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/nb880628.262

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BREAKTHROUGH MATH PROGRAM WINS IMMEDIATE ENDORSEMENTS
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- "When calculators came out, arithmetic became
very easy.  We built Mathematica to make all kinds of mathematics
that easy," said the developer of a revolutionary new math product, Stephen
Wolfram, flanked by enthusiastic representatives of Apple, IBM,
Autodesk, Sun Microsystems, and NeXT.  The celebration was about
Mathematica, a program currently available for the Macintosh, which
can perform virtually every calculation in a fraction of the time
it would take to perform it by hand.  Mathematica can simultaneously
produce 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional graphs, and includes a
language that can be customized to create new applications based
on textbook or teaching models.  Everyone is raving about it.  For
instance, Apple's Larry Tesler, vice president of advanced technology,
says of Mathematica, "It will really revolutionize the way people
do math."

Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and currently president of NeXT, is
the first to promise to bundle the product free with all the workstations
he sells, although Jobs refused to discuss when his computer will be
introduced.  Autodesk promises to create a version that will run on
IBM's PS/2 line.  The program will also become the foundation of new
engineering applications from Autodesk.  "It's the most incredible
tool we've ever seen," gasped Autodesk's Eric Lyons, director of
technology.  In addition, Sun Microsystems, Ardent Computer, Stellar
Computer, and Silicon Graphics announced plans to adapt Mathematica
to their machines.

Mathematica, marketed by Wolfram Research of Champaign, Illinois, is
the brainchild of acknowledged genius Stephen Wolfram, the firm's
president.  He was the youngest doctorate recipient from Caltech,
receiving his distinction in physics at the tender age of 20. He
is currently a professor at the University of Illinois

Mathematica is currently available for the Macintosh SE for $495 and
the Macintosh II for $795.
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POSSIBLE SETBACKS AREN'T STOPPING STEVE JOBS' QUEST FOR SALES
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- Think you can market a state-of-the-art campus
workstation created by a team headed by one of the industry's wunderkinds?
There are now openings in Boston and Pittsburg, two cities where
NeXT Inc. is establishing sales offices.  Advertisements for sales
personnel have been posted in those cities' local papers, indicating
the forecasts of a July release date for NeXT's first computer are
most likely on target.  The date of the introduction is also said to be
in perfect timing for fall purchasing decisions by universities and colleges.

Only one factor could delay the introduction of the NeXT machines,
according to published reports, and that is a possible dispute between
Apple Computer and NeXT over copyrights. The attorneys from both
sides are still said to be haggling over details regarding the
similarity of each firm's offerings.

Meanwhile, Jobs got something of a blow from one of his biggest
fans.  Carnegie Mellon University, an investor in NeXT, announced
that it will develop versions of the Mach operating system for
the Macintosh II.  That's the operating system on which the NeXT
workstation is rumored to be running, and if it's ported to the
Macintosh, the NeXT machine will lose some of its individuality.
To make matters worse, the University announced that the preferred
machines for incoming students this fall will not be from the
Palo Alto company, but from Apple and IBM -- the Macintosh and
the PS/2 line.
[***][6/28/88][***]
HEWLETT PACKARD AND MICROSOFT THUMB NOSE AT APPLE, PREPARE FOR SUIT
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- In what many are considering a nose-thumbing
at Apple Computer's lawsuit concerning alleged copyright infringement
in the "look and feel" of their products, Hewlett Packard and
Microsoft have announced plans to develop a new version of the
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet using HP's New Wave software "environment."
Apple claims New Wave's screen display is too similar to that of
its own Macintosh computers.  But HP isn't sitting around waiting
for the issue to be settled.  Nor is Microsoft, which was also
sued for the similarity of its Windows 2.03 to the Mac display.

The new version of Excel will integrated with the New Wave graphics
interface and individuals will not have to purchase separate copies
of New Wave, say company spokesmen.

Meanwhile, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard attorneys are preparing for
the first phase of the Apple lawsuit, now scheduled to go to trial
in October.
[***][6/28/88][***]
ANOTHER LOOKY-FEELY STICKY WICKET CALLED MCP
BURBANK, Ca. (NB) -- Apple lawyers are reportedly giving the "hairy
eyeball"  treatment to the latest product which emulates its Macintosh
screen display.  Screenplay Systems' MCP is a product which can
port a Macintosh software product to an MS-DOS machine "with very
minor differences in look and feel," according to MACINTOSH TODAY.
MCP, written in LightspeedC, is said to be capable of converting
any Macintosh application to an MS-DOS application within weeks.
The product is an original work, say company officers, and did not borrow
whatsoever from Apple's own code.

But Screenplay Systems' officers aren't waiting for the war to get
nasty, however.  They've sent Apple attorneys a copy for their
approval.  "We told Apple if we are breaking any laws, we don't want
to be; but if we have legal rights to produce a compatibility
package like this, we would like to assert them," explains
Steve Greenfield, Screenplay's president.

No word from Apple on the product yet.  Company attorneys are said
to be "studying the whole matter."  Until the study is complete,
however, do not expect to see MCP on the market.
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INTEL BAGS CUSTOM CHIPS, BLAMES JAPANESE COMPETITION
SANTA CLARA, Ca. (NB) -- Intel Corporation has decided to disband its
marketing of ASICs, or customized chips, including gate arrays.  Two years ago
Intel decided to enter the competitive ASIC arena but never managed
to achieve a competitive position next to Japan's giant ASIC producers
Toshiba, Oki, NEC, and Fujitsu.  Intel's take of the market is expected
to amount to only $40 to $60 million this year compared to Japan's $442
million.  The news was greeted without surprise by Wall Street chip
watchers and industry analysts.  "It's a rough and tumble business,"
said Dataquests' Andy Prophet.  Others who deserted the ASIC ship
earlier include Siliconix, Exar, and Monolithic Memories.  Intel will
continue to sell ASICs to existing customers under a new internal
organization, according to a spokeswoman, but will not seek any
new customers.
[***][6/28/88][***]
TOP CHIPS: MOTOROLA, INTEL, AND CYPRESS?
SAN JOSE, Ca. (NB) -- If T. J. Rodgers, Cypress Semiconductor's CEO
has his way, the new Cypress microprocessor will be right up there
in popularity with Motorola's and Intel's chips.  Cypress has stepped
into the microprocessor market with a 32-bit RISC-based chip said to
perform at 20 million instructions per second, or a speed five times
that of the Intel 80386.  It's targeted at the Unix workstation market,
specifically, those who would create Sun-compatible workstations, and
a market in which Motorola, which supplies the components for those
machines, is already  in control.

Undaunted, Rodgers says his chips will sell on price and performance.
"It's the most powerful monolithic microprocessor ever produced."
He says his RISC chip will cost less than half that of Motorola's
competing offering.
[***][6/28/88][***]
MOMS GET THE MOST FROM HP, SYNTEX
PALO ALTO, Ca. (NB) -- If you're a working woman, and especially a
working mother, Hewlett Packard and Syntex, a pharmaceutical firm,
are the two large Silicon Valley high-tech companies where you should seek
employment, so says the authors of a new book, "The Best Companies
for Women."

At HP, a whopping 25.7 percent of  all managers are female and the
white collar work force is 30.3 percent women.  In addition,
Hewlett Packard offers flexible time off and up to three months
paid maternity and paternity leave for both new and adopting parents.

Syntex provides up to four months pregnancy leave and a company-sponsored
child care center within three miles of its headquarters, among other
benefits.

Other computer firms making the "best" list include AT&T, Digital
Equipment, and IBM.

Noticeably absent from the list is Apple Computer, which for the last
two years has won the distinction of being among the top five best
firms for working mothers, an honor named annually from WORKING MOTHER
magazine.
[***][6/28/88][***]
IN BRIEF --

ACIUS, Cupertino, Ca., has been given the distinction of having the
best Macintosh database, 4th Dimension, by SOFTWARE DIGEST magazine.
4th Dimension also won "Best New Relational Database" from MACUSER,
"Macintosh Database System of the Year" from INFOWORLD, and "Database
of the Year" from MACTIMES.

AUTODESK, Sausalito, Ca., has acquired a majority stake in American
Information Exchange, a firm which is developing communications products.
AIE is located in Palo Alto.

CLARIS CORP., Mountain View, Ca., has slated a June 28 press conference
to announce a major new alliance with another firm.  Stay tuned.

COMPUTER ASSOCIATES, San Jose, Ca., has introduced SuperCalc 5, the
latest generation of its spreadsheet.  There are loads of new
features and the product is said to take full advantage of the new
80386 machines as well as today's existing hardware.  It will be
available in the third quarter for $495.

JASMINE TECHNOLOGIES, San Francisco, has lowered the prices and upgraded
its hard disk drives.  Capacities now range from 45MB to 140MB and are
priced from $799 to $1,499.

MICROSOFT, Redmond, Wa., is offering a new technical support and information
network on the GEnie online service.  GEnie subscribers will now have
access to announcements, press releases, user contributions, software
libraries, forums, and a database called KnowledgeBase which contains
technical information and answers to technical questions regarding
specific Microsoft retail products.

QUANTUM, Milpitas, Ca., has settled out of court with MOUNTAIN COMPUTER
in a dispute over its disk drive patent.  The settlement calls for
Mountain to pay an undisclosed sum to Quantum, and to abandon sales of
its Drivecard hard disk drives by the end of 1988.

THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, Palo Alto, Ca., has declared war on
software viruses.  Composed of six of the nation's largest regional
software trade organizations, the council has established a program to
gather and disseminate information among developers concerning virus-
resistant programming.

SYMBIOTIC TECHNOLOGIES, Carlsbad, Ca., has introduced a math coprocessor
called the CO CLOCK, which speeds up the AT's math processing by up to 50%.
The $90 board installs easily under the 80287 coprocessor and requires
no special tools.


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COMPAQ TO USE THE LATEST INTEL CHIPS RIGHT AWAY IN NEW PCS
HOUSTON (NB) -- Compaq tried to get the jump on IBM's AS/400
announcement by announcing on June 20, as predicted in the June
21 NEWSBYTES-SOUTH, two new PCs based on the latest members of
Intel's 80386 chip series. The Deskpro 386/25 features an Intel
80386 chip running at 25 Mhz with Compaq's Flex Architecture
designed to make the most of that speed. The new Deskpro 386s
feature the new 386SX chip, which replaces the old 286 in the
Intel line. You can mix and match 3 1/2 inch and 5 1/4 inch hard
drives for storage in units of up to 110 megabytes, but of course
getting a lot of RAM will cost you. (Compaq, unlike IBM, does not
make its own memory chips.) All the machines feature Compaq's own
version of the old AT-slots, which claim to get the most out of
your old add-in cards, and they run good old MS-DOS 3.3, so all
the software you now have runs on them -- no migrating necessary.
Machine prices run from $1,700 to $10,000, but the memory is
pricey -- a 4 megabyte extension will cost $2,200.

CONTACT: Bob Beach, COMPAQ, [phone]

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IBM ANNOUNCES A 400 LINE OF MINI-COMPUTERS
ATLANTA (NB) -- As predicted in the June 21 edition of NEWSBYTES-
UNITED KINGDOM, IBM introduced a new line of minicomputers called
the AS 400 Series on June 21. (AS, it turns out, stands for
Application System.) Besides having more speed, storage, and
power than the System 36 and System 38 machines they replace, the
new machines also feature online service and support, the first
full implementation of IBM's vaunted SAA standard of
connectivity, and a new relationship with the people who re-sell
IBM machines and write software for it. These Business Partners,
as IBM now calls them, were kept informed throughout the design
process of what IBM was doing, and 1,000 real applications were
shown, working, in IBM demonstrations worldwide on the day of the
announcement.

Here's the low-down on all the new stuff:
        *A new, last-of-the-line System 36/5263, introduced as a
low-end machine with 1-2 megabytes of main memory, 105-420
megabytes of disk storage, and other features. IBM admitted that
"migrating" System 36 applications to the AS/400 is a little
harder than migrating System 38 applications, so they offer this
for the small and the timid.
        *The Models 10 and 20, each about the size of an office
trash can, which plug into an ordinary 110 volt outlet, and
feature internal memory of up to 16 megabytes, with up to 945
megabytes of disk storage;.
        *The Models 30, 40, 50 and 60, mounted in racks like old
mainframes, with components like processors, tape drives, memory,
and communications systems you can mix and match as you please;
and
        *OS/400, a new operating system which is backward
compatible with old System 36 and 38 programs, and upward
compatible through SAA (stands for Systems Application
Architecture) with IBM PS/2s, PCs, and mainframes.

        The announcement was made worldwide over a 200-node
satellite TV hook-up beamed from New York to audiences across the
U.S. (There were 2,000 onlookers in Atlanta, for instance, 1,700
in New York.) The satellite feed was followed by an hour of
testimonials in each city. (In Atlanta a Model 20 was supposed to
rise from the orchestra pit surrounded by theatrical smoke, but
regional exec Tom Smith canned the smoke at the last minute.)
That event was followed by free food and an afternoon of
demonstrations at IBM field offices. (Atlanta's audience was
brought to the top of the new 50-story IBM Tower, a mile from the
Fox, where they saw dozens of local software outfits showing
their best stuff, live and running, on AS/400s.) In addition,
versions of the software are available in about 25 languages
worldwide (like English, Japanese, Italian, not BASIC, Pascal,
and C) and general deliveries worldwide begin in August. Prices,
based on the model and peripherals you want, can run from $20,000
to over $1 million.

        MEANING -- This is IBM's last, and maybe best, chance to
foist a proprietary architecture and all-controlling envelope
around its customers. They're offering a 10% discount when you
buy everything -- hardware, software, printers, support, even
computer paper -- through IBM. The online education and online
service (including online troubleshooting and software updates)
will make the embrace very tempting to current System 36 and
System 38 users. (One low, low lease bill every month for
everything, IBM promised.) As for the rest of us, the Mac users,
Unix users, and the great unwashed with fully-loaded Compaqs and
LANs, this may prove an offer we can live without.
[***][6/28/88][***]
SUPERCONDUCTOR UPDATE -- CONGRESS' ARM SAYS JAPANESE AHEAD
WASHINGTON (NB) -- A report from Congress' Office of Technology
Assessment (OTA), due for release June 28 for a Senate Committee
hearing, will claim that Japanese companies are far ahead of
their American counterparts in commercializing superconductor
technology. It adds they could walk away with the market. The
report claims the Japanese are adapting the technology to trains
and motors well ahead of the U.S., which leads only in medical
applications. The report lauds IBM and AT&T for their
superconductor research efforts, but ignores the fact that many
entrepreneurs would like badly to get into an applications
market, once something about the technology is proven. Meanwhile,
superconductor breakthroughs are the biggest prize in the
university research market.

As if to prove the OTA's point, Toshiba announced June 22 its
researchers created a film of yttrium, barium, copper and oxygen
which does not deteriorate, allowing superconductivity to go on
across an insulator at the temperature of liquid helium. Toshiba
also was able to create a large voltage jump, using
superconducting ceramics, a key requirement for superconducting
switches.

ANALYSIS --  In the U.S., technology is developed in university
research and then discovered by entrepreneurs, who can move fast
because their companies are small. In Japan, technology is
developed and brought to market by giant conglomerates, with
their attendant bureaucracy. The way to beat a bureaucracy is not
to build a bigger bureaucracy.
[***][6/28/88][***]
VOICE MAIL STANDARD STALLED BY AT&T DEMAND FOR DIGITAL
DALLAS (NB) -- At the recent Voice '88 conference in Dallas,
users were stunned by AT&T's insistence that their proposed voice
mail connection standard be upgraded for higher-quality digital
service before AT&T or Northern Telecom accept it. Coca-Cola, GE,
Johnson & Johnson, and other major users of voice mail systems
had presented a proposed analog standard for connecting voice
mail systems in January, after they lost patience with vendors'
giving them incompatible machines they couldn't connect together.
AT&T and NT, both of which make digital switches, proposed that
the users' Audio Message Interface Standard (AMIS) be upgraded to
a digital standard before it's offered to standard-setting bodies
like the International Standards Organization (ISO). The users,
however, can still demand that vendors meet the AMIS standard,
now, before buying any new stuff. Incompatible voice mail boxes
are worse than no boxes at all, big users feel.
[***][6/28/88][***]
GEORGIA COMPANY PUTS THE YELLOW PAGES ON YOUR HARD DISK
NORCROSS, GA (NB) -- John Rapp has been compiling and selling
databases for almost 10 years now, but until recently he never
considered selling databases for PCs. What changed his mind was
a study he did last fall showing that 70% of PC users in business
now have hard drives.

So Rapp's Digital Publications Inc. is now trying to, as he told
NEWSBYTES, "do to this industry what Borland did with compilers."
He's offering customized mailing lists, organized by SIC code, at
just $100 per 720K floppy disk. "Our database is biased toward
more established firms -- it doesn't have pizza places," he says.
CD-ROM versions of his databases, he says, will be available once
the players come down to $500 and mastering costs go lower than
their present $2,000 per disk.

Rapp also has some interesting ideas on how to gather publicity.
He's sending computer writers copies of his database of computer
magazines, on floppies. It has 1,276 listings, all in an ASCII
file which can be put into most leading database and word
processing programs.

CONTACT: John Rapp, DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS, [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
VIDEOCASSETTE COMPUTER MAGAZINE SEEKING ADVERTISING
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (NB) -- James Warren is executive producer of "PC
Video," a videocassette-borne PC magazine. In each issue, he
interviews leaders in a particular application, and shows them
at work. (Japan has similar shows.) "In our accounting show, we
had exclusive interviews with Big 8 accounting firms, with their
consultants stepping people through the process of getting small
business' accounting onto computers," Warren told NEWSBYTES. That
show ran about 50 minutes, an upcoming show on graphics will run
twice that.

Warren had been trying to finance his business by getting
software companies to pay him for showing their products. Not
many bit. So now he's seeking out hardware vendors to "sponsor"
the shows with short ads spaced throughout them. He's raising his
circulation from 1,000, all top firms, to over 25,000, and
seeking retailers to sell his shows for about $20 per copy.

CONTACT: James Warren, PC VIDEO [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
DCA ANNOUNCES A FIBER LAN AND OTHER GOODIES
ALPHARETTA, GA (NB) -- Digital Communications Associates
announced a local area network (LAN) using optical fibers instead
of coaxial cable. The 10-Net Fiber Optic LAN uses software
developed by Dayton, Ohio-based subsidiary 10-Net Communications,
formerly Fox Research, and can connect several hundred computers
together without repeaters. The cost will be $1,300 per node,
including software, plus about $3,000 for the main hub.

DCA also announced two LAN gateways, IRMALAN 802.2 and IRMALAN
SDLC Gateway 2, which let users of such LANs access data in
mainframe systems. The 802.2 product lets non-IBM or Netbios
compatible LANs access IBM mainframes using token-ring
technology. The SDLC Gateway 2 product emulates IBM terminals so
the LAN appears to be directly connected to it. New software and
enhancements for the IRMAX and IRMALAN lines was also announced.

CONTACT: Margaret Owens, DCA, [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
DONNELLEY, LARGEST U.S. PRINTER, SELLING DESKTOP PUBLISHING
CHICAGO (NB) -- R.R. Donnelley & Sons, the nation's largest
printer, announced Pulsar, an electronic publishing system
including copywriting, composition, page layout and assembly,
image processing and proofing. The first Pulsar system has
already been installed at Tandy Corp., whose Radio Shack stores
represent the nation's largest in-house advertising agency. The
system outputs a digital page to Donnelley's own pre-press
systems, where color photos are merged for printing. The system
is designed for catalogs, newspaper inserts and other
advertising, and was created at Donnelley's labs in Lisle, IL.
[***][6/28/88][***]
ZENITH FACES INVESTOR GROUP DEMANDING IT GET OUT OF TV BUSINESS
GLENBROOK, IL (NB) -- Zenith, the last U.S. maker of TV sets, has
been thinking about getting out of that business. Now it's
getting pushed into making the decision. New York investors
Herbert Abelow and Nicholas Ihasz, operating as Brookhurst
Partners, have bought 7.1 percent of Zenith's common stock, and
in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission claim
"there is potential for substantial appreciation in the market
value of the common stock." Abelow and Ihasz say that if Zenith
doesn't restructure itself voluntarily, in part by getting out
of consumer electronics markets such as TVs, they may do something
nasty, like a hostile takeover or a proxy fight. Abelow and Ihasz
started buying Zenith at $18.50 per share, and it was trading at
$29.275 by June 22. Zenith lost $19 million in 1987 despite
gaining some important government computer contracts.
[***][6/28/88][***]
PECAN GOLDEN CHIPS

DELL COMPUTER, Austin, TX, made its initial public offering of
3.5 million shares at $8.50 per share.

MINDSCAPE, Northbrook, IL, said it will go public with an
offering of 1.1 million shares at $9 per share.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Dallas, said its board of directors adopted a
"poison pill" against possible takeovers, under which it will
create new stock ownership among present holders in the event of
a tender offer.

UNITED AIR LINES filed a complaint against Japan Air Lines under
the International Transport Fair Competitive Practices Act,
charging JAL is not letting it sell its Apollo computerized-
reservations system to Japanese travel agents, and that it's
refusing to let Apollo write JAL tickets in Japan.
[***][6/28/88][***]
PECAN CHIPS

DATA ACCESS, Miami, began shipping its Office Works program, a
group productivity package including phone messages, document
control, database maintenance, E-Mail and time scheduling.

ETA SYSTEMS, Minneapolis, officially launched the Unix System V
operating system on its ETA supercomputers, as reported by last
week's NEWSBYTES SOUTH-MIDWEST.

MICROSYSTEMS ENGINEERING, Hoffman Estates, IL, revised its MASS-
11 word processor, designed for combining text and graphics, with
a preview mode that lets you see the imported image along with
the text. A command is embedded to fetch the graphic from its
place on the hard disk.

NCR, Dayton, dropped prices on its personal computers 4-16%, with
its 80286-based machines taking the steepest cuts. The company
also announced it will make systems based on the new Intel 386SX
chips, including an upgrade board for its older PCs.

ZSOFT, Marietta, is preparing a faster version of its Publisher's
Type Foundry which translates fonts under Microsoft Windows for
use in applications like Aldus' Pagemaker. The program will
include a data compression algorithm, and cost about $500.


[***][6/28/88][***]
COURT RULING SAYS YOU CAN'T STEAL DATA
TORONTO (NB) -- Taking data without authorization is not theft
under Canadian law.  That's the conclusion of the Supreme Court
of Canada, which has overturned the conviction of a Toronto man
charged with counselling to commit theft and fraud.  Wayne
Stewart, a Toronto consultant, was first acquitted, then
convicted on appeal, of offering money to a hotel security guard
to get him names, addresses and phone numbers of hotel employees
for a unionization effort.  In overturning the conviction, the
Supreme Court said that since data is intangible and since the
original owner would not be deprived of the data, such an act
could not constitute theft.

Had the hotel's employee database been of some commercial value,
however, the conclusion might have been different, since taking
it could in that case have resulted in an economic loss to the
hotel.  And, while data is not in itself protected, the form of
the data -- such as a mailing list -- would often be protected
under copyright law.
[***][6/28/88][***]
BEDFORD ANNOUNCES FRENCH-LANGUAGE ACCOUNTING FOR MACINTOSH
BURNABY, B.C. (NB) -- Bedford Software Ltd. has announced Simple
Comptable, the French-language version of its Macintosh software
package Simply Accounting.  Designed for small to medium-sized
businesses, Simple Comptable integrates general ledger, accounts
payable, accounts receivable, payroll, inventory and project
costing on one disk.  Bedford says the package makes full use of
the Macintosh user interface, and it comes with a combined user's
guide and accounting manual.

Minimum hardware requirements are one megabyte of main memory,
one 800K disk drive, and 128K of read-only memory.  The
recommended retail price is C$449 and the software is available
through most Macintosh resellers in Canada, Bedford says.

CONTACT: BEDFORD SOFTWARE LTD., 102B, 3701 East Hastings St.
         Burnaby, B.C. V5C 2H6, [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
COGNOS AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE MAINFRAME CONNECTION
OTTAWA (NB) -- Users the PowerHouse applications development
software from Cognos Inc. will have access to data on IBM
mainframe computers thanks to an agreement between the software
developer and DB/Access Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.  Access to IBM
MVS and VM hosts will be available from PowerHouse running on
Digital Equipment Corp. VAX/VMS systems, Hewlett-Packard Co.
hardware, MPE XL, OS/2 and MS-DOS.  A version for Data General's
AOS/VS minicomputer operating system is under negotiation,
according to Cognos.

The two companies are to develop an interface from DB/Access's
product Access/Star to PowerHouse.  The new product will be
called Load/PowerHouse.  The two companies will co-operate in
marketing the new software.  DOS and VAX versions are to be
available this fall, OS/2 and Hewlett-Packard versions next
spring.

CONTACT: COGNOS INC., P.O. Box 9707, 3755 Riverside Dr.,
         Ottawa, Ont. K1G 3Z4, [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
GEAC GETS NEW CHAIRMAN AND INTERIM CEO, EXPECTS LOSS
MARKHAM, Ont. (NB) -- Geac Computer Corp., maker of computer
systems for the library and insurance markets, has a new chairman
and interim chief executive.  He is Donald Webster, president of
Helix Investments Ltd., a Toronto company that last summer
rescued Geac from receivership.

Webster replaces Neilson Mackay, who was named president at the
time of the  rescue.  Mackay will remain on the board of
directors, along with Theodore Grunau, the former chairman who
built Geac in the first place.  A new president is expected to be
appointed in the next few months.

Geac has not officially reported its results for the financial
year ended April 30, but company spokesman Jack Senett confirmed
the company is expecting a small loss on sales of about C$68
million.

CONTACT: GEAC COMPUTER CORP., 350 Steelcase Ave. W.,
         Markham, Ont. L3R 1B3, [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
TELEGLOBE CANADA ANNOUNCES NEW SWITCHING CENTRE FOR MONTREAL
MONTREAL (NB) -- Teleglobe Canada will spend some C$100 million
over the next 10 years to build a second switching centre for
international communications traffic here.  Teleglobe, a
subsidiary of Memotec Data Inc. of Montreal, is buying a 200,000-
square-foot parcel of land on the south shore of the St. Lawrence
River facing downtown Montreal.  The new centre will be the first
building in a planned industrial park on land formerly owned by
the federal government.

Montreal handles about 60 per cent of all Canada's satellite
communications traffic.  Teleglobe's existing switching facility
in downtown Montreal will continue to operate, although the new
centre will take some of the load off it.

CONTACT: TELEGLOBE CANADA, 680 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Que.
         H3A 2S4, [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
NORTHERN TELECOM LEANING ON SMALL RETAILER OVER LOGO
TORONTO (NB) -- Northern Telecom Ltd. has been denied an
injunction to prevent a small retailer of cellular telephones
from using a logo the communications giant thinks is too similar
to its own.  Cellular Telecom, a division of Future Needs Inc. of
Newmarket, Ont., has already changed its logo once, replacing one
that used almost exactly the same typeface as Northern's with one
laid out similarly but using a completely different typeface and
adding a maple leaf.  Northern Telecom still isn't happy, and
wants the Ontario Supreme Court to force Cellular Telecom to make
another change.  The court, however, has  refused to issue an
injunction, and Justice Donald Steele said in his decision he is
not satisfied Northern has enough of case to go to trial.
[***][6/28/88][***]
NEWBRIDGE MULTIPLEXER HANDLES SEVEN RS-232 CHANNELS
KANATA, Ont. (NB) -- Newbridge Networks Corp. has announced the
1070 Mainstreet Multidriver, a statistical multiplexer that
handles data distribution through seven asynchronous RS-232
channels.  Newbridge says the 1070 is a cost-effective way of
distributing RS-232 data and is simple to install and maintain.

CONTACT: NEWBRIDGE NETWORKS CORP., 600 March Rd., Box 13600,
         Kanata, Ont. K2K 2E6, [phone],
         Fax: [phone]
[***][6/28/88][***]
BITS, EH?
-- BCE INC., Montreal, has set up a venture capital arm, BCE
Ventures Corp.  Based in Toronto, BCE Ventures will have initial
capitalization of about C$35 million to make investments in
Canada and the U.S.  The new company will also manage the
existing C$45-million venture capital budget of Northern Telecom
Ltd.

-- DEVELCON ELECTRONICS LTD., Saskatoon, has closed a deal with a
group of investors headed by Toronto-based Fairfax Financial
Holdings Ltd., that will give the financially troubled
communications equipment maker a capital injection of about C$8.5
million.

-- SIR-TECH SOFTWARE, INC., Ottawa, has expanded its Wizardry
gaming system for the Commodore 64 and 128 with the addition of a
second sequel, "The Knight of Diamonds."

-- TIL SYSTEMS LTD., Toronto communications equipment vendor, has
announced the opening of its first European office in Paris and
the addition of a third Canadian service office in Vancouver.

-- INTERNATIONAL SEMI-TECH MICROELECTRONICS INC., Markham, Ont.,
made a profit of C$7.2 million on revenues of C$25.6 million in
the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, up from C$5.2 million on C$15.3
million a year earlier.

-- MEMOTEC DATA INC., Montreal, has appointed Atherton Wallace
president and chief executive officer of Teleglobe International
Inc., a new subsidiary recently created to seek new international
telecommunications business opportunities.


[***][6/28/88][***]
NEC CREATES BREAKTHROUGH MATERIAL FOR DRAM CHIPS
TOKYO (NB) -- The inevitable progress of miniaturization took
another step further with a new material developed by NEC and
Chisso.  The new material is an inorganic polyimide film, several
times harder than conventional polyimide, on which memory
chips can be constructed without warping.  The material is said to
be able to convey electrical signals at higher temperatures than
conventional silicon, another big advance.  Scientists say the
material will be the foundation of 16 megabit or greater memory
chips, next-generation LSIs or ultra high-speed logic devices.

Meanwhile, NEC will release sample 4 megabit DRAMs in conventional
silicon by year's end.  The exact release date depends on demand.

CONTACT: NEC, 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108
[***][6/28/88][***]
FUZZY LOGIC IC APPEARS
TOKYO (NB) -- Takeshi Yamakawa, professor of Kumamoto University,
has developed the world's first microprocessor which works on
"fuzzy logic."  Fuzzy logic is a new programming concept which
enables the computer to reach a conclusion from vague data, not
simply the yes-or-no of conventional microprocessors.  For instance,
the term "a little to the left" or "hot" or "cold" would be
processed by the fuzzy logic IC.

While details of the hardware are just being released, proponents
of fuzzy logic are making grandiose claims for its future.  They
say fuzzy logic will provide a basis for far more advanced expert
systems, such as those which teach driving, explain philosophy or
even operate a nuclear power plant.

And all this isn't just fuzzy dreaming.  The fuzzy logic IC is expected
to be released from a major semiconductor maker as early as next spring.

CONTACT: Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto
[***][6/28/88][***]
MORE SOFTWARE ENGINEERS TO BE TRAINED IN INDONESIA
TOKYO (NB) -- If you can't get enough of something at home, you have to
go elsewhere to get it.  That's why two Japanese firms are recruiting
software engineers from an unlikely spot -- remote Indonesia.

The Tokyo-based software venture New-Media Development
Organization (NDO) and Nusantara Aircraft Industries of Indonesia
have signed an agreement to establish Nusantara Systems
International in Bandung, Indonesia, a new venture which will
train engineers in the field of software.  The company is scheduled
to start operation this fall.

Nusantara Systems will make 500 young Indonesian engineers, who are
fluent in Japanese language, software specialists by 1993.  After that,
they will go to work developing software for the Japanese market.

Indonesia, of course, gets Japanese know-how in the field of technology
from the deal.

CONTACT: New-media Development Organization,
         George Forum, 1-4-18 Hon-cho, Kichijohji, Musashino-shi,
         Tokyo 180
[***][6/28/88][***]
ASIAN COUNTRIES TURN UP THE HEAT ON PC PRODUCTION
TOKYO (NB) -- The newly industrialized economies of Asia
are becoming the world's largest base of PC production, not
only manufacturing other companies' products, but building new
firms and establishing their own brand names.

In Taiwan, PC production is estimated to be 2 million units per year,
a number which far exceeds the output of Japan.  And Taiwan Acer
plans to be the first in the world with an IBM PS/2 compatible machine.
Closely on Acer's heels are two other Taiwan computer firms, Auto
Computer and Copan, which also have PS/2 compatibles coming off
their assembly lines.

So far the big selling point to Taiwan-made PCs is their low price,
and there is no indication that prices will increase.  In fact, the
aggressiveness of the Asian computer industry is beginning to worry
both Japanese and US firms
[***][6/28/88][***]
<< SUSHI BYTES >>

NETWORKS OF FAMILY COMPUTERS TO BE UNITED -- Japan's telecom giant
NTT promises to come up with a unifying standard for home
telecommunications with the Family Computer.  Nintendo and Nomura are
the first to back the new NTT network called HIT NET, and plan to begin
online operation with their home stock exchange program
called Famicon Trade.  HIT NET is also expected to attract services
from the Japan Railway and various banks so that home computer users
can do home banking and make train and hotel reservations.

TELEPHONE AND LAPTOP PC IN ONE  -- NEC has developed the
Network StationDterm 400 PC, which consists of a digital
multi-functional telephone, the Dterm V, and a laptop personal
computer, the PC 98LT.  Dterm 400 PC can run all the application
software written for the PC 98LT during a phone call.  Dterm
Accessory Tool is normally attached with the machine.  The tool
can display telephone list or schedule table when software is
running.  The price is 398,000 yen or $3,184.

SEIKO-EPSON TO PRODUCE PCs IN EUROPE -- Seiko-Epson will start
production of personal computers in Europe this September.  This is the
first Japanese company to produce PCs in Europe.  To start, Seiko-
Epson promises to produce 2,000 units of IBM XT- compatible
machines per month.

TRON FOR THE HANDICAPPED -- TRON advocate Ken Sakamura and
the Ministry of International Trade and Industries (MITI) will
jointly develop computers for handicapped people.
Sakamura has already started research on  Business TRON
(BTRON), and will hold the TRON Handyware Symposium in Tokyo in July to
announce the results of the research.

TELECOMMUNICATION SOFTWARE FOR OS/2 -- Tokyo-based software
venture Intercom has developed two kinds of telecommunication
software for OS/2, and started OEM supply of it to personal computer
makers.  The new programs are called Zterm2 and Jterm2, which
meet the telecommunication protocol of All Japan Banking Association
and Japan Chain Store Association.

JAPANESE SUPERCOMPUTER MARKET EYED BY THE U.S. -- Major U.S.
supercomputer makers, aiming to enter the Japanese market, will arrive
in a bunch from June 28 to July 1.  Backed by the US Dept. of
Commerce, delegates from Cray, ETA, Prime, Scientific Computer
Systems, Evans & Southerland, and Millious Computer, will talk
turkey with Japanese supercomputer buyers and seek out an agent
for their wares.


[***][6/28/88][***]
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST/WEEK OF JUNE 28, 1988
Copyright 1988/Written by W. A. Yacco, Exclusive to NEWSBYTES


  - SECOND-GENERATION VIRUS FIGHTER HITS THE MARKET
  - PAPERBACK SOFTWARE TRIES TO COVER UP BLOODBATH
  - PHOENIX UPGRADES ITS BIOS
 ** WITH SPECIAL PC EXPO REPORT **
  - PC EXPO: TRADE SHOW FROM HELL
  - HIGH-END DATABASE PRODUCTS DRAW CROWDS
  - CORPORATE INTEREST GENERALLY HIGH
  - CHIP AHOY...scarce DRAMS add gloom to the trade show

MORE ON THE WAR AGAINST VIRUSES
NEW YORK (NB) --A second generation of virus-fighting software has
already arrived on the scene.  Foundation Ware's Vaccine software
has been released for networks as PCAssure.  The product adds a $250
module for the network server which gives system administrators the
ability to limit which programs are run on every node.  Foundation
Ware President Peter Tippit downplayed the risk of virus exposure to
the average user, "We don't think that viruses are as big a problem
as the press has made viruses to be.  We think that the likelihood
of a virus bothering you is about the same as the likelihood of you
getting involved in an airplane crash.  With a protection software,
it's possible to reduce the odds considerably, by thousands to one,
even against the low odds you've already got."


BLOOD ON THE BERKELEY SUN
BERKELEY, Ca (NB) --Jimmy Cagney would have been proud to preside
over a movie version of the massacre at Paperback Software last
week.  In an interview, Paperback's Director of Product DMNJevelopment,
Terry Schussler, denied that there was any firing.  The simultaneous
departure of three top executives, which coincided with the
promotion of Schussler's pal Steve Cook to the presidential spot,
was portrayed as just a coincidence.  "They all left for other
opportunities," Schussler maintained at first.  Finally, Schussler
conceded, "We don't want anybody to know about the blood."

Schussler would not elaborate so the situation inside remains murky.
It is difficult to understand the need for a shakeup if things are
going as well for Paperback as he would have us believe.  According
to Schussler, Paperback's VP Planner duo has combined sales second
only to Lotus' 1-2-3, outselling both Borland's Quattro and
Microsoft's Excel.  Industry pundits have recently speculated that
the massive ad campaigns of the two superpowers would drive out all
of the smaller spreadsheet competition leaving the spreadsheet
market to be divided among a big three.  However, Schussler
maintains that the market is increasing for all the players instead.

Also buoying Paperback are sales of its VP Expert now in release
2.0.  Significant price increases are scheduled for both VPs in the
near future.  Expert doubles to $249 on August 15 and Planner Plus
will go from $179.95 to $249 on September first.


TWINS SIGNED AS FIRST IN MAJORS
LOS GATOS, Ca (NB) --Just as I predicted last week, Award Software
signed contracts with two resellers for its BIOS chips.  The vendors
will sell upgrades to owners of systems with dated Award firmware.

 . . . MEANWHILE, PHOENIX FIELDS NEW TEAM
REDMOND, Wa (NB) --A new Phoenix BIOS is out which has added a key
feature that was previously an Award advantage.  The reborn chips
have gotten off their ashes with built-in system diagnostics.  Of
course, you can expect systems to continue to be shipped with the
older sets for some time.  Will the hot birds fly after Award's
upgrade strategy next?


THE TRADE SHOW FROM HELL!
NEW YORK (NB) --David Bunnell, computer publishing legend and
chairman of PCW Communications, was hot and late for his own PC
World party at Tavern on the Green when we spied him walking on the
steaming streets of the Baked Apple.  Climbing into our car, David
characterized PC Expo as "the trade show from Hell."  He couldn't
have been off by more than a few degrees.  His assessment of the
attendees was "one volume buyer and one decision maker to three [The
ambiguous term which he used either describes a small, roughly
circular portion of the anatomy or a geological formation named for
donkeys.  Unable to determine which, we leave it to the reader's
imagination.]."  It was all said in a spirit of good fun--wasn't it,
David?  Honestly, we were all laughing so hard it wasn't easy to
tell if he meant it.

There were a few less-than-satisfied vendors at the show.  Traffic
was slow at some booths, especially on Tuesday.  It's doubtful that
many of the locals expected to attend wanted to venture out in the
high heat and humidity.  It was nearly 100 degrees with a 40% chance
of rain.  Everywhere I stood, it was raining.  Now I know where Al
Capp got the idea for that little character with the cloud over his
head.


HIGH-END DATABASE PRODUCTS DRAW CROWDS
 . . . PC Expo is supposed to be the industry's volume-buyer show so
I toddled over to visit some of the booths that should appeal to the
three-piece suits.  Representatives from Oracle, Information
Builders, and Borland all said they were very satisfied with the
number of quality attendees.  Although they all would have liked a
larger crowd, each said they would be back again without question.

Oracle's booth was overwhelmed on Wednesday.  The company had only
recently announced an agreement with Word Tech to offer SQL versions
of Quicksilver and dBXL using the Oracle database engine.  Oracle's
Leigh Anne Varney credited most of the attendees as being ". . .
very well qualified.  These are corporate information guys that are
here, from the Fortune 1000, and obviously they've heard of us.
It's not like COMDEX Spring with a wide range--from little mom and
pops to real qualified people--where you spin your wheels a lot.
These people know what they're talking about and they ask a lot of
very detailed questions."

Greg Joy of Borland was also pleased with the turnout of volume
buyers for its Paradox, "A lot of people that we see are really
qualified.  We don't have many tire kickers."

At Information Builders, Barry Cress said that many of the company's
PC FOCUS users were at the show. "We see a good amount of our
current users here.  On the mainframe side we've got approximately
70% penetration in the Fortune 500.  We do see the corporations
represented that we wanted to get in front of."


CORPORATE INTEREST GENERALLY HIGH
 . . . Other vendors were also pleased if they had a product that
appealed primarily to the corporate market.  Dell Computer had just
made its initial public stock offering and wasn't exactly loquacious
but company spokesperson John Ellett was willing to comment on the
quality of attendees, "We've been very pleased with the kind of
response that we're getting.  We've got products that are well
suited to the corporate environment."  Data Copy's Jim McNaul also
concurred "We've had good press attention.  A lot of people are
interested in our PS/2 offering."


CHIP AHOY
 . . . Interest in the IBM/Microsoft OS/2 booth seemed less than
overwhelming.  This was probably more a function of high chip prices
than the heat.  The new operating system requires a minimum of 2MB
to really do anything and 4MB is a more realistic workspace for
multiple applications.

Memory-chip prices continue to be an anchor on the industry's
progress.  An American Micron representative said that while 1MB
prices may decline in the near future, the price of 256KB DRAMS will
continue to increase.  This is due to the conversion of productive
capacity from 256KB to 1MB chips.  While production ebbs, the number
of unfilled sockets which will require 256KB chips continues to
grow.  And, as long as peripheral producers lag in changing over to
new board designs that use the 1MB chips, the situation can only
worsen.




[***][6/28/88][***]
IBM WILL TAKE TRADES FOR PS/2 SALES
NEW YORK (NB) -- In a move to bolster sales of the new Personal
System/2 computers, International Business Machines Corp.
dealers will take older IBM PCs as trades, beginning July 1 and
ending August 31. Big Blue says it will then recondition the
older machines and resell them, much as it now does with
typewriters. The trade-in program will apply to any of the
original line of PCs, including the PC, the XT, the PCjr, the PC
Portable, and the PC Portable. The offer includes monitors, but
no other peripherals.

How much to offer in trade is up to the dealers who choose to
participate, says IBM. But payments could run from $100 or less
for a plain Jane PCjr to $1,000 for a late model, cream puff AT.

Big Blue's move could put the squeeze on clone makers, if IBM
follows its pattern with typewriters and offers good warranties
on the used machines. Consumers could then get that IBM label on
a machine priced like a clone. Consider the irony of a situation
in which IBM finally stumbled on the long-awaited "clone killer"
in the form of a used PC.

In other news from IBM, the company has rolled out the latest
machines that the company hopes will become "VAX killers." The
new mid-range machines, called the Application System-400, will
replace IBM's geriatric Systems 36 and 38. The new machines will
run most of the software on the 36s and 38s, as well more than
1,000 software packages. Prices will range from $19,000 to
$229,000.
[***][6/28/88][***]
NO SANCTIONS AGAINST BRAZIL...FOR NOW
WASHINGTON (NB) -- The Reagan administration will take no action
against Brazilian barriers to software imports. But U.S. Trade
Representative Clayton Yeutter has warned that trade sanctions
may come later if Brazil doesn't follow through of promises to
liberalize computer trade. Yeutter hit the "lack of clarity" in
the new Brazilian high-tech trade regulations. Yeutter will be
closely watching how Brazil's Secretariat for Informatics, or
SEI, deals with applications for U.S. software vendors. Among the
most closely watched will be SEI's handling of Microsoft Corp.'s
application to sell MS-DOS 3.3 in Brazil.
[***][6/28/88][***]
PC EXPO NOTES: INTERNATIONAL MESSAGING; HERTZ 386-25
NEW YORK (NB) -- Novell and British Telecom has announced a deal
at the PC Expo trade show to create an international E-mail
system for Novell's Netware package. The arrangement will allow
PC users on networks to send electronic messages overseas for the
first time. Novell will mesh the messaging specs in Netware with
an E-mail from from Brit Telecom that is based on a open standard
which will allow users of mail networks other than Novell to
access the software. British Telecom has a large Netware
installation in Britain.

The hype was barely dry from Compaq's announcement of a
super-fast 80386 computer running at 25 MHz when Hertz Computer of
New York announced a similar machine at PC Expo. The Hertz
screamer has sockets for Intel and Weitek math coprocessors,
eight expansion slots, a 1.2 megabyte floppy drive, a 72-megabyte
hard drive (a 320 MB drive is available), two megabytes of RAM,
and a 64 KB cache. The price is $11,995, and machines are
available immediately.

CONTACT: HERTZ COMPUTER, 212-684-4141.
[***][6/28/88][***]
THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING COMMODORE
WASHINGTON (NB) -- FBI and Pentagon gumshoes are investigating
the theft of a Commodore computer from the Star Wars offices, one
of the most tightly controlled security areas in Washington.
Pentagon officials say the theft did not compromise classified
programs, but points to possible weaknesses in the physical
security arrangements in the building. According to the
Associated Press, the computer was owned by a mid-level manager
in the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization's kinetic energy
program. The AP said investigators believe an SDIO employee with
a door card and clearances entered through the main doors, where
guards are on duty, but left through is a door that has
television surveillance but no guards.
[***][6/28/88][***]
ZENITH ELECTRONICS A TAKEOVER TARGET?
WASHINGTON (NB) -- Brookhurst Partners, a Delaware limited
partnership, has acquired 7.1 percent of Zenith Electronics Corp.
and may go after the company in a big way. In a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, the partnership said, "If
Zenith fails to take steps which the partnership believes are
necessary to enhance the value of the common stock, the
partnership will takes any such actions it deems appropriate." As
the largest shareholder of the electronics and personal computer
company based in Glenview, Ill., the partnership says it will not
be a "passive" shareholder. Zenith lost $19.1 million last year
(78 cents per share) on sales of $2.3 billion. Brookhurst was
formed by Herbert Abelow, 54, of New York, and Nicholas Ihasz,
44, also of New York. The partnership began buying Zenith stock
last April at $18.50 a share and has continued buying as Zenith
stock has risen to $28 a share. Watch this space.
[***][6/28/88][***]
WANG ROLLS OUT PC SECURITY DEVICE
LOWELL, Mass. (NB) -- Wang Laboratories has unveiled a security
device for the Wang PC 200/300 series of AT clones, and for PCs
in stand-alone, networked, and workstation environments. Through a
licensing deal with Micronyx, Inc., of Richardson, Texas, the
MicroControl product uses an advanced security kernel, electronic
tokens, and file encryption techniques. The security kernel is an
addition to the operation system. According to Wang, it enables
MicroControl to protect itself from attempts to tamper or alter
its controls. MicroControl is $1,200 and is available
immediately.
[***][6/28/88][***]
SAATCHI & SAATCHI ACQUIRES GARTNER GROUP
NEW YORK (NB) -- Saatchi & Saatchi Co. PLC, the world's largest
advertising agency, has acquired computer market analyst and
consulting firm Gartner Group Inc. of Stamford, Conn., for $90.3
million. Gartner earned $3.8 million last year on revenue of $40
million. Gartner will become part of Saatchi's external
information consulting service, the London-based firm said.
Gartner's chairman, chief executive officer, and two top vice
presidents have agreed to stay on at the firm.
[***][6/28/88][***]
SENATOR SEEKS TO LASSO PEROT POSTAL CONTRACT
WASHINGTON (NB) --  The Senate has passed a resolution asking the
U.S. Postal Service to delay implementation of a contract to H.
Ross Perot's new consulting firm. The non-binding resolution
calls for a 90-day delay in the second phase of the contract
while Congress and the General Accounting Office look into the
no-bid deal. The first phase of the contract is a $500,000 study
of how postal operations can be made more efficient. In the
second phase, Perot would implement the recommendations and share
in the savings.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said the contract is "unlike any
contract I've ever seen. Levin is chairman of an oversight
subcommittee and author of the resolution to delay the award. A
Postal Service statement said that the contract "is an unusual
approach...and because of that, we have welcomed a review by the
General Accounting Office." The deal has been challenged by
Electronic Data Services, the Texas firm Perot founded after
leaving IBM and then sold to General Motors, and by Planning
Research Corp. of McLean, Va.
[***][6/28/88][***]
PENNSYLVANIA CITY OFFICIAL INDICTED ON COMPUTER KICKBACKS
ERIE, Pa. (NB) -- A federal grand jury has indicted William
Wojtalik, former Erie city computer chief, on charges that he
took $5,055 in kickbacks from a California computer firm that
sold equipment to the city. In a 24-count indictment, the jury
charged Wojtalik under the Hobbs Act with interference with
interstate commerce by extortion. The indictment said Wojtalik
"unlawfully obtained property of Richard Van Elgort of Union
Friendly Software Inc. under color of official right" when the
Erie man ran the city's computer system. Union Friendly of Los
Angeles sold the city $50,000 in equipment during the period
covered by the indictment. Wojtalik was fired in May when the
city discovered that he was serving as a director of Union
Friendly.
[***][6/28/88][***]
NEWS NIBBLES

ALAN ALDA will be reunited with his M-A-S-H crew in a series of
IBM PS/2 ads to be seen soon, according to the Associated Press.
Alda has done IBM ads, but not with the M-A-S-H regulars, who
were doing PS/2 ads. Alda's contract with Atari prevented the
PS/2 ads, but that's been straightened out.

THE ELECTRONIC INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION of Washington says 18
percent of American households have personal computers. The
information comes from a Gallup survey commission by the trade
association, which reached 1,008 adults across the country in a
telephone survey. The survey found that 99 percent of U.S.
households have television sets and 65 percent have VCRs.

VM SOFTWARE INC. of Reston, Va., has acquired exclusive worldwide
rights to market a line of network management software for SNA
networks. The products, Net Edit, Net Monitor, and Net Control,
will allow an IBM mainframe data center to use object-oriented
graphic definitions in network management.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. of Maynard, Mass, irked by claims that
IBM's new computers are faster than DEC's VAX line, is challenging
the benchmark that IBM uses. The Ramp-C test that mimics the
workload of computers is rigged to favor the IBM machine, charges
Digital. IBM won't release the Ramp-C software, says Digital,
which gives the whole thing a fishy odor.

THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has awarded Boeing Computer Services
a five-year, $2 million contract for remote computing services
and technical support. The award is the result of recompetition
of a contract Boeing first won in 1983.

DUN & BRADSTREET CREDIT SERVICES of Murray Hill, N.J., has
unveiled a service that will allow computer users to receive
five-year financial assessments of U.S. companies. Called Duns
ForeSight, the service compares a company's financial and balance
sheet data with information in the D&B data base of 9 million
public and private companies.

WARNER COMPUTER SYSTEMS of Fair Lawn, N.J., has won a
recommendation from the New Jersey Automobile Full Insurance
Underwriting Association that Warner process 125,000 assigned-
risk policies. The recommendation has to be ratified by the New
jersey Department of Insurance before Warner gets the business.

THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY DEVELOPMENT CORP. of Massena, N.Y., is
studying computer data interchange that would link its offices
with portable PCs of maritime users throughout the 2,342-mile St.
Lawrence Seaway. Officials hope to go with the program by mid-
September.






[***][6/28/88][***]
ATARI: DRAM CHIP FAMINE BEGINS TO BITE
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE (NB) -- The recent DRAM chip famine appears to
be hitting Atari hard, according to a report in the latest
COMPUTER TRADE WEEKLY. In a lead article, Atari UK MD Bob
Gleadow is quoted as saying that shipments of the Atari PCs have
yet to reach the 1,000 a month mark.

"It's been limping along, but we've totally screwed up on
deliveries. I hope that June will be our first 1,000 units a
month, which shouldn't be too difficult," said Gleadow, who is
known for his candour with the press.

CTW's revelations come at a sticky time for Atari, which is half-
way through what Gleadow termed as the 'year of business' for the
company. Despite the supply setbacks, Atari could still make
inroads into the business marketplace, but it has a long way to
go, and only six months to complete its plans.

Interestingly, CTW makes the point that Atari UK is not holding
back on shipments of its PCs in favour of other international
markets, an accusation that has been levied against other UK
suppliers during the last year. This implies that the PC shortage
is hitting the company's US sales as well, a factor which could
well affect Atari's PC sales figures for the current quarter.

CONTACT: ATARI UK, Atari House, Railway Terrace, Slough,
         Berkshire SL2 5BZ.             Tel: [phone].
[***][6/28/88][***]
IBM: AS/400 SERIES UNVEILED
BIRMINGHAM, UK (NB) -- IBM took centre stage last week with the
unveiling of its Application System/400 series of minicomputers
(as predicted last week in NEWSBYTES UK - preen, preen).

There are six models in the AS/400 range, two of them multiuser
systems. All six can run IBM's version of Unix, known as AIX, or
OS/400, a new operating system designed for the AS/400 series.
OS/400 looks to be the likely option for most users, as it has a
claimed 100 per cent compatibility with the System/36 operating
system environment.

Each minicomputer comes in a box the size of small filing
cabinet, has 16Mb of system Ram and can hang 40 coaxial and 36
ASCII terminals off the main processor. To support these
terminals, the AS/400 is claimed to be five times more powerful
than the old System/36 and twice as powerful as the System/38
series.

Pricing? Start at a shade under #14,000 for the B10, rising to
#470,000 for the B60. These prices exclude OS/400 and the variety
of operating system tools and languages necessary to get things
rolling.

* OPINION: The AS/400 series is IBM's first pitch for the Dec
  Microvax market. The ability to support Unix is a big plus for
  users and assures the machines will have a viable software
  library when they begin shipping later this year.

CONTACT: IBM UNITED KINGDOM, Baltic House, Kingston Crescent,
         Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3AU.     Tel: [phone].
[***][6/28/88][***]
NOVELL TEAMS UP WITH BT FOR X400 NETWORK E-MAIL
LONDON, UK (NB) -- Novell Incorporated and British Telecom have
announced the joint development of X400 Message Handling Software
(MHS) for use under Novell's Netware networking software.

The deal, announced last week at the Networks '88 show in London,
calls for both companies to develop software that effectively
interfaces the MHS environment with the Novell networking system.
In plain English that means that a networked workstation user can
send and receive E-mail to/from X400 compatible electronic mail
hosts. Currently, BT's Telecom Gold/Dialcom and MCI Mail are
compatible with the X400 standard.

CONTACT: NOVELL - 0344-860400.
[***][6/28/88][***]
RSA: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXAMS UNVEILED
LONDON, UK (NB) -- One of the glaring omissions in the world of
computers and information technology (IT) has been the lack of
any formal qualifications for potential employers to consider
when taking on new staff: That new staffer sounds like s/he knows
about computers, but does s/he really?

Enter the Royal Society of Arts. The RSA is well-known for its
range of business exams, and has now wheeled out three courses
for students of IT: The vocational certificate, the diploma and
the advanced diploma in Information Technology.

In return for a modest fee (#18 to #25) students of IT can
qualify in the subject and present their potential employers with
a certificate of their ability in such matters. The vocational
certificate is designed to prove a candidates ability in IT,
whilst the two levels of diploma require a degree of study in the
subject.

* OPINION: It's still early days as regards using computers in
  the workplace, but the need for computer skills is growing.
  The RSA's IT qualifications represent a major step forward in
  getting computer training accepted as a necessity in today's
  offices.

CONTACT: RSA EXAMINATIONS BOARD, 8 John Adam Street,
         London WC2N 6EZ.           Tel: [phone].
[***][6/28/88][***]
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ BRITBYTES - Bytes of news from around the UK... +
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

DOWTY INFORMATION SYSTEMS unveiled its Quattro Plus PC card modem
at the Networks '88 show in London last week. The #795 modem is
unusual in having its control software downloaded from PC disk
into onboard Ram. This facility enables simple software upgrades
as and when required. The modem sounds a bit pricey, but does
include 9600bps and MNP level 5 error-correction as standard...

EPSON (01-902-8892) has announced it is to start manufacturing
PCs at its Telford printer plant from later this year onwards.
Initial indications suggest production figures of 2,000 PC-AX
machines a month...

FLEET STREET EDITOR, the popular desktop publishing package from
Mirrorsoft (01-377-4645) now has four add-on font libraries. The
libraries include executive, decorative, humorous and religious
font images. Each #24-95 package is available in 3.5 or 5.25 PC
disk formats...

INTEGRATED NETWORKS (0235-555595) has released a 150Mb hard disk
file server. The Novell 286 Ethernet system costs #5,995 and
includes Novell's Netware 286 networking software. The price, we
are told, undercuts the competition considerably...

LEVEL 5 (01-903-6111) has unveiled its expert systems shell of
the same name. The #950 package is portable between MS-Dos, Apple
Mac and Dec VAX environments, not to mention half the price of
its nearest competition...

MICROPRO (01-643-8866) is now shipping copies of Wordstar 2000
release 3 at the bargain-bin price of #149, provided you trade in
your old word processing package as part of the deal. Given
Micropro's upcoming deals on upgrading to Wordstar 5.0 (scheduled
for an Autumn launch in the UK), now might be the time to upgrade
to Wordstar 2000...

PRISM LEISURE CORPORATION (01-804-8100) has released Football
Manager II, the sequel to one of the most perennial games
packages ever released in the UK. Football Manager II is
available for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and Spectrum 48K
computers at #14-99, and at #19-99 for the Amiga, PC and ST
computers...
[***][6/28/88][***]
AND FINALLY: GLOBAL WARGAMES BECOME A REALITY

Just when you thought it was safe to stay online department:
along comes the US Government and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation) with plans to use satellites to link 76 US
computerised wargame systems with similar computers in Europe.

The link-up, which is scheduled for later this year, will enable
US and European armies to 'stay in touch' with realistic
international wargames. All we need now is for the Russians to
link into the network and everyone can start having some fun!