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/1992/nb920214

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(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00001)

 ****Moscow Phone Authorities Fight Unreg'd Faxes 02/14/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Moscow phone authorities are starting
a massive drive to register fax machines. Registered faxes are charged
higher rates for both local and long distance service even though there
is no improvement in line quality for the higher fee.

A small private venture, Komp, registered in late 1990, has been granted a
license to collect fees for the fax "registration." The process costs
initially about 2000 rubles (US$200 by the inflated exchange rate).
Monthly phone line rent will cost additional 108 rubles, and long
distance charges on those lines are simply doubled.

Komp said that following fax machines are certified for use on the
local phone network in Russia: Artek; Cannon; Murata F-1, F-15, MF-20,
F-30; Pioneer PF-2550; Samsung 1100, 2010; Sharp FO-100, FO-150, FO-210,
FO-70; Schneider 301; and Nitaki 17,18.

The approval of a new model cost 380 rubles and can be made in a few
days by the Comstar joint venture, in Moscow.

Kommersant weekly said Komp will use "special technical devices" to
locate "illegal" fax machines and punish the owner with an extra 2000
ruble fine. Marina Vinokurova, manager of Komp company, said
"most fax owners are coming in on their own, and we do almost no
hunting."

Newsbytes Moscow has discovered that the fax machine which is the
publicly announced place where one can forward fax registration
inquiries to phone authorities, has a Caller ID device attached.

Newsbytes Moscow has also learned that the goal by officers and
authorities is to collect 2-3 millions rubles for the fax
registration in the next two months.

Western businesses and reporters are leasing phone lines capable of
direct dialling overseas and which are registered for the fax
connection, from the Comstar company, which was granted the right to
offer this service in the city of Moscow by the Moscow city phone
network monopoly. Customers are obliged to pay in hard currency only.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920214/Press and Public contacts: Komp, Marina
Vinokurova, phone [phone]; ComStar phone [phone]; +7 095
979-1065)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00002)

Apple Japan Unveils Products For Japanese Market 02/14/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Apple Japan has announced a
series of new products, including both hardware and software,
designed for Japanese consumers. These include new versions of
its notebook-type PCs, color displays, and Japanese fonts.

Apple Japan's latest fonts, called TrueType, will be released
in March. These top-of-the-line outline-fonts make letters extra
neat both on the screen and on printers. It is a hardware-independent
technology and the user does not have to worry about the choice of
printers. The TrueType fonts were developed by Ryobi Imagics, and they
will cost 20,000 yen ($160) each. They will operate on Kanji Talk
6.07 operating system, and will be equipped with Kanji Talk 7.0.

Apple Japan has also announced that it will release an English
version of the Macintosh Quadra 700 4MF/HD400 and the 900
4MF/HD400. With the release, the prices of the Powerbook series
were cut by around 10 percent.

Another new product from Apple Japan is a 16-inch color display,
which costs 270,000 yen ($2,150). The display incorporates
Sony's Trinitron technology to make the screen image extremely
clear. This display is equipped with an ADB board and a port for
a headphone and a microphone. It will be released on March 1.

Currently, the Powerbook is selling like hotcakes in Japan. Most
of the shops in Akihabara electronics shopping area do not have
any machines in stock because they are selling fast. Apple
Japan estimates that over 10 percent of total computers shipped
by Apple Japan will consist of Powerbooks this year.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920214/Press Contact: Apple Computer Japan,
 [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00003)

Cray Computer Stops Work On 16 Processor Supercomputer 02/14/92
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Cray
Computer Corporation says it has stopped work on the 16 processor
version of its supercomputer, the Cray-3. The company will
reportedly continue development on four and eight-processor versions
of the system.

In a prepared statement, the company said it will search for a
partner to help finance, market, and manufacturer the smaller
machines. According to president and CEO Neil Davenport, "The
company does not know at this stage what form such a partnership
might take nor whether a partnership of any type is possible."
Davenport said he believes that some form of arrangement with a
third party could significantly enhance the prospects for the
exploitation of the Cray-3 in the available market window.

As reported by Newsbytes, Cray Computer lost its first and so far
only customer for the $30 million Cray-3 when the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory exercised a contract option to buy a
similar machine from Cray Research after Cray Computer missed a
December deadline for demonstration of the Cray-3. The company had
also run into more bugs in developing the system than expected.

According to the statement, Cray Computer's board of directors
has approved a revised business plan under which the company hopes to
test a two-processor version of the supercomputer by the end of
March.

The company said that the problems identified in December are being
addressed and the solution to each of them is expected to be
included in a version to be tested in March.

Cray Computer also suffered another setback this week after the
National Energy Research Supercomputer Center, managed by Lawrence
Livermore, pulled out of a software development project with Cray
Computer. The company said it will continue to develop software for
the Cray-3 in-house.

Loss of the software development contract deprived Cray of a
demonstration site to support sales and the associated revenue
needed to finance the planned growth in production. Cray said the
market opportunities for 1992 don't appear sufficient to warrant
risk of increasing spending to build a 16-processor unless it has a
signed contract.

Minnesota-based Cray Research, from which Cray Computer was spun
off, recently filed notice with the Securities and Exchange
Commission to sell 1.422 million shares of Cray Computer.

Cray Computer stock closed Wednesday at $7.25, down 1-1/8. The
company reported a $52.2 million dollar loss for 1991, following a
$46.4 million loss for 1990. No report of 1991 revenue was
available.

(Jim Mallory/19920214/Press contact: Neil Davenport, Cray Computer,
719-579-6464)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00004)

Illinois Lottery Computer Gets Holidays Confused 02/14/92
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- When Illinois
residents attempted to reach the state's lottery office Wednesday
to check the lottery drawing results, they were told that the office
was closed in observance of Wshington's birthday.

The only problem was, Wednesday was Lincoln's birthday.

The recorded message was generated by an automatic system that picks
up the various holidays that are coming up and inserts the proper
holiday in the message. Lottery spokesperson Mike Lang said for
some reason the system skipped Lincoln's birthday and went on the
Washington's.

Lang said that lottery officials found out about the error and
corrected it. Lang was in the building conducting a tour, and made
the necessary adjustment to the system. "I don't think there's any
harm done. People still could access the numbers through a
touch-tone phone," said Lang.

Interestingly, the state of Illinois does not officially celebrate
Washington's birthday on February 22, but rather observes
Presidents Day, which honors both presidents, on Monday.

(Jim Mallory/19920214)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00004)

US West Subsidiary Acquires German Communications Company 02/14/92
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- US West
International, a subsidiary of telecommunications giant US West, has
acquired a German company in a move it says will enhance its
position in the foreign communications market.

The acquisition of NTE NeuTech Entwicklungs-Gesellschaft by US West
is still subject to approval by the German Federal Cartel office. A
spokesperson for US West said the value of the acquisition was not
available.

NTE is based in Munich, and is involved in telecommunications
business development as well as research and development projects,
in Europe. The company lists the German telephone and postal
ministry, France Telecom, and the EC Commission among its customers.

"NTE contributes high technology expertise and over three years of
experience in the local telecom market that are critical to our
success in Germany," said Richard Callahan, president of US West's
international and business development group.

US West already has a presence in Hungary, where in conjunction with
Hungarian Telecommunications, it operates the first cellular
telephone system inaugurated in Eastern Europe.

In September US West cellular phone service was inaugurated in
Leningrad, and in October the company announced a deal with France
Telecom to spend $75 million over five years to bring Minitel
services to the US.

US West Communications, a subsidiary of US West, provides local
phone service to about 25 million domestic customers in a 14 state
area.

(Jim Mallory/19920214)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00005)

Cox Demonstrates PCN-Cable Phone 02/14/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Cox Broadcasting
Chairman James Cox Kennedy called FCC Chairman Al Sikes in
Washington on a microwave-based cellular phone and a cable TV system
his company owns, in an experiment that worked.

Cox is operating under an experimental license for PCN, a
microwave-based cellular phone network working at frequencies
twice as high as normal cellular phones. Sikes has pushed the
commission toward allocating frequencies for the service, if
necessary at the expense of utilities and police agencies which
now depend on microwave relays for communications. Sikes hopes
that cable companies will connect PCN with their own networks and
create real competition with local phone companies, allowing for
total deregulation of the "local loop." Kennedy's call was a
milestone toward that goal.

Since PCN phones work at such high frequencies, cells are very
small, but the low power requirements allow the construction of
inexpensive phones that fit in a shirt pocket. Cellular operators
are now selling shirt-pocket sized phones from Motorola, NEC and
other vendors, but those phones cost upwards of $2,500. Cox says
it can link PCN cells to its cable system and deploy a complete
service throughout a city, at relatively low cost, which is why
the FCC is so interested in it. Its cells are located on existing
cable TV lines, and new towers don't have to be constructed. The
cable also acts as a rudimentary phone net.

Sikes is also interested in the fact that Cox, a multi-billion
dollar private company with interests in newspapers and TV, has
spent a year developing its trial. Deep pockets are necessary for
PCN competitors to local phone companies, observers believe,
since each of the regional Bell companies has annual revenues of
over $10 billion per year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920213/Press Contact: David Andersen, Cox
Cable Communications, 404-843-5855)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

AT&T Signs Russian Distributor 02/14/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- AT&T will handle
distribution of its phones in Russia through a joint-venture of
which it owns 68 percent. The agreement between AT&T and Dalnya
Sviaz, known as DALS, was signed in St. Petersburg and announced
in New York.

The company will start by selling digital transmission equipment
from AT&T for the Russian market. During this phase the venture
will work to adapt systems to local standards.

In a press statement, AT&T noted that it continues to urge the
liberalization of technology restrictions imposed by the
Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls, or
COCOM. These export-controls, a product of the Cold War, prevent
Western companies from offering their most advanced gear, or
fiber cable, to the Russian market, said Randolph Lumb, AT&T
government affairs vice president. "Our customers in Russia will
need the full range of modern technology in order to improve
their telephone networks."

Dalnya Sviaz is the outfit that installed Russia's existing long
distance network, and also makes fiber systems, as well as
navigation and medical equipment. The company has its
headquarters in St. Petersburg and has a workforce of 7,000
employees. AT&T has already launched direct dial service to the
Republic of Armenia through a 180-call gateway, and has a joint-
venture in the Ukraine, joined by the Netherlands PTT, which will
modernize the long distance network of that republic.

Separately, AT&T called on the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission to immediately lift regulation on its prices and
services, saying the demand is in line with President Bush's
State of the Union address. The FCC is presently considering
plans by Chairman Al Sikes and Commissioner Sherrie Marshall to
lift a host of regulations on the broadcasting, cable TV, and
telecommunications industries.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920213/Press Contact: AT&T, Paul Provost,
201-606-2826)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00007)

Everex Announces Cuts On 486 Step, Temp Systems 02/14/92
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- In a
growing trend, almost a tradition, Everex has joined Dell,
AST, Zenith, and other original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) in cutting prices. Everex however, is announcing cuts
on its 486 systems -- those based on the top of the line
Intel chip available now for IBM-compatible personal
computers (PCs).

The company says it is cutting prices to remain competitive
and is able to make the cuts due to its reduced
manufacturing costs.

Howard B. Crystal, senior vice president of domestic sales
and marketing, said: "As we prepare to announce several new
high-end systems we are dropping the retail prices of some
of our most popular products."

Intel, the manufacturer of the 486 central processing units
(CPUs) has made it clear in its announcements that the
introduction of the fastest, most powerful member of the
microprocessor family, the 586 chip, is going happen this
year. Everex representatives won't say whether or not the
new systems Crystal mentions are 586-based, and Intel has
been talking about doubling the processing speed of the 486
chips, so its not clear exactly what the new systems Everex
is planning are.

Several of the large OEMs, like AST, say they are cutting
prices so their value-added resellers (VARs) can compete
with mail order firms. However, the announcements of the
introduction of the 586 chip could slow sales, as consumers
will either wait for the price drops that have historically
occurred once a faster PC is released, or are simply waiting
for the faster PC.

Everex has dropped prices on its Step and Tempo 486DX-based
systems between 32 and 14 percent. For example, a 486 Step
Megacube running at 33 megahertz (MHz) with extended
industry standard architecture (EISA) and 32 megabytes (MB)
of random access memory (RAM) has dropped 28 percent to a
retail price of $7,449. The largest decrease is on the 486
Step Megacube 33 MHz industry standard architecture (ISA)
with 32 MB of RAM which has been reduced 32 percent to
$6,749.

In general the Step series has had the highest reductions
running from 32 to 14 percent, while the Tempos have been
reduced 15 to 18 percent.

More information is available from Everex toll-free at 800-
821-0806.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920213/Press Contact: Letty Dupuy,
Everex, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00008)

Toronto Stock Exchange Votes To Go Electronic 02/14/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Member firms of the
Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada's largest, have voted to move
entirely to automated trading. Stocks will cease to be traded on
the exchange floor by the end of March, 1993, after 114 years of
floor trading.

The management of the exchange announced early in January that
member firms would be asked to approve the change.

Options and futures will still be traded on an open floor, exchange
spokesman Steve Key told Newsbytes. Whether part of the existing
floor will be used for this purpose has not yet been decided, he
said.

Jim Gallagher, executive vice-president of the exchange, told
Newsbytes the TSE's directors believe the move is the best way to
compete with the larger exchanges in the United States. The New
York exchanges trade the stocks of major Canadian companies
heavily, he said, and they rather than the smaller exchanges in
Montreal and Vancouver are the TSE's major competitors.

"We have to stay a little ahead and be little better" in order to
compete, Gallagher said. "The board wants us to be the primary
place to trade Canadian blue-chip stocks ... that is an
increasingly competitive business."

Roughly 350 people work on the Toronto Stock Exchange trading floor
now. Of these, about 250 are traders who work for the member firms.
After the floor closes, Gallagher said, at least some of those
people will continue trading stocks, but from computer terminals
rather than on the floor. About another 100 people are employed by
the exchange to provide clerical services on the floor. The TSE
hopes to find other jobs for as many of these people as possible
over the coming year, Gallagher said.

The exchange's Computer-Assisted Trading System (CATS) was among
the first such systems in the world, and has been resold to several
other exchanges. Currently, about half the stocks traded in Toronto
are listed on the CATS system, Key said, and about 80 percent of
all trades that go through the exchange have some electronic
component.

(Grant Buckler/19920109/Press Contact: Steve Key, Toronto Stock
Exchange, 416-947-4682, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

SMC Cuts Arcnet Board Prices, Replaces Line 02/14/92
HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Standard
Microsystems Corporation (SMC) announced a deep and broad price cut
across their entire line of Arcnet adapter cards.

SMC's line of 8-bit cards, the PC130 line are now priced at $99 per
board in a five-board bundle and $119 individually. This is down
from $196 and $245 respectively.

SMC introduced a new line of 16-bit Arcnet cards on January 1, 1992
that replaced their previous line, the PC500 line. The new line is
known as the PC600 line. The new boards use SMC's ASIC chip and are
therefore significantly smaller in size and cheaper to manufacture.
The PC600 has a suggested retail price of $199. The PC500 line that
was replaced had a retail price of $385.

SMC's line for Micro Channel architecture machines are the PS110 and
PS210. Their prices have been reduced to $225 from $595.

SMC officials have stated that all prices became effective on February
3rd. Discussing the reasons for the price cuts elicited the response
that manufacturing costs have decreased and economies of scale have
now kicked in.

(Naor Wallach/19920213/Press Contact: Janet Bex-White, Greenstone
Roberts Public Relations, 516-249-2121)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00010)

New For PC: Claris Shipping Hollywood 1.0v2 02/14/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Claris' first
Windows product, a presentation package, is now shipping. Purchased
from IBM last October, the product has been modified by Claris
engineers and is now being released to the public.

"Hollywood is already recognized as a leading presentation package
for Windows, with honors such as PC World's "Best Buy" award," said
Steve Pollock, director of product marketing. "With this update
we've concentrated on making Hollywood's powerful features even
easier to use, as well as designing new packaging to make it clearly
recognizable as a Claris product."

Most of the improvements that Claris incorporated into the product
fall into the user interface arena. The toolbox now takes less space;
the buttons in it are designed to better reflect their purpose; text
can be edited directly from within the slide view mode; and the user
can vary the screen view size.

Claris Hollywood is available now for $499 from Claris retailers.
Current owners of Hollywood version 1.0 and upgrade for $15. Claris
is also offering an "upgrade" from Harvard Graphics, Microsoft Power
Point for Windows, Lotus Freelance, or Aldus Persuasion for $129.
Contact and Claris retailer or call the company at 800-544-8554
for more information and instructions. (Those outside the U.S.
call 408-727-8227.)

(Naor Wallach/19920213/Press Contact: Renee Risch, Claris,
408-987-7534)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00011)

OS/2 Gets More Attention, Promotion 02/14/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- IBM's
new version of its OS/2 operating system for Intel-based
personal computers (PCs) is getting more attention these
days.

IBM has now signed an agreement with Corporate Software to
promote OS/2 to U.S. corporations. The two companies say
they plan to work together to develop and implement
marketing programs and services for the new version of OS/2.

IBM says OS/2 version 2.0 can run multiple DOS and Windows
applications side-by-side as well as applications developed
specifically for 32-bit microprocessors.

Some users are paying more attention to OS/2 because of
concern that Microsoft will get a monopoly on the PC
operating system market with its popular Windows product.

In an article entitled "An Apple A Day... Why I Wouldn't Buy
A Mac," from The LACS Journal, Los Angeles Computer Society
President Allan Greenberg said: "And just think, these guys
(Mac users) have the privilege of paying premium bucks for
their computers and having only one source for them --
Apple. It is as if we were back in 1981 when the only PCs
were manufactured by IBM and the only price you could find
was the price that IBM set. I don't want this to be the
situation again. I don't want the only source of our
operating systems to be Microsoft. I want IBM to succeed if
not for any other reason than to make sure we have another
barrel to bob in."

A Dean B. Cawthon, product engineer at Tecmar, told Newsbytes
he prefers OS/2 to Windows because a problem with one
application doesn't require a restart of the whole system
under OS/2, and Windows is not a true multitasking
operating system. He explained that when running multiple
applications under Windows, characters and data could get
lost or "dropped" if another application is taking up all of
the computer's microprocessing power, and Windows allows
applications to "hog" the microprocessor.

Windows NT, currently in testing development stages at
Microsoft, is supposed to solve those problems, but is
rumored to be as memory and microprocessor hungry as OS/2,
requiring a 386 microprocessor and 8 megabytes of random
access memory (RAM).

(Linda Rohrbough/19920211/Press Contact: Brian Doyle, IBM,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Allan Greenberg, Los
Angeles Computer Society, 310-576-1310; Dean B. Cawthon,
Tecmar, tel [phone])


(REVIEW)(IBM)(LAX)(00012)

Review of: Fujitsu DL1200 Printer, 02/14/92

Runs on: Works with any IBM or compatible computer

From: Fujitsu Computer Products of America, 2904 Orchard
Parkway, San Jose, CA 95134.

Price: $649

PUMA Rating: 3.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Linda Rohrbough 02/14/92

Summary: Called the PC Printpartner and geared toward the home
office or small business, the Fujitsu DL1200 24-pin dot matrix
printer stands out in the smooth, elegant way it handles paper,
and in its unique design.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Printers are a hassle to set up. Nothing seems to be as trouble
prone as getting a new printer to work. Further, I always do a
save before printing in any program because often, if trouble
is there, it'll be found somewhere between the program and the
printer.

While I've found the easiest printer to work with is the
Hewlett-Packard laser printer, for a 24-pin dot matrix printer,
the Fujitsu PC Printpartner or DL1200 was easier to work with
than other 24-pin printers I've encountered, including the
Epson brand printers.

The printer is billed as a space saver, and I suppose it is,
but I didn't think the space it saves is as significant as its
upright design, which seems to make handling and working with
the printer and paper easier.

Much in appearance like a large toaster, the DL1200 is geared
toward home or small businesses, hence the emphasis on space
saving design. However, it only comes in the wide carriage
design which is what adds to the long, toaster look and takes
more space. While I didn't find it saved that much space, I did
find it was easier to reach, as I didn't have to reach over a
broad top to put paper in or to reach the controls.

Most of what I found easier about the Fujitsu was in the way
it's designed. The first thing I noticed is the power switch
and the parallel port are located on the right side, not in
back like other printers. This made it easier to connect to my
computer.

I also noticed the controls for the DL1200 are in front on the
right side on a panel that comes out across the bottom front of
the printer, so they too were easily accessible.

The way the Fujitsu printer handles paper is also a pleasure. A
stand up shelf holds paper upright when its inserted and a
load/unload button on the front allows the paper to be loaded
automatically, but also unloads it upon another push of the
same button. It didn't waste any paper by grabbing a sheet and
printing a test page every time I turned it on, or feeding
through a blank sheet of paper like some of the Epson printers
I've worked with. I've dealt with so many printers that hog
paper that way, its gotten to be a pet peeve of mine.

The bar in the front that holds the paper against the platen is
of a different design as well. Not once did a sheet of paper
get caught, wrinkled or crunched against it even though I
exclusively used the load/unload paper button to load the
paper. Like most printers, the DL1200 is "smart" enough to know
when it's out of paper and will beep and light the red "paper
out" light until paper is put in.

Putting ribbon in it was easy as well, though that's been true
of most printers I've dealt with. However, I got a color kit
with the printer, that upon installation makes the DL1200
capable of color printing.

The directions in the manual for installing the color kit were
that gibberish technicians speak to each other and the pictures
were very detailed line drawings with no sense of depth or
breadth. The drawings were little help because it was difficult
to distinguish what parts were significant to the operation and
what parts were not. A set of instructions were in the box the
color kit came in, but though they were better, they were such
bad photocopies, it was difficult to read the text and the
drawings.

I'm a mechanically oriented person. I've replaced an ignition
switch on our car, wired the automatic sprinkler system at our
house, and installed hard disk drives in our computers. It
literally took me an hour and a half of frustration to install
the color kit. Once it was installed, I realized it was a job
that could have been done in 15 minutes tops with decent
instructions. I could do it again in 5 minutes, now that I
understand what to do.

Once the color kit was installed, however it worked flawlessly.
I used it with Drawperfect, an object-oriented graphics program
made by Wordperfect Corporation. It took some time to set up
Drawperfect to talk to the DL1200, however. I not only had to
reconfigure Drawperfect by going back to the installation
program disks to talk to a "GSS Output Device," and the
installation added device drivers to my CONFIG.SYS file that
took up extra random access memory (RAM).

Fujitsu says the printer will also print color output from PC
Paintbrush under Microsoft Windows with the Epson LQ-2550
emulation. Fujitsu includes a special printer driver on the
Dlmenu program disk in a subdirectory called WIN3. In that
subdirectory in a READ.ME file are the complete instructions on
how to install a Windows printer driver provided there.

Again, setting up the printer for use in Windows was a time-
consuming task, but the instructions in the READ.ME file are
clear. However, once the printer was set up, it performed
flawlessly, both in color and in black-and-white. In order to
get good color, it would be necessary to replace the ribbon
regularly, but again that would be true of any color printer
that uses ribbon.

In Drawperfect, the DL1200 printed a basic set of colors and
colors outside the set it printed were interpreted to the
closest color it did print. So orange printed yellow and so did
yellow, dark blue and light blue printed the same color of
blue, brown printed green and so on. I had to adjust my
drawing's colors to fit the printer. In Windows, I printed
some .BMP files from Paintbrush. The printer printed very closely
the more complex colors that were on the screen. My conclusion
is how close the color is to what is on the screen is based on
the software driver, not on the printer.

I liked that it didn't print pastel colors, like most color
impact printers I've seen. But it was slow, which is to be
expected, especially considering how much it was doing. I did
our family Christmas letter on it and the only problem had to
do with the yellow, which had some of the black smeared into
it. In the drawing, the yellow was the color of a piece of
string, and the black streaks added to the illusion it was
really string. However, I don't think a pure yellow is
possible, especially on a object with a black border.

The DL1200 didn't produce color that I personally would feel
comfortable using in a business situation, unless it was an
informal situation like invitations to a co-worker's birthday
celebration, or a banner for the janitor who's retiring. But I
haven't seen any 24-pin color printer output I would feel
comfortable using in a business situation. I did find it fun to
play with the color, however.

Fujitsu does a lot of talking about a software program it
includes with the DL series printers called Dlmenu. While the
software can be installed as memory resident (it uses about 50
kilobytes of random access memory) and can used inside a
program by pressing Alt+Leftshift+D keys, my experience with
printers is the software usually overrides any settings made on
the printer anyway.

Dlmenu seems to be a software answer for a slightly unusual
system of menuing built into the printer. To use the menu on
the front of the printer, a piece of paper must be used. The
reason is the DL1200 prints the printer settings on the paper.
Those settings are changed then by pressing a key on the front
of the printer to move the print head from one of the settings
printed on the paper to another until the one desired is
reached. I didn't find the paper method of setting the printer
particularly cumbersome, but some people might.

However, the Dlmenu program has its limitations. The only way I
know of to get consistent results from a printer is to
configure the software to the printer, which usually means
going back through the installation to install a new software
driver. Fujitsu says the Dlmenu program allows the user to set
the printer in a friendlier environment than the menu on the
front of the printer so fonts, emulations and commands built
into the printer can be accessed.

I tried the program and didn't like it, mostly because I think
it has not an ugly, but homely user interface. I found Dlmenu to
be technically oriented and not very friendly. However, once I
found the online help, it was very useful in explaining the
terms used and I learned a lot from it. If you were in the
market to become a printer expert, the online help in this
program would be a good place to start.

All the software programs I tried the DL1200 with had a
software driver for the printer. The printer also emulates the
most standard printers in the industry -- the IBM Proprinter
XL24, the Epson LQ-2500, and the Epson LQ2550.

Some other interesting features of the Dl1200 were the built-in
"legs" underneath that can be pulled down and locked to make a
stand and then paper can be stored underneath the printer. This
is a space saving feature. Font cards are available and can be
slid into the front of the printer. A cut-sheet feeder is
available for automatically loading regular letter or legal
paper. A tear-off edge is available for tearing off continuous
paper, and a tear off button on the front automatically
positions the paper to the tear off edge. After tear-off a
press of any button puts the rest of the paper back into the
proper print position.

The printer comes with coupons. One for a half price
subscription to Home/Office Computing Magazine, and two more
for two-for-one deals on ribbon for the printer.

After dealing with this printer, if needed an impact printer, I
would buy this one. There's something elegant and attractive
about the way it performs compared to other 24-pin printers
I've used.

The only thing I would recommend to people who want to use the
color capability is to save a hassle and have the dealer who
sells the printer install the color kit.

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

PUMA Rating

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

PERFORMANCE:  4. I found the DL1200 performed flawlessly. I
especially liked the way it handles paper. It was as fast as any
24-pin printer I've seen, and frankly, even if it was a little
slower printing, the time I feel I'd save by not having to
re-feed paper it chewed up or wrinkled would be worth it.

USEFULNESS:  4. The DL1200 retails for $649, and that price is
the same as most of the competing wide-carriage printers in its
class. Like most printers, the street price is estimated to be
about 30 percent lower.

MANUAL: 2. I had an awful time putting in the color kit and the
manual was little help. The rest of the manual was fine, however.
Fujitsu has an 800 number for customer support, 800-626-4686. I
found the customer support people friendly and helpful.

AVAILABILITY: 2. Fujitsu is trying to make its printers as available as
possible, but I couldn't find a store in my area that carried
them. However, the company does have a toll-free number people
can call for retail outlets that sell Fujitsu printers and that
number is 800-626-4686. When I called that number, I got the
names of two dealers in my area, but two isn't many considering
I live in Los Angeles. There were other dealers, but they were
a half hour drive away.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920131/Press Contact: Andy Ramm, Neale-May &
Partners for Fujitsu, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00013)

Review of: Fun With Letters and Words, for PC, 02/14/92

Runs on: IBM or compatible PC with CGA monitor and 256K of free
memory.  A VGA version is available.

From: Frank Holmes, Wescott Software, P.O. Box 7010, Evanston,
IL 60204, 708-328-1367

Price: $20.00

PUMA Rating: 3.8 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest )

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana & Robin Blankenhorn, 02/14/92

Summary: Fun With Letters and Words is a great piece of shareware
for kids, which teaches the alphabet and sight-reading.

======

REVIEW

======

Every parent's Great Task is to make learning fun for the kids.
If they can enjoy the process of learning, and keep that
enjoyment through their lives, they'll have most of their
problems licked.

So it was that daddy bought a demo version of this program. I put
it on the old XT and let Robin, our 3-year old, have at it. She
loved it, so I bought the full version of the program for $20.
She loved it even more.

Robin has been able to use this program without help from daddy.
All I did was set-up one screen with her name, address, phone
number, names of family members, friends, and pets. I also put
the program in her AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so that when she asks to
"turn on my computer" it comes up automatically.

There are many different ways to play with the program. Robin's
favorite is 3 words per letter. Hitting Enter brings up the words
"Go Robin," then hitting any key brings up a letter and a word.
She hits "F" and gets words like flag and family -- the latter
includes a drawing of Robin, her brother, and her parents, with
their names' underneath. Her favorite word is under "c," for cake
-- it plays a line of "Happy Birthday" and always brings giggles.
F9 always brings the "alphabet song" and she sings along
enthusiastically.

After just a few weeks, Robin can recognize many words in her
program, and it's time to customize it further. We can change the
language to German, French, or Spanish. We can print one of the
pictures -- you get only color boundaries, making it excellent
for producing a coloring book. Parents can change words, adding
harder ones, and Robin will soon be creating her own words with
the program.

The pictures are big, the sound is amazing from such a tinny
speaker, and a 3 year old can have endless fun learning with this
program. If you've got an old XT, and a kid or grandkid, you've
got a grand, inexpensive Christmas present here.

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

PUMA RATING

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

PERFORMANCE:  (4.0) Flawless.

USEFULNESS: (4.0) Learning to read is one of the most important
tasks any kid faces. This speeds things along.

MANUAL: (4.0) Parents can use the manual to customize the
program, and keep it interesting. Directions are clear.

AVAILABILITY: (3.0) Shareware is inherently tougher to find than
a commercial program , but you should be able to find a demo
version on leading bulletin boards or where "$3 software" disks
are sold. Contact the author directly for a registered copy.

(Dana & Robin Blankenhorn/19901115/Press Contact: Frank Holmes,
Wescott Software, 708-328-1367)


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

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 02/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Informationweek dated February 10 says some companies gain
liberation by scrapping mainframes in favor of downsizing.

February's Networking Management also says that downsizing is
sinking the mainframe.

The Office for February looks at viruses and, in a separate
story, laptops.

Computerworld for February 10 says Revlon will use Anderson
Consulting's services to make a two-year, $10 million IS unit
make-over.

The Feb. 10 Network World has a section on solving Window's
network problems.

Communications Week for the week of the 10th says that there has
been no big stampede by SNA users to the APPN protocol.

Computer Currents for February 11 carries a buyer's guide to
386SX notebooks and a Windows - OS/2 Show report.

The Computer Reseller News mid-week "Networld Issue" (also known
as the Tech Data issue) dated the 11th says that Banyan is
trimming its Vines to better fit small LANs.

(John McCormick/19920214)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00016)

The Enabled Computer 02/14/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature covering news and important
product information relating to high technology aids for the
disabled.

The Enabled Computer by John McCormick

Where to Find Products and a Word From the Supreme Court.

While I always stand ready to try and help readers find the
computer hardware and software products they need or put them in
touch with services, there are other ways to find computer and
other types of equipment designed for the use of the disabled.

A prime source I want to recommend to all is the ABLEDATA data
base provided by the Adaptive Equipment Center of Newington
Children's Hospital in Newington, CT.

ABLEDATA does contain many computer equipment listings but also
deals with wheelchair accessories and every other aspect of
adaptive equipment for the disabled, whether children or adults,
and they will answer a limited number of your questions for FREE
because they are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Single copies of ABLEDATA Fact Sheets containing information and
vendor addresses for such things as van lifts, car seats, and
access ramps are available free of charge from the Adaptive
Equipment Center; just write and request them.

Either write or phone with your request for products in a
specific category, such as "Computer Access Interfaces, Sensory
Impairment Access," and the fine people at ABLEDATA will mail you
up to eight pages of product listings (about three on a page)
relating to your question.

Hyper-ABLEDATA is a CD-ROM version of the 17,000 product database
and not only does ABLEDATA list commercial products, the database
contains more than 700 do-it-yourself projects for custom
products that can be built in an average home workshop.

ABLEDATA, Adaptive Equipment Center, Newington Children's Hospital,
181 East Cedar Street, Newington, CT 06111, 203-667-5405, voice
or TDD 800-344-5405, voice or TDD

BRS Information Technologies provides for-fee online access to
more than 130 databases, including ABLEDATA. Costs can be as low
as $16 per hour or as high as $50 per hour of search time, plus
any telecommunications charges, but you get full Boolean search
capabilities of the databases and you can request (at 23 cents-
per-page) that BRS print out the results of your search and mail
them rather than incur high connect-time charges to download the
information.

ABLEDATA costs an average of $49 per hour on the BRS system.

BRS Information Technologies, 1200 Route 7, Latham, NY 12110,
518-783-1161, 800-289-4277.

ABLEDATA on CD-ROM or other computer readable form is available
from the University of Wisconsin at a cost of $50 for a one-year
subscription to the CD-ROM which includes the original and one
update dataset.

The Macintosh-compatible Hyper-ABLEDATA CD-ROM contains 45
megabytes of data, images, and sounds in a hyper-media format.

The IBM format CD-ROM was supposed to be available by the end of
1991 but I have been unable to obtain a copy or verify that it is
yet available.

In other formats, a set of 35 floppy disks costs $199 and a data
cartridge costs $122.

Trace Center, S-151 Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Ave., University
of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, 608-262-6966 (voice).

In government news, we all know that the second portion of the
Americans With Disabilities Act will take effect this July,
providing major legal muscle to potential employees of U.S.
companies, but did you know that there had been a recent legal
challenge to an 18-year-old federal law that banned
discrimination against disabled individuals in any program
receiving federal funds?

The court case involved Frank Smith and Ray Martin, both legally
blind and both former officials of the Idaho Commission for the
Blind, a state agency receiving federal funds. Smith and Martin
were heads of separate divisions for the commission before July
1984, when the commission was reorganized.

When Mr. Smith and Mr. Martin, both former officials of the Idaho
Commission for the Blind, were passed over for the new position
created when their two jobs were consolidated into one, the two
sued the State under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, claiming that the reorganization was equivalent to a
discharge because of their handicap. Section 504 would apply
because the state agency received federal funding.

The important part of the Supreme Court decision was that people
suing for damages under Section 504 could NOT be denied jury
trials, something that many lower courts had held in the past.

Since juries are far more likely to have sympathy for those
discriminated against in any way and more likely to grant large
monetary awards to plaintiffs, the ruling keeps the door open for
large anti-discrimination awards.

(John McCormick/19920214)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00017)

Microcom Offers Michelangelo Disinfector Free 02/14/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Software
developer Microcom is adding a disinfector for the Michelangelo
virus to VIRx 2.0, the freeware version of its Virex for the PC
virus-protection software.

VIRx, which is available free from Microcom's bulletin board
system, has all the virus-detection features of the commercial
Virex but does not include the ability to remove most viruses, a
company spokeswoman explained. In the case of the Michelangelo
virus, which is set to erase personal computer hard disks on March
6, Microcom has added the disinfector "as a public service,"
officials said.

The Michelangelo virus has a trigger date of March 6, the birthday
of the artist for which it is named. If not removed by that date,
Microcom officials said, it will format the computer's hard drive
by overwriting it with random characters from system memory, thus
erasing all files on the hard drive.

First seen in Scandinavia last April, the Michelangelo virus is a
variant of the Stoned virus, a widespread PC virus that flashes an
on-screen message advocating the legalization of marijuana. Like
the Stoned virus, it is a boot sector virus that spreads from disk
to disk.

Microcom said its Michelangelo disinfector will be active in the
VIRx scanner until March 10.

Users can download VIRx 2.0 free from Microcom's BBS UPGate at
919-419-1602 (eight data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity) or the
National Computer Security Association BBS at 202-364-1304. VIRx
2.0 is also available through the CompuServe, FidoNet, GEnie, and
Internet systems.

(Grant Buckler/19920214/Press Contact: Sally Winship, Microcom,
617-551-1958; or Robert Capon, Microcom, 919-490-1277)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00018)

Unisys Unveils A 11 Mainframe 02/14/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Unisys has unveiled
the A 11, a midrange addition to its A Series of mainframe
computers. Unisys also announced a new client/server architecture
that allows the new model and its existing A 16 and A 19 models to
work with machines running the Unix System V and OS/2 operating
systems.

The new line consists of two single-processor models, the A 11
Model 211 and Model 411, and two dual-processor models, the A 11
Model 222 and Model 422. Company spokesman Ed Johnson said it fills
a gap in the midrange of the A Series, and is positioned to go
"head to head" against new systems expected from IBM later this
month.

The new Unisys A 11 Models 211 and 222 are available immediately,
Unisys said. The higher-performance A 11-411 and A 11-422 are due
to ship in June. Prices for the systems range $400,000 for the
entry-level A 11-211 to more than $1 million for a typical A 11-422
configuration, the company said.

The A Series client/server open architecture allows users to
connect an A 11, A 16, or A 19 system to a Unix or OS/2 system
configured as a Cooperative Computing Platform (CCP), Unisys said,
allowing users to create distributed applications. At present, the
architecture has only been tested with Unisys hardware as the Unix
or OS/2 platform, Johnson said. However, he indicated that other
systems are likely to be supported in future.

The new architecture extends the processing performance range of
the Unisys Cooperative Computing Environment (CCE) software,
introduced in 1991 with its Micro A or Model MA825-based CCP.

Where the MA825 Co-operative Computing Platform supports
program-to-program communications within a single system -- an A
Series processor and a Unix or OS/2-based platform within a PC-AT
cabinet -- the new open A Series client/server architecture
supports separate A Series and Unix or OS/2 systems interconnected
with a Channel Service (CS) bus capable of supporting data transfer
at up to 20 megabytes per second, Unisys said.

The Unisys CCE toolkits are based on remote procedure call (RPC)
technology, with toolkits of application programming interfaces
(APIs) meant to let a programmer set up a dialog between the CCP
and A Series systems. Programmers can use conventional languages
such as COBOL or C, or Unisys' LINC II fourth-generation language.

Unisys also reported receiving an order for the A 11-211 system
from Bank Brussels Lambert, the second largest commercial bank in
Belgium. The bank, which already has multiple A Series systems
already installed, will use the Cooperative Computing Environment
to integrate existing Datapoint servers with its A Series central
information hub over the current Unisys BNA II communications
network, the vendor said.

(Grant Buckler/19920214/Press Contact: Michael Stugrin, Unisys,
215-986-2867; Marty Krempasky, Unisys, 215-986-4788)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

BBS To Carry Greenspan Testimony 02/14/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- The Economic
Bulletin Board, a 32-line bulletin board system running TBBS
software which carries economic statistical information for the
U.S. Commerce Department, will now carry transcripts of Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's Humphrey-Hawkins testimony.

The board costs $35 per year to join, which includes two hours of
free access. Above that limit access costs 5-20 cents per minute,
depending on time of day, with morning access being the most
costly. The board is required by law to be self-sustaining,
including the salary costs of its system operator, economist Paul
Christy, for the time he spends on maintenance. The board has
been online for about 5 years.

Greenspan's Humphrey-Hawkins speeches are required appearances
before the U.S. House and Senate to discuss employment and the
nation's economic situation. The law is named for the late Sen.
Hubert Humphrey and former Representative Augustus Hawkins of
California, who sponsored the original measure mandating the
appearances. Since the law was put in place, the testimony has
become a major event on the economic calendar, with markets
moving in response to whether Greenspan hints that the Fed might
lower interest rates to stimulate growth, or raise them to fight
inflation.

Greenspan's February 19 testimony before the House Banking
Committee, and his February 25 appearance before the Senate
panel, will also be watched closely because of the difficulties
encountered by the government in its most recent quarterly re-
funding. 30-year paper which sold at under 7.5 percent a few
weeks before the auction rose to 7.91 percent at the time of the
auction, due to over-supply.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920214/Press Contact: The Economic Bulletin
Board, Paul Christy, BBS:202-377-0422)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

DSC Posts Another Quarterly Loss 02/14/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- DSC Communications,
which has been buffeted by bad news since a software bug in one
of its signal transfer points was blamed for a rash of phone
service outages last year, said it lost $8 million in its most
recent quarter.

That loss compared to a loss of $72.5 million for the
previous quarter, which included $46.1 million in extraordinary
charges, and a gain of $6.9 million a year earlier. DSC Chairman
James L. Donald noted, however, that revenue was up from a year
earlier.

DSC had earlier gotten more bad news when Motorola announced that
it was hooking up with Northern Telecom in a joint venture to
sell cellular phones, cell sites, switches, and other gear for
that industry. Motorola had been reselling DSC's cellular
switches, and analysts pointedly noted that its sales had been
disappointing because the technology wasn't up-to-date.

DSC is blaming the recession and shipment delays caused by new
technology for its current problems, and vowed to fight out of
them. But an investment banking house is reportedly searching for
new sources of capital for the company, and the result could be
its sale.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920214/Press Contact: DSC Communications,
Terry Adams, 214/519-4358)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Arabian Peninsula Getting New Phones, Competition 02/14/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- News reports
indicate that the Arabian Peninsula is joining the West in
obtaining improved access to telephones and rate competition.

The Middle East News Network reports Saudi PTT Minister Alawi
Darweesh Kayul as planning to add one million new telephone lines
in the Kingdom over the next five years. All cities and regions will
be affected, the report indicates, and waiting lists in major
cities like Riyadh and Jeddah for phones will be eliminated
within two years, the Minister said. The Kingdom presently has
phones in over 400 cities and villages.

The same agency reports that International Discount
Telecommunications of New York has entered the long distance
market in Bahrain, which is a small country in the Persian Gulf.
President Howard Jonas is quoted as promising to cut the costs of
international calls by over 50 percent by dialing a pre-assigned
number in the U.S., hanging up, and receiving a call-back
through a second line with a U.S. dial tone which can cost much
less than calling direct through the local Batelco company.
Newsbytes has reported on IDT before, but Batelco spokesman Ali
Sahwan questioned the claims, saying that in some cases calls
from Bahrain to the U.S. cost less than those from the U.S. to
Bahrain.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920214)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

FCC Requiring Report of Outages 02/14/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- While the Federal
Communications Commission has responded to President Bush's
deregulation call with sweeping plans, it's adding a requirement
that telephone companies report service outages affecting over
50,000 customers for at least 30 minutes.

The ruling, which doesn't affect satellite or cellular systems, follows
outages last summer on the East and West Coasts which disrupted phone
service for millions of people, and even held up FCC Chairman Al
Sikes over Washington's Dulles Airport. The problems last summer
were finally traced to a software bug, but another outage in
September was traced to an AT&T power problem, and other causes,
like cable cuts, have also been cited in a series of outages
going back over two years. The FCC said that the reports will
help it decide how to deal with outages long-term.

Critics, however, call the move a half-measure. Edward Markey, a
Massachusetts Democrat who heads the House subcommittee on
telecommunications, wants to go further, asking that the FCC set
universal standards for telephone performance, quality and
reliability. Even Republican Senator Larry Pressler of South
Dakota has said the FCC isn't doing enough to prevent future
outages.

In other action, the FCC reiterated its "pioneer preference"
rules, so that companies which create new advanced services will
get preference in licensing them, proposed changes in
streamlining phone service complaints, and issued new rules on
broadcast station ownership limits and technical standards for
basic cable television service.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920214/Press Contact: FCC Press, 202-632-
5050)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

 ****Caller ID Moves Ahead In Indiana 02/14/92
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Indiana's
legislature moved toward approving Caller ID service without a
provision for blocking as part of a re-write of the state's
telecommunications rules. If approved, the bill would overturn an
Indiana regulatory rule against the service from last year.

The bill, which must still be approved by both Houses following a
conference, would also ban so-called "measured rate service"
through July 1, 1995, although it would allow a version of the
service -- with a limit on local calls before measured rates kick
in.

Indiana is the fourth of five states in the Ameritech service region
to consider major changes in its approach to telephone
regulation. Previously, Michigan approved a broad deregulation
bill supported by Ameritech's Michigan Bell unit, while Illinois
and Ohio regulators moved more narrowly.

Controversy remains hottest around the Caller ID issue, where
only crisis intervention centers and police agencies are allowed
to block their numbers from going out with calls. Advocates for
battered women say unblocked Caller ID could cause their clients
to be murdered, because they stay in shelters only briefly, and
husbands could track calls from their children using the
technology.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920214)


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

LXE Spread-Spectrum Radio For Data Approved 02/14/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- The Federal
Communications Commission approved a spread-spectrum data radio
made by LXE, under its Part 15 regulations for RF spread spectrum
transmission. LXE is the first RF terminal manufacturer to win
the FCC's unrestricted approval under the new regulations.

LXE's narrowband radio uses a scheme called single channel ExCell
architecture. It's designed for use in factories and warehouses
where running wires between terminals and central computers is
impractical. Most spread spectrum systems currently installed or
announced use radios that were approved under past FCC
regulations. Such systems will require modification and
reapproval for expansion as of 1994, said LXE.

LXE specializes in warehousing and distribution operations where
high-density packed racking areas can reach 3 million square feet
or more. About 75 percent of the company is owned by
Electromagnetic Sciences Inc., a defense contractor, but the
remaining 25 percent is publicly owned and traded on the NASDAQ
exchange.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920214/Press Contact: Don Scartz,
Electromagnetic Sciences, 404-447-4224x4273)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00025)

Hong Kong: Hospital Authority Opts for ICL/Unix PC Support 02/14/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Hong Kong's newly established
Hospital Authority has purchased an ICL DRS6000 midrange computer
system to support over 30 remote personal computers and to access
mainframe systems at the Treasury Department via an X.25 Minilink
network.

The new ICL system will run the Unix System V Release 4 operating
system software and will incorporate Ethernet, X.25 and DRS-Connect
connectivity, and communications software. The ICL machine will be
used as a communication server to provide links between personal
computers at government-supported hospitals and the ICL mainframe
system at the Treasury Department.

The ICL 3965/2 mainframe is running an interim payroll system for the
Hospital Authority that handles financial data pertaining to around
17,000 employees. Previously, all hospital services department staff
were paid under the government payroll system.

Tommy Chung, ICL's Hong Kong account manager, said the company's
traditional strength in the health care sector, and its local
knowledge, had been strong contributing factors in the selection of
ICL as the system provider. "The health care sector is one of ICL's
strongest areas of business in both the UK and the Asia/Pacific
markets," he said.

Chung predicted the Hospital Authority's computing requirements would
be expanding rapidly over the coming years, and he said that ICL's
system would allow for future expansion. Within a few years, the
Authority plans to expand its existing Hospital Information Systems,
now running at Princess Margaret Hospital, to all 39 hospitals under
its administration.

(Norman Wingrove/19920214/Press contact: Xanthe Boyd, MDL, Tel +852
838 3889, Fax [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00026)

Matsushita Opens Princeton Lab 02/14/92
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Matsushita has
formally opened in Princeton, its Information Technology Laboratory
(MITL), which was established in January 1991. The lab was founded to
pursue applied research in computer science.

Located next to Princeton University, the lab will focus on
improved document processing and systems software. Current projects
include systems support for high-powered, portable workstations,
multimedia distributed databases, and pen-based computing.

There are no immediate plans for joint research with the
university, company spokesman Kurt Proschak told Newsbytes, but
"there is that possibility open for the future."

In addition to the presence of Princeton University, Matsushita
pointed to Princeton's proximity to New York and Philadelphia.

Matsushita said the 14,252 square-foot facility features a fully
equipped hardware prototype lab, many high-end computer
workstations and assorted other computer hardware and software.

The current staff of 17, including eight Ph.D.s, is expected to
increase eventually to 40 or 50, with half of this total being
Ph.D.s.

The new Matsushita lab is headed by Dr. Richard Lipton, formerly a
professor of computer science at Princeton University. He has also
held appointments at the University of California at Berkeley and
at Yale University.

Matsushita celebrated the formal opening of the lab by donating
money to support research efforts in Princeton University's
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.

The lab is Matsushita's fourth research and development facility in
New Jersey. The other three -- two in Burlington and one in
Secaucus -- work on cable television systems, home bus systems,
digital image processing and high-density television.

In total Matsushita has nine U.S. laboratories that employ a total
of 200 research engineers. The company operates roughly 75
laboratories worldwide, Praschuk said.

Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, established in 1959, now has
11,000 employees and 33 North American subsidiaries and affiliates,
including 19 factories. In North America, Matsushita sells consumer
and industrial products under the Panasonic, Technics, and Quasar
brands. The company reported sales of $5.4 billion in fiscal 1990.

(Grant Buckler/19920214/Press Contact: Kurt Praschuk, Matsushita,
201-348-7320)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00027)

Digitalk Acquires Portland Training, Product Company 02/14/92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Digitalk,
known for its object-oriented development language Smalltalk/V,
has announced the acquisition of Instantiations, a Portland,
Oregon Smalltalk training, consulting, and product development
company. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Instantiations has been providing services to Fortune 500
companies which are developing applications with Smalltalk,
Digitalk said. The company was founded in 1988, and offers
courses in Smalltalk, object technology and object-oriented
analysis and design.

Smalltalk is drawing more and more interest from the corporate
community. The language is a compromise between the powerful
but difficult to learn C++ and less powerful but easier to
learn business languages like Cobol. Smalltalk also has the
advantage of being available for several computer platforms,
including the popular Microsoft Windows operating system on the
IBM-compatible personal computer.

Digitalk says the language is versatile and points to Momenta's
use of Smalltalk/V to prove it. Momenta used Smalltalk/V to
develop the applications it bundled with its newly released
pen-based DOS computer.

Digitalk says it is also the newest member of the International
Alliance for Ad/Cycle, IBM's framework for application
development for cooperative computing. Digitalk and IBM have
also signed a letter of intent for IBM to market Digitalk's
Smalltalk/V worldwide. Getting IBM's "blessing" is especially
significant in the super-conservative, hyper-cautious world
of corporate management information systems. Digitalk says it
is the only object-oriented product to be included in the Ad/Cycle
alliance.

Digitalk, headquartered in Los Angeles, introduced Smalltalk/V
products in 1985. It says currently markets Smalltalk/V
development environments for DOS, OS/2, Microsoft Windows, and
the Apple Macintosh.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920214/Press Contact: Susan Franson,
Franson, Hagerty & Assoc., 408-453-5220; Barbara Noparstak,
Digitalk, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00028)

Chipsoft Releases 1991 Mac, DOS, Windows Tax Prep 02/14/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Chipsoft
announced it is releasing final versions of its tax
preparation software and will for the first time offer
versions for the Macintosh, the IBM-compatible personal
computer (PC) running DOS, and PCs running Microsoft
Windows.

The Windows and Macintosh versions are the new ones this
year. Last year Chipsoft purchased Softview, the company
that produced Macintax in order to offer Macintosh and
Windows-based versions of its tax preparation software.

Alan Gleicher, president of Chipsoft's personal division,
said: "Because tax planning and preparation become more
complicated each year, ChipSoft continues to improve its tax
software with more tax and program help."

Chipsoft says more than just getting this year's taxes out
of the way, the programs can help for the coming year by
calculating estimated tax payments. Further, the DOS version
includes a planning function for the coming year while the
Windows and Macintosh versions include Personal Tax Analyst,
a companion program for five year future tax planning,
Chipsoft said.

Chipsoft said it is also allowing its users the option of
electronic filing for an additional $19.95.

Each year the company spends a frenzied first couple of
months putting in the final changes the U.S. government
makes to the tax laws before the end of the year. State
versions of the programs will also be available, but some
states do not have versions available this year for the
Macintosh program, Chipsoft said.

More information is available from Chipsoft at 619-453-8722,
ext. 970; or by writing ChipSoft, Personal Order Department,
6330 Nancy Ridge Drive, Suite 103, San Diego, California,
92121.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920214/Press Contact: Debra Kelley,
Chipsoft, tel [phone] ext. 482, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Wordstar Still Losing Money 02/14/92
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Wordstar is
reporting losses again and is planning layoffs despite the
company's release of Wordstar for Windows.

This second quarter of its 1992 fiscal year ending on
December 31, 1991, Wordstar reported losses of $3.3 million on
revenues of $10.5 million. The company is blaming the loss
on increased marketing expenses of new products that were
not shipped in the quarter, a delay in the shipment of
Wordstar for Windows until the current quarter.

Revenues and losses are both up from the same quarter last
year. Revenues are up over $3 million from last years $7.2
million and losses are up over $1 million from last year's
losses of nearly $2.0 million.

Wordstar says it has begun restructuring and will lay off 20
percent of its workforce. It says it is moving the writing
tools group from separate offices in Sausalito, California
to the company headquarters in Novato, California and
consolidating redundant administrative functions in its U.S.
offices. Also, the company says it is taking a one-time
write down of its inventory of the Wordstar Legacy product,
which the company has replaced with Wordstar for Windows.

Despite the last 5 to 6 years of steadily reporting losses,
the company has managed to survive, and in fact has
regularly bought out or purchased the rights to software
from other companies. It entered the Macintosh market with
the purchase of Lifetree Software, purchased the rights to
the electronic version of Stedman's Medical Dictionary, and
bought Nova Development's American English Writing Guide,
American Handbook of Business Letters, and Instant Library
of Quotations. In addition, last year it announced fully
translated versions of Wordstar for Windows in French and
German.

Wordstar claims it keeps going with an installed base of
four million users and products in ten languages. The
company says restructuring will cut its costs by $2 million
and it is also counting on sales of its new products that
weren't released in time to be counted in the current
financial statement.

Though Wordstar would not release current sales figures for
the Windows products, company representative David Russian
says it is pleased and "on track" with sales of the Windows
versions both in the U.S. and in Europe. Wordstar has become
upbeat in its sales and marketing with a highly diversified
product line, Russian says.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920214/Press Contact: Dave Russian,
Wordstar, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00030)

Apple Opens Market Centers For Info., Reseller Support 02/14/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- As a part
of the company's sudden jump on marketing, Apple USA says it
will open six more Apple Market Centers during fiscal 1992,
adding to the four it already has for a total of 10. The
first new center is opening in Boston, Massachusetts.

Apple Market Centers are for education of Apple resellers
and the public and will feature the latest and greatest
Apple products and third party products as well, the company
said. A meeting room that seats 49 people, a conference
room, and a room for display of products is included in each
center.

When asked if the market centers would compete with
resellers, Apple representative Pat Kinley said no, the
centers are for information only and the resellers
themselves usually do the seminars or presentations with
assistance from Apple.

Apple USA said it opened its first market center in Dallas
in 1989, opened centers in New York City, Los Angeles, and
St. Louis last year, and plans centers for San Jose,
Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, Philadelphia in addition to the
newly opened Boston center.

Ten satellite market centers are also slated to open during
the company's current fiscal year in San Francisco, Seattle,
Denver, San Diego, Washington, Houston, Detroit, Cincinnati,
Minneapolis and Hartford, Connecticut.

A monthly calendar of events is available for seminars to be
given at each center, and Apple says it works with its
resellers to recruit attendees.

Apple's announced intention to move into a stronger
marketing stance is evident with its announcement of lower
retail prices, its agreement with GTE for corporate
licensing of Apple equipment, and now the opening of more
information centers to support resellers and educate
potential Apple buyers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920214/Press Contact: Pat Kinley, Kinley
Communications for Apple, tel [phone], fax 619-943-
1592)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00031)

Mercury Communications Moves Into Irish Market 02/14/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Mercury Communications, a
division of the Cable and Wireless group, has announced it is
investing heavily in Northern Ireland. This year will see the
growing telecom company invest UKP 41.5 million in Northern
Ireland.

The move is a significant one for the province. From the third
quarter of this year, two thirds of BT phone users in Northern
Ireland will be able to select Mercury as their long distance and
international phone company -- much as local phone company users
in the U.S. can select MCI and Sprint as their non-local phone
service providers.

What's interesting about the move into Northern Ireland is that
Mercury has not completed its network on the British mainland,
despite the fact that subscribers in Britain have a higher
disposable income. Northern Ireland, because of the continuing
battles between the Catholics and Protestants, has rising
unemployment and little business investment - in short, the
province is not considered a good business proposition by many
companies.

The real reason for the move into Northern Ireland is, Newsbytes
notes, that the British Government has announced that it is
opening the U.K. telecom market to all comers. Although no
announcements have been made, at least one major U.S. telecom
company is planning to set up a Mercury-style network in the U.K.
All this adds up to increased competition for Mercury, which has
still to recoup much of the investment it has made in its U.K.
telecom network -- expanding its revenue growth area to
Northern Ireland is a logical step for the company.

(Steve Gold/19920214)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00032)

Dell Reshuffles Its European Management Structure 02/14/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- Two years after taking
the helm of Dell UK over from departing managing director Andrew
Harris, Martin Slagter has himself been promoted. Slagter's
replacement - Bruce Sinclair - is being shuffled across from his
similar role as MD of Dell Canada.

The management shuffles form part of a number of global changes
by Dell to coordinate the company's European activities. Central
to the changes is the formation of a new international management
team to support and accelerate Dell's growth in Europe.

The new operational division is being headed by Andrew Harris,
who is currently Dell's senior vice president of international.
The reason for the shuffle is due to the sales boost that Dell is
enjoying in Europe -- the company's European and Canadian
operations generated $204.1 million in sales for the nine months
to November 30 last year, a 62 per cent rise on the figures from
a year earlier.

"It creates a new level of management," Slagter told PC Dealer,
adding that, for the immediate future he will continue to be
based in Bracknell, with Sinclair arriving in the UK in the
middle of March.

Other members of the European management team include Philippe
d'Argent, currently managing director of Dell France, who assumes the
role of vice president for Dell Southern Europe; Hendrik
Geissler, who joins as managing director for Dell Central
Europe; and Peter Ammel, who moves from Dell Germany to become MD
of new business development with Dell Europe.

(Steve Gold/19920214/Press & Public Contact: Dell UK - Tel: 0344-
860456)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00033)

IBM Opens Supercomputing Lab 02/14/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 FEB 14 (NB) -- IBM has
announced the creation of a new supercomputing laboratory aimed at
rapidly bringing to market a family of highly parallel
supercomputers based on IBM technology.

The Highly Parallel Supercomputing Systems Laboratory (HPSSL)
in Kingston, New York, will produce a series of parallel
supercomputing systems based on the reduced instruction set
computing (RISC) technology used in IBM's RISC System/6000 workstations.

In a press release, Jack D. Kuehler, president of IBM, said the
company looks forward to expanding the RS/6000 technology "into new
systems capable of meeting our customers' ever-increasing appetite
for more and more computational power."

IBM said the new lab combines resources and expertise from several
of its business units, including Enterprise Systems, the Advanced
Workstations Division, the IBM Research Division, and the Federal
Sector Division.

The supercomputer project will use multiple RISC processors running
AIX, IBM's implementation of the Unix operating system, to create
a scalable parallel machine capable of performance in the range of
hundreds of gigaFLOPS (billions of floating point operations per
second). Eventually, IBM said, the architecture and design are
intended to achieve teraFLOPS (trillions of floating point
operations per second) performance.

The machines are meant to be scalable, allowing users to expand
their systems according to their needs.

IBM said the systems resulting from the lab's work will be intended
for scientists, engineers, researchers, and analysts working in
areas such as financial modelling, long-range weather forecasting,
numerical analysis, geophysical modelling, pharmaceutical design
and advanced aircraft or automotive design.

IBM said these products are part of a multi-level supercomputing
strategy that includes continuing to enhance the vector facility
option for its ES/9000 and ES/3090 mainframe systems, developing a
highly parallel stand-alone system using many RISC processors, and
building clusters of RISC System/6000 machines that can function as
entry-level batch or parallel servers. IBM said the strategy also
calls for development alliances with other companies to complement
these product offerings.

IBM said it hopes to announce delivery plans for the first low-end
HPSSL systems later this year. Larger systems will appear regularly
throughout the 1990s, the vendor said.

(Grant Buckler/19920214/Press Contact: Marta Decker, IBM,
914-642-5467)