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/nb901120

Text File | 1990-11-21 | 44.1 KB | 968 lines

(EXCLUSIVE)(GOVT)(NYC)(00001)

ATLANTA SENTENCING DESIGNED TO "SEND MESSAGE" 11/20/90
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- In response to
questions by Newsbytes concerning the rationale underlying
the sentences received by Robert J. Riggs, Adam E. Grant
and Franklin E. Darden, Jr. on November 16 for activities
involving illegal access to computer systems of BellSouth,
Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern
District of Georgia Kent B. Alexander has released the "Government's
Sentencing Memorandum And S.G. & 5K1.1 Motion".

This 21 page document, prepared by Joe D. Whitney, United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and Alexander and sent to
United States District Court Judge J. Owen Forrester, puts forth the factors
which the prosecuting attorneys wish the judge to consider in determining
sentence.

The memorandum states: "Although the government is going to recommend
a downward departure from the Sentencing Guidelines, the three
defendants are clearly criminals who have caused a significant amount of
damage and should be punished accordingly. Moreover, the computer
hacker world is watching this case very closely, and the Court should send
a message that illegal computer activities will not be tolerated." (The word
"hacker" is footnoted and explained by saying, "The government uses the
term 'hacker' to describe a person who uses computers for criminal
activity. The Court should note, however, that the term 'hacker' can also be
used to describe legitimate computer users. At one time all computer users
were known as 'hackers' and some computer users still identify themselves
as 'hackers'.")

In explaining the gravity of the crimes, the memorandum states  "In all,
they stole approximately $233,800 worth of logins/passwords and connect
addresses (i.e. access information) from BellSouth.  BellSouth spent
approximately $1.5 million in identifying the intruders into their system
and has since spent roughly $3 million  more to further secure their
network."

In explaining the perceived need to send a message to the  "hacker
community," the memorandum points out that the last  federally prosecuted
adult criminal hacker, Robert Morris,  Jr. received probation and that that
sentence was followed  very closely by "hackers" throughout the nation.
The  memorandum states: "Any sentence that does not include  incarceration
would send the wrong message to the hacking  community; that is, that
breaking into computer systems is  not really a crime."

The document also states that "All three defendants have  provided
significant cooperation that has fueled further  investigation into the
activities of a number of computer  hackers throughout the country."
Because of this  cooperation, the "government moves for this Court to
make a  downward departure pursuant to S.G. 5k1.1 in the amount of
three levels for defendants Grant and Darden and two levels  for defendant
Riggs." The memorandum then details the  cooperation of each of these
defendants in cases involving  Craig Neidorf in Chicago and an unnamed
"fellow Legion of  Doom member" in Detroit. The memorandum also
explains why a  lesser departure is recommended for Riggs - "Defendant
Riggs strikes the undersigned counsel as an unusually quiet  and pensive
person. Throughout the investigation, he has  been cooperative, but because
of his nature, he sometimes  comes across as uninterested and evasive. The
bottom line  is that he provided helpful information that furthered  several
investigations around the country, though his  assistance was not as
substantial as that of Grant and  Darden; hence the recommendation of only
a two-level  departure." An earlier conviction for Riggs related to
computer fraud was also mentioned.

In the actual sentencing by Judge Forrester, Grant and  Darden received 14
months incarceration of which 7 will be  in a half-way house  while Riggs
received 21 months incarceration . Additionally, they were directed to
make  restitution payments to BellSouth of $233,000.

In a conversation with Newsbytes, the aforementioned Craig Neidorf
questioned the determination of damages in the case, saying "I hope that the
damages claimed by BellSouth have been well scrutinized by the
government. You may remember that, before the charges against me were
dismissed, BellSouth had claimed that the value of the document in question
was over $70,000. It turned out that the document was available in print
for under $20. Riggs, Darden and Grant had already pleaded guilty when
this gross overstatement came out. I hope, for justice's sake, that the
restitution awarded actually relates to substantiated damages." An
examination of the sentencing memorandum finds that the E911 file, "the
subject of the Chicago indictment" was estimated by Bob Kibler of
BellSouth Security to be valued, based on R&D costs, at $24,639.

Kent Alexander, Assistant U.S. Attorney, told Newsbytes that he "is
comfortable with the method under which the damages were determined."
He also clarified the order for restitution, saying that Riggs, Darden and
Grant are jointly responsible for the $233,000 and that each of them is
individually liable for the entire amount should the others default in
payment.

The Department of Justice release also stated: "The United  States Attorney
commented that most computer users engage  in legal and constructive
activities. Criminal hackers,  however, who break into computer systems of
others, are  breaking the law and will be prosecuted accordingly."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19901119)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)

UK: MICROSOFT WINDOWS HAILED A GREAT SUCCESS 11/20/90
READING, BERKSHIRE, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Microsoft UK has
announced that sales of Windows 3.0 have surpassed the 60,000
figure in the UK, as well as 1.5 million on a worldwide basis.
These figures do not include copies bundled with hardware by
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) which Microsoft reckons
now totals the one million mark.

"The success of Windows 3.0 is absolutely phenomenal. It's the
fastest-selling software product in the world," said David Smith,
UK Microsoft systems manager. "Windows is attractive to all users
- there is something for everyone. It's simply the right product,
at the right time with the right price," he enthused.

In the UK, more than 50 hardware vendors are bundling Windows 3.0
with their systems - these include: AST Research, Apricot, Atari,
Compuadd, IBM, Northgate Computer Systems, Toshiba and Zenith
Data Systems.

The success of Windows 3.0 has resulted in creation of a new
exhibition - the Windows Show - which will be held at London's
Olympia exhibition hall February 12-14, 1991. The show -
organized by IT Events - will feature an open exhibition by
software and hardware manufacturers with Windows-related products
and a conference addressed by Microsoft speakers and other key
industry representatives.

(Steve Gold/19901119/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft UK - Tel:
0734-391123)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00003)

MOSCOW: NANTUCKET'S OFFICE STATUS CHANGES 11/20/90
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- The existing office of
the U.S.-based Nantucket Corp. is now registered in Moscow
as a joint venture's headquarters.

Nantucket entered the Soviet market a year ago and has already
ammassed many sales of its flagship product, Clipper, due to
the company's policy of selling this Western software for roubles.
Up to now all Nantucket activity was masked under the name of
a youth center, which now becomes a partner in the new joint venture
called Magnet. It was registered at the USSR Ministry of Finance
late last week and received registration number 2572, Michael Kuperman,
Moscow office general manager told Newsbytes.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19901119/Press contact: Michael Kupermn, Nantucket
Moscow, phone [phone] fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MOW)(00004)

MOSCOW: MORE COMPUTER MAGAZINES TO BE PUBLISHED IN USSR 11/20/90
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Nantucket's Moscow office
has announced plans to publish two new computer magazines.

Michael Kuperman, Moscow office general manager for Nantucket, told
Newsbytes that both publications, already officially registered,
will be in Russian, targeted to the local reader but they
will carry English abstracts. "Nantucket News" will be the
translated version of a similar magazine published in the US
while "Nantucket in USSR" will be written exclusively by
Soviet authors.

He said that the first issues of both magazines will be available
early next year. Nantucket expects both to be monthly publications.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19901119/Contact: Michael Kuperman, Nantucket
Moscow, phone [phone] fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00005)

AUSTRALIAN TRAVEL ORGANIZER LINKS UP TO WORLD NETWORK 11/20/90
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- The locally founded Jetset
Tours company has launched its own computer reservations system
(CRS), which is linked to hotels and other travel service providers
around the world. Worldlink will also allow users to access CRSs
with which Jetset is associated, thereby increasing the range of
products available through it.

The system uses a database of over 15,000 hotels (plus other travel
providers) to allow users to construct itineraries for holidays.
Although airline tickets will be able to be purchased on the system,
it will mainly be aimed at selling complete tour packages. According
to Jetset, it provides a wider range of choice for travellers over
airline-operated CRSs, as these were primarily developed to sell
airline tickets. According to a Jetset spokesman, "We've developed a
a system that can create a holiday."

The system will link to the two main CRSs in use here and in Europe,
Fantasia and Galileo. Worldlink will appear as a menu option on
Fantasia, which is the CRS Jetset has aligned itself to locally.
Fantasia is the Qantas owned CRS, and which itself is linked to
Sabre. Jetset has paid approximately AUS$12M to setup the system.

(Sean McNamara/19901119)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00006)

AUSTRALIA: NETCOMM APPOINTED 3COM DISTRIBUTOR 11/20/90
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Netcomm has announced its
appointment as a distributor of the 3Com range of networking
products. According to Roy Johnson, 3Com's Australian general
manager, the agreement should see a significantly expanded market
penetration by 3Com.

Netcomm is already a systems distributor for Microsoft LAN Manager,
as well as a distributor of other manufacturers like Gateway.
Johnson said: "I believe Netcomm's existing relationship with
Microsoft compliments this arrangement. The combination of LAN
Manager, 3Com value added services, hardware and internetworking
products will enable Netcomm to offer the most comprehensive
connectivity solution available today."

Paul Heath, Netcomm's group marketing manager, said that the
agreement signalled "Netcomm's continued push towards becoming
Australia's most versatile systems integrator. 3Com's product range
augments the capabilities of our LAN division.

(Sean McNamara/19901119/Press contact: Paul Heath, phone in
Australia, [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00007)

AUSTRALIA: EPSON OFFERING XMAS DISCOUNTS ON COMPUTERS 11/20/90
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- A special set of discounts
aimed at the home office and education markets is being offered by
Epson this Christmas. The discounts are based on the EL2 computer,
and according to Epson, the packages offered contain all the
hardware and software needed for home office and education use.

The EL2 Christmas package will come with either color or monochrome
VGA monitor, an Epson LX-400 9-pin dot matrix printer, software, and
a 20 or 40 megabyte hard disk drive. According to Norbert
Kiss, Epson's PC Product Manager, "The EL2 has everything built in
and the training pack assists the user in preparing the machine.
This pack is perfect for the home office or in the education
environment and the addition of the training pack and the various
pieces of bundled software, the user can be productive within a very
short space of time. We believe this pack will appeal to many
schools and home office users looking to purchase a second or third
computer."

The systems available (and the prices for them) are: EL2 20MB Mono
VGA (AUS$2,783); EL2 20MB Color VGA (AUS$3,343); EL2 40MB Mono VGA
(AUS$3,179); and EL2 40MB Color VGA (AUS$3,739). The systems will be
available through participating Epson dealers and retail chains like
Harvey Norman and Myer.

(Sean McNamara/19901119/Press contact: Karen Murphy, phone in
Australia, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00008)

HITACHI TO SHIP TINY CELLULAR PHONE, INITIALLY TO UK 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Hitachi has developed a
super-compact, lightweight cellular phone unit for the overseas
marketplace, and, as an open gambit, it will ship the unit to the
U.K. next month, according to The Japan Industrial Journal paper.

Hitachi claims the newly developed cellular phone is the world's
smallest as a terminal for the U.S. and Europe, with space of 215 cc
and weight of 310 grams. The unit complies with Motorola's TACS
(Total Access Communications System) mode, and will be sold under
the FLITE brand name through Hitachi Sales Corporation.

Hitachi aims to export initially to the U.K., and later to Hong
Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, and Italy. Further, it is planning
to distribute the unit for the U.S., where another mode, AMPS
(Advanced Mobile Phone System), is used, and plans to create a
plant to manufacture the units there.

The initial monthly production of 2,000 units at its Tokai factory
in Japan will be expanded to 10,000 units in a year.

(Ken Takahashi/19901115)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00009)

JAPAN: UNIT CHANGES NEC PC INTO ISDN TERMINAL 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Anritsu, a second-tier electronic
appliances maker affiliated with NEC, claims to have developed
a communication control board which makes a NEC PC-9801 personal
computer an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) terminal.

The board, named M-Card64, is inserted into an expansion slot of the
PC-9801 personal computer, and can be utilized for both circuit and
packet switching on NTT's ISDN network INSnet64.

The board allows a personal computer to receive data at all times,
even when another task is in progress. With an optional relay box, it
loads  a powered-off personal computer to receive data without an
operator by automatically detecting the arrival of the data.

The board will be available next month, and will be priced at 198,000 yen
($1,500), with additional software costing 55,000 yen ($420).

(Ken Takahashi/19901115/Press Contact: Anritsu Corp., 03-446-1111)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00010)

NEW R3000 RISC CHIP FROM NEC 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- NEC will market a high-end
version of its RISC (reduced instruction set computer) processor based
on the technology introduced  by U.S.-based MIPS Computer Systems.
The new chip is a 32 MIPS (million instructions per second) version
of VR3000, exceeding the 26.4 MIPS version released last July, for the
sample price of 100,000 yen or $770.

NEC says it is planning to develop VR4000 in April and VR6000 in
July next year. The VR6000 will have ECL (emitter coupled logic)
structure instead of current CMOS (complementary metal oxide
semiconductor) structure and have parallel processing features for
multiple instructions.

In the RISC processor arena, alliances between Fujitsu and Sun
Microsystems, and Hitachi and Hewlett-Packard, are the competitors to
NEC and MIPS alliance in the race to build more power into workstations.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19901115/Press Contact: NEC Corp. 03-454-1111)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00011)

JAPAN: SEIKO-EPSON TO BOOST ACTIVE-MATRIX LCD OUTPUT 11/20/90
NAGANO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Seiko-Epson plans
to boost its active-matrix LCD (liquid crystal display) production,
the Nikkei Industrial Daily newspaper reports. The paper says most
of the 10 billion yen or $77 million investment for LCD production
has been applied to expand its active matrix LCD plants, such as
Suwa and Suwa-Minami plants. Suwa plant is a main force for the
production of TFT (thin film transistor) LCDs and Suwa-Minami plant
is known for its MIM (metal insulated metal) LCDs production.

The paper says Seiko-Epson plans to produce 500,000 panels
of TFT LCDs sizes between two and six inches in the next fiscal
year, up from 300,000 panels expected to be produced in this fiscal
year. It also plans to double 10-inch MIM LCD production for
personal computers from its current 50,000 units.

Seiko-Epson plans to produce large size LCDs with MIM technology
and smaller panels, such as viewfinders for video camcorders and
portable TV sets, with TFT technology. In all, Seiko-Epson plans
to increase the production ratio of active matrix LCDs to 50 percent
from a current 30 percent.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19901115)


(EXCLUSIVE)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00012)

MOSCOW: 1000 MIPS SUPERCOMPUTER TO BE BUILT NEXT YEAR 11/20/90
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- The Moscow-based SAM computer
factory will start producing the MKP (Module Conveyer Processor)
1000 MIPS (millions instructions per second) machine early next year.

This supercomputer, developed by the Moscow-based Institute of
Precise Mechanics and Computer Technics of the USSR Academy of
Sciences is an "attempt to think about Cray's design and make
it somewhat more effective," Oleg Guskov, SAM executive, told
Newsbytes.

Another reason for building a proprietary computer is the matter of
intellectual property problems, he said. "Monitoring of these
machine's use by westerners frequently leads to problems with
our data. Our inventions have been reaching people abroad very
fast and we are becoming bored with scientific priorities
problems."

This machine will feature a modular structure with up to 64
modules per computer. Modules to be included are: fast vector-
scalar processors, main memory, high speed disc system control,
input/output and interfaces to other computers.

Each of the central processors can handle two streams of
vector-scalar commands with a peak speed of over 700 MIPS
per stream. It includes 2 million 64-bit words local RAM
transfer speed between processor and its own memory is up to 6400
MB (megabytes) per second. Mr. Guskov said that special design allows
the execution of vector and scalar commands on the same
physical circuits -- a feature no available on a Cray system.

The internal superbus which connects different modules has a data
transfer speed of 800 MB per second.

RAM modules are 512 megabytes each with data access peak speed up to
800 MB per second. One disc drive control module supports 80 GB
(gigabytes) of disc space. Each of input-output channels with a 30
megabytes per second throughput capable to handle up to 3000 terminals.

According to Mr. Guskov, the new computer, for which they already have
several orders, will be interfaced with all existing Soviet-made
computers and a number of Western ones available in the country.

The MKP will have a set of software including proprietary Unix-like
operating system and a number of high-level language systems. The
fast Soviet Elbrus computer will work as a MKP's front-end machine.

Prices for MKP have not been finalized yet.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19901120/Press & public contact: Oleg S. Guskov,
SAM, phone [phone])


(EXCLUSIVE)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00013)

MOSCOW: POWERFUL COMPUTER USERS UNITE 11/20/90
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Representatives of 100+ Soviet
organizations which design, produce and use supercomputers in the
USSR have decided to join their forces and form an association.

"The association of users, designers and manufacturers of high-speed
systems", which is to be registered soon, will coordinate and fund
different activities in this field, supply developers with information
about existing projects in the USSR and abroad, organize the
certification of new software for computers," Oleg Guskov,
a representative of association and the SAM factory, which produces
Soviet supercomputers told Newsbytes.

The new group, which includes Soviet academic institutions, military,
space, and nuclear researchers, will try to reduce the duplication
of software development projects, which are not unusual occurrences,
and take care of supercomputers' end-users. It will publish a
monthly newsletter and organize annual meetings.

The first big project of the newly-born association will be to
build a fiber optic network connecting a dozen supercomputers
located in Moscow, Mr. Guskov concluded.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19901120/Press & Public contact: Vladimir Suvorov,
Moscow University, phone [phone] fax [phone])


(EXCLUSIVE)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00014)

MOSCOW: SUPERCOMPUTER NETWORK TO BE BUILT 11/20/90
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- A dozen Moscow-based Soviet
supercomputers will be interconnected with a dedicated fiber optic
network to be completed in early 1991.

Mr. Oleg Guskov, Soviet Supercomputer Associations representative told
Newsbytes that the project will include computers like the 5 MIPS
(million operations per second) "Elbrus-2KB", currently in production
and the 1000 MIPS "MKP", to be commercially available early next year.
Involved parties are building proprietary fiber optic links,
half of them are already installed and operable and the rest will
be completed within a couple of months.

The project is funded from different sources and it's impossible
to estimate the total cost at the moment, Mr Guskov said.

"We plan to build a publicly-available computer network, Soviet
Compuserve, using these supercomputers' facilities," Mr. Guskov
concluded.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19901120/Press & public contact: Oleg S. Guskov,
Supercomputer Association, phone [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

ATLANTA GAINS FROM DECISIONS BY GTE, MCI 11/20/90
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Atlanta's
telecommunications sector, stung by the mergers of locally-based
Contel and Telecom USA into Stamford, CT-based GTE and
Washington, DC-based MCI, respectively, got some good news.
GTE decided to base its combined cellular division in Atlanta,
closing the old GTE Cellular offices in Houston, while MCI
decided to put its southern headquarters in Atlanta, shielding
the city from 1,500 MCI job cuts being made system-wide. The GTE
decision could keep about 350 jobs in the city.

There's no dancing in the streets, however. Top executive
positions at both Contel and Telecom will be eliminated by the
new parent companies. Current employees will have to compete with
outsiders to keep what jobs remain. And final decisions on those
jobs will henceforth be made in Stamford and Washington, not
Atlanta. The moves leave BellSouth as the only major
telecommunications firm based in the city, followed by Hayes
Microcomputer Products, a modem manufacturer.

Atlanta's role in telecommunications henceforth will mainly be as
an important regional office, with AT&T, Northern Telecom and IBM
all employing thousands of local employees. Northern Telecom, in
fact, recently installed the first of its Enhanced Network, or
ENET, systems, on Powers Ferry Road in Cobb County, near the
city. The ENET system is the cornerstone of Northern's FiberWorld
strategy, which will increase the speed with which calls pass
through switches and, hence, reduce the time it takes to connect
your call. ENET will also let NT switches handle advanced
services like Caller ID and Switched Megabit Data Services as
easily as it now handles voice calls.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19901120/Press Contact: Northern Telecom, Pete
Settles, 919/992-2788)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

AT&T OPENS DIRECT-DIAL SERVICE TO 10 COUNTRIES 11/20/90
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- AT&T,
continuing a trend to upgrade operator service with direct-dial
service internationally, opened direct-dial service to 10
countries and areas, including Syria, Albania and The Congo.
Before now calls to the 10 areas required operator assistance.

The new direct-dial countries and areas are the African nations
of The Congo, which will henceforth be country code 242,
Mauritania, at 222, Mozambique, at 258, Albania, at 355, Bhutan,
at 975, Mayotte, at 269, Syria, at 963, the Cook Islands, at
682, Nauru, at 674, and the Solomon Islands 677. Once a caller
reaches the international network from the US by dialing 011,
it's only necessary to dial these country codes, a local area
code if any, and a local phone number, to reach the party to
whom you wish to speak.

Dialing direct also saves callers money. In an example given by
AT&T, a 5-minute, direct-dialed call from the U.S. to Syrian
President Hafez al Assad late at night will cost $8.95.  The
least expensive operator-assisted rate for a 5-minute call to
Syria is $12.21.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19901120/Press Contact: Dave Bikle, AT&T, 201-
953-7614)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

BELL ATLANTIC, US WEST SIGN TO UPGRADE CZECH PHONES 11/20/90
PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic and US
West of the US, which are two of the nation's 7 regional Bell
companies, have signed agreements with the Post and Telecommunications
Administrations of the Czech and Slovak Republic to create joint
venture companies which will build and operate cellular mobile
and packet data networks in Czechoslovakia.

One joint venture company will operate in the Czech Republic, the
other in the Slovak Republic. The Post and Telecommunications
Administrations will own 51% of each company, with Bell Atlantic
and US West jointly owning the remaining 49%. The two US
firms will provide equipment and services to modernize and expand
Czechoslovakia's existing telecommunications infrastructure.

Both Bell Atlantic and US West have been aggressively expanding
internationally. Bell Atlantic, for instance, now owns a piece of
New Zealand Telecom and sought to operate half of Argentina's
EnTel system, until the Manufacturers Hanover Group failed to
come up with a $100 million down payment. US West has won
concessions to operate cellular phone services in Mexico and
Hungary, while failing in its bid to lead a group building a
fiber optic cable across the USSR when US and UK security
agencies objected.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19901120/Press Contact: Michael Houghton,
Bell Atlantic, 703-974-1677; Rebecca Herbst of U S West, 303-649-
4658)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

HAYES SUPPORTS V.32BIS, REDUCES FAX BOARD PRICES 11/20/90
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Hayes Microcomputer
Products announced support for V.32bis, an extension of the V.32
standard for 9,600 bit/second dial-up modems. The new standard
works at speeds of up to 14,400 bits/second, and at 4,800, 7,200
and 12,000 bits/second as well, giving fast modems a stair-step
path of speeds at which they can connect under the standard on
poor phone lines.

Dennis Hayes, chairman of the company, said
Hayes is not immediately announcing a product under the new
standard, saying he'll wait until "our implementation meets uor
standards for performance, reliability and quality." Forval
America, a division of a Japanese firm, announced a 14,400
bit/second V.32bis modem at the Comdex trade show. Hayes' top-of-
the-line modem remains the Ultra 9,600, which supports V.32 as
well as the V.42bis data compression standard which can deliver
effective throughput of 38,400 bits/second.

Hayes also dropped prices up to 67% on its JT Fax line of fax
boards. The biggest drop came on the JTFax 4800P, a 2 page-per-
minute board which will now cost $199 instead of $595. The high-
end product, which combined a 4 page-per-minute fax board with a
Hayes 2,400 bit/second modem and Smartcom EZ software, dropped in
price from $696 to $499. Customers can receive technical support
and software updates for all the boards by dialing the company's
bulletin board at 800-US-HAYES or 404-HI-MODEM. The company's
voice line is at 404-441-1617. In addition to selling the JT Fax
line through its computer store retail channels, Hayes also sells
them through developers like InterFax, SofNet, and Unifax
Communications, which create vertical-market fax using
the JT Fax software.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19901120/Press Contact: Hayes, Peggy Ballard,
404-449-8791)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00019)

GARTNER REPORT SHOWS INCREASED COMPUTER EARNINGS 11/20/90
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Yardstick
Quickflash, a publication of the Gartner Group, Inc., reports that
net earnings for data processing vendors in third quarter 1990 grew
46% over third quarter 1989's figures. According to Gartner, this
is the largest increase since first quarter 1988.

The growth figure, according to Gartner senior research analyst Randall
Brophy, was due primarily to greatly improved net earings by IBM and
Unisys Corp. IBM reported data processing net earnings of $1.1 billion in
third quarter '90  which was a 26.8 percent increase over third quarter '89.
During the same period, Unisys recorded a $357 million net loss in third
quarter '90 vs. a $648 milion net loss in third quarter '89. Without IBM
and Unisys, the data processing sector's net earnings grew 2.3 percent in
third quarter '90 over third quarter '89.

Brophy told Newbytes that IBM's dramatic increase was not reflected in its
sales of personal computers. "In that catσgory, the growth rate pretty much
stopped dead with a growth rate of only around 2%. Compaq was one of
the brighter lights in this category with a 26.4% growth. AST also
performed well with 19% growth. By comparison, Apple's earnings
declined 2.2% in the same period."

Brophy compiled this data from 183 publicly held companies in the
information industry, i.e., data processing (computers, software and
peripherals), telecommunications and electronic components. Analyzing the
backdrop of the profitability increase, Brophy did not see the figures as
being indictive of a long-term upswing, saying: "The five percent drop in
the U.S. dollar against other currencies during the third quarter, along
with ongoing corporate cost-cutting efforts, contributed to the surprising
upswing in profitability. In addition, many information technology
purchasers are still operating from 1990 budgets drawn a year ago. As the
new year commences, budget tightening will likely reduce profitability for
many data processing firms "

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19901119/Press Contact: Kris
Dale, Gartner Group, 203-964-0096)


(NEWS)(IBM)(NYC)(00020)

IBM HONORED BY THE STATE OF GEORGIA 11/20/90
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- IBM has
announced that it has been recognized by the state of Georgia as an
"Outstanding Corporate Partner" during the fifth annual Job Training
Partnership Conference dinner held at the Atlanta Airport Hyatt Hotel.

During the awards banquet, which was attended by Gov. Joe Frank Harris
and State Labor Commissioner Joe Tanner, IBM was cited for its
leadership in implementing the Summer Youth Mentor Program, operated
by the Private Industry Council (PIC) of Atlanta Inc. Jim Fox, IBM area
assistant general manager who served as the PIC chairman of the program
received the award from Gov. Harris. The award cited IBM for providing
summer employment, on-the-job training and specialized skills training for
individuals in the job training program, and both training and employment
opportunities for persons with disabilities.

For the past three years, IBM has annually provided some 25 mentors and
summer jobs, plus support staff to the PIC office, and has designed and
implemented an annual training program for mentors and proteges.

IBM spokesperson Pam Harris told Newsbytes: "We are happy to receive
this recognition. The award is another indication of IBM's committment to
public service particularly in the field of education. We are active in
supporting education on many planes and this is just one of them."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19901119/Press Contacts: Pam
Evans, 404-877-6165; Ginger Blackstone, Georgia Department of Labor,
404-656-3032)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00021)

UK: DATA AND DOCUMENT RECOVERY SERVICES TEAM UP 11/20/90
CHESHAM, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- S&S International, a
company well-known in the UK data recovery business for its no
fix, no fee services, has entered into an informal agreement
with the Data & Archival Damage Control Centre, a company that
specializes in corporate document recovery.

Terms of the agreement mean that, even when fire or flood
apparently destroys both paper and disk-based records, the
likelihood of recovering the majority of a company's records
after a disaster will be considerably increased.

Helene Donnelly, founder and managing director of the Data &
Archival Damage Control Centre, had come across the S&S services
while browsing through a magazine: "The complementary nature of
our services struck me immediately," she said.

"With the growth of information storage on magnetic media as well
as in traditional paper form, clients have been asking about the
possibilities of computer data recovery. I'd been thinking for
some time that we should look for a partner in this area, and
what S&S were offering seemed exactly right," she added.

The Data & Archival Damage Control Centre specializes in world-
wide emergency rescue and restoration of water, smoke and fire-
damaged documents. In its relatively short life, the center has
won several awards for its work in the UK.

(Steve Gold/19901120/Press Contact: Dr. Alan Solomon - Tel: 0494-
791900)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00022)

BUCK BLOOMBECKER PROMOTES NEW BOOK IN EUROPE 11/20/90
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Buck Bloombecker stopped
in London this week to promote his new 350-page book,
"Spectacular Computer Crimes," which is now available in Europe.
The UKP 350 book contains details of 18 tales of
computer terminal trickery and is published by Dow Jones-Irwin.

Buck Bloombecker is an acknowledged expert in computer crime,
working as a solicitor, computer consultant and writer in the
field of telecommunications. He is also a director of the
National Center for Computer Crime Data in Santa Cruz,
California.

Speaking with Newsbytes, Bloombecker said he is aware that people
outside the US have computers as well and, while they have
computer problems, the appropriate laws against such activities
are different from those in the US.

"Spectacular Computer Crimes" is available from most major
bookshops in the UK, effective immediately.

(Steve Gold/191120/ Press & Public Contact - Charles Letts & Co
Ltd., - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00023)

STRYKER ASIA-NET GOES ONLINE IN HONG KONG 11/20/90
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Stryker Asia-Net business
opportunity database today became available online via Hong Kong
Telecom CSL's Dialcom network. It is the first online business
information service to consolidate trading, business news, project
and investment opportunities from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia,
China, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Stryker Group was formed in 1967 as a private forum for
exchanging ideas and promoting mutual objectives and interests for
consultants involved in international business and finance. It
quickly developed into a specialized company providing proprietary
and confidential business and financial information to selected
private and official clients. For the past fifteen years, the Group
has utilized information technology to assist in the collection and
analysis of its extensive research in the region. It now provides a
broad range of services for the international trading community and
assists in trade and project development throughout Asia.

Stryker Group Chief Executive, John Mead, told Newsbytes: "We are not
competing with the news or financial services. We report on companies
and ventures, but first do a great deal of research to ensure they
are genuine before passing information on to our clients."

Mead said clients are able to research an interesting project or
company by consulting the data compiled by Stryker Group. "The first
stage is for the client to use the information we provide to identify
the right company for trade or investment," he said. "The second
stage is to consult our detailed reports."

Stryker Group also provides valuable data for insurance companies,
including some big groups in the US. "There is obviously something
suspect about a venture, say, that appears to have constructed ten
floors of building in only two days. We are able to highlight and
investigate such anomalies and provide accurate information," Mead
added. "Our service is one of research and verification."

Stryker Asia-Net on Dialcom has a database of about 1 megabyte (MB),
but this will expand to include the total of 60 MB of data Stryker
Group has available.

(Norman Wingrove/19901120/Press Contact: Lousiana Chan, HK Telecom
CSL, + 852 829 6628; HK Time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00024)

DATA GENERAL DENIES POLITICAL PRESSURE GOT THEM CONTRACT 11/20/90
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- A Data General (DG)
spokesman denies knowledge of any political involvement in DG
contracts as reported in Monday's Federal Computer Week which
says that Peter Kostmayer's (Dem.-PA) House Interior and Insular
Affairs Investigation Subcommittee is investigating claims that
the $127 million contract awarded to Data General to supply
computers to the U.S. Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.) was influenced
by White House pressure.

Speaking to Newsbytes, Data General spokesman Jim Dunlap said,
"We feel right now that all issues [involving this contract] have
been settled after review by the courts. We are ready to fulfill
the contract and expect to start shipping computers to the U.S.
Geological Survey soon."

Mr. Dunlap made his company's position clear, saying, "We are
absolutely not aware of any White House involvement [in this
contract]."

Federal Computer Week's Carolyn Duffy Marsan reported in her
front page story that Congressional liaison officer for the
U.S.G.S. Tom Reed had also denied any knowledge of White House
involvement.

The contract in question is the DIS II or Distributed Information
System procurement contract awarded to Data General on December
21, 1989. The contract, which calls for installation of 6,000
workstations and network servers over a seven-year-period, was
protested by the two unsuccessful bidders, SMS Data Products
Group and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company.

The General Service Administration's (GSA) Board of Contract
Appeals ruled in SMS's favor in March, ordering the Interior
Department to reopen bidding, but Data General's appeal to the
U.S. Court of Appeals has apparently resulted in the overturn of
the GSA decision.

(John McCormick/19901120/Press Contact: Jim Dunlap, Data General,
508-870-8162)


(EXCLUSIVE)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00025)

MOSCOW: THE LATEST COMPUTER PARTS PRICES IN ROUBLES 11/20/90
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Moscow "Electronica" shop
offers different computer parts for roubles for Soviet customers. The
following is a small price list for them.

An AT 8 MHz motherboard with 1 megabyte (MB) of memory is sold
for 6500 roubles ($295 by the market exchange rate 22 roubles per
dollar), a 150 watts power supply is ROU 2000 ($91), a baby AT case
is ROU 1500 ($68).

101-key keyboard with cyrillic characters is selling for ROU 1300 ($59),
a 40 MB 3.5 inch hard drive sells for ROU 7500 ($341), an AT hard-floppy
controller is for ROU 1500 ($68), the floppy drives themselves are ROU
1500 ($68) per 1.2MB drive and ROU 800 ($36) for a 360MB one.

A regular EGA card is worth ROU 2000 ($91) while a 14 inch monitor
compatible with it is ROU 10,000 ($454.5).

A wide carriage 9-pin printer costs ROU 7000 ($318), a 80287 coprocessor
is ROU 2000 ($91), a Microsoft-compatible mouse is ROU 700 ($32) and
a serial/parallel/game port retails for ROU 1000 ($45).

The other items on sale included different PC and video chips.
Availability of these goods is the result of an agreement with
an unnamed East Asian supplier, according to an Electronica shop
executive.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19901120)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00026)

CAMBODIA'S MODERN TELECOM LINKS NOW OPEN 11/20/90
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Cambodia's upgraded
telecommunications systems was put online today with the first call
over the service being made between Phnom Penh and Canberra. The
call was between Cham Prasith, a vice minister in the Cambodian
Council of Ministers, and Gareth Evans, Australia's minister for
Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Cambodia's telecommunications system was recently upgraded by OTC to
include a satellite earth station. The earth station is just a part
of the agreement OTC has with the Cambodian government to develop
the Cambodian communications system over the next 10 years. Further
developments will include an automatic exchange and training of
local staff to run and further upgrade the new facilities.

(Sean McNamara/19901119/Press contact: John Stanton, phone in
Australia, [phone])


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

CRAY, YOKOGAWA TO SET UP JOINT VENTURE 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Cray Research, a leading U.S.-based
supercomputer maker, and Yokogawa Electric is expected to
set up a joint venture next month, according to The Japan
Industrial Journal daily newspaper.

The paper says the new firm is dubbed Yokogawa-Cray ESL. A
member of Yokogawa's board will assume the president's post and
Kunihiko Tsuda, who sold general purpose computers for 20 years
at IBM Japan and had assumed the vice presidential post at DEC Japan,
is expected to assume the vice president's post.

Cray's acquisition of Supertek, in which Yokogawa participated as a
financier,  is the direct impetus of the joint venture.

The paper predicts the joint venture will market XMS, SuperTek's
compatible machine, alongside Cray's X-MP initially and will include YMS,
the machine compatible to the Y-MP series of Cray, in spring of next year.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19901115)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00028)

ADOBE ANNOUNCES JAPANESE TYPE ADVISORY BOARD 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Adobe Systems Japan has organized
the Adobe Japan Type Advisory Board to introduce advice and ideas
from Japanese designers and typographers in its Japanese fonts.
Four Japanese board members will provide advice on the
design for Japanese letters. The board is a Japanese version of
Adobe's U.S. board organized in 1987.

Adobe, which developed the PostScript language, plans to add
three more Japanese fonts to its current collection of two types of
fonts by the beginning of next year.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19901115/Press Contact: Adobe Systems Japan,
03-486-4656)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00029)

SHINETSU TO PRODUCE 8-INCH WAFERS IN US 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- Shinetsu Handotai, the largest
supplier of silicon wafers to the Japanese semiconductor industry,
will start production of 8-inch wafers at its U.S. subsidiary,
the Nikkei Industrial Daily reports. The subsidiary, SEH America, is
preparing a facility in order to begin production in February, 1991,
according to the daily industrial paper.

The paper says that high demand for 8-inch wafers in the U.S.
pushed the Japanese silicon giant to launch production of the
wafers where they are needed.  The subsidiary plans to output
10,000 wafers a month.

IBM and Texas Instruments are expected to be chief customers in the
U.S. because Shinetsu supplies a large quantity of 8-inch wafers to
their two Japanese subsidiaries already. Meanwhile Japanese major
general purpose memory producers, such as NEC, Toshiba and Hitachi,
are introducing process lines to their plants.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19901115)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00030)

JAPAN: RODIME, VICTOR AGREE TO EXCHANGE HDD TECHNOLOGY 11/20/90
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1990 NOV 20 (NB) -- JVC or Victor Company of Japan
and U.K.-based HDD speciality maker Rodime have agreed to design
and manufacture high capacity 3.5-inch HDDs (hard disk drives).
They'll start by producing 122 MB (megabyte) drives with
IBM PC/AT interfaces at JVC's plant in Japan in early 1991 and plan
to expand drive density up to 210 MB for AT interfaces and SCSI (small
computer system interface).

The HDD to be produced by the alliance will inherit technologies
for thin structure from JVC and for high density from Rodime.
Sales of the products will be the responsiblity of JVC in Japan and
Rodime in the U.S. and Europe.

(Naoyuki Yazawa/19901115/Press Contact: Victor Company of Japan,
03-241-6311)