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- (NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00001)
-
- MAC GETS "ON LOCATION"}
- CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Mitchell
- Kapor, co-founder and chairman of ON Technology Inc., a producer
- of Apple Macintosh software applications, has announced that On
- Location, the company's initial offering, will ship in a few
- weeks.
-
- On Location, which, according to Conall Ryan, vice
- president of marketing, took about one year to develop using
- Lightspeed C, is a file search Desk Accessory (DA), which
- preindexes all files to bring MS-DOS-like file management to the
- Macintosh.
-
- According to Mr. Ryan, On Location takes about 15 to 30 minutes
- to initially index the files on a 40 megabyte hard disk,
- depending on the number and type of files as well as the
- computer's speed, but once this is done the software
- automatically indexes new files during idle processor time, using
- an INIT (initialization resource) that loads in when the system
- is booted.
-
- On Location dramatically cuts the time needed to locate hard disk
- text files and even those located on a CD-ROM or network server,
- yet the index files take up only about 2 percent of the hard disk's
- space. The program comes with a unique one-year total refund
- guarantee and will retail for $129.95.
-
- When using On Location, you start typing file names or words you
- want to locate in a file and the search software starts looking for
- the file. Once found, you can view and even copy text from the file to
- the clipboard. Although you can't edit files from within On
- Location, you can launch them into an application or perform
- other file management tasks such as renaming, copying, moving, or
- deleting files.
-
- In an interview with Mr. Kapor on Tuesday, Newsbytes asked if, in
- light of his previous statements about the importance of the
- Japanese market, ON Technology was already working on a Japanese
- version of ON Location. The company's CEO and president, who was
- formerly the head of Lotus Development, told Newsbytes that the
- first foreign language version will probably be in French, saying:
- "In looking at the international opportunities, the Mac is
- particularly strong in France."
-
- Asked about CD-ROM projects, Mr. Kapor emphasized that ON
- Location can index and retrieve information from CD-ROMs in its
- current version. "It (ON Location) takes the approach that if you
- can mount it (the CD-ROM) on the desktop, you can index it. ON
- Location indexes on a file-by-file basis so the files can be any
- text document, word documents, Hypercard, PageMaker, and so on.
- As for whether we are going to make a product specifically for
- CD-ROMs, that is another strong candidate for a project we might
- undertake that would leverage our existing technology. We haven't
- made a decision yet; we are looking at internationalization, at
- CD-ROM, we are also looking at Microsoft Windows."
-
- When asked if he wanted to discuss any upcoming products, Mr.
- Kapor declined, saying that although he wanted to tell Newsbytes
- about some things it was too early. "I would rather be criticized
- for what we deliver than be praised for what we talk about."
-
- When we pointed out that he might as well share the information
- since it would be in MacWeek anyway, he jokingly let Newsbytes in
- on a highly secret product development strategy. "That is how we
- decide on product strategy now; we see what MacWeek says we are
- rumored to be doing and if it sounds good we will start it."
-
- Actually, prior rumors about this first product from ON
- Technology were reasonably accurate, with the biggest error being
- in saying it would cost about $150 when the actual list price is
- actually $129.95.
-
- On Location is the first product to make use of the Claris XTND
- file translator, other than in Claris products. Other firms have
- licensed and are using the XTND technology, according to Mr.
- Kapor, but he declined to name them, citing confidentiality.
-
- Asked about the chances of XTND becoming a major standard, he did
- say: "It (XTND) is getting backing, it works, it does the job,
- and it is pretty straightforward to write these things. A typical
- competent programmer can get something up and going in two or
- three days and finish it completely in a couple of weeks."
-
- This year's Computer Bowl, a charity event for the benefit of the
- Computer Museum which pits East Coast computer gurus against the
- Silicon Valley crowd, has Mr. Kapor promoted from contestant to
- moderator. The Computer Bowl can be seen on The Computer Chronicles
- television show on PBS later this winter.
-
- He told Newsbytes that, with the addition of such contestants as
- Bill Gates (Microsoft), the Western team was looking pretty
- formidable.
-
- There is a rumor that Mr. Kapor was booted up to moderator this
- year because no one wanted to compete against him after he
- demonstrated overwhelming superiority in the first annual event.
-
- ON Technology is located at One Cambridge Center, Cambridge,
- Mass. 02142.
-
- (Beth Goldie and John McCormick/1990123/Press Contact: Marianne
- Rigo, ON Technology, 617-225-2545)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)
-
- FARALLON ADDS HEAVY-HITTERS TO STAFF}
- EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Farallon
- Computing has snared two industry giants for its engineering staff --
- Jay Fenton, developer of Macromind's Videoworks, and Robert
- Parisseau, primary software designer of the Amiga computer.
-
- Fenton, 35, has spent the last three years working with Alan
- Kay on Apple's Vivarium project, developing Playground, a
- multimedia programming environment for children. Prior to Apple,
- Fenton cofounded MacroMind of San Francisco, authoring such
- programs as MusicWorks and VideoWorks.
-
- Says Fenton of his hopes for Farallon Computing, "I like
- bringing new products to market. Farallon has a great reputation
- for making new ideas real."
-
- Pariseau, 36, also joins the engineering staff and will be its
- director, charged with expanding research and development
- into future products. He was previously vice president of
- engineering at Presentation Technologies, and between 1983
- and 1986 was the primary software developer of the Amiga
- Computer at Commodore-Amiga (formerly Amiga Corporation).
-
- "Farallon is a growing company with an excellent selection of
- communications products," he says, "I'm eager to help contribute
- to the company's growth in research and engineering."
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900123/Press Contact: Wendy Keough, Farallon,
- 415-596-9100)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00003)
-
- NEW FOR MAC: INTERFAX MODEM SENDS FAXES/HAS 2400 BAUD}
- FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Abaton is
- currently shipping the InterFax 24/96 fax and data modem for the
- Macintosh.
-
- This product is an upgraded version of InterFax 12/48. The
- InterFax 24/96 combines a 2400 bps Hayes compatible data
- modem with a 9600 bps Group III compatible fax modem. The
- data modem features MNP Class 5 data compression and error
- correction for increased throughput without data corruption.
-
- InterFax 24/96 sells for $595.
-
- (Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)
-
- NEW FOR MAC: EMPOWER I OFFERS FILE SECURITY}
- SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Magna has
- added Empower I to its line of security products. A scaled-down
- version of Empower II, it offers a range of features to control
- and monitor the use of the Macintosh.
-
- It accepts only registered users, grants special privileges to
- security administrators and automatically locks out the Mac
- after a specified time.
-
- Designed as a "front line" security system, Empower I controls
- access to the Mac by accepting only registered users and granting
- privileges to security administrators. The system further ensures
- who can access the system by controlling the use of floppy disks and
- logging access attempts and locking hard drives. Empower I
- requires users to register with a name and password.
-
- Magna is offering Empower I at 50 percent off its suggested
- list price of $169 through March 31 1990.
-
- (Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119/Press
- Contact: 408 433-5467)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00005)
-
- BRITISH TELECOM PLANS TO SELL MITEL STAKE}
- OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- British Telecom is
- interested in selling its 51 percent stake in Mitel, the
- telecommunications equipment maker based here.
-
- British Telecom, which bought the majority share of Mitel in
- 1986, said that while it needs access to telephone switching
- products like those Mitel makes, it does not necessarily have to
- be involved in their manufacture. The statement implies a strong
- possibility British Telecom would continue to distribute Mitel
- products after selling its stake in the company. Mitel
- spokeswoman Bonnie Perigard agreed that is likely.
-
- The two companies said they had reviewed their relationship after
- the British Mergers and Monopolies Commission removed certain
- restrictions on their dealings with each other last year. The
- commission removed a limit of about C$40 million on British
- Telecom's annual purchases from Mitel, and said the two companies
- could do joint development and marketing. Both restrictions had
- been imposed at the time British Telecom bought into Mitel.
- Perigard said this ruling merely provided an impetus for the
- companies to review their relationship: the decision was prompted
- by British Telecom's overall strategic direction.
-
- Other private branch exchange (PBX) makers, including Northern
- Telecom, AT&T and European and Japanese firms, could be possible
- buyers. Perigard said a company that does not already have a
- strong position in the PBX market might also be interested, and
- the possibility of a buyout by Mitel's own management has not
- been ruled out. Minority shareholders and pension funds own the
- other 49 percent of Mitel.
-
- (Grant Buckler/19900124/Press Contact: Bonnie Perigard, Mitel,
- 613-592-2122; British Telecom, 01-356-5369)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00006)
-
- EVERNET NOW NATIONAL NETWORKING PROVIDER}
- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Evernet
- Systems has announced its formation as a national provider of
- networking services, designing, selling, installing, servicing
- and maintaining local area and wide area networks.
-
- Evernet acquires service-oriented value added resellers (VARs)
- specializing in networking. Located around the country, these
- VARs are offered the advantages of being part of a national
- company while retaining the local customer service and
- relationships that upon which their individual businesses have
- been built. Evernet offers financial strength and benefits of
- scale such as volume purchasing power and centralized
- administrative, financial and product evaluation functions along
- with business development assistance such as leads, sales
- training and national advertising and marketing support.
-
- VARs in Los Angeles, Washington, DC and Chicago have already
- become part of Evernet and the company reports signing a letter
- of intent with a New York-based VAR. The company plans to acquire
- an additional 7 to 10 VARs in major markets during 1990. Once the
- company established a base through acquisitions, other branch
- locations will be opened through a combination of start-ups and
- the adding of satellite offices to existing branches and a
- limited number of additional acquisitions. The first start-up
- location is in Orange County, CA.
-
- Chairman of the Board and CEO of Evernet is Luther Nussbaum,
- former president of Ashton-Tate. His background also includes a
- stint as vice president of marketing and operations of
- Businessland.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Michael C.E. Smith,
- Evernet, 213-649-5900)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00007)
-
- BUSINESSLAND BOOMS INTO RENTAL MARKET}
- SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Businessland
- has launched into the fast-growing computer rental market
- with the opening of Businessland Rents in Los Angeles.
-
- The reason that Los Angeles was chosen to test the rental
- waters is that it is "a bellwether for one of the fastest
- growing segments of the rental business," says Brian
- Leeland, vice president of Businessland Rents.... LA is
- extremely characteristic of the PC industry and will be a
- strong indicator as we watch the PC rental market take off."
-
- Dataquest reports computer rentals are up 600 percent since
- 1985, worth $300 million annually, and predicted to grow by
- 30 percent over the next two to three years.
-
- Should the bellwether lead Businessland to its desired
- bottom line, the company plans to launch its rental establishments
- in at least 20 major metropolitan regions in the U.S. throughout
- the next four years.
-
- Businessland operates centers and branch offices in 50 U.S.
- cities, five metropolitan areas in Great Britain, two in Canada,
- and two in West Germany.
-
- The Los Angeles Businessland Rents is located at 6374 Arizona
- Circle.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900123/Press Contact: Beverly Bird, Businessland,
- 408-437-4366)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00008)
-
- CRAY SAID TO BE BUYING GIGABIT LOGIC}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- A report filed with
- the Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Cray Computer
- Corp. has begun negotiations to buy certain assets of GigaBit Logic
- of Newbury Park, CA for 1.65 million Cray shares plus surrender
- cancelation of 200,000 of Class A preferred stock of GigaBit.
-
- A definitive agreement is expected next month. The use of Cray stock
- is contingent on an awaited ruling from the IRS (Internal Revenue
- Service). Should that ruling be unfavorable, it is possible that
- Cray will not continue the negotiations using cash.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00009)
-
- TALKS BETWEEN CIPHER AND ARCHIVE TO RESUME}
- COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) --Cipher Data Products
- and Archive Corp. have announced their intention to resume talks in
- Archive's bid to takeover Cipher.
-
- Cipher says it will meet soon with Archive and will supply the financial
- data Archive requested in an effort to put together a friendly takeover.
- Cipher also says it is still pursuing its alternatives and is in
- discussions with some unnamed parties.
-
- Archive launched its bid for Cipher Data on Dec. 19, 1989 for $7.50 per
- share in cash, a deal totaling $109 million. Cipher Data's board rejected
- the offer, sued Archive to stop the move and began openly seeking a
- "white knight." Talks broke down two weeks ago.
-
- The resumption of talks may be a result of the fact that a report filed
- this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that
- 82 percent of Cipher Data's shares have been tendered under Archive's
- offer which has been extended from its original deadline of Jan. 22 to a
- new date of Jan. 31.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(ATL)(00010)
-
- GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS & BT TYMNET SIGN RESELLER AGREEMENT}
- IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A,. 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Gateway
- Communications signed a reseller agreement with BT Tymnet, under
- which it will sell its line of X.25 gateways and bridges/routers
- as part of BT Tymnet's PC LAN network services.
-
- Gateway products covered by the agreement are the award-winning
- G/X25 Gateway 64, G/X25 Gateway & Bridge 64, and G/Remote Bridge 64.
- They can be installed in any PC compatible machine using RS-232,
- RS-422, RS-449, or V.35-compatible plugs. They provide local networks
- with access to other local networks, and to mini and mainframe
- computers through BT Tymnet's public data network.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Bradley Morse, Gateway
- Communications 714-553-1555; Barbara Burdick, BT Tymnet, 408-922-
- 7602)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00011)
-
- WESTERN DIGITAL RELEASES 2ND QUARTER FISCAL RESULTS}
- IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Western Digital
- has reported net income of $8.6 million (29 cents per share) on
- revenue of $264.9 million for the second quarter ended December
- 30, 1989. This compares with net income of $12.7 million (44
- cents per share) on revenue of $258.4 million for the same period
- in 1989.
-
- The quarter's net income includes a gain of $1.1 million
- resulting from the open market purchase of $7.5 million face
- value of the company's 9 percent convertible subordinated
- debentures due 2014.
-
- The second quarter results mark Western Digital's return to
- profitability after a first quarter loss of $2.7 million on
- revenue of $244.9 million. Revenue for the second quarter is the
- second highest quarterly revenue in the company's history.
-
- Net income for the first half of fiscal 1990 totaled $5.9 million
- (20 cents per share) compared with $25.5 million (89 cents per
- share) in the first half of 1989. Revenue for the first six
- months totaled $489.8 million compared with $505.4 million for
- the same period a year ago.
-
- Western Digital Chairman Roger Johnson attributed the good second
- quarter showing to the company's intelligent disk drive, high-end
- storage controller and communications lines all achieving solid
- operating performance and increased revenue from the prior
- quarter. He also noted that the systems logic line was profitable
- for the first time and imaging revenue was up.
-
- Johnson also noted that second quarter order rates were at record
- levels despite reported industry trends. He commented that the
- return to profitability, in combination with improved inventory
- and receivable turns has resulted in a strong cash flow position
- and enabled the company to lower long-term debt obligations by
- $27.3 million.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Robert J. Blair,
- Western Digital, 714-863-7887, 212-867-4490)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00012)
-
- CSA'S NEW ZEALAND SUBSIDIARY SOLD TO PAXUS}
- SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Following a
- disappointing performance by its subsidiary over several
- years, systems developer Computer Sciences of Australia
- [CSA] has sold its New Zealand subsidiary to Paxus Corp for
- an undisclosed sum. CSA's New Zealand subsidiary employs 110
- and had revenues of AUS$14M last year.
-
- CSA GM Peter Rehn explained the sale saying that the
- New Zealand market would only support one major player and
- Computer Services of New Zealand was not performing at
- satisfactory levels. Paxus' Executive Director John
- Dougall felt that the move would not only increase Paxus'
- marketing presence in New Zealand, but also enhance Paxus'
- range of services to existing and new customers.
-
- (Sean McNamara/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00013)
-
- DEC RESEARCH INITIATIVE ADDS MASPAR}
- MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Digital
- Equipment Corp. (DEC) has announced the addition of MasPar
- Computer Corp. to the Data-Parallel Research Initiative, which
- already boasts DEC and Thinking Machines Corp. as members.
-
- MasPar's membership will enable colleges/universities and certain
- research facilities in the U.S. and Europe to purchase discounted
- MasPar data-parallel systems for research into parallel
- applications.
-
- According to top executives at DEC and MasPar, the eight-month-
- old Research Initiative is breaking ground in getting superior
- high-performance systems, such as MasPar's discounted data-
- parallel MP-1 series, into these institutions. These
- installations will in turn promote innovative research.
-
- Based in Sunnyvale, California, the privately held MasPar
- Computer Corp., founded in March 1988, makes, maintains, and
- services computer systems and software development tools.
-
- Maynard, Mass.-based DEC is the foremost international supplier
- of networked computer systems and services.
-
- (Beth Goldie/1990123/Press Contact: Charles Wilson, DEC, 508-493-
- 2867, or Kathy Lee, MasPar Computer Corp., 408-736-3300)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00014)
-
- IPL VENTURES TO BRUSSELS SUBURB}
- WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- IPL Systems
- has announced the opening of the company's new office in
- Zaventem, Belgium, a Brussels suburb.
-
- The office will enable IPL to further increase its international trade,
- which grew by more than 75 percent through this year's third quarter over
- the same period last year. The site was chosen since Brussels probably
- will become Europe's center after the European Economic Community
- officially consolidates in 1992.
-
- Waltham, Mass.-based IPL Systems Inc., which produces IBM-
- compatible products, was established in 1973.
-
- (Beth Goldie/1990123/Press Contact: Judith Sparrow, IPL Systems
- Inc., 617-890-6620)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00015)
-
- STRATUS REPORTS 89 REVENUE UP 29 PERCENT}
- MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Stratus
- Computer has reported earnings of $35.4 million for fiscal year (FY)
- 1989 on revenues of $341.3 million. Earnings were up 21 percent
- from FY 88 and revenues were up 29 percent, with per share earnings
- for FY 89 reaching $1.71 verses $1.45 for the previous year.
-
- Stratus sells the XA2000 family of fault-tolerant computers which
- are used for transaction processing and communications control.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/Press Contact: Mike McConnell, Stratus,
- 508-460-2208)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00016)
-
- COMPUTER ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCES HIGHER THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS}
- GARDEN CITY, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Unlike some
- other major companies who have had recently reported declining
- profits, Computer Associates International has announced pre-tax
- earnings of $104 million for the third quarter, up $4 million
- over the comparable period last year, despite a 4 percent decline in
- gross revenues.
-
- Net profit was $70.5 million, or an increase of 16 percent over the
- previous year, for per share earnings of $0.38 versus $0.33 last
- year.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/Press Contact: Deborah Coughlin, Computer
- Associates, 516-227-3300 X7222)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00017)
-
- ICL WINS BIG POLICE CONTRACT IN HONGKONG}
- CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- ICL Hongkong has won a contract
- worth $2.5 million to supply a turnkey criminal records system to
- the Royal Hongkong Police Force (RHKFP).
-
- The specifications for EPONICS, Enhanced Police Operational
- Nominal Index Computer System, include a high performance facility
- providing online maintenance of records of criminals and missing and wanted
- persons, to take over from a system that has been in use since 1983.
-
- EPONICS will also cater to new requirements of the RHKPF. Its capabilities
- will include processing inquiries from police officers on the beat. It will
- work in conjunction with criminal intelligence and command computer systems
- and is expected to handle up to 60,000 transactions a day.
-
- An important feature is the capacity to handle a planned expansion of the
- criminal intelligence system in the narcotics area.
-
- The commissioning of EPONICS will be an important step in the current drive
- to bring the RHKPF's information systems to a state-of-the-art level by the
- end of next year.
-
- (Norman Wingrove/19900124/Press Contact: Terry Coombs, Police Public
- Relations Bureau, + 852 528 4163)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00018)
-
- JAPANESE BANK CHOOSES MICROGNOSIS TRADING INFORMATION SYSTEM}
- CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- The Industrial Bank of Japan
- (IBJ) in Hongkong has installed an advanced trading room information
- network supplied by dealer system specialist Micrognosis.
-
- The MTS 9000 system may be configured for one to 30 positions and can
- access up to 40 market data sources from 16 market data services and
- display the information on a combination of color and monochrome monitors.
-
- IBJ's treasury department manager, Yoshimichi Kawasaki, says his company
- decided to renovate its trading room in August and chose the Micrognosis
- technology after evaluating a number of video switching systems. "An
- important factor in our decision was the potential for future development
- with the Micrognosis system. In the future we will be looking to use
- digital feeds and the MTS 9000 system can easily be upgraded by installing
- an additional subsystem." Mr Kawasaki also says the Micrognosis system
- allows IBJ to remain independent of any information service supplier.
- "IBJ's operations in its Tokyo headquarters and in New York also use
- Micrognosis systems. If we want to combine all dealer-related systems on a
- worldwide basis in the future, it is easier for us to do this with
- Micrognosis than other systems."
-
- MTS 9000 gives IBJ access to all financial and news services including
- Reuters, Telerate, Knight-Ridder, Jiji and Nikkei for the bank's foreign
- exchange, money market and securities trading activities. It can also
- access the bank's PC system and telex.
-
- Pieter Hamman, regional director of Micrognosis, Southeast Asia, says:
- "We are extremely pleased to welcome IBJ to our growing customer base in
- Hongkong. This contract further consolidates the company's position in
- Asia since we set up operations here in March last year."
-
- (Norman Wingrove/19900124/Press Contact: Bill Kraitzer, MDL Ltd, + 852 838
- 3889)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00019)
-
- EQUATION NOT GOLD FOR MIDAS IN MACAU}
- MACAU, ASIA, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Banco Commercial De Macau (BCM) has
- decided to abandon BIS Banking Systems' Midas in favor of a $1.3 million
- hardware and software package from Commercial Software Services Ltd (CSSL).
-
- The package will include an IBM AS/400, forty PS/2's and Kapiti Ltd's
- Equation comprehensive banking software to serve BCM's 12-branch network in
- this Portuguese colony on the South China coast.
-
- Equation, unlike Midas, includes an integrated retail system which,
- according to CSSL Finance Division Manager David Phillips, tipped the
- balance in his company's favor. Another attraction of the new contract was
- CSSL's ability, as an IBM systems supplier, to offer a total solution to
- the bank's needs.
-
- The Equation retail system is an international package able to operate in
- any language and conduct transactions in any currency, an important feature
- for business software in East Asia.
-
- The CSSL contract includes training of BCM staff as well as backup
- servicing and support. Its implementation is being phased over six months
- during which conversion from the Midas system and installation of the
- retail teller system will take place.
-
- (Norman Wingrove/19900124/Press Contact: John Clough, CSSL, +
- 852 852 1521)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(WAS)(00020)
-
- SHIELDS NAMED AS NEW PRIME EXEC}
- NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Prime
- Computer's Chief Executive Officer James F. McDonald has
- announced "the appointment of John J. Shields as president and
- chief operating officer." Shields was formerly a senior vice
- president at Digital Engineering Corporation with 28 years of
- service.
-
- McDonald, himself named as vice chairman of Prime's board of
- directors, will remain as chief executive officer for one
- year, after which Shields will become ceo, and, as the entire
- staff of Prime's new Corporate Management Office, both men will
- try to restore growth and profitability to the company.
-
- Prime Computer Inc., based in Natick, Mass., is the world's
- second biggest dealer of integrated CAD/CAE/CAM systems.
-
- (Beth Goldie/1990123/Press Contact: Joe Gavaghan, Prime Computer,
- 508-655-8000, ext. 7727)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00021)
-
- NEW AUSTRALIAN MD FOR PRIME AS COMPANY PLANS GROWTH}
- SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Tony Weber has been
- appointed managing director in Australia by Prime Computer.
-
- Weber, who succeeds Geoff Billingsley, joined Prime
- Australia in 1985. Recently Weber served as director of
- finance and administration for Prime's international operations.
-
- Speaking at the announcement, Mike Forster, Prime's president
- for international business, said that the company
- had gone through a difficult year and was now in a position
- to fight back. "We will grow and prosper. We have
- restructured the company to move forward," Forster was quoted
- saying in Sydney recently. He predicted that by 1992 the company
- would have series 50 machines running at 120 Mips, more
- than five times the power of the present top Prime
- computer.
-
- (Sean McNamara/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00022)
-
- NCR NAMES NEW MARKETING CHIEF FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA}
- ADMIRALTY, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- NCR has appointed Michael Jones,
- who has been serving as Pacific Group EDP marketing manager, retail systems
- at its Dayton, OH headquarters, as area marketing manager for the Southeast
- Asian region.
-
- Jones joined NCR as a systems engineer in 1973 and later held
- engineering posts in the UK and the Netherlands. He supervised the
- expansion of Asia-Pacific PC sales from $25 million in 1986 to $37 in 1988.
- From 1978 to 1986 he held sales and marketing positions with the company in
- his native New Zealand.
-
- K.H. Wun, area marketing director, NCR Asia Pacific Ltd, says he expects
- Jones' extensive marketing experience in the industry to be of special
- value in the company's involvement in the rapidly developing supermarket
- scanning market in the region. Scanning and barcode systems are still rare
- in Southeast Asia, but there are signs that a revolution is about to take
- place in this technology throughout the region.
-
- (Norman Wingrove/19900124/Press Contact: Vivian Kung, NCR,
- + 852 859 6021)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00023)
-
- NORTHERN TELECOM PROFIT DOUBLES}
- MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Northern
- Telecom has reported a US$376.5-million 1989 profit, a bit more
- than double its US$183.2-million 1988 figure. Revenue rose to
- US$6.1 billion from US$5.4 billion.
-
- Fourth-quarter profit was US$168.5 million, compared to a loss of
- US$17.5 million in the fourth quarter of 1988. Northern's fiscal
- year ends December 31, and while Canadian owned, it has reported
- financial results in U.S. currency for several years.
-
- The results were a sharp rebound from a 47 percent drop in net
- earnings in 1988, which the Report on Business 1000, published by
- The Globe in Mail in Toronto, ranked as the fifth-largest profit
- decline among Canadian companies that year. Ken Mulders of
- Northern Telecom's investor relations department said the 1988
- figures included a US$200-million provision for restructuring,
- without which net earnings would have been about US$319 million.
-
- (Grant Buckler/19900124/Press Contact: Ken Mulders, Northern
- Telecom, 416-238-7000)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00024)
-
- ACER BUYS INTO KANGAROO COMPUTERS}
- EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- In an unexpected
- move, Acer, the Taiwanese computer manufacturer, has acquired
- Kangaroo Computers, the Dutch computer company. Terms of the deal
- have not been announced.
-
- According to Acer's headquarters in Taipei, Kangaroo will form
- the hub of Acer's European distribution strategy, providing
- technical support for the European mainland, concentrating on the
- company's established markets in Belgium, Luxemburg and the
- Netherlands.
-
- Newsbytes understands that the acquisition will not affect Acer's
- existing operation in the UK.
-
- (Steve Gold/19900124/Press Contact: Kangaroo Computers, Tel:
- +31-40-551881)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00025)
-
- COMPANY REPORTS FOR MONDAY JANUARY 22, 1990}
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Computer
- companies are reporting results this week. Among them:
-
- [] SEQUENT COMPUTER SYSTEMS reported profits of $6 million on
- revenues of $47.8 million for its fourth quarter ended 30
- Dec. 1989. The full-year figures produced profits of $16
- million on revenues of $145.6 million. Sequent produces Unix-
- based parallel systems. The company has so far installed more
- than 2,000 systems around the world since 1984.
-
- [] CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR reported profits of $8.1 million in its
- fourth quarter which finished on 1 Jan.1990. Revenues for the
- period amounted to $50.8 million, up by more than 23 percent on
- the same period last year. Earnings per share were set 23 cents
- against last year's 18 cents. Cypress manufactures the Sparc
- microprocessor chip and programmable read-only memories (PROMs).
-
- [] DIGITAL SOUND is offering 3.7 million shares at between $6.50
- and $8 per share. Digital Sound designs and manufactures voice
- processing and applications systems.
-
- [] BRITISH TELECOM is reported to be considering selling its
- stake in Mitel, the Canadian telecommunications company. BT
- currently owns 51 percent of the firm.
-
- [] ERICSSON has secured a prestigious deal worth $30 million to
- supply the Moroccan telecom administration. Terms of the deal call
- for Ericsson to install various AXE digital telephone switches
- during the current year. Ericsson's AXE switches are capable of
- supporting up to 20,000 subscriber circuits.
-
- [] Racal Telecom (TICKER:RTG) will now trade on the American
- Exchange under the options listing--opening strike prices of 55,
- 60 and 65 with limits of 3000 contracts.
-
- [] BELLSOUTH earned $469 million in its fourth quarter against
- revenues of $3,600 million. For the year as a whole, the company
- earned $1,740 million on revenues of $14,000 million.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00026)
-
- ASIAN STOCKS FINISH MIXED}
- TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Asian stocks closed mixed with
- the Hang Seng index down 9.22 points to finish at 2,762.43 on
- Tuesday, 23 Jan.1990.
-
- The Chinese New Year holiday, which starts this Friday, will slow
- the market for a week. No major upsets in the market are
- expected.
-
- In Tokyo, meanwhile, stocks closed a little higher with the
- Nikkei Dow index up by 121.01 points to end the day at 37378.02.
- More than 500 million shares changed hands.
-
- The problems in New York, with the Dow taking a steady drop
- since the first of the year, seem not to be affectingg the Tokyo
- market. Share prices are relatively stable.
-
- In Taiwan, the local stock market index finished up 177.69 points
- to a high of 11947.01. A record 194,500 million shares changed
- hands, making the Taiwan market the trend setter for 1990 to date.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00027)
-
- MONDAY'S NEW YORK STOCKS CLOSE DOWN 77.23 POINTS}
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Monday's Dow Jones
- Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by more than 75 points causing
- analysts start talking of a "black Monday in January" with
- millions of dollars-worth of paper assets disappearing into a
- void.
-
- Declines led advances by 1,338 to 263, while traded volume
- remained stable at a little more than 151 million. The Dow Jones
- Industrial Average (DJIA) finished at 2600.45.
-
- Computerized trading which profits from slight price fluctuations
- is being blamed as one of the reasons for this week's decline on Wall
- Street.
-
- IBM fell by $2.00 to finish the day at $96.675 with more than 1.7
- million shares changing hands. AT&T also fell by $1.675 to end
- the day at $40.50. Motorola saw activity in its blue chip stocks,
- falling by $2.5 to finish the day at $54.875. General Electric
- (Genie's parent company) finished the day down $2.00 to $62.875.
-
- The Amex exchange also experienced losses. Among the many
- technology issues, Wang B shares fell another 50 cents to finish
- at $3.75. Wang's stock has been falling steadily since Jan. 2,
- 1990. Western Digital also fell 25 cents to stabilize at $9.75.
- Amdahl fell by 25 cents to $14.375.
-
- The Newsbytes Yearly Index (NYI), showing yearly differences
- since the beginning of the decade, finished down 97.05 points.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00028)
-
- LONDON STOCKS FINISH LOWER: MONDAY, 22 JANUARY}
- LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- London stocks followed the
- lead set by Wall Street, falling 37.9 points, adding considerably
- to the 45 points fall recorded last week. (The Financial Times
- 100 index is seen by British investors as the barometer for the
- British economy).
-
- More than 450 million shares changed hands.
-
- Among technology stocks, Racal Telecom moved up by 14 pence to
- almost UKP 6-00 on the basis of expected improved quarterly
- figures expected next week. Cable & Wireless, the parent
- company to Mercury Communications, lost 20 cents after the stock
- was changed from buy to hold.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00029)
-
- COMPANY REPORTS FOR TUESDAY JANUARY 23, 1990}
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Computer
- companies are reporting results this week. Among them:
-
- [] COMPUTER ASSOCIATES reported earnings of $104.3 million for
- its third quarter ended 31 Dec.1989. The company, which
- produces the successful Supercalc 5 spreadsheet, reported
- revenues had decreased to $347 million. Net income per share
- remained stable at 38 cents.
-
- [] STRATUS COMPUTER earned $10.2 million in its fourth quarter of
- 1990 on revenues of $98.1 million. For the full year, revenues
- reached $341.5 million and profits ended at $35.4 million.
-
- [] DYNATECH earned $2.5 million in its third quarter of fiscal
- 1990, which ended on 31 Dec.1989. Sales for the quarter
- ended at $111.7 million, up from $98 million the previous year.
-
- [] MICROAGE INC., finished its first quarter with sales up from
- $83 million in 1988 to $146.381 million. Profit for the period was
- reported at $1.83 million.
-
- [] BELL ATLANTIC generated profits of $1,074.7 million for its fourth quarter
- ended 31 Dec.1989 on revenues of $11,450 million for the
- same period. The company reported profits of $1,072.8 million on
- revenues of $10,880 million for the same period last year.
-
- [] NORTHERN TELECOM posted earnings of $376.7 million while
- revenues stood at $6,100 million. The company, which manufactures
- telecommunications equipment and computers, is the largest
- Canadian company in the sector.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00037)
-
- NIXDORF TO AXE 5000 JOBS}
- COLOGNE, WEST GERMANY, 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- Nixdorf has announced
- plans to cut around 5,000 jobs in the next few months. The job
- cuts are a bid to lower overhead and thus stem losses.
-
- Nixdorf, which is now owned by the Siemens group, hopes that its
- current restructuring program will ease the strain on its budgets
- and make Nixdorf profitable once more. Annual losses are expected
- to pass the $600 million mark this year.
-
- The European Commission (EC) is currently examining whether the
- merger of Siemens and Nixdorf violates competition guidelines.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00030)
-
- LONDON STOCKS CLOSE HIGHER ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1990}
- LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- London stocks closed
- a little higher after the market tried hard to keep on the
- positive side the whole day. The FT 100 share index finished up
- slightly at 2,296.8.
-
- Ferranti International, the troubled electronics and defense
- contractor, finished up 7 cents to finish at 56 cents. Ferranti
- is expected to secure a UKP 1.4 million order for a European
- fighter radar system.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00031)
-
- NEW YORK STOCKS REVERSE TREND, FINISH SLIGHTLY UP}
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- The Dow Jones
- Industrial Average (DJIA) ended a series of declines finishing
- the day on Tuesday slightly up at 2,615.31, a rise of 14.86 points.
-
- Declines beat advances by a narrow margin while traded volume
- stood at 180 million shares.
-
- IBM gained $1.25 to end the day $97.875. AT&T also moved up 50 cents to $41
- and Pacific Telesis gained 37.5 cents to close at $46.675. On the
- American Exchange, Amdahl Corporation also climbed slightly to
- close at $14.5, while Wang rebounded 25 cents to end at $4.
-
- The Over The Counter (OTC) market saw Microsoft fall by $1.00 to
- $89.75. MCI Communications moved up 67.5 cents to $39.25, Intel
- remained unchanged at $36.75.
-
- (Peter Clear/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00032)
-
- NOVELL GIVES $5,000 TO SOFTWARE ENTREPRENEUR FORUM}
- PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Novell, Inc.
- has given a grant of $5,000 to the Software Entrepreneur's
- Forum (SEF), becoming its first Industry Benefactor.
-
- The grant to the nonprofit organization will be used to expand
- its educational programs for the benefit of people starting
- software companies.
-
- SEF, a 500-member organization founded in 1983, is dedicated
- to the informal exchange of information regarding the software
- industry.
-
- "We at Novell regard innovation as the life-blood of the
- industry," says Jack Blount, executive director of strategic
- relations at Novell, a local area network manufacturer. "Changes
- in the market have made conditions harder for startup software
- companies, but they remain vital to the healthy growth of the
- industry as a whole. We are glad to be able to help SEF because
- the organization does so much for people getting their start as
- software developers and publishers."
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900123/Press Contact: Ed Niehaus, 415-
- 626-0615)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00033)
-
- ATARI PORTFOLIO II IN THE WINGS?}
- SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- According to
- the CPU News Confidential weekly newsletter, available for
- download on a growing number of US BBSs (bulletin board services),
- Atari may be about to announce the Portfolio II, an 80286-based
- version of its popular pocket PC machine.
-
- According to the newsletter, the Portfolio's 128K memory is
- likely to be boosted to 512K by replacing the 62256 chips with
- 62104s. "Suddenly you have 512K with no noticeable power
- consumption increase," says the newsletter. "Could these be the
- reasons why the original device on sale in discount houses
- already?" the newsletter questions.
-
- When Portfolio was announced a year ago in the UK, Newsbytes
- noted that the machine's designers, DIP, said that future
- versions of the Portfolio were in the pipeline. Atari, meanwhile,
- was licensed to produce the standard Portfolio. It seems logical
- to assume that Atari would also be able to license future
- editions of the machine as well.
-
- Sources close to Atari UK suggest that such a deal is in the
- offing, with a Portfolio II being readied for launch this Spring.
- The CPU newswire newsletter has the last word: "The answer is
- yes. Watch all the denials fly until, that is, the actual deals
- hit the streets."
-
- (Steve Gold/19900124/Press Contact: R F Mariano, Tel: 904/783-
- 3319)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00034)
-
- GILMAN'S BONANZA FOR STUDENTS IN HONGKONG}
- WANCHAI, HONGKONG, 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Hongkong students are the subject of
- a Lunar New Year special offer of computers and software from Gilman Office
- Machines.
-
- Gilman's Systems Division is marking the most important Chinese festival of
- the year with large discounts for students on two ranges of computer, as
- well as special low prices for most other products its carries.
-
- Any student, from the primary grades on up can take advantage of the first
- offer by producing a valid student card. The package includes Gilman's
- newly released Ninja 88 turbo XT-compatible computer complete with monochrome
- adaptor and monitor with integral swivel stand, 512K RAM, 84-key keyboard,
- two 360KB disk drives, a monitor/keyboard drawer, high quality 9-pin
- dot matrix printer and stand plus all connecting cables.
-
- Bundled with the system are MS-DOS 4.01, Mosaic's Twin Classic software, a
- Lotus 123 work-alike containing database, word processor and communications
- programs, together with a box of 5.25" diskettes and 1,000 sheets of
- tractor feed paper.
-
- Also included are free installation and a full 1-year warranty.
-
- The price for all of this is $1,000.
-
- For a little more, better-off students can opt for variations or additions
- such as VGA color monitor and adaptor or a hard disk.
-
- The second offer is available only to students and staff of the nine
- leading higher education institutions. It consists of a 35 percent
- discount on all Apple computer products.
-
- Gilman, a subsidiary of Inchcape Pacific, has a tradition of serving
- educational needs and maintains a team that organises contests,
- exhibitions, seminars and other special events for students and staff of
- higher education institutions.
-
- In addition to the two current special offers, which continue until the end of
- February, students are entitled to a discount of 15 percent on most other
- products handled by Gilman Systems Division.
-
- (Norman Wingrove/19900124/Press Contact: Colin O'Brien, Gilman Office
- Machines System Division, + 852 833 7464)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00035)
-
- AWARDS FOR CANADIAN SCIENTISTS}
- OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Among recipients of
- this year's E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships are Canadian
- researchers working on semiconductors and artificial
- intelligence. The fellowships, awarded by Canada's Natural
- Sciences and Engineering Research Council, replace a professor's
- salary for one or two years and may provide additional research
- funding.
-
- Dr. Hector Levesque, a professor of computer science at the
- University of Toronto, was recognized for his work on artificial
- intelligence. His work deals with knowledge representation. In
- 1985, Dr. Levesque was awarded the Computers and Thought
- lectureship at the International Joint Conference on Artificial
- Intelligence.
-
- Dr. J. Thomas Tiedje, of the departments of physics and
- electrical engineering at the University of British Columbia in
- Vancouver, was recognized for his contribution to the physics of
- semiconductors.
-
- Meanwhile, the Science Council of British Columbia has created
- the Cecil Green Award for Entrepreneurial Science in honor of one
- of the founders of Texas Instruments. Dr. Cecil Green spent part
- of his youth and studied in Vancouver before moving to the United
- States. The Science Council also set up a chairman's award for
- lifetime achievement and an award for science communication. All
- three are to be awarded annually.
-
- (Grant Buckler/19900123/Press Contact: Arnet Sheppard, NSERC,
- 613-995-5992; Science Council of B.C., 604-438-2752)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00036)
-
- ATARI LYNX CONSOLE READY FOR UK UNVEILING THIS WEEKEND}
- LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Atari will launch its Lynx
- hand-held games unit in the UK this weekend at the annual toy
- fair in London. The machine itself, currently selling well in
- the US, will not ship to the retailers, however, until late
- March/early April at the earliest, according to informed sources.
-
- UK pricing on the Lynx, which sells for around $150 in
- the US, has yet to be decided by Atari UK. Industry sources
- suggest that a figure of around the UK150 ($225) may be chosen,
- as sales of the machine have been very buoyant in the imported
- market-place at UKP 200-plus.
-
- Newsbytes visited one store in London that is selling the Lynx
- hand-held unit this week. The store, Micro Anvika on London's
- Tottenham Court Road, is selling Japanese versions of Lynx for
- UKP 199 ($300), with game cartridges at a hefty UKP 37 ($50)
- each. Despite the high pricing, the units are selling well,
- according to a store spokesman.
-
- "We're the only store that is bringing them into the UK at a
- constant rate. Other stores have been selling them at higher
- prices. We're selling around a dozen a day," said one store
- assistant.
-
- (Steve Gold/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00038)
-
- AUSTRALIAN SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTORS RELEASE ANTI-PIRACY MANUAL}
- SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- The Business
- Software Association of Australia (BSAA) has released the
- first edition of its "Software Compliance Manual," aimed at
- educating corporate PC users in the legal use and respect
- of proprietary software. Three thousand copies have been
- issued to the top 1000 Australian companies, all state and federal
- government departments, legal and accounting companies and
- tertiary institutions.
-
- BSAA Chairman Mark Herford, in a letter accompanying the
- manual, said that an estimated $300M revenue will be lost
- in Australia over the next year due to software copying
- theft. The manual includes guide-lines for executive
- officers and a code of ethics, advertising material
- and stickers to be used in conjunction with staff education.
-
- (Paul Zucker/19900124/Contact: Mark Herford BSAA phone
- Australia 61-2-9066729)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00039)
-
- NEW PRODUCT: TI'S 1505 68030-BASED COMPUTER}
- AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has
- released its Model 1505 computer based on Motorola's 68030
- processor as the newest member of the company's 1500 computer
- family that now serves from eight to 256 active users with a
- single set of software running on the TI System V operating
- system.
-
- The 1505 is designed for eight to 32 active users. The system's
- architecture is optimized for disk and terminal I/O with the
- communications subsystem and the disk controller residing on the
- motherboard with the CPU. This design uses ASICs (Application
- Specific Integrated Circuits) on one board rather than having
- separate boards for each function.
-
- Even though the 1505 is an "entry level" systems, it is covered
- by the same TI lifetime parts warranty as the company's high-end
- 1500 computers. This covers the chassis, CPU board(s), on-board
- memory and power supply and, in the 1505, the communications
- processor and the disk controller.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Lisa Shaw, BJW
- Marketing, 512-346-1090)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00041)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: CMC ANNOUNCES VMEBUS FDDI INTERFACES AVAILABLE}
- SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Rockwell
- International subsidiary CMC has announced general customer
- availability of its first VMEbus FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data
- Interface) network.
-
- The CMC-1050 series delivers FDDI performance while providing
- dual and single attachments to the FDDI ring and full Station
- Management (SMT) compatibility. The CMC-1055 single ring
- attachment interface and the CMC-1056 dual ring attachment
- interface implement CMC's FXP architecture, the company's own
- architecture that offers full throughput on the FDDI board--all
- information moving simultaneously.
-
- The products incorporate a 25MHz AMD 29000 RISC (Reduced
- Instruction Set Computing) microprocessor, a non-blocking
- architecture with multiple internal buses, 512KB DRAM for
- protocol execution and 512 KB video-RAM for packet processing.
-
- These interfaces have previously only been available as part of
- CMC's FDDI Forerunners' Program, a package including hardware
- with software, support and training. The price is "under
- $10,000."
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Donna Cross, CMC, 805-
- 968-4262)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00042)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: ADIC ASSUMES PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION OF NOVELL DCB}
- REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- ADIC has taken
- over the production and distribution of Novell's Disk Coprocessor
- Board (DCB) products, which are now to be known as ADIC/Novell
- DCB.
-
- ADIC and Novell have a history of working together as evidenced
- by the ADIC/Novell Co-Developed N-Series mass storage disk
- subsystems. ADIC has already been selling Novell DCBs for over a
- year in conjunction with the subsystems.
-
- Novell's DCB technology has been licensed to ADIC and as a
- result, the ADIC/Novell DCBs will have the IMSP Level III
- certification. The ADIC/Novell DCB will be priced at $495, the
- same price as before this agreement.
-
- ADIC is also releasing a new read/write optical drive at NetWorld
- '90 in Boston. Data Optical 600 has a capacity of nearly 600 MB
- and throughput tests have shown a speed of up to 6MB per minute
- with the ability to go higher in alternative circumstances. The
- product is designed to provide fast, safe backup for the growing
- NetWare market. Shipping of the Data Optical 600 is scheduled to
- begin in February.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Ann Revell-Pechar,
- ADIC, 206-881-8004)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00043)
-
- NEW PRODUCT: MOVE OVER AGATHA CHRISTIE--SYSTEM SLEUTH 2.0 IS HERE}
- BUENA PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- Now that
- Dariana Technology Group has begun shipping the newest version of
- System Sleuth, distributor Softsel Computer Products is
- exclusively offering special introductory pricing.
-
- System Sleuth is described by its makers as "the diagnostic
- software that knows what evil lurks in the hearts of IBM and
- compatible personal computers." Value added resellers (VARs),
- computer dealers and software retailers ordering three copies of
- System Sleuth version 2.0 until February 28 can buy the product
- at an additional 40 percent discount--$45 a copy. Standard dealer
- cost is $75 on the product that carries a suggested retail price
- of $149. Users of System Sleuth 1.0 may upgrade for $35.
-
- System Sleuth 2.0 does not alter the configuration of a PC and
- therefore enables the user to safely explore a system without
- fear of accidental, unrecoverable modifications. New features
- include comprehensive tests for expanded and extended memory,
- precise identification of central processor and math coprocessor,
- and extensive mapping of software and hardware devices such as
- network adapters with the power to interrupt the priorities of
- the central processor.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Frank Westall, Dariana
- Technology Group, 714-994-7400)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00044)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: QUATTRO PRO LAN PACK FROM BORLAND ANNOUNCED}
- SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Network
- users can now take full advantage of the advanced spreadsheet
- program, Quattro Pro, by licensing Quattro Pro LAN Pack from
- Borland International. The Quattro Pro LAN Pack can be licensed
- to allow an additional user on a local area network to share a
- single copy of the program.
-
- The Quattro Pro LAN Pack saves resources on the network since
- using it requires only one copy of the Quattro Pro multiuser
- spread sheet program to be installed for the entire network. The
- Quattro Pro LAN Pack will be available in February and carries a
- manufacturer's suggested retail price of $295.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Marguerite Padovani,
- Borland International, 408-439-1622)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00045)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: SNMP-BASED NETWORK MONITOR FROM NOVELL}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- The LANalyzer Products
- Division of Novell has introduced LANtern, a remote network monitor
- that uses an open standard network management protocol (SNMP).
-
- The monitor is designed for Ethernet networks and is currently
- available for manufacturers who will add a user interface that allows
- LANtern-generated network data to appear on their network
- management consoles. The LANtern network monitor continuously
- follows vital network statistics and acts as a network
- characterization tool, tracking usage and traffic patterns on the
- network.
-
- When attached directly to a network segment, the LANtern network
- monitor feeds information to a centrally located network
- management console, tracking network activity and alerting
- network administrators to cabling malfunctions, common network
- problems and any changes in basic network statistics.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Donna Keeling, Novell,
- 408-473-8393)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00046)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: A FILE MANAGER EXCLUSIVELY FOR LANS FROM SABER}
- DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Saber Software has
- announced Saber File Manager, a file management tool designed and
- engineered specifically for use in local area networks (LANs).
-
- Saber File Manager combines familiar XTree-like presentation with
- fully-extended network functionality. Features include true
- network orientation, file tagging for File-Group operation,
- support for all standard DOS operations, search for string within
- file or file volume, print files in raw or formatted forms,
- sorted displays by name, extension, date/time or size and SAA
- pulldown menus with full mouse support.
-
- Saber File manager is being sold both direct from the
- manufacturer and through authorized resellers for a suggested
- list price of $395.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Jeff Farris, Saber
- Software, 800-338-8754)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00047)
-
- TENNESSEE STUDENTS CRACK COMPUTER TO CHANGE SCHEDULES}
- KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- About 200
- students learned the password for a University of Tennessee
- computer that maintained class schedules, rearranging their own
- classes for over a year.
-
- Vice Chancellor Phil Scheurer said charges will be placed against
- the students for breaking the university code of conduct,
- with penalties from reprimands to suspensions. Also the password
- will be changed, and changed frequently.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00001)
-
- ADOBE GETS COPYRIGHT FOR TYPEFACE COMPUTER PROGRAM}
- MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Adobe Systems
- has won a copyright registration from the U.S. Copyright Office for
- having invented the first typeface program.
-
- The registration office recognized Adobe's Postscript ITCX Garamond
- font computer program as the first product with a series of commands
- that describe the shape of individual characters making up a typeface.
- It's important to note that the patent does not extend to individual
- fonts, which cannot be copyrighted, but instead applies to the
- interpreter, i.e. Postscript, which is used to shape them.
-
- With this registration, the Copyright Office has, for the first
- time, recognized a subtle, but important distinction between
- computer programs that represent typefaces and bit-mapped
- or digitized versions of those faces.
-
- Adobe says it applied for a copyright on Postscript by demonstrating
- that the same font could be created by two different programs.
- Assisting i the demonstration were personell from Bitstream, which
- also develops typeface software.
-
- An Adobe statement addresses the effect this ruling will have on the
- free release of specifications for the Type 1 Postscript language format,
- announced at the Seybold Conference last year. The question is,
- has copyrighting the font programs made them closed and proprietary,
- and isn't that a contradiction to the statements made at Seybold?
-
- "No they're not. The Type 1 specification is the documentation that
- describes the command structure used by the Postscript Type 1
- font interpreter, including the hints and encryption. Anyone will
- be able to use that specification to make Type 1 products of
- their own. Using that specification, they'll be able to write their
- own font programs, and now receive copyright registration for them as
- well."
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900124/Press Contact: Kevin Wandry, Adobe, 415-961-
- 4400)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00048)
-
- MORRIS FOUND GUILTY IN WORM TRIAL}
- SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- After only a few
- hours of deliberation, the jury in the worm trial of Robert
- Tappan Morris, a 24-year-old former Cornell graduate student,
- found Mr. Morris guilty of computer tampering in the Internet
- computer network crash of November 1988. Mr. Morris, who has
- admitted creating and releasing the worm but denied that he
- intended any harm, will return to court at an as yet unspecified
- date to face sentencing.
-
- Having been convicted of a felony under the 1986 federal computer
- fraud and abuse law, Robert Morris, who continued working in the
- computer industry while awaiting his trial, faces a maximum of
- five years in jail and a $250,000 fine. He could also be ordered
- to pay restitution.
-
- Some observers feared that the jury, which was specifically
- chosen to avoid anyone with extensive computer experience, would
- be unable to understand the nature of the crime since no physical
- damage was involved. Others thought that the 1986 law was too
- vague to use in actual prosecutions.
-
- Both groups have apparently been proven wrong, but only the
- results of inevitable appeals will show whether the law is
- actually written well enough to withstand judicial scrutiny at
- higher levels.
-
- Morris has been released on his own recognizance, with the next
- action in the case due on February 27 when U.S. District Judge
- Howard Munson has scheduled a hearing where defense counsel can
- make new motions, and at which time a date will probably be set
- for the formal sentencing.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00049)
-
- PROMISE SEEN IN CANADIAN SOFTWARE FUNDING IDEA}
- TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Canadian computer
- industry and banking groups have reacted with cautious approval
- to a proposal for financing software research and development in
- this country.
-
- The Phoenix program, laid out by Stephen Bingham, president of Toronto
- software developer Alias Research, calls for government-guaranteed bank
- loans for startup software developers. Software companies with sales
- between C$3 million and C$50 million would submit strategic business plans
- designed to achieve "acceptable rates of return over five years."
- Banks would lend 80 percent of the money needed, and the Canadian
- government would guarantee 85 percent of each loan.
-
- Fruji Bull, president of the Canadian Association of Data,
- Professional Services and Software Organizations (CADAPSO) in
- Ottawa, said much would depend on the government, the banks and
- the software industry. But, she said, "we're always for anything
- that might improve the financing situation for small software
- firms in Canada.... We think it's fantastic that [Bingham] has
- taken the initiative to put something together."
-
- Graeme Hughes, president of the Information Technology
- Association of Canada (ITAC) in Toronto, also commended the
- initiative, saying it deserves serious attention. He said any
- such program would need precautions to ensure money was well
- used. "Many of these firms do go bankrupt for various reasons,"
- he said. But he suggested a pilot project might help determine
- the plan's viability.
-
- Brian Farlinger, chief of commercial affairs for the Canadian
- Bankers' Association, said his group has received the proposal
- and is circulating it among its independent business committee.
- "It merits study," he said, "and it's on our agenda for early
- February."
-
- (Grant Buckler/19900124/Press Contacts: CADAPSO, 613-230-3524;
- ITAC, 416-493-8710; Canadian Bankers' Association, 416-362-6092;
- Stephen Bingham, Alias Research, 416-362-9181)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00050)
-
- EUROPEAN COMMISSION TAXES ASIAN-MADE CD PLAYERS}
- BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- The European Commission
- (EC) has announced it is imposing anti-dumping levies on compact
- disk (CD) players imported into Europe with immediate effect.
-
- The levies range from 8 to 32 percent,on CD players from
- 14 Japanese and 4 Korean manufacturers, including Pioneer, Sanyo,
- Sharp and Sony. According to a statement issued by the EC this
- week, Far Eastern manufacturers currently dominate the European
- CD player market and account for 70 percent of sales.
-
- This, the Commission says, is due to Japanese and Korean
- manufacturers selling their products at below market price on the
- European market.
-
- (Steve Gold/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00051)
-
- KENTUCKY SETS UP MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM WITH IBM HELP}
- LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 18 (NB) -- The
- University of Kentucky has set up a Computer Integrated
- Manufacturing (CIM) program, with help from a $750,000 donation
- of computer hardware, software and technical support from IBM.
-
- Computers have been installed at Lexington Community College as well
- as in UK's Center for Robotics and Manufacturing Systems. As part of
- the IBM donation, Lexington Community College has received an AS/400
- mini-computer with 10 displays, a printer and manufacturing, accounting
- and production information control system software, as well as a PS/2
- Model 30 set up for desktop publishing.
-
- The University of Kentucky will receive PS/2 computers, workstation
- computers, and "hardened" PCs designed for the shop floor environment,
- as well as software for computer-aided design, modeling and analysis, and
- managing shop floor operations.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00052)
-
- IBM ENTERS IAR AGREEMENT WITH NETWORK SOFTWARE}
- LAGUNA HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- IBM's
- Manufacturing Systems Products (MSP) division has entered into an
- Industrial Application Remarketer (IAR) agreement with Network
- Software Associates (NSA), the first company to be named to this
- capacity by IBM for the ARTIC family of co-processor boards.
-
- NSA is also the first independent Systems Network Architecture
- (SNA) connectivity vendor to enter into a formal business
- relationship with IBM. NSA, marketers of SNA hardware and
- software products to large corporations and government agencies,
- has been working closely with IBM for a long time. NSA worked
- with Prodigy, the IBM/Sears partnership to develop an LU0
- protocol application to be used for their SNA communications--
- IBM's ARTIC technology was used in conjunction with NSA
- technology. NSA has also developed other SNA applications based
- on the ARTIC card.
-
- As a result of this agreement, NSA will now be able to offer its
- customers a complete IBM hardware platform for the company's SNA
- software systems. SNA products, however, have been designed to
- work with whatever SDLC, coax or LAN adapter boards the customer
- may already have including IBMs.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Alice Topping, Network
- Software Associates, 714-768-4013)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00053)
-
- NEW FOR IBM PS/2: DAYNA COMMUNICATIONS SHIPS LOCALTALK}
- SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Dayna Communications
- has announced the shipping of DaynaTalk MC LocalTalk network interface
- card for IBM PS/2 Micro Channel computers and compatibles.
-
- DaynaTalk is a family of products that enhance the data transmission
- speed over LocalTalk cable systems at a variety of rates up to 1.7 Mbps
- (megabits per second) for Macintosh and IBM PC compatible computers.
- DaynaTalk network interface cards can also function at the standard
- LocalTalk 230 Kbps (kilobits per second) data rate as LocalTalk cards
- for MS-DOS workstations and NetWare (Novell) or DaynaNET file servers.
-
- According to Lynn Alley, vice president of research and development at
- Dayna, the DaynaTalk MC card is the only network interface card
- available for PS/2 computers that can carry both Apple AFP and Netware
- IPX protocols over a LocalTalk wire. Alley adds that this means the
- product can be used as a LocalTalk network interface card for PS/2
- computers being used as workstations and NetWare file servers.
-
- The DaynaTalk MC card is priced at a suggested $399 with a pack of
- four available for $1,399.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: David Pascoe, Dayna
- Communications, 801-531-0600)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00054)
-
- NEW PRODUCT: 2ND GENERATION CACHE MEMORY CONTROLLER FOR 386SX}
- ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Australian
- microelectronics developer Austek is in the process of final
- testing on its new Microcache chip. The company claims its
- A38202SX integrated circuit incorporates all features of its
- earlier models and in addition is optimized for the 80386SX
- microprocessor, now found in many mid- to high-end PCs.
-
- Quantity pricing for the 20MHz version is expected to be
- around US$55 and US$65 for the 25MHz model. Shipping is
- scheduled to begin in the second quarter.
-
- (Paul Zucker/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00055)
-
- IBM CONTRIBUTES AUS$8M TO TRAIN PROS FOR INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA}
- SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 JAN 21 (NB) -- In a move to
- alleviate the drastic shortage of professionals in the
- Australian information industry, IBM has joined the New South
- Wales (NSW) state Department of Technical and Further Education [TAFE]
- in developing the Computer Industry and Training Corp
- [CITC].
-
- Described as the first of many such ventures, the course
- within CITC will establish a new qualification for computer
- operators and programmers designed to provide accreditation
- towards degree courses. Most students will be sponsored by
- industry and will also be assisted in finding employment
- relevant to their qualifications. Total funding for the
- venture is AUS$12M.
-
- The Premier of NSW, Mr. Greiner, said at the launch of the
- venture: "By 1993 there will be a skills shortage of 15,000
- people with computer expertise ... and the only answer is
- to form partnerships with industry." Another IBM-government
- joint venture will be launched next month. The Information
- Technology Course for Office Workers [ITC] will be aimed at
- alleviating the shortage of trained office workers in
- information technology.
-
- (Sean McNamara/19900124)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00040)
-
- AST RESEARCH UPS BOARD LEVEL DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS}
- IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 19 (NB) -- AST Research has
- added new responsibilities to its Enhancement Products Division,
- naming that unit to explore board-level opportunities for
- advanced systems.
-
- Resulting areas of new product development will include memory,
- video, graphics, communications and EISA (Extended Industry
- Standard Architecture). AST intends to increase its advertising
- and promotion efforts to keep the industry informed of the
- presence of its board product line for ISA (Industry Standard
- Architecture) and MCA systems.
-
- Tom Scott, vice president of sales and marketing for the
- Enhancement Products Division describes this effort as a return
- to AST's roots in the board-level business. He sees the current
- move toward board level enhancement and data communications
- products as "products to address the market of the 1990s" as well
- as a reaffirmation of the "high level of AST's long-term
- commitment."
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Deborah Paquin, AST
- Research, 714-727-7960)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00056)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: NEW DRIVER ENHANCES SMART AT AND MC RINGNODES}
- SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Madge Networks
- Inc. has introduced a software driver to enhance the performance
- of its Smart AT and Smart MC Ringnodes.
-
- The Smart Server software gives Madge's 4 Mb/s (megabits-per-
- second) Smart AT and MC Ringnodes the same performance as an
- IBM 16 Mb/s Token Ring adapter.
-
- When using Smart Server, Smart AT and MC Ringnodes can
- transfer data at 98 percent of wire speed; the speed in which
- token ring cables are transferred. The software's performance
- is enhanced by utilizing the "bus master" capabilities of AT and
- Micro Channel computers. Smart Server software is currently
- compatible with AT and Micro Channel computers. It will
- become compatible with PC LAN, OS/2 LAN Manager, NETBIOS-
- compatible network operating systems, in the first quarter of
- 1990. The Smart AT sells for $749; Smart MC sells for $799.
-
- The Smart Server is free with purchase of the AT or MC. All
- products were developed for use on IBM PCs and compatibles.
- Call 408 441-1300.
-
- (Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00057)
-
- NEW FOR IBM: TREETOP HARD DISK FILE MANAGER}
- WEST SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Kilgore
- Software has announced TreeTop, a DOS utility that provides hard
- disk file and directory management.
-
- The program provides users with an interface to DOS commands by
- displaying a visual image of a directory structure with a point and
- shoot user interface. TreeTop lets users organize files and
- directories in such a way that the hard disk is easily maintained.
-
- Other features include rapid search, sort, rename, add, delete, or
- view files and directories with single key commands. TreeTop
- works on IBM PC/AT and DOS compatible computers. It includes
- a bound manual at a cost of $39. Call 916-371-3715.
-
- (Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00058)
-
- NEW FOR IBM: PRINT TWO PAGES ON ONE SHEET WITH TREESAVER}
- ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Discoversoft
- has begun shipment of TreeSaver DJ, a memory-resident software
- utility for the HP DeskJet printer. TreeSaver DJ features
- existing software to print two pages on one sheet of paper.
-
- The utility also provides on-line photo reduction of reports and
- documents to allow existing software to print shrink-to-fit
- reports for personal organizers. The software operates on
- IBM PC and compatibles. It is priced at $49.95. Call 415 769-2902.
-
- (Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00059)
-
- NEW FOR IBM: SPELL CHECKERS FOR PROGRAMMERS}
- MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Geller Software
- Laboratories has released SpellCode, a spell checking software geared
- specifically to programmers and database and spreadsheet users.
-
- By offering features not provided for general purpose, SpellCode's
- word processing and spell checking functions are designed for
- programmers who utilize various languages or, database and
- spreadsheet users.
-
- SpellCode combines two methods to spell checking and correction
- in programs, and it understands programming languages which
- allows it to check only the text displayed to users; another option
- is to have it check an entire program file.
-
- Spell Code operates on IBM PCs and compatibles, requiring
- 256K and DOS 2.0 or higher. Although a hard disk is not
- required, it is recommended. It costs $99.95.
-
- (Lori Bragg and Computer Currents/19900119)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00060)
-
- IBM RELIEF GRANTED TO GHANAIAN FARMERS}
- NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- TechnoServe, a
- worldwide non-profit relief agency encouraging self-sufficiency,
- has announced that it will receive an IBM grant worth $280,000,
- some 90 percent of which, all cash, is slated for Ghanaian
- agricultural support programs, staff, and services. The remaining
- 10 percent will establish agricultural cooperatives where
- Ghanaian farmers can get on-the-job instruction and use IBM
- computers and printers to keep abreast of market and production
- data.
-
- (Beth Goldie/1990123)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00061)
-
- NEW FOR IBM: MAXIMIZER VERSION 2.0}
- VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Richmond
- Software plans to begin shipping version 2.0 of The Maximizer on
- February 20. The upgraded contact management software will have
- a number of new features for an increased price tag according to company
- spokeswoman Janette Peters.
-
- Among the enhancements in Maximizer 2.0 will be more reporting
- capabilities, a built-in pop-up calculator, the ability to store
- more addresses, a real text editor and handling of incoming
- telephone calls. The local-area network version will allow access
- to other users' appointments. A number of other features are
- being added, the company said.
-
- Peters said the single-user version will sell for US$295 in the
- United States and C$295 in Canada, up from $195 for the previous
- version. The LAN version goes from $495 to $695. Richmond sells
- the software in Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe.
-
- (Grant Buckler/19900123/Press Contact: Janette Peters, Richmond
- Software, 604-299-2121)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00062)
-
- AT&T RELEASES PROCEDURES FOR SERIOUS SERVICE DISRUPTIONS}
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- As part of
- its continuing apology for the Jan. 15 break-down of its
- network, AT&T has announced that, in the future, it will provide
- access information for other long distance carriers should its
- network break down again. The company also has asked the Federal
- Communications Commission (FCC) to let it make Valentine's Day,
- Feb.14, a holiday, offering holiday rates for phone calls
- around the country.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Michael Keady, AT&T,
- 201-221-8422)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00063)
-
- MERCURY DISASSOCIATES ITSELF FROM "PYRAMID" SCHEME}
- LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Mercury Communications, the
- supplier of alternative long-distance and international
- telephone service to domestic and small business subscribers in
- the UK, has taken the unprecedented step of announcing its
- disassociation with a multilevel marketing company called COIN.
-
- COIN stands for communications options integrated network, and,
- in return for a payment of UKP 35 plus the cost of a Mercury-
- equipped phone (typically another UKP 30), the company signs
- people up to its multilevel marketing scheme.
-
- The scheme works with participants agreeing to send copies of
- their long distance and international phone bills from Mercury to
- COIN. Coin then pays one percent commission on these calls to
- the previous five generations of agents, meaning the company
- effectively pays five percent commission to its agents.
-
- The scheme is made possible, according to Newsbytes'
- telecommunications trade sources, by Mercury paying a sliding
- scale of commission to its main agents for calls made by
- customers signed up by the agent.
-
- COIN does not appear to make any profits from the commission
- deal, since it is passing it on to its agents. The profits accrue
- from the sale of telephone hardware, along with the UKP 35
- registration fees.
-
- Newsbytes calculates that, with an average of UKP 70 spent per
- quarter on long distance and international calls (the average for
- BT subscribers), the COIN scheme would generate more than UKP
- 10,000 ($15,000) a year to a generation of agents who signed up
- five subscribers, who in turn each signed up five subscribers,
- and so on for the five generations.
-
- Mercury's problem is that multilevel marketing schemes of this
- type are dangerously close to the so-called pyramid selling schemes
- which swept the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s. Many of
- these pyramid selling schemes were made illegal in the
- UK in the early 1980s.
-
- COIN's scheme, while superficially appearing highly profitable,
- will only generate profits for the agents if new agents sign up
- as agents themselves. In addition, the overall population available
- limits the total possible number of agents who can be signed up,
- leaving a highly-dissatisfied number of agents on the bottom few
- tiers of the agency generation table, and a few very rich primary
- agents at the top.
-
- Mercury is advising the telecommunications trade, as well as the
- general public, that it is not associated with COIN, nor does it
- endorse the company's activities. Mercury is advising customers
- dissatisfied with COIN's activities to contact their local
- trading standards office in the UK.
-
- (Steve Gold/19900124/Press Contact: Susan Harley, Mercury
- Communications, Tel: 01-528-2106)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00064)
-
- GTE TO PROVIDE ROAMING BILLING IN BOSTON}
- TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- GTE
- Telecommunications Services has been awarded a contract with Cellular
- One-Boston to provide a settlement and exchange service.
-
- The service, called Access, allows a cellular provider to easily
- exchange calling and billing data about "roaming" customers with
- other mobile- telephone companies and develop financial and
- calling reports that can be shared with other mobile-telephone
- companies. Cellular One-Boston is a wholly owned subsidiary of
- Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: John G. Clemons, GTE
- Information Services, 813-273-4823)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00065)
-
- LARSE, CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE}
- LINCOLNSHIRE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A, 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Clear
- Communications and Larse announced a marketing and development
- agreement to deliver a wide-area network management system
- available for private networks using T-1 lines that move data at
- 1.544 megabits/second.
-
- Under the deal, Clear Communications will integrate its Clearview
- Surveillance System software with the Larse family of intelligent
- Channel Service Units and Integra-T network management software.
- Both companies will sell the bundled network management system,
- giving private network managers the first on-line, real-time
- information management capability for monitoring the performance
- of all the T1 links in their wide-area networks from a central
- location.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: George Norris, Clear
- Communications, (708) 317-2500; Anna Fijewski, Larse, (408) 988-
- 6600)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00066)
-
- MICROLOG, BELLATRIX TO FORM JOINT VENTURE FOR 900 SERVICE}
- GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Microlog
- and Bellatrix have announced plans for a joint venture that will
- create a service bureau for 900 services.
-
- The name chosen for the bureau may prove controversial: Micro-Bell.
- The nation's Bell companies must decide whether this name
- violates their trademarks on the Bell name for communications
- services.
-
- Bellatrix will act as the marketing arm of the venture with
- responsiblity for generating programs in the joint venture.
- Microlog will provide the voice response technology and the
- operation of the bureau.
-
- Telesphere Communications of Illinois will provide the 900
- network access to the venture's offices in New York City.
- Telesphere is a leading supplier of interactive 900 network
- services, as well as a long distance phone carrier and
- alternative operator company.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: J.G. Hartwell,
- Microlog, 301-428-9100; Michael Kaye, Bellatrix Communications,
- 201-586-0900; Paul Davies, Telesphere Communications, 708-954-
- 7700)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00067)
-
- RESURGENS, CHILLICOTHE TELEPHONE IN JOINT MARKETING EFFORT}
- ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Resurgens
- Communications Group and Chillicothe Telephone announced a joint
- marketing effort to provide operator and enhanced services to
- 1,900 independent local exchange companies and interexchange
- common carriers in the United States.
-
- Resurgens, which previously concentrated on winning control of
- pay phones for its operator and long distance services, will now
- try to become the main operators and long distance operator for rural
- phone companies, billing for credit card, collect and person-to-person
- calls.
-
- Chillicothe Telephone has been providing operator services since
- 1895 and is one of the largest privately owned telephone
- companies in the nation. Resurgens Communications Group processes
- and transmits operator-assisted long distance telephone calls
- from multi-telephone facilities such as hotels, hospitals and
- from pay telephones. Resurgens also has a subsidiary called
- Southern Cellular Telecomm, which sells and services cellular
- telephones, facsimile machines and other telecommunications
- products.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Michael P. Marshall,
- Resurgens Communications Group, 404-261-6190)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00068)
-
- MOLEX BUYS MAJORITY INTEREST IN FIBER OPTIC CONNECTOR COMPANY}
- LISLE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Molex, which is
- the world's leading maker of wire connectors, has announced the
- purchase of a majority interest in Fitech, a fiber optic
- connector manufacturer. The purchase price is undisclosed.
-
- Fitech was formed in 1988 in Des Plaines, Illinois, and will be renamed
- Molex Fiber Optic Interconnect Technologies. Molex had sales for
- its last fiscal year of $572 million.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Tom Lee, Molex,
- 312/969-4550)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00069)
-
- DALLAS TO GET FIBER TRUNK NETWORK}
- DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- MetroLink Group of
- Dallas entered into a $4.5 million contract with FiberLAN of
- Research Park, North Carolina, for the first phase of
- construction on a fiber phone network for the Dallas area.
-
- The fiber phone network will provide alternate local area telephone
- access to occupants of office building in the Dallas central business
- district.
-
- Construction of a metroplex-wide system linking major commercial
- and industrial centers will commence by the end of March.
- The network will connect major telecommunication users to their
- long distance carriers and interconnect to their local offices.
-
-
- To reduce costs of creating the system, Metrolink is leasing
- existing cable from Western Union, which it had been using since
- last June for connecting to MCI International Telecharge.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Neill Seeber, MetroLink
- Group, 214/701-9776)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00070)
-
- TELECOM USA FORMS 900 NUMBER SUBSIDIARY}
- ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Telecom USA
- has announced the formation of a new subsidary, Telecom USA
- Information Resources, based in Cedar Rapids, IA, which will
- create services for delivery over toll-free 800 and caller-paid
- 900 numbers.
-
- The new company has a full technical facility along with newsgathering
- and creative services. Its editorial department produces Voice News
- Network, a telephone information service offering financial news,
- current stock quotes, entertainment and sports news, and current
- weather conditions.
-
- Telecom USA introduced VNN in April 1989 as a talking yellow
- pages service and as a product enhancement to its long-distance
- network.
-
- Sarah E. Ordover has been named president of the new division.
- Previously, she worked with a number of domestic and European
- voice service bureaus mapping strategies for the introduction of
- 900 telephone service, most recently in Belgium.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Paul Thibeau, Telecom USA,
- 319/366-6600)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00071)
-
- AT&T INTRODUCES VOICEMARK MESSAGING SERVICE}
- ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- AT&T has announced
- a new voice messaging service accessible from any phone in the
- world.
-
- There are no sign-up fees or monthly charges for the
- VoiceMark Messaging Service. Customers simply dial 800-562-6275,
- and follow the easy instructions to record and send a one-minute
- personal message. Messages can be scheduled for delivery
- immediately or up to a week later. Recipients can record a one-
- minute reply at no extra charge.
-
- AT&T is initially marketing it in the greater Atlanta area. The
- company said it will promote VoiceMark Service in other areas of
- the country as it expands the system.
-
- Within the United States, VoiceMark Service prices are $1.75 for
- automated delivery, or $2.50 for the person-to-person delivery in
- which an attendant personally introduces the message to a
- specified person. There are no toll charges; the distance the
- message travels does not affect the price of the service. Prices
- for sending VoiceMark Service messages overseas vary by country.
- Customers can charge their messages to MasterCard or Visa. In
- the nine-state region served by BellSouth, they also can use
- their AT&T card.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Bill Blair, AT&T, 404-
- 873-7241)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00072)
-
- GTE TELEMESSAGER, R.R. DONNELLEY TO ROLL OUT READING SYSTEM}
- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- GTE
- TeleMessager and R.R. Donnelley & Sons will test an interactive
- voice response (IVR) system designed to help functionally illiterate
- adults learn to read. The test will begin February 1.
-
- The system allows adults enrolled in the Literacy Volunteers of
- America literacy-improvement programs to call a toll-free
- telephone number and identify words they don't recognize. Using a
- telephone touch pad, they enter a word, and the IVR system
- pronounces it. R.R. Donnelley has filed for a patent on the
- system.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Barbara Ward, GTEIS,
- (813) 273-4801; James M. Ratcliffe, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, (312)
- 326-8030)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00073)
-
- LONG DISTANCE INDEPENDENTS PRAISE AT&T TARIFF SUSPENSION}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- The chairman of
- a coalition of independent long distance companies has praised a
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision that suspended an AT&T
- tariff giving discounts to individual customers.
-
- AT&T's Tariff 15, which was offered to only one customer, was suspended
- for 5 months on Jan. 19. It marked AT&T's second attempt to
- implement customer-specific rates under Tariff 15.
-
- "If last week's decision in any indication, it appears that the
- FCC under new Chairman Al Sikes is more willing to meet its
- regulatory responsibilities toward AT&T -- and that's good news
- for consumers and anyone interested in preserving competition in
- the long distance marketplace," said Lawrence A McLernon, ceo
- of LiTel Telecommunications Corp. and chairman of Fiber Optic
- Competition U.S., a coalition of seven independent long distance
- companies. "We fully expect Tariff 15 to be rejected as a result
- of the investigation that the FCC will now conduct. We are also
- calling on the FCC to suspend further AT&T custom tariffs while
- the commission undertakes its comprehensive investigation of
- AT&T's marketplace practices," said McLernon.
-
- In addition to LiTel, FOCUS is comprised of: Advanced
- Telecommunications Corp., Atlanta, GA; Cable & Wireless Inc., Vienna,
- VA; Metromedia Long Distance, Secaucus, NJ; RCI Corp,
- Rochester, NY; Telecom USA Inc., Atlanta, GA; and the Williams
- Telecommunications Group Inc., Tulsa, OK.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00074)
-
- NEW PRODUCT: TELEFILE INTROS HIGH END X.25 PACKET SWITCH}
- IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 15 (NB) -- Telefile has
- unveiled the T397X Mega-Switch intelligent network processor that
- uses the high speed 68020 microprocessor and VME EUROBUS
- architecture to accommodate as many as 102 trunks per cabinet and
- contain up to 60 circuit board slots.
-
- The Mega-Switch provides a total X.25 packet switching system
- including the physical, link and x.25 network protocol layers. It
- is housed in a 19 inch chassis, a relatively small footprint.
- The heart of the switch is Telefile's proprietary high-speed
- Channel Interface Unit (CIU) that interconnects multiples of
- Telefile's smaller Tele-Switch units to create Mega-Switch. Even
- with the multiple Tele-Switches involved, the Mega-Switch can
- still be addressed as a single node. Multiple Mega-Switches can
- be configured to create global network backbones providing major
- nodal switching for large private, public or government networks.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Brian Edens, Telefile,
- 714-250-1830)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00075)
-
- FIRST 80486 CHIP SET AVAILABLE TO MANUFACTURERS}
- FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- The first set
- of chips based around Intel's newest 80486 microprocessor
- is being shipped by Headland Technologies.
-
- The HIT 486 set, which include support for the EISA, or
- Extended Industry Standard Architecture, bus, consists of a
- peripheral controller chip, a CPU (central processor) and memory
- controller chip, a bus interface bridge chip, and an 80486 CPU
- interface chip. All a computer manufacturer needs to do to
- beat the rest of the block to market with an 80486-based
- system is to add a microprocessor keyboard controller,
- real-time clock, memory, and six external TTL devices.
- The HIT 486 chip set supports up to 24 megabytes of memory,
- shadow RAM (random access memory) for system and video
- BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) as well as 128 kilobytes
- or 64 kilobytes of EPROM (erasable programmable read-only
- memory) space.
-
- "Our early development and shipment of the HIT 486 will
- provide manufacturers who are quick on their feet an early lead
- in bringing 486 technology into new systems," boasts Joe Nance,
- product manager.
-
- The cost is $110 in volume.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900123/Press Contact: Martha Flock, Headland,
- 415-623-7857)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00002)
-
- EPA PANEL APPROVES SUBSITUTE FOR OZONE-KILLING CFC-113}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- The U.S. Environmental
- Protection Agency panel has approved the first subsitute for
- chlorofluorocarbon 113 (CFC-113), a chemical used to clean computer
- parts, but also known to be destroying the earth's ozone layer.
-
- The EPA's panel of 230 industry experts has verified that Genesolv
- 2010, made by Allied Signal-Genesolv/Baron Blakeslee, does not
- pose a threat to the ozone layer. Genesolv is composed of hydrochloro-
- fluorocarbons, or HCFCs, which are said to be safer.
-
- If further EPA testing, underway now, verifies the findings, the
- agency will give blanket approval for widespread use.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900123)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00076)
-
- COMPLEMENT ANNOUNCES COMPUTER TRAINING BREAKTHROUGH}
- AMERICAN FORK, UTAH, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- A significant
- advance in multimedia computer-based training (CBT) has been
- announced by Complement Corp. The company's CBT employs
- audio/video digital compression technology to get real-time
- software audio and video without any elaborate hardware
- accessories.
-
- Previously, the top CBT technology used laser video discs and
- hardware add-ons for audio/video display. Now any 286 or faster
- IBM-compatible with a VGA monitor can be used to run software,
- and any digital network can transmit information modules but not
- laser discs.
-
- The new CBT also cuts training expenses. It now takes only 10
- days and $70,000 maximum to complete 30 minutes of training
- versus the old maximum rates of 180 days and $250.000, and
- modifications can be done in a day whereas laser disc changes
- took up to two months.
-
- Complement Corp. also expects to break into the lucrative U.S.
- CBT market, now nearly $50 billion; short-term financing should
- be available this month to help meet deadlines on recently inked
- contracts.
-
- (Beth Goldie/1990123/Press Contact: David J. Card, Future 500
- Corp., 801-225-5433)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(ATL)(00077)
-
- MOTOROLA RELEASES AT&T UNIX FOR ITS CHIPS}
- AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 22 (NB) -- Motorola has announced
- the availability of the AT&T UNIX System V, Release 4 Application
- Binary Interface for the Motorola 88000 and 68000 chips. This is
- the first available UNIX System V Release 4 ABI for a non-AT&T
- architecture and is a result of an agreement signed between
- Motorola and AT&T in April of 1988.
-
- An ABI is a set of specifications that allow UNIX System V
- Release 4-based application software programs to run
- interchangeably on different computers based on a given CPU
- architecture. The ABI standard allows hardware and software
- vendors and developers to efficiently share applications for UNIX
- systems operating on Motorola microprocessor products.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900123/Press Contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola,
- 512-891-2839)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00078)
-
- NETWORK NEWS: OSI-COMPLIANT NET PRODUCTS FROM NCR}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- NCR's new set of
- OSI-compliant network management and communications products for
- its Unix-based NCR Tower computers is a major component of NCR's
- open systems strategy for multi-vendor networking, connectivity
- and interoperability.
-
- The new products include NCR Tower OSI Networking, a full
- complement of OSI communications products; NCRMail, a fully
- featured X.400 compliant message handling system that runs on NCR
- Tower and NCR System 10000 ITX-based systems; and NCRNet Manager,
- an integrated, enterprise-wide network management system for
- users of Token Ring and Ethernet LANs (local area networks) and
- X.25 wide-area networks.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900124/Press Contact: Dave Sacash, NCR, 513-
- 445-4168)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00079)
-
- NEW FOR UNIX: SONY SHOWS MAC AND MS-DOS NETWORK SERVER}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- Sony Microsystems
- has demonstrated its Worknetting Server for the first time at
- UniForum 1990. It is an easy-to-install network server which
- allows Macintosh and MS-DOS network users to access Unix systems
- without any Unix experience and also allows users to integrate
- Sony's optical storage products in their Mac and MS-DOS systems.
-
- Based on Sony's NEWS Unix workstations and uShare, a Unix-to-PC
- network software system from Information Presentation
- Technologies, the Worknetting Server supports all Macintosh
- computers over TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
- Protocol), LocalTalk, and EtherTalk networks.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/Press Contact: Carol Byram, Sony, 408-
- 434-6644)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00080)
-
- NEW FOR UNIX: STRATUS INTROS COMPATIBLE OPERATING SYSTEM}
- WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Stratus Computer has
- introduced FTX, a Unix System V, Rel. 3.2-compatible operating
- system for its XA2000 Continuous Processing Systems, the fault-
- tolerant computer line which Stratus already markets world-wide
- for transaction processing and other critical computer
- applications.
-
- FTX will open up entirely new markets to Stratus in those
- government and telecommunications applications where Unix is
- considered the standard operating system.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/Press Contact: Pam Laufer, Stratus, 508-
- 460-2952)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00081)
-
- MIPS LAUNCHES FEDERAL MARKETING EFFORT}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- In another of the
- flood of announcements at this week's UniForum 1990, MIPS
- Computer Systems has announced that Frank S. Madren will head a
- new federal marketing program.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/Press Contact: Beverly Jerman, MIPS, 703-
- 524-6400)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(WAS)(00082)
-
- FALCON TO SELL MIPS SYSTEMS}
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 23 (NB) -- Falcon
- Microsystems, a major vendor to the federal government under the
- GSA Schedule C discount pricing contract, was selected by MIPS
- Computer Systems to handle the entire MIP RISComputer line from
- MIPS, broadening last fall's announcement that Falcon would
- handle the MIPS RC234 deskside file server.
-
- Falcon, the leading seller of Macintosh systems to the
- government, will now be able to give their customers "the best of
- all possible worlds" by using Macintosh computers as the user
- interface for powerful RISC-based servers, according to M. Dendy
- Young, ceo of Landover, Maryland-based Falcon Microsystems.
-
- (John McCormick/1990124/Press Contact: Beverly Jerman, MIPS, 703-
- 524-6400)
-
-
- (INDEX)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00083)
-
- NEWSBYTES INDEX/January 25, 1990/Issue #346}
- SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 24 (NB) -- The stories
- for the mid-week edition of Newsbytes are as follows:
-
- =====
-
- APPLE
-
- =====
-
- MAC GETS "ON LOCATION"
-
- Mitchell Kapor, co-founder and chairman of ON Technology Inc.,
- a producer of Apple Macintosh software applications, has announced
- that On Location, the company's initial offering, will ship in
- a few weeks.
-
- FARALLON ADDS HEAVY-HITTERS TO STAFF
-
- Farallon Computing has snared two industry giants for its engineering
- staff -- Jay Fenton, developer of Macromind's Videoworks, and
- Robert Parisseau, primary software designer of the Amiga computer.
-
- NEW FOR MAC: INTERFAX MODEM SENDS FAXES/HAS 2400 BAUD
-
- Abaton is currently shipping the InterFax 24/96 fax and data
- modem for the Macintosh.
-
- NEW FOR MAC: EMPOWER I OFFERS FILE SECURITY
-
- Magna has added Empower I to its line of security products. A
- scaled-down version of Empower II, it offers a range of features
- to control and monitor the use of the Macintosh.
-
- ========
-
- BUSINESS
-
- ========
-
- BRITISH TELECOM PLANS TO SELL MITEL STAKE
-
- British Telecom is interested in selling its 51-per-cent stake
- in Mitel, the telecommunications equipment maker based here.
-
- EVERNET NOW NATIONAL NETWORKING PROVIDER
-
- Evernet Systems has announced its formation as a national provider
- of networking services, designing, selling, installing, servicing
- and maintaining local area and wide area networks.
-
- BUSINESSLAND BOOMS INTO RENTAL MARKET
-
- Businessland has launched into the fast-growing computer rental
- market with the opening of Businessland Rents in Los Angeles.
-
- CRAY SAID TO BE BUYING GIGABIT LOGIC
-
- A report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicates
- that Cray Computer Corp. has begun negotiations to buy certain
- assets of GigaBit Logic of Newbury Park, CA for 1.65 million
- Cray shares plus surrender cancelation of 200,000 of Class A
- preferred stock of GigaBit.
-
- TALKS BETWEEN CIPHER AND ARCHIVE TO RESUME
-
- Cipher Data Products and Archive Corp. have announced their intention
- to resume talks in Archive's bid to takeover Cipher.
-
- GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS, BT TYMNET SIGN RESELLER AGREEMENT
-
- Gateway Communications signed a reseller agreement with BT Tymnet,
- under which it will sell its line of X.25 gateways and bridges/routers
- as part of BT Tymnet's PC LAN network services.
-
- WESTERN DIGITAL RELEASES 2ND QUARTER FISCAL RESULTS
-
- Western Digital has reported net income of $8.6 million (29
- cents per share) on revenue of $264.9 million for the second
- quarter ended December 30, 1989. This compares with net income
- of $12.7 million (44 cents per share) on revenue of $258.4 million
- for the same period in 1989.
-
- CSA'S NEW ZEALAND SUBSIDIARY SOLD TO PAXUS
-
- Following a disappointing performance by its subsidiary over
- several years, systems developer Computer Sciences of Australia
- [CSA] has sold its New Zealand subsidiary to Paxus Corp for an
- undisclosed sum. CSA's New Zealand subsidiary employs 110 and
- had revenues of AUS$14M last year.
-
- DEC RESEARCH INITIATIVE ADDS MASPAR
-
- Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) has announced the addition of MasPar
- Computer Corp. to the Data-Parallel Research Initiative, which
- already boasts DEC and Thinking Machines Corp. as members. MasPar's
- membership will enable colleges/universities and certain research
- facilities in the U.S. and Europe to purchase discounted MasPar
- data-parallel systems for research into parallel applications.
-
- IPL VENTURES ABROAD
-
- IPL Systems Inc. has announced the opening of the company's new
- office in Zaventem, Belgium, a Brussels suburb.
-
- STRATUS REPORTS 89 REVENUE UP 29 PERCENT
-
- Stratus Computer has reported earnings of $35.4 million for fiscal
- year (FY) 1989 on revenues of $341.3 million. Earnings were up
- 21 percent from FY 88 and revenues were up 29 percent, with per
- share earnings for FY 89 reaching $1.71 verses $1.45 for the
- previous year.
-
- COMPUTER ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCES HIGHER THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
-
- Unlike some other major companies who have had recently reported
- declining profits, Computer Associates International has announced
- pre-tax earnings of $104 million for the third quarter, up $4
- million over the comparable period last year, despite a 4 percent
- decline in gross revenues.
-
- ICL WINS BIG POLICE CONTRACT IN HONGKONG
-
- ICL Hongkong has won a contract worth $2.5 million to supply
- a turnkey criminal records system to the Royal Hongkong Police
- Force (RHKFP).
-
- JAPANESE BANK CHOOSES MICROGNOSIS TRADING INFORMATION SYSTEM
-
- The Industrial Bank of Japan (IBJ) in Hongkong has installed
- an advanced trading room information network supplied by dealer
- system specialist Micrognosis.
-
- EQUATION NOT GOLD FOR MIDAS IN MACAU
-
- Banco Commercial De Macau (BCM) has decided to abandon BIS Banking
- Systems' Midas in favor of a $1.3 million hardware and software
- package from Commercial Software Services Ltd (CSSL).
-
- SHIELDS NAMED AS NEW PRIME EXEC
-
- Prime Computer's Chief Executive Officer, James F. McDonald,
- has announced "the appointment of John J. Shields as president
- and chief operating officer." Shields was formerly a senior vice
- president at Digital Engineering Corporation with 28 years of
- service.
-
- NEW AUSTRALIAN MD FOR PRIME AS COMPANY PLANS GROWTH
-
- Tony Weber has been appointed Managing Director in Australia
- by Prime Computer.
-
- NCR NAMES NEW MARKETING CHIEF FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA
-
- NCR has appointed Michael Jones, who has been serving as Pacific
- Group EDP marketing manager, retail systems at its Dayton, OH
- headquarters, as area marketing manager for the Southeast Asian
- region.
-
- NORTHERN TELECOM PROFIT DOUBLES
-
- Northern Telecom has reported a US$376.5-million 1989 profit,
- a bit more than double its US$183.2-million 1988 figure. Revenue
- rose to US$6.1 billion from US$5.4 billion.
-
- ACER BUYS INTO KANGAROO COMPUTERS
-
- In an unexpected move, Acer, the Taiwanese computer manufacturer,
- has acquired Kangaroo Computers, the Dutch computer company.
- Terms of the deal have not been announced.
-
- COMPANY REPORTS FOR MONDAY JANUARY 22, 1990
-
- Computer companies are reporting results this week. Among them:
-
- ASIAN STOCKS FINISH MIXED
-
- Asian stocks closed mixed with the Hang Seng index down 9.22
- points to finish at 2,762.43 on Tuesday, 23 Jan.1990.
-
- MONDAY'S NEW YORK STOCKS CLOSE DOWN 77.23 POINTS
-
- Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by more than
- 75 points causing analysts start talking of a "black Monday in
- January" with millions of dollars-worth of paper assets disappearing
- into a void.
-
- LONDON STOCKS FINISH LOWER: MONDAY, 22 JANUARY
-
- London stocks followed the lead set by Wall Street, falling
- 37.9 points, adding considerably to the 45 points fall recorded
- last week. (The Financial Times 100 index is seen by British
- investors as the barometer for the British economy).
-
- COMPANY REPORTS FOR TUESDAY JANUARY 23, 1990
-
- Computer companies are reporting results this week. Among them:
-
- LONDON STOCKS CLOSE HIGHER ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1990
-
- London stocks closed a little higher after the market tried hard
- to keep on the positive side the whole day. The FT 100 share
- index finished up slightly at 2,296.8.
-
- NEW YORK STOCKS REVERSE TREND, FINISH SLIGHTLY UP
-
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) ended a series of declines
- finishing the day on Tuesday slightly up at 2,615.31, a rise
- of 14.86 points.
-
- =======
-
- GENERAL
-
- =======
-
- NOVELL GIVES $5,000 TO SOFTWARE ENTREPRENEUR FORUM
-
- Novell, Inc. has given a grant of $5,000 to the Software Entrepreneur's
- Forum (SEF) becoming its first Industry Benefactor.
-
- ATARI PORTFOLIO II IN THE WINGS?
-
- According to the CPU News Confidential weekly newsletter, available
- for download on a growing number of US BBSs (bulletin board services),
- Atari may be about to announce the Portfolio II, an 80286-based
- version of its popular pocket PC machine.
-
- INFOTECH BONANZA FOR STUDENTS IN HONGKONG
-
- Hongkong students are the subject of a Lunar New Year special
- offer of computers and software from Gilman Office Machines.
-
- AWARDS FOR CANADIAN SCIENTISTS
-
- Among recipients of this year's E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships
- are Canadian researchers working on semiconductors and artificial
- intelligence. The fellowships, awarded by Canada's Natural Sciences
- and Engineering Research Council, replace a professor's salary
- for one or two years and may provide additional research funding.
-
- ATARI LYNX CONSOLE READY FOR UK UNVEILING THIS WEEKEND
-
- Atari will launch its Lynx hand-held games unit in the UK this
- weekend at the annual toy fair in London. The machine itself,
- currently selling well in the US, will not ship to retailers,
- however, until late March/early April at the earliest, according
- to informed sources.
-
- NIXDORF TO AXE 5000 JOBS
-
- Nixdorf has announced plans to cut around 5,000 jobs in the next
- few months. The job cuts are a bid to lower overhead and thus
- stem losses.
-
- AUSTRALIAN SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTORS RELEASE ANTI-PIRACY MANUAL
-
- The Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA) has released
- the first edition of its "Software Compliance Manual," aimed
- at educating corporate PC users in the legal use and respect
- of proprietary software. Three thousand copies have been issued
- to the top 1000 Australian companies, all state and federal government
- departments, legal and accounting companies and tertiary institutions.
-
- NEW PRODUCT: TI'S 1505 68030-BASED COMPUTER
-
- Texas Instruments has released its Model 1505 computer based
- on Motorola's 68030 processor as the newest member of the company's
- 1500 computer family that now serves from eight to 256 active
- users with a single set of software running on the TI System
- V operating system.
-
- AST RESEARCH UPS BOARD LEVEL DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
-
- AST Research has added new responsibilities to its Enhancement
- Products Division, naming that unit to explore board-level opportunities
- for advanced systems.
-
- NETWORK NEWS: CMC ANNOUNCES VMEBUS FDDI INTERFACES AVAILABLE
-
- Rockwell International subsidiary CMC has announced general customer
- availability of its first VMEbus FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data
- Interface) network.
-
- NETWORK NEWS: ADIC ASSUMES PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION OF NOVELL DCB
-
- ADIC has taken over the production and distribution of Novell's
- Disk Coprocessor Board (DCB) products, which are now to be known
- as ADIC/Novell DCB.
-
- NEW PRODUCT: MOVE OVER AGATHA CHRISTIE--SYSTEM SLEUTH 2.0 IS HERE
-
- Now that Dariana Technology Group has begun shipping the newest
- version of System Sleuth, distributor Softsel Computer Products
- is exclusively offering special introductory pricing.
-
- NETWORK NEWS: QUATTRO PRO LAN PACK FROM BORLAND ANNOUNCED
-
- Network users can now take full advantage of the advanced spreadsheet
- program, Quattro Pro, by licensing Quattro Pro LAN Pack from
- Borland International. The Quattro Pro LAN Pack can be licensed
- to allow an additional user on a local area network to share
- a single copy of the program.
-
- NETWORK NEWS: SNMP-BASED NETWORK MONITOR FROM NOVELL
-
- The LANalyzer Products Division of Novell has introduced LANtern,
- a remote network monitor that uses an open standard network
- management protocol (SNMP).
-
- NETWORK NEWS: A FILE MANAGER EXCLUSIVELY FOR LANS FROM SABER
-
- Saber Software has announced Saber File Manager, a file management
- tool designed and engineered specifically for use in local area
- networks (LANs).
-
- TENNESSEE STUDENTS CRACK COMPUTER TO CHANGE SCHEDULES
-
- About 200 students learned the password for a University of
- Tennessee computer that maintained class schedules, rearranging
- their own classes for over a year.
-
- =========================
-
- GOVERNMENT AND THE COURTS
-
- =========================
-
- MORRIS FOUND GUILTY IN WORM TRIAL
-
- After only a few hours of deliberation, the jury in the worm
- trial of Robert Tappan Morris, a 24-year-old former Cornell graduate
- student, found Mr. Morris guilty of computer tampering in the
- Internet computer network crash of November 1988. Mr. Morris,
- who has admitted creating and releasing the worm but denied that
- he intended any harm, will return to court at an as yet unspecified
- date to face sentencing.
-
- PROMISE SEEN IN CANADIAN SOFTWARE FUNDING IDEA
-
- Canadian computer industry and banking groups have reacted with
- cautious approval to a proposal for financing software research
- and development in this country.
-
- EUROPEAN COMMISSION TAXES FAR EASTERN CD PLAYERS
-
- The European Commission (EC) has announced it is imposing anti-dumping
- levies on compact disk (CD) players imported into Europe with
- immediate effect.
-
- ===
-
- IBM
-
- ===
-
- KENTUCKY SETS UP MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
-
- The University of Kentucky has set up a Computer Integrated
- Manufacturing (CIM) program, with help from a $750,000 donation
- of computer hardware,software and technical support from IBM.
-
- IBM ENTERS IAR AGREEMENT WITH NETWORK SOFTWARE
-
- IBM's Manufacturing Systems Products (MSP) division has entered
- into an Industrial Application Remarketer (IAR) agreement with
- Network Software Associates (NSA), the first company to be named
- to this capacity by IBM for the ARTIC family of co-processor
- boards.
-
- NEW FOR IBM PS/2: DAYNA COMMUNICATIONS SHIPS LOCALTALK
-
- Dayna Communications has announced the shipping of DaynaTalk
- MC LocalTalk network interface card for IBM PS/2 Micro Channel
- computers and compatibles.
-
- NEW PRODUCT: 2ND GENERATION CACHE MEMORY CONTROLLER FOR 386sx
-
- Australian microelectronics developer Austek is in the process
- of final testing on its new Microcache chip. The company claims
- its A38202SX integrated circuit incorporates all features of
- its earlier models and in addition is optimized for the 80386sx
- microprocessor, now found in many mid- to high-end PCs.
-
- IBM CONTRIBUTES AUS$8M TO TRAIN PROS FOR INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA
-
- In a move to alleviate the drastic shortage of professionals
- in the Australian information industry, IBM has joined the New
- South Wales (NSW) state Department of Technical and Further
- Education [TAFE] in developing the Computer Industry and Training
- Corp [CITC].
-
- NETWORK NEWS: NEW DRIVER ENHANCES SMART AT AND MC RINGNODES
-
- Madge Networks Inc. has introduced a software driver to enhance
- the performance of its Smart AT and Smart MC Ringnodes.
-
- NEW FOR IBM: TREETOP HARD DISK FILE MANAGER
-
- Kilgore Software has announced TreeTop, a DOS utility that provides
- hard disk file and directory management.
-
- NEW FOR IBM: PRINT TWO PAGES ON ONE SHEET WITH TREESAVER
-
- Discoversoft has begun shipment of TreeSaver DJ, a memory-resident
- software utility for the HP DeskJet printer. TreeSaver DJ features
- existing software to print two pages on one sheet of paper.
-
- NEW FOR IBM: SPELL CHECKERS FOR PROGRAMMERS
-
- Geller Software Laboratories has released SpellCode, a spell
- checking software geared specifically to programmers and database
- and spreadsheet users.
-
- IBM RELIEF GRANTED TO GHANAIAN FARMERS
-
- TechnoServe, a worldwide non-profit relief agency encouraging
- self-sufficiency, has announced that it will receive an IBM grant
- worth $280,000, some 90 percent of which, all cash, is slated
- for Ghanaian agricultural support programs, staff, and services.
- The remaining 10 percent will establish agricultural cooperatives
- where Ghanaian farmers can get on-the-job instruction and use
- IBM computers and printers to keep abreast of market and production
- data.
-
- NEW FOR IBM: MAXIMIZER VERSION 2.0
-
- Richmond Software plans to begin shipping version 2.0 of The
- Maximizer on February 20. The upgraded contact management software
- will have a number of new features for an increased price tag
- according to company spokeswoman Janette Peters.
-
- =================
-
- TELECOMMUNICATIONS
-
- =================
-
- AT&T RELEASES PROCEDURES FOR SERIOUS SERVICE DISRUPTIONS
-
- As part of its continuing apology for the Jan. 15 break-down
- of its network, AT&T has announced that, in the future, it will
- provide access information for other long distance carriers
- should its network break down again. The company also has asked
- the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to let it make Valentine's
- Day, Feb.14, a holiday, offering holiday rates for phone calls
- around the country.
-
- MERCURY DISASSOCIATES ITSELF FROM "PYRAMID" SCHEME
-
- Mercury Communications, the supplier of alternative long-distance
- and international telephone service to domestic and small business
- subscribers in the UK, has taken the unprecedented step of announcing
- its disassociation with a multi-level marketing company called
- COIN.
-
- GTE TO PROVIDE ROAMING BILLING IN BOSTON
-
- GTE Telecommunications Services has been awarded a contract
- with Cellular One-Boston to provide a settlement and exchange
- service. The service, called Access, allows a cellular provider
- to easily exchange calling and billing data about "roaming"
- customers with other mobile- telephone companies and develop
- financial and calling reports that can be shared with other
- mobile-telephone companies. Cellular One-Boston is a wholly
- owned subsidiary of Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems.
-
- LARSE, CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE
-
- Clear Communications and Larse announced a marketing and development
- agreement to deliver a wide-area network management system
- available for private networks using T-1 lines that move data
- at 1.544 megabits/second.
-
- MICROLOG, BELLATRIX TO FORM JOINT VENTURE FOR 900 SERVICE
-
- Microlog and Bellatrix have announced plans for a joint venture
- that will create a service bureau for 900 services.
-
- RESURGENS, CHILLICOTHE TELEPHONE IN JOINT MARKETING EFFORT
-
- Resurgens Communications Group and Chillicothe Telephone announced
- a joint marketing effort to provide operator and enhanced services
- to 1,900 independent local exchange companies and interexchange
- common carriers in the United States.
-
- MOLEX BUYS MAJORITY INTEREST IN FIBER OPTIC CONNECTOR COMPANY
-
- Molex, which is the world's leading maker of wire connectors,
- has announced the purchase of a majority interest in Fitech,
- a fiber optic connector manufacturer. The purchase price is
- undisclosed.
-
- DALLAS TO GET FIBER TRUNK NETWORK
-
- MetroLink Group of Dallas entered into a $4.5 million contract
- with FiberLAN of Research Park, North Carolina, for the first
- phase of construction on a fiber phone network for the Dallas
- area.
-
- TELECOM USA FORMS 900 NUMBER SUBSIDIARY
-
- Telecom USA has announced the formation of a new subsidary,
- Telecom USA Information Resources, based in Cedar Rapids, IA,
- which will create services for delivery over toll-free 800 and
- caller-paid 900 numbers.
-
- AT&T INTRODUCES VOICEMARK MESSAGING SERVICE
-
- AT&T has announced a new voice messaging service accessible
- from any phone in the world.
-
- GTE TELEMESSAGER, R.R. DONNELLEY TO ROLL OUT READING SYSTEM
-
- GTE TeleMessager and R.R. Donnelley & Sons will test an interactive
- voice response (IVR) system designed to help functionally illiterate
- adults learn to read. The test will begin February 1.
-
- LONG DISTANCE INDEPENDENTS PRAISE AT&T TARIFF SUSPENSION
-
- The chairman of a coalition of independent long distance companies
- has praised a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision
- that suspended an AT&T tariff giving discounts to individual
- customers.
-
- NEW PRODUCT: TELEFILE INTROS HIGH END X.25 PACKET SWITCH
-
- Telefile has unveiled the T397X Mega-Switch intelligent network
- processor that uses the high speed 68020 microprocessor and VME
- EUROBUS architecture to accommodate as many as 102 trunks per
- cabinet and contain up to 60 circuit board slots.
-
- =====================
-
- TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGY
-
- =====================
-
- FIRST 80486 CHIP SET AVAILABLE TO MANUFACTURERS
-
- The first set of chips based around Intel's newest 80486 microprocessor
- is being shipped by Headland Technologies.
-
- COMPLEMENT ACHIEVES CBT BREAKTHROUGH
-
- A significant advance in multimedia computer-based training (CBT)
- has been announced by Complement Corp. The company's CBT employs
- audio/video digital compression technology to get real-time software
- audio and video without any elaborate hardware accessories.
-
- ====
-
- UNIX
-
- ====
-
- MOTOROLA RELEASES AT&T UNIX FOR ITS CHIPS
-
- Motorola has announced the availability of the AT&T UNIX System
- V, Release 4 Application Binary Interface for the Motorola 88000
- and 68000 chips. This is the first available UNIX System V Release
- 4 ABI for a non-AT&T architecture and is a result of an agreement
- signed between Motorola and AT&T in April of 1988.
-
- NETWORK NEWS: OSI-COMPLIANT NET PRODUCTS FROM NCR
-
- NCR's new set of OSI-compliant network management and communications
- products for its Unix-based NCR Tower computers is a major component
- of NCR's open systems strategy for multi-vendor networking, connectivity
- and interoperability.
-
- NEW FOR UNIX: SONY SHOWS MAC AND MS-DOS NETWORK SERVER
-
- Sony Microsystems has demonstrated its Worknetting Server for
- the first time at UniForum 1990. It is an easy-to-install network
- server which allows Macintosh and MS-DOS network users to access
- Unix systems without any Unix experience and also allows users
- to integrate Sony's optical storage products in their Mac and
- MS-DOS systems.
-
- NEW FOR UNIX: STRATUS INTROS COMPATIBLE OPERATING SYSTEM
-
- Stratus Computer has introduced FTX, a Unix System V, Rel. 3.2-compatible
- operating system for its XA2000 Continuous Processing Systems,
- the fault- tolerant computer line which Stratus already markets
- world-wide for transaction processing and other critical computer
- applications.
-
- MIPS LAUNCHES FEDERAL MARKETING EFFORT
-
- In another of the flood of announcements at this week's UniForum
- 1990, MIPS Computer Systems has announced that Frank S. Madren
- will head a new federal marketing program.
-
- FALCON TO SELL MIPS SYSTEMS
-
- Falcon Microsystems, a major vendor to the federal government
- under the GSA Schedule C discount pricing contract, was selected
- by MIPS Computer Systems to handle the entire MIP RISComputer
- line from MIPS, broadening last fall's announcement that Falcon
- would handle the MIPS RC234 deskside file server.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900125)
-