Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1983 May to 1994 June

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(NEWS)(GOVT)(HKG)(00001) Microsoft Smashes Counterfeit Ring In Taiwan 08/31/92 TAIPEI, TAIWAN, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation has smashed a large counterfeit software syndicate in Taiwan, the second major criminal operation the company has uncovered there this year. The raid, the largest in Microsoft's history, was carried out with the assistance of the Taipei County Police Station and the Anti- Counterfeiting Committee, MOEA. More than 10,000 suspected fake copies of Microsoft products, MS-DOS and MS-Windows, hundreds of thousands of holograms, and a shrink-wrap machine were seized. "This year our investigators have uncovered record amounts of fake products and documentation," said Alix Parlour, Microsoft's corporate attorney for the Asia region. "This latest raid clearly demonstrates that software counterfeiting in Taiwan has reached alarming proportions. "These criminal syndicates, which blatantly attempt to fool our customers into buying false goods, must be stopped. We will not stand by while these gangs profit at the expense of our customers and ourselves. We will prosecute." During the raids, police arrested one suspect, Min-Shang Yang, owner of the organization responsible for the alleged counterfeiting. In addition to saying they found illegally copied Microsoft products, the Female Police Division and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Taipei report they discovered equipment for producing boxes, bar codes, disk labels and user manuals at several printing houses in the capital. The raid follows a previous action in April which resulted in the break-up of a syndicate believed to have been responsible for releasing up to 75,000 counterfeit copies of Microsoft products a month. In three separate raids, police report that they seized more than 5,000 counterfeit packages, 20,000 fake manuals, 13,000 copied diskettes and thousands of counterfeit holograms. (Brett Cameron/19920829/Press Contact: Alix Parlour, Microsoft, tel: +852-804 4240;HK time is GMT + 8) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00002) Wordperfect Hosts Usability Conference, Opens Center 08/31/92 OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Word processing software publisher Wordperfect Corporation thinks usability is an important issue. So much so that it hosted a conference for usability professionals last week. The first Usability Professionals Association conference was held Thursday and Friday, bringing together usability professionals from around the country to discuss common usability issues and to share skills. Although few people outside the computer industry even know the group exists, companies such as Apple Computer, American Express, American Airlines, and GTE Laboratories employ professionals to measure a product's ability to be used by someone else. "Developers are committed to the usability process and became involved in early stages of development," says Wordperfect's Jack Young. According to Young, developers can observe their products being evaluated, and design the software differently based on their observations. Wordperfect spokesperson Beth Graviet told Newsbytes that airlines use usability studies to determine if flight attendants could perform their tasks, such as moving drink carts through the cabin, more effectively. It's a tool for insurance companies to design their forms so they can be filled out more easily, and retail outlets can test check-out procedures, says Graviet. Wordperfect has used in-house usability studies with great success. "It's really affected the way we develop our products," said Graviet. Until now, the company has used in-house people for the testing, but will now ask the public to help test its products. Wordperfect pays testers $50 for a two-hour testing session. The test area is closely monitored, Graviet told Newsbytes, with cameras focused on the tester's face, the computer screen, and the overall area. In addition, each keystroke is recorded. Wordperfect Corporation feels so strongly about the usability issue that they opened their newly expanded usability center to the public in conjunction with the conference. In the words of center manger Young, "Our commitment to usability is more than just marketing ploys to bring attention to a product; it is an honest effort to make our products more usable for the customer." The center, previously a two-room facility, now includes two product evaluation rooms which include cameras and two-way mirrors for observation, two observation and executive viewing rooms, a briefing room, a control and editing suite, and a reception area. Wordperfect says it began unofficial usability testing in 1987 when small scale tests were conducted on the appeal of some product manual designs, the ease of software installation, and the acceptance of different interfaces. The company says usability is now an integral part of the product development process. The experts say that usability evaluations can result in easier-to-understand on-screen prompts or more clearly written documentation. Kay Chalupnik at IDS American Express says they found that changing their statements to make them easier for customers to fill out saved customers an average of 2.5 minutes per statement, which translates to $7.4 million per year in time required to review statements. Wordperfect says more than 100 usability professionals attended the conference, representing computer and hardware companies, government agencies, insurance and health care companies, space and flight institutions, drug stores, universities and churches. The Usability Professionals Association was formed in 1991 by Janice James at American Airlines and Jeff Schueler of Usability Sciences as a means for usability professionals to share information and exchange ideas about methods, tools, technology and skill development. (Jim Mallory/19920828/Press contact: Beth Graviet, Wordperfect, 801-228-5008) (NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00003) Australia: 1992 Windows World Awards 08/31/92 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Eight Windows applications were recognized for their performance and use to business at Windows World Expo and Conference '92 in Sydney last week. The awards were as follows: best word processing program - Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0; best desktop publishing program - Aldus PageMaker 4; best graphics creation or CAD program - Corel Draw; best visual presentation or multimedia - Microsoft Powerpoint; best business productivity program - Microsoft Excel 4.0; best programming software - Microsoft Visual Basic; best utility program - Norton Desktop; editors' choice - Intuit Quicken. Lotus was chosen as having the best stand of the show, and the grand prize for the overall best Windows program went to Microsoft Excel 4.0. Almost 10,000 attendees visited the exhibition where 80 Windows-oriented vendors had stands. This is 120 percent up over last year. There was also a 195 percent increase in the conference attendees with 820 delegates attending sessions by key Windows speakers including Philippe Kahn, Paul Maritz and John Landry. Conference attendees came from New Zealand, US, UK, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Italy. The "rap session" was by far the most popular session in the show, despite the fact that Borland CEO Philippe Kahn decided not to attend as, according to an informed source, he didn't wish to appear on a panel with only vice presidents. (Paul Zucker/19920831/Contact: Australian IDG World Expo Division tel +61-2-439 5133 fax +61-2-439 5512) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004) Hongkong: D&B Software Users Gather For Annual Meeting 08/31/92 CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- More than 200 senior managers from around the region gathered in Hong Kong from 26 to 28 August for the second annual Southeast Asia User Conference of Dun & Bradstreet Software. The meeting formed the high point among users of D&B Software products around the region, instilling an awareness of the direction of the technology and products, as well as, offering a chance to share experiences among themselves. This year's meeting was especially important as D&B Software has made a number of initiatives aimed at adding more value to their offerings. These included products based on client-server technology, which allow information to be shared more easily within the organization, and "business re-engineering" -- a discipline which allows organizations to refine their computer-based work procedures to achieve improved productivity. They also included the development of D&B Software's Millenium to the Unix platform, which extends this integrated application environment from the mainframe to a broad spectrum of open systems hardware. Some of the client-server products were demonstrated during the conference. Major trends in the software industry and new product directions were discussed. Presentations by users in the region on how they have made maximum use of D&B Software products. At the same time, delegates had an opportunity to take part in application forums to share their ideas and experiences on different issues. The importance of this year's meeting was also noted by the presence of D&B software Chairman John Imlay. Mr Imlay also chairs the newly formed International Customer Council (ICC) which includes the company's top customers. The council's mission is to maintain the high standard of support and service available to D&B Software's customers around the world. Other senior D&B software executives at the conference included Roger Evans, vice president (Asia-Pacific); David Orren, managing director (Asia); John Hillie, director of strategy & business development and Kim Gerdes, senior manager for client-server technology. The D&B Software Asia User conference was organized by an executive committee made up of representatives from D&B Software and user organizations throughout the region. (Brett Cameron/19920829/Press contact: Jenifer Goh, D&B, Tel: 65- 334 2622) (NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00005) India: High Speed Data Lines For Software Exporters 08/31/92 NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- High-speed data circuits, much wanted by many a software export firm, are in the pipeline at last. The Department of Electronics (DOE) is already offering switchable, 9.6-64 KBPS, satellite channels from Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore. One could opt for any speed, for any duration (even just for a day), as required by smaller software companies which can ill-afford a dedicated hook-up. Earth stations with 64 KBPS channel (TDMA) capacities have also arrived for the DOE's software technology parks (STP) at Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad and Bangalore. These are due to be operational by the end of August. Earth stations of Pune STP and that of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL), the overseas communications arm of the Indian telecom department, at Calcutta are now operational. VSNL now offers direct gateways to Intelsat from the main metros. Thus, come September, there will be a surfeit of these high speed lines begging usage. Currently, there are just three 64 KBPS circuits: at Texas Instruments, Bangalore, shared by Hewlett-Packard India Software Operation as well; Satyam Computer Services Ltd. at Hyderabad and Madras; and Tata Consultancy Services, Bombay. "It is to be seen as to how many software companies will really utilize this bonanza in Satcom for their export activities," said Rusi Brij, general manager of Satyam Computers. Satyam has been executing nearly a million-dollar worth re-engineering jobs for John Deere corporation, using Satcom to remotely work on Deere's IBM mainframes, located near Chicago. (C.T. Mahabharat/19920831) (NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00006) New For Macintosh: The Family Doctor, A Medical Guide On CD 08/31/92 PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Creative Multimedia Corporation (CMC) has announced a new Macintosh version of the Hypercard-based The Family Doctor, a family medical guide stored on CD-ROM. CMC says The Family Doctor is based on the work of Dr. Allan Bruckheim, the author of Tribune Media's syndicated Family Doctor column. According to CMC, the most significant feature of the Hypercard version of The Family Doctor is the illustrated human anatomy, which provides three different views of five different body systems. Users can view muscular and skeletal, digestive, respiratory and circulatory, urinary and reproductive, and nervous systems. The Family Doctor allows the user to invoke voice-over pronunciations of 250 body systems and parts, with supporting text that explains the significance of particular portions of the body. Clicking once on a part of the body, such as the femur (the human thigh bone) invokes the pronunciation, while double-clicking brings up the explanatory text. A mid-size and a detail level zoom show more detail. CMC says nearly 500 items have been added to the "Question and Answer" section, which now gives advice on almost 2,000 of the most commonly asked health questions. The explanations are accompanied by almost 300 color illustrations, and a glossary of more than 100 medical terms. The Family Doctor also includes information about 1,600 prescription drugs, and a listing of national and local resource and support groups. Clicking on the drug name brings up a picture of the capsule, and information about dosages and cautions. CMC's Judy Grillo told Newsbytes that the company has a Multimedia PC Windows version of The Family Doctor which enters beta testing Monday, and is expected to ship in mid-September. Family Doctor has a suggested list price of $79.99. The company will upgrade existing versions of the program for $29.99, including shipping and handling, and has a toll free number, 800-776-9277, and a fax line, 503-452-5930, for that purpose. (Jim Mallory/19920828/Press contact: Judy Grillo, CMC, 503-241-4351; Reader contact: 800-776-9277 or 503-452-5933, fax 503-452-5930) (NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007) New For PC: Run Atari Software On A PC 08/31/92 BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Purple Mountain Computers says you can run Atari software on your 386 or 486-based DOS computer beginning in mid-September. Gemulator, a hardware/software combination produced by Branch Always Software, is being distributed by Purple Mountain. For $299.95, users get a hardware board to install in the PC, and the necessary software. Purple Mountain says the price for Gemulator has been reduced from $499.95 to $299.95 because the software is now being distributed as shareware. Shareware is software which the user tries out, and if they like it, pays a nominal amount to the author. According to Purple Mountain, Gemulator users can run most major Atari software, including Calmus, Degas, Flash, GDOS/G+Plus, Hotwire, LDW Power, PageStream, Sierra graphic adventures, Sim City, Tempus 2, Warp 9, Word Writer, and many more Atari programs. Gemulator will also allow users access to all ST disks, access to hard drive, and the ability to print from any ST program. Gemulator is Windows compatible. To use the program you will need at least 4 MB (megabytes) of memory. Purple Mountain says if you order by September 14 you will get Gemulator for the introductory price of $199.95. The company is also offering a demonstration video for $10. (Jim Mallory/19920828/Press contact: Purple Mountain Computers, voice and fax, 206-747-1519) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00008) Australian Center To Receive Japanese Satellite Data 08/31/92 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- The Australian Surveying and Land Information Group (AUSLIG) has announced it has signed a deal which will see its remote sensing division receiving data from the Japanese JERS1 satellite. The deal was signed after several months of negotiation with Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). AUSLIG's ACRES (Australian Center for Remote Sensing) division now has access to data from almost all satellites which cross Australia. The exceptions are those from the Indian Insat and the Russian Resource programs. Agreements in place see data received from American and European satellites orbiting above Australia. JERS (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite), however is the first satellite with the capability to do remote sensing with both optical and radar sensors. The radars on JERS, particularly suited to imaging land data, will complement the European Space Agency's ERS-1 radar satellite, which is suited more for ocean data. Radar satellites have been eagerly awaited by the international remote sensing community, as their imaging is not affected by dark and clouds, and they present a different image of the earth to optical satellites because of the different sensors. After additional equipment is installed in Australia to allow receipt of the data from the satellite, it will be sent to Japan for processing, then returned in a post-processed state. A decision is still to be made if any local processing will be done, as it will on the Landsat 6 data which will be received from next year. (Sean McNamara/19920831) (NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00009) Japan: NEC To Support DOS/V On New PC-9801 08/31/92 TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- NEC will support the DOS/V operating system on a personal computer it is preparing to release this fall. Third party software makers are now revising their applications for the new computers, according to the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper. An NEC spokesman has refused comment on the report to Newsbytes, but observers have suggested that it was inevitable that NEC would give its PCs DOS compatibility, especially if NEC wants to retain top position in the Japanese PC market, where it currently holds a 50 percent market share. Currently, the PC-9801 supports a 640 x 400 pixel graphic mode, while DOS/V supports a 640 x 480-pixel graphic mode. The current configuration does not allow English programs to run because most of them are written in a 640 x 480-pixel mode. DOS/V compatibility would allow them to run on the PC-9801. Another reason for NEC's decision to support the Japanese version of DOS is that the firm also aims to support Windows, observers suggest. Meanwhile, IBM Japan continues to gain ground among Japanese computer makers. It founded the Open Architecture Developers' Group in 1990 and planted the seeds for more IBM-compatible DOS/V computers from Japan. Many have already released IBM-compatible DOS/V machines. (Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920831/Press Contact: NEC, +81-3- 3451-2974) (NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00010) Russia: Mobile Computers Aid In Privatization 08/31/92 MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- A manager of major Russian investment company has detailed to Newsbytes how mobile computing technology has been used in privatization projects in the Nakhodka free trade zone in Russia's Far East. Legal experts of Rinako, or the Russian Investment Shareholders Company, a year-old investment house in Moscow, were ordered by authorities of Nakhodka to assist in the ongoing process of privatization of state property in the free trade zone, Anatoly Levenchuk, a Rinako member of the board, told Newsbytes. A four-person team equipped with 386-based notebooks, modems, and electronic mail access went to Nakhodka. In a week's time, experts has developed a detailed plan for the entire city to establish the necessary infrastructure for the coming process of state property privatization which should start countrywide this fall. The computers weren't equipped with wireless connections, but only phone-based connections with the local host -- the Relcom e-mail network -- were used. Now Nakhodka Financial Shareholding Company and Rinako experts are closely working to use portable computers in the actual process of selling share certificates and transferring records to a remote "depositary," or a computer system which tracks all buying and selling transactions, according to Levenchuk. Russian Investment Shareholders Company (Rinako), is a year-old investment house affiliated with the Russian Commodities and Raw Materials Exchange, of Moscow. (Kirill Tchashchin/19920831/Press Contact: Anatoly Levenchuk, RINAKO, phone +7 095 378-0935; Internet e-mail ailev@asmp.msk.su) (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011) International Phone Update: Uruguay Sets ANTEL Sale 08/31/92 ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Uruguay's pending sale of most of its ANTEL phone monopoly headlined the weekend's telecommunications news. ANTEL has the best reputation for service in Latin America, which in the quirky world of Third World telecom valuation, may be a disadvantage, since it has less room to grow than other systems. Still, nine groups expressed interest. Two -- STET of Italy and Telefonica of Spain -- were disqualified. Uruguay authorities gave technical reasons for disqualifying the two European companies, but analysts feel that Uruguay wanted to assure itself of a different partner from Chile, which works with Telefonica, and Argentina, which works with both Telefonica and STET. Telefonica also has a piece of Venezuela's CANTV. Among those companies left in the bidding were Bell Canada, Cable and Wireless of the UK, Detecon of Germany, France Telecom and Bell Atlantic, Southwestern Bell and GTE of the US. Given what happened to STET and Telefonica, Detecon, C&W and Bell Canada might be expected to have the inside track. Elsewhere, South Korean communications minister, Soon Eon-jong offered to resign following the fiasco of awarding a mobile phone concession to Sunkyong, then having Sunkyong turn it down over charges of nepotism. President Roh Tae-woo turned down the resignation offer. And Uganda promised to sell off its telephone operation, as part of a broad-based privatization program under President Yoweri Museveni. (Dana Blankenhorn/19920830) (NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012) Andrew Update: More Bargains In The Devastation 08/31/92 MIAMI, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Day by day, America is learning just how bad the destruction from Hurricane Andrew really was in South Florida. The telecommunications industry is trying to keep attention focused on helping the area with a string of bargains. Southern Bell sent an International Mobile Machines' Ultraphone portable switching station to the area, designed especially for major disasters, to make sure it is on hand if service goes down again. The four-trailer system includes a central office switch, power trailer and transmission system, providing service to up to 10,000 lines. BellSouth ordered the trailer after a central office fire destroyed a switching office in Hinsdale, Illinois a few years ago. Southern Bell emphasized that the trailer is a back-up, and service has been restored throughout most of the area. IMM noted this is the same Ultraphone system which is used to provide the equivalent of wired telephone service to rural areas in the Third World, under a digital cellular standard called TDMA, which is now being implemented in the US cellular network. AT&T, meanwhile, sent phones and free long distance services to the Homestead area, to help victims left without a way to contact people outside South Florida. Holders of the company's Universal Card can get emergency increases on their credit lines by calling 800-423-4343 to discuss arrangements, and minimum payment requirements are being waived for the next 60 days. Not to be outdone, MCI has sent a portable communications center with 24 phones and a satellite uplink to South Florida. The phones will go to a Red Cross site in south Dade County and offer free long distance calls to residents, and will travel with the Red Cross as it moves from place to place. The company also donated $20,000 to the American Red Cross to help in relief efforts. Also, the Business Wire wire service set up a nationwide program to help in the collection of donations to help the hurricane's victims, joining such companies as Home Depot and Amoco in that effort. Business Wire will transmit a special message to thousands of newspaper editors and radio and television station news directors across the country containing detailed instructions on how individuals and organizations may send financial support to Dade County for the benefit of hurricane victims. American Savings of Florida will serve as the collection agency for all donations, which the United Way will disburse. (Dana Blankenhorn/19920830/Press Contact: David L. Smith, IMM, David Rogers, BellSouth 404-529-8053, Julie Spechler, AT&T, 305- 654-4107, John R. Houser, MCI, 202-887-3000) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00013) Amstrad Notepad Released In Australia 08/31/92 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- The Amstrad Notepad (model N100) has been introduced in Australia and company founder Alan Sugar claims anyone can afford it, and anyone can use it, right out of the box. Sugar even wrote much of the instruction book himself. In appearance its similar to the old Tandy 100 computer, being 297 x 27 x 210mm (around 12 x 1 x 8 inches) and 1kg (2.2 lb) ready to run. It has a full 80 character width screen, but only eight lines of text, though this isn't a problem with this type of machine, and keeps battery consumption down (giving 40 hours from four AA penlight cells). It has 64-keys, 64K RAM, two memory card slots (up to 1M each), a serial and a parallel socket, speaker, clock, giant digit calculator, multiple alarm, calendar/diary, address book, BBC Basic programming language and word processing with a 48,000-word dictionary. There are four garishly colored keys which instantly switch the users to any of the built-in applications. It's a Z80-based machine, so isn't PC compatible, but comes with transfer software for swapping data with PCs. The retail price in Australia is $399 which is around US$285. (Paul Zucker/19920831) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014) SoundByte News From BOCOEX 08/31/92 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- The following report is provided by the Boston Computer Exchange. Computer News for Business People IBM will raise prices. Do they make their own roller-coaster? It seems like only last week they were cutting prices. But, it's only a measly 3% increase on some hardware and software products. But, but, but, not the PS/1 or the PS/2's, or OS/2 or even DOS, mind you. Those prices are stable. IBM will have a handheld to show at Comdex this fall, so now handhelds have been blessed. Compaq is showing off. They are on the verge of releasing some new multiprocessor high end file server computers. The new TriFlex architecture allows two processors to handle more than twice the transactions of conventional designs. Meanwhile, Dell is building their new file servers with enhanced disk arrays to improve disk performance. Everyone is flexing the high end system muscles like boys preening for the right to debut with Windows NT. Stay tuned. Microsoft is touting its numbers again. 10 million copies of Windows sold. Ten thousand copies of the Windows NT developers kits are out. That sounds like one in a thousand of us is writing stuff for the rest. You can expect a lot of Windows NT talk as the beta copies get out in the early fall. Kodak released Photo CD Access to allow PC and Macintosh users to fiddle with their photos. The Kodak Photo CD process lets you put your pictures on a CD-ROM diskette and the new software lets you manipulate the pictures with your PC. You can even draw a mustache on your Aunt Agnes. Are you confused by the word RAID. Does it make you think of Bug Spray? There is now a RAID advisory Board. That's the Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disk Drive Advisory Board which is composed of the major makers and consumers of disk technology. They are going to help educate you about RAID. Watch for an exciting White Paper later this year. More on the Intel 586 processor. At 66 Megahertz it can perform more than 100 million instructions per second. The chip has more than 3 million transistors and will perform up to ten times better than the 33 Megahertz 486. Intel expects the new model to keep RISC computers at bay and maintain their dominance in personal computers. FastBytes: Wang's worse. Chapter 11 reorganization time for the star of the recent past era. They are retrenching and pulling back. 3Com announced new EtherNet cards that double the speed of data throughput. Cards for the ISA type computers are out this week with the other buses arriving later. The new free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada will effect the computer business. So long as computers contain motherboards that have been made in North America, they can move between the countries duty-free. We may be our own Taiwan. In what looks like a window into the future, Digital Equipment Corporation is going into the clone mail order business. With PC's priced starting at $899, it may even be called the cheap clone business. After the failure of the DEC Rainbow line, Digital sold PC's from other makers, but now has decided to go back into the production of their own PC's. The decision to do it mail order is another indication that the era of the store and distributor are about to change. Wish them luck, maybe this is the Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow. Finally, this from the Big Brother is Watching Department, Motorola and Amtech are forming a joint venture to develop wireless electronic toll collection and traffic management systems. The systems are designed to allow fleet managers to monitor the coming and going of company vehicles, and can be used for toll collection on hiways where the data about a car's toll would be transmitted to a central computer for later billing. That's all we need - try to reason with the computer when you get a bill for a million dollars in highway tolls. BoCoEx Index News The talk of the market is a possible price cut from IBM in the early fall and there are signs that people are repositioning their inventory in anticipation of another market tumble. The IBM PS/2 Model 80's were off this week down $100 from $1500, but the Model 95 took the biggest tumble losing $900 to sell this week for $3000. Compaq notebooks were active with stable pricing. The LTE 286 closed at $800 the SLT-286 traded at a high of $1000 for fully loaded models and $700 for the base system. Macintosh 2CX's were off $200 to close at $2400 while other Macintosh models were stable. The volume in the MacMarket is all PowerBook and SE-30. Laser 2 NT's were off $150 at $1300 in modest trading. SoundByte News is produced by Alex Randall who is solely responsible for its contents. (Bocoex/19920831) (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00015) BoCoEx Index 08/31/92 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Boston Computer Exchange for the week ending August 28, 1992. Machine Main Closing Price Ask Bid Drive Price Change IBM AT 339 30 MgB 450 700 200 IBM PS/2 Model 30 286 20 MgB 500 900 300 IBM PS/2 Model L40SX 60 MgB 1350 1400 900 IBM PS/2 Model 50Z 30 MgB 550 700 325 IBM PS/2 Model 55SX 30 MgB 900 1300 800 IBM PS/2 Model 60 40 MgB 600 900 325 IBM PS/2 Model 70 A21 120 MgB 1650 1900 1400 IBM PS/2 Model P70 120 MgB 1650 1900 1200 IBM PS/2 Model 80 110 MgB 1400 down 100 1600 1100 IBM PS/2 Model 80 70 MgB 1100 1200 1000 IBM PS/2 Model 95 160 MgB 3000 down 900 3500 2600 Compaq Portable II 20 MgB 425 500 375 Compaq Portable III 20 MgB 500 600 250 Compaq Portable 386 100 MgB 1300 1500 1000 Compaq SLT-286 20 MgB 700 900 400 Compaq LTE 20 MgB 550 700 400 Compaq LTE-286 40 MgB 800 900 500 Compaq LTE-386 60 MgB 1650 1800 1300 Compaq Deskpro 286E 40 MgB 500 1000 325 Compaq Deskpro 386s 40 MgB 1000 1200 700 Compaq Deskpro 386/33 84 MgB 1850 2250 1400 NEC ProSpeed 386 100 MgB 1500 1800 1000 Zenith SuperSport-286 20 MgB 550 700 525 Zenith Mastersprt-386SX 60 MgB 1350 1700 1000 Zenith SuperSport 386SX 40 MgB 900 1000 800 Macintosh Classic 40 MgB 750 875 500 Macintosh Classic II 40 MgB 975 1025 800 Macintosh SE Floppy 525 650 450 Macintosh SE 20 MgB 725 775 500 Macintosh SE-30 80 MgB 1650 1750 1300 Macintosh LC 40 MgB 1000 1300 800 Macintosh II 40 MgB 1825 1900 1300 Macintosh II X 80 MgB 2500 2850 2000 Macintosh II CX 80 MgB 2400 down 200 2800 2000 Macintosh II CI 80 MgB 3100 3600 2460 Macintosh II FX 80 MgB 4100 4900 3700 Macintosh II SI 40 MgB 1800 2300 1500 Macintosh Quadra 700 160 MgB 3650 3700 3500 Macintosh Quadra 900 160 MgB 4250 4600 4000 Macintosh Portable 40 MgB 700 800 400 Macintosh Powerbk 100 20 MgB 850 1000 700 Macintosh Powerbk 140 40 MgB 1600 1700 1400 Macintosh Powerbk 170 40 MgB 2900 3000 2800 Apple Imagewriter 2 200 up 25 225 175 Apple Laserwriter 2 NT 1300 down 150 1500 1200 HP Laserjet II 850 950 550 HP Laserjet III 1000 1200 900 Toshiba T-1000LE 20 MgB 500 600 400 Toshiba T-1200 XE 20 MgB 700 800 550 Toshiba T-1600 20 MgB 650 700 500 Toshiba T-2000 SX 20 MgB 910 1000 800 Toshiba T-3100 SX 40 MgB 1300 1500 1000 Toshiba T-3200 40 MgB 900 1300 600 Toshiba T-3200 SX 40 MgB 1300 1300 700 Toshiba T-3200 SXC 120 MgB 3700 4000 3000 Toshiba T-4400 SX 120 MgB 2450 2500 2200 Toshiba T-5100 40 MgB 1300 1700 900 Toshiba T-5200 100 MgB 1800 2000 1500 BoCoEx Index data is compiled by Market Analyst, Gary M. Guhman Here are some current retail-oriented Seats on the Exchange, presented in a cyclic basis. Madison, New Jersey - CompuTrade - Howard Kroll - 201-593-0362 New Orleans, Louisiana - Audubon Computer Rental - Mike Barry - 504-522- 0348 Detroit, Michigan - CompuCycle - Walt Hogan - 313-887-2600 Dallas - Ft. Worth, TX - DFW Computer Exchange - M.B. Lee - 817-244-7833 Albuquerque, NM, Western Computer Exchange - David Levin - 505-265-1330 Fresno, California - MacSource Computers - Mike Kurtz - 209-438-6227 Escondido, Ca. - Affordable Computer Solutions - Dean Jacobus - 619-738- 4980 BoCoEx Index prices are based on complete systems with keyboard, monochrome monitor and adapter, less the value of any software or peripherals. Boston Computer Exchange is available at: 617-542-4414, Buyer's HotLine: 1-800-262-6399, In Alaska and Canada 1-800-437-2470,FAX: 617-542-8849.The BoCoEx Database is on CompuServe: GO BCE, and on the Delphi system: ME BO. (BOCOEX/19920831) (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016) ****Compaq Enters Printer Market 08/31/92 HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Compaq Computer Corporation has entered the network printer market, unveiling two new high speed printers in New York today. Under a licensing agreement with Sunnyvale, California-based Adobe Systems, the Compaq PageMarq 20 and PageMarq 15, designed around PostScript Level 2, are the first to incorporate several new Adobe printing technologies, including Adobe's IntelliSelect printer language selection software; emulation software for PCL 5; and PostScript fax software. The Compaq PageMarq 20 is a 20-page-per-minute (ppm) laser printer with a 20 megahertz (MHz) Advanced Micro Devices 29000 RISC (reduced instruction-set computer) processor and 128 kilobyte of cache. It features four megabytes (MB) of RAM, expandable to 20MB, a 1,500-sheet capacity, and 11 by 17-inch paper-handling capability. Compaq calls the PageMarq 20 "the world's fastest all-around desktop printer." The two printers measure 20.4 by 17.1 by 19.4, and weigh 83 pounds, Compaq spokesperson Mike Berman told Newsbytes. The PageMarq 15 is a 15-ppm laser printer with an AMD 29000 RISC processor running at 16 MHz. It includes 4MB of RAM, expandable to 18MB, and features a 1,000-sheet capacity (with an optional twin tray) and 11 by 17-inch capability. Both systems have motorized paper trays. Both printers are now shipping at suggested retail prices of $5,499 and $3,999, respectively. According to Adobe, the printers incorporate PostScript Level 2 software, the company's PCL 5 emulation software, and IntelliSelect, an intelligent printer language sensing software that distinguishes between print jobs in the PostScript language and PCL 5. The company says that the software automatically switches the printers to the correct interpreter or emulator without user intervention. The PostScript fax software allows users to send faxes through the printer, sending and receiving documents in "high-resolution" PostScript identical to the original, in sizes up to 11 by 17 inches. An optional 9600 baud internal fax modem also allows users to send and receive documents from standard Group III facsimile machines directly from the printer. Berman told Newsbytes a Windows driver supports sending and receiving faxes from Windows-supported fax programs. Both new printers include Adobe Type Manager and come standard with 50 fonts, including 35 PostScript fonts, 8 PCL outline fonts and 7 PCL bit-map fonts. Options include a programmable font module for fast access storage of additional typefaces, a 60MB hard drive, and a network interface card for direct network connectivity. The companies say Ethernet or Token Ring can be installed simultaneously with AppleTalk. Printer output resolution includes 800 X 400, 400 X 400, enhanced 300 X 300, and 300 X 300. Berman told Newsbytes the PageMarq 15 and 20 "are the first of many. We will have other printers as well," he said. No sales projections were available, but according to Berman, "The key in this market is you have to prove yourself. We think we know what the market needs." In other Compaq news, the company said today that it is still having trouble meeting the demand for some of the notebook, desktop, and file server products announced in mid-June due to parts shortages. Those shortages are expected to hurt the company's third quarter profits, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, some analysts are predicting net per share at $0.53, up 50 percent from a month ago. Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer says the upward revision suggests the company will be able to meet demand. Compaq lost $70.3 million, or $0.82 per share in the third quarter last year, including a $135 million restructuring charge. Pfeiffer predicted that the newly formed Peripherals Division, which is responsible for the two new printers, will break even and turn profitable "soon." (Ian Stokell & Jim Mallory/19920831/Press Contact: Linda Prosser, Adobe Systems Inc., 415-962-3840; or Mike Berman, Compaq Computer Corp., 713-374-1562) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00017) Corel Design Competition 08/31/92 OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Graphics software vendor Corel has launched its fourth annual CorelDraw World Design Contest. The contest features more than C$1 million worth of prizes and runs until April 15, 1993. Michael Cowpland, Corel's founder, president, and chief executive, told Newsbytes entries in last year's competition jumped from 1,000 to more than 3,000. "People have spent literally hours and hours on some of these designs," he said. A total of 72 winners in nine categories were invited to Ottawa for the 1992 final awards. In addition to the grand prize gold bar, there were other prizes donated by a number of computer hardware and software vendors. This year, there will be seven categories plus a new student section for those 18 years old or less. Finalists will be selected monthly. Each finalist will receive a prize package worth about C$4,000 and will be entered in the final round of judging. Corel recovers some of the cost of the contest by selling a CD-ROM disk containing all the designs for $99. This provides buyers with ideas and allows them to study the drawings to learn about the techniques the winning artists have used, Cowpland said. Corel launched the contest, for users of its CorelDraw graphics software, to publicize the software, recognize designers, and gather top-quality designs which it can then remarket to its customers. (Grant Buckler/19920831/Press Contact: Janie Sullivan, Corel, 613-728-8200 ext. 1672, fax 613-728-9790; Public Contact: Corel World Design Contest, 613-728-8200 ext. 1609, fax 613-728-2891) (NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018) New For PC: Lotus Organizer 1.0 08/31/92 CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Lotus Development has announced the shipment of Lotus Organizer 1.0, the Windows-based personal information manager (PIM) it acquired earlier this year from the British firm Threadz. A spokesman for the company said that while Lotus will continue selling its DOS-based Agenda, which was one of the first personal information managers on the market, it will not produce a Windows version. The Organizer looks and feels like a traditional paper organizer such as Day-Timer or Filofax. According to the vendor, it is useful for maintaining personal calendars, daily planning and organization, time management, and keeping contact lists. Lotus Organizer displays information with a notebook metaphor, on pages that comprise tabbed sections such as Calendar, Planner, and To-Do List. The user can turn pages and move between sections by pointing and clicking. Information in different sections can be cross-referenced with "links." For example, a user may link an appointment in the calendar with a meeting agenda or a note. Customization capabilities range from changing tab names and colors to deleting or duplicating any of the six default sections -- Planner, Notepad, To-Do List, Address, Calendar, and Anniversary. Text and graphics files can be imported from other Windows products Lotus Organizer is available from Lotus authorized resellers, with a suggested retail price of $149 in the United States and C$179 in Canada. Agenda 2.0 users can move to Lotus Organizer for $69 in the United States and C$79 in Canada, including a free conversion utility that will move items from any Agenda file to Lotus Organizer. International English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish versions will be available in September, Lotus said. The software runs on any DOS PC with an 80286 microprocessor or higher and a hard disk drive. It needs three megabytes of hard disk space, a VGA monitor, a mouse, and Windows 3.0 or higher in standard or enhanced mode. (Grant Buckler/19920831/Press Contact: David Grip, McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514; Public Contact: Lotus, 800-343-5414) (NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019) Canada: IBM Subsidiary Launches "Ambra" Line Of PCs 08/31/92 TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Expercomp Services, a subsidiary of IBM Canada, has officially launched the Ambra line of personal computers in Canada. Also to be sold in Europe, the Ambra line may reach the United States later this fall. IBM created the line in an effort to compete with low-cost clone manufacturers. The company's announcement touted the new machines as "the first line of 'credible clones.' " The machines immediately available are based on Intel 386 microprocessors. Prices start at C$1,479 for the 25-megahertz Sprinta machine with two megabytes of memory, a 40-megabyte hard drive, VGA display, keyboard, and mouse, a spokesman for the company said. Bundled software includes DOS 5.0 and a choice of the Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Geoworks Pro graphical operating environment. The Sprinta is also available with an 80-megabyte hard drive, and memory is expandable to 16 megabytes on the main board. This model has three Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) or AT Bus expansion slots. The Hurdla models are similar but have larger enclosures that accommodate seven expansion slots, and are offered with a choice of 80- or 160-megabyte hard disk drives. Expercomp is also offering a notebook machine called the Treka, available with a 20-megahertz 386SL processor and a 40-megabyte hard drive or with a 25-megahertz processor and an 80-megabyte drive. The notebook's battery will last two and a half to three hours in continuous use, the spokesman said, but a standby mode may allow it to last six to eight hours in intermittent use. All the PCs come with a one-year warranty including free on-site service and a toll-free telephone help line. Expercomp has signed up two major national distributors, Merisel Canada of Concord, Ontario, and Hartco Enterprises of Montreal, to handle the Ambra machines. Bobby Hsieh, marketing manager, said the machines began shipping to dealers August 28, and Expercomp hopes to put them on the shelves of about 300 outlets across Canada. The company has also set up a toll-free information line at 800-363-0077 for callers who want more information about the Ambra products. (Grant Buckler/19920831/Press Contact: Gene Diamond, Goodman Communications, 416-924-9100, fax 416-924-5709; Public Contact: Expercomp, 800-363-0077 or 416-474-7004) (NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00020) Ram Mobile Data Teams Up With Psion 08/31/92 WEST DRAYTON, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Ram Mobile Data, the packet radio data network provider, has signed Psion, the portable computing specialist, as a primary systems integrator. The deal will benefit both companies. Psion (and its customers) will benefit from a range of modem products that will allow Psion computers to access public and private online systems using Ram's packet radio network. Ram, meanwhile, gets an "instant" supply of customers for its network services. Announcing the deal, Colin Francis, Psion's corporate sales manager said that a trial of the network has already been undertaken with a major customer, using specially developed software for the client. "This allowed job instructions to be passed to and from a central PC in real time, greatly increasing the efficiency of the distribution process," he said, adding that the Psion HC hand-held computer had been used in the tests. What's interesting about the Ram network is that it uses the Mobitex hardware and software as seen in US packet radio networks. Ram is part of the US-based Ram Communications group which recently linked with Bellsouth Enterprises. Ram also operates a packet radio network in the U.S. and, along with Bellsouth, is currently installing similar networks in Australia and the Netherlands. Until recently, Ram was pitched head to head with the Dowty Cognito packet radio network here in the UK. But now, the Cognito network is currently being scaled down, after the Dowty parent company was acquired by a third-party company which has no interest in packet radio. According to informed sources, the Cognito operation is up for sale. The deal could mean that Ram's network will get a UK high street presence, as Psion computers are sold through a variety of outlets. According to Karim Khoja, Ram's corporate sales manager, the Psion link-up could prove lucrative for the company. (Steve Gold/19920831/Press & Public Contact: Sue Redman, marketing communications manager, Ram Mobile Data - Tel: 081-890- 9090; Fax: 081-990-9110) (NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00021) UK: Microsoft Slashes Mouse Pricing By 20% 08/31/92 WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Microsoft UK has slashed 20 percent off the price of its single and five-pack packages of the Microsoft Mouse. The price reduction, which takes effect immediately, takes a single mouse down to UKP 79, and a give mouse pack down to UKP 349. Why the price cuts? To get more people to move up to the Microsoft Mouse, claims Gillian Kent, MIcrosoft's consumer and hardware product manager, who explained that quality pointing devices are the only way to ensure that users get the mouse out of graphical computing. "With more users moving over to the Windows environment, more people are using mice. These price reductions will enable users to invest in a higher quality device at a very competitive price," she explained. The Microsoft Mouse was first introduced in 1982 and has become the industry's standard pointing device. According to Microsoft, more than nine million mice have been sold worldwide to date. (Steve Gold/19920831/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft UK - Tel: 0274-270001) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00022) UK: Swedish Software Learning Techniques 08/31/92 LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- A new company, Softvision, which debuts in September, specializes in video software training and claims to be using Swedish software learning techniques to enable novice PC users to get up to speed a lot quicker than by using conventional methods. According to Softvision, its range of video training programs has been devised around an innovative Swedish idea, which uses a teacher-pupil scenario acted out on tape to quickly familiarize the user with a software application. The company claims that existing users of applications will benefit from the videos, as well as the traditional novice user. Nigel Lovett-Turner, managing director of Softvision, claims that the company's approach to software learning has proven to be immensely successful throughout Europe with more than 109,000 users in Sweden alone in the company's first year of operation in that country. "We've found that users typically only use about 10 or even five percent of their software's capability, whether it be word processing, spreadsheets or graphics," he explained, adding that, at the same time, there is a general resistance to attending courses to improve users' software skills. According to Lovett-Turner, he has found that many people who attend courses comment that they find it frustrating that only parts of the course meet their specific needs. "This means that much of their time is wasted sitting through information they already know," he said. Lovett-Turner claims that Softvision's video training compresses a day's training into a three-hour video at a cost of around a third of a full training course. "Seeing the product's features and listening to an expert discuss how to use them in a relaxed environment has proven to be an ideal way to get the best out of software quickly," he said. Softvision's full range of UKP 99-99 videos are formally launched at the Business Computing Show, which takes place in London on the 15-18 September. Videos for most major applications, including MS-Windows 3.1, MS-Word for Windows 2.0, Lotus Ami Pro 3.0 and Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS, are available. (Steve Gold/19920831/Press & Public Contact: Softvision U.K. - Tel: 0705-200041) (NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00023) Wordperfect Claims Lion's Share Of UK WP Market 08/31/92 ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Wordperfect is claiming that its share of the UK word processing market is continuing to climb, citing the latest market research figures from Context as proof. Context's May figures show that Wordperfect's market share has risen from 55.6 percent over the previous three months to 60 percent during May itself. The same figures show Microsoft and Wordstar as having lost ground, with Microsoft's share dropping from 31.2 to 29.3 percent and Wordstar seeing its share eroded from 7.8 to 6.3 percent. Context's figures show that Wordperfect is becoming a dominant company in UK software terms, holding an 18 percent market share overall, up from 15 percent over the last 12 months and 16.8 percent in the last three months. This translates in fiscal terms to UKP 5.4 million a year for Wordperfect, assuming that the UK is worth UKP 30.5 million in software terms. What's interesting about the figures is that the split between DOS and Windows software sales is clearly beginning to be felt. Word processing software sales for Wordperfect DOS show a rise from 50 percent in the last three months to 53 percent in May, while Wordperfect for Windows increased to 7 percent in May -- up 2.5 percent on the 4.5 percent reported for the previous three months. David Godwin, general manager for sales and marketing with Wordperfect, claims that his company's increase in sales has been at the expense of its two main competitors, MS-Word and Wordstar. Context produces several monthly reports. The Software Sales report measures UK software sales by volume and by value through indirect sales channels. The report also indicates sales for several categories, such as word processing, database, spreadsheet, communications and integrated applications. (Steve Gold/19920831/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect U.K. - Tel: 0932-850500; Context - Tel: 071-937-3595; fax: 071-937-1159) (NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024) UK: Sonix Prepares Ground For V.Fast Modem Standard 08/31/92 LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Sonix, a recently launched network company, is lobbying hard to push the proposed V.Fast modem standard through the CCITT regulatory procedures. Over the last few weeks, Sonix has been contacting several data communications suppliers, urging them to push the CCITT, the international telecommunications regulatory body, for action at its next meeting in September. Sonix's initiative comes after several recent announcements that modem manufacturers, including Motorola Codex in the US, and Amber Logic plus Miracom in the UK, were "doing their own thing" and releasing non-standard "V.Fast" modems. "The fact that the V.Fast standard has been taken out of the technical arena and into the political once has seriously postponed its establishment," explained Bob Jones, Sonix's managing director, who added that the standard, which will enable data transmissions at speeds of up to 28,800 bits per second (bps) should have been ratified (agreed) by now. "Instead, political games look like delaying for up to 18 months," he said. Jones is especially critical of those companies who are doing their "own thing" in the V.Fast modem stakes. "They have made an investment and are keen to get their products to market, regardless of compatibility, just to claim a lead of their competitors," he said. "It's inevitable that customers will lose out in the end with non-standard modems that will not interwork at the higher speeds. Some manufacturers recognize this is a disadvantage, and are claiming they will provide upgrades from their present implementation of a high speed modulation to the eventual V.Fast standard. This seems a pretty tall order when their is no agreement what V.Fast will be," he added. So what does Jones recommend as the best course of action? He is calling on other modem suppliers not to go down the proprietary "V.Fast" route as Amber Logic, Miracom and Motorola Codex gave done. "It's essential that customer needs are put ahead of individual companies' desires to be the first to get to market. Interworking is vital: there was a similar situation several years ago when some V.22 look-alikes were established in advance of the standard," he said. "It took a long time to work these incompatible devices out of the system, to the detriment of customers. The same thing (with V.Fast modems) is happening now: customers are being put in the impossible situation of having to choose whether to wait or to go non-standard and take the risk that their products will never comply. We need customer-oriented companies to lobby the CCITT to establish the standard quickly," he added. (Steve Gold/19920831/Press & Public Contact: Bob Jones, Sonix - Tel: 0285-641651) (NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00025) Kansai Electric Bundles Printer Sharing Device, Utilities 08/31/92 SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Kansai Electric announced today that it is now bundling its four-user printer sharing device with a set of six printer utilities. The automatic printer sharing device, Quadlink, allows up to four Macintosh or IBM-compatible computers to share the same parallel or serial printer. Kansai marketing and sales director Joe Hartzell says that by using Quadlink in conjunction with the PT-Spool utility in Printools, print jobs are automatically spooled to each PC's hard drive. Hartzell says that frees the host computer as much as 35 times faster than jobs printed without the spooler. Quadlink performs electronically what mechanical switch boxes have done for users for some time. Unlike mechanical switches, Quadlink automatically polls the four ports to detect incoming data, and locks PC to the printer until the job is printed. After a programmed time-out during which Quadlink detects no incoming data, the printer is freed up for the next print job. Kansai says Quadlink works with laser printers, and will not void the Hewlett-Packard Laserjet warranty. The Quadlink unit includes LED (light emitting diode) indicators to show when the printer is in use. Several Quadlink units can be daisy-chained together to give additional users access to the printer. Printools, the printer utility program being packaged with Quadlink, was developed by Insight Development, and includes six printer utilities that are managed by a TSR (terminate and stay resident) menu. The utilities include a printer spooler, a screen capture and dump and PT-Plot, a program that allows uses to print HP-GL, HP-GL/2 or PCL output on their JP Laserjet III printers. The bundled package is immediately available, and has a suggested retail price of $229. Purchased separately, the two products would cost $308. (Jim Mallory/19920831/Press contact: Joe Hartzell, Kansai Electric, 408-377-7062, Reader contact: 800-733-3374) (NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00026) New For PC: Software for SmartFolders and Windows for Workgroups 08/31/92 NEW PALTZ, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Paper Software has announced a set of tools for moving from DOS to Windows for Workgroups and Windows 3.1, including a package that produces "SmartFolders." Michael McCue, company president, told Newsbytes that DOSagain 1.0, Sidebar 2.1, and SmartFolders 1.0 are all being developed using the beta version of Windows for Workgroups, and will be either compatible with or easily updatable to the final release of the new Windows for Workgroups operating system. McCue said that DOSagain 1.0 is a customizable command line that lets users familiar with the DOS prompt exercise their skills within Windows. SideBar 2.1, another utility, combines concepts from the DOS and GUI environments, permitting the use of either commands and the keyboard or icons and the mouse in forming a multilevel Windows shell. SmartFolders 1.0, the third package, allows for the creation of folders that can fill themselves based on user-assigned rules. "You can establish an `Advertising' SmartFolder and then tell the folder to fill itself with any file containing the word `ad,' `promotion,' or `brochure,'" he explained. DOSagain provides access to any DOS 5.0 command directly from Windows, and also supplies configurable commands that let the user make any Windows application command line-driven. The program includes templates for processing DOS commands with the use of the Windows for Workgroupgs, Windows 3.1, Norton Desktop, or XTree file manager, according to McCue. SideBar 2.1, an upgrade of a previous release, has been enhanced with a new object-oriented design, launch scheduling, and multilevel or "nested" folders, in addition to Windows for Workgroups compatibility. McCue told Newsbytes that the program offers the same general functionality as Norton Desktop and HP NewWave, but at a fraction of the price. SmartFolders 1.0 will also be compatible with both Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups, he said. The SmartFolders will be able to fill themselves with files, directories and applications from any OLE-compatible Windows shell or applications, including Sidebar, Norton Desktop, HP NewWave, and programs running under Workgroups for Windows. A SmartFolder will also have the faculty to look for, index, and store other SmartFolders, McCue added. "No other program yet announced offers the capabilities of SmartFolders 1.0," he asserted. Under the electronic mail program in the upcoming Windows for Workgroups operating system, a user will be able to transmit the contents of either a SmartFolder or SideBar folder by merely dropping the folder on to the Windows for Workgroups document, he stated. DOSagain 1.0 is expected to ship on September 28, SideBar 2.1 on October 19, and SmartFolders 1.0 at the end of November. Each package will be priced at $65. "I don't expect to see any modifications to the Windows for Workgroups code that would affect compatibility with our products. But if there are any changes, they'll be something we can handle with a very simple maintenance release," commented the company president. (Jacqueline Emigh/19920831; Press and public contact: Michael Weber, Paper Software, 800-551-5187) (NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027) ****90 US, 49 UK Jobs Affected By Librex Closure 08/31/92 SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Management at Librex Computer Systems, Inc., which announced on Friday that Nippon Steel would be closing down the company, is attempting to find an interested party willing to buy the business. The retreat by the steelmaking giant from the computer industry affects both Librex businesses in the US and the UK. As reported by Newsbytes previously, the company issued a statement late Friday saying it was withdrawing from the PC market "as a result of the intense competition and the slumping profit margins within the industry, which makes it not feasible to continue to support the business." Dan Crane, spokesman for Librex in San Jose, told Newsbytes that there will be 90 jobs affected at the San Jose, California location. In answer to a question as to whether the San Jose operation will be closed-down or scaled-down, Crane said: "It's doing both. It's being scaled down in phases between the end of September and the end of December. We are talking with some interested parties. If we pull together one of those deals, chances are we will stop scaling down." The major reason of the failure of Librex was the discounting war going on among computer makers in the US and the UK. The firm claims to have sold only 5,000 to 6,000 personal computers in both these markets. The UK subsidiary is called Nippon Steel Computer, which was funded with four million pounds, and has 49 employees. This subsidiary will also be closed by the end of the year unless a buyer is found. Concerning support for the machines already sold, Crane said that: "It's certainly been decided that we are going to provide warranty and tech support to all of our users." Crane would not be drawn on who was going to provide the services though. "That's something we are going to be real careful with and try and do a real good job on," he said. Librex was selling its 16 and 32-bit computers through US distributor Ingram Micro, among others. The firm was planning to release an 80486-based notebook this fall, but scrapped the plan due to the slump in sales. The firm was also planning to sell these personal computers in the Japanese market, but will no longer do so. Also, Librex has abandoned the CAI (computer-aided instruction) business, Newsbytes was told. Librex Computer Systems was incorporated in June 1990 as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Shin Nippon Steel Corporation with a capitalization of $15 million and 92 employees. At that time, the firm projected sales of 30,000 personal computers per year would make 10 billion-yen ($80 million) per annum. Librex had projected sales to 20 to 30 billion yen (about $200 million) within several years. (Wendy Woods & Ian Stokell & Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920831/Press Contact: Librex Computer Systems Inc., Daniel Crane, 408-894-6800; Shin Nippon Steel Corp., +81-3-3242-4111) (NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00028) GTE, Philips Experiment W/ Interactive TV At Cerritos 08/31/92 CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- GTE Imagitrek and Philips Interactive Media Systems have said they are implementing the interactive television technology the companies announced in April at GTE's Cerritos, California experimental site. The April announcement detailed a type of interactive television that will allow television programs to interact with material printed on compact discs (CDs). GTE has been experimenting with applications for digital media in Cerritos for several years. The company has "guinea pig" home users there who are trying out digital television, interactive telephones, pay by view digital TV, and interactive services over optical cable, broadcast, telephone lines, and combinations of all of the delivery methods. The interactive viewing would combine television and Philips' existing compact disc-interactive (CD-I) system that already uses a television for the display screen. Richard Robinson, general manager of GTE Imagitrek, said the combination could present viewers with opportunities to garner more information about something they are watching. "For instance, a viewer using a 'baseball' disc, cued to the appropriate position on the compact disc by an encoded signal in the broadcast, could retrieve the image of a baseball player to review personal statistics, whenever that player came to bat," Robinson said in a prepared statement. However, baseball is not the subject of the new technology experiment, but instead the Discovery Channel and World Book will be partnered with GTE and Philips for the test, GTE Imagitrek said. In related news, Philips just announced lower prices for the CD-I player, now available in Sears stores throughout the US. However, criticisms of the system include resolution of images on some CD-I titles is too poor for viewer enjoyment. Philips is also facing major competition from Tandy, Zenith, and Microsoft, who just announced a similar system, VIS, for introduction this fall that is compatible with standard audio CDs as well. Tandy said the VIS player is to also connect to a television and in addition to a home stereo system, and is based on DOS and Modular Windows, a version of Windows 3.1 developed by Microsoft. While it appears the type of interactive service Philips is experimenting is unique to Philips, Tandy made hints at the announcement of the VIS about interactivity and a modem can be attached to the VIS player. Also a number of software developers for the IBM DOS and Windows platform, such as Broderbund, have already committed to moving their titles to the VIS, hopefully in time for sale to consumers this fall. Also in the running is TV Answer, which has announced it will offer a "cellular" based interactive digital television service controlled in the home by a TV Answer box. The TV Answer box is based on a Motorola microprocessor chip and Hewlett-Packard has already committed to manufacturing the TV Answer boxes, which have been projected to go on sale to consumers in 1993. Reston, Virginia-based TV Answer says the boxes, which are about the size of a VCR, will communicate digitally with "cell sites" that will transmit the digital data to a central computer via satellite that will then disseminate the information to its destination. TV Answer says users will be able to order pizza, check their bank balance, program their VCR, answer surveys, and participate in live events. Whatever interactive television unit consumers choose, they all will be priced about the same. Philips lowered its price to $699, the TV Answer boxes are expected to cost consumers about $700 each, and Zenith has mentioned the same $700 price range for the VIS Player. Titles for all three systems will cost consumers more, between $30 and $80 more each, the companies predict. Other competitors on the interactive television scene include NTN Communications, best known for its QB1 football game, which is trying to offer electronic gambling via a Cable Wagering Service. The new game is based on a test run of "Triples," an interactive horse racing game on the GTE Mainstreet Service in California. The California Federation of Racing Associations Inc., has introduced legislation that would permit interactive television wagering, which is already being done in California at local "tavern" type sites. However, the NTN System proposes use of the television remote control to allow a consumer to chose a race, horse, and wager from an interactive menu on a home television. (Linda Rohrbough/19920831/Press Contact: Thomas Byker, GTE, 203-965-2822, Gary Johnson, Philips, tel 615-521-3342, fax 615- 521-3242) (NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00029) Quarterdeck Announces Desqview/X X11 & Motif Toolkits 08/31/92 SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Quarterdeck announced Desqview/X, its graphical user interface for data and application sharing between Unix-based X Window workstations networked with personal computers (PCs), said it will now offer X11 and Motif Software Development Toolkits. The announcement was made at the end of the Desqview/X Developer's Conference held in Santa Monica, California last week. The company said those who attended the full conference will receive a copy of the new X11 toolkit. The complete X11 Toolkit includes: X11 R4 programming libraries, the Desqview/X system library with Berkeley Socket Interface, sample programs, make files and library support for Microsoft C, Borland C++, Zortech C++, Rational Instant C, Watcom C/386, Metaware High C and GNU C/C++ compilers, the DESQview/X Roadmap, O'Reilly X Reference and Programming Guides (Volumes 1, 2, 4 and 5), Rational Systems DOS/4GX DOS extender and tools, Instant C development environment, Oxygen, and Quarterdeck's Developer Passport Support, the company said. The complete X11 Toolkit is retail priced at $750. Quarterdeck highlights its Developer Passport Support which the company says designates a specific Quarterdeck technician/programmer to provide technical support for individual developers. Developers are provided with direct-dial phone access to their designated support technician, as well as standard electronic bulletin board system (BBS) support. The company added that those enrolled in the Developer Passport Support are also entitled to use the new Quarterdeck Porting and Programming Labs, staffed by company technicians and developers, located in Santa Monica and Chelmsford, England. A $50 X11 Starter Toolkit is also offered, but is limited to use with the GNU C/C++ compiler only. The company says the starter kit includes disks containing the full X11 R4 programming libraries, the Desqview/X system library with Berkeley Socket Interface, sample programs, make files for GNU, the Desqview/X Roadmap documentation, and the GNU C/C++ compiler. The OSF/Motif (v. 1.1.5) Development Toolkit is priced at $150 and includes: Motif Widget libraries, Motif Resource Management library, Motif User Interface Language (UIL) compiler, sample programs, O'Reilly Volume 6, Motif Programming Manual, the Desqview/X OSF/Motif Roadmap, and the DESQview/X end user OSF/Motif Window Manager. Quarterdeck also announced at the conference a Desqview/X beta test program for users who have Sun PC-NFS, Wollongong and Beame & Whiteside TCP/IP network drivers and also announced it licensed Novell's TCP/IP Transport for DOS for its DESQview/X Network Manager. Desqview/X, announced in March of this year, is a graphical user interface that can run Windows 3.0 and 3.1 and is geared toward a 386 or 486-based IBM or compatible PCs. With the Desqview/X Network Manager software, the product can share data and X Windows applications with workstations on a network. The company has announced plans to introduce a 286 version of the product, but says it doesn't know when that will take place. (Linda Rohrbough/19920831/Press Contact: Gary Pope, Quarterdeck, tel 310-392-9851, fax 310-314-3212) (NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00030) New For Mac: SuperMac Graphics Card, 17-Inch Monitor 08/31/92 SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 AUG 31 (NB) -- Hoping to appeal to high-end Macintosh graphics users, SuperMac Technology has introduced the 24-bit ThunderLight color graphics card. At the same time the company has also introduced the SuperMatch 17 T Trinitron color display for the Macintosh. The new ThunderLight card carries a suggested retail price of $2,399, and according to the company, offers Macintosh color- publishing customers a 1200 percent increase in QuickDraw acceleration for true-color graphics on displays up to 21 inches. Volume shipments are slated for later this month. Laurie McLean, spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that the "ThunderLight is a downward extension of the Thunder family. Thunder/24 is their best-selling graphics card. ThunderLight is an extension of that chip-set. It's not quite as fast as the Thunder card, but its pretty fast. And it's a lot faster than their lower priced cards. It's that medium range of price performance that people will like." Christopher Kryzan, SuperMac's director of product marketing, said: "Our Thunder technology has fueled exceptionally strong, 24-bit color sales in SuperMac's high-end prepress market, and now we're setting a new price/performance standard for QuickDraw acceleration with ThunderLight." According to SuperMac, Macworld, MacWEEK, and MacUser all rated the Thunder/24 as the industry's fastest 24-bit card. The company says that, by offering the Thunder technology at a lower price, ThunderLight is "ten times faster than its nearest competitor for the QuickDraw operations used by applications like Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress, and Aldus FreeHand." ThunderLight offers support for more than 16.7 million colors. Other features include "Virtual Desktop," which provides up to an eight-foot-square workspace for opening poster-size layouts in their entirety, and hardware-accelerated pan and instantaneous zoom by 200 percent. The SuperMatch 17 T Trinitron color display, available October 1, is a large-screen, small-footprint, multimode, that carries a suggested retail price of $1,299. McLean told Newsbytes that customers, "Really wanted to see a Trinitron version of...(the SuperMatch 17). This is there response to that. Also it is the first time that they can find a Trinitron version that looked really good that was low enough in price, because Trinitrons carry such a premium attach to it." SuperMatch 17 T offers a choice of three preset resolutions: a 20-inch mode with a 1024 by 768 pixel resolution at 87 dots-per- inch (dpi); a 17-inch WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) mode with a 832 by 624 pixel resolution at 70 dpi; and a 13-inch magnified viewing mode with a 640 by 480 pixel resolution at 54 dpi. "SuperMatch 17 T combines the popular features of our SuperMatch 17 Multimode color display with Trinitron technology and added ergonomic features," said Kryzan. "It capitalizes on the tremendous success we've enjoyed with the SuperMatch 17 - it's widely perceived as the perfect upgrade for 13-inch customers - while adding features that our growing business customer base value, all at an aggressive price." According to the company, the SuperMatch 17 T features a 6500 Kelvin white point to assure color accuracy. Based on a Sony Trinitron CRT (cathode ray tube), the SuperMatch 17 T offers a .31 millimeter shadow mask, while a dynamic-focus electron gun delivers uniform focus. The SuperMatch 17 T provides anti-reflection coating for viewing and, according to the company, meets the stringent MPR II standards of the Swedish Council on Metrology for VLF/ELF emissions. Just last week Newsbytes reported that, barely three months after going public, and one month after posting record-breaking earnings for its second quarter, SuperMac Technology was following up its price cuts earlier in the year with a new round of reductions that cut up to 30 percent off its Macintosh color-publishing, business productivity, and desktop video products. (Ian Stokell/19920831/Press Contact: Stephanie Bryant, SuperMac Technology, 408-773-4446; or Laurie McLean, McLean Public Relations, 415-358-8535)