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/v141

Text File | 1991-07-25 | 55.1 KB | 1,256 lines

[***][2/4/86][***]
IRS/IBM UPDATE:
Here's the official word from the Internal Revenue Service
regarding the laptop computer award, which had been expected
January 31, at latest, as told to Ken Maize, Newsbytes-
Washington Bureau Chief:

NEWSBYTES:  What's the word on...

IRS:  The laptop computers.  No, no, no, no.  Try next week.

Ken reports the spokesman's name was Scott D. Waffle, no kidding.

What IS known is that a winner HAS been selected, but before
the winner can be announced (most likely, it's IBM) the IRS's
internal policy review committee and the U.S. Treasury Dept.
must approve the selection.  THAT seems to be where the case
is now.  Meanwhile, Advertising Age reports that IBM has
prepared a television ad for the "Convertible", which one
NEWSBYTES source says pictures Charlie Chaplin driving around
in a '57 Chevy with a portable on his lap...

[***][2/4/86][***]
ATARI DEFECTION:
The latest to leave Atari is Al Montross, Atari's VP and
General Manager of Atari domestic sales.  Montross gives no
reason for his departure but indications are that he was
fed up with the Tramiel's sudden decision to sell STs in
mass merchandise outlets.  Montross has a background in
computer retailing (he began the now-defunct Compco Computer
Centers) and had worked closely with small store owners
who have chosen to sell the ST.  No one has been named to
replace him.

[***][2/4/86][***]
COMMODORE BOBS FOR BANKERS:
In default over its major loan agreement, Commodore has won
yet another reprieve from bankers who give the company until
mid-February to renegotiate or repay.  Rumors flew this past
week that Commodore had filed for bankruptcy, but a Commodore
spokesman issued a brief statement, "We haven't filed."
Wall Street believed something was fishy; in unusually heavy
trading, Commodore stock fell $1.25 to $7.75/share on Thursday--
that amounted to a 20% drop in the stock's value in two days.
Analysts estimate Commodore has sold nearly 10,000 Amiga
computers to retailers as of December 31--not bad, but not
good in light of losses in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars.

[***][2/4/86][***]
DEL NIXES COLOR:
Speaking before the Boston Computer Society on Jan 22, Apple's
Del Yocam, executive VP of Apple, said that according to his
surveys of people who want things added to the Macintosh, "color
is not really up there at the top," according to "InfoWorld"
magazine.  Yocam reportedly told the crowd that data
communications is what people want.  Conclusion: no color
Mac for the forseeable future.

Meanwhile, John Sculley has been chosen chairman of the company
at an otherwise uneventful stockholder's meeting January 29.
Shareholders were told once again that Apple will not pay a
dividend soon (it NEVER has) because Apple still has to make
more money.  Further, Sculley commented that he hopes Steve
Jobs will "feel welcome on the Apple campus" now that the
suit is settled.  Jobs, through a spokeswoman, quoted Joni
Mitchell's song in response:  "Don't it always seem to go
that you don't know what you've got til it's gone."

[***][2/4/86][***]
AT&T GOES TO SCHOOL:
Another company is zeroing in on Apple's lucrative grip on the
educational market.  AT&T sends 500 representatives to the
nation's school districts this summer to pitch its Education
Utility, accessed with AT&T micros & minis.  Education Utility is
actually a creation of National Information Utilities of
Vienna, VA., which plans to offer an online library of
educational information, software, and electronic mail, which
will be broadcast via satellite to receiving dishes atop schools.
AT&T 3B2 minis will capture the information; PC6300s will
access it from classrooms.  The brain behind the scheme is
Jack Taub, NIUC chairman and founder of The Source.  A spokesman
for AT&T says leased software, hardware and online charges for
a 30-workstation configuration would amount to $4,700/month.
Hardware and software purchased for the same set-up would
cost $95,000.  Tests of the system are slated in Orange County,
CA. schools and in Maryland this summer.

[***][2/4/86][***]
HEWETT PACKARD LOOKING BETTER:
HP has announced that orders for the first two months of its 1986
fiscal year were up 6 percent over the same period last year.
Meeting with security analysts in San Francisco, John Young, HP
president, called the improvement "modest" and stressed that
HP would retain a cautious apprach to the future.  (After all,
HP did have a miserable 1985, with profits falling 26%.) One side
benefit from the good news is that HP plans to restore full
pay to 29,000 workers this summer.  They took a 5% cut in pay
last year.

[***][2/4/86][***]
WHERE HAVE ALL THE MAGAZINES GONE?
The final count is in, compiled by Computer Publications Directory
Service of Western Springs, Illinois.  In 1985, 39 computer
publications went out of existence while only 22 were born.
The total number of computer publications in 1986 now stands
at 275 (Newsbytes is not on this list which applies to magazines
only).  Ah, the days are gone when one issue of "PC Week"
broke magazine history with the thickest monthly ever on the
stands--790 pages.  Where can you see some of the goners?
The only place we know is the basement of the Boston Computer
Museum.

[***][2/4/86][***]
IN BRIEF--

MIKE MURRAY, last seen as Apple's director of marketing, has
emerged at CONVERGENT TECHNOLOGIES of San Jose as its new
director of verticle marketing.  Murray will reportedly be
one of two people assigned to scout out software companies
as potential investment targets.

CONVERGENT's founder ALLEN MICHELS, meanwhile, is being
joined by C. Gordon Bell, one of the nation's leading computer
scientists at DEC and lately of Encore in Massachusetts, to
start the Dana Group, a Sunnyvale, Ca. computer company.

STEVE WOZNIAK has appointed SAM BERNSTEIN, former VP of
marketing for Commodore International (5 years ago) to
the post of chief executive officer at his new company CL9
in Los Gatos.

BORLAND has hired LOU RYAN, Living Videotex's VP of sales
to the post of director of sales.  And the merry go round
goes round and round.

ROBOT SALES (this no relation to above stories) were up
25.3 percent in 1985, according to the Robotic Industries
Association, making 1985 the best ever for the domestic
robotics industry.

[***][2/4/86][***]
INTERESTING NEW PRODUCT DEPT.:
San Rafael, Ca.-based Software Recording Corp. of America
has created a software package that makes making software
demos a snap.  "AutoMentor" interacts with a booted program,
enabling users to chose which screens or displays will be
"recorded" onto a self-running demo disk.  "AudioMentor"
additionally, adds voice-recognition and synthesis
capabilities when used in conjunction with TI's voice
add-on board for the PC.  Software Recording wants to
sell bundles of these to software developers, PC trainers,
etc. but has a DEMO of its demo, available for $10 (now
ain't that appropriate?).

CONTACT:  Eleanor Dinovitz, Software Recording, 600 5th
          Avenue, 4th Floor, San Rafael, Ca. 94901
          415-258-0800

[***][2/4/86][***]
DAN RATHER SHOULD HAVE KNOWN:
While the network anchors were fiddling with models of the
space shuttle on the news sets, trying to explain the
disaster, Activision was finishing up a press release
which gets our Bad Timing award.  The announcement said
that "Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space", its 50,000+
selling video game, had received a "Silver" award from
the Software Publisher's Association.  "'Space Shuttle'
duplicates the stages of an actual shuttle mission," says
the release.  "It's the most proven space flight simulation
program in the market today."  No further comment needed.




[***][2/4/86][***]
MICROSTUF SUES SOFTKLONE OVER MIRROR:
Microstuf Inc., makers of Crosstalk XVI, has filed suit in
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia,
alleging that SoftKlone's "Mirror" violates Microstuf's
copyright, and asking damages of over $1 million.

SoftKlone has advertised that "Mirror" copies the "look and feel"
of Crosstalk XVI without copying the code used to produce it.
Status screens and commands used in the two programs are
identical. In its suit, Microstuf will be testing the relatively
unknown waters (in computer law) of "visual copyright", the idea
that the user interface of a software product deserves the same
protection as the code used to write it.

Last year, Apple Computer Co. used the idea of a "visual
copyright" to get Digital Research Inc. to change its GEM
operating environment, claiming it too closely resembled Apple's
Macintosh. But the issue has yet to be tested in the courts. For
computer users, another key issue is that Crosstalk XVI sells for
$195, Mirror for $49.95.

On Friday 1/31, Judge William C. O'Kelley refused to grant a
temporary restraining order against SoftKlone. This means
SoftKlone can continue to make and market Mirror pending
disposition of the case.

[***][2/4/86][***]
JUNK CALL BAN DEBATED
The Georgia legislature is not debating a shrink-wrap licensing
bill this year. They've got a hotter high-tech potato to handle.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Cathey Steinberg (D-Atlanta) would
make it a misdemeanor for your computer to call someone and
deliver a recorded sales pitch without their consent. The bill
passed the state House of Representatives 114-0 Monday. It must
still pass the Senate and be signed by Governor Joe Frank Harris
to become law. Opponents in the telemarketing business call the
bill "unconstitutional and unenforceable." (Response to junk
calls runs 1-3%, about the same as for junk mail.)

Gary Hylton of Innovative Technology Inc., Roswell, which makes
the "Nita" voice board, says he supports the legislation. "Our
product is more sophisticated than that," he said. Instead of
calling random numbers, his customers are using the product to
do things like call parents when the kids skip school, or call
big users of electric power when the lights go out.

[***][2/4/86][***]
HIGH-TECH STOCK ROUND-UP
"Jenks Southeastern Business Letter" reports the value of the
Southeast's high tech stocks rose 21.9% in 1985. This was better
than 1984's LOSS of 25.3%, but well behind the 26-27% gains in
market indicators like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and
Standard & Poor's 500 stock index. (Jenks' own list of the 120
largest Southeast companies rose 28.7%.) "High tech isn't
romantic anymore," one analyst told him. "You have to have
performance now if you are going to get any attention on Wall
Street." The biggest gainers were two Georgia companies, Total
Systems Services Inc. of Columbus, which does bank card
transactions, and Digital Communications Associates Inc., makers
of the IRMA line of micro-mainframe links. Both rose over 200%,
and DCA has turned in a 122% gain in earnings per share over the
last five years.


TOP FIVE GAINERS
Exchange Symbol Company/Business                State   Change
NASDAQ   TSYS   Total Systems Services            GA
                  Bank card data processing             +222.4%
NASDAQ   DCAI   Digital Communications Associates GA
                  Data network products                 +209.8%
NASDAQ   NDTA   National Data Corp.               GA
                  Telephone/computer services           +87.2
NY       INC    International Controls Corp.      FL
                  Aerospace, electronic, energy         +86.6%
NASDAQ   FFMC   First Financial Management Inc.   GA
                  Data processing for banks             +77.1


TOP FIVE LOSERS
Exchange Symbol Company/Business                State   Change
NY       PDN    Paradyne Corp.                    FL
                  Data Communications equipment         -50.0%
NASDAQ   INTS   Intelligent Systems Corp.         GA
                  Micro enhancements, terminals         -45.0%
AMERICAN ARN    Aeronca, Inc.                     NC
                  Aerospace, computer testing equipment -42.6%
NASDAQ   SAIN   Systems Associates Inc.           NC
                  Computer systems for hospitals        -31.7%
NASDAQ   QMSI   QMS Inc.                          AL
                  Laser printers, printing systems      -31.1%


OTHER MICROCOMPUTER STOCKS
Exchange Symbol Company/Business                State   Change
NASDAQ   SCIS   SCI Systems Inc.                  AL
                  Computer products, assembles IBM PC    +7.9%
NASDAQ   DSCC   Datasouth Computer Products       NC
                  Dot matrix printers                   -12.6%
NASDAQ   CTON   Computone Systems Inc.            GA
                  Computer stores & software            -15.9%

[***][2/4/86][***]
CREATIVE COMPUTING DEPT.
The Computer Art & Animation Co. thinks it can make money using
computers for commercial art. They've got a Bosch FGS-4000,
Aurora 75, and Sony multi-format videotape equipment. They'll
offer output as videotape, film, or hard copy. Steve Walker of
Cinetron (the computerized cameras which helped create the movie
"Tron") and Tom Siller of The Weather Channel (24-hour TV
weathermen) have an office near Georgia Tech.

For more information contact Larry Newton, 1004 Hemphill Avenue
NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
PEACH BITS

TARKENTON SOFTWARE (yep, football Hall-of-famer Fran Tarkenton,
chairman) has signed an alliance agreement with Nastec Corp.,
Southfield, MI. Nastec's DesignAid, a PC-based code generator,
will now be linked with Tarkenton's Gamma, a mainframe-based
Cobol-writing program, in a complete programmer productivity
system.

SAMNA CORP. has rolled out a version of its Samna+ package for
the IBM RT PC. Samna+ combines a word processor, spreadsheet, and
word or phrase finder.

DCA (IRMA's folks) introduced three new network processors. The
System 330 and System 332 can re-route calls when the line goes
down at 19.2K or 72K baud. The System 334 is a bisync processor
for IBM 3270 networks, and can connect remote hosts through
either public (Tymnet) or private (IBM or DCA) networks.

AMERICAN SOFTWARE has added online vehicle scheduling to its
IBM mainframe software product line. Previous versions of its
vehicle scheduling and loading system were batch-only.

THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS! MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AMERICA (MSA) earned
$10 million, 56 cents per share, for the quarter ending December
31. That turned a losing 1985 into a winner, with yearly net of
$6.9 million, 39 cents a share.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Dallas attorney Paul Ivy suggests software piracy can be solved
if the government throws users in jail for floppy copying.
"Individuals will be deterred by the size of potential fines and
by the possibility of imprisonment," he wrote in MIS Week.
(Better yet, hang 'em.)


[***][2/4/86][***]
STATE OF THE ART LEAVES APPLE BEHIND
Criticizing Apple for neglecting third-party software
developers, State of the Art Inc. of Costa Mesa says it will no
longer make software for the Apple IIe and Macintosh.  The
business software firm, known for its productivity and
accounting packages, claims Big Red consistently failed to
supply developers with early notification of new hardware
releases.  State of the Art president David Samuels said he
would read about the release of new hardware in the trade press
before being sent information by Apple.  "You would think
communications would be better," he said.  An Apple spokeswoman
said the allegation amounted to "sour grapes."

Industry analysts claim that State of the Art's decision may
slow Apple's penetration of the corporate market.  Eugene Glazer
of Dean Witter said, "Anytime a software developer moves away
from a hardware manufacturer, it's not a good sign, obviously."

CONTACT:  STATE OF THE ART
          3191-C AIRPORT LOOP DR.
          COSTA MESA, CA 92626
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
COMPUSAVE MORTALLY WOUNDED BY POISONED PEN
"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" may
be CompuSave Corporation's motto these days.  Reeling after what
company officials allege was a smear campaign against it in
November (as reported in NEWSBYTES-L.A.), the Irvine firm has
pulled out of the computerized discount-retailing business and
is attempting to lease its hardware to outside companies.  Last
fall, CompuSave's stock plunged 55 percent to just $3.25 per
share, followed by another 45 percent drop in January.  For the
second quarter, the firm lost $2.3 million on sales of $976,652.
An unidentified bank, which had negotiated a $1 million line of
credit to keep the troubled firm afloat, withdrew its commitment
in December, leaving CompuSave in debt to the tune of $4
million.

CONTACT:  COMPUSAVE CORP.
          16842 VON KARMAN AVE.
          IRVINE, CA 92714
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
ONE UP, TWO DOWN FOR DATAPRODUCTS
Printer maker Dataproducts of Woodland Hills showed a $1 million
profit in its third fiscal quarter.  However, with massive
losses in the first half of its year, the firm posted a loss of
$32.2 million for the nine months.  Part of the third-quarter
profitability was undoubtedly related to the firm's decision to
sack 1,500 local workers and to cancel several new dot-matrix
printer models.

CONTACT:  DATAPRODUCTS CORP.
          6200 CANOGA AVE.
          WOODLAND HILLS, CA 91367
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
THIRTY UP, ONE DOWN FOR SILICON SYSTEMS
Silicon Systems of Tustin posted its first loss in 30 months
last week, finishing the first quarter down $2.4 million.  The
semiconductor manufacturer said it had been impacted by the
general malaise in the chip market, but expects to see black
again late this year.  "The recession in the semiconductor
industry lasted one quarter too long," said Chairman Carmelo
Santoro.  In 1985, Silicon Systems reported $3.1 million in net
income on $54.6 million in sales.

CONTACT:  SILICON SYSTEMS
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
PAYING PAUL
What do you do when you raise $2.5 million in venture capital
and you're still $2 million in debt?  Computer Accessories of
San Diego had the obvious answer, keep $500,000 and clean the
slate.  Computer Accessories makes computer surge suppressors
and cables, with assembly operations in Mexico.  The venture
capital firms ponying up the bail-out funds were Boettcher &
Co., Westwood Management, Ventanta Growth Fund, Southern
California Venture and New West Venture.

CONTACT:  COMPUTER ACCESSORIES
          6610 NANCY RIDGE DR.
          SAN DIEGO, CA 92121
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
PROFIT WATCH
So, who's making money and who's skidding on the banana peel?
Here's a short list of local firms and where they stand:

->  Micom Systems Inc. of Simi Valley has had better third
    quarters.  In the firm's last three-month period, sales only
    rose one percent to $142.7 million.  Perhaps their money
    would appreciate more in mutual funds?

->  International Rectifier of El Segundo did a little better
    than Micom in sales (they were up nine percent for the first
    two quarters), and is on a slow rebound.  "Looking at the
    results for the first half of fiscal 1986, we are encouraged
    that International Rectifier remained profitable through a
    period of real adversity," said CEO Eric Lidow.

->  AST Research Inc. of Irvine says they're setting records for
    both net income and sales.  During the firm's second
    quarter, net income was up 102 percent to $8.6 million,
    while sales grew 46 percent to $47.1 million.

->  Western Digital of Irvine also says they are setting some
    records for the second quarter.  A spokesman said net
    earnings increased 54 percent to $4.8 million on sales of
    $64 million, a 66 percent jump over last year.  Unlike
    Computer Memories of Chatsworth, Western Digital was
    successful in weaning itself away from IBM, which accounted
    for 26 percent of the company's sales for the same quarter
    last year.

->  Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo posted a 34 percent
    increase in net earnings, with revenues up 15 percent.

[***][2/4/86][***]
THOMSON MONITORS FOR ATARI AND MAYBE COMMODORE
Thomson Consumer Products of Marina del Rey (via France) has
come back from COMDEX-Fall with more than sore feet.  According
to President Thierry d'Argoeuves, Thomson will supply 100,000
color monitors to Atari to be used with the ST and XE model
computers.  Terms were not disclosed.  Also, according to one
unconfirmed report, Thomson may also be close to working a
similar deal with Commodore for the Amiga computer line.
Several months ago, NEWSBYTES-L.A. quoted d'Argoeuves as saying
that Thomson would eventually overtake Amdek as the leading
third-party supplier of microcomputer monitors.

CONTACT:  THOMSON CONSUMER PRODUCTS
          330 WASHINGTON
          MARINA DEL REY, CA 90291
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
GATEWAY GONE, BRUINS BECKON
It must have sounded like a good deal at the time.  Gateway
Computer has called it quits on the UCLA campus, closing its
satellite computer store.  The retailer had an agreement with
the university to supply micros to faculty, students and
administrators at wholesale prices in exchange for an annual fee
and the space to operate a retail store to supply software and
peripherals.  Apparently, the store never made money and Gateway
decided it wasn't worth the effort.  Now, the Associated
Students (ASUCLA) are looking for another retailer to move into
the space under the same terms.

CONTACT:  ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF UCLA
          405 HILGARD AVE.
          WEST LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
SPEAK TO ME
A new voice-recognition board for IBM compatibles is said to be
98 percent accurate with a 500-word vocabulary.  The Voice
Connection of Irvine calls its new peripheral the IntroVoice V,
and says it comes with a headset and a hand-held or wireless
microphone.  It retails for $495, and users can change the 500
words or phrases to a new vocabulary set in five seconds, says
the manufacturer.

CONTACT:  THE VOICE CONNECTION
          17835 SKY PARK CIRCLE
          IRVINE, CA 92714
          [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
BEACHBITS

->  Consummate wheeler-dealer Regis McKenna will join author Tom
    Peters ("In Search of Excellence") and Compaq Computer
    president Rod Canion on the dais at a SoCalTEN meeting March
    4.  The conference will be held at the L.A. Airport Hilton,
    with reservations priced at $395 per person.  For more
    information, call SoCalTEN at [phone].

->  Computer Memories Inc. of Chatsworth found a company to
    lease its Singapore manufacturing plant, and is selling off
    the facility's machinery and supplies to a variety of local
    firms.  With the transfer of the lease and hardware, CMI
    closes the book on its Pacific overtures.

->  Cordata of Thousand Oaks (formerly Corona Data) has
    announced it will be expanding its national network of
    authorized service centers to 150 from the current 52.  All
    the new facilities will be open by September, the company
    asserts.

->  Uniform Software Systems of Santa Monica has been acquired
    by Locus Computer Corp., also of Santa Monica.  The purchase
    gives Locus the ability to offer both high-end and low-end
    software for Unix and MS-DOS.  Terms of the deal were not
    announced.

[***][2/4/86][***]
SATIRE OF THE WEEK
This week's mail included a review copy of "Sorry About the
Explosion" by David Busch (Prentice-Hall).  Perhaps the most
wicked satire on the computer industry since Comedy by Wire,
Busch's book chronicles the day-by-day operations of the
fictitious Kitchen Table Inc.  Not your typical Silicon Valley
micro manufacturer, KTI has twice as many employees in its
public relations department than in its research and development
labs.  The result is that the firm is better know for its
company slogans than for its products.  Here are a few selected
mottos:  "Dedicated to Re-inventing the Wheel," "If It's Bug
Free, It Ain't Ours," and "We Stand Behind Our Products--It's
Safer!"  Not to miss out on the popularity of online bulletin
boards for customer support, KTI dispenses these pearls of
wisdom at 300 baud, while poking fun at a program familiar to
all students of artificial intelligence:

----------------------------------------------------------------
>Hello. This is my first time on the hotline.

I SEE. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?

>My TLS-8E is acting funny lately.

COULD YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC?

>Well, my computer seems to be losing data frequently.

DO COMPUTERS TROUBLE YOU?

>Yes, that is why I turned to you for help.

WE WERE DISCUSSING YOU NOT ME.

>No, I just wanted to see if I had a RAM problem.

ARE YOU SAYING NO JUST TO BE NEGATIVE?

>I never dreamed that you would be of such little help.

WHAT DOES THAT DREAM SUGGEST TO YOU?

>I am disgusted.

DID YOU COME TO ME BECAUSE YOU ARE DISGUSTED?
----------------------------------------------------------------

CONTACT:  PRENTICE-HALL, INC.
          ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ 07632
          or
          DAVID BUSCH
          5217 CLINE RD.
          KENT, OH 44240
          SOURCE ID: CPA133


[***][2/4/86][***]
DISK DRIVE FOR "FAMILY COMPUTER":
Nintendo has currently been enjoying its heyday with its
"Family Computer (Fami-Con)" which has been selling like
hot cakes.  Taking the advantage of this game-machine fever,
Nintendo will release a disk drive for Fami-Con in Feb.
With this disk drive, new types of software such as word
processors and educational programs are expected to be
developed for Fami-Con users who have been enjoying just
the ROM cartridge games at present.  Although the list
price of Family Computer is only US$74, you cannot
underestimate this gadget.  It has RICOH's 6502 CPU just
as Apple II!  Moreover, ambitious Nintendo has been
developing a special low-price modem to organize a Family
Computer network.

Fami-Con has been so popular that any retailers cannot keep
it on the shelves even for a single day, believe it or not.
6-million Fami-Cons have sold as of past December.  Sources
say total output will reach 7.5 - 9 million by the end of
this year.  This figure is extremely large compared with the
total 4-million output of all microcomputers in Japan.
Reflecting this Fami-Con fever, Nintendo's stock at the
Tokyo Stock Exchange Market has risen from US$22 (two months
ago) to $35.  Wow!

Meanwhile, 5,000 packages of "fake" game programs for Fami-Cons
have been unearthed in the suburb of Tokyo.  A 41-year old
design engineer of precision machineries was arrested (1/30)
and charged with software copyright infringement. According
to a police report, the counterfeit game programs in ROM
cartridges run just like the original versions except for a
slight blinking on the screen.

[***][2/4/86][***]
INSCRUTABLE SUIT:
Texas Instruments (U.S.A.) has filed a suit against eight
major Japanese IC manufacturers and one Korean maker for
allegedly violating the patents of TI's DRAM in Dallas
District Court, TX.  The companies which have been sued this
time include Hitachi, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Oki, NEC, Mitsubishi,
Matsushita, Sharp and Korea's Sam Sung Corp.  According to
TI, those Japanese and Korean manufacturers have been
using the patents of TI's DRAM even after the expiration of
the cross license agreement with TI.  One thing inscrutable
in TI's charge is that TI has also been using the patents
of those Japanese manufacturers at present.  "Under such
circumstances, the Japanese manufacturers can also sue TI for
patent infringement," says an executive of one of the
Japanese manufacturers.  Now wouldn't that be messy?

Another MYSTERY is that those Japanese manufacturers who are
sued by TI have been the customers of a separate but affiliated
company--TI Japan!  Consequently, TI Japan is at a loss for what
to do.  The executives of TI Japan have been trying hard to
convince their customers that TI Japan has nothing to do with
TI-U.S.A.'s suit.  Maybe so, maybe not.  We'll see.

[***][2/4/86][***]
MITSUBISHI WINS OVER TANDON:
The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled (1/30) that
Mitsubishi did not infringe the copyright of Tandon's FDD.
With this ruling, a one-year old struggle between Tandon
and Mitsubishi has come to an end.  The dispute started in
early 1985 when Tandon filed a suit against three Japanese
manufacturers -- SONY, TEAC and Mitsubishi.  SONY and TEAC
have already reached an out-of-court settlement with Tandon
that both companies pay the FDD's royalty to Tandon.  While
Mitsubishi showed its determination to prove the company's
innocence against Tandon.  Unlike Mitsubishi, the Japanese
have a peculiar cultural tendency to avoid any quarrel.
As a result, they're very poor at debating.  So Mitsubishi
has, so to speak, challenged this notoriety--the stakes being
an export ban which would have affected the company,
should the ITC accept Tandon's appeal.  Mitsubishi's
spokesman has told the reporters that, "We're very happy about
ITC's fair judgement."

[***][2/4/86][***]
ANOTHER T.O.B. BY MINEBEAR?
Minebear, a Japanese manufacturer of machinery equipment,
has recently signed a business agreement with Key Tronic Corp.
(Washington, U.S.A.).  With this agreement, Minebear produces
various kinds of keyboards and computer peripherals at its
factory in Thailand, and supplies them to Key Tronic. Moreover,
Minebear plans to purchase about 20% of Key Tronic's stocks,
according to a published report.  Currently, Minebear has
been supplying the keyboards for PCs to IBM (U.S.A.) on an
OEM basis.  Minebear has aggressively been involved in the
keyboard business.  Hi-Tek Corp.(Garden Grove, CA) has also
been under Minebear's management.

[***][2/4/86][***]
PC/AT COMPATIBLE FOR UNDER $2,000:
According to John Boyd in the "Japan Times" (Jan.27), IBM PC/AT
compatible micro "TeleColor PC" has landed in Japan. TeleColor
PC, developed by Televideo (U.S.A.), comes with a 512k main
memory, a high resolution 12" color tilt-display and two disk
drives.  The machine costs US$1,900 with three programs
including word processor, spreadsheet and database.  It's 100%
compatible with PC/AT, says Mr. Goodey who runs a shop in
Tokyo.  It's really a bargain since PC/AT costs US$6,000
through ComputerLand here.

CONTACT: Thomas Goodey
         Geta Corp. (Tokyo)
         PHONE: [phone]

[***][2/4/86][***]
PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR '85:
It's a survey time.  "Nikkei-Ryutsu Daily" (Tokyo) has taken
a survey to choose the products of the year '85.  As it was
predicted, CD players, Family Computer and Japanese word
processors have gained popularity.

  1) Minolta "Alpha-7000" (camera)
  2) CD players
  3) "Telephone card" (NTT)
  4) "Family Computer" (Nintendo)
  5) Credit travel tickets
  6) Special Insurance policy for women
  7) "Charm-Demi" (compact stationery set)
  8) Japanese word processors

[***][2/4/86][***]
<<< SUKIYAKI BYTES >>>

MATSUSHITA'S 32-BIT MPU -- Matsushita Electric developed (1/27)
a new 32-bit microprocessor, according to a published report.
This 32-bit MPU has a clock speed of 25MHz, and a processing
speed of 6MIPS. It is twice as as fast as Motorola's 68020 or
Intel's 80386, a report says.

SEIKO-EPSON'S PRINTER IN CHINA -- SEIKO-EPSON will start
the production of its printers in China in April.  The
factory, subsidized 100% by SEIKO-EPSON has, already been
completed, a report says.  The company will first produce
mini-printers for calculators, and supply them to the
calculator manufacturers mainly in Hong Kong and Singapore.

AT&T'S PBX FROM RICOH -- AT&T has signed a sales contract
concerning the large-scale telecom equipment with RICOH.
RICOH has already been distributing AT&T's OA equipment and
keyphones in Japan. AT&T, meanwhile, has also agreed with
Toshiba on the sales of its PBX. Currently, IBM and Northern
Telecom (Canada) have respectively been distributing PBX
through major Japanese makers. So, AT&T's new deal with RICOH
will surely create a keen sales competition of telecom
equipment in the Japanese market.

LATEST VAX FAMILY -- DEC Japan started marketing (1/30)
32-bit computers--"VAX8800," "VAX8300" and "VAX8200," all of
which use a new bus-architecture VAXBI.  Among others,
VAX8800 has a very fast processing speed that is twice as
fast as VAX8650 introduced in last December, a report says.




[***][2/4/86][***]
LOTUS WEEK:
There's so much news this week related to Lotus Development that
we could almost put in it in a column by itself. But here's a
summary:

-- Topping the news was the announcement that Lotus and Cullinet
Software of Westwood, MA have ended an agreement to jointly
develop Cullinet Symphony Link, a product to connect mainframe
and personal computers. The joint agreement was originally
announced in a flashy Boston press conference last March. The
official word from both companies is that they'll develop
separate products instead. Cullinet, best known for its line of
mainframe software, this week announced Infogate, a $300 package
that does link Cullinet's Mainframe Information Center Management
System to several PC-based programs. Lotus announced this week
that they've agreed to market iLINK from InfoCenter Software, a
product with many similarities to Infogate. Neither Infogate nor
iLink has all the features originally planned for Cullinet
Symphony Link. Though both companies were mum on the reason for
the break, industry sources speculate that there was disagreement
about who would benefit most from the joint agreement.

-- Lotus also announced this past week that their future products
will support Microsoft's "Windows" user environment. The move
gives a big boost to Microsoft's efforts to make windows a
standard interface in its battle with IBM's Topview. Press
releases from both Microsoft and Lotus exchanged congratulations
between the two companies. A Lotus spokesperson wouldn't
speculate on the what and when of Lotus' first Windows-related
product.

-- Lotus has certified AST's RAMpage expanded memory board as an
officially-sanctioned product for use with Symphony and 1-2-3.
Each RAMpage board can have up to two megabytes of RAM, and up to
four can be installed under the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft expanded
memory specifications.

-- If you're a software developer, there's still time to register
for Lotus' development conference. The conference will be held on
March 26 and 27 in Cambridge, MA and will feature 30 sessions
with numerous "heavy hitters" as speakers. Registration is $275.
If you're interested, call 617-577-8500 and ask for Lotus'
Developer Marketing Department.

[***][2/4/86][***]
INFOCOM CUTS (EXCLUSIVE):
Cambridge, MA-based Infocom, distributor of such well-known games
as "Zork" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has denied
persistent rumors that it's in trouble. Spokesperson Spencer
Steere told NEWSBYTES that there's been a reorganization in the
group that's responsible for the company's "Cornerstone" database
package. Steere says the group will now be concentrating on
marketing the package toward business and OEM customers. Though
Steere admitted there had been some layoffs in the Cornerstone
group, she declined to say how many people were affected. As to
rumors that Infocom is for sale, the answer was "absolutely not!"
Steere said the company's game business is still strong. They've
just introduced a new interactive mystery called "Ballyhoo" and
have several more games in the works.

[***][2/4/86][***]
VAX WARS CONTINUE:
Now that it seems that the entire computer industry has eschewed
the "home" market, lots of the action is moving toward higher-
ticket systems -- the "supermicros" and "superminis." Digital
Equipment Corporation stoked the fires even further this week
with the announcement of three new additions to their VAX line.
Though there had been rumors that DEC's long-awaited PC/XT/AT
compatibles were to be announced at Wednesday's press conference,
nary a word was mentioned about them. Instead DEC announced the
following:

     - The VAX 8800 is DEC's top-of-the-line VAX with 12 times
       the speed of the up-to-now standard VAX 11/780. Designed
       for scientific work, prices start at $650,000 with 32 megs
       of main memory.

     - The VAX 8300 has twice the power of the 11/780 and comes
       with 12 megs of main memory. It retails for $122,000.

     - The VAX 8200 caused the most stir. It replaces the 11/780
       and has equal performance, but costs half as much. With
       four megs of main memory, it'll sell for $79,000.

At the same time, Prime Computer of Natick, MA introduced two new
systems designed to compete with DEC's MicroVAX II. Prime's Model
2350 and 2450. The low-end 2350 is similar in performance to the
MicroVAX II; but at $29,000, it cost about 10% less than a
similarly-configured DEC unit.

Finally, while we're on the subject of VAXes, we should mention
that Motorola Semiconductor Products of Phoenix, AZ has
introduced two low-cost 32-bit desktop system which it claims
rival VAX 11/780 performance at a fraction of the price. The two
fully-configured systems use Motorola's 68010 and 68020
processors, and retail for $12,495 and $14,995 respectively.

CONTACT:  Motorola Marketing Department, PO Box 20912, Phoenix,
          AZ 85036, 602-438-3501

[***][2/4/86][***]
DEC TOPS IBM?
Before we leave DEC this week, it's worth a mention that DEC
stock has been selling higher than arch-rival IBM for about a
week now. Analysts attribute the hike in DEC's stock to its
positive fourth-quarter performance, and the new VAXes. At
deadline time (Friday afternoon) DEC was selling for 154-7/8; IBM
for 152. What's surprising about this is that in comparisons of
company size and sales, IBM is orders of magnitudes larger than
DEC.

[***][2/4/86][***]
WANG HOOKS A BIG ONE:
Wang Laboratories of Lowell, MA is basking in the substantial
financial glow of a nearly half-billion-dollar contract they've
signed with the U.S. government. The $480.1 million contract
calls for Wang to install nearly 1600 minicomputers over the next
five years at Air Force bases throughout the world. The systems
will be used for Management Information Systems for maintenance
and support of Air Force equipment.

[***][2/4/86][***]
AT&T'S PHONE/PC LINK:
Lost amid the "excitement" of IBM's RT announcement last week was
an announcement by AT&T of Morristown, NJ of the PC/PBX
Connection. The expansion card/software product, which retails
for $700, lets PC users connect their computers with AT&T's PBX
systems -- resulting in one of those heralded "voice/data"
networks. The product doesn't slouch on features; there are over
200.

[***][2/4/86][***]
DG NOT OPTIMISTIC:
Speaking to the annual stockholder's meeting this past week in
Boston, Data General president Edson deCastro wasn't optimistic
about any substantial improvements in the company's short-term
performance. (Last week, DG reported a 95% decrease in earnings
for the last quarter of 1985.)  DeCastro said he "certainly didn't
see any reason to believe that times have changed any," but
underlined DG's commitment to the DG/One portable computer, which
hasn't exactly been a rousing success.  DeCastro hinted that
there's a lot more to be heard about the unit. Last year, a
former high-level executive with Epson joined DG as head of the
DG/One marketing group.

[***][2/4/86][***]
NORTHEAST SNOWBITS:
-- Nynex, the Northeast's Bell Operating Company, announced an
11% increase in profits for 1985. They made a profit of $1.095
billion, while adding up sales of $10.31 billion.

-- Cambridge, MA-based Symbolics, the oldest and largest of the
many suppliers of AI computer equipment huddled near MIT's
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, announced that the last
quarter of 1985 was a very good one. They made a profit of $3.06
million on $17.6 million in sales. That's a 300% jump over the
same period in 1984.

-- Brandeis University has announced that it'll be spending $7
million in a three-year program that's designed to turn their
Waltham, MA campus into a model state-of-the-art computer and
communications system. The entire campus will be wired. DEC will
supply the computer equipment; and Northern Telcom the
communications equipment.

-- Although a recently-awarded multi-million-dollar five-year
contract from the U.S. Government Printing Office went to
Electronic Data Systems of Dallas, a Cambridge, MA firm stands to
be a major beneficiary. Interleaf has been named the major
subcontractor, and will supply most of the hardware and software
for the system, which will computerize all of the Army's
publishing operations. How big is the job? The army's technical
and training needs amount to about 26 million pages a day.

[***][2/4/86][***]
CAD MAKERS LOCK HORNS:
You can be sure that things are getting serious in a business
when the lawsuits start flying. And so it is with computer-aided-
design. (Follow this carefully -- it gets confusing.) Adage of
Billerica, MA and Adra Systems of Lowell, MA have both been sued
by Cadam of Burbank, CA. Adage markets the Cadra-1 package
(designed by Adra) for its workstations. But Cadam, which had
licensed its technology to Adage, says Cadra-1 violates its
copyrights and trade secrets. Besides an injunction against
selling Cadra-1, Cadam is asking for $88 million in damages. (Ok,
so everyone would be a little less confused if all these
companies used something other than "C" "A" and "D" in their
names.)

[***][2/4/86][***]
ANOTHER NEWSLETTER?
Ok, so it's not Northeast News, but we've just received one of
the most interesting of the ubiquitous "computer industry
newsletters" that are always passing through our offices. The
"Issues Advisory" comes from Fort Worth, TX-based Winston &
Winston, a publicity and marketing communications firm. It's
written by industry pundit Marty Winston, who's been the source
of some of the most interesting and pithy comments we've heard
about our too-often-self-righteous industry. The Issues Advisory
will be issued quarterly, with special editions as the situation
warrants. The first issue focuses on "gapware" -- a term which
Marty has coined to describe "anything that can bring a user and
a workstation into a happier relationship." He gives quite a few
examples. Want to know more? A subscription to the Issues
Advisory is $240/year and is "free to qualified journalists."
(Eat your heart out!)

CONTACT:  Marty Winston, Winston and Winston, 4200 South Hulen,
          Suite 431, Fort Worth, TX 76109, 817-732-7307.


[***][2/4/86][***]
SHUTTLE CRASH BRINGS NETWORKED WAVES OF SYMPATHY:
The horrific mid-space destruction of the Space Shuttle
Challenger and her seven crew saddened us all last Tuesday
and networked communications across the continents brought
us all together.  I am sure that all UK Source members will
join with me in expressing condolences to the friends and
families of the crew and the hope that the National
Aeronautical Space Administration will not let this sad loss
prevent the shuttle programme from continuing.

[***][2/4/86][***]
ATARI WORKING ON UNIX FOR THE ST:
The CW Communications groups's West German bureau reported
this week that Atari executives have confirmed that the
company is developing a Unix version of the Atari ST
personal computer, as well as a 32-bit co-processor
extension for it.  The co-processor extension unit, a box
that will attach to the back of the ST, will include a
Motorola 32 bit 68020 cpu, as well as 2Mb (expandable to
4Mb) RAM, and a floating point arithmetic processor, says
Shirva Shivji, Atari's director of development.  Unlike
other industry manufacturers that Newsbytes UK could mention
(!), Shivji was honest enough to say that, whilst the
co-processor extension for the ST will be available before
the year is out, the Unix option will not go on sale until
1987.

[***][2/4/86][***]
MITEL LINK GREEN FOR GO:
After six months of dithering, the UK government has finally
given the thumbs-up for British Telecom to acquire the
Canadian Mitel corporation, who currently manufacture PABX
exchanges. The UK Dept of Trade have attached conditions to
the approval, however.  Both companies must give guarantees
that they won't flood the UK with Mitel equipment.
Interestingly, the six month investigation by the UK
government's Monopolies and Merger's Commission decided that
a merger *would* go against the Great British public's
interest, but the Dep't of Trade over-ruled them!

[***][2/4/86][***]
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL:
Just in case there are a few Newsbytes readers who haven't
heard, the UK>France channel tunnel project has been given
the go-ahead by both country's governments.  The project
will cost several billion pounds/francs/dollars and open
twin rail links between the UK and France in 1993.  And the
interest to computer users?  British Telecom is currently
negotiating with the tunnel's project consortium for
permission to run a fibre-optic cable through the tunnel.
The communications link will, for the first time, allow
*cheap* and reliable communications between the UK and
France.  Existing links are either via armoured undersea
cable - open to damage by trawlers etc., - or short hop
satellite/microwave links, an expensive option.  Vive la
tunnel!

[***][2/4/86][***]
COMPUTER SALES TO TAKE A DIVE?
A report just out from stockbrokers Wood MacKenzie predicts
that home computer sales in the UK are set to fall from a
high of 1.1 million in 1985 to 750,000 this year.  The
report predicts that the brunt of the fall in sales will be
experienced at the bottom end of the market, a position
occupied by low cost machines such as the Sinclair Spectrum
and similar.  On a brighter note, the report says that the
introduction of the 68000-based machines from Commodore and
Atari, along with the Amstrad PCW machine, will push the
market value to around 488 million pounds.  The average
value of a computer sold this year will be 350 pounds, some
75 per cent higher in value than those sold in 1985.

[***][2/4/86][***]
THE GREAT CHINESE FLOP:
Only six months since the Peoples Republic of China started
importing foreign-made computers, a massive number remain
unsold, according to the CW Communications group.  A report
in a recent edition of the Hong Kong Financial and Economic
Daily says that 20,000 units remain unsold in Beijing.  That
figure represents 90 per cent of all the foreign computer
equipment the city has previously imported.  Other major
cities report an 80 per cent figure remaining unsold.  Looks
like it could be bargain time for PCs in China's shops.

[***][2/4/86][***]
HOUSEY HOUSEY!
ICL has hit the jackpot and secured a contract to run the
world's first ever linked bingo network for the UK.  A total
of 800 halls throughout the UK will be linked via the UK's
data packet switching service.  With prizes of 50,000 pounds
at stake, security will be tight, but will be married with
user-friendliness (ah, such a concept), to make it easier
for bingo hall managers who will be exposed to relatively
high technology with little or no previous experience of
such dubious delights.  To make life easier, the terminals
will include auto-dialling software and basic modems using
random number encryption methods.  60 sites will be linked
in the next few weeks, and the whole 800 will be online by
June '86,... assuming no unforseen problems.

[***][2/4/86][***]
A HIGH CLASS REPAIRMAN:
Top UK advertising agency, Saatchi and Saatchi, who helped
popularise the UK Conservative party in the last election,
have just captured the contract to do the same for British
Telecom.  BT Chief Sir George Jefferson decided to pay them
a visit the other week, not realising their phones were out
of commission.  Strutting through the door of the agency,
Jefferson informed the receptionist, "Jefferson from BT."
"At last," came the reply, "We've been waiting for you... the
switchboard's round the back!"

[***][2/4/86][***]
THE VERY REVEREND BIG BLUE:
"The Times" reported the other week that a vicar has won his
battle with the UK equivalent of the IRS - the inland
revenue - over getting tax relief on his home computer.  The
Reverend Morshead used his pc to record parish records, and
also won a claim for his cloak, which he says is used to
brave the elements whilst standing at the graveside.  What
the taxman probably didn't realise however, was that before
he had the call from heaven, Rev. Morshead was financial
controller for IBM!


[***][2/4/86][***]
FCC CHIEF CALLS FOR "OPEN ARCHITECTURE"
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Mark Fowler has called
for a three year experiment in "open architecture" telephone
communications to stimulate competition in telecommunications.
Fowler's model would provide equal access to the network, the
customer, and the local exchange, offering the network services
on a "unbundled" basis. "I'd like to see at least a three-year
trial," Fowler told the Communications Network 1986 conference in
Washington last week, "I hope before the end of the decade."

"Give a scholar a modem," Fowler said, "make it cheap enough, and
you give him access to the world's knowledge. The same goes for
the world's breadbasket; the commodities market is more
efficient when it can know the price of wheat in Bombay, Bristol,
Bangor and Bangkok instantly and at a reasonable cost. It's not
just economists who love competition in telecommunications; it's
all of use whose lives are made better and richer by it."

[***][2/4/86][***]
GOAL IN SHUTTLE TRAGEDY
An obscure but powerful computer language called GOAL (for "ground
operational applications language") may be the key to unlocking
the mystery of why the Space Shuttle blew up last week, killing
all seven aboard. Developed by NASA in the early 1970s, reports
"The Washington Post's" Michael Schrage, GOAL has become the
standard language of command and control for the shuttle. GOAL-
programmed computers record and monitor everything that goes on
during the space flights, gobbling up huge amounts of telemetry
data, over a million bits per second. The computers also match
flight data with GOAL programs that simulate the flight, allowing
comparison of real time data with expected data, and flashing
warnings when the unexpected happens. No warnings flashed last
Tuesday, when the Challenger exploded after liftoff.

[***][2/4/86][***]
WANG LANDS A WHOPPER
The Air Force has awarded Wang Laboratories a five-year, $480
million contract for computerized management information systems
at bases throughout the world. Wang's federal systems division of
Bethesda, Md., will install support some 1,600 systems consisting
of Wang VS minicomputers, Wang PCs, Wang OFFICE software,
networking products, and associated software and peripherals. The
contract also calls for Wang to provide maintenance and support
for up to eight years. The award was made under the Air Force
Minicomputer Multi-User Program. Wang Labs  had sales of more
than $2.35 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1985, and
ranks number 165 on the Fortune 500.

[***][2/4/86][***]
TELENET TO CANADA
GTE Telenet and Telecom Canada, both providing public electronic
message networks, have agreed to permit users of their services
to communicate with each other. The agreement will permit
businesses with operations in both the U.S. and Canada to reach
each other as if they were on the same network and with a single
account, says Telenet of Reston, Va. According to Paolo Guidi,
Telenet vice president, users will have full mailbox
capabilities, including online editing, forwarding, and
electronic filing, all with local access. The deal moves both
Telenet and Telecom toward the Consultative Committee on
International Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT) X.400
recommendations for international communications standards, Guidi
said.

CONTACT: GTE TELENET, 12490 SUNRISE VALLEY DRIVE, RESTON VA 22096

[***][2/4/86][***]
FIVE SCHOOLS GRAB NSF GRANTS
The National Science Foundation has doled out $12.5 million to
establish experimental computer research centers at five U.S.
universities. Princeton gets $2.2 million to study large memory
supercomputers at its new supercomputer center. University of
Massachusetts at Amherst will get $4.7 million to research
distributed and parallel processing. University of Colorado at
Boulder nails down $3.2 million to experiment with software
environments. University of Minnesota, which also has a
supercomputer center, hauls down $1.5 million to design
supercomputer applications software. And the University of
Washington will see $1 million to research distributed
processing.

[***][2/4/86][***]
DAVIS KNOCKS DARPA
Former federal computer maven Ruth Davis says the Defense
Advanced Research Project Agency, known far and wide as DARPA,
has "copped out of supercomputing" by financing artificial
intelligence studies rather than supercomputer work. Davis is
quoted in the current issue of "Government Computer News". The
former Energy Department and Defense Department official, now
head of a consulting group called The Pymatuning Group, says the
U.S. lead in supercomputing could be lost to Japan unless Uncle
Sam spends more on R&D. "Supercomputers are the future," Davis
told the MIT Club in Washington, and said the budget-cutting
frenzy induced by the Gramm-Rudman law threatens the U.S.
technological edge.

[***][2/4/86][***]
EDUCATION REWARDS PC INNOVATION
The Department of Education in December made five awards to
employees who wrote their own applications to run on
microcomputers. The agency hopes the idea spreads to other
government departments where PCs are in wide use. The first prize
winner got $1000 for an assignment tracking program written in
dBase III. Employees for the agency's in-house computer division
were not eligible for the prizes. Some 27 agency employees
applied for the awards.

[***][2/4/86][***]
WASHINGTON COMPUTER BUSINESS INDEX
The Washington Computer Business Index, based on computer ad
space in the Monday Washington Business section of "The Washington
Post", has rocketed to 242.3. The January 27 issue saw a total of
12.6 pages of non-classified computer ads, out of a total of 27.9
pages of display ads. MBI had a full page pushing the new
Hewlett-Packard Vectra, an AT compatible.

[***][2/4/86][***]
POWERBITS -- Compiled from last weeks's CommNet 86 conference.

 $$$ Despite a devotion to open communications architecture, IBM
intends to stand behind its time-tested SNA (systems network
architecture) as the way to connect diverse data and voice
systems. So said IBM's Terry Lautenbach, observing that "SNA
will remain fundamental to IBM's telecommunications directions,
and we will continue to enhance it."

 $$$ Lightnet service between New York and Washington is expected
to begin by early Spring, according to Art Parsons, Lightnet's
new  president and chief executive officer. Lightnet is a fiber
optic communication network east of the Mississippi, a joint
venture of CSX Corp. (a railroad holding company with vast rights
of way) and Southern New England Telephone. Service from Miami to
Tampa and Jacksonville started more than a year ago. Service
between Philadelphia and the Big Apple began early in January.

 $$$ How smart is your building? Consultant James Carlini has
developed the Carlini Building Intelligence Test, to test the
sophistication of a building's communication, information and
building automation systems. The intelligent building industry,
says Carlini, "is a reality. As businesses mature in the
information age, the importance of being near highways and good
transportation will be augmented by the importance of being near
information highways -- fiber optic networks."

CONTACT: JAMES CARLINI
         CARLINI & ASSOCIATES
         SUITE 306
         414 PLAZA DRIVE
         WESTMONT IL 60559
         [phone]

 $$$ The Electronic Mail Association, trade group of the Email
industry, has launched a quarterly newsletter. The first issue
includes a discussion of S. 1667, Sen. Pat Leahy's (D-Vt.)
Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1985 and a look at how
the X.400 recommendations for international standards in
computer-based message systems were developed.

CONTACT: ELECTRONIC MAIL ASSOCIATION
         SUITE 300
         1919 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
         WASHINGTON DC 20006


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