Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1983 May to 1994 June

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[***][4/07/87][***] MICROSOFT SUPERNOVA REDMOND, Wa. (NB) -- IBM's announcement that a new Microsoft operating system will power its new line of personal computers catapults Microsoft into the stratosphere of the computer industry, and portends major new windfalls of revenues. The O/S 2 will be released "later this year" according to company officers, but a developer's kit will be available in August for $3,000 (included is a technical development seminar). The new OS will be multitasking and faster than MS-DOS, and will include Microsoft Windows as its graphic interface. [***][4/07/87][***] EVERYBODY INTO THE POOL - PS/2 FEVER SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- Virtually every big-name software company says they will embrace OS/2 and has already issued notice of new or old, adapted products for IBM's Personal System/2, 3 1/2" disk format line up. They include: Company New PS/2 Product --------- ----------------- MICROPRO (San Rafael, Ca.) 4.0, 2000, Easy Extra BORLAND (Scotts Valley, Ca.) -all PC products- SOFTWARE PUBLISHING -all PC products- MICRORIM (Redmond, Wa.) R:Base ASHTON-TATE (Culver City, Ca.) dBase III, Framework II, RapidFile, Multimate LOTUS Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony, Freelance, Lotus Express DIGITAL RESEARCH GEM Draw, GEM Graph, GEM WordChart, GEM Presentation Team Gem Business Library, GEM , GEM Programmers Toolkit [***][4/07/87][***] ALDUS UNVEILS NEW IBM LIAISON/ PAGEMAKER SEATTLE, Wa. (NB) -- Aldus Corporation was one of the big winners in the PC/2 announcements. In conjunction with IBM, Aldus unveiled SolutionPac Personal Publishing System, a turnkey system that includes an IBM PS/2 Model 30 computer, mouse, display, IBM Personal Pageprinter laser printer, interface card, ROM-resident version of Adobe PostScript, Microsoft Windows, and PageMaker version 1.0a. To start publishing all you have to do is turn the machine on -- an idiot-proof solution for the PC-addicted office. [***][4/07/87][***] APPLE NOT WORRIED SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- Aboard the Hornblower yacht, rented by PCW╩Communications for the announcement of PCW's coming TODAY news weekly, Apple's John Sculley was smug about his firm's progress in penetrating the PC market. "We have the products and we have the momentum. " He downplayed the significance of IBM's new product line, saying, "IBM is probably the only company that could do what they've done. They're making a brain transplant without the brain being ready yet." He was, of course, referring to the delay in the release of a new operating system from Microsoft. A quick comparison of the IBM product line with Apple's top of the line II shows the Apple Mac coming out ahead, at the same price. The MICROBYTES news service of BIX has compared IBM'S PS/2 Model 80 and Apple's Mac II HD40. Both have a 16-MHz processor, 1 megabytes of RAM, high capacity floppy drives, 40+ megabyte hard disks, 3 to 5 open 32-bit slots, keyboard, and video card. The Mac, however, adds a 68881 coprocessor, system software, and a 13-inch color monitor. Both have the same price: $6995. The same options on the PS/2 cost an additional $1800. Says the BIX service, "The difference in price between the PS/2 and the Mac II is more than enough to buy an AST Rearch Mac286 board ($1499) that enables the Mac to run MS-DOS programs. [***][4/07/87][***] FORTUNE SYSTEMS IS SOLD BELMONT, Ca. (NB) -- The microcomputer business of Fortune Systems, on a financial roller coaster for over two years, has finally come to rest in the hands of Huntsville, Alabama-based SCI Systems Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal includes Fortune's UNIX desktop computer and Fortune Formula, its 68020 workstation. Fortune gets to keep its software branch, Tigera Corporation. CONTACT: FORTUNE SYSTEMS, 415/89-9000 [***][4/07/87][***] MACINTOSH TODAY COMING TOMORROW SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- PCW Communications announced its new Macintosh news weekly in style -- aboard a yacht in the San Francisco Bay, hosted by Apple Chairman John Sculley. The premier issue slated for the Macworld Expo in Boston August 11, MACINTOSH TODAY is aimed at organizations that buy and recommend purchase of personal computers. The magazine is slated to begin as a biweekly until January 1, when it will be published as a weekly. To get a copy, you have to be on PCW's list of 50,000 "controlled circulation" subscribers. The circulation is expected to increase to 100,000 by the end of 1988. Maggie Canon, former editor of INFOWORLD and A+ magazine, will be the editor. CONTACT: Shirley Gines, PCW COMMUNICATIONS, 415/546-7722 [***][4/07/87][***] NEW BORLAND MAGAZINE TO DEBUT IN FALL *EXCLUSIVE* SCOTTS VALLEY, Ca. (NB) -- Sources say Borland International will launch its own TURBO TECHNIX MAGAZINE on September 1. It will be a technical journal devoted to the four Borland languages, the Borland toolboxes, and third party products supporting Borland programmers. Also, the magazine will have book reviews and profiles of new products. The four-color, bimonthly magazine will also accept advertising, I'm told. Initial mailings will number about 150,000 to Borland product owners; after that, Borland hopes to get many of the recipients to subscribe. Jeff Duntemann has been named editor in chief. CONTACT: BORLAND INTERNATIONAL, 408/438-8400 [***][4/07/87][***] BIX BYTES OFF MORE THAN IT CAN CHEW *EXCLUSIVE* SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- At the West Coast Computer Faire, Byte Information Exchange (BIX) spokesman Doug Webster confirmed that the BIX online system has very nearly reached its capacity. BIX has stopped its active solicitation for new members, and is accepting bids for new hardware which will enlarge the system. BIX now has 13,600 subscribers, says Webster, and can handle about 80 of them at a single time. The system runs on an Arete supermini with a 68020 microprocessor. BIX hopes to double its subscriber base within a year, and expects to have new, higher-capacity hardware within a month. Arete Systems Corporation of San Jose has been named as the likely winner in the BIX bid. CONTACT: BYTE INFORMATION EXCHANGE, Peterborough, NH 603/924-9281 [***][4/07/87][***] 3COM'S NEW DISKLESS WORKSTATION SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Welcome a new word to PC jargon -- "netstation." That's what 3Com is using to describe its $1,895 local area network workstation, an IBM/AT type computer designed specifically for use on an Ethernet network. "3Com is currently adapting more than 20,000 personal computers a month for use in network-based workgroup systems," says Bob Metcalfe, chairman of 3Com, referring to 3Com's installation of software, adapters, and file servers. And so 3Com has come up with this intelligent network terminal to offer to its customers. The first of a "line of 3Stations" has an 80286 microprocessor, four graphics adapters, 1 megabyte of memory, and Ethernet -- but no disk drive. Clearly this is a novel approach to networking, and the most powerful networking "box" of its kind. The question is, will buyers want to give up the autonomy of their individual PC? CONTACT: Margaret Epperheimer, 3COM, 408/562-6502 [***][4/07/87][***] SOME LEFT HOLDING THE BROWN BAG *EXCLUSIVE* CAMPBELL, Ca. (NB)╩-- The company which owed the Brown Bag Software line has gone bankrupt, and several suppliers, including printers, artists, INFOWORLD magazine, and at least two software writers, say they've been left in limbo over the thousands of dollars they claim to be owed. Yet the Brown Bag Software line continues to be sold, and the bankrupt company's president, Sandy Schupper, continues to be a part of it. Those holding the bag wonder how this has happened. This gets complicated. NEWSBYTES contacted Sandy Schupper, now a consultant with Telemarketing Resources Inc., a firm backed by unnamed venture capitalists, which bought the rights to the Brown Bag product line when its former owner, Software Resources Group, went bankrupt last year. Schupper was listed as a major creditor to the bankrupt company, and got back some of his investment. But Arctic Printing of Seattle says it's owed $47,000 for two manuals it printed, artist Suzanne Billings says she's due over $9,000, John Friend, author of PC-Outline, a Brown Bag offering, is owed money, and so is Quicksoft of Seattle, whose PC-Write was, until January, in the Brown Bag line. Quicksoft's Bob Wallace says he's pursuing legal action, but it's tough suing a bankrupt firm, and the new company, Telemarketing, has only bought rights to current Brown Bag products and will negotiate contracts with Brown Bag product writers. The rest appear to be out of luck. Meanwhile, INFOWORLD is owed an estimated $40,000 by bankrupt Software Resources Group and will no longer accept any advertising for Brown Bag products. Neither Schupper nor Dennis Murray, president of Telemarketing, would comment on the debtors, saying only that support will be maintained, and the Brown Bag line is "very much alive." They promise to issue a press release shortly. Stay tuned. CONTACT: TELEMARKETING RESOURCES, 408/559-7678 [***][4/07/87][***] BRIEFS -- MACWORLD MAGAZINE had the most number of ad pages ever in its April issue -- 143 pages of advertising. Now you can see why they can afford to launch TODAY. HEWLETT PACKARD has reduced prices on HP Vectra personal computers models 50 and 60 by 15%. The PC/AT compatibles are reduced from $4,695 to $3,995 (model 50) and $5,595 to $4,795╩(model 60). EPSON AMERICA, Inc. has cut prices on its dot matrix printers and Equity computers. The printers are reduced up to $200 and the Equity II and III+ now run between $100 and $400 less. AUTODESK of Sausalito, Ca. has settled out of court with three firms it accused of making illegal copies of its AutoCAD software. The unnamed parties have settled with cash payments, in return Autodesk has agreed not to publish their names. SYBASE Inc., a Berkeley, Ca. software developer, has reached an agreement with Microsoft to license its relational database management system, according to the SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES. This marks the first time Microsoft has licensed a database system for use with its operating system. SABA TECHNOLOGIES of Portland, Oregon, has introduced Handscan, the first hand-held data-entry device for PCs. The unit, which costs $650, reads typewritten or laser printed reports and feeds the text directly into a PC equipped with its special software. WILLIAM MILLARD, chief shareholder of ComputerLand, has been forced off his island paradise in Saipan, according to COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS. The trade weekly says Millard is now in Hawaii following a legal dispute with Saipan officials. [***][4/07/87][***] BILL JOY'S APRIL FOOLS DAY MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Sun Microsystems' engineers, led by John Feiber, have victimized top company officers for at least three years now, pulling outrageous, expensive stunts to humiliate their superiors. In 1985, the office of Eric Schmidt, VP of research and development, was literally placed in a pond, chairs, tables, working telephones, and all. The next year, Schmidt was hit again, finding a Volkswagon Beetle inside his office (the pranksters disassembled one, and reconstructed it inside). As Schmidt wasted no time protecting his valuables this year, the merry engineers attacked Bill Joy, vice president and founder. He found his $70,000 Ferrari in the new pond on the Sun Microsystems grounds. It was mounted on a series of ramps so the delicate machine would not be damaged. But Joy was forced to row out in a life preserver displaying the name "S. S. Joy" to retrieve the car. Just how the engineers managed to move the Ferrari without setting off the alarm remains a mystery. So does the identity of next year's victim. But Bill Joy, for one, doesn't plan to be hit again. "Next year I'm going to leave the country and put all my stuff in storage." [***][4/07/87][***] IBM PS/2 REACTION AND AFTERMATH ATLANTA, GA (NB) -- Who will suffer from the new IBM PS/2 (besides Charlie Chaplin, cruelly brushed aside by the cast of a 1970s TV show)? Start at the Qs, where Quadram will have to rejuggle its product line and QMS, once the low-cost laser leader at $1,995, now sees Big Blue with a Postscript-driven machine at just $200 more. Continue on to Texas where PCs Limited in Austin, Tandy in Ft. Worth, and Compaq in Houston, must cut production costs dramatically to stay in the race. Big winners include Z-Soft of Marietta, whose color graphics package finally has a home worthy of it, and IBM mainframe software vendors MSA and American Software, who now have better connectivity to the PC (now PS) line. Americans have a champion against imports made with lower-priced labor. (See editorial.) The biggest winners, of course, are us -- we'll get better, cheaper machines from *everyone*. Finally, a tip of the NEWSBYTES cap to Marty Winston of Ft. Worth, TX. He got most of the story right weeks before it was told. I think he deserves automatic nomination in the 1987 Computer Press Association "Chippie" awards. Don't you? ZSOFT AMONG DEVELOPERS SHOWING PS/2 PRODUCTS MARIETTA, GA (NB) -- ZSoft Corp. was among those software developers which showed off IBM PS/2 versions of products last Thursday. All new versions of PC Paintbrush ($95), PC Paintbrush Plus ($149) and Publisher's Paintbrush ($285) will now support the Model 30 in 640 x 480 resolution, with 2 colors, and 320 x 200 resolution with 256 colors. On Models 50, 60 and those with the IBM Display Adapter, the PC Paintbrush family now supports 640 x 480 resolution with 4 and 16-color modes. And they'll support the top of the line, 1024 x 768 resolution, with 256 colors, on the Model 80 with its 8514/A adapter and memory expansion kit. New versions of the programs are available on either 3 1/2 inch or 5 1/4 inch disks. Z-Soft president Mark Zachmann praised the new machines' high resolution, and their mouse ports. "IBM realizes the usefulness of a mouse for editing," he said. Currently, over 400,000 copies of PC Paintbrush are in use worldwide. CONTACT: Mark Zachmann, ZSOFT, (404) 980-1950 [***][4/07/87][***] MICROSTUF WINS ROUND ONE: SOFTKLONE VOWS TO CONTINUE FIGHT ATLANTA, GA (NB) -- So what if he misspelled the original plaintiff's name throughout the 37-page order. Judge William O'Kelley ruled last Tuesday that "Mirror" from SoftKlone Distributing Corp. of Tallahassee, FL., is indeed too close for comfort to Crosstalk XVI, now owned by Digital Communications Associates Inc., Alpharetta, GA. He slapped an injunction against further production and sale of current versions of Mirror. He also asked for a new hearing on issues of trademark infringement, unfair competition and damages, a hearing that might not come off for months owing to a crowded court calendar. In response, SoftKlone said it hoped to have a new, non- infringing version of Mirror called Mirror II published by April 15. The new version will also have new, non-controversial improvements like better Kermit and Xmodem support, better terminal emulation, additional script files, and flexibility to execute Mirror commands from the DOS (A>) prompt. Registered users will get copies of Mirror II automatically; unregistered users should call the company and send back their master disks. SoftKlone will also appeal the ruling against it. But SoftKlone is going to hold off, for now, introducing new "Kloneware" products. "We're going to be more careful," said SoftKlone president Howard Huff. One more note for you law buffs. In his decision O'Kelley attacked a leading "look and feel" precedent, Broderbund Software Inc. vs. Unison World Inc, C85-3457 (WHO), calling it too broad for suggesting "that screen displays are protected by a computer program's copyright from copying." In the case at hand, however, "After review of the evidence, the court concludes that the status screen, even if found to be a 'form', clearly expresses and conveys information and, therefore, is copyrightable." CONTACT: Keith Ackerman, SOFTKLONE, (904)878-8564; Jolie Newman, DCA (404)442-4522 [***][4/07/87][***] PECAN CHIPS UNISYS CORP., Detroit, confirmed it is moving more toward IBM compatibility. "We have a total IBM program" VP Fred Meier told "Computer + Software News." "We will track them as a fast follower." COMPUTONE SYSTEMS, Atlanta, netted $1.13 million from the auction of its last 14 Future Information System stores. ComputerLand picked up FIS' Atlanta store for $140,000. Exel and The Computer Factory picked up FIS' New York locations. STB SYSTEMS, Richardson, TX, introduced a Dual Serial Adapter for IBM's old PC line, and compatibles. The product adds two serial ports., a one year warranty, and a price of $149. The company also introduced a dual-purpose Color/Mono video adapter with IBM CGA and MDA modes. Price: $149. NCR COMTEN, St. Paul, MN, announced two new products to let computers share X.25 networks and use 3270 emulation more easily. The announcements were made at Interface '87 in Las Vegas. MAYNARD ELECTRONICS, Casselberry, FL, announced two new drives with new technology which doubles their capacity called Enhanced Run Length Limited (ERLL). The 225 megabyte external version costs $6,370. COMPUTER PRODUCTS INC., Pompano Beach, FL, announced it will put out a $30 million offer of subordinated debentures (debt you can turn into stock). TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Dallas, expanded its VAR Advantage Plan to give special emphasis to health care, banking, and auto dealerships. New TI managers were assigned to the verticals -- advertising and other support was increased. [***][4/07/87][***] PLAYBOY GOES ELECTRONIC CHICAGO (NB) -- Playboy Magazine opened a new electronic edition for the Apple Macintosh called Playboy Online Thursday, filled with articles, interviews, and the Playboy Advisor. Buck, Wheat & Associates, Blue Springs, MO, produced the new Playboy using Microfilm, a Mac program designed by Jerry Daniels. The average MacPlayboy will be 80-100K. Mac owners will even be able to get the pictures of Playboy's staple feature -- the Playmate of the Month. The Source is among those services featuring the new service. (Sort of gives the words "bit-mapped graphics" a whole new meaning.) [***][4/07/87][***] GUILTY VERDICT IN TORONTO PIRACY CASE TORONTO (NB) -- An Ontario district court jury last week found Terence Ram of Toronto guilty of three counts of fraud for copying software. IBM and Lotus Development were among the plaintiffs in the case, in which Ram admitted he had copied software but argued it was not illegal to do so. The trial was the second on the same charges. The first trial, late last year, ended in a hung jury. Ram had described the case as a test case in which he hoped to establish the legality of copying software. In fact, the result will be just the opposite: another precedent indicating that software is fully protected by copyright. Ram will be sentenced April 24. [***][4/07/87][***] IBM CANADA LAUNCHES NEW PCS, TOUTS CANADIAN CONTENT TORONTO (NB) -- In Canada as in the rest of the world, last Thursday saw the event IBM billed as The Turning Point -- the introduction of the next generation of IBM personal computers. IBM Canada was particularly proud of the contributions of its own laboratories and manufacturing facilities. The IBM Canada labs developed ImagEdit, an image editing software package compatible with IBM's new machines and its old ones. The IBM Canada manufacturing facility in Bromont, Quebec, is manufacturing substrates and circuit modules for all models of the Personal System/2 as well as older PCs. And the company's Don Mills, Ontario, manufacturing plant has the world product mandate for the main logic card for the Personal System/2 Model 30 (the 8086 processor version). IBM Canada's International Procurement Office is also taking some credit for the awarding of a contract to build plastic covers for the PS/2 Model 50. Plastics EMI Shielding Inc. of Bowmanville, Ontario, got a multi-million dollar contract to build the covers for IBM worldwide. Details of the IBM announcements appear elsewhere in NEWSBYTES this week. Canadian prices for the new PCs range from C$2,595 for the floppy-disk version of the 8086-based PS/2 Model 30 to C$17,095 for the largest 80386-based Model 80 system. The basic 80286-processor machine, the Model 50, costs C$5,495. [***][4/07/87][***] FRESH APRICOTS TORONTO (NB) -- Apricot Computers brought its new line of multiuser microcomputers to the North American market last Monday. In cooperation with A.I.C. Computers Inc. of Toronto, which is to handle Apricot's distribution in Canada, the U.S. and Latin America, Apricot introduced its Intel 386-based XEN-i 386 and VX systems. The British firm is setting its sights strictly on corporate buyers who need multi-user capabilities, preferring to steer clear of individual sales and lower-priced machines. Gerald Sumner, president of A.I.C., said marketing will be through value-added resellers rather than dealers. He also said that the XEN-i and VX systems will be announced shortly in the U.S. [***][4/07/87][***] GOVERNMENT ADOPTS INFORMATION SYSTEMS GUIDELINES OTTAWA (NB) -- The Canadian government has adopted a set of guidelines for buying computers and other information technology. The policy endorses the International Standards Organization's Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standards, and includes details on security procedures to protect information stored in computer databases and other types of storage. The need for such security policies was highlighted last year when microfiche containing confidential tax information was stolen from an office in Kingston, Ont., and again when the government admitted there was virtually no security surrounding storage areas for computer tapes that also contained tax data. Ottawa spends about C$2 billion a year on new information systems. [***][4/07/87][***] GRAPHICS APPLICATIONS SAID LEADING CAD/CAM GROWTH TORONTO (NB) -- Canadian industry is beginning to catch up in the use of computer-aided design and manufacturing applications in engineering and manufacturing, organizers of the CAD/CAM and Robotics Exhibition and Conference say. Organizers of the June event say a third hall is needed this year to accommodate more than 150 exhibitors. Canada has been lagging in the adoption of CAD/CAM technologies, but that may be changing as improved price/performance brings the equipment within more manufacturers' reach. The exhibition and conference, sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, are scheduled for June 16 to 18. [***][4/07/87][***] NAME NAMES IN TAX CREDIT BOONDOGGLE, POLITICIANS URGE OTTAWA (NB) -- The federal government ought to publish the names of everyone who got money from the Scientific Research Tax Credit program, two members of the House of Commons argued last week. Nelson Riis, house leader of the New Democratic Party, and Progressive Conservative MP Alan Redway, said the confidentiality of the Income Tax Act shouldn't protect those who got money from the program. In what is believed to be the biggest series of frauds in Canadian history, the Department of National Revenue estimates that at least C$1 billion of the C$3 billion in tax credits issued under the program was taken criminally. The government has no plans at present to release the information. [***][4/07/87][***] FINANCIAL BITS -- Northern Telecom Ltd. expects its first quarter results to be better this year than last, the company's chief financial officer told financial analysts last week. Donald Peterson said Northern expects to improve on its 37-cents-a-share profit of last year's first quarter, and added that the rest of the year is also expected to be up from 1986. The first-quarter results are due to be released late this month. -- Geac Computer Corp. of Markham, Ont., manufacturer of minicomputer systems mainly for libraries and financial institutions, lost C$14 million on C$45.7 million revenues in the nine months ended Jan. 31. That compared with a C$2.2 million loss on C$47.5 million revenues in the same period last year. In the third quarter, both the revenues and the loss were the same as in the previous year: C$15.4 million revenues and a C$1.3 million loss. [***][4/07/87][***] BITS, EH? -- PC Plus Computer Brokers Inc., Montreal, is expanding from its established base in distributing computers in Quebec to the Ontario market. The company has opened an Ontario office in Toronto. PC Plus has also acquired Canadian distribution rights to the multi-user BASIC operating system from Microshare Corp. -- Utlas International of Toronto has added four new features to its M/Series 10 microcomputer-based library system. Utlas has expanded the database from 50,000 to 100,000 records and added Boolean search capabilities so that AND, OR and AND NOT can be used in search commands. It has also expanded networking capabilities and added inventory control capabilities to the circulation module. -- Vancouver-based software firm Sydney Development Corp. has a new chief executive again. Walter Steel, who replaced founder T.W. (Tarrnie) Williams in June, 1985, was fired by the same people who appointed him. The Montreal-based Nihon Group, which took control of Sydney in 1985, has replaced Steel with Donald Michelin, an officer and director of Nihon. Sydney lost C$7.4 million in the nine months ended Dec. 31. -- Access ATM Network Inc. of Toronto will sell its automated teller machines to financial institutions. The independent ATM network operator announced last week that it has a buyer for its Toronto machines, and said its other units, in Ottawa and neighboring Hull, Quebec, will also be sold. The independent network failed to attract the major banks needed to make it viable. [***][4/07/87][***] FUJITSU-HITACHI'S 32-BIT MPU UPDATE TOKYO (NB) -- A sample of a new 32-bit microprocessing unit, which is jointly being developed by Fujitsu and Hitachi, will be shipped this December. The new MPU HF32/200 supports Japan's next generation operating system TRON (I-TRON), as well as UNIX System V. Also, the developers are planning to include COBOL as its language for application programs. The processing speed of HF32/200 is 20 MIPS (million instructions per second). It is said the speed of Motorola's 68030 is 7 MIPS. So, you can picture how fast the HF32/200-based computer will be. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi and Toshiba also announced this past week that they've started developing the TRON chip. These TRON chips have the same instruction sets. As a result, all the software for these TRON-based computers can be shared. Wow! CONTACT: Fujitsu, 1-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100 [***][4/07/87][***] SURGING YEN HITS IBM JAPAN TOKYO (NB) -- IBM Japan announced (3/30) a statement of accounts for fiscal 1986 (Jan.-Dec.'86). According to the statement, the company's total sales have fallen by 3.9 percent, compared with the previous term. Also, its net income shows an 11.8% decrease. IBM Japan cites the rapid appreciation of the Japanese yen as the major cause of such financial depression, since the company has largely been depending on the exports. IBM Japan domestically manufactures over 70 percent of products for all IBM headquarters and branches in the world, a report says. CONTACT: IBM Japan, 3-2-12 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106 [***][4/07/87][***] MATSUSHITA'S OPTICAL DISK FOR IBM'S 32-BIT COMPUTER OSAKA (NB) -- Matsushita Electronics and IBM (USA) have signed a business agreement concerning optical disk drives. According to a report, both firms have already developed an optical disk drive. And Matsushita has started volume production of this disk drive exclusively for IBM. It is said Matsushita's optical disk will be equipped with IBM's new 32-bit personal computer. CONTACT: Matsushita Electronics, 1006 Oaza-Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka-fu 571, Japan [***][4/07/87][***] JAPANESE AMERICAN PC CLONE DEBUTS TOKYO (NB) -- The Tokyo-based personal computer venture firm Tomcat Computer has developed a versatile clone computer, which runs the programs for both IBM PC/AT and NEC PC-9801. This unique machine, code named SVX (or SXV), has a 1Mbyte memory, an 80286 CPU, and two 1Mbyte 5.25-inch disks. It seems attractive. However this machine will not be directly sold at shops. Tomcat is planning to market this clone on an OEM basis. CONTACT: Tomcat Computer, 4F Yaguchi Bldg., 3-6-4 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160 [***][4/07/87][***] SHARP'S NEC-COMPATIBLE PERSONAL COMPUTER TOKYO (NB) -- Sharp announced it has announced a top model of its 16-bit personal computers --the MZ family -- on April 2. The MZ-2861 has an 80286 and a Z-80B CPU, 768KB RAM, and two 3.5-inch disk drives. Also, the new machine has a powerful Japanese language feature, and its data is compatible with the company's portable Japanese word processor SHOIN. Also, all of the software for the company's 8-bit computer MZ2500 runs on this machine. Another important feature could be that the MZ-2861 runs the software for the NEC PC-9801, which is the most popular 16-bit personal computer in Japan. Sharp apparently wants to avoid any copyright conflict with NEC. So the company has included the emulator in its MS-DOS system, instead of modifying its BIOS, for supporting the NEC software. A NEWSBYTES-JAPAN source says most of the NEC software runs on this computer. The MZ-2861 will be shipped at US$2,231 on April 20. CONTACT: Sharp, 8 Hachiman-cho, Ichigaya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162 [***][4/07/87][***] SOLVING JAPAN-U.S. CHIP WAR TOKYO (NB) -- The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has proposed an emergency meeting with the U.S. government in the wake of the U.S. resolution to put "penalty" tariffs on Japanese products. The meeting is expected to start as early as April 6. "The American companies and consumers may get a big blow as well as the Japanese manufacturers if the Japanese products are banned in the U.S. market," says an industry analyst. "These cries seldom reach the U.S. leaders." Meanwhile, the U.S. government contends Japanese makers have not been abiding by the semiconductor agreement. But MITI and the Japanese chip industry think they've strictly been following this pact. This concept gap between the two countries has apparently stemmed from the slow effect of chip dumping restrictions. NEWSBYTES-JAPAN has recently found an interesting report. It says, "Due to MITI's strict chip-production restriction order, some Japanese chip manufacturers have not received any orders - a ZERO order - since this past January." Meanwhile, Micron Technology (Idaho, USA) happily says the company has started getting almost panic-like orders of its chips recently. Micron Technology is the firm that has done what Japanese authorities call a "frame job" in its chip-dumping probe of Oki and Hitachi. [***][4/07/87][***] JAPAN TO BUY AMERICAN SUPERCOMPUTERS TOKYO (NB) -- The Japanese government has decided to purchase Cray computers for the government facilities and the national universities in response to the persistent pressure from the U.S. government. The U.S. high officials have been arguing that the Japanese government does not buy American computers. But Japanese industry people do not think it is true. According to the NIKKEI daily, Japanese government-affiliated organiza- tions have already been using lots of IBM's supercomputers. Guess who is unhappy about it -- it's Cray Research, which gets less orders from Japan. The report analyzes, "It's often the case in the U.S. that the unhappy voice of single firm easily can be doubled or even tripled by lobbyists. As a result, it appears as if whole U.S. supercomputer industry has been complaining." Humm... [***][4/07/87][***] <<< SUSHI BYTES >>> NIPPON-GAKKI AND IBM -- According to a published report, Nippon- Gakki Co., Ltd.(YAMAHA/Hamamatsu, Japan) and IBM (USA) have signed a business agreement concerning the new PCs' music feature. With this agreement, Nippon-Gakki has supplied its sound card for IBM's new personal computer System/2. TI JAPAN BEEFS UP IC PRODUCTION -- Texas Instruments Japan has decided to purchase 100,000 square meters of land next to its Kyushu plant for expanding its factory. TI Japan plans to beef up production of bipolar ICs there. EC WARNS U.S. ON 100%-TARIFFS AGAINST JAPAN -- European Communities says in its April 2 report that the U.S. action to activate the 1974 Trade Law 301 apparently violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The report even went on to criticize the Japan-U.S. semiconductor agreement as also against GATT. AND FINALLY -- The Kobe City government in Western Japan will open a super-large amusement park KOBE WORLD in the city, in cooperation with NASA (USA). The attraction at KOBE WORLD will include a museum of space science which will exhibit NASA's rockets and space shuttles, etc. The Tokyo Disneyland-like amusement facilities will also be built at the site. KOBE WORLD is expected to open in 1990. The total investment is said to be US$1.4 billion. ==== [***][4/07/87][***] BIG BLUE OR BIG BLAH? NEW YORK (NB) -- International Business Machines Corp. removed the wraps from its new family of personal computers last Thursday, with what many observers believe is another demonstration of IBM's customary caution in the marketplace. "It's a solid, meat and potatoes, line of computers," said a retailer in Washington. "There is little real sizzle in the new IBM line, but no obvious mistakes." There is also more than a dollop of vapor ware, including a high-end machine, the Model 80, that won't be available at least until July and a new operating system from Microsoft, OS/2, that won't be around until 1988. What's more, the rumored "clone killers" from IBM appear to offer little threat to the clones, and instead look to be simply clone competitors. The new boxes will run existing PC-DOS applications, although PC-DOS machines will not be able to run applications written for OS/2. The new machines, however, do seem destined to solidify IBM's hold on the Fortune 1000 market. [***][4/07/87][***] IBM PLANS TO GET TOUGH WITH KNOCK-OFFS NEW YORK (NB) -- IBM will be watching carefully for Asian knock- offs of its new Personal System/2 computers. "We're looking to get a return on that investment," IBM's William Lowe said last week at the press conference unveiling the new computers. Big Blue has applied for more than 100 patents on its new machines, and plans to go after illegal copycats with the full force of its considerable legal department. "If you steal from IBM, IBM's got the money to chase you," said one lawyer. [***][4/07/87][***] APPLE, COMPAQ UP, IBM DOWN ON DOW NEW YORK (NB) -- IBM's announcement of a new line of personal computers had a paradoxical impact on Wall Street last week. Big Blue's shares fell while Apple Computer and clone-maker Compaq gained. Analysts attribute the share movements to the anti- climax of IBM's announcement. Eugene Glazer of Dean Witter Reynolds, for example, said there had been a fear that IBM would take out after Apple in the educational market. But the new low- end computers from IBM "are not aggressively priced," Glazer said. Adobe Resources stock was also up, a result of the confirmation of rumors that IBM would offer a desktop publishing system, including a laser printer that uses Adobe's PostScript software. [***][4/07/87][***] LAST-MINUTE PEACE TALKS IN THE CHIP WARS WASHINGTON (NB) -- Officials from Japan and the U.S. State and Commerce Departments are closeted in confidential discussions of how Japan can avoid imposition of trade sanctions President Reagan announced last week. Japan insists it is not dumping semiconductors in third countries, but wants to avoid a major confrontation with Washington over the issue, according to State Department sources. These sources suggest that it may be possible to head off the 100 percent tariffs Reagan announced on Japanese electronic goods coming to the U.S. In the meantime, domestic chip orders have increased and prices firmed since the announcement, according to a report in the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The paper notes that U.S. semiconductor executives acknowledge that Japan is currently complying with the anti-dumping agreement of last July. Both the arch-conservative JOURNAL and liberal columnist Hobart Rowen warned last week that the Reagan thrust against Japan could backfire. The big danger, Rowen warned, "is that the public will be swept into believing that the trade deficit can be wiped out, and lost jobs restored, by additional 'tough' actions against Japan, Taiwan, Korea, West Germany and others who have trade surpluses with this country." The JOURNAL commented: "High-stakes trade retaliation, like Russian roulette, is a dangerous game, and the world doesn't benefit when the president of the United States leads by bad example." [***][4/07/87][***] ENTRE LOCKED IN BATTLES WITH ITS FRANCHISEES McLEAN, Va. (NB) -- Virginia businessman Georges Nicholas last month filed a $20 million lawsuit against computer retail chain Entre Computer, charging the franchiser with reneging on promises. The suit is the most recent of several franchisee suits against Entre, struggling to keep its head above water as the computer market begins to rebound. Entre president Bert Helfinstein said the rash of litigation is an inevitable result of a market that turned rapidly from boom to bust. "People who fail in business have a need to blame someone else and pursue litigation against whoever is a target," he told the WASHINGTON POST. And sue they have. More than a dozen suits have been filed against Entre by disgruntled franchisees. Two Kansas City franchisees won $4.9 million from Entre in November, 1985, setting off the storm of litigation. Entre's litigation costs totaled $8.4 million in fiscal 1986. That better than 12 percent of the company's revenues of $66.9 million. [***][4/07/87][***] COMMODORE ANNOUNCES ENHANCED AMIGAS FOR U.S. WEST CHESTER, Pa. (NB) -- The low-end Amiga 500 and high-end Amiga 2000, both of which made their debut in March at the Hanover Fair in West Germany, will be available in the U.S. in the first half of this year, according to Commodore Business Machines. Both machines feature a Motorola 68000 CPU, high-speed color graphics, 4-channel sound, and other Amiga features. The base price of the 500 is $649, while the basic 2000 will run $1,499. Commodore hopes the 2000 will become a standard for video artists and designers and professional musicians. The 2000 can accommodate nine megabytes of memory, three internal disk drives and dive external drives. With a special add-on board, the 2000 can run PC-DOS 3.2 applications. The operating system permits multitasking. Boston subway riders can see the Amiga graphics capabilities at the Essex Street station. A 16-foot-long exhibit, called "Imagination Chamber," displays a four-minute video on five different television monitors. The arrival of trains into the station triggers a sequence of rapidly changing images on the video. The display is the work of Stacey Spiegel, a former research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Visual Studies. CONTACT: Commodore International, 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester PA, 19380. [***][4/07/87][***] LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP: COPYRIGHTS, EDUCATION, AND R&D CENTERS WASHINGTON (NB) -- Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) introduced the Computer Software Rental Act (H.R. 1743) last week. The bill is aimed at eliminating so-called software rental houses, which she says are "thinly disguised" copyright rip-offs. The bill would give the copyright holder the right to approve rentals for commercial purposes. It would not prevent users from making backup copies. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Four Senators last week introduced a bill to authorize up to $150 million for state and local computer education programs. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a former computer executive, is the lead sponsor of the Computer Education and Assistance Act of 1987. Joining him were Sens. Tim Wirth (D-Colo.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.). The money would be used to purchase hardware and software and teacher training, with Uncle Sam providing 75 percent and 25 percent in matching funds coming from the local government. A Senate Small Business subcommittee this week will examine whether Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) are unfairly competing with high-tech small businesses that provide products and services to the federal government. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), subcommittee chairman, will examine a case that involves attempts by a small, high-tech Michigan firm called GeoSpectra to get a contract from the Army Missile and Space Intelligence Center. Instead, the contract went to an FFRDC, a federal facility. "The government ought to encouraging the development of small high-tech businesses, not competing with them," Levin said. [***][4/07/87][***] NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (NB) -- A fire last week at their suburban home killed IBM executive John Manningham and his wife Patricia. Manningham, 53, was director of personnel management services for IBM and was expected to become secretary of the corporation, one of the giant company's 58 corporate officers, in July. ANDOVER, Mass. (NB) -- Troubled GCA Corp. showed a $24.9 million loss for 1986 and said its auditor qualified the annual statement for the second year in a row. Sales for the semiconductor equipment maker fell 21 percent to $123.1 million from $156.5 million in 1985. MAYNARD, Mass. (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. and Systems Industries Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., have ended a legal dispute. System will be licensed to make data storage equipment for DEC, and will pay royalties to DEC for use of the company's connection and control technology. SILVER SPRING, Md. (NB) -- NASA has picked Computer Sciences Corp. for a $310 million computer and communications services contract at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. It is the largest contract in CSC's history. ARLINGTON, Va. -- The County of Los Angeles has picked Systemhouse Inc. for a $12 million contract to design and develop a criminal justice computer system. [***][4/07/87][***] IBM ANNOUNCE NEW PCS IN SCOTLAND GREENOCK, SCOTLAND (UK) -- As exclusively revealed earlier this year on NEWSBYTES, IBM launched its range of new computers, dubbed the Personal System/2, at its Greenock, Scotland plant last Thursday. In parallel with the UK launch, IBM dealers contacted by NEWSBYTES UK have expressed their concern that Big Blue will use the new computers as a way to cut out some its UK small dealerships. It's a well-known fact that the majority of IBM PC sales come from a minority of its dealer network. IDB ONLINE quotes IBM as "resenting putting its name to outlets that do substantial non-IBM business." IDB's quotes are borne out by comments made by one IBM dealer in the Wall Street Journal this week who said "IBM is trying to get us so busy that we spend 90 per cent of our time selling IBM and eventually become their stores." Will IBM make out with the PS/2? Watch this space in twelve months time. CONTACT: IBM UK - Greenock, Scotland, 0705-694941 - London 01-928-1777. [***][4/07/87][***] COMMODORE - UK GENERAL MANAGER QUITS MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- Chris Kaday, General Manager of Commodore UK, has resigned. The resignation, which was officially recognized by Commodore UK last Thursday, comes at a difficult time for Commodore UK, which has undergone drastic internal re-structuring in recent months to cope with anticipated demand for the new Amiga range. Kaday is not being immediately replaced. Instead, two of his Commodore Europe colleagues, Ernest Tarian and Kristian Anderson, will act as replacements in an acting capacity. Tarian becomes acting UK general manager, whilst Anderson (currently European marketing manager for Commodore) will give support to Tarian and act as spokesperson for Commodore UK. Whilst Commodore will not officially comment on Kaday's move, Micronet 800, the computing arm of Prestel, BT's online viewdata database, revealed in a news item that Kaday had reportedly got a job waiting for him elsewhere and that "morale at CBM UK has not suffered" as a result of the changes. NEWSBYTES UK has discovered that Kaday's departure has been on the cards for some time, with several Commodore Europe employees commenting openly on his imminent departure at the recent CeBit computer fair in Hanover, West Germany. NEWSBYTES UK has always had a good rapport with Chris Kaday and wishes him well for his future. CONTACT: COMMODORE (UK) LTD, Commodore House, The Switchback, Gardener Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7XA. Tel: 0628-770088. [***][4/07/87][***] APRICOT BUY INTO DIGITAL MICROSYSTEMS BIRMINGHAM, UK (NB) -- Apricot Computers, the Midlands-based firm responsible for the Apricot PC and more recently the high-powered Xen series, is to take over Digital Microsystems for a two million pound ($3m) fee payable to Extel, the firm's owners. Digital Microsystems (DMS) is best known in the UK as a designer, manufacturer and supplier of local area network and communication systems, notably under the brand name HiNet. DMS's products will, said Apricot chairman, Roger Foster, "compliment Apricot's existing range of products." CONTACT: APRICOT COMPUTERS, 111 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16 8LB. Tel: 021-456-1234. [***][4/07/87][***] SECURITY FIRST ON PRESTEL LONDON, UK (NB) -- Prestel, British Telecom's public viewdata service, has installed new security software on its mainframe computers. The new software will make it mandatory for users to regularly change their password on the system, to prevent any potential misuse of subscriber ID's on the network. Initially, Prestel subscribers with passwords of four zeros will be affected, their progress onto the system being blocked until they have changed their four digit password. Prestel say the forced password change won't be invoked very often, and even then, only for those subscribers who haven't changed their password for some time. CONTACT: PRESTEL, Telephone House, Temple Street, London EC4Y 0HL. Tel: 01-822-1122. [***][4/07/87][***] COMPANY INFORMATION CHEAPER LONDON, UK (NB) -- Online business information, in the shape of company profiles and credit checking, is available online through several UK databases, most of which require a large initial subscription. Now an electronic mail company, One To One, has enabled gateway access to the Dun and Bradstreet 'Advance Information' database on a per minute charge. The AI database, accessible for one pound, fifty pence ($2-25) per minute means that subscribers can carry out a company search from over one million records maintained by Dun and Bradstreet. NEWSBYTES readers in North America may also be interested to know that One To One is accessible at no extra charge, via the Telenet network in North America. CONTACT: ONE TO ONE, Scorpio House, 102 Sydney Street, Chelsea, London SW3 6NL. Tel: 01-351-2468. [***][4/07/87][***] DACOM GO HIGH-SPEED WITH A NEW MODEM MILTON KEYNES, UK (NB) -- 1987 seems to be a year when new modems are being released with increasing regularity. Dacom Systems are following the trend with a new high-speed PC modem card called the Unity Quad. The Quad prices in at 599 pounds ($900) and offers 300/300, 1200/1200. 2400/2400 and 1200/75 baud speeds as well as auto-dial, auto-answer facilities to the Hayes standard. As part of the deal, buyers get a copy of Datatalk communications software worth 150 pounds ($225) bundled with the modem. CONTACT: ANDY GENT, DACOM SYSTEMS, 26-27 Heathfield, Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, MK12 6HR. Tel: 0908-322322. [***][4/07/87][***] SMILE WHEN YOU DRAW CASH LONDON, UK (NB) -- It had to happen. The latest generation of IBM (A)utomated (T)eller (M)achines have a facility to photograph a customer whenever a cash withdrawal is made. Barclays Bank, the first bank to install ATMs outside its banks in the 1960's, is installing the machines at selected sites in the UK in a bid to combat fraud. As well as neatly identifying a user of stolen cards, the photograph can also be used if the customer disputes a cash debit on his/her statement. The past few years have seen a number of allegedly 'phantom' withdrawals from cash machines with customers claiming not to have used their cards at the time. So when the bank statement rolls in, there really isn't any excuse you can give the bank manager... [***][4/07/87][***] QUOTE OF THE WEEK "Schneider Shafft Alles" -- The logo on the back of a West German computer sales leaflet. NEWSBYTES UK hopes that this means something different than what it sounds like in English! ======= [***][4/07/87][***] E D I T O R I A L .... April 7-20, 1987 MOM, APPLE PIE, AND IBM by Dana Blankenhorn, NEWSBYTES SOUTH Well, IBM finally did it -- came out of its corner, snarling mad with a huge new set of products cutting into every corner of the micro computer business, changing it forever, no doubt. Sure, the new PS/2s will all have open architecture and dozens of software biggies announced they're porting applications to the new systems and the new (Real Soon Now) operating system, OS/2. But that's not the story. As usual, the story is hidden in the corners with the IBM spokes-clones' name and number. The names change, but one thing remains the same on all these new product releases-- all the spokes-clones are from New Jersey. Big Blue's Big Show in Miami had the wrong music. Forget the synthesized disco. Bring out those Bruce Springsteen CDs and crank those suckers up *LOUD*. The PS/2 Model 30 I saw in Atlanta said it proudly, on the front of its chassis. "Made in USA." IBM was proud to point out that 50-80% of each product was of IBM design and manufacture, from the 1-megabit memory chips in the Model 80 to the new printers to the fancy new displays. They're all (crank it up real loud) "BORN IN THE USA. BORN IN THE USA." In one fell swoop, IBM has gotten all its competitors. with PC power and expandability which beats the MicroVAX at a lower price. ZAP! 256,000 colors, super-sharp photographic quality graphics, desktop publishing solutions at $8,000. ZAP! Compatibility among Big Blue's mainframes and minis and PCs, at least enough to move files back and forth neatly. ZAP! Custom software with the IBM name, for doctors, lawyers, engineers, publishers, developers -- not just vanilla databases but vertical applications, the real thing. And ZAP! With surface-mount technology and the latest roboticized assembly techniques, IBM claims its production costs put Taiwan *to shame*. In addition, IBM claims better reliability and has plenty of room to drop the price further while still making a profit. Gotta hand it to them. So what if my 3-year old IBM PC is now obsolete, as is the old PC XT. Sure, IBM may act like the Kremlin in their gray suits, soft voices, and refusal to go beyond their press releases. You bet, a lot of American jobs are going down the tubes with this, from clone-assemblers to add-in board makers to software writers. But sometimes, like The Boss, IBM can deliver full value. --Dana Blankenhorn @have modem, will travel Atlanta, GA P.S. -- For their first TV commercials for the PS/2, IBM signed most of the cast of the old TV show M*A*S*H: Harry Morgan (Col. Potter), Loretta Swit (Margaret Houlihan), Wayne Rogers (Trapper John), William Christopher (Father Mulcahy), Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns) and Gary Burghoff (Radar O'Riley) all oohed and aahed over how neat the new machines are and what-all they can do. Can't get more American than that. (Another ad in the series adds Jamie Farr (Maxwell Q. Klinger))