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/1988/nb880510.255

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APPLE PLANS NEW PLANT, PREDICTS 45% GROWTH IN SALES
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- Apple Computer chief John Sculley told
analysts recently that he foresees a healthy 45% growth in sales
through the end of this fiscal year, despite a drop in the supply of
DRAM chips used to make Apple Computers.  Sculley's address
to analysts also included news that Apple plans to build a second
U.S. manufacturing plant within the next 12 months.  The firm
does all its U.S.-based manufacturing in Fremont, California, and
also owns plants in Ireland and Singapore.
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APPLE RELEASES ANTIVIRAL PROGRAM
CUPERTINO, Ca. (NB) -- Apple Computer has released a program
which is the silicon equivalent of an AIDS test.  The VirusRX will
detect the presence of a computer virus in a system but will
not eradicate it.  The program is designed to specifically detect
the Scores virus which recently infected Macintoshes in
Congress and various federal departments.  The program is the
first response to what Apple expects will be a major assault
on the problem of programs with a hidden agenda.  Another
response is a new Spread the Word campaign, designed to
alert users to "safe computing practices" that will prevent the
spread of computer viruses.

Meanwhile Apple is said to be actively investigating the source
of the Scores virus but has no suspects yet.
[***][5/10/88][***]
IBM ROAD SHOW PROMOTES PS/2 - OS/2
SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- If there is any doubt that the PS/2 line is
the most successful product introduction in the history of the
computer industry, consider this -- more than 2 million machines,
half of them with IBM's new Micro Channel Architecture, have
been shipped over the last year, according to IBM.  Still, to combat
the prevalence of Doubting Thomases, IBM is throwing a 13-city
media event hosted by its own Bill Lyons, general manager of IBM
Personal System merchandising, Lee Reiswig, director of IBM's Entry
Systems Division lab in Austin, Texas, and Steve Balmer, vice president
of systems software for Microsoft.  The event is designed to
dispel rumors and answer questions about the new line.

At the San Francisco showing, IBM promised that a book will be
released at Comdex describing some 300 applications now being
written in OS/2.  Microsoft's Balmer further dispelled rumors that
development of applications for OS/2 had been curtailed due to Apple
Computer's lawsuit over the "look and feel" of the new IBM operating
system.  "I see no software developer in any way, shape, or form
change their plans one iota as a result of the Apple lawsuit," said
Balmer.  As for Presentation Manager, the visual interface for OS/2
being developed by Microsoft, is right on track despite the suit,
and will be released to the public in "five months and three weeks."

One other note -- those developing applications for OS/2 have had
to spend large sums of money on expensive seminars and
instructional materials, making OS/2 software development an area
for the well-heeled, to say the least.  Well, for the first time
there's OS/2 "for the rest of us" -- at least that's the name of a
seminar being offered by the Software Entrepreneur's Forum.
The event is scheduled for May 14 at the Dunfey Hotel in San
Mateo, California and costs $95 for SEF members and $170
for non-members.  Interested?  Call Ed Neihaus at 415/626-0651
or the executive director, Barbara Cass, at 415/854-7219 for
more information.
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ACTIVISION TO CHANGE NAME, POSITION, JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING
MENLO PARK, Ca. (NB) -- Get set for a whopper of an announcement,
or what's being built up as one, from Activision on May 16th.
The company says it will unveil a new corporate name and
positioning, year-end financial results, worldwide growth
strategy, acquisitions and alliances, future product directions,
organizational restructuring, and management additions.
If that isn't enough, the firm also has a new corporate head-
quarters in Menlo Park.  This should be interesting.

Activision just won "Comeback Company of the Year" in the
"Computer Currents" First Annual Bay Area Computer Awards.
The voting was done by ballot sent to over 325 industry
leaders.
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VIDEO GAMES IN THE NEWS: NOLAN'S NEWEST AND ATARI GAMES EXPANDS
SUNNYVALE, Ca. (NB) -- Two recent events hint that the video games
business may make a comeback.  Nolan Bushnell, Atari founder and
entrepreneur, announced that he is selling a new coin-operated video
game called Frenzy, several others are on the way, and that he's
got a new arcade hardware design that's going to radically raise the
quality of this game form.  Why does he think he'll succeed this time?
Bushnell plans to undercut the competition's price -- mainly the
Japanese -- by half; the move will make him "number one or
number two in the U.S. very shortly."

And Atari Games (not to be confused with Jack Tramiel's Atari ) has
purchased 15.6 acres of land in North San Jose where it plans to
build a new headquarters.  Atari Games expects the facility to
house 400 workers when complete in 1990.  Why the big
expansion?  The firm is banking on the success of games-to-come,
home computer versions of coin-operated arcade games, from
its Tengen Inc. subsidiary.
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EGGHEAD TO GO PUBLIC
BOTHELL, Washington (NB) -- Swollen with success, Egghead Software
hopes to raise $50  million in an initial public offering in June.  The
software chain has doubled in size since last year.  There are now
115 stores compared to 47 in 1987.  Egghead management expects
to sell off about 23 percent of the company, or 3.6 million shares,
and initial estimates put share prices in the $13 to $14 range.
The firm has reportedly received a lot of interest among Wall
Street's top brokers and its prospectus, due out by the beginning
of June, may be a hot item.
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AUTODESK RELEASES AUTOCAD FOR THE MACINTOSH
SAUSALITO, Ca. (NB) -- In a move viewed as placing the Macintosh
where no Mac has gone before, Autodesk has announced a version
of its highly successful computer aided design program for the
Macintosh II.

Expected to win friends for the Macintosh in previously closed MS-DOS
and UNIX engineering circles, the program, called AutoCAD Release 10,
provides 3-D wire frame construction and surface modelling
functions, and will exchange files with MS-DOS and UNIX machines
also running AutoCAD.  Engineers and draftsmen have overwhelmingly
chosen the Autodesk CAD package over the years, bringing it to
a number one position for sales of this type of software.   The
software is priced at $3000 and is expected to be available by
this fall.
[***][5/10/88][***]
HARD DISK INTERCHANGEABLE IN PS/2 AND MS-DOS MACHINES
MILPITAS, Ca. (NB) -- Plus Development has announced the first removable
hard disk drive that can be interchanged between an IBM PS/2 or Micro
Channel model and an older MS-DOS machine.  The 20 or 40 megabyte Plus
Passport hard disk, consisting of RAM cartridge, housing, and
controller, runs between $1250 and $1550 depending on configuration.
Extra cartridges are $595 for 20 megabytes and $795 for 40 megs.
[***][5/10/88][***]
THAT PERFECT GIFT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER
REDMOND, Wa. (NB) -- Instead of lugging around Berlitz dictionaries to
every corner of the globe, you can now lug a new dedicated little
language terminal.  Weighing in at 4 pounds, the Voice from Advanced
Products and Technologies is capable of providing the French, German,
Spanish, or Italian equivalent of an English word.  The user simply
has to speak the English word in need of translation into the
microphone, and the unit will display the word as it appears in any one
of the four other languages.  The unit comes with two cartridges, one of
which must be programmed with  the user's own voice.  Sound neat?  That'll
be $1,500 please....about 37 times the cost of the Berlitz dictionaries...
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IN BRIEF --

AMDAHL, Sunnyvale, Ca., has unveiled mainframes it says are faster and
more powerful than any offered by arch-competitor IBM.  The new 5900
series' top of the line model, at $13.1 million, can handle up to 120
million instructions per second compared to 80 million with a comparable
IBM mainframe.

DATAPRODUCTS, Woodland Hills, Ca., will close its plant in Milford,
New Hampshire in a cost-cutting move.  The computer printer maker
promises to help some 400 workers who will lose their jobs with job
placement and severance pay.

DIALOG, Palo Alto, a major online information service, is up for sale by
Lockheed.  Lockheed says it wants to unload Dialog because it doesn't
mesh with its other business, the business of defense.  No asking price
was put on the service which earned some $19 million last year, but a
Lockheed spokesman says reports that the asking price was $200 million
are "incorrect."

THE MACINTOSH II REPORT is a new monthly newsletter for Mac II enthusiasts.
At $48/year, the newsletter offers news, software info, help columns,
upgrade info, and other features.  For a sample copy, send $2 to
Macreations, 329 Horizon Way, Pacifica, Ca.  94044

MAXTOR, San Jose, says it will introduce a new erasable optical storage
device which will "revolutionize the industry" at a press conference this
week.  We'll see...

SUN MICROSYSTEMS, Mountain View, Ca., will sell nearly 900,000 shares --
about 2.5% of the common shares --  to AT&T in the latest deal to get cozy
with the inventor of UNIX and partner in the operating system's next
incarnation.  The stock purchase is expected to cost AT&T some $40.6
million.

SYMANTEC, Mountain View, Ca., has shipped GrandView, PC software which
offers advanced outlining and word processing and category viewing
for finding relationships and tracking any work in progress.  People
at Symantec call it the first entrant in a new category of "management
productivity software."  The price is $89 for registered ThinkTank
customers; a price for others was not available at press time.

[***][5/10/88][***]
HYPERBOLE OF THE WEEK

  "More people have written programs in HyperCard than in any other
     language."

      --Apple Fellow Alan Kay, speaking to a Washington, D.C. gathering
[***][5/10/88][***]
CORRECTION:

Two weeks ago we stated that Scientific Micro Systems was seeking to
sell SuperMac Technologies, which was expected to report a "significant
loss."  We got it wrong.  SuperMac Technologies is doing fine, it's
the parent company, Scientific Micro, which will report the loss.


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TANDY CATCHES FLAK AS THOR-CD ANNOUNCEMENT IS DESCRIBED AS FRAUD
FORT WORTH, TX (NB) -- Tandy Corp. came in for harsh criticism
the week of April 25 as reporters and analysts learned it misled
the press and public about its erasable Compact Disc (CD)
technology, THOR-CD. Among the April 21 statements that didn't
hold up to scrutiny:

        -Tandy said it developed a new, unique technology on its
own at its Santa Clara labs. In fact, "Business Week" reported
May 9, and Tandy confirmed, that the company licensed most of its
technology from Optical Data Inc., a well-known (by analysts)
start-up in Beaverton, OR which also licensed its technology to,
among others, N.V. Philips.

        -Tandy press releases said its new technology involved
putting "pits" on a CD. In fact, the ODI technology Tandy is
using makes and erases "bumps" on the CD surface -- a crucial
distinction which obscured the ODI connection for a time.

        -Tandy implied in its hand-outs that its technology was
ready to leave the lab, but press spokesman Ed Juge quickly
admitted under questioning it's 18-24 months from
commercialization. "That's a lifetime in this business,"
according to analysts interviewed by NEWSBYTES.

        -Tandy trumpeted a $500 list price for its erasable CD
player, a price similar to that of magnetic hard disks, and
within the budgets of home users. In fact, a version of the
product for use with PCs would have to be priced at $1,200,
because finer error-correction is needed. (CD-ROM drives have the
same problem.)

        -Tandy has yet to license the basic CD audio technology
from Sony and Philips. You can't make a CD anything without this
standard technology.

        The Dataquest research firm sent clients a bulletin
about THOR-CD and later had to send out out a second bulletin
saying, in effect, "never mind." So, through this story, has
NEWSBYTES. The real news was that Tandy licensed one version of
an erasable CD technology and promised to bring it to market as
soon as possible. That's nice, but not nearly so nice as what
NEWSBYTES and the rest of the media reported two weeks ago.

CONTACT: Ed Juge, TANDY, [phone]
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PUBLISHING EMPIRE THREATENED BY COMPUTER IGNORANCE
ATLANTA (NB) -- The legal newspaper publishing empire of "American
Lawyer" Publisher Steven Brill, in the third year of a turnaround plan
which will decide its fate, is dumping data due to a lack of PC
storage that others are reselling. Legal notices compiled by
hand for the firm's Atlanta newspaper are re-sold as part of
Information America Inc.'s database, but NEWSBYTES has been told
Brill's company makes no money from it.

Brill acquired a large number of legal weeklies around the
country, including papers in South Florida, Texas, and Atlanta,
in 1986, promising to make them profitable by investing in
editorial within three years. The papers have become quality
editorial products, scooping big-city dailies in the process.
But the electronic record of these endeavors, were it not for the
interest by independent online firms, would disappear each month.

Enterprising Brill editors are working to correct the situation.
In Atlanta, "Fulton County Daily Report" Editor Steve Johnson, no
PC freak himself, says he's been pushing to get Macintoshes in
the office for graphics work, and he's working with a local
information broker who wants to use "Daily Report" data in a
BellSouth gateway test reported in the April 26 NEWSBYTES SOUTH-
MIDWEST. That gateway could be up in June.
[***][5/10/88][***]
C&S TO BE FIRST BANK IN PRODIGY SERVICE
ATLANTA (NB) -- Citizens & Southern National Bank will be the
first bank to offer its services directly to home consumers
through the Prodigy service. The IBM-Sears joint venture in
videotex changed its company name from Trintex to Prodigy
(the Trintex name honored a former partner, CBS, which has backed
out).  The home banking service will cost consumers $5 per month
on top of regular service charges.

Previous home-banking efforts in the Atlanta area have
foundered, in part because errors occur frequently when payments
are made without return stubs.

C&S Banking will be available in Atlanta when the Prodigy service
comes online later this year, at a $10/month flat fee with free
graphics-oriented software. C&S, along with other Prodigy
members, will also offer special deals on Hayes 1200 baud modems.

CONTACT: Scott Scredon, C&S, [phone]; Brian Ek, PRODIGY,
[phone]
[***][5/10/88][***]
ALLEGIS ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER PARTNERSHIP
CHICAGO (NB) -- Allegis Corp., parent of United Airlines,
announced it has joined the Covia joint venture with Alitalia,
British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Swissair and USAir.
United's Apollo reservations system will become property of the
new venture, and United will take a half-interest in Covia and
act as managing general partner. In the last few years,
computerized reservations systems have been recognized as prime
assets by airline companies, and battles for market dominance
among U.S. airlines have shifted from price-cutting to
controlling travel agents' desktops. (Texas International bought
Eastern Airlines mainly for its air reservation system, then
"sold" it to itself as part of a now-controversial
restructuring.)
[***][5/10/88][***]
PECAN GOLDEN CHIPS

CONTROL DATA, Minneapolis, may be in play. "The Wall Street
Journal" reported May 3 that the Belzberg family of Canada had
bought a stake of under 5% of the company, and was considering an
offer for the company. At its annual meeting May 4, Chairman
Robert M. Price said management would fight to retain its
independence.

EDS, Dallas, signed 5-year fixed-price agreements with its
parent company General Motors for data processing services.

UNISYS, Detroit, won a buy recommendation from Salomon Brothers.
As analyst Sanjiv Hingorani wrote, he expects the company to
increase its market share and grow earnings by 18% this year and
14.5% in 1989.
[***][5/10/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

CRAY RESEARCH, Minneapolis, announced an Extended Architecture
series of supercomputers with larger memories and better price-
performance to extend the life of its X-MP line. The new machines
are also compatible with the Y-MP supercomputers introduced in
February.

HONEYWELL BULL, Minneapolis, announced two new models of its DPS
8000 mainframe family, along with new mass storage system and a
Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tool called PACBASE,
with which it hopes to automate software creation and updating.

MARTIN MARIETTA, Orlando, FL, said its Electronics and Missiles
group will stop making chips for the weapons systems it makes and
start buying off-the-shelf components. It expects to save $10
million.

RICOH announced it will build a manufacturing plant in
Lawrenceville, GA, about 20 miles north northeast of Atlanta. The
plant will at first make copying toner, developer and plastic
cartridges and containers, but the 68-acre site has plenty of
room for expansion. It's Ricoh's first U.S. plant outside
California.

UNISYS, Detroit, will package Microsoft Windows 2.0 and
Windows/386 as standard features of its Personal Workstation/2
family of desktop machines.
[***][5/10/88][***]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Good look and feel is only screen deep. Compatibility is more
important."
                                --Tony Bove & Cheryl Rhodes
                                  (compatible desktop publishing
                                   authors, in "Macintosh Today")



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CLARIS SIGNS CANADIAN DISTRIBUTOR
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- Claris Corp. has announced that Compuserve,
a Markham-based subsidiary of U.S.-based Microamerica, will be
its exclusive distributor in Canada.  Compuserve -- which is not
affiliated with CompuServe of Columbus, Ohio -- says the deal is
part of its commitment to increase its Macintosh business.  For
Claris, it is part of a plan to select a local distributor in
each of the 30 countries where it operates.

Compuserve will begin distributing Claris products in mid-June
from warehouses in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to more than
250 authorized Apple dealers and VARs.  The distributor expects
the deal with Claris to result in 15 to 20 per cent growth for
Compuserve.

CONTACT: CLARIS CORP., 7495 Birchmount Rd., Markham, Ont.
         L3R 5G2, [phone]
         COMPUSERVE, 43 Riviera Dr., Markham, Ont. L3R 5J6,
         [phone], Fax: [phone]
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COMMODORE ANNOUNCES PROJECT SOFTWARE
TORONTO (NB) -- Commodore Business Machines Ltd. has announced
Project Software, a new marketing program that will give Canadian
schools evaluation copies of Amiga software at 75 to 100 per cent
off list price.  Announced at the annual Education Computing
Organization of Ontario (ECOO) conference in Toronto, Project
Software contains more than 100 educational software titles with
a total value of more than C$10,000, Commodore says.

When a school board buys three to 50 Amiga 500 computers,
Commodore will sell the board a complete Project Software library
for C$2,500.  With the purchase of 51 to 100 Amiga 500s, the
library will cost C$1,500, and a board that buys more than 100
machines will get the software library free.

The new program complements Commodore's Three For Two plan, in
which publicly funded schools get one free Amiga 500 for every
two they buy.

CONTACT: COMMODORE BUSINESS MACHINES LTD., 3470 Pharmacy Ave.,
         Agincourt (Toronto), Ont., M1W 3G3, [phone],
         Fax: [phone]
[***][5/10/88][***]
ZIM APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE CHOSEN FOR DEFENCE PROJECT
OTTAWA (NB) -- The Canadian Department of National Defence has
chosen Zim, a relational database management and applications
development system, for one of its largest data processing
projects ever.  Phase I of the Base ADP project will provide
software for more than 300 computers.  The defence department
will use Zim to develop six major applications to support
operations at 69 Canadian Forces bases, stations, schools and
other facilities.

Zanthe Information Inc. and Choreo Systems Inc., both of Ottawa,
will supply the software and related services.  Zanthe developed
Zim; Choreo is a software marketing, distribution and technical
support company which handles the product.

Zim was introduced in 1983.  The software has more than 8,000
users worldwide, with about 40 per cent of them in Canada, said
John Lugsdin, president of Choreo Systems.  Marshall Warwaruk,
executive vice-president of Zanthe Information, said Zim was
chosen for the project over a number of other packages, including
Oracle, which was with Zim on the final short list.

CONTACT: CHOREO SYSTEMS INC., 251 Bank St., Suite 500,
         Ottawa, Ont. K1P 1X3, [phone]
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COMPUTERMALL CHANGES NAME, RETRENCHES
TORONTO (NB) -- The Toronto Computermall is now The Canadian
Exposition and Conference Centre.  Alain Sutton, president of the
operation, said management decided to postpone the computer mall
part of its plans and concentrate on renting conference and
exhibition facilities.  Response to the idea of a computer mall
was, as it has been in some other cities, slow.  As of February
the mall had only one tenant.  But Sutton said the mall idea has
not been abandoned.  "We've got all the plans and programs in
place," he said.  He hopes that once the conference centre has
been in operation for a while it will create more traffic, thus
making the mall concept more attractive to potential tenants.

CONTACT: CANADIAN EXPOSITION AND CONFERENCE CENTRE,
         272 Attwell Dr., Toronto, Ont., [phone]
[***][5/10/88][***]
KEYWORD TO SUPPLY DATAPOINT
CALGARY (NB) -- Keyword Office Technologies Ltd. will supply its
document interchange products and technology to Datapoint Corp.
of San Antonio, Tex., under an original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) agreement just announced.  Keyword designs and sells
products that allows documents to be exchanged and edited among
incompatible office systems.  The Keyword products will be
incorporated in Datapoint's integrated office system products for
worldwide distribution.

CONTACT: KEYWORD OFFICE TECHNOLOGIES LTD. 2816 - 11th St. N.E.,
         Calgary, Alta. T2E 7S7, [phone]
[***][5/10/88][***]
TWO THOUSAND USERS SEEN FOR CCINFODISC
HAMILTON, Ont. (NB) -- The Canadian Centre for Occupational
Health and Safety expects to have 2,000 users for its CCINFOdisc
by the end of its fiscal year 1988-89.  At present there are
about 700 subscribers to CCINFOdisc, which contains a series of
databases about occupational health and safety and hazardous
materials.  About 15 new subscription are coming in each week,
the organization said.  The two CD-ROMs are updated quarterly for
an annual fee of C$100 plus postage and handling.

CONTACT: Inquiries Service, CCOHS, 250 Main St. E.,
         Hamilton, Ont. L8N 1H6, [phone] or
         [phone]
[***][5/10/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- MDI MOBILE DATA INTERNATIONAL INC., Vancouver, has rejected a
takeover offer from BCE Mobile Communications Inc. of Montreal as
inadequate.  And Glenayre Electronics Ltd., also of Vancouver,
has bought 134,400 common shares of MDI, increasing its stake to
about eight per cent of the company.

-- DATATECH SYSTEMS LTD., Victoria, B.C. service bureau, made a
profit of C$96,000 in the six months ended Feb. 29, up from
C$15,000 a year earlier.  Revenue was C$6.2 million, up from C$5
million.

-- MEMOTEC DATA INC., Montreal, will accept all the shares
tendered in response to its offer to buy stock in Datagram Inc.
of Boucherville, Que.  About 93 per cent of Datagram's shares
were offered, according to Memotec.

-- CMQ COMMUNICATIONS INC., Toronto, is among eight companies
that recently signed joint marketing agreements with workstation
maker Apollo Computer Inc., Chelmsford, Mass.  The agreement
makes MarketLAN, CMQ's software interface to its stock exchange
database, available through Apollo for its workstations.

-- IBM CANADA LTD. chairman Lorne Lodge has been elected chairman
of Security Pacific Bank of Canada.  Lodge, who was president of
IBM Canada from 1972 to 1982, has retired from the company but
remains as chairman of the board, a position he has held since
1982.

-- GRID SYSTEMS CANADA INC., Toronto, has signed a C$440,000
agreement with Ontario Hydro, the provincially owned electrical
utility, which will buy up to 150 Grid 1520 laptop computers for
use by its field engineers and auditors.



[***][5/10/88][***]
COMING TO EUROPE? WATCH YOUR FLOPPY DISKS
STRASSBURG, FRANCE (NB) -- A British businessman, while on travel in
France, was stopped by the Gendarmes (the police) recently and had his car
searched. Upon finding floppy disks in his car which contained company
financial information on 1-2-3 format, police told him he would
have to pay customs duties on the disks....  However he managed to
convince the policeman that he was just passing through France and was
consequently waived without charge.

Following the incident, the European Community was contacted to
establish guidelines on the transfer of floppy disks and laptops. The EC
decreed that any transport of material between EC countries which is not
for commercial use (such as a laptop system which you are not planning
to sell) cannot be taxed from country to country. However, material
which includes floppy disks and laptops and which is intended for sale
to another country, must be either declared upon entry or must be
accompanied by a EC customs document. No comment however on how the
choice is made! All of this however will lose significance in 1992 when
the internal market is completed and people will be able to move from
country to country without chatting up gendarmes unecessarily!

[***][5/10/88][***]
COMING TO EUROPE WITH A TOSHIBA 1000 AND MODEM? THEN BE CAUTIONED!
               *EXCLUSIVE*
NEUSS, GERMANY (NB) -- "With all due respect, Sir, my T1000 has had
two internal modems already and I wonder if you know why?" NEWSBYTES-
EUROPE asked its local Toshiba dealer when its second internal modem
failed. "I mean is there a problem that people should be aware of?"

"Well we have had problems with the modems outside the US because the
various countries of Europe and the Middle East have telephone lines
that surge the line and kill the modems (they have been designed solely
for the US market).

"Naturally, we have had to modify them to be able to connect to the CCITT
tones that are used in Europe and we expect to ship new modems in the
next two to three weeks. In the meantime and until we know what our
approach to our customers will be, I suggest your readers became aware
of this problem and use some other means of communication in Europe."

[***][5/10/88][***]
COMMUNICATIONS IN EUROPE: EC PRESENTS DIRECTIVE ON COMPETITION
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NB) -- Peter Sutherland, the EC commissioner
responsible for competition in Europe, presented a new commission
directive which requires member states to develop competition in the EC
market for communications terminal equipment. The directive, which must
be executed by the member states, says that a manufacturer will be
able to sell terminal equipment in another state without any further
permissions, accordances, and approvals. The directive includes
terminals, modems and telex machines. Currently the communications
market in Europe is worth about $11 billion with an expected annual rise
of 6-7% a year. Other areas covered by this directive include the need to
standardize the various technical specifications existing in each of the
12 countries, separation of the regulatory from the administrative
sections of each telephone service, and gradual withdrawal of current
long-term over-inflated rental contracts.

[***][5/10/88][***]
WE HAVE HAD TWIST, SUPERTWIST AND NOW DOUBLE TWIST LCDS
DUSSELDORF, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- Ever since the Data General One
breathed life into the screens of laptop computers, there has been a need to
improve the quality of the LCDs. Thus a year ago, the Supertwist LCD
made its debut and kept laptops going on batteries for a few extra
hours. Now Sharp Electronics has announced a new 640x480 LCD based
on double twist technology which offers 15:1 contrast ratio (compared
to 7:1 for the supertwist) with black on white characters. According to
the company, the technology is based on two supertwisted LCDs stuck
together.
[***][5/10/88][***]
SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS SOUGHT MOST IN GERMANY
MUNICH, WEST GERMANY (NB) -- If you are a software developer and in
search of a job, then look at Germany. Software development is the job
of choice followed by systems engineer and by applications programmer.
Thus states a report by SCS Personalberatung, Hamburg which continues
the list with a data processing researcher, organizer, data processing
analyst and system analyser. The top job has been on the list for the
last two months indicating that in Germany at least, local software is
becoming important. This is because in Germany most software is
imported while in France most software is locally built. This may have
to do with the fact that French want to buy French products, while
Germans do not really care, as long as the software works well.
[***][5/10/88][***]
CRAY BOUGHT BY INDIA
NEW DELHI, INDIA (NB) -- India has finally was permitted to purchase a Cray
supercomputer to be used in meteorology. The computer will be used to
analyze all the data provided by weather satellites in order to determine
when the devastating monsoons will strike.

The sale was held up while folks at the Pentagon decided whether India
should be permitted to buy such a powerful computer; the Cray, reasoned the
Pentagon, could be used for defense applications by the Soviet Union
with whom India keeps a steady friendship.

The system cost $8 million and will be a housed in a new
building worth $30 million equipped with a liquid hydrogen cooling system.
[***][5/10/88][***]
JAPAN TAKES ACTION ON SEMICONDUCTORS
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NB) -- Japan said "that we were ready to take
action on the agreement we have had with the US on semiconductors," to a
GATT council sponsored by the European Community. The EC complained that
Japan was setting lower prices for semiconductors sold in the US and
therefore charging high prices for chips sold in Europe. The EC, through
legal advisor Christopher Ball, said that "Japan knows it is in the
wrong and should scrap the discriminatory prices immediately." Japan,
replied through its ambassador, Yoshio Hatano, that Japan was going to
take appropriate measures as soon as possible."

[***][5/10/88][***]
EUROBITS...

      Apple will have special "ALL APPLE" sessions at next week's
MACWORLD expo in Amsterdam. Amongst the various conference sessions,
there will be a talk on UNIX and connectivity by Ed Colby, Apple Europe
Development Center's director. Other speeches will come from David Jones
(desktop publishing), Paul Maarleveld on databases, and Larry
Taylor on Macinstosh connectivity.  Apple has been making a lot of
headway lately in the business market in Europe mainly because it's
finally shrugging off the "Apple II games machine" stigma which it has
carried here for the past 8 years.  The show will be
reported in next week's issue of NEWSBYTES EUROPE...

      ...You have of course heard PROLOG and SMALLTALK. There is also
SNOBOL and COBOL, not forgetting SNAPS. Now comes DOLOG from AEG which
is a language designed for industrial automation. DOLOG (which would
have meant DOG LOGICAL LANGUAGE and which would include AARF, BOOH
and GRRRRRR as its main statements) stands for "statement list," "ladder
logical diagram," and "functional plan" in German. The language runs
(needless to say) on AEG computers only...

      ...MODCOMP, an AEG company has introduced the AMDES line of UNIX
based computer system designed for non-time critical environments. This
32-bit computer uses UNIX V as its operating system and complements the
MC80 and Classic computer lines...

      ...Commodore International Ltd. reported that third quarter's
income, which ended March 31st, surged to $9 million from $1 million the
previous year. Sales rose 18% to $200 million from $169 million the year
earlier. The profit for the nine months so far moved up 74%...

      ...A new modem has been announced by the French company PNB
called the "AMAZON COFFRET." This modem which offers 300, 1200 and 2400
bps speeds using the Hayes command set also has MNP5 error correction
system. Software is an optional extra. However at the price of FF6950
(about $1000) it's also steeply priced...

      ...Intel announced the 302 using the 386 chip at 25MHz.
The system, top of the range in the 300 series, is designed for
OEMs.  This further confirms the fact that Intel is aiming to get as
much juice out of the 386 as it can..

      ...Fifth Generation Systems has launched the latest version of
the Fastback backup/restore package, Fastback Plus. The new product
which can be used on either 5.25 or 3.5" diskettes offers 10MB in four
minute backup time and improved procedure...

      ...and finally NEWSBYTES-EUROPE would like to see the specifications
of the upcoming Cray-3 system, based on Galium Arsenide, due for release in
1989. It is rumoured to have a cycle time of 1.9ns, faster than the
obviously lethargic 4.4ns now adorning the Cray-2.



[***][5/10/88][***]
JUSTICE INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE INSLAW PERJURY
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Justice Department is investigating
whether its own officials committed perjury during the litigation
surrounding the Inslaw case. An agency spokesman confirmed the
investigation, but refused to reveal the identities of those
being investigated. According to the WASHINGTON POST, the Senate
permanent subcommittee on investigations is also looking into the
complex case, in which a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that
Justice had deliberately attempted to put Inslaw out of business
and stole the company's case tracking software. Later, an
investigation by BARRONS magazine uncovered a link between an
Inslaw competitor and Attorney General Edwin Meese III. Inslaw
says there was a vendetta against the company in Justice, led by
an employee (no long with the agency) who had been fired by
Inslaw and then put in charge of the Inslaw contract at Justice.
[***][5/10/88][***]
LOTUS ADDS SIGNAL FEATURES
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NB) -- Lotus Development Corp. had added 30
features to its Signal financial data service. Signal 2.0 adds
money market and mutual fund data, the MidAmerica stock exchange,
and the Chicago Board of Trade market profile service. In all,
the new Signal, to be available in June, will have 60 new
indexes, for a total of 80. Upgrades will cost cost $55. The
suggested retail price for Signal is $595 for the software and
the FM receiver. There is also a monthly fee of $80 plus a
transaction fee for each exchange.
[***][5/10/88][***]
OSI WINS BIG BACKING
NEW YORK (NB) -- A worldwide standard for network communications,
known as Open Systems Interconnection, has won the full backing
of the Corporation for Open Systems, representing 80 percent of
the U.S. computer and communications market. OSI would allow
hardware and software to communication across various
manufacturers' equipment. Two of the more important companies in
the organization, International Business Machines Corp. and Wang
Laboratories, Inc., said they will introduce OSI products at a
trade show coming up in Baltimore.

"Users are finding that, in order to use information as a
strategic tool, they have to link many vendors' computers
together," said Lincoln Faurer, president of the Corporation for
Open Systems, at a news conference. OSI is being developed by the
International Standards Organization in Geneva. A big boost to
OSI will come from the U.S. government. Michael Corrigan, a
Pentagon computer official, said at the news conference that the
Defense Department will adopt OSI for all U.S. military
operations and for all NATO allies. In order to compete for the
lucrative U.S. government market, vendors will have to offer OSI
standards, Corrigan said.
[***][5/10/88][***]
HARVARD PICKS ZENITH FOR MBA'S
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NB) --  Harvard Business School has picked the
Zenith SupersPort 286 luggable as the computer of choice for
incoming candidates for master of business administration
candidates. In a multimillion dollar deal, Harvard will package
the Zenith PC compatibles with printers, software, and modems and
offer them to incoming students for $2,940. According to Harvard,
nearly 800 students will enroll in the MBA program this fall and
about 80 percent will buy the Zenith package. (A quick
calculation here at NEWSBYTES puts the total revenue from the
package at about $1.9 million, based on the Harvard assumptions
and prices.) The deal is a coup for Zenith Data Systems. Harvard
has picked IBM machines for each incoming MBA class since 1984,
which it began requiring MBA students to have PCs.
[***][5/10/88][***]
VERMONT CITY TO TEST NEW VIDEOTEX VENTURE
BURLINGTON, Vt. (NB) -- In part because the city has a large base
of home and personal computer users, Burlington, Vt., will host a
New England Telephone (NET) and NYNEX Corp. experiment with
computer shopping, banking, and news. Called Gateway, the service
will allow any telephone customer with a computer and modem to
log on to a variety of data bases, with no individual contracts
with the information provider. According to a spokesman, Gateway
will be available in Boston and New York next year. Why
Burlington? "We estimate about one-third of Burlington homes are
equipped with computers," said NET official Paul Lacouture.
Gateway is a result of Judge Harold Greene's decision that
regional Bell operating companies may offer information services
as long as they don't control the data.
[***][5/10/88][***]
AMIGA SALES PUMPING COMMODORE'S BALANCE SHEET
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (NB) -- With solid sales of its Amiga computer,
Commodore International Ltd. showed a third quarter profit of $9
million (28 cents per share) on sales of $200 million. For the
third quarter last year, Commodore had a $1 million profit (3
cents per share) and $170 million in sales. Irving Gould,
Commodore chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We are
pleased with the strong performance of the Amiga product line,
which accounted for approximately 45 percent of revenue in the
current quarter. Commodore's line of PC-compatible computers also
experienced good growth in the quarter."
[***][5/10/88][***]
STATES BEEFING UP COMPUTER SECURITY AFTER LOTTERY FRAUD
HARRISBURG, Pa. (NB) -- Officials in Pennsylvania and Delaware
have ordered investigations into the security of state computer
systems after two Pennsylvania men nearly got away with $15
million in the Keystone State's lottery. Officials said that Mark
Herbst, 33, a video store clerk, walked away with a check for
nearly $470,000, the first payment on the $15 million jackpot,
after presenting lottery headquarters with a winning ticket
forged by an accomplice, a computer expert. Policy arrested the
computer maven, Henry Rich, 33, when he tried to get his share of
the first check from Herbst. Rich is an employee at Harrisburg's
Control Data Corp., which provides computer services for the
lottery. Police said Rich used the CDC computer to find high-
value, uncashed lottery winners, and then printed the ticket at
Control Data. Rich also had access to the computer that runs the
Delaware lottery. Lottery officials figured out the scam when
they discovered that the winning ticket had been sold in one area
of the state, but that Herbst's ticket had been printed on stock
used for a shipment to a lottery outlet in another part of
the state.
[***][5/10/88][***]
NORIEGA CONDUIT FOR HIGH TECH GOODS TO SOVIET BLOC?
WASHINGTON (NB) -- A Cuban intelligence official who defected to
the U.S. last year says Panama strongman Manuel Noriega allowed
Cuba to set up a series of fronts in Panama for diversion of
western technology. According to Florentino Aspillaga Lombard,
forbidden goods would flow to a firm that was ostensibly
Panamanian, but would then be diverted to Cuba. Aspillaga
revealed the diversion scheme in an interview in the WASHINGTON
POST. Jose Blandon, a former top Noriega aide who has also
defected and become a critic, has also alleged that Noriega used
technology transfers to the East as a money-maker. Aspillaga
said, "Noriega isn't a communist. He doesn't share Fidel's ideas.
But Noriega likes dollars."
[***][5/10/88][***]
POST OFFICE TO GO HIGH TECH
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The U.S. Postal Service plans an experiment
this year to test the application of high technology to moving
mail. The service will test Autopost, a device that resembles a
bank teller machine. It will automatically weigh a piece of mail
and tell the user how much postage is needed. The mailer then
puts the money in a cash slot and the machine delivers the
correct postage stamp, change, and a receipt. The machine will
also take a bank card payment. The Post Office will also be
testing Infopost, an automated system to answer questions about
the mail. The machine speaks in English or Spanish and delivers a
printout.
[***][5/10/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES

THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE reports it took in 582,790
computerized tax returns over phones lines by April 22, up from
77,615 in 1987. By 1989, says IRS, it will expand the service to
48 of its 63 districts, and to all by 1990.

USAIR GROUP of Arlington, Va., is part of a group that has bought
half of the Apollo computerized airline reservation system from
Allegis Corp. for $499 million. Allegis, which owns United Air
Lines, needs cash in a hurry. USAir's portion of Apollo will cost
$113 million.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DELEWARE of Lewes, Del., will work with the
federal government to develop a computer system for collecting
all the oceanographic data produced in the world. The Joint
Center for Research in the Management of Oceanographic Data will
be the first attempt to gather together information on all the
oceanographic data sources.

DATA GENERAL CORP. of Westboro, Mass., is offering 16-bit
multiuser microcomputer, housed in a PC-style chassis, starting
at $4,995. The company is also pushing a series of enhancements
for its 32-bit MV minicomputer systems. Included are a disk and
tape unit, a 130-MB cartridge tape drive, and an 8 MB memory
expansion board.

IBM has signed on with the Network Computer Forum, a group
fostering the next generation of computing. The Forum has 100
members and was established in March 1987 with 31 charter
members, including APOLLO COMPUTER INC. of Chelmsford, Mass., the
organizational sponsor. The Forum is also associated with the
Corporation for Open Systems.

GRACE DISTRIBUTION of Bridgewater, N.J., will use its SoftKat
unit to distribute IBM educational software as IBM's first
authorized distributor of this type of software. SoftKat is
headquartered in Van Nuys, Calif. Grade Distribution is a
subsidiary of W.R. Grace & Co.

COMPUTERVISION of Bedford, Mass., a division of Prime Computer,
is selling a new software package aimed at finite element
modeling and analysis. Called StressLab, the product is aimed at
helping design engineers predict how designs will handle real-
life stresses.

CULLINET SOFTWARE INC. of Westwood, Mass., has hacked 400 jobs
and sold two divisions and real-estate holdings to cut costs by
about $25 million. Among those getting walking papers: the
executive vice president for finance, administration, and
planning; the legal counsel and senior vice president; and a
division vice president.



[***][5/10/88][***]
TRI-FORMAT DISKS LAUNCHED
MACCLESFIELD, CHESHIRE (NB) -- Dual format disks for the Atari ST
and Commodore Amiga have been around for a while, thanks to
special software loaders for the disks concerned.  Now Mandarin
Software, in conjunction with Level 9, has gone one step further
and launch a tri-format disk format for the Amstrad CPC, PCW and
Sinclair Spectrum series of micros.

"Traditional dual-format disks, whether flippies or otherwise,
have, in effect been one version of a game on side A and another
on side B," explained Pete Austin of Level 9.  "Our new triple-
format disks use a different approach and have just one copy of
the game on side A, whilst side B contains compressed pictures.
The game itself is the same for all computers and we have a small
amount of machine-specific code to handle things that differ such
as keyboard scanning, disk files and picture display," he added.

NEWSBYTES UK notes that, since dealers only need carry one stock
of a particular package (instead of three previously), the
chances of games players being disappointed in not obtaining a copy
of the latest game for their machine are much reduced.

CONTACT: MANDARIN SOFTWARE, Europa House, Adlington Park,
         Adlington, Macclesfield SK10 4NP.
         Tel: [phone].
[***][5/10/88][***]
OPUS BBS HIT BY HACKER(S)
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, UK (NB) -- Log-On-The-Tyne, one of the UK's
longest-established bulletin boards, has been hit by computer
hackers who are corrupting the board's system files in a manner
not seen before.  The problem has now been solved, but will cause
worry for other Opus BBS system operators (sysops) according to
sysop John Bone.

"The problem is Opus BBS-specific and could affect almost any
Opus board.  I've solved the loophole quite simply, but it has
meant that Log-on-the-Tyne has been out of action for short
periods this past few weeks, so I'm taking this opportunity to
apologise to any users who've had difficulty getting through," he
said.

Bone says that the problem, as yet, is still a new phenomenon,
but urges all BBS sysops (and users) to be on the lookout for new
subscribers logging on using well-known industry names and who
are thus granted high system privileges.  "Check out the
credentials of anyone signing on as a new user to a BBS," said
Bone.  "Alternatively, BBS sysops can contact me for a
solution to the problem," he added.

CONTACT: JOHN BONE, Sysop, Log-on-the-Tyne BBS - 091-477-3339
[***][5/10/88][***]
MODEMS #1: TRICOM BLASTS IN WITH THE TORNADO MODEM
HARPENDEN, HERTS (NB) -- Tricom Communications is a new name in
UK modem communications.  The company has entered the market
with a blast, however, gaining BABT approval for its
Tornado high-speed modem.  The modem is capable of V22, V22Bis,
V29 (9600 baud) and an amazing 19,200 bps speeds working to MNP
(Microcom Network Protocol) level 5 and 6 error correction.

Sounds good.  What's the catch?  The modem is expensive and will
set you more than #1,000.  You also can't contact too many dial-
up services at the higher speeds, but if you want to be first on
the block with the world's fastest modem...

* US ROBOTICS and TELEBIT have now reached agreement on a
  proposed joint standard for submission to the CCITT
  communications standards committee.  The standard supports
  14,400bps transmit/450bps receive along with an an optional
  512-channel system (as seen on the Telebit series of modems).

CONTACT: TRICOM COMMUNICATIONS, Irradion House,
         Southdown Industrial Estate, Southdown Road,
         Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 1PW.
         Tel: [phone].
[***][5/10/88][***]
MODEMS #2: HAYES ADOPTS CCITT V42 ERROR-CHECKING
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Hayes Microcomputer products has announced
that it is to offer a V42 firmware upgrade for its V-series of
modems.  The employee-owned modem manufacturer is also planning
to incorporate the V42 error-correction system in its future
modem releases.

What does this all mean?  "The V42 error correction system is
better-known as LAP-M, a derivative of the LAP-D error-checking
system," explained Bill Pechey, Hayes' UK technical director.
"Now that that the CCITT has confirmed the V42 standard, we feel
that Hayes' customers can benefit from the point-to-point error-
correction standard."

Pechey acknowledged the current state of disarray in the high-
speed modem market (witness the Telebit/US Robotics compromise
- see above story) but thinks that V42 will win out.  Is he
right?  Tine alone will tell...

CONTACT: BILL PECHEY - 01-848-1858.
[***][5/10/88][***]
MODEMS #3: MNP ERROR-CHECKING WITHIN SOFTWARE
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND (NB) -- Okay, hold on to your hats.  The
Microcom Network Protocol (MNP) error-checking system has
previously meant modem users paying several hundred pounds for a
new modem with the MNP feature built-in.  That's tough news for
existing modem owners who can't/won't upgrade their modems.

Don Milne, a UK programmer/dealer/entrepreneur wasn't too happy
about this situation, so he started writing his own software to
support MNP error-checking within software.  The result is
Odyssey - or rather, the result will be Odyssey.  Milne is
working on a software engine - now into its 11th alpha-test
revision - that carries out MNP level 2 error-checking on pretty
well any standard PC/modem combination.

NEWSBYTES UK has been using the software to access CIX, the
Compulink Information eXchange BBS, where the program is
available for download if the lively COMMS/MNP area.  The program
works and, when Milne releases the full package onto the market
later this year, we reckon it will be a best-seller.

* Modem users with access to Cix can download the latest version
  of the alpha-test version of Odyssey (called MNP Demo) from the
  Comms/MNP area of the BBS.  Cix is on 01-399-5252 (all modem
  speeds).  Cix details are available (voice) on 01-390-8446.

CONTACT: DON MILNE, Micropack Limited - 0224-631100
[***][5/10/88][***]
PORTABLE 286 & 386 PCS DEBUT
RADLEY, OXFORDSHIRE (NB) -- Just when you though it was safe to
buy a portable 80286 or 386-based PC, along comes Integrated
Networks with a range of range of budget portables to set your
eyes (and wallets) popping.

Top of the range is the LCD-386, a 640K-equipped PC centering
around a 16MHz 80386 microprocessor and a 30Mb hard disk.  The
machine costs #2,499 and has a single 1.2Mb 5.25 inch drive
fitted as standard.  Optional memory expansion (for OS/2) is
available via 1Mb and 2Mb Ram expansion cards at #595 and #1,095
respectively.  A 60Mb hard disk version of the machine is also
available at #100 extra.

Next on down is the LCD-286 with the same specifications as the
386, except for a 6/10MHz 80286 microprocessor.  The 30Mb hard
disk machine costs #1,199, with the 60Mb option again costing
another #100.

Can't afford these bargains?  Check out the LCD-8830 which is a
portable PC with a 360K 5.25 inch floppy drive with
4.77/10MHz switchable 8088 microprocessor.  The LCD-8830 only
comes in a 30Mb hard disk configuration at #999.

All three machines come in a neat sewing machine-style case with
flip down LCD screen.  3.5 inch disk and various serial/parallel port
options are also available.  How does Integrated Networks manage
such prices?  "Industry standard components are used throughout
to simplify servicing and allow the interchange of add-ons
between machines," said Terry Pritchard, the firm's MD.  "One of
the beauties of the modular design of these PCs is that, should
the user want to upgrade from a 286 to a 386 model, all they have
to do is buy a new board!"

CONTACT: INTEGRATED NETWORKS, Thrupp Lane, Radley,
         Oxon OX14 3NQ.          Tel: [phone].
[***][5/10/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

AMSTRAD (0277-230222) is said to be about to unveil a budget fax
machine at this week's Communications '88 show in Birmingham.
NEWSBYTES UK will be covering the show and will bring you full
details of Amstrad's machines (and other hot news) in next week's
issue.

APPLE COMPUTER (0442-60244) has invited schools across the UK to
produce their own newspaper for its 'School's Newspaper of
the Year' Awards.  The competition aims to introduce teachers and
their pupils to desktop publishing (on an Apple computer of
course!)

BLENHEIM ONLINE (01-868-4466) has announced Electronic
Message Systems, a three-day conference on electronic
mail.  The conference will be held at the London Tara
Hotel on 6/8 December 1988.

CYTEK ENGINEERING (061-873-8008) is now offering a professional
repair service for Winchester and floppy disk drives.  Prices
range from #55 for a straight disk drive exchange and #99 for
service/repair option.  The fixed price repair option includes a
3/5 day turnaround and 24-hour soak test.  Sounds a lot cheaper
than your typical high street repair shop.

DATABASE EXHIBITIONS (0625-878888) will be showing the world's
largest spreadsheet (1,000 rows by 16,000 columns - 220 feet long)
at the Electron & BBC Micro User Show in London (13-15 May 1988).
The spreadsheet will be running on an Acorn Archimedes.

IN TOUCH (0222-882334) is importing the US version of Procomm
Plus, Datastorm's commercial PC communications package.  The
package costs #59-95 plus tax.  NEWSBYTES UK notes that Shareware
Marketing (0732-358125) are selling the official UK version for
#49-00.  Since Procomm Plus retails for just $75 in the US, In
Touch seem to be using a strange $/# conversion chart.

MANDARIN SOFTWARE (0625-878888) has released STOS for the Atari
ST.  STOS is released under licence from Jawx International of
Paris and has more than 320 commands which aim to make games-
writing more easier on the ST.  The four-disk package includes a
macro assembler, music editor and line editor in its many
functions.  STOS will sell for approximately #30 and is the first
of several Jawx/Mandarin software deals.

MICROPRO INTERNATIONAL's US headquarters has announced shipping
delays on Wordstar Release 5.0.  The package was originally destined
for mid-May shipment, but has been delayed until late
June.  Micropro UK is going ahead with an early June launch of
the package however, so it looks like the UK may get the package
before the US (for a change).

The NATIONAL COMPUTING CENTRE (061-228-6333) opened a #400,000
extension last week which will house more than 100 people.  To
celebrate the occasion, the NCC buried a computer time capsule in
the foundations.  The capsule contents include a copy of Computer
Weekly, a picture of a PC and two dozen other computer-related
artifacts from 1988.

PROTEK (01-245-6844) has released Sharespool, a multi-PC interface
for the Hewlett-Packard Laserjet series of laser printers.  The
#550 interface can accept data from up to four PC's serial ports
at 60 kilobaud using simple two-wire cabling.  Multiple-PC
printing can be accommodated, thanks to the interface's 256K
onboard data buffer.
[***][5/10/88][***]
AND FINALLY...WOMAN GETS A CHARGE OUT OF LIFE
If you thought you had static problems with your computer, spare
a thought for London housewife Pauline Shaw.  According to The
Sun newspaper, Ms Shaw suffers from a surplus of static
electricity.  The problem is so bad that she has reportedly
wrecked 25 irons, 18 toasters, 15 kettles, 12 TVs, 12 radios, 6
tumble dryers, 10 washing machines, 3 videos and at least 250
light bulbs.  Altogether, the broken gadgets have cost her family
more than #8,000.

According to the paper, light bulbs shatter when Ms Shaw
tries to change them and circuits melt when she tries to program
her automatic washing machine. Sadly, she is also reported to
have boiled her pet fish alive by inadvertently touching the fish
tank thermostat.

Ms Shaw's static problems got considerably worse when her father
died six years ago.  Since then, the mother of three has had to
take three showers a day in a bid to reduce the static.  She
knows it's time to take a shower when she gets a headache.  If
she touches anything electrical at that stage, the static charge
kills the machine.  NEWSBYTES UK hopes that Ms Shaw doesn't get
too near a computer.