Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1983 May to 1994 June

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ 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 / nb870728.215 < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-10-01 | 66.5 KB | 1,468 lines

[***][7/28/87][***] BIG BLUE IMITATORS ON THE MARCH SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (NB) -- The first two semiconductor products designed to be a part of an onslaught of IBM PS/2 clones have been announced. The first, a chip set from Chips & Technologies in Milpitas, replaces 45 components in the XT or Model 30 and is said to out- perform IBM's own PS/2 line by 25%. The chip sets will be available to computer manufacturers in sample quantities next month. Chips &╩Technologies won't name its customers, but several big ones are among them. Meanwhile, Paradise Systems of South San Francisco unveiled its own reverse-engineering masterpiece -- a chip called the PVGA1 that's said to be completely compatible with the PS/2 line's graphics system. The chip will be sold to manufacturers for incorporation in complete computers and in add-on cards to make current PCs run new PS/2 line software. Sample quantities are expected to be available next month. [***][7/28/87][***] MICROPRO TROTS OUT NEW WORDSTAR SAN RAFAEL, Ca. (NB) -- The fifth version of the venerable old word processing staple will be shipped in mid-August, according to MicroPro International. The new WordStar 5.0, $295, has over 100 improvements, including an onboard 61,000 word dictionary, options of using the new or old WordStar commands (pull down menus or keyboard commands), laser printing capability, and more. The new WordStar, which has some desktop publishing features, is expected to replace the WordStar Professional 2000, which many found too complicated and cumbersome. Word is there are 2,000,000 WordStar users currently in the world, and since many of them are still CP/M version users, they too will finally be recognized. MicroPro plans to release WordStar 4.0 for CP/M computers next month, its first CP/M product in years. [***][7/28/87][***] MICROSOFT WORD 3.01 SHIPS, SO DOES 0S/2 DEVELOPMENT KIT REDMOND, Wa. (NB) -- Registered owners of Microsoft Word 3.0 for the Macintosh are receiving a free update of the program, after which it will be sold in retail stores. Microsoft says the new word processor converts files, paginates, and prints to non-Apple serial printers better than 3.0 did. Best of all, version 3.01 allows installation of an unlimited number of fonts, which are displayed alphabetically on the font menu. Those of you who would like to develop software for the OS/2 line should also dig deep for the $3,000 needed for Microsoft's OS/2 Software Development Kit. The kits are shipping now, and enable programs to be ported to IBM's new line of 80386 as well as the 80286 computers. The basic hardware needed to run the system is an AT or compatible, or a PS/2 with MS-DOS 3.0 or higher. And finally, Microsoft's stellar financial journey went into warp speed with its fourth quarter results. Fourth quarter demand for Microsoft products shot profits 50% higher than this time last year. Sales were nearly $100 million dollars compared to $63 million a year ago. While laymen may think these are terrific results, the analysts say they expected better. But new administrative costs, associated with new OS/2 marketing and promotion, dampened the profit figures. [***][7/28/87][***] APPLE'S SCULLEY PREDICTS $2 BILLION COMPANY CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Apple's chief John Sculley told analysts that if they thought third quarter figures were good, they should see what the fourth quarter will produce. If Apple's prediction of $725 million in sales for the quarter ending September 25 comes true, it will make Apple, for the first time, a $2 billion a year company. Following an Apple official's testimony in Washington that a ban on Toshiba products could hurt Apple, the firm has also announced intentions to "reduce its dependency" on Japanese suppliers. Apple's dot matrix line of printers is currently made by Tokyo Electric, a Toshiba subsidiary in Japan. No word on where Apple will go for a new OEM supplier. [***][7/28/87][***] ONE MILLION DOLLAR AD BLITZ FROM BUSINESSLAND AND APPLE SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- Businessland and Apple Computer have teamed up to spend $1 million to promote the Macintosh SE and II through Businessland retail computer stores, according to COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS. The weekly says Microsoft, 3Com and other major vendors will join in to promote their compatible products in the promotion scheduled to start August 14. The plan calls for Apple representatives to be stationed at Businessland locations for product demonstrations, cash incentives for Businessland salespeople who sell Apple products, and a great deal of print and radio advertising. [***][7/28/87][***] MOMS GET THE MOST FROM APPLE AND HEWLETT PACKARD CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Mom and apple pie have traditionally gone together as a great American tradition, but mom and Apple Computer? For the second year in a row, WORKING MOTHER magazine has put Apple among the top five best firms in the nation for working mothers. The magazine says Apple's pay, advancement opportunities, flexible scheduling, job sharing, and other benefits make Apple Computer a great place to work while raising kids. The magazine did not mention Apple's proposed on-site day care center, which has mysteriously been placed on the back burner at the company. Hewlett Packard ranked fourth among California companies good to mothers. Women make up 44 percent of the workforce, they're given flexible working schedules to accommodate leaves for children and maternity, as well as time to get to work after the day care center opens. HP was given a special kudo for naming Nancy Anderson a general manager while she was on maternity leave. Other computer firms mentioned in the survey as leading the nation in humane treatment of employed mothers were Digital Equipment and Syntex Corporation. [***][7/28/87][***] CALIFORNIA COMPUTER PRIVACY BILL UP FOR VOTE SACRAMENTO, Ca. (NB) -- The California Assembly Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee will vote on a bill to extend First Amendment-type search and seizure protections to electronic communications on August 19. Appeals are going out to the public to write letters of support now. The measure, titled ACA 36, was introduced by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore. If passed it will provide the same privacy rights to electronic communications as are provided to press and verbal communications. The measure, which amends the state constitution, would specify that personal information stored in electronic information systems and computer databases be included in search and seizure restrictions provided by the constitution. Send letters of support to the following people: CONTACT: Chairman Pete Chacon, Assembly Elections Committee State Capitol, PO Box 942849, Sacramento, Ca. 94249 Assemblywoman Gwen Moore, State Capitol, ╩Sacramento, Ca. 94249 [***][7/28/87][***] LATEST TEAMS: TANDEM AND GTE/3COM AND BRIDGE CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Tandem Computers has announced a joint agreement with GTE Corporation to develop large scale telecommunications systems for government and business. The deal is expected to make Tandem, famous for its nearly faultless data networks, and GTE, which owns 760,000 customer service phone lines in the Pacific Northwest, a formidable force in the lucrative government market. And networking workstation-maker 3Com Corporation has merged with Bridge Communications, maker of systems that link various kinds of mainframes and terminals, in a stock swap worth an estimated $193.1 million. Both companies are doing well financially and the merger should create a firm with $150 million in annual sales and 1,000 employees. Bridge is expected to become a subsidiary of 3Com, which will be the combined firms' moniker. This is the third merger try for 3Com, which earlier this year was jilted by Convergent Technologies and Centram Systems West. "The third time's the charm," joked 3Com's Executive Vice President William Krause. [***][7/28/87][***] ACTIVISION OUT OF THE RED - FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Activision people are celebrating the first turn in the company's fortunes in recent memory. The games company posted earnings of $524 thousand in its quarter ending June 27, compared to a loss of $1.9 million a year ago. Why the turnaround? Major surgery on Activision's titles. 20 games and other software products were cut from production. Also, major surgery on operating costs was instituted by Activision President Bruce Davis, who took office in January after founder James Levy resigned. Activision is said to be the 10th largest independent software publisher in the U.S. and new strategic and product marketing focus is expected to raise its profile even higher. CONTACT: Loretta Stagnitto, ACTIVISION, 415/960-0518 [***][7/28/87][***] MAX HEADROOM GETS HELP FROM AEGIS SOFTWARE SANTA MONICA, Ca. (NB) -- Saying, "No other program has even come close to tapping the Amiga's potential like this one," computer artist Jeff Bruette will use the Aegis program VideoScape 3D to create background logos, as well as some on-screen wire frame animation for the fall episodes of Max Headroom. The new program is now available to the public and costs $200. The basic system requires two drives and two megabytes of RAM. Two other programs are included in the package, PlayANIM, which plays back animations in real time, and Designer 3D, which makes the 3D objects. There are also utilities for creating geometric shapes and fractal landscapes. Aegis is also extended the deadline for submission of entries in its desktop video contest. Entries should be received by October 10. Prizes range from $100 to $1,000. And there's also a new way to communicate with Aegis. A new computer bulletin board system has been set up to provide forums for all Aegis products, problem-solving, and exchange of private messages. The number is 213/399-7316. CONTACT: Michelle Mehterian, AEGIS DEVELOPMENT, 213/392-9972 [***][7/28/87][***] WIN A TRIP TO HAWAII WITH YOUR POSTSCRIPT DOCUMENT WOODINVILLE, Wa. (NB) -- A unique promotion which will send somebody on an expense-paid trip to Hawaii has been launched by laser-printer controller maker Hanzon Data Inc. The firm is looking for the most innovative use of PostScript on a document output from a laser printer. Send submissions with output file on disk. The deadline for submission is August 31. CONTACT: HANZON DATA SYSTEMS, 18732 142 Ave. NE, Woodinville, Washington 98072 [***][7/28/87][***] CONNEX CONNECTS TO NEARLY EVERY ONLINE DATABASE NEWPORT BEACH, Ca. (NB) -- We've just received a press release touting a new product that cuts through the confusing series of different online commands required to connect to nearly every electronic mail service. Called Connex, this software for PCs and compatibles, autoconnects any PC to MCI, Western Union EasyLink, AT&T, Zipnet, Netword, GEnie, The Source, Dialcom, Delphi, Infomaster and Compuserve, requiring the user to input only a few commands, and to learn none of the hosts' commands. Not only that, but this software apparently looks up the addresses you want to reach, automatically saves your mail to disk, can send up to 5000 personalized e-mail messages on hundreds of systems, and even allows you to keep a personalized database of names, telephone numbers, and addresses. The whole package is comprised of 5 diskettes, a 172 page manual, and costs $206. Pretty comprehensive, eh? CONTACT: PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE INC., 714/631-0515 [***][7/28/87][***] QUOTE OF THE WEEK " What you do is spread a layer of peanut butter standards between the slices of bread, hoping IBM will choke on it. The best peanut butter I know is Unix." --Alan Hald, chairman of the MicroAge Computer Store chain, explaining his "Peanut Butter Conspiracy" theory, referring to the limits of IBM's Systems Network Architecture [***][7/28/87][***] A PREVIEW OF TANDY'S AUGUST 3 ANNOUNCEMENTS FORT WORTH, TX (NB) -- Marty Winston, our Fort Worth kimosabe (friend) has kept his ear to the ground and figured out what Tandy will announce at its August 3 New York press conference. The date will be the 10th birthday of the Radio Shack TRS-80 and the firm's already sent out commemorative paperweights calling it "The Next Move," with a chess knight on them. Look for Tandy to use the NEC V20 chip, including a new laptop Model 1400, a new 1000TX with a 3 1/2 inch drive, and some customized software features. (Maybe based on its existing Deskmate package, free with every box.) You can also expect some changes to the Tandy 3000 Model, including a smaller footprint. Tandy doesn't want anyone to know about this, however, so make it our little secret. Word is most Tandy insiders haven't even seen the catalog yet. (The John Poindexter school of management, no doubt -- keep everyone in the dark and nothing leaks. Too bad that trick never works.) CONTACT: Martin Winston, WINSTON & WINSTON (817)332-5222 or BDS401 [***][7/28/87][***] INFORUM: ATLANTA TECH MART TO OPEN AUGUST 1989 ATLANTA, GA (NB) -- Inforum, the 1.5 million square foot Atlanta high-tech trade mart, finally breaks ground August 3. It opens 2 years later. Architect-developer-market center operator John Portman said Wednesday Equitable Real Estate agreed to finance the $150 million construction costs for 50% of the building's equity. He said the 600,000 feet of showrooms are already 42% leased. The rest of the space will include basic exhibit space, meeting rooms, and theaters. Portman praised competitor Trammell Crow's Dallas Infomart in an exclusive interview with NEWSBYTES afterward. "Infomart is really a great success. Their problem was they had 40% of their space leased but opened with only 17% of it filled and invited the world in. The world called it a failure." The world, he thinks, is wrong. (Infomart currently has 50% of its 800,000 square feet of showrooms filled.) ANALYSIS -- Portman's the guy who created the Hyatt atrium and other architectural gems, but he got his wealth operating wholesale market centers dealing in gifts, rugs, furniture, and other wholesale items. Inforum will be his first market building designed to sell retail merchandise. It will not compete with Comdex. If you were a cardiologist and could see and try out every high- tech solution a cardiologist could ever love at once, would you go? If it were only blocks from that cardiologist convention you were going to anyway? (Portman's betting you would.) CONTACT: Bill Bryant, INFORUM, (404)658-5686 [***][7/28/87][***] NOMDA SHOWS JAPANESE OFFICE MACHINE MARKET DOMINANCE ATLANTA (NB) -- The National Office Machine Dealers Association Show, just wrapping up here, demonstrated how and why Japanese companies are now dominating American markets. Not only did Japan -based companies have 85% of the floor space, but they had the most interesting items. Panasonic outdrew IBM and AT&T combined with its full-color copiers. And Panasonic salesmen were not only ready to deal faster than you can say Joe Isuzu, they were ready to deal on the office supply houses' terms, with full support. Sharp, Ricoh, Toshiba, and Canon all had booths larger than the largest American booth, the kind you need a map to get around in. American computer companies, by contrast, never tailored their programs to office supply needs, and what American booths there were here were empty. Kaypro, which was giving away buttons with American flags on them, looked especially sad. Not only have the Japanese won the office suppliers' business, including their computer business, they've won their hearts. Keynote speaker Tom Peters drew cheers with his attacks on American laziness and Congress' protectionist legislation. "The Japanese have been unfair. They learned the English language before they came over here and tried to sell to us," he said, to loud applause. At a press briefing he was even more explicit. "The last time a protectionist act of this magnitude was passed, it was followed by a depression and a war." One more NOMDA note. Ricoh chairman Keiji Endoh was in town for the show, scouting out locations in 4 Southeast states, including Georgia, for a new $100 million plant. CONTACT: Dana Andrus, NOMDA, (816) 941-3100 [***][7/28/87][***] UNISYS HAS NEW OS, NEW STRATEGY FOR THE OFFICE SANTA CLARA, CA (NB) -- Unisys announced BTOS TeleCluster, a computer networking system which plugs into and shares your existing phone lines. It's based on ClusterShare, software and a plug-in card which will set you back $2,100-$3,200 for a base station and $375 for each additional PC. Also new is BTOS II, a new multitasking operating system for its B-25 line of workstations. The company says it "provides full support of the protected mode operation of 80286 and 80386 microprocessors," meaning it gets the most out of the newest chips. Unisys is also adding a switch to its screens so they'll they'll look more like Macintosh to the user. Executive Vice President James A. Unruh also discussed his company's strategy, keeping both the old Burroughs operating system and offering standards like OS/2, DOS, Xenix and Unix as well. The sales force has been divided vertically by type of customer, as in finance, government, offices and factories. (Translation: What do you want? Sure, we do that.) CONTACT: Wayne W. Adams, UNISYS, (215)542-4673 [***][7/28/87][***] TEXAS STUBS TOE IN BID TO WIN SEMATECH AUSTIN, TX (NB) -- Supporters of a bid to lure the Semetech semiconductor consortium to the Lone Star state lost a big one when the legislature last week rejected a bid to issue $50 million in state bonds and accept private contributions to lure the $1.5 billion research and manufacturing venture. United Press International quoted Pike Powers, chairman of Sematech of Texas, a group promoting Austin as the site for the center, this way: "We're not going to yell 'calf rope' - an old Texas expression that means you quit." (But they might yell "punt," an old Texas expression which means let's see if the opposition has an offense and whether we have a defense.) [***][7/28/87][***] PECAN CHIPS CQ COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS, Tallahassee, FL, introduced software called 3270R, which lets Hayes 2400 and V-Series modems communicate with IBM mainframes without a synchronous card like the IRMA board from DCA. TANGENT TECHNOLOGIES LTD., Atlanta, will show a new Tangent Spool at the MacWorld Expo in Boston next month which uses an IBM PC XT as a Postscript print spooler on Appletalk networks. The product consists of a board and software and will cost about $500. FOX RESEARCH, Dayton, OH, is accelerating development of PS/2 versions of its 10-Net local area network adapters. With help from DCA engineers, both that product and a new version of its software will be done by September, the company said. LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES, Dallas, announced a $50 operating system shell for infrequent PC users called "GO!" The product offers quick hands-on training in software without manuals, and includes samples of other consumer software titles -- even coupons. STB SYSTEMS INC., Richardson, TX, began shipping VGA Extra, claiming they're the first manufacturer to ship an adapter card compatible with all modes of IBM's new Video Graphics Array (VGA) standard, used on the PS/2. The card also handles the old IBM and Hercules standards. [***][7/28/87][***] PECAN GOLDEN CHIPS UNISYS, Detroit, MI announced it earned $121.2 million in the quarter ending in June, up 59%, on total revenues of $2.3 billion, up from $1.3 billion for Burroughs and Sperry a year ago. ZENITH, Chicago, announced it earned $300,000 in the second quarter, on $538 million in sales. The company lost $9.9 million in the same quarter last year. CONTROL DATA, Minneapolis, lost $5.5 million for the second quarter on $785.9 million in revenues. A loss by Commercial Credit, a finance company still 18.3% owned by Control Data, was blamed. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "Let's get the bulldozers going." --Bruce Moltrip, Equitable Real Estate (on Inforum) [***][7/28/87][***] LEARNING WHAT COMPUTERS KNOW OF YOU IS BIG BUSINESS NORWALK, Ct. (NB) -- International Resource Development claims in a new report on the online database business (which is due to boom, by the way) that one of the most explosive new businesses will be telling people what other computers have on them. TRW, one of the biggies in the credit report business, has a new service called TRW Credentials which, for a fee, will alert you each time someone's computer asks for your credit report. "The irony in this service is that TRW can utilize the data on Credential customer requests and resell it to marketing people," said IRD President Ken Bosomworth. (Around and around the info flows, and where she stops nobody knows.) [***][7/28/87][***] OTTAWA UNVEILS HALF-FINISHED TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY OTTAWA (NB) -- Canada's federal Department of Communications has unveiled what it called the first comprehensive statement of national telecommunications policy since the early 1970s. The response was a widespread yawn. The policy proposes to divide telecommunications carriers into Type I -- all the telephone operating companies, national data communications carrier CNCP Telecommunications and satellite carriers Telesat Canada and Teleglobe Canada -- and Type II. Type II carriers would be small operations that lease capacity from Type I carriers -- pager operators, cellular carriers and the like. Foreign ownership of Type I carriers would be restricted to 20 per cent, although B.C. Telephone and Quebec Telephone, already U.S.-owned, would be allowed to stay in American hands. The ownership provisions appear to be aimed at bringing Canadian rules into line with those of other countries, particularly the U.S., against the background of free-trade talks with Washington. But the policy failed to address the two key areas it should have attacked. First, Canada has a bizarre regulatory structure for telecommunications. The federal Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulates Bell Canada (which serves Ontario and Quebec) and B.C. Telephone. Provincial governments regulate -- and in some cases own -- telephone companies in other provinces. There are even small municipal phone companies that are regulated by city councils. Ottawa's new policy does nothing to straighten this out, although it does move toward allowing CNCP Telecommunications to interconnect its national network with those of all the phone companies -- something currently permitted only in some provinces. The policy also does nothing to provide competition in long- distance telephone services. CNCP has sought permission to compete with the phone companies that form the Telecom Canada consortium in the past, and been turned down by the CRTC. The new policy talks about competition, but fails to promote it in long-distance services. [***][7/28/87][***] IBM PRODUCING PC SOFTWARE IN CANADA MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- IBM Canada Ltd.'s Program Release Support Centre, at corporate headquarters here, is now producing personal computer software, including DOS and IBM's DisplayWrite and Writing Assistant word processing software. IBM announced in a recent bulletin to customers that the centre has been producing the software since the beginning of this year. The bulletin said IBM Canada made the move to allow it to lower inventory levels and respond more quickly to peak demand for the software products. IBM Canada is also offering French-language versions of important PC software. The company will be offering French versions of DOS 3.3 and of Operating System/2. IBM Visio 4 Version 1.5 -- the Canadian French version of DisplayWrite 4, came on the market last month. This fall or in the first quarter of 1988, IBM Canada will offer French versions of several 3270 communication products and of PC StoryBoard Plus. CONTACT: IBM CANADA LTD., 3500 Steeles Ave. E., Markham, Ont. (416) 474-3900 [***][7/28/87][***] VANCOUVER DISTRIBUTOR ACQUIRED BY ALABAMA COMPANY VANCOUVER (NB) -- Watson Computer Products Inc., a national distributor of computer peripheral and related products, has been acquired by its major U.S. supplier, QMS Inc. of Mobile, Ala. Terms were not disclosed. QMS previously owned a 25 percent interest in Watson, a privately held company. Watson, headquartered in Vancouver, has six sales offices across the country. In the first nine months of fiscal 1987, the company had revenues of about C$5.4 million. The company's current management will remain, and few changes are expected other than the creation of two divisions to handle different classes of products. [***][7/28/87][***] COMPUTER WILL GIVE BUS INFORMATION TORONTO (NB) -- By the middle of August, transit riders in Toronto will be able to phone a computer to find out when the next bus is due. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has assigned a telephone number to every bus stop in the city -- actually, in at least some cases two or three adjacent stops have the same number -- which riders can call to hear a computer- generated voice tell them when the next bus is scheduled to be at that stop. Called TimeLine, the system is scheduled to be in full service by August 16. Currently it is operating in test mode, with a warning to callers that information may be inaccurate. The key word in the whole thing, however, is "scheduled." As any veteran TTC rider can attest, buses are rarely right on schedule, particularly in the heavy traffic of the downtown core. The computerized message might do better to remind callers of what TTC really stands for -- Take The Car. CONTACT: TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION TIMELINE, (416) 539-6666 [***][7/28/87][***] FEDS OFFER AID IN ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY MONTREAL (NB) -- The Canadian government will hand out C$100 million over the next four years to help Canadian companies adopt new technology. The Ministry of State for Science and Technology will play a major role in the program, but in an interview with the TORONTO STAR early last week, Science Minister Frank Oberle gave no details about where the money would go and said announcements would follow from several government departments in the next few weeks. Some money will go to beef up existing programs, but there will also be new programs created. [***][7/28/87][***] LOSSES AND LAYOFFS AT DEVELCON SASKATOON (NB) -- Develcon Electronics Ltd., manufacturer of a range of communications hardware, has announced layoffs for 55 people following a nine-month operating loss of C$4.336 million. In a prepared statement, company chairman Nigel Hill said the cuts were intended to bring operating expenses more in line with current revenues. He added that general costs and discretionary expenditures will also be cut, but that research and development programs on current projects will continue "in order to meet marketplace requirements." In the third quarter, ended May 31, Develcon lost C$1.908 million on C$4.989 million in revenues. That compares with a C$1.766 million loss on C$3.83 million in revenues in the third quarter in 1986. For the nine months, revenues were C$14.022 million, up from C$12.022 million last year. This year's loss in the first three quarters was reduced from C$4.929 million last year. CONTACT: DEVELCON ELECTRONICS LTD., (306) 933-3300 [***][7/28/87][***] LOONY BITS (Why Loony Bits? Because this month Canada introduced a new $1 coin, bearing a picture of one of our indigenous birds, the loon. Naturally, people are calling this coin the loony. The word also seems to fit the finances of many Canadian high-tech companies. - - GB) -- BELL CANADA ENTERPRISES INC. of Montreal, the parent company of Northern Telecom, of Canada's largest telephone company and of Bell-Northern Research, made a profit of C$254 million in the second quarter, ended June 30. That was unchanged from the second quarter of last year. Revenue was C$3.8 billion, up from C$3.4 billion in the previous year's quarter. -- NORTHERN TELECOM LTD., Mississauga, Ont., reported profits of C$137.7 million for the six months ended June 30, up from C$115 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenues was C$2.4 billion, up from C$2 billion. -- SHL SYSTEMHOUSE LTD., Ottawa-based software developer, has agreed to acquire DPLA Drouin Painchaud Longchamps et Associes Inc., a private Montreal company. Terms were not disclosed. PCLA specializes in computer systems consulting, development and integration. The company also announced it has won a $20-million (U.S.) contract from the U.S. Army material command. NEWSBYTES Canadian bureau chief is Grant Buckler, Source ID IP2008, voice (416) 755-6717, or 859 Kennedy Rd., #203, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1K 2E3. [***][7/28/87][***] SENATE VOTE ON TRADE BILL REGRETTABLE: INDUSTRY LEADERS TOKYO (NB) -- Most of the Japanese newspapers (7/22) just devoted their front pages to report the U.S. Senate's resolution of the trade bill. The Tokyo-based major economic daily the NIKKEI said in an editorial, "The U.S. Congress is resorting to a most dangerous measure. The country is heading towards unilate- ralism, abandoning the multilateralism of the Paris-based trade agreement, GATT." At a press interview, one Japanese industry leader said, "The protectionist law is really regrettable. We expect U.S. leaders' final decision to be fair, based on a world- wide view." Meanwhile, they also added, "Japan needs to make a strong determination to protect free trade, acting on what it has promised." [***][7/28/87][***] INTERNATIONAL VERSION OF UNIX386 TOKYO (NB) -- AT&T Unix Pacific, a Tokyo branch of the U.S. telecom giant, will develop an international version of the operating system for an 80386 MPU, in cooperation with Intel. The new version, UNIX System V/386 Rel 3.0, allows operation in various languages, such as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Arabic. According to a report, the product is expected to be on sale at the end of the year. [***][7/28/87][***] EPSON'S EQUITY PRODUCED IN U.S. TOKYO (NB) -- Seiko-Epson (Nagano, Japan) is going to produce its personal computer at its Portland plant in the U.S. by the end of July. The company plans to roll out 4,000 sets of its 16-bit PC EQUITY III+ per month. Epson has virtually ceased export of the computer to the U.S., due to the 100% tariffs imposed on Japanese personal computers this past April. CONTACT: Epson America, Inc., Torrance, Los Angeles 213-373-9511 [***][7/28/87][***] DEC ENTERS PRICE-CUT WAR IN WORKSTATION TOKYO (NB) -- Japan Digital Equipment Corp. (Tokyo) lowered the price of its 32-bit engineering workstation, VAX station 2000 (monochrome version), by 56 percent. This drastic price reduction has followed Hitachi's recent price-cut of its workstation by 30 percent. With the price cut, Japan DEC aims to gain a 25 percent share in the workstation market in Japan within the year. CONTACT: Japan Digital Equipment Corp., Sunshine-60 35F 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170 [***][7/28/87][***] TOSHIBA EXTENDS APOLOGY IN U.S. MEDIA TOKYO (NB) -- Having faced severe bashing in the U.S. Congress, Toshiba has decided to initiate a large-scale advertisement campaign in major newspapers and magazines in the U.S. The first ads appeared in the July 27 issue of the U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT. It says, "For the future, Toshiba Corporation takes full responsibility to insure that never again will such activity take place within the Toshiba Group of companies.", The ads will be repeated in the WASHINGTON POST, NEW YORK TIMES, TIME, and NEWSWEEK. [***][7/28/87][***] NEW BUSINESS: CONSULTING TRADE PROBLEMS TOKYO (NB) -- The relationship between Japan and the U.S. has been getting worse due to current trade friction. But, there are always some people who are good at turning disadvantage into advantage. A Chicago-based consulting firm, Coopers & Lybrand, has just started to offer Japanese companies a special consultation service on trade friction. Through consultation, the company provides ideas on how to prevent dumping, or provides some measures against any resulting lawsuit. The employees have already visited Japan to introduce the service. Japanese consulting firm ODS (Tokyo) accepts the consulting request. Ironically, these kinds of American consultants could be a big help for Japanese firms, which are poor at debating. However, both sides should not forget to avoid unnecessary conflicts. [***][7/28/87][***] <<< SUSHI BYTES >>> MITSUBISHI SUPPLIES ROM TO INTEL -- Mitsubishi Electronics, Tokyo will supply an erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM) to Intel Corp. (USA) on an OEM basis. Those products include 256Kbit and 512Kbit products, which are in short supply due to the production restriction order of MITI (The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry). CANON TO SET UP MORE DISTRIBUTORS -- Canon, Tokyo, has decided to increase the number of its direct dealer shops, Zero-One Shop, from a current 12 to 100 in five years. Zero-One Shop sells office automation equipment, including Apple's Macintosh. Canon plans to add Hewlett Packard's business computers to its distribution list. CANON AND SIEMENS -- Canon, Tokyo, has allied with Germany's Siemens, concerning a digital PBX (private branch exchange). With the agreement, Canon will market Siemens' products as part of Canon's office automation systems in Japan. FUJITSU AND SIEMENS -- Fujitsu, Tokyo, will provide Siemens (W. Germany) with a super large-scale general-purpose computer, the M780, on an OEM basis. That will replace current M-380 computer of Fujitsu. The sales of this initial model were quite good in Europe, says a report. 1M DRAM SHRINK VERSION -- Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyo, will ship a sample product of a small version of a 1 megabit dynamic RAM at the end of July. The product is about 20 percent smaller in size, compared with a current 1M DRAM. It will be supplied to the office automation makers in the U.S. for their new workstations. [***][7/28/87][***] QUOTE OF THE WEEK "As long as the U.S. continues to take this attitude (Japan bashing), it will resort to every means to find grounds for attacking Japan for every mistake and blunder it makes. With the result, there will no doubt follow a third and yet a fourth case of severe Japan-bashing." -- "Strained friendship" by Minoru Tada, The JAPAN TIMES, July 24. [***][7/28/87][***] UPGRADE YOUR PC AT ROCK BOTTOM PRICES Brussels, Belgium (NB) -- CCA SA (Computer Consulting Associates), the European arm of CCA Inc, 1560 South Harris Court, Anaheim, CA 92806, is starting to sell motherboards made for XTs and compatible systems which use the 80286 chip. The boards offer up to 1MB of RAM, an 80286 Chip running at 8MHz and eight XT compatible slots. The boards offer an IBM PC/XT compatible BIOS and are identical in size to the PC equivalents. How much? Well the company hopes to be able to offer these boards for about BF 9900 (about $260 US!). That's what I call an upgrade. CONTACT: J. Heesels, CCA Europe, Collegelaan 119, Borgerhout, 2200 Antwerp, Belgium. Tel: 03/ 235 5800, Fax: 03/271 1715 [***][7/28/87][***] OLIVETTI ANNOUNCES SHIPMENT OF PS/2 Systems. Torino, Italy (NB) -- Olivetti, one of the biggest suppliers of micros in Europe, has officially started shipments of systems compatible with the PS/2 range from IBM. Olivetti, which supplies the AT&T 6300 and 6300 PLUS systems, also announced that AT&T will be shipping these systems to American customers. A company spokesman said that "the agreement we have with AT&T runs for ten years therefore AT&T will be supplied with systems accordingly." [***][7/28/87][***] OSBORNE ANNOUNCES AT-PORTABLE SYSTEM Munich, West Germany (NB) -- When Osborne Computer went bankrupt a few years ago, the management of the various Osborne companies around Europe bought their companies' shares and started trading under the old name, Osborne Computer. Over the last few years, Osborne has been selling various systems ranging from cheap Tawianese clones to the POLO Micro from POLO Microsystems (gone bankrupt). Now, Osborne is trying to follow the footsteps of the old company by introducing a portable computer with impressive credentials: an 80286 chip running at 8MHz, 640K of RAM, zero wait states, a 24 by 80 display and a total weight of 9 kilos (about 20 pounds). The system is offered in various keyboard configurations and a 720KB floppy comes standard. Options include hard disks, serial interfaces, and parallel ports. The models available include the OCC-08D with two floppies and the OCC-08-D with a 720KB floppy and a 20MB hard disk. Prices range from $3000 to $3650 for the hard disk version. A company spokesman said that the systems are immediately available. Whether this Osborne will follow the footsteps of the older Osborne 1 system remains to be seen. CONTACT: Osborne Computer, Dingolfingerstrasse 6, 8000 Munich 80, West Germany, Tel: 089/ 491-1001 [***][7/28/87][***] COMPANY LAUNCHES POWERFUL LEGAL PACKAGE Brussels, Belgium(NB) -- INFORMA, a Belgian company selling a package called CICERO, has announced CICERO OFFICE SYSTEM, a system comprising a graphics word processor, an accounting package, a database management system, Act Generation based on artificial intelligence techniques, and support for four languages, English, French, Dutch and German. COS, which is offered either under UNIX V/AT, PCDOS or the IBM Network, is designed to offer lawyers more power than was available before. COS is priced "aggressively" starting with BF 130000 ($3400) for a complete package. CONTACT: Jan Lefere, INFORMA, Merchtemsesteenweg 69, Wolvertem 1870, Belgium, Tel: 02/ 269-9842 [***][7/28/87][***] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ADOPTS ESPRIT Brussels, Belgium (NB) -- The Council of Ministers, the equivalent of the US Congress, finally approved the Framework Program of Community Research and Development whose delay was jeopardising the execution of ESPRIT (European Strategic Program for Research and Development in Information Technologies). The Esprit program is designed to help companies doing research in the Community by providing funds which companies will use for such research. Each ESPRIT project is judged anonymously by a panel consisting of experts from European nations who will consider it for its merits. If the project shows that it is definitely important to Europe then 50% of its cost will be provided by the Commission. Normally, there is more than one company proposing research and the average has been about five companies for each project. The Commission can allocate up to $5.8 billion towards such research as it feels that European Companies have fallen behind their American and Japanese rivals. [***][7/28/87][***] ESPRIT INFORMATION Brussels, Belgium (NB) -- The first phase of ESPRIT, called ESPRIT I, has just been completed. As a result of this phase, European Standards are emerging such as the Portable Common Tool Environment (PCTE) designed to facilitate easy Software Design. Additionally, the Office Document Architecture (ODA) is already a European Standard adopted by the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and soon to be adopted by the ISO for worldwide use. The next phase of ESPRIT, called ESPRIT II, comprises precompetitive R&D in microelectronics, information processing systems, Applications Specific ICs (ASIC), design of complex and highly reliable information processing systems, and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). Manpower devoted to ESPRIT II is expected to be about 5500 researchers by 1990. One of the important aspects of ESPRIT is the fact that the results of all the research undertaken must be published. This way other companies may benefit from such research. ESPRIT currently includes 45 projects in microelectronics (includes General Electric, Ferranti, Plessey and SGS), 42 projects in software technology (includes Siemens, ICL, Philips, Thompson and Olivetti), 44 projects in advanced information processing (includes STC, General Electric, GEC, Nixdorf and Logica), 39 projects in office systems (includes ITT, Bull, Olivetti, ICL and the National Software Center) and 30 projects in computer aided manufacturing (includes Signal, GEC, Philips and Westland Helicopters). [***][7/28/87][***] US COMPANIES CAN JOIN EUROPEAN ESPRIT Brussels, Belgium (NB) -- ESPRIT is a European program designed to aid companies based in Europe do research in information technologies. Companies such as IBM are already involved in ESPRIT and more companies are being asked to join. Companies must apply formally with expertise relating to the chosen project as published by the Commission. Additionally companies must: - Have an office doing research in Europe. - The Project must be designed to have results augmenting the level of technology in Europe. - The projects results must be published upon completion. CONTACT: Director of ESPRIT, DGXIII-A, European Communities, 200 Rue De La Loi, 1049 Brussels, Belgium [***][7/28/87][***] EC REVEALS PLANS FOR DEVELOPING AN INFORMATION SERVICES MARKET Brussels, Belgium (NB) -- The commission has just approved the text of a Council Communication in which it sets out plans for stimulating the development of a European Information Sevices market. Four objectives have been defined. These are: - to establish an internal services market by 1992; - to stimulate and reinforce the competitive capability of European suppliers of Information Services; - to promote the use of advanced information services in the community and - to reinforce the joint efforts to achieve the internal and external cohesion of the Community with respect the Information Services. The commission plans to setup an information market observatory to provide intelligence about the information market. It will seek to find ways to eliminate technical, legal and administrative barriers to the information flow and at the same time endeavor to improve the conditions of trading such information. Among areas for special attention will be the library sector, the reinforcing of activities in support of users and the promotion of European information services. CONTACT: Directorate B, DGXIII - B, Batiment Jean Monnet, 2920 Luxembourg [***][7/28/87][***] NATIONWIDE CRACKERS NETWORK CRACKED PITTSBURGH (NB) -- Police have arrested nine teenagers who used their home computers to buy clothes, skateboards, and electronic gear. A Secret Service spokesman in Pittsburgh said arrests of adults and juveniles are expected in Texas, Nebraska, Georgia, California, New York, New Jersey and Ohio as a result of the arrests. The nine students at Mount Lebanon Junior-Senior High School allegedly raided the files of a credit card authorization center on the West Coast to obtain lists of credit cards and expiration dates. The eight boys and one girl range in ages from 14 to 17. They will be facing felony charges. Following the Pittsburgh arrests, police in New York arrested three teenagers implicated in the scam. The three were arrested in Brooklyn and Westchester County. The three New York teenagers are part of the nationwide network which has allegedly heisted millions of dollars in merchandise and services, the Secret Service said. Authorities said the teenagers all knew each other through their computers and shared information across the country. [***][7/28/87][***] TOSHIBA GROVELS WHILE CONGRESS GROWLS WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Toshiba Corp. has taken out full-page ads in 91 newspapers across the U.S. to apologize for selling secret submarine technology to the Soviet Union. "Toshiba Corp. shares the shock and anger of the American people, the administration and Congress at the recent conduct of one of our 50 major subsidiaries, Toshiba Machine Company," the ad said. The company said it "profoundly apologizes" for the actions and would never do it again. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee pounded Toshiba by clearing for final action in the full House a bill that would keep Toshiba products off the shelves of military base stores. The panel also told the Pentagon to avoid any new contracts with Toshiba, which could be a big blow to the company. Toshiba hopes to get at least a piece of a major Air Force contract for laptop computers. The language on Pentagon business is non-binding. The panel rejected an amendment by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) which would have banned Toshiba from Pentagon sales. "Toshiba made it easier for the Russians to kill American service people," Hunter said. The Senate has already passed a Toshiba procurement ban, by 92-5. [***][7/28/87][***] LOTUS PLANS RELEASE 3, BUYS DATA FIRM WASHINGTON (NB) -- Lotus Development Corp. will bring out release 3 of 1-2-3, running on both MS-DOS and OS/2, next year, according to Jim Manzi, Lotus chief executive officer. The program will run faster, offer three-dimensional spreadsheets, and improved graphics, Manzi told a government group. Lotus will also offer 1- 2-3G, with an icon interface, Manzi said, once IBM releases Display Manager. Lotus also announced that it will acquire Datext Inc. from Cox Enterprises of Atlanta. Datext provides business information on optical disks, competing with Lotus, which started offering business and financial information on optical disks last March. High-flying Lotus said it rang up record sales of 1-2-3 during its second quarter, which led to net earnings of $16.3 million (36 cents per share) on $94 million in sales. That compares to profits of $11.8 million (25 cents per share) on $66.2 million in sales for the second quarter of last year. [***][7/28/87][***] IBM FORMS APPLICATION SOFTWARE DIVISION ARMONK, N.Y. (NB) -- International Business Machines Corp. has formed a new division to work on application software, and a new marketing support organization aimed at mid-range computer systems. The new Application Systems Division will have worldwide responsibility for developing and acquiring software across the IBM line. The new division will also help outside firms that develop application software for IBM systems. A major focus of the software division is likely to be IBM's weak offerings in the middle of the market, where it is getting clobbered by Digital Equipment Co. [***][7/28/87][***] PILES OF FILES: DATA ON DISKETTE NEW YORK (NB) -- Public Data Access Inc. has government and demographic statistics available on diskette from a wide number of government agencies, at $50 per disk. The disks run on IBM PCs and clones, with 1-2-3 or dBase III. The company said it has over a million pages of files from the Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Election Commission, and other government agencies. Diskettes are also available providing economic, political, social, demographic, environmental, and public health information for every state, congressional district, county and zip code in the U.S. CONTACT: Public Data Access Inc., 30 Irving Pl., New York NY 10003, 212-529-0890. [***][7/28/87][***] POLITICAL PRESSURE HITS SONY CONTRACT WASHINGTON (NB) -- Pressure from Sen. Robert Kasten (R-Wis.) has led the Commerce Department to back off awarding a lucrative optical disk data storage contract to Sony Corp. According to the WALL STREET JOURNAL, Sony will get only a fraction of the $40 million contract to digitize the records of the Patent and Trademark Office. Instead, Commerce will award Sony only a $1 million piece of the action and defer the rest of the award. That keeps alive the chances for Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. to get a piece of the contract. A Minnesota Mining optical disk plant is located in Menomonie, Wis., the newspaper said. The Sony bid had the highest scores from the Commerce procurement raters. [***][7/28/87][***] NEWS NIBBLES FROM AROUND THE REGION XEROX CORP. of Rochester, N.Y., has added six products to its high-end XPS 701 publishing system. The new additions are a 600 dot-per-inch scanner at $8,500, a 300 megabyte hard disk, also $8,500, and four new software packages Xerox expands corporate publishing line. TRINTEX, the home videotex service planned by Sears and IBM, will be called "Prodigy, An Interactive Personal Service," according to INTERACTIVITY REPORTS newsletter. Test marketing of the service is expected next year. COMPUTERVISION CORP. of Bedford, Mass., announced second quarter earnings of $4.1 million (14 cents per share) on $136.5 million in revenue. That compares to a net loss of $3.4 million (12 cents per share) on $119.3 million in revenues for the same period last year. APOLLO COMPUTER of Chelmsford, Mass., has named Roland Pampel president and chief operating officer, succeeding Thomas Vanderslice. Vanderslice remains chairman and chief executive. [***][7/28/87][***] ASK DR. JOHN Copyright 1987 - File transfers between Mac, PC and CP/M systems - Search and replace control/special characters DEAR DR. JOHN: I RECEIVE DOCUMENTS FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COMPUTERS. THE TROUBLE IS TRYING READ THEM ON A MACINTOSH AND THE MAC IS NOT ABLE TO READ ALL THE THE DIFFERENT DISK FORMATS. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TRANSFER FILES FROM MS/PC DOS AND CP/M TO A MACINTOSH? -- DD, Cleveland Dear DD: If the documents that you want to transfer are text documents, there are several actions you can use to transfer the data from one computer to another. By the way, although you may be able to transfer program data as well as text data, programs transferred from one type of computer to another have little or no chance of running on the target computer (the one receiving the file). This is especially true of the Mac, PC's and CP/M computers, since they each use a different microprocessor. TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Nearly all text processors produce text using standard, ASCI characters. As a result, when sent over a serial communications port, there is little or no difference between text produced on a Mac, PC or CP/M computer. The only problem you may find is that in "document" mode, some word processors like WordStar and Word Perfect insert special "invisible" characters into the document to control things like character spacing, underlining, bold face and such. Although the text itself may be standard ASCII, these characters are not at all universal and can cause some real problems for the receiving computer. To avoid this, most word processors allow you to create "text" or ASCII files from a word processed document. Before you transfer the file, convert it to remove any of these special characters. By the way, you do not need a modem or a telephone line to transfer data between computers. All you need is a properly wired serial cable and a communications program. SOFTWARE vs.HARDWARE TRANSFERS: Although there are quite a few software packages available that allow a PC-type computer to read CP/M disks directly, there is no software available that will allow you to insert a Macintosh disk into a PC or a CP/M computer. The disks are simply too different. There are, however, one or two hardware add-on products for the Mac that make PC to Mac disk transfers possible. For example, Dayna Communications of Salt Lake City Utah produces at least a couple of products that allow the Mac to read PC diskettes. One of them, "Mac Charlie", (a PC emulator), actually runs PC software right on the Mac and includes a special utility that automatically transfers files from the PC to the Mac and vice-versa. On the other hand, if you are simply transferring data between your PC and a CP/M computer, you may use one of several special utilities that allow the PC to read CP/M diskettes and vice-versa. One of these, Media Master, for example, allows IBM-type computers to read any of more than a hundred different 5-1/4 inch disk formats including quite a few CP/M formats such as Kaypro CP/M, Morrow and Osborne. - DJ DEAR DR. JOHN: I HAVE A LONG DOCUMENT THAT I RECEIVED OVER MY MODEM FROM AN IBM WHICH I TRIED TO EDIT ON MY MACINTOSH USING MICROSOFT WORD. I FOUND THAT THE CARRIAGE RETURNS AT THE END OF EVERY LINE MADE REFORMATTING DIFFICULT. IS THERE AN EASY WAY TO REMOVE ALL OF THE CARRIAGE RETURNS AUTOMATICALLY -- I REALLY DON'T WANT TO REMOVE THEM ALL MANUALLY. -- CS Dear CS To replace all of the carriage returns using Microsoft Word for the Mac, use the Search and Replace function and look for ^13 (the ASCII code for a carriage return). Replace them with a space or anything else you like and you will be able to edit you file normally. By the way, this procedure will also remove all of the carriage returns at the end of paragraphs so you will need to re-enter them manually or replace all double carriage returns (like those found at the end of paragraphs normally) with another character first. By the way, if you have Apple's MacWrite program this whole process will be much easier since MacWrite allows you to automatically remove any carriage returns during its initial translation from ASCII to MacWrite document. -DJ ---------------- DR. JOHN WELCOMES ALL QUESTIONS, NO MATTER HOW COMPLICATED. SEND THEM TO IP1039. ---------------- [***][7/28/87][***] INSIDE SILICON VALLEY / WEEK OF JULY 28, 1987 By Denise Caruso IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE.... -- The Press Gets Attacked by Itself in Palo Alto -- Apple Developer Dan Cochran meets Billy Idol in Bora Bora -- IDG may publish a COMPUTERWORLD U.S.S.R. -- Bachelor Auction in Silicon Valley draws just two tech types I WONDER WHO: The topic at this month's Software Entrepreneurs Forum meeting in Palo Alto was "Working with the Press." On the panel were longtime computer journalists Thom Hogan, David Needle, Paul Saffo, and Tony Bove and Cheryl Rhodes. During the Q&A, one guy stood up and asked, "Can you tell me a percentage of editors who are competent?" While the rest of the panel cleared its collective throat, Hogan piped up, "I can't give you a percentage but I can give you a number. Eighteen." Hogan says he won't give me names of the 18 techno-aces. "I don't think there'd be much purpose served," he says. But he qualifies the definition of competence: "In other words, if you sent them a technically accurate, complete press release, could they understand it, categorize it, assimilate it, and ask intelligent questions based on it? I have some questions about whether some (editors) are able to do that or not." But some observers went pale at his statement. "Hogan's just an unguided missile," says one. "There are lots of people who know this business." Personally, I'm surprised Hogan didn't say, "There's just one." But then, he doesn't know me very well... WHAT A LIFE: I've heard of corporate culture at Apple, but this takes the prize. Dan Cochran, manager for developer tools at Apple, stopped off in Bora Bora after a business trip to Australia not long ago. And who did he find drinking in the bar of the Hotel Oa-Oa-cq but rock star Billy Idol? "(Idol) was staying at the first-class hotel on the island, and he used to go to (my) hotel to get out of the limelight," says Cochran. "For two or three nights he came down there with a small entourage and we drank beer until they closed down the bar." And what does one talk about with Mr. Sneer-o-Rama? "We talked a little bit about the Macintosh II and its possibilities for ... desktop MTV," says Cochran. "I told him some of the other people we were working with, like Todd Rundgren, and he was pretty interested. He took a business card, so we may see him around." Cochran says the meeting may have spawned a new program at Apple, called "Rock Stars Can't Wait." COMPUTERWORLD U.S.S.R.: Hillsborough publisher Pat McGovern, whose magazines cover much of the world like a blanket, may be expanding his sphere of influence to the U.S.S.R. McGovern, chairman of International Data Group, had his picture snapped outside the Kremlin not long ago with IDG president/CEO Axel Leblois during a trip investigating the possibility of publishing a "Computerworld U.S.S.R." If the deal flies, McGovern says he expects to be publishing the news magazine every other week some time in the first half of 1988. Some 50,000 copies would be distributed initially to ministries within the Soviet government. The idea sprang from a Soviet law passed in January 1987 that allows joint ventures between the U.S.S.R. and foreign companies. But when IDG made the initial contact, says McGovern, "We had to educate them about their own regulations. They didn't think it was possible." (Just so's you know, I do get a paycheck from one of IDG's subsidiaries.) MALE-FEMALE CONNECTORS: Only two of the 34 bachelors rounded up in Silicon Valley by the March of Dimes for its second "Bids for Bachelors" fundraiser are from the electronics industry. A March of Dimes spokeswoman in San Jose says that Mark Stone of Argo Systems in Sunnyvale and Abel Valls from IBM in San Jose are the only tech-types in the contest. "I noticed most of (the bachelors) seem to be attorneys or from the news media," said a March of Dimes spokeswoman in San Jose. Even Stone, who just landed a job in the contracts department for Applied Signal Technology, is a law student. The auction is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at the Doubletree in Santa Clara. Fifteen bucks gets you in, to the hors d'oeuvres table, and grants you those all-important bidding priveleges. [***][7/28/87][***] ONLINE WORD PROCESSING IS HERE BOURNEMOUTH, UK (NB) -- Professional typesetting has almost always spelled big bucks in the past, although an Apple Mac plus Laserwriter combo turns out very presentable results. Now, a Bournemouth-based company - Wordstream - has opened up for business on MicroLink, the Database Publications-controlled electronic mail (Email) network. For the princely sum of 2 pounds, you get a bound manual plus free registration to the service and, using special control codes to specify typefaces, sizes and measures, typesetting files can be transferred via Email. Typeset copy is charged for by the foot on a sliding scale from 3 pounds, 30 pence per 12 inches downwards. The company takes the online side of its business seriously, with copy accepted by fax, and its own BBS, as well as by Email and discs from a variety of computers. CONTACT: WORDSTREAM, Fir Vale Road, Bournemouth BH1 2JN. Tel: (Voice) 0202-294347; (Data) 0202-21669. [***][7/28/87][***] AMSTRAD #1 - THE ITALIAN CONNECTION BRENTWOOD, UK & MILAN, ITALY (NB) -- Amstrad, the computer manufacturer that has shipped its machines by the millions in Europe, takes its Italian sales seriously. So seriously in fact, that it's set up a wholly-owned subsidiary - Amstrad SpA - to market Amstrad products in Italy. The company's Italian distribution is currently handled by GBC, a major Italian computer distributor. Amstrad SpA's headquarters is to be located in Milan and will, says Amstrad UK, be managed by Signor Ettore Accenti, a well-known figure in the Italian computer and office equipment markets. The company will be staffed by Italian nationals and it's intended that the company will handle all Amstrad products, including branded hi-fi and videos. Italy joins France and Hong Kong on the list of countries with Amstrad subsidiaries. Amstrad has high hopes for its Italian sales, and claims the market is worth 280,000 PCs and word processors in the business, and 290,000 units in the home and hobby market sectors. Announcing the new company last week, Amstrad Chairman and Founder Alan Sugar said, "We recognise that the Italian market offers us an exciting opportunity to increase our European sales, which in the year to June '86 accounted for 140 million pounds." [***][7/28/87][***] AMSTRAD #2 - PCW9512 UNVEILED ATLANTA, GEORGIA (NB) -- As predicted in last week's NEWSBYTES UK, the PCW9512 computer has been unveiled at the NAMDA office equipment exhibition in the US. Price-wise, the 9512 is as expected - $799 - with a probable price of 499 pounds when the machine is released in the UK this September. Features on the 9512 include a paper-white high resolution monitor (in place of the green-screen unit on the 8256 and 8512 machines), a full parallel printer interface working to Epson standards, and a single 3 inch disk drive. Vidco, the North American distributor handling US sales on behalf of Amstrad, is pitching the machine into the word processing market. "The transition from typewriters to personal word processing is a breeze with the PCW9512," say the company's ads. Bundled with the 9512 are two new PCW software packages - Locomail and Locospell - as well as a reworked version of the word processor, Locoscript II, reported to be faster than its predecessor. If you're an existing owner of a PCW, then you've not been overlooked, as Amstrad says that Locoscript II is available as an upgrade package for 20 pounds. Don't all rush to upgrade at once, y'hear. [***][7/28/87][***] AMSTRAD #3 - 80386 MACHINE DUE? BRENTWOOD, MIDDLESEX (NB) -- Just when you thought it was safe to buy a nice new machine, along comes one of those banner headlines saying that XYZ CO is releasing a super new machine - manana (tomorrow). According to the latest MICROSCOPE trade newspaper, an 80386 microprocessor-based PC will be released from Amstrad this Autumn. Pricing on the machine will, says the paper, be competitive, at 1,999 pounds. Such a move is a logical step for the Brentwood-based company, since 1,499 pounds is far enough upmarket from its PC compatible range which starts at 449 pounds in the UK. Don't rush out and place your order for the machine just yet though, as rumours have always surrounded future Amstrad products. MICROSCOPE was on the ball in May '87 when it predicted the launch of the PCW9512, but (preen, preen), it was NEWSBYTES UK that supplied that news tip to the paper. This time around, NEWSBYTES UK has no reliable sources to agree with MICROSCOPE's lead story. Pass a pinch of salt someone... CONTACT: AMSTRAD PLC, Brentwood House, 169 Kings Road, Brentwood, Essex CM14 4EF. Tel: 01-836-6801. [***][7/28/87][***] ROW BREWS ON ATARI ST PRICING STEVENAGE, HERTS (NB) -- A row is brewing over Atari UK's pricing policy on the 520 ST. The company recently announced that it intends to reduce the UK retail price to 299 pounds in September - down 100 pounds on its existing end-user price. Problem is, September is whole month away and several dealers are getting uptight about Atari's price guarantee policy, under which dealers who order the machine from August 1st can claim a rebate on their trade prices if the machine is sold after the price-cut deadline. And that seems to have angered Brian Davies of Atari specialist Ladbroke Computing in Preston, Lancashire. Davies is quoted in the latest COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY as saying the advance notice is much too advanced. "What the bloody hell does Atari expect us to sell in the next couple of months?" says Davies, who goes on to say that "only a blind man would buy at the old price, if he knows there's going to be a 100 pounds off in September." Atari sales and marketing manager Paul Welch is unrepentant, saying that demand for the machine at 399 pounds is still high and says, "It's not as if everybody knows about the cut outside the trade," and hints that Davies is only making waves due to his relatively high (12 machines) summer stock holding. NEWSBYTES UK notes both side's arguments, but wonders how many readers would buy a machine that they *knew* would drop by 100 pounds in just over a month... CONTACT: COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY, Specialist Retail Press Ltd., Business Technology Centre, STEVENAGE, Herts. SG1 2OX. Tel: 0436-310185. [***][7/28/87][***] IBM SHOW FOR OCTOBER LONDON, UK (NB) -- This Thursday sees a special press briefing in London to announce a ten day business computer show scheduled for October at the Business Design Centre, also in London. The latest PC DEALER magazine reveals that the show is to be organised by Database Exhibitions, which are renowned for its handling of a variety of machine-specific shows for owners of Amstrad, Apple, Atari, BBC and Commodore computers. NEWSBYTES UK took time out to contact Database guru Mike Cowley, whose expertise has landed Database the prestige event. "It's a privilege to organise this event," said Mike from his Manchester office. "It's major show, and I'm confident that it will be a great success, both for IBM dealers and their customers." Also to be announced on Thursday is a new look for Big Blue's UK dealer network, with 'centres of expertise' in specific fields being established across the country. NEWSBYTES UK understands that good ol' Charlie Chaplin is slowly being phased out in favour of an average office work team in Big Blue's new UK advertising. Shame about that. CONTACT: IBM Press Office, IBM South Bank, 76 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PZ. Tel: 01-928-1777. Database Exhibitions, Europa House, 68 Chester Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. Tel: 061-456-8383. [***][7/28/87][***] BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ LONDON, UK (NB) -- You know about the computers, but do you know the people? VNU Business Publications is on hand to answer that question with its COMPUTER USERS' YEAR BOOK 87 which is just out. If you ask 'em nicely they'll give you between 5 and 10 pounds off its published price of 85 pounds... CONTACT: VNU BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS - 01-439-4242. LONDON, UK (NB) -- Following the success of its London-based Amstrad Computer Shows, in particular the show earlier this month at Alexandra Palace, Database Exhibitions has announced a Northern Amstrad Show at the G-MEX Exhibition Hall in Manchester. Show dates are 23rd through 25th October this year... CONTACT: DATABASE EXHIBITIONS - 061-456-8383. LONDON, UK (NB) -- In the wake of increased charges from Telecom Gold due to start this week, Micronet 800, the microcomputing service on Prestel, says that its newly-opened Interlink gateway into Telecom Gold will implement the new charging structure on the 1st September - a month later than Telecom Gold. The other good news is that the 5 pounds monthly standing charging is being absorbed by Micronet. Subscribers will thus pay for the service on a pay-as-you-use basis... CONTACT: MICRONET 800 - 01-278-3143. PANGBOURNE, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- As previewed at the Atari Computer Show earlier this year, K-Roget, a GEM-based thesaurus for the Atari ST is now on sale. Based on the famous Longman's printed thesaurus, K-Roget includes over 150,000 words and phrases, and functions as a desk accessory, which allows it to be accessed from within any word processor... CONTACT: KUMA COMPUTERS - 07357-4335. BRISTOL, UK (NB) -- Metacomco has released version 3.04 of its Lattice C compiler for the Atari ST. The company say that the latest version runs faster when working with floating point integers, and includes a library of 320 UNIX-compatible routines. Other features include an RSC (Resource Construction Editor) for creation of icons, menus, and boxed images within programs... CONTACT: METACOMCO - 0272-428781.