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/v191

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR STEVE
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- Now that H. Ross Perot, one of the world's
shrewdest investors, has put his money behind Steve Jobs' NeXT
Inc., so has Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University.
Granted, the ivy league investment amounts to only $1.3 million
compared to Perot's $20 million, but it is a much-needed vote
of confidence for the expected workstation-maker.  Perot's
contribution was pivotal, according to "Technologic Computer
Letter" which states that the universities would not invest in
NeXT until an experienced investor did.

New investors are indeed paying through the nose for a stake in
the Apple founder's company, which before product is even announced
is worth an estimated $126 million ("Technologic Computer Letter").
The product, an educational workstation, originally planned for
release early this year has now been pushed back to a date "within
12 months."  Critics say the machine may not be so revolutionary,
or at least no more than the expected Mac II from Apple, but will be
well packaged for the university marketplace.

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SUN MICROSYSTEMS RIDES HIGH, BUYS CENTRAM
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Within the next few months, Sun
Microsystems, a workstation-maker enjoying stellar earnings,
is expected to announce a new line of workstations that will
match if not exceed those of DEC, Apollo, Apple and yes, even NeXT.
This cash-fat company has just acquired a firm that may
provide it with a leg-up over its competitors in this field - Centram
Systems West, maker of a networking system for the Macintosh.
Sun is expected to exchange 685,000 shares in a $20 million
stock swap for the Berkeley, Ca.-based company, an offer higher
than one from 3Com, and one which Centram could not refuse.
How much higher?  "33 percent higher," says Nat Goldhaber,
Centram president and founder.

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NEW DESKTOP PUB PRODUCT: PFS
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. (NB) -- Software Publishing Corporation has
entered the crowded desktop publishing arena with a new product
for PCs. Called Harvard Publisher, the software provides more
WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) capabilities on screen,
offers superior quality typography, includes algorithmic and
dictionary hypehenation, and lots more features.  The software
is $695. Interestingly enough, Software Publishing's product is
identically priced with Aldus' PageMaker for the PC, a break in
the tradition of undercutting the competition.  PageMaker for the
PC, by the way, began shipping on time last week.

CONTACT:  Kimberley Domino, SOFTWARE PUBLISHING, 415/962-8910

                 Carolyn Bakamis, ALDUS, 206/622-5500

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ADOBE TO OPEN NEW DESKTOP GRAPHIC MARKET
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- Adobe Systems' coming Adobe Illustrator
for the Macintosh, due out next month, may just usher in a new
buzzword (God help us):  "desktop graphics."  Jeffrey Tartar of
"Softletter," a monthly newsletter on the software industry,
says Illustrator will define a new market previously lumped
under the generic term "desktop publishing."  "Just as PageMaker
largeley shaped user standards and expectations for text
layout, we expect Illustrator will become the standard-setter
for desktop graphics applications."  Who will use it? Graphic artists
who work in advertising, publishing, commercial art,
illustrations, you name it.

CONTACT:  ADOBE SYSTEMS, 415/852-0271

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I WANT MY PCTV - DESKTOP VIDEO COMING
OAKLAND, Ca. (NB) -- In April, A-Squared will unveil peripheral
boards for the Amiga and the Apple IIGS that at least one analyst
believes will open up a market worth far more than that promised
by desktop publishing.  Jan Lewis, in this month's "Computer Insider"
newsletter, raves about A-Squared's coming "Live!"  video boards
which will enable a video signal to be captured and manipulated
by the personal computer.   We're talking unlimited possibilities
for applications--a golfer analyzing his swing, a retailer building
a video catalogue, proud parents making their own "MTV"-like baby
shows.  Says Lewis, "So the battleground for the next generation
of computer user is, in fact, television. And if your computer
looks like TV, and your TV's as smart as your computer, you fly
First Class."

CONTACT:  PALO ALTO RESEARCH GROUP, 415/960-0556

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COMPUTERLAND'S SOFTWARE VENDING MACHINES
HAYWARD, Ca. (NB)   -- It's a technology akin to juke-boxes and
vending machines, and it promises to revolutionize the delivery
of software if successful. ComputerLand is offering its 550
franchises a chance to rent kiosks equipped with CD-ROM disks
that can show a prospective buyer sample copies of up to 1,600
programs, 6 to 10-minute videos advertising each program, and
delivery of a freshly-imprinted diskette of the program  and
a laser-printed short manual of instruction within a few minutes.
This is the first electronic software delivery system to have
a chance of gaining a foothold in the retail arena; previous
versions have depended on notoriously unreliable telephone
lines for transfer of software.  Hands On is made by
Instant Software Generation Inc. of Costa Mesa, California.
Most retailers are reportedly very excited about the technology
which promises them quadrupled "shelf space" for software.
And big players in the software industry have agreed to put their
programs into the kiosks:  MicroPro, IBM, Apple, are among them.

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TWO THINK TANKS IN ONE
MENLO PARK, Ca. (NB) --Think tanks on both coasts merge when SRI
International of Menlo Park, Ca. receives GE's donation of its RCA
David Sarnoff Research Center shortly.  GE is unloading the
Princeton-based think tank it acquired when it bought RCA (and
NBC) last year because it already has enough research centers.
GE adds icing to the cake with a $250 million, five year research
contract for the new SRI-Sarnoff Research Center, which which
SRI will be able to keep 600 of the 900 staffers working.  The
Sarnoff Center has primarily been researching solid state
electronics, advanced video systems, and consumer electronics.

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SCOTTS VALLEY DRIVE TIME --

THE MACINTOSH gets its first WORM optical drive from Lodown
of Scotts Valley, Ca.  The 800-megabyte model, said to have
a 10 year life span, comes at a steep price--$7,995 with
cartridges running between $125 and $150.

SEAGATE TECHNOLOGIES of Scotts Valley is back in the 3.5"
drive market which it abandoned two years ago.  Seagate is
marketing  high performance drives in 30MB and 45MB
configurations which manufacturers can buy in quantity.

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IN BRIEF --

KAYPRO's brief flirtation with giant AMWAY CORPORATION is
over.  The Solano Beach, Ca. company issued a statement saying
the agreement to supply Amway with Kaypro PCs "has lapsed."
No details were given.  Had the deal to supply Kaypros for
repackaging by Amway gone as planned, Kaypros would have been
the first computers to be sold door-to-door.

INTEL says it will sell 500,000 to one million 80386 chips
this year and up to 4 million 80286 chips.  While the 80286
has been "second sourced" or farmed out for manufacturing to
four outside firms, the new, fast 80386 remains in Intel's tightly
clenched fists.

BORLAND will be coming out with several new products over the
next few weeks:  a low-end word processor, Turbo Basic, "a
second major language product,"   Turbo Pascal add-ons, and
Eureka:╩The Solver, according to CALIFORNIA TECHNOLGY STOCK
LETTER.  But none of these, says the pub, is the "knock out
product rumored to be coming later this year."  Humm...

THE AMERICAN ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION's recent poll of
2,830 executives showed that 53 percent felt that current
business conditions for thier firms are either good or
excellent, and over 57% extend that optimism for the next
six months.

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FINANCIAL QUICKIES --

ACTIVISION  posted a $3.9 million loss for its most recent
fiscal quarter.  The red ink is due to the acquisition of game
companies Infocom and Gamestar, according to Activision's
new president Bruce Davis.

AST RESEARCH saw earnings fall 57% in its second quarter.
While the firm from Irvine, Ca. didn't say much in its defense,
it did explain that heavy investments in new products are
underway.

COMPUTERLAND's network of retail franchises generated
$1.37 billion in sales last year, according to the company.  That's
a lot of computers, and represents 6-percent higher sales
than in 1985.

IOMEGA CORPORATION, the Bernoulli Box people, have been forced
to furlough 195 workers for three weeks in order to ramp
up for production of a new line of drives.  The Beta 20s,
also units with removable cartridges, are both stand-alone and
internal storage devices.  Iomega employs 1,300 in Roy, Utah.

TANDON CORPORATION says its income for the first quarter was
$1.01 million, up from $841,000 a year ago.  Sales are up 60%,
however, according to Tandon president Dan Wilkie.

All in all, 1986 was a good year for the computer industry,
according to Dataquest's director of personal computer industry
services Norm DeWitt.  He says unit sales rose to nearly
16 million from 14.7 million a year earlier.  1987 will be
even better, with some 17.4 computers sold by New Year's eve.

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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
LORE HARP, the lady who started Vector Graphics, the company
which made CP/M-compatible computers and went bankrupt
last year is still an entrepreneur, but not as you might expect.
According to THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, she's running Aplex
Corporation of San Mateo where a main product is a disposable
device to help women stay sanitary in unsanitary restrooms.
Hey, everyone needs a pause that refreshes.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

    "Just a little more than 10 years after its birth, the
      microcomputer is dead.  The Mac II, every bit a personal
      computer though it may still be, is really a minicomputer."

        -- Erik Sandberg-Diment, THE NEW YORK TIMES

[***][2/10/87][***]
"SUB-COMPAQ" LIKELY DEBUT FEBRUARY 17
HOUSTON, TX (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corp. has called a news
conference for the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York for
Tuesday, February 17, at which time it is expected to roll out a
true portable. Marty Winston, our clever Fort Worth friend, has
dubbed this machine the "Sub-Compaq" (cute). Current speculation
on the new machine says it will be smaller than a bread box,
(looking more like the Toshiba T3100) and feature a plasma
display that flips out from the side with modem and hard drive built-
in. You might also expect an EGA adapter (for attaching it to a
desktop monitor), a high density floppy drive, and an 80286 CPU.
(The price of Compaq's current 80286-based luggable, the Portable
286, may have to be adjusted downward after the announcement.)
Compaq wouldn't comment on the specifics ("we only announce at
announcements"), but the elaborate press invitation is headlined
"The Magic Continues."

Elsewhere on the Compaq Ranch, profits rose 62% over the last 3
months of 1986 from year-earlier levels ($16.2 million vs. $10
million) spurred by strong sales of 80286 and 80386-based
machines.

CONTACT: Len Parsons Compaq [phone]

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DCA, TELEBIT DIVORCE -- FASTLINK OUT OF PRODUCT LINE
ALPHARETTA, GA (NB) -- Digital Communications Associates Inc. has
been forced to drop the FastLink 15,000-baud asynchronous modem
from its product line after a dispute with the developer, Telebit
Corp. of Cupertino, CA. Telebit developed the product in 1985.
The dispute apparently came up around Christmas.

CONTACT: Jolie Newman, DCA,[phone]

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IMPROVED NITA PHONE BOARD
ROSWELL, GA (NB) -- Automatic phone answering takes another step
forward with a new release of "Nita Receptionist," a voice board
first produced in 1985. New enhancements include time and date
stamping of messages, remote recording when the people sought
aren't in, and a feature whereby Nita can call those people, even
outside the building, and tell them messages are waiting. They
can even have various levels of screening on their messages (the
"who shall I say is calling?" feature).

CONTACT: Nita at [phone] x123

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EDS TEAMS WITH OLIVETTI TO CAPTURE EUROPE
DALLAS (NB) -- Olivetti has gained a reputation as a strong
European arm for American managements unsure of their direction.
(For a witness on this point, see AT&T's PC 6300, made by
Olivetti.) EDS, sans H.  Ross Perot, and locked in the embrace of
the bean counters from General Motors, is now in this profitable
spider-grasp. A new joint-venture between EDS and Olivetti,
Integrated Systems Management (ISM) will "provide systems
integration services to Europe's growing technology marketplace"
-- a market the two firms project will be worth $15 billion by
1990.

CONTACT: Roger Still, EDS, [phone]

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TANDY GIVES DOS MACHINES APPLE II EMULATION
FT. WORTH, TX (NB) -- A few years ago Quadram tried to give IBM
PC users Apple II compatibility with a $680 board called
QuadLink. Within 2 years the boards were selling for 1/10th of that
price. Now Tandy has a similar product, the Trackstar 128, a $400 board
for its Model 1000 PC-compatibles designed by Diamond Computer
Systems Inc. Tandy says an independent study at the Johnson Bible
College in Knoxville, TN showed 99% of 400+ Apple packages
run on the new board, including AppleWorks and MECC software,
using the PC-compatibles' floppy drives.

A key difference between Quadram's and Tandy's products, however,
is how they're being handled. Tandy is using Trackstar as a come-on to schools with large investments in Apple II software and now want
to give their kids PCs. The school sales effort is led by Bill Gattis,
vice president of the company's education division.

CONTACT: Fran McGehee, TANDY,  [phone]

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PECAN CHIPS--

INFORUM, Atlanta, GA, promoted Executive Vice President Jim
Kranzusch to general manager, too. A big promotion for Jim's
boss, Sam Williams, prompted promotions for all individual market
directors under him. The bad news is that John Portman's high-
tech mart has not yet had its groundbreaking.

HARRIS CORP., Melbourne, got an $8 million contract to run
microwave-radio relays along the Indian Railroad. Among the
features isIndia's first computerized railway reservation
program.

NCR COMTEN, St. Paul, MN, released new versions of its network
gateway and network control programs, making them more compatible
with IBM's SNA standard for mainframe communications.

GEORGIA TECH, Atlanta, got a $250,000 scanning transmission
electron microscope for running what the Environmental Protection
Agency calls the "leading asbestos control program in the
nation."


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IDEA OF THE WEEK

Here's something I need but can't find anywhere. A Model 100
stand you could sling over your shoulders which would hold the
machine securely in front of you, at waist level, so you could
type on it freely even while standing up. The same system should
work, of course, for any 4-pound class pico-computer, which in
my opinion are the only true lap-tops. (Hint for product
developers: Why did the Tandy Model 100 owner wear red
suspenders?)

[***][2/10/87][***]
AND FINALLY...

AP reports the National Institute of Justice (part of Ed Meese's
Department of Justice) counts 20 states now using computerized
beepers to keep tabs on more than 900 offenders on probation. Two
technologies are used: arm or leg bands with sensors which emit
signals to a computer until the parolee strays 150-200 feet from
home, and a computer which telephones the parolee at home and
compares the voice which answers to a voice stored in its memory.
(When does this kind of stuff hit the day-care and public school
markets?)

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FURTHER COPYRIGHT VICTORY FOR APPLE
MONTREAL (NB) -- Two Montreal-area companies were ordered to pay
C$100,000 each and Apple Canada Inc. won another battle against
software copyright infringements Jan. 30.  The Federal Court of
Canada ruled that inducement or encouragement to copy software is
the same as actually copying software, and ordered two computer
suppliers -- Microcom and House of Semiconductors -- to pay the
court C$100,000 each as security against future infringements.
The two retailers were judged in contempt of an earlier ruling
that forbade them to copy AppleSoft and Auto Start ROM programs
for the Apple II line.  In a statement, Apple Canada Vice-
President of Sales and Marketing Gareth Jones called the ruling a
"landmark decision that puts real teeth into the Canadian
software copyright law."  The ruling is likely to have an effect
on other prosecutions of software "evaluation clubs" that sell
copied software for the price of the disk, ostensibly for
evaluation only.

CONTACT: APPLE CANADA INC., 7495 Birchmount Rd., Markham, Ont.
         L3R 5G2, [phone]

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COMPUTERIZED AIRLINE GUIDE TO BE BASED IN NOVA SCOTIA?
HALIFAX (NB) -- The Canadian government is spending C$242,000 to
study the possibility of setting up a worldwide computerized
airline reservation system on Cape Breton Island, at the eastern
tip of Nova Scotia.  World ComNet Inc. of Irvine, California has
said the project would create more than 400 jobs if it goes
ahead.  Cape Breton Island has one of the highest unemployment
rates in Canada, and the provincial and federal governments have
repeatedly invested in development projects designed to create
jobs there.  Most have been money-losers.  The consulting firm
Woods Gordon is managing the eight-month feasibility study, due
to be completed next month.

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XEROX DIVISION WILL FOCUS ON DESKTOP PUBLISHING
TORONTO (NB) -- Xerox Canada Inc. has announced the formation of
a new strategic marketing division that will focus exclusively on
electronic publishing.  The division will focus on both office
and production publishing, providing hardware, software and
service.  Called the Electronic Publishing Business Unit, the
division will be headed by Ross Norman, a 14-year veteran with
Xerox Canada.  Late last month Xerox introduced the Ventura
Publisher desktop publishing software to the Canadian market.

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EXPLORACOM'S WOULD-BE EMPLOYEES COMPLAIN
TORONTO (NB) -- Forty-four employees of Exploracom, the
waterfront showcase of computer technology that died unborn last
month when the provincial government cancelled its funding, are
seeking compensation for the loss of their jobs.  The former
employees say that since Ontario Premier David Peterson had
promised the C$17.5 million grant the centre needed to go ahead,
they should now receive compensation from the province.  Some of
the employees were lured away from secure jobs elsewhere to work
for Exploracom.  They are also reportedly owed about C$120,000 in
back pay.  The grant was cancelled partly because of criticism of
Peterson, who is -- or at least was -- a personal friend of the
man behind Exploracom, Toronto entrepreneur Abe Schwartz.  Having
cancelled the payment to get itself out of political hot water,
the province may now end up paying out a substantial amount of
money in damages and compensation anyway.  The exact amount the
ex-employees are seeking hasn't been disclosed.

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FINANCIAL BITS
-- Accugraph Corp. of Toronto reported a loss of C$199,000 in the
three months ended Nov. 30, 1986, compared with rpofit of
C$287,000 a year earlier.  Revenues were C$6.9 million, compared
with C$2.5 million.  Accugraph develops computer-aided design
software.

-- Develcon Electronics Ltd. of Saskatoon, Sask., lost
C$1,176,000 on revenues of C$4.494,000 in the quarter ended Nov.
30.  In the same period a year earlier the company lost
C$1,018,000 on revenues of C$4,688,000.  Develcon makes telephone
switching equipment.

-- Computer Innovations Distribution Inc. of Mississauga, Ont.,
made a profit of C$1.3 million in the three months ended Dec. 27,
up from C$317,000 the year before.  Revenues were C$67 million,
up from C$33.3 million the year before.  Computer Innovations
operates all the Canadian ComputerLand franchises.

-- SHL Systemhouse Ltd., Ottawa, has filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of
1,440,500 common shares in the United States.  Systemhouse will
also sell 709,500 shares to Kinburn Technology Corp., already a
major shareholder.

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BITS, EH?
-- ESTC, the educational software subsidiary of Meridian
Technologies of Toronto (maker of the Icon educational
microcomputer widely used in Ontario schools) and of ESTC Corp.
of San Diego, has named a National Curriculum Advisory Board.
Chaired by Kel Crossley, an education consultant with 35 years
experience, the board includes: Dr. Graham Orpwood, consultant;
Dr. Barbara Samuels, executive director of the Canadian Centre
for Learning Systems; and Frances Poleschuk, curriculum
consultant to the Ontario Ministry of Education.

-- Bell Canada wants to do some rate balancing in the provinces
of Ontario and Quebec, where it operates the phone systems.  Bell
is proposing to increase basic local rates and reduce long-
distance charges.  The move will have to be approved by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) before Bell can go ahead.



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HACKERS SNEAK INTO NATIONAL LAB'S COMPUTERS
TOKYO (NB) -- Japan's major newspapers reported (2/3) a group of
hackers had invaded the computer systems of the High Energy
Physics Laboratory of the Japanese Education Ministry in Tsukuba,
through KDD's packet switching network Venus-P.  The incident
happened in June 1985 when the Ministry was experimenting with the
world's largest particle accelerator at the laboratory, in coopera-
tion with laboratories in West Germany and Switzerland.  The report
says many hackers have sneaked into a data exchange computer
for the Ministry's accelerator and exchanged messages each other.
Meanwhile, the laboratory computers in W. Germany and Switzerland
were also invaded by hackers during the same period.  The staffers
in these
three laboratories noticed these invasions in the early stages,
and have jointly tried to track down those hackers, but they have
failed.  The only thing they could do was to find out the
fact that approximately 20 hackers were calling from W. Germany,
says a report.  The officials are guessing those hackers
first stole the passwords to the systems in W. Germany, and then
found various hints for the ID numbers and the passwords
to the laboratories in Switzerland and Japan. With this invasion,
a part of the experimental data was damaged.  "Luckly, it was a
minor damage, and was easily restored," said a Japanese official.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Justice has recently
decided to severely punish the criminals for the
computer-related crimes.  A new law is expected to pass the
National Diet around this summer.

[***][2/10/87][***]
FUJITSU-IBM LAWSUIT UPDATE
TOKYO (NB) -- Fujitsu and IBM have reached an agreement
concerning Fujitsu's alleged copyright infringement case of IBM's
operating system, industry sources said on February 6.  With this
agreement, Fujitsu will pay around US$66 million every year until
the year 2002.  Wow!  That's a lot of money.  But, the case has
not been solved yet.  Now, IBM wants to straighten out the issue
on the interface specification.  It may take some more time to
solve this problem for both firms.

[***][2/10/87][***]
TOSHIBA'S LAPTOP SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES
TOKYO (NB) -- Toshiba's IBM AT-compatible laptop computer, J3100,
has been selling very fast.  According to a published report,
Toshiba has received a total of 10,000 orders since
this laptop was released in late November last year.  Most of the
orders are said to have been in volume of 300 to 1,000 units
from corporate users.  Toshiba plans to increase its monthly
production from a current 3,000 units to over 10,000 units by this
summer.  Perhaps it is the first time that an IBM-compatible
computer has been so successful in the Japanese market.  One of the
major reasons could be that J3100 supports a Japanese language
feature with Kanji characters.  It is also important that major
software makers, such as Japan Ashton-Tate and Lotus Japan, have
developed Japanese software for this laptop.  On the whole, the
great popularity of J3100 and NEC PC98LT indicate that the demand
of laptop machines as second computers has now been growing
at a rapid pace in Japan.

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

[***][2/10/87][***]
AI SEMINAR FOR TOSHIBA'S LAPTOP
TOKYO (NB) -- Meanwhile, Toshiba and Japan Business Automation
(JBA/Tokyo) will jointly hold an artificial intelligence
seminar for Toshiba's laptop J3100 on 2/17 and 2/18.  Interest-
ingly enough, the laptop computer and JBA's AI software will be
given to the participants after the seminar.  The registration
fee costs US$6,447.

[***][2/10/87][***]
LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SERVICE ON PERSONAL COMPUTER NETWORK
YOYOGI, Tokyo (NB-JAPAN) -- Japan's major personal computer
network, TeleStar, will begin a Japanese-English translation and
a rewriting service for its members on February 10.  In this
system, the members send their original scripts to the TeleStar's
head office via E-mail or facsimile.  Then, the staff members of
the International Division finish the work and return them to the
members.  The premium charge is reqired for this service, but it
is approximately half of the market price in Japan.  It is
certainly a unique service among personal computer networks here.
Any micro users can participate in this network.

CONTACT: TeleStar, c/o International Division, Zenraku Bldg.,
         1-37-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151
         (03-379-9017)

[***][2/10/87][***]
IBM JAPAN LINKS WITH NISSAN MOTOR
TOKYO (NB) -- IBM Japan will establish a software developing
firm "Nissan System Kaihatsu" in Tokyo this month, jointly with
Nissan Motor Corp., Kanagawa prefecture.  This new firm will
produce software for the technology development and the system
designs of automobiles for Nissan Group.  The new company's
stocks are shared 65 percent for Nissan Motor and 35 percent for
IBM Japan.  Mr. Ueda, who is currently the manager of the
Information Systems Division Of Nissan Motor, will assume the
president's post.

[***][2/10/87][***]
<<< SUSHI BYTES >>>

AT&T TO SELL MPUs AND LSIs IN JAPAN -- AT&T International Japan
(Tokyo) will start marketing its microprocessors and LSIs in
Japan this fall.  Those products include AT&T's 32-bit MPU 32200
series, custom LSIs, and the LSIs for the ISDN network.

MITSUBISHI SUPPLIES DRAM TO NS -- A report says Mitsubishi
Electric (Tokyo) will shortly supply its 256Kbit dynamic RAM to
National Semiconductor in California.  Both companies have been
hammering out the details of this OEM agreement.

LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SYSTEM -- Osaka Gas Information System, a
subsidiary of natural gas service company in western Japan, has
started selling a Japanese-English language translation system.
This system is called "Pensee," and was developed by Oki Electric
(Tokyo).  A 68010 CPU-based Oki's UNIX machine, IF1000, is used
as Pensee's core system.  The total system costs US$36,842.

3.2M 5.25" DISK DRIVE -- YEE Data released (2/2) a 3.2-meg byte
5.25" disk drive.  This new disk drive "YD801" can read/write
a 1.6 meg and a 1.0 meg byte diskette, as well as a 3.2 meg
diskette.  The price is US$296.

==
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DEC TO GO FOR ENGINEERING WORKSTATION MARKET
MAYNARD, Mass. (NB) -- Digital Equipment Corp. is expected to
announce today a new line of low-end computers aimed squarely at
the engineering workstation market now dominated by Apollo
Computer Inc. of Chelmsford, Mass., and Sun Microsystem Inc. of
Mountain View, Calif. DEC has announced it will hold a new
conference in Boston today to unveil "two new major additions" to
its VAX line. DIGITAL REVIEW, a Boston publication that follows
DEC, says the two new productions will be the VAXstation 2000, a
diskless workstation with a base price of $10,125, and the
MicroVAX 2000, a system that that will support up to four users,
with a $9,100 base price. The DEC machines will use's Digital's
own proprietary chip, so that it will run all the Digital
software for the VAX line. IBM is expected to take a shot at the
hot engineering workstation market later this year with a
computer based on the Intel 80386 chip.

[***][2/10/87][***]
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: GIVE BABY BELLS A BREAK
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Justice Department last week asked U.S.
District Court Judge Harold Greene to allow the seven regional
telephone companies to offer computer services such as
computerized Yellow Pages and long distance service. Greene, who
presided over the breakup of the Bell System, had banned the
seven "Baby Bells" from competing against AT&T in computers and
long lines. "There is no longer a justification for continuing to
keep the Bell companies out of competitive businesses," said
Charles Rule, acting head of the Justice Department's antitrust
division. But the Reagan administration's view will not go
unchallenged. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio), chairman of a
Senate antitrust subcommittee, said the proposal would "radically
change the AT&T divestiture decree."

[***][2/10/87][***]
AMIGA TO TALK TO VCRS, CAMERAS, AND VIDEODISC PLAYERS
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (NB) -- Commodore Business Machines has
introduced Genlock 1300, a video synchronizer which can mix an
external video signal from a VCR, television camera or videodisc
player with text, sound and graphics generated by the Amiga
computer. Commodore says the product is the "first consumer-
priced, stand-alone computer genlocking device of its kind." The
2.5 pound device draws its power from the Amiga and fits into the
Amiga chassis. It connects to the Amiga's RGB port and accepts an
RS-170 composite signal, stereo audio lines and an Amiga computer
signal. Outputs include both composite and RGB video and stereo
audio. The suggested retail price is $195.

Commodore says the device may also help the Amiga penetrate the
business market. Businesses ought to be able to use the Amiga
graphics and processing power to create dynamite sales and
training videos, as well as promotional videos for advertising
and display.

[***][2/10/87][***]
NIPPON TELEGRAPH TO UNVEIL 16-MEGABIT CHIP THIS MONTH
NEW YORK (NB) --  Nippon Telegraph & Telephone is expected to
unveil a revolutionary 16-megabit dynamic RAM memory chip at the
annual International Solid State Circuits Conference in New York
February 25. The chip would leap two generations beyond the
memory chips that are now available commercially. NTT does not
make chips on its own, but licenses its designs to other chip
makers. IBM has just begun producing 1-megabit DRAMs this year.
Texas Instruments unveiled a model of a 4-megabit DRAM chip at
last year's solid state conference.

[***][2/10/87][***]
DOLE TARGETS INQUIRY ON AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS
WASHINGTON (NB) --  Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole wants
to know whether the computerized reservation systems used by
airlines hurt competition. Dole last week said her department
will launch a form investigation into the use of the systems,
which travel agents use to book airline flights. DOT ordered the
five airlines which own the system to tell it how they determine
which flights have priority in the reservation systems.

[***][2/10/87][***]
VIRGINIA TO TRY HIGH TECH TOLLBOOTHS
RICHMOND, Va. (NB) -- The Virginia Highway Department is
considering joining a multi-state study of computerized vehicle
identification, according to the WASHINGTON POST. The technology,
which has been tested in California, tags cars with a microchip
affixed to windshield decals. When the car cruises through the
tollbooth, a reader takes the information from the chip and
writes the amount to the driver's account. The readers have
worked successfully recording cars passing at speeds of more than
60 miles per hour, according to the report. Virginia has a large
system of toll roads.

[***][2/10/87][***]
BELL ATLANTIC'S "BACKWARD" SPREADSHEET
PHILADELPHIA (NB) -- Bell Atlantic Corp. has a new program, MVP
Spreadsheet Plus, that starts from the bottom line and calculates
backward, says THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. The feature allows an
analyst to alter department budgets merely by changing the
bottom line. Bell Atlantic says this can be particularly useful
for large companies and government agencies that have to juggle
budgets from many separate departments. It is fairly common in
the government, for example, to be given a 10 percent cut and
have to spread that cut across numerous departments, branches and
bureaus. With MVP, the number cruncher can hack 10 percent off
the bottom, and the program will cut each unit's spending
proportionally. Or the budgeteer can protect some sectors, while
exposing others to even greater jeopardy. Another feature: the
spreadsheet keeps a record of every keystroke, so the budget
makers and retrace the decision process.

CONTACT: Bell Atlantic Corp., Philadelphia, Pa., 215-963-6000

[***][2/10/87][***]
ATARI - FOUR POINT PLAN REVEALED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Atari president Sam Tramiel was in London last
week and MICROSCOPE (a UK trade weekly) got an exclusive interview
with the man himself.  Tramiel reportedly envisages a four point
plan for the UK market comprising the game console, standard ST,
Mega ST and PC.

The most intriguing note of the plan is that the 7800 games console,
launched in the US as an downward-compatible replacement for the
aging 2600 console, won't be launched in the UK after all.  Instead,
a stripped-down version of the eight-bit 130XE computer will be sold
for 90 pounds ($145) in the UK and Europe.  The 65XE will have the
guts of the 130XE, complete with games cartridge port, but no
keyboard.  65XE owners will be given the opportunity to upgrade to
the 130XE for 40 pounds ($60) for which they'll get a keyboard and
tape deck.

The bad news about the 65XE is that it isn't compatible with the
2600/7600 cartridge system, but is instead, compatible with the
existing XE range of computers and software.  NEWSBYTES UK recalls
the last upgradable games console-cum-computer to be sold in the UK
was a Philips unit which sold for about the same price in 1984 and
is now long-since bargain-binned.

Speaking in his magazine interview, Tramiel said that Atari's plans
for the PC are wide-ranging.  "On the PC we're very committed to
offering the best price, but the technical part of it we're very
blase about."

"We'll have an 80286 (based) machine for the third quarter of this
year, and an 80386 maybe early next year," said Tramiel.  The 80386
machine will, he added, marry with a new DOS from Microsoft to allow
the PC to rival the existing 68000-based machines.

Tramiel is honest about Atari UK's apparent lack of drive in recent
years.  "We were in hibernation, doing nothing, since July 1984.
Bob (Gleadow, UK MD) coming back (last Autumn) was a major, major
move."

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

[***][2/10/87][***]
NEW SPECTRUM DUE OUT
BRENTWOOD, MIDDLESEX (NB) --The best-selling Sinclair Spectrum,
which has sold in its millions in the UK and abroad, looks set for
another face lift.  Sources close to Amstrad, the company which
bought out Sir Clive Sinclair last year, say that the Spectrum Plus
3 is in the production stage.

As with all the Z80-based Spectrum range, the new machine will be
downwards compatible with the original 48K version launched back in
1982.  The Plus 3 will have 128K of RAM, a full-travel keyboard and
(here's the new part) a 3 inch disc drive.  The disc drive sits to
the right of the keyboard on the Plus 3, and replaces the tape deck
seen on the Plus 2 model.  3 inch discs?  Yep, seems like Amstrad's
use of the format on the PCW and CPC range of computers has carried
over to the Spectrum.

The good news is that the 3 inch disc format will be compatible with
the Amstrad PCW and CPC range of computers.  The bad news is that
the format will be incompatible with other third-party disc drive
systems already available for the Spectrum.

Pricing of the Plus 3 is expected to be in the range of 200 pounds
($300) with availability by the summer of this year.  Another plus
(no pun intended) for Spectrum owners is that the machine will be
capable of supporting CP/M, although Amstrad has stated its
intention not to release a CP/M system for the machine.

** North American readers will be familiar with the original
Spectrum as the Timex 2068 colour computer which sold several tens
of thousands before being bargain-binned in 1985.

[***][2/10/87][***]
AMSTRAD PUSHES IBM INTO SECOND PLACE
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Amstrad's market dominance in the UK continues
a pace.  With the acquisition of the Sperctrun range of computers
last year, (see above story also) the company's market share of the
UK home computer business is around 60 (six zero) per cent.  This
success was mirrored in the PC market during December when, for the
first time, Amstrad achieved a 26 per cent slice of the dealer PC
market, piping IBM into second place with its 25 per cent market
share.

The market research backing up Amstrad's claim to PC fame was
carried out by Romtec, a leading London-based MR firm quoted as
saying that the December figures will have been surpassed by now.

IBM executives won't be shedding too many tears, however, as the
bulk of the money-making PC deals are made via direct contract
channels, leaving their dealer network to mop up the crumbs.

[***][2/10/87][***]
COMMODORE SHAKEOUT - BESSEY LEAVES
SLOUGH, UK (NB) -- With a minimum of fuss and advance warning, Nick
Bessey, Commodore Electronics president and general manager left the
company last week.  The move, which leaves Harold Speyer, head of
Commodore's European operations holding the reins, has been met with
a stone wall silence by Commodore's UK and US offices, which would
only confirm Bessey's departure when questioned.

Commodore's UK position is slightly different from most other
countries where the firm has a presence.  Whilst Thomas Rattigan has
control of CBM worldwide, with Harold Speyer overseeing European
operations, the UK has two divisions - Commodore UK and Commodore
Electronics - managed by Chris Kaday and (until last week) Nick
Bessey.

Bessey's career within CBM UK has been short and meteoric.  After 12
years with IBM, he joined Commodore UK in April '85 as general
manager.  A year later he switched to Commodore Electronics, with
Chris Kaday moving into his previous position. Now, scarcely a year
later, he's off again.  Sources indicate that a return to the IBM
fold may be in order, although Atari UK might be head hunting...

CONTACT: COMMODORE ELECTRONICS, 2ND FLOOR, Babbage House,
         53/69 King Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1DU.
         Tel: [phone].

[***][2/10/87][***]
WORDSTAR 4 ANNOUNCED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- The luxurious surroundings of the Royal Opera
House, Covent Garden in London was the scene of a lavish launch of
Wordstar 4 by Micropro last week.

The latest incarnation of the best-selling Wordstar program is
officially entitled 'Wordstar Professional Release 4,' and comes in
the light of 1.8m worldwide sales of the program in many different
MS-DOS and CP/M versions.

Micropro say the latest version, which incorporates over 120
enhancements on the original, has word count, a 220,000 thesaurus,
line and block drawing included, as well as an 'oops' function.
Correctstar, the spell checker add-on program has also been upgraded
and now boasts an 87,000 word dictionary.

The aptly-named UK marketing manager John Speller said of the new
release: "Release 4 has been long-awaited. There are thousands of
faithful Wordstar users out there that have been looking for
enhancements (to) it... we expect to attract a lot more users."

[***][2/10/87][***]
BIX - UK UPDATE
GUIlDFORD, SURREY (NB) -- Following NEWSBYTES UK's story last week
about BIX coming to the UK via the Compulink system in Guildford,
George Bond, MD of BIX in the US contacted NEWSBYTES editor Wendy
Woods to say that our story was a little premature.

"(The arrangements are) tentative only,
we're still talking.   We're not ready yet for the UK and we don't
want people to get their hopes up.  (There is) lots to be resolved.
There is no target date for service to the UK."

George's comments were received too late for NEWSBYTES UK to check
them with Compulink fully, but we can confirm that the CoSy
software, as seen on BIX, is up and running on the Compulink system.
NEWSBYTES UK will bring you an update next week on the BIX/CIX
situation.

** Curiously, NEWSBYTES UK's personal BIX account was suspended last
week.  When contacted by NEWSBYTES UK, BIX representative Tammy
Burgess could not explain the account suspension.  NEWSBYTES UK's
BIX account is now active again.

CONTACT: COMPULINK, 67 Woodbridge Road, Guildford,
         Surrey GU1 4RD.
         Tel: Voice - 0483-65895
              Modem - 0483-573338.

[***][2/10/87][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"It has gone into liquidation, because it was insolvent."
         -- Keith Rose, talking about the demise of Scitek,
             trading as Modem House, which went to the wall last week.



[***][2/10/87][***]
BACK OFF, LOTUS - Editorial
By Ken Maize February 10, 1987


Let's go for full disclosure, right up front. At work, I
use The Twin, Mosaic Software's excellent spreadsheet program
that does everything that Lotus 1-2-3 does and more. (I don't
use VP Planner, another 1-2-3 clone that Lotus Development Corp.
has attacked in court.)

So I guess that makes me a less-than-disinterested critic of the
Lotus lawsuits announced last month. But I didn't choose
The Twin or pay for it (my employer did). If I had, I'd have
chosen SuperCalc, which I learned on my late, lamented Osborne
computer. It's a lot better than 1-2-3 and even better than The
Twin, albeit more expensive.

Lotus says I'm a miscreant, and maybe an unindicted co-
conspirator in the crimes of the software clones. That judgment,
it appears, is made solely on the basis that The Twin and VP
Planner look like 1-2-3.  It's the "look and feel" argument, and
one I think is particularly specious and intellecutally bankrupt.

1-2-3 looks like SuperCalc, with only insignificant differences.
And SuperCalc looks like VisiCalc. VisiCalc looks like the ledger
paper I used to use to plot division budgets when I worked for
Uncle Sam back in the days when Wylbur was a hot-shot editor and
the closest thing I had to a personal computer was a
communicating mag card selectric typewriter talking to an IBM
360.

So what? Should the ledger paper manufacturers sue Lotus? From a
computer user's perspective, these look and feel suits are
dangerous and mischievous in the extreme. I've said it before,
and, alas, I suspect I'll be saying it again: a standard user
interface is in ALL our (even Lotus') interests.

I can get into an old Volkswagen beetle, or a new Ferarri
Testarosa (pant, pant), and drive either beast. Why? Because,
despite some trivial differences, the "user interface" is the
same. The look and feel are enough alike so that I can drive
either.

It's not that either machine goes out of its way to make
life easy for me. It might be easier to drive the VW if the
accelerator were on the rim of the steering wheel and the clutch
on the left door panel.

But that isn't the way the worldwide auto industry does it. They
have standards. The right pedal is the gas, the left is the
clutch, and the brake is in the middle. That standard even holds
in England, where the driver sits on the right.

Nobody really questions this arrangement, or suggests that
because Ford (or whoever) first figured out this layout, that all
subsequent similar configurations were patent or copyright
violations. In fact, the auto industry would be devastated by the
tower of Babel that exists in microcomputer software. Fewer cars
would be sold if each car had a different user interface.

In cars, the essence of user friendly is user familiar.
And that's what grabs me about the recent Lotus suit,
not to mention other recent suits brought in computerland (oops,
is that a trademark?). As near as I can tell from the
information distributed so far, Lotus does not allege that
either Paperback or Mosaic stole the code to 1-2-3. Nor does
Lotus publicly dispute that both VP Planner and Mosaic do some
things better than 1-2-3. For example, VP Planner can access
database files directly, while 1-2-3 can't, according to
Paperback Software's Adam Osborne. Mosiac has much better
graphics routines, as I can testify.

The beef that Lotus has taken to the courts is that the other
products are similar enough to 1-2-3 that the same consumer can
effectively use all three. So to prevent others from honestly
competing against it, Lotus is prepared to punish the consumer. I
hope the consumer will strike back, by punishing Lotus in the
marketplace.

Lotus's litigiousness appears to me to be part of a dual strategy
for the Massachusetts software house, which has faced an erosion
of the market for its major product, 1-2-3. The second part of
the strategy is to bring out a whole bunch of slick new products
-- HAL, Metro and Manuscript among them -- that work smoothly
with 1-2-3.

It's the second course of action that will truly lead Lotus
toward continuing growth and prosperity. The first course of
action -- taking its competitors to court -- will ultimately
prove to be a dead end. I hope Lotus will see the light and drops
its nuisance suits. Should it fail to do so, I hope Mosaic and
Paperback hang tough and refuse to make some sort of back-room
compromise that finesses the look and feel issue and doesn't
settle it definitively.

                        --KEN MAIZE, NEWSBYTES-EAST Bureau Chief