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/v184

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[***][12/23/86][***]
APPLE BRASS RELIEVE SELVES OF STOCK
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Call it a way to ease the tax burden or
an opportunity for big gains, but John Sculley, Apple Computer
chairman and CEO has sold 97% of his Apple stock holdings and
reaped $4.3 million for them.  Others joined Sculley in the
sell-off. Albert Eisenstat, David Barram, Michael Muller,
and Philip Schlein took advantage of the $42 high price for
Apple shares in November, selling off huge blocks.  Why this
sudden divestiture?  Apple's spokeswoman Barbara Krause
would not comment, saying the matter was a personal, financial
decision with the parties involved.  However it's clear the
executive officers are taking advantage of this last year for
lucrative capital gains.  Next year the tax laws will not be
as kind.

[***][12/23/86][***]
MICROSOFT BURIES HATCHET WITH SEATTLE
SEATTLE, Wa. (NB) -- Attorneys for Microsoft Corporation have
settled out-of-court with Seattle Computer Products, agreeing
to pay the inventors of MS-DOS $925,000 in damages.  The
settlement came as the jury was deliberating the lawsuit,
which Seattle Computer Products filed against Microsoft
for alleged violations of a 1981 MS-DOS licensing agreement.
The settlement is a far cry from the $60 million in damages
Seattle had sought; the firm apparently lowered its sights
when the judge ruled that it was only entitled to royalties
on the versions of MS-DOS which run on Seattle's own machines
marketed in 1981.  Both sides say they are pleased the
litigation is over.

[***][12/23/86][***]
SOFTWARE FIRMS RAID CANADIAN "PIRATES"
SAN RAFAEL, Ca. (NB) -- Broderbund Software was one of six
companies which sponsored a raid on a Canadian software
distributor 12/19, claiming the Vancouver firm was illegally
copying and selling versions of its products.  Softsave
Preview Club, operating under the auspices of being a software
rental club, received a surprise visit from authorities who
bore a court warrant.  Witnesses say the staff "started throwing
customer lists and credit card charge slips out the window."
The U.S. software companies, operating through the Software
Publishers Association, contends Softsave was selling illegal
duplicates of their programs at $10 each.

[***][12/23/86][***]
SOFTWARE PUBLISHING TO MAKE 1-2-3 CLONE
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- President Fred Gibbons of Software
Publishing Corporation, known for his firm's cut-rate programs,
will take on Lotus by the end of March.  Professional Plan,
a Lotus 1-2-3 compatible integrated spreadsheet, will cost
around $250, he says, and will offer several additional features
not found in Lotus' best-selling software.  Software Publishing
joins several other firms making products similar to Lotus 1-2-3,
many of which have received rave reviews but none of which have
taken much business away from Lotus.

CONTACT:  Kim Domino, SOFTWARE PUBLISHING CORP., 415/962-8910 x227

[***][12/23/86][***]
MAC DBASE ON HOLD
TORRANCE, Ca. (NB) -- Don't look for Ashton-Tate's promised Dbase
Mac this month.  Unexpected problems have set back the introduction
date from the fourth quarter of '86 to the second quarter of '87.
Ashton-Tate sources say the problem is speed, specifically the
time it takes for the program to calculate in columnar mode.
Ashton-Tate has amassed plenty of orders for the product, but
dealers will have to sit on their hands and wait for programmers
to come up with a final version.

[***][12/23/86][***]
FROM ATARI TO HYUNDAI
CHANDLER, Az. (NB) -- Atari has experienced its first staff
defection since becoming a public company.  Bryan Kerr, Atari's
director of marketing, resigned to take a job with Blue Chip
Electronics, the marketer of the Blue Chip PC.  The 6-year
Atari veteran is no stranger to the kind of selling tactic that
Blue Chip seeks.  As with Atari home computers, the $699 Blue
Chip IBM PC compatible is being sold in mass merchandise outlets
such as Toys R Us.  Kerr becomes vice president of marketing
and sales at Blue Chip.

CONTACT:  BLUE CHIP ELECTRONICS, 602/961-1485

[***][12/23/86][***]
BABY BLUE UNDERCUTS BLUE CHIP
OAKLAND, Ca. (NB) -- What's the smallest, cheapest IBM-compatible
on the market?  It's probably the Baby Blue, a $399 system
made up of an 8088-based CPU, one floppy drive, standard ports, and
and RGB adaptor.  The monitor costs another $100.  It's
for the kind of people who are satisfied to stay small, people
who want IBM-compatible terminals.  "It's a closed box," says
Bill Russell, president of Baby Blue.

[***][12/23/86][***]
HP'S FUTURE IMAGE SCANNER
BOISE, Id. (NB) -- PC WEEK reports that Hewlett Packard is working
on an image scanner which will not only read photos and graphics
directly into a PC, but will enlarge and reduce them to scale.
This is an unprecedented advance for a machine as low-priced
as the rumor mill contends--the scanner will be about $2,000.
Expected to work in conjunction with the HP Laserjet, it will
be targeted at desktop publishers and be advertised as part of
a single-solution hardware package for those applications.
PC WEEK puts the release date at February 1987.

[***][12/23/86][***]
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION ROUNDUP
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- The Software Services Association is
keeping track of legislation that affects software developers and
customers, and this month in its newsletter has listed the
status of a number of pertinent bills in the California
legislature.

  -  Thanks to the passage of Assembly bill 2735 (Grey Market Goods)
in California, computer retailers must identify grey market goods and
post notices concerning lack of warranties, lack of replacement
parts, etc.

  -  Also enacted is a bill which makes it a misdemeanor to
communicate a personal ID number, computer password, or other
secret log-on identification on a bulletin board to avoid
payment.  Dead in the water was a bill to study VDT safety in
the workplace.

  -  A bill which died was the safety study of VDTs in the
workplace.

  -  Also dead is Assemblywoman Gloria Molina's bill to forbid
"as is" sale of computer products. Molina wanted to hold
retailers liable for their advertising claims about the capabilities
and problem-solving abilities of computer systems.  She was
personally "burned" when she bought an expensive system that did
not perform the task she needed.

[***][12/23/86][***]
THE END OF AN ERA
STANFORD, Ca. (NB) -- Some 80 surviving members of the country's
most important computer club met 12/17 to lay their organization
to rest.  The 11-year-old Homebrew Computer Club, which once
boasted as members Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, George Morrow,
Adam Osborne, Lee Felsenstein, Jim Warren, and many other less-
famous but equally significant people, was officially retired
at a Stanford University auditorium.  Homebrew was the club
where the dream of accessible computing was shared and practiced.
Members exchanged technology ideas freely, something seldom
seen in secretive Silicon Valley today.  Now that most of its
members have gone on to see their dreams become reality, the
club has outlived its usefulness. "We're not saying we're
obsolete," says Lee Felsenstein, "We're saying that the meeting
situation is obsolete."  And so it goes.

[***][12/23/86][***]
NEWSBITS --

ELECTRONIC ARTS has published its first magazine. "Farther" is
a quarterly devoted to presenting news, tips, and ideas on games
produced through Electronic Arts. The editor is Computer Press
Association member Nick Lavroff.

COMPUTERLAND FOUNDER WILLIAM MILLARD reportedly treated to a
free dinner 11 of 12 jurors who found him not guilty in a recent
suit by two former employees.  All but one were wined and dined
at Trader Vic's, a posh San Fransisco restaurant, while Millard
and his attorney gave speeches about their lives and their
gratitude.

HI TECH EXPRESSIONS and ATARI have teamed up to provide Atari
800 XL computers and Hi Tech CardWare and PartyWare software
for 10 major children's hospitals around the country this
holiday season.  Good folks, they.

SIGNETICS of Sunnyvale, Ca. has given 300 workers a sorry
holiday by informing them that they will no longer be needed
by the end of March.  "The order rate for the fourth quarter
isn't meeting our projections," says a company spokesman.

GTEL, a subsidiary of General Telephone of California, has
purchased Chronicle Videotex Inc, which operates Bay Area
Teleguide, a teletext system that operates in public areas.
No purchase price was put on the deal.  Teleguide is said to
be the largest public access videotex system in the nation.

[***][12/23/86][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

    "Would you believe I can't even operate a computer?
    I'm not ashamed to say that. I want to operate one.
    I just don't have the time to learn."

                        --Sheldon Adelson, "Mr. Comdex"


[***][12/23/86][***]
ASHER DEAL OFF, AND THE QUADRAMS A BRICK WALL
Intelligent Systems Corp. has decided to keep its Asher
Technologies Inc. subsidiary and is mad-as-he** at co-founder and
former president Wil Riner. Apparently, Wil had been trying for
months to buy Asher from its corporate parent with help from,
among others, California investors, employees, and managers. But
it all fell through, and Riner was given his walking papers
December 11. Last Thursday ISC attorney Jan Ozer won a temporary
restraining order in the Fulton County Superior Court against Wil
and Wil's son, Robert. ISC charges Robert had been talking to
Asher customers about the Riners striking out on their own as
distributors of competing products. Bruce Watson, another co-
founder and until now executive vice-president, is now in charge
at Asher with the title general manager. Ozer says it's business
as usual.

Meanwhile, ISC itself is still trying to go private as a Master
Limited Partnership December 31. (Better tax treatment, they
say.) After that, a sale of Asher would take just a directors'
meeting and a fairness letter from investment bankers. General
partners for the new ISC will be Leland Strange, Charles Muench,
and Charles' wife Jeannette Muench.

CONTACT: Jan Ozer, INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, [phone]

[***][12/23/86][***]
MEANWHILE, CHARLES MUENCH WILL TAKE HIS INTECOLOR BACK
The Muenchs, it seems, will be outside general partners. Last
week Charles Muench detailed how he'll buy the Intecolor color
terminal business for $13 million, if Intelligent Systems Corp.
shareholders approve, on December 31. He says he'll sell all of
the 800,000 ISC shares he and his family own for 2/3 of
Intecolor.  The rest of the $13 million will come from other
managers, a few outside investors, and Intecolor employees.
Muench said 156 of the 160 Intecolor employees will be buyers. He
also gave Robert Snowden Jones of the "Atlanta Journal-
Constitution" a parting shot for Leland Strange, who merged his
Quadram Corp. into ISC back in 1982 (and whom his family will
apparently out-vote as general partners in ISC MLP next year). "A
lot of Intecolor's employees felt like stepchildren.  Quadram,
because it was a consumer company, got all the attention.
Intecolor felt ignored even if that wasn't the case."

CONTACT: Mary Ann Osborne, Intecolor [phone]

[***][12/23/86][***]
TANDY DROPS TAPE RECORDERS AND SOME PRICES
Tandy has dropped its $29.95 CCR-82 Computer Recorder, a storage
and program-loading tap recorder accessory to its Model 100 line.
But they're keeping the CCR-81, a similar product with the
additional feature of an AC adapter. The latter product also
costs $54.95 -- the former $29.95, at distributor Marymac
Industries of Katy, TX.  (They've run out of the former. Wonder
why?)

Meanwhile, Tandy Claus is hoping you'll notice the shortages of
its 1000-EX machines in stores this week and spring for a higher-
end 3000 model, with its hard disk drive. To help, they've
dropped the price, through Christmas, to $1,695.

CONTACT: Fran McGehee, TANDY [phone], MARYMAC (713) 392-
         0747

[***][12/23/86][***]
AT&T, IBM CUTBACKS HIT SOUTHEAST
Add AT&T and IBM to the list of companies cutting back
employment. IBM, with 6,000 employees in the area, gave early
retirement to at least a few dozen here, and maintained
its principle of no layoffs. AT&T's 10% layoff early next year
is its first *ever* and affects 16,000 employees in Georgia,
15,000 of them in metro Atlanta; expect 1,000-1,500 to get
walking papers.  (By the way, capital spending by all U.S.
companies fell 2.6% in 1986.)

Contact: Doug Monroe IBM [phone]; AT&T, Barry Johnson (404)
         873-7446

[***][12/23/86][***]
THE BEST, WORST OF 1986
Since Christmas is usually a slow news season, NEWSBYTES SOUTH
hereby presents its best and worst computer news of the year.

THE BEST -- Compaq's Deskpro 386, which sold well despite a lack
of DOS......QMS' laser printers, which despite their imported engines
turned Mobile into a high-tech center for the first time.....DCA's
management led by Bert Nordin, who gave it possession of the very
niche AT&T and IBM most covet.

THE WORST -- Hayes, which still hasn't found a way to challenge
cheaper 1200 and 2400 modems based on its own standard.....EDS,
which lost H. Ross Perot and its soul under GM......Infomart and
Inforum, the high-tech marts that are either half-empty (the
former) or unbuilt (the latter).

WORDS WE'D RATHER NOT HEAR AGAIN (but probably will) -- Desktop
      Publishing, PClone

[***][12/23/86][***]
PECAN BYTES

JAMES A. CUMMINGS INC., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, which had sued Lotus
over an alleged defect in Symphony, dropped the $250,000 lawsuit
and stopped talking to the press, obeying a Lotus gag order. No
money changed hands.

GOOD SOFTWARE, Dallas, introduced an $89.95 word processor called
Celebrity which includes a spelling checker, thesaurus,
calculator and calendar, as well as mail-merge functions.

DCA, Alpharetta, GA, announced that version 3.7 of its Crosstalk
micro communications program will fix bugs which show up on
machines running at 10 or 12 MHz, like those running on Intel
80386-based micros.

MSA, Atlanta, announced Financial Controller, a mainframe
software program that integrates other financial applications. It
becomes available next month. Also, MSA announced its first
application under DB2, IBM's relational database, will be a
General Ledger program. A mid-year launch is planned.

U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE WILLIAM O'KELLEY, Atlanta, is "nowhere near a
decision," a source close to him says, on Microstuf vs.
SoftKlone, docket 86-128. The decision, when it comes, will help
determine how far copyright protection extends in the "look and
feel" of microcomputer software products.

[***][12/23/86][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Manufactured goods are the key variable in our trade imbalance.
They represent 80% of U.S. imports and exports. It is a fallacy
to believe that the U.S. standard of living will be protected by
service industries."
                                                --Joseph A. Boyd
                                                  chairman
                                                  Harris Corp.
                                                  Melbourne, FL
[***][12/23/86][***]
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MA BELL: 27,400 TO BE LAID OFF
NEW YORK (NB) --  AT&T last week said it would lay off 27,400
employees and take a giant $3.2 billion charge against earnings
in 1986. Last summer, Ma Bell announced elimination of 24,000
jobs. AT&T has had major difficulties coping with the brave new
world of deregulation. When set free (by judicial edict) of its
monopoly position as the nation's phone company, AT&T planned to
jump into computers. That's turned out to be a lot more difficult
than AT&T thought, a key reason why the company has had to go
through the latest bloodletting, according to analysts. AT&T now
says it will concentrate on networking and telecommunications,
not computers.

AT&T last week also confirmed that it has been negotiating with
General Motors to buy Electronic Data Systems, the GM data
processing subsidiary founded by H. Ross Perot. GM had been
denying the rumors. No further details here, but look for GM to
spin off EDS sometime in the new year.

[***][12/23/86][***]
10,000 TAKE EARLY OUT AT BIG BLUE
NEW YORK (NB) -- International Business Machines Corp. last week
said that 10,000 of its domestic employees have taken early
retirement. That's about twice the number IBM figured would opt for
an early out when the company announced the move this fall. IBM
says the early retirement program could cost the company $250
million pre-tax to fund the retirements. But analysts guess that
the move will save IBM more than $500 million a year in personnel
costs. IBM added that it is also offering the early retirement to
several of its international operations.

[***][12/23/86][***]
IOMEGA: MORE CHRISTMAS CHEER
STAMFORD, Conn. (NB) --  Iomega Corp., maker of the unique
Bernoulli Box, announced last week that it will lay off 140
workers, or about 11 percent of its workforce. The disk drive
maker will also take a fourth charge charge against income of
$250,000. The company said that revenues will be up for the
quarter, but a price increase earlier in the year will contribute
to a decline in profits. In 1985, the company earned $5.1 million
on sales of $33.5 million.

[***][12/23/86][***]
WHY IS THIS WOMAN SMILING?
NEW YORK (NB) -- Mona Lisa's enigmatic gaze is really a self-
portrait of artist Leonardo da Vinci, says Bell Labs computer
artist Lillian Schwartz. Schwartz used a computer to juxtapose
the Mona Lisa portrait with a da Vinci self-portrait for an
article in the January issue of ART & ANTIQUES magazine.
According to Schwartz, the Mona Lisa smile is simply a mirror
image of Leonardo's mouth. Schwartz is an artist-in-residence at
AT&T's Bell Labs. She has won both an Emmy and an Oscar for her
work with computer graphics, the magazine said. About seven weeks
ago, Schwartz used a computer to reverse a chalk self-portrait of
Leonardo and scale it to the same size as the Mona Lisa painting
by equalizing the distances between the centers of the eye
pupils. The result: a mirror image. But much of the rest of the
art world is scoffing at the Schwartz hypothesis. "Misuse of
pseudoscientific evidence," sniffs James Beck, art history
chairman at Columbia University.

[***][12/23/86][***]
WATCH OUT, DAN BRICKLIN
HARRISBURG, Pa. (NB) -- Genesis Data Systems has released its
Screen Master program aimed at programmers who want to create
slick-looking screens, demos, prototypes and tutorials. The
$99.95 program is aimed directly at Dan Bricklin's Demo Program.
Genesis says Bricklin's human interface is "unnecessarily
obnoxious," requiring the constant use of hexadecimal numbers,
and too many steps to accomplish tasks. Screen Master remedies
this. On the other hand, Genesis acknowledges that its software
does not have sound generation, while Bricklin's does. "It appears
from a standpoint of design that Mr. Bricklin's intent coincided
fairly closely with our own," said Elise Kepler of Genesis. "Both
packages are capable of producing similar results in the form of
eye-catching, effective and visually stimulating demos, which can
be self-running or user-interactive."

CONTACT: GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS, 5403 Jonestown Rd., Harrisburg,
         Pa., 17112, 717-652-1200.

[***][12/23/86][***]
LOTUS WINS BIG IN FLORIDA SUIT.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NB) -- James A. Cummings Inc. has dropped its
$250,000 lawsuit against Lotus Development Corp. which alleged
that a bug in Symphony caused the Florida contractor to make an
erroneous bid on a job. According to Lotus, there was no error in
the spreadsheet program. Instead, a Cummings employee erred by
making an assumption about how the spreadsheet recalculates data.
Had the employee consulted the manual, the error would have been
avoided, said Lotus officials. Cummings dropped the suit and
collected no payment of any kind from Lotus. Jim Manzi, Lotus
president and chairman, said the case has ended "with the
complete vindication of both Symphony and Lotus."

[***][12/23/86][***]
MBI WINS MAJOR GSA CONTRACT
ROCKVILLE, Md. (NB) -- MBI Business Centers Inc. has won the
contract to operate three retail-like federal stores where
federal agencies can buy microcomputer hardware, software, and
supplies. The coveted three-year contract is worth an estimated
$50 million to $75 million a year. MBI was the previous
contractor for the General Services Administration contract. That
three-year contract lapsed last June. GSA tried to keep the
stores open, with MBI running them, while it was bidding out the
new contract. But MBI competitor and spurned suitor Businessland
Inc. protested to the GSA Board of Contract Appeals. The board
agreed with Businessland, and GSA shut the stores down in July.
GSA says the stores will reopen in February. But this may not be
the last battle in this long, nasty war. Look for Businessland or
another unsuccessful bidder to protest the award to MBI.

[***][12/23/86][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION

   LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. (NB) -- College students using computers
to write their papers get better grades, according to a survey of
Rider College students. The student researchers who did the
survey said papers written on computers are neater and better
organized than word produced on conventional typewriters.

   EAST CHATHAM, N.Y. (NB) -- A teenage honor student accused of
killing his family may have planned the slayings on a personal
computer, according to the Albany TIMES UNION. The newspaper says
police believe Wiley Gates may have planned the murders of his
father, brother, cousin, and his father's live-in girlfriend,
while playing a fantasy game on his computer. The police are now
reviewing a stack of floppy disks, according to the paper.

   NORWALK, Conn. (NB) -- Norden Systems, a division of United
Technologies, has named Edwin Decker its new president. Decker,
58, was corporate vice president of Unisys Corp. and president of
the Sperry defense products group.

   WASHINGTON (NB) -- Look for global electronic mail
interconnections in five years, says the Electronic Mail
Association. The Washington trade group says trade associations
will become big users of E-mail, although the idea has so far
been slow to catch on. But as younger, computer adept people move
up the corporate ladder, E-mail will catch on.

   PITTSBURGH (NB) -- Westinghouse Electric Corp. has ordered
300 3.5 inch floppy disk drive system from Manzana Microsystems,
Inc., of Goleta, Calif. The Pittsburgh-based firm will use the
the external drives to allow sales personnel to shift data
between Data General One/Model 2 laptops to IBM personal
computers located in field sales offices.


[***][12/23/86][***]
ATARI NEWS #1 - STFM SNEAKS IN
SIDCUP, KENT (NB) -- Ahead of the pack (and even North America),
Atari's re-engineered 520ST has snuck into the UK almost unnoticed.
Flipping onto NEWSBYTES UK's doormat this week was a mailshot from
SILICA SHOP, one of the UK's top Atari dealers, announcing that a
new version of the ST, the 520STFM, would be available on demand
from the 12th of December.

Costing 450 pounds ($650), the 520STFM bears a strong similarity to
the 1040 ST in that its disc drive is mounted integrally to the
cpu/keyboard case.  Also innovative for the ST is the inclusion of
an onboard power supply.  Unlike previous STs there is now only one
power plug required - something Commodore representatives always
crooned that the Amiga had over the ST - after all, who wants a load
of spaghetti wiring on their desk?

Silica Shop appears to have taken the complete production run of the
STFM from Atari's Taiwanese production line and most other dealers
in the UK, as is the case with the US, will have to wait until mid
to late January for their supplies.

The existing 520ST will, according to Silica Shop's Tony Dean,
continue to be available for those who are either left-handed, or
who want a 1Mb disc drive for their machine.

Silica isn't resting on its laurels either.  Already the firm is
offering a 512K upgrade to the machine for an additional 100 pounds.
That makes the expanded 520STFM a dead ringer for the 1040 *and*
you get a TV modulator into the bargain too.  NEWSBYTES UK thinks
that Silica won't be selling too many 1040's in future...

CONTACT: SILICA SHOP, 1-4 The Mews, Hatherley Road,
         Sidcup, Kent, DA14 4DX.
         Tel: [phone]

[***][12/23/86][***]
ATARI NEWS #2 - ATARI TO SLASH PRICES?
LONDON (NB) -- The rumours we mentioned in NEWSBYTES UK about a
price slash for the 520ST appear to be firming up.  The latest
edition of COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY leads with the headline "Atari set
to chop prices," although subsequent reading of the text reveals
little other than a repetition of the probable cut to #199 plus tax
(currently 15%) for the base 520 cpu and keyboard we mentioned a
while back.

The current price of the 520ST in the UK is around the 345 pounds
mark including tax, although CTW does say that "an official
statement is due either this week or just after Christmas... Atari
is acting with its customary caginess on the matter."

CONTACT: COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, Herts.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][12/23/86][***]
APPLE MAC ALADDIN AND PARIS RUMOURED
LONDON (NB) -- Taking a leaf out of NEWSBYTES UK's books, the
editorial staff of MICROSCOPE (a UK trade weekly) have taken to
reading the San Francisco Examiner.  In true transatlantic style,
NEWSBYTES UK is now going to bounce the SFE's rumours back across
the Atlantic for readers consumption.

According to the SFE (and MICROSCOPE), Apple will drop the 512K Mac
in '87.  In its place will be the Mac Plus entry level machine.  The
price will, says the SFE, be around the $1,795 mark.

In addition to this, Apple reputedly has a new Mac in the offing.
Code-named Aladdin, the machine comes with a 68020 cpu, and twin
1.6Mb floppies driving a slightly larger Mac screen.  MICROSCOPE
reckons that Apple will unveil the Aladdin at the MacWorld Expo in
the US this coming January with a price tag of $2,795.

Also on the cards is the Paris, the new open Mac architecture
machine.  Scheduled for an April launch, MICROSCOPE and the SFE
claim that three versions of the machine are in the offing.  "The
initial machine is a unit that looks like an AT from a distance with
a separate cpu, keyboard and screen," says the magazine.

The entry-level Paris will be a twin floppied (1.6Mb each) unit with
eight expansion slots and price in at $3,995.  Next on up is the
Paris workstation.  This machine has an 8.5 by 11 inch full page
screen and 40Mb hard disc storage to round off the $5,495 price tag.

Topping the range will be a similar-specification machine with (wait
for it) a 17 inch *colour* screen.  Don't go placing your orders for
the colour Mac just yet, though, as MICROSCOPE says the $6,495
machine won't hit the streets until the second quarter of '87 and,
as we all know, a lot can happen in six months!

CONTACT: MICROSCOPE, 14 Rathbone Place, London W1P 1DE.
         Tel: [phone]
         Sourcemail: BDF843.

[***][12/23/86][***]
TANDY MODEL 102 DEBUTS
SHEFFIELD (NB) -- After a couple of months waiting, the Tandy Model
102 finally showed up at our local Tandy/Radio Shack store last
week.  Armed with nothing more than a Visa credit card, NEWSBYTES UK
sallied forth and laid out 350 pounds ($500) for one and, after a
few minutes spent struggling with the plastic wrapping, can report
it to be a really neat machine.

Essentially a revamped Model 100, the UK version of the 102 has a
CCITT (European tone) 300 baud modem - something that Euro-versions
of the Model 100 never had.  The bad news is (a) the modem cables
seem to be in short supply, (b) the 8K memory expansion chips appear
to be different from the original Model 100 (bad news for third
party RAM expansion purchasers, and (c) the modem is unapproved for
use within the UK.

Still, it's a whole light lighter and thinner than the old Model
100.  But the keyboard?  Yeuch!  The keys seem a whole lot more
tinny than on the 100 although with a bit of wear they'll bed in.
NEWSBYTES UK is being drafted on the Model 102 this week before
uploading to a PC compatible for spellchecking, so if any typos do
creep through, our apologies in advance!

CONTACT: TANDY UK LTD, Bilston Road, Wednesbury,
         West Midlands, WS10 7JN.

[***][12/23/86][***]
AMSTRAD TO TACKLE US PC CLONE MARKET
BRENTWOOD (NB) -- Following the success of the budget PC1512 in the
UK, Amstrad look set to tackle the US market with their PC
compatible in January.

To be unveiled at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show on January
8th, the PC1512 will be distributed in the US via Dallas-based
computer and office equipment supplier Vidco, who have been
appointed sole US distributor for the machine.  Vidco must have been
impressed with the machine - first reports from Alan Sugar say that
they're paying upfront for the machines.

The New Year assault on the US by Amstrad comes after previous
attempts to market their CPC464 and 6128 machines on the other side
of the pond.  More recently, the firm started shipping the Z80-based
PCW word processor machine to the US via Sears Roebuck.  Latest
reports indicate that the original $799 price of the 256K machine
has fallen to $599.

That price isn't bad for a machine which comes complete with
integral disc drive, monitor and printer.  The population of the US
must think so too as, according to Amstrad, the machine is starting
to sell well with sales of $23.8m clocked up so far this year.

CONTACT: AMSTRAD CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, PO Box 462, Brentwood,
         Essex, CM14 4EE.
         Tel: Brentwood [phone].

[***][12/23/86][***]
COMMODORE LAUNCH PC40
SLOUGH (NB) -- Hard on the heels of the Canadian launch of the PC40,
Commodore have seen fit to launch the AT compatible machine here in
the UK as well.

The PC40 runs at 6 and 10Mhz and comes complete with 1Mb of RAM,
single 1.2Mb AT-style drive and 20Mb hard disc.  Don't expect too
many surprises over the UK price though - at 2,500 pounds ($3,500)
it isn't the sort of bargain that NEWSBYTES UK would write home
about.

CONTACT: COMMODORE UK, Babbage House, 53/69 King Street,
         Maidenhead, SL6 1DH
         Tel: [phone].

[***][12/23/86][***]
AND FINALLY...
SHEFFIELD (NB) -- NEWSBYTES UK wishes all its readers, whereever
they are in the world, a very happy Christmas and prosperous New
Year.  Have fun and see you all next week.

[***][12/23/86][***]
CONTRACT WITH FUJITSU MAY GIVE BONANZA TO ZENITH
TOKYO (NB) -- Fujitsu has decided to adopt an IBM PC/AT-
compatible micro, the Zenith Z248, for its point-of-sale
systems sold in the U.S.  Fujitsu's new POS system uses the
Fujitsu-8700 series as the main computer and the Z248 as a
terminal computer. The system will be released early next year.
So far, Fujitsu has sold 30,000 personal computers as part of
its current POS systems in the U.S.  If luck favors Zenith, a
large number of Z248s will be shipped to Fujitsu.  Zenith has
been crossing its fingers, hoping that Fujitsu's POS systems
are a big success.

CONTACT: Fujitsu, 1-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100

[***][12/23/86][***]
FUJITSU DENIES REPORT ON COPYRIGHT ISSUE WITH IBM
TOKYO (NB) -- Fujitsu has officially denied published reports
that detail the terms of its settlement of a copyright infringement
suit brought by IBM.  Annoyed by what it calls the exaggerated
reporting of the Japanese news media last week, Fujitsu
says it wants to set the record straight. According to a Fujitsu
spokesman, IBM has not been asking Fujitsu for several billion
dollars as the penalty fee for breaking the two firms'
confidential agreement.  IBM has not been scrutinizing Fujitsu's
software either, he says.  He also stated that Fujitsu will not
cause any problems for its customers in the future.  Humm...

Meanwhile, there was a seasonal reshuffle of the employees and
the divisions in Fujitsu on 12/21.  With this reshuffle, the
company has beefed up its software development and the CAI
departments.  Also, Fujitsu aims at boosting the sales of home
electronics products.

[***][12/23/86][***]
APPLE JAPAN IMPROVES OS FOR KANJI MAC
TOYKO (NB) -- Apple Japan released (12/15) a new version of the
operating system for Japanese MAC PLUS KANJI TALK.  With this
upgrade, the Kana-Kanji conversion speed on "Kanji Talk ver 1.1"
becomes almost twice as fast as that on the ver 1.0.  For the
users of the current version, an upgrade is available for US$12.50
or 2,000 yen.

CONTACT: Apple Japan, 11F Akasaka-Twintower Bldg., 2-17 Akasaka,
         Minato-ku, Tokyo 107          (03-582-9181 Ms. Kawamoto)

[***][12/23/86][***]
NEW SALES PARTNER FOR TOSHIBA'S LAPTOP
TOKYO (NB) -- Toshiba has signed a VAR agreement with Japan's
major conglomerate Mitsubishi Shoji, concerning the sales of
Toshiba's laptop J3100.  With this agreement, Mitsubishi Shoji
plans to rewrite the IBM 5550 programs for J3100 and will
bundle them with this laptop for sales in Japan.  It must be
great news for Toshiba, since J3100 will be sold through the huge
sales channels of Mitsubishi Group.

CONTACT: Toshiba, 1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105

[***][12/23/86][***]
ASHTON-TATE NEWS UPDATE
TOKYO (NB) -- Ashton-Tate Japan started marketing dBASE III for
Toshiba's laptop J3100 on 12/17.  The price is US$1,675.  The
program for NEC's laptop PC98LT is also expected to be released
by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Ashton-Tate has opened an office in Hong Kong.  It
is expected to be the company's strategic base in Southeast
Asia.  Another important role of this office is to keep an eye on
the software piracy in that region, says the press release.

CONTACT: Ashton-Tate Japan, 2-13-2 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku,
         Tokyo 107             (03-479-7621 Mr. Masanori Hori)

[***][12/23/86][***]
HITACHI TO DEVELOP 32-BIT AI PROCESSOR
TOKYO (NB) -- Hitachi has started developing a 32-bit AI
processor "AI32."  This single chip processor runs SmallTalk80
programs and supports Prolog and LISP.  The details have not
been reported yet.  Hitachi plans to complete the AI32 design
by the end of next year.  The shipment will be in 1988.

CONTACT: Hitachi, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100
         (03-258-2057 PR. Dept.)

[***][12/23/86][***]
JAPAN AI NEWSLETTER DUE
TOKYO (NB) -- ShinNippon-Kohan Publishing (Tokyo) plans to
publish JAPAN AI NEWSLETTER in the U.S. in March.  The monthly
English-language newsletter covers the AI activities, new
products, AI projects, and publications for AI in Japan.  Lots of
AI authorities are expected to write articles for this
periodical.  The annual subscription fee is around US$300.

CONTACT: ShinNippon-Kohan Publishing Co., Shindaiso Bldg.,
         2-10-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo     (03-462-2801)

[***][12/23/86][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

TOKYO (NB) -- Computerland Japan has just opened its 32nd
franchise store in Tokyo.  The newly opened Computerland Iikura
is located at: 1-9 Azabudai, Minato-ku   (Phone: [phone])

CHIBA (NB) -- NMB Semiconductor, who has been supplying its 256K
DRAM for Compaq's DeskPro386, will increase the chip's shipment
volume from 250,000 sets per month to 700,000 per month.  This
Chiba-based Japanese manufacturer has been providing 256K DRAMs
for Compaq since this past September.

TOKYO (NB) -- NTT (Japan's Telegraph and Telephone Corp.)
officially announced (12/17) its telecom-oriented personal
computer "SS/21." The system has a 10" monitor, a telephone, a
modem, a Japanese word processor, and a text/graphic telecom
program.  The price is US$1,975.  SS/21 measures 35.6 x 27.7 x
34.6 cm.

TOKYO (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electric has decided to get ideas from
college students.  The company will backup the student group
called "Mel-Brains" in order to get various hints for hightech
products of the future.


RETIREMENT INCENTIVES FOR CANADIAN IBMERS
MARKHAM, ONT. (NB) -- IBM Canada Ltd. is following the lead of
its parent company by introducing early retirement incentives for
its 12,000 employees.  The company last week introduced to Canada
retirement incentives that add five years of service and five
years of age to each retiring employee's benefits.  Similar plans
have been introduced in the U.S., France, Britain and the
Netherlands.

[***][12/23/86][***]
TORONTO TO HOST UNIX SHOW
TORONTO (NB) --  Toronto will be the site in April of Unix
87/etc., the second annual conference and trade show sponsored by
usr/group/cdn, the national Unix users' group.  At a pre-
Christmas reception last week, the association announced that
display space on the main show floor is already sold out, and
space is filling fast in a "Software Village Market" area
reserved for smaller value-added resellers (VARs).  The
conference will include as keynote speakers IBM Fellow Dr. Frank
King; Roderick M. Bryden, chairman and CEO of SHL Systemhouse
Ltd. of Ottawa; and Bill Joy, founder and vice-president of Sun
Microsystems.

usr/group/cdn also announced the addition of some new corporate
sponsors: IBM Canada Ltd., Unisys, Convergent Technologies Inc.,
Sun Microsystems of Canada, Inc., Xios Systems Corp., Resolve
Logic Systems Inc. and Computer Data magazine.  They join AT&T
Canada and NCR Canada in providing corporate support for the
users' organization.

CONTACT: USR/GROUP/CDN, 185 Heward Ave., Toronto, ON M4M 2T6
         [phone]

[***][12/23/86][***]
IBM CANADA HAS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
MARKHAM, ONT. (NB) -- John Thompson, president of IBM Canada Ltd.
since 1985, has been named to the additional post of chief
executive officer.  He replaces Lorne Lodge, who has been CEO of
the company for 14 years and chairman for 10 and is also a former
president of the company.  Lodge will continue as chairman of IBM
Canada and as a member of the senior executive committee.

[***][12/23/86][***]
COMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES BUOYANT
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. (NB) -- Northern Telecom Ltd. is expecting net
income for 1986 to compare favorably with 1985's figure of
$376.86 million.  Even though earnings in the first nine months
of this year were down 13 percent from $209 million to $181
million, the company is expecting its fourth quarter to be
sufficiently better than last year's that the year as a whole
will come out ahead.  (Northern Telecom, although it is Canadian-
owned, reports its financial results in U.S. dollars.)

Meanwhile Gandalf Technologies Inc. of Ottawa saw net income for
the three months ended Nov. 1 more than triple from C$454,000 to
C$1,426,000.  The company said higher revenues are now beginning
to show up in net income, and expects the higher earnings to
continue.

[***][12/23/86][***]
STM FILES FOR STOCK OFFERING
MARKHAM, ONT. (NB) -- Microcomputer maker Semi-Tech
Microelectronics Inc. has filed a final prospectus in four
provinces for a stock offering of up to 20 million units at $1
each.  Each unit is to consist of a common share, an option to
purchase another share, and a share-purchase tax credit.
Proceeds are to be used to finance development of a
supermicrocomputer for its contract with Shenzhen Electronics
Group of China, to retire all the company's debt and to increase
working capital.  Semi-Tech manufactures IBM-compatible personal
computers.

[***][12/23/86][***]
FORD ENDORSES MAI CANADA
TORONTO (NB) -- Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. has told car
dealers they should buy software from MAI Canada, Ltd. to help
them run their dealerships.  The recommended software, which
handles finance, insurance and related post-sales functions, was
developed by Profitware Computer Corp., a U.S. software house
affiliated with MAI.  It runs on IBM and compatible personal
computers.  Ford is also recommending MAI's Automotive Payroll
System, a module of the company's Computerized Automotive
Management System, to dealers.

MAI Canada Ltd. is a division of Bell Atlantic Corp. that sells
computer hardware and software across Canada, concentrating on a
handful of vertical markets.

CONTACT: Dan Remington, MAI CANADA LTD., 140 Allstate Parkway,
         Unionville, Ont. L3R 4Y8, [phone]

[***][12/23/86][***]
PRIVATE-SECTOR SATELLITE LINK LAUNCHED
MONTREAL (NB) -- Canadian Satellite Communications Inc., a
provider of satellite communications services to cable television
companies, is branching out into business communications services
using the satellite channels it rents from Telesat Canada.
Cancom will be in direct competition with Telesat, offering a
satellite communications service called Cancom Satlink.  Telesat
offers a similar service called Anikom 100, using the same Anik
communications satellites.  Cancom is Telesat's second-largest
customer.  According to Cancom, recent changes in federal
telecommunications regulation make the offering possible.

[***][12/23/86][***]
BITS, EH?
-- Software house Sydney Development Corp. of Vancouver has
reported a loss of C$3.6 million for the six months ended Sept.
30, despite growth in revenue to C$8.6 million from C$6.3 million
in the same period a year earlier.  The loss in the same period
last year was C$1.9 million.

-- The Canadian Workplace Automation Research Centre in Laval,
Que. has installed four Datapoint Minx workstations, which will
be used for videoconferencing at the centre and with the federal
Department of Communications in Ottawa.

-- Bell Canada has to reduce its long-distance telephone rates
January 1, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission has ruled.  The regulatory body last week turned down
a Bell appeal of a ruling it made in October, clearing the way
for long-distance rates to drop an average of 20 percent in
Ontario and Quebec at the end of next week.  A C$206-million
rebate to customers for past overcharging is still due to be
appealed in February.

-- The first computer that Control Data Canada Ltd. designed and
built in this country, a Cyber 170, has been retired from active
duty and will be placed in the National Museum of Science and
Technology in Ottawa.  The system was built in 1975.

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