Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso/pc/text/mac_text/1986/v139

Text File | 1991-07-25 | 59.1 KB | 1,262 lines

[***][1/21/86][***]
JOBS/APPLE BURY HATCHET:
Late Friday afternoon, attorneys for Apple Computer and its former
founder Steve Jobs reached an out-of-court settlement in a 4-month
old suit which charged Jobs with stealing trade secrets and
luring away key employees while still Apple's chairman.  Under the
terms of the agreement, Jobs will not hire any more Apple
employees for a period of 6 months plus will allow Apple reps
the right to inspect Next, Inc.'s prototype machine.  If Apple
decides the machine, from Job's new enterprise, uses any proprietary
Apple technology, it will refile its claim with an arbitrator.
The news of the settlement came in a press release in which
Apple's general counsel, Al Eisenstat was quoted as saying, "We're
pleased that Apple's objectives in the litigation were achieved
and Apple's rights were protected."  Said Andrea Cunningham,
spokeswoman for Steve Jobs, "Steve's workstation will be much
more powerful and higher-priced than what Apple is planning...
Steve feels real good about this."

[***][1/21/86][***]
APPLE'S BIG WEEK:
Apple spent a reported $2.5 million on its three-day extravaganza
in San Francisco January 16-18 at which it introduced the Macintosh
Plus and LaserWriter Plus, at an event which coincided with the
MacWorld and Apple II World Expos.  The inspirational speeches from
Apple brass, live teleconferencing, product showcases and seminars,
however, were far lower-keyed than in previous years.  Steve Scheier,
an Apple marketing executive, said, "We tried to downplay the
flash of previous Apple product introductions."  Despite the suit-
and-tie approach, however, there were significant news items from
the event which have regenerated hope that Apple is indeed, a
company with a strong future.

Apple's new Mac, available in late January, has 1 megabyte of
internal memory, 800K of disk storage, an industry-standard
interface built into the unit's back panel, among other features.
It will retail for $2,599.  Owners of older Macs are being offered
special upgrade deals.    The enhanced LaserWriter Plus, retailing
at $6,798 has more fonts and is more versatile than the earlier
version.  Schools are being offered special trade-in deals to
upgrade their Apple hardware or exchange other manufacturers'
machines.  Apple has established a user group support program,
a venture capital fund for software developers, says it plans
to make future Apple II and Macintosh peripherals interchangeable,
has purchased a $15M Cray XMP supercomputer for product R&D.

As if that wasn't enough, Apple has established strategic
alliances with Prime, GE, and 3Com (which will co-market Macs
for use with their minis or LANS) and with Northern Telecom,
which will incorporate Macs into its private branch exchange
networks.  These associations were cited by Apple as showing
its commitment to and increasing acceptance by the Fortune 1000
market.  Indeed, later at a news conference, John Sculley said,
"We're not interested in being a home computer company.  No one has
made money on the home computer industry."

Most analysts were encouraged by Apple's plans but unable to place
strong bets that Apple would become a major player in the
office automation arena.

[***][1/21/86][***]
MACWORLD AND APPLE II WORLD EXPO:
This was clearly the best to date, drawing huge crowds on each of the
three days.  What popped out most strongly was not the Mac's appeal
to large businesses, but to small ones.  Vertical applications
abounded, and desktop publishing software was king.  (See BULLETINS,
OPTION15 for details.)  Despite the flurry of new applications and
peripherals for the Macintosh Plus, most developers claimed their
wares were "backward compatible" with the 512K Macintoshes, sending
sighs of relief through owners of the originals.  At this reading,
some 500,000 Macintoshes have been sold and by the best estimates,
40% have reached small to medium-sized businesses.

[***][1/21/86][***]
APPLE HAS RECORD PROFIT:
Finally, the news from Cupertino was that Apple has somehow
managed a record $56.9 million profit for its quarter ending Dec.
27 despite a 23% drop in sales compared to a year earlier.  Apple
claims the high profits are due to cost-cutting measures.
"They've done very well tightening up their management and
sales channels and really couldn't have hoped for a better
performance," said Ken Lim, analyst at Dataquest.  Indeed, that
sentiment is echoing through most research houses as congratulations
are in order for Mr. Sculley.

[***][1/21/86][***]
NEW NEWS FROM IBM/IRS:
Based on sources contacted by NEWSBYTES-ATLANTA, the IRS intends
to award its contract for portables on January -31-, not -21-
as had been previously thought.  If true, IBM is wide open to
announce its portable "Convertible" on Tuesday, the 21st, and
still comply with the IRS demand that the award be given to
an off-the-shelf product.  Everyone is virtually certain that
IBM will get the estimated $36 million contract (see last week's
NEWSBYTES-SILICON VALLEY).  But if IBM gets the award, it
won't end there.  Already, among the competition, there are
loud grumbles that favoritism is at work since IBM's laptop
will -barely- be an off-the shelf product next week.  Plus, says
a Kaypro spokesman to INFOWORLD this week, "We bid our machine
at under $1,500 per copy.  If IBM did not win on the basis of
price, we will file a protest."  Of course, NEWSBYTES will have
a special bulletin on the expected Tuesday IBM product
introductions by Tuesday evening.

[***][1/21/86][***]
IBM BOASTS BIG PROFITS TOO:
In the best quarter of 1985, IBM's fourth quarter produced a
23.5% jump in income, attributed mostly to overseas sales of
IBM products and revenue generated by the company's "Sierra"
series of mainframes.  Most analysts saw the figures as a good
omen for the rest of the industry--corresponding with Apple's
good figures and those of NEC and others, higher earnings
trickle down to support smaller vendors.

[***][1/21/86][***]
BUT IN CHIP-LAND:
Big losses hit Intel and Advanced Micro Devices had devastating
news.  Intel laid off another 700 workers and posted a $15
million fourth-quarter loss, as well as a 99% drop in profit.
The 700 represent 3% of Intel's total workforce and will go
from Santa Clara, Phoenix and Portland, Oregon facilities. CEO
Gordon Moore put it bluntly, "We face a long climb back up
from a very low base."  Meanwhile at AMD, $10.7 million was
lost in its latest quarter but, said AMD president Jerry
Sanders, "We believe the worst is behind us."  To prove his
conviction, his company has restored full pay to 11,000
managerial and professional workers whose salaries were
slashed by 10% last summer.

[***][1/21/86][***]
BAD NEWS/GOOD NEWS:
Fortune Systems cut 41 employees from the payroll and restructured
its management line-up in yet another cost-cutting move.  The
Redwood City, Ca. company CEO, James Campbell, said of the
slash of 12% of the company's workers, "We have to get these
damn expenses down so we can save some money!"  Fortune Systems
makes multi-user computer systems.  Two years ago, Fortune,
backed by windfalls of venture capital, had 700 staffers.  Today,
they have 290.

NCR Corporation of Dayton, Ohio recorded a record proft for its
fourth quarter.  The company brought in $133 million , mostly due
to growth in international markets where its mainframes, banking
and retail terminals are selling well.

AST Research Inc. of Irvine, Ca. says it earned $4.2 million on
sales of $32.3 million worth of its add-on boards.

Businessland Inc. of San Jose, Ca. boasts of a record quarter
ending Dec. 31.  The retail chain took home nearly a million
dollars in profit, up from just $122,000 a year earlier.

[***][1/21/86][***]
PORNO GHETTO AT NEXT CES?
Jan Lewis, author of "Computer Insider" newsletter and president
of Palo Alto Research says the floor plan for this summer's
Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago calls for computer exhibitors
to be displayed under the same roof as adult videos.  They
all get McCormick Hall West, she says, a 10 minute walk from the
main exhibit area.  Ms. Lewis is seriously "dissapointed" and
suggests that the sponsors of CES, in an effort to make the
world's largest trade show more manageable, are "trying to
force out the most vulnerable exhibitors at the crucial moment
when the industry shows signs of coming out of a year-long slump!"

[***][1/21/86][***]
PUBLISHING FATES:
"Desktop Publishing", the first magazine devoted to its namesake,
has just been absorbed by "PC World".  Published David Bunnell
has agreed to take over the magazine's debts but keep publishing
it, with editors Tony Bove and Cheryl Rhodes still at the helm.
However, Bove and Rhodes have some bad news:  "User's Guide"
is gone due to low readership and high overhead.  Commented one
observer, "That's certainly it for CP/M."  No other CP/M-dedicated
magazine has surfaced to take its place.

"The Jeffries Report" is back after a 5 month absence.  Author
Ron Jeffries, who got caught up in other projects, is back with
a January issue that has commentary on Atari, Commodore, Tandy,
RISC, and lots lots more.  At $30/year, the newsletter is a
steal.  Contact:  Ron Jeffries, Box 6838, Santa Barbara, Ca.
93160.

Word is that Computer Faires, Inc., sponsors of the West Coast
Computer Faire, among others, is about to be sold to the Interface
Group, sponsors of Comdex.  The deal could be made as early as
this week.

[***][1/21/86][***]
IN BRIEF--

HEWLETT PACKARD has been rated as one of the 25 best firms for
blacks in professional, technical, and managerial jobs, according
to "Black Enterprises" magazine.

ASHTON-TATE is recalling 24,000 copies of dBase III due to newly-
discovered bug.  The copies in question have serial numbers
between 2500001 and 2533960.  If Ashton-Tate hasn't contacted
you, and you have one, contact them at 213-204-5570.

The AMERICAN ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION says employment at U.S.
electronics companies dropped 2.3 percent over the first 9
months of 1985.  Only in the software and programming sector
was there a job increase--up 13.4% over 1984.

BILL ZIFF has resigned as president of Ziff Corporation and
has taken up the role of general partner in a venture capital
fund called Cole Giolbourne Fund.  The former CEO of Ashton-
Tate, Cole, at 33, had presided over the death of Computer
Industry Daily and the sale or closing down of 5 computer
magazines.



[***][1/21/86][***]
THE NEXT STEPS IN AUTOMATED SELLING *EXCLUSIVE*
Richard Brock told the Southeastern Software Association
how to make money selling $1,000 software packages
nationwide, without traveling, by automated telemarketing.
Brock's already built one company (MCS, an accounting
software house now owned by Informatics General) on the
premise. His new venture, Brock Control Systems Inc., sells
the selling system itself.

"The key is to network your entire organization," he said.
Brock's system puts entire product catalogs, including
information on what to say against the competition, online.
Salesmen type zone-line notes on every call, and secretaries
send one-line notes to prompt them when "Mr. Big Bucks"
calls and they're stuck on the phone with "Mr. Small
Change."  Softkeys eliminate 90% of the typing, and managers
can use the reports which come out to monitor everything.
Because Brock can find out how salesmen are doing against
quota instantly, he can fire non-performers fast. So he
keeps a few new hires on a "farm team" in the office but
not working. The replacement can be up to speed quickly,
because everything they need is in the computer.  For demos,
salesmen mail prospects terminals, and follow along when
prospects dial in for interactive demonstrations. Estimated
cost: $3,000 per salesman, in quantity.

CONTACT: Brock Control Systems Inc.,
         1600 Parkwood Circle, NW, Atlanta, [phone]

[***][1/21/86][***]
CLEAN UP YOUR MAILING LIST WITH AN ADD-IN BOARD
Proximity Technology Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, has
introduced an IBM PC plug-in card and software that can
identify near-duplicates and eliminate exact duplicates in
mailing lists and other databases. Cleanmail does very fast
character string comparisons (400,000 characters per
second), costs $995, and claims to be faster and and more
accurate than other "merge/purge" methods currently
available. "If you presume that duplicates represent as much
as 5% of a mailing list, then an organization mailing 20,000
pieces at a cost of $1 each could justify Cleanmail in only
one mailing," said vp-marketing Roy Semplenski.

CONTACT:  Roy Semplenski, 3511 NE 22nd
          Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33308 [phone]

[***][1/21/86][***]
CASH REGISTER CONNECTIONS
How'd you like to connect all your company's stores together
into one giant network?  Choice Retail Systems thinks you do.
The five-year old company based in the Atlanta suburb of
Marietta, says its Choice-Net, rolled out January 12 at the
National Retail Merchants' Association convention here, is
the answer. It's a communication network which can connect
all point-of-sale cash registers on the market.  Retailers'
Choice is a companion "back office" product to handle
inventory control and sales analysis. As more people pay
with plastic, whether credit cards or debit cards, the money
can be deposited and accounted for instantly.  President
Rusty Gordon said, "The key factor in serving the market is
to provide the communications pathway--the 'bridge' between
the sales counter and the back office."  The power has a
price, of course. Complete systems cost about $15,000, and
additional stores can be added for about $1,000 per store.

CONTACT:  Rusty Gordon, Choice Retail Systems,
          1345 Terrell Mill Road SE, Marietta, GA, 30067,
          [phone]

[***][1/21/86][***]
FIND OF THE WEEK
The "Power 200" is a rechargable battery for lap-top
computers which claims to give 13 hours of charge to a Model
100 after 16 hours of recharging, using a standard AC
adapter. It's a NiCad strip (the equivalent of 5 batteries)
enclosed in plastic, with velcro strips to keep the it
attached to your machine.  "The five cells make the
difference," says vp-operations Al Beverly, who adds that
Pico publisher Wayne Green praised it in print after a
recent trip to China.  Weight: 7 ounces. (Newsbytes Atlanta
tried it out for a week without trouble.) The product
retails for $49.95, and they'll take orders over the phone.

CONTACT:  Al Beverly, 12131 Old Buckingham Road,
          Midlothian, VA, 23113, [phone]

[***][1/21/86][***]
PEACH BITS

BELLSOUTH CORP. has consolidated all its unregulated
businesses into a new holding company called BellSouth
Enterprises Inc. William McCoy has been named president of
the new company, which has operations in cellular phones,
voice and data equipment, fiber optic LANs, and of course
the Yellow Pages.

MSA GETS NEW DIRECTORS...Management Science America Inc. has
taken on outside directors for the first time. Former
Memorex chairman Clarence W. Spangle, attorney Robert E.
Hicks, and investor Cecil D. Conlee were voted in. MSA co-
founder Eugene Kelly resigned.

RENT A SUIT...Digital Communications Associates Inc.
(DCA) has created a speakers' bureau, of its own executives,
to speak on data communications issues. (The company's
network processor were recently rated #1 in a Datapro user
survey, so they may know something.) DCAzalso announced an
OEM agreement with NCR, which will market a version of its
IRMA micro-to-mainframe interface boards.

THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW, TEACH...AT&T sends out mass
mailings for its 11 Industry Analysis Seminars, which claim
to teach other businesses how to map strategy. Ours came
addressed to "Have Modern Will Travel".

AMERICAN SOFTWARE INC. signed a $1 million contract with the
Dutch Post, Telephone & Telegraph company, for materials
management software the state-owned company will use to
handle "goods flow" in its telecommunications division.

CHUTZPAH DEPARTMENT...The Southeastern Software Association
says it will begin charging non-members $5 to attend meetings
in March!


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"We've been doing software demos, and closed them, where we
didn't meet the people. We sent them a terminal, freaked
them out and they loved it."
                                --Richard Brock
                                  Brock Control Systems


[***][1/21/86][***]
THE TANDON CHALLENGE
Here's the theory:  Fortune 500 companies buy one IBM clone for
every official Big Blue computer.  In that environment, Tandon
Corp. says it can go head-to-head against IBM's sales force by
underbidding the industry leader.  Here's the reality:  Fortune
500 companies only buy one clone for every *two* IBM PCs.  To
make matters worse, inexpensive compatibles from Taiwan,
Singapore and South Korea are flooding the corporate market.
So what keeps Tandon competitive at the low, low end of the
clone circus?  Diskette drives.

According to Michael Murphy of the California Technology Stock
Letter, Tandon can almost always underbid an offshore rival, not
to mention IBM itself, by manipulating the "actual" costs of
its diskette drives.  Those chattering little diskette drives
make up 25 percent of an IBM compatible's manufacturing costs,
and Tandon is one of the few major-league suppliers of those
indispensible storage units.  In other words, since it was
forced out of the diskette-drive game, Tandon has decided to
take the ball and go home.

So far, Tandon's major contracts for its line of budget "house
brand" micros have included Tandy (the Model 1200 is a Jugi
Special), Xerox and Tandem (no relation).  How far Tandon gets
by manipulating the price of its diskette drives, and hence its
computers, is anyone's guess.  Murphy's newsletter currently
rates Tandon stock as a "hold" at just under $5 per share, but
predicts that if the Chatsworth-based firm can sustain its
current program of depress and conquer, it will turn a profit
this year.

[***][1/21/86][***]
TRADING PLACES
The Los Angeles branch of the venerable Pacific Stock Exchange
moved into new, highly-computerized digs last week.  About $5
million was spent on the new downtown securities trading floor,
which included an expanded computer system to allow all the
exchange's trading, order processing and depository operations
to be handled by a linked system of minicomputers.  The entire
operation fits into 63,000 square feet of leased office space,
with about a third of the floor area taken up by the data-
processing department.

Lost amid all the statistics and ballyhoo about the new trading
floor was an interesting sidebar.  Hal Andrews, the owner of the
vacated 54-year-old building the PSE used to call home, has
announced plans to turn the space into a posh night club.  With
nearly 60,000 square feet of rentable space at his disposal,
it may boast one heck of a dancefloor.

[***][1/21/86][***]
MONEY TALKS, PRINCIPLES WALK
Several weeks ago, NEWSBYTES-L.A. predicted that the West
Hollywood City Council would change its policy on apartheid
rather than write its own expensive city management software.
Being astute observers of human nature and political
compromises, we were correct.  West Hollywood lawmakers modified
their complete ban on firms doing business in South Africa,
which included IBM and Hewlett-Packard, to allow the city to buy
products from the offending firms "if reasonably priced
alternatives are not available."  Now, wouldn't it be amusing if
both Big Blue and H-P decided to boycott West Hollywood?

[***][1/21/86][***]
OLD NEWS IS THE ONLY NEWS AT KAYPRO
Friday's mail included an envelope containing six (count 'em,
six) news releases from Kaypro Corp.  Being slightly impressed
that the Solana Beach firm finally put the regional NEWSBYTES
bureau on its mailing list after a half-dozen requests, we were
anxious for a hot tidbit or two for this week's column.  No such
luck.  The latest of the six releases described a computerized
news bulletin board for correspondents to use during the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (the show closed a week
ago).  The remainder included Kaypro's announcement of its
first-quarter loss (11-day-old news) and enhancement products
for the Kaypro 2000 (about a month after NEWSBYTES-L.A. broke
the story).  The various pages of well-aged information did
include one interesting claim, that Kaypro is the fifth-largest
computer manufacturer.  Number four must be shaking in its
boots.

[***][1/21/86][***]
THEY'RE ALL MAJORING IN BANKRUPTCY LAW THIS TERM
The percentage of college students interested in computer
careers has fallen sharply for the second year in a row,
according to a UCLA report.  The annual survey of college
freshmen conducted by the university's Graduate School of
Education found that only half as many students planned to sign
up for computer-related majors than in 1983.  "We were kind of
shocked by that finding," said survey founder Alexander Astin.
Only 4.4 percent of the freshmen said they aspired to careers as
computer programmers or computer analysts, down from 8.8 percent
in '83.  At the same time, the percentage of freshmen planning
to major in computer science fell from 4.5 percent to 2.1
percent this year.  Astin suggests that one explanation may be
that incoming students know more about computers than those of
just a few years ago.  "The new freshmen understand they can use
a computer as a tool in many fields," said Astin, "but computers
themselves are not so glamorous now."

[***][1/21/86][***]
NASA AND INFERENCE CORP. SHAKE HANDS AGAIN
NASA engineers will be able to upgrade complex computer software
using new development workstations supplied by Inference Corp.
of Los Angeles.  The firm, which provides Fortune 500 companies
with artificial intelligence (AI) software, will help the space
agency do highly analytical design work on the Space Shuttle and
upcoming permanent-orbiting U.S. space station with its
Symbolics 3600-compatible AI units.  A previous working
agreement resulted in the development of NAVEX, an AI system
that provides navigation assistance for the Space Shuttle.

[***][1/21/86][***]
CSC WINS THE NEW YORK MEDICAID LOTTERY
The New York State Department of Social Services has awarded a
$133 million computer services contract to Computer Sciences
Corp. of El Segundo.  The huge contract will give CSC the job of
processing state Medicaid claims, a spokesman reported.  The big
service company will process claims from pharmacies, hospitals,
doctors and health-care providers who are reimbursed by the
federal Medicaid program.  About 600 New York state workers will
become employees of CSC to help administer the program.  CSC
steps in on May first.

[***][1/21/86][***]
BEACHBITS

->  General Automation Inc. of Anaheim is having a rough time of
    it.  The firm makes minicomputers, and company auditors say
    continued operations depend on additional financing.  Last
    year, General Automation lost $8 million.  The company plans
    to release several new Zebra computers this year.

->  Lear Sigler Inc. will furlough about 100 manufacturing
    workers starting this month.  The firm's Data Products
    Division is moving its video-display terminal assembly
    operations to Mexicali, Mexico.  Current Southland
    employment is 250.

->  United Education & Software of Encino has purchased Natinal
    Technical Schools of Los Angeles in a private transaction.
    NTS claims enrollment of 500 full-time students studying
    computers, with another 15,000 taking their courses by mail.

->  Texas Instruments' Consumer Products Division of Woodland
    Hills is moving into a new 30,000-square-foot facility in
    Calabasas.  The new space is 75 percent larger than the old
    hang-out.


[***][1/21/86][***]
32-BIT AI MACHINE FROM IBM:
According to a published report, IBM Japan has started developing
a 32-BIT AI computer at the company's laboratory in Tokyo.  IBM
Japan plans to equip the machine with an object-oriented language
called "SPOOL," which has been created by IBM Japan.  SPOOL is
an enhanced language based on PROLOG, says a report.
The machine's prototype is expected to be completed by the end
of 1986.

[***][1/21/86][***]
JAPAN'S FIRST ORIGINAL 32-BIT MPU:
The much talked about NEC's original 32-bit MPU dubbed "V60" has
finally been developed.  V60 supports a 4 gigabyte memory and has
330,000 elements.  It runs UNIX.  Its processing speed is 3 to
4 MIPS, says a report.  With the chip's emulation mode, V60 runs
the programs for all of the V-series family including V20 to V50.
Currently, Zilog (U.S.A.), SONY and Sharp have been the second
source for NEC's V20 and V30.

Meanwhile, NEC has gained a No.1 position concerning the
semiconductor sales in '85, according to the world-wide survey
taken by Dataquest in the U.S.  Other Japanese enterprises which
have assumed the top-ten positions include Hitachi (No.4),
Toshiba (No.5), Fujitsu (No.7) and Matsushita Electric (No.10).

[***][1/21/86][***]
TANDY 200 WITH THE CCITT MODEM:
A & A Japan, a Japanese dealer of Radio Shack computers,
announced that it will release "TANDY 200" with a built-in CCITT
modem on Jan. 20.  The original model of TANDY 200 has been
equipped with a Bell modem.  A & A Japan has decided to modify
the modem's standard since the CCITT has widely been accepted
in the Japanese market.  This new TANDY 200 has six kinds of
built-in software (in ROM) such as Multiplan, English word-
processor, communication software, scheduler and the address
database.  The new model will sell for US$990 (with 24KB RAM)
to $1,490 (with 72KB RAM).  Meanwhile, TANDY 600 will not be
released for a while here, a spokesman says.

[***][1/21/86][***]
TELESTAR AS INTERNATIONAL TELECOM NETWORK:
The Tokyo-based personal computers telecom network "TeleStar"
has revealed plans to connect with KDD's Venus-p in order to
open its gateway to overseas users.  Besides having plenty of first-
hand news in Japanese, TeleStar provides English language news
such as NEWSBYTES and West Coast news provided by Bay Area
Computer Currents in the U.S.  Currently, TeleStar has set up
"EnglishSig" in its BBS to encourage English speaking users.  One
of the main advantages for overseas users is that they can exchange
ideas and information with the Japanese users here.  I'll give
you more details on this TeleStar network later.

CONTACT:  TeleStar, Inc. (Tokyo)
          c/o Katsuro Miyakoda, or Masayuki Miyazawa in English
          SOURCE ID: BCN458
          Phone: [phone]

[***][1/21/86][***]
TOSHIBA LINKS TIGHT WITH INTEL:
Toshiba has agreed with Intel (U.S.A.) to manufacture and
market two models of interface IC designed for Intel's
"Multi-bus II."  Those are an interface IC for a parallel-system
bus (MPU) and a bit-bus interface IC (BBC).  Toshiba also signed
a business agreement with Intel last January concerning the
production and the sales of Intel's bus control LSI (BAC) and
a message interruption LSI (MIC).  The second agreement between
the two companies has been made since Intel evaluates Toshiba's
manufacturing technology very high, the analysts say.

[***][1/21/86][***]
STANFORD TO SOLVE TRADE FRICTIONS?
Stanford University (CA) has been planning to open an education
center in Kyoto, Japan, in cooperation with major Japanese
universities and private enterprises. According to a report,
the center will offer two study courses for both Japanese and
the U.S. citizens: one is "The Stanford Technology Innovation
program" (6-month course) to bring out engineers and businessmen,
and the other is "The Study of Japan" (one-year course). The
companies and universities which have been thinking of
cooperating in this project include NTT, Toshiba, Hitachi, IBM
Japan, IBM (U.S.A.), Hewlett-Packard, Kyoto Univ.(Kyoto), and
Hitotsubashi Univ.(Tokyo). In this project, Stanford Univ. plans
to bring up "international minded experts" to fill the cultural
gap between the two countries for better understanding in the
business as well as the political field.

[***][1/21/86][***]
<<< SUKIYAKI BYTES >>>

NTT AND MATSUSHITA -- Matsushita Electric has signed a technical
agreement with NTT (Japan's Telegraph and Telephone Corp.)
concerning the designing and the development of next generation's
LSIs.  With this agreement, both companies will develop a 4M LSI
to start with.  They will also apply their technologies to
electronics products such as optical computers and high-quality
TVs, a report says.

PERKIN-ELMER AND CITIZEN -- Perkin-Elmer Corp., a producer of
semiconductor manufacturing devices in Connecticut, U.S.A., and
CITIZEN (Tokyo) will jointly produce P-E's semiconductor
manufacturing devices such as the stepper and the dry-etching
equipment at CITIZEN's factory.  CITIZEN's precision technology
has widely been recognized here.

FUJITSU'S 256K SRAM -- FUJITSU announced (1/14) that it has
developed and started marketing four types of 256K Static RAM.
The SRAMs called "MB84256 series" have an access speed of 100 ns
to 150 ns, and consume 1.1 milli-w to 5.5 milli-w.  Fujitsu plans
to produce 500,000 to 600,000 SRAMs monthly starting in April,
a report says.



[***][1/21/86][***]
GETTING ACCESS:
If you're one of the thousands of personal computer/modem users
who don't live within a local call of one of the tele-
communications services (Telenet, Uninet, Tymnet, etc.) you have
to add the long-distance call charges to your connect-time
charges -- making the "telecommunications revolution" an
expensive proposition indeed.  But that'll soon be changing -- in
Connecticut at least. In the first agreement of its kind in the
nation, Southern New England Telephone and Tymnet have come to an
agreement under which any modem user in Connecticut will be able
to reach Tymnet with a LOCAL call. Although the service will
initially be aimed at corporate users, a spokesperson for the
phone company says they estimate that within five years nearly
15% of Connecticut residential customers will be using modems and
personal computers. Both companies declined comment on whether
negotiations were underway for other geographical areas. (The
agreement won't affect Source users in Connecticut, since The
Source isn't available through Tymnet.)

[***][1/21/86][***]
DEC GOES COLOR:
Digital Equipment Corporation went into head-to-head competition
with several companies this week by introducing a full-color
scientific workstation that hooks into DEC's MicroVAX
supermicrocomputer. The VAXstation II/GPX retails for between
$33,000 and $54,000 and is DEC's first Unix-based product for the
MicroVAX.  California-based Sun Microsystems and MA-based Apollo
Computer have been the premier suppliers of specialized
workstations for engineering and scientific use.  The 19-inch
display on the VAXstation II has a resolution of 1024 by 864
pixels, and supports up to 256 colors.

Meanwhile, DEC also announced this week that their sales and
profits jumped substantially in the last quarter of 1985. DEC
sold $1.86 billion in the period, up 14% from the same period in
1984; and net income amounted to $136 million, up nearly 24%.
DEC's stock jumped substantially after the news was announced.

Finally, DEC will hold another press conference on January 29th
to introduce what the company is calling "a new level of
computing solutions." Speculation in the industry is that DEC
will finally unveil their long-awaited IBM PC and AT compatibles.
NEWSBYTES NORTHEAST will be at the press conference. Watch for
details here.

[***][1/21/86][***]
XEROX INTRODUCES:
In a press conference last week in New York City, Stamford, CT-
based Xerox Corporation introduced several new computer products:

The model 4020 is a $1495 high-resolution color ink-jet printer.
Primarily designed for scientific/engineering use, the 4020 is
manufactured in Japan by Sharp and prints in resolutions of up to
240 by 120 dots per inch. It takes between two and four minutes
to print a page. The 4020 is bundled with DRI's GEM Desktop
Operating Environment, GEM Graph and GEM WordChart.

Xerox also introduced XC-22, a private-labelled version of AT&T's
Starlan local-area-network for PC-compatibles. XC-22 uses
twisted-pair (plain telephone) wiring and transfers data at a
million bits per second. It costs $720 per station.

Also introduced were two very-high-end ($140,000+) mainframe
printing systems. Perhaps the most interesting new product was
something called "The Documenter" a full-blown document
publishing system using the Xerox 6085 workstation. It's designed
for publication departments and small businesses. Though the
Documenter's final price won't be announced until April, don't
expect it to be inexpensive.

[***][1/21/86][***]
SITE LICENSES FROM LOTUS:
In its current (January 14) edition, PC WEEK reports that Lotus
Development is beta-testing a long-awaited corporate site
licensing plan with Exxon. The interesting part of the plan is
that Lotus will reportedly offer large customers updates from a
mainframe computer in its Cambridge, MA office; with smaller
companies being offered a volume-discount. Lotus is one of the
last big holdouts in offering volume users a price break on
multiple copies. As expected, a Lotus spokesperson declined to
comment; insiders have previously told NEWSBYTES that a site-
licensing plan is being planned.

Speaking of insiders, a conversation with another Lotus non-
spokesperson this week brought out one of the reasons why Lotus
is rolling in dough. No folks, it's not just that sales of Lotus
products have been so great. It's also real estate. Over the last
year, prices of both commercial and residential real estate in
the Boston area have skyrocketed about 40%. When Lotus got
started back in 1982, they bought quite a bit of property in
Cambridge -- across the Charles river from Boston proper. The
value of that property is now essentially astronomical. Is a new
subsidiary -- "Lotus Real Estate Development" -- next?

[***][1/21/86][***]
PICTURE TELEPHONE NEARER:
Last month, we reported here in NEWSBYTES that PicTel
Corporation, a Peabody, MA-based startup, was developing a two-
way picture telephone that will squeeze full-motion, full-color
images through a regular telephone line. This week, release of
the system got even closer. Pictel announced that the system
prototype passed a series of tests by an independent consultant
-- a full month before a February 8th deadline from company
investors. Pictel has applied for over 200 different patents on
the device, whose "secret" is that only portions of the picture
that move are transmitted. The company will formally introduce
the product in February and will ship in the fall. But don't
expect to run down to your local computer store with a few extra
dollars to pick up a couple so you can talk to your aunt in
Peoria; Pictel's system will cost $90,000+ per station, and is
obviously aimed for corporate markets. Will a low-cost consumer
version be available? A company spokesperson says it's a LONG way
away.

[***][1/21/86][***]
ANTI-PIRATE FORCES GATHER:
About 100 managers, engineers, and (of course) lawyers gathered
in Cambridge, MA this past week for a one-day conference on
"Technical Viewpoints of Software Protection." Sponsored by the
Franklin Pierce Law Center of Concord, NH, the conference looked
at ways of fighting back at the pirates, with an organizer
claiming half (!!!) of the software in use today is pirated. The
attendees, from both large and small software companies, shared a
great deal of mutual sympathy over the money they're ostensibly
loosing; and had a lively debate over whether Congress should
consider new legislation to fight the pirates. While Lotus'
general counsel told the gathering that existing legal tools are
adequate to fight pirates, many smaller companies complained they
didn't have in-house legal experts and that finding lawyers
qualified in the area is difficult. The Law Center's Patent,
Trademark, and Copyright Research Foundation is considering
drafting anti-piracy laws that would be submitted to Congress
through New Hampshire congressmen.

[***][1/21/86][***]
KEEPING IT SMALL:
In the more-than-we-wanna-count number of years that your bureau
chief has been rummaging around the personal computer industry,
we've seen too many companies go under because they grow too
fast. Friendly personal service becomes bureaucracy, and layers
of assistants twiddle their thumbs to insulate the management
from the "real world." That's why it's a real pleasure to deal
with someone who WANTS to keep it small and personal. Last week
we reported on "Dan Bricklin's Demo Program" from the VisiCalc
creator's new company -- Software Garden. This week we received a
review copy of the program; in an envelope hand-addressed by
Bricklin himself. Personal service to the press? Not at all.
Dan's company is strictly a one-man operation, and he wants to
keep it that way for the time being. Bricklin says by keeping the
company small, his overhead is so low that he can keep prices low
and doesn't have to sell huge amounts to make a profit. He adds
that his company won't be put in a pigeonhole along with other
"me-too" organizations. We only wish we had the space to review
the demo program, which is unique. By the way, one of the
program's biggest fans is Lotus honcho Mitch Kapor. Bricklin
developed the program while he was consulting at Lotus after they
purchased Software Arts.

[***][1/21/86][***]
GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS:
*The Good News:* New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment rate
in the country; Massachusetts is second.

*The Bad News:* The count of New England high-tech workers laid
off in the past year is fast-approaching the 11,000 mark. A total
of about 100 more were laid off at various small companies over
the past week. (We'll spare you the gory details.)

*The Bottom Line:* You figure it out. We can't.

[***][1/21/86][***]
ON TRIAL:
In Boston Federal District Court this past week, two officials of
Beverly, MA defense contractor Hybrid Components, Inc. pleaded
innocent to racketeering and mail fraud charges. The government
alledges that the president and the vice-president of engineering
told the government that semiconductors they shipped met military
specifications when the company never performed the tests. The
government claims the company used an Apple II programmed to
produce false printouts of testing data, and billed for nearly
$1-1/2 million worth of untested components. Both men were
released on bail. The components were used in weapons, aircraft,
and in military satellites. If found guilty, the two could face
20 years in prison and a substantial fine.

[***][1/21/86][***]
NEW WANG SPOKESMAN:
Advertisements that Wang Laboratories will be running starting
next month will feature a new company spokesperson--the good
doctor himself. Chairman An Wang will pitch the company line
in a series of print ads. No word yet on whether Dr. Wang will
appear in Wang's television commercials. The Frank Perdue of
Computers?



[***][1/21/86][***]
APPLE LINKS WITH NORTEL:
Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, CA has announced
that it has signed an agreement with Northern Telecom Ltd.
(Mississauga, Ont.) to develop communications networks
for its line of microcomputers, including Macintosh Plus.
The system will allow Macs to be linked in networks without
dedicated data lines, and is in head-to-head competition
with IBM and AT&T for the office market, more and more
integrated with telecommunications. "The link with Northern
Telecom is symbiotic in that it marries our two technologies
together to allow users to do something better," said Apple
International prexy Michael Spindler.  "Our goal, in keeping
with the Macintosh philosophy, is to make sure those networks
can be made simply."  Northern Telecom is the largest supplier
of PBX (private branch exchanges) to the U.S., and its
alliance with Apple is seen as a strong vote of confidence.

The Apple pact adds one more computer to the OPEN (Open Protocol
Enhanced Networks)World program espoused by Northern Telecom
to tie many diverse hardware systems via a single network
standard.  "In the future, we can see ourselves taking a
larger step forward with Northern Telecom to build the same
interface capacity into the much larger switches used by the
telephone companies," said AppleCanada CEO David Killins.

[***][1/21/86][***]
NORTHERN LIGHTS--LASER DISC STORAGE:
A laser disc storage system for office systems has been
developed by KOM Inc., Ottawa, Ontario.  The hardware and
software package, called "Optifile," will be available Feb.
1, initially for the DEC line of computers, and soon for
Apples, IBM's, and AT&T products.  The optical laser disc
allows a gigabyte--one BILLION bytes--of information on a 12"
disc, and will cost $45,000-$75,000, competitive with
traditional systems of office management.  KOM sales
manager Gil York expects this initial cost will decrease with
demand for the product.  KOM uses optical drives from
California and France, and discs made by 3M in Minnesota.
Once installed, the cost of storing a megabyte with Optifile
will be approximately $0.65, compared with $1.40 for magnetic
tape storage.  A disadvantage of optical storage is that discs
cannot be erased for repeated use, but this is balanced by
the ability to store information that "is not supposed to be
altered," according to Mr. York.  With software customised
for users, Optifile can be used by 32 terminals at once,
operating 56 disc drives; any of 150,000 files on a given disc
can be read in less than a second.  (And here I was saving up
for a laser printer...)

[***][1/21/86][***]
BOTTOM LINE NOTES:
The 1985 "winners" in the Canadian hi-tech marketplace were
far and away the telecommunications companies, in spite
of a saturated market, mergers, and slow cashflow.  Northern
Telecom is expected to just meet its growth forecasts,
while Mitel Corp. remains in the red.  The recently announced
purchase by British Telecom PLC may be the turning point,
however.  In the computer and software arena, early 1985 hopes
were dashed by a summer slump, and those who lost less than
predicted emerged as the only successes.  In this category were
Geac Computer Corp. of Markham, Ontario, and workstation maker
Orchatech Inc., of Ottawa.  Financial analysts continue to
feel that investments in high-tech will be "disappointing" for
a year or two.

[***][1/21/86][***]
LIFE-SAVING CHIPS:
Chronically ill patients in Ontario and Alberta are able to
live independently with the help of computer monitoring.
The system is called "Lifeline," marketed from Boston;
it allows 24-hour access to medical and social services for
shut-ins.  29 homes in Grimsby, Ontario have been online since
the summer of 1984, and Guelph, Fort Erie, and Port Colborne
also use Lifeline.  A base unit is attached to the user's
telephone, and a wrist device activates the call signal.
Automatic i.d. of the caller is registered in the
receiving computer, and the patient is called back immediately.
If contact cannot be made, a neighbour is called, or an
ambulance is sent.  The system in Grimsby is sponsored
by the Rotary Club and costs approximately $8,000
(CDN) to set up; individual home units are $650, and transmitter
rental is $12 per month.  Hospital officials there say
that about 30 calls have been made so far, with complaints
such as chest pains or falls.


[***][1/21/86][***]
DIALCOM LANDS USA TODAY
ITT Dialcom, a Silver Spring, Md., computerized information
service, will now offer its subscribers access to the USA Today
Update news service. Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today and 87
other daily newspapers, six television stations and 15 radio
stations, produces the news service which contains summaries from
Gannet's media network, in three formats: DecisionLines, HotLines
and Special Reports.

Compared to The Source and Compuserve, Dialcom is definitely the
high-priced spread. Basic Dialcom charges are $17 per hour during
business hours, $10.50 per hour thereafter, with a whopping $100
per month -minimum-.  Additional charges for the USA Today will
range from $13.50 per hour to $21 per hour. Dialcom has had
success signing up news organizations in Washington as
subscribers, because it carries current White House news releases
and schedules, and releases from the Agriculture and Interior
Departments.

[***][1/21/86][***]
NEW LANGUAGES (First of a Series)...
The New Jersey PC Club newsletter has come up with a gem of an
article on new programming languages. We'll report on several
here, finishing up next week.

SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiots Monopurpose Programming
Linguistic Environment. This language, developed at Hanover
College for Technological Misfits, was designed to make it
impossible to write code with errors in it. The statements are,
therefore, confined to BEGIN, END, and STOP. No matter how you
arrange the statements, you can't make a syntax error. Programs
written in SIMPLE do nothing useful. They thus achieve the result
of programs written in other languages without the tedious,
frustrating process of testing and debugging.

SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it, of its
compiler. Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee
break while they compile, SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to
Bolivia to pick the coffee. Forty three programmers are known to
have died of boredom sitting at their terminals while waiting for
a SLOBOL program to compile.

VALGOL. From its modest beginnings in Southern California's San
Fernando Valley, VALGOL is enjoying a dramatic surge of
popularity across the industry. VALGOL commands include REALLY,
LIKE, WELL, and Y"KNOW. Variables are assigned with the =LIKE and
=TOTALLY operators. Other operators include the California
Boolean, FERSURE and NOWAY. Repetitions of code are handled in
FOR - SURE loops. Here is a simple VALGOL program.

LIKE Y'KNOW (I MEAN) START
  IF (PIZZA =LIKE BITCHEN
  AND B =LIKE TUBULAR
  AND C =LIKE GRODY**MAX)
  THEN FOR I =LIKE 1 TO OH MAYBE 100
    DO WAH - (DITTY**2)
    BARF(I) = TOTALLY GROSS(OUT)
  SURE
  LIKE BAG THE PROBLEM
  REALLY
  LIKE TOTALLY(Y"KNOW)

VALGOL is characterized by its unfriendly error messages. For
example, when the user makes a syntax error, the interpreter
displays the message:

   GAG ME WITH A SPOON

[***][1/21/86][***]
ITC RULING ON THE WAY
Sources in Washington say they expect the International Trade
Commission to rule soon on the U.S. semiconductor industry
complaint about unfair Japanese trade practices. The complaint
has the support of the Reagan Administration, if not all of the
semiconductor industry (see last week's Newsbytes). The ruling
will come at a time when Japan's NEC Corp. has become the
worldwide leader in semiconductor sales, with $1.98 billion in
1985 sales, according to Dataquest Inc. Motorola was second with
$1.85 billion.

In Tokyo last week Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.), chairman of the
important Senate Commerce Committee, tongue-lashed Japan for its
trade policies. "No other nation contributes so little to the
openj trading system of the world in proportion to what it
gains," Danforth said. "Japan is a great country. It should
begin to act like one."

[***][1/21/86][***]
GTE 3 IN COURT
U.S. District Court Judge James Cacheris has set February 18 as
the opening day for a criminal trial of three former or current
GTE Government Systems Corp. executives charged with illegally
obtaining Pentagon documents. The GTE 3 conspired to get Navy
budget documents on electronic warfare projects so their company
could make sharper bids on contracts, the government alleges. All
three have pleaded not guilty.

The three defendants argue that it is not a criminal offense for
a civilian with a security clearance -- and each has one -- to
pass on secret information to others with security clearances.
They also say that defense contractors and other, including
reporters, commonly get their hands on classified information.

[***][1/21/86][***]
MIMIC THE FUTURE
The Pentagon has begun a new program to develop the integrated
circuits that will serve as the eyes and ears for future
generations of smart weapons, combat computers, and battlefield
communications systems. The new program will be called MIMIC, for
microwave/millimeter wave monolithic integrated circuits. The new
chips will be designed to feed analog data to the power very high
speed integrated circuits that the military is developing as
information processors, according to Sonny Maynard of the
Pentagon's VHSIC program.

[***][1/21/86][***]
QUO VADIS HOME COMPUTERS
Washington Post computer columnist Michael Schrage came back from
the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in a blue funk. Schrage,
who covers the high tech world for the Post business section,
bemoaned the conspicuous absence of home computers from the show.
"There is virtually nothing that ranks as innovative, nothing
that addresses why computers should be used in the home; and
nothing that offers hope for this industry's future," wailed
Schrage.

What lesson does Schrage read in the Las Vegas cards? "The brutal
conclusion I'm tempted to draw is that there is no such thing as
a consumer market for personal computers. They just aren't like
VCRs, compact discs, or other gismos for electronic
entertainment. Those other technologies deliver genuine and
recognizable value; personal computers are simply a superb
technology that now offers little in the way of entertainment or
utility."

[***][1/21/86][***]
WASHINGTON COMPUTER BUSINESS INDEX
The Washington Computer Business Index stands at 162.5, a
whopping 62.5 percent surge over last week's 100. The index, an
exclusive service of Newsbytes Washington, is based on the
computer advertising carried in the Monday Business section of
the Washington Post. For the January 13 issue computer ads
totaled 8.45 pages, out of 18.35 pages of total, non-classified
display ads. That compares to 5 1/5 pages of microcomputer ads,
and 21 2/5 total pages for the prior week.

[***][1/21/86][***]
POWERBITS

 $$$ Syscon Corp., a Washington hardware and software firm, has
landed a $12.4 million, five year contract to supply the Navy
with its Naval Tactical Game Training Systems.

 $$$ Systems Development Corp. of McLean, Va., gets a $7.6 million
cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software and documentation for P
-C3 aircraft. The contract combines purchases for the Navy,
Japan, Australia and the Netherlands. Work will be done in
Warminster (apposite name) Pa.

 $$$ The Senate Tourism Caucus will hold a hearing Janaury 22 on
the preliminary findings of a National Park Foundation study of a
nationwide electronic reservation and leisure information system.

 $$$ The Capital PC Monitor, fine magazine of the Capital PC users
group, reports overhearing three accountants discussing the highly-
rated Dac-Easy accounting program at COMDEX. They said the
program should be renamed Dac-Hard, and preferred One Write Plus.

 $$$ Washington computerist Dick Holt of HRH Systems has a
collection of public domain APL software, known as the APL
Diskette Clearinghouse, available to fans of A Programming
Language. Write to APL Diskette Clearinghouse, Box 4496, Silver
Spring MD, 20904.

 $$$ Attention legal eagles. The Source will soon mount LAWSIG, a
new special interest group geared to the attorney, and run by a
Chicago lawyer who worked on Compuserve's legal special interest
group. Source sources say the SIG could be ready to roll any day
now (that's sooner than "real soon now").

[***][1/21/86][***]
SPECIAL REPORT ON THE UK WHICH? COMPUTER SHOW:
Last Tuesday saw the start of a four day extravaganza at the
Birmingham National Exhibition Centre which the organisers
were touting as the first big show of '86 (mind you, they
*all* say that!).

What the show actually became was a snowball fight
between Apple and Commodore.  Apple, with their much touted
Macintosh Plus, and Commodore with their Amiga, which still
has not been released over here in the UK (more of which later).
Surprisingly, against all popular expectations, Apple did
not stave off interested visitors wanting a peek at the new
Macintosh Plus.  We all thought they would wait until the
six hall flamboyant launch had taken place at last
Thursday's Apple Expo in the US.  Nice to see the UK getting
one up on the US for a change (haha - only joking Wendy!).
The Mac Plus looks very impressive.

Across the way was Commodore with an interesting package,
the C128D, consisting of a 128, disc drive and monochrome
monitor, but the price! 499 pounds ($750) which puts it in
the same league as the Atari ST--no competition.  Commodore
UK say that this package has been formulated for the
European market...NEWSBYTES UK suspects that a US package at
$750 would be laughed out of the shops, a distinct
possibility for the European package.  Mentioning the ST
leads me neatly into the Amiga--there's no firm UK price or
delivery date even now... Industry pundits say that
our release date is around early March.  Taking a leaf out of
Atari's book from last year's PCW show held in London,
Commodore had sublet most of their stand to small (and the
not so small) software houses who had some excellent
products.  Interestingly, most were aware that the Atari
represented better value for money, and had therefore
developed a lot of their software for both machines.

Strong rumours about Commodore's (lack of) financial
stability continue to reach us on this side of the Atlantic.
Frankly, unless Commodore can get the backing they need
from their bankers in the next few weeks (they are currently
in technical default of payment of outstanding loans, we
hear), it's gonna be a rough ride.

Outside of the Apple/Commodore bullring, several business
firms were exhibiting the latest IBM clone cheapies - 600
pounds for a 256K PC XT clone, 1,800 pounds for a PC AT
clone--nice prices, but what about customer support?  Funny
how they all shrink away when you talk about that...

Notable absentees from the show were Acorn and Sinclair.
Acorn, whose Master series of micros were launched last week
(see next story), had said they were not attending, citing
their main area of interest as the educational and top end
of the home market as their mainstay.  Whilst his firm was
not in attendance, innovative genius, Sir Clive Sinclair,
was present for a 'twenty questions' scenario screened as
part of the BBC's Micro Live TV show...from the show.  Sir
Clive was part of a panel that included Roger Foster,
chairman of Apricot Computers, Alan Sugar, chairman of
Amstrad Computers and all the way from the US of A, Chuck
Peddle, the guy who invented the Commodore PET.  After a
half hour of discussions over questions 'from the floor',
the general consensus was that the industry is rushing
headlong towards new processors (68000 being a cpu in
point), when all the average consumer wants is a computer
that works!  All the panel agreed that the North American
market is so big that, unless a world-beating product can be
sold (Sir Clive mentioned his ZX81 computer which rocked us
all in '81), then all one manufacturer can expect is a small
"niche" in an IBM dominated market.

[***][1/21/86][***]
BBC UNVEIL THEIR MASTERPLAN:
Okay, apologies all round, NEWSBYTES UK has neglected to
mention the new 'Master' series of micros launched by Acorn
ten days ago.  For good reason as, until the Which? Computer
Show, we were unable to get a 'hands-on' the new machines
along with first hand specifications.

As reported in these columns exclusively before Christmas,
Acorn unveiled the Master series on the 8th of January.
Five models feature in what is the direct descendant from
the hugely successful 32K Model B computer which has sold
extremely well in the educational, as well as the home
sector.  The entry level machine, the Master 128, has 128K
RAM, 65C02 cpu and...,er, well, not a lot else actually, for
499 pounds ($750), but users can opt for the Master 512,
which sports 512k RAM, Intel's 80186 processor, and Digital
Research's DOS+ operating system, which supports DOS 2.1 and
CP/M...and means it can run *some* IBM software.  The price
however, is another story - a shade under 1,000 pounds for
the beast.  Next on up is the R&D machine, the Master
Scientific, which has a 32 bit capability courtesy of the
Natsemi 32016 chip coupled with a 32081 floating point
processor.  Fortran 77, ISO-pascal, C and the original BBC
basic are all included in the package which will set you
back a cool 2,000 pounds.  Brian Long, in an interview on
last Friday's Micro Live TV show said that the company were
aiming particularly at the educational market, and admitted
they weren't trying to edge out the IBM PC machines.  Even
so, at those prices - remember they don't include a monitor,
disc drive or printer - they need a lot of luck!

[***][1/21/86][***]
UK GOVERNMENT ATTACKS IBM MONOPOLY:
In an unusually vitriolic attack, the UK's trade and
industry minister made a thinly veiled attack on IBM's
monopoly over the computer industry.  Speaking at the
opening of DEC's new $50m R&D centre in Reading, just West
of London, Leon Brittan spoke in favour of the Open
Standards Interconnect (OSI) as a standard for linking
different computers.  At the same time, Mr Brittan warned
heavily against the danger of being locked into one supplier
if a standard is adopted.  The speech was a thinly veiled
reference to IBM's System Network Architecture which big
blue is pushing at the moment.  (Mr. Brittain, in case you
hadn't noticed, was a primary player in the recent UK
government split over Westland helicopters, which resulted
in the Minister of Defence resigning.  He ought to try
joining the Diplomatic Corp., if he isn't already a member!)

[***][1/21/86][***]
EXODUS FROM SOUTH AFRICA:
As a direct result of the troubles affecting South Africa at
the moment, several major UK companies are actively
recruiting from the fortress state for their skilled
computing staff.  'Computer News' reports this week that the
campaign is being spearheaded by Anthony Moxon Associates,
an agency with considerable experience in overseas
recruitment.  Large ads have been placed in several of the
major SA daily newspaper, with, says the agency, excellent
results.  The editor of 'Business Day', one of South
Africa's dailies, is quoted as telling 'Computer News' that,
"Skilled people can't get out of SA fast enough, even though
exchange control regulations only allow people to take
$22,000 dollars with them."  The wholesale poaching of staff
from South Africa can't go on for much longer though, as
Pretoria looks like placing financial penalties on skilled
personnel leaving the country.  Who said anything about
basic human rights Mr. Botha?

[***][1/21/86][***]
<<<BRITBYTES>>> (From the front line):

+++CITY OF LONDON A SECURITY RISK, warns Ken Wong, one of
the UK's computer security consultants.  He says that major
financial concerns will not consider system security, "until
somebody burns their fingers.  Then they will cry out."

+++AMEX BAIL OUT AILING SOFTWARE FIRM.  One of the UK's top
software houses, Logica, has been rescued from the brink of
financial disaster by American Express, who have awarded a
major contract for voice recognition to them.  No details
have been released yet, but the deal is understood to run
into a lot of $$$.

+++MACPLUS TO BE BUILT IN IRELAND. As Newsbytes UK went to
press late Saturday afternoon, Apple UK have just announced
that the Mac Plus (see lead story this week) will be built
in their Cork, Ireland facility.  Apple's Cork factory
supplies Europe, Africa and India and currently employs
around 200 people.  Last year, Apple had to lose 50 jobs
from their Irish factories, when they ceased making
peripherals this side of the Atlantic.

+++AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FOR MICROPRO.  North American
software house, Micropro, has extended its piracy amnesty
scheme to include France and West Germany.  The UK arm of
Micropro announced early December that, on payment of 40
pounds ($60), they would register users of illicit copies of
Wordstar and issue manuals and updates for free.  Announcing
the Euro-extension to the amnesty, Micropro's UK MD, John
Speller says he doesn't expect the amnesty will extend to
North America due to complex copyright laws preventing such
a move.