" in the new electronic world, and where the legal balance for freedom of speech and censorship would fall. Martz said publishers can only be responsible for what they print, "and for which the same high standards for print apply with the Internet essentially being open to anyone, one has to rely on the source more than ever." Brumback added that his company's electronic service will have the same integrity as Tribune Co.'s print services.
The two were logged in from the Newspaper Association's annual convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.
(Bob Woods/19950425)
ew Orleans, Louisiana.
(Bob Woods/19950425)
4/25/95
Newspaper Execs Discuss Future Of News Online
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
!PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Humongous Puts Children's Storytelling Games On CD 04/25/95 Humongous Entertainment has announced it is shipping CD-ROM versions of several of its interactive children's storytelling games that will take advantage of the features of Microsoft Windows 95 when that new operating system ships later this year.
2 -> Fujitsu Plans New Chip Plant In UK or US 04/25/95 Fujitsu, the Japanese chip giant, says it is mulling over "various sites" in the UK and the US for the siting of a new chip fabrication facility.
3 -> Israel - Smart Networking Upgrade For IBM Users 04/25/95 RIT Technologies has announced Smart ICS, an upgrade package for IBM Cabling Systems (ICS) that includes an optional management monitoring system.
4 -> Moscow Telecom Sells 25% Stake To Mystery Buyer 04/25/95 The privatization department of the Russian Government has announced that the Moscow Committee for Science and Technology Company has won an investment of 25 percent of shares in the Moscow telephone firm. Financial details of the share acquisition have not been announced.
5 -> Europe Plans "Equal Access" Telecom Rules 04/25/95 In one of the widest ranging pieces of telecoms legislation to pass through its doors, the European Commission is reported to be considering an "Open Network Provision" document that would ensure that all European telephone users would have equal rights to new telecoms technologies as they are offered to users.
6 -> Ireland - Lower Phone Calling Costs Soon 04/25/95 Telecom Eireann (TE) has announced a wide-ranging package of price cuts that will save business customers an average of 12 percent, and residential subscribers around five percent, according to the firm.
7 -> Entrepreneurs Resource Center On The Web 04/25/95 An online network established to offer services to entrepreneurs has launched its own home page on the World Wide Web.
8 -> Corporate Software & Donnelley In Merger 04/25/95 Corporate Software and R.R. Donnelley Global Software Services have merged to create Stream International Inc., a $1.3 billion worldwide organization aimed at providing software publishers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) with "one-stop shopping" for software manufacturing, customization, distribution, and support.
9 -> Telematics Intros WAN Switches 04/25/95 Telematics has unveiled the PCP 340 and PCP 440 wide area network (WAN) switches, products designed for use as "cost-effective" edge switches on frame relay or packet switched networks, among other purposes.
10 -> Janna Releases Contact Manager In US 04/25/95 Janna Systems Inc. has entered the United States market with Janna Contact 2.0 for Windows, a contact manager. The company has been selling Janna Contact for Windows 1.0 in Canada for about a year.
11 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/25/95 In this round up of news from the Japan: News Center DDI Pegs PHS Rate Below NTT; Astec Unix Product Information On Internet; MPT Adopts Two Standards For FM Pagers; Nissan Develop New Car Navigation System; and Matsushita Plans Chinese Venture.
12 -> PRI To Automate Taiwanese Chip Manufacturing Plant 04/25/95 In a deal billed as the first to be forged between an Asian-based chip maker and a US semiconductor manufacturing specialist, PRI Automation Inc. has won an $11 million order from Model Vitelic, Taiwan.
13 -> Novell's PerfectWorks To Ship in June 04/25/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) told attendees at this year's Spring Comdex trade show it will ship PerfectWorks 2.1 for Windows in June.
14 -> Delrina Intros CommSuite For Networks 04/25/95 Delrina Corp. (TSE:DC, NASDAQ:DENAF) has announced CommSuite for Networks, an updated network communications suite whose new approach to sending faxes will eliminate some transmission problems, Delrina said.
15 -> Bell South & Duke Power Launch PCS Service 04/25/95 BellSouth and Duke Power have launched a two-state wireless personal communications system (PCS) service, using a Federal Communications Commission license Atlanta-based BellSouth bought at auction last month for $70.9 million.
16 -> New Jersey Utility Expands Broadband Experiment 04/25/95 Public Service Electric and Gas Co. and AT&T have completed a proof-of-concept experiment with an interactive, two-way customer communications system.
17 -> Japanese Cellular Phone Users In price War 04/25/95 Cellular phone users in Japan are about to be thrown into the center of a price war between the established cellular telephone operators and those of a new rival system.
18 -> Japan - Kobe Still Needs Help From Internet Users 04/25/95 Three months after a devastating earthquake hit the Kobe killing 5,500 people, the city is still in need of help and is using the Internet to find it.
19 -> Poland - New Telecoms Legislation 04/25/95 The lower house of the Polish Parliament has approved a new communications law that aims to help local telephone companies, as well as provide more business opportunities for cellular telephone operators.
20 -> Germany - GSM Network Reaches Million Subscribers 04/25/95 DeTeMobil, the operator of the D1 GSM (global system for mobile communications) digital cellular network in Germany, has revealed it has signed up a million subscribers to its service.
21 -> Escom Pays $10Mil For Commodore Assets 04/25/95 Escom, which now claims to be Europe's largest wholesale PC vendor and distributor, has announced the acquisition of the remains of the Commodore empire.
22 -> Prodigy Offered At Harrison Conference Centers 04/25/95 Prodigy and Harrison Conference Centers have announced an agreement to extend a trial offering of Prodigy's membership kit to all of its ten US conference centers. Anyone attending a conference and checking into one of the centers will be asked if they want to receive a version of the Prodigy sign-on disk.
23 -> Paul Allen Buys Into 3D/Eye 04/25/95 After spending $5 million to buy a piece of a different company two weeks ago, new media investor Paul G. Allen has signed again on the dotted line. This time, through his Vulcan Ventures investment organization, he has made a minority equity investment in 3D/Eye Inc.
24 -> Microsoft's Windows 95 Game Developer's Kit 04/25/95 It's common knowledge that most games for IBM-compatible PCs run on DOS not Microsoft Windows. But now Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has introduced a developer toolkit it hopes will attract games developers to the soon-to-be-released Windows 95 operating system.
25 -> ****Comdex - Preparing Employees For Windows 95 04/25/95 ccording to corporate computer trainer Elliott Masie, president of The MASIE Center, of Cambridge, Mass., the design of Windows 95 will shorten the learning curve for corporate users -- but make the acculturation process more imperative.
26 -> ****Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focuses On NT 04/25/95 Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) have announced an agreement that focuses on making Computer Associates software available on Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The deal extends a previous agreement to put the CA- Unicenter systems management software on NT.
27 -> Netcom Intros NetCruiser 1.6 04/25/95 Netcom, a rapidly growing national Internet provider, has released its latest version of NetCruiser, a user interface for the Internet. The main addition to NetCruiser is full support for Windows Sockets.
28 -> Technology Brings Mug Shots To Police Cars 04/25/95 No-one knows better than police officers that a picture truly is worth a 1,000 words. As a result, police departments all over the country should be happy about a new technology that can transmit a security-camera photo of a robber direct to every police car in the area minutes after the crime occurs.
29 -> Newspaper Execs Discuss Future Of News Online 04/25/95 As Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles T. Brumback hands over the reins of the Newspaper Association of America to Pottsville (PA) publisher Uzal Martz, both met with America Online (AOL) subscribers at 12 Noon EDT today to discuss the future of online news. Many of the questions focused on the New Century Network (NCN) deal forged last week, which will bring several newspapers to the Internet's World Wide Web.
(Ian Stokell/19950425)
(Ian Stokell/19950425)
4/25/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
"P"|"^"
Boca Research Intros VoiceView-C
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) - Boca Research Inc. (NASDAQ: BOCI) has announced a VoiceView-certified modem. The company said it is the first modem vendor to be certified by Radish Communications Systems Inc., a Boulder, Colorado-based company, as able to handle voice and data transmissions on a single phone call.
Boca made its announcement at Springs Comdex, the computer and telecommunications industry's annual Spring rites, being held in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta this week.
Boca spokesperson Gale Blackburn told Newsbytes the company will ship its first voiceView-certified modem, a 14,4 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) Multimedia Voice Modem with a suggested retail price of $154 on May 1. The modem, which uses Rockwell's chipset, includes a 14.4 Kbps fax send/receive capability and a voice-mail system that offers up to 1,000 password-protected mailboxes.
The Multimedia Voice Modem comes with Radish's VoiceView TalkShop software, a Windows-based application that uses a VoiceView-certified modem to allow voice and data transmission during a single phone call. That Radish technology would allow users to shop by phone while receiving product information on their computer screen, exchange electronic business cards, send and receive files, and even play interactive games with other VoiceView-capable modems.
Multimedia Voice Modem buyers will also receive FaxWorks data and voice communications software, an RJ-11 telephone cable, an AT command Reference Guide (AT commands are the industry standard for controlling modems), and trial offers for some online services. VoiceView Talkshop ships with two marketplace services, a chain of music superstores, and a national lookup service.
With the software and the Multimedia Voice Modem users can call up the music store, view album covers and listen to tracks from albums before placing their order from their PC. The lookup service lets you find individuals and businesses anywhere in the country. The operators can assist in your search and send helpful information to your computer screen.
You can also use Talkshop to call into Radish's own server to download new services as they become available. Radish said it is already planning access to travel agents, credit card companies and florists.
Boca said its second VoiceView-certified modem will be the Complete Office Communicator, a 14.4 Kbps based on the Sierra chipset. It will also include 14.4 Kbps fax send-and-receive and the 1,000 password-protected mailboxes.
Boca spokesperson Jim Schoenmaker told Newsbytes the modem comes with microphone and speaker jacks to provide full duplex speakerphone capability. You also get Caller ID support and a free microphone. The microphone and your PC's multimedia speakers make possible the speakerphone capability. Boca said the suggested retail price of the Complete Office Communicator will be $179.
(Jim Mallory/19950425/Press contact: Gale Blackburn, Boca Research 407-997-8621; Public contact: Boca Research, tel 407-997-8621 fax 407-994-5848)
oca Research, tel 407-997-8621 fax 407-994-5848)
4/26/95
Boca Research Intros VoiceView-Certified Modem
TELECOM
UK Schools Plug Into The Interne
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- A group of IT (information technology) companies in the UK have sponsored several hundred schools to get them plugged into the Internet.
Known as Project Connect, the sponsorship deal is being billed as the greatest learning opportunity ever for the British schools and educational centers.
Companies sponsoring Project Connect include Acorn, Apple, BICC CISCO, Computer Associates, FireFox, IBM UK, Lexmark, Novell Olivetti. Sun Microsystems, and Western Systems.
Under the project, schools and other educational establishments are being provided with modems, connectivity systems, and communications software, together with free subscriptions to JANET, the Joint Academic Network, which offers a variety of Internet services.
The idea is that teachers and their students can gain low-cost access to the Internet -- the actual cost for the school is usually only a local phone call -- and educate them as to the facilities that are available across the Internet.
The project is being funded by several IT companies in the UK under the control of TOSCA, the Trusted Open Systems Connectivity Alliance a trade association whose members comprise many of the Project Connect sponsors.
Steve Martin, business manager with TOSCA, told Newsbytes that the trade association was set up some years ago with the express aim of setting forth the issues that the industry faces, and educating the public as to the benefits of open system connectivity.
"The project uses ISDN 2 (integrated services digital network type 2) lines for the schools," Martin explained, adding that TOSCA is looking at offering broad band links into the schools for even faster communication links.
Seven schools are already linked into the Internet, two of which work with disabled children and those with learning difficulties, as evidence is mounting, TOSCA claims, that such children respond extremely well when presented with a "learn it yourself" computer environment.
The seven pilot schools were equipped with equipment by TOSCA, as well as being helped along with advice, training and other support from the two educational centers taking part, De Montfort University in Leicester and Tresham Institute in Kettering.
These two establishments are guiding the pilot schools -- plus others as they come on board -- on how to get up and running to the Internet via JANET, as well as monitoring their progress with the Internet through the JANET connection.
The pilot scheme will run until the end of the year, at which time the full Project Connect service will be offered to all schools in the UK. According to TOSCA, Project Connect aims to offer free access to the Internet via JANET to schools across the UK, who will be required to pay a local ISDN-2 phone call to their nearest JANET connection point.
Paul Martin, the chairman of TOSCA, explained that the whole project is designed to allow the participating schools "to make the best use of the Internet to enhance the national curriculum through the opportunities it will provide for action, group and cross-cultural learning.
"Project Connect is a classic example of the private and public sectors working closely together, with the aim of bringing the immense additional benefits of wide area computing directly into the classrooms of 30,000 plus UK schools," he said.
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- British Telecom (BT) has signed an agreement with On Demand Information (ODI) to package and resell multimedia information products to business customers.
According to BT, terms of the agreement cover distribution of existing information products from ODI, targeting the construction and personnel industries, and will also include the distribution of new multimedia products as they become available.
Alan Thompson, a spokesman for ODI, told Newsbytes, "BT wants to offer as large an umbrella of information services as possible for the end-user, and, as well as generating income from switching the data around, obviously wants a slice of the action as far as service commissioned are concerned."
According to Thompson, ODI's business services are available across ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines because of the 64 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) data bandwidth available. "The company is also set to offer a health sector business info service over the coming months," he said, adding that this database will also be accessible over dial-up (modem) links.
ODI's services include a range of electronic reference databases aimed at the construction industry. This includes information from more than 1,000 suppliers, and an engineering design infobase, plus data from more than 100 technical organizations including the British Standards Institute (BSI) and HMSO (Her Majesty's Stationery Office).
For the personnel industry, meanwhile, ODI offers Advantage, an "electronic marketplace" through which personnel and training managers can gain instant access to the details of training and personnel development courses provided by more than 2,000 suppliers.
According to Thompson, BT is working on building up a portfolio of online products such as ODI for launch under its Online Information Services banner, which will be launched later this year.
More immediately, the ODI services will be sold through BT's existing business marketing channels, including the telco's 4,000 strong corporate sales and telephone account management team, plus the BT Business Catalog.
(Steve Gold/19950425/Press Contact: Larkspur Communications tel +44-171-439-1300, fax +44-171-439-1311; Penn Communications, +44-181-569-9768)
39-1311; Penn Communications, +44-181-569-9768)
4/26/95
British Telecom To Market Multimedia Products
BUSINESS
Novell Intros Multimedia Clip-Ar
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) used the computer industry's annual rites of Spring otherwise known as Comdex, as the platform to roll out a collection of sound effects, music, video, fonts, and images on a single CD-ROM disk.
The Novell Clip Art Multimedia Collection adds a whole new dimension to the term "clip-art," which until now has referred to a collection of images that can be inserted into a file to spice up publications like newsletters, flyers and bulletins. Novell's offering adds video and audio.
Novell said the new clip-art collection, which is part of the company's newly announced PerfectHome software line, contains 5,500 "professionally drawn" images in 14 categories that include: business, cartoons, culture, design, education, government, home kidspack, maps and flags, outdoors, people, seasonal, sports, and symbols.
All the images are available in CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile) and WPG format. CGM is a software standard that lets programmers describe a graphic as a set of instructions for recreating it. WPG is the format used for WordPerfect graphics.
When you buy the clip-art collection you also get the Kudo Image Browser, a tool that utilizes object linking and embedding (OLE) to let users drag-and-drop image and sound files into the desired application. It also lets the user initiate keyword searches of image and audio files to find the one desired.
Audio aficionados are offered 101 WAV music clips and 267 MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) music clips including long and short segments ranging from jazz to organ music. Novell said the longer MIDI clips can be edited using sequencing software. The music and sound effects clips can also be searched by keyword. MIDI is a serial interface that allows music synthesizers, musical instruments, and computers to be connected.
The video clips in the Multimedia Clip Art Collection number 16 and there are 20 background images. The video clips are in AVI format and contain short cartoons or animated segments that can be used in any OLE-compliant application if you have Video for Windows installed. The background images are BMP files and can be used as wallpaper in Windows or as a background in a presentation.
Also included in the package are 250 Bitstream Truetype fonts which can be copied into the Windows font manager and used in any Windows application that uses fonts.
When it ships in June the collection will have a suggested retail price of $39.95 and requires a PC using at least a 386 microprocessor two megabytes (MB) of memory, 1MB of available hard disk space Windows 3.0 or later and a CD-ROM drive.
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- EMC Corporation, supplier of mainframe and mid-range storage systems, has signed contracts with two leading banks in China. Agricultural Bank of China and the Bank of China have purchased EMC's advanced Symmetrix integrated cache disk arrays.
The disks will expand storage capabilities and increase mainframe performance. According to Mr. Ching-Hon Ng, EMC's regional manager for Asia Far East, the banks will use the Symmetrix disk arrays as their primary banking production platform.
"The Symmetrix DASD family offer a high level of performance and reliability, which results in faster batch processing, faster on-line updates and actually increases mainframe throughput. This means a bank can do more work on its mainframe without the need for extensive upgrades, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year," said Mr. Richard Wojcik, EMC's general manager for Asia Far East.
(Keith Cameron/19950426 Press Contact: David Ko /Edelman/ Tel: 852-2804-1338 or fax: 852-2804 1303)
852-2804-1338 or fax: 852-2804 1303)
4/28/95
EMC Secures China Banking Contracts
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from the Tokyo news center: IBM & NEC To Develop New Tape Storage; Matsushita Develops Widescreen LCD; NTT Data Communications Debuts; Lotus Japan To Charge For Customer Support
IBM & NEC To Develop New Tape Storage
NEC Corp. and IBM have agreed to jointly develop a new tape streamer according to press reports. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun says that the two companies will sign a contract shortly and may also be joined by Hitachi and Fujitsu depending on the outcome of talks currently ongoing between IBM and the Japanese electronics giants. Both IBM and NEC will fund development of the next generation tape storage device which will feature improved capacity and access time if successful.
Matsushita Develops Widescreen LCD
Matsushita Electric has developed a color thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) with an aspect ratio of 16:9, the same as that used in widescreen televisions. The new display, which Matsushita will produce at a rate of 20,000 per month, has a 480 by 234 dot resolution and a display area of 87.4 by 49.4 millimeters. The sample price of the units is 40,000 yen ($482).
NTT Data Communications Debuts
NTT Data Communications is being listed on the Tokyo stock market. The company is the biggest affiliate of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT). Shares are valued at 50,000 yen ($602), the same as those of parent NTT. The company is thought to have raised around 14.5 billion yen ($174 million) which it will use to upgrade its computer networks.
Lotus Japan To Charge For Customer Support
Lotus Japan has decided to begin charging for technical support. After an initial period of free support lasting either 30 or 90 days customers will have to take out an annual support contract. Lotus blames the reduced margins of computer software for the decision to start charging for support. IBM Japan and Microsoft Japan already charge for customer support.
(Martyn Williams/19950425)
Williams/19950425)
4/26/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
* T 8
Kao Infosystems Increases CD-ROM
LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- With the demand for CD-ROM based software skyrocketing, and sales of music titles on CD, Kao Infosystems says it is installing two additional CD production lines at its Lancaster, Pennsylvania, manufacturing plant. The addition will bring the total count of production lines at Lancaster to nine.
The installation of the manufacturing lines is scheduled for completion in September, when Kao will then have 17 fully-automated production lines cranking out CD's to the tune of more than 85 million compact disks. Kao officials said that even though production will increase, they are not expecting to add to the workforce at the Lancaster facility. The company also said it is already installing new lines at its Fremont, California facility.
"It's no secret that the compact disk industry, in all formats, is growing," David Dering, president of Kao's Optical Products Group told Newsbytes. "The audio (CD market) is growing at a rate of 20% and CD-ROM and multimedia are exploding," he said. Because Kao is already a major supplier to many of the software manufacturers around the world, Kao's suppliers want more CD-ROMs to keep up with the demand, Dering added.
Formerly American Helix Technology, Kao's Optical Products Group has undergone continuous expansion since Kao bought the company back in 1993. The firm said it has increased plant size to 72,000 square feet, upgraded equipment, and installed production lines that have significantly increased yields.
Kao manufacturers CD's globally, with other manufacturing plants in: Arnprior, Canada; Dublin, Ireland; and Tokyo, Japan. Dering said with the greater manufacturing capacity, the company will have broader distribution avenues and positions Kao closer to its customers and markets.
(Bob Woods/19950425/Press Contact: Dorin Thibault, Kao Infosystems Company, 800-274-5520)
bault, Kao Infosystems Company, 800-274-5520)
4/26/95
Kao Infosystems Increases CD-ROM Production
BUSINESS
India - Comnet To Make Very Smal
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Comnet Systems and Services Ltd., a HCL subsidiary, has entered into a technology transfer agreement with US-based STM Wireless Inc., a major player in the niche category of high-end voice-oriented VSATs (very small aperture terminals), to manufacture a complete range of VSATs in India.
Vineet Nayar, president of Comnet, said the agreement with STM includes the setting up of a test and repair center for VSAT-related products. Comnet will be setting up five shared hubs around the country with about 5,000 VSAT terminals linked to the hubs.
During the first year of manufacturing, Comnet will import such equipment and about 500 of these will be imported and assembled at their factory in Noida. The two partners will also jointly develop software for VSAT networks in the country, and are planning to set up a software development center in Madras.
Comnet will initially offer the high-end voice-oriented VSATs at R5 lakh, which is expected to come down to R2-2.5 lakh in the next two years. The manufacture of VSATs is slated to start by next month.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950426)
to start by next month.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950426)
4/26/95
India - Comnet To Make Very Small Aperture Terminals
BROADCAST
India - Mitel Looks For Developm
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- As deregulation hits the Indian telecom industry, foreign companies are seeking to take advantage of the new opportunities. The latest among the international giants to show such interest is Mitel Corp.
The company specializes in telecom equipment and semiconductor components for the communications industry. In a two-pronged drive to tap the Indian market, Mitel has tied up with Spectra Innovations Inc. for the marketing of its private automatic branch exchanges (PABXs) wireless base stations, and transmission equipment, and is scouting for local development partners to produce the devices.
Major future markets for Mitel include wireless communications and computer telephony interface (CTI), components to bridge enterprise networks to high-speed public networks based on ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) devices, of which it is a major supplier.
In India, a joint development project is already ongoing with the Center for Development of Telematics (CDOT) to make customized subscriber line interface cards. Mitel is looking for additional partners.
While Spectra Innovations is presently Mitel's exclusive distributor in India, the company is contemplating an increase in the number of resellers. "We are planning to achieve a turnover of $10 million by the turn of the century," said Sanjay Sharma, Mitel's regional marketing manager for the Asia Pacific region.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950426)
Pacific region.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950426)
4/26/95
India - Mitel Looks For Development Partners
BUSINESS
China - Tianjin's Investment Cli
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- A recent survey showed that more than 80 percent of foreign investors are satisfied with the investment climate in Tianjin city, according to the China Daily.
Tianjin is the third largest city in China, directly under the administration of the central government. Its good investment climate has reportedly become attractive for many foreign investors.
The mobile phone giant, Motorola, recently applied to the city government to put an additional US$360 million into Tianjin this year. This follows a US$160 million investment in 1994. This will make Motorola the largest foreign investor in Tianjin, with a total investment reaching US$640 million. In 1994, the Motorola's production in Tianjin was valued at RMB2.82 billion (US$334 million). Sales reached RMB2.56 billion (US$303 million), which is 3.14 times the sales in 1993.
The 87 operational foreign-invested firms in Tianjin reported profits last year, China Daily says. Sales of 24 firms surpassed RMB100 million (US$11.8 million) annually. Encouraged by their quick successes in the city, 30 companies have increased their investment.
In Tianjin, the United States takes the largest share in terms of investment with US$663 million. This is followed by Japan's US$220 million. But Japan ranks first in the number of projects built in the city.
A Tianjin government official told Newsbytes that the city issued very strict regulations to "protect the rights and benefits of foreign investors." Also, regulations were made to direct its staff to "process foreign investment issues correctly and promptly." A regulation reportedly warns that the government will fine anyone who is "to be blamed" for any mistreatment of foreign investors.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950426)
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950426)
4/26/95
China - Tianjin's Investment Climate
BUSINESS
China - Great Wall Tops Domestic
BEIJING, CHINA, 1955 APR 26 (NB) -- Among domestic PC producers the Great Wall Group ranks first in terms of market share, having produced more than 200,000 PCs. The total production and sales of its PCs in 1994 reached 46,000 units.
In June, 1985, Great Wall claims to have produced the first Chinese PC -- the Great Wall 0520CH. With its Chinese language card to process Chinese information, 0520CH challenged foreign PCs and won fame in China. In the ten years from 1984 to 1994, the production of Great Wall PCs increased 20-fold, and the current market share of Great Wall PCs has reached 10 percent in China.
Great Wall started its productions of 286-, 386-, and 486-based PCs in 1987, 1988, and 1990, respectively. With its "mature" manufacturing technology, the company claims that the technical difference between Great Wall PCs and foreign PCs "becomes smaller." In 1994, Great Wall produced its Pentium PC series, and put them into market in May almost at the same time as other foreign producers.
To further adopt the advanced PC manufacturing technologies and modern management methods, and to meet the market demand, Great Wall established a joint venture with IBM, called Great Wall International Information.
Its PC production also benefits Great Wall Group financially. In the ten years, the total production value of its PCs was RMB5 billion (about US$600 million), with the value of exported PCs at US$100 million. The accumulated profit is more than RMB1 billion.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950426/Reader Contact: Great Wall Group, +86-1 849-9546)
eader Contact: Great Wall Group, +86-1 849-9546)
4/26/95
China - Great Wall Tops Domestic PC Production
TRENDS
Novell Intros Roll-Playing Game
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) has raised the curtain on what the company said is the first in a series of role-playing simulation games designed for teens and adults.
The first entry in the product line gives users the opportunity to solve the mystery surrounding the death of "The Blonde Bombshell," Marilyn Monroe.
After more than 20 years the records of the case have been made public. Novell said "Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files" lets users gather evidence from those records by assuming one of the four different roles the game offers. The user can visit the places Marilyn frequented, talk to the people who knew her and review the public records
In "Hard Evidence" you can become an investigative reporter, a lawyer in the district attorney's office, the county coroner, or a detective on the Los Angeles police force. The facts and information that can be gathered are not the same for each role.
Novell said that strategy challenges the user to explore and understand the facts from various points of view before drawing their own conclusion based on the evidence. "We think users will be intrigued with the way 'Hard Evidence' uncovers facts within the investigation through the different role playing activities."
Novell said "Hard Evidence" is the first in a series of entertainment titles developed in cooperation with T1 New Media, a division of the Bertelsmann Entertainment Company.
Novell said the three-dimensional graphics used in "Hard evidence" were stylized to represent and recreate the "feeling and emotion" of the 1960's and were produced using Silicon Graphics workstations. Content comes from sources like the Los Angeles Police Department files and the Motion Picture and Television Photo Archive.
Hard Evidence has a suggested retail price of $49 and requires an MPC Level 2 multimedia system, which includes at least a 486SX 25 megahertz PC, Windows 3.1, four megabytes (MB) of memory, a 16-bit sound card, and a double-speed or higher CD-ROM drive.
(Jim Mallory/19950426/Press contact: Blake Stowell, Novell 801-228-7242; Public contact: Novell, Public contact: Novell 800-451-5151)
lic contact: Novell 800-451-5151)
4/26/95
Novell Intros Roll-Playing Game
WINDOWS
Dynatek Intros CD-ROM Recorder
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- DynaTek Automation Systems Inc., of Bedford, Nova Scotia, announced during Comdex/Spring the CDM 200 CD-ROM recording system.
Dynatek is selling an external, double-speed CD recorder with accessories including cables, one blank disk, and DynaTek's DiscMaster software. The recorder uses the small computer systems interface (SCSI), with versions available for Microsoft Windows the Apple Macintosh, and Unix. Versions for IBM's OS/2 and Microsoft's Windows NT are due soon, DynaTek said.
Lorne Winer, DynaTek's marketing manager, told Newsbytes that while the CDM 200 cannot overwrite existing data on disks, it can write disks in multiple sessions, so data can be added to the same disk at will until it is full. The blank disks retail for US$20 to US$25, he said.
DynaTek described CD-ROM as a "perfect medium" for archiving information. CDs take up less space than other media and allow for random file access so that specific files are easier to find and retrieve, the company said.
Users can archive information to a CD-ROM disk, then place the disk in a networked CD-ROM drive to make the data accessible throughout an organization, company officials said.
The DiscMaster software uses a drag-and-drop interface for building directory structures and organizing data for recording as well as button bar icons for quick access to repeated tasks. DynaTek said DiscMaster supports most popular recording formats including Compact Disc-Digital Audio (CDDA), CD-ROM, CD-ROM-XA Compact Disk Interactive (CD-I), PhotoCD, and CD-ROM+CDDA.
Due to begin shipping in May, the CDM 200 will have a suggested retail price of US$1,695, or C$2,399, which includes the drive software, cables, and one blank disk.
(Grant Buckler/19950426/Press Contact: Andrew Clarke, DynaTek Automation, 902-832-3000, fax 902-832-3010, Internet e-mail aclarke@raider.dynatek.ca; Public Contact: DynaTek Automation 902-832-3000)
DynaTek Automation 902-832-3000)
4/26/95
Dynatek Intros CD-ROM Recorder
GENERAL
B &
InContext Licenses Enhanced Mosa
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- InContext Corp. (VSE:INI) has announced a deal to license the Enhanced Mosaic World Wide Web browser from Spyglass Inc. of Napierville, Ill. Enhanced Mosaic will be included in InContext Spider, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Web processor that InContext announced recently.
InContext said Spider is the first Web processor, as opposed to browser, because it not only lets Internet users explore existing Web pages but lets them create their own. According to David Turner, product manager, one key point is making it easier to create hypertext links to other pages on the Web. "When people are building Web pages," Turner told Newsbytes, "they're not creating isolated blocks of text."
InContext said its software requires no specialized knowledge of HTML, which is the basis of the hypertext links that tie Web pages together and make it easy to navigate through the system. It also does away with the need to cut and paste HTML "anchors" back and forth between a Web browser and the HTML editor.
"There are more people putting up Web pages -- their own personal ones -- than you might think," said Ian Hembery, vice-president of marketing and sales at InContext. Hembery told Newsbytes that by leasing server space from Internet access providers, or by connecting their computers to the Web for just part of each day individuals and small businesses can set up their own Web pages without necessarily having their own permanent connections to the Internet.
Company officials predicted that some 20 million people will be using Enhanced Mosaic by the end of this year. While the Spyglass browser will come with InContext Spider, Hembery said, it will also be able to work with other Web browsers.
Due to be available in May, InContext Spider will sell for US$99 the company said.
(Grant Buckler/19950426/Press Contact: Ian Hembery, InContext 416-922-0087; Randy Pitzer, Spyglass, 708-505-1010)
922-0087; Randy Pitzer, Spyglass, 708-505-1010)
4/26/95
InContext Licenses Enhanced Mosaic For Spider
ONLINE
& P 4
Bell Atlantic Puts Video Service
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- In a surprise move, Bell Atlantic yesterday put its highly touted home video service on hold. The Philadelphia-based company said technology is changing faster than the company's planning.
Bell Atlantic asked the Federal Communications Commission to halt consideration of its applications for offering video services. The FCC had been reviewing the applications on a fast track and agency sources said they were about to be approved.
"In the months since the applications were filed, however," said Bell Atlantic in a letter to the FCC's common carrier bureau "significant technological and other developments have occurred which caused us to reevaluate our plans."
Under the terms of FCC rules, Bell Atlantic would have been required to disclose the details of the design of its network and then be required to follow that design.
Bell Atlantic had proposed a hybrid of fiber optic cable and coaxial cable for its interactive network. But prices for fiber networks have been falling dramatically, causing Bell Atlantic to take another look at an all-fiber approach. "We want to take a minute to catch our breath," said Mark Wegleitner, the company's vice president in charge of broadband networks.
Once the company figures out what it wants to do next, it could either amend the application before the FCC or submit a new application. Wegleitner says Bell Atlantic has always favored an all-fiber approach, but that looked too expensive until recently.
"We think it's very important for the country to have ultimately a common carrier of video, voice and data," said Reed Hundt, FCC chairman, in a written statement. "If Bell Atlantic is rethinking these applications to come up with a better idea to be that carrier, that's great for the country."
The areas that would have been covered by Bell Atlantic's program were Baltimore, northern New Jersey, Philadelphia Pittsburgh, Hampton Roads, Va., and Washington.
A trial of movies-on-demand over phone lines in 2,000 homes in northern Virginia will not be affected by yesterday's move. Nor will a service being tested in Dover, N.J.
While a leader in offering competition to cable TV through phone service, Bell Atlantic is also hedging its bets. The company and another regional Bell company, Nynex, are putting $100 million into a wireless cable business that uses microwave transmission of programming to rooftop antennas.
(Kennedy Maize/19950426/Press Contacts: Michel Daley, Bell Atlantic Washington, 202-392-1021; Susan Lewis Sallet, FCC 202-418-0500)
1021; Susan Lewis Sallet, FCC 202-418-0500)
4/26/95
Bell Atlantic Puts Video Services On Hold
TELECOM
New Jersey Regulators Push Cable
NEWARK, N.J., U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has formed a task force on competition including representatives from cable television, local phone and long-distance industries.
"While promoting competition between the telephone companies and the cable TV companies, video and audio services," said Herbert Tate, president of the regulatory board, "we must encourage an environment that promotes the benefits of competition for all consumers throughout the state."
Tate said education and health care are "areas that will certainly benefit from technological advancements. We already have excellent examples related to distance learning and seek equally beneficial results for telemedicine."
New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman recently provided $350,000 in seed money for advanced technology to be used in 10 school districts in the state.
The Whitman administration, in its economic master plan for New Jersey, has a goal of making the Garden State the "telecommunications mecca" of the US.
"The competition task force will look at other distance applications for education and health, and most importantly how to promote the building of a cost-effective and efficient infrastructure so that New Jersey can have the best system in the nation at the earliest time," Tate told Newsbytes.
The regulatory board has begun hearings related to opening markets in local exchange and long-distance. Bell Atlantic AT&T, Sprint and MCI all currently compete on a limited basis.
The task force will analyze the restructuring of telephone and cable markets and look at technological developments in each industry to see how they impact on fair and open competition.
The task force is made up of representatives from Bell Atlantic Sprint, AT&T, Comcast, New Jersey Cable Television Association TCI, Cablevision, and staffers from the Board of Public Utilities.
(Kennedy Maize/19950426/Press Contact: Sarah Beavers 201-648-6135)
19950426/Press Contact: Sarah Beavers 201-648-6135)
4/26/95
New Jersey Regulators Push Cable/Telco Task Force
TELECOM
J t X
German Firm Accused Of Personal
BERLIN, GERMANY, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- One of the worst cases of computer hacking and invasion of privacy is emerging in Germany. The case came to light late last week when dozens of Police secretly raided the offices of a data processing company in Berlin confiscating large quantities of data held on printouts and on floppy disk.
According to a terse report issued by the German authorities, the firm -- which cannot be named at this stage for legal reasons -- is thought to have held illegal information on as many as eight million Germans, with details of criminal records, bank and credit card details, as well as health records.
Police say they are investigating where the information originated but it is thought that employees of the company defrauded the courts banks and insurance companies by posing as various officials, and even stealing the data. The database maintained by the company effectively contains records on around ten percent of the German population.
Driving a steamroller through Germany's stringent data protection legislation, the company is alleged to have compiled the massive database and is in the process of offering details of German citizens to various interested parties, including mail-order companies insurance companies and mobile phone operators, all of which need to credit check and carry out various other checks on people.
According to the Berlin Justice Department, 40 people are under investigation in connection with the raids, and are alleged to have broken data protection legislation, fraudulently posing as officials and stealing data on a vast scale.
The un-named company is thought to have been in operation for at least six years and built up a solid database on at least seven million German citizens by a process of exchanging information with information held legally by other companies.
Focus, the German magazine that broke the story earlier this week reports that everyone in Germany is a victim of the company's operations.
Focus claims that the company, which was founded by three young men from Berlin, has been doing extremely well in trading in illegal information, and that companies dealing with the firm have been very discreet in their operations, despite being charged high sums for the information.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950426)
he information.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950426)
4/26/95
German Firm Accused Of Personal Data Theft
LEGAL
UK - ICL Intros Out Of The Box W
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- ICL has unveiled a Workgroup Server that comes pre-installed with Novell NetWare 4.1. As such, company officials claim that the Teamserver Ci machine will work "out of the box" and is aimed firmly at the Compaq server workstation series.
Mark Casey, a spokesman for ICL, told Newsbytes that the Teamserver Ci neatly fills a gap that ICL's direct sales force found they had when selling into major corporations or government offices.
"Dealers or VARs (value-added resellers) had no trouble in reconfiguring an Ergo workstation or similar machine with NetWare, but when it came to the major account direct sales guys, they found there was a gap. The Teamserver Ci fills this gap and it offers a true pre-configured Workgroup server that works out of the box -- all the user has to do is to answer three simple questions," he said.
According to Casey, the Ci complements the existing Teamserver and superserver range of machines and is billed as offering customers outstanding price performance based on the Intel 75 megahertz (MHz) Pentium processor. The machines start in price from UKP2,450.
The machines come with a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus for fast performance, a double speed SCSI-2 (small computer system interface type 2) CD-ROM drive, preloaded NetWare 4.1 with instant network configuration via a software license diskette plus 32-bit Ethernet over the PCI bus and an integrated fast SCSI-2 port system.
Announcing the new machine, David Mills, managing director of ICL Client-Server Systems, said: "In today's competitive client-server market, the File and Print server segment represents some 70 percent of the total number of servers shipped.
"ICL's unique heritage in developing servers means that the Teamserver Ci has been designed from the outset as a server and not, unlike our competitors, as an upgraded PC," he said.
Garry Owen, Teamserver Ci business manager, said that ICL is targeting sales of at least 15,000 units in the next 12 months. This will be achieved, he explained, "by offering customers the best LAN (local area network)-server technology, a three year on-site warranty and better price/performance than our competitors.
"In addition the hardware and software specification of the Teamserver Ci has been designed to make the installation and configuration procedure of the server as straightforward as possible. It really is a case of removing the packaging, plugging it in, answering a couple of simple questions and you are up and running," he added.
(Steve Gold/19950426/Press Contact: Leading Edge Communications 44-171-454-9360, Internet e-mail leadingedge@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: ICL Computers, +44-1344-711000)
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Pipex, one of the largest Internet service providers in the UK, has announced plans to become the first Internet provider offering customers a range of secure trading facilities on the Internet.
According to Amanda Hassall, a spokeswoman for the company, the central pivot of the secure trading facility will be an encryption system, ensuring that the data stream across the Internet has an extremely high integrity.
"The service launch is quite soon, and the exact level of security that users want depends on how much they want to pay," Hassall told Newsbytes, adding that the technology is currently under trial with a number of sites.
According to Pipex, by offering a secure Internet environment companies can allow their customers to order anything from CDs to financial information across the Internet, when secure Internet trading becomes available on the Pipex Worldserver, which is claimed to be the largest commercial public file server in Europe, using Netscape Corporation's Commerce Server and Merchant System and via secure links to credit card clearing systems.
The current tests of the secure Internet technology is a complete security payment system, according to Pipex, and includes end-to-end encryption of shoppers' credit cards and personal details and online secure credit card authentication and clearing.
Pipex claims that these measures will calm the fears of potential Internet shoppers concerned about unencrypted credit card numbers being intercepted and those of potential Internet vendors unable to trade electronically without a suitable system to authenticate customers' credit card details and process payments.
David Mooring, a marketing consultant with Pipex, explained that the company will soon announce its cooperation with a number of "household names" interested in using the system.
"By listening to our customers fears about security and actually doing something about them, we have effectively taken away the few remaining constraints to doing serious business on the Internet," Mooring said.
"We believe that, once these facilities become commercially available to customers and potential customers, the growth of Internet commerce and trading will be explosive," he added.
According to Mooring, there are three key elements to the Pipex offering. Firstly, there is the Pipex Worldserver, a dual-processor SPARCServer 20 with 45 gigabytes of storage configured as a single RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) 5 system and connected directly into the Pipex backbone, which currently has 16 megabits per second of external connectivity.
Pipex claims that this makes the Worldserver the largest and best connected machine of its type in Europe, allowing thousands of Internet users to simultaneously access its contents, including the World Wide Web (Web) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) material within the Worldserver Business Park.
Secondly, the Netscape Commerce Server is high performance server software which enables any organization to conduct secure electronic commerce and communications on the Internet and the Web -- for example, financial institutions can collect credit card applications or enable customers to trade stocks online. To ensure data security, the Netscape Commerce Server provides advanced security features such as server authentication, data encryption, data integrity and user authorization controls.
In addition, the software also provides advanced security features using the open Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, which has been published on the Internet and adopted by the major providers of Internet hardware and software products, financial institutions and certification authorities. SSL encrypts the data between the client and the server allowing secure transactions over insecure networks.
Finally, the Netscape Merchant System provides organizations, such as mail-order catalog firms, online mall operators and retailers, with a software "solution" to market and sell their products on the Internet.
According to Pipex, the system is an industrial strength, customizable system that allows these types of companies to develop product displays, update product information quickly and simply and handle thousands of transactions from Internet users around the world safely and securely.
Mooring added that the Pipex offering is unique. "It provides industrial strength qualities, combined with ease-of-use, flexibility and high quality software and hardware. Pipex has developed a solution that addresses users fears and lays the foundations for serious Internet commerce and trading now and in the future," he said.
(Steve Gold/19950426/Press Contact: GBC, +44-181-332-7022 Internet e-mail mandy@gbc.co.uk; Reader Contact: Pipex, +44-1223 250100, Internet e-mail davidb@pipex.net, Internet World Wide Web http://worldserver.pipex.com/)
World Wide Web http://worldserver.pipex.com/)
4/26/95
UK - Pipex To Offer Secure Internet Trading
ONLINE
Comdex - IS Managers Cautious Ab
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- The forthcoming mass installation of Windows 95 won't only be a boon for Microsoft, but for consultants, software support systems market analysts, and computer trade publications, predicted John Gantz, senior vice-president of high-technology market research firm International Data Corp.
"Developers are on a death march to get Windows 95 done. Since the PCs that Windows run on are now involved in mission critical activities, it behooves us to be pretty smart about how we introduce Windows 95 in our respective organizations," said Gantz at a Comdex-Windows World panel discussion on "Preparing The Corporation for Windows 95."
"In the short term, we can predict at least $250,000 will be spent in internal training and five times that for external training. We think that some $200 million will be spent in externally commissioned software support costs. In addition, the imminent launch of Windows 95 will be tremendous fodder for consulting engagements, market-research studies, and (the purchase of) pages and pages of ads in computer magazines," he added.
Ian Campbell, research director for workgroup and end-user computing for IDC Technology Investment Strategies, then presented a recent Windows 95 implementation-plan study the group conducted with 4,000 IS (information system) managers in the corporate world.
One projected trend gleaned from the study showed that a significant proportion of companies plan to wait a few months until Windows 95 is widely deployed before they upgrade their own systems to the 10-million lines-of-code colossus. While 28 percent said they would install Windows 95 soon after it became available, 42 percent said they would begin an upgrade about five months after that. Another 30 percent of IS managers surveyed indicated they have no current plans to upgrade their systems.
"The biggest issues here seem to be cost, the fear that the first issues will be 'buggy,' and that there is no demonstrated need for it," said Campbell, extrapolating from the results.
Of Windows 95 boosters, Campbell noted the expected benefits as "superiority of performance," the ability to do multitasking and the general superior performance of 32-bit technology. Microsoft 3.1, the current platform that will be replaced by Windows '95, operates on 16-bit.
Two weeks ago, IDC conducted another, more informal canvas of members of its Information Technology Council. The main issues were the tradeoff of hours lost because of training for Windows 95, and how quickly they would be made up by operating efficiencies.
The canvass projects that installation will cost three hours and training four hours each for novice, average and expert users. The "exploration of new environment" issue -- one in which a new user "plays with" the software either out of a perceived need to be more familiar with it or just for curiosity's sake -- will cost four hours for novices, six for average-skill users, and eight for experts.
Over a month, Windows 95's more "human" interface will offer eight hours of additional productivity to novices, one to average users, and none to experts. Its better "help" facility, a function that will enable customer configuration of help menus, will add eight hours of productivity per month for novices, two to average users, and none for experts. "The increased desktop control and built-in networking in Windows 95 will result in the help desk being called less often," Campbell said.
Yet because expert users do more performance multitasking and plug-and-play between notebook computers and office systems than lower-ranking novices do, these improved functionalities should benefit the pros more than the backshop clericals Campbell predicted.
Despite these perceived benefits, Campbell said that the overall mood of the IS world was less than ebullient about the arrival of Windows 95.
"People will want to make sure there are strong benefits to Windows 95 before they convert. It's a new, big, complicated operating system. I would characterize the mood as cautious cost-oriented and resigned to it," he said.
(Russell Shaw/19950425)
igned to it," he said.
(Russell Shaw/19950425)
4/26/95
Comdex - IS Managers Cautious About Windows 95
WINDOWS
Seybold - EFI Ships Fiery XJ Ser
Touchstone's Fastmove! Windows F
Using The Infopike To Find A Sch
India - Nokia Plans Fully Owned
Internet World - CompuServe's Ne
Electronic Telegraph Newspaper U
UK Firm Intros Business TV Distr
DEC Forms Database Centers, Virt
France Selects NEC & Motorola Fo
Novell NetWare Services For Unix
CompuServe Plans 28,800 Bps Netw
Tektronix Upgrades PhaserShare P
Apple Continues Strong Performan
IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong
China - Tianjin's Investment Cli
European Equity Deal In Sprint E
Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electr
UK - Pipex To Offer Secure Inter
UK - KNX/GNC Offer ISDN Consulta
Financing Deal Gives Unitel A Re
France First With Cyberspace Pay
Apple & UDA Demystify the Intern
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- In creating a World Wide Web (Web) site, it is critical to keep the same kind of internal consistency in "metaphor" and design elements that you would follow in producing a print publication, said United Digital Artists (UDA)'s Brian Wu and Chris Bryant, speaking at "Demystifying the Internet," an event held at Apple's Market Center in New York City and attended by Newsbytes.
To demonstrate what they meant, the two officials showed a semi final version of "Artists Rendezvous," a UDA Web site that the Manhattan-based computer artists' group expects to be opening on the Internet within the next week or two.
The day-long, UDA and Apple-sponsored "Demystifying the Internet" event also included talks ranging from "Advertising on the Internet" by Julia Leach of Chiat Day, to "Entertainment and Sports on the Web," by Todd Carter of Busy Box.
In addition, Apple and several third-party vendors demonstrated their Web-related wares to event attendees at a product showcase.
During the talk on "Designing and Programming an Internet Web Site," Wu explained the internal "metaphor," or theme, for "Artists Rendezvous" as: "Paris in an earlier part of this century when the city was a `hotbed' of artistic activity."
UDA, he said, selected the names of various sections of the Web site in keeping with this metaphor, and in a related move, decided to keep sound at a minimum.
"For the most part, we tried to select French-based words that have basic English equivalents -- hoping that, by and large, people would understand what they meant," Wu added. "Academie" and "Galerie" are a couple of examples of the eight section names chosen so far.
Wu showed the audience at the New York event how Web users will be able to navigate through the various sections of "Artists Rendezvous" by clicking on a series of color-coded icons at the lower left of the screen.
Sections marked by red icons will refer to "UDA activities," whereas sections with blue icons will refer to areas of general interest, such as industry associations, he said. There is also a yellow icon for a help section called "Guide."
Bryant told the group that, before "Artists Rendezvous" goes live on the Web, the UDA will add an icon for "home," along with a new toolbar.
Offering a "home" icon is always advisable, he noted, since users entering a Web site through hyperlinks from outside Web sites might end up entering on any page, not necessarily your home page, and may need assistance in navigating unfamiliar Web terrain.
Wu pointed out that audio files on the Web can take 30 minutes or more of downloading time, because these files can be "enormous." As a result -- and also since the "metaphor" of UDA's site concerns visual art, not sound -- "Artists Rendezvous" keeps the use of audio to a minimum, he reported.
Virtually all Web authoring tools support art work produced in the GIF file format, and some, such as Netscape, support JPEG, as well the UDA officials added. GIF is easier to work with, but JPEG produces results with higher resolution, according to Wu.
Other presentation highlights of the Apple/UDA event included: "Magazine Publishing on the Internet," by Omar Sasow of New York Online/Vibe; "Why the Internet is Important for Your Business," by Alan Meckler, publisher of Internet World Magazine; "Choosing an Internet Service Provider," by Marc Mandel of NAFT; and "CD-ROM Publishing on the Internet," by Voyager's Philippe Stessel.
In the product showcase component of the event, Apple demonstrated the new Apple Internet Server Bundle, along with AppleSearch; AppleStore; Apple Remote Access (ARA); and QuickTime Video Conferencing.
Also on hand at the showcase were Claris, with its new Emailer electronic-mail manager; Adobe, with Acrobat; and several Internet service providers and Web site builders, including NAFT and PFM Communications.
Over the coming weeks, Apple and UDA will be co-sponsoring a series of other Internet-related events, also to be held at Apple's Market Center in New York City: "Interface Design for Multimedia;" "Designing and Programming an Internet Web Site; "HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) Internet Programming: A One-Day Crash Course;" "Internet Basics: A Practical Introduction;" and "Doing Business on the Internet: Spinning Your Web Presence."
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950427/Reader Contact: Apple Computer 212-339-3700; United Digital Artists, 212-777-7200; Press Contact: Nancy Carr, Apple, 212-339-3718)
Apple & UDA Demystify the Internet In New York City
ONLINE
Elektroson To Ship Silicon Graph
BALA CYNWYD, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Elektroson a developer of high-end recordable CD software says it will ship Gear 3.2 for Silicon Graphics Inc. this May. Gear offers full multimedia support to CD developers using of the Irix operating system.
Recordable CD (CD-R) software is the counterpart to recordable CD drives which are capable of writing directly to a CD. This growing field of technology has moved from a small group of multimedia CD developers to a much larger group of corporate and government customers using CD-R technology for archiving and inexpensive distribution of information, presentations, and catalogs.
The new Gear for Silicon Graphics' multimedia support includes digital audio, CD-enhanced and multimedia audio files, CD-I, video CD MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group), and support for 3DO, Nintendo and other game platforms. It offers advanced proprietary image mastering options, subcode support and DDP format mastering tape.
According to Elektroson, the new version of Gear is the first CD-R software which includes Rock Ridge extension and mapping support to the ISO 9660 standard for users working on the Silicon Graphics Irix operating system. Rock Ridge extension and mapping support allows users to map Unix specific information such as links, file attributes and original Unix file names within a 9660 file system. With this support users are able to create a Rock Ridge compliant disk and have cross platform support with ISO 9660 on Macs and Window-based machines.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Jiren Parikh, Elektroson's general manager, said, "We decided to create the Silicon Graphics software to meet the needs of a large audience of developers who use the Irix platform to develop titles. There is also a very large group of Irix users who need large storage capabilities for MPEG and complex multimedia files. CD-R technology offers a fast and affordable alternative to removable tape storage."
Elektroson also says its Gear for Silicon Graphics offers an attractive price alternative to existing Irix CD-R products. Priced at $1,695 for a standard version and $2,695 for a multimedia version, Gear coupled with an inexpensive recordable CD drive may be purchased for under $4,000. The company says the alternative is a $18,000 hardware/software bundle.
Gear's standard version is designed for companies primarily interested in storage, while the multimedia version is designed for multimedia title developers.
The company also announced Gear software for the new RCD-1000 recordable drive from Pinnacle Micro. As of April 15, the RCD-1000 is selling for $1,695. Parikh said Gear offers owners of an inexpensive drive all the features and functionality of a full multimedia package.
(Patrick McKenna/19950426/Press Contact: Rolland Going, The Terpin Group, 310-821-6100; Public Information: Elektroson, 610-617-0850)
6100; Public Information: Elektroson, 610-617-0850)
4/26/95
Elektroson To Ship Silicon Graphics CD-R Software
GENERAL
NBC Offers Customized Video Busi
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- General Electric's (NYSE:GE) National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has announced it will deliver customized video business news to an audience of financial and business institutions. Called "NBC Desktop Video," the service is spearheading a move by NBC into the multimedia field.
A new digital studio from where the new service will originate is located in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which is the site of its CNBC financial news operation. The digital studio is said to be the first specifically built and designed to provide customized business news to individual customers.
Officials said NBC Desktop Video offers three services: NBC Private Financial (NBC PFN), which offers coverage of long-form financial presentations; NBC Professional (NBC PRO), which provides live coverage of market moving events, breaking stories that affect the financial markets, and key government and corporate news conferences; and NBC Desktop Video On Demand, which lets the user store and retrieve feeds from NBC PRO, NBC PFN, and other content.
"There's a real need in the marketplace for live access to breaking business news," Allison Tepper, NBC spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "There's also a real need to access video-on-demand, when the user is able to have the time to watch the story."
Tepper said a big advantage of the service is that customers like portfolio managers can actually see what people look like in the companies they hold investments. "There's a lot of benefit in being able to see the primary source speak for him or herself -- to be able to pause, rewind, go back, listen to the particular part they are interested in, and see how the primary source conducts him or herself," she said. A lot of businesspeople don't have the time to get to the press conferences, Tepper said, so this services brings that news to the customer's desktop.
Desktop video customers also have access to more than 60 hours of business video a day, officials said, through resources including NBC News, NBC's 200-plus affiliates, NBC News Channel (an affiliate news feed), and CNBC.
Tepper said delivery of the service is either analog or digital depending on the customer's needs. NBC Desktop Video can also operate in both Unix and Windows environments.
(Bob Woods/19950426/Press Contacts: Mary Neagoy, 212-664-6455 or Paul Lief Rosengran, 212-664-2756, both of NBC. Public Contact: NBC, 800-663-4NBC)
of NBC. Public Contact: NBC, 800-663-4NBC)
4/26/95
NBC Offers Customized Video Business News
BROADCAST
Unitel Officers Resign, Future U
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- The chairman and two vice-chairman of Unitel Communications Inc. have resigned their posts. As a loan-repayment deadline looms at the end of this week, the future of the money-losing long-distance telephone carrier seems to be in doubt.
Edward S. (Ted) Rogers, president and chief executive of Toronto based Rogers Communications Inc., has stepped down as Unitel's chairman, a spokeswoman for Rogers Communications told Newsbytes. At the same time Philip Lind and David Gergacz, both Rogers representatives, resigned as vice-chairmen of Unitel. Rogers owns 29.5 percent of Unitel.
The Unitel board of directors is meeting today, according to Jan Innes of Rogers, and the largest shareholder, Canadian Pacific Ltd., has the right to appoint a new chairman. Canadian Pacific owns 48 percent of Unitel.
Earlier this month, Rogers announced that it would not exercise an option to buy out Canadian Pacific's share of Unitel. That option had been granted early this year, at which time the three main shareholders said in a press conference that getting Unitel out of the red would require changes in the rules governing long distance competition in Canada. The third major shareholder is AT&T, with 22.5 percent of the company.
Rogers' moves suggest it may be giving up hope on the struggling telephone carrier, though officials have left open the possibility of increasing the Rogers stake by a smaller amount or at a lower share price than the original option granted by Canadian Pacific would have allowed.
Friday is the official deadline for Unitel to repay C$650 million in loans owed to a syndicate of six banks. The three major shareholders and the banks have been in talks, Innes said, and it is not certain what if anything will happen on Friday.
(Grant Buckler/19950426/Press Contact: Jan Innes, Rogers Communications, tel 416-864-2326, fax 416-864-2375; Philip Lind Rogers Communications, 416-864-2322)
Lind Rogers Communications, 416-864-2322)
4/26/95
Unitel Officers Resign, Future Uncertain
TELECOM
" L 0
FAA & Inmarsat Approve In-Flight
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Skyphone, the consortium of British Telecom, Singapore Telecom and Telenor, has announced it has received final certification from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in the US and Inmarsat in the UK for network interconnection to Data 3, the new satellite standard system for interactive passenger services.
Skyphone's Data 3 service has already been tested aboard a Singapore Airlines 747-400, using the Goonhilly radio station in the UK, to allows two-way multimedia transmissions from the air to ground (and vice versa).
According to Peter Cheah, aeronautical value-added services manager with Skyphone's BT operation, the Data 3 certification flight test successfully demonstrated the transfer of messages between ground based systems and the Cabin Management Terminal (CMT) on board the plane.
"Boeing's successful flight demonstration and joint FAA and Inmarsat approval of Skyphone's Data 3 links are crucial to the delivery of interactive passenger services," Cheah said, adding that the validations clear the way for "the seamless two-way transmission of information using BT's ALIS software, which is currently being installed by three major airlines."
Using the Data 3 system, Singapore Airlines plans to offer air to ground interactive services directly from passenger's seats, using BT's software. These interactive Data 3 services, which will be launched later this year. will initially include inflight shopping and broadcast news. The services will include moving map flight data destination information and video and audio services plus games.
Other airlines which are opting for the Data 3 service from Skyphone include British Airways and Lufthansa.
So what is Data 3? According to BT, the standard is the airborne satellite-linked equivalent of X.25 package data network switching under which data can be piped to and from an aircraft -- via satellite -- at high speeds, yet on an economic basis.
Three ground stations around the world -- at BT's Goonhilly in the UK Telenor's Eik facility in Norway, and Singapore Telecom's Sentosa site in Singapore -- have been upgraded to Data 3 status, allowing a plane almost anywhere in the world to plug into the Data 3 virtual data network for all types of data and voice facilities.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950426/Press Contact: Spec Communications tel +44-1494-680555, fax +44-1494-680550, Internet e-mail bill@spec.demon.co.uk; Reader Contact: BT Aeronautical Services tel +44-171-492-4978, fax +44-171-492-4633)
s tel +44-171-492-4978, fax +44-171-492-4633)
4/26/95
FAA & Inmarsat Approve In-Flight Multimedia
TELECOM
Interactive Age Ranks Business W
MANHASSET, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- The April 24 issue of "Interactive Age" is going into what it sees as "uncharted cyberwaters." The "newspaper for electronic commerce" ranked the top 25 business sites on the Internet's World Wide Web.
First place honors went to The San Jose Mercury Center, which Interactive Age editors called "the undisputed leader in online news services."
The sites were rated on a ten point scale based on four criteria: design, ease-of-use, linking, and content. All of the sites have one thing in common, officials said, in that they do on the Web what could not be done in another medium.
The top ten sites, in descending order, are: The Mercury Center Starwave, Time Warner's Pathfinder, Netscape, AT&T, Novell, Apple Computer, Compaq Computer, InternetMCI, and Sun Microsystems. MCI's and Sun's sites tied for ninth place.
"Of all the publications out there, we seem to be in the best position to be doing this," David Joachim, Interactive Age spokesperson, told Newsbytes. He said the publication had been rating sites informally but they realized there is value in covering which sites used the platform well.
A lot of work needs to be done on Web pages, Joachim said. "Like any other newborn medium, its going to take awhile for the companies to learn how to use it." He said the media and entertainment companies will probably shoot ahead of the other firms on the Web, in regards to content -- and content is what's going to drive the new medium.
Probably the most important aspect of a Web site is "change," Joachim said. "Any way you can get people back to the site is important," he said. "Give them fresh material, fresh entertainment. That's what the 'interactive sites' are doing."
The April 24 issue of Interactive Age also listed the Web addresses for the top 100 business sites, which were unranked.
(Bob Woods/19950425/Press Contacts: Barbara Kerbel, 516-562-5218 Catherine Jarrat Koatz, 516-562-7827, Elizabeth Stern, 516-562-5162 all of CMP Publications, Internet e-mail cmppr@cmp.com; Public Contact: CMP Publications, Internet World Wide Web http://techweb.cmp.com/ia)
World Wide Web http://techweb.cmp.com/ia)
4/26/95
Interactive Age Ranks Business Web Sites
ONLINE
n 4
Times Mirror/Cox To Invest $200M
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Times Mirror Co. (NYSE:TMC) and Cox Communications (NYSE:COX) said they are sinking up to $200 million dollars in two sports-related cable channels. The companies also announced that ESPN veteran Roger L. Werner, Jr. will head the two ventures, along with a third targeted to create "economies of scale" for programming initiatives.
The two companies originally announced their partnership in June, 1994. Then, as Newsbytes reported, last February Times Mirror merged its cable systems with Cox's cable properties in a $2.3 billion cash and stock swap. At that time, the companies claimed the deal made the partnership the nation's fourth largest multiple systems cable operator, with some 3.2 million customers.
The new services are Speedvision and the Outdoor Life channel. The new kid on the block, Speedvision will debut in January, 1996. It's being dubbed "the first network for automotive, marine, and aviation enthusiasts," by the companies. It will feature programming including news, historical documentaries, racing events, and instructional shows. Werner has been working on Speedvision with cable investor Bill Daniels.
The Outdoor Life channel was announced when Times Mirror and Cox merged their cable operations. The channel is scheduled for roll-out in July, officials said. The network will be dedicated to outdoor activities like fishing, boating, hiking, and camping. Officials also said the channel will also have programming on environmental issues, children's shows, how-to information, and demonstrations.
The third venture will "create economies of scale in programming initiatives," officials said. Some of those shared areas will include advertising and affiliate sales, finance, and operations services for both the new channels and other investments down the road.
Currently, Cox has financial interests in the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, E! Entertainment Television, and GEMS, which programs for hispanic markets. Times Mirror has invested in the Golf Channel. It also publishes the Los Angeles Times, Newsday/New York Newsday The Baltimore Sun, and other newspapers; along with many magazines.
At 1:00 EDT today, Times Mirror stock was trading at $17.75, down $0.25 from the previous close. Cox issues were at $15.125, unchanged from its previous close.
(Bob Woods/19950426/Press Contacts: Martha Goldstein, Times Mirror 213-237-3727; Ellen East, Cox Communications, 404-843-5854; Lee Helper, Bender Goldman & Harper, 310-473-4147)
3-5854; Lee Helper, Bender Goldman & Harper, 310-473-4147)
4/26/95
Times Mirror/Cox To Invest $200Mil In New Cable Ventures
BROADCAST
Netcom Posts 470% Revenue Increa
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Netcom (NASDAQ:NETC), a relatively new national Internet provider, has in its first year grown from 15,000 to 115,000 subscribers. Reflecting its rapid growth, the company's first quarter results showed a 470% increase in revenues over the same quarter in 1994.
The company also announced it will file a registration statement for a proposed public offering of approximately 2,750,000 shares of its common stock. Netcom says the expected income from this sell will be used for the continued development of points-of-presence (POPs) and other infrastructure improvements. Last year at this time the company had 24 POPs or specific areas where its Internet service is offered through a local access phone number. In March of this year, the company announced its one hundredth POP.
A recent Newsbytes story about Netcom's 1.6 version of NetCruiser said the company expected to reach 175 POPs by the end of the year. The latest report from Netcom is that it now plans to have more than 200 POPs by that time.
While the company's first quarter record revenues are extremely high, the company reported a net loss of $1.3 million, or $0.19 per share, compared to a net income of $53,000 or $0.01 per share for the same quarter last year.
Dave Garrison, Netcom's president and chief executive officer, in an interview with Newsbytes, said, "We are extremely delighted with the dramatic growth of revenues reported in our first quarter. Anytime you have the type of rapid growth which has occurred here at Netcom, a company's net income is bound to be low. We have been very aggressive in developing POPs, individual and business access to the Internet and an interface which meets the needs of a demanding audience of users."
He continued, "In businesses like ours and telecommunications and cable service providers, it is well known that the more aggressive you are, the more the cost of operations and marketing will rise and profits will lower. We are committed to dedicated high-speed access to the Internet with products which are constantly developing and improving."
Besides the companies aggressive strategy, Garrison attributes its success to distribution alliances with companies such as Merisel and Ingram Micro and bundling agreements with companies such as Moon Valley.
The $7.5 million of revenues reported for this first quarter are 45% more than Netcom reported for preceding quarter which posted revenues of $5.2 million. Approximately 80% of this quarter's revenues were derived from individual dial-up accounts, while the remaining portion came from business network and dedicated line accounts.
In closing, Garrison said, "We will continue to expand our service to more customers, increase our technical support and build upon our very successful Internet interface. Providing Internet access is not about technology. It is about the way it is delivered."
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Heather Shoeny, The Weber Group, tel 415-325-8300; Public Information: Netcom, 800-353-6600 or 408-345-2600)
etcom, 800-353-6600 or 408-345-2600)
4/26/95
Netcom Posts 470% Revenue Increase
BUSINESS
Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Vid
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- At a Broadway theater in Manhattan, linked to 85 other sites from Tokyo to Spring Comdex in Atlanta, Picturetel presented an event billed as the first multi-point, full-motion videoconference to take place over standard telephone lines.
Attended by Newsbytes at New York City's Hudson Theater, the central site of the worldwide videoconferencing "show," the event starred company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Norman E. Gaut and other high-level Picturetel executives, who launched a series of new videoconferencing products, as well as Picturetel users, who attested to the merits of the products from locations throughout the globe.
Products introduced at the Broadway "show" included: the high-end Concorde 4500 group videoconferencing system; the entry-level Venue 2000 personal conferencing system; the PowerMic infrared (IR) wireless remote keypad; the PowerCam 100 portable camera; and the portable WorldCart, which supports monitor sizes up to 32 inches and features integrated Bose speakers.
Also announced were: the Look-at-Me Button, a pint-sized camera for use in shared whiteboard applications; and the Montage 500 conferencing servers, a series of high-speed network bridges designed to support videoconferencing over regular phone lines.
Videoconference attendees all over the world were able to view five different sites simultaneously, in full-color, high resolution, 30 frames-per-second video.
The Picturetel executives were usually in center stage on the screen, but the digital video displayed in four surrounding windows came from areas as diverse as Chicago and Singapore.
Gaut, who opened the global event, told participants that the videoconference over standard phone lines was made possible by Picturetel's invention of a new "SG4" algorithm.
Speaking with Newsbytes in a one-on-one session at the close of the event, Khoa D. Nguyen, VP of Picturetel's Group System Division explained that SG4 compresses video at a ratio of 100:1.
Gaut told the audience at the Hudson that Picturetel, the "leader in group videoconferencing for years," last year became the number one player in personal group conferencing as well, with the Picturetel PCS product line-up.
Picturetel, he added, unveiled its first videoconferencing products in 1988, and does not introduce new products all that frequently underscoring the significance of the event.
At about this point in the proceedings, the camera cut away to Chicago, for a "face-to-face" talk between Gaut and a Picturetel employee there, and to Tokyo, for a similar conversation.
The videoconference participants learned from the Chicago staffer that the weather was "great" in Chicago. At the Tokyo site, they saw a real-time view of Victoria Harbor in the background.
Nguyen, another speaker in New York, then reported that, with its new products, Picturetel plans to make videoconferencing "as ubiquitous as computers or faxing."
Also during this segment of the presentation, users from Link VTC in Colorado and from EDS spoke to the benefits of the new products.
A Link VTC employee informed the global crowd that he has made more than 40 videoconferencing calls using the Picturetel products. "The video is crystal clear," he noted.
The EDS representative added that the videoconferencing products provide "an important victory," pointing, in particular, to the IR Telepad and Look-At-Me button. The Telepad, he asserted, "gives you the flexibility to move around."
Back in New York, Joan M. Nevins, VP of marketing, then outlined Picturetel's entire videoconferencing line-up, ranging from the $295 LiveLink personal videoconferencing product on the low end to room conferencing products like the Concorde 4500 on the high end.
Each product, Nevins maintained, is aimed at providing a different level of "performance, flexibility, and comfort."
Immediately at the close of videoconference, the attendees in New York adjourned for two separate lunches, one for Picturetel customers, and another for the press.
At the press lunch, which was attended by Newsbytes, Gaut and Nevins fielded questions from reporters. Gaut was asked whether the market outlook is brighter right now for personal videoconferencing or room conferencing. Over the next two years, he responded personal videoconferencing will "swamp" room conferencing, because of its lower pricing.
Picturetel, he revealed, plans to develop some new products that will be designed to fill the large "gap" in pricing and performance between today's personal videoconferencing and group videoconferencing products.
After lunch, the attendees converged on a product demonstration room to see the new Picturetel products, as well as existing products such as the PCS line-up.
During a series of one-on-one sessions with Newsbytes, Nguyen displayed a side-by-side comparison of the Concorde 4500 versus a competing product, pointing to the high resolution the Concorde provides in showing details ranging from bicycle spokes to the individual threads in facial beards.
Picturetel, said Nguyen, spent only $4,500 to put together the global videoconference. A comparable videoconference using satellite technology would have cost $165,000, he estimated.
In the future, he revealed, Picturetel is now working on an "overhead projection-type device" for its shared whiteboard, and a product similar to the "Look-at-Me" button for classroom use.
When students are called on after raising their hands, they will be able to use the new "button" to shine the camera on themselves, he told Newsbytes.
During another one-on-one session with Newsbytes, Nevins predicted that, because of their pricing and ability to work over standard phone lines, Picturetel's new products will be especially useful to telecommuters and work-at-homers.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950426/Reader Contact: Picturetel, 508-762 5000; Press Contacts: Kevin Flanagan, PictureTel, 508-762-5178; Glen Zimmerman, Beaupre & Company Public Relations for Picturetel 603-436-6690)
y Public Relations for Picturetel 603-436-6690)
4/26/95
Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Videconferencing
BROADCAST
India - Birla & Computer Horizon
Best New Internet Sites Site
Germany - Siemens' 4-Pronged Bus
UK - Sheet Music By Fax Service
The Great Internet Easter Egg Hu
Media Vision To Ship Quad-Speed,
UK -- PPCP Full Motion Video PCM
HP, Novell, Ingram Offer Interne
Japan - Fujitsu Offers Personal
HSC's Convolver Special-Effects
WorldLinx, Silicon Graphics In D
Atlanta Olympic Games Get A Web
Quantum Intros Atlas II/Empire I
Phone Directory CD-ROM For Netwo
Philippines - Andersen Targets O
World's 1st Supersonic Car Gets
Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed
Microsoft & Justice Dept In Appe
Bell Atlantic Puts Video Service
Paul Allen Buys Into 3D/Eye
Internet Update
Internet Disaster Information Ne
Seagate Gets New VP For Asia-Pac
Prodigy Announces New CEO
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Prodigy has announced the retirement of its current president and chief executive officer (CEO), Ross Glatzer. At the same time, the company announced the appointment of Ed Bennett as his successor as of May 1.
Bennett has recently been working on projects with Norman Lear, a well known television program producer. He has served as president and CEO of MTV's VH 1 channel, where he built an audience of 50 million viewers. While working with MTV, he also launched "HA! TV Comedy Network," an MTV/Viacom/Time Warner joint venture. For ten years, he served as vice president and chief operations officer for Viacom's Television division.
Ross Glatzer leaves Prodigy after eight years with the online service. Among his achievements are crucial alliances with Cox, Times Mirror and Gannett, well known newspaper publishers, his restructuring of the company and the development of Internet and World Wide Web access to Prodigy members. He was appointed president and CEO in 1992.
(Patrick McKenna/19950426/Press Contact: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 800-PRODIGY)
Darcy, Prodigy 800-PRODIGY)
4/26/95
Prodigy Announces New CEO
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
"PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Boca Research Intros VoiceView-Certified Modem 04/26/95 oca Research Inc. (NASDAQ: BOCI) has announced a VoiceView-certified modem. The company said it is the first modem vendor to be certified by Radish Communications Systems Inc., a Boulder, Colorado-based company, as able to handle voice and data transmissions on a single phone call.
2 -> UK Schools Plug Into The Internet 04/26/95 A group of IT (information technology) companies in the UK have sponsored several hundred schools to get them plugged into the Internet.
3 -> British Telecom To Market Multimedia Products 04/26/95 British Telecom (BT) has signed an agreement with On Demand Information (ODI) to package and resell multimedia information products to business customers.
4 -> Novell Intros Multimedia Clip-Art Package 04/26/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) used the computer industry's annual rites of Spring otherwise known as Comdex, as the platform to roll out a collection of sound effects, music, video, fonts, and images on a single CD-ROM disk.
5 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/26/95 In this roundup of news from the Tokyo news center: IBM & NEC To Develop New Tape Storage; Matsushita Develops Widescreen LCD; NTT Data Communications Debuts; Lotus Japan To Charge For Customer Support
6 -> Kao Infosystems Increases CD-ROM Production 04/26/95 With the demand for CD-ROM based software skyrocketing, and sales of music titles on CD, Kao Infosystems says it is installing two additional CD production lines at its Lancaster, Pennsylvania, manufacturing plant. The addition will bring the total count of production lines at Lancaster to nine.
7 -> India - Comnet To Make Very Small Aperture Terminals 04/26/95 Comnet Systems and Services Ltd., a HCL subsidiary, has entered into a technology transfer agreement with US-based STM Wireless Inc., a major player in the niche category of high-end voice-oriented VSATs (very small aperture terminals), to manufacture a complete range of VSATs in India.
8 -> India - Mitel Looks For Development Partners 04/26/95 As deregulation hits the Indian telecom industry, foreign companies are seeking to take advantage of the new opportunities. The latest among the international giants to show such interest is Mitel Corp.
9 -> China - Tianjin's Investment Climate 04/26/95 A recent survey showed that more than 80 percent of foreign investors are satisfied with the investment climate in Tianjin city, according to the China Daily.
10 -> China - Great Wall Tops Domestic PC Production 04/26/95 Among domestic PC producers, the Great Wall Group ranks first in terms of market share, having produced more than 200,000 PCs. The total production and sales of its PCs in 1994 reached 46,000 units.
11 -> Novell Intros Roll-Playing Game 04/26/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) has raised the curtain on what the company said is the first in a series of role-playing simulation games designed for teens and adults.
12 -> Dynatek Intros CD-ROM Recorder 04/26/95 DynaTek Automation Systems Inc., of Bedford, Nova Scotia, announced during Comdex/Spring the CDM 200 CD-ROM recording system.
13 -> InContext Licenses Enhanced Mosaic For Spider 04/26/95 InContext Corp. (VSE:INI) has announced a deal to license the Enhanced Mosaic World Wide Web browser from Spyglass Inc. of Napierville, Ill. Enhanced Mosaic will be included in InContext Spider, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Web processor that InContext announced recently.
14 -> ****Bell Atlantic Puts Video Services On Hold 04/26/95 In a surprise move, Bell Atlantic yesterday put its highly touted home video service on hold. The Philadelphia-based company said technology is changing faster than the company's planning.
15 -> New Jersey Regulators Push Cable/Telco Task Force 04/26/95 The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has formed a task force on competition including representatives from cable television, local phone and long-distance industries.
16 -> ****German Firm Accused Of Personal Data Theft 04/26/95 One of the worst cases of computer hacking and invasion of privacy is emerging in Germany. The case came to light late last week when dozens of Police secretly raided the offices of a data processing company in Berlin, confiscating large quantities of data held on printouts and on floppy disk.
17 -> UK - ICL Intros "Out Of The Box" Workgroup Server 04/26/95 ICL has unveiled a Workgroup Server that comes pre-installed with Novell NetWare 4.1. As such, company officials claim that the Teamserver Ci machine will work "out of the box" and is aimed firmly at the Compaq server workstation series.
18 -> UK - Pipex To Offer Secure Internet Trading 04/26/95 Pipex, one of the largest Internet service providers in the UK, has announced plans to become the first Internet provider offering customers a range of secure trading facilities on the Internet.
19 -> ****Comdex - IS Managers "Cautious" About Windows 95 04/26/95 The forthcoming mass installation of Windows 95 won't only be a boon for Microsoft, but for consultants, software support systems, market analysts, and computer trade publications, predicted John Gantz senior vice-president of high-technology market research firm International Data Corp.
20 -> Apple & UDA "Demystify the Internet" In New York City 04/26/95 In creating a World Wide Web (Web) site, it is critical to keep the same kind of internal consistency in "metaphor" and design elements that you would follow in producing a print publication, said United Digital Artists (UDA)'s Brian Wu and Chris Bryant, speaking at "Demystifying the Internet," an event held at Apple's Market Center in New York City and attended by Newsbytes.
21 -> Elektroson To Ship Silicon Graphics CD-R Software 04/26/95 Elektroson, a developer of high-end recordable CD software says it will ship Gear 3.2 for Silicon Graphics Inc. this May. Gear offers full multimedia support to CD developers using of the Irix operating system.
22 -> NBC Offers Customized Video Business News 04/26/95 General Electric's (NYSE:GE) National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has announced it will deliver customized video business news to an audience of financial and business institutions. Called "NBC Desktop Video," the service is spearheading a move by NBC into the multimedia field.
23 -> Unitel Officers Resign, Future Uncertain 04/26/95 The chairman and two vice-chairman of Unitel Communications Inc. have resigned their posts. As a loan-repayment deadline looms at the end of this week, the future of the money-losing long-distance telephone carrier seems to be in doubt.
24 -> FAA & Inmarsat Approve In-Flight Multimedia 04/26/95 Skyphone the consortium of British Telecom, Singapore Telecom and Telenor, has announced it has received final certification from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in the US and Inmarsat in the UK for network interconnection to Data 3, the new satellite standard system for interactive passenger services.
25 -> Interactive Age Ranks Business Web Sites 04/26/95 The April 24 issue of "Interactive Age" is going into what it sees as "uncharted cyberwaters." The "newspaper for electronic commerce" ranked the top 25 business sites on the Internet's World Wide Web.
26 -> Times Mirror/Cox To Invest $200Mil In New Cable Ventures 04/26/95 Times Mirror Co. (NYSE:TMC) and Cox Communications (NYSE:COX) said they are sinking up to $200 million dollars in two sports-related cable channels. The companies also announced that ESPN veteran Roger L. Werner, Jr. will head the two ventures, along with a third targeted to create "economies of scale" for programming initiatives.
27 -> Netcom Posts 470% Revenue Increase 04/26/95 Netcom (NASDAQ:NETC), a relatively new national Internet provider, has in its first year grown from 15,000 to 115,000 subscribers. Reflecting its rapid growth, the company's first quarter results showed a 470% increase in revenues over the same quarter in 1994.
28 -> ****Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Videconferencing 04/26/95 At a Broadway theater in Manhattan, linked to 85 other sites from Tokyo to Spring- Comdex in Atlanta, Picturetel presented an event billed as the first multi-point, full-motion videoconference to take place over standard telephone lines.
29 -> ****Prodigy Announces New CEO 04/26/95 Prodigy has announced the retirement of its current president and chief executive officer (CEO), Ross Glatzer. At the same time, the company announced the appointment of Ed Bennett as his successor as of May 1.
(Patrick McKenna/19950426)
Patrick McKenna/19950426)
4/26/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
#P#|#^#
UK - Firms Dissatisfied With Int
LIVERPOOL, MERSEYSIDE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- PhoneLink the company behind the Tel-Me information service, has published what it claims is the first report on what businesses think about the "reality of the Internet," when compared to the promises made by Internet service providers and the media generally.
The research claims to show a possible backlash against the Internet resulting from user dissatisfaction, coupled with the perceived promise of the Internet. While 72 percent of respondents feel that the Internet has the potential to become a key source of business information, only 27 percent of users say that it is contributing to their business.
Thirty-seven percent of users, meanwhile, are dissatisfied with the Internet and 48 percent of respondents believe that it has been over-hyped.
The market research campaign was based on 211 phone interviews carried out during February and March of this year, amongst business executives and PAs, including 105 people who use the Internet and 106 who do not.
Phil Madden, PhoneLink's marketing director, explained that the undoubted potential of the Internet has "not yet been matched by its ability to deliver practical business benefits.
"Given the huge productivity gains at stake, we are not surprised businesses are looking for better access via the Internet to key sources of business information, which is precisely what we now offer with Tel-Me. With the addition of free, easy to use Internet mail Tel-Me 2.0 (the company's updated online information service) must be the best way for the great majority of UK businesses to join the Internet community," he said.
According to PhoneLink, less than 10 percent of non-users plan to access the Internet over the next 12 months, suggesting that growth in the business side of the Internet is slowing to a trickle.
This, the report notes, contrasts with recent press reports that there are 30 million Internet subscribers worldwide, with more than a million coming online every month. This suggests that the bulk of the growth is coming from academia, given that it is now common practice for students to be given free Internet access on enrollment.
Respondents admitted to spending an average of four hours per week hunting for basic business information such as phone numbers, company information, news, train times, hotel and restaurant details directions, exchange rates and weather reports.
According to Madden, with an average executive costing around the UKP40,000 mark in salary terms, the cost to employers when they research this information works out at UKP8,000 a year. "The Internet," Madden said, "is failing to deliver a bottom line benefit, despite the huge productivity gains that are up for grabs."
The report was the groundwork for PhoneLink's launch of the Tel-Me services. Like the original Tel-Me service, v2.0 provides users with a variety of online information, such as news and weather, but also allows access to the Internet, including Web and Internet mail facilities.
Tel-Me 2.0 sees Tel-Me cut its subscription rates to UKP49.95, plus UKP 9.95 per month ongoing charges. Access to Tel-Me is via modem dial-up or ISDN (integrated services digital network). UK Weather, CCN and Infocheck company information, as well as the last two hours of the PA Newswire headlines, are now free on Tel-Me 2.0. Previously they cost between 10 and 15 pence per transaction.
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB0 -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) says it has acquired a patented software technology that lets users send faxes and other information across local area networks (LANs) wide area networks (WANs), and even telephone lines to a specific desktop computer, printer, fax machine, or even a copier.
The technology is called NEST Autoroute, and Novell said it is one of the first applications to take advantage of the Novell Embedded Systems Technology (NEST). NEST is written in the C language to be CPU (central processing unit) independent and can be ported from one platform to another. It can access Novell's NetWare Directory Services and includes tools to test SPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange) and IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) protocols as well as printer applications.
In February of this year Newsbytes reported that Novell was shipping a NEST software developer's kit (SDK) that lets original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) build network technology and services directly into electronic devices such as printers copiers, security systems, building controls and home appliances.
Novell said adding Autoroute is a software-only modification making it easy for OEMs to implement NEST in their own products. The concept of fax routing isn't a new one, said Darl McBride, VP and general manager for Novell's Extended Networks Division, but previously has been costly and complex until now. "Fax routing has been available for ten years, but almost nobody used it because the solutions were proprietary, complex and costly, often forcing companies to utilize one manufacturer's machine and even a specific model," said McBride.
Autoroute works by including an alphanumeric code or codes with each fax transmission, similar to an electronic-mail (e-mail) address. That code is unique to each destination and tells the system where to deliver the fax.
Novell said a major advantage to using Autoroute is the ability to eliminate the cover page that accompanies most faxed documents since Autoroute knows where to deliver the fax. According to Novell that can cut the cost of transmission approximately in half, since its research shows the average fax is two pages including the cover sheet. Whether users want that cost savings enough to stop using the cover page, where additional instructions, contact names and numbers and other data is often included, remains to be seen.
Novell also claims Autoroute will make broadcast faxing less expensive. The company said the fax is sent once via the WAN or phone connection, then broadcast to multiple recipients over the destination's LAN, requiring only one long distance phone call instead of numerous calls to a destination where multiple recipients are located.
Novell said it will make Autoroute developer kits available for both hardware and software vendors. The development kit will provide vendors code definitions and complete documentation to develop software that includes Autoroute. A hardware specifications kit will aid OEMs in adding Autoroute functionality to existing hardware devices through a backwards compatible add-on encoder box so users won't have to replace their printer, copier or other hardware in order to take advantage of the Autoroute capability. Novell said the hardware kit will include design information, timing diagrams, schematics and documentation for the development of an external device.
Both kits will ship this quarter, said Novell. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but Novell reports more than 30 OEMs are already working to add Autoroute functionality to upcoming products.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has introduced "Make A Story," a home education program designed to develop pre-reading skills.
Novell introduced "Make A Story" at this week's Comdex trade show in Atlanta. The program is part of Novell's PerfectHome product line. PerfectHome is the new name for the former WordPerfect Main Street software offerings.
"Make A Story" combines with another early reading title "Read-A-Rama" and with "Read With Me" to form a multimedia reading series on CD-ROM.
Novell said "Make A Story" uses story creating to teach children about letter sounds. Those sounds, known as "phonemes," are the building blocks of words, according to the software company. As a child learns the individual sounds that make up words, their reading proficiency increases. Novell said the best predictors of first-grade reading achievement are letter recognition and the ability to discriminate between phonemes.
"Make a Story" consists of six activities -- Choose a Rhyme, Make It Rhyme, Choose a Sound, Right Sound, Put it Together, and Choose a Friend -- that incorporate rhyming, letter sounds, and story building. A talking interface helps pre-readers learn on their own without constant supervision.
In Choose a Rhyme and Make it Rhyme, the child learns about rhyming by creating, seeing, and hearing their stories. They can choose from different rhyming passages in Choose a Rhyme or find the one rhyming option in Make it Rhyme. The 10 different story options include elements from popular nursery rhymes like This Little Pig Little Miss Muffer, and Hey, Diddle Diddle.
Choose a Sound and Right Sound are designed to reinforce letter sounds and help the child associate letters with their sounds. In each story, all elements start with the same letter sound and as the story is told, the computer emphasized the first-letter sound. Ten different story themes include Wee Willie Winkee and Long Lewie.
Put it Together teaches how words go together to form sentences. The user can create a sandwich, a ski outfit, monster, ice cream sundae or dinosaur in the dozen story options.
"Make a Story" was developed by Novell and the Waterford Institute, a non-profit group that conducts research at its own school and in public schools on the effective use of technology in reading and math instruction.
Children are provided the story beginning, then select the elements to continue and complete it. Once a story has been created the young user can choose to have it read to them, save it, print it, or build the story again with a different twist. The program supports color printing and requires no cutting and pasting to create a story booklet.
Novell said "Make A Story" will ship in June with a suggested retail price of $49.95. To run the program you need a PC that runs on at least a 486SX chip, four megabytes (MB) of memory (Novell recommends 8MB), 1MB of available hard disk space, Windows 3.1 or later, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, a 256-color video display, a mouse, and a MPC2-compatible sound card and speakers.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- IBM (NYSE:IBM) has added a new model to its ThinkPad line of notebook computers, but the new ThinkPad 340CSE will not be sold in the United States. The 66 megahertz (MHz) 486-based machine will be sold in Canada Europe, and Japan, IBM said.
Company spokesman Michael Corrado told Newsbytes there are no plans to introduce the 340CSE to the US market.
Besides its 66MHz 486 processor, the 340CSE is equipped with a 10.4-inch dual-scan color display and a 360 megabyte (MB) hard disk. It uses IBM's TrackPoint II pointing device -- a tiny lever mounted in the middle of the keyboard to take the place of a mouse -- and has a built-in diskette drive and a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery. Four MB of memory is standard.
The new notebook weighs 5.3 pounds (2.38 kilograms) including the battery, IBM Canada said. According to the company, this makes it among the lightest in IBM's ThinkPad line and lighter than many comparable notebooks from other manufacturers.
The ThinkPad 340CSE -- the initials indicate a passive-matrix color screen and an enhanced model -- will operate on battery power for 2.2 to 4.4 hours depending on usage, IBM Canada spokesman Kevin McKee told Newsbytes.
Pre-loaded software includes: IBM's PC-DOS 6.3 operating system; Microsoft's Windows 3.11; Lotus Development Corp.'s Organizer personal information manager; ScreenCam sales, training, and publishing software; Asymetrix' Compel presentation-graphics software; facsimile software; screen savers; and other utilities.
The 340CSE is sold with IBM's HelpWare service and support package, including a one-year international warranty with courier service, plus Online Housecall, a plan under which IBM technicians diagnose and if possible repair malfunctioning machines by modem.
IBM Canada has a list price of C$3,499 for the 340CSE.
(Grant Buckler/19950427/Press Contact: Kevin McKee, IBM Canada, 905-316-3902)
t: Kevin McKee, IBM Canada, 905-316-3902)
4/27/95
IBM Launches ThinkPad 340CSE Outside US
J h
Oklahoma Bombing Info On Interne
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- In the eight days since the side of the Federal building in Oklahoma City was blown off by a bomb, news of the incident is to be found all over the Internet. Many corners of cyberspace are being occupied with people who grieve over the dead, support efforts to capture and prosecute the person or persons who set the bomb, and even people who support what the bombers did.
Since Newsbytes first reported the efforts of Internet Oklahoma, a local Internet access provider, co-owner Phyllis Johnson reports that traffic into her site is beginning to taper off -- just a bit.
But she said her staff is still working overtime to not only keep information updated on the company's World Wide Web site, but to also sign up locals who want to access the Internet for more information on the bombing.
Between last Wednesday, the day the bomb exploded, and Friday morning Johnson said her company's site recorded 19,000 hits. As of yesterday 63,000 hits had been recorded. Her engineer has had to make adjustments to the company's Sun server to keep up with the traffic. Her site is providing links to other informational sites, lists of hospitalized survivors and the dead, important phone numbers, news updates, and composite sketches of the suspects.
"This is history in America. And Lord only knows if its the beginning of other things to come. We don't want to think that, but this is a pretty weird time," Johnson told Newsbytes.
Some of the Usenet newsgroups, which are essentially electronic bulletin boards for people to post messages, provide "equal time" to those people with a darker view of the Oklahoma City tragedy.
Groups like "alt.society.anarchy," "alt.society.revolution," and "alt.pagan" have messages discussing whether the Oklahoma bombers should get the death penalty, supporting the bombers, and accusing the media of misinforming the public about "militias." Timothy McVeigh, a suspect in the bombing, is an alleged member of one such militia. One message even suggested that President Clinton ordered the bombings, so that he could declare martial law and force new executive orders.
But support for victims, law enforcement, and rescuers tended to outweigh the more "fringe" elements on the Internet -- if a cursory Newsbytes survey of the Net is any indication. A prime example of this is a sympathy card that's being made for the victims and citizens of Oklahoma City. Users are instructed to electronically mail (e-mail) their message to Oklahoma@fortnet.org. To view the card, point your Web browser to http://www.fortnet.org/~joshb/OKLAHOMA.
When Newsbytes looked at the card entries, more than five pages of messages had already been submitted. Many were heartfelt, including "Know that all of you are in my prayers, especially the children," and "Words cannot express the deep sorrow we feel for the victims and families of this tragedy. You are in our hearts and prayers."
(Bob Woods/19950427/Press Contact: Phyllis Johnson, Internet Oklahoma, 405-721-1580. Public Contact: Internet Oklahoma, Internet World Wide Web http://www.ionet.net; Sympathy Card Information Internet e-mail to Oklahoma@fortnet.org, view at Internet World Wide Web http://www.fortnet.org/~joshb/OKLAHOMA)
://www.fortnet.org/~joshb/OKLAHOMA)
4/27/95
Oklahoma Bombing Info On Internet
ONLINE
Seagate Gets New VP For Asia-Pac
SINGAPORE, SEA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Seagate Technology Inc. has announced the appointment of Dale Hughes as vice-president, Product Line Management for the Asia-Pacific region.
Previously Seagate's executive director of Product Line Management for the Far East, in his new position Hughes will be responsible for Program Management and Account Management for the Pacific Rim region.
In addition to providing customer liaison and support, Hughes will oversee the management and continued development of programs to increase the efficiency of communications between the company's US design centers and its Far East manufacturing operations.
Seagate is experiencing dynamic growth in the Asia Pacific region with 39 percent revenue growth during the 1994 fiscal year. Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world information technology market, with total PC shipments reaching 7.9 million units in 1994.
"In this market, Seagate's competitive advantage lies not only in providing performance, price and availability to customers, but also in the added value of high quality and customer service," said Bernie Carballo, Seagate's senior vice-president, Sales and Marketing.
C CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Gupta Corp., a major vendor of database-independent software development tools, is to set up its Asia regional headquarters in Hong Kong.
The territory will also be home to the company's Asian Support Center and to Gupta China/Hong Kong, a separate company that will handle sales and first-line support throughout China and Hong Kong.
Gupta Asia Operation, led by software industry veteran George Billman is responsible for sales, marketing and technical services for 15 Asian markets from Korea to Indonesia, and west to Pakistan.
"Major end-users are increasingly concerned to protect their application investment and preserve their flexibility when it comes to SQL (structured query language) database technology," said Billman. "In the 1980s SQL database vendors emerged to meet market demand for database systems that were independent of hardware and operating system platforms. Today, the demand is for graphical application development tools that are independent of the SQL databases."
Gupta's Asian Support Center (ASC) will form part of the regional headquarters operation, providing technical support to the company's network of Asian distribution partners. The ASC has an initial staff of five support engineers and is expected to account for most of Gupta's regional workforce in the future.
Gupta China/Hong Kong is headed by Managing Director Francis Ng, who has extensive experience of client-server sales and consulting in both markets, according to the company. Most recently, he was general manager of Powersoft Hong Kong Ltd. The company's executive director is Ron Chan, co-founder of CL Computers, who also has interests in Sequent China and is managing director of Nantian (HK) Holdings Ltd.
The company Initially has 12 people employed in sales, engineering support, marketing, and consulting positions in its Hong Kong office. Additionally, offices are already operational in Beijing and Shanghai employing nine people, and a further office is planned for Guangzhou within this year.
Gupta China/Hong Kong has exclusive rights to distribute Gupta software products in its territory and is the master Gupta Authorized Support Center and Gupta Authorized Training Center.
(Keith Cameron/19950427/Press Contact: George Billman, Gupta Asia Operation, 852-2848-9188)
t: George Billman, Gupta Asia Operation, 852-2848-9188)
4/27/95
Gupta Establishes Asian HQ, China/Hong Kong Operation
BUSINESS
Asian Growth Big Contributor For
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. has reported net income of US$74 million for the third quarter which ended April 1, compared with a net loss of US$183 million for the same period last year.
"Our revenue in the Asia Pacific region grew by 24 percent as compared with the same quarter last year, with excellent contributions from all business units," said Bobby Choonavala, president of Digital Equipment Corporation Asia Pacific. "Our 64-bit Alpha workstations and servers continue to win increasing popularity with customers."
He added: "The quarter also saw outstanding performance from our PC Business Unit, whose sales were up by 65 percent from the previous quarter. This is a direct response to the introduction of our Venturis Celebris and HiNote families at the end of 1994 and establishes Digital as one of the fastest growing PC vendors in the region."
(Keith Cameron/19950424/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel, Digital Equipment Corp., 852-2805-3510)
Engel, Digital Equipment Corp., 852-2805-3510)
4/27/95
Asian Growth Big Contributor For DEC 3rd Qtr
BUSINESS
Australian Cabling Donated For K
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Krone Australia is donating AUS$60,000 of Australian designed and manufactured cabling products to help rebuild Kobe's telecommunications infrastructure after the recent earthquake. They are being sent to NTT, the Japanese telecommunications company.
Many of the region's communications links were destroyed, with around 60 percent of cables needing to be replaced. The total damage bill is in excess of US$300 million.
Krone's general manager of cabling product, Bob Walker, visited Kobe to determine what help his company could provide. "We already have $100,000 of cabling product installed in the region and we are vying for more business in the Japanese market. Further sales have been hampered, with TEMA (Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturer's Association) pressuring Japanese companies to buy locally made, yet the Japanese industry has lagged behind other western countries."
He said that the disaster had made it possible to challenge TEMA's stranglehold over the supply of telecommunications equipment to the domestic market. "Japanese companies are now evaluating imported technology to provide more durable and flexible communications links."
He added that on his site visit, he was able to demonstrate to NTT engineers that Krone cabling systems had remained intact through the earthquake, while older, less flexible local product had been destroyed.
(Paul Zucker/19950424/Press Contact: Krone Australia tel +61-43-88-4422, fax +61-43-88-4499)
ne Australia tel +61-43-88-4422, fax +61-43-88-4499)
4/27/95
Australian Cabling Donated For Kobe Reconstruction
TELECOM
Australia - Internet Provider Us
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Australian Internet service provider AUSnet has been embarrassed by an Internet user who discovered a clear-text list of users and their credit card details on an AUSnet computer, then proceeded to publish the details via the Internet.
Called "Optik Surfer," the person obtained a number of user names and card details, then made these available to some Internet users. In a public message left on AUSnet's home page, Optik said he was doing this to point out the lax security on the Net. Although there were a claimed 1,200 records stolen, AUSnet said it was only aware of "perhaps a dozen or two."
AUSnet General Manager Tom Koltai said he has lost some accounts commercial users who said they were concerned that this could happen. Koltai explained that there was a short period of time "minutes only" when a system update was performed and the area in question was unprotected. Optik Surfer said it was a more endemic problem that could be repeated on other systems.
A number of local Internet experts and commentators have spoken out about the incident, and one of these was the subject of a federal police raid last week when a number of computers were confiscated for off-site examination.
The Australian press and broadcast media spent a vast amount of time and words covering the story, drawing amazing conclusions about the ability of data to jump out of computers, and dragging all sorts of "experts" in for comment.
(Paul Zucker/19950427)
erts" in for comment.
(Paul Zucker/19950427)
4/27/95
Australia - Internet Provider User List Stolen
ONLINE
India - Onward To Sell SDRC's CA
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- In a bid to further its penetration into the mechanical CAD/CAM/CAE (computer-aided design/ manufacturing/engineering) market in India, Structural Dynamics Research Corp. (SDRC) has appointed its first distributor from the software industry -- Onward Technologies Ltd.
SDRC has four more distributors -- Tata Elxsi India Ltd., HCL Hewlett-Packard Ltd., OMC Ltd., and Tata Information Systems Ltd. All of those are hardware vendors that have been offering SDRC packages as part of a hardware bundle.
"Lately the hardware vendors are concentrating more on box-selling. So we decided to change the business model," SDRC's new country manager, Narendar Reddy told Newsbytes. "Onward being entirely a software company will be able to provide better support, training and customization," he added.
SDRC is a leading international developer-supplier of mechanical design automation software and engineering services. Its flagship I-DEAS Master Series, with over 90 integrated modules, automates the mechanical product development process from design through manufacturing, claims the company.
SDRC has over 800 licensees in India of a total 11,400 worldwide and it gained $2.4 million in sales from January-December, 1994 said Frank J. Kovacs, manager of major accounts marketing, SDRC. "The target set for 1995 is $2.9 million, but from the sales pitch so far, it looks like $3.2 million could easily be amassed," he added.
The lion's share of the R24 crore revenue in 1994-95 for Onward Technologies has come from the engineering products. Apart from SDRC, Onward has alliances with Aspen Technology for process simulation packages, Setpoint for process control, CNC Software for manufacturing products, Algor for finite element analysis Viewlogic for electronic design automation, and with Visual Numerics for graphics visualization and analysis.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950427)
and analysis.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950427)
4/27/95
India - Onward To Sell SDRC's CAD Software
BUSINESS
India - Silicon Graphics Highlig
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- "Silicon Graphics is not a systems integrator, but a catalyst," claimed Ashok Desai, managing director of Silicon Graphics Systems India Pvt. Ltd. A taste of the 2,500 packages running on the Silicon Graphics platform was available at Visual Expo '95 -- which featured 14 international software development firms -- last month in New Delhi.
The developers hailed from diverse areas of jewelry design, CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/manufacturing), textile/fashion design film/video special-effects, publishing/pre-press, architectural engineering, or even defense simulation.
"The idea was to accelerate the process of getting the feel of diverse applications, engineering and not commercial, for the Indian users," Desai told Computers Today. But since most of the displayed packages were developed and optimized on Silicon Graphics hardware, it "fitted well" with the indirect business strategy of Silicon Graphics India.
With every alliance for software distribution, software development or technology sharing struck, each Indian company involved becomes a value-added reseller by default, said the company.
While the participant's list in the expo ranged from Eastman Kodak and Wavefront to Barco Graphics and CADD Centre, two firms stood out from the pack: Coryphaeus Software Inc. of the US with its tools for visual simulation and virtual reality applications; and Computer Design Inc., also from the US, with products for fashion, shoe and jewelry design.
Though Silicon Graphics has a presence in 36 countries around the world, SG India is the first unit to get a 100 percent subsidiary status. The one-year old company has already garnered R40 crore in revenues, informed Desai. While Tata Elxsi India Ltd. is the only distributor of Silicon Graphics hardware in India, there are 12 value-added resellers.
The company will also take up the testing and manufacture of boards for Silicon Graphics systems by October. With the broadbasing of operations, Desai expects to cross the R100 crore revenue figure by the next financial year.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950427)
e next financial year.
(C.T. Mahabharat/19950427)
4/27/95
India - Silicon Graphics Highlighted At Visual Expo
GENERAL
N %N
China - State-Run Telco To Offer
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- The state-run public telecommunication system plans to offer public access to the Internet as early as May.
Although some academic/educational organizations -- such as the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Science, the State Education Commission, Beijing University, and Tsinghua University -- already have linked their international telecommunication networks with the Internet, it is still difficult for the general public to access the global "network of networks."
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications announced that exhibiting and introducing China's Internet services to the public will be the major activity organized by the ministry to mark World Telecommunications Day on May 17.
Also on show will be the ministry's fifth set of magnetic telephone cards which can be used at some special public phones (usually at the post offices, railway stations, and airports).
An official in the Data Communication Bureau of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications told Newsbytes that the ministry is now testing China's Internet operations. The bureau declined to comment on planned service fees. "Regulations and service fees will be announced soon," the bureau official said.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950418/Reader Contact: Data Communication Bureau of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication, +86-1-201-2994)
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication, +86-1-201-2994)
4/27/95
China - State-Run Telco To Offer Public Internet Access
ONLINE
China - Electronics Industries B
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- In recent years, electronic industries in the Zhejiang Province have mushroomed. The total value of production by such industries in 1994 reached RMB10.5 billion (US$1.25 billion).
The value of exported electronic products was US$200 million which ranked fourth in China, China Infoworld reports.
Zhejiang Province is located on the east coast of China, neighboring Shanghai. Ten years ago, electronic industries in Zhejiang were still rather weak and the annual production value was less than RMB100 million.
Currently, there are more than 4,000 electronic enterprises in the province, producing hundreds of kinds of electronic products, ranging from components to computer and communication systems. Production of some products, such as floppy disk drives and communication cables, is ranked top in China.
The product structure of electronics industries in Zhejiang has also been improved. More and more integrated systems are being developed instead of simply manufacturing components and parts. More than 500 electronic products in Zhejiang are now integrated devices or systems.
In addition to its improved quality, Zhejiang electronic products are reportedly produced promptly to meet the market demands. Therefore their products are welcomed by many distributors and dealers in other provinces and cities, and even many foreign countries including the United States, Hong Kong, and some in South America, Europe, and Africa. This also attracts foreign investors. There are more than 100 joint ventures in the business of electronic products in Zhejiang China Infoworld says.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/950414)
China Infoworld says.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/950414)
4/27/95
China - Electronics Industries Boom In Zhejiang Province
GENERAL
World Wide Web Top Of NSFnet Tra
RESTON, VIRGINIA, USA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- The World Wide Web has moved to the top of the chart in NSFnet's monthly traffic distribution statistics.
The statistics cover all network data traveling across the National Science Foundation's high-speed Internet backbone known as NSFnet and are compiled monthly by the organization. Despite the winding down of the network, the figures are relative and represent a broad cross section of the Internet as a whole.
At 16,880,373,100 packets, the World Wide Web accounted for 19% of total traffic on the network, up from 15% in February, and 13% in January.
Previously FTP (File Transfer Protocol) data made up the single biggest group, but an explosion in use of and information available on the World Wide Web have pushed FTP into second place in terms of packets of data. When raw data is counted though, it still accounts for the largest amount at 24.2%, just ahead of the World Wide Web at 23.8%.
In March a total of 20,239,988,701,200 bytes of data traveled across the NSFnet compared with 19,119,019,090,700 at the beginning of the year.
The top five categories in March in terms of packets of data were: World Wide Web 19.0%; FTP data 15.6%; Telnet 8.3%; NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) newsgroups 8.1%; SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) 7.0%.
NSFnet measure traffic according to the port number it is connecting to so all World Wide Web data refers to port 80, the standard port for web servers. Traffic to non-standard ports is unmeasured, although this only makes up a small fraction of the total. Full data can be retrieved by FTP from ftp.merit.edu in the nsfnet/statistics/1995 directory.
(Martyn Williams/19950427)
5 directory.
(Martyn Williams/19950427)
4/27/95
World Wide Web Top Of NSFnet Traffic List
ONLINE
US Says NTT May Be Violating Tra
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- The US embassy in Tokyo says it believes that NTT Personal Communications Network may be breaking the US-Japan telecommunications procurement agreement.
Discussion is centered on whether the Japanese company is covered by clauses in the NTT procurement agreement regarding subsidiaries of NTT.
Bill Morgan, a spokesman at the US embassy in Tokyo, told Newsbytes; "At question is whether the connection between NTT and NTT Personal is so distant that it should be covered by the agreement."
NTT Personal Communications Network is to start offering the Personal Handy Phone System (PHS) from this summer in the capital.
The US embassy believes that it should fall under the agreement. Morgan continued: "A sideletter covers it. If subsidiaries are exempt then the incentive to NTT whenever they wanted to procure anything would be to create a subsidiary. The idea was to sweep in all subsidiaries."
NTT did own 70% of NTT Personal until this month when their share was reduced to 28%. The remaining 72% share is split between Itoh Chu, Marubeni, Cable and Wireless, and NTT DoCoMo, a subsidiary of NTT, which holds 48% of the entire company.
When contacted by Newsbytes, a spokesman for NTT in Tokyo said: "We have no reaction and no comment. It depends on the government." The government's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has released no comment so far.
(Martyn Williams/19950427/Press contacts: US Embassy Tokyo 81-3-3224-5000; NTT Corp., +81-3-3509-3101; Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, +81-3-3504-4411)
and Telecommunications, +81-3-3504-4411)
4/27/95
US Says NTT May Be Violating Trade Deal
Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electr
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- After repeated delays, the Toronto Stock Exchange has dumped its original plan to automate equity trading and will try to expand its existing Computer-Assisted Trading System (CATS) to replace the trading floor.
The exchange announced in February, 1992, that it planned to close its trading floor within little more than a year and replace it with a new automated trading system. Technical problems have delayed the project repeatedly since then, and now the exchange has announced that it has scrapped the original plan.
While the project could have been completed, officials said, it would have been delayed further, costs would have risen above budget, and it would have been some time before system reliability and availability could be assured. The exchange has therefore decided to begin designing a new trading platform, and in the meantime to adapt the CATS system so that brokers can use it to conduct electronic trades from personal computers in their offices.
This would not have been possible a year ago, officials said, but is possible now. Exchange spokesman Steve Kee said he could not elaborate on the technical reasons for this, and the president of the exchange, Rowland Fleming, could not be reached for comment by Newsbytes' deadline.
The CATS system, which was one of the earliest initiatives in electronic stock trading and has been sold to several other exchanges, currently is used to trade lower-volume stocks.
Kee also could not say what the exchange's attempts to automate trading have cost so far. He did say that at this point it appears the trading floor may finally close next year. The Toronto exchange has operated a trading floor for nearly 120 years.
When the plan to close the TSE floor was announced in 1992, the exchange said it would be the first major stock exchange to dispense entirely with floor trading for stocks.
(Grant Buckler/19950427/Press Contact: Steve Kee, Toronto Stock Exchange, 416-947-4682; Jane McGillivray, Toronto Stock Exchange 416-947-4669; Rowland Fleming, Toronto Stock Exchange tel 416-947-4502, fax 416-947-4662)
o Stock Exchange tel 416-947-4502, fax 416-947-4662)
4/27/95
Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electronic Trading Plans
TRENDS
Financing Deal Gives Unitel A Re
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Two major shareholders in Unitel Communications Inc. have agreed to advance more money to keep the struggling long-distance telephone company going for at least two more months.
Toronto-based Rogers Communications Inc., which a few days ago announced it would not exercise an option to buy a majority interest in Unitel from Canadian Pacific Ltd. of Montreal, will provide half of the roughly C$45 million in additional funding while AT&T provides the other half. Rogers owns 29.5 percent of Unitel and AT&T holds 22.5 percent, while Canadian Pacific owns 48 percent.
After a board meeting Wednesday, the three shareholders also announced that William Fatt, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Canadian Pacific, has been appointed chairman of Unitel. He replaces Edward S. (Ted) Rogers, head of Rogers Communications, who resigned from that post earlier this week. Two Rogers executives also resigned as vice-chairmen at that time.
Unitel still needs an extension of credit from its banks. Friday is the official deadline for Unitel to repay C$650 million in loans. That deadline has already been extended, but officials said they expect the banks will agree to a further extension to June 30 to allow time for restructuring of Unitel's ownership.
In one bit of good news, Unitel announced that its first-quarter revenues were up 31 percent over last year's first quarter. However, the company still has serious problems, Toronto-based telecommunications industry-watcher Eamon Hoey told Newsbytes.
"I'd be really concerned when you look up to the top and you see the shareholder who's got 48 percent saying 'I want out,'" Hoey said, referring to Canadian Pacific.
He said there are a number of plausible scenarios for Unitel's future. The company might be liquidated, he said, or Rogers and AT&T might agree to take over CP's share for a low price. Whatever the ownership, it is possible Unitel will decide to give up on the long-distance business and return to its historic role as a provider of leased lines and other business communications services (the company grew out of Canadian National Canadian Pacific Telecommunications, an amalgamation of the major Canadian railways' telegraph operations).
Hoey blamed Unitel's problems largely on mismanagement and said its troubles do not mean long-distance telephone competition in Canada is failing. Other competitors, such as Sprint Canada and Fonorola, are doing better than Unitel, he said.
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- America Online (AOL) is giving its users a sneak preview of the World Wide Web (Web). AOL is previewing its long-awaited interconnection to the Internet's graphical Web, originally developed in Europe's CERN high-energy physics lab.
AOL users can download new software for Windows that updates the current 2.0 version, and offers Web access through a browser developed by BookLink.
AOL purchased BookLink last year to integrate its browser into the AOL offerings, which already included conventional Internet services such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), electronic-mail and gopher access. AOL is calling its browser "TurboWeb."
AOL warns users that the new software is a beta version, and is asking for reports on bugs and other problems with the upgrade. "We are working night and day on AOL 2.5," says the online service in its preview area, "and the revision that you are about to begin using is not the final revision of this software."
During the preview, when AOL releases a new version with bug fixes, "there is a 10 day 'upgrade period' during which we encourage you to download and install the newest version. At the end of the ten day period, we 'turn off' the previous version. Simply put, after a release of a new revision of the preview software, the previous version will no longer connect to America Online. This only happens with preview software. America Online for Windows version 2.0 will continue to work."
AOL bills its new Web browser as "the fastest Web browser on the planet," because it has a caching feature that saves downloaded Web pages so a revisit to a favorite site doesn't require a new download. "America Online's exclusive TurboWeb technology provides the best combination of speed (displaying Web pages up to 3+ times faster than any other browser available), quality and ease of use," says the online service.
The browser also allows users to "surf" the web while continuing the AOL connection. "AOL and Web content is now organized together based on topics of interest," says AOL. "You can even chat with other AOL members, read your e-mail, and send instant messages, while you explore the World Wide Web through America Online."
The new AOL 2.5 software also includes some Internet Newsgroups enhancements, including an off-line reader and parental controls that allow parents to lock their kids out of specific areas and turn off the ability to view any files downloaded from the Internet. This responds to problems AOL, and other online services, have had with online pornography. The Internet is rife with porn sites.
The new software also includes multimedia enhancements that allow users to download and play sound, video and music files without leaving AOL.
To learn about the new software's features and to download the beta version, use the keyword "AOL PREVIEW." The download takes about 25 minutes at 14,400 bits-per-second.
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- US factory sales of electronics hit $84.8 billion for the first quarter of 1995 a jump of 13 percent over last year's first quarter sales of $75 billion, according to the Electronic Industries Association.
"Demand for our products continue to grow," says Peter McCloskey, EIA president. "We are particularly pleased with this first quarter's report, which shows each one of our sectors outpacing last year's results." McCloskey predicts a record breaking year for the industry.
The telecommunications manufacturers led the electronics league in growth in the first quarter. Sales hit $13.5 billion, up 24 percent over last year's $10.9 billion.
In second place were component sector sales, up 19 percent to $23.4 billion from $20 billion last year.
Computers and peripherals were in a solid third place, with 10 percent growth from $14 billion in last year's first quarter to $15.4 billion for the first quarter of 1995.
Rounding out the standings, consumer electronics saw solid growth of nine percent to $2.2 billion in 1995 from $2 billion last year. The catch-all "other" category grew nine percent to $13.5 billion from $12.4 billion.
Electromedical equipment factory sales increased four percent to $2.3 billion from $2.2 billion, while industrial electronics grew some three percent to $7.3 billion from $7.1 billion.
Sitting solidly in the cellar, and reflecting the continued impact of the end of the Cold War, was defense communications equipment, which saw sales grow two percent to $7 billion from $6.9 billion.
(Kennedy Maize/19950427/Press Contact: Mark Rosenker, EIA 202-907-7790)
k Rosenker, EIA 202-907-7790)
4/27/95
US Electronics Sales Up 13%
TRENDS
Franklin Electronic Enters Consu
MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. (NYSE:FEP) is entering into the consumer market by announcing an agreement with the publisher of Physician's Desk Reference, to produce electronic hand-held book versions of three leading consumer health titles from "The PDR Family Guide" series.
"There's an increased interest for consumers to take control of their own health," Larry Teitelbaum, Franklin spokesperson, told Newsbytes. "so they can ask informed questions, and they can understand what they're putting into their bodies." Consumer health titles are becoming increasingly popular in the marketplace, he added.
The titles will be developed as cartridges for Franklin's "Bookman," which has an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen, a typewriter-style keyboard, and a cartridge slot for the book cartridges.
The PDR Family Guide series books Franklin has licensed are: "The PDR Family Guide to Prescription Drugs," which lists drugs by brand and generic names and includes overviews of some major health problems; "The PDR Family Guide to Women's Health and Prescription Drugs," which provides information on women's health concerns; and "The PDR Family Guide to Nutrition and Health," which focuses on nutrition needs for family members of all ages.
No date has been set yet for the release of the series, but Teitelbaum said his company is moving quickly to get the product into stores.
The company also said it will release the electronic Parents' Emergency Medical Guide in May. It will also develop the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, Dr. Stephen Schueler's Consumer Guide to Drug Interactions and other medical books in the electronic format. Currently, Franklin publishes other electronic clinical medicine titles, including the Pocket PDR (Physicians' Desk Reference) for Medical Economics.
Medical Economics Company publishes The PDR Family Guide series along with the Physicians' Desk Reference.
(Bob Woods/19950427/Press Contacts: Len Abbazia or Larry Teitelbaum, Franklin Electronic Publishers, 609-261-4800)
ranklin Electronic Publishers, 609-261-4800)
4/27/95
Franklin Electronic Enters Consumer Market
HEALTH
ABI, Yellownet Collaborate On In
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- As the number of Internet users grows by leaps and bounds, a service that once appealed only to scientists and academics is drawing new interest from businesses who want to advertise on the worldwide network of computer systems.
YellowNet Corp. has teamed with Omaha, Nebraska-based American Business Information Inc. (NASDAQ: ABBI) to offer a service they say will make it easier and cheaper to reach that pool of an estimated 20-30 million potential purchasers already using the Internet.
ABI already has databases the company said contains the telephone number and address of 11 million businesses. YellowNet said it will immediately start posting that database on the Internet in the YellowNet World-Wide Pages. YellowNet affiliates, which YellowNet spokesperson John Najdovski told Newsbytes are sales organizations and independent yellow pages publishers across the country, will then market advertisements that use a company's business listing as an entry point to complete text and graphics for an ad, a process YellowNet said will cut the cost of Internet advertising by four-fifths.
Potential buyers access ads using YellowNet's proprietary search engine, OmniSearch, which highlights information through the use of Hypertext. Clicking on hypertext moves the user to more information about the selected subject. Users can search by geographic location or by category.
Najdovski said there are already a lot of companies advertising on the World Wide Web, but the graphic images are often slow to display and usually are just print ads converted to an electronic version. He said Web browsers don't want to wait 60 to 90 seconds for an ad to appear. "We've done a lot of work in the area of digital compression and minimizing file sizes by utilizing blend and limiting the palette of colors....so their ad can render in 10 seconds or less," said Najdovski.
You can let your fingers do the walking through Yellownet's electronic classified ads at the URL http://www.yellownet.com
(Jim Mallory/19950427/Press contact: John Najdovski YellowNet, 303-781-6121; Public contact: YellowNet 303-781-6121/YELLWNET950427/PHOTO)
c contact: YellowNet 303-781-6121/YELLWNET950427/PHOTO)
4/27/95
ABI, Yellownet Collaborate On Internet Classified Ads
ONLINE
TRW Gets Personal Comms Satellit
CLEVELAND, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- TRW Inc. (NYSE:TRW) said the US Patent Office has awarded two patents to the company for inventions that will be used in "Odyssey," which is a proposed personal communications satellite system.
Patents have also been applied for in France, Great Britain Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan for the Odyssey inventions. The system is described by TRW as a "worldwide wireless telephone service," through the use of satellites.
One patent protects the concept of medium Earth orbits, or "MEO," at altitudes from 6,400 to 11,500 miles to provide worldwide mobile satellite communications with pocket-sized telephones. The second patent involves techniques of optimizing communications services provided by Odyssey.
Motorola-backed Iridium and the Loral/Qualcomm Globalstar systems are two of TRW's main competitors. TRW spokesperson Jack Prichett told Newsbytes it's the concept of MEO that sets apart his company from the competition. "The advantage of being higher (than Iridium or Globalstar) is that the satellite 'sees' more of the Earth's surface as it passes over. Low Earth orbiting satellites (like those used in Iridium and Globalstar) see a very small portion. By seeing more, it means you can use fewer satellites. Fewer satellites translate to lower costs." TRW said Iridium will need 66 satellites to provide global coverage, and Globalstar will require 48, while Odyssey needs 12.
TRW officials say a third competitor, Inmarsat-P Affiliate, has adopted a MEO-like approach, and that could get them into legal trouble.
Dr. R. Bruce Gerding, TRW vice president and managing director of the company's Odyssey Services Organization, told Newsbytes "The scope of the patent protection in the United States is broad enough to exclude other service providers from developing a commercially viable MEO system. Such a patent, servicing customers in the US, could infringe on one or both of the patents." He said the patents could also be enforced against other US suppliers of system components to any systems provider that is on a MEO-like system.
TRW said the second patent applies to MEO spacecraft design, such as a method of directing antennas to achieve uninterrupted coverage on Earth.
Officials say TRW will build the Odyssey system through a limited partnership sponsored by TRW and the Canadian telecommunications firm Teleglobe Inc.
(Bob Woods/19950427/Press Contact: Jack Prichett, TRW Inc 310-812-5227)
ess Contact: Jack Prichett, TRW Inc 310-812-5227)
4/27/95
TRW Gets Personal Comms Satellite System Patent
BROADCAST
Free Update Increases Quattro-Lo
Seybold - Xerox Updates TextBrid
Zeos, Micron Shareholders OK Mer
GEnie To Launch Full Internet Ac
Czech Telecoms Tender Wins Court
Lotus cc:Mail Adds 150 Viewers F
America Online Opens New Call Ce
Wireless Industry Helps Out Secr
Windows-Based Video Production S
DEC Adds New Data Warehousing Co
UK - Small Firms Left Behind In
Australia's Telstra Launches Tel
Europe - Gateway's Bundle Of Fun
Novell Intros NetWare For DEC Ac
Online Marketplace '95 - Transac
IBM & Telecom Italia Team On Mob
Novell Ships AppWare Upgrade
Internet's Yahoo Becomes A Full-
Compaq 1Q Sales Up 30% To $3 Bil
UK Cellular Provider First With
Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Vid
Comdex - IS Managers Cautious Ab
TRW Gets Personal Comms Satellit
UK - KNX/GNC Offer ISDN Consulta
LEEDS, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- KNX, an ISDN (integrated services digital network) vendor, has teamed up with GNC a communications specialist company, to offer an ISDN technical consultancy and training facility in the UK.
Under the terms of the agreement between the two companies, GNC will provide technical consultancy and training on the full range of KNX ISDN products.
John Robson, KNX's marketing director, told Newsbytes that he sees the linkup as extremely useful to anyone interested in getting an ISDN system in their workplace. "The problem with ISDN is that most resellers and dealers tend to think of it as an alternative to analog modems. It's actually a lot more than that, as the list of applications is endless. Few potential users realize that applications such as videoconferencing exist for example. GNC can provide that insight and offer users consultancy and after-sales training," he said.
According to Robson, the GNC ISDN Technology Center in Leeds, along with its demonstration facility, will allow the company to promote KNX's products as "fully tried, tested and demonstrable" to meet a customer's requirements, as well as being an approved training center for KNX.
"As network integrators, GNC's expertise is used to identify and source the best customer solutions available on the market. We are therefore, delighted to welcome KNX as our first strategic partner," said Mark Hodgkins, GNC's chairman.
At KNX, Robson explained that the ISDN and Remote LAN (local area network) access market is growing rapidly. "In fact more KNX-IS units were shipped in the first quarter of 1995 than in any other quarter to date," he said.
(Steve Gold/19950427/Press Contact: Maggie Davies tel +44-1344-301022, fax +44-1344-52662, Internet e-mail maggied@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: KNX, tel +44-1943 467007, fax +44-1943-466253, Internet e-mail johnr@knx.co.uk; GNC, +44-113-234-8348)
e-mail johnr@knx.co.uk; GNC, +44-113-234-8348)
4/27/95
UK - KNX/GNC Offer ISDN Consultancy, Training
TELECOM
3DO In Cross-Licensing Deal With
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) has announced an agreement with the 3DO Company, terms of which allow 3DO to use ARM's technology on a worldwide basis.
According to ARM, 3DO has licensed the rights to implement a development of the ARM6 processor architecture in current and future 3DO games machine designs. In return, ARM has received the rights to use and license 3DO s proprietary NTSC/PAL digital video encoder technology.
"The ARM RISC architecture is ideal for a wide variety of system designs requiring advanced performance at reduced cost," said Hugh Martin, 3DO's chief operating officer. "Our expanded agreement with ARM represents a significant contribution to 3DO's already vast technology portfolio, and is testimony to our long-term strategic relationship with ARM."
According to ARM, the ARM6 design is optimized to be easily integrated at reduced cost. 3DO plans to increase its suite of technology "solutions" by incorporating a subset of the existing ARM6 architecture into its custom processors designed for the advanced interactive entertainment market.
Newsbytes notes that 3DO recently integrated multiple custom graphics and sound processors into one chip known as Anvil, which is currently being used in mass production of 3DO products. During its next phase of engineering integration and cost reduction, 3DO expects to incorporate ARM6 technology and Anvil into one chip, currently known as Calvin.
"Our partnership with ARM enables us to offer single-chip solutions for 3DO products," Martin explained. "As a result, we are able to achieve new levels of system integration and increasingly aggressive cost-to-manufacture price points on behalf of 3DO hardware manufacturers."
Under its technology cross-license agreement with 3DO, ARM plans to leverage 3DO's expertise in the consumer electronics technology arena.
"Our technology partnership with 3DO and this cross-license agreement is ideal. It enables 3DO to reduce the cost to manufacture 3DO products, while we gain valuable consumer electronics system experience as we further expand into that market-place," said Robin Saxby, ARM's managing director.
Lisa Docherty, a spokeswoman for 3DO, told Newsbytes that, although 3DO's headquarters are in the US, 3DO Europe, which assisted in the deal with ARM, is a growing concerned. "The company has four staff and is increasingly involved in the company's international affairs," she said.
According to Docherty, while 3DO has had a good slice of press coverage in recent times, the company is still very young. "The leading games technology is still very much in its infancy," she explained, adding that the company's games machines are extremely impressive.
(Steve Gold/19950427/Press Contact: A Plus, +44-1753-790700 Internet e-mail swadding@aplus.co.uk; Fodor Wyllie Associates 44-181-541-4082, Internet e-mail grace@fwassoc.demon.co.uk; Reader Contact: ARM, +44-1223-400-400, Internet e-mail tpoltronetti@armltd.co.uk)
rnet e-mail tpoltronetti@armltd.co.uk)
4/27/95
3DO In Cross-Licensing Deal With ARM
BUSINESS
SITA Group Intros WW Code For X.
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- X.400 electronic-mail may be a mystery for some e-mail service users, but its addressing system is quite logical -- address, system, ID and name all go to make up the "envelope" that ensures the message gets to the recipient. But what if the recipient subscribes to MCI Mail, yet lives and works in Bahrain?
That's where WW comes in. WW stands for World Wide and is a new X.400 country code that the SITA Group has started using, and has persuaded MCI Mail to use in its X.400 addressing system.
Alex Drobik, product line manager for messaging with the SITA Group's UK office, told Newsbytes that the company has proposed the WW country code to the big four X.400 e-mail switching companies around the world and they will be supporting the system in due course.
"It's always seemed a bit silly that global X.400 e-mail services like MCI, SITA, and others have used their home system country code especially when they have subscribers around the world. Many companies think likewise and are even annoyed that they have to associate themselves with a foreign country with their X.400 e-mail address," Drobik told Newsbytes, adding that WW is the most obvious solution as a "country code."
So why should SITA come up with this proposal and not a major e-mail service provider? According to Drobik, SITA already is an international online entity, and has the world's largest private packet data network, with dial-up nodes, in 225 countries around the world.
"Most of our clients are companies with international offices," he said, adding that, supporting the WW code on the company's own X.400 e-mail system, and getting MCI to support it, is the first step towards global recognition.
"X.400 purists argue that WW cannot be used as a country code, as there is no such code. We reply that the code may not be a country but it is a perfectly logical code for users who have offices in multiple countries and do not want to tie themselves to being associated with the country of the e-mail service provider as their home country," he said.
According to Drobik, the SITA Group has pioneered the use of the worldwide country code WW in order to rationalize the X.400 address system which has developed since the CCITT (now ITU-T) first defined the standard in 1984. Prior to the SITA Group's innovation, major global X.400 service providers and private X.400 networks were faced with the problem of registering every country code in which their network was available.
Using SITAMAIL, the SITA Group s Administration Management Domain (ADMD), multinational organizations and businesses can operate under the WW Country Code worldwide. The interconnection enables SITA Group customers and MCI customers to exchange messages with each other, at no extra charge.
Commenting on the introduction of the new country code for X.400, Ben Heckscher, MCI's international messaging & data marketing manager said: "This interconnection is significant, because it provides MCI customers, for the first time, the ability to communicate electronically with SITA s customer base of air transport industries. MCI customers can now send messages to and from one of the largest private messaging networks in the world."
Chris Ramsey, SITA Group s product manager for X.400 ADMD Services said that the announcement of an X.400 interconnection with MCI, "shows that support for the WW country code extends beyond our customers to trans-national ADMD providers."
(Steve Gold/19950427/Press & Reader Contact: SITA 44-181-730-1305; MCI, 914/834-6480)
ct: SITA 44-181-730-1305; MCI, 914/834-6480)
4/27/95
SITA Group Intros WW Code For X.400 Mail
ONLINE
FTC Keeps Quiet On Used Computer
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- "We can neither confirm nor deny" anything regarding whether the Federal Trade Commission has an ongoing investigation of the use of used parts in personal computers sold as new, FTC spokesman Howard Shapiro told Newsbytes.
"It is strictly policy," said Shapiro. "We don't say anything in public until the commission decides to take an enforcement action," at which point the FTC will issue a news release.
"Other parties are free to comment as they choose," he added "but we cannot."
Shapiro said he could not remember the commission ever involving itself in a dispute over used or returned parts in goods billed as new. The FTC is one of the major federal consumer protection agencies, dating back to the Roosevelt administration. Its chief weapon is the ability to punish firms for using deceptive advertising.
Newsbytes recently reported that Compaq has claimed competitor Packard Bell is selling used parts as new in its PC offerings.
(Kennedy Maize/19950427/Press Contact: Howard Shapiro 202-326-2180)
ss Contact: Howard Shapiro 202-326-2180)
4/27/95
FTC Keeps Quiet On Used Computer Parts
More On PictureTel's Videoconfer
DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- PictureTel's newly unveiled Concorde 4500 and Venue 2000 group videoconferencing systems each require PictureTel's new Montage 500 conferencing server for multipoint conferencing, but either system can be used on a standalone basis for point-to-point conferencing.
The Concorde 4500 and Venue 2000 "fill out" PictureTel's group conferencing product line-up, said Khoa D. Nguyen, speaking at the world product launch of the new PictureTel systems, which was attended by Newsbytes in New York City, and initially reported in Newsbytes yesterday.
The Concorde 4500 and Venue 2000 each come standard with an integrated services digital network (ISDN) basic rate interface (BRI) interface for 128 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) connections with optional interfaces for integrated tri-BRI (up to 384 Kbps operation), but the Venue will add a T1/E1 interface later this year, noted Kevin Flanagan, a company spokesperson, after the event.
The Concorde 4500 operates at 30 frames-per-second (fps) over ISDN or switched 56, according to Flanagan. The Venue 2000 operates at 15 fps over ISDN or switched 56, and will run at 30 fps over T1/1, he added.
The Concorde 4500 also comes standard with Integrated Dynamic Echo Cancellation (IDEC) and Virtuoso features for enhancing audio quality, plus a set of peripherals that include: the new WorldCart "roll-about cart;" one Look-at-Me Button (LAMB); the PowerCam 100 camera; and "voice-optimized" PowerMic speakers, a product co developed with Bose. All these features are optionally available for the Venue 2000.
The new WorldCart roll-about cart supports monitor sizes of up to 32 inches. The new PowerCam 100 camera is designed to provide 10-to-1 zoom, along with a 60 degree wide-angle view for fitting a room full of people into the picture.
The new lightweight, plastic Look-At-Me Buttons are meant to allow any user to direct the camera to their location simply by punching a button.
In addition, the Concorde 4500 and Virtuoso 2000 each come standard with a new wireless keypad, designed to provide "untethered" videoconferencing system control from anywhere in the room according to Flanagan.
The wireless keypad and LAMBs both use infrared (IR) wireless technology. The keypad and buttons operate over a range of 50 feet or higher, and do not need to be pointed directly at the system to operate, he told Newsbytes.
But the devices must be used in the same room as the Concorde 4500 or Venue 2000, since IR signals are unable to penetrate walls. Unlimited numbers of keypads and buttons can be used with the same system, Flanagan pointed out.
Unlike the Concorde 4500, which supports a video display only, the Virtuoso 2000 provides simultaneous support of a video monitor and a super video graphics array (SVGA) monitor, for use in graphic design.
The Concorde 4500 and Venue 2000 can be used without a server for two-party (point-to-point) conferencing, but the Montage 500 server (also referred to as a "bridge") is needed for multipoint conferencing or conferencing between three or more sites, according to Flanagan.
The Concorde 4500 and Venue 2000, he added, can also be employed on a mix-and-match basis, with each other or with any of PictureTel's previously released products, as well as with any other videoconferencing system that adheres to the H.320 standard. The Concorde 4500, however, is the only system from PictureTel that is currently able to operate at 30 frames per second.
The Concorde 4500 is based on a proprietary processor, and the Venue 2000 on a 486 chip, Newsbytes was told. The two systems are both outfitted with new graphical user interfaces (GUIs), although the Windows-based Venue 2000's interface is "slightly different."
The new GUIs present a picture of the keypad button to be pressed for performing a desired action. Online, context-driven help screens are also included.
Both new systems also support GroupShare, PictureTel's software for sharing application and data between PCs linked with group videoconferencing systems or PictureTel's desktop systems. GroupShare accepts plug-ins from videocassette recorders (VCRs) document cameras, projectors, and other peripherals, as well.
PictureTel's new Montage 500 servers come in these three models: the high-end Model 570, for connecting up to 28 sites; the midrange Model 550, for connecting up to eight sites; and the Model 530, an entry-level server for linking up to four sites.
The Model 570, which was used in producing PictureTel's globally videoconferenced product launch in New York City, also provides the ability to videoconference more than 28 sites by cascading multiple servers, Flanagan said.
All of PictureTel's new videoconferencing products are available immediately. Suggested list pricing is $43,995 for the Concorder 4500 and $21,995 for the Venue 2000. The Montage 500 servers start at $35,000.
PictureTel also produces: the M-8000 conferencing server, for support of 15 fps video over ISDN; Teleconferencing Scheduling Software (TCSS) for scheduling and monitoring system usage; and Live Manager conference management software for local area networks (LANs). The firm also offers these products for personal videoconferencing: PictureTel Live Personal Conferencing System (PCS) 100; PictureTel Live PCS 50; and Live Share and Live LAN (local area network) conferencing software.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950427/Reader Contact: PictureTel Telecenter 800-716-6000; Press Contacts: Kevin Flanagan, PictureTel, 508-762 5178; Glen Zimmerman, Beaupre & Company Public Relations for PictureTel, 603-436-6690)
ny Public Relations for PictureTel, 603-436-6690)
4/27/95
More On PictureTel's Videoconferencing Products
BROADCAST
More On Prodigy's CEO Change
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Credit Prodigy for keeping its corporate secrets. The retirement of its president and chief executive officer (CEO) came as a surprise to many observers of the online community.
After a thorough search for a new leader, Prodigy announced Edward A. Bennett as the person to head the company.
Newsbytes interviewed both the retiring CEO, Ross Glatzer, and his replacement, Edward A. Bennett, who most recently comes from collaboration on a number of projects with independent producer Norman Lear. Bennett's experience with MTV's VH 1 and various top level Viacom positions allows him to bring a strong video/television background to Prodigy and hints at why he was selected.
In leaving the company, Glatzer told Newsbytes, "Early last Fall, I informed Prodigy of my wishes to retire so that I might spend more time with my family. I think that the company has come to a point where many of my goals have been achieved. During my time at Prodigy, the service has turned from a proprietary system to an open system. We have developed strategic relationships with a number of newspaper publishing companies and we have become Internet-centric. I am also proud of the financial picture which we have and will continue to develop."
Glatzer also said the company had pursued an exhaustive five month search for the right person to head the company. "Ed Bennett brings a strong media background to Prodigy at a time when the interactivity of the computer is converging with the programming of television. This convergence is the direction online services will be taking and we have the right person to lead the company to that end."
Ready to begin his reign as CEO on May 1, Ed Bennett was asked by Newsbytes what immediate plans he had for Prodigy. He said, "I want to do three things right away: I need to listen to the people who have been here and built the infrastructure; I want to listen to the customers and learn what new strategies need to be developed; and I want to absorb all of these things so that I have a complete understanding of the company and the tasks I need to undertake."
He continued, "The convergence of the computer and television is inevitable. We have a new generation of children today who are not growing up in the TV generation. They are raised in a different world where the processing power of the PC and the television are an integrated part of their world. We are entering a period when we will deliver interactivity combined with the content and richness of video in many forms."
Observers say Glatzer has brought Prodigy out of a staid image to a strong online service centering on Internet content and a wider profile of membership with the addition of new interfaces and services for both the home/family user and the business user. No major changes are immediately expected, but it is believed Bennett will move quickly to establish his own strategy and the next generation of Prodigy's online service.
According to Newsbytes sources at the company, the atmosphere at Prodigy is "upbeat and forward-looking." Rather than feeling insecure with a new person at the top, employees are reportedly confident in the change and expect to see increases in staff positions as a result of additional business developments. This change at Prodigy appears to be free of any conflicts or difficulties within the company or with its partners, IBM and Sears.
(Patrick McKenna/19950427/Press Contact: Mike Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8811)
e Darcy, Prodigy 914-448-8811)
4/27/95
More On Prodigy's CEO Change
ONLINE
Newsbytes Daily Summary
` 1 PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> UK - Firms Dissatisfied With Internet - Report 04/27/95 PhoneLink, the company behind the Tel-Me information service, has published what it claims is the first report on what businesses think about the "reality of the Internet," when compared to the promises made by Internet service providers and the media generally.
2 -> Novell's Auto-Routing Fax Technology 04/27/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) says it has acquired a patented software technology that lets users send faxes and other information across local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and even telephone lines to a specific desktop computer, printer, fax machine, or even a copier.
3 -> Novell's "Make A Story" Windows Reading Prgm 04/27/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) has introduced "Make A Story," a home education program designed to develop pre-reading skills.
4 -> IBM Launches ThinkPad 340CSE Outside US 04/27/95 IBM (NYSE:IBM) has added a new model to its ThinkPad line of notebook computers, but the new ThinkPad 340CSE will not be sold in the United States. The 66 megahertz (MHz) 486-based machine will be sold in Canada, Europe and Japan, IBM said.
5 -> Oklahoma Bombing Info On Internet 04/27/95 In the eight days since the side of the Federal building in Oklahoma City was blown off by a bomb, news of the incident is to be found all over the Internet. Many corners of cyberspace are being occupied with people who grieve over the dead, support efforts to capture and prosecute the person or persons who set the bomb, and even people who support what the bombers did.
6 -> Seagate Gets New VP For Asia-Pacific 04/27/95 Seagate Technology Inc. has announced the appointment of Dale Hughes as vice-president Product Line Management for the Asia-Pacific region.
7 -> Gupta Establishes Asian HQ, China/Hong Kong Operation 04/27/95 Gupta Corp., a major vendor of database-independent software development tools, is to set up its Asia regional headquarters in Hong Kong.
8 -> Asian Growth Big Contributor For DEC 3rd Qtr 04/27/95 Digital Equipment Corp. has reported net income of US$74 million for the third quarter which ended April 1, compared with a net loss of US$183 million for the same period last year.
9 -> Australian Cabling Donated For Kobe Reconstruction 04/27/95 Krone Australia is donating AUS$60,000 of Australian designed and manufactured cabling products to help rebuild Kobe's telecommunications infrastructure after the recent earthquake. They are being sent to NTT, the Japanese telecommunications company.
10 -> ****Australia - Internet Provider User List Stolen 04/27/95 Australian Internet service provider AUSnet has been embarrassed by an Internet user who discovered a clear-text list of users and their credit card details on an AUSnet computer, then proceeded to publish the details via the Internet.
11 -> India - Onward To Sell SDRC's CAD Software 04/27/95 In a bid to further its penetration into the mechanical CAD/CAM/CAE (computer-aided design/ manufacturing/engineering) market in India Structural Dynamics Research Corp. (SDRC) has appointed its first distributor from the software industry -- Onward Technologies Ltd.
12 -> India - Silicon Graphics Highlighted At Visual Expo 04/27/95 "Silicon Graphics is not a systems integrator, but a catalyst," claimed Ashok Desai, managing director of Silicon Graphics Systems India Pvt. Ltd. A taste of the 2,500 packages running on the Silicon Graphics platform was available at Visual Expo '95 -- which featured 14 international software development firms -- last month in New Delhi.
13 -> China - State-Run Telco To Offer Public Internet Access 04/27/95 The state-run public telecommunication system plans to offer public access to the Internet as early as May.
14 -> China - Electronics Industries Boom In Zhejiang Province 04/27/95 In recent years, electronic industries in the Zhejiang Province have mushroomed. The total value of production by such industries in 1994 reached RMB10.5 billion (US$1.25 billion).
15 -> World Wide Web Top Of NSFnet Traffic List 04/27/95 The World Wide Web has moved to the top of the chart in NSFnet's monthly traffic distribution statistics.
16 -> US Says NTT May Be Violating Trade Deal 04/27/95 The US embassy in Tokyo says it believes that NTT Personal Communications Network may be breaking the US-Japan telecommunications procurement agreement.
17 -> Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electronic Trading Plans 04/27/95 After repeated delays, the Toronto Stock Exchange has dumped its original plan to automate equity trading and will try to expand its existing Computer-Assisted Trading System (CATS) to replace the trading floor.
18 -> Financing Deal Gives Unitel A Reprieve 04/27/95 Two major shareholders in Unitel Communications Inc. have agreed to advance more money to keep the struggling long-distance telephone company going for at least two more months.
19 -> ****America Online Previews Web Browser 04/27/95 America Online (AOL) is giving its users a sneak preview of the World Wide Web (Web). AOL is previewing its long-awaited interconnection to the Internet's graphical Web, originally developed in Europe's CERN high-energy physics lab.
20 -> US Electronics Sales Up 13% 04/27/95 US factory sales of electronics hit $84.8 billion for the first quarter of 1995, a jump of 13 percent over last year's first quarter sales of $75 billion according to the Electronic Industries Association.
21 -> Franklin Electronic Enters Consumer Market 04/27/95 Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. (NYSE:FEP) is entering into the consumer market by announcing an agreement with the publisher of Physician's Desk Reference, to produce electronic hand-held book versions of three leading consumer health titles from "The PDR Family Guide" series.
22 -> ABI, Yellownet Collaborate On Internet Classified Ads 04/27/95 As the number of Internet users grows by leaps and bounds, a service that once appealed only to scientists and academics is drawing new interest from businesses who want to advertise on the worldwide network of computer systems.
23 -> TRW Gets Personal Comms Satellite System Patent 04/27/95 TRW Inc. (NYSE:TRW) said the US Patent Office has awarded two patents to the company for inventions that will be used in "Odyssey," which is a proposed personal communications satellite system.
24 -> UK - KNX/GNC Offer ISDN Consultancy, Training 04/27/95 KNX, an ISDN (integrated services digital network) vendor, has teamed up with GNC, a communications specialist company, to offer an ISDN technical consultancy and training facility in the UK.
25 -> 3DO In Cross-Licensing Deal With ARM 04/27/95 Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) has announced an agreement with the 3DO Company terms of which allow 3DO to use ARM's technology on a worldwide basis.
26 -> SITA Group Intros "WW" Code For X.400 Mail 04/27/95 X.400 electronic-mail may be a mystery for some e-mail service users, but its addressing system is quite logical -- address, system, ID and name all go to make up the "envelope" that ensures the message gets to the recipient. But what if the recipient subscribes to MCI Mail yet lives and works in Bahrain?
27 -> FTC Keeps Quiet On Used Computer Parts 04/27/95 "We can neither confirm nor deny" anything regarding whether the Federal Trade Commission has an ongoing investigation of the use of used parts in personal computers sold as new, FTC spokesman Howard Shapiro told Newsbytes.
28 -> More On PictureTel's Videoconferencing Products 04/27/95 PictureTel's newly unveiled Concorde 4500 and Venue 2000 group videoconferencing systems each require PictureTel's new Montage 500 conferencing server for multipoint conferencing, but either system can be used on a standalone basis for point-to-point conferencing.
29 -> More On Prodigy's CEO Change 04/27/95 Credit Prodigy for keeping its corporate secrets. The retirement of its president and chief executive officer (CEO) came as a surprise to many observers of the online community.
(Ian Stokell/19950427)
(Ian Stokell/19950427)
4/27/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
Japan Newsbriefs
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from Japan: Sony win more allies in DVD competition; Mitsui invests in American software company; Japanese chip makers step up production; Tomen and US Company enter cable telephony; NTT Data stocks show first day profit.
Sony Win More Allies In DVD Competition
Three major Japanese disk drive makers, Mitsumi Electric, TEAC Corp and Ricoh Co, say they are supporting Sony's digital video disk format (DVD) in favor of one touted by a Toshiba-led consortium. Currently the two camps are battling to become the defacto digital video standard. A DVD disk is the same size as a conventional CD disk at 12cm and is scheduled to debut next year. Sony is partnered with Philips of the Netherlands while Toshiba counts Matsushita, MCA and Time Warner on its side. The Sony/Philips standard is currently leading the field because of its compatibility with current CDs and CR-ROMs, a compatibility that disk drive makers are keen to see continue.
Mitsui Invests In American Software Company
Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals has invested a reported 50 million yen ($598,000) in Colorado-based software company IMR. The Mitsui investment is understood to be spurred by a desire to launch a rewritable CD business in the US where IMR is expected to market Mitsui's rewritable CD-R disks under the Mitsui name. Mitsui will localize IMR's database management software before marketing it in Japan in late 1995.
Japanese Chip Makers Step Up Production
A shortage of semiconductors is leading Japan's major chip makers to cut back on holidays and increase production. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, NEC Corporation has cut two days off the seven days of holiday enjoyed by most companies during Golden Week, a string of public holidays from April 29th to May 7th. The new holiday arrangements apply at all but two of NEC's chip plants specifically those in Kumamoto, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shiga and Yamagata prefectures. The newspaper quoted an NEC spokesman as saying, "Our chip plants are operating around the clock. We have no choice but to increase work days to achieve a higher output." Hitachi and Mitsubishi will also keep plants open through Golden Week.
Tomen And US Company Enter Cable Telephony
Japanese trading house Tomen Corporation will enter the cable telephony market with USA's First Pacific Network. A jointly owned company will be established in June to provide the service. Tomen's cable telephone service will provide subscribers with access to domestic calls only. International service will still have to be placed through Japan's three international providers.
NTT Data Stocks Show First Day Profit
First day trading in stock of NTT Data Communications ended with the shares at 1.31 million yen ($15,784), well above their offer price of 1.04 million yen ($12,530). The company is still majority owned by parent Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) which holds two thirds of the stock. NTT Data Communications released a profits forecast at the end of trading on Wednesday which forecast profits in fiscal 1995 would rise to 16 billion yen ($192 million). The forecast shows a 1 billion yen rise on estimated profits for the financial year just ended.
(Martyn Williams/19950427)
Williams/19950427)
4/28/95
Japan Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Novell To Offer Products For Hom
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) said this week it will enter the home-based consumer software market with the introduction of a line of CD-ROM-based multimedia software titles this summer. The product line will be called PerfectHome.
Novell merged last year with Wordperfect, a company that had already entered the home consumer market with its Main Street software.
Novell said PerfectHome will offer products for just about every age group and room in the home, with one of the first offerings to be PerfectWorks, Novell's recently released software package that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, paint, draw and communications modules. You also get a grammar and style checker spell checking, caller ID that works with modem-equipped PCs, and a special edition of Quicken, the personal finance program.
Other products shipping early in the PerfectHome cycle will be "Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files," a role playing game that lets the user assume the role of district attorney, investigative reporter, cop or coroner to try and solve the mystery of "The Blonde Bombshell's" death by examining the information contained in the files of the various public agencies that investigated Monroe's death.
PerfectHome will also include some pre-reading titles for children as young as three years old. Make A Story and Read-A-Rama are designed to help kids get an early start on letter and word recognition. Novell also said it will introduce three new home education titles in the fall.
Several hardware makers, including Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Acer Quantex and Pionex are already bundling PerfectHome titles with their PCs, and Novell said other companies will jump on the PerfectHome bandwagon this fall.
Hard Evidence has a suggested retail price of $49, while Make A Story will carry a $49.95 price tag.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) and Knight-Ridder Inc. (NYSE: KRI), announced they will jointly own a travel information service based on the Tribune's Destination Florida. Knight-Ridder is buying a 50% stake in the existing service, which is located on America Online.
Future investments and revenues will be equally shared in the new venture, which will be dubbed Destination Florida LLC.
Julie Anderson, general manager of Destination Florida, said her office is excited to have Knight-Ridder's resources in her service. "We think we can leverage their newspaper resources to make this a better service," she said. "What you're going to see is more of a recommendation service that helps travelers plan their visits. You'll see much more timely coverage of events that attract tourists."
Destination Florida was launched by the Tribune in June 1994. The service offers information on Florida shopping, attractions hotels, restaurants, and daily weather. Officials said Destination Florida was accessed 342,000 times in March alone.
Other features of the area include an interactive area that gives users a tour of the Walt Disney World resort, and the ability to buy tickets for more than 7,000 Florida events from TicketMaster Florida.
The Tribune/Knight-Ridder partnership is not a new one for the two companies. Both own seven newspapers in the Sunshine State and all will contribute to the editorial, entertainment, and advertising content of the online service, officials said. The site already draws primarily from Tribune's Orlando Sentinel and Fort Lauderdale-based Sun-Sentinel. Knight-Ridder will bring to the table content from The Miami Herald and The Florida Keys Keynoter.
Destination Florida will remain in the Sunshine State, with the staff in its Orlando office and other offices in Fort Lauderdale and Miami scheduled to increase from four to 11. It will also have links to Tribune and Knight-Ridder business units in Florida.
To access Destination Florida, a modem and a subscription to America Online (AOL) are musts. Once in AOL, users can find Destination Florida in the "Travel" department, or by typing the keyword "Florida." No additional charges are incurred for using the service. AOL subscriptions cost $9.95 per month, which includes five hours of online time, plus $2.95 for usage above the initial five hours.
(Bob Woods/19950427/Press Contacts: Robert D. Carr, Tribune Company 312-222-3763, Office, or Internet e-mail BCarr@tribune.com; Knight Ridder, Polk Laffoon, 305-376-3838, Internet e-mail Plaffoon@aol.com or Lee Ann Schlatter, 305-376-3839, e-mail or Lass4@aol.com, both of Knight-Ridder)
, e-mail or Lass4@aol.com, both of Knight-Ridder)
4/28/95
Tribune, Knight-Ridder Form Travel Info Service
ONLINE
Internet Update
TOYKO, JAPAN, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- In this roundup of new Internet resources and services: understanding the internet; GVU's World Wide Web user survey; new Shoemaker-Levy images available; Netscape 1.1 available; WindoWatch Online Magazine; Better Business Bureau Online; help at hand for laser printer users.
Understanding The Internet
There is a companion World Wide Web site to a television documentary about the history of the Internet from Discovery Channel. The Web site features over 200 links to resources, the latest software network guides and internet guides. World Wide Web: http://www.screen.com/start
GVU's World Wide Web User Survey
For the third time a survey of users of the Internet's World Wide Web is underway. The survey is supported by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The results of the survey will be made available after completion and all respondents get to nominate their favorite charity. The top three charities will get $500 donations from GUV. World Wide Web: http://www-survey.cc.gatech.edu/cgi-bin/Entry
New Shoemaker-Levy Images Available
Recent images of Shoemaker Levy's impact with Jupiter have been uploaded to NASA's home page. The pictures, taken by the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Hawaii, show changes in Jupiter's atmosphere as a result of the collision. World Wide Web: http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9
Netscape 1.1 Available
The 1.1 release on Netscape Navigator, the top World Wide Web browser, is now available. The new release replaces the previous version 1.0 and the beta release of 1.1 which was time limited. File Transfer Protocol (ftp): ftp://ftp.netscape.com/ Details of mirror sites around the world that are also making the software available can be found at World Wide Web: http://home.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/index.html
WindoWatch Online Magazine
A new online magazine focused on Windows and Windows 95 is available now, currently in ASCII and PDF (portable document file) and soon in html (hypertext markup language). World Wide Web: http://www.channel1.com/users/winwatch/WindoWatch.html
Better Business Bureau Online
The Better Business Bureau, committed to promoting and fostering ethical relationships between business and the public, has just opened a Web server which provides details of the organization and its work. World Wide Web: http://www.cbbb.org/cbbb/
Help At Hand For Laser Printer Users
A laser printer user's help page claims to be able to help users solve all their laser printer problems. Tips on performance printing and recycling are also on the Web. World Wide Web: http://rampages.onramp.net/~laser/
(Martyn Williams/19950428)
illiams/19950428)
4/28/95
Internet Update
ONLINE
Comdex - New Cellular-Ready Boca
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Boca Research Inc. (NASDAQ: BOCI) showed off its new modems at this year's Spring Comdex trade show in Atlanta, introducing 28.8K bit per second (bps) and 14.4K bps combo data/fax and Ethernet cards and 14.4K bps and 28.8Kbps cellular ready data/fax PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards.
The new cards are PCMCIA Release 2.0 Type II and are compatible with most current popular laptop and notebook computers and cellular phones, said the company. Each comes with a manual, the necessary cables and connectors, data and fax communications software and trial offers for some online services.
The cellular-ready data and fax modems allow the user to send and receive data and faxes via a cellular phone, if your cell phone has the necessary connection for a modem. The Boca 28.8K and 14.4K modems being introduced support MNP10 error correction and TX-CEl to improve performance when cellular performance is poor.
The 28.8K card has a Flash ROM (read only memory) feature that lets users upgrade the firmware more easily when the next generation of software ships. Firmware is the low-level input/output instructions and startup routines stored in ROM. Both of the cellular-ready modems include a sleep mode for power saving when not in use.
The two data/fax modem and Ethernet combo cards feature 10Base-T and 10Base-2 LAN adapters/connectors and are compatible with all 10Base-T hubs. The cards support drivers for Novell, Windows, DOS and OS/2 network operating systems. A sleep mode is built in.
Boca also rolled out Voyager 64, a video card with an accelerator chip to speed up applications like computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). The 64-bit card supports resolutions of up to 1600 by 1200, up to 16 million colors at 800 by 600 lines, and non-interlaced refresh rates up to 75 hertz. The Voyager 64 has a PCI-local bus interface and two megabytes of DRAM (dynamic random access memory).
Boca said drivers are available for Windows, Windows NT, OS/2 AutoCAD and Microstation. As more drivers become available they can be downloaded without charge from the company's bulletin board service. Voyager 64 has a suggested retail price of $207.
(Jim Mallory/19950427/Press contact: Gale Blackburn, Boca Research, 407-997-8621, ext 305; Public contact: Boca Research 407-997-6227 or fax 407-994-5848)
t: Boca Research 407-997-6227 or fax 407-994-5848)
4/28/95
Comdex - New Cellular-Ready Boca Research Modems
TELECOM
Internet Disaster Information Ne
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Two recent disasters the Kobe earthquake and the Oklahoma Federal office building bombing, have proven how effective the Internet can be in rapid information dissemination but the same two events have also shown that unless the information available is ordered and structured it is useless. Now, in the wake of the Oklahoma bombing an Arizona Internet service provider has established the Internet Disaster Information Network (IDIN).
The service provider, Internet Direct, swung into action last week shortly after the Oklahoma bombing when it began indexing and collecting information being contributed to the Internet by local journalists as well as official organizations such as the American Red Cross.
After operating the service for just a few hours, Mike March president of Internet Direct, realized that this type of service was needed by the Internet community who were presently wasting too much time trying to find information, an annoying task normally, but even more so when the information is needed quickly.
"We wanted to create a way for people to easily access the available information surrounding events such as the recent bombing. We have dedicated a server and staff to centralizing this information. Now instead of spending 12 frustrating hours trying to find information in an emergency, the click of a button is all that it takes for people to have complete access to helpful and necessary information," continued March.
On Wednesday afternoon of last week Internet Direct applied to the InterNIC, the organization in charge of issuing Internet domains in the United States, for use of the disaster.org domain. At 2am the following morning the InterNIC approved the request, a procedure that normally takes longer as Jean Gallagher of InterNIC Registration Services explained. "Normally, it takes about four weeks to get registration approved. We felt this request was critical enough to approve the registration immediately."
The fast response of the InterNIC was met with an equally fast response from Internet Direct which unveiled the IDIN Web server less than 4 hours later.
Currently the IDIN service is still providing information on the Oklahoma bombing including the FBI composite photographs of wanted suspects, a list of dead and injured, phone numbers of organizations in Oklahoma, and other information from the Internet.
The service is proving popular with Internet users. Internet Direct's Matthew Grossman told Newsbytes that the site had registered over 83,300 accesses as of Thursday afternoon. Grossman continued, "During this disaster, we have posted the latest news in a "newsflash" on the top of the page, linked to all known disaster-related sites, and mirrored overloaded disaster sites (specifically the University of Oklahoma newspaper)."
Mindful that over half of Internet users don't have access to the World Wide Web, IDIN is also testing an e-mail autoresponder. The service will allow automatic interaction with the database via electronic mail. An ftp site is also being readied.
Internet users can find IDIN on the World Wide Web at URL (universal resource locator) http://www.disaster.org/ or http://165.247.199.30 The email server and ftp site is currently under development and not available.
(Martyn Williams/19950428/Press contact: Matthew Grossman, IDIN phone +1-520-529-0363; Internet email matthew@grossman.com /Public contact: IDIN, Internet email info@disaster.org)
ontact: IDIN, Internet email info@disaster.org)
4/28/95
Internet Disaster Information Network Started
ONLINE
US Marshals Raid Alleged Pirate
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- US Marshals and investigators from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL), have seized hardware, software and business records in a raid on what is alleged to be one of the world's largest pirate bulletin boards.
The computer cops raided the Lexington, Kentucky headquarters of Assassin's Guild, believed to be the worldwide headquarters for two pirate groups known as Pirates With an Attitude (PWA) and Razor 1911, on April 19th.
Law enforcement authorities said the board had been offering access to hundreds of pirated software programs, including those published by the Microsoft and Novell.
They seized equipment, software, and records included 13 computers 11 modems, a satellite dish, nine gigabytes of online data and over 40 gigabytes of off-line data storage that dated to 1992. Marshals believe board operators used the satellite dish to receive and transmit information. Business records, tax returns and asset documents were also seized.
BSA spokesperson Kim Willard told Newsbytes the programs immediately available online for downloading from the Assassin's Guild board included several hundred programs, ranging from products like Microsoft Windows, Novell Netware and Wordperfect to games and utilities. "Piracy hurts all publishers, not just the big guys," said Willard.
According to Bob Kruger, director of enforcement for the Business Software Alliance, bulletin board piracy is one of the fast growing forms of software theft worldwide. Both Microsoft and Novell are members of BSA, an industry alliance formed to promote the growth of the software industry through public policy, education and enforcement initiatives.
According to BSA estimates worldwide software piracy resulted in the loss of over $15 million to software publishers last year. Those figures are based on what companies like Novell and Microsoft as well as the developer working nights in his basement office would have received in revenue if the quantities of pirated software believe to be in circulation had been purchased legally at the retail price.
"Even pre-released, or beta versions, of products aren't exempt (from piracy)," said Jim Lowe, Microsoft corporate attorney. Lowe said Assassin's Guild had several different beta versions of Microsoft Windows 95 available for board users to download.
Companies like Microsoft and Novell have long taken a tough stand on software piracy. "Through actions such as this (raid), as well as the recent raid on Minneapolis-based Cloud 9 BBS, we intend to send a message to the pirate BBS community. Think before you break the law as the consequences just aren't worth it."
How much is it worth if you get caught with pirated software? BSA officials told Newsbytes potential damages on civil claims could reach up to $100,000 per willful copyright infringement. Based on the number of Microsoft products alone that were found on the Assassin's Guild computers, the system operator (sysop) could also face criminal charges with penalties up to $250,000 and as long as five years in prison, or both, Newsbytes was told.
Willard said despite enforcement efforts pirated software is proliferating on the rapidly growing Internet. "It's becoming a huge problem," said the BSA spokesperson.
While individuals may not see anything wrong with obtaining a free copy of a software program, BSA officials warn that such users face several problems. In addition to the act being illegal, one can't get technical support for pirated software and also could find one's computer crippled by a destructive virus that arrived with the download or on the floppy disk containing the illegal software.
Newsbytes readers who suspect they have pirated software can contact one of the toll-free phone numbers maintained for that purpose by BSA (800-688-2721), Microsoft (800-785-3448) or Novell (800-747-2837)
(Jim Mallory/19950428)
-747-2837)
(Jim Mallory/19950428)
4/28/95
US Marshals Raid Alleged Pirate BBS
LEGAL
Comdex - Televideo Three-Disk CD
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Televideo Multimedia (NASDAQ: TELV) showed off its new line of three-disk CD-ROM changers at this year's Spring Comdex trade show in Atlanta Georgia, including one that can hold three CD-ROM disks simultaneously.
The upgrade kits fit in a standard half-height drive bay in a PC computer. The three-disk version lets the user switch between disk without unloading and reloading. All the kits use a quad-speed drive.
The Telemedia Gold kit includes the quad-speed drive, a 16-bit sound board, speakers, microphone and headphones. The Platinum kit has a 32-bit sound board that includes four megabytes of instrument sound samples, 51 drum kits, 128 MIDI voices, 32-voice polyphony 80-watt speakers, a microphone and headphone set. The Triple Platinum kit has the same features as the Platinum plus the three-disk CD-ROM drive.
The company said more than 550 free software titles are bundled with each kit. The software includes Grolier's Encyclopedia, and the games Doom II, Mad Dog II and Sim City Enhanced. The Platinum and Triple Platinum kits also come with the ClarisWorks software suite that includes a word processor, database, spreadsheet data/fax communications software and presentation software.
You also get some sound creation and manipulation software. The Gold kit includes the AudioStation mixer and editor package, MIDI Orchestrator and the WinDAT digital audio editor. That is a $700 value according to Televideo. If you purchase the Platinum or Triple Platinum kit you get MIDI Orchestrator Plus, the Monologue text-to-speech synthesis package and Talk-to-Plus voice recognition software. The company said that bundle is worth $900 at retail price.
Televideo said the Gold and Platinum kits have a suggested retail price of $399 and $499 respectively and will ship in mid-May 1995. The Triple Platinum kit is scheduled to ship in the third quarter at a suggested retail price of $699.
The company said the sound boards have built-in CD-ROM controllers to eliminate the need for an extra controller card for the drive.
Long known for its terminals, the company offered one of the earliest 16-bit 80286-based PCs in the early 1980s. Televideo celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year by changing its name from Televideo Systems Inc., and introducing a host of multimedia, sound, graphics and video products.
(Jim Mallory/19950427/Press contact: Jonathan Hitrshon, Horizon Public Relations for Televideo Multimedia, tel 408-982-2555; Public contact: Televideo Multimedia, tel 408-954-8333 or fax 408-954-0622)
deo Multimedia, tel 408-954-8333 or fax 408-954-0622)
Czech Telecoms Tender Winsex - Preparing Employees For
France First With Cyberspace Pay
PARIS, FRANCE, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Everyone is talking about a secure Internet electronic cash (e-cash) system, but no one has gotten a system truly off the ground. Now French banks have come up with one they call Magis.
Magis is an electronic transaction system that dovetails in with France's existing smart card debit/credit card transaction processing network. Alongside smart card Visa and Carte Bleu plastic cards, the Magis system is slowly being introduced by the banks.
A Magis card doubles up as a debit card in the usual way and can be used at retail shops as a normal debit card. Cardholders have the option of renting a Magis terminal for their home or office for just under FF 30 ($6) a month. The terminal is used in conjunction with the Magis card to dial up a Magis-accepting retailer's terminal and transfer money across the phone or data network. Data sent using the Magis system is encrypted and claimed to be uncrackable.
Magis is the brainchild of France Telecom. Officials with the telco say that the system is yet another way to use the telecoms network, and this is why the company has pioneered the Magis system, investing capital so that interested users can rent a terminal.
According to FT officials, the company wants to break the tradition that the bank or retailer pays for the security of a transaction, and that encrypted transactions are a facility that are optional for consumers rather than being paid for by the banks.
Obviously, Visa debit and credit card holders can continue to carry out transactions over the phone, although such calls could be overheard. Using Magis ensures that caller transactions cannot be eavesdropped.
France Telecom, which started renting the terminals out in pilot regions of France earlier this year, claims that around 35,000 terminals are in active use by cardholders. The system is now being rolled out nationally as a bank service, just like Mastercard and Visa cards are offered to bank customers.
Calls from Magis terminals are made over the French Transpac packet data network, which is accessible for the price of a local call from anywhere in France. Most users elect to use their Magis terminal in conjunction with their Minitel viewdata terminals, and when the system asks for payment, the card is swiped through the Magis terminal and the transaction details entered on the Minitel keyboard.
Jean-Jacques Damlamian, sales manager with France Telecom, said that by rolling out the Magis system nationally, cardholders now have the option of ensuring that their transactions are secure. It will be a while, however, he said, before the Magis system catches on.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950427)
stem catches on.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950427)
4/28/95
France First With Cyberspace Payment System
ONLINE
China - Computer Market Boom
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- The computer market in China will grow at a rate of 25 percent annually and exceed 150 billion RMB (US$17.85 billion) in value by the year 2000, China's authorities report.
In 1994, the total sales of computer products were 40.7 billion RMB (US$4.8 billion). Sales are expected to reach 50 billion RMB (US$5.95 billion) in 1995.
Ms. Qu Weizhi, Vice Minister of Electronics Industry, revealed these figures at a national conference on the computer and software industry. Although the domestic computer industry has been growing at an average annual rate of about 60 percent during the past five years, the market share of domestic company's products has declined, Ms. Qu said. The domestic computer industry faces difficulties and challenges, she pointed out. China has not developed its own microprocessors nor operating systems, which restricts the development of China's internal computer industry.
In the past few years, foreign companies have invested more money into China's computer industry than the Chinese government or its companies. However, to jumpstart China's domestic computer industry, the government will select key products to back, and set up manufacturing and export zones, the vice minister said. Development of application software will get priority and construction of software parks will be encouraged. It is estimated that the output of the Chinese computer industry will reach 170 billion RMB (US$20 billion) by the year 2000.
Exports of China's information technology has increased 77 percent each year from 1991 to 1994. The total export value was US$2.8 billion last year and is expected to reach US$3.6 billion this year, Ms. Qu said.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950420)
h-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950420)
4/28/95
China - Computer Market Boom
TRENDS
Computerworld Australia Puts Job
Japan Newsbriefs
Job Search Software For Windows
GTSI Goes To Electronic Commerce
IBM To Announce High-Performance
Faxback Will Support Windows 95
MCI Opens Internet Fashion Site
OmniGuard & Courtney Protect Aga
DEC Follows 5Rs In Downsizing Ma
UK - Cylink Intros NetGate Dial-
Electronic Tax Filing Down
Survey Says PCs Essential, Some
India - Datamatics To Build Itoc
China - Computer Market Boom
Internet World - IBM Offers Inte
Australia - Acct Prgm Distributo
UK Mercury One-2-One's New Busin
Moscow Telecom Sells 25% Stake T
New England Utility Upgrades Eme
Novell Intros Multimedia Clip-Ar
Kenan Online/Telecom Billing Pac
Tribune, Knight-Ridder Form Trav
China - Schlumberger To Help Mak
BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Huaxu Golden Card Company has established a partnership with Schlumberger, a French company to serve in the Chinese "Golden Card" Project. The two companies will cooperate to develop IC cards, electronic payment terminals and application systems.
As the first step, the two companies will jointly set up a technology service center in Beijing to support the Golden Card project.
Huaxu Golden Card Company was organized from several domestic companies to develop and manufacture IC (integrated circuit) cards and other related systems for the Golden Card project. Schlumberger is the world's largest supplier of IC cards, China Daily says, and it has made more than 270 million smart cards to date.
Under the Golden Card project, a total of 200 million bank cards will be issued in China to cover a population of 300 million by 2003. It is estimated that the annual demand for IC cards will reach 40 million in 1999. Huaxu aims to achieve an annual IC card production capacity of 5 million in 1996 and increase the capacity to 20 to 30 million in 1998. Huaxu's target is to control more than half of the Chinese IC card market.
In another development, Great Wall Group donated its 200,000th PC to the State Coordinating Office for the Golden Card Project. The computer was produced by joint venture of the Great Wall Group and IBM. Products of the Great Wall Group have been chosen for the Golden Card project.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950419)
lden Card project.
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950419)
4/28/95
China - Schlumberger To Help Make 300 Mil Smart Cards
BUSINESS
Hong Kong Digital, Reuters In Se
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Digital Equipment Hong Kong Ltd., is to design and build a new computer room and workshop area for Reuters' Technical Development Department. The multi-million dollar contract also involves relocation of existing equipment to the new center in Taikoo Shing.
"We decided that a single contract with Digital would ensure a smooth relocation by providing a reliable, responsible point of contact," said Philip Melchior, managing director of Reuters East Asia. "We have a long-standing relationship with Digital and feel their staff understands our need for a seamless transition."
Reuters will use Digital's DECsite and DECmove services, which mean that a Digital services manager will coordinate the activities of all contractors involved with the move to ensure successful, on-time delivery.
DECsite offers Digital customers a planning, design and construction service for computer environments. DECmove is a specialist tool for deinstallation, relocation and reinstallation of computer and communications hardware.
"Digital has supported Reuters worldwide for many years," said Tony Leung, general manager of Digital Hong Kong. "We appreciate Reuters' need to provide accurate and timely information services to its customers 24 hours a day and will do all we can to make this move as smooth as possible for everyone."
Reuters claims to lead the world in providing the news media, financial and business communities with general and specialized information through a wide range of products. It obtains its information from around 180 exchanges and over-the-counter financial markets, from some 4,100 subscribers who contribute data directly to Reuters and from a network of about 1,600 journalists, photographers and cameramen. Reuters distributes information through approximately 3000,000 video terminals. This includes clients' own terminals that receive Reuters data.
(Keith Cameron/19950426)
ceive Reuters data.
(Keith Cameron/19950426)
4/26/95
Hong Kong Digital, Reuters In Service Contract
BUSINESS
( R 6
Scientific-Atlanta, Optus Vision
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Australia's Optus Vision has awarded Hong Kong-based Scientific-Atlanta a contract to supply equipment for the transmission of cable television, data, and telephone signals to homes linked by the Optus Vision broadband digital network.
Optus Vision plans to install the network over the next four years to some three million homes in the major centers of Australia. With the fibre-to-the-serving area (FSA) system architecture, fiber optic trunks will carry signals from Optus Vision's headend to neighborhood "serving areas" or small pockets of homes. From there the signal is placed on standard coaxial cable for delivery into each home.
Along with telephone service and standard broadcast channels, Optus Vision's network will provide interactive and multimedia applications.
Optus Vision evaluated bids from 10 suppliers. Bob Burkholder managing director of Scientific-Atlanta's Broadband Communications Group, Asia Pacific region, said Optus Vision plans to carry "superhighway" services like telephony and data over its Pay-TV network, was a key factor in its selection.
For Scientific-Atlanta, the contract signals the beginning of a four-year strategic supply agreement with Optus Vision, with options to extend beyond this period.
"The core product is our standard Dual Output System Amplifier II," said Burkholder. "But the Optus Vision amplifiers have been specifically configured to meet Australia's unique environmental and climatic requirements."
"This is one of the most significant international contracts we've received," said Larry Enterline, President of Scientific-Atlanta's International Broadband Operations. "We're committed to working closely with Optus Vision to make the network a success and to bring Australian subscribers a wide variety of new and exciting services."
The advantages of FSA architecture are greater bandwidth, increased channel capacity, higher levels of interactivity, greater reliability and improved picture quality. Optus Vision's network will have a bandwidth of 750 MHz -- the state-of-the-art in cable networks.
Optus Vision, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, is a joint venture between Optus Communications of Sydney, Continental Cable Vision of Boston, and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited. Optus Communications one of two companies licenced to provide telecommunication service in Australia, will obtain local loop access from Optus Vision to provide local telephony service.
At present, Scientific-Atlanta products play a significant role in Australian research and military testing, AUSSAT monitoring, ABC and Sky Channel distribution, and in ESPN, Television New Zealand, SBS, GWN, QTV Q-Net and the Australian Aboriginal Network, Imjara. In addition Scientific-Atlanta satellite transmission technology has been implemented by the Australian government to deliver television to the Australian outback, Norfolk Island and Papua New Guinea.
(Keith Cameron/19950424/Press Contact: Bob Burkholder /Scientific-Atlanta 852-2522-5059)
Contact: Bob Burkholder /Scientific-Atlanta 852-2522-5059)
4/28/95
Scientific-Atlanta, Optus Vision In Aussie Cable Contract
BROADCAST
CD-ROM For Driver Training
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- License to Drive by Janus Interactive is an example of how traditional learning material is being reorganized and revitalized. This is a dual platform disk that will run in Windows or Apple.
Driver's manuals from 50 states were combined into 12 learning sections on this CD, and the various quizzes throughout the CD resemble standard driver's license tests.
Newsbytes spoke with Syd Muzzy, Western Washington regional traffic safety education coordinator, who evaluated the CD. "The sections on graphics and signs along with passing manuevers are very helpful," he said, adding that he has had positive feedback from classroom instructors utilizing License To Drive.
Muzzy notes that in class, instructors might use the graphics and animation of the disk, but can turn off the audio. This way the instructor can elaborate on certain points and tailor the presentation to the group at hand.
Troy Fanning of Janus Interactive told Newsbytes, "License to Drive is now being used in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Indiana by various school districts." According to Fanning Triple A has also expressed an interest.
License to Drive is available by mail order, with retail distribution in the works. It lists for $89.95
\ BEIJING, CHINA, 1995 APR 18 (NB) -- In this roundup of news from China: The Ministry of Domestic Commerce requires Chinese companies to install computer management systems; China's patent system is celebrating its tenth birthday; China claims to be the second largest pager market with 15 million users; the first public apology by one Chinese company to another for copyright violation.
Government Mandates Installation of Computer Management System
The Ministry of Domestic Commerce recently issued a directive requiring that all newly developed shopping centers, department stores, wholesale and retail stores, stock exchanges, hotels, and restaurants must use computerized management systems. Any new proposals for building these commercial projects must also include computer management systems. Otherwise, the government will not issue approvals for the projects, the directive emphasizes. The ministry also requires that warehouses (for material storage) use computer management systems.
Chinese Patent System Reaches the Age of Ten
Since the implementation of China's patent law on April 1, 1985 China's Patent Bureau has received more than 440,000 patent applications in ten years. A total of 220,000 patents have been issued. Foreign individuals and companies from 84 countries accounted for 14 percent of the total patent applications, China Information reports.
Chinese Pager Ownership Population Reached 15 Millions
Although the United States still ranks first in terms of total number of pages in use, China has now attained second place with 15 million pagers in use. That is more than in Japan, which claims 8.83 million pager users. The reasons for the rapid increase in pager use in China are the fast development of the economy and the shortage of telephone lines.
Wei'r Electronics Offers Public Apology for Copyright Infringement
Wei'r Electronics of Hongshang District, Wuhan city (in central China) has made copyright history by publishing an apology notice in the newspaper China Infoworld to Wuhan Hanshen Computer Company for software copyright infringement. Abiding by a reconciliation agreement issued by the Wuhan intermediate people's court the notice says, "Wei'r Electronics offers the public apology for infringement of software copyright of Wenyuange electronic publication system."
(Chih-Ho Yu & Ning Huang/19950417)
ng Huang/19950417)
4/18/95
China Newsbriefs
GENERAL
Berkeley Speech & Franklin In Ha
Digiphone Internet Phone On 4-Ci
Mindscape Ships How Your Body Wo
Public Involvement Net Fosters C
Barclaycard Visa Into Germany Wi
Cadkey Opens Web Site
Daily Telegraph's Electronic You
France - Bull Forms Smart Card S
DEC's SCSI Clusters, OpenVMS 6.2
Philips NV Sees India As Gateway
Germany's Quelle Plans Polish Ex
Australia - Wireless Internet Co
Online Marketplace '95 - Web Rev
Online Marketplace '95 - Persona
Microsoft, Novell At Odds Over A
Software Simplifies Corporate Tr
Japan External Trade Organizatio
IBM Chief Warns Big Changes Need
Janna Releases Contact Manager I
Oracle & Mitsubishi Team For Set
InContext Licenses Enhanced Mosa
Bell South & Duke Power Launch P
China Newsbriefs
UK - ICL Intros Out Of The Box W
America Online Possibly to Acqui
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- America Online (NASDAQ NNM:AMER) (AOL) is talking with WAIS Inc., about buying the Internet consulting and software company in a move that would "enhance AOL's ability to help information providers get on the World Wide Web," Interactive Age is reporting.
Interactive age said WAIS declined comment on the newspaper's report, which was published yesterday. AOL spokesperson Margaret Ryan told Newsbytes her company had no comment on the story today, and there was no word on whether an announcement would be made on the Interactive Age story. WAIS officials did not return repeated Newsbytes phone calls.
Interactive Age Daily, an electronic commerce trade daily publication owned by CMP Communications (and located at Internet World Wide Web address http://techweb.cmp.com/ia), said that AOL already provides some "software and consulting services to information providers through its Websoft subsidiary." But the publication said when AOL buys WAIS, they will acquire a company that has established relationships with such companies as Dow Jones & Co., The New York Times, and Scholastic Company.
The report also said WAIS is well respected when it comes to Internet publishing, and would be free to expand its business with AOL as its parent company; even if the company printed red ink for a year or two, Interactive Age sources said.
The purchase would be another in a succession of company buy-outs that began with the acquisition of Booklink Technologies and Navisoft last fall.
The news might be helping AOL stock. At 12:15 EDT, AOL was up $1.375 at $46.75.
(Bob Woods/19950428/Press Contacts: Margaret Ryan, America Online 703-883-1625; John Durhing, WAIS Inc., 415-617-0444. Public Contact: Interactive Age, Internet World Wide Web http://techweb.cmp.com/ia; CMP Publications, World Wide Web http://techweb.cmp.com/techweb)
ns, World Wide Web http://techweb.cmp.com/techweb)
4/28/95
America Online Possibly to Acquire WAIS - Report
ONLINE
DEC Plans Switch, Controller For
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- To support the unfolding of "virtual networks," Digital plans to unveil a series of products over the next 18 months that will include the release of DECswitch 400, Gigaswitch/ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) Version 1.3 software, and DECnis ATMcontroller by mid-year, said Bill Mello, group marketing manager for hub products, in a conference call with Newsbytes.
The upcoming products, he added, are all part of enVISN, a newly announced architecture and product strategy aimed at letting users build more "flexible" networks based around virtual local area network (VLAN) technology, centralized network management distributed intelligence, and integrated switching and routing.
"What we're seeing among our customers is a need to create networks that are more proactively adaptable. This comes in many flavors including needs to provide security, to reduce operational support costs, and to put together collaborative workgroups independent of geographical barriers," Mello explained, during the conference call with Newsbytes in Boston.
"But a key concept is that we will provide a highly distributed networking architecture, combining centralized management software with distributed intelligence," noted the Digital networking exec.
The use of distributed switching with integrated routing and intelligence will serve as a major differentiator for Digital Mello added. "We will not have centralized router servers," Newsbytes was told.
The embedded intelligence in Digital's switches will allow switching decisions to be made locally, for reduced network latency, particularly during network set-up, according to Mello. The switches will also enable workgroup security, he maintained.
Digital is defining a virtual LAN as a "limited broadcast domain," with a mixture of physical, MAC and/or network addresses that are referred to, respectively, as Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 VLANs.
But by the end of 1996, when envisn is nearing fruition, today's notion of the "virtual LAN" will have faded away into the fuller concept of the ATM-based "virtual network," predicted Mello.
"The promise of ATM is to bring together groups of virtual LANS across geographies and connection methods, into a single, seamless architecture," the exec contended. Remote and mobile computing will also be incorporated under the virtual network umbrella, he elaborated.
The first stage of envisn, he said, consists of the PortSwitch 900 switches that made their debut at this year's Spring Interop in Las Vegas.
As previously reported in Newsbytes, the PortSwitch 900 switches are designed to let users build VLANs by interconnecting any combination of ports to "individual, secure" LAN segments.
The new Ethernet switches also provide new "intrusion protection" and "autolearning" security features. Through "intrusion protection" the network manager can opt to have the network manager "literally `step' on packets, and so prevent unauthorized users from entering the network," said Bruce Sweet, engineering manager in Digital's Network Products Business Group, in an earlier interview with Newsbytes in Boston.
The new autolearning capability monitors the network to learn MAC addresses, and then "binds" the MAC addresses to the port when told by the administrator to "lock down," Sweet added.
Mello told Newsbytes that Digital's newly introduced DECswitch 400 departmental switch represent another step for enVISN. Slated for release in June, the new switch is intended to expand Digital's current VLAN capabilities from Ethernet-only VLANs to Ethernet VLANs that can span across ATM backbones.
The DECswitch 400 will support up to 24 dedicated Ethernets, along with one or two ATM ports, according to Mello. When employed in conjunction with the DEChub 900 Multi-Switch, it will be able to connect enVISN Class 1 VLANs in the hub over an ATM backbone.
The DECswitch 400 will support ATM Forum LAN Emulation Client, as well as UNI (User Network Interface) 3.0 and 3.1, Classical IP (Internet Protocol), and inter-VLAN IP routing. Pricing is $1,500 per Ethernet port fully configured, including one ATM port and a management module.
Other forthcoming products supporting enVISN will include a free upgrade to GIGAswitch/ATM Version 1.3 software, expected to become available in July, and the release of the DECnis ATMcontroller 631 in August of this year, Mello reported.
Version 1.3 of the GIGAswitch software will provide GIGAswitch, an ATM switch for use on LANs and in workgroups, with compliance to ATM LAN Emulation Server as well as to UNI 3.1, according to Mello.
The forthcoming DECnis ATMcontroller 631 is a network interface card (NIC) for the DECnis 600 multiprotocol backbone router aimed at connecting the ATM backbone to services such as T1, frame relay and Switched Multimegabit Data Services (SMDS). Pricing on the new NIC will start at $12,500.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950428/Reader Contact: DEC, 508-508-493-1111; Press Contacts: Susan Ursch, DEC, 508-486-5198; Lisa Downey, Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
isa Downey, Rourke & Company for DEC, 617-267-0042)
4/28/95
DEC Plans Switch, Controller For Virtual Networks
NETWORK
Personnel Roundup
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- This is a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: The New York Times Information Services Group, Paging Network Inc., Proteon Inc., TCSI Corporation, Unisys Corp., Oracle Corp., Maxtor Corp., and SoftNet Systems Inc.
Steve Rago, group director for new media in The New York Times Information Services Group (212-499-3313), has been promoted to vice president, strategy and new business development. He succeeds Henry Scott, who resigned. Rago, 44, will be in charge of the NYT New Media/New Products unit of the Group, and will also be responsible for strategy and the development of media products and services throughout the division.
Terry L. Scott has resigned as president and chief executive officer (CEO) and a director of Paging Network Inc. (NASDAQ:PAGE 214-985-6749), effective Oct. 31, 1995. No successor was named by the company, which said it has begun the search for a new president and CEO.
Bruce W. Lichorowic has been appointed vice president for worldwide sales at Proteon Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON - 508-898-2800) Lichorowic joins Proteon from Raylan Corp., Palo Alto, Calif., where he had been serving as vice president for sales and marketing. Reporting directly to Daniel J. Capone, Jr., Proteon president and CEO, Lichorowic will be responsible for worldwide sales generated through Proteon's 25 offices across North America, Europe and the Far East.
John E. "Jack" Hopkins has been appointed vice president of marketing for the Personal Communications Group of TCSI Corporation (NASDAQ:TCSI - 510-649-3800). Hopkins will be responsible for wireless product management and marketing, new customer development, and wireless and software industry outreach initiatives. Prior to joining TCSI Hopkins was director of marketing for Nokia Mobile Phones Inc.
Theodore E. Martin has been elected to the board of directors of Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS - 215-986-6948). Effective July 1, 1995, Martin will be president and CEO of Barnes Group Inc., a manufacturer of automotive and aerospace components headquartered in Bristol Connecticut.
David J. Roux has been appointed to the Executive Management Committee of Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL - 415-506-3220). As senior vice president of corporate development, Roux reports directly to Lawrence J. Ellison president and CEO of Oracle, and is responsible for managing the company's acquisition, direct investment, and technology licensing programs.
Walt Amaral, chief financial officer (CFO) of Maxtor Corp. (NASDAQ:MXTR - 408-432-4567) has resigned, effective April 30. He had been CFO at Maxtor since 1992. While a replacement is sought, Nate Kawaye, Maxtor's vice president of finance and corporate controller will serve as acting CFO.
John J. McDonough, vice chairman of Dentsply International Inc., has been elected a member of the board of directors of SoftNet Systems Inc. (AMEX:SOF - 718-386-7631). McDonough, 58, was chairman and CEO of Gendex Corp. from its founding in 1983 until its merger with Dentsply (OTC) in 1993, and then served as Dentsply's CEO until February, 1995.
(Ian Stokell/19950428)
n Stokell/19950428)
4/27/95
Personnel Roundup
GENERAL
Ericsson Alliances With China, T
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Ericsson has revealed it has received a major order to supply GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network technology for the Liaoning Province of China. Also, Ericsson has signed a three-year agreement with Telecom Italia (Stet), which calls for the growing Swedish telecoms giant to expand Stet's GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) digital phone network in Italy.
The deal, which is worth around SEK 200 million ($27 million), is with the Liaoning Province Post and Telecoms administration, the company which will run a GSM service in the Province. According to Ericsson the GSM network will be the largest operating in China and will come onstream at the end of this year.
Newsbytes notes that Ericsson has been a supplier of telecoms technology to the Liaoning Post and Telecoms administration for 10 years, starting with hard-wired telephony systems and, more recently including mobile comms systems.
This is not Ericsson's first foray in the Chinese telecoms market. In January of this year, the company signed a $48 million contract for the major expansion of an analog and pilot GSM network in the Guangxi region of China.
The upgrading of the GSM network in Guangxi will allow the GSM network to handle around 150,000 subscribers. The expansion should be in place by the end of this year, making it China's largest digital phone network.
Ericsson is gaining ground as a major mobile telecoms supplier in China. May of last year saw the company announce a SEK 200 million contract for the installation of an analog TACS mobile phone network in Shanghai, while in July of '94, it established a joint venture operation with the Beijing Wire Company (BWC).
Regarding the contract with Telecom Italia, Ericsson will supply switching and transmission equipment, telephone exchanges and radio base stations to Stet. The value of the contract is estimated to be around the 350 billion Lire mark over its term.
Plans call for the equipment for the contract to be manufactured in Italy at Ericsson's production facility in Pagani. Telecom Italia officials have said that they also intend to buy further equipment for the company's Italian analog cellcomms network, despite the fact that GSM national coverage in Italy has just been announced.
(Sylvia Dennis/19950428/Press Contact: Ericsson Business Area Radio Communications +46-8-404-2225; Reader Contact: Ericsson Radio Systems AB +46-8-757-3631; Ericsson China +86-10-505-1190; Per Bengtsson Ericsson Business Area Radio Communications +46-8-757-2159)
iness Area Radio Communications +46-8-757-2159)
4/28/95
Ericsson Alliances With China, Telecom Italia
TELECOM
Chicago Tribune On The Web
4Home Provides Interface For HP'
Interleaf Pays To Settle Govt Fr
Compaq Offers Pentium PCs To Con
CompuServe UK Prepares Online Sh
European Commission Looks At Mul
CA To License Gupta Database Tec
Oracle Opening Research Institut
Latin American Telecom Firms For
Corel Paying Some Beta Testers
Internet World - Awards Presenta
Internet World - Sun & Netscape
Correction - Atlanta Olympic Gam
Deal With IBM To Add Speech To 4
Novell Releases Chinese UnixWare
IDC Canada Briefing - Computing
IBM Donates Equipment To Chinese
European Commission Signs Anti-T
Humongous Puts Children's Storyt
Microsoft Talks About Vaporware
Poland - New Telecoms Legislatio
PRI To Automate Taiwanese Chip M
Comdex - Televideo Three-Disk CD
Comdex - Preparing Employees For
Ericsson Alliances With China, T
France's Pallas Takes 25% Of Ger
WARSTEIN, GERMANY, 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Pallas, the French investment company, has taken a 25 percent stake in ComTech Kommunikationssysteme Verwaltungs-Gesellschaft of Waiblingen, Germany's third largest computer dealer after Vobis and Escom.
Financial terms of the deal have not been announced, but Joachim Baeurle, ComTech's founder, will remain sole managing director with a 75 percent stake in the company. Baeurle is the company's majority shareholder.
Announcing the deal in Germany, Baeurle said Pallas will operate as a sleeping investor, having no say in the operations at ComTech. He did say, however, that ComTech's equity capital now stands at DM 25 million, compared with DM 7.5 million a year ago.
Analysts have concluded that the investment is an equity stake to give ComTech working capital to expand over the next few years. Baeurle said that, as part of the arrangements, ComTech will go public in a year from now. In the intervening period, he said, turnover is targeted to increase by around 55 percent a year, pushing revenue to around the DM 1 billion mark by the end of the decade.
Baeurle said that plans also call for the company to start operations in Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands some time next year possibly acquiring dealerships in those countries.
ComTech is better known in the German PC user community under its brand name of Pacomp. Baeurle said that he is looking to expand the company's presence in the German PC market, and will begin ramping up the company's spare parts operation, which he sees as a potential growth area for ComTech.
On the back of the new business plan and equity investment, ComTech plans to open a new branch every week for the next year, building on the expansion of its German network from 38 to 54 last year. Today the company has 71 branches around Germany, with the staff levels having risen by 55 percent over the last year to reach 210 today.
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- CompuServe NetLauncher the online provider's Web access program, won the "Best of Comdex/Spring" award sponsored by Byte Magazine and The Interface Group, developer of the Comdex shows.
The award honors innovative new products which have a strong potential to influence the industry. NetLauncher is CompuServe's answer to online access to the World Wide Web (the Web). It combines Web access using the CompuServe/Spry Mosaic browser and CompuServe Internet Dialer.
With the use of Winsock compatibility, NetLauncher allows CompuServe members to use the Spry browser or the browser of their choice.
Russ Robinson, CompuServe's director of public relations, told Newsbytes, "We are really delighted to receive this award. It is based on new products that are most likely to have an impact on the industry. Two of the most important characteristics of NetLauncher are its flexibility and its ease of use."
He continued, "Since the debut of NetLauncher two weeks ago at Internet World we have recorded more than 125,000 downloads and currently, we have more than 14,000 different members accessing the Web each day." Robinson attributes the success of NetLauncher to its free online availability, the company's new pricing policy for Web access and the opportunity for members to use different browsers such as Netscape's Navigator or Spyglass' enhanced Mosaic.
CompuServe's new Internet pricing offers all of its members 3 free hours of Web browsing each month as part of its basic service and a flat rate of $2.50 per hour for additional time. The company also inaugurated an Internet Club which offers members an additional 20 hours at $15 per month. In the first two weeks of the Internet Club program, more than 5600 members enrolled.
Newsbytes also learned CompuServe is offering access to its service at 28.8 kilobits per second (Kbps) in several US cities and by April of next year, plans to have 28.8 Kbps access across the US priced at the standard fee of other access rates. CompuServe plans to begin testing ISDN access in June of this year.
The company is also developing a "novice interface," code named "Shamu." The interface is in an early stage of development and will be demonstrated to analysts and the press prior to its release. Dates for shipment are not available at this time. When it is shipped, the new interface will be available to all members who want a more animated simpler interface.
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Russ Robinson, CompuServe, tel 614-538-4274)
Russ Robinson, CompuServe, tel 614-538-4274)
4/28/95
CompuServe's NetLauncher Wins Comdex Award
ONLINE
EduSoft Deal To Provide Loans To
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Next week German-based Siemens-Nixdorf and EduSoft, an Israeli-based maker of multimedia educational software, will announce plans to award $20 million in loans to the ministries of education of Arab nations revealed Menachem Hasfari, president of EduSoft, in a meeting with Newsbytes on a Boston press/analysts tour.
Earmarked for use in improving classroom education, the long-term interest-free loans will be issued in exchange for promises by Arab nations to purchase Siemens hardware and EduSoft software, Hasfari reported.
EduSoft, which recently forged codevelopment deals with both Olivetti and the Berlitz school of foreign languages, produces educational software for classroom, home and business use in 15 languages, including "US and UK English," Spanish, French, German Japanese, and Russian, according to the company president. Editions in Chinese are on the way, he added.
Hasfari was in Boston yesterday to outline EduSoft's strategy to analysts, journalists, and financial investors, as well as to help launch the Search Project, a company initiative to seek out other educational software vendors as potential EduSoft acquisitions.
The company president told Newsbytes that EduSoft offers Windows and Mac-based multimedia software in areas that include ESL (English as a second language), early childhood education, science and technical subjects ranging from electronics to robotics.
EduSoft's products incorporate interactivity, full-motion video and expert software, which is used to chart and analyze students' progress, Hasfari explained. On the Windows side, the products are Multimedia PC (MPC)-compatible. A series of bundling deals with major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is now in the works.
Along with SAP of Germany and the French company Prologue, EduSoft was recently cited in Bill Gates' syndicated newspaper column as exemplifying an increasing trend toward "innovation" by non-US software vendors, added the EduSoft chief.
By carrying out its research and development (R&D) activities in Israel, EduSoft is able to keep costs down, since programmers' salaries are only about half in Israel as in the US, Newsbytes was told.
Right now, Hasfari noted, most of EduSoft's sales are to schools but the company is starting to place an increasing emphasis on the home and multinational corporate markets, particularly in light of its newfound collaboration with Berlitz on ESL.
About half of EduSoft's current sales are to Latin American countries, where EduSoft is the educational market leader according to Hasfari.
Roughly 20 percent of sales are performed in the US, and another 20 percent in Europe, with the remainder carried out in other parts of the world, including Asia and Australia.
EduSoft is doing "quite well" in both Europe and Australia, Hasfari said. The European market for educational software is not as "established" as its US counterpart, he continued.
In Australia, the outlook for sales of home "edutainment" software is particularly promising, since Australia has the highest concentration of home PCs of any country in the world, he pointed out.
In the US, competition is keener, according to Hasfari. EduSoft must contend with successful up-and-comers like Broderbund and Davidson, in addition to old-guard players like Justin and CCC.
The growing practice of "site-based" purchasing is also making it difficult for newer companies to establish inroads in the US. Under this policy, purchasing decisions are made by individual schools instead of by school boards.
The new practice has been spurred by the migration of educational software from mainframes to PCs and local area networks (LANs) where it can be more easily managed by non-MIS (management information systems) professionals, he elaborated.
Still, he contended, it is important for an international company like EduSoft to be active in the US marketplace, because the US remains "the mecca of technology."
Technologies emerging in the US in 1995 "will be seen in Europe in 1996, and in Latin America in 1997," according to Hasfari. EduSoft is publicly traded in the US, and maintains an office in Orlando Florida.
Through its new Search Project, he concluded, EduSoft is especially interested in finding educational software companies with ties to US sales and distribution channels that are amenable to acquisition by EduSoft.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19950428/Reader Contact: EduSoft Ltd., phone 972 3-648-2131; fax 972-3-647-8095; Press Contact: Irma L. Wolfe or Barbara Yu, Wolfe Axelrod for EduSoft, phone 212-370-4500; fax 212 370-4505)
EduSoft, phone 212-370-4500; fax 212 370-4505)
4/28/95
EduSoft Deal To Provide Loans To Arab Nations
BUSINESS
Bell-Northern Claims Switching B
t OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Bell-Northern Research claims to have found a practical way to switch information in telecommunications networks at more than one terabit (one trillion bits) per second. The research and development subsidiary of Northern Telecom Ltd. (NYSE:NT) said this technology will be important to networked multimedia services in future.
BNR scientists in the United Kingdom are now constructing an experimental model of the new switching technology, with a potential switching capacity of 160 gigabits (160 billion bits) per second, or four times the capability of today's most advanced switches. By putting a number of these modules together in parallel, Bell-Northern researchers believe they can reach switching capacities of significantly more than one terabit company spokesman Jacques Guerette told Newsbytes.
BNR was scheduled to give a presentation on the new terabit architecture at this week's International Switching Symposium in Berlin. The company said it has filed a number of patent applications related to the technology.
From a technical standpoint the technology is close to being ready for commercial use, Guerette told Newsbytes, and market demand will be the major factor determining how quickly it is adopted. "It's a turn-of-the-century kind of thing," he said although lower-capacity versions of the technology may be put to work before the end of the decade.
Applications such as telemedicine and distance learning will help create demand for greater and greater switching capacities to handle burgeoning network traffic, BNR officials forecast.
The switching technology relies on electro-optical technology and uses high-speed optical components, wavelength-division multiplexing, and an unique traffic management scheme. It also avoids certain electronics whose high power consumption makes them unsuitable for high-speed switching.
Thirty-two satellite asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches operating at 40 gigabits per second communicate through a passive optical core through which a total of 1,024 streams of data are routed. The wavelength-division multiplexing technology allows information to travel at four different wavelengths over the same switching path.
(Grant Buckler/19950427/Press Contact: Jacques Guerette, Bell Northern Research, 613-765-4236; Paul Carson, Bell-Northern Research, +44-1-279-429531)
on, Bell-Northern Research, +44-1-279-429531)
4/28/95
Bell-Northern Claims Switching Breakthrough
TELECOM
Newsbytes Week In Review
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Here is a look at the top stories making news this week: Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-Intuit Merger; Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed Network; Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focuses On NT; Bell Atlantic Puts Video Services On Hold; German Firm Accused Of Personal Data Theft; Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Videconferencing; Prodigy Announces New CEO; Australia Internet Provider User List Stolen; America Online Previews Web Browser; America Online Possibly to Acquire WAIS - Report.
Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-Intuit Merger (GOVT)
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit opposing the $2 billion merger between software giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), the company that built its success on the personal software program Quicken.
Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed Network (TELECOM)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 24 (NB) -- At Comdex MCI Communications Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bert Roberts announced the arrival of a new high-speed backbone communications service that will link five supercomputing centers around the world at speeds exceeding 155 million bits of data per second. He said eventually the network will achieve speeds of 622 million bits of data per second.
Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focuses On NT (BUSINESS)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 25 (NB) -- Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced an agreement that focuses on making Computer Associates software available on Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The deal extends a previous agreement to put the CA-Unicenter systems management software on NT.
Bell Atlantic Puts Video Services On Hold (BROADCAST)
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- In a surprise move, Bell Atlantic put its highly touted home video service on hold. The Philadelphia-based company said technology is changing faster than the company's planning.
German Firm Accused Of Personal Data Theft (LEGAL)
BERLIN, GERMANY, 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- One of the worst cases of computer hacking and invasion of privacy is emerging in Germany. The case came to light late last week when dozens of Police secretly raided the offices of a data processing company in Berlin confiscating large quantities of data held on printouts and on floppy disk. According to a terse report issued by the German authorities, the firm -- which cannot be named at this stage for legal reasons -- is thought to have held illegal information on as many as eight million Germans, with details of criminal records, bank and credit card details, as well as health records.
Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Videconferencing (BROADCAST)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- At a Broadway theater in Manhattan, linked to 85 other sites from Tokyo to Spring Comdex in Atlanta, Picturetel presented an event billed as the first multi-point, full-motion videoconference to take place over standard telephone lines.
Prodigy Announces New CEO (ONLINE)
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 26 (NB) -- Prodigy announced the retirement of its current president and chief executive officer (CEO), Ross Glatzer. At the same time, the company announced the appointment of Ed Bennett as his successor as of May 1.
Australia - Internet Provider User List Stolen (ONLINE)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- Australian Internet service provider AUSnet has been embarrassed by an Internet user who discovered a clear-text list of users and their credit card details on an AUSnet computer, then proceeded to publish the details via the Internet.
America Online Previews Web Browser (ONLINE)
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 27 (NB) -- America Online (AOL) is giving its users a sneak preview of the World Wide Web (Web). AOL is previewing its long-awaited interconnection to the Internet's graphical Web, originally developed in Europe's CERN high-energy physics lab. AOL users can download new software for Windows that updates the current 2.0 version, and offers Web access through a browser developed by BookLink.
America Online Possibly to Acquire WAIS - Report (ONLINE)
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- America Online (NASDAQ NNM:AMER) (AOL) is talking with WAIS Inc., about buying the Internet consulting and software company in a move that would "enhance AOL's ability to help information providers get on the World Wide Web," Interactive Age is reporting.
(Ian Stokell/19950428)
(Ian Stokell/19950428)
4/28/95
Newsbytes Week In Review
GENERAL
Researcher Predicts Record Sales
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- According to an international consulting and market research firm 1995 will be a record year for sales of personal computer hardware and software. Dallas-based Channel Marketing Corporation said sales of personal computers in the US will jump 33 percent over 1994 to reach 25.6 million units by the end of the current year.
The company says Intel's Pentium microprocessor and Windows 95 will fuel that growth.
It reports that nearly 60 percent of the PCs being sold are Pentium-based systems and predicts that number will grow to almost 80 percent by year-end.
That prediction appears to confirm a recent decision by Intel to cease production on its 486 chip except for use in portable PCs.
David Goldstein, president of Channel Marketing, didn't have any specific estimates regarding the growth of the overall computer industry. However he told Newsbytes he expects "huge growth" in the industry in general, particularly in the second half of 1995. "The fundamentals are there for the second half of this year to see volumes like we have never seen before," he told Newsbytes.
Channel also predicts that the impact of Windows 95 will be much larger than many analysts are currently predicting, with current users upgrading to handle 32-bit applications and the sale of communications and Internet-related products also booming.
Goldstein said his company's research indicates a flood of 32-bit applications will come to market. Windows 95, an operating system and user interface, needs those applications to be a success. "We're expecting that to be a real boom, and we are expecting people to get more memory, bigger hard drives and faster modems, now that the Internet is getting bogged down."
The company's Market Research Group says its research indicates that computer literacy in the US is presently at its highest point since the PC was introduced. Channel's researchers expect PCs to be in 40 percent of households by the end of 1995.
(Jim Mallory/19950428/Press contact: David Goldstein, Channel Marketing, 214-931-2420, ext 214)
hannel Marketing, 214-931-2420, ext 214)
4/28/95
Researcher Predicts Record Sales In 95
TRENDS
. h
Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- The US Department of Justice flexed its legal muscle yesterday when it filed a lawsuit opposing the $2 billion merger between software giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), the company that built its success on the personal software program Quicken.
When Microsoft and Intuit decided to merge and announced that intent in October of 1994, the agreement required review by the government under the provisions of the Hart Scott Rodino Act.
Microsoft wants the merger as a way to get a successful finance package in time to anchor the online financial transactions service planned for Microsoft Network, the online service scheduled for introduction this summer. Microsoft had a competitive product Microsoft Money, but that program hasn't been successful against Quicken in the open market.
Now there appears to be a chance that the DOJ may put a stop to the merger. The lawsuit opposes the deal because, in Justice's view "it would likely lead to higher prices and lessened innovation" in the personal finance software market.
DOJ's top anti-trust gun, Assistant Attorney General Anne Bingaman told the court, "Allowing Microsoft to buy a dominant position in this highly concentrated market would likely result in higher prices for consumers who want to buy personal finance software and would cause those buyers to miss out on the huge benefits from innovation."
Microsoft sought to ease DOJ's concern over stifling competition by agreeing to selling Microsoft Money to rival Novell when the merger is complete, but apparently that didn't satisfy the government's lawyers. "This so-called fix just won't work," said Bingaman. "Novell simply can't replace Microsoft -- with its leading position in the personal computer software industry -- in competing against an entrenched, dominant product like Intuit's Quicken," said the assistant AG. Novell already has a license for Money. In the meantime Microsoft said it is continuing to develop the next version of Money.
The announcement of the government suit, filed in the US District Court in San Francisco, halted trading in Intuit stock for a time. It closed down $10.25 at $72.75 at the end of yesterday's trading. The announcement also hurt Microsoft stock, which closed down at $78-5/8. In early trading today Microsoft had rebounded slightly to $79.50. In today's pre-opening trading Intuit fell even further down another 6-3/4 to $66 from Thursday's close.
Scott Cook and Bill Gates, the chief executives of Intuit and Microsoft respectively, called a hasty telephone press conference following the government announcement to state their continued commitment to the merger. Both companies said they want to go forth with the merger and will seek a speedy trial to settle the issue. Bill Neukom, senior vice president of law and corporate affairs said there have been a number of cases in which the courts have disagreed with the government's objections and have allowed the merger to proceed.
David Goldstein, president of international consulting and market research firm Channel Marketing Corp., told Newsbytes the Intuit-Microsoft merger would benefit consumers and DOJ shouldn't stand in the way. "The company will further develop (Quicken) and will offers consumers functionality and features the program didn't have," said Goldstein. With Intuit already in the marketplace with Quicken the researcher believes being part of Microsoft won't give Quicken any greater competitive advantage. "If the Department of Justice does indeed block the merger it will be a sad day for consumers," said Goldstein.
Novell spokesperson Melanie King told Newsbytes Novell has no comment on the attempt by DOJ to block the merger. "We won't comment on the merits of the merger," said King. King said she also couldn't comment on a report by the British news service Reuters earlier this week that Novell isn't considering buying Lotus Development Corp., nor on another rumor that Novell might make an offer for Intuit if the Microsoft-Intuit merger doesn't happen.
Reuters reported that Novell chief executive, Robert Frankenberg denied rumors his company plans to buy Lotus and would focus on honing its strategies for combating Microsoft in the applications arena. Novell became a strong player in the applications arena with its acquisition of Wordperfect, the longtime leader in the word processing applications race. Novell already had a strong lock on the networking operating system software market and has now emerged as perhaps the strongest contender for Microsoft's leadership in the sale of personal computer software.
(Jim Mallory/19950428/Press contact: Microsoft, 206-882-8080 or Novell, 408-577-8739)
icrosoft, 206-882-8080 or Novell, 408-577-8739)
4/27/95
Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-Intuit Merger
Sneak Preview Of Simply Village,
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- Computer Associates' 4Home Productions is currently developing "Simply Village," a Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 interface "replacement" envisioned as competing and winning against Microsoft's Bob Newsbytes has learned. The as yet unannounced "Simply Village" will differ from the much maligned "Bob" by giving users a more "sophisticated" look and feel, along with the ability to choose between interface "metaphors" based on individual skill level and personal taste, said Samantha Rubin, a company representative at a "sneak preview" for Newsbytes held in New York City.
As a "default metaphor," Simply Village will probably use the image of a village square, with "buildings" such as a bank for financial services, a library for database storage, a theater for multimedia entertainment, a phone company for messaging services, and an online "shopping" area, Rubin told Newsbytes.
4Home will not provide its own shopping services, instead parterning with established online services to interface to their offerings, she noted.
Beyond the village square idea, 4Home's new interface will provide novice/intermediate users with metaphors like a calendar and a map and kids with metaphors like a treehouse and a treasure search, she reported.
"We'll also offer metaphors for power users, but we haven't yet decided what they'll be," said Rubin. In a general sense, though the Simply Village interface for power users will offer capabilities similar to Norton Desktop, "except more powerful," she added.
Decisions about many of the other features in Simply Village are not yet final, either, Rubin advised. But the early version shown to Newsbytes boasted a toolbar on top, along with a capability for aiding navigation that highlights an area when it is clicked.
Simply Village will also let users interact with a cast of animated, speech-enabled characters, according to Rubin.
Other areas of the "replacement interface" will probably include "News of the World," plus a "spin in a helicopter" that graphically demonstrates the three-dimensional (3-D) nature of the interface.
Unlike "Bob," Simply Village will be able to "grow" with the user letting users progress from one interface to the next as their skill levels increase, Rubin maintained.
Also in contrast to Bob, Simply Village will require only 4 or 8 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), Newsbytes was told.
The Windows 3.1 version of Simply Village is slated to ship in July, and the Windows 95 edition in August. Both versions will be available on CD-ROM. Suggested retail pricing (SRP) will be about $90, and street pricing around $49. In early fall, 4Home expects to deliver a software development kit (SDK), aimed at permitting customization of Simply Village by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
ntha Rubin, Connors Communications for 4Home, 212-995-2200)
4/28/95
Sneak Preview Of Simply Village, 4Home's Bob Competitor
WINDOWS
Borland Posts Heavy Losses From
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) Borland International posted a $51 million loss in its fourth quarter report although revenues for the company were up 9% primarily from the success of the company's new Delphi product an application development tool.
The fourth quarter report included a $50 million restructuring charge which primarily focused on staff reductions, outsourcing of manufacturing operations and the closing of several international operations. Revenues for the same quarter last year were $51 million compared to $55.5 million for the quarter just ended.
Steve Grady, director of corporate communications at Borland, told Newsbytes, "We are actually pleased with our fourth quarter report because of several good signs. First, a number of analysts had predicted our operating loss for this quarter, excluding the restructuring charge, to be as high as $0.77 per share. That figure came in at $0.37 per share.
"Secondly, we are getting a very strong response to Delphi which shows we are moving in the right direction from a consumer product developer to a developer of application development tools and products."
He continued, "We have completed the majority of our restructuring at this time and continue to carry out the final elements. We still have some residual employees, but we have outsourced most of our manufacturing operations and our overall operating expenses are down by $11 million." The original estimate for staff reductions was 650 positions or about 40%.
Grady also said the company has made substantial progress in redirecting its marketing efforts to the application developer market. He said the company estimates approximately 6 million users in that market.
Borland is also buoyed by a recent court decision regarding a copyright issue initiated by Lotus. While the court nodded in Borland's favor Lotus was quick to say the matter would be taken to the US Supreme Court.
(Patrick McKenna/1995/Press Contact: Steve Grady, Borland, tel 1 408-431-1621)
tact: Steve Grady, Borland, tel 1 408-431-1621)
4/28/95
Borland Posts Heavy Losses From Restructuring
GENERAL
Newsbytes Daily Summary
'MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1995 APR 28 (NB) -- These are capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Japan Newsbriefs 04/28/95 In this roundup of news from Japan: Sony win more allies in DVD competition; Mitsui invests in American software company; Japanese chip makers step up production; Tomen and US Company enter cable telephony; NTT Data stocks show first day profit.
2 -> Novell To Offer Products For Home PC Market 04/28/95 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) said this week it will enter the home-based consumer software market with the introduction of a line of CD-ROM-based multimedia software titles this summer. The product line will be called PerfectHome.
3 -> Tribune, Knight-Ridder Form Travel Info Service 04/28/95 Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) and Knight-Ridder Inc. (NYSE: KRI), announced they will jointly own a travel information service based on the Tribune's Destination Florida. Knight-Ridder is buying a 50% stake in the existing service, which is located on America Online.
4 -> Internet Update 04/28/95 In this roundup of new Internet resources and services: understanding the internet; GVU's World Wide Web user survey; new Shoemaker-Levy images available; Netscape 1.1 available; WindoWatch Online Magazine; Better Business Bureau Online; help at hand for laser printer users.
5 -> Comdex - New Cellular-Ready Boca Research Modems 04/28/95 Boca Research Inc., (NASDAQ: BOCI) showed off its new modems at this year's Spring Comdex trade show in Atlanta, introducing 28.8K bit per second (bps) and 14.4K bps combo data/fax and Ethernet cards and 14.4K bps and 28.8Kbps cellular ready data/fax PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards.
6 -> Internet Disaster Information Network Started 04/28/95 Two recent disasters, the Kobe earthquake and the Oklahoma Federal office building bombing, have proven how effective the Internet can be in rapid information dissemination but the same two events have also shown that unless the information available is ordered and structured, it is useless. Now, in the wake of the Oklahoma bombing an Arizona Internet service provider has established the Internet Disaster Information Network (IDIN).
7 -> US Marshals Raid Alleged Pirate BBS 04/28/95 US Marshals and investigators from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL), have seized hardware, software and business records in a raid on what is alleged to be one of the world's largest pirate bulletin boards.
8 -> Comdex - Televideo Three-Disk CD-ROM Internal Drive 04/28/95 Televideo Multimedia (NASDAQ: TELV) showed off its new line of three-disk CD-ROM changers at this year's Spring Comdex trade show in Atlanta, Georgia, including one that can hold three CD-ROM disks simultaneously.
9 -> France First With Cyberspace Payment System 04/28/95 Everyone is talking about a secure Internet electronic cash (e-cash) system, but no one has gotten a system truly off the ground. Now French banks have come up with one they call Magis.
10 -> China - Computer Market Boom 04/28/95 The computer market in China will grow at a rate of 25 percent annually and exceed 150 billion RMB (US$17.85 billion) in value by the year 2000, China's authorities report.
11 -> China - Schlumberger To Help Make 300 Mil "Smart Cards" 04/28/95 Huaxu Golden Card Company has established a partnership with Schlumberger, a French company, to serve in the Chinese "Golden Card" Project. The two companies will cooperate to develop IC cards electronic payment terminals, and application systems.
12 -> EMC Secures China Banking Contracts 04/28/95 EMC Corporation supplier of mainframe and mid-range storage systems, has signed contracts with two leading banks in China. Agricultural Bank of China and the Bank of China have purchased EMC's advanced Symmetrix integrated cache disk arrays.
13 -> Hong Kong Digital, Reuters In Service Contract 4/26/95 Digital Equipment Hong Kong Ltd., is to design and build a new computer room and workshop area for Reuters' Technical Development Department. The multi-million dollar contract also involves relocation of existing equipment to the new center in Taikoo Shing.
14 -> Scientific-Atlanta, Optus Vision In Aussie Cable Contract 04/28/95 Australia's Optus Vision has awarded Hong Kong-based Scientific-Atlanta a contract to supply equipment for the transmission of cable television, data, and telephone signals to homes linked by the Optus Vision broadband digital network.
15 -> CD-ROM For Driver Training 04/28/95 License to Drive by Janus Interactive is an example of how traditional learning material is being reorganized and revitalized. This is a dual platform disk that will run in Windows or Apple.
16 -> China Newsbriefs 04/18/95 In this roundup of news from China: The Ministry of Domestic Commerce requires Chinese companies to install computer management systems; China's patent system is celebrating its tenth birthday; China claims to be the second largest pager market with 15 million users; the first public apology by one Chinese company to another for copyright violation.
17 -> ****America Online Possibly to Acquire WAIS - Report 04/28/95 America Online (NASDAQ- NNM:AMER) (AOL) is talking with WAIS Inc. about buying the Internet consulting and software company in a move that would "enhance AOL's ability to help information providers get on the World Wide Web," Interactive Age is reporting.
18 -> DEC Plans Switch, Controller For Virtual Networks 04/28/95 To support the unfolding of "virtual networks," Digital plans to unveil a series of products over the next 18 months that will include the release of DECswitch 400, Gigaswitch/ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) Version 1.3 software, and DECnis ATMcontroller by mid-year, said Bill Mello, group marketing manager for hub products, in a conference call with Newsbytes.
19 -> Personnel Roundup 04/27/95 This is a regular feature summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: The New York Times Information Services Group, Paging Network Inc. Proteon Inc., TCSI Corporation, Unisys Corp., Oracle Corp., Maxtor Corp., and SoftNet Systems Inc.
20 -> Ericsson Alliances With China, Telecom Italia 04/28/95 Ericsson has revealed it has received a major order to supply GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network technology for the Liaoning Province of China. Also, Ericsson has signed a three-year agreement with Telecom Italia (Stet), which calls for the growing Swedish telecoms giant to expand Stet's GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) digital phone network in Italy.
21 -> France's Pallas Takes 25% Of Germany's ComTech 04/28/95 Pallas the French investment company, has taken a 25 percent stake in ComTech Kommunikationssysteme Verwaltungs-Gesellschaft of Waiblingen Germany's third largest computer dealer after Vobis and Escom.
22 -> CompuServe's NetLauncher Wins Comdex Award 04/28/95 CompuServe NetLauncher, the online provider's Web access program, won the "Best of Comdex/Spring" award sponsored by Byte Magazine and The Interface Group, developer of the Comdex shows.
23 -> EduSoft Deal To Provide Loans To Arab Nations 04/28/95 Next week, German-based Siemens-Nixdorf and EduSoft, an Israeli-based maker of multimedia educational software, will announce plans to award $20 million in loans to the ministries of education of Arab nations, revealed Menachem Hasfari, president of EduSoft, in a meeting with Newsbytes on a Boston press/analysts tour.
24 -> Bell-Northern Claims Switching Breakthrough 04/28/95 Bell-Northern Research claims to have found a practical way to switch information in telecommunications networks at more than one terabit (one trillion bits) per second. The research and development subsidiary of Northern Telecom Ltd. (NYSE:NT) said this technology will be important to networked multimedia services in future.
25 -> Newsbytes Week In Review 04/28/95 Here is a look at the top stories making news this week: Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-Intuit Merger; Comdex - MCI Unveils High-Speed Network; Comdex - CA-Microsoft Pact Focuses On NT; Bell Atlantic Puts Video Services On Hold; German Firm Accused Of Personal Data Theft; Picturetel's Low-Cost Global Videconferencing; Prodigy Announces New CEO; Australia - Internet Provider User List Stolen; America Online Previews Web Browser; America Online Possibly to Acquire WAIS Report.
26 -> Researcher Predicts Record Sales In 95 04/28/95 According to an international consulting and market research firm 1995 will be a record year for sales of personal computer hardware and software. Dallas-based Channel Marketing Corporation said sales of personal computers in the US will jump 33 percent over 1994 to reach 25.6 million units by the end of the current year.
27 -> ****Justice Wants To Stop Microsoft-Intuit Merger 04/27/95 The US Department of Justice flexed its legal muscle yesterday when it filed a lawsuit opposing the $2 billion merger between software giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), the company that built its success on the personal software program Quicken.
28 -> Sneak Preview Of Simply Village, 4Home's "Bob" Competitor 04/28/95 Computer Associates' 4Home Productions is currently developing "Simply Village," a Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 interface "replacement" envisioned as competing and winning against Microsoft's Bob, Newsbytes has learned. The as yet unannounced "Simply Village" will differ from the much maligned "Bob" by giving users a more "sophisticated" look and feel, along with the ability to choose between interface "metaphors" based on individual skill level and personal taste, said Samantha Rubin, a company representative, at a "sneak preview" for Newsbytes held in New York City.
29 -> Borland Posts Heavy Losses From Restructuring 04/28/95 Borland International posted a $51 million loss in its fourth quarter report although revenues for the company were up 9% primarily from the success of the company's new Delphi product an application development tool.
(Wendy Woods/19950428)
(Wendy Woods/19950428)
4/28/95
Newsbytes Daily Summary
SUMMARY
GENERAL
<h<@=
apple
Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective For Mac Intro'd
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Mac Graphics System
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup Server Performance
Apple New Media Forum Set
UK Firm Ships Single Memory Modules For Power Mac
Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave
Internet World - Apple's Server, Education Offerings
Review of - Apple PowerBook Duo sub-notebook platform
Kodak, Adaptive Solutions Puts Digital Pedal To The Metal
Power Computing's First Mac Clones
Macintosh Multimedia & Product Registry Intro'd
Apple Upgrades QuickTake Digital Camera
Apple Intros StyleWriter 1200 Printer
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-End
Apple Continues Strong Performance With 2Q Results
CD-ROM For Driver Training
business
India - Birla & Computer Horizons In Joint Venture
Hummingbird Communications To Buy Beame & Whiteside
Newsbyte reports are copyright 1995 by Newsbytes News Network.
Republication of any portion is strictly without prior authorization.
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apple
Apple
business
Business
General
General
telecom
Telecom
trends
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other
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Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective For Mac Intro'd
Hologlyph Upgrades A.R.G.U.S. Mac Graphics System
Apple Boosts PowerMac Workgroup Server Performance
Apple New Media Forum Set
UK Firm Ships Single Memory Modules For Power Mac
Apple Makes Organizational Changes, Diery To Leave
Internet World - Apple's Server, Education Offerings
Review of - Apple PowerBook Duo sub-notebook platform
Kodak, Adaptive Solutions Puts Digital Pedal To The Metal
Power Computing's First Mac Clones
Macintosh Multimedia & Product Registry Intro'd
Apple Upgrades QuickTake Digital Camera
Apple Intros StyleWriter 1200 Printer
DayStar Mac Clone Aimed At High-End
Apple Continues Strong Performance With 2Q Results
CD-ROM For Driver Training
y Be Violating Trade Deal
FTC Keeps Quiet On Used Computer Parts
Surge - Study
TECO & IBM - The Smart House Is Here
CD-ROM Sales More Than Triple In 1994
ADI Warns Of Upcoming Monitor Shortages
UK Homes Spend More On PCs Than Other Durables
Infocorp Reports On Mac, Windows Duel
UK - Small Firms Left Behind In IT Stakes - Report
Is Cyberspace Bad for the Environment?
IDC Canada Briefing - Computing Turns Outward
IPC Peripherals To Intro 3-D CyberMouse At Comdex
IDC Canada Briefing - Consolidation Seen In Networking
IDC Briefing - PC Market Strong
Hong Kong Brain Drain Topic Of Meeting With China
Planning For The Biochemical Computer
Technology Brings Mug Shots To Police Cars
China - Great Wall Tops Domestic PC Production
US Electronics Sales Up 13%
Toronto Exchange Rethinks Electronic Trading Plans
Researcher Predicts Record Sales In 95
China - Computer Market Boom
NAUTILUS 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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