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/1987/nb870414.200

Text File | 1991-09-23 | 51.0 KB | 1,118 lines

[***][4/14/87][***]
APPLE TO OFFER MULTITASKING OPERATING SYSTEM
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- According to John Markoff,
writing in the SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, Apple is preparing
to offer a multitasking operating system for the Macintosh,
and has already showed it at a recent developers
conference.  Markoff says the operating system is code-named
"Juggler" and is expected to be available in late summer or
early fall.  A new operating system would most likely stimulate
Apple software developers to create the  next generation of
applications for the machine, and have them available before
the end of the decade.

Apple Chairman John Sculley recently joked that IBM's release
of new machines without an updated operating system was
like doing a brain transplant without the brain being ready yet.
If Markoff's story is correct, Apple's new brain will be ready before
IBM's -- Microsoft says the new operating system for IBM
Personal System machines, OS/ 2, will not be available until early
1988.

[***][4/14/87][***]
OS/2 APPLICATIONS YEARS AWAY
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- It will be years before developers
have produced much software based on Microsoft's coming
Operating System 2 (OS/2), said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft,
at a San Francisco press conference.  Since the operating system
itself won't ship until the first quarter of 1988,  a respectable
number of applications won't appear for"a couple of years" later,
he said.  Gates predicted that the IBM and compatible world will
split into two camps -- the MS-DOS diehards and the new OS/2
enthusiasts, who will "capture the office market in about three
years."  (Our friend Marty Winston called it the "Old Coke" and
the "New Coke" syndrome.)

OS/2 will be available to clone makers and end users alike,
providing them with the basic operating system to run new
IBM software.  But unlike IBM's first generation of computers,
this generation's new operating system is not tossed in free with
the merchandise.  OS/2 will cost $325, and the technical
reference manual will cost $200, according to Microsoft. But,
adds the firm's Steve Ballmer, "you get a lot more for your
money."  He's referring to the bundling of Microsoft Windows
with the operating system.

[***][4/14/87][***]
APPLE POP-UPS, APPLEFEST, TO PROMOTE IIGS
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Starting later this month, some one
million homes will be receiving flashy, pop-up mailers advertising
the Apple IIGS, according to ADVERTISING AGE.  Apple will
spend $1 million on the first major promotional push for the
Apple IIGS.  The mailers will feature a 4-inch tall replica
of an Apple IIGS that pops up when the card is opened.
If you're a house with small children, you may be receiving
one -- the marketing angle is aimed at the home and
educational interests.

A HOT RUMOR going around is that APPLEFEST '87 has been
organized by Cambridge Marketing Inc. and is slated for
September 18-20 at San Francisco's Civic Auditorium.
The last Applefest was two years ago.  This one will be
focused on the Apple II line -- and specifically on the Apple
IIGS for the home and educational markets.  Our source
says the festival is "98% certain and practically all that's
left to decide is the color of the ink on the agreement."

[***][4/14/87][***]
APPLE MUSICAL CHAIRS
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) - Deborah Coleman, 34, has been promoted
to the role of chief financial officer at Apple. She has been Apple's
vice president for worldwide operations in charge of
manufacturing.  David Barram, 43, who was CFO, will now be
vice president in charge of corporate affairs.   Taking Coleman's
old job will be Ralph Russo, 39, who was director of international
operations.

[***][4/14/87][***]
JERRY BROWN JOINS ATARI
SUNNYVALE, Ca. (NB)╩-- Atari Corporation has named J.J. "Jerry"
Brown its vice president and general manager.  No, this isn't
the former California governor, but a man who's spent the
last 20 years with IBM and Texas Instruments, and calls
himself a "Jack Tramiel groupie."  Brown was vice president
for corporate marketing at TI and manager of IBM's general
systems division.  Atari is banking on Brown's credibility
and savvy, to increase sales of the 520ST and 1040ST in
the U.S. market.

[***][4/14/87][***]
SUN TRIES TO OUTSHINE APPLE WITH 36% PRICE CUT
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- In a move aimed squarely at
Apple's target of an engineering workstation market for
the Macintosh II, Sun has reduced the price of its entry-level
technical workstation, the Sun 3/50, from $7900 to $4995.
Also targeted in this strategic price move is the Apollo DN
3000 and the DEC Vaxstation 200.  "We've anticipated the
emergence of the technical PC market and have built
the necessary production capacity to capture market share
early," says a prepared statement from Scott McNealy,
president and CEO of Sun Microsystems.  The $4995 Sun-3/50
comes with built-in Ethernet connection, 4 megabytes
of memory, a 19-inch monochrome monitor with 1152 x
900 pixel resolution, and Unix.

Apple's Manager of Business Marketing was quoted as
responding to Sun's price cut, "Sun workstations are typically
sold in a configuration of five or eight workstations, while
a  Macintosh II will be more of a stand-alone machine."
Inotherwords, he's not worried.

[***][4/14/87][***]
HOT 80386 LEADS TO FIGHT BETWEEN AMD AND INTEL
SUNNYVALE, Ca. (NB) -- Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro
Devices have severed a ten year old relationship to share
technology, following a dispute in which AMD claimed Intel
violated the agreement by not allowing it to manufacture
the 80386 and 8087 family of microprocessors.  Intel has
been tight-fisted about sharing the manufacturing, or second
sourcing, of its hot 80386.  AMD wanted a piece of the action
and recently demanded binding arbitration to settle the
dispute.  AMD has been second sourcing Intel's 8086 and 80286
chips and the agreement between the two Silicon Valley chip-
makers called for AMD to have the rights to manufacture the
80386, according to reports.

Intel has had no public comment on AMD's complaint,
but analysts say the Intel may have cut its own throat by
farming out rights to the 80286 several years ago.  Demand for
the microprocessors dropped after AMD began to manufacture
them too.  And, they say, Intel does not want to make the
same mistake twice.

[***][4/14/87][***]
FLAWS FOUND IN SOME 80386 CHIPS
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- Intel has announced that some 80386
chips have been malfunctioning, and tests are continuing
to determine the extent of the problem.  According to Intel
officials, some of the microprocessors are making mistakes
in multiplication of very large numbers when operating in
32-bit mode.  Some 100,000 80386 microprocessors have
been shipped, and analysts estimate up to half of them may
be affected.  The problem may require replacement of
the motherboard.  While the problem sounds serious, it may
not be, according to Compaq.  A spokesman was quoted as
saying most users would never notice a problem since
the complex calculations are not generally performed.

[***][4/14/87][***]
CHIP ORDERS UP
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- The Semiconductor Industry Association
reports orders for chips were up 20.2 percent in March over
December's figures, amounting to orders worth $910.8 million
dollars for the month of March.  The last time the chipmakers
have seen orders this high was in November of 1984.
Business is clearly coming back strong, but some
urge caution.  "One month does not a boom make," says
Mike Kubiak, analyst for Kidder, Peabody in San Francisco.
National Semiconductor's spokeswoman Roseann Clavelli
was quoted as saying, "We still think this is just a moderate
increase."

[***][4/14/87][***]
SUBLIMINAL COMPUTER MESSAGES ATTACKED
LOS ANGELES, Ca. (NB) -- California Assemblyman Tom Hayden
provoked laughter from the state's Assembly Labor and
Employment Committee last week when he tried to
get support for a bill which will prohibit use of subliminal
computer messages.  "I feel this bill can't make it out of
committee at this point," said Chairman Dick Floyd.  Legislator
Tom Hayden says he doesn't know of any person or firm
using subliminal computer messages, which flash so
quickly that the average user would not know they are
there, but the technology exists and can manipulate.
Hayden plans to go back and reword the bill, and do more
research.  The bill's next incarnation will encompass issues
regarding notice to employees whose jobs will change to
involve computers, and employer-paid retraining of workers
who've been replaced by computers.

[***][4/14/87][***]
COMPUTER PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS
NEW YORK, NY (NB) -- Why a NY dateline?  Your writer, a
CPA executive officer, was honored to help present the Second
Annual Computer Press Association awards last week.  16
winners and three times as many runners-up received
recognition for outstanding writing and/or broadcasting.
Over 700 entries were received by the judges, and this
year's competition was especially fierce.  The event is
underwritten by Citizen America and organized by the
Simon/McGarry public relations agency.

Winners
-------
BEST MAGAZINE - A+, a Ziff Davis publication
BEST COMPUTER NEWSPAPER - GOVERNMENT COMPUTER NEWS
BEST COMPUTER BROADCAST - HIGH TECH WATCH produced by
   John Krump, aired by KNTV, San Jose
BEST COMPUTER NEWSLETTER - APPLIED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
   REPORTER, published by the University of Miami
BEST ONLINE PUBLICATION - NETWEAVER, published by the
    Electronic Networking Association
BEST HOW-TO BOOK -  PUBLISHING ON THE MAC by Kevin
    Rardin
BEST GENERAL NONFICTION BOOK - ALGORITHMIC IMAGE by
    Robert Rivlin
BEST PRODUCT SPECIFIC BOOK - SECRETS OF McPAINT, McDRAW,
    McBRUSH by David Busch
BEST COMPUTER MANUAL - 3COM CORPORATION, Software
   Products Division, Documentation and Product Services
BEST ONLINE TUTORIAL - FAST FACTS ONLINE from Dow Jones by
   Daniel Ness
BEST NEWS REPORT - COMPUTER PUBLICATION - "NSA Plan to
   Replace DES Draws Criticism" in COMPUTER+SOFTWARE NEWS by
   Robert Scott and Betty Taylor
BEST NEWS REPORT - NONCOMPUTER PUBLICATION - "How Burroughs
   Finally Won Sperry" in BUSINESS WEEK by Gordon Bock
BEST EDITORIAL - COMPUTER PUBLICATION - "DOS Miserables"
   in COMPUTER CURRENTS by Bernie Zilbergeld
BEST EDITORIAL - NONCOMPUTER PUBLICATION - "IBM's Laptop
   Ain't That Great" in SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER by John Dvorak
BEST FEATURE ARTICLE - COMPUTER PUBLICATION - "Mass Storage"
   in DIGITAL REVIEW by George Langworthy
BEST FEATURE ARTICLE - NONCOMPUTER PUBLICATION - "PC Wars:
   IBM Versus the Clones" in BUSINESSWEEK by Geoff Lewis

CONTACT:  Wendy Woods, President, COMPUTER PRESS ASSOCIATION,
    415/587-6389

[***][4/14/87][***]
COMPUTER PRESS NEWS
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB)╩-- Two items of note this week...

ALDUS CORPORATION has published a handy guide to layout
and style in desktop-published documents.  There's been a clear
need for this ever since the technology exceeded our skills.
"Aldus Guide to Basic Design" will be sent free to PageMaker
owners whose registration cards have been returned.

The premier issue of "Women in Computing" has been published.
A 12-page monthly newsletter, it is devoted to helping women
deal with the issues, technology, and business of computers.
The premier issue is very interesting.  CONTACT:  WOMEN IN
COMPUTING, 2917 Upas Street, San Diego, Ca. 92104.  Free
sample issue available on request.

[***][4/14/87][***]
BRIEFS --

WORDPERFECT CORP. (Orem, Utah) expects to ship WordPerfect
for the Macintosh in June.  Dataquest of San Jose, a market
research firm, says WordPerfect is the largest selling word
processor for PCs, holding 11.5% of the market in 1986.

CORRECTION:  We recently reported that NEWSCRIPT, a page
description language being offered by Barry and Associates,
is based on Postscript.  People there say it's actually an
implementation of Postscript, written in "C."

HIGH TECH PUBLIC RELATIONS is sponsoring its second "New
Technology Art in America" and its exhibit of computer
art will be on display May 4-July 31 at the Hi-Tech exhibition
space, 444 DeHaro Street, San Francisco.

TANDON CORPORATION will swap some of its stock to buy a bankrupt
San Jose hard disk drive maker, Atasi Corporation.  The purchased
company makes hard drives primarily for multiuser systems.
Tandon has pledged to continue pursuit of Seagate; Atasi has
sued Seagate Technologies for alleged patent infringement.

BRODERBUND of San Rafael, Ca. has announced plans to go public
with 1.275 million shares at $12 to $14 each.  Income from the
sale will go toward working capital, product development, and
marketing.    The underwriting will be co-managed by Salomon
Brothers Inc. and Robertson, Colman & Stephens.

TANDEM has won a seat on the New York Stock Exchange,
having traded its less-prestigious position on NASDAQ.  The
occasion called for a celebration, of sorts, at the Cupertino,
Ca. firm.  Besides breaking out the champagne, Tandem
President James Treybig reportedly placed the first order
for 500 shares of Tandem stock.  He later gave a number of
the shares to Tandem employees.

GRID SYSTEMS CORP. of Mountain View, Ca. has introduced a
new AT-compatible laptop.  Priced at $3,850, the GRiD286
has an 80286 microprocessor, a plasma display, an internal
10 megabyte hard disk and a floppy disk drive.  The company
says it has the same features as Toshiba's T-1300 computer.
In fact, Toshiba manufactures it for GRiD.

DOUG CLAPP, last seen with INFOWORLD, has authored a new
program called Doug Clapp's Word Tools.  Says Doug, "Number
nerds have spreadsheets, fact nerds have databases, but
word nerds don't have anything.  Word Tools is the first
interactive program for people who love words and
writing and want to be better writers.  $79.95 or $139.95
when combined with Aegis Speed Speller, a 130,000 word
spelling checker, from Aegis Development of Santa
Monica, 213/392-9972.

[***][4/14/87][***]
QUOTES OF THE WEEK

   "It was only a matter of time before operating systems
          went the way of the free lunch."

               --Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, on the coming $525 price
                  tag for OS/2 and documentation

    "Why would I want an IBM for $1,500 when I can get an
          Apple for $800?"

               --unidentified security guard at IBM's Manhattan
                  headquarters, talking to a PC WEEK reporter

[***][4/14/87][***]
THE SOURCE IS SOLD, AND THE COMPETITION HEATS UP
MCLEAN, VA (NB) -- The Source has just been sold to the New
York venture capital firm of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. No
price was disclosed. Readers Digest chairman George Grune said
his company was going to concentrate on its magazine and direct
mail businesses. Last December it bought "Travel-Holiday" magazine.
Jay Keller, Chairman of The Source, expressed pleasure too. "It's
an ideal situation for The Source," he said.

Also, The Sources' chief competition, CompuServe (hereinafter
called "the C word"), has renewed an experiment into flat rate
pricing it began last winter. Through May, 1 hour at 1200 baud
with the C word will cost you $12.50, day or night.

CONTACT: Nancy Beckman, THE SOURCE [phone]; Craig Lowder,
    THE READERS' DIGEST ASSOCIATION [phone]

[***][4/14/87][***]
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: THE SOURCE IS MERGED         *EXCLUSIVE*
NEW YORK (NB) -- We talked to Andrew Paul of Welsh Carson, which
happens to be one of the largest venture capital outfits in the
nation. Most such companies buy a piece of a company from its
founders, then get quality managers to grow it. (They did this
for DCA, Alpharetta, helping turn it into a micro-mainframe
powerhouse.) "We also buy complete companies where we like the
management," he said.  "We're not operating guys at all."

In the case of The Source, Welsh Carson hopes to grow it, in part,
by investing in its current management, and in part by merging it
with an outfit called Automated Marketplace Systems Corp., of New
Jersey. AMSC has a nice niche in electronic purchasing systems
which The Source can help it exploit, while The Source's
leadership as a consumer information utility will help AMSC, Paul
explained. (It's called synergy.) Welsh Carson is also looking
for other companies it can acquire and merge into the new outfit.
The deal was structured like a Leveraged Buy-Out (LBO) for
technical purposes, but Welsh Carson funded it all, Paul said.

CONTACT: Andrew Paul, WELSH, CARSON, ANDERSON & STOWE
         [phone]

[***][4/14/87][***]
PLAYBOY ON THE SOURCE               *EXCLUSIVE*
After a number of false starts, "Playboy Online" is now on The
Source.  To get it, type MACSIG at command level, select 6 from
the menu which follows, then enter the key word PLAYBOY at the
next prompt to search the MACSIG programs database. Turn your Mac
capture buffer on and wait -- it's an 80-100K file. The Source
has been deluged with calls for the last week, since "Playboy"
sent out press releases claiming free samples of its magazine
would be up in  format on a number of systems, including
The Source.

Technical problems kept Jerry Daniels of "Mac Underground" from
uploading April 2, as he'd planned. A disk with part of the
magazine's April edition, digitized for the Apple , then
went to The Source's offices in McLean, VA, but The Source isn't
in the business of putting users' files online itself. A
successful port last Wednesday settled the matter.

All this started 4 months ago when Daniels arranged to put
"MacTalk," a  online magazine with graphics, onto The
Source and other public systems using "Microfilm," a software
program he'd written to digitize text and graphics into the Mac's
format. When the chance came to digitize "Playboy" through
"Microfilm" publisher Paul McGraw of Blue Springs, MO, he worked
with Mary Jane Mara, editor of "MacTalk," to put the file on
MacSIG the night of April 2.  "The second time we tried all the
packets went through, but when we tried to check it we couldn't
find the file," Daniels recalls. "Maybe the operating system
didn't pick it up."

"Playboy" magazine's Bill Page, meanwhile, sent out press
releases stating his publication would soon be on The Source, and
on other systems. He even confirmed these statements when
reporters called, and the story was picked up by many
publications, from NEWSBYTES to USA TODAY. The next week,
innocent Source PR types were flooded with calls --  from the
press, from subscribers who couldn't find "Playboy Online" and
from subscribers and others who didn't want "Playboy Online" on
The Source or anywhere else.  And it was the first they'd heard
of it.

Daniels is a bit surprised over all the hubbub. "This is very
toned down for 'Playboy'. Some of it's erotic, but it's not
gynecological." A sidelight -- Daniels, a writer, editor and
programmer best known for his "Mac Underground" publication, did
all this work from his offices in Fairfield, Iowa, in the
southeast corner of the state.  "It's near Ottumwa, where 'Radar
O'Reilly' (the M*A*S*H character) is from," he says.

CONTACT: Nancy Beckman, THE SOURCE [phone]; Bill Page,
         PLAYBOY ONLINE [phone]; Jerry Daniels, MICROFILM,
         [phone]

[***][4/14/87][***]
MURTO LEAVES COMPAQ, BUT THE PROFITS KEEP ROLLING IN
HOUSTON, TX (NB) -- Compaq co-founder Bill Murto is leaving the
company April 20. He was one of the three guys who drew up the
first sketch of a Compaq on a napkin and led it to the Fortune
500 in record time. His last title was vice president-sales.
Where's he going? "I will be entering a Masters in Religious
Education program in Houston this summer," he said, at the
University of St. Thomas in that city's Montrose neighborhood.

Meanwhile, despite a quarter filled with rumors which became the
IBM PS/2, profits at Compaq kept rolling in. The company
announced last week it expects first-quarter profit of about $15
million.  That's up 81%. Sales for the quarter will be about $200
million.  Both figures were pleasant surprises to analysts. But
Compaq's given them pleasant surprises before.

CONTACT: Jeff Stives, COMPAQ, [phone]

[***][4/14/87][***]
ARNET OFFERS ROCK-SOLID LIFETIME WARRANTEE
NASHVILLE, TN (NB) -- Considering that the IBM PC's "life time"
has been barely 6 years I'm surprised no one did this before.
Now that someone has, I hope it becomes a trend. But Arnet Corp.,
a 4-year old company whose specialty is giving PCs new serial
ports so they can become part of multi-user systems, announced
recently they'll replace any of their boards which break, no
matter when. "It guarantees the board will work glitch-free for
the life of the computer the board is installed in," said
President Mike Wells. Floods, fires, user abuse, and other acts
of God aren't covered, but everything else is. Forever.

Wells says the new policy, which replaces a 2-year warranty, was
begun after Arnet research revealed reliability was their big
selling point, and that their mean time between failures (MTBF)
was a startling 22 years.

CONTACT: Mike Wells, ARNET, [phone]

[***][4/14/87][***]
3 INDICTMENTS FOR SHIPPING PCS TO CUBA
MIAMI, FL (NB) -- Gary Emert, Remo Geovanni DiBartolomeo and
Roberto Roque face charges of trading with the enemy (10 years,
$50,000 fine each offense) for shipping $1 million of PC
compatibles in 1985 to Cuba via Panama. Pat O'Brien, a Customs
Service special agent in Miami, said the technology, mostly chips and
interfaces, was dangerous because the Soviet Bloc's Ryad 1 and
Ryad 3 are copies of the IBM PC. (Obviously, . O'Brien doesn't
read NEWSBYTES, or he'd know the Soviets just contracted for a
ton of PCs from Ecuador.)

[***][4/14/87][***]
PECAN CHIPS

INFORUM, Atlanta, GA, still hasn't broken ground for its planned
1.5 million square foot building, but it is still hiring. Rex
Reed, president of Today's Computers Business Centers, Exxton,
PA, and a former IBM exec, joined the high-tech mart as executive
director. Inforum hopes to break ground around mid-year.
(Translation: Real Soon Now.)

NORTHERN TELECOM, Nashville, TN, signed a deal with Apple to
enhance AppleTalk networks with NT's Meridien product line. One
product of the deal: a 485 megabyte storage subsystem, made by
NT specifically for the .

TANDY, Ft. Worth, reported its March sales were $264.427 million,
11% over March, 1986. For the quarter ending March 31 sales were
up 12% from 1986. Meanwhile INTERTAN closed its 17 company-owned
units in West Germany, leaving retail operations there in the
hands of 27 independent dealers. InterTan was spun-out of Tandy
Corp. in January to handle international operations, and shares
many executives with Tandy. The closed stores had the Tandy name.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Dallas, announced a cartridge for its Silent
700 TravelMate 1200 terminals, adding file management to its VT-
100 emulation. The MultiFile cartridge holds 576 lines of storage
in up to 20 files, along with a "run file" capability to automate
data collection.

CRAY RESEARCH, Minneapolis, recorded two supercomputer sales
worth an estimated $15.1 million total. Lockheed and British
Petroleum are both upgrading to new Crays.

DCA, Alpharetta, GA, announced upgraded PROM chips to let its
IRMA boards support the IBM 3174 controller. Version 3.35 chip
sets for your old IRMAs will cost $12-75, depending on how many
you buy. They're free to registered IRMA users who bought on or
after November 1: but be sure to show your proof of purchase.

GULFSTREAM MICRO SYSTEMS, Boca Raton, FL, announced their EZ-Fax
board now supports IBM PC-based LANs. The board lets a PC receive
and send facsimile files to fax machines or other PCs. Through a
"Gateway" configuration, you can now install a board in one PC on
the network and the whole thing's covered.

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS, St. Louis, acquired Frampton Computer Services
Ltd., a British software company known by its trade name of ISIS.
ISIS has 65 employees and revenues of about $5 million. McDonnell
Douglas is best known to computer users for its McAuto service.

WATERLOO MICROSYSTEMS, Norcross, announced a PC LAN program for
the IBM Token-Ring called PORT LAN. Everything written for
NETBIOIS and PC DOS will work on the new system. The American
branch of the Canadian company also announced a software package
called the Remote  program to access PORT LANs
directly.

BELLSOUTH, Atlanta, GA, announced its BellSouth International
division won a deal to handle on site training and studies
starting in May for India's Department of Telecommunications.
BSI and Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd., will look into
setting up communications links among India's computers.

[***][4/14/87][***]
TEXAS UNIVERSITY VS. MCI
Those looking for an honest man or woman in the wake of Iranamok,
Boesky Gate and Pearly Gate may have a hard time at North Texas
State University in Denton, a school best known for being the
real home of Miss Americas who were paid to say during the
contests they went to TCU in Ft. Worth. "The Associated Press"
says MCI uncovered a credit scam at NTSU early this year in which
students stole MCI customer code numbers and passed them around.
1,150 NTSU students owned up to $365,000 in illegal calls when
MCI offered amnesty.  Last week, another 2,000 students at Texas
Tech in Lubbock owned up to the same thing, and the cost there
could reach $1 million.

(The future Ollie Norths, Ivan Boeskys, and Jim Bakkers are hard
at work.)

[***][4/14/87][***]
APPLE CANADA RAIDS DISTRIBUTOR
VANCOUVER (NB) -- Lawyers for Apple Canada Inc. and the Sheriff's
Office of B.C. carried out a search and seizure raid on Comtex
Micro System, a computer assembler and distributor here, Apple
announced last week.

Apple said the raid on March 31 followed the filing of a
copyright infringement suit against Comtex and associated dealers
in Western Canada on March 26.  The Federal Court of Canada
granted Apple an order permitting it to search for and seize
computers and computer components infringing its copyrights and
trademark as well as documents that could be used as evidence of
such infringements.

Apple says its lawyers seized 58 Apple IIe clones, 43 Apple IIe
clone chips, 22 clone boards, 30 counterfeit manuals, Apple
labels, and invoices and business indicating copyright
infringement.

[***][4/14/87][***]
BATTERIES INCLUDED SALE EXPECTED TO BE FINAL THIS WEEK
RICHMOND HILL, Ont. (NB) -- Batteries Included, the developer of
PaperClip and other home-computer software, is to issue a
statement this week on its acquisition by Electronic Arts of San
Mateo, Calif.  The transaction was delayed, reportedly because of
a competing offer from an unidentified major computer
manufacturer, but Batteries was expected to announce early this
week that the sale has now been completed.  Lindsay Schwartz,
president of Batteries Included, recently told the tabloid
TORONTO COMPUTES! that the deal was "in the final stages."

Batteries Included is expected to remain in operation as a branch
of Electronic Arts.

[***][4/14/87][***]
CORVUS TO SUPPLY BELL
MONTREAL (NB) -- Bell Canada, the country's largest telephone
operating company, has agreed to buy local-area networking
products from Corvus Systems Inc.  Bell will remarket these
products as part of its LANscape product line in Ontario and
Quebec, the two central provinces where it operates the telephone
systems.

Corvus will supply Bell with Omninet interface boards for
networking IBM and IBM-compatible computers, with Corvus HUB
controllers, with network operating system software and with
cabling components.

The sale was made through Corvus Systems (Canada) Inc. of
Richmond Hill, Ont., a wholly owned subsidiary of Corvus Systems
Inc.

[***][4/14/87][***]
ALL-NEWS RADIO NETWORK LAUNCHES DAILY PERSONAL COMPUTING SPOT
TORONTO (NB) -- CKO Radio, the all-news network which operates
stations across Canada, has launched what it describes as
Canada's first national computer radio show.  PC PIPELINE might
better be described as a feature spot -- it's only two and a half
minutes long on weekdays, nine minutes on Saturday.  But anyway,
PC PIPELINE will be aired Monday to Saturday on CKO stations in
Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Calgary, Edmonton and
Vancouver.

The program will include interviews, product reviews, answers to
listeners' questions and general information.  This week's
schedule includes a review of Lotus Development's 4 Word and the
Revelation database package, and an interview dealing with
copyright law.  Sanyo Business Systems is sponsoring the program.

[***][4/14/87][***]
MEMOTEC SWALLOWS TELEGLOBE -- COULD ITSELF BE SWALLOWED
MONTREAL (NB)  -- Last Wednesday, Memotec Data Inc. held a press
conference to announce the completion of its takeover of
Teleglobe Canada.  Teleglobe, formerly a Crown corporation, runs
Canada's overseas satellite communications traffic.  Memotec
bought it from the federal government for C$488.3 million, a case
of a small fish swallowing a larger one.

But the next fish to get swallowed could be Memotec itself,
according to current rumors in the industry.  At the press
conference, one major shareholder said his group's shares might
be sold if the price were right.  Marc Beauchamp, president of
Novacap Investments Inc. of Montreal, told the press conference
that "It's like the old saying -- everything is for sale."
Novacap and Altimira Investments Inc., also of Montreal, between
them control 40 percent of Memotec.   However, Beauchamp was also
quoted in THE GLOBE AND MAIL as saying that his company has not
received any offers for its Memotec stake.

Any attempt to buy Memotec, now that it controls Teleglobe, would
get close examination, and conceivably a veto, from the Canadian
government.  It is unlikely that any of the telephone operating
companies or any foreign-controlled company would be allowed to
acquire Memotec.

[***][4/14/87][***]
BITS, EH?
-- Kaypro Corp. plans to sell directly to Canadian dealers in
hopes of strengthening its position in the Canadian marketplace.
The company hopes the move will help it enlarge its dealer base
here and deliver its products faster.

-- Computer terminal and office automation equipment manufacturer
Comterm Inc. of Montreal lost C$5.9 million in the year ended
Jan. 31, compared to profit of C$1.6 million in the previous
year.  Revenues were C$32.4 million, down from C$48.5 million.

-- Alias Research Inc., a Toronto firm that develops software for
computer generation of three-dimensional images, will get C$4
million in financing from TA Associates, a Boston venture capital
firm; Greylock Management Corp. of Boston; and Crownx Inc., a
Toronto conglomerate whose holding include computer software and
services vendor Crowntek Inc. as well as insurance and nursing
home operations.



[***][4/14/87][***]
NEC'S 32-BIT V70 MPU DEBUTS
TOKYO (NB) -- NEC has developed the V70, which is a higher version of
its original 32-bit microprocessor V60.  The V70 performs at 32
bit both internally and externally, and has a maximum processing
speed of 6.6 million instructions per second.  The MPU consists
of about 385,000 pieces of transistor elements, and it is equipped
with a memory controlling unit, a high-speed task switching
feature, a six-tiered pipeline structure, and a 4-gigabyte
address area.  The sample product will be shipped in coming June.
Zilog (Ca., USA) will second source for the V70.  Sony and Sharp
are also expected to become a second source for this 32-bit MPU,
says a report.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108

[***][4/14/87][***]
NEC SUES SEIKO-EPSON ON ITS COMPATIBLE PC
TOKYO (NB) -- NEC appealed (4/7) to the Tokyo District Court that
Seiko-Epson has allegedly violated NEC's personal computer
copyright.  Thus, NEC wants Seiko-Epson to stop the sales of the
NEC PC-9801 compatible computer PC-286, which is scheduled to be
released late this month.  NEC also wants to stop the sales of
Epson's interface board for its hard disk.

Meanwhile, Seiko-Epson's spokesman says the company will release
Japan's  first  NEC compatible computer Epson PC-286, as is
scheduled.  Epson contends that the Basic I/O System of PC-286
does not violate NEC's copyright since it is Epson's original
product.

NEC is apparently trying to avoid taking the same course as
IBM's PC, which has been victimized by hundreds of clones in the
market.  So, the company has decided to beat the first alleged clone,
Epson.  Other Japanese firms are also planning to develop the
NEC PC-9801 compatible computer in the near future.  They've
closely been watching this court case.

CONTACT: Seiko-Epson, 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano-ken 392
         Japan

[***][4/14/87][***]
CHAIRMAN OF JAPAN SCHLUMBERGER AND FAIRCHILD RESIGNS
TOKYO (NB) -- Yoshihiko  Morozumi, the chairman of Japan
Schlumberger and Japan Fairchild (both in Tokyo), has recently
quit his positions.   He cites declining health as the main
reason of his resignation.  But analysts think that his resignation
stemmed from the recent cancellation of Fairchild's merger deal
with Fujitsu.  Morozumi has become a consultant to both
companies;  he will retire in May of next year.

[***][4/14/87][***]
CANON LINKS WITH NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR
TOKYO (NB) -- The Tokyo-based, major office automation equipment
maker, Canon, has made a major move toward reducing  Japan-U.S.
trade friction.  The company has signed a business agreement with
National Semiconductor (Ca.,USA) concerning laser printers.
With this agreement, both firms will develop a 32-bit
microprocessing unit for laser beam printers.  Based on this
chip, National Semiconductor will manufacture laser
printers and supply them to Canon.  A report says Canon is
planning to import US$6.9 million worth of of laser printers
the first year.  Canon and NS will further cooperate to develop
software and semiconductor products in the future.

CONTACT: Canon, Shinjuku-Daiichi-Seimei Bldg., 2-7-1 Nishi-
         Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160

[***][4/14/87][***]
JAPAN-U.S. EMERGENCY MEETING ON SEMICONDUCTORS
TOKYO (NB) -- At the Japan-U.S. emergency meeting on the chip
pact currently being held in Washington, the Japanese
delegation has presented nearly 1,000 pieces of evidence.  This
is almost five times as much as the U.S. side's, says a report.
A Japanese official reportedly explained the price of a 256K
dynamic RAM in Taiwan, for instance, has risen by 35% in the last
six months.  This is due to Japan's production and export
restriction efforts.   The share of the American products in the
Japanese market has also risen by 11.3%, which has exceeded the
initial target of 11.2%.  However, the Americans want more
concrete evidence and a long term guarantee to see the pact is
really working. Meanwhile, the Japanese delegation
will not make any further concessions on the semiconductor
problem, according to a MITI official.  So, unfortunately, it is
very likely that 100% tariffs will be put on Japanese
electronic goods later this month.

[***][4/14/87][***]
SUPER-PIPS FOR TOSHIBA'S LAPTOP
TOKYO (NB) -- SORD, a subsidiary of Toshiba, has started market-
ing integrated business software for Toshiba's popular laptop
J3100.  The software, SUPER-PIPS, features various powerful
functions, including mathematical calculations, a database, a
Japanese word processor, and graphics.  The price is US$538.

The J3100 is a Japanese version of Toshiba T3100.  Currently,
lots of popular application programs are available on this IBM
PC/AT-compatible laptop -- those programs include Japanese Lotus
1-2-3, MultiPlan, dBASE III, and Ichitaro (a powerful Japanese word
processing program).  With this software support, the J3100 has
still been enjoying a great deal of popularity here.

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

[***][4/14/87][***]
SONY AND VITELIC CANCEL THEIR DEAL
TOKYO (NB) -- Sony and Vitelic Corp. (San Jose, Ca.) have decided
to discard their agreement on joint production of dynamic RAMs.
Their  deal was to have  Vitelic provide a chip licence to
Sony for manufacture of 256K DRAMs.  It is said the major reason
for this cancellation is the current "chip war" between Japan and
the U.S.  But still, Sony retains some stocks of Vitelic Corp.

[***][4/14/87][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

IBM-PC COMPATIBLE KEYBOARD -- Mitsumi Electric (Tokyo/03-489-
5333) has released IBM compatible keyboards.  The IBM PC/RT
version costs US$138, and the XT-AT version costs US$103.

MITSUBISHI'S OPTICAL DISK DRIVE -- Mitsubishi released (4/6) a
13cm optical disk drive.  Its data access time is 0.08 second,
and it stores a 600 megabyte data.

TI JAPAN BEEFS UP IC DESIGN -- Texas Instruments Japan (Tokyo)
has inked a business agreement with Japan-LSI (Tokyo) for
raising productivity on designing chips.  With this agreement,
TI Japan will design gate arrays and standard-cell ICs at Japan-
LSI's design centers.


[***][4/14/87][***]
BIZARRE TURNABOUT: LOTUS SUED FOR COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
BOSTON (NB) -- The company that developed spreadsheet pioneer
VisiCalc last week sued Lotus Development Corp. and Lotus founder
Mitch Kapor for $100 million. SAPC Inc. of Cambridge, formerly
known as Software Arts Inc., sued Lotus and and Kapor in U.S.
District Court, charging copyright infringement and misuse of
confidential information and trade secrets in the Lotus
best seller, 1-2-3. Lotus bought the rights to VisiCalc from SAPC
two years ago, along with the rights to the name Software Arts.
Closely-held SAPC says it seeks damages done in the years before
it sold VisiCalc to Lotus.

SAPC was encouraged to file the suit by recent court decisions,
including the Crosstalk v. Mirror suit, that have upheld the
"look and feel" grounds for litigation. Julian Lange, SAPC
executive vice president and one of the firm's three directors,
said, "Prevailing law at the time that Lotus introduced 1-2-3
prevented us from taking any action to protect the company's
rights. The state of the law has changed recently and SAPC can
finally obtain some justice." A Lotus spokesman charged that the
SAPC suit is "an ill-considered first strike by parties who have
been preparing to release their own clone of Lotus 1-2-3." Lange,
his brother Richard, and Tracy Lickleider, also SAPC directors,
are founders of Ontio Computer Products Corp., which has been
planning to roll out a $29.95 spreadsheet that is Lotus
compatible.

The suit abounds with irony. Lotus, of course, is suing Paperback
Software and Mosaic Software for alleged copyright violations and
was expected to sue Ontio if that firm launched its spreadsheet.
What's more, Kapor once worked for the company that marketed
VisiCalc before forming Lotus. Kapor hired Software Arts founders
Robert Frankston and Daniel Bricklin, both minority shareholders
of SAPC. Frankston voted against bringing the suit and resigned
from the SAPC board. Bricklin, no longer a Lotus employee, told
reporters he opposed the suit. Bricklin was not a member of the
SAPC board.

[***][4/14/87][***]
NO BACKSLIDING ON CHIP RETALIATION, SAYS WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON (NB) -- President Reagan intends to impose 100 percent
tariffs on a long list of Japanese electronic consumer goods on
April 17, despite indications that Japan wants to settle the
dispute quickly. White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the
Japanese delegation that was in Washington last week trying to
head off the trade retaliation was trying very hard to explain
their point of view, but added ''I don't believe there's been any
movement at this point.''

U.S. officials have drawn up a tentative list of products that
would be hit with heavy tariffs if the sanctions go into effect.
Included are computers, disk drives, black-and-white and color
televisions, pocket calculations, audio and video tape gear,
electrical measuring equipment, communications satellites and
parts. The proposed tariffs are the stiffest trade sanctions the
U.S. has taken against an ally since World War II. U.S. Customs
officials disclosed last week that they may make the tariffs
retroactive to March 31, when the notice of the retaliation was
published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The Customs Service told its
field offices to require importers to post bond on good shipped
after March 31 sufficient to recover any penalties imposed on
April 17. If the tariffs are not made retroactive, the bond would
be returned.

[***][4/14/87][***]
IBM EXEC BACKS SEMATECH
NEW YORK (NB) -- International Business Machines strongly backs
plans for Sematech, the non-profit joint research and development
group for U.S. semiconductors makers. If Sematech is established,
"we can share more things than we though we could have before,"
said Sanford Kane, an IBM vice president and Big Blue's liaison
to the U.S. semiconductor industry. Kane told a trade group
meeting last week that suppliers to the chip makers, as well as
the semiconductor firms, need to get together and support
Sematech. If the companies that make equipment that semiconductor
manufacturers use die off, Kane told the Semiconductor
Equipment and Materials Institute, then U.S. chip makers will
be dependent on foreign suppliers for machines to make state-of-
the-art chips.

[***][4/14/87][***]
ROLL CALL GOES MAC
WASHINGTON (NB) -- ROLL CALL, a weekly tabloid aimed at the
U.S. Congress, has installed a desktop publishing system
comprised of six  Plus computers and an Apple
LaserWriter Plus printer. Software includes PageMaker and
Microsoft Word. According to ROLL CALL associate editor Bonnie
Wolf, as reported in CAPITOL COMPUTER DIGEST, the switch to
desktop publishing brought an estimated 75 percent savings in
production costs, plus more flexibility and capability. Wolf
described the first issue produced with the new system as
"miraculously normal."

[***][4/14/87][***]
BIG BLUE: HOW BIG?
NEW YORK (NB) -- No. 4 on the Fortune 500, No. 1 on the Business
Week 1000, Nos. 1, 4, 2 and 15 on the Forbes 500. It's the annual
spring rush of business magazines and, by any measure,
International Business Machines Corp. is big business. BUSINESS
WEEK ranks Big Blue No. 1 based on the market value of common
stocks share outstanding as of March 20. IBM was worth $90
billion by that yardstick, down $1.6 billion from last year.
FORTUNE, which ranks industrial companies by 1986 sales, had Big
Blue fourth, its highest ranking ever on the list, behind General
Motors, Exxon, and Ford. FORBES publishes four lists, based on
sales, market value, profits, and assets. IBM was fourth on
sales, first on market value, second on profits, and 15th in
assets (big banks and financial institutions dominate that list.)

[***][4/14/87][***]
WANG TO MARKET DESK TOP FINANCIAL SOFTWARE
LOWELL, Mass. (NB) -- Wang Laboratories has signed an agreement
with Desk Top Financial Solutions of East Brunswick, N.J., to
market the Desk Top Financial Planning System for the Wang line
of office computers. The Desk Top product includes spreadsheets,
database management, and financial modelling in what the New
Jersey company calls "the relational spreadsheet." The software
includes the advanced planning system at $2,995 and the budget
reporting system at $1,995.

Wang last week also unveiled two new 32-bit minicomputers to the
low end of its line of Tempest systems, aimed at military
markets.The VS 5T is priced at $13,500 and the VS 6T is prices at
$21,500.

[***][4/14/87][***]
NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION
   RICHMOND, Va. (NB) -- Edward Davis, a senior IBM executive,
has been named new president of Virginia's Center for Innovative
Technology. He will take over the $100,000 per year post in July.
The center was created in 1984 to help integrate the work of the
state's high tech firms with the state's universities. The center
has had a rocky start and Davis is expected to steer the center
toward calmer waters.

   FORT LEE, N.J. (NB) -- On-Line Software International said
third-quarter profits and revenues have more than doubled. For
the quarter ended in February, On-Line's earnings rose to $1.5
million, from $686,000 for the prior year's third quarter.
Earnings per share rose to 34 cents from 17 cents. Total revenue
rose to $19.8 million for $8.8 million in the 1986 period.

   LANHAM, Md. (NB) -- Walter Rolling has left his job with Alsys
Inc. of Waltham, Mass., to become head of AdaSoft Inc.,
succeeding company founder Jerry Horsewood as president. The
three-year-old company specializes in software and training in
the Ada language, the official Pentagon computer language.

   WASHINGTON (NB) -- Phyllis Gardner of the Justice Department's
Civil Division won the first Federal Microcomputer Achievement
Award during the Federal Office Systems Expo in March. She
developed AMICUS, shared systems connected by a dual local area
network that allows attorneys in the division to tie into
services for litigation support, legal research, case management,
and word processing from office micros, dumb terminals, and
remote laptops using a modem.

   NEW YORK (NB) -- IBM will supply its new PS/2 personal
computers to American Airlines for the Sabre computerized
reservation system. Travel agents use Sabre to make reservations
and issue tickets. According to the WALL STREET JOURNAL, American
has been installing about 4,000 terminals a year into its Sabre
system.

[***][4/14/87][***]
ATARI - UK PC LAUNCH AT SHOW
LONDON, UK (NB) -- The Atari PC, seen for the first time at the
CeBit show in Hanover, West Germany earlier this year, will get its
first UK showing at the Atari Computer Show scheduled for later this
month.

At the show, Atari will name UK configurations and prices for the
PC, which NEWSBYTES UK understands will vary from country to
country, depending on market conditions.

Also staging their first UK appearance will be the Mega ST and
laser printer range, as well as the XE games computer.  Jack Tramiel
will be opening the show which will be held at the London Novotel
hotel from the 24th to the 26th of April.  NEWSBYTES UK will
bringing a special show report included with our weekly bulletin in
two weeks time.

CONTACT: ATARI COMPUTER SHOW, Database Exhibitions, Europa House,
         68 Chester Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/14/87][***]
TELEX VIA A MODEM DEBUTS
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Electronic mail via a modem is no big deal. The
Source helped pioneer this concept back in the late seventies, but
telex via the phone and modem is fairly new.  No, we're not talking
about a bureau service, as operated by the likes of Dialcom and
Easylink, we're talking about a real live telex machine, functioning
over the humble phone line.

TextDirect is a new service from British Telecom International.
Launched earlier this week, the service provides for simple telex
commands and a unique telex number for every subscriber, accessible
via the familiar configuration of computer, modem and phone line.
The service is different from existing email/telex services
available in the UK in that it allows a true telex number on the UK
telex network, complete with own number and answer back.

TextDirect doesn't come as cheap as existing Email services,
however.  Buy-in costs 20 pounds ($30) with an on-going annual
charge of 100 pounds ($150) payable quarterly.  Telex costs are
substantially cheaper than email bureau services - at least half the
price of the nearest competitor.

TextDirect product manager Neil Dunnet told NEWSBYTES UK that the
service is aimed at the "man in the street" who wants his own telex
number, but can't afford the 2,500 pounds and up it costs for even a
basic telex machine.  "We're liasing closely with other BT email
services like Telecom Gold (Dialcom)," he told NEWSBYTES UK, "so as
not to disturb their territory too much."

NEWSBYTES UK is still evaluating the service (we feel a review
coming on!) but can report the system is very easy to use and
functions well.  American readers of NEWSBYTES may note that the
service is accessible via the US data networks (Telenet & Tymnet)
thus allowing access to a UK telex number at very low cost.

CONTACT: TEXTDIRECT, BT International, Room 723, Holborn Centre,
         120 Holborn, London EC1N 2TE.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/14/87][***]
UK PC DEALER GOES UNDER:
BRISTOL, AVON (NB) -- A top mail order supplier of PC, XT and AT
compatibles is being wound up with large debts.

Bristol Micro Traders, who sold computers via full-page colour ads
in most of the computer press, was famed for its low prices (down
to 1,000 pounds ($1,500) for a basic AT compatible) and looked to be
quite successful.  Astonishingly, accountants Arthur Young, who are
handling the firm's winding up procedures, are quoted in the latest
MICROSCOPE magazine as saying the company was set up for 500 pounds
($750) capital.

"It's difficult to run a company on that capital and no bank
overdraft," concedes Keith Selley of Arthur Young.  As ever, it's
the end user who pays for the collapse.  Almost 200 buyers paid
deposits on machines which they probably won't get.  BMT paid up
front for most of their stock, so manufacturers won't lose out.
Another financial casualty is the computer press.  BMT heavily
advertised in the press, and with colour pages costing up to 1,000
pounds a shot, it's not difficult to see how the debts have mounted
up.

CONTACT: BRISTOL MICRO TRADERS, Maggs House, 78 Queens Road,
         Bristol, BS8 1QX.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/14/87][***]
COMMODORE MD RESIGNATION - WEEK 2
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- Following the abrupt departure of its
MD last week, Commodore UK is now refuting industry allegations that
Chris Kaday was sacked.

CBM Europe's director of sales, Christian Anderson, is quoted in the
latest COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY as saying "I expect there'll be a lot
of speculation (on Kaday's departure) but it's just one of those
things."  The paper goes on to suggest that Tom Hart, CBM UK
consumer sales manager may be promoted to Kaday's former position,
but quotes Anderson as "not being drawn on specifics."

CONTACT: COMMODORE (UK) LTD, Commodore House, The Switchback,
         Gardener Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7XA.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/14/87][***]
AMSTRAD SHIPS PC MODEM
BRENTWOOD, ESSEX (NB) -- Amstrad is now shipping production
quantities of the PC card modem, shown for the first time at the
Which Computer? Show in Birmingham earlier this year.

The modem, which retails for 149 pounds ($225), features V21 (300
baud) and V23 (1200/75 baud) operation and is fully autodial/Hayes
protocol compatible.  Bundled with the modem is Datatalk, the PC
communications package, which retails separately for the same price
as the modem package.

Unofficial industry sources tell NEWSBYTES UK that the hardware and
software companies involved in the modem launch have cut their
profit margins to the bone in anticipation of product turnover in
excess of 20-30,000 units in the first year.

** Amstrad's media campaign breaks in the UK with full page ads in
the "London Times," "Telegraph" and "Financial Times" on April 24th.
Centre to the campaign is the concept of accessing a telex for 149
pounds.

CONTACT: AMSTRAD PLC, Brentwood House, 169 Kings Road,
         Brentwood, Essex, CM14 4EF.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/14/87][***]
CHEAP COMPUTERS FOR SALE
BEDFORD, UK (NB) -- A Cash and Carry firm based in Bedford is
waiting for 250,000 pounds ($275,000) of your money.

For the cash you have a choice of (very) cheap computers.  75 pounds
($120), for example, buys a Commodore 64, whilst 35 pounds ($55)
will buy Sir Clive Sinclair's Spectrum Plus.  Both machines
currently retail for around three times that figure in the UK.  A
representative of the firm, Raj, calls the kits "distressed retail
stock for disposal."  NEWSBYTES UK calls them a bargain.

CONTACT: RAMP SERVICES LTD., 2 Kimbolton Road, Bedford MK20 2NR.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][4/14/87][***]
AND FINALLY...

Hewlett Packard employees are leaping in the streets again.  Company
sources tell NEWSBYTES UK that, after a year of abstinence, the
company has reinstated the free biscuits for staff coffee and tea
breaks at all its UK facilities.  The freebie was withdrawn early on
last year after the company turned in a loss of 3 million pounds
($4.5m).

Whatever next - chocolate biscuits maybe?