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/nb920618

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(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

Optical Filing System Software Addresses Over 1 Terabyte 06/18/92
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Pegasus
Disk Technologies says it has introduced optical filing system
(OFS) software that will allow users to address from 16
gigabytes (GB) to 1.27 terabytes of optical storage as a single
volume.

The company says its Pegasus OFS software allows user the ability
to access an entire optical disk jukebox as one drive under MS-DOS
or PC-based networks. The company maintains it has developed a
standard file format storage method for all writable optical media,
regardless of the type of optical drive, which offers a common
Application Program Interface (API) for data access.

Geared toward developers, the product can be incorporated so data
can be transported from stand alone optical drives to jukeboxes
independent of limitations of the operating system. This
eliminates expensive internal software development problems
for users with high-end configurations, the company maintains.

Enhancements have been made to the OFS software so it offers
connectivity to optical jukebox manufacturer Cygnet products,
Pegasus said. The Pegasus OFS software works with the PC-
based network products Novell Netware ELS, 286, 386 and
Netware Lite. Other networks supported include: Banyan,
LANmanage, 3Com, Lantastic, Map Assist and D-Link, the
company added.

Cygnet, headquartered in San Jose, California makes robotic
optical jukeboxes, or disk libraries, for 12 inch drives that can
handle one to five drives and 29 to 141 disks. Cygnet says it
leads the market in optical jukeboxes with 45 percent of the
market share worldwide.

Located in Walnut Creek, Pegasus describes itself as a
developer of file system and volume management software
for optical disk drives and jukeboxes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Roy Slicker,
Pegasus Disk Technologies, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00002)

Checkit Plus -- Checkit With Menuworks, Disk Labeler 06/18/92
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- A
new version of the diagnostic software for IBM and compatible
personal computers, Checkit, is being offered according to the
product's developer, Touchstone Software. The Checkit Plus
product itself is the same as Checkit 3.0, a previously released
version. However, the company is now including two companion
programs at no additional charge.

The companion programs are disk management utilities for
managing files on hard and floppy drives, Menuworks from PC
Dynamics and Disk Labeler Supreme from MBC, Touchstone said.

Touchstone says Menuworks allows Checkit users to escape the
DOS "C:>" prompt by offering pull-down menus to execute
programs or move, copy, delete, and rename files or directories.
Passwords can also be assigned to menu selections so critical
or confidential information can be protected, Touchstone
maintains.

Timed program execution, a lost file locator, disk and memory
statistics, built-in and user defined help, and a text editor
are also included with Menuworks, the company said.

Disk Labeler Supreme labels diskettes using file name, file
date and/or file size and can also print comments on the disk.
The disk labels are added to a file catalogue Disk Labeler
maintains for the purpose of tracking the files so they may
be located more easily.

Touchstone said the Disk Labeler Supreme product does
support a laser printer. Checkit Plus will still be retail priced
at $149, the same price as the Checkit 3.0 product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Scott Mackay,
Touchstone Software, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact: 800-531-0450)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00003)

Northern Telecom Wins $25M Korean Data Network Deal 06/18/92
SEOUL, KOREA, JUN 18 1992 -- Northern Telecom Asia/
Pacific has acquired two major data network contracts in
South Korea.

Under the contracts with Korean conglomerate Daewoo,
Northern Telecom will provide data packet switching
equipment to Korea Telecom and Korea Air, while Daewoo
will provide associated computer systems and local
service and support.

The value of the contracts is expected to exceed $25
million over an initial three year period.  The order from
Korea Telecom calls for Northern Telecom to supply data
packet switching equipment for a national public data
network.

In addition to providing electronic mail service, the
network will be used to support Korea Telecom's HiTEL
videotex service.

"The contribution to Korea Telecom's HiTEL videotex service
is worth noting," Larry Britain, country director for Northern
Telecom in Korea, told Newsbytes. "Korea Telecom has a
vision to provide an inexpensive data communications
service throughout Korea."

For Korean Air, Northern Telecom will supply an international
private data network with major nodes in Seoul, Los Angeles
and Tokyo.  The network will provide computerized
reservations and value-added services.

Northern Telecom's president for Asia/Pacific, Jim Long,
said that the two Korean contracts illustrate the explosive
growth that is taking place in the data networking market
throughout Asia.

"In order to properly position ourselves in these markets,
Northern Telecom has invested considerable resources in
developing a regional 'center of excellence' for data
networking. The team of DPN experts, based in Melbourne,
Australia, will supervise installation and commissioning
of the systems and provide on-going support to the local
contractor, Daewoo," Long Said.

(Brett Cameron/19920616/Press Contact: Larry Britain,
Northern Telecom Korea, Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004)

Datacraft Intros High Performance Modems 06/18/92
NORTH POINT, HONG KONG, JUN 18 1992 -- Datacraft has
introduced two high performance modems featuring state
of the art technologies and comprehensive network
management.

The Netcraft 4232bis+ is claimed to be the highest
performance modem available in the market. It is V.32bis
compliant offering 14.4 Kbps basic throughput, and with
its MNP 5 and V.42bis compliant "4 times" data
compression, an effective throughtput of 57.6 Kbps is
achievable. To ensure error free transmission, Netcraft
4232bis+ supports V.42 and MNP 10 data correction, which
is the latest method to handle adverse line conditions.
In addition, the automatic dial backup capability further
improves link reliability by switching to a dial-up circuit
in case the leased line fails, claims the company.

The second new Datacraft modem, Netcraft 3296D, is a
V.32 modem offering true 9.6 Kbps.  The data compression
algorithm is MNP 5 compliant, resulting in an effective
throughput of 19.2 Kbps.  The Netcraft 3296D supports a
windows-based network management system, which
allows centralized configuration trouble shooting and
statistics collection.

Both Netcraft 4232bis+ and Netcraft 3296D work with
leased or dial up circuits, support password and dial back
security, and support local and remote configurations.
Standalone and rack mount versions are available.

"Both are immediately available in Hong Kong," Sam Lin,
Hong Kong country sales manager for Datacraft (H.K.) Ltd.,
told Newsbytes.  "They are more advanced and price
performance is even better than previous models."

(Brett Cameron/19920616/Press contact: Vincent Lum,
Datacraft Asia, Tel [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00005)

AST Intros 120MB Hard Drive For Premium Exec Notebook 06/18/92
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, JUN 18 92 -- AST Research
has introduced 120 megabyte (MB) hard disk drive versions of
its Premium Exec 386SX/25 and Premium Exec 386SX/25C
notebook computers.

The company claims that the introduction of the 120MB drive
to the notebook marks a breakthrough for those professionals
who develop turn-key applications using the compact machines.

"Users today demand a large format hard drive in order to work
on a broad range of business database and graphics based
applications," said Alex Chu, director of AST Asia.  "AST
continues to meet the needs of its customers in providing a
120MB version at aggressive prices. Today's software is
becoming more complex, occupying more hard disk space,"
Chu told Newsbytes.

The Premium Exec 386SX/25 120 MB machine retails at $3,795.
Which is claimed to be very price-competitive when compared
to other equivalent brands currently available.

Upgrade kits are available for users with 20MB, 40MB, 60MB,
and 80MB, hard disk versions who wish to upgrade to 120MB.
The suggested retail price for the upgrade kit is $1,249

The access time of the new 120MB drive is less than 18
milliseconds which is the same as that of the 80MB, 60MB and
40MB configurations. The configuration weighs seven pounds
and is sold with a standard four megabytes (MB) of RAM.

"At the moment the market is still focused on the 60 and
80MB configurations, but we expect the market to shift to
the 120MB version before the end of the year," Alex Chu
told Newsbytes. "We estimate that our current market share
of notebook sales in Hong Kong is about 25-35 percent." .

The Premium Exec 386SX/25C color notebook was the recent
recipient of Ziff, Germany's PC Professionell "Innovation of
the Year" award at the CeBIT computer fair in Hannover,
Germany.  Computer Buyers Guide and Handbook's recently
awarded the product "Best Buy" based on its fast
performance, speed, and long battery life.

(Brett Cameron/19920616/Press contact: Alex Chu, AST
Asia, Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)

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

Latin America Phone Update: A Step Backward 06/18/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Even a baseball
team on a hot streak loses a few games, so it should be no
surprise that the positive movement in Latin America's phone
situation has taken a few steps backward this week.

The trouble started in Mexico, where the local stock market
plunged on rumors that unannounced US presidential candidate
Ross Perot opposes a proposed US-Mexico-Canada free trade
agreement. Telmex' stock led the plunge, helped by reports
that unions might disperse their stock in the company to
workers, who might be expected to sell it.

Meanwhile, reports of privatization further south may have
been exaggerated. Columbian officials said they are not
committed to privatizing their Telecom phone monopoly.
Reports of a sale moved workers to strike, and moved
someone to sabotage, a few months ago. Brazilian officials
also denied that privatization of their Telebras monopoly was
imminent -- the stock is already traded locally, and has
fallen one-third in price since those reports first surfaced.
The government is expected to first sell-off its energy sector,
then go for a Constitutional amendment authorizing the
Telebras sale.

However, some progress continues. International Mobile Machines
signed a distributorship agreement in Venezuela with Mapletex
C.A., which is 45 percent owned by that nation's CANTV monopoly.
CANTV, in turn, is owned by a consortium headed by GTE of the
US. Telmex in Mexico has been aggressively using IMM's
Ultraphone units, which deliver the equivalent of wired phone
service from TDMA digital cellular base stations, to bring phone
service to rural areas. CANTV is expected to do the same.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: Marcia A. Bexley,
IMM,  215-278-7831)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

UPI Takeover Update 06/18/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- When last we left
United Press International, the financially troubled wire
service, a New York lawyer named Leon Charney had rescued it
from going under with a last-minute bid which will keep it
operating while he looks at the books. Now Charney is trying to
defend his decision.

Charney now says UPI can survive best as a cooperative, owned
by employees and customers, with reporters paid per-story. He's
also looking for up to $3.5 million per year from the Dutch
Postal Lottery, whose price would be expanded coverage of
humanitarian issues like abortion, the environment, and health
issues. Such a move might make good business sense, turning UPI
into a specialty wire which could compete based on unique
content.

Mainly, Charney is trying to explain how he can save the
company when Pat Robertson has said it's impossible.
Robertson withdrew a $6 million bid a day before Charney
entered the picture, claiming it would take $31 million to keep
the company running through 1993 with no real expectation of
a return. Charney disputed the estimate, claiming he could
stabilize the company with $8 million per year, or $12 million
for the same period.

Meanwhile, Robertson is not completely out of the picture. His
$500,000 bid for the name and certain assets was rejected, but
he now wants the judge overseeing the case to order UPI to
accept his offer. And Charney has not really made any
commitments past June 22. If he drops out, some analysts
expect Robertson to get his way.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

Ameritech Begins Market Test of PCN Phones 06/18/92
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Fifteen years
after it built the first cellular phone network, Illinois
Bell is doing a market-test of microwave-based cellular
phones known as personal communication networks, or PCN
units.

When it won the first cellular development license from the
Federal Communications Commission in 1977, Illinois Bell was
a unit of AT&T, and part of the Bell System. Now the company is
a unit of Ameritech, the regional Bell covering the upper
Midwest.

PCN phones work on higher frequencies than present cellular
units. The shorter waves take less power to transmit, but don't
go as far because of their higher frequency. Thus phones can be
smaller, but base stations must be closer together.

By the end of the year, the company said, it will give 1,000
users in Chicago PCN phones, and test their use of them. The
first official PCN call was made by George Wendt, an actor and
native of Chicago best known for playing the beer-sipping
character Norm Peterson on the TV sitcom "Cheers."

About 100 cell sites have been put into downtown Chicago, the
city's near North Side, and parts of Arlington Heights, near
where Ameritech is based. The phones can only call out. They
cannot take incoming calls. However, Ameritech officials
predicted that in time PCN phones will let people have
"personal phone numbers" which follow them, instead of their
phones. In the test, customers pay only for calls they make,
with local calls billed like pay phone calls and long distance
services provided by Sprint. Bank Illinois will provide billing
services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: Steve Ford,
Ameritech, 312-750-5205)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

NY Telephone Cuts Int'l Service At Some Pay Phones 06/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- As part of
its effort to fight phone fraud with stolen calling card numbers,
New York Telephone is blocking international calls from most of
its public phones inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal and at
surrounding sidewalk locations.  The company said it would also
target other high-fraud areas throughout New York City.

New York Telephone will rely on technology developed by Mars
Electronics International, based in Pennsylvania, which blocks
international calls attempted through any long distance carrier
or private business phone system.  New York Telephone said it
would implement the program at selected public phones so as
not to inconvenience legitimate callers.

This is the second time that phone companies have limited
service at pay phones as an anti-crime move. A few years ago,
some phones were switched from touchtone to rotary dial
service, to keep people using them from reaching beepers
allegedly used by drug dealers.

Now the problem is "sidewalk surfing," where thieves listen
to callers giving their card numbers to operators, or peer
over their shoulders when they take out calling cards. The
numbers are then taken to a pay phone, where services using
them are sold to allcomers. Frequently, the services are sold
to drug dealers, who can then make untraceable calls to their
overseas contacts. Some observers claim that the numbers are
also used by illegal immigrants calling their families back
home.

Telephone fraud is estimated at more than $1 billion a year
nationwide.  New York Telephone operates more than 57,000
public phones in New York City.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: Maureen Flanagan,
New York Telephone, 212-395-0500)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Wordperfect Acquires Magicsoft 06/18/92
OREM, UTAH,, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- WordPerfect, the
leading maker of word processing software, has gotten into the
communications business by acquiring MagicSoft of Lombard,
Illinois.

MagicSoft produces MTEZ, a data communications package, and
ExpressFax, a fax communications package. The two companies
worked together on the communications module of WordPerfect
Works, an integrated software package which shipped in March,
1992. MagicSoft products are also bundled with products from
Dell, Megahertz, ZOOM Telephonics, Rockwell, Pracitcal
Peripherals, Intel, and U.S. Robotics.

Stewart Nelson, vice president of software development at
WordPerfect, said that MagicSoft's products already have much
of the look-and-feel of the company's existing products. The
company's programmers will also work on WordPerfect Office,
WordPerfect's electronic mail, calendaring, and scheduling
package which now has a million users on Windows, DOS, Unix,
and VAX/VMS, along with a direct connection to OV/VM PROFS.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920618/Press Contact: WordPerfect, Liz
Tanner, 801/228-5004; MagicSoft, Jon Niedfeldt, 708/953-2374)
(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Word For Word Ships Windows Version 06/18/92
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Mastersoft has
announced shipment of an update to it's file format conversion
program Word For Word Professional.

According to the company version 5.1 has added support for a
number of Windows-based word processing program, including
Microsoft Word for Windows, Wordperfect for Windows,
Windows Write, and Ami Pro 2.0. Support for Signature and
the updated versions of WordStar 7 and the PC version of Excel
version 3.0 are also supported in the latest release of WFW.

WFW, which Newsbytes reviewed in December of 1991, converts
the format of text files from one format to another. For example,
if you created a document in Word for Windows and I wanted to
use that document in Wordperfect, WFW can make the conversion.
WFW will also convert across applications, such as to or from a
spreadsheet to or from a word processing format. Database
files can also be converted.

With the added support for Windows-based applications, WFW
can now convert between Windows, MS/PC-DOS, and Macintosh
formats.

WFW also includes a file viewing option that allows the user to
scroll through a file as well as page forward and backward to scan
the contents prior to making the conversion. Mastersoft said the
user doesn't have to exit WFW or have the appropriate application
running to view a file. Files viewed are displayed with page layout
attributes such as margins, tabs, paragraphs, headers and footers
intact, said Mastersoft.

WFW is also available in LAN (local area network) configurations,
and can find and convert files located on any accessible drive in
the network. WFW configuration can be customized to retain
preferred features such as screen colors and target formats.

Mastersoft said the LAN version is available in three, five, and
10-user versions.

Present users can upgrade to version 5.1 at $39.95 for the
single-user version, and $79.95 for the three-user LAN version. The
suggested list price for the stand-alone version of WFW is $149,
while the three-user LAN package is $299. The company said
corporate site licenses and volume discounts are available.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Lise Lambert, Mastersoft,
203-264-9490; Reader contact: 602-277-0900, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00012)

Vista Ships Fax Program For Windows 06/18/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Vista Microsystems
says it is now shipping Faxual, which the company describes as an
integrated hardware and software faxing program for Windows.

Faxual allows the user to fax a composite document, consisting of
text, graphics, illustrations and spreadsheet data from several
Windows applications, in a combined fax file.

Vista said Faxual offers several viewing modes, including
Thumbnail, Dual page, Single Page, and Best Fit. Thumbnail
shows every page of a sent or received fax. The user can
delete, move, swap and merge document pages. The single
page view displays as full page as the fax will be received.
Dual page allows the user to scan through multiple pages, and
best fit permits the user to read the fax without printing it. Best
fit usually displays the fax one-half page at a time, Vista's
Drew Lanham told Newsbytes.

Vista said Faxual includes a built-in index system which allows
faxes to be stored, referenced and retrieved using a file name with
up to 50 characters. Multi-line reminder notes can be attached to
the file name. Lanham told Newsbytes that the notes can hold up to
54 kilobytes of comments.

According to Vista, Faxual also allows the user to draw ellipses,
squares, lines and type text with any font at any angle directly on
any fax. A user could mark up a received fax, then fax it back to
the originator with the marks and comments intact, without ever
printing the fax. Lanham said the marks and comments aren't limited
to specific angle such as 45, 90 or 180, but can be placed at any
angle.

You can also add graphics, including a signature, letterhead, or
logo. A clipboard capability allows import of TIFf and PCX files.
You can even cut from another fax to build a document. Faxual also
allows the received fax to be rotated 90, 180 or 270 degrees.

Lanham said you don't need a scanner to get your letterhead or
signature into the system. He said you can use a conventional fax
machine to send yourself the signature or letterhead. It's then
available for use in Faxual documents.

According to Lanham, Faxual uses a Class II board as the hardware.
The system receives incoming faxes as Group III compressed TIFF
files.

Vista said Faxual sends and receives in the background while other
applications are running. It also has a phonebook to store names
and numbers of individuals or companies you send faxes to regularly.
The phonebook has a search feature.

Faxual has a suggested list price of $199.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Drew Lanham, Vista
Microsystems, 214-490-7464, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00013)

Compaq's New Systems On Display At PC Expo 06/18/92
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation said the new systems it announced earlier this week
will be on display at the PC Expo trade show in New York next
week.

Compaq said it will showcase its new Deskpro/i systems, a new line
the company said it produced specifically to optimize Microsoft
Windows performance. According to Compaq, the new desktop line
can provide up to 10 times the graphics performance of many
existing VGA systems.

In addition to the Deskpro/i systems, Compaq will also be exhibiting
its entry-level ProLinea desktop systems, the Contura notebook PCs,
and the LTE Lite/25c, Compaq's first active matrix color notebook
system. Also on display will be a special Windows edition of the
company's top of the line Deskpro/M (for modular) family. The M
series allow for modular replacement of components in order to
upgrade the system.

Compaq said its PC Expo booth will be the largest the company has
occupied at the show. Included will be an amphitheater where live
theatrical performances will be used to highlight the new products,
pricing, and support. Show attendees will also be able to get
Compaq 10th Anniversary T-shirts, and a drawing will be held
to give away two of its Contura/25 notebook PCs.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Catherine Macora, Compaq,
713-374-0484)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

New For PC: MoneyCounts 7.0 Personal Accounting Pkg 06/18/92
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- After several
delays, Parsons Technology says it will start shipping
MoneyCounts 7.0 Personal on July 1.

With release 7.0, Parsons has split MoneyCounts into two versions.
The Business version is expected to ship later. The Personal edition
includes the ability to create multiple sets of books, so you could
use it to manage both personal and small business accounts. The
program also supports non-profit as well as for-profit
organizations, providing fund and non-fund accounting.

Parsons said the program allows the user to select single- or double-
entry bookkeeping. Double-entry bookkeeping requires each entry to
have an offsetting entry. User defined check formats are also
supported, with printer support for both pinfeed and laser printers
provided.

Added to the three-dimensional bar graphs and pie charts from
the preceding version, known as MoneyCounts (the business
version was called MoneyCounts Extra), is the capability to
produce high resolution line graphs. A Courier font for
Postscript printers has also been added. There are also links
which allow the program to exchange information with
Personal Tax Edge or the three-dimensional spreadsheet
program ProCalc 3D, also from Parsons. It is also possible
to export data, although not directly, with other tax
preparation programs.

Parsons plans to release a payroll preparation program later this
summer, and MoneyCounts Personal will work automatically with
that program when it becomes available, said Parsons
spokesperson Anne Rawland-Warner.

Rawland-Warner said a conversion utility is included that will
covert data from earlier versions of MoneyCounts, Quicken,
Managing Your Money, Dollars & Sense, and Microsoft Money.

MoneyCounts Personal comes with a number of pre-defined charts of
accounts. You can add to or modify those accounts. The program has
a budget feature which uses spreadsheet-like budget screen, and a
check register is available for all types of accounts. A pop-up
calculator, notepad and financial calculator come with the
password protected program, which can use either a calendar or a
fiscal year base.

MoneyCounts Personal 7.0 has a suggested list price of $49, and
Parsons guarantees its customers that the program will not for sell
for less than $35 from any direct mail source. System requirements
include any PC with at least 512 kilobytes (KB) of RAM and a hard
drive. The company strongly suggests that you have at least
640KB of RAM.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Anne Rawland-Warner, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626


(CORRECTION)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00015)

CORRECTION: Perot Almost Bought Microsoft 06/18/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 16 (NB) -- In a June
16 story, Newsbytes reported that Ross Perot and Bill Gates,
chairman  of Microsoft, once met to discuss Perot buying
Microsoft Corporation.

Although we stated that the Seattle Times story referred to
was  copyrighted, we should have said that the story was
copyrighted by Paul Andrews and Stephen Manes. Andrews
and Manes, long time journalists following Microsoft and
the computer industry, are presently working on a book
about Gates.

The same story, due to a typographical error, said Microsoft
was a $2 billion startup company. The story should have read
"a $2 million startup company," We regret the errors and
any confusion they may have caused.

(Jim Mallory/19920616)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Wordperfect 5.1 For Windows Ships 1 Million 06/18/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Wordperfect
says it has shipped more than one million copies of
Wordperfect 5.1 for Windows since the product was
released in November of 1991.

According to the company, nearly two-thirds of those
shipments were complete packages, rather upgrades to
earlier versions.

Wordperfect says its Windows-based word processor
accounted for 36 percent of the Windows word processing
sales for 1991. Figures released by Wordperfect and
attributed to PC Week/A.C. Nielsen surveys indicate the
product will have a 51 percent market share for 1992.

Clive Winn, VP of sales at Wordperfect, said selling one million
packages of software in seven months has exceeded his most
optimistic expectations. "As far as I know, this is the most
successful release, in terms of sales, of any software
application," Winn said.

Wordperfect for DOS reportedly continues to be the best selling
word processor for non-Windows based PCs. In the Windows-
based market Wordperfect hasn't been as fortunate. Microsoft,
the creator of the Windows operating environment, offers Word
For Windows, and Lotus Corporation, best known for its
spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3, markets Ami Pro.

Microsoft announced Word for Windows 2.0 at last fall's trade
show COMDEX. The upgrade included a help feature that allows
former Wordperfect users to enter the Wordperfect commands
they are used to, and Word For Windows will show them its
comparable commands. Microsoft does not generally release
sales figures, although it has made an exception for the
Windows product.

In January Microsoft announced that it had commissioned
limited testing by the National Software Testing Laboratories
to determine the word processor of preference by users.
According to Microsoft, the tests showed that eight out of
ten Wordperfect for DOS users preferred Word For Windows.

(Jim Mallory/19920618/Press contact: Liz Tanner, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5004)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00017)

Founder And Chairman Bingham Leaves Alias Board 06/18/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Stephen
Bingham, co-founder of Alias Research, has resigned as
chairman and left the company's board of directors.

Bingham founded Alias with three partners in 1983. The
company makes three-dimensional graphics software used in
film animation and industrial design.

Company spokeswoman Susan Spencer said Bingham: "feels very
much that his talents are better suited to starting businesses."
He will pursue other high-technology ventures, she said.
Bingham continues to own four percent of Alias stock, and
will continue to be a "friend of the company," Spencer said.

Bingham was president of Alias until November, 1991, when
he handed over that post to Robert Burgess. Burgess assumed
the additional title of chief executive in February.

At Alias' annual meeting June 17, James Fleck, chairman of
Toronto-based Fleck Manufacturing, was named to the
chairman's post.

Susan McKenna, another co-founder of Alias, also resigned as
vice-chairman. No replacement has been named, Spencer said.

Three other new directors were named to the Alias board. They
are: James Clark, chairman and founder of Silicon Graphics of
Mountain View, California; Graham Savage, senior vice-
president of finance at Rogers Communications of Toronto;
and Duff Scott, chairman of Vancouver-based Quadra Logic
Technologies and a former chairman of the Toronto Stock
Exchange.

Alias lost C$17.4 million last year, but hopes to return to
profitability this year.

(Grant Buckler/19920618/Press Contact: Susan Spencer, Alias
Research, 416-362-9181)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

 ****IBM Spins Off Education Company 06/18/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Continuing
its metamorphosis from a single large company to a group of
more specialized firms, IBM has spun off its education services
in the United States into a new unit, Skill Dynamics.

Described as "a full-service education and training resource,"
Skill Dynamics starts life with about 1,600 employees and
more than $100 million in external sales.

IBM spokeswoman Marcia Holle said the move is in line with IBM
strategies announced late in 1991, when the company said it
would spin off some businesses as independent units. That
direction had already begun with the creation of Lexmark, which
took over IBM's typewriter, printer, and related supplies
business.

"It gives the company more independence, more bottom-line
control," Holle told Newsbytes.

Skill Dynamics, based in Thornwood, New York, consolidates all
former IBM education functions in the United States and will
continue to serve IBM organizations. IBM named its vice-president
Ralph W.  Clark as president of the new company. He will report to
Robert J. LaBant, vice-president and general manager of IBM North
America.

IBM said Skill Dynamics' services range from instructor-led
training to computer-based training to customized offerings at
either IBM or customer locations. Skill Dynamics is also expanding
the number and type of services available, including education
consulting, quality improvement offerings, industrial training, and
information technology courses. The new company has locations in
all major U.S. cities.

(Grant Buckler/19920618/Press Contact: Marcia S. Holle, IBM,
914-642-4644)


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

New For PC: Lotus Launches Ami Pro 3.0 06/18/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Lotus
Development has launched Release 3.0 of its word processor
for Microsoft Windows, Ami Pro. Lotus Chairman Jim
Manzi demonstrated the software at a meeting of the New
York City PC User Group June 17.

Lotus has added an assortment of new features to Ami Pro,
including several of what it calls "direct access" features
intended to speed up and simplify word processing tasks.

These include fast format, which lets a user select several text
attributes such as underlining, bold face, or a particular typeface
of size, then apply them to multiple chunks of text throughout the
document, without having to select the attributes individually for
each chunk of text.

A new drag-and-drop feature lets users grab highlighted text and
move it elsewhere in the document using the mouse. Sets of
SmartIcons, which are used to perform specific tasks in a single
operation, can now be saved. And Lotus is making use of the
often-neglected right mouse button for fast access to various
settings and controls, such as "Modify Page Layout."

Other new features include a simplified mail-merge capability,
automatic envelope printing, a style-sheet viewer, a document
viewer that lets users see stored documents without opening the
files, and a "Clean Screen" option that removes elements such as
the title bar and menus to make more work space on the screen.

Ami Pro 3.0 also sports a new QuickStart tutorial that loads
the first time the software runs, and context-sensitive help
accessible from a button in the corner of every dialog box.

As part of a broad product-line strategy that Lotus calls Lotus
Working Together, Ami Pro has several features aimed at integrating
it with other Lotus applications. For one, the software is
mail-enabled -- it can send and receive mail messages through
Lotus' cc:Mail electronic mail package or its Notes work-group
software. It is also integrated with other Lotus applications for
Windows, including 1-2-3, Freelance Graphics, cc:Mail, and Notes,
using the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology built into
Windows. An Ami Pro user can get access to these other applications
without having to leave Ami Pro, a spokeswoman for the company
said.

Ami Pro is to ship in the United States in late July at a suggested
retail price of $495. Users who bought Release 2.0 before February
1 can upgrade for $79, those who bought 2.0 after February 1 can
move up for $49.

Lotus also has a competitive upgrade offer; users of rival word
processing packages can trade them in for $129. In addition, the
company offers a WordPerfect switch kit designed to lure
customers away from the top-selling word processor by
helping them make the transition to Ami Pro.

(Grant Buckler/19920618/Press Contact: Michelle Goguen or Kim
Lambkin, Alexander Communications for Lotus, 404-876-4482, fax
404-876-4516)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020)

Ericsson Lands German Network Expansion Contract 06/18/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Ericsson has secured
a $60 million contract from Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, the
state-controlled telecoms operator in Germany. Terms of the
contract call for Ericsson to assist DBT in expanding the trunk
network in Saxony, a region of East Germany.

The project is quite major, since much of the region's
telecommunications infrastructure has not been updated since
the 1950s and early 60s, when East-West relations broke down.
Ericsson is also involved in other East German telecoms upgrade
projects, notably the similar upgrades taking place in the other
four regions of Eastern Germany.

The contract marks a change of emphasis for the Swedish telecoms
company. Previously, Ericsson has merely supplied the switching
gear to DBT. This time around, Ericsson will actually install the
equipment, prior to handling the exchanges over to DBT.

To complete this task, Ericsson has set up a new company --
Ericsson Netzbau -- which will handle the network side of the
upgrade. The new company has offices in Dresden, from where it
will co-ordinate the project, which is expected to be complete by
1995.

(Steve Gold/19920617)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00021)

Computer Leasing Company Plans To Be UK's Largest 06/18/92
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- The Alliance of Computer
Leasing (ACL), a company specializing in computer leasing, is
being bought out by a London City financier who plans to turn the
operation into the largest of its type in the UK.

Adrian Clarke, finance director with the Reading-based firm, told
Newsbytes that details of the buyout are still being finalized,
but should be complete within a few weeks. "Until the deal is
complete, I can't tell you how much the deal is worth, or who the
buyer is yet," he said.

Despite the anonymity, Clarke said that plans are in hand to
double the company's sales and marketing staff. Currently, ACL,
which has been in operation for three years, has 12 staff at its
headquarters. The company, which is privately owned, had a
turnover of UKP 2.5 million last year.

According to Clarke, the cash injection from the City financier
will allow ACL to start its own leasing book, permitting it to
underwrite its own leases, rather than having to turn to major
leasing companies on the London markets.

"This will be good, as some of the leasing companies have all but
pulled out of the computer leasing business. Leasing companies
are very cagey about computers, after getting their fingers
burned as a result of the recession," he told Newsbytes.

Clarke cited the example of Bowmaker, a major leasing company,
which no longer handles computer leasing deals. Until recently,
Bowmaker only took on leasing arrangements with companies with
a five years trading record and where the deal was for more than
UKP 20,000.

"Having our own underwriter will free us from leasing
restrictions, especially since we're now able to do our own
company searches," he said.

Since launching its Convertalease package at the Which Computer?
Show earlier this year, ACL reports that business is brisk from
companies who find leasing more tax-efficient and better for
cash-flow than straight purchasing deals.

The Convertalease scheme allows users who are leasing their
computer systems from ACL, to upgrade their hardware
whenever they wish, and have their leasing payments adjusted
automatically. Traditionally, when hardware is upgraded, the user
is locked into a new leasing arrangement, and is penalized for
"cashing in" the old lease earlier than expected.

(Steve Gold/19920617/Press & Public Contact: ACL - Tel: 0734-
569055; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

Bell South Looks To Europe For Cellphone Network Bids 06/18/92
TORONTO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Bell South Corporation
has revealed that it is looking at Europe as a means of sustaining
its profits record, now that the US and Canadian mobile telecoms
market is reaching saturation point.

Speaking at the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts recently,
Bell South Vice President Arlen Yokley said that Europe is
turning into a potentially profitable area for the company.

Yokley was explaining the reasons for the company's bid as a team
partner, along with Ram Hellas of Greece and Telefonica of Spain,
for the Greek mobile telecoms license. Greece, he revealed, is
only one of several countries the company is looking at.

"We have identified countries around the world that we would be
confident dealing with in cellular. They do not include former
Eastern Bloc countries or undeveloped countries in Asia or
Africa," he said.

Bell South is clearly becoming a major force in mobile telephony,
Newsbytes notes. The company now has operations in Argentina,
Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay, with plans to launch a mobile phone
network in New Zealand at the end of this year.

As well as revealing the company's hand in plans for mobile phone
services in Europe, Yokley added that data services will be the
next profit vehicle for Bell South. "Data services are where
cellular was in 1984," he said.

(Steve Gold/19920617)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00023)

Philips' Profits Forecasts Slashed By Analysts 06/18/92
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Philips
has revealed that its 1992 profits will be disappointing. In its
first major quarterly meeting with analysts for two years,
the Dutch technology giant bared its soul and said that the
recession that is sweeping Europe is to blame.

The company's officials said that a "substantial fall" in profits
will be seen in Philips second quarter when compared with the
DG 187 million earned last year.

While scaling down Philips' projected profits for the full year,
analysts are not taking the company's gloomy forecast as
indicative of a repeat situation of two years ago, when the
company's future was thrown into doubt owing to a
plummeting share price.

News of the Philips revelations sent the company's share price
plummeting on the Dutch stock market. So far this week, Philips'
share price has dropped to DG 33, down 13 percent on the DG 37
point it reached last Friday -- analysts say that the price may
yet fall even lower.

(Steve Gold/19920617)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00024)

 ****CIC Licenses Pen Software To NEC 06/18/92
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) --
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC) has announced
an agreement to license PenDOS and other multilingual pen
software to NEC. Newsbytes has learned that a main motivator
for CIC in the deal is a desire to further penetrate the
Japanese market.

Madeline Duva, director of business development, told Newsbytes
that CIC's interest in Japan stems from Japan's status as the
fastest growing pen market, as well as the personal concern of CIC
President James Dao over the preservation of Japanese and other
Asian languages.

CIC is currently targeting the three major markets worldwide, Duva
explained in an interview with Newsbytes.  The US, Europe, and
Japan will come first, she said, although CIC hopes to expand
later to other parts of the world, including Korea and China.

"Of the three prime markets, the US is the biggest, but Japan is
the least saturated," commented Duva.  CIC has previously forged
sales arrangements with such vendors as NCR Japan, Apple Japan
Inc., and Justsystem, a leading Japanese software firm.

The agreement with NCR, announced yesterday, presents another
important vehicle for Japanese market penetration, she indicated.
One of the top five PC producers worldwide, NEC supplies over 55
percent of the PC systems sold in Japan, shipping more than two
million units to Japanese customers each year.

A key reason for the exceptionally high potential of pen computing
in Japan is the difficulty of entering the Japanese language on to
a conventional computer keyboard, said Duva.  Pen computing will
circumvent these logistical problems by letting users write out
the characters by hand, she maintained.

"The Japanese language consists of over 32,000 characters," Duva
informed Newsbytes.  The first keyboards used in Japan tried to
represent all of these characters, but tended to be large and hard
to learn.  Now, smaller, Western-style keyboards are in use, which
depict the Japanese language phonetically.  Yet "translating" the
complex characters into phonetic equivalents brings hurdles all its
own, stressed Duva.  As a result, Japan tends to be less
computerized than the West, she reported.

Further, the chief of CIC, Dao, who is originally from Japan, has
long believed that the keyboard use that does exist there
jeopardizes the language -- and that pen computing can serve as
the answer.

"Writing reinforces language," said Duva.  "As Japanese
people learn the keyboard system, they can start to lose their
previous language base.  But if the users have a tool that allows
them to write out the characters, their Japanese language skills
will be retained."

At the Tokyo Harumi Business Show in March, CIC introduced a
Japanese version of PenDOS.  The product joined a family of
language-specific editions that also includes English, Spanish,
French, German, and Italian.

In addition to PenDOS, NEC has licensed CIC's Handwriter
Recognition Systems (HRS) --  a set of applications available by
now in all the same languages -- and a third software offering,
Handwriter Dynamic Signature Verification (DVS).

NCR Japan, another leading PC vendor in Japan, has already started
to market its NCR 3125 Notepad computer with PenDOS, and Apple
Japan is distributing CIC's MacHandwriter, a handwriting
recognition system for Macintosh.

Aside from these pacts, and the agreement with Justsystem, CIC
holds major contracts with Samsung Electronic Corporation
Limited and Intel Corporation.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920617; Press Contact:  Germaine Gioia, CIC,
tel [phone]; Public Contact:  Jake Ward, CIC, tel 415-802-
7888)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00025)

Prodigy Announces Plans To Offer Internet Access 06/18/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- The
graphically-based on-line network service Prodigy has
announced its plans to allow users access to the Internet, a
text-based international system of linked computer networks.

Prodigy's General Counsel George Perry has announced the company's
intention to go on the Internet. Speculation is the connection is to
take place this fall.

Steve Hein of public relations for Prodigy told Newsbytes he had no
specifics on the plan other than the company wants to maintain the
service's ease-of-use. The Internet is notoriously cryptic, with
even mail addresses that are 24 characters long interspaced with
symbols and acronyms.

Internet access is coveted because of the wealth of information on
the service, and access is usually obtained through government or
university systems. Also, unlike Prodigy, commercial advertising
and charging for services is traditionally prohibited on the
Internet.

Most of the major on-line services, such as Compuserve, MCI Mail,
AT&T Mail, Applelink, and Sprint Mail have offered electronic mail
(e-mail) gateways for the exchange of messages to and from
Internet users for some time.

One recently announced on-line service, Berkeley, California-based
Holonet, offers users Internet access through a menuing system
that eliminates many of the cryptic Unix commands.

Vienna, Virginia-based America Online (AOL), another graphically-
based on-line service recently announced it will now provide an
e-mail gateway so its subscribers can exchange e-mail with
Internet users. The e-mail gateway is offered to AOL subscribers
at no extra cost and the service is attempting to entice Internet
users to join by offering any Internet user a free AOL start up kit.

Hein told Newsbytes the type and extent of the Internet access
Prodigy is planning is unknown at this time, as it the service's
plans for the pricing of Internet access.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Steve Hein, Prodigy,
tel [phone], fax [phone], Liz Sara, America Online,
703-883-1503, AOL Public Contact: 800-827-6364)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

Wordperfect Buys/Sells, Teams With Novell 06/18/92
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- WordPerfect has announced
it has acquired telecommunications software company Magicsoft,
shipped 1 million copies of its flagship word processing product
for Windows, teamed up with Novell for product development,
and will support the image specification for documents called
TWAIN.

Wordperfect said it has been working with Magicsoft since 1991.
Magicsoft said it is responsible for the telecommunications
capability in Wordperfect Works, an integrated software package
that just shipped in March of this year.

With the acquisition, Donavon Kuhn of Magicsoft told Newsbytes the
key players, sales, and development staff are all moving to Utah and
the rest of the company's operation in Lombard, Illinois, will be shut
down. Specifics about the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Magicsoft's products will to continue to be marketed by Wordperfect,
Kuhn said. MTEZ, Magicsoft's data communications package, and
Expressfax, the company's fax communications package have been
marketed to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and bundled
with products from Dell, Megahertz, Zoom, Telephonics, Rockwell,
Practical Peripherals, Intel, and U.S. Robotics.

Wordperfect said it plans to use the expertise of the developers
at Magicsoft on its Wordperfect Office product, which includes
electronic mail, calendaring, and scheduling. The company said
Wordperfect Office has a million users on a variety of platforms,
including Windows, DOS, Unix, VAX/VMS, and a direct connection
to OV/VM PROFS, and the company plans to enhance the product's
capability to communicate across multiple platforms on networks.

In a related announcement, Wordperfect said it and networking
supplier Novell plan to work on integration between Wordperfect's
products, especially Wordperfect Office and Novell's Netware
product. Both companies say they plan to begin development on
a Netware Loadable Module (NLM) for Wordperfect Office.

Wordperfect boasts its flagship word processing product of the
same name is the first word processing product to be certified
"Tested and Approved" by Novell Labs. The company also said
recently that it joined Novell's Technical Support Alliance
(TSA), a group of hardware and software companies who wish
to be sure their products work with Novell's network products.

In another announcement, Wordperfect said it plans to support the
TWAIN specification developed by Aldus, Caere, Eastman Kodak,
Hewlett-Packard, and Logitech. The TWAIN specification is a cross-
platform development toolkit for the purpose of supplying drivers
that handle the various image input devices such as frame grabbers,
image databases, and scanners and to aid in attaching an image to a
document, Wordperfect said.

TWAIN handles how the application acquires the images, so
Wordperfect's developers can concentrate on the application
instead of writing drivers, Richard Holder, peripheral product
manager at Wordperfect added.

Wordperfect is also boasting it has shipped 1 million copies of its
Wordperfect for Windows product. While some users have been
unhappy with the confusion over the common user access (CUA)
changes to the product and slowness in performance and printing,
the company said it has developed a maintenance release of the
Windows version that addresses many of those problems.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Liz Tanner, Wordperfect,
801-228-5008; Jessica Kersey, Novell, 408-473-8739; Donovan Kuhn,
Magicsoft, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Nat Semi Earnings Are Highest In 5 Years 06/18/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- National
Semiconductor says it's showing the best financial gains the
company has seen in five years. The company made the
statement in its newly released fourth quarter 1992 report.

Sales for the quarter which ended May 31 were $491.5 million,
compared with $444.9 million a year ago, and net earnings are
reported as $27.5 million (22 cents per share) compared with
earnings of $5.6 million (3 cents per share) for the comparable
quarter a year ago.

Gilbert F. Amelio, president and chief executive officer, said,
"Earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1992 represent the
best profit performance for semiconductor operations in any
quarter in the past five years."

Fourth quarter gains include a post-tax increase of $11.0 million
in income from the company's patent licensing fees. The licensing
fees for the year show a post-tax gain of $18.1 million, all of
which was garnered in the third and fourth quarters, National
Semiconductor said. However, the company cautioned that at
this point, the amount and timing of future licensing income
cannot be predicted.

Overall, the company has gained in 1992 compared to its losses of
1991, but is still showing red ink for the year. Sales for fiscal
year 1992 were $1,717.5 million, compared with $1,701.8 million in
fiscal 1991. The company reported a net loss of $120.1 million, or
$1.24 per share, for fiscal 1992, compared with a net loss of
$151.4 million or $1.56 per share in fiscal 1991.

Two other considerations -- the restructuring charges and the fact
that last year was a 53 week year, and this last quarter was a 14
week instead of 13 week quarter, need to be taken into account.

National Semiconductor pointed out its financial results fiscal
1992 reflect the impact of a $149.3 million restructuring charge
taken in the first quarter in connection with the company's plans
to consolidate its worldwide manufacturing capacity. The 1991
results also included a restructuring charge of $119.6 million,
the company added.

The company says its future looks bright. A new repeater interface
controller for local area networks, the Lite Repeater Interface
Controller (LERIC), an Ethernet network controller for local area
network applications was introduced in the fourth quarter, National
Semiconductor said. The company also introduced new family of
integrated circuits that combine digital voice and fax capability, as
well as speech recognition, on a single platform and it signed a
joint development agreement with Toshiba Japan for high speed
CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) technology.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920618/Press Contact: Mary Ann McKay, National
Semiconductor, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(NYC)(00028)

 ****NY Police Responds To Blockage Of Int'l Phone Calls 06/18/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- New York State
Police Special Investigator Donald Delaney, in a conversation with
Newsbytes, strongly supported the move by New York Telephone
Company, blocking calls to foreign countries from pay phones in
New  York City's Times Square , Port Authority Bus Terminal and
other midtown locations with a history of high credit card calling
fraud, as reported elsewhere by Newsbytes.

Delaney said: "I think that it is about time that such action was
taken.  Telephone fraud in New York City is out of control and
that is why that New York Telephone took the action"

Delaney continued: "I think that this should be just the beginning.
It is not only in midtown Manhattan that we find this fraud. From
one end of Broadway to another, there is heavy incidence of
fraudulent calls through pay phones. You will also find
neighborhoods that have high incidence of the same type of crime.
I would like to see the same type of blockage on all pay phones."

The Port Authority Bus Terminal has long been identified as a
major scene of telecommunications fraud encompassing not
only call selling by the collection of valid credit card numbers
from unsuspecting users so that numbers may, in turn, be used
for fraudulent calls. The numbers are generally taken through
"shoulder-surfing", a term for simply looking over the shoulder
of an unsuspecting caller and recording the keystrokes made
while entering the credit card number.

According to Delaney, shoulder-surfing in the Port Authority
takes in a whole new dimension with people using binoculars
and telescopes from positions in Port Authority's balcony to
see the numbers and voice-activated tape recorders to
record them.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920617)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00029)

New For PC: Spirit Of Discovery Launches Draft & Print 06/18/92
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Spirit of
Discovery, a developer and publisher of productivity, entertainment
(arcade and simulation) and educational software for MS-DOS
platforms, has introduced Draft & Print, an IBM PC-compatible
software program that enables users to create, edit and print
professional-quality drafting documents with the aid of
step-by-step voice instruction.

Draft & Print, the inaugural product offering from Spirit of
Discovery, features what the company calls dynamic voice
assistance (DVA) which guides the user through a drawing, thus
sharply reducing the learning curve, according to the company.
DVA is supported by PC-compatible internal speakers and
requires no additional sound support, although the user may
utilize Adlib and SoundBlaster cards.

Spirit of Discovery maintains that Draft & Print, the first
voice-assisted drafting program for PCs, allows users of any
skill level to produce professional-quality documents.
Draft & Print will revolutionize do-it-yourself home
improvements, said Spirit of Discovery director of marketing,
John Morley.

Unlike low-end drafting products which offer little
flexibility, Draft & Print is said to offer all the necessary tools
of more high-end software packages at a fraction of the  price,
said Morley.

Draft & Print aids the user in producing scaled drawings including
floor plans, landscape plans, pools and spas, interiors, furniture
designs, PC board designs, woodworking plans, cabinets, decks,
electrical, and plumbing systems and skylights. It also has the
capability to import and export drawings to and from other
graphics programs such as AutoCAD.

Draft & Print is available now at a list price of $129.95.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 619/929-2010)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00030)

New For Mac: Electronic Switch Box For Mac Serial Ports 06/18/92
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Start-up
Axion is offering an inexpensive idea for Macintosh users who
are regularly faced with the constraints of having just two
serial ports on their Macintoshes.

Axion points out that as the printer port is usually occupied by
a network or a printer, the user is left with just one port for
the fax/modem, label printer, ImageWriter, scanner or any
other serial device. The Axion Switch allows the user to
maintain three additional devices per serial port in constant
access and to easily choose between them, according to the
company.

With the Axion Switch installed, the most commonly used device
can be connected to Port 1, the default port, while additional
devices can be easily accessed through the Control Panel,
claims the company.

Robert J. Baggarley, national sales manager for Axion, says with
the vast array of unique serial devices being created, the demand
for additional serial ports on the Mac is growing at a fantastic
rate. In additional, the Switch is electronic, eliminating the
frustrating manual plugging and unplugging which can cause
damage to your port as well as system lock-ups common to the
manual A-B switch boxes.

The suggested retail price for the Axion Switch is $159.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 408/235-0227)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00031)

New For Mac: MacJet III Printer Driver And MacParcel 06/18/92
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 18 (NB) -- Computer:
applications, Inc., developer of QuickDraw and PostScript printer
driver technologies, has announced the availability of MacJet
version III, a QuickDraw printer driver for the HP LaserJet and
compatibles.

MacJet is an advanced Chooser-level serial/parallel printer driver
that allows low-cost HP or compatible laser printers to be used
with the complete line of Apple Macintosh computers.

The company explains that MacJet uses proprietary technology to
create HP download fonts (in any point size) from PostScript Type
1 or TrueType fonts and automatically install them in HP printers
as resident fonts.

According to Steve Pierce, president of Computer:applications, "Our
new feature set for MacJet eliminates the slow font rasterizing
process found in previous QuickDraw printer drivers, allowing the
HP laser printer to print multiple page documents as fast as
most popular PostScript laser printers."

MacJet is retail priced at $149.95 but is available at an
introductory price of $99.95 through June 30, 1992.

Computer:applications has also released its UPS (United Parcel
Service) Rate and Zone Calculator desk accessory for the
Macintosh. Complete with 1992 rates and services, this desk
accessory is available any time in any application, including
databases, to calculate the UPS zone and give the user accurate
costs for all UPS parcels and letters.

When given the destination zip code, weight and declared
value, MacParcel will calculate the shipping zone and the
total cost for shipment, including C.O.D., insurance and any
user-defined handling charges. It will calculate the zone
chart for any zip code in the United States, Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands, the company says. MacParcel's suggested
retail price is $39.95. Also available is MacFederal, a
similar product for Federal Express customers.

MacJet and MacParcel are System 7-compatible and work with
all Macintosh computers including the new PowerBooks and the
Classic II and Quadra systems.

(Computer Currents/19920618/Public Contact: 919/846-1411)