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- (NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00001)
-
- NETWISE ANNOUNCES RPC FOR MAINFRAMES, MACS AND AN RPC DEBUGGER
- BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Netwise has
- broadened its product line with three new offerings, remote
- procedure call (RPC) support for IBM mainframes, RPC support
- for Macintoshes and an analysis and debugging tool for developing
- RPC-based applications.
-
- Mainframe RPC, which integrates IBM mainframes with workstations
- and minicomputers, is available for IBM or compatible mainframes
- with MVS architecture, CICS and VTAM. It can also be used with
- PCs running the DCA/Microsoft Select Communications Server or
- Workstation, PCs running IBM OS/2 Extended Edition (both of which
- include APPC/LU6.2 network software), Sun3/Sun4 architecture
- running SunOS with SunLink SNA peer-to-peer and DEC VAX
- architecture running VMS and DECnet/SNA VMS APPC/LU6.2.
-
- According to the company, its RPC Tool for the Macintosh on
- TCP/IP marks the first time remote procedure call technology
- has been available for Apple platforms. The Macintosh RPC Tool
- allows Mac applications to interoperate transparently across
- a TCP/IP network with applications running on diverse systems.
-
- The RCP Monitor is a graphical analysis tool that complements the
- RPC tool product line by allowing developers to manage and
- debug RPC-based applications.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900904/Press Contact: Anne Theriault, Netwise,
- 303-442-8280)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00002)
-
- TECHNOLOGY STOCKS: Market Report, Wednesday, Sep 5
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Technology stocks
- split in two with New York issues falling slightly and
- OTC shares rising sharply. The Dow ended down .99
- points to 2613.37.
-
- Among major stocks, IBM was slightly up 67.5 cents, AT&T
- was down 37.5 cents to $32 and GE was down 75 cents to $61.25.
-
- Over the counter stocks were flying high with some of them
- making up for all the losses suffered in the past.
- Intel was the most active stock on news that Advanced
- Micro Devices is cloning the 386 chip. AMD had previously
- said to Newsbytes that cloning the 386 is very difficult
- and would take time. Intel closed up 12.5 cents to
- $33.50.
-
- Microsoft was up 75 cents to $62.25, Adobe Systems was up by
- $3.125 after news that the company is back in good terms
- with Apple Computer on its Postscript language. The issue
- closed at $28.125. Apple Computer was unchanged at $37.
- Sun Microsystems was up 25 cents to $29 and Conner
- Peripherals was up $1 to $21.675.
-
- (John Verhelst/19900904)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00002)
-
- TECHNOLOGY STOCKS: Business News, Wednesday, Sep 5
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Companies in the
- news include: ADOBE, AW COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INTEL,
- PHILIPS, NORTHWEST TELEPRODUCTIONS.
-
- [] ADOBE signed a letter of intent for a licensing agreement
- with Apple Computer for its Postscript software and its
- future implementations on Apple printers. Adobe and Apple
- have achieved success in providing users with innovative
- Postscript software products.
-
- [] AW COMPUTER SYSTEMS announced a $125,000 private placement
- with four investors at 15 percent and maturing on Feb 28,
- 1992. The company provides high performance point-of-sale
- and inventory control systems for major US retailers.
-
- [] INTEL is to face stiff competition from three companies
- which will be introducing clones to the 386 processor chip.
- Advanced Micro Devices, Chips & Technologies, and NexGen
- Microsystems are to introduce these devices over the next
- twelve months. AMD's chip is already in beta test format
- and sources within the company indicate that it works better
- then the Intel counterpart as the company has optimized
- many of Intel's instructions. The same sources indicated that
- the new AMD part will have a top speed of 45 MHz, well
- above the 33MHz of Intel. NexGen said that its chips will be
- available in 1991 and will also offer a 486 compatible
- product (which is an 386 with a built-in math coprocessor).
- AMD is currently trying to lobby the courts and thus win the
- battle with Intel over an agreement for licensing which
- includes the 286 chip and, AMD claims, the 386 chip.
-
- [] PHILIPS is to axe 4000 jobs at its chip fabrication
- plants in Europe. The company said that it will be pulling
- out of the European Commission JESSI project (which does
- research in silicon circuits) and static random
- access memory chips.
-
- [] NORTHWEST TELEPRODUCTION ended its first quarter with income of
- $451,194 and revenues of $4.09 million. Last year the company
- reported income of $250,000 on revenues of $2.67 million.
-
- (John Verhelst/19900904)
-
-
- (CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)
-
- SOFTSWITCH EXPANDS MARKETING OPERATIONS
- WAYNE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Soft-Switch
- corrected a recent Newsbytes story which detailed reasons for
- the expansion of its marketing operations. Newsbytes reported
- the company was responding to strong growth in the market for
- products which let disparate systems exchange messages under
- X.400 standards and pass invoices through Electronic Data
- Interchange. Soft-Switch says the move was in response to
- strong demand for products and services in the rapidly growing
- electronic mail market.
-
- New growth areas include the company's core business of providing
- electronic mail backbone networks as well as new emphasis on
- management tools, mail enabled applications, professional support
- and implementation services, the company said. These areas are
- critical to inter-enterprise connectivity via X.400 and
- Electronic Data Interchange.
-
- New sales offices were opened in Orlando and San Francisco, and a
- new distributorship was announced in Australia. The company also
- has regional headquarters in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington,
- D.C., and a European office in Amsterdam.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900904/Press Contact: Walter J. Wilson,
- SoftSwitch, 215-640-9600)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00005)
-
- LOTUS NOTES TO PLAY MAJOR ROLE AT NETWORLD '90 IN DALLAS
- CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- Lotus
- has announced that the Networld '90 show, to be held in October
- in Dallas, will serve as a major showplace for Lotus Notes 1.1,
- its groupware application. Lotus Notes 1.1 will be installed
- in the booths of major vendors and on more than 100 Shownet
- kiosks tied together by a Lante Corp. real-time network.
-
- The Lotus Notes Networld application will allow exhibitors
- and attendees to tie into six Notes databases and share opinions
- on industry issues, find out about the products and vendors
- represented at the show, get information on events and night life
- at the show, tap into a Reuters news feed for the latest
- worldwide developments, review and enter job offerings, and receive
- help on any of the Notes applications. The attendees will be
- able to use their show badges to gain access to the network.
-
- Mark Tebbe, president of Lante Corp., commented on the use of Lotus
- Notes at the show. "This Lotus Notes application is a perfect
- example of the power group communications software gives people
- today. It provides a common and easily accessible method for
- providing important and encouraging discussion among several
- groups of people -- in this case, attendees, exhibitors and
- press at a major networking trade show."
-
- Lotus will also be active at Networld '90 in other ways. Larry
- Moore, Lotus vice president, and Bromnell Chalstrom, director
- of marketing, will participate in panels on groupware and wide
- area networks. Lotus will host a reception to introduce its
- new Alliance Partners, a group of systems integrators and product
- developers that will provide service and support to Lotus Notes
- customers.
-
- (Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19900904/Press Contact: Sue
- Jensen, Lotus, 617-693-1138)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(NYC)(00006)
-
- HITACHI & IBM AGREE TO COOPERATE ON OSF SOFTWARE
- TOKYO, JAPAN, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- Hitachi Ltd. and IBM,
- companies locked in court battles seven years ago, have agreed
- to cooperate in the development of application software based
- on the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) version of the Unix
- operating system.
-
- Hitachi spokespersons, making the announcement in Tokyo, said
- as a first step, engineers from both firms will tailor a Hitachi
- program, Software Engineering Workbench, to the OSF standard.
- The software is aimed at helping engineers write programs for
- financial management and marketing administration and will be
- used and sold by both firms.
-
- Both Hitachi and IBM are members of OSF, an IBM-led group
- seeking to standardize a version of the Unix operating system
- that can run on a wide range of computers, from laptops to
- supercomputers.
-
- OSF was formed as a rival organization to Unix International,
- a group founded by American Telephone and Telegraph Co. which
- supports a competing version of Unix. Talks between the two
- organizations aimed at unifying the standard ended last
- year and each group now proceeds in its own direction.
-
- (Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19900904)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00007)
-
- PRIME COMPUTER ANNOUNCES FIRST OF NEW LINE
- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- Prime
- Computer has announced the introduction of the 5000
- series of computers. The two computers introduced in this
- series represent the first introductions in the firm's "next
- generation" of systems.
-
- The systems introduced, the 5320 and the 5340, are based on
- complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology
- which Prime states provides an up to 65 percent performance
- improvement over the firm's earlier mid-range systems and
- requires less power, cooling and space.
-
- The systems are, unlike their predecessors, delivered in new
- modular packaging to permit flexibility in system configurations
- and allow users to upgrade systems without trading in components.
- The 5320 system and the 5340 system use the same PRIMOS
- interactive operating system as other members of the 50
- Series. Prime says that this operating system compatibility
- allows applications created on one system to run on any 50
- Series systems, usually without recompiling.
-
- (Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19900904/Press Contact:
- Paula Levis Suita, Prime, 508-655-8000)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(NYC)(00008)
-
- AT&T ANNOUNCES MACINTOSH NETWORKING PRODUCT - UPDATE
- MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- AT&T
- Computer Systems has announced software that allows the Apple
- Macintosh platform to work with AT&T's StarGroup LAN Manager
- Server to share files and printers with MS-DOS, OS/2 and
- Unix users of the system.
-
- AT&T spokespersons said that the new StarGroup Server for
- Macintosh provides native interoperability, rather than merely
- offering limited connections between diverse clients. Because
- of this approach, AT&T maintains that Macintosh users receive
- all the same benefits that DOS, OS/2 and Unix users enjoy
- when they are part of a StarGROUP network. A data file created
- on a Macintosh can be accessed and modified on an OS/2, Unix
- or DOS machine and vice versa.
-
- Announcing the new product, Scott Perry, AT&T Computer Systems
- vice president of marketing and strategy, said "Interoperability
- is a critical requirement for customers with multi-vendor
- environments. Until now, corporations that used Macintosh
- computers for select applications faced the fundamental problem
- of fully integrating the Macintosh into their heterogeneous
- networks. The StarGROUP Server for Macintosh solves this
- problem in a way that no other product can."
-
- Shipping will be in December and there is two-tier pricing.
- An 8-user version is $795. Unlimited users is $1295.
-
- (Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen & Dan Rosenbaum/19900904/
- Press Contact: Don Ferenci, AT&T, 201-898-3748)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00009)
-
- IBM ANNOUNCES REBATE AND SOFTWARE IN PS/2 PROMOTION
- WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- IBM has
- announced a "Grand Scales Sale" which will last through January
- 15, 1991, and will allow buyers to receive rebates, software and
- improved financing on purchases of various models of the PS/2 system.
-
- During the time of the sale, purchasers of the PS/2 Models 55SX
- or 65SX computers are eligible for $300 rebates, while buyers of
- its PS/2 operating systems Models 30-286, 50Z and 60 can receive
- $159 rebates. Additionally, buyers of some of the PS/2 systems
- will receive $75 rebates on its Proprinter or its LaserPrinter
- E and a $150 rebate its ten-page-per minute IBM Laserprinter.
-
- In addition to the rebates, purchasers of the PS/2 Models 25
- through 65 will receive six software products valued at over
- $600 bundled free with the hardware. The programs included are
- LotusWorks, Quicken, PFS: First Publisher 3.0, Calendar Creator
- Plus 3.02, PGA Tour Golf, and Lotus Magellan 2.0.
-
- Lotus has developed a special installation and menuing system
- for the promotion. The product, LotusInstall, will guide
- purchasers through the installation of all six software products
- included in the package. LotusInstall also includes a menu
- program that lists all six bundled software programs on the
- PS/2 user's screen for easy selection.
-
- (Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19900904/Press Contact:
- Raymond F. Meurer, 914-642-5457)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(NYC)(00010)
-
- AT&T ANNOUNCES MACINTOSH NETWORKING PRODUCT - UPDATE
- MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- AT&T
- Computer Systems has announced software that allows the Apple
- Macintosh platform to work with AT&T's StarGroup LAN Manager
- Server to share files and printers with MS-DOS, OS/2 and
- Unix users of the system.
-
- AT&T spokespersons said that the new StarGroup Server for
- Macintosh provides native interoperability, rather than merely
- offering limited connections between diverse clients. Because
- of this approach, AT&T maintains that Macintosh users receive
- all the same benefits that DOS, OS/2 and Unix users enjoy
- when they are part of a StarGROUP network. A data file created
- on a Macintosh can be accessed and modified on an OS/2, Unix
- or DOS machine and vice versa.
-
- Announcing the new product, Scott Perry, AT&T Computer Systems
- vice president of marketing and strategy, said "Interoperability
- is a critical requirement for customers with multi-vendor
- environments. Until now, corporations that used Macintosh
- computers for select applications faced the fundamental problem
- of fully integrating the Macintosh into their heterogeneous
- networks. The StarGROUP Server for Macintosh solves this
- problem in a way that no other product can."
-
- Shipping will be in December and there is two-tier pricing.
- An 8-user version is $795. Unlimited users is $1295.
-
- (Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen & Dan Rosenbaum/19900904/
- Press Contact: Don Ferenci, AT&T, 201-898-3748)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00011)
-
- NEW FOR IBM: Borland Ships Paradox V 3.5
- SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Borland
- is offering the latest version of Paradox, its database
- management system, as well as Paradox SQL Link, a separate
- program enabling users to access data from a variety of
- different types of computers.
-
- Paradox 3.5 works with Paradox SQL Link to allow users to
- access remote SQL data without learning complex SQL programming.
- SQL (Structured Query Language) is the industry-standard data
- language for relational databases residing on minicomputers,
- mainframes or PC database servers.
-
- Borland claims that Paradox with SQL Link connects to more
- data servers than any other microcomputer database management
- system. Paradox 3.5 also shares data with Quattro Pro,
- SideKick for Presentation Manager and C applications developed
- with the Paradox Engine. Paradox also imports and exports
- Ashton-Tate dBASE files. Version 2.0 of Quattro Pro, scheduled
- for shipment later this year, will include enhanced links
- to Paradox, according to Borland.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Marguerite Padovani,
- Borland, 408/439-1622)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00012)
-
- ROCKWELL MOVES AVIONICS UNIT TO CEDAR RAPIDS
- CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Continuing a
- trend among defense contractors to move operations to lower-cost
- regions of the country, Rockwell International's Defense
- Electronics organization announced its Collins Government
- Avionics Division and the communications and intelligence
- business segment of Collins Defense Communications are being
- combined to form the Collins Avionics and Communications
- Division, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Previously, Lockheed had
- announced it was moving its base of operations from Southern
- California to Marietta, Georgia.
-
- Analysts believe the moves are fine in the short-run, but could
- backfire, reducing incentives for California politicians to
- support defense spending. California is due to gain seven seats in
- the U.S. Congress following the 1990 census.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900903/Press Contact: Rockwell
- International, Mike Humbert, 319-395-5777)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)
-
- TURKEY GETS USADIRECT AND A NEW SATELLITE
- BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) --
- Turkey, which has attained new strategic importance in the
- confrontation with Iraq, has won two new links to the West.
-
- AT&T extended its USADirect Service to Turkey September 4. From
- Turkey, a caller dials 99-8001-2277 and is connected directly to
- an AT&T operator in White Plains, N.Y. That operator can assist
- with collect calls and with calls charged to the AT&T Calling
- Card.
-
- Initially the service will be available in Adana and
- Diyarbakir, which are near U.S. military bases. By the end of
- September, USADirect Service will be available from virtually any
- phone in Turkey.
-
- Calls cost $2.23 for the first minute and $1.25 for each
- additional minute. There is also a $2.50 charge for
- calls charged to the AT&T Calling Card and a $5.75 charge for
- collect calls. With USADirect Service, a 10-minute call charged
- to the AT&T Calling Card from Turkey to anywhere in the United
- States would cost $15.98.
-
- USADirect Service is now available in 81 countries. In the
- Middle East, the service is available in Egypt, Israel and
- Bahrain.
-
- Also, Aerospatiale of France was picked to build and launch
- Turkey's first communications satellites. The project involves
- two satellites, to be named Turksat. The first is to be placed in
- orbit in mid-1993 and the second is to be launched a year later.
-
- British Aerospace and the Hughes of the U.S., a unit of General
- Motors, had also been competing for the project estimated to cost
- roughly $600 million. Turkey is a member of NATO and bidding to
- win full membership in the European Common Market.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900903/Press Contact: AT&T, Rick
- Wallerstein, 201/953-7911)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00014)
-
- INFORMATION INDUSTRY MEETS IN BOSTON SEP 30-OCT 3
- WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 5 (NB) -- The Information
- Industry Association has announced that leading information
- industry companies' top executives will be meeting at the IIA's
- 22nd Annual Convention and exhibition from September 30 through
- October 3 at the Marriott Copley Place, Boston.
-
- Tuesday's town meeting session, "Solving the Consumer Information
- Paradox," will feature top officials from GEnie and Prodigy.
-
- This is a major gathering of powerful information vendors and the
- large and small companies which want to do business with them.
-
- Exhibit information is available from Jay Goldstein at 202-639-
- 8262.
-
- (John McCormick/19900904/Press Contact: Susan Goewey, 202-639-
- 8262)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)
-
- UNITED TELECOM'S ESREY TALKS ABOUT THE GLOBAL MIND
- SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- In a
- speech to the National Association of State Telecommunications
- Directors, United Telecommunications Chairman William T. Esrey
- said the 1990s will be known as the decade in which a "global
- mind" was built through telephone technology.
-
- Esrey is the architect of the split between United and GTE which
- left his firm with long distance operations and GTE with local
- phone operations. Since then GTE has seen profits rise, while his
- own firm's earnings have fallen. Still, he defends his decisions,
- and says the pay-off is yet to come.
-
- He called his vision of the near-term future by the name
- "infonics," which he says "will probably reshape the world."
-
- United is trying to leverage its US Sprint long-distance company
- with its SprintNet international data network to become a leader
- in this revolution. "If the main product of infonics is instant
- information, regardless of location, we can already see it busy
- today, shrinking time and space and rearranging the social
- structure supported by them," Esrey said. "Look at what infonics
- is doing to the old notions of time and space as they relate to
- what we build. Infonics has made information a productive
- resource -like labor or land or materials or equipment."
-
- According to Esrey, "In an advanced economy like ours, three out
- of four people work in the service sector overall - and more than
- half of those are connected in one way or another with the
- knowledge industry itself." This situation, he noted, "has
- brought great pressures to bear on institutional frameworks - on
- regulatory and political bodies, and...monetary and trade
- policies." Esrey called on both telecommunications providers and
- their customers to join in a rethinking of the traditional ways
- of using telecommunications. He predicted that the global
- communications infrastructure, or "infonics," will demand
- entirely new approaches to the way people and organizations
- operate.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900905/Press Contact: U.S. Sprint, Randy
- York, (913) 676-3353)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)
-
- AT&T, NORTHERN TELECOM COMPLETE ISDN APPLICATIONS TESTS
- DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- AT&T and Northern
- Telecom, who together control over half of the U.S. phone switch
- market, completed the first compatibility tests of their top-end
- switches in providing digital service under ISDN standards.
-
- Tested were Northern Telecom's DMS-100 central office and DMS-250
- interexchange carrier switching systems, along with AT&T's
- DEFINITY Communications System and System 85.
-
- "This is a major step forward in ensuring that our customers
- derive maximum benefits from their investment in our ISDN-capable
- communications systems," said Ernie DeNigris, product management
- vice president - Communications Systems, for AT&T's Business
- Communications Systems group. "Switching system compatibility is
- the first requirement for extending the benefits of ISDN to our
- customers," added Ken Heffner, director, product management,
- Networks, for Northern Telecom Inc. "Successful phase one testing
- with AT&T is a significant milestone in our plan to interwork
- with all major switching system vendors."
-
- First phase testing covered basic call services, including voice
- traffic and circuit switched data, calling line identification,
- and call-by-call service selection. Call-by-call service
- selection offers customers more efficient use of their trunking
- facilities. Rather than designate a specific trunk to route
- outgoing calls -- over a private line, WATS, or over the public
- switched network -- this features attaches routing information to
- the call.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900905/Press Contact: AT&T, Sue Fleming,
- 201/658-2604; Northern Telecom, Mark Buford, 214/437-8512)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)
-
- ITI WINS SECOND VOICE APPLICATION AWARD
- ROSWELL, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Innovative
- Technology won its second consecutive "Most Innovative Voice
- Application" award from Media Dimensions for an installation of
- its nitaReceptionist automated attendant and voice messaging
- system, with added software from Far Systems of Wisconsin.
-
- The magazine gave ITI the award for an armored security
- application using the system to log customer account numbers
- and amounts of money involved in transactions, using the voice
- board's time and date stamp feature to keep track of the
- transactions.
-
- The award was given at the SpeechTech '90 trade show in New York.
-
- ITI is headed by John Alderman, who previously founded Digital
- Communications Associates of Alpharetta, Georgia.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900905/Press Contact: Jules DeVigne,
- Innovative Technology, 404-998-9970x338)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00018)
-
- IBM UNVEILS "TECHNOLOGY FOR THE 90S"
- POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 AUG 5 (NB) -- IBM has
- rolled out a new line of mainframe computers -- twice as
- powerful as its previous top-of-the-line 3090 series --
- which it promises to enhance and support throughout the 1990s.
-
- The new ESA/390 architecture and new MVS/ESA, VM/ESA and
- VSE/ESA operating systems, send and receives data
- over high speed fiber optic channels, allowing customers
- to locate traditional "computer room" equipment anywhere
- within a 9-kilometer (5.6 miles) radius.
-
- IBM also says the new architecture includes system management
- enhancements that reduce planned and unplanned outages, allow
- reconfiguration of channels and input/output equipment without
- impacting the system, and provide functions that help customers
- move closer to the goal of 24 hours/7 days a week operation.
-
- The systems also offer better security, software that speeds
- application development, on-line transaction processing
- capabilities, and an unique external time reference system that
- connects and synchronizes separate IBM processors in a
- multi-system complex and allows customers to operate them as
- one system.
-
- Terry R. Lautenbach, IBM senior vice president termed
- the announcement "far reaching, a blockbuster." He said IBM
- is working with some 250 software developers to create
- some 1500 applications.
-
- The processors introduced range from the small, rack-mounted
- office system, Model 120, to the very high performance Model
- 900 six-way multiprocessor.
-
- Software designed for the System/370 architecture for
- IBM ES/3090, ES/4381 and ES/9370 will run on ES/9000 and
- the ESA/390 operating systems with little or no modification,
- according to the firm, thus protecting customers' existing
- investments in software as they upgrade.
-
- IBM says for the first time, MVS/ESA, its most
- powerful operating system, previously available only to
- users of its larger systems, has become available to
- intermediate system customers.
-
- IBM says the new systems can be interconnected with new
- processors with IBM RISC System/6000, Application System/400,
- Personal Computer, and Personal System/2 local area networks.
-
- Inside the processors are new ultra-dense logic chips that
- contain both complex logic circuitry and high-speed memory
- arrays on the same chip, a new Thermal Conduction Module
- for circuit packaging that allows more circuits to be housed
- in less space, and up to 1 gigabyte (a billion characters)
- of central storage and 8 gigabytes of expanded storage for
- the largest models, double the capacity previously available.
-
- Prices for the air-cooled processors range from approximately
- $70,500 to $3.12 million, with general availability
- of some models this month and others phased in later this year
- and next. Prices for the water-cooled models range
- from $2.45 million to $22.8 million, and they will be
- available this month. The new version of MVS/ESA will be
- available next month. VSE/ESA will be available in December
- of this year, and VM/ESA next March.
-
- Newsbytes reporter John McMullen is at the press event and will
- file additional reports tomorrow.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Amos A. Kermisch, IBM,
- 914/642-4668)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)
-
- PRODIGY EXPANDS NATIONWIDE THROUGH BT TYMNET
- SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- BT Tymnet
- and Prodigy Services, the IBM-Sears joint-venture, will shortly
- announce that Prodigy is now available nationally through the
- Tymnet data network.
-
- Prodigy continues to build its own telecommunications system
- with local sites around the country, but it'll be supplemented
- by BT Tymnet in over 300 locations, providing a total of 500
- access sites around the country.
-
- The move will sharpen competition between Prodigy and its two
- text-based rivals, GEnie and CompuServe. The former service has
- already announced that as of October it will offer unlimited
- monthly access to over 100 of its services for just $4.95 per
- month.
-
- Prodigy costs $9.95 per month and uses the NAPLPS
- videotex scheme. Unlike its rivals, doesn't allow for file
- downloads and uploads -- only the creation of messages online.
-
- The move also represents a rare instance of cooperation between
- BT, which also owns the Dialcom text-based online service, and
- IBM, which owns half of Prodigy and also runs the IBM Information
- Network. The IBM Information Network competes with BT Tymnet in
- the business of moving electronic invoices over national
- boundaries.
-
- (Dana Blankenhorn/19900905/Press Contact: Rick Brandt, BT
- Tymnet, 408-922-7543)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(EWR)(00020)
-
- ADOBE/APPLE REUNITE
- MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- With Apple
- Computer's prospective new deal with Adobe Systems, Adobe Chairman
- John Warnock appears ready to step back on the roller-coaster.
-
- Only 15 months ago, Apple announced suddenly that it was selling its
- 16 percent stake in Adobe, which owns the PostScript page description
- language on which the vast majority of laser printers are based.
- Apple, it seemed, had elected to develop its own means of
- high-quality printing. Adobe stock plunged.
-
- Three months later, Apple said that it wouldn't develop its own
- page description language after all but would instead license
- TrueType and TrueImage, which industry Gulliver Microsoft was
- writing. Why rely on Microsoft (with whom Apple was and is
- in litigation on other matters) and not Adobe? Adobe was
- charging for the use of PostScript; Microsoft would license
- TrueType for free. Also, TrueType was going to be used in OS/2,
- allowing Apple an inroad into the PC market.
-
- Two days after the Apple/Microsoft bombshell, Warnock stood
- up at a trade show and -- tears in his eyes -- called TrueType
- "vaporware" and "the biggest bunch of garbage and mumbo-jumbo
- I've ever heard in my life." He then announced dramatically
- that Adobe would publish the proprietary specifications to
- PostScript and its font technology -- giving away the keys to
- the empire.
-
- This week, just as suddenly as they split, Apple and Adobe
- suddenly kissed and made up, though precisely why remains a
- mystery. The companies, according to Adobe, agreed to "reach
- a new and expanded technology licensing agreement." The
- announcement said Adobe and Apple plan "to continue to work
- together to provide new products based on Adobe's PostScript
- software and printer technology developed by Apple Computer."
-
- There was no agreement announced, no signatures at the bottom of
- contracts. Apple spokeswoman Patty Tulloch said the intent was to
- "give us some flexibility on new technology, being able to better
- integrate TrueType under future printers." The idea, she said, was
- to insure that TrueType would work with new versions of PostScript,
- though she said no new technologies were specified.
-
- The commitment between Apple and Adobe appealled to Wall
- Street -- Adobe stock jumped 3 1/8 on the announcement to 28 1/8.
-
- The companies had never split completely. TrueType remains on the
- horizon, promised by Apple as part of its System 7 operating system,
- due sometime at the end of this year or early next year. PostScript
- has remained very much part of Apple's picture, included in most of
- Apple's laser printers.
-
- Apple has said from the beginning that whatever TrueType does, it
- will do it compatibly with PostScript. That intent was
- specifically reiterated in the announcement, with Apple spokesman
- Randy Battat saying that Apple "will work closely with Adobe to
- guarantee that all of our common customers' current investments
- in hardware and software will be protected and enhanced in the
- future."
-
- (Daniel J. Rosenbaum/19900905)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(EWR)(00021)
-
- NEW FOR UNIX: HP Workstations Can Be AppleShare File Servers
- BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
- workstations and minicomputers running Unix can act as AppleShare
- file servers with software now available from Mt Xinu.
-
- Using K-AShare for HPs, AppleShare hosts run as background tasks on
- the HP machines, eliminating the need for a dedicated Macintosh as
- server, the company said. The Macintosh clients use the AppleShare
- client software included with their normal system software.
-
- Also, Macintoshes served by K-AShare are able to use mounted NFS
- file systems across a Unix network.
-
- Other versions of K-AShare are available for Sun Microsystems
- workstations and DEC VAXes.
-
- K-AShare costs $995 for 15 or fewer Macintoshes, and is available
- directly from Mt Xinu.
-
- (Daniel J. Rosenbaum/19900905/Press Contact: David Burk, VP
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00022)
-
- ADVANCED LOGIC CUTS PRICE ON POWERFLEX 286-BASED PC
- IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Advanced Logic
- Research (ALR) has announced price reductions on its line of 286-
- based PowerFlex personal computers.
-
- The PowerFlex base Model 1 now starts at $995 and the PowerFlex
- Model 40 has been reduced by 14 percent to a base price of
- $1,295.
-
- ALR has also announced a 386-based, 16 MHz (megahertz) SX
- PowerFlex starting at $1,195. The SX PowerFlex Model 40 includes
- 1 MB (megabyte) of RAM (random access memory) expandable to 5 MB
- on the system board and can be expanded to as much as 16 MB with
- expansion board, 1:1 IDE controller, 1.44 MB 3.5 inch floppy disk
- drive, one serial port, one parallel port, a 101-key enhanced
- keyboard and a retail price of $1,495.
-
- According to the company, all PowerFlex models meet FCC Class B
- certification and are tested for UL and CSA. The SX PowerFlex can
- easily be upgraded to 20 MHz SX and 25 MHz i486 with standard
- PowerFlex upgrade modules.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900905/Press Contact: Dave Kirkey, Advanced
- Logic Research, 714-581-6770)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00023)
-
- NEW RELEASE OF DOCUMENT IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM BY VIEWSTAR
- EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- ViewStar has
- announced Viewstar Release 2.3 to be shipped early this month.
-
- The new release is said to include many new features and a
- variety of enhancements. New features range from optimized wide
- area networking capabilities and Windows 3.0 support to
- predefined application layouts allowing easy modeling of complex
- scanning and data entry workflows. ViewStar has also completed
- some of what it calls "under the hood" changes that improve
- overall system performance and capacity while providing new tools
- for system administration and maintenance.
-
- ViewStar's VS DataScan toolkit for building multi-user scanning
- and data-entry workflow applications has been completely revised
- and enhanced in Version 2.3.
-
- Dave Ruiz, director of product marketing at ViewStar, told
- Newsbytes that while prices are based on active user licenses,
- for existing customers under maintenance, the upgrade from
- version 2.2 to 2.3 is free. For new customers, there is a one
- time charge for the back-end server software of around $50,000
- with front-end user software and applications selling for between
- $1,500 and $3,000 dollars.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900905/Press Contact: Gillian Webster,
- ViewStar, 415-841-8565)
-
-
- (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00024)
-
- NOVELL REWORKS AFTER SALE PROGRAMS, REPLACES NETWARE ASSURANCE
- PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Novell has announced two
- new after-sale programs for customers in the US and Canada called
- NetWare UpGrade and NetWare UpDate. These programs replace the
- existing Netware Assurance Program.
-
- NetWare UpGrade offers customers two product migration paths. The
- first is an operating system trade-in program that allows users
- to move up to a current version of their NetWare product with
- credit given for the earlier purchase. The second provides a
- discount structure for users moving up from one NetWare operating
- system family to another.
-
- The second new program, NetWare UpDate, is a renewable software
- maintenance contract that provides new product features, upgrades
- within a NetWare product family, bug fixes and software patches
- for the term of the contract. Users upgrading through the NetWare
- UpGrade program also receive six free months of NetWare UpDate.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900905/Press Contact: Nancy Morrison, Novell,
- 801-429-5833)
-
-
- (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00025)
-
- ALDUS SELLS ONE MILLION SOFTWARE PACKAGES
- SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Aldus
- Corporation says it has reached the one million milestone in
- terms of software packages sold. This includes, however, sales
- of Silicon Beach Software products, a company which Aldus
- acquired in February.
-
- Pagemaker accounts for less than 50 percent of all products
- sold, according to Paul Brainerd, Aldus president, who adds
- that the company had not expected to achieve that goal until
- 1992.
-
- Aldus' other major best-sellers include Freehand, Persuasion,
- and Preprint.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Laury Bryant, Aldus,
- 206-628-2849)
-
-
- (NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00026)
-
- INTERNATIONAL META, APPLE INK DEVELOPMENT PACT
- STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- International
- Meta Systems of Torrance, CA is reported to have signed an agreement
- with Apple Computer to develop a special computer chip.
-
- The president of International Meta Systems, George Smith, told
- Newsbytes he could not comment on the report and does not know how it
- was released. An Apple spokesman failed to return Newsbytes
- calls by deadline.
-
- Under terms of the contract, Apple will pay International Meta
- $300,000 in increments as milestones in development are reached,
- according to a published report. An 8-k Filing has been submitted
- to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding this contract.
-
- (Janet Endrijonas/19900905/Press Contact: International
- Meta Systems, 213-375-4700)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)
-
- NEW FOR IBM: Symantec Offers Grandview 2.0
- CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Grandview
- version 2.0 is now available from Symantec. The upgrade to the
- outlining product can be run as either a memory resident
- or stand-alone product using less than 20K of memory.
-
- Grandview 2.0 includes connections to Lotus Freelance Plus
- and Harvard Graphics. Also new is a built-in calendar which
- can take dates assigned to headlines and make them accessible
- by one keystroke. Users can also assign items such as person
- or priority to a headline. There is also enhanced word
- processing and features such as page preview. Outlines can
- be exported directly to WordPerfect and other word processors.
-
- The program is $295 to new purchasers but $50 to owners of
- Grandview 1.X, except for those who bought the product after
- July 6 -- they'll get the upgrade free.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Terri Sammonds,
- Symantec, 408-725-2752)
-
-
- (NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00028)
-
- ASHTON-TATE INTROS POWERSTEP, SPREADSHEET FOR NEXT
- TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Ashton-Tate
- is announcing PowerStep, a spreadsheet designed to take
- advantage of the graphical and audio output capabilities of
- Next workstations. The product, for which no pricing or
- shipping date has been announced, offers 3-D graphics, voice
- annotations, spreadsheet publishing capabilities, and a
- graphical user interface.
-
- Ashton-Tate says the program also features virtually limitless
- worksheet size, consolidation of multiple spreadsheets,
- spreadsheet linking, Lotus 1-2-3 file import and export,
- 3-D charts with live rotation, and 13 chart types.
-
- One of its most unique features is the voice annotation.
- Comments can be recorded directly on any spreadsheet using
- the Next system's built-in audio chip.
-
- Next is expected to roll out new workstations September 18
- at a lavish press conference at Davies Symphony Hall.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Linda Duttenhaver,
- Ashton-Tate, 213-538-7011)
-
-
- (NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00029)
-
- NEW LOW-RADIATION MONITORS SHIPPING
- FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- Sigma Designs has
- taken the lead in the war against VDT (video display terminal)
- emissions by offering in the U.S. the same low-VLF (very low
- frequency) emission versions of its monochrome and gray scale
- monitors for Macintosh and PCs that it sells in Sweden.
-
- The new low-VLF monitors have been shipping since 1988 in
- Sweden where the laws against radiation exposure by VDT workers
- are much tougher than in the U.S. The company is also working
- with Swedish authorities to develop monitors that meet new
- standards for VLF and ELF (extremely low frequency) emissions.
- They will ship in Sweden in the first quarter of 1991, the company
- says.
-
- The low-VLF monitors come in the following versions: 15-inch
- Pageview, 19-inch L-View, and 21-inch Silverview. Each is priced
- $200 higher than their regular counterparts and range from
- $1,499 to $3,695.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Charlie Waters, Sigma,
- 415-770-0100)
-
-
- (NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00030)
-
- SOFTWARE AUDITS HARD DISKS FOR PIRATED, LEGIT PROGRAMS
- WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 SEP 5 (NB) -- The Software
- Publishers Association is offering a free disk designed to
- help companies fight piracy by checking all its hard disks
- for legitimate and illegitimate software.
-
- SPAudit, the MS-DOS program, is designed to complement the SPA Self
- Audit Kit. It searches the hard disks of computers for over
- 650 of the most common programs used in business today.
- After all PCs have been "SPAudited," the program will print a
- listing that indicates how many copies of each application
- were found. Users may compare this report to purchase
- records to determine what software programs are authorized
- and which ones are unauthorized.
-
- The SPA says it has received over 5,000 requests for the Self
- Audit Kit, released in February, from corporations
- interested in monitoring their internal software practices.
-
- "During the beta-test period for SPAudit, the response was
- overwhelming," said SPA Executive Director Ken Wasch.
- "MIS managers have long-since recognized the difficulty of managing
- their software resources and staying within the law. We are now
- providing them with the tools they have requested."
-
- Corporations wishing to receive a copy of the Self Audit Kit and
- SPAudit, should write on their organization's letterhead to:
- SPA Self Audit Kit, 1101 Connecticut Ave, N.W. Suite 901,
- Washington, D.C. 20036.
-
- (Wendy Woods/19900905/Press Contact: Jodi Pollock, SPA,
- 202/452-1600)
-