Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso/pc/text/mac_text/1990/nb900906

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(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00001)

FUJITSU ANNOUNCES SUPER-FAST MAINFRAMES
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Japan's computer giant Fujitsu
has introduced a new series of mainframe computers, claimed to
be the world's fastest, and designed to carry the company
through the 90s. The unveiling has come during
the same week that IBM has introduced competing models.

The mainframe lineup called M-1800 Model Group is the high-end
version of its current high-end M-780 Model Group, and consists
of five models including the world's highest performance general
purpose computer with eight central processors (CPUs).
Fujitsu claims that no other mainframe computers have adopted
eight CPUs and that six CPUs, the configuration in the new
IBM Model 900, are the largest.

Although Fujitsu did not announce the processing speed, it claims
that the mainframes are capable of performing nearly 600 MIPS
(million instructions per second) in scientific and technical
calculations.

The main memory can be expanded to a maximum of 2 gigabytes and
the system memory is expandable to 8 gigabytes, making the units
useful for large-scale system construction, Fujitsu claims.

Fujitsu has introduced several enhancements to its previously
announced MSP-EX mainframe operating system (OS). The enhancements
include compatibility with IBM's latest ESA OS, a high-speed batch
processing system called Excel Batch, and an integrated storage
management system dubbed GSM/MNGR. The firm also has introduced
an integrated supervision system called FTOPS, which facilitates
efficient monitoring and control of complex systems and remote
operations.

The monthly rental charges will range between 7.8 million and
290 million yen ($53,800 to $2 million). The mainframe computer
lineup will be available next April.

Fujitsu President Tadashi Sekizawa told reporters mainframe sales
were growing at an annual rate in the low double digits, and
represented 40 percent of its data processing division revenues,
expected to grow 17 percent to 1.66 trillion yen ($11.45 billion)
in the year ending March 31, 1991.

Fujitsu intends to install 300 of the its new M-1800 mainframe
series over the next three years, including overseas.

The mainframe lineup is the first introduction within the framework
of Mission/DC (Multi-environment Information Systems Solution by
Domain Concept), Fujitsu's newly unveiled concept for mainframe use
in the 1990's. Mission/DC represents a comprehensive approach to
satisfying customers' requirements for system construction and
development and is designed to provide them with effective
systems in today's multi-vendor environment. Mission/DC will,
therefore, have a major influence on Fujitsu's future mainframe
introductions.

(Ken Takahashi/19900906/Press Contact: Fujitsu Ltd., 03-216-3211)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00002)

TECHNOLOGY STOCKS: Market Report, Thursday, Sep 6
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- New York remained
extremely dull Wednesday with the Dow Average moving up slightly.
The OTC market however was more active with Microsoft dipping
under $60 for the first time in weeks.

Big board issues moved slightly higher with IBM registering
$103, up 50 cents. AT&T was down 12.5 cents to $31.875
and GE was down 67.5 cents to $60.675.

In the OTC market, Intel lead the pack, down $1 to $32.50.
Several companies announced they will be introducing products
compatible with the 386 chip within the next few months.
Microsoft was down $3.25 to $59. Analysts said that the firm
is loosening its grip on the PC industry. MCI Communications
was down 37.5 cents to $33.675, Sun Microsystems was up 12.5 cents
to $29.125, Adobe was up 37.5 cents after the company announced
an Apple agreement for its Postscript product and Conner
Peripherals was up 67.5 cents to $22.25. Oracle was down 50 cents
to $10.675 and Apple Computer also was down $1 to $36.

(John Verhelst/19900904)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BRU)(00003)

TECHNOLOGY STOCKS: Business News, Thursday, Sep 6
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Companies in the
news include: MARUBENI, CONSOLIDATED TECHNOLOGY, TELEPHONE AND
DATA SYSTEMS and CELL TECHNOLOGY.

[] MARUBENI, the huge Japanese conglomerate, is to
enter the semiconductor market in Europe by establishing
a subsidiary in Duesseldorf, Germany. The plant
is to distribute integrated circuits. The new company
will also interface with other Japanese manufacturers
who want to enter the European market, ahead of
1992. Annual sales are estimated at DM 20 million.

[] CONSOLIDATED TECHNOLOGY loses $77,438 in the second
quarter which ended June 30, 1990 on revenues of
$851,586. For the equivalent quarter in 1989, the
company had reported a profit of $134,463 on revenues
of $1.08 million.

[] TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS declared a 7 cent dividend
for class A shares. The dividend is an increase of
7.7 percent over third quarter 1989. It is payable
September 28, 1990 to shareholders of record on
September 14, 1990. TDS operates telephone services
in 27 states.

[] CELL TECHNOLOGY loses $4.74 million in the fiscal
year which ended April 30, 1990 on revenues of $0. The
company is developing cellular equipment.

(John Verhelst/19900904)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(BRU)(00004)

PHILIPS EXIT FROM JESSI WONT HURT, SAYS EUROPEAN COMMISSION
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- European Commission
Science Commissioner Filippo Pandolfi says that the exit of
Philips from the JESSI project will not affect it. The
JESSI project, which stands for Joint European Sub-Silicon
Investigation, is an EC-sponsored project jointly funded
by major chip companies, set up to investigate production
of silicon materials, including dynamic and static RAM
memories.

Philips' withdrawal was followed by an announcement that 4,000
European jobs -- many of them assigned to the JESSI project --
will be cut. The company will be closing a $480 million factory
in Eindhoven which produces one megabit static RAM (random
access memory) chips, and claims the closure is due to falling
world prices for the chips. The general consensus here is that
it is currently unprofitable for European companies to
make memory chips,

Newsbytes has learned that the EC is considering an investigation
into Far Eastern suppliers which might be dumping their products
in the European market.

(John Verhelst/19900906)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(BRU)(00005)

COMPUTER COMPANIES CHIEF SUPPLIERS TO IRAQ
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Computer
companies have been in the front lines of those supplying to
Iraq equipment that could be used for military
purposes.

Among the companies have been Siemens of Germany, AEG,
Hewlett-Packard, Scientific Atlanta, Tektronix, and others,
according to UPI and an informed Newsbytes source.

Siemens and Hewlett-Packard have supplied Iraq with
computers. AEG has sold Iraq general technology products,
Scientific Atlanta has sold Iraq telecommunications
facilities including earth stations used for beaming
television news images across the country, and Tektronix
has supplied Iraq with advanced graphics terminals.

All of these contracts have been cancelled and
further equipment deliveries have been scrapped.

(John Verhelst/19900906)


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

APPLE CUTS PRICE ON IICI
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Slightly more
than a month prior to the introduction of new machines, Apple
Computer has slashed 20 percent off the price of its high-end
Macintosh IIci, a Motorola 25MHz 68030-based machine with
a 68882 math coprocessor.

Apple is expected to introduce new models, including a new
high-end workstation, in mid-October.

The Macintosh IIci, introduced in September, 1989, has
full 32-bit architecture, built-in 32-bit color support,
integrated video support, three industry-standard NuBus
expansion slots like the Macintosh IIcx but also has a
built-in monitor like the SE series.

Two months ago, Apple offered a special promotion on the IIci
to dealers after which sales took off, according to Bob Puette,
president of Apple USA.

Effective immediately, prices range from $5,969 to $7,269
compared to the old prices of $7,469 through $8,769.

(Wendy Woods/19900906/Press Contact: Kate Paisley, 408/974-5453)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

QUANTUM OFFERS 8 NEW HARD DRIVES
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Quantum
Corporation has just unveiled a new family of hard disk
drives aimed at the laptop, notebook, and portable computer
markets.

The Go-Drive Series of 2-1/2-inch drives offer 42 and 84
megabytes of formatted capacity with embedded SCSI or AT-bus
controllers. Their low power requirements are designed to make
them ideal for tote-along computers.

Quantum also announced the ProDrive Gem Series, 84 or 168-megabyte
small-frame, low-power 3-1/2-inch drives intended for
portables and low-end desktop personal computers. Quantum
says the Gem Series drives are the highest capacity products to
date in the quarter-height profile.

Stephen M. Berkley, Quantum chairman and chief executive
officer, noted that these new products bring to 22 the
number of new small form factor drives introduced by Quantum in
one year. The announcement follows by less than three months
Quantum's extension of the ProDrive family to include 330 and 425
megabyte drives for the desktop workstation market.

"All of the Gem Series and Go-Drive products feature average seek
times of 19 milliseconds plus Quantum's proprietary DisCache
for even faster data access. Based on proven technology from our
highly successful ProDrive Series products, these new drives
set a new reliability standard for drives to serve the laptop,
portable and low-end PC markets."

The drives offer MTBF specifications of 80,000 power-on-hours,
the highest in the industry for this class of product, according
to the company. They also provide multiple power-saving modes
and improved shock resistance.

Evaluation units of both SCSI and AT-bus models of the Go-Drive
40 and the 84 and 168 megabyte ProDrive Gem products will be
available in January with volume production planned for March 1991.
Evaluation units of the 84-megabyte Go-Drive 2-1/2-inch SCSI
and AT-bus drives will be available in mid-1991 with mass
production 60 days later, the company says.

(Wendy Woods/199009/Press Contact: Catherine Hartsog, 408/432-1100)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00008)

JOBS SAYS THERE'S NO 68040 SHORTAGE
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- In response to
a question from the Reuters news service, Next President
Steve Jobs said there is no shortage of Motorola 68040 chips
which will be the engine of his upcoming workstations.

"We are not having any problems getting the components we need,"
Jobs told Reuters.

Jobs will roll out three new workstations September 18, all
based around Motorola's top-of-the-line 68040. This will be
the first major hardware upgrade since his original Next
workstations were unveiled two years ago.

(Wendy Woods/19900906)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00009)

IBM ENTERS PATRIOTIC PARTNERSHIP WITH METAPHOR
PURCHASE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- IBM and Metaphor
Computer Systems have formed Patriot Partners, an alliance
aimed at creating new OS/2 and Unix-based application system
software to simplify development of single applications
designed to work with multiple operating systems and networks.

Hardware support will include a wide range of personal
computers and workstations from IBM and other vendors, the
companies say. A number of different networks will
also be supported, without requiring adaptation by the
application developer.

The partnership's long-term development project is intended to
develop class libraries for object-oriented programming,
multimedia support, end-user visual programming capabilities,
and structured access to expert system facilities.

"It's too costly and complex for software developers to build
the new and groundbreaking applications that are needed to
reach the vast market of unserved users," said David E. Liddle,
Metaphor president and CEO, and president of Patriot Partners.
"To fuel industry development of breakthrough applications,
we hope to create an environment where developers will no longer
have to build applications from scratch for every operating system."

The outcome of the project will be an open, standards-based,
technologically advanced software environment available to all
interested software and hardware vendors, both parties say.

(Wendy Woods/19900906/Press Contact: Carol Gilbaugh Moran,
Metaphor, 415-961-3600; Ken W. Sayers, IBM, 914-697-6537)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00010)

IRD PREDICTS COMPUTERIZED AUTO CONVOYS
NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- International
Resources Development expects several billion dollars to be spent
by the U.S. government in this century to create so-called Intelligent
Vehicle Highway Systems, which could let cars steer themselves in 100
mile-per-hour bumper-to-bumper traffic.

In an article in its Geographic Information, Mapping and
Positioning newsletter, IRD reviewed prototypes and research
projects in the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe.

Two types of projects are being tried in the U.S., the article
continued. Internal systems are self-contained within each
automobile, using inertial guidance or relying on radio signals
from the Loran C or Global Positioning System satellites.
External systems use combinations of beacons, computer networks,
buried copper strips and sensor interrogator devices along
highways to control traffic. Such systems might allow the U.S. to
avoid building expensive new highways in the future.

Copies of the newsletter containing the story are being offered
free to those interested in subscribing.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900905/Press Contact: Dia Cheney, IRD, 203-
966-2525)


(EXCLUSIVE)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00011)

MOSCOW: COMMODITY EXCHANGE TO SET UP ONLINE INFO SYSTEM
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- The Moscow Commodity
Exchange, also known as MTSB, is planning to set up an
online information exchange system connected to Eastern networks.
MTSB will also hold its first stockholder meeting October 2.

According to Sergey Petrov, the Exchange's preparatory
committee public relations officer and board member, the
Exchange expects to start operation of the system in late
fall. The Exchange will be located in the Polytechnics
Museum building, which is across the street from the Central
Committee of the Communist party. "Times are changing," Petrov
told Newsbytes. "New laws have been approved, changing the
party's power."

Petrov says the Exchange will install a local area network
in the Museum building to be connected with a proprietary
computer communications system which will allow information
exchange with systems located abroad. The Exchange is now
considering what will best suit its needs in these fields.

"We've got a State Railways communications service as one of
our founders so we will have no problems with lines within
the country. Problems with interconnecting across national
borders are now under discussion with Austrian and German
telecommunications authorities," Petrov told Newsbytes.

He says a new law allows exchange operations as well as
trade within the country. MTSB will be state-independent.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19900904/Press contact: Sergey Petrov,
MTSB, phone [phone] or 924-7530)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00012)

SUPERCOMPUTER SEEKS SUBSTITUTE FOR DYING SPRUCE FOREST
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 6 (NB) -- As the
Norway spruce forests are being destroyed by air pollution and
the world is losing the best wood for making violins,
Carnegie Mellon University physicist and lifelong
violinist Robert Schumacher is using a National Science
Foundation-funded Cray supercomputer to analyze possible
substitute materials such as carbon fiber composites.

So far, Mr. Schumacher's research has led him to suspect that
man-made materials can make a good substitute for the dying Norway
spruce.

(John McCormick/19900904/Press Contact: Cheryl Dybas, National
Science Foundation, 202-357-9498)


(EXCLUSIVE)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

SWAN TECHNOLOGIES RATED HIGHEST IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 6 (NB) -- In an
exclusive interview with Newsbytes, Swan Technologies's CEO and
President Jack Conrad described how his company placed so well in
PC Magazine's recent customer survey which rated Swan's customer
service and reliability highest in three out of four categories
when compared with 27 major PC manufacturers.

Saying, "Our philosophy is to build quality products at
attractive prices," Mr. Conrad said customer service is a major
consideration in their training. "I tell our people to take
customer satisfaction personally -- think of how you would want to
be treated if you were the customer," Mr. Conrad told Newsbytes.
"We give all our sales people four full weeks of training before
having them deal with customers alone, and everyone is also given
some time working on the actual building of computers."

Asked how his company succeeds at customer service where many
fail miserably, Mr. Conrad, who has been with the seven-year-old
Swan Technologies for one year, said, "Fundamentally, you need
good workers; then you must train them carefully." He also
credited the Central Pennsylvania location with good trade
schools and the local Pennsylvania State University as an
important source of high-quality workers.

Although some students are employed, Mr. Conrad says that most of
his workers are graduates of either trade schools or Penn State.

In the PC Magazine survey, Swan rated highest in the percentage
of users who would purchase a computer from them again;
satisfaction with technical support; and satisfaction with repair
service. In the overall reliability rating Swan finished slightly
lower than IBM, Dell, Everex, NEC, and Hewlett-Packard but well
above Compaq, Commodore, and other well-known companies.

It should be noted that, because it is a relatively small
company, there were only 97 responses from Swan customers
compared to an average of about 600 responses from other
manufacturers.

Swan Technologies is a mail-order company located at 3075
Research Drive, State College, PA 16801, 814-238-1820 or 800-468-
9044 (sales).

(John McCormick/19900906/Press Contact: Jack Conrad, Swan
Technologies, 814-238-1820)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00014)

RESULTS OF INFO SERVICE MANAGER SALARY SURVEY ANNOUNCED
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 6 (NB) -- Ever wonder what
other information services (IS) managers are making?
Computerworld's September 3 issue carries their annual survey
which shows large utility companies' IS executives pulling in
about $119,000 in salary and bonuses, with government IS
executives only earning $74,000.

(John McCormick/19900906)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00015)

LAN TIMES TO PUBLISH TWICE-MONTHLY
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 6 (NB) -- LAN Times, the
McGraw-Hill tabloid covering the local area network field, will
go to a twice-a-month publication schedule starting in October,
up from a once-a-month issue schedule.

LAN Times is a major LAN-oriented trade publication available
free to qualified subscribers.

(John McCormick/19900906)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00016)

SEQUENT ENTERS THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET DIRECTLY
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Sequent Computers
has announced its direct involvement in the Australian
market with the establishment of Sequent System of
Australia and the Asia Pacific Regional Customer Support
Center [RCSC] in a move to take advantage of what Sequent
sees as "tremendous opportunities" for the company.

Plans for the establishment of the company's operations
were made with Sequent's distributor in Australia, Sigma
Data. Sigma will continue to market and support Sequent
products in Australia. John Williamson, who was Sigma Data
Corporation Australia's chief operating officer, will head
Sequent's Australian operations.

According to Bryan Wishart, who has been appointed customer
support manager for the Asia Pacific operations and who
previously worked for NCR in Australia, "Sequent selected
Australia as the headquarters for the RCSC because it has a
good telecommunications infrastructure, excellent academic
institutes and universities and good technical expertise."
It will also allow Sequent to better service clients
throughout the region. Previously, support was based in
Portland, which led to time-zone problems. Australia,
however, is in the same time-zone as the rest of Asia. The
positioning of the RCSC will also allow service teams to be
on site, anywhere in the region, within 24 hours.

(Sean McNamara/19900906/Press Contact: Wei Sinclair,
telephone in Australia [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00017)

IBM TAKES ON FUJITSU WITH POWERFUL NEW COMPUTERS
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 6 (NB) -- IBM has,
in a move described by the firm as "its most comprehensive
announcement in a quarter of a century," introduced a wide
range of hardware and software products which set the firm's
mainframe and connectivity strategy for the 1990s and answer
a challenge put forth a day earlier by Fujitsu.

The announcements, which include the Enterprise System/9000
(ES/9000) family of 18 processors, new models of communications
controllers, its first integrated cryptography system, higher
speed communications capabilities over fiber optic channels,
new releases of its DB2 and SQL/DS database management systems
and new versions of its NetView network and systems management
product, extend system interoperability and connectivity under
the firm's System Applications Architecture (SAA) standard
to a new level.

Consistent with the emphasis on transparent connectivity,
IBM's most powerful operating system, MVS/ESA, will now,
for the first time, be available on intermediate systems.

The ESA/9000 series contains the most powerful computer ever
introduced by the firm, a system that is water cooled and
will cost as much as $22 million. Most industry attention
was centered on this system, estimated as being 1.7 to 1.9
as powerful as existing systems, which will not be available
until late 1991. The delay in shipping of these systems has
led analysts to speculate that Fujitsu and Hitachi, which
both have high speed processors, have an opportunity to gain
market share.

Fujitsu jumped the gun by on IBM by announcing its entry
in the high speed race, the M-1800 group. Although the
company did not announce the exact speed of its mainframe,
it did say that the speed could reach 600 MIPS.
The IBM machines, on the other hand, were being touted by
IBM as capable of delivering the highest speed of
any mainframe. Analysts suggested that means a speed higher
than 210 million instructions per second (MIPS).

In the interim, until the higher end systems are available,
IBM will sell five "transition" machines which are available
immediately. George Conrades, IBM senior vice president,
said that he thinks that the transition models will let
IBM move to the new line without hurting its revenue
or earnings outlook.

Rick Martin, Prudential-Bache analyst told Newsbytes,
"The announcement was reasonably close to what we had been
guessing and we still anticipate that Fujitsu will eventually
have the fastest machine. We do not think that this will
result in a meaningful market share shift away from
IBM. There may possibly be a few point shift but that would
be just a continuation of what has been going on and is
nothing new. The question is how well will Fujitsu do;
not how badly will IBM do. The challenge to IBM was to
announce steps to smooth the transition period and they've
done so."

Martin continued, "As to actual speed, we won't know until
the machines are actually in customer's hands and we expect
them both to be out around the same time in second half '91.
IBM tries not to measure its throughput in MIPS, as most like
to do, but dwells on total performance of all components.
That's why it says that it will still be the fastest but, as I
said, we won't really know until next year."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19900904/Press Contact:
Amos A. Kermisch, IBM, 914-642-4668))


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00018)

NEW FOR IBM: New Enhancements for Displaywrite 5
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- IBM is
making available free of charge new features for its MS-DOS
DisplayWrite 5 word processor that include increased printer
support and additional graphics and Postscript font support.

New printers now supported with DisplayWrite 5, Modification 1
include the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III and the IBM 4019
LaserPrinter E. In addition five new PS/2 computers are
supported, along with the DOS Office Direct Connect feature
of IBM OfficeVision on the Multiple Virtual System platform.

IBM has also improved typestyle selection, cursor movement, and
improved generation of ASCII files. Big Blue is also throwing
in DisplayWrite Graphics Import Utility, which enables users
to convert certain graphics files to Revisable Form Text,
which then can be inserted into a DisplayWrite document.

Applications supported are Lotus 1-2-3 Version 2.01 PIC
files; Harvard Graphics Version 2.1 CGM files; and Freelance
Plus Version 2.01 GMF files.

IBM has handed out these US phone numbers for more information --
DisplayWrite 5, Modification 1, call 800-237-5511. For
more information on DisplayWrite, users can call 800-IBM-7699.

(Wendy Woods/19900906/Press Contact: Steven Malkiewicz, IBM,
914-642-5449)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00019)

TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO DOUBLE LAPTOP OUTPUT IN GERMANY
BONN, WEST GERMANY, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Toshiba's wholly owned
West German subsidiary has announced plans to double monthly
laptop computer output to 10,000 units from this October
to meet larger than expected demand in Europe.

Toshiba Europa in West Germany started production of the T3100e,
T3100SX and T3200SX laptops in April with a total
monthly output of 5,000 units. It had originally aimed to double
its output by May next year, a company spokesman said.
Toshiba currently has three factories in West Germany, two in
France and one in Britain.

(Steve Gold/19900906/Press & Public Contact: Toshiba UK - Tel:
0932-841600)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

DATAFLEX DESIGNING TERMINALS FOR MASSIVE SWEDISH VIDEOTEX PROJECT
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Data communications specialist
Dataflex appears to be reaping the rewards of the UKP 400,000
venture capital invested in it to fund growth into European markets.
Beating off intense worldwide competition, the London-based
company has won contracts worth more than UKP 500,000 to manage the
design and building of modems for the German and Swedish
videotext services.

Under a contract awarded by German company Loewe Opta, Dataflex
is to supply modems for the videotext terminals that Loewe
manufacturers for the Bundesposte's Bildschirmtext service. A
separate deal involves the provision of modems for terminals
being built by Loewe for a consortium comprising IBM Sweden,
Esselte and Televerket (the Swedish equivalent of British
Telecom).

Around 50,000 terminals are to be provided free of charge to
users of the consortium's new Swedish videotext service, due for
launch in March, 1991, said Phil Benge, Dataflex Design's
marketing director.

"Dataflex has the project management experience that gives us the
ability to deal with every facet of the job. And our strategy of
targeting specific areas outside of the UK - in this case,
Northern Europe - rather trying to do too much too soon, is also
a determining factor in our success," he added.

(Steve Gold/19900906/Press & Public Contact: Philip Benge,
Dataflex Design - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00021)

BULK OF WANG'S U.S. STATE DEPT CONTRACT TO BE MADE IN AUSTRALIA
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Wang has won an
US$840M contract to supply computer and communications
equipment to the US Department of State, and sources inside
the company say that as much as 20 percent of the product
may be manufactured in Australia.

The contract covers Wang VS systems, workstations and PCs,
as well as networking and communications hardware and
custom-designed software. The Canberra, Australia Wang
plant is the only one which produces the NetMux 28 system
used to connect VS computers and workstations. It is also
the only source of other ranges of system boards and
modems.

Wang's Australian communications director said he
believed that much of the contract would be sourced here
because of Wang's commitment to distributed manufacture and
development.

(Paul Zucker/19900906)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00022)

AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGES GO ELECTRONIC
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 SEP 03 (NB) -- The Sydney and
Melbourne stock exchanges have transferred most of their
trading to computer in a move to cut costs.

The Stock Exchange Automated Trading System [SEATS] will
handle trading previously undertaken on the floor of the
exchanges, unless the individual trade is worth over
AUS$25,000 or involves one of the top 100 listed companies.
The system is capable of handling up to 15,000 transactions
a day -- a normal trading is 7,000.

Despite the advantages of electronic trading, some brokers
have so far tended to avoid the system and some teething
problems have been experienced.

(Sean McNamara/19900906)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00023)

NEW PRODUCT: Unmouse For PCs Replaces Mice
WILMINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) --
MicroTouch Systems has unveiled an alternative input device
designed to replace a mouse or trackball. Its Unmouse is a
touch-sensitive tablet with three input devices.

The UnMouse tablet, $235, works with PCs, XTs, and
ATs, as well as PS/2 and compatible machines. It has a
serial RS-232 interface and comes with a driver for both
mouse-driven DOS programs and Windows programs.

The unit measure three by four and a half inches and
remains stationary beside the keyboard. To move the screen
cursor, you slide your finger over the glass tablet and click
the mouse button by pressing lightly. This makes it work
faster than a mouse, its creators contend.

The UnMouse can also function as a keypad with templates
which slide under the glass tablet.

The unit is being sold to through computer dealers or directly
from MicroTouch by calling 1-800-UNMOUSE in the US and
Canada or 508-694-9900 elsewhere.

(Wendy Woods/19900915)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

ROCKWELL ANNOUNCES NEW FAX BOARD
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) --
Rockwell International has introduced a new fax board unit which
can transmit data at 14,400 bits/second over regular phone lines,
or at about 6 pages per minute. Most fax boards on the market
today transmit at 9,600 bits/second, or 4 pages per minute.

The R144EFX, part of Rockwell's Monofax line of fax modems, can
be incorporated into future fax boards and fax machines with
additional circuitry and software. Lanny Ross, vice president and
general manager for Digital Communications at the company's
Newport Beach, California plant, said the small size and low
power requirements of the R144EFX will accelerate the development
of new "turbo" fax products for high end business applications.
The new product is also pin-for-pin with the company's older
9,600 bit/second product.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19900905/Press Contact: Eileen Algaze,
Rockwell, 714-833-6849)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00025)

GAME COMPANY OFFERS BIG CONTEST PRIZES
ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEPT 6 (NB) -- Spectrum
HoloByte has announced a holiday sweepstakes with three grand
prizes: a trip to a California professional race driver's
school, a trip to Air Combat USA for aerial dogfight training,
and a ten- day trip for two to the Soviet Union.

The contest starts in November, and winners will be drawn next
March. Entry forms can be obtained at many software dealers or in
specially marked packages of Spectrum HoloBytes's VETTE!, Falcon
3.0 Flight of the Intruder, or Welltris and Faces games.

(John McCormick/19900904/Press Contact: Liz Rich, Spectrum
HoloByte, 415-522-3584)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00026)

LEEMAH HACKER CHALLENGE RESULTS IN 2,009 ATTEMPTED BREAK-INS
HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- LeeMah
Datacom Security Corporation says 2,009 "hackers" tried
to break into its secure system at the Coopers & Lybrand
offices in New York and San Francisco during the two-week
contest which just ended. None succeeded.

The contest may have drawn more participants had there
not been such a controversy over it, according to LeeMah
President John Tuomy, "with some hackers fearing that we
were cooperating with the government in a sting operation.
The contest, however had only one purpose: to demonstrate
that companies can simply and effectively stop hackers
themselves."

LeeMah's TraqNet/Infokey system uses a combination of
technologies with an algorithm to secure systems. The odds
against hacker penetration of all three of the system's
security levels was one in 72 quadrillion, according to
LeeMah. The hackers had to obtain a secret message stored
in the system which read, "The persistent hunter who
winds his prize sooner or later becomes the hunted."

(Wendy Woods/19900906/Press Contact: Gina Fiering, 212-
807-1400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT OPENS NEW CHIP PLANT IN SCOTLAND
SOUTH QUEENSFERRY, SCOTLAND, 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Digital
Equipment has opened what it calls one of the most advanced
semiconductor plants in the world in Scotland, a $165 million
facility representing Digital's largest investment outside
the U.S. and which is designed to position it for the 1992
unification of Europe.

Secretary of State for Scotland, the Rt. Hon. Malcolm Rifkind,
QC, MP joined Digital chief Kenneth Olsen to dedicate the
South Queensferry plant. A Digital spokesman tells Newsbytes
that the plant will manufacture microprocessors strictly
for use by Digital in its own equipment.

Asked whether the softening of the European chip market
sours hopes for the new facility, spokesman Mark Fredrickson
said, "It takes a number of years to plan build and complete this
kind of plant, so any phenomenon that relates to recent months
or a year or two isn't taken into account in a facility of this
magnitude." He added that events in the chip industry as a
whole isn't so relative to DEC, since the microprocessors made
are for its own systems."

Digital does 40 percent of its business in Europe, which is
a higher percentage that its competitors, the spokesman said.
Digital Europe at 5.2 billion dollars in annual revenues would
be large enough to be a Fortune 100 company all by itself.
He added, "We are among a very few computer systems
companies that make their own chips in Europe."

The chips made at the South Queensferry plant will be
send to another facility in Ayr, Scotland where they will
be used in future Digital computer systems for shipment worldwide.

South Queensferry is said to have one of the most
advanced clean rooms in the world, and the technology used in
the plant is at the leading edge and not available on the open
market. With the opening of the plant Digital is now the only
computer manufacturer able to work, completely within
the U.K., from raw silicon, through design and production,
to the finished computer.

(Wendy Woods/19900906/Press Contact: Mark Fredrickson,
DEC, 508-493-4479)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00028)

HP LASERJET IIP POWER SUPPLY PROBLEMS
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard
has installed a special U.S. toll-free hotline to deal with
customers who are concerned they may have purchased one of the
70,000 Laserjet IIP printers with faulty power supplies.
The number is 800-233-5153. Canadian and other overseas
customers should contact their authorized HP dealers.

HP says some 70,000 HP Laserjet IIP printers made during the
early months of the printer's release, before March 1990,
may have faulty power supplies. The problem may not be
evident at this time, HP warns, but might occur later, when
the unit is out of warranty. Consequently, all owners of
HP Laserjet IIP printers bought before March are urged to
call their dealer or the hotline to find out if their unit
is affected.

HP hotline staff will match a customer's printer serial
number against those of printers known to have faulty power
supplies during the phone call. Serial numbers that begin
with 3 do not have faulty power supplies. If a match is
found, the owner will be instructed to take the unit to
the nearest HP dealer for free power supply replacement.
They can also return the printer to HP and receive a
remanufactured printer with a full one-year warranty in
exchange.

The company says the units are not dangerous but if the
power supply fails, will result in a front control-panel
message which reads, "50 Needs Service" and won't work.

(Wendy Woods/19900906)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

NEW FOR IBM: Adobe PostScript Cartridge For LaserJet II
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) -- Adobe
Systems is shipping a PostScript Cartridge for
Hewlett-Packard's LaserJet Series II printer, intended to
provide LaserJet Series II users with the industry-standard
PostScript software from Adobe at an affordable price,
the company says.

According to Adobe, the cartridge is one-and-a-half to
three times faster than other cartridges, and includes
LaserTool's Printer Control Panel, which automatically
switches the LaserJet printer between the PostScript language
and HP's Printer Control Language (PCL).

Containing font software that includes the 35 standard laser
printer Adobe outline typeface programs, the PostScript
Cartridge plugs directly into the left front LaserJet II
cartridge slot and will support all downloadable Type 1
font software, according to the company.

The cartridge requires 1.5 megabytes of RAM. The product
is available immediately from all Adobe Authorized Dealers
at a suggested retail price of $495. Call 415/961-4400.

(Computer Currents/19900906)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

HP DESKJET 500 PRINTER SHIPPING
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 SEP 6 (NB) --
Hewlett-Packard is now shipping the DeskJet 500, what it
says is a higher-performance, lower-priced HP DeskJet Printer.

The inkjet printer replaces the HP DeskJet PLUS and DeskJet
printers, and offers more fonts and better font spacing,
water-resistant ink and compatibility with Microsoft Windows
3.0, the company says.

The printer has 300-dpi resolution and uses plain paper
and like the HP DeskJet PLUS, produces up to three pages
of text or two pages of graphics per minute.

Four new font cartridges are included, with two decorative
fonts, Dom Casual and Brush, as well as Garamond, CG
Triumvirate and CG Century Schoolbook typefaces. The new
non-smearing ink cartridges that are included with the 500
will be available to all HP DeskJet family and HP DeskWriter
printer owners in December, the company says.

The HP DeskJet 500 lists for $729. For more information call
HP toll free in the US at 800/752-0900.

(Computer Currents/1990906)