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/1990/nb900123

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(ADVANCE)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

MITCH KAPOR TO UNVEIL ON LOCATION
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Monday,
the company headed by Mitch Kapor, Lotus Development founder,
will unveil its first product -- a new Macintosh program which
insiders say is a cross between Lotus Magellan and Lotus Agenda.

The new product, expected to be called ON Location, is reportedly
a desk accessory or a utility which allows Macintosh users to perform
various file, indexing, and search functions at the desktop on
hard disks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM disks.

(Wendy Woods/19900120/Press Contact: ON Technology, 617-
225-2545)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)

APPLE REPORTS EARNINGS 6% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Apple Computer
reports that net revenues are up 6 percent over this time last
year, $1.493 billion compared to $1.405 billion in 1989.

Earnings per share fell 13 percent to 96-cents compared to
$1.10 a year ago. The figures reflect the costs of earthquake-
related expenses, according to Apple, which amounted to a
whopping $33.7 million before or $20.5 million after tax.

International sales made up 36 percent of the company's
revenues during the quarter, up from 32 percent a year ago.

"The modest, year-over-year growth in revenues reflects diverse
growth rates of our various products," states John Sculley,
Apple chairman. "Sales of the Macintosh Plus and the Apple
II computers declined compared to year ago levels," he said,
not surprisingly. "At the same time sales to the business market
of our newer products, the Macintosh IIcx, IIci, and SE/30
increased significantly."

This week Apple announced measures to cut costs in light of
disappointing financial results. The measures reference layoffs
but Apple has yet to firm up details or specifics.

Sculley concludes, "We expect these measures will bring
expense growth in better line with revenue growth as we progress
through this fiscal year. At the same time, we remain focused
on key strategic priorities and opportunities. We believe
these efforts will help insure that Apple will continue to
prosper in 1990."

(Wendy Woods/19900119/Press Contact: Carleen LeVasseur,
Apple, 408-974-2671)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00003)

COMING MULTILINK TOUTED AS MULTIMEDIA MASTERPIECE
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Interactive
Media Technologies promises to unveil at the MacWorld Expo in
San Francisco, April 10, a system which gives the Mac "intelligent
device connectivity with all forms of video and multimedia
equipment."

While the company is deliberately holding back details for the
big debut, IMT does say that Multilink allows the computer to
be linked to external media sources, i.e. VCR, CD, audio, etc.,
to produce everything from off-line editing to desktop video and
multimedia production. IMT hopes to be the first company of
its kind to demonstrate the feasibility of intermedia linkage
controlled from a single personal computer.

The product will be aimed at advertising agencies, video
production facilities, and desktop presentation professionals.

(Wendy Woods/19900119/Press Contact: Ron Bianchi, 602-
443-3093)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)

NEW FOR MAC: MACDRAW II BUNDLED WITH DISCOUNT COUPONS
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Claris Corp.
is offering a special limited-time promotion that bundles MacDraw II
version 1.1 with a presentation value pack.

The value pack features a variety of discount coupons good toward the
purchase of several third-party Macintosh presentation products and
services. In addition, MacDraw II version 1.1 will be packaged with a
Chooser-level drive and AGXit, specially-designed communication utility
from Autographix Inc. which together allows MacDraw II users to create
presentation graphics and transfer files via modem or disk mailer to
Autographix's service center. From there, 35mm slides are produced
within 24 hours.

The MacDraw II Presentation Value Pack promotions is good through
April 30 1990. MacDraw II version 1.1 is available from U.S.
authorized Claris dealers and distributors with a suggested retail
price of $399. Registered MacDraw II version 1.0 owners can
upgrade to version 1.1 for $30, and owners of the original MacDraw
can upgrade to MacDraw II 1.1 for $200. Claris products operate
on Macintosh and Apple II computers. Call 408 987-7000.

(Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/1990019)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00005)

NEW FOR MAC: ERASABLE OPTICAL DRIVE FOR BIG JOBS
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Accel Computer
Corporation has introduced an erasable optical disk drive
that combines high-density data storage with rewrite
capabilities.

The optical disk drive can store images to be erased, and new
data to be recorded, on an as-needed basis.

The unit's rewritable feature meets the needs of CAD/CAM
engineering applications where multiple images are stored
and updated, during the design cycle. Accel's disk drive can
also be used as the storage device for a LAN operating server
system.

Accel's data imaging peripherals are designed for use
on Macintosh systems.

(Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119/Press Contact:
714-757-1212)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00006)

NEW FOR MAC: ANTITOXIN TACKLES WDEF VIRUS
AGOURA HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Mainstay
has added a new version of its virus detection, decontamination and
production software for Macintosh software.

AntiToxin 1.3 now handles both the "A" and "B" strains of the new
WDEF virus, the recently discovered virus that infects the
invisible desktop file, and by including a mutant detector to
provide defense against all current strains.

AntiToxin 1.3 upgrade is available for $15 to registered users.
AntiToxin is free to members of Mainstay's Annual Subscription
Plan, which offers registered AntiToxin users automatic upgrades
for a flat fee of $75. New users can purchase 1.3 through retail
channels at a cost of $99.95.

(Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00007)

NEW FOR MAC: FULLWRITE OFFERED WITH 4 MB MEMORY UPGRADE
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Ashton-Tate
is offering a joint promotion that includes a free copy of
FullWrite Professional version 1.0 with every Technology
Works 4 MB memory upgrade kit.

The product features its integration of text and graphics with
additional RAM offered by Technology Works gives users the
power to obtain overall performance on their Macintosh computers.

This offering of the memory upgrade kit with FullWrite 1.0 is
available for $350. Customers can purchase a 2 MB kit
combined with FullWrite for $214. The promotion is good
through March 31 1990. Call 213 329-8000.

(Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00008)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, APPLE, LUCASFILM OFFER VIDEODISC
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- The National
Geographic Society, along with Apple Computer and Lucasfilm, have unveiled
a set of videodiscs for a multimedia classroom system. The first buyer is
the San Francisco Unified School District which has purchased them for
all 18 of its middle schools.

The 2-disk set, entitled "GTV: A Geographic Perspective on American History,"
combines National Geographic images with custom software to provide
an overview of American history for grades 5 through 12. An Apple IIGS
computer and software enables the video, maps, and still images to be selected,
rearranged, or run as-is. A Macintosh version of the system is due
in May. An IBM-compatible version is being developed.

The GTV project was developed with a $500,000 grant from the
California State Department of Education. Apple Computer and Pacific
Telesis donated additional funding and equipment. Lucasfilm designed
the software.

At a news conference, reporters asked what the value of such a system is
in the classroom, to which one official responded, "That's the same thing that
was said when PCs were first introduced."

"GTV is designed to engage and entertain, as well as to educate,"
explained George Peterson, director of educational media at the Society.
"The material tells the story of American history in ways that capture
the attention of even the most jaded or tuned-out students."

Among the video segments are a musically rocking "rap" that
details the acquisition of U.S. territories.

The 2-disk set, called GTV, costs $650 through December 1, 1990.
The school must supply the computer, monitor, and videodisc player.
The set can be ordered by calling 800-368-2728 or by calling
301-921-1330.

Demonstrations of the system are slated for January 30-Feb 2 at
the Florida Educational Technology Conference in Daytona Beach,
Florida; Feb 21-23 at the Texas Computer Education Association
Conference in Fort Worth, Texas; March 3-6 at the Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development Conference,
San Antonio, Texas; March 14-16 at the National Council for the
Social Studies Annual Meeting, Boston, MA; March 29-30 at
the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning
Conference in Grand Rapids, MI; May 11-12 at the California
Computer Using Educators Conference, Palm Springs,
California; and June 25-27 at the National Educational
Computing Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

National Geographic plans to produce other titles in the future.

(Wendy Woods/19900120/Press Contact: Jane Tully, National
Geographic Society, 202-857-7001)


(EXCLUSIVE)(APPLE)(LAX)(00009)

SWEEPING MAC HARD DRIVE PRICE CUTS FROM EHMAN
EVANSTON, WYOMING, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Continuing a
policy of passing its own savings along to customers, Ehman has
reduced prices on its line of Macintosh hard disk drives.

Increases in purchasing power coupled with more efficient operations
have allowed Ehman to reduce prices. In addition to new prices for
single purchases, Ehman has instituted a discount structure for
volume purchases of three or more units in response to the large
number of corporate accounts that have been buying Ehman products.
A complete listing of the new lower prices is already available.

Ehman disk drives are covered by a 30-day unconditional guarantee
and a two year limited warranty on all other parts and labor. There
is also a one-year, 24-hour replacement express service policy that
customers can purchase. Ehman also provides a toll-free customer
support line.

(Janet Endrijonas/19900119/Press Contact: Ilene Slapin, RIS Associates,
714-240-8985)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00010)

UK'S MACWORLD MAGAZINE NO LONGER A FREEBIE
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- CW Communications, the
publisher of the UK version of MacWorld, a new monthly magazine
for the Apple Macintosh, has announced the magazine is no longer a controlled
circulation publication. In plain parlance, subscribers must now
begin paying for the magazine at the rate of UKP 24 ($36).

Started six months ago, MacWorld has grown from a thin colour
add-in magazine to Personal Computer Business World, CW
Communications' weekly controlled circulation newspaper, to a
full magazine in its own right.

In a letter sent to all subscribers of MacWorld this week,
publisher Simon Kelly said that the magazine has become a victim
of its own success. "The outstanding success of the magazine has
meant it will now be mailed separately to paid subscribers only,"
he said.

To cushion the blow for readers, Kelley has two offers up his
sleeve -- sign up for six free months, followed by twelve paying
months (with the option of cancelling after the free months are
up), or paying for one year now and getting a two year
subscription.

Will the ploy work? According to Peter Worlock, computer industry
veteran and editor of MacWorld, it will. "The magazine is growing
from strength to strength. It's widely read and a success in its
own right," he told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19900120/Press & Public Contact: CW Communications -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BRU)(00011)

EUROPE: APPLE COMPUTER FACES SLOWDOWN HERE TOO
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Apple's European subsidiaries,
which have been selling briskly to the business sector, are also experiencing
a slowdown, especially in Dutch and Spanish markets. In contrast,
Scandinavia has been enjoying a large increase in sales.

Apple Europe has had a slowdown in the past few months but no
drastic measures are to be taken in the next few months, according to
an Apple spokesman.

This week, Apple Computer announced revenues of $1.493 million for its
first quarter ended 29 December, 1989, against $1.405 million a
year ago. Earnings were below those of the last quarter at $124.8
million against $140 million a year ago.

As an Apple executive said to Newsbytes: "The news about Apple's
slowdown in earnings is a little surprising. Although the market
has been hardened in the past few months, I don't feel that Apple
will have to lay-off people in 1990. However, salary reviews have
been changed to once a year instead of twice-yearly to cut down
on the costs."

Apple is rumoured to be developing a new system that will lead
the Macintosh into the 1990s. Apple has re-iterated that the
company will never cut down the budget of its research and
development divisions.

(Peter Clear/19900120)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00012)

APPLE AUSTRALIA GROWTH GOOD, DESPITE U.S. SLOW-DOWN
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Despite the US
parent company's reported December quarter net growth of
only six percent over the previous year, Apple Australia
has reported growth exceeding 16.5 percent for the same
period. Sales for the quarter were AUS$72.67, up from
AUS$62.26 a year earlier.

Managing Director David Strong said Australia had done
better because the local market was at a different stage of
maturity with a "markedly different macro-economic
environment."

"In Australia, we have had long advance
warning of an economic downturn, and recast programs and
expenditure estimates last November. This is one of the few
countries where Apple is the overall market leader ... we
have enormous critical mass in virtually all sectors of the
PC marketplace."

It is not expected that Apple Australia will need to follow
the US lead of reducing staff levels. However, local
industry observers were surprised by the speed of public
relations '"damage control" measures by Apple Australia,
shortly after John Sculley spoke of the pull-back in the
US.

(Paul Zucker/19900119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00013)

MICROSOFT SAYS EARNINGS UP 57%
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced its best fiscal quarter in its history. The firm
reports a whopping 57 percent increase in earnings for its
second fiscal quarter, a jump which surprised even the most
optimistic analysts.

Microsoft reports that second quarter earnings were $74.5 million
and sales were up 43 percent to $300.4 million. Analysts
expect Microsoft to become a one billion dollar company this
year.

"This record quarterly revenue demonstrates continuing strength
across virtually all facets of our business, with particular
growth from retail applications products," says Jon Shirley,
president.

(Wendy Woods/19900119)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00014)

DEC ANNOUNCES LOWER PROFITS ON HIGHER SALES
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has today announced that for the second quarter, ended
December 30, the company made a net profit of only $155,402,000
or $124 million less than for the same period last year, despite
the fact that sales were up by about $5 million.

Quarterly earnings were only $1.25 per share versus $2.20 for
last year's second quarter.

The same dismal results hold for the entire first half of fiscal
1990, with earnings dropping to only $2.44 versus nearly $4 for
the first half of 1989, even though sales were actually up this
year.

Digital's president, Kenneth H. Olsen, stressed that $796 million
was invested in research and development in just the first six
months of this fiscal year.

(John McCormick/1990119/Press Contact: Mark A. Steinkrauss, DEC,
508-493-7182)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00015)

KYOCERA COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF AVX
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Kyocera Corp.
has announced that it has completed the acquisition of AVX
Corp., with that company's stockholders receiving 0.430 American
Depositary Shares for Kyocera shares for each share of AVX common
stock, or about $35 per share.

Kyocera is a Japanese company which among other things builds
ceramic engines, while AVX is a leading U.S. manufacturer of
ceramic and glass capacitors. It is expected that Kyocera will
use AVX facilities in the U.S. and Europe to build cellular phone
components and LCD display screens.

(John McCormick/1990119/Press Contact: Ann Hageboeck, AVX,
212/935-6363)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00016)

AGBAY NAMED LEADING EDGE PRESIDENT
CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Dr. Sun
Kyou Park, president of Daewoo Telecom, parent company of Leading
Edge, has announced that Albert J. Agbay, formerly at
Panasonic, has become Leading Edge's new president. According to
Dr. Sun, the next two months should bring significant competitive
changes.

Agbay believes Leading Edge's formidable array of IBM-compatible
personal systems will soon include office automation systems, and
the company may acquire an excellent networking software solution
from a U.S. supplier. He is confident that Leading Edge will be a
"dominant leadership supplier," stating that a well-thought-out
distribution procedure is what the industry needs.

To this end, Leading Edge will soon implement agreements for
distribution that will supply the company with plenty of outlets
for its growing merchandise stock.

A Canadian distributor may be announced next week, with a
contract worth perhaps $15 million this year, and the U.S. will
be parceled into strong regional entities wherein dealers and
retailers will handle local areas.

Today, dealer sales account for all of Leading Edge's income but,
according to Agbay, before 1990 ends such sales' revenues will
drop to about 35 percent. The remaining 65 percent will come from
agreements with leading distributors.

(Beth Goldie/1990119/Press Contact: Sterling Hager, Sterling
Hager, Inc., 617-259-1400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00017)

WALLACE DISCLOSES DIVIDEND, DESIGNATES DIRECTOR
HILLSIDE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- The board of
directors of Wallace Computer Services has announced
its regular quarterly dividend of 11.5 cents per share and also
has appointed William N. Lane III, 46, and Neele Stearns Jr.,
54, as directors, effective immediately.

Mr. Lane, chairman and president of Lane Industries, Inc., based
in Northbrook, Illinois, is also chairman of Lane Hotels, Inc.
and of General Binding Corp, and Mr. Stearns is president and
chief executive officer of CC Industries, Inc. of Chicago, Ill.

The dividend, the 139th consecutive quarterly payment made by
Wallace Computer Services, Inc., will be paid on March 20, 1990
to any recorded shareholder as of March 1, 1990.

A major force in computer supply and service with manufacturing,
distribution, and sales facilities nationwide, Wallace Computer
Services, Inc. sells office supplies and services.

(Beth Goldie/1990119/Press Contact: Michael Halloran, Wallace
Computer Services, 708-449-8600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00018)

TWO MILLION INVESTED IN COGNITION
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) --
Cognition Corp. has announced the finalization of an equity
investment worth $2.1 million, involving ABS Ventures, Automatix
Inc., Memorial Drive Trust, and State Farm Insurance. The money
was raised by combining Automatix short-term loans converted to
equity with capital amassed by all concerned.

Cognition Corp., a producer of software for computer-aided-
design, -engineering, and -manufacture (CAD/CAE/CAM) that has 30
U.S. employees plus European and Japanese affiliates, began in
July 1989 through the merger of Cognition Inc.'s assets with
Automatix's CAD/CAM division. According to John Hurd, the firm's
president, growth has been steady since the merger.

Hurd and Cognition's chief executive officer, Michael Cronin,
state that the investment will enhance the firm's financial
standing as it separates from Automatix, permitting an increase
in its development and sales resources.

(Beth Goldie/1990119/Press Contact: Ralph Gifford, 508-667-7900
X133, Cognition Corp.)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00019)

ZENITH TAKES OVER BULL'S PC OPERATIONS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Groupe Bull
Chairman and CEO Francis Lorentz announced that Zenith Data
Systems will be responsible for Bull's PC operations worldwide,
moving the one-time Honeywell Bull PC operations in Billerica,
Massachusetts under the Zenith operations at Glenview, Illinois.

The move also guarantees the continuation of the Zenith name in
PCs.

Groupe Bull, a $6.7 billion computer company, completed its
acquisition of Zenith Data Systems December 28. Lorentz announced
that Roland Pampel, president and CEO of Bull HN Information
Systems, has been named senior executive vice president of
Groupe Bull and chairman of Zenith Data Systems. John P. Frank
continues as president of Zenith Data Systems, with the
additional responsibility of CEO.

Bull will continue to market mid-range and mainframe computers.
Zenith Data Systems will focus on end-user computing, local area
networking and development of future PCs using both Extended
Industry Standard Architecture and Micro Channel Architecture
slots.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Matt Mirapaul, Zenith
Data Systems, 708-699-4897)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00020)

DALLAS SEMICONDUCTOR POSTS 4TH QTR EARNINGS
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Fourth quarter
earnings posted by Dallas Semiconductor, makers of Complementary
Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits and semiconductor-
based systems, showed net income of $2,979,000 (12 cents per
share) compared with $2,310,000 (9 cents per share) for the same
period a year ago.

Net sales for fiscal 1989 set a record totalling $82,209,000, a
substantial increase over 1988's $58, 093,000. Fiscal 1989 net
income also set a record totalling $11,121,000 (45 cents per
share) compared with $9,982,000 for fiscal 1988.

It should be noted that both the fourth quarter 1988 and fiscal
1988 results include extraordinary earnings not present in the
1989 figures. In fourth quarter 1988, the company reported a
credit of $157,000 reflecting tax benefits from recognition of
net operating loss carryforwards. The total recognition of net
operating loss carryforwards for fiscal 1988 were $2,701,000.

(Janet Endrijonas/19900119/Press Contact: Michael G. Pate, Dallas
Semiconductor, 214-450-0400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00021)

IBM CANADA SHOWS STRONG PROFIT GROWTH
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- IBM Canada's net
income rose 34 percent in 1989, to C$349 million. That increase
from 1988's C$260-million figure compared well to 1988's 12
percent rise in net income and to 1987's 3.6-percent increase.

Revenue growth slowed from last year, however. IBM Canada's 1989
revenues were C$4.188 billion, up 13 percent from C$3.693 billion
in 1988. That compared to a 19-percent revenue growth in 1988
and to about six percent in 1987.

IBM Canada's exports totalled C$1.586 billion in 1989, up 17
percent from 1988's figure of C$1.352 billion. The company's
staff increased slightly over the year, from 12,605 to 12,886.

(Grant Buckler/19900119/Press Contact: Stan Didzbalis, IBM
Canada, 416-474-3900)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00022)

MCDATA OPENS CANADIAN OFFICES
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- McData, a
Broomfield, Colo., maker of network communications systems for
large computers, has opened a Canadian sales operation.

The company opened a Canadian headquarters here this week, along
with sales offices in Ottawa, Ontario; Vancouver, British
Columbia; Montreal, Quebec; and Calgary, Alberta. McData now has
12 employees in Canada, said company spokeswoman Leigh Phipps.

StorageTek Canada of Toronto, a subsidiary of Storage Technology
of Louisville, Colo., will provide maintenance for McData
products in Canada. Storage Technology manufacturer storage
peripherals for mainframe computers.

McData has sold its products in Canada only through original
equipment manufacturer relationships in which other companies put
their own names on the hardware, Phipps said.

(Grant Buckler/19900119/Press Contact: Leigh Phipps, McData, 303-
460-9200; Bruce Glashan, McData Canada, 416-258-5544)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00023)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER COMPANY FINANCIAL REPORTS
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Computer companies reporting
results and other relevant information this past few days are as
follows:

[] ASK COMPUTER SYSTEMS reported earnings of $791,000 for its
second quarter ended 31 December, 1989. Revenues for the same
period reached $50,171,000 for the period against $45,504,000 in
fiscal 1988. Ask develops computer business information systems
based on DEC, IBM and Hewlett-Packard hardware.

[] COMPUTER SCIENCES plans to divest about a major portion of its
Infonet division to MCI Communications. Infonet is a large,
global communications network. The 25 percent that MCI will own
of Infonet makes it the largest shareholder in the company. Five
percent of Infonet is owned by several European PTTs, including
those of Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and France.

[] ALLOY COMPUTERS has acquired Earth Computer Technologies, a
company specializing in networking products for personal
computers. Details of the financial elements of the deal have not
been revealed.

[] CREATIVE COMPUTER APPLICATIONS has declared a $78,297 profit
for its quarter ended 30 November, 1989, with revenues topping
the $1.1 million mark. The figures compares with a loss of
$72,210 on revenues of $681,203 for the same period in 1988.

[] CRAY COMPUTER is buying Gigabit Logic in exchange for 1.65
million shares in the Cray group, as well as surrendering 200,000
of Class A Gigabit shares. Gigabit is a company that specializes
in gallium arsenide circuits.

[] SYSTEMS & COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY reported that it head earned
$719,000 in its first quarter of 1990, against $319,000 in 1989.
Revenues for the quarter were $11,582,000 against $11,543,000
reported in the same period last year. SCT is a provider of
professional services and applications.

[] CETUS CORPORATION lost $15.94 million in the quarter ended 31
December, 1989, against a net loss of $11.54 million on the same
period in 1988. Total revenues increased to more than $9 million
and costs increased to $6.372 million, due mainly to a charge
from the purchase of the OncoScint and OncoTec product lines by
the company's European subsidiary. Cetus manufacturers bio-
technology products and computers for the medical industries.

[] SK TECHNOLOGIES has obtained a listing on the OTC market under
the symbol SKTC. The company manufactures point-of-sale terminals
and data communications software.

[] CM Communications is starting to trade at the OTC market with
symbol CMCM. The company specializes in marketing communications
systems.

[] LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR earned $1.9 million on revenues of
$10.203 million for its third quarter ended 30 September, 1989.
The results compare with earnings of $1.5 million on revenues of
$15.354 million for the same period last year. Revenues for the
nine months ended 30 September, 1989, reached the $25 million
mark, while earnings were $4.124 million. Lattice manufactures
gallium arsenide circuits and E2CMOS circuits (CMOS programmable
logic devices).

[] DALLAS SEMICONDUCTOR reported earnings of $2.97 million
against sales of $21.54 million for its quarter ended 31
December, 1989. The figures compare with revenues of $16.679
million during fiscal 1988. Lattice Semiconductor develops CMOS
circuits.

[] AST RESEARCH reported profits of $7.384 million on revenues of
$130.243 million for its second quarter ended 29 December, 1989.
AST had reported losses of $8.945 million for the same period
last year.

[] DIGITAL EQUIPMENT reported revenues of $3,184 million for its
second quarter ended 30 December, 1989 while profits were $155.4
million, down from $279.579 million a year earlier.

[] MICROSOFT CORPORATION earned $74.476 million for its second
quarter ended 31 December, 1989. The same period last year saw
profits at $47.785 million. Second quarter revenues also rose to
$300.43 million, against $209 million in the same period last
year.

[] QUANTUM CORPORATION earned $10.276 million on sales of $111.19
million for its third quarter ended 31 December, 1989. Quantum
earned 37 cents per share.

[] TANDEM COMPUTERS finished its first quarter ended 31 December,
1989, with sales of $436.519 million and profits of $30.735
million. Tandem's profits were lower than last year's, an
indication of the costs incurred by launching its transaction
processing system.

(Peter Clear/19900120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00024)

ASIAN MARKETS ROUND-UP FOR THURSDAY/FRIDAY 18/19 JANUARY, 1990
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- The Asian markets changed somewhat
the last two days of the week, with the Nikkei Dow average moving
up by 107 points on Friday after falling a little more than 91
points of Thursday. The recent falls on Wall Street in the US
have taken their toll in the Asian markets since the beginning of
1990.

In the technology field, Toshiba moved up while more than 490
million shares changing hands.

On the Hong Kong market, the Hang Seng index kept moving slightly
up to end a total of 21.45 points higher on both Thursday and
Friday. Industrial stocks edged a little higher. Technology
stocks did not produce a large change.

(Peter Clear/19900120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00025)

LONDON STOCKS KEEP FALLING, INDEX FALLS LOWER IN LIGHT TRADING
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- The Financial Times
All Shares index fell by more than 37 points during the last two
days of the week, closing the week at 2335. Traded volume
amounted to 462 million shares with some technology stocks moving
slightly up.

The market had something to feel good about with the possible
sale of Plessey's 70 percent stake in the Hoskyns group. Hoskyns
closed the week up 96 cents at $5.34.

(Peter Clear/19900120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00026)

DIGITAL FALLS BY MORE THAN $10, IBM FOLLOWS, MARKET REPORT
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Blue Chip stocks fell
heavily with Digital leading the pack by falling by more than
$10. Industry analysts say this illustrates only too clearly how
volatile computer stocks have become.

IBM fell below the psychological $100 mark finishing the week at
$98.675, down by 87.5 cents. AT&T, meanwhile, ended the week at
$42.25, down 12.5 cents. Nynex moved the index back up with a
gain of $1 closing the week at $84.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed up another 7.25
points, making the gain of the two last days of the week reach
more than 19 points. The average closed at 2677.26. Advances led
declines by 815 to 653 with the traded volume exceeding the 185
million mark.

The most active technology stocks included AT&T with more than
2.9 million shares traded; Digital Equipment with more than 2.3
million shares changing hands; and IBM seeing 1.6 million shares
trading.

Over the Counter (OTC) stocks did a little better with MCI moving
up by 75 cents. Apple Computer moved down by $1.875 to finish the
week at $34.25 (still more than $10 down on the last five weeks),
Microsoft has been moving up and is now trading at $94.125, up
more than $40 since June 1989, with Intel Corporation also up by
67.5 cents to $37.875.

Novell followed the lead of the others and closed up 50 cents,
ending at $30.5. Oracle also moved up by $1.5, finishing a
tumultuous week at $20.325.

On the American Exchange, Amdahl Corporation fell by 12.5 cents,
finishing at $14.675 after 1.5 million shares changed hands.
Western Digital changed the lead of Amdahl and closed up 87.5
cents to $10-00.

(Peter Clear/19900120)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00027)

SONY TO ENTER DRAM BUSINESS
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 12 (NB) -- Seeing a need for DRAM chips
for its next-generation TV, HDTV or High Definition
Television, Sony has decided to enter the chip-making business
for the first time.

HDTV is expected to create a new demand in the DRAM industry.
So-called field-memory, which stores a transmitted HDTV video
frame, is an indispensable device. This Field-memory is a
combination of a general purpose memory chip and a special
graphic processor. The memory chip is expected to be in demand
alongside the current general purpose DRAM chips. The company
is said to perceive this as a one-in-the-million chance to get into
the semiconductor field.

Expecting HDTV to appear on the consumer market by 1995, Sony
is planning to have the DRAM chip available commercially by then.
The DRAM will be four-megabit with 0.5 micron width of
processing technology, which is expected to process 16-megabit DRAM
chips in less space. The four-megabit DRAM chip is said to be
more functional that a 16-megabit chip for HDTV since each
memory chip must assume a different job.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19900118)


(EXCLUSIVE)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00028)

HONGKONG: PICK OPERATING SYSTEM AIMED AT CHINESE MANUFACTURING
TSIM SHA TSUI, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- If there is one field in which
Hongkong abounds with expertise it is the manufacturing business. After
all, manufacturing is the lifeblood of the territory. But the paradox is
that, until recently, no local software firm has endeavored to export
packaged systems which they have developed for this critical sector. Edward
Kwok, managing director of Sun Technology (SunTech), told Newsbytes he
plans to change that situation dramatically.

SunTech has been active in the hardware export market for sometime, with a
fine range of color monitors which can be seen on systems in many countries
in the world. More recently it came to an arrangement with Korea's giant
GoldStar Corporation to distribute its products in Hongkong, China and
Macau, and to relabel and re-export them through its international
distribution network.

In parallel to its hardware export operations, SunTech has spent the last
five years developing and refining software packages for the manufacturing
and distribution industries, based on the PICK operating system. "Unlike
other countries, the value of the PICK operating system had not been duly
acknowledged by Hongkong software developers, but we saw it as ideal for
machine independent packages, " said Mr Kwok in an exclusive interview with
Newsbytes. "In the Asian region, hardware support varies considerably.
With our software, manufacturing organizations in different countries can
run the same software, but choose the hardware which is best supported in
each particular location."

SunTech executives did not only foresee the now very popular demand for
PICK in Hongkong and the region, but also recognized a need for the user
terminals to operate using the Chinese language. The company was the first
in the world to offer a version of PICK application systems which could
attach both Chinese and English terminals. Indeed, until 1989, it was the
only company anywhere which had this important facility to offer in Asia.

According to Mr Kwok, SunTech is now in a position to offer agency
arrangements for its packages to software distributors outside Hongkong.
"We have thoroughly tested our products on the Hongkong market, having
worked with over 60 manufacturing and distribution companies here. We also
have installed them in Singapore and Australia. All this has been achieved
with our own software development team. We recently appointed sole
distributors agents in Hongkong to market and implement our systems on a
broader base, and we are looking to other countries in the region and
beyond for similar arrangements."

(Keith Cameron/19900118 - Press Contact: Edward Kwok, Sun Technology Ltd.
Hongkong Tel: [phone] or Fax: [phone])


(EXCLUSIVE)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00029)

HONGKONG: CAMERON SELLS GIVE-AWAY AND VIDEO RENTAL SOFTWARE
WANCHAI, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Long time proponent of change in
the personal computer software industry, Hongkong-based Cameron
Microsystems Ltd. (CMSL), has taken yet another step towards bringing
software prices down to what it considers to be reasonable levels. Working
under an arrangement with the Californian company, DemoWorks, the company
is producing software games and tools which are personalized
with corporate logos and messages and used by DemoWorks customers for
company give-aways.

"The margin on each unit is tiny," Brett Cameron, CMSL's market development
manager, told Newsbytes, "but the volumes are potentially very large. PC
software is definitely a consumer item and should be regarded as such. I
think most software publishers have their heads in the sand these days and
do not understand the market they are now in."

According to Mr Cameron, CMSL is continuing to offer its single, stand-
alone PC software products at supermarket prices. "Although I acknowledge
that larger commercial systems require tailoring to suit the needs of the
implementing organization and must be sold at professional rates.
Continuing support must also be provided with that type of commercial
system and that does, and should, cost money. However, with PC management
tools and games, which are of general use, prices are unrealistic."

In another development CMSL is in the process of packaging a multiuser
Video Library System for video clubs based on the PICK operating system.
"We have been involved in three developments for this specialized
application and found that many people were trying to implement systems
based upon traditional book library systems which have different
requirements and are difficult to modify,"

"For example, our approach allows members to use a free-text search to
establish the availability of a given video by any word or partial word in
the title, series, cast, producer, director or writer fields. If the
desired video is on loan, then the member may automatically insert his or
her name on the waiting list," he added.

The CMSL Video Library System includes real-time video rental and return
modules, together with a simple-to-operate order management system. It
provides all the necessary billing data for entry into an accounting
system, and operational and statistical reports for the librarian and club
management.

According to Brett Cameron, the system should have wide appeal around the
world because, unlike other commercial software, video library systems do
not vary widely in basic requirements.

(Norman Wingrove/19900118 - Press Contact: Brett Cameron GPO Box 9960
Hongkong Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00030)

HONGKONG: FORMS FIRMS FORM FIRM ALLIANCE
KWUN TONG, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Instant Data Forms Ltd (IDF) has
been appointed sole distributor for Duplo Seiko Corporation forms handling
equipment.

Incorporated in Hongkong in 1979, IDF has rapidly become a world leader in
computer form processors and printing machines, with an average annual
sales growth of 40 percent. It specializes in manufacturing customer-
designed computer forms, labels and envelopes for the local and
international market.

Duplo Seiko (DSC) manufacturers a wide range of machines, including desk-
top decollators, bursters and cutters designed for use by general office
staff. Under the agreement with IDF these will be actively marketed in
Hongkong for the first time.

According to IDF managing director, Tommy Leung, the Duplo range will
increase his firm's productivity by reducing manual intervention in jobs
where folding and metering are required to complete the decollation and
cutting processes. He says the machines are particularly suitable for the
local market because of their compactness, a vital factor in Hongkong's
space-hungry environment.

(Norman Wingrove/19900120/Press Contact: Clara Shek, Media Dynamics Ltd,
Tel + 852 838 3889 Fax + 852 838 0886)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00031)

The BoCoEx Index/ Closing Prices on the Boston Computer Exchange
 for the week ending January 19, 1990

 Machine                       Closing Price    Ask       Bid

 IBM PC 176          Floppy    $ 550 -          825       400

 IBM XT 086          10 MgB      700 -          800       700

 IBM XT 089          20 MgB      800 up 25      800       700

 IBM AT 099          20 MgB     1450 -         1600      1300

 IBM AT 239          20 MgB     1825 -         1850      1700

 IBM AT 339          30 MgB     1825 -         1850      1700

 IBM PS/2 Model 30   20 MgB     1225 -         1525       800

 IBM PS/2 Model 50   20 MgB     1800 -         1900      1500

 IBM PS/2 Model 60   40 MgB     2700 -         2825      2500

 IBM PS/2 Model 80   70 MgB     3800 -         4225      3650

 Compaq Portable I   Floppy      645 -          750       550

 Compaq Plus         10 MgB      750 -          950       675

 Compaq Portable II  20 MgB     1700 -         1725      1550

 Compaq Portable 286 20 MgB     1900 -         2000      1600

 Compaq Portable III 40 MgB     2200 down 200  2800      2000

 Compaq Portable SLT 20 MgB     2700 up 100    3000      2600*

 Compaq Portable 386 40 MgB     3500 up 200    3510      2750*

 Compaq Deskpro      20 MgB      900 -         1200       800

 Compaq Deskpro 286  40 MgB     1675 -         1975      1600

 Compaq Dskpr 386/16 40 MgB     2475 -         2750      2475

 Compaq Dskpr 386/20 130 MB     3800 -         4020      3800

 Macintosh 512       Floppy      555 -          800       550

 Macintosh 512e      Floppy      650 up 25      890       625

 Macintosh Plus      Floppy      950 up 50      950       900*

 Macintosh Plus      20 MgB     1300 down 25   1500      1100

 Macintosh SE        Floppy     1575 -         1850      1475

 Macintosh SE        20 MgB     1850 -         2150      1600

 Macintosh SE/30     40 MgB     3160 -         3400      2500

 Macintosh II        40 MgB     3750 -         4200      2150

 Macintosh IICX      40 MgB     4200 -         4500      3700

 Apple IIgs          Floppy     1200 -         1475       800

 Apple IIe           Floppy      725 -          725       500

 Apple IIc           Floppy      500 up 25      650       400

 Apple Imagewriter II            350 -          350       250

 Toshiba T-3100      10 MgB     1500 -         1600      1400

 Toshiba T-3100      20 MgB     1850 -         1850      1500

 Toshiba T-5100      40 MgB     3700 -         4200      3100

 Zenith 183          20 MgB     1250 -         1250       600

 Zenith SuperSport 286          2000 -         2150      1650

                                       * Top demand this week

Compaq Market Jumps, by
BoCoEx Staff Economists

The mid-winter January thaw did not defrost the prices on the
secondary market, they seem largely frozen at last week's
levels.  There was action at the Compaq desk and among the Apples
while all but one IBM model held their value at last week's
prices.

The IBM desk was busy, though only two model had a price change.
The XT-089 with 20 megabyte hard drive was up $25 to close the
week at $800.  The other XT, the 10 megabyte XT-086, traded down
$100 at $700.  The rest of the models from IBM traded at last
weeks prices. It is notable that volume of IBM product has
generally been down over the last few months as the market
redirectes its attention to Compaq, Apple and other manufacturers
of microcomputers.

Among the Compaq models, there was strong demand for the Compaq
Portable III which took the biggest plunge in this week's market.
The portable III lost $300 to drop from $2500 to $2200, closing
near the bid price.  The Compaq Portable 386 was up $200 in
strong demand and this model closed the week at $3500.  The
Portable SLT was only up $100 to close at $2700.  These two
models have been up and down each week since the introduction of
the lite weight portables at Comdex/Fall.  The volatility gives
evidence again this week of the uncertainty about their role in
the market, and users decisions to sell models that buyers are
actively seeking.

At the Apple desk, there was movement on three models, two up and
one down.  The Macintosh Plus with 20 megabyte drive was down $25
to close the week at $1300.  Its companion, the Macintosh Plus
with floppy drives was up $50 and closed at $950.  The other
model on the up swing was the 512e with floppy drives which was
up $25 and closed the week at $950.

Index prices are based on configurations of complete systems with
keyboard, monochrome monitor and adapter, less the value of any
software or other peripherals.  Call: 617-542-4414 or the Buyer's
Hot Line: 1-800-BoCoExx or FAX: [phone].

(BOCOEX/19900119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00032)

DATAWARE DELIVERS CD-ROM WHITE PAPER
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Dataware
Technologies on January 10 released a free, comprehensive 40-page "white
paper" about the fast-growing CD-ROM industry, according to
Kathleen Hunter of Dataware.

The white paper, "Corporate Guide to Optical Publishing,"
contains the following: descriptions of the reasons for CD-ROM's
current popularity and industry stature, CD-ROM history, cost-
effective advances in publishing, innovative business
applications, distribution technologies, best uses of the
technology and its subsequent advantages, successful in-house CD-
ROM publishing, a summary, and two appendices.

A free copy of the report may be obtained by calling 1-800-344-
5849.

Dataware Technologies publishes and consults in the optical
publishing field, with major clients in government and industry
worldwide. At the CD-ROM Expo last year, Dataware's Kurt Mueller
told Newsbytes that in addition to publishing on a contract
basis, Dataware is actively seeking cooperative publishing
ventures.

Dataware Technologies is headquartered at 222 Third Street, Suite
3300, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 and has numerous branches
throughout the U.S. and Europe.

(Beth Goldie and John McCormick/1990118/Press Contact: Kathleen
Hunter, Dataware, 617-621-0820)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00033)

SOFTWARE TRIO SHOWN BY MOTOROLA COMPUTER X
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 January 19 (NB) -- Motorola
Computer X, Inc. has announced three innovative software
packages - Rapid Development Platform or RDP, HI/X, and cXDNET.

RDP aids in building control and monitoring systems, permitting
ingenious automation engineers to produce three times as many of
the needed industrial applications in one-fourth of the time.
Computer X graphics displays are made possible through the use of
HI/X, a graphics presentation manager. cXDNET connects DECnet
networks with Computer X platforms.

Motorola Inc., a worldwide leader in high technology, grossed
more than $8 billion in sales in 1988.

(Beth Goldie/1990119/Press Contact: Jim Tello, Motorola Computer
X, 708-576-8800)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00034)

CANADIAN EDI BODY HONORS TWO
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- The EDI Council of
Canada has named Dan Hewitt of Canada's federal Department of
Communications its EDI Personality of the Year. The council also
gave Gordon Campbell, executive editor at high technology
publishing house Plesman Publications, its 1989 Media Recognition
Award.

Marshall Spence, president of the EDI Council, said the awards
were the council's first but will become an annual event.

Hewitt is project director for national office port information
systems with the Department of Communications. He has coordinated
 development of EDI systems for Canadian ports, and has
helped develop a strategic plan for government involvement in
EDI. In his previous position as chief of design and development
for the Customs Commercial System Task Force of the Department of
National Revenue, Hewitt helped develop the Canadian government's
first EDI system, CADEX.

Campbell is in charge of editorial operations for five computer
and electronics publications: Computing Canada, Canadian Computer
Dealer News, Office Management and Automation magazine,
Electronics Times and SI Business magazine. The EDI Council said
he was honored for "providing leadership through media
communications of electronic technology for Canadian industry."

The EDI Council of Canada, made up of more than 700 Canadian EDI
users, promotes the use of electronic data interchange systems.

(Grant Buckler/19900118/Press Contact: Marshall Spence, EDI
Council of Canada, 416-621-7160)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00035)

UK MAGAZINE INTERESTS MERGE
MACCLESFIELD, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Database Publications
and Gollner Publishing, two computer magazine industry veterans,
have formed a joint venture company called Interactive
Publishing. The new company will assume responsibility for five
magazine titles from both parent companies.

The magazines, Amiga Action, ST Action and ST World from Gollner
Publishing, and Atari ST User and Amiga Computing from Database
Publications, will be headed up by Hugh Gollner, who becomes
Interactive's managing director and Derek Meakin, who becomes
chairman of the new company. Meakin retains his position as
chairman of the Europress Group, which controls Database
Publications and other concerns.

The Interactive Publishing venture does not affect Database's
other titles, PC, The Micro User and Electron User. Database
Publications will continue to manage and control these
publications.

(Steve Gold/19900120/Press Contact: Hugh Gollner, Tel: 0625-
878888)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00036)

MULTITASKING FOR THE ATARI ST NOW SHAREWARE
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Beckemeyer
Development Tools has released a shareware version of Micro RTX,
its multitasking operating system for the Atari ST. The
shareware license fees start at $35 for single end users, ranging
through developer status at $75 to advanced commercial status at
$250.

All three types of license give the licensee a copy of the
relevant program plus printed manual. The advanced commercial
version allows for unlimited binary redistribution by the
software house concerned. This effectively allows interested
software developers to bundle the shareware version of Micro RTX
with their own multitasking applications packages.

Micro RTX is a multitasking real-time operating system package
which adds multitasking extensions to TOS, the Atari ST's native
operating system. The package runs standard TOS and GEM software
without modification, while supporting a wide variety of multi-
tasking features including: device drivers, file and record
locking, device control, real-time prioritization of tasks, event
signalling and message passing,

Micro RTX is not the only multitasking package available for the
Atari ST series, but Newsbytes notes that this is the first time
any publishing house has released the package as shareware.
Readers of Newsbytes with a modem may like to know that
Beckemeyer Development Tools runs a BBS on (US) 415-
530-9682.

(Steve Gold/19900120/Press & Public Contact: Beckemeyer
Development Tools, POP Box 21575, Oakland, California CA 94260 -
Tel: US - 415/530-9637).


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00037)

ATARI'S UK-UNRELEASED LYNX A UK HIT
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Atari's hand-held Lynx game
console, which features a back-lit LCD screen, is already a hit
with kids in the UK, despite the fact that Atari UK has not officially
released the machine on this side of the Atlantic.

The machine, which is on sale in limited quantities in
the US, and is priced at around $150, is being sold by a number of London
electronics shops for around the UKP 250 ($375) mark. Despite the
high price, buyers are snapping the machines up as soon as they
come into the shops.

One shop in London's Tottenham Court Road took delivery of 20 of
the machines one weekday morning and, after placing a machine on
continuous demonstration, sold them all within a few hours. "When
they see the machines, they buy them," said one shop assistant to
Newsbytes.

Also being sold alongside the Lynx are imported Nintendo Gameboy
units, which offer a much wider choice of games cartridges, but
only feature a monochrome non-backlit LCD screen. The Game Boy,
which sells for between UKP 125 and UKP 150 (and around $80 in
the US) in London's Tottenham Court Road, a Mecca for electronics
enthusiasts, has not sold out.

This reflects a similar situation in the US, where Game Boys were
outflanked by the Atari Lynx at the Consumer Electronics Show
(CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month.

(Steve Gold/19900120)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00038)

JAPAN: IMAGINEER TO SELL POPULOUS, SIM CITY IN JAPAN
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Imagineer, a software development
firm which belongs to Misawa Homes group, will launch two best-selling
games in the U.S. and Europe, in Japan.

To start, the firm will sell a Japanese version of Populous for the NEC
PC-9801 and the Sharp X68000 personal computers in late March
for 9,800 yen or $68. Populous, developed by U.S.- based Electronic
Arts, is a game in which the player plays God, and is assigned
the job of creating the earth and man, and even causing natural
disasters.

Another game, Sim City is a high-level city manipulation simulation
game developed by San Francisco, U.S.-based Maxis. A player
develops land, constructs power plants, factories, residences, roads,
and later finds residents born naturally, who drive cars and work.
The player's world adapts to the changes made, causing sometimes
uncanny and unexpected results. Imagineer has rewritten
the game software into the Japanese language to run on NEC PC-9801
personal computers. It will be released in April and cost 9,800 yen
or $68.

(Ken Takahashi/19900118/Press Contact: Imagineer, 03-343-8911)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00039)

SEIKO-EPSON ADDS 3 MODELS OF PC-286
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 12 (NB) -- Seiko-Epson has developed three
models of its NEC PC-9801-compatible PC-286 series. The PC-286VX
performs 1.25 times faster than its predecessor VS. Its clock
frequency is 20 megahertz on a 80286 central processing unit.

The 640 kilobytes of main memory is expandable to a maximum 14.6
megabytes with 12 megabytes in the memory slot and two megabytes in
the general purpose slot. Three models of PC-286VX have two 5-inch
FDD (floppy disk drive) units which can read and write to one-megabyte
and 640-kilobyte floppy disks.

The model STD with FDD units only costs 348,000 yen or $2,400,
the model H20 with 20-megabyte HDD is 473,000 yen or $3,260 and
the model H40 with 40-megabyte HDD costs 533,000 yen or $3,675.

Seiko-Epson has prepared 20-, 40- and 80-megabyte cartridge-
type HDD units for the new machines. Seiko-Epson expects 10,000
units of sales through Epson-Hanbai in the initial year.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19900118/Press Contact:Epson-Hanbai Corp.,
03-377-7001)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00040)

HITACHI UPGRADES PROSET 30
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 12 (NB) -- Hitachi has upgraded its personal
work tool Proset 30 with standard HDD (hard disk drive) and additional
communication functions. The new models, 30HS and 30HD, cost 648,000
yen or $4,970 and $748,000 yen or $5,160 with two 1.2 megabyte,
3.5-inch FDD (floppy disk drive) units and 40-megabyte HDD.

Hitachi's personal computer combines computer, display
unit, printer, telephone, mouse and modem into one piece and its
ungainly looks are reminiscent of the robots on old science fiction
novels. One of the most popular Japanese word processors,
Ichitaro, and graphic processor Hanako, have been bundled with the series.

In the early 1989, the first models 30D and 30S appeared on the market.
Sales were disappointing, but Hitachi forecasts better times for
the series with these new models added to the line, and is expecting
to sell 20,000 units this year.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19900118/Press Contact: Hitachi, 03-258-1111)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00041)

NEC RELEASES HIGH-END N5200 BUSINESS PC
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- NEC has developed a high-end
model of its desktop business personal computer N5200 series. The
machine, dubbed N5200 model 70, operates 1.6 times faster than its
predecessor model 07AD III.

Equipped with a 33 megahertz 80386 microprocessing unit and larger
memory capacity, the machine provides a choice of two or four
megabytes of main memory expandable to 15 megabytes. The
display unit provides 1220 by 750 dots or 640 by 470 dots of
resolution in graphical mode. Two independent graphic processors
provide faster image drawing.

The model with one 3.5-inch FDD (floppy disk drive) with 40 megabytes
of HDD (hard disk drive) costs 1,370,000 yen or $9,450 and the model with
one FDD and 100-megabyte HDD costs 1,810,000 yen or $12,480.

A specially developed operating system for the series, called PTOS,
has been upgraded yet is downward-compatible to previous models.
NEC expects to sell 8,000 units in the initial year.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19900118/Press Contact: NEC, 03-454-1111)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00042)

HONGKONG: PLENTY OF COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS, BUT NOT FOR LONG
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- EDP (electronic data
processing) professionals still have the upper hand in the Hongkong job
market, but not for long.

Like everywhere else, Hongkong has long been short of EDP staff, but the
situation has been getting increasingly tight. There has always has been an
outflow of qualified personnel to other countries, especially Australia and
Canada, but this increased steadily following the signing in 1984 of the
Joint Declaration between Britain and China on the future of Hongkong after
1997. In the wake of the Beijing massacre last June 4th, the flow of
applications for immigration to other countries became a flood, with IT
professionals on the very crest of the wave.

Headhunters have been kept busy trying to entice back to Hongkong people
who have now gained overseas passports, with the carrot of some of the
highest salaries in the business. Now there are signs that things are
beginning to change.

Jeffrey Evans, Managing Director of leading headhunter Tech-Xecutive
Society and Chairman of the Hongkong Information Technology Federation,
told Newsbytes the local demand will probably tail off in the short term -
he estimates about six months. One reason is the number of Hongkong people
formerly engaged in projects in China. After June 4th many of these ground
to a halt and there are now few local people working there except to finish
existing jobs, and even they will return to Hongkong very soon. Many of
these already have overseas passports and will therefore stay in Hongkong
because of the higher salaries, secure in the knowledge that when things
get rough they can emigrate, having maximized their income in the interim.

Meanwhile, the brain drain continues. Mr Evans says, "The irony of Hongkong
vis a vis the Western world is that, in the IT field, they have what we
want and we have what they want, so we are setting up offices around the
world to satisfy this need to exchange staff. For example, there is a high
demand in Canada for technicians with 3 - 7 years experience and the
Chinese are very good at following specifications - programmers work by the
book and are first class at producing finely documented code doing exactly
what is required. On the other hand, they are not so good at the front end,
project management, especially."

Many managers are expressing concern about the rate at which EDP staff
change jobs and are becoming less willing to hire people who have a record
of job-hopping, with a corresponding lack of in-depth experience. Although
salaries remain high and may not fall significantly below their current
levels, analysts believe they have reached their peak.

(Norman Wingrove/19900120/Press Contact: Jeffrey Evans, Tech-Xecutive
Society, Tel + 852 521 3353 Fax + 852 868 0269)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00043)

HONGKONG: BIG PR FIRM APPOINTS NEW OFFICER
ADMIRALTY, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Leading hi-tech public relations
and editorial firm Euan Barty Associates has moved to beef up its services
with the appointment of financial and corporate relations specialist
Patricia Malone as an executive director.

Euan Barty Associates, founded in 1987 specifically to provide editorial
and PR services to the information technology industry, represents many
major local and international companies, including Hewlett-Packard, NCR and
several Hongkong Telecom group companies.

Euan Barty himself has spent 20 years as a computer industry journalist in
the UK and Hongkong. He told Newsbytes, "Only a few people in Asia can write
authoritatively on technical subjects. The extent to which information
technology underpins Hongkong's economic prosperity is not well enough
recognized. Much of our effort is aimed at demystifying technology and
explaining it in an intelligent way to non-technical readers. Pat Malone
has extensive experience of financial and corporate relations and
publications. This will be valuable to our existing clients, and help us to
offer services to companies outside the technical sector. Her agency
experience will enable us to improve our service in the areas of media
consultancy and strategic counselling."

Ms Malone was formerly director of editorial services with Gavin Anderson
Co (HK) Ltd, following two years with Hill and Knowlton Asia Ltd, where she
set up and headed the editorial department.

(Norman Wingrove/19900120/Press Contact: Euan Barty, Euan Barty Associates,
Tel + 852 529 0356, Fax + 852 861 3420)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00044)

HONGKONG EXPANDS HI-TECH TRAINING FACILITIES
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Olivetti has expanded and improved
its Hongkong computer training centre to offer more courses and larger
facilities while racing enthusiasts also benefit from increased efforts
toward computer literacy by the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club.

Olivetti's decision to expand was taken in order to offer a more
comprehensive selection of courses. Manager, customer engineering service,
Francis Cheng, says, "Our students today include everyone from junior office
workers to senior professional executives. Although there are about 50
computer training schools in Hongkong today, we felt there was room in the
market for a professionally run computer training school which offered
certified computer courses, so we expanded our existing facilities."

More than 20 courses are offered at the centre each month and these are
available both to Olivetti customers and to the general public.

There is a great demand in Hongkong for courses in all aspects of
information technology. Many schools are fly-by-night operations and
others are run by unqualified staff or are based on inappropriate software.
Some companies are beginning to demand a more professional approach to
their own particular needs and some larger organizations have begun setting
up their own in-house training facilities.

The Royal Hongkong Jockey Club, for instance, as one of the territory's
major employers and the largest single user of DEC computers in the world,
set up its own scheme about five years ago. All staff involved with
computing at all levels may now attend courses full time or at their
leisure in a centre providing advanced audio-visual techniques, self-paced
learning based on interactive video discs, lectures, online sessions and
the use, operation and maintenance of two VAX mainframe computers.

The Club's involvement with computing encompasses two world class tracks
providing major meetings twice a week. Both courses have mammoth video
screens providing live coverage of the race in progress and the pictures
are relayed to the course not currently in use so that punters may see and
bet on the races remotely. All bets are handled electronically. They may
be made at counters both on and off-course, at automatic ticket vending
terminals, by telephone or through a private handheld terminal which
accesses the Club's computers directly through the telephone network. Seven
thousand of these terminals are now in use, with another 50,000 due to come
into operation this year, half of them bilingual English and Chinese.

Director of betting, Warren Wilson, told Newsbytes, "The computer learning
centre is an essential aid in keeping all our staff fully trained, from the
betting counter operators to systems engineers. Without the computers, we
could not operate and without the training programs, our computers would
not operate."

(Norman Wingrove/19900120/Press Contacts: Karen Rooke, Medcalf & Co + 852
541 9141/Warren Wilson, Royal Hongkong Jockey Club, + 852 837 8111)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00045)

COMPUTER TELLS TRAFFIC POLICE TO BOOK EACH OTHER
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 12 (NB) -- The entire state
police force in New South Wales found itself driving
illegal, unregistered cars after an enthusiastic computer
program had its say when one of the cars logged too many
parking tickets.

Police are reticent to nominate the exact car and driver,
but it appears that a high-ranking police officer had a
parking ticket outstanding on his unmarked, but police
department registered, car. Two years ago, in an endeavour
to reduce the number of outstanding parking fines, the NSW
government brought in legislation which causes the
automatic deregistration of offending vehicles.

It appears that in this case, as all police vehicles were
registered in the name of the police department, all were
automatically deregistered by the Road and Traffic
Authority computer after the statutory number of warnings
were issued.

(Paul Zucker/19900119)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00046)

THREE INDICTED FOR STEALING CLASSIFIED DATA
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Authorities
say this may be the most disturbing hacking incident ever. They
say hackers have not only penetrated what was supposed to be a secure
military computer, but have manipulated California's Pacific Bell
phone system.

Kevin L. Poulsen, 24, Robert Gilligan, 31, and Mark Lottor, 25, have
been indicted by a federal grand jury in San Jose on 19 counts.
The trio is accused of a variety of break-ins, the most serious of
which, authorities say, occurred in the U.S. Army's MASNET computer
network. There, sometime in late 1987 or early 1988, classified
information on "air tasking orders" for a month-long
military exercise was obtained. The exercise was slated for North
Carolina.

The government alleges that the three men were not only
exploring classified data on military computers, but they also
managed to obtain unlisted phone numbers for the Soviet
Consulate in San Francisco via illegal means. In addition, they
are said to have diverted Pacific Bell and government computers
for their own use, including for purposes of wiretap. The indictment
cites incidents in which phone company facilities were burglarized
and badges, directories, and test equipment were stolen.

The charges also list a wiretap on the line of a North Hollywood
woman, who is said to have been Poulsen's girlfriend.

Authorities are not speculating on a motive at this time, but say
the Poulsen, for one, has a history of hacking incidents dating
back to his teens.

While Poulsen remains at large and is believe to be in Los Angeles
somewhere, the other two men named in the indictment are expected
to surrender voluntarily to authorities.

(Wendy Woods/19900120)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00047)

MORRIS ADMITS RELEASING WORM, DENIES INTENDED DAMAGE
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- As the
defense tried to portray him as an innocent academician
experimenting with computers and unaware of the damage his worm
could cause, Robert Morris, the former Cornell graduate student
accused of disrupting thousands of computers with his
"experiment," explained to the jury that, while he intended the
worm to spread as fast as possible through the Internet computer
network, he became "scared" as he saw how fast it was spreading
and that it was slowing down his own computer access at Cornell.

Morris, who is accused of causing more than $1,000 worth of
damage to the computer network, which could result in a felony
conviction with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a
fine of $250,000, told the courtroom that he released the worm
into the computer network through an MIT (Massachusetts Institute
of Technology) computer about 8 p.m. on November 2, 1988, and
then went to dinner.

The accused also testified that he had carefully programmed the
worm not to cause damage and called it all a "dismal failure."

(John McCormick/1990119/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00048)

UNITRODE AWAITING DESC HOLD RELEASE
LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) --
Unitrode Corp. has announced the lifting of a self-imposed
shipping hold which began early last month on specific military
items manufactured by its Semiconductor Products Division, as
those items are not subject to a more recent hold issued by the
Defense Electronics Supply Center (DESC).

The released items number about one quarter of all restricted by
Unitrode, with the remainder (subject to the DESC hold) to be
released later this month after a successful audit by DESC of
Unitrode's Watertown, Massachusetts, facility, later this month
legally ends the restriction.

Unitrode's president and chief executive officer, Howard
Wasserman, stated that only the items not subject to the DESC
hold will be released and that Unitrode has established review
policies to prevent any future occurrences. The company is
willing to replace or retest, at its own expense, any items (a
maximum amount estimated at $2.5 million) found faulty during
inspection but doesn't know how many it will get back.

Wasserman added that Unitrode kept producing, testing, and
shipping items, saying, "...now we can better respond to our
customers' needs," and that DESC has helped to speed the review
process, enabling Unitrode to resume shipping. Unitrode, he
added, is dedicated to giving consumers good products which meet
military specifications. The company intends "to meet DESC's
requirements and begin to ship the products currently under the
DESC hold by the end of February."

Unitrode makes data conversion products, discrete semiconductors,
power management integrated circuits, and switching power
supplies, which are sold worldwide for use in numerous
aerospace/defense, computer/telecommunications, consumer/data
processing, and industrial applications.

In December, the U.S. Department of Defense imposed a ban on
shipment of Milspec (meeting military quality specifications for
reliability) on Unitrode semiconductors after faulty quality
control procedures were alleged.

(Beth Goldie and John McCormick/1990119/Press Contact: S. Kelley
MacDonald, Unitrode, 617-861-5104)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00049)

NOVELL EARNS BRAZILIAN GOVT PERMISSION TO MARKET PRODUCT
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- The Brazilian government
has announced it will allow Novell to market networking products
in that country. The announcement follows extensive technical
presentations and similarity testing conducted by the Secretaria
Especial da Informatica (SEI) involving performance comparisons
between Novell's NetWare and various Brazilian domestic systems.

In the past, Brazil has refused to recognize the
validity of American patents, forbidding Apple entry into the
market while allowing the sale of Macintosh clones.

SEI granted approval for three Novell products: Advanced NetWare,
NetWare SFT version 2.15 and Netware 386 version 3.0.

The successful effort to gain approval was lead by Novell
distributor Datarede Informatica. Novell is also represented in
Brazil by three other distributors, ABCOM Informatica, SPA and
Telsist. The company recently added systems integrator Consisnet
to its Brazilian distribution channel.

According to Novell sources, the company expects this opening in
Brazil to afford it the opportunity to play a major role in
promoting and enhancing Brazilian software development efforts by
giving Brazilian developers a world standard platform upon which
to create products for both domestic and international use.
The company will also be able to address the issue of grey marketing
of NetWare in Brazil.

(Janet Endrijonas & Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Susan
Richards, Novell, 801-429-5894)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00050)

EDS TO ASSIST STATE OF TEXAS AUTOMATE ITS ACCOUNTING
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Dallas-based EDS has
announced the signing of a contract with the Texas Comptroller's
Office to assist in the development, implementation and operation
of an automated accounting system for the State.

The system to be put together, the Uniform Statewide Accounting
System (USAS), will automate and standardize approximately 250
agencies. Its goal is to improve efficiencies among the 10
organizations that control and monitor Texas's accounting and
reporting functions. The result should be to provide government
officials with accurate, up-to-date information on expenses and
state finances.

In addition to helping in the development of USAS, EDS will
provide on-site operation support and maintenance from the
Comptroller's Austin office. EDS will also be involved in
training for the agencies using USAS. The actual accounting
applications will be developed and customized by KPMG Peat
Marwick, a well-known accounting firm.

(Janet Endrijonas/19900119/Press Contact: Cathie Hargett, EDS,
512-343-4964)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00051)

FIRST ZENITH EISA SHIPS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Although no
longer technically part of the EISA or Extended Industry Standard
Architecture's so-called Gang of 9 since its recent sale to Bull,
Zenith Data Systems has introduced its first 386-based EISA
machine only a short time after announcing support for IBM's MCA
or Micro Channel Architecture.

Matt Mirapaul, a spokesperson for Zenith Data Systems, told
Newsbytes that the new EISA system will ship next week but
declined to discuss when the expected 486-based EISA machine
would be available.

When asked about the EISA shipment in light of the recently
announced support for MCA machines, Mr. Mirapaul pointed out that
Bull had already declared for the IBM architecture and that ZDS
saw no problem with marketing both MCA and EISA machines.

The new Z-386/33E has a disk controller 15 times faster than
standard disk controllers, according to ZDS President John P.
Frank. The ZDS EISA Mass-Storage Controller (patent pending)
uses two coprocessors combined with one to four megabytes of
cache memory to achieve access times under one millisecond on the
new 33 megahertz computer.

EISA is the proprietary 32-bit computer architecture created by
nine major computer manufacturers, including Zenith, which was
developed to compete with IBM's proprietary Micro Channel
Architecture. Several EISA machines are already shipping and,
despite claims on both sides, industry observers have yet to find
any real advantage of one system over the other.

(John McCormick/1990119/Press Contact: Matt Mirapaul, ZDS,
708-699-4897)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00052)

BORLAND'S SIDEKICK BUNDLED WITH OS/2
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- If observers
had any doubts of Borland's ability to bounce back to prosperity
recently, they may have been shattered after news that IBM has
decided to bundle Sidekick for Presentation Manager with all
versions of OS/2.

No value on the deal was cited by either company.

IBM will bundle version 2.0 of Sidekick with every package
of OS/2 Standard Edition and Extended Edition version 1.1.

Sidekick for PM 2.0 provides a graphical user interface for
four applications: Time Planner, Phonebook, Notepad, and
Calculator.

(Wendy Woods/19900119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00053)

NETWORK NEWS: E-MAIL SUPPORTS BINARY FILE ATTACHMENTS
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Professional
Productivity Corp. has started shipping The Notework Version
1-0-6, a pop-up electronic mail package that uses 5K of RAM
(random access memory).

The Notework is an electronic mail package that supports binary
file attachments without having to exit the application program.
One of its features include customized editing keystrokes which
can be set up so that command keystrokes operate like
WordPerfect, MultiMate, Microsoft Word, and WordStar, individual
users can create notes using command keys with which they are
familiar.

The flash feature of Notework is designed for users who often
receive phone calls while on another call. Using one keystroke,
users can signal the receptionist several different instructions
including "ask the caller to hold" and "tell the caller that I'll call
back." Users can also type a response to be passed on to the
receptionist.

The Notework is compatible for use on all dot-matrix, laser,
Postscript and daisy wheel printers. It is designed for use on
IBM PCs and compatibles It is priced at $99, $399 and $1,499 for
2-user authorization, 10-user authorization and 50-user
authorization respectively. Call 800 767-6683.

(Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00054)

NEW FOR IBM: ELECTRONIC TAX FILING FROM CHIPSOFT
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- ChipSoft Inc.
has announced an electronic filing feature for the personal version
of Turbo Tax 1040. Tax returns prepared with TurboTax can be
transmitted, using telephone lines connected to a modem, directly
to the Internal Revenue Service; a floppy disk can also take
advantage of electronic filing when a modem is unavailable.

Features to electronic filing enables users to receive refunds
faster, since the IRS is relieved of manually entering tax data.
Electronic refunds are less likely to have errors because manual
entry is eliminated and special error checking is a feature of the
software.

Following the check error function, users can either mail in the
data file on disk or transmit the data file to NELCO, the electronic
filing service. At this point, a copy of Form 8453, copies of W-2
forms and a processing fee of $15 per return, must be submitted.

The program is designed for individuals filing for refunds only.
TurboTax is available in 41 state versions for $11.50. Call 209
394-8918.

(Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00055)

IBM QUARTERLY PRETAX EARNINGS DROP 67%
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- International
Business Machines, the world's largest computer company, has
today announced that while shipments and revenue both increased
from the previous year, $2.4 billion in restructuring charges
caused fiscal year 1989 profits to drop by 35.3% after taxes and
nearly 75% for the final quarter versus the same period the
previous year.

This still left a substantial profit of $591 million for the
quarter (after taxes) or $1.04 per share versus $3.97 per share
for the previous year's final quarter. For the 12-month period
ending December 31, 1989, IBM earned $6.47 per share versus $9.80
for the previous year, giving Big Blue net after tax earnings of
$3,758 million for the year versus $5,806 million for 1988.

(John McCormick/1990119/Press Contact: Peter W. Thonis, IBM, 914-
765-6565)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00056)

CANADA: PHILIPS LAUNCHES THREE NEW PCS
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Philips
Electronics, the Canadian subsidiary of N.V. Philips of The
Netherlands, has introduced three new IBM-compatible personal
computers and a computer imaging system.

The products are to be available through Philips' Canadian
dealers in March. Iain Burns, general manager of sales and
marketing, said Philips plans to offer them in the United States
soon. Philips recently purchased Headstart, a U.S. company that
formerly sold personal computers made in Korea. Once its
inventory of Korean-made hardware is cleared out, Burns said,
Headstart will be selling the Canadian-made Philips machines in
the United States.

Philips makes some 500,000 personal computers a year at its
factory in Montreal, Quebec, acquired when the company bought the
faltering word processor manufacturer Micom in the mid-1980s.
More than 80 percent of that output currently goes to the
European market, Burns said, but Philips hopes to be selling
about half of it within North America in a couple of years.

Philips introduced three PCs, one of them a laptop with a black-
on-white VGA screen. The P3350 is a 20-megahertz 386-based
system, with two megabytes of memory and five expansion slots as
standard equipment. The Canadian price is C$5,199 and shipments
are scheduled to start in March. The P3370 is a 33-megahertz 386
in a tower cabinet, with four megabytes of RAM and 10 expansion
slots. Priced at C$12,149, it is to ship in February.

Philips' LTP3230 laptop uses a 12.5-megahertz 286 processor and
sports a VGA display with black characters on a paper-white
background. It runs on batteries for up to three hours, according
to Philips, and comes with a 40-megabyte hard disk, 3.5-inch
diskette drive and half-size XT-type expansion slot. It will be
available in March for C$7,399.

Philips' Megadoc 10 image system is designed for individual and
departmental use but can be networked for larger applications,
Burns said. Built around a 386-based PC, it comes with a high-
resolution two-page monitor, a scanner that accepts documents up
to 11 by 17 inches, a printer that handles five images per minute
and an optical disk storage system that can hold 16,000 pages.
The price is C$49,995.

Though the Megadoc 10 is Philips' first entry in this market in
North America, Ray Harrison, vice-president and general manager,
said the company has more than 100 image system installations in
Europe.

Philips also introduced a series of Unix systems to the North
American market.

(Grant Buckler/19900118/Press Contact: Chuck Richard, Philips
Electronics, 416-292-5161)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00057)

LLOYD SAVAGE LAUNCHES EASEL IN THE UK
CAMBERLEY, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Lloyd Savage Graphical
Interfaces has secured the UK marketing rights to Interactive
Images' Easel graphical user interface (GUI) development package.
The package runs on 80286- or 80386-based PCs under DOS or OS/2
operating system environments. Licensing fees on the package
depend on the user installation and number of eventual users.

Easel is designed for use by software development companies, as
well as for in-house use by major companies. The package supports
the rapid development of a GUI environment on a PC, linking to a
variety of other hardware platforms and operating system
environments, using IBM 3270, 5250 and asynchronous
communications standards.

Announcing the availability of Easel in London, Ray Jordan,
chairman and managing director of Lloyd Savage Graphical
Interfaces, said that, while the computer industry is currently
is buzzing with talk of GUIs such as Motif, New Wave, OSF and
Presentation Manager (PM), the number of ways of producing them
is far more limited.

"What's missing is a delivery mechanism and this is what Easel
represents, in other words, a standard GUI development
environment," he said.

According to Jordan, Easel has a proven track record in the US,
with more than 200 leading companies using the package in a
variety of white and blue-collar worker environments.

Is it that easy to develop a GUI using Easel? Lloyd Savage
reckons it is, pointing to Easel's ability to shield the software
developer from low-level PM API (applications manager interface)
and low-level communications coding. According to the company's
literature, these features allow the developer to write PM
applications software without any experience in the C language or
Presentation Manager being required.

Time alone will tell whether Easel is the Holy Grail of GUI
software packages. Newsbytes remembers another 'universal
panacea' package some time back called The Last One, a program
that created other programs using plain English commands. That
package never took off. With the development of OS/2 and
Presentation Manager, however, Easel stands a more than sporting
chance.

IBM seems to be taking Easel very seriously, and has taken a ten
percent equity stake in Interactive Images, the Woburn, MA-based
company in the US that developed Easel. Lloyd Savage's background
is equally impressive, the UK company having been founded in 1985
as a computer consultancy.

(Steve Gold/19900120/Press & Public Contact: Tim Rafferty,
marketing manager, Lloyd Savage Graphical Interfaces, Tel: 0276-
686855)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00058)

JAPAN: AST RESEARCH DEBUTS 486-BASED PC
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- AST Research Japan, a subsidiary
of California, U.S.-based AST Research, has launched shipping
a 32-bit personal computer embedded with the first Intel 80486
processor and the fastest processing ability in the Japanese PC
arena.

The PC, called AST Premium 486/25, has a 486 processor running at
25 megahertz and is compatible with an IBM PC/AT. The machine
is capable of processing about 20 MIPS (million instructions per
second), which is 2.5 times faster than its forerunner, 386-based AST
Premium 386/33 with 8 MIPS performance. The new PC is configured
with AST's Cupid-32 architecture, which allows an upgrade to new
generation processor capabilities. And the internal two-megabyte
main memory can be expanded to a maximum 36 megabytes.

The price varies with built-in disk drives: the two-megabyte 5.25-
inch floppy version Model 5 costs 1.8 million yen ($12,400), the
110-megabyte hard disk version Model 115 costs 2.1 million yen
($14,500), and the 320-megabyte hard disk version Model 325 costs
2.55 million yen ($17,600). AST Research Japan is targeting the new
computer at the CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/
manufacturing), medical analysis, and aviation engineering markets,
as well as geophysics.

(Ken Takahashi/19900118/Press Contact: AST Research Japan,
03-818-1710)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00059)

WAS THE AT&T OUTAGE REALLY NECESSARY?
CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Could the
Jan. 15th AT&T outage have been prevented? Depending upon what
the primary cause turns out to be, the answer may be yes. And,
for companies that provide test and surveillance equipment to be
used in network management, the outage gave credence to the
message they have long preached.

Newsbytes spoke with Bob Hess, director of corporate marketing at
Tekelec, makers of equipment used to monitor and test SS7
(Signalling System 7) equipment. Hess told Newsbytes that if the
outage was a result of the SS7 system, it might possibly have
been avoided or at least its severity could have been decreased
by having the proper network management equipment in place.

SS7 is an overlay data network that works in conjunction with the
telephone networks for setting up trunks and carrying database
information for 800 services. It is currently in use by AT&T, MCI
and Sprint and is interconnected to local telephone operating
companies.

Hess explained to Newsbytes that due to the software
sophistication of the SS7 network nodes, many problems can occur
and even a small problem can be magnified to catastrophic
proportions by the integrated nature of the SS7 system.

"Migration toward SS7 technology makes the networks more
vulnerable," says Hess. "There are maintenance functions imbedded
in the SS7 system but as each switch is asked to carry a bigger
load, it begins to shed other functions to make room for the
added switching traffic and one of the first functions shed is
maintenance. Hence, when the load is heaviest and the maintenance
feature most important, the function is not there."

Hess suggests that an independent piece of test and surveillance
equipment that will not be directly involved in and therefore not
constrained by switch load can warn of potential problems before
they happen. For example, a carrier using independent test
products can analyze local and global views of the signalling
network's performance, setting thresholds to detect timing and
protocol degradation in SS7 links. Then, using more detailed
monitoring capabilities, a carrier can isolate the problem and
take corrective action.

While Hess in no way infers that the AT&T problem would have
positively been avoided by use of Tekelec (or other competing)
equipment, he did tell Newsbytes that the AT&T outage opened an
opportunity to once again preach the prevention message.

"Admittedly, the SS7 may not have been the problem and whether or
not it was, the real thrust of the message is that in this day of
sophisticated software and integrated operations, there are ways
to avoid major outages in the telephone services on which we are
all so dependent."

(Janet Endrijonas/19900119/Press Contact: Jean Sylwanowicz,
Tekelec, 818-880-7969)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00060)

NTT PLANS NEXT-GENERATION TELECOM SYSTEM
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- According to Nikkei Industrial
Daily, Japan's telecom giant NTT is now planning to establish
a new communication method to realize transmission of
three-dimensional image and sound via optical fiber networks.

The plan will be included as an important target in its long-term
management project to be announced in March this year, the paper
says.

In what the firm claims to be a next-generation telecom system,
the new transmission system will allow simulation of real space
and sound before a subscriber, according to the paper. NTT will,
the paper says, use a large screen and a sound system as well as
equipment to express realistic moves.

NTT's Human Interface Laboratory has now started research
on the new system by applying technology which allows a
viewer, equipped with special glasses, to see three-dimensional
images.

(Ken Takahashi/19900118/Press Contact: NTT, 03-509-5035)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00061)

TYMNET LAYS OFF 200 IN CONSOLIDATION
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Tymnet, a part
of British Telecommunications PLC, has announced that 200 jobs
will be eliminated in a consolidation bid.

70 of the jobs are at Tymnet's San Jose facility, the headquarters
of the international data communications network before it was
acquired by British Telecom. There are some 1,600 employees
remaining in San Jose.

A spokesman for BT says the job cuts are due to duplications
in jobs which exist on both Tymnet and Dialcom, BT's other data
communications network.

(Wendy Woods/19900120)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00062)

SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE TO PROVIDE SERVICE FOR KANSAS DEAF
TOPEKA, KANSAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Southwestern Bell
won a 5-year contract to provide telephone service to the speech
and/or hearing-impaired in Kansas. The first year's revenues are
estimated at $1.8 million.

Kansas Relay Service awarded the Dual
Party Relay Service contract. The service will begin May 1, 1990,
and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The service may be used to complete calls originating and billed
in Kansas including outgoing interstate calls. Out-of-state
callers will not be able to access the service to call Kansas
telephone customers. However, interstate calls that are treated
as local, such as those originating in Kansas City, Missouri, and
terminating in Kansas City, Kansas, will be completed.

Here's how the service will work: Speech and/or hearing-impaired
customers in Kansas will access the relay center via a toll-free
number using a telecommunications device for the deaf, a
teletypewriter or a compatible personal computer, collectively
known as TDDs. Customers type their call request, which is
received on a terminal at a Southwestern Bell Telephone
attendant's station in the relay center. The attendant then
places an outgoing call to the called party and acts as a relay
between the two parties in communicating their conversation by
voice and TDD. The service also will work in reverse. A hearing
customer can call an impaired customer via the service. Speech-
and/or hearing-impaired customers must have their own TDDs to
communicate.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Sherry Paige Smith,
Southwestern Bell Telephone, 314-247-6771)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00063)

AT&T LOWERS PRICES ON INTERNATIONAL ACCUNET PACKET SERVICE
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- AT&T has lowered
prices on its International ACCUNET Packet Service. The service
is used primarily by businesses that transmit low-to-medium
volumes of data internationally. It is available on a month-to-
month basis; long-term contracts are not required.

The rate reduction applies to 12 of the 42 countries included in
the AT&T International ACCUNET Packet Service offering: Austria,
Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand,
Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Rates for the service are based on how many packets of data are
sent, as well as how long the circuit is used. Both of the
charges associated with the service -- the packet charge of $10
per 64,000 bytes of information and the $8 per hour usage charge
-- are reduced to $6.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Dick Gundlach, AT&T,
201-953-7412)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00064)

ERICSSON LAUNCHES NEW SYSTEMS FOR TELEPHONE MANAGEMENT
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Ericsson
introduced a new family of systems for management and operations
support of public telecommunications networks. The system, called
Telecommunications Management and Operations Support, or TMOS,
provides a single, integrated system for all management
operations in fixed and mobile networks.

The systems are designed to conform to the emerging ANSI/CCITT
Telecommunication Management Network standards for operations
support systems so they can be used in systems using products
from many vendors. They also conform to the X/Open Common
Applications Environment, which sets down standards for software
portability across different computer systems.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Ericsson, Kathy Egan,
212-685-4030)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00065)

MORAN WINS CELLULAR CONTRACT FOR CZECHOSLOVAKIA
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Moran &
Associates, an investment banker and securities broker, announced
it has a memorandum of understanding with the government of
Czechoslovakia and its Ministry of Transport, Posts and
Telecommunications to create a joint venture for the creation of
a cellular phone system for the Eastern European country.

Moran & Associates will own a 49% interest and an exclusive cellular
franchise license for the country over the next 25 years, with an
additional 25-year option.

This is among the first of any cellular communications agreements
reached within the Eastern Bloc and the first such agreement
with the newly formed Czechoslovakian government. Moran will
provide the technology, engineering, operations and finance
through a consortium of North American cellular groups.
Feasibility studies are expected to be started in mid-February
with some test operations beginning before the end of 1990.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Moran & Associates
Richard Bernstein, 203-661-9600)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00066)

NORTHERN TELECOM ANNOUNCES NEW CELLULAR SWITCH
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Northern
Telecom announced enhancements to its cellular mobile telephone
network systems which improve system performance, increase the
number of cells supported and enhance the hand-off process
between cells. The company's vice president for Cellular Systems,
Michael Patriarche, said this will allow networks to handle
hundreds of thousands of subscribers without congestion.

"This projected subscriber increase will heavily tax the capacity
limits of existing switching architectures. Northern Telecom
plans to introduce digital cellular radio equipment in the near
future. The enhancements we are announcing today will basically
take the issue of switching capacity off the table for Northern
Telecom's digital cellular customers," he said.

A new subsystem, called the Intelligent Cellular Peripheral,
will be connected with the company's DMS-MTX cellular switching
system. The ICP provides takes over call processing input and
output tasks from the basic switching system. The result is
increased peak capacity. The current processor, operating with
ICPs is capable of handling up to 180,000 call attempts per hour.
Planned enhancements will bring capacity to 500,000 per hour.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Northern Telecom,
Brian Murphy, 214-437-8589)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00067)

HELPERS OF NEW YORK'S HOMELESS GET CELLULAR PHONES
ROCHELLE PARK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Metro
One, one of two cellular phone providers in New York, is
providing cellular mobile phone service to New York City Relief,
an organization of businesspeople established to feed, clothe and
shelter New York City's homeless.

"We are supplying cellular service to this organization to help
care for the needy and possibly even help them get back on their
feet," said Metro One President and General Manager E. Lee
Kaywork. "Through the use of cellular phones, NYCR will be able
to help bring immediate aid to the homeless wherever in the city
they are located." Operating from a base in Stony Brook, on Long
Island, NYCR's buses will be stocked and equipped with food,
clothing and medical supplies. It will be dispatched each weekday
morning to assigned locations in the city to dispense services.

The rear compartments of the buses will house a mobile medical
clinic. Fully-trained doctors and nurses will provide first aid,
physical examinations and testing. Referrals will be made to the
appropriate New York City medical facilities on the basis of the
physical exams. The medical team will also provide materials on
substance abuse and AIDS counseling. Each bus will be staffed
with one driver and 6 helpers to distribute food and clothing.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Cathy Foschino, Metro
One, 201-587-7960)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00068)

TELESPHERE ANNOUNCES WATS DEAL WITH MORNINGSTAR FOODS
OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) --
Telesphere Communications concluded a tentative agreement with
Morningstar Foods of Dallas, Texas, to provide direct dial long
distance and WATS services to Morningstar's 51 dairy and sales
locations. Morningstar was formerly the Dairy Group of the
Southland Corp., the owner of the 7-11 stores which faded as a
result of bad real estate deals. It was purchased in a leveraged
buyout led by Duncan, Cook & Co. in April 1988.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Paul E. Davies,
Telesphere, 708-954-7700)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00069)

N.E.T. SAYS ITS IDNX/10 MULTIPLEXER WORK WITH AT&T T1 SERVICES
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Network
Equipment Technologies announced that its IDNX/10 Integrated
Access Multiplexer has met compatibility standards for use with
AT&T's T1 and fractional T1 services. The announcement means the
multiplexer can be connected directly to AT&T's lower-speed
networks for use at sites such as branch banks or retail outlets.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Network Equipment
Technologies Mark Elderkin, 415/780-5990)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00070)

AMERITECH PLANS TO BRING FIBER LINES TO HOMES
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Ameritech
Services will begin a series of tests to determine the most
efficient and cost-effective means for bringing fiber optic
technology to residential customers. Testing will begin this
spring when Ameritech Services teams with Ohio Bell to install
optical fiber cable serving a new housing development near
Columbus, Ohio.

Ameritech currently has more than 226,000 miles of fiber optic
cable installed in high-traffic routes such as the connections
between the company's switching centers. However, the cost of
running fiber lines directly to homes has been too high to
justify widespread installation.

The Columbus trial will test a fiber optic distribution system
manufactured by Raynet, a subsidiary of Raychem in Menlo Park,
California. In the Raynet trial, Ohio Bell will install fiber to
curbside terminals, known as "pedestals," from which copper
telephone cables will be dispersed to individual customers. The
Raynet system shares electronics with and uses less fiber cable
than other proposed systems. Trials of different technologies
provided by other manufacturers will be announced in different
locations within the Ameritech region throughout 1990.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Ameritech Services,
Jeffrey Smith, 708/605-3877)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00071)

GTE AIRFONE ANNOUNCES DEAL WITH UNITED AIRLINES
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- GTE Airfone
announced it will equip more than 400 United Airlines planes with
its Seatfone system. Terms and conditions of the agreement were
not disclosed. GTE has been working hard to sign airlines to its
phone system ever since its founder won the right, in court, to
leave the company he sold to GTE and compete with it.

The Seatfone system offers a telephone in each first class
seatback and in the center seatback of each coach row.  It
allows passengers to make telephone calls to anywhere in the
world without leaving their seats, while flying over the United
States. In the past, United has had phones installed on a few
bulkheads in each plane -- in the new scheme, most passengers
will have phones close at hand. The company recently announced a
short-term price cut to $2 per call and $2 per minute.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: United Airlines, Ron
Dowty, 708/952-4195)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00072)

US SPRINT JUMPS ON AT&T'S CASE, WHILE MCI HOLDS BACK
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- In the
wake of AT&T's network breakdown of January 15, MCI has been
unusually quiet, but US Sprint has attacked with both feet. It
took out ads in major newspapers January 16, printing the number
AT&T subscribers can call to bypass that network and link to
Sprint. It also reduced rates on its discount calling plan,
Sprint Plus, by 3.3% and increased the daytime volume discount to
10%. Basic Dial 1 rates were also cut 2.6%, effective February 1.

US Sprint said its Sprint Plus provides savings of up to 34%
against AT&T's Reach Out America. AT&T has been running ads
attacking claims by rivals of lower prices, claiming they're
comparing special deals to AT&T's normal daytime rates.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: US Sprint, Terri Dunn,
816/276-6241)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00073)

CSC TO SELL ITS SHARE OF INFONET
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Computer
Sciences Corp. (CSC) has agreed to sell its 30 percent interest
in Infonet, operators of a global communications and computer
service network available in 100 countries and locally supported
in 34, to MCI Communications and nine other organizations.

Twenty-five percent will be sold to MCI making MCI Infonet's
largest stockholder. This sale, valued at $27.5 million, is
subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US.

The remaining 5 percent will be sold to 9 or the 10 overseas
telecommunications agencies that already hold shares of Infonet.
The 9 include international telecommunications agencies in
Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
West Germany, Australia and Singapore. Together the 10 companies
hold 70 percent of Infonet.

CSC created and built Infonet into the Number 3 U.S. packet
network, behind Telenet and Tymnet. In 1988 it  crafted the
strategy of selling the company in pieces to foreign
telecommunications authorities. This deal puts MCI more on a par
with Sprint, owner of Telenet, and British Telecom, owner of
Tymnet, in the international packet switching arena. The deal
could also aid in the international expansion of MCI's MCI Mail
and MCI Fax offerings.

CSC says its decision to sell was based on both the price, which
represented a good return on investment, and the expanded
business opportunities the transaction afford Infonet. CSC will
continue to work with Infonet on systems integration opportunities
involving requirements for integrated networking and computing
services.

According to CSC, the price on the sales will be reduced by
related costs and provisions for the phase-down of certain other
operations so the net gain after taxes should be about $7.5
million (47 cents per share.)

(Janet Endrijonas & Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact:
Jim Furlong, Computer Sciences, Corp., 213-615-0311)


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00074)

GANDALF LAT OPTION ONLY IN 64-CHANNEL FORM IN U.S.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- An option for
Gandalf Data's Starmaster network processor, supporting Digital
Equipment's LAT protocol, will only be available in a 64-channel
configuration in the United States. The January 18 edition of
Newsbytes said the option will be available for 16, 32, 48 or 64
connections. That is true in Canada, but only the 64-channel
version will be offered in the U.S. market, where it will cost
US$7,500.

(Grant Buckler/19900118/Press Contact: Janice Drummond, Gandalf
Data, 613-564-0183)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00075)

HONGKONG: ONLINE SERVICE JOINS BUYERS AND SELLERS
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 15 (NB) -- The Hongkong Trade Development
Council (HKTDC) and Hong Kong Telecom's Datacom Services division have
launched an online information retrieval service which will help traders to
source local suppliers and seek overseas outlets for their products.

HORTIS, which stands for the jaw-wrenching Hongkong Trade Development
Council Online Retrieval Trade Information System, contains records on more
than 40,000 local manufacturers, exporters and importers, and more than
120,000 overseas buyers, classified by product and by country.

Andrew Ma, assistant director, International Affairs, with the HKTDC, says
the database now contains entries about overseas buyers in more than 100
countries, trading in 200 different categories of products and components.
The information has been gathered since the council began operations in
1966 and is updated daily.

The database is accessible by personal computer over the Datapak public
packet switched data network via a system of simple menu screens. The
Datapak connection is provided by a low-rental Minilink terminal which
includes all the communications equipment and support. Access costs $1.30
per minute and users are billed by the HKTDC every two weeks. Communications
charges are extra, but these are subject to a monthly ceiling of $9.60, no
matter how often a subscriber uses the network. Access is limited to 15
minutes online a day to ensure a fair share for everybody.

(Norman Wingrove/19900120/Press Contact: Andy Mutch, Datacom Services, +
852 528 8111)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00076)

MOTOROLA SPEEDS ITS 88000 BY 50 PERCENT
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Motorola
reports its 88000 reduced instruction set computer, or RISC, chip,
has been made to run 50% faster.

The news was originally reported in the latest SPECmark Newsletter. When Intel
announced its 80486 chip last year, it claimed the DOS-compatible processor
was about as fast as the 88000.

Motorola boosted the speed of the 88000 by using different
compiler/cache configurations while the basic architecture and
clock speed remained the same. The Systems Performance
Evaluation Cooperative, or SPEC, is an independent benchmarking
group formed to identify and create an objective series of tests
which serve as common reference points to evaluate computer
systems. SPEC ratios are derived by running a SPEC benchmark
suite and comparing the speed with that of the VAX 11/780 running
the same tests. SPEC was established in September 1989.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola,
512-891-2839)


(ADVANCE)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00077)

MOTOROLA TO UNVEIL 80486 MICROPROCESSOR
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Monday, Motorola
plans to unveil its next-generation 68000 series microprocessor,
the 68040, which is said to be 33 percent faster than the rival
80486 chip from Intel Corporation.

Like the 80486, this 32-bit chip has 1.2 million-transistors --
four times the number in the 68030. However it is faster than
Intel's offering, capable of performing 20 million instructions
per second compared to Intel's 15 million for the 80486.

The 68040 is not a RISC (reduced instruction set computer) chip,
which holds most industry interest at this time, but among its
peers is considered a speed demon, capable of performing 3.5
million floating-point operations per second, three times the
number performed by the 80486. Likely customers will be
Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Unisys, and Next.

Motorola plans to ship sample quantities by the end of this
quarter at $795 each.

(Wendy Woods/19900120)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00078)

SPURT IN OVERSEAS SOFTWARE SALES, SAYS SPA
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- The Software
Publishers Association (SPA) has announced that the first
nine months of 1989 showed substantial growth by U.S.-based
software companies in Australia and Europe.

The SPA's report was furnished by the accounting firm of Arthur
Andersen, which received confidential data from the 21 companies
(including Ashton-Tate, Borland, Claris, Lotus, Microsoft,
Persoft, Software Publishing, T/Maker, WordPerfect, and WordStar)
that took part in the SPA's International Data program. There
were 18 software categories (graphics, spreadsheets, word
processors, etc.) and six operating systems such as MS-DOS
involved in the study.

As a group, the firms' software sales totalled almost $458
million U.S (wholesale) in Australia and Europe for the first
nine months of 1989, a growth of almost 45 percent from the
previous year's first three quarters. Of course, each country's
growth rate was different.

Sales in some selected countries follow, with percentage
increases in parenthesis: Spain & Portugal $8.4 million (+94%);
Australia & New Zealand $44.3 million (+92%); Belgium, The
Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux); $43.9 million (+21%);
UK & Ireland $119.9 million (+28%).

The results show that the United Kingdom and Ireland were the
biggest overseas market, with Germany second at nearly $101
million and France third at slightly more than $70 million.
However, these are not to be viewed as market-size estimates; the
sample indicates only the sales of foremost U.S. software
companies in each area.

U.S. personal computer (PC) sales in European software markets
usually are about 70 percent of each country's total market.
Overseas PC software sales are expanding rapidly; the combined
rise in the foreign market was, as shown, 44 percent. In
contrast, the industry sales in the U.S. and Canada were only 11
percent.

As the PC software industry's trade association, the SPA has some
550 members, including Australian and European companies, among
which are the world's foremost software producers. Its new
European office, opened in Paris on January 2, 1990, is tasked
with widening the SPA's capacity for market research.

(Beth Goldie/1990119/Press Contact: Ken Wasch, SPA, 202-
452-1600)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00079)

VICTOR UK READIES FOR 7 FEB NEW PRODUCT INTRO
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Victor UK has announced
plans to launch a new range of machines on the 7th of February.
The new machines, known as the New Dimensions range, are
described as "an entirely new concept in computing," and "the
first of its kind in the world."

Speculation in the UK industry as to what the new machines will
be is rife. Newsbytes' sources have suggested that they may
involve a modular approach to computing, that is, a pseudo laptop
console for use on a mobile basis, linking in with the 'mother'
machine for desktop use. The industry will, however, have to wait
until 7 February to find out.

(Steve Gold/19900120)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00080)

JAPANESE GAME FIRMS LAUNCH INTO EUROPE
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Riding on the wave of favorable
sales of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in Europe, Japan's
game software industry has decided to accelerate its overseas
sales efforts.

A major game producer Jaleco, which has been selling the
game Robo Warrior for NES in Europe since September,
has opened a liaison office in London, U.K. to launch a European
marketing campaign for its other software titles. The firm plans
to make the office into its subsidiary as soon as possible.

Imagineer, a software development firm which belongs to the
Misawa Homes group, is planning to set up a subsidiary,
Imagineer International U.K., in London this spring. The plan is
to sell its software in Europe and employ Europeans for the
job.

Yokohama-based Koei also is scheduled to arrange a European
development and sales system by 1992, and will eventually
later establish a subsidiary in the U.K.

Kyoto-based Nintendo began selling its entertainment systems
in Europe in 1986, and sold 2.04 million units through December,
1989. Last year's European sales amounted to 940,000 units,
a 54 percent increase over the previous year.

Nintendo itself, plans to sell its hand-held portable version of its
the NES, Gameboy, in Europe this summer and expects to establish
a subsidiary somewhere in Europe before that time.

(Ken Takahashi/19900118/Press Contact: Imagineer, 03-343-8911,
Jaleco, 03-708-4811, Nintendo, 075-541-6111)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00081)

JAPAN: LOW-PRICE CD-ROM FORMATTING SYSTEM DEBUTS
CHIBA, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Computer maker Microboards
is offering a CD-ROM (compact disc read-only-memory)
formatting system to Japanese buyers and claims the hardware/
software combination makes creation of CD-ROMs far easier
than other methods.

The firm developed the system called CD Simulator with the
cooperation of Ehindhoven, Netherlands-based CD software
development house Elektroson.

The system stores data input from a personal computer into its built-in
hard disk, and converts the data into a simulated CD-ROM format in
conjunction with an NEC PC-9801 personal computer. The CD-ROM-
formatted data can be stored on an optional magnetic master tape
which facilitates mass production of optical disks.

The basic price for the 600-megabyte hard disk Model I is
2,950,000 yen or $20,000, and the Model II with a 100-megabyte hard
disk is 1,950,000 yen or $13,000. The addition of options such as
a drive to create the master tape, and Yamaha's programmable disk
system, which streamlines the production of a CD-ROM formatted
disk, still results in a price under 10 million yen or $70,000.

Microboards will sell the new system to printing firms,
publishing houses, and software houses which have to manage
a large amount of data. Nikkei Industrial Daily quotes the
president, Toshio Shinjo, as saying that finance, insurance, and
distribution industries also are potential markets for the
new system.

The only other complete formatting system available so far is
made in the U.S. and costs 25 million yen or $172,000, so only
twenty units have been purchased by major printing and
publishing firms here.

(Ken Takahashi/19900118/Press Contact: Microboards, 0474-22-1741)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00082)

HITACHI TO LAUNCH TOTAL CHIP PRODUCTION IN W. GERMANY
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 12 (NB) -- Following Mitsubishi Electric,
Hitachi has decided to create semiconductors from scratch in
West Germany with first product from the enterprise due to appear
on the market in spring, 1992.

To start, Hitachi will invest about 25 billion yen or $170 million
in the 60,000 square meter site next to its Landshut,
Bayern-based semiconductor composing factory, Hitachi Semiconductor
Europe. A site will house a factory where circuits will be
drawn on silicon wafers. Construction is slated to start this June
and be complete by summer 1991.

Introducing an advanced process which allows a circuit line width as
narrow as 0.8 micron, Hitachi will start volume production of one-
megabit SRAM (static random access memory) and four-megabit DRAM
(dynamic random access memory) chips starting in the summer 1992.
Hitachi plans to produce 500,000 units of 4-meg chips per month. In
the future, Hitachi also plans to launch ASIC (application-specific
integrated circuit) production. With the establishment of the new
factory, Hitachi will recruit about 300 local engineers.

Hitachi is responding to the EC (European Community) rules which
state that Europe will only buy chips created from scratch on
European soil starting in 1992.

Ken Takahashi/19900118)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00083)

FUJITSU CLOSER TO A 64-MEG CHIP
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Fujitsu claims to have successfully
developed a new resist material to aid in the development of
a 64-megabit DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip.

The breakthrough pertains to what the firm calls electron beam
resist, which allows an IC (integrated circuit) pattern to be
drawn with a line width as narrow as 0.15 microns on a silicon
wafer.

There are two etching methods involved in the engraving of a
circuit pattern on a silicon wafer. One is the so-called wet etching
method, and another is dry etching method. The electron beam
resist uses the latter method. The resist reacts against the
electron beam to print a circuit in the silicon oxide layer on the
wafer.

An electron beam resist is a material used to print a pattern on an
IC. An electron beam reacts with the resist material on a base of
silicon wafer. The result is a circuit pattern similar to a photomask,
which is a film negative used to print an IC pattern.

Conventional electron beam resist material is not satisfactory on
the submicron line process because the silicon oxide layer is also
removed on the etching process. Fujitsu has succeeded in making
the new material four times stronger in the etching process
in order to retain the silicon oxide layer on the wafer. The new
material also has the sensitivity of a photoresist.

Fujitsu expects to apply this new material to ASIC (application-
specific integrated circuit) production as well as for prototypes
of partial 64-meg chips.

(Ken Takahashi/19900118)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00084)

GALLIUM ARSENIDE IC TO BE COMMERCIALIZED BY FUJITSU
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Fujitsu will expand
its gallium arsenide IC (integrated circuit) production plant at
its subsidiary Fujitsu Yamanashi Electronics. The
subsidiary was established to produce compound semiconductors five
years ago, but will expand now to gallium arsenide IC
output.

Thanks to its high speed and low power consumption advantages, the
gallium arsenide IC is in increasing demand, especially among makers
of satellite broadcasting equipment.

JCSAT or Japan Communication Satellite Company, a private enterprise
funded by C.ITO Corp., Mitsui & Co. and Hughes Communications, has
launched four satellites using the chips already.  The satellite
broadcasts reached more than two million households last year.

Japanese firms have delayed development and practical use of
gallium arsenide due to the lack of military demand. However, Fujitsu
is planning to expand its communication business with a gallium
arsenide IC in the 1990s supported by the massive satellite broadcasting
market.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19900118)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00085)

NEW FOR UNIX: WYSE OFFERS UNIX COMPUTERS
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- In its first product
unveiling since its takeover by a group of Taiwan investors, including
Mitac and Acer, Wyse Technology has released two 80386-based
microcomputers designed to run the Unix operating system.

Prices for the complete systems, which can be upgraded to 80486-
based units, run from $25,000 to $85,000.

(Wendy Woods/19900120)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00086)

UK: WYSE TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES MULTIUSER UNIX SYSTEMS
TWYFORD, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Wyse Technology UK has
launched two new families of multiuser Unix machines, the Series
5000i and the Series 9000i, in coordination with its US-based
parent.

Both new machines are based, respectively, around multiple Intel 80386
and 80486 microprocessors, and run Wyse's Unix System V/386
version 3.2 operating system, an enhanced version of AT&T's Unix
System V.

The 80386-based Series 5000i Model 510, equipped with two 80386
chips, 4MB of RAM, 150MB hard disk and tape streamer, starts at
just under the UKP 10,000 mark, while the 80486-based Series
9000i ranges from UKP 35,000 to UKP 150,000 in price. According
to Mark Jordan, Wyse Technology UK's managing director, the new
machines will enable the company to offer a complete range of
computing solutions to users, rather single-user PCs and
terminals.

"The new machines form the basis of a new strategy for Wyse.
We're now into the multiuser markets, something that our user
have wanted for some time," he told Newsbytes.

Interestingly, Jordan revealed that the new machines had been in
development for some time, noting that the decision of a
Taiwanese consortium to buy Wyse late last year for $10 a share
was based on the knowledge that the new machines were in the
pipeline.

Both machines use the same cabling and connectors. The Series
5000i can support up to 40 devices (36 serial, 4 parallel),
while the Series 9000i can support up to 80 devices (72 serial,
8 parallel). Up to four machines can be 'daisy-chained' together
to form a single multiuser environment catering to up to 288
serial device users.

(Steve Gold/19900120/Press & Public Contact: Jacqueline
Wulfinghoff, Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00087)

LOTUS ANNOUNCES SPREADSHEET FOR SUM SPARC SYSTEMS
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- Lotus
has announced a new family of 1-2-3 spreadsheets for Sun
Microsystem 's Unix computers based on the SPARC, Motorola, and
Intel 80386 platforms. They combine 1-2-3's capabilities with Sun
workstation power for multiple window support, multitasking,
large memory support, and distributed network use.

The new line of spreadsheets brings the features of Lotus 1-2-3
Release 3 such as three-dimensional modeling, relational database
features, and improved graphics to three computing platforms: the
SPARC-based workstations; the Motorola-based Sun-3 line; and the
Intel-based Sun386i.

Lotus 1-2-3 for Sun is priced at $695 for a Standard Edition,
$995 for a Server Edition and $495 for a Node Edition, but is
only in beta test stage and won't be available until the second
quarter of 1990, according to Lotus spokespersons.

When a final version of the Unix 1-2-3 ships, Lotus will have
started to fulfill its promise of nearly 3 years ago to provide 1-2-3
for platforms other than the PC; Lotus acknowledges that 1-2-3
for the Macintosh is late and has no release date for that version.

(John McCormick/1990120/Press Contact: Lisa Leonard, Lotus, 617-
225-1263)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(ATL)(00088)

CONTROL DATA ANNOUNCES NEW RISC COMPUTERS
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Control
Data announced 4 new mid-range computers, called the Control Data
4000 series, built upon reduced instruction set computer, or
RISC, architecture chips. All four computers run Classix, a
proprietary version of Unix which is System V- and POSIX-
compliant.

The Control Data 4000 performance level is comparable to Digital
Equipment's VAX 9000, at a fraction of the price, according to a
company statement. The 4000 uses the MIPS R6000 chip from MIPS
Computer Systems.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900119/Press Contact: David Lindsey, Control
Data, 612/853-6137)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00089)

CANADA: PHILIPS ELECTRONICS LAUNCHES P9000 FAMILY
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Philips Electronics
claims to have become the largest manufacturer of Unix systems in
Canada with the launch of its P9000 Open System hardware line.

The Canadian subsidiary of N.V. Philips of The Netherlands
launched the systems at a Toronto press conference, along with
IBM-compatible personal computers and an imaging system.

The P9000 line includes models based on both Intel 386 and
Motorola 68000 processors.

The P9100 uses an Intel 386 processor. The P9050, P9070 and
P9090 use the Motorola 68000, running at 25, 33 and 50 megahertz
respectively. The P9100 is positioned as an entry-level machine,
also able to run MS-DOS. Philips said the 9050 can support up to
25 users, the 9070 can handle 48 and the 9090 supports 96.

The 386-based 9100 machines are built at Philips' plant in
Montreal, Quebec, while the 68000-based systems are built by
Motorola, said Iain Burns, general manager of sales and
marketing.

Philips currently has some 350 Unix customers with a total of
about 3,000 systems worldwide, said Ray Harrison, vice-president
and general manager of Philips Electronics.

(Grant Buckler/19900118/Press Contact: Chuck Richard, Philips
Electronics, 416-292-5161)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00090)

GNOSIS LAUNCHES THREE CROSS-ENVIRONMENT CONNECTIVITY PACKAGES
STOCKPORT, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Gnosis, the SQL
(structured query language) connectivity systems specialist, has
launched three new packages in its Sequelink range of inter-
machine connectivity packages. The packages enable link the Apple
Mac environment to, respectively, the DEC VAX, IBM AS/400 and
generic Unix machines.

In addition, Gnosis has unveiled an MS-DOS package that completes
the same functions as the Apple Mac packages, but as a composite
applications, communicating with DEC VAX, IBM AS/400 and Unix
environments under a single application.

Pricing on the new packages range from UKP 150 to UKP 495 per
single Apple Mac license, with a UKP 3,600 price tag on the
mini/mainframe applications license. Pricing on the MS-DOS
Sequelink package has yet to be announced.

(Steve Gold/19900120/Press Contact: Mike Cowley, Tel: 061-480-
9811; Public Contact: Richard Taylor, managing director, Gnosis
UK, Tel: [phone])


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00091)

Review of: Connection Coprocessor, fax card for the PC

Runs on: PC, XT, AT, 80386, and 100% compatibles with graphics-
capable dot matrix or laser printer

From: Intel, 2402 West Beardsley Rd, Phoenix AZ 85027

Price: $695

PUMA Rating: 3.625 ( 1 = lowest to 4 = highest )

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass

SUMMARY: If sending multiple pages and to multiple sites unattended
is the users desire this may be the answer. And no thermal paper!!!

======

REVIEW

======

The controlling software that comes with Intel's Connection
Coprocessor is simple and easily installed. If the user's
computer is equipped with expanded memory or memory capable of
being used as expanded memory the programs are load into it. This
lets the Connection Coprocessor be on alert in the background
while the user is busy doing another task.

A nice addition to the software for fax transmissions is that the
user does not have just a cover page, but can add a scanned or
developed logo to that cover page. This provides an attractive ID
to the critical information on the cover page.

It must be remembered that if the user has "call waiting" on the line to
which the Connection Coprocessor is connected, that telephone feature
can interfere with Connection Coprocessor operation. The call waiting
feature will bump disconnect the fax or modem if another call comes in
during use. While a user can disable the call waiting phone feature for
outgoing calls, nothing can be done for incoming communications.

The graphics program that is packaged with the Connection
Coprocessor is antiquated and does not function easily or well by
today's standards. It is a serious short-coming in an otherwise nice
package.

The package provides a feature to compress a 132column x104 line page
into a regular 8.5 x11-inch page. The feature is great except that
the user has to compress the entire document or nothing at all.
In other words, the user cannot format compression on a per-page
basis.

When the Connection Coprocessor is doing its job it works very
efficiently and well. The software and the board make a lot of
decisions about what is the best way to communicate with the other
end of the loop based on information the user gives it and the
introductory information from the other end. However, when the
user starts sending there is no visible way to keep up with
the progress. Thus, the user doesn't know when the phone will be free
to use for something else--no problem if the user has a
dedicated phone line.

Its major short-coming is the same one all fax receivers have--the files
are not addressable by a word processor. The difference between bit maps
and ASCII as a format is the problem. Connection Coprocessor does elect
ASCII if the other end of the loop can send or receive it; it's an
automated choice.

Intel's Connection Coprocessor Fax Board is mentioned as one of
the "10 Most Important Hardware Introductions of 1989" in the
"Personal Computing" October, 1989 issue.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 3. The efficient operation in the background is
much improved over previous boards and software. However, the
antiquated graphics package included is cumbersome. Also the
software does not let the user know when a fax transmission is in
process or completed.

USEFULNESS: 3.5. Intel's Connection Coprocessor is quite useful
if the user sends more than one communication a day to offices
which are fax-based. It is faster, more convenient, and more
private than a public fax machine. It also uses a regular dot
matrix graphic printer for hard copy.

MANUAL: 4. The manuals are well done and extensive.

AVAILABILITY: 4. The Connection Coprocessor has numerous
outlets.

(tbass/19900112/Press Contact: Ellen Lacey, 602-629-7360)


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00092)

Review of: SmartScrap & The Clipper II, a utility package
for the Macintosh

From: Solutions Incorporated, P.O. Box 783, 30 Commerce
Street, Williston, VT 05495 [phone]

Price: $89.85

PUMA Rating: 4 (on a scale of 1 to 4, 1=lowest, 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Linda Joan Kaplan, 1/15/90

Summary: SmartScrap & The Clipper II is a utility package
providing significant enhancement to the Apple Scrapbook
desk accessory, both in feature and function. These utilities
allow you to efficiently save, locate and view pictures and
text, they can trim and scale pictures from any source that can
be copied to the clipboard, and they support true color.

======

REVIEW

======

SmartScrap 2.01, The Clipper 2.0, ScrapMaker 2.0

The Apple Scrapbook was a seminal desk accessory, representing
one of the major concepts of "Macintosh." As exciting as Apple's
Scrapbook was, it served exclusively as a passive vehicle, utilizing
a window that couldn't even be re-sized or scrolled. It was through
third parties like Solutions International that the Scrapbook
was brought to its promise.

The software package is called "SmartScrap & The Clipper II," containing not
two, but three utilities. SmartScrap and The Clipper are the two desk
accessories and ScrapMaker 2.0 is a related application.

Via SmartScrap, one can keep any number of scrapbook files on any disk or in
any folder, naming them in any way one wants. In addition, one can name each
page in each scrapbook and then find any page either by name or through a
pictorial table of contents. The search functions are smart, too. Page name
searches are circular so that no matter what page you happen to be on, the
whole scrapbook is searched. Searching by page name can be via partial name or
exact name.

In SmartScrap, you can select and copy portions of pictures (Paint or PICT
files) or text, accessing either the marquee or the lasso tool as you require,
print any page and view the entire page via vertical and horizontal scroll
bars.

The second desk accessory, The Clipper, is used to determine the exact
dimensions of the area into which you wish to paste a picture. Then it trims
or scales the pictures before pasting, so that they are the precise size and
shape you want.

The Clipper appears as a transparent, resizable window. You move it over the
space into which you want to place your picture, size it to that space, paste
the picture into it, and can then choose to scale or trim to fit. You can
scale by precise numbers: pixels, millimeters, picas, inches or percent, and
The Clipper's window indicates exact measurements at all times.

In addition to the obvious value in pasting illustrations, you can prepare
headlines or sidebards for page layout programs in The Clipper. You can copy
an entire block of text, turning the text into PICT format, then paste into
Smartscrap, using the marquee tool to select that portion of the block you
want to use for the headline. Then you paste into The Clipper and use the
scaling option to precisely size the block for the area into which you want to
paste. By turning the KEEP PROPORTIONS option off, you can stretch or squash
the block to produce effects and to completely fill the space into which you
are pasting.

The third utility in this package is ScrapMaker, a stand-alone application
which allows you to take any existing MacPaint or MacDraw pictures and without
opening them, without copying, or pasting them, instantly add them to a new or
to an existing scrapbook. What a time saver! I'd like to see its capabilities
built into SmartScrap, rather than have to access it as an application, but
this is my only suggested improvement.

This package has full color capability. You can see your images in all color
resolutions in SmartScrap and The Clipper II, in accordance with which monitor
settings you're running. SmartScrap is ideal for instantly accessing 32-bit
artwork and for observing the difference between 8-bit and 32-bit images. If
you have a 32-bit monitor and an 8-bit monitor, you can move the 32-bit
picture on a SmartScrap page between the two screens or even place the window
so it is split between the two screens, viewing half your image in 256 colors
and half in millions of colors.

If you're building 32-bit image scrapbooks, beware of an Apple file size
limitation. The Mac cannot manage a scrapbook, or any file, over 16 megs in
size. Smartscrap's scrapbooks are limited to 255 pages and also restricted to
that 16 meg size limit.

These three utilities advance the Macintosh interface in such a way that the
advancement is seamless. The manual is exemplary; clear, brief, well-written,
useful. It's an outstanding package; one of the best available for the
Macintosh.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4.  SmartScrap & The Clipper II flawlessly expands the Mac
interface, releasing the power and potential of the Scrapbook.

USEFULNESS: 4.  SmartScrap & The Clipper II is one of the most useful
packages available for the Macintosh.

MANUAL/SUPPORT: 4.  The manual is exemplary: clear, brief, well-written,
usable. Support is excellent. There is no toll-free number, but they will call
you back. They willingly take note of suggestions for future revisions, and
they supply relevant information without being asked.

AVAILABILITY: 4.  SmartScrap & The Clipper II is readily available through
the usual mail order and local retailers.

(Linda Joan Kaplan/19900115)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00093)

STOCK REPORT FOR W/E SATURDAY, 20 JANUARY, 1990
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 20 (NB) -- Stocks fared the
past week as follows:

    Name of stock                  Closing price    Traded(00s)

     3com                                  12.00   2743

     Adage                                  1.37    200

     Alliant Computer Sys                   5.87    135

     Alloy Computer Prods                   2.06    406

     Alpha Microsystems                     4.25      1

     Alpharel                               0.44    100

     Alts Cmptr Systms                      6.62    205

     AM Magnetics                           5.50     41

     Amdahl                                14.62   1771

     Analogic                               9.75      3

     Apple Computer                        34.25  23673

     Ast Research                          14.37   3091

     Astrocom                               0.87     10

     Astrosystems                           3.62     23

     Atari                                  8.25    291

     Banctec                               15.50    792

     Brrstr Infrmtn Sys                     1.25     15

     C P T                                  0.87    317

     Cipher Data Prods                      6.75    214

     Cncrrnt Cmptr Crp NW                   3.00    250

     Cntrl Dta Crp DL                      17.87   2803

     Commodore Intl                         8.50    730

     Compaq Computer                       80.12   5020

     Computer Identics                      1.37     23

     Computer Memories                      1.37     24

     Computrac                              2.87     18

     Convex Computer                       16.62   1121

     Cray Resh                             39.37   2248

     Csp                                    5.50     44

     D B A Sys                              5.37    329

     D H Technology                        13.37    604

     Daisy Sys                              0.81   5148

     Data Gen                              10.50    594

     Data I O                               3.37      3

     Datametrics                            1.00      1

     Datapoint                              4.00     76

     Dataproducts                           7.00    322

     Dataram                                9.56      0

     Datasouth Computer                     1.94      2

     Dell Computer                          5.12    244

     Dgtl Cmmnctns Assc                    20.87    849

     Digital Equip                         77.75  23720

     Dynatech                              16.75     37

     E M C Corp Mass                        4.50   1149

     Ecc Intl                               5.37      7

     Electronic Assoc                       2.75     49

     Emulex                                 5.87    348

     Everex Sys                             8.37   2927

     Evns&Sthrlnd Cmptr                    21.50     80

     Fibronics Intl                         6.00     35

     Floating Point Sys                     1.62     46

     General Parametrics                    4.12     65

     Genicom                                1.12     21

     Gerber Scientific                     13.25    724

     Gnrl Atmtn Inc Clf                     0.62     24

     Gradco Sys                             9.87   2302

     Gtwy Cmmnctns                          2.06     54

     Hewlett Packard                       44.62   6571

     Hunt Mfg                              20.87     48

     I I S Intllgnt Info                    4.62     10

     Infotron Sys                           7.87    163

     Int Bus Machs                         98.62  16487

     Int Totalizer Sys                      4.62    751

     Intergraph                            16.50   7206

     Intermec                              26.25    498

     Interphase                             6.62     25

     Intllgnt Sys Mstr L                    2.12     55

     Iomega                                 3.94   3570

     Ipl Sys                                7.00     79

     Key Tronics                            5.00    572

     Lee Data                               2.25    216

     Litton Inds                           76.62    325

     Logicon                               20.12     52

     Masstor Sys CP                         2.06    374

     Maxtor                                 9.12   2032

     Megadata                               0.75      1

     Micron Technology                      9.12    862

     Micropolis                             4.12    751

     Micros Sys                             4.37     75

     Miltope Group                          5.75      0

     Miniscribe                             0.44  12657

     Nbi                                    0.34     72

     Ncr                                   64.87   6128

     Norsk-data A S                         5.69      0

     North Atl Inds                         3.25      3

     Ntwrk Eqp Tchnlgs                     28.12    878

     Odetics Inc Del                        6.37      0

     Par Technology                         4.50     15

     Pitney Bowes                          42.62   3501

     Prcptn Tchnlgy                         4.19     30

     Prime Computer                         6.12    658

     Printronix                             9.87     50

     Pyramid Technology                    23.50   4303

     Qantel                                 0.23    115

     Quantum                               10.00   6624

     Recognition Equip                      6.50    894

     Reuter                                 7.75    157

     Rexon                                  6.25    410

     Reynolds&Reynolds                     20.87     43

     Robotic Vision Sys                     3.19    149

     Rsrgns Cmmnctns Gro                    4.37    472

     Scan Optics                            2.87     24

     Scitex                                16.50     41

     Seagate Technology                    15.37   2983

     Sequent Computer Sys                  22.00    637

     Sharebase                              0.37   1207

     Smith Corona                          12.87   1093

     Sped O Prnt BS Mch                     3.50     10

     Star Technologies                      0.44    211

     Stratus Computer                      24.25   2746

     Summagraphics                         12.25     70

     Syntech Intl                           0.25      5

     System Inds                            1.87      6

     Tandem Computers                      25.75   6765

     Tandon                                 0.81   2282

     Telematics Intl                        4.62    131

     Televideo Sys                          0.25     35

     Teradata                              24.25   4714

     Terminal Data                          1.12     52

     Triad Sys                              3.62    357

     Tridex                                 4.12     10

     Ultimate                               7.87     92

     Unisys                                14.37   3845

     United Telecomm KA                    34.87   7772

     United Tote                           11.00      6

     Unitronix                              6.50    105

     Velobind                               5.50     36

     Vmx                                    2.44   1345

     WA Scientific Inds I                   9.00     50

     Wang Labs                              6.75      0

     Wells Amern                            0.31     20

     Wes Digital Corp Del                  10.00   1377

     Wicat Sys                              1.87   1119

     Wyse Technology Del                    9.75    742

     Xerox                                 56.25   3103

     Zentec                                 0.17      0

     Zentec                                 0.17      0

     Zycad                                  2.37    124

The NEWSBYTES STOCK INDEX (NSI) is  11.50

The NSI is the aggregate of the stock prices of the past week.
Comparisons show whether the index moved up or down. Compared
with last week's value of 11.50, the index remained unchanged.

A total of 359,281 shares changed hands whilst computer stocks
closed the week at 2576.60

(Peter Clear/19900120)


(INDEX)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00094)

NEWSBYTES INDEX/TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1990/ISSUE #345
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Here are the reports
in this edition:

=====

APPLE

=====

APPLE REPORTS EARNINGS 6% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR

Apple Computer reports that net revenues are up 6 percent over
this time last year, $1.493 billion compared to $1.405 billion
in 1989.

COMING MULTILINK TOUTED AS MULTIMEDIA MASTERPIECE

Interactive Media Technologies promises to unveil at the MacWorld
Expo in San Francisco, April 10, a system which gives the Mac
"intelligent device connectivity with all forms of video and
multimedia equipment."

NEW FOR MAC: MACDRAW II BUNDLED WITH DISCOUNT COUPONS

Claris Corp.  is offering a special limited-time promotion that
bundles MacDraw II  version 1.1 with a presentation value pack.

NEW FOR MAC: ERASABLE OPTICAL DRIVE FOR BIG JOBS

Accel Computer  Corporation has introduced an erasable optical
disk drive  that combines high-density data storage with rewrite
capabilities.

NEW FOR MAC: ANTITOXIN TACKLES WDEF VIRUS

Mainstay  has added a new version of its virus detection, decontamination
and  production software for Macintosh software.

NEW FOR MAC: FULLWRITE OFFERED WITH 4 MB MEMORY UPGRADE

Ashton-Tate is offering a joint promotion that includes a free
copy of  FullWrite Professional version 1.0 with every Technology
Works 4 MB memory upgrade kit.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, APPLE, LUCASFILM OFFER VIDEODISC

The National  Geographic Society, along with Apple Computer and
Lucasfilm, have unveiled a set of videodiscs for a multimedia
classroom system. The first buyer is the San Francisco Unified
School District which has purchased them for all 18 of its middle
schools.

SWEEPING MAC HARD DRIVE PRICE CUTS FROM EHMAN

Continuing a  policy of passing its own savings along to customers,
Ehman has reduced prices on its line of Macintosh hard disk drives.

UK'S MACWORLD MAGAZINE NO LONGER A FREEBIE

CW Communications, the publisher of the UK version of MacWorld,
a new monthly magazine  for the Apple Macintosh, has announced
the magazine is no longer a controlled circulation publication.
In plain parlance, subscribers must now begin paying for the
magazine at the rate of UKP 24 ($36).

EUROPE: APPLE COMPUTER FACES SLOWDOWN HERE TOO

Apple's European subsidiaries,  which have been selling briskly
to the business sector, are also experiencing  a slowdown, especially
in Dutch and Spanish markets. In contrast,  Scandinavia has been
enjoying a large increase in sales.

APPLE AUSTRALIA GROWTH GOOD, DESPITE U.S. SLOW-DOWN

Despite the US parent company's reported December quarter net
growth of only six percent over the previous year, Apple Australia
has reported growth exceeding 16.5 percent for the same period.
Sales for the quarter were AUS$72.67, up from AUS$62.26 a year
earlier.

========

BUSINESS

========

MICROSOFT SAYS EARNINGS UP 57%

Microsoft has announced its best fiscal quarter in its history.
The firm reports a whopping 57 percent increase in earnings for
its second fiscal quarter, a jump which surprised even the most
optimistic analysts.

DEC ANNOUNCES LOWER PROFITS ON HIGHER SALES

Digital Equipment has today announced that for the second quarter,
ended December 30, the company made a net profit of only $155,402,000
or $124 million less than for the same period last year, despite
the fact that sales were up by about $5 million.

KYOCERA COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF AVX

Kyocera Corp. has announced that it has completed the acquisition
of AVX Corp., with that company's stockholders receiving 0.430
American Depositary Shares for Kyocera shares for each share
of AVX common stock, or about $35 per share.

AGBAY NAMED LEADING EDGE PRESIDENT

Dr. Sun Kyou Park, president of Daewoo Telecom, parent company
of Leading Edge, has announced that Albert J. Agbay, formerly
at Panasonic, has become Leading Edge's new president. According
to Dr. Sun, the next two months should bring significant competitive
changes.

WALLACE DISCLOSES DIVIDEND, DESIGNATES DIRECTOR

The board of directors of Wallace Computer Services has announced
its regular quarterly dividend of 11.5 cents per share and also
has appointed William N. Lane III, 46, and Neele Stearns Jr.,
54, as directors, effective immediately.

TWO MILLION INVESTED IN COGNITION

Cognition Corp. has announced the finalization of an equity investment
worth $2.1 million, involving ABS Ventures, Automatix Inc., Memorial
Drive Trust, and State Farm Insurance. The money was raised by
combining Automatix short-term loans converted to equity with
capital amassed by all concerned.

ZENITH TAKES OVER BULL'S PC OPERATIONS

Groupe Bull  Chairman and CEO Francis Lorentz announced that
Zenith Data  Systems will be responsible for Bull's PC operations
worldwide,  moving the one-time Honeywell Bull PC operations
in Billerica,  Massachusetts under the Zenith operations at Glenview,
Illinois.

DALLAS SEMICONDUCTOR POSTS 4TH QTR EARNINGS

Fourth quarter earnings posted by Dallas Semiconductor, makers
of Complementary Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits
and semiconductor- based systems, showed net income of $2,979,000
(12 cents per share) compared with $2,310,000 (9 cents per share)
for the same period a year ago.

IBM CANADA SHOWS STRONG PROFIT GROWTH

IBM Canada's net income rose 34 percent in 1989, to C$349 million.
That increase from 1988's C$260-million figure compared well
to 1988's 12  percent rise in net income and to 1987's 3.6-percent
increase.

MCDATA OPENS CANADIAN OFFICES

McData, a Broomfield, Colo., maker of network communications
systems for large computers, has opened a Canadian sales operation.

TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER COMPANY FINANCIAL REPORTS

Computer companies reporting results and other relevant information
this past few days are as follows:

ASIAN MARKETS ROUND-UP FOR THURSDAY/FRIDAY 18/19 JANUARY, 1990

The Asian markets changed somewhat the last two days of the week,
with the Nikkei Dow average moving up by 107 points on Friday
after falling a little more than 91 points of Thursday. The recent
falls on Wall Street in the US have taken their toll in the Asian
markets since the beginning of 1990.

LONDON STOCKS KEEP FALLING, INDEX FALLS LOWER IN LIGHT TRADING

The Financial Times All Shares index fell by more than 37 points
during the last two days of the week, closing the week at 2335.
Traded volume amounted to 462 million shares with some technology
stocks moving slightly up.

DIGITAL FALLS BY MORE THAN $10, IBM FOLLOWS, MARKET REPORT

Blue Chip stocks fell heavily with Digital leading the pack by
falling by more than $10. Industry analysts say this illustrates
only too clearly how volatile computer stocks have become.

SONY TO ENTER DRAM BUSINESS

Seeing a need for DRAM chips for its next-generation TV, HDTV
or High Definition Television, Sony has decided to enter the
chip-making business for the first time.

HONGKONG: PICK OPERATING SYSTEM AIMED AT CHINESE MANUFACTURING

If there is one field in which Hongkong abounds with expertise
it is the manufacturing business. After all, manufacturing is
the lifeblood of the territory. But the paradox is that, until
recently, no local software firm has endeavored to export packaged
systems which they have developed for this critical sector. Edward
Kwok, managing director of Sun Technology (SunTech), told Newsbytes
he plans to change that situation dramatically.

HONGKONG: CAMERON SELLS GIVE-AWAY AND VIDEO RENTAL SOFTWARE

Long time proponent of change in the personal computer software
industry, Hongkong-based Cameron Microsystems Ltd. (CMSL), has
taken yet another step towards bringing software prices down
to what it considers to be reasonable levels. Working under an
arrangement with the Californian company, DemoWorks, the company
is producing software games and tools which are personalized
with corporate logos and messages and used by DemoWorks customers
for company give-aways.

HONGKONG: FORMS FIRMS FORM FIRM ALLIANCE

Instant Data Forms Ltd (IDF) has been appointed sole distributor
for Duplo Seiko Corporation forms handling equipment.

=======

GENERAL

=======

DATAWARE DELIVERS CD-ROM WHITE PAPER

Dataware  Technologies on January 10 released a free, comprehensive
40-page "white paper" about the fast-growing CD-ROM industry,
according to Kathleen Hunter of Dataware.

SOFTWARE TRIO SHOWN BY MOTOROLA COMPUTER X

Motorola Computer X, Inc. has announced three innovative software
packages - Rapid Development Platform or RDP, HI/X, and cXDNET.
 RDP aids in building control and monitoring systems, permitting
ingenious automation engineers to produce three times as many
of the needed industrial applications in one-fourth of the time.

UK MAGAZINE INTERESTS MERGE

Database Publications and Gollner Publishing, two computer magazine
industry veterans, have formed a joint venture company called
Interactive Publishing. The new company will assume responsibility
for five magazine titles from both parent companies.

MULTITASKING FOR THE ATARI ST NOW SHAREWARE

Beckemeyer Development Tools has released a shareware version
of Micro RTX, its multitasking operating system for the Atari
ST. The shareware license fees start at $35 for single end users,
ranging through developer status at $75 to advanced commercial
status at $250.

ATARI'S UK-UNRELEASED LYNX A UK HIT

Atari's hand-held Lynx game console, which features a back-lit
LCD screen, is already a hit with kids in the UK, despite the
fact that Atari UK has not officially released the machine on
this side of the Atlantic.

JAPAN: IMAGINEER TO SELL POPULOUS, SIM CITY IN JAPAN

Imagineer, a software development firm which belongs to Misawa
Homes group, will launch two best-selling games in the U.S. and
Europe, in Japan.

SEIKO-EPSON ADDS 3 MODELS OF PC-286

Seiko-Epson has developed three models of its NEC PC-9801-compatible
PC-286 series. The PC-286VX performs 1.25 times faster than its
predecessor VS. Its clock frequency is 20 megahertz on a 80286
central processing unit.

HITACHI UPGRADES PROSET 30

Hitachi has upgraded its personal work tool Proset 30 with standard
HDD (hard disk drive) and additional communication functions.
The new models, 30HS and 30HD, cost 648,000 yen or $4,970 and
$748,000 yen or $5,160 with two 1.2 megabyte,  3.5-inch FDD (floppy
disk drive) units and 40-megabyte HDD.

NEC RELEASES HIGH-END N5200 BUSINESS PC

NEC has developed a high-end model of its desktop business personal
computer N5200 series. The machine, dubbed N5200 model 70, operates
1.6 times faster than its predecessor model 07AD III.

HONGKONG: PLENTY OF COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS, BUT NOT FOR LONG

EDP (electronic data processing) professionals still have the
upper hand in the Hongkong job  market, but not for long.

HONGKONG: BIG PR FIRM APPOINTS NEW OFFICER

Leading hi-tech public relations and editorial firm Euan Barty
Associates has moved to beef up its services with the appointment
of financial and corporate relations specialist Patricia Malone
as an executive director.

HONGKONG EXPANDS HI-TECH TRAINING FACILITIES

Olivetti has expanded and improved its Hongkong computer training
centre to offer more courses and larger facilities while racing
enthusiasts also benefit from increased efforts toward computer
literacy by the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club.

COMPUTER TELLS TRAFFIC POLICE TO BOOK EACH OTHER

The entire state police force in New South Wales found itself
driving illegal, unregistered cars after an enthusiastic computer
program had its say when one of the cars logged too many parking
tickets.

=======================

GOVERNMENT & THE COURTS

=======================

THREE INDICTED FOR STEALING CLASSIFIED DATA

Authorities say this may be the most disturbing hacking incident
ever. They say hackers have not only penetrated what was supposed
to be a secure  military computer, but have manipulated California's
Pacific Bell phone system.

MORRIS ADMITS RELEASING WORM, DENIES INTENDED DAMAGE

As the defense tried to portray him as an innocent academician
experimenting with computers and unaware of the damage his worm
could cause, Robert Morris, the former Cornell graduate student
accused of disrupting thousands of computers with his "experiment,"
explained to the jury that, while he intended the worm to spread
as fast as possible through the Internet computer network, he
became "scared" as he saw how fast it was spreading and that
it was slowing down his own computer access at Cornell.

UNITRODE AWAITING DESC HOLD RELEASE

Unitrode Corp. has announced the lifting of a self-imposed shipping
hold which began early last month on specific military items
manufactured by its Semiconductor Products Division, as those
items are not subject to a more recent hold issued by the Defense
Electronics Supply Center (DESC).

NOVELL EARNS BRAZILIAN GOVT PERMISSION TO MARKET PRODUCT

The Brazilian government has announced it will allow Novell to
market networking products in that country. The announcement
follows extensive technical presentations and similarity testing
conducted by the Secretaria Especial da Informatica (SEI) involving
performance comparisons between Novell's NetWare and various
Brazilian domestic systems.

EDS TO ASSIST STATE OF TEXAS AUTOMATE ITS ACCOUNTING

Dallas-based EDS has announced the signing of a contract with
the Texas Comptroller's Office to assist in the development,
implementation and operation of an automated accounting system
for the State.

===

IBM

===

FIRST ZENITH EISA SHIPS

Although no longer technically part of the EISA or Extended Industry
Standard Architecture's so-called Gang of 9 since its recent
sale to Bull, Zenith Data Systems has introduced its first 386-based
EISA machine only a short time after announcing support for IBM's
MCA or Micro Channel Architecture.

BORLAND'S SIDEKICK BUNDLED WITH OS/2

If observers had any doubts of Borland's ability to bounce back
to prosperity recently, they may have been shattered after news
that IBM has decided to bundle Sidekick for Presentation Manager
with all versions of OS/2.

NETWORK NEWS: E-MAIL SUPPORTS BINARY FILE ATTACHMENTS

Professional  Productivity Corp. has started shipping The Notework
Version  1-0-6, a pop-up electronic mail package that uses 5K
of RAM (random access memory).

NEW FOR IBM: ELECTRONIC TAX FILING FROM CHIPSOFT

ChipSoft Inc.  has announced an electronic filing feature for
the personal version  of Turbo Tax 1040. Tax returns prepared
with TurboTax can be  transmitted, using telephone lines connected
to a modem, directly  to the Internal Revenue Service; a floppy
disk can also take  advantage of electronic filing when a modem
is unavailable.

IBM QUARTERLY PRETAX EARNINGS DROP 67%

International Business Machines, the world's largest computer
company, has today announced that while shipments and revenue
both increased  from the previous year, $2.4 billion in restructuring
charges caused fiscal year 1989 profits to drop by 35.3% after
taxes and nearly 75% for the final quarter versus the same period
the previous year.

CANADA: PHILIPS LAUNCHES THREE NEW PCS

Philips Electronics, the Canadian subsidiary of N.V. Philips
of The Netherlands, has introduced three new IBM-compatible personal
computers and a computer imaging system.

LLOYD SAVAGE LAUNCHES EASEL IN THE UK

Lloyd Savage Graphical Interfaces has secured the UK marketing
rights to Interactive Images' Easel graphical user interface
(GUI) development package. The package runs on 80286- or 80386-based
PCs under DOS or OS/2 operating system environments. Licensing
fees on the package depend on the user installation and number
of eventual users.

JAPAN: AST RESEARCH DEBUTS 486-BASED PC

AST Research Japan, a subsidiary of California, U.S.-based AST
Research, has launched shipping  a 32-bit personal computer embedded
with the first Intel 80486  processor and the fastest processing
ability in the Japanese PC  arena.

==================

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

==================

WAS THE AT&T OUTAGE REALLY NECESSARY?

Could the Jan. 15th AT&T outage have been prevented? Depending
upon what the primary cause turns out to be, the answer may be
yes. And, for companies that provide test and surveillance equipment
to be used in network management, the outage gave credence to
the message they have long preached.

NTT PLANS NEXT-GENERATION TELECOM SYSTEM

According to Nikkei Industrial Daily, Japan's telecom giant NTT
is now planning to establish a new communication method to realize
transmission of  three-dimensional image and sound via optical
fiber networks.

TYMNET LAYS OFF 200 IN CONSOLIDATION

Tymnet, a part of British Telecommunications PLC, has announced
that 200 jobs will be eliminated in a consolidation bid.

SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE TO PROVIDE SERVICE FOR KANSAS DEAF

Southwestern Bell  won a 5-year contract to provide telephone
service to the speech  and/or hearing-impaired in Kansas. The
first year's revenues are  estimated at $1.8 million.

AT&T LOWERS PRICES ON INTERNATIONAL ACCUNET PACKET SERVICE

AT&T has lowered  prices on its International ACCUNET Packet
Service. The service  is used primarily by businesses that transmit
low-to-medium  volumes of data internationally. It is available
on a month-to- month basis; long-term contracts are not required.

ERICSSON LAUNCHES NEW SYSTEMS FOR TELEPHONE MANAGEMENT

Ericsson  introduced a new family of systems for management and
operations  support of public telecommunications networks. The
system, called  Telecommunications Management and Operations
Support, or TMOS,  provides a single, integrated system for all
management  operations in fixed and mobile networks.

MORAN WINS CELLULAR CONTRACT FOR CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Moran &  Associates, an investment banker and securities broker,
announced  it has a memorandum of understanding with the government
of  Czechoslovakia and its Ministry of Transport, Posts and
Telecommunications to create a joint venture for the creation
of  a cellular phone system for the Eastern European country.

NORTHERN TELECOM ANNOUNCES NEW CELLULAR SWITCH

Northern  Telecom announced enhancements to its cellular mobile
telephone  network systems which improve system performance,
increase the  number of cells supported and enhance the hand-off
process  between cells. The company's vice president for Cellular
Systems,  Michael Patriarche, said this will allow networks to
handle  hundreds of thousands of subscribers without congestion.

HELPERS OF NEW YORK'S HOMELESS GET CELLULAR PHONES

Metro  One, one of two cellular phone providers in New York,
is  providing cellular mobile phone service to New York City
Relief,  an organization of businesspeople established to feed,
clothe and  shelter New York City's homeless.

TELESPHERE ANNOUNCES WATS DEAL WITH MORNINGSTAR FOODS

Telesphere Communications concluded a tentative agreement with
Morningstar Foods of Dallas, Texas, to provide direct dial long
distance and WATS services to Morningstar's 51 dairy and sales
locations. Morningstar was formerly the Dairy Group of the
Southland Corp., the owner of the 7-11 stores which faded as
a  result of bad real estate deals. It was purchased in a leveraged
buyout led by Duncan, Cook & Co. in April 1988.

N.E.T. SAYS ITS IDNX/10 MULTIPLEXER WORK WITH AT&T T1 SERVICES

Network  Equipment Technologies announced that its IDNX/10 Integrated
Access Multiplexer has met compatibility standards for use with
AT&T's T1 and fractional T1 services. The announcement means
the  multiplexer can be connected directly to AT&T's lower-speed
networks for use at sites such as branch banks or retail outlets.

AMERITECH PLANS TO BRING FIBER LINES TO HOMES

Ameritech  Services will begin a series of tests to determine
the most  efficient and cost-effective means for bringing fiber
optic  technology to residential customers. Testing will begin
this  spring when Ameritech Services teams with Ohio Bell to
install  optical fiber cable serving a new housing development
near  Columbus, Ohio.

GTE AIRFONE ANNOUNCES DEAL WITH UNITED AIRLINES

GTE Airfone  announced it will equip more than 400 United Airlines
planes with  its Seatfone system. Terms and conditions of the
agreement were  not disclosed. GTE has been working hard to sign
airlines to its  phone system ever since its founder won the
right, in court, to  leave the company he sold to GTE and compete
with it.

US SPRINT JUMPS ON AT&T'S CASE, WHILE MCI HOLDS BACK

In the  wake of AT&T's network breakdown of January 15, MCI has
been  unusually quiet, but US Sprint has attacked with both feet.
It  took out ads in major newspapers January 16, printing the
number  AT&T subscribers can call to bypass that network and
link to  Sprint. It also reduced rates on its discount calling
plan,  Sprint Plus, by 3.3% and increased the daytime volume
discount to  10%. Basic Dial 1 rates were also cut 2.6%, effective
February 1.

CSC TO SELL ITS SHARE OF INFONET

Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) has agreed to sell its 30 percent
interest in Infonet, operators of a global communications and
computer service network available in 100 countries and locally
supported in 34, to MCI Communications and nine other organizations.

GANDALF LAT OPTION ONLY IN 64-CHANNEL FORM IN U.S.

An option for Gandalf Data's Starmaster network processor, supporting
Digital Equipment's LAT protocol, will only be available in a
64-channel configuration in the United States. The January 18
edition of Newsbytes said the option will be available for 16,
32, 48 or 64 connections. That is true in Canada, but only the
64-channel version will be offered in the U.S. market, where
it will cost US$7,500.

HONGKONG: ONLINE SERVICE JOINS BUYERS AND SELLERS

The Hongkong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Hong Kong
Telecom's Datacom Services division have launched an online information
retrieval service which will help traders to source local suppliers
and seek overseas outlets for their products.

===================

TRENDS & TECHNOLOGY

===================

MOTOROLA SPEEDS ITS 88000 BY 50 PERCENT

Motorola  reports its 88000 reduced instruction set computer,
or RISC, chip,  has been made to run 50% faster.

MOTOROLA TO UNVEIL 80486 MICROPROCESSOR

Monday, Motorola plans to unveil its next-generation 68000 series
microprocessor, the 68040, which is said to be 33 percent faster
than the rival 80486 chip from Intel Corporation.

SPURT IN OVERSEAS SOFTWARE SALES, SAYS SPA

The Software Publishers Association (SPA) has announced that
the first nine months of 1989 showed substantial growth by U.S.-based
software companies in Australia and Europe.

VICTOR UK READIES FOR 7 FEB NEW PRODUCT INTRO

Victor UK has announced plans to launch a new range of machines
on the 7th of February. The new machines, known as the New Dimensions
range, are described as "an entirely new concept in computing,"
and "the first of its kind in the world."

JAPANESE GAME FIRMS LAUNCH INTO EUROPE

Riding on the wave of favorable  sales of Nintendo Entertainment
System (NES) in Europe, Japan's game software industry has decided
to accelerate its overseas sales efforts.

JAPAN: LOW-PRICE CD-ROM FORMATTING SYSTEM DEBUTS

Computer maker Microboards is offering a CD-ROM (compact disc
read-only-memory)  formatting system to Japanese buyers and claims
the hardware/ software combination makes creation of CD-ROMs
far easier than other methods.

HITACHI TO LAUNCH TOTAL CHIP PRODUCTION IN W. GERMANY

Following Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi has decided to create
semiconductors from scratch in West Germany with first product
from the enterprise due to appear on the market in spring, 1992.

FUJITSU CLOSER TO A 64-MEG CHIP

Fujitsu claims to have successfully  developed a new resist material
to aid in the development of a 64-megabit DRAM (dynamic random
access memory) chip.

GALLIUM ARSENIDE IC TO BE COMMERCIALIZED BY FUJITSU

Fujitsu will expand its gallium arsenide IC (integrated circuit)
production plant at its subsidiary Fujitsu Yamanashi Electronics.
The subsidiary was established to produce compound semiconductors
five years ago, but will expand now to gallium arsenide IC output.

====

UNIX

====

NEW FOR UNIX: WYSE OFFERS UNIX COMPUTERS

In its first product unveiling since its takeover by a group
of Taiwan investors, including Mitac and Acer, Wyse Technology
has released two 80386-based microcomputers designed to run the
Unix operating system.

UK: WYSE TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES MULTIUSER UNIX SYSTEMS

Wyse Technology UK has launched two new families of multiuser
Unix machines, the Series 5000i and the Series 9000i, in coordination
with its US-based parent.

LOTUS ANNOUNCES SPREADSHEET FOR SUM SPARC SYSTEMS

Lotus has announced a new family of 1-2-3 spreadsheets for Sun
Microsystem 's Unix computers based on the SPARC, Motorola, and
Intel 80386 platforms. They combine 1-2-3's capabilities with
Sun workstation power for multiple window support, multitasking,
large memory support, and distributed network use.

CONTROL DATA ANNOUNCES NEW RISC COMPUTERS

Control  Data announced 4 new mid-range computers, called the
Control Data  4000 series, built upon reduced instruction set
computer, or  RISC, architecture chips. All four computers run
Classix, a  proprietary version of Unix which is System V- and
POSIX- compliant.

CANADA: PHILIPS ELECTRONICS LAUNCHES P9000 FAMILY

Philips Electronics claims to have become the largest manufacturer
of Unix systems in Canada with the launch of its P9000 Open System
hardware line.

GNOSIS LAUNCHES THREE CROSS-ENVIRONMENT CONNECTIVITY PACKAGES

Gnosis, the SQL (structured query language) connectivity systems
specialist, has launched three new packages in its Sequelink
range of inter- machine connectivity packages. The packages enable
link the Apple Mac environment to, respectively, the DEC VAX,
IBM AS/400 and generic Unix machines.

=======

REVIEWS

=======

Review of: SmartScrap & The Clipper II, a utility package

Review of: Connection Coprocessor, fax card for the PC

=========

EDITORIAL

=========

TWO COMPANIES TO KEEP AN EYE ON -- Editorial by John McCormick

This editorial is about Unix and two companies that are offering
it on their new computers. One company is exclusively selling
a Unix- based machine, while the other is getting into a new
field entirely.

(Wendy Woods/19900120)


(EDITORIAL)(UNIX)(WAS)(00095)

TWO COMPANIES TO KEEP AN EYE ON -- Editorial by John McCormick
MCGEES MILLS, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 11 (NB) -- This
editorial is about Unix and two companies that are offering it on
their new computers. One company is exclusively selling a Unix-
based machine, while the other is getting into a new field
entirely.

Unix, as you know, is a multitasking operating
environment intended for multiple users. It was designed by about
the second biggest bureaucracy in the world, the telephone
company, back before the breakup, also back before personal
computers, MS-DOS, and other goodies. Unix is complex,
sophisticated, and about as lovable as a full-scale kit of the
Eiffel tower piled in your back yard with the zoning commission
demanding that you either put it together or pay someone else to
do so.

Now, don't get me wrong; Unix is a fascinating environment, and I
feel that using it in universities is a wonderful way to train
computer science majors for the real world they will face,
especially such esoteric problems as making a local area network
actually run as well as a bunch of stand-alone PCs.

Beyond that, teaching Unix as an operating system for individual
PCs, except for scientific and engineering applications, strikes
me as about as enlightened as the old practice of teaching Latin
to "train the mind," instead of teaching a useful language skill.

Steven Jobs' NeXT machine is a wonderful toy and will readily be
accepted by those who don't mind paying about twice as much as
they need to for a given amount of computer power, those who
enjoy learning new operating systems rather than getting any work
done, and especially those who enjoy working with monochrome
display and using a computer without a floppy drive.

Of course, NeXT is supposedly going to be targeted at the
education market, and it may prove very successful there; some
pretty strange things are successful in academia, as I noticed at
all three universities I attended (no, I wasn't kicked out of any
of them, although in lieu of alumni payments I have agreed to
keep their identities secret).

The NeXT machine certainly got some things right; first, it
attempts to completely shield the user from the fact that it is
running Unix, and, second, it comes with a built-in Ethernet LAN
connector, implicit recognition that Unix is a multiuser as well
as multitasking system.

In an unusual marketing move, Commodore, the company that keeps
shooting itself in the foot by traditionally ignoring industry
observers and reviewers, has apparently decided to push Unix
applications for Commodore machines.

The recent appointment of Jeff Scherb as vice president of the
Application and Technical Support group brought a statement that
he "plans to focus activities on expanding software for numerous
applications for the Unix operating system..."

Having failed almost completely in the past to promote and take
advantage of their Amiga line in the U.S. market, Commodore now
appears poised to launch a big push into the Unix market, where
support (Commodore's notorious weakness) is probably more
important than with any other micro product.

Commodore now has more than 1,000 outlets in the U.S. (Commodores
are not available through mail order) and when The Computer
Factory took on Commodore to replace HeadStart, Harry Copperman,
president of Commodore (U.S.), said that 2,000 outlets are needed
in the U.S., but I wonder how many of the salesmen will
understand enough about Unix to offer assistance in choosing
software or navigating around a Unix kernel?

Some people feel that, since Commodore prices are below both
Apple and IBM, they should find a ready market for their
computers. To me that is sort of like saying that the ground is
below the sky -- Commodore isn't in any position to compete with
IBM or Apple; its biggest worry is whether it can compete
with the least expensive clone makers. After all, the Commodore
name just doesn't carry the clout of IBM, Apple, or Compaq.

If you are looking for an interesting company or two to watch
over the next year or so, keep your eye on both NeXT and
Commodore. Whether they succeed or fail, you will learn something
important about the computer industry.

(John McCormick/1990111)