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/nb920421

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(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00001)

New For Mac: Radius Intros Low-Cost Color Pivot/LE Display 04/21/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Hoping to
capture more of the lower-end display market, Radius Inc., has
introduced the Color Pivot/LE, a cheaper version of the original
Radius Color Pivot for the Macintosh.

The Color Pivot/LE is a 15-inch 256-color dual orientation display
which rotates to display a color document in either portrait or
landscape orientation. The LE version provides 78 dots-per-inch
and features 624 by 832 resolution, the same as Apple's 16-inch
color display.

Larry Herman, spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that
the company felt there was a definite market for the lower-cost
Pivot.

The company maintains that, priced at $1,199, the Pivot/LE
represents a considerable cost saving over the $1,549 for the
original Color Pivot (and $1,699 for Apple's 16-inch).

Herman told Newsbytes that the "electronics are different"
between the original Color Pivot and the Color Pivot/LE. "We
basically attempted cost-reducing" the product, he said.

Ed Colligan, Radius general manager, Macintosh products, said:
"For Macintosh users who want to connect to their system's built-in
video, get four-bits of resolution and eliminate the need for an
interface card, the original Color Pivot is the ideal choice."
However, he added: "For those who want eight-bit resolution at
256 colors, the Color Pivot/LE is the logical answer. The Color
Pivot/LE provides dual orientation at a lower price than the original
Color Pivot and the same 624 by 832 resolution as Apple's
Macintosh 16-inch Color Display for $500 less."

Unlike the original Color Pivot, the Color Pivot/LE must always
be used with a Radius Color Pivot Interface card. The company
maintains that Radius Color Pivot Interfaces are available for all
NuBus Macintoshes, the Macintosh LC and LC II, and the
Macintosh SE/30, for a suggested retail price of $599.

According to Herman, the original Color Pivot was a "native portrait"
display, while the Color Pivot/LE is a "native landscape" display.
Consequently, The Pivot/LE "doesn't support Mac built-in video,"
he told Newsbytes.

Just last week, Newsbytes reported that Radius, in an effort
to gain increased market penetration within the United States,
particularly for its Macintosh products, had expanded its
distribution relationship with Ingram Micro to include Radius' full
line of Macintosh products. Additionally, the company also
extended its distribution agreement with Merisel Inc., to allow
that company to distribute all Radius Macintosh and PC products,
to its US resellers. Previously, Merisel carried just Radius
Macintosh-based products in Canada and Australia.

In February, Newsbytes reported that Radius had licensed some
of Apple's technology for use in its own Macintosh Nubus-based
accelerator "Rocket" products, developed in a project labeled
Saturn V.

(Ian Stokell/19920421/Press Contact: Larry Herman, Radius Inc.,
408-434-1010)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00002)

RasterOps Offers Combined Pkg For Mac Color Management 04/21/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Hoping
to simplify the process of color management on the desktop for
Apple Macintosh users, RasterOps Corp., has introduced a
combined package consisting of its RasterOps CorrectColor
Management System (RCCMS) and the RasterOps CorrectColor
Calibrator.

According to the company, the combination achieves WYSIWYG
(what-you-see-is-what-you-get) color accuracy across input, output,
and display devices.

The company maintains that the RasterOps CorrectColor
Management System is a desktop color management product that
provides color consistency among various peripherals such as
scanners, monitors, and printers.

By using Adobe Photoshop or any other application that supports
Photoshop plug-ins, the RCCMS is capable of matching hardcopy
color to screen color, simulating hardcopy output on the monitor
prior to printing, and matching the color of a scanned image to an
original.

The company says that the RCCMS consists of the RasterOps Color
Manager, Adobe Photoshop plug-ins, as well as Kodak's Precision
Processor, and the Precision Device Color Profiles (DCPs). The
DCPs also support a number of different input and output devices.

The RasterOps CorrectColor Calibrator is a measuring device
that works with the RCCMS to provide color fidelity over time. The
company claims that, unlike other calibration products, it analyzes
the entire screen, rather than measuring just a small area in the
middle of the monitor.

Available by the end of April through RasterOps authorized dealers,
the RasterOps CorrectColor Management System and CorrectColor
Calibrator package is $2,399. The company maintains that customers
will also have the option of purchasing the Kodak Precision Color
Transformation Engine, a $3,999 color management accelerator
which increases the RCCMS' performance by 60 times.

Last month, Newsbytes reported that Rasterops had announced
the 24MxTV video board, a new single-slot Nubus board with 24-bit
color and real-time video for 13-inch and 16-inch monitors for the
Apple Macintosh II and Quadra computer families. According to the
company, the board is one of the few Quicktime movie-producing
boards to include a video digitizer component, the required
component for recording movies with Quicktime software.

(Ian Stokell/19920421/Press Contact: Carrie Coppe, RasterOps
Corp., 408-562-4200)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: Borland's Pro-active dBase Marketing 04/21/92
Sydney, Australia, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Rather than wait for Microsoft
to reveal its marketing strategy for FoxBase in Australia, Borland has
shown signs that it considers dBase to be one of its key products and
should be heavily promoted. This was illustrated at a recent meeting
of the Melbourne PC users group.

The group has over 6,000 members, and claims to be the third
largest in the world (despite a recent story in the Sydney Morning
Herald computer section claiming the group had 600,000 members).
Four hundred members at the last meeting were surprised when
Borland's Ian Robinson literally brought a ton of product to the
meeting. Everyone went home with a copy of dBase IV version 1.1,
upgradeable to the latest version 1.5 for AUS$150.

Robinson said the move was designed to "seed" the marketplace,
much in the same way that Borland offers crossgrades from
competitive products. "It's guerrilla marketing. You've got to get the
users on side at the grass-roots level."

Borland in Australia has built a new team from the combined Borland
and Ashton Tate staff, in the Ashton Tate offices. While support for
key products is reported to be excellent, some users have
complained that some AT products appear to be "best not seen"
and Borland does not seem interested in selling or supporting them.

(Paul Zucker/19920421)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: Govt EPA Adopts Macintoshes 04/21/92
Sydney, Australia, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Western Australia's
Environmental Protection Authority is using an Apple Macintosh
system based on an Oracle relational database to improve its
records management and document production, and to make data
from different government mainframe databases accessible to all
its staff.

With 151 Macintosh computers, the Environmental Protection
Authority has grown to be one of the largest Macintosh sites in the
state. Based in Perth, the EPA is the State government watchdog
for all environmental matters, responsible for monitoring and
policing water, air, noise and land pollution in the state and
promoting public awareness of and understanding of the
 environment. With 150 staff spread over a wide range of areas,
the EPA needed a flexible computer system.

The records management and job management systems were in
particular need of a major overhaul. Running on a combined
DEC/IBM PC platform, the existing system created islands of
information which made data entry and retrieval a complex process
for most staff the EPA decided the answer was to design its own
customized Central Information System (EPACIS) based on the
Macintosh.

"Our goal was to create a cost-effective suite of integrated software
that was accessible to any staff member at EPA, irrespective of their
prior computer experience," said system designer, Andrew Schox.

A high-end Macintosh llfx was installed as the host, running A/UX 2.0
(Apple's Unix implementation) and Oracle. The most recent delivery
to the EPA, the powerful new Macintosh Quadra 900, will be used to
run the upcoming A/UX 3.0.

The integrated system incorporated job management systems,
records management and library records. From being an information
system which was only available to a few trained staff, it became an
open system accessible to any Macintosh user connected to the
network.

The installation of 4th Dimension database software simplified
access even further by providing an easy to use interface to the
Oracle database. "Connectivity is clearly an issue here - with the
Macintosh, we connect, and it works!" said  Brian White, information
technology consultant for the EPA. "It is just as simple to access
data on the Oracle database or other government systems as it
is to obtain information from the local hard drive. The other systems
appear on the Macintosh desktop as another icon. Irrespective of
where the data is, 4th Dimension can access it seamlessly by
SQL-NET."

EPA staff are now connected to the Government Accounting System
(GAS), the Personnel information  system (PIMS and the Common
User Purchasing System (CUPS). All these systems can be
accessed on an individual Macintosh through an IBM compatible
mainframe with Netway 1000 software and a modem. Users have
no direct involvement with the host database other than to enter
their user name and password. This simplicity maximizes
productivity and minimizes training and support.

The choice of Oracle as the core database technology means the
EPA would not have to rewrite its central information management
software if the underlying network or host hardware changed. Both
Oracle and Unix will run on many different platforms so that even if
a Macintosh host could not provide sufficient horsepower, a
different server could be used with the Macintosh computers.

As the EPA generates a large amount of documentation, particularly
reports of findings and research, overhauling the document
production was another priority. Until the late 1980s, the whole EPA
computer system was geared totally towards this task, and staff were
finding the existing system increasingly inadequate for their needs.

Reports were written longhand, passed to the central word
processing section for keying in using a Wordplex word processing
system, returned to the author for correction, corrected, proofed again,
and so on, in a frustrating cycle for as long as it took to get it right. The
text was then often sent to the desktop publishing section, which used
Ventura software running on an IBM PC. The result was a slow and
inefficient process. "Document production was a major bottleneck,"
said White.

After extensive research, an independent consulting firm came up with
a proposal for a new system based on the Macintosh, and in June
1989, the EPA purchased its first eight Macs for the central word
processing area.

Th  new installation consisted of seven Mac llcx computers with A4
portrait screens running Microsoft Word 4.01, an SE/30 to run
AppleShare and act as the print server, and a Macintosh SE for
general management purposes, with three LaserWriter IINT printers.
The system was networked via PhoneNet cabling with AppleTalk.
The addition of another four Macintosh llcx computers for secretarial
use soon followed.

The next phase, the introduction of Macintosh personal workstations,
was designed to simplify document production even further by giving
individual staff control of their own output. Staff were now able to write
and correct their own work at their desks, reducing delays and
increasing efficiency. Once enough personal computers were
installed,  the EPA phased out the central word processing section
altogether.

Now, staff use their Macs for a range of tasks as well as word
processing, including spreadsheet work, constructing graphics and
data analysis. White believes the resulting decentralization resulted
in much higher personal and departmental productivity.

"Individual word processing has been a tremendous time saver for
most staff, since much of the EPA's work ends up as a report of some
sort," said White. "As an added bonus, the work looks better too. The
ability to produce graphs using Excel and other packages has
helped to improve the presentation of work. Many staff like their Macs
so much that they carry them home on evenings and weekends
to complete work. I think the two PowerBook 170 notebook computers
we have on order will be very popular for off-site work."

Staff attended two external introductory courses: a half-day Macintosh
introduction course and a one-day Microsoft Word course In addition,
the in-house information technology staff offered extra and advanced
courses backed up by one-on-one training sessions.

"All the things I'd heard about the minimal training required for the
Macintosh were true " said White. "It really is easy to use and so
friendly, making training sessions a breeze. It proved to be a very
cost efficient investment. "We have ongoing training programs for new
staff and devise sessions for classroom and one-on-one training in
new software as required."

Internal communication has improved too. As well as connecting
them to the outside world, the Macintosh system enables EPA staff
to communicate more easily with each other with the QuickMail
electronic mail system. Everyone has QuickMail, including the
telephone switchboard personnel, who use it for relaying phone
messages. There are plans to create QuickMail bridges from the
Perth headquarters to EPA country offices in WA.

Nationally, the EPA uses AppleLink, Apple's electronic mail and
bulletin board system, to keep in touch with other Macintosh sites
and suppliers of related products.

"Because we're in Perth, an electronic information system like
AppleLink is a very valuable service to us - it brings us closer to
the rest of Australia and stops us becoming an isolated outpost,"
says White.

Along with the rest of the staff, White is very happy with the Macintosh
system and can see it continuing to grow with the EPA. The
organization has just moved to new premises, and White has taken
the opportunity to upgrade the network by introducing new zones.

"We now have a comprehensive Macintosh network which has
impacted work in all areas. Communication has improved,
document production is streamlined and administration is
more efficient. The whole system is seamless, which is as it
should be," he said.

(Paul Zucker/19920421)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00005)

Information Industry Association Plans Spring Conference 04/21/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- The Information
Industry Association will be holding its Spring '92 Conference at
the Ramada Renaissance Hotel - Techworld - from May 17 through
the 19 here in Washington. This year's conference theme is "The
Information Marketplace: New Rules of the Game" and speakers
will explore topics such as the national supercomputer network and
working with the maze of state regulators.

The IIA sees the present period as being vital to the industry
with the expanding importance of international markets and
increasing government regulations. This is not a trade show but
a major conference for executives in the information industry.
The Conference's 50 speakers will include government, industry,
and academic, as well as consumer representatives.

Congressman Bob Wise, Democrat from West Virginia, will be
honored with the IIA "Business of Democracy Award."  Rep. Wise
is the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government
Information, Justice, and Agriculture where he has held a series
of hearing exploring ways the private sector can obtain better
access to government information files.

The IIA and the Information Technology Association of America
have recently joined in an effort to block the State of Tennessee's
Revenue Department from collecting special taxes on the value
of the "content" of data transmissions rather than the cost of
transmission.

The two trade associations thought that they had received
assurances last November that this would not take place, but say
that they have recent evidence that such "content" taxing is taking
place without, the associations claim, any support for this taxing in
the applicable legislation.

Such taxing of the information content of data could be very
damaging to the industry and consumers of information. Current
lobbying in Tennessee could result in important precedent-setting
rule making.

The IIA is the major trade association for 600 companies working
in the creation, use, and distribution of electronic information.

(John McCormick/19920421/Press Contact: Susan Goewey, IIA,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00006)

Duxbury Braille Translator For WordPerfect 04/21/92
LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) --
Duxbury Systems, a major supplier of computer-related technology
to aid the disabled, has announced the release of The Duxbury
Braille Translator for WordPerfect versions 5.0 and 5.1. A Braille
translator is software which converts text output from a word
processor or file into braille character generating code that
will drive special three-dimensional Braille embossers which can
be read by the blind.

The new Duxbury Braille Translator brings this capability to the
latest versions of WordPerfect, the world's most popular office
word processor software just in time to help companies comply
with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act requires
elimination of barriers which prevent disabled customers from fully
accessing company services products or applicants from being
employed.

The Duxbury software will work with all major brands of Braille
embossers, which produce raised-dot images that can be read
by visually impaired users passing their fingers over the surface,
as well as producing "dummy" Braille using ordinary printers.

Duxbury software versions are available in English, French,
Arabic, Swahili, Spanish, and other Braille languages.

(John McCormick/19920421/Press Contact: Matthew Sullivan,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00007)

NIST Issues Guidelines On FTAM 04/21/92
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- NIST, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the Bureau of
Standards), has released a set of guidelines for GOSIP, or
Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile, standard users.
The guidelines will help them decide which FTAM (file transfer,
access, and management) systems will best fit their needs.

GOSIP is a mandated overall interconnection standard for federal
computer systems, but it offers a number of options for many
applications.  The GOSIP FTAM standard calls for products using
protocols that conform to the international ISO 8571 standard,
but this does not specify which product must be used and various
products are best suited for certain users.

The new Guidelines for the Evaluation of File Transfer, Access,
and Management Implication (NIST Special Publication 500-196),
presents a walk-through analysis of an FTAM evaluation with
detailed information on many features such as password security.

In other NIST action, the institute has made an NIST engineer's
FORTRAN version of a Fourier transform available as freeware so
users can study and modify the software as needed. Fourier
transforms are mathematical tools used to analyze and study
recurring events such as wave forms and are widely available
commercially. However, the commercial products are "sealed"
and cannot be studied or modified by users, scientists, and
engineers who often need to make changes in "standard"
software or algorithms to meet new needs.

The new software, named Spectrum V 1.0, is available in source
code form, with a manual.

(John McCormick/19920421/Press Contact: John Henkel (FTAM),
NIST, 301-975-2762 or Linda Fritts (Fourier) 301-975-4403)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00008)

Polaroid Intros Photo Scanner For Windows 04/21/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Polaroid
Corporation, famous for its instant cameras, introduced a
Windows version of its high speed CS-500 Digital Color Photo
Scanner at the Windows World  trade show in Chicago recently.

The new scanner, dubbed the CS-500i, allows Windows users to
integrate 24-bit color photographs and other artwork into Windows
graphics and text programs such as desktop publishing, slide
presentations, and multimedia shows. The rapidly emerging
multimedia field combines text, sound, animation and video. The
scanner can handle images up to four-inches by six-inches in size.

Like Polaroid's Macintosh II-compatible CS-500 Photo Scanner,
the CS-500i for Windows incorporates proprietary Polaroid sensor
technology and built-in image manipulation software, allowing full
color images to be scanned in as little as three seconds.

"The Photo Scanner makes it possible for computer users to regard
an image, whether a computer-generated graphic or a photograph,
as another source of information," said Richard Leslie, director of
marketing, for Polaroid Electronic Imaging.

The CS-500i Digital Photo Scanner has a suggested list price of
$4,495 and includes a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
interface kit, and Polaroid SprintScan software.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Phyllis Laorenza, Polaroid
Corp., 617-577-2000, or 800-225-1618)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

GrayTech Software Intros CAD Program For Windows NT 04/21/92
WHEATON, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- GrayTech
Software, Inc., has announced a Windows NT version of its CAD X11
Unix-based design and drafting software. CAD, or computer-aided
design, programs are used on a variety of operating systems to
design everything from space-probes to houses.

CAD X11 for Windows will run on 386/486-based PCs, and was
demonstrated by GrayTech at the Windows World trade show in
Chicago recently. The company says the program will be ready to
ship by the time Microsoft is ready to ship Windows NT. Microsoft
has said that it expects to ship the Windows NT (New Technology)
operating system by the end of this year.

"On PC platforms, Windows NT with CAD X11 is a logical choice for
CAD/CAM users." states GrayTech's president, Kathryn A. Gray.
"Users will recognize in CAD X11 for Windows NT the same speed
and flexibility they know in our Unix software products." CAD X11 for
Windows NT features include ANSI/ISO standard drafting with
ordinate dimensioning, geometric tolerancing, surface finish marks,
and a fastener library. CAD X11 also offers wireframe, surfacing,
dynamic rotations, snapshots, intersections, and hidden lines.

Standard and optional direct interfacing capabilities include IGES,
DXF, Framemaker, Interleaf, and Patran. The program can import
and export formats for pen, electrostatic, and Gerber photo plotters,
as well as Postscript and HP LaserJet printers. Other features
include macros, undo, redo, user fonts, a user-definable keyboard,
verify, and geometric analysis.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Kathryn Gray, GrayTech
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00010)

Can High-tech Solve Traffic Problems? 04/21/92
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Highway
engineers have traditionally seen more or wider roads as the
answer to traffic problems. However, computers may be the
answer of the future.

Anyone who has ever skied in the Colorado mountains knows that
places like the Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass, and Idaho Springs
have traditionally been bottlenecks for traffic. Colorado highway
engineers are looking at computerized assistance in solving
some of these traffic problems and buying them some time.

For example, information centers at the Eisenhower Tunnel and
Glenwood Canyon could monitor traffic using highway-mounted
video cameras and information reported to a toll free number by
drivers with cellular phones. Computers could also activate
highway informational signs to inform drivers of road congestion
or deteriorating road conditions such as icy or closed roads.
Automatic sensors can monitor for ice and snow, and avalanches,
always a problem for mountain drivers.

Colorado highway officials say Interstate 70, the interstate highway
running east and west through the state, is carrying more than twice
the traffic load it carried 20 years ago. It is uncertain how this
congestion has affected the business at ski resorts such as
Copper Mountain. But a Copper Mountain official told The Denver
Post recently that its research indicates that skiers tend to start their
Sundays early and get off the mountain by 2 pm to avoid the traffic
rush.

Congress allocated $234 million to IVHS (intelligent vehicle highway
systems) this year, more than 10 times what was budgeted last year.
A Colorado state spokesperson said his agency has asked for a
little over $200,000 of that money to develop smart systems for I-70.

If Congress continues to support IVHS projects, smart highways,
including computers in your car that display highway information
as well as navigational maps, may be a lot closer than you think.

(Jim Mallory/19920421)
(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00011)

 ****San Diego Police Clarify "Computer Criminal Hackers Charges" 04/21/92
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- In a
conversation with Newsbytes, San Diego Police Detective, Dennis
Sadler clarified some of the statements attributed to him in a Friday,
April 17th San Diego Union-Tribune story concerning an alleged
nationwide ring of "1,000 hard-core hackers across the United States"
sharing stolen credit card numbers.

Sadler told Newsbytes: "I didn't quote any numbers of persons
involved. I think that number came from some hacker contacts of the
author and was incorrectly attributed to me. As to the figure of millions
of dollars of illegal charges to credit cards, my estimate was that the
charges could be anywhere from zero dollars to millions -- we don't
have enough information to estimate the dollar value of the fraud. It
seems that the article only picked up part of my estimate."

Sadler was admittedly reluctant to discuss the case, saying: "The
investigation is an ongoing one and we expect to be able to release
details within 30 days. The reporter that I talked to last week had
gotten hold of some information from hackers which led to
questions directed to the police department. We did not hold a
press conference or plan to issue a press release at this stage of
the investigation."

Sadler said the investigation was begun when, "we stumbled onto
some evidence that led us into this investigation." He also said
that it is an investigation, "by the San Diego Police Department in
which we are working with local and state police forces across the
country. The federal agencies are observing but do not have the
manpower available to actively participate."

Sadler confirmed that an out-of-state "hacker" had provided
evidence in the investigation and that the individual was not in
custody and had not been charged with any offense. He said that
the relation mentioned to ongoing federal investigations involving
search-and-seizures in December 1991 in New York and
Pennsylvania was "not directly related but there is an informational
link."

Sadler also confirmed that Equifax's credit database had been a
subject of attack by those under investigation. He said "Equifax is
doing a superb job in working with us and we are also working with
other companies."

As a result of the Friday story by Bruce V. Bigelow and Dwight C.
Daniels and the resultant publicity, a press conference was held on
Friday afternoon but, according to a Newsbytes source, no new
information, other than the statement that the amount of fraud that
has been identified in the San Diego case under investigation is
$2,300.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920421)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00012)

NEC & Pioneer To Jointly Develop Laser Disk Game Machine? 04/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- NEC Home Electronics, a
subsidiary of NEC, and Pioneer are negotiating an agreement
to create a laser disk-based game machine. Analysts expect that
users will be able to play most advanced and realistic games with
this new system.

The laser disk can store much more data than a regular compact
disk. With this large memory, the picture of the game can be
extremely realistic. The device can support natural motion picture,
which is similar to a picture on television.

The new game machine is connected to a television set. The
software is expected to be developed by NEC, which has an
advanced technology in game software. NEC has already
developed a collection of software for its CD-ROM-based game
machine, the PC-Engine, which is currently sold on the market.

Meanwhile, the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper reports that Sega
Enterprises might also join in the project. So far however, there is
no such participation by the firm. Talks are said to be going on just
between NEC and Pioneer, according to an NEC spokesman.

The laser disk is quite large, measuring about 30 centimeters (cm)
in diameter, while a compact disk is only 12 cm.

It is expected that the hardware will mainly be developed by
Pioneer because the company has the original laser disk
technology. The new game machine is expected to be released
around next spring.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920421/Press Contact: NEC Home
Electronics, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00013)

Japan: NEC-compatible Emulation Board For PCs 04/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Tokyo-based hardware firm
Tomcat Computer has developed a unique computer board for the
IBM PC/AT. With this computer board, the IBM machine can operate
application programs that are originally programmed for the NEC
PC-9801.

This computer board can be equipped with the IBM PC/AT through
an expansion slot. It can run over 90 percent of application programs
for the NEC PC-9801, according to the president of Tomcat Computer.

This new board will be released at around 50,000 yen in May. The
price is quite reasonable, especially as a machine so equipped can
run both IBM and NEC software. In fact, it can also run Kanji software.

Currently in Japan, NEC's PC-9801 has been dominating the personal
computer market. The IBM PC is also becoming popular in Japan. So,
the "marriage" of these two big names can be a strong advantage.

Tomcat Computer has also developed a dual compatible personal
computer, which runs both IBM and NEC software.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920421/Press Contact: Tomcat Computer,
[phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)

Japan: Notebook-size Fax Machine Debuts 04/21/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Tokyo-based electric parts
firm, Mitsumi Electric, has developed a notebook-size fax machine.

It has a removable battery, and it can be used on cars or trains.
Mitsumi's latest notebook-size fax machine measures 18 by 25 by
four centimeters (cm), and it weighs two kilograms (kg). It can
transmit up to A4-size paper. The transmission speed is about
three pages-per-minute.

Mitsumi Electric says it will start shipping this fax machine to
home electronics firms and telecommunication firms on an OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) basis. The price has not been
revealed.

Ricoh and NTT have already developed and are selling portable
fax machines. Other Japanese electronics firms are expected to
release similar devices in the near future.

Mitsumi Electric has been good at producing OEM products. The
firm is currently supplying data disks to Nintendo.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920421/Press Contact: Mitsumi Electric,
[phone])


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

 ****McCaw Puts Money Behind TDMA Digital Cellular Standard 04/21/92
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- McCaw
Cellular, a leader of the "Cellular One" group of co-branded cellular
operators, is putting money behind the Time Division Multiple
Access, or TDMA, digital cellular standard.

The company said it will buy 60,000 digital cellular phones from
Ericsson GE and GM's Hughes subsidiary, and plans to roll the
service out in New York, Florida, and the Pacific Northwest this fall,
then throughout its major systems by the end of 1993. Ericsson-GE
got two-thirds of the business. Eighty percent of the phones go in
cars, with the rest being portable.

McCaw and Southwestern Bell, another member of the Cellular One
group, have been among the most aggressive companies pushing
TDMA, which offers three times the capacity of existing analog
cellular systems, as well as clearer sound and greater security.
TDMA has been competing with another offering, Code Division
Multiple Access, or CDMA, and the industry's trade group tried to
end the fight early this year by reaffirming its support of TDMA.

However, the trade group, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association, or CTIA, opened the door a crack by offering to test
CDMA with an eye toward making it a standard in the future.
Motorola opened the door wider by offering an improved analog
scheme called N-AMPS offering three times present analog
capacity, just like TDMA. CDMA, by contrast, offers 10 times the
capacity of analog systems, but GM-Hughes claims it has an
improved TDMA, Enhanced-TDMA, which offers 15 times analog
capacity.

The result is something of a muddle, with some systems offering
TDMA, others looking toward AMPS and still others remaining on
the sidelines, with systems which are running out of capacity.
Industry experts expect the battle to continue for years. Users
will not notice, since all digital-cellular phones are expected to
be dual-standard, offering both analog and digital service where
available.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: McCaw Cellular,
Bob Ratliffe, 206-828-8685)


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

International Telecommunications Update 04/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Spirited bidding
for Brazil's first cellular phone market highlighted the day's
international telecommunications news.

Ameritech, Motorola and two Brazilian firms -- the Unibanco
financial group and Odebrecht industrial conglomerate -- put in a
bid for Sao Paulo's first cellular system. Ameritech called Sao
Paulo the world's largest untapped cellular market. More bidders
are expected, since Brazil and neighboring Argentina are both
finally liquidating their international bank debts through equity
swaps and, thanks to privatization moves by their governments,
are attracting capital and growing smartly. Bids are due on the
Sao Paulo license May 5, and a decision is expected by this
summer.

Cyber Digital, of Long Island, New York, which sells digital
telephone switches that work under ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network) standards, said it has entered the Romanian and
Chinese markets. Cyber Telecom S.R.L. of Bucharest, a joint-
venture of which the US parent owns 55 percent, already has $1
million worth of orders in hand, the company said. Cyber also
signed a $2.4 million with Tianchi Telecom of China to supply
switches specifically geared to that market, starting in June.
Previously, Cyber had sold $2.5 million in switches to the
Chinese company. Both orders go out when letters of credit are
received, the company said.

In Saudi Arabia, the Middle East News Network said demand for
phone lines is rising smartly throughout the kingdom, due to the
elimination of tolls on local calls and a 53 percent cut in
installation and subscription fees. The number of phone lines in
the nation's Eastern Province, along the Persian Gulf, will rise
from 160,000 to over 220,000 over the next two years, the
government said.

Finally, Information Storage Devices, of the US, said Sanyo
Electric will sell its single-chip telephone answering machine
system in Japan. The TAD001 offers a 16 to 20 second message
recording time.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: J.C. Chatpar, Cyber
Digital, 516-471-5270; Ameritech, Steve Ford, 312-750-5205)


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

United States Telephone Update 04/21/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Good numbers
continued to come out of the US phone industry, buoyed by layoffs
and favorable tax rulings.

US West said its earnings grew 17 percent, to $334.4 million,
helped by those factors. Without the extraordinary items,
earnings were still up 10 percent. US West serves the Rocky
Mountains, much of the Great Plains, as well as Washington and
Oregon on the Pacific Coast. The economies in its service area
are better-off than those in Pacific Telesis' California and
Nevada service areas. Flat earnings there have PacTel considering
spinning-off its Bell operating units, where it gets 90 percent
of its revenues but only slow growth. Buried in US West's figures
were good reasons for any spinoff -- its regular telephone lines
in service grew by under three percent in the last year, but the
number of cellular subscribers are up 44 percent. The spinoff is
being contemplated to give shareholders credit for the faster-
growing sectors of the business.

PacBell, meanwhile, got the San Fernando Valley Board of
Realtors to endorse its "RealtyLink" service, which moves pictures
from listings, as well as the listings themselves, over phone lines.
In addition to pushing valuable data through business lines, the
service also encourages businesses to buy digital lines at 56,000
bits-per-second, something all the phone companies are pushing.
The San Fernando board has over 8,000 member realtors, and
they will start selling the system by next March. It is anticipated that,
if a spinoff occurs, some way will be found to put RealtyLink into
the unregulated entity spun-off.

In other phone company earnings news, Southern New England
Telecommunications, which serves recession-battered Connecticut,
said its earnings for the first quarter rose 6.6 percent, while
revenues grew just 2.5 percent. Chairman, Walter Monteith, said
he is optimistic the economy there is about to recover, since the
bulk of the earnings growth resulted from a rate increase which
went into effect in March, 1991.

Finally, continuing a trend of cellular system ownership
consolidation, AllTel said it now owns 100 percent of its Charlotte
cellular system. Alltel runs a local phone operation in Arkansas,
but has extensive unregulated operations in cellular services and
computer system operation for banks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: Ron Payne, Alltel,
501-661-8989; Beverly Levy, SNET, 203-771-4474; Pacific Bell, Lou
Saviano, 415-545-8191; SFVBR, Mary Lou Williams, 818-786-2110)


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

Sprint Adds Information Services To Foncard 04/21/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Backed
by a sizable ad buy, Sprint launched a new version of its Foncard
calling card offering new information services and convenience.
Those who sign up quickly can get 100 free minutes of calling on
the card.

The new card features an outline of the world on the front, with
directions for using it on the back. Users will not have to reenter
their card numbers when making multiple calls from a single
location, they will be able to reach its network using the 10330-0
code in addition to the regular toll-free 800-877-8000 line, and
they will have new card numbers based on their regular phone
numbers, as well as a four-digit code like that used on a bank
money market card.

In the information services area, the new Foncard features voice
prompts, a Sprint Express service for placing calls from abroad,
international calling and operator services using the card, and a
message delivery service.

In the security area, Sprint spokesman Robin Carlson says the
company's billing computers feature special algorithms which
look for hints of fraud "like making 20 calls to Ghana from a single
pay phone in the course of an hour" and can disconnect such
cards from the network.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920421/Press Contact: Robin Carlson,
Sprint, 202-828-7426)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

 ****IBM Unveils Top-Of-Line RS/6000 04/21/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- IBM has
expanded its RISC System/6000 workstation and server line with a
high-end model that doubles the expansion capacity and nearly
doubles the storage of its previous top model. According to IBM,
the new Powerserver 970 is also the first reduced instruction-set
computing (RISC) system to perform at better than 100 SPECmarks.

The system scored 100.3 SPECmarks in IBM's own measurements
using the popular benchmark test.

IBM said the new machine would be well suited to work where there
are many transactions to be handled, as in banks and telephone
companies. The company also hopes to sell the 970 to customers
who need a powerful network file server, numeric-intensive compute
server, or database server for commercial applications.

The new model will not overlap IBM's mainframe line so much as it
will compete with mini-supercomputers from vendors such as Convex
and Cray, IBM spokeswoman Judy Radlinksy said. The 970 will be
usable for technical computing work for which a small supercomputer
might have been used before, she said.

The 970 uses new chip technology and major enhancements to the
Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus. It is based on IBM's
Performance Optimization with Enhanced RISC (POWER)
Architecture and uses version 3.2 of AIX, IBM's version of Unix,
with enhancements to support the new model.

Greater circuit density in the chips used for the 970 allows IBM to
pack more instruction cache capacity onto the chips, Radlinsky told
Newsbytes, and this is a major reason for the improved performance
of the system. IBM has also doubled the data transfer rate of the
MCA bus from 40 to 80 megabytes (MB)-per-second, and added a
second MCA bus to the machine, so that, with the addition of a
circuit board, 16 expansion slots can be made available.

Standard features include 64 MB of memory, expandable to 512
MB, and 2.7 gigabytes (GB) of internal disk storage capacity
expandable to 20.5 GB. As much as 132.9 GB of total storage are
possible using optional external expansion racks. This is nearly
twice what the Powerserver 950, the previous top-of-the-line
RS/6000 model, can support.

As many as 500 character-based terminals can be attached to
the system, Radlinsky said.

An eight-millimeter tape drive, a 1.44 MB 3.5-inch diskette
drive, a CD-ROM drive, and an integrated SCSI (Small Computer
Systems Interface) port are also standard equipment, IBM said.

The Powerserver 970 is scheduled to be available June 26. The
base price is $94,500, but required features not included in that price
-- such as the operating system software -- bring the minimum price
tag to $97,822. IBM said it will offer conversion options to help
current users of Powerserver 930 and 950 models move to the new
unit while keeping existing adapters, disk storage, and other media
devices.

The $94,500 base price is the same as the previous base price for
the Powerserver 950, Radlinsky said, but the price of the 950 is
being reduced by about 17 percent with the announcement of the
970.

(Grant Buckler/19920421/Press Contact: Judy Radlinsky, IBM,
914-642-4634)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00020)

Bull Forms Telecom Market Unit 04/21/92
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Bull
HN Information Systems has set up a new strategic business unit to
focus on the telecommunications industry. The Advanced
Telecommunications Solutions (ATS) unit is based in Woodbridge,
New Jersey, with John Neville as vice-president and general
manager.

The new unit is one of five Bull has set up in 1992. Company
spokeswoman Bonnie Kaplan said the others are: the public sector
group; a large commercial accounts group focused on customers
that are leaders in their industries; a major accounts group; and a
general accounts group.

Noting that France Telecom holds a significant stake in Bull, Kaplan
said the company has telecommunications industry customers
around the world. Those customers include GTE, Bell Atlantic,
BellSouth, Metromedia paging, and US West in the US, as well as
Bell Canada, France Telecom, Telecom Australia, Hunan Province
(PRC) Telecommunications, British Telecom and Korea
Telecommunications.

The new business unit is a sales and marketing operation, but will
have input into development of products for the telecom industry,
Kaplan said.

Bull said ATS will work closely with its telco operations in Europe
and the Pacific Rim.

Groupe Bull is comprised of Bull SA (France), Bull SA (Europe), and
the US-based Bull HN Information Systems and Zenith Data
Systems.

(Grant Buckler/19920421/Press Contact: Bonnie Kaplan, Bull HN,
508-294-6294)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00021)

Compucom Acquires Compuserve's Systems Integration Grp 04/21/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Microcomputer dealer
Compucom Systems said it has signed an agreement to purchase
certain assets of Compuserve Systems Integrations Group Southwest.

The integration consulting company will operate under its former name,
Microsolutions. Microsolutions was renamed Compuserve Systems
Integration Group Southwest when it was purchased by Compuserve in
August 1990.

Compucom said Morti Tenenhaus, its senior vice president and CIO,
will head the new company. All present employees will reportedly be
retained. The deal included Compuserve's LAN (local area network)
training facility in Dallas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed
and no information regarding Microsolutions financial success was
available, since the company is privately held.

Microsolutions was founded in 1983 and provides technical network
integration services to major corporations.

This is not Compucom's first acquisition. Compucom acquired Photo
& Sound Company's microcomputer business in July of 1991, and
The Computer Factory, a retail outlet operation, in April of 1992. About
seven months later the Computer Factory stores were closed after
Compucom was unable to find a buyer, putting about 100 employees
out of work.

This week Compucom reported that its revenues for the quarter
ending March 31 were up 77 percent to $158.9 million, nearly double
from the same period last year. Net earnings for the quarter were up
79 percent to $1.08 million, or $0.03 per share, a one cent per share
increase over the same period last year.

According to Avery More, Compucom president and CEO, the
favorable reports was attributable to internal growth, its 1991
acquisitions, and effective management of the company's operating
expenses.

Compucom said it plans to "grow its network integration and support
services through selective acquisitions and internal expansion."
Compucom spokesperson Mary Beth King said she could not speak
about any specific acquisition plans but said, "They're always
looking."

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Mary Beth King, Compucom
Systems, 214-497-5922)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00022)

Apple Europe Reshuffles To Better Serve Customers 04/21/92
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Apple
Computer Europe has announced a new organizational structure
designed to "get closer to customers' needs and to accelerate
Apple's successful drive for market share."

According to Apple, the changes mean that Apple Europe will be
composed of four customer-focused business units, as well as a
service and support business unit.

The European changes do not affect Apple's worldwide
organization. Apple will remain organized as three regional
groups -- U.S.A., Pacific, and Europe, along with five product
divisions with worldwide marketing responsibilities.

The changes will allow each regional group to better focus sales
and marketing on Apple's four main potential sales areas: large
accounts and government; education; business; and consumer.

"Apple's market share strategy is a success," said Soren Olsson,
Apple Europe's president, announcing the changes.

According to Olsson, Apple is enjoying a better growth than the
rest of the industry. "In the past two years, we have enriched
our product line dramatically, reduced our time to market and
expanded our distribution channels to reach more users," he said.

Olsson backed up his comments with figures. He cited Apple's
European 1991 growth as almost two thirds up on the previous
year. This, he claims, means that it is a good time for Apple to
make changes in its European operations.

"This is a good time to make these structural changes, which will
put us in a very solid position for even stronger growth in the
future. By giving a market-based overlay to the way we plan and
manage Apple, we will better serve customer needs across
Europe," he said.

Each of the five European business units will be responsible for
sales and marketing in their sphere of operations: business;
education; large business and government; consumer business;
and service/support.

The five business units will be further split into six regional
groups in Europe: UK/Ireland; Germany, Austria and Switzerland;
Nordic (Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland); Benelux
(Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg); Spain; and Italy.

Newsbytes notes that Apple France will, for the time being at
least, remain outside of the European shuffle. This is due to
what Apple calls the country as being the company's most
developed market in Europe. Apple France will be divided into
five divisions, as detailed above.

(Steve Gold/19920421/Press & Public Contact: Apple UK,
081-569-1199)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00023)

UK: Atari Shoots It Out In High Street Lynx Game Competition 04/21/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Atari has
announced a national high score competition to discover the top
Lynx games console player in the UK. The winner can choose
from a prize fund of UKP 3,000 in the form of a holiday, electrical
goods, and mountain bikes.

Runners up in the competition will receive bundles of Atari
software, while the finalists will be invited to win a day at an
indoor go-karting track.

Announcing the competition, Darryl Still, Atari's marketing manager
for Lynx games consoles said that the promotion will achieve
several objectives for the company, all of which are designed to
enable the company to keep up with the half a million Lynx owners
that are expected to have bought their machines by the end of the
year.

"We're particularly pleased that the opportunity has been
embraced by the independent retail trade and look forward to a
bumper entry in our competition as a consequence of their
enthusiastic support," he said.

The high score competition will start on May 9, in 60 independent
high street computer stores. Running for one week a month over a
five month period, it will feature 10 titles from the Lynx software
range. The high scorers from each game will be invited back to
their local store to take part in the semi-finals. The 12 top scorers
from the semi-finals will go forward to a grand final at the Spitfire
Go-Karting Track in Feltham, Middlesex, on October 10 this year.

The competition is being held by Atari in conjunction with Game
Zone magazine and the National Association of Specialist
Computer Retailers (NASCR). Plans call for Game Zone, a games
monthly, to publish the results of the competition each month.

So where do prospective Lynx high scorers get their entry forms
from? The forms are available from all participating stores in
the UK, as well as in several monthly magazines such as ST
Action, Amiga Action, Sega Force, and Game Zone.

A quick stroll round the local computer games shops over the
Easter break confirmed Newsbytes' suspicions about the Atari
Lynx. A year ago, Atari's Lynx was pretty evenly matched against
the Nintendo Game Boy monochrome games console. After
releasing a large quantity of software, the color Lynx appears to
be winning against the Game Boy. Nintendo is fighting back
however -- a color version of the Game Boy is expected in the
UK later this year, according to informed sources.

(Steve Gold/19920421/Press & Public Contact: Atari UK,
0753-533344)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

EC Considers Opening European Voice Telecoms Market 04/21/92
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- The European
Commission (EC) is considering a change to its telecommunications
policy on inter-country calls within the EC territories. The changes
could open up the market tremendously, Newsbytes notes.

Currently, only national telecommunications companies native to
an EC member country have the right to offer international voice
telephone services. Even this "right" is subject to government
approval of the country concerned. International companies must
seek the approval of both, their own government, as well as that of
the government in whose country service is being offered.

Services from one country to another, with neither country being
the country in which the international company is registered, are
subject to even tighter regulation. A classic case is AT&T which,
although it can offers services to and from the US to almost any
EC country, cannot currently offer inter-European calls without the
permission of the EC, and the government of the countries
concerned.

Newsbytes recently reported that AT&T was considering offering
a trans-US service within Europe for inter-Europe calls. Put
simply, this would mean that calls from one European country
would be routed via the US, to another European country, with
call charges billed to an AT&T calling card.

This may prove to be an unnecessary way of circumventing the EC's
convoluted laws on telecommunications. When the EC's original
telecommunications legislation was passed in June, 1990, all
telecom services -- with the exception of voice telephony - were
opened up to international competition.

The EC is now considering removing restrictions on voice
telephony services in Europe. This would effectively allow
companies such as AT&T to offer a direct international service
from, say, London to Paris, to compete with other French and
English telecoms operators.

According to Communications Week International, a full overhaul
of the EC's telecoms legislation is still some way off, but
changes are expected before the end of the year. These changes,
Newsbytes notes, could actually force an EC member country to
allow another EC country telecoms company to offer services in
that country, without reference to the country's government.

(Steve Gold/19920421)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00025)

CNN Goes Live In Europe On Astra Satellite 04/21/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Cable News Network
(CNN), the satellite broadcasting operation of Ted Turner, has
commencing transmissions from the Astra 1B "direct to home"
satellite in Europe. Transmissions are being broadcast on 11.627
gigahertz (video) and 6.50 megahertz (audio). CNN radio being
broadcast on 7.92MHz, Newsbytes notes.

According to Darren Ingram's Satnews weekly newsletter,
published on-line on the Compulink Information eXchange (London
081-390-8446 - voice), the service is CNN International, a mixture
of CNN Headline news and the company's domestic US broadcast
output.

Until the start of CNN's feed via Astra 1B, the company had used
the Intelsat satellite for network distribution in Europe. While
Intelsat is used mainly by hotels and other organizations taking
various satellite feeds for their own networks, Astra 1B is a
direct to home satellite service, requiring dishes of 60 centimetres
and up.

Announcing the switch to Astra, Pierre Meyrat, director general
of SES, the company behind Astra, said that CNN's feed into
Astra confirms Astra's dominant position in the European
satellite TV marketplace.

While Satnews reports that CNN's Intelsat feed will cease this
September, Newsbytes notes that CNN International service has
no ads. In place of ads, an endless stream of promos for CNN
International, as well as details of which hotels carry CNN to
their customers, is spliced in. CNN is now seeking
advertisements from European companies, Newsbytes
understands.

(Steve Gold/19920421)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00026)

UK: Infotech Announces Summer '92 Technology Conferences 04/21/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Infotech, the
technology seminar organizer, has announced four seminars for
this summer, consisting of the Cryptographic Security Review, IBM's
SAA, The Network Security Workshop, and Networking Strategies
for Business.

The Cryptographic Security Review, which takes place in London
from June 10 to the 12, 1992, is billed as the only opportunity this year
to hear Dr. Carl Meyer and his team cover the latest developments
in cryptographic security. Meyer is best-known as the coauthor of
the Data Encryption Standard (DES).

IBM's SAA conference, which takes place on May 14/15, 1992, in
London, is designed to explain System Application Architecture
(SAA) to all managers involved with the technology. According to
Brian Couling, seminar business manager with Infotech, SAA will
influence future planning, development and purchasing decisions
for many information technology (IT), communications and office
systems managers. The two day seminar will, Couling claims,
bring managers up to date on what is happening in the industry.

The Network Security Workshop, which is held in London on
June 4/5, 1992, aims to give a practical level of understanding of
the security principles involved in networks and distributed
processing systems. Couling claims that the workshop "will give
a practical understanding of the security principles involved in
networks and distributed processing systems."

The Networking Strategies for Business seminar lasts for one day -
June 17 - and is held in London. The one day seminar aims to
show potential users how to evaluate network technology from a
business perspective. The seminar will be led by Paul Christmas,
managing director of Icomm, an independent telecommunications
consultancy.

Fees for the four conferences vary. The three day Cryptographic
Security Review costs UKP 845, while the two two-day seminars
cost UKP 695 for the SAA event and UKP 750 for the Network
Security Workshop. The Networking Strategies seminar costs
UKP 345.

(Steve Gold/19920421/Press & Public Contact: Infotech Seminars,
tel [phone], fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

Intercon Intros Planet X 1.2 X-Server/Client Software 04/21/92
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Intercon has
released an upgrade to its X-Server/client package - Planet X.

According to the company, version 1.2 of Planet X has undergone
a number of revisions and bug fixes. The main improvements
in the product relate to speed increases and enhanced security
features.

Planet X can be used to control a Macintosh from a Unix environment
or vice versa. The only requirements are that the Macintosh runs
MacX if it is the controller, and that the Unix workstation operate under
X-Windows if it is the controller. Planet X works with workstations
from Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Sun, and
others.

If the Macintosh is the client, the X-server displays a window that
is a bit-by-bit copy of the Macintosh's screen. Every action taken
at the server is mirrored on the actual Macintosh and results are
displayed on the server. The same happens in the reverse case
with the Macintosh displaying the X-Windows display.

According to the company, version 1.2 offers a 20 percent speed
increase in the color mode over version 1.0. A security glitch allowing
Telnet users to bump each other off of their sessions has been
corrected. Other enhancements include support for Sun's
CommandTool under OpenWindows, Compatibility with Apple's
A/ROSE program, and support for Apple's latest hardware offering
like the big black and white monitors and the Quadra series.

Planet X version 1.2 has already begun shipping. It is list priced
at $295. Purchasers of the previous version will receive the
upgrade at no cost by contacting their dealer or the company.

(Naor Wallach/19920421/Press Contact: Tom Woolf, Media
Relations, 415-508-1554)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00028)

Motorola Chip Powers TI's 1500 Multiprocessing Computer 04/21/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Motorola's
Microprocessor and Memory Technologies Group says its 33
megahertz (MHz) 68040 microprocessor will provide the processing
power of Texas Instrument's new 1500 MP computer.

The 1500 MP (for multi-processing) reportedly delivers three times
the computing power of earlier MP models, and can support large
enterprise-wide networks of up to 1,000 users. That is twice the
number of users supported by existing TI systems.

The 1500 MP also incorporates TI's "Investment Protection
Architecture" as did earlier MP models. IPA enables users who
upgrade to run existing applications modification. TI said users
who upgrade to the 1500 from recently purchased MP systems
based on the 68030 chip will, in most cases, be able to receive a
100 percent trade-in allowance.

The 1500 MP, targeted primarily as a file server at companies with
large network installations, is available in a seven- or a 16-slot
version, and is expected to start shipping at the end of April.
Cost of the seven-slot model starts at $29,250 while the 16-slot
model starts at $59,000

The new system uses ASICs (application specific integrated
circuits) that place multiple functions on one board, to conserve
expansion slots. In the MP, a single board includes the processor,
an Ethernet interface with both thick and thin connections, and a
SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) controller. TI said a
similarly equipped earlier model, using the 68030 chip, would
require five boards to obtain similar performance and functionality.
The 68030 system would also cost $16,000 more than the 68040-
based system, according to TI.

The company said that it would cost about $24,000 to upgrade
from earlier models.

TI reported better than expected financial results for its first
quarter, with net income of $40 million, or $0.35 per share.
Revenues rose a modest three percent to $1.69 billion for the
quarter. Analysts predicted TI would show improvement for the rest
of the year. Analysts and TI Chairman Jerry Junkins attributed the
results to the company's efforts to cut costs and improve efficiency.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Kristen Hausman, Motorola,
512-891-2386; Jeff Ketner, Ketner Communications for Texas
Instruments, 512-794-8876)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00029)

New For PC: Virus Detection, Removal Program 04/21/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Parsons
Technology has introduced a new two-part virus detection and
removal program which the company said protects computers
from all known and unknown virus strains.

Viruses, which come and go periodically, may have become best
known to the general public as well as to computer users, when the
Michelangelo virus was discovered a few months ago. Computer
users held their collective breaths as the birthday of the artist
approached, supposedly the day the virus would strike.

Due to the extensive publicity, many computer users installed virus
detection programs, which many industry watchers believe was
responsible for the relatively small number of systems being struck.
Viruses can be extremely destructive, destroying all the information
contained on the computer's hard drive, or they can be relatively
benign, such as displaying a message on the computer screen
advocating the legalization of marijuana.

The Parsons program, Virucide Plus, consists of Virucide and
Virucide Shield. Virucide Shield, a memory resident program that
occupies about 10 kilobytes (KB) of the computer's memory, is
designed to detect a virus before it can do damage and alert the
user to shut down the system.

Virucide can reportedly destroy all known viruses, a total of 920
boot, file and stealth viruses, including those residing in memory.
Virucide Plus, which carries a $69 price tag, includes the ability
for the user to specify a list of files to be excluded from scanning
when users are modifying files during programming or other
activities. The warning message alerting the user to the presence
of a virus can be customized.

Virucide Plus requires an IBM or compatible PC and 512 KB or
more of RAM.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Anne Rawland, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626; Public contact: 800-223-6925)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00030)

MCC Develops New Bonding Method For Multichip Circuitry 04/21/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 APR 21 (NB) -- Microelectronics and
Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) has announced a new
high-force compressor bonder to attach unpackaged integrated
circuits directly to high density wiring boards. The new technology is
called "flip chip bonding."

Compression bonding is a manufacturing process of welding
surfaces together by applying pressure. Flip chip bonding is
especially useful in situations where the high temperatures
generated during  soldering have to be avoided. There are also
some situations where solder fluxes, the liquid or solid which cleans
and protects the surface to be soldered, are not permitted. The
technique can be quite useful in applications such as high data-rate
communications circuits, where it is desirable to avoid crosstalk
between adjacent bonds.

MCC said their technique allows for precise control of the bonding
force, from one pound to at least 100 pounds. They also cite
excellent positioning accuracy, good chip to substrate coplanarity,
and modularity, high yield, and usability with chips having up to
1,000 input/outputs per-square-centimeter.

The flip bonding process seems simple. First, a chip is picked up
out of its carrier by a robot-like tool. Next, the exact positions
of the chip and the wiring substrate to which the chip is being
attached are registered. Then the chip is positioned on top of the
substrate features at which the electronic connections are to be
made. Finally, the force is applied, forming a cold weld between
the mating metal pads on the chip and the substrate. Once the
force has been applied, the pickup tool is retracted and the
process starts all over again with the next chip.

MCC said the bonding machine is controller by a Intel 486-based
microcomputer running MS-DOS and menu-driven C source
language software.

(Jim Mallory/19920421/Press Contact: Cynthia Williams, MCC,
512-338-3512)