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/nb920928

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(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00001)

Australia: "Buy IT In Australia" Campaign Launched 09/28/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- A group of many
of the major software manufacturers and distributors in the
Australian marketplace has launched a campaign to promote the
benefits of buying software in Australia through the authorized
channels.

The campaign is being conducted under the theme "Buy IT in
Australia" to encourage software buyers to consider the
advantages of buying locally instead of from the numerous mail-
order outlets that operate from the US. A logo will be available
for distributors to affix to product so that buyers are in no doubt
that it has come through the proper channels and is the Australian
version if such a thing exists.

A national media campaign involving advertising, supplements
and inserts will be run over the next 12 months to ensure that
everyone knows the message. So far the campaign is supported
by: Apple; Australian Software Distributors Association;
Australian Software Publishers Association; Business Software
Association of Australia (Aldus, Autodesk, Lotus, Microsoft and
WordPerfect and associate members Claris, Symantec, Dataflow,
Megatec, Eurofield and Quadratron); Borland; IDG
Communications; Merisel and Tech Pacific. Membership is open
and the group expects others to join.

IDG Communications (publishers of Computerworld, PC World
and many other publications) has pledged to give half a million
dollars in advertising to the campaign over the next year. The
group expects other major publishers to also give ad space.

While the project sounds good, and will probably help local
software manufacturers, and will certainly help local distributors
and dealers, doubt has been expressed by end-users as they almost
always have to spend more to buy in Australia. As one end-user
said, "If I buy from the US direct I pay $100 that goes straight
there. If I buy locally I pay $130 and $100 still goes back to the
US. Perhaps I should just adopt a dealer and give them a donation
each month!"

(Paul Zucker/19920925)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00002)

Japan: NTT Creates Multimedia Center 09/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Japan's former telecom monopoly
will soon open a multimedia center in a high-tech building in Tokyo.
The center serve as a development site for multimedia software.

NTT has spent three billion yen ($25 million) for this building
and will spend additional 4 billion yen ($30 million) for facilities
such as a studio, editing suites, workstations, and personal computers.
The aim will be to develop multimedia software which supports
audio-visual features for computers and telecommunications.

NTT wants to develop multimedia telecommunications technology via
its ISDN (Integrated Digital Services Network). Digital
telecommunication has just started in Japan, and there is a great deal
of potential in this field. In order to cash in on that widespread
demand which is expected, NTT will rent its studio and facilities
to third parties.

NTT is a former domestic telecom monopoly in Japan which
advanced technologies and engineers on telecommunications. NTT's
dedication to the development of multi-media telecommunication
technology may benefit other electronics firms in Japan. Several
will be given OEM (original equipment manufacturer) orders from
NTT to produce the hardware because NTT does not have its own
manufacturing facilities.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920925/Press Contact: NTT, +81-3-
3509-5035)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

Japan: Sharp 8-mm Camcorder With Color LCD 09/28/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Sharp has released an unique 8-mm
camcorder that is not only small, but sports a color liquid crystal
display (LCD). The LCD serves as a viewfinder for the camera.

Sharp contends the camcorder will be much easier to use thanks to
the attached 4-inch color LCD. This camcorder is called the "VL-HL1"
and is also equipped with a remote control feature with which users
can take video of themselves with this camcorder.

The LCD screen is extremely bright -- almost twice the brightness
of existing LCD screens, according to Sharp. This means it is
practical to be used outdoors on a sunny day. Sharp's advanced LCD
technology has already attracted the attentions of Apple Computer.
Apple recently signed an agreement with Sharp concerning the
development of new multimedia devices incorporating Sharp's LCD.

The retail price of the camcorder is slightly expensive compared
with other 8-mm camcorders -- 210,000 yen ($1,750). Sharp
expects to ship 10,000 units per month. The adaptor used to connect
the device with a TV set is also sold at 25,000 yen ($200).

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19920925/Press Contact: Sharp, +81-3-
3216-1161)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)

National-ISDN Moves Forward 09/28/92
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The National
ISDN standard took a step forward as Northern Telecom installed
its first phone switch meeting the National ISDN-1 standard.

ISDN, which stands for integrated services digital network, is a
system of digitizing phone networks which has been in the works
for a decade. Under the system, a single phone line would be
transformed by digital switching technology into two 64,000
bit/second data streams and a signaling stream of 16,000
bits/second. Local phone networks, especially the regional Bell
operating companies, have long hailed the system, but they have
been criticized in recent years for being slow to implement it.

One good reason for the delay is the fact that the two major
switch-makers, Northern and AT&T, implement the technology
differently. National ISDN-1 is an attempt to eliminate those
differences, so service users would not have to know the brand of
the switch they are connected to in order to buy equipment and
software compatible with it.

Bell Atlantic's C&P Telephone unit took possession of the
National ISDN 1 software. The switch itself serves 44,000 lines,
including Bell Atlantic's own corporate headquarters. A symbolic
call using the standard in the network is due to be placed in
November, with 74 ISDN companies and organizations, 149 locations
in 26 states, four Canadian provinces, Europe, Asia and
Australia, opening their doors to the public to showcase
applications.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920925/Press Contact:Bell Atlantic, Nancy
Murray, 703/974-1719)


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

Small Long Distance Companies Seek Niches 09/28/92
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Smaller long
distance companies are actively seeking niches, as competition
plays out above them among Sprint, AT&T and MCI.

LCI International is aiming at the consumer market with a
calling plan called "Simple, Fair and Inexpensive," or SF&I. The
company has leased capacity on systems like WilTel's and is reselling
it at a flat per-minute rate, 12 cents per minute by night, 17
cents by day. It's based on the fact that, according to company
officials, the true cost of a long distance call does not
really vary much with its distance. The first ads will run during
a golf tournament on ABC September 17.

Cable & Wireless, meanwhile, is going after the business market
with a system it calls "universal network access." The service
includes discounts applying to multiple business locations, call
accounting and a variety of other features which customers can
program-in for themselves. The software features perform the role
of a "telecom manager" for smaller businesses that can't afford
to hire someone for the job, C&W said. Services include toll-free
lines, calling cards, conference calling, fax services, private
line services, managed data and others.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920925/Press Contact: Debra Arrington, Cable
& Wireless, 703-734-7708; Jim Fette, LCI International, 614-798-
6272)


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

Fast Modems Get Cheaper 09/28/92
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The modem price
wars continued as QuickComm announced a series of V.32bis
products for the IBM PC and compatibles, running at up to 14,400
bits/second, priced at $229-249. The modems are called the Spirit
II line.

The internal version of the Spirit II handles the MNP 2-4 error
correction protocols and the MNP 5 compression standards, along
with the V.42bis error correction and compression standard, the
V.32bis modulation standard, and a series of older standards. The
half-card modem is based on digital signal processors from Analog
Devices. An external version costs $249, the internal version
$229. President Bill Russell credited that inexpensive data pump
with the product's low price. He said Rockwell sells such
products for about $100, far more than he pays.

Russell said he bought QuickComm after buying 10,000 units for
his own account and being impressed with the quality. He said
that he's tested the modems with partners in Australia, Mexico
and elsewhere, finding the product to have high data integrity
and reliability. "We've found no installations in the world where
we couldn't get the Spirit II to work, and work well," he said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920925/Press Contact: Stacey Gore, for
QuickComm, 415-773-5351)


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

Motorola Intros InfoTac -- Mobidem Competitor 09/28/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) --
Mototola's Paging and Wireless Data Group announced the InfoTAC,
a pocket-sized, dual purpose radio packet modem it calls a
personal data communicator.

The modem links to any laptop, notebook, or pen-based computer
via the standard RS-232 serial port. It also works as a portable
server, able to independently receive, store and respond to
electronic mail messages, files, database transactions and similar
data. Its built-in transmitter generates an automatic acknowledgment
to each message, so the sender gets immediate proof of delivery.
The user can scroll messages received by the unit, then reply via
customized response prompts. Messages can ultimately be saved,
deleted or uploaded via the serial port for further action.

The modem has two software interfaces for connection to an
external computing device. The first, transparent mode, utilizes
an industry standard AT command set. This allows a user to get
started using standard communications packages. The second,
native mode, provides a more comprehensive DTE interface so that
applications can be optimized for the radio packet data
environment. Operation in native mode is compatible with
Motorola's WaveGuide software. Software can be downloaded into
the unit's Flash ROM by connecting to a standard PC via the DTE
port.

Newsbytes discussed the product with Jeff Morris, vice president-
marketing for the Mobile Data Division. He acknowledged that the
product is competitive with the $1,795 Mobidem, which began
shipping a few months ago after being announced in January. But
unlike the Mobidem, which works only with Mobitex networks, the
InfoTAC is designed to eventually work with many networks.

"The heart of this device is the 'network terminating unit,'
which is protocol-agile. It's capable of talking to the three
Motorola packet protocols and will eventually work with Mobitex.
That will happen in the first half of 1993. The product will
start to ship in October. At that time, it will then connect to
the Hutchison Mobile Data network in Hong Kong and the Ardis
network in the US, as well as the Canadian Bell-Ardis network
at 800 megahertz. The next version of the device will have a
450 MHz radio module so it can work with networks in Germany and
the UK. Mobitex capability will follow in the first half of
1993."

In addition, the InfoTAC is a dual-use device. "If your secretary
wants to send you an electronic phone slip, or something less
than 512 characters," a 1-packet burst of data on the new Ardis
protocols, "she can send it and you can read it on the screen."
The screen is large enough so that this is not uncomfortable,
Morris said. While the list price is $1,350, he added, "We expect
that, with volume production and re-sale, the price may end up
less."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920925/Press Contact: Motorola, Paul
Battaglia, 708-692-5884)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00008)

India: SCL Joins Rockwell To Make Fax Boards 09/28/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- While almost every company dealing
in electronics is offering imported fax machines today, the
Chandigarh-based public sector VLSI facility, Semiconductor Complex
Ltd.'s (SCL) launch of four Surefax models may not create much
stir. But that SCL is building up a manufacturing facility at an
investment of Rs 10 million to produce fax machines in the country
has startled industry watchers.

At the current total demand level for fax machines in India, and
considering the duty of 95 percent on imported machines, is the
decision to manufacture them in the country viable?

"The speed with which the companies (vendors) are bringing in the
fax machines today might also be the speed in which these ventures
fizzle out." That's how N. Vittal, secretary, Department of
Electronics (DOE), sees the situation. "He who manufactures will
survive, and that is the `sure' part of SCL's success," he adds,
talking to Newsbytes.

Col. Ramakant, chairman and managing director of SCL, stresses
the cost and service aspect. Initially, SCL will import 1,000 fax
machines from HS Electronics of Korea, and sell them here at prices
ranging from Rs 21,000 to Rs 40,000. The company expects to sell
this volume by the end of this year, when the assembly line will
also be ready. Within a year's time, the firm hopes to achieve 70
percent indigenization. Having done this, SCL will offer technology
at the board level to other entrepreneurs also, who could in turn
produce key components like printers, scanners and stepper motors
and integrate a complete fax machine in India.

"Once the manufacturing starts, the price of our machines will
come down by 25 percent," observes Ramakant, "And the fact of
having an integrated running plant, will give us extra mileage in
support and service."

The company expects to sell over 3,000 machines by the end of the
current financial year.

SCL's Centre of Excellence for Designing and Developing Fax machines
in India is being set up at Chandigarh in collaboration with
Rockwell International of US, SCL's associate since 1984.
According to Moiz Beguwala, Rockwell's director (operations) for
the Asia Pacific region, Rockwell has an installed base of 15
million facsimile modems and supplies its chips to about 80 percent
of the fax manufacturers worldwide. Rockwell will provide SCL with
its latest Fax Engine chipsets, based on which the latter will
design the fax electronic boards. At a later stage, these chips
too will be manufactured at the SCL facility.

"Our aim is to gradually create a manufacturing base for fax
machines along the lines we have done for the watchmaking
industry (in India)," said Ramakant.

Meanwhile, despite the efforts of the DOE, the Government is yet
to approve the additional Rs 950 million fund required for the
rebuilding of SCL's fire-ravaged chip fabrication facility.
The commissioning of the rebuilt facility slated for April 1993
thus seems very unlikely. Focussing its attention more on the
telecommunications segment, the company is now offering chips
for subscriber equipment, telephone exchanges and transmission
equipment. In fact, more than 70 percent of SCL's Rs 520 million
turnover achieved in 1991-92 came from telecommunications.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920925)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00009)

India: Widespread Teaching By Satellite 09/28/92
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The Institute of Electronics
& Telecommunications Engineers (IETE) has recently conducted a
ten-day long satellite-based continuing education program, on an
experimental basis, to thousands of its B.Tech (graduate
engineering) students all over the country. The participants could
not only listen to and see their lecturer, but could also
interact with their teacher "positioned in the sky."

The teachers, who are from various branches of Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore,
could reach their students via Insat 2A at centers equipped with
C-band direct reception systems. While four centers -- Delhi,
Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore -- have talk-back terminals,
the remaining have to use STD (long-distance subscriber trunk
dialling) facilities to interact with teachers who deliver the
lecture live from studios of the Satellite Applications Centre
of the Indian Space Research Centre (ISRO) at Ahmedabad in
Western India.

As one of the first applications of the recently launched Insat-2A,
it is the first one in the interactive mode, which means it has
a talk back facility. This takes it a step ahead of the UGC
educational and instructional programs being telecast on
Doordarshan (India's national TV network) in broadcast mode,
thus allowing only one-way communication. IETE experiment has
overcome a major lacuna of the distance education program:
lack of interaction with the teacher.

The required hardware, including the satellite time has been
provided by ISRO, which is collaborating with the IETE in conducting
the experiment. Apart from expenditure on satellite time, the
hardware cost to facilitate two-way communication comes to about
Rs 0.6 million. This is the fifth in the series of Satcom
experiments for continuing education conducted by ISRO. The first
episode in this series was the linking of two Gujarat villages
with its capital Ahmedabad in 1991.

ISRO has also helped in connecting different centers of heavy
industries to facilitate maintenance and interpersonal management.
Next were four centers in Bhiwani under rural women and child
welfare programme. BHEL and Indira Gandhi Open University have
also shown interest in this programme, according to ISRO.
Furthermore, IETE is planning another program on telematics and
optical electronics for its 40,000 corporate members.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19920924)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00010)

UK: Microsoft Unveils Winlogin For Windows 09/28/92
WINNERSH, WOKINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Microsoft unveiled
Winlogin, a package that it claims allows MIS managers to
manage the configuration of the Windows operating system on
networked PCs from a single PC.

According to Microsoft, using Winlogin, users can access their
own customized Windows settings from any PC on the network, or
multiple users can share one PC all with their own personal
settings, by simply logging in under their own name.

"With Winlogin, network administrators can manage Windows
throughout their companies as easily as stand-alone users manage
Windows on their desktops," explained Mark Edwards, Windows'
product manager at Microsoft.

According to Edwards, Microsoft developed Winlogin because
companies told the company that they wanted greater control of
Windows on networks, and more flexibility for users to work on
different machines while maintaining personal Windows settings.

In use, Winlogin uses a central database to manage user,
workstation and administrator settings. This, Microsoft claims,
ensures that the correct configuration files are available to
Windows when the PC boots up.

Winlogin, which sells for UKP 25-00. It requires Windows 3.1 on a
PC, which is linked to a network. Supported networks include
MIcrosoft LAN Manager, Novell Netware, IBM LAN Server, Banyan
Vines and Artisoft Lantastic.

(Steve Gold/19920925/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft - Tel:
0734-270001)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00011)

UK: Wordperfect Intros Letterperfect 2.1 For Mac 09/28/92
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Wordperfect has
released Letterperfect for the Mac v2.1 in the UK. The
company claims that this latest releases is a streamlined version
of WP 2.1 for the Mac, stripped down, but still retaining most of
the features of Wordperfect.

Like Letterperfect on the PC, the Mac version has been designed
for use as a word processor on a notebook computer, specifically
the Mac Powerbook series. Version 2.1 has been updated for use on
the latest Powerbooks, but includes several features, optimized
for the Performa range of Macs just out in the US.

Retail pricing on Letterperfect Mac 2.1 continues at UKP 99,
although several outlets are bundling the software with their
Macs here in the UK. The package, according to David Godwin,
Wordperfect's general manager for sales and marketing, offers a
superior range of features when viewed against the competition.

"It's the ideal choice for uses with low cost machines
operating under low memory constraints," he said.

Features of Letterperfect 2.1 include a speller, thesaurus,
character map, open latest file and headers plus footers.
Although support for Quicktime is not native to this version of
Letterperfect, the package is System 7 savvy -- taking advantage
of Publish and Subscribe, Truetype, Apple Events and Balloon
Help, Wordperfect claims.

(Steve Gold/19920925/Press & Public Contact: Wordperfect U.K. -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00012)

Electronic Imaging Inter'l to be Held This Week 09/28/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Desktop video
production, computer animation, medical imaging, HDTV, virtual
reality, and many other aspects of electronic imaging will be on
view for most of this week at a four-day international conference
going on in Boston.

Electronic Imaging International, an event sponsored by Miller
Freeman, starts Tuesday, September 29 with a selection of 20 half-
day minicourses. Topics of the in-depth lectures range from
"Choices in Color Hardcopy," "European Vision Market," and "Fiber
Optical Overview" to "Multimedia - Hype to Hardware" and "Device
Independent Color - Theory and Applications."

The next morning, Greg Griffith, a member of the team that created
the special effects for Walt Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," is
scheduled to give a keynote speech on "Tradition and Innovation:
Computer Graphics Imagery at Walt Disney Studio Feature Animation."

During the talk, Griffith will show and discuss clips from Disney's
"Great Mouse Detective" and "The Rescuers Down Under," as well as
from "Beauty and the Beast," the first animated film ever to be
nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category.

Wednesday will also mark the opening day for the exhibition floor,
along with a series of sessions in the areas of electronic
prepress, remote sensing, machine vision, multimedia subsystems,
and military and medical imaging systems.

The 100 exhibitors who are demonstrating their electronic imaging
products run the gamut from Minolta and Polaroid, to Texas
Instruments, to Panasonic, Toshiba and Sharp.

Another conference highlight, a four-hour presentation happening on
Thursday, consists of a review and display of posters created using
the JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group), MPEG (Moving Picture
and Associated Audio Experts Group (MPEG) and JBIG (Joint Bilevel
Image Experts Group) imaging standards.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920925; Press and public contact: David
Leonnig, Miller Freeman, tel [phone])


(CORRECTION)(IBM)(DEN)(00013)

CORRECTION: MasterWord Enhances Microsoft Word For Windows 09/28/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- On September 22
Newsbytes carried a story about MasterWord from Alki Software
Corporation, an enhancement program for Microsoft's Word For Windows
word processing program.

In the story Newsbytes stated that MasterWord is available in 14
European languages. Alki Corporation has informed us that the
program is only available at present in English. The company
publishes proofing tools in various European languages for use with
Microsoft Word.

MasterWord includes a user-configurable replacement for Word's on-
line help, a custom toolbar that users can customize to mimic Word's
own toolbar. Users can switch between more than 20 custom toolbars
with a couple of mouse clicks. You can select from over 500 buttons
to customize the toolbar or you can create personalized buttons with
the built-in editor. One oversize button at the left of the toolbar
can display the date, time, elapsed time template name, word count,
current view, a user-created reminder, or the name of the current
CustomBar Set. Word's monochrome icons can even be replaced with
color buttons.

The company says a feature called Nickname allows the user to assign
codes to macros and commands. Codes can also be assigned to styles.
Key combinations can be up to four letters long, expanding the key
assignment over the Word single-key shortcut keys.

The program also includes MasterWord Manager, which allows the user to
move a macro, style, or glossary entry into a different template, and
can run a macro from any template. In effect, Manager gives a Word
user access to any macro from any document.

MasterWord comes with over 50 macros already created, for tasks such
as arranging and cascading windows, viewing the clipboard or style
area, renaming a document, printing just the current page, toggling
the revision marks on and off, and running MasterWord features.
Other macros close all open documents, insert an auto-numbered
footnote, adjust the sensitivity of the mouse, set up a printer,
switch to the next windows, and adjust the location of the help
window.

MasterWord has a suggested retail price of $99.95, but the company is
offering it at the introductory price of $59.95 for DOS, Macintosh
or Windows versions. Optional expanded thesaurus and spelling
programs are available at $39.95 and $69.95 respectively.

(Jim Mallory/19920921/Press contact: George Arthur, Alki Software,
206-286-2600; Reader contact: Alki Software, 206-286-2600 or 800-669-
9673, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00014)

Dell Chairman Tells Investors Price Cuts are Over 09/28/92
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Dell Computer Chairman
Michael Dell told analysts that the personal computer market is now
so strong that he sees no need for further PC price cuts.

Dell spokesperson Michele Moore told Newsbytes that Dell's
statement was made to portfolio managers and institutional investors
during a Montgomery Securities investment conference in San
Francisco last week.

According to Dell, "We are overwhelmed with demand, so if we lowered
prices it would be like a self-inflicted wound." He said Dell
Computer is almost at its limits delivering products to customers
and any increased volume would risk angering its clientele. Moore
told Newsbytes that the company added a second production shift
about three months ago, and could add a third if necessary to meet
production demand.

"We faced a similar problem (demand nearly exceeding production) in
June. We moderated our marketing activities," said Moore. She said
that Dell can tightly control its demand by when it distributes
its catalogs.

Thursday Newsbytes reported that Compaq computer planned
significant price reductions in the Japanese market. Asked if that
would affect Dell's entry into that market, Moore said "It's a
little early to tell. It could ultimately affect how we price our
products at entry. We're always determined to be quite competitive
on price."

Dell sells mainly through direct mail order, and lowered its PC
prices several times in the past year.

Moore confirmed to Newsbytes that Dell will be entering the
Asian market in early 1994. The company says it will
open offices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia, but
declined to elaborate further.

(Jim Mallory/19920925/Press contact: Michele Moore, Dell Computer,
512-794-4294)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

New For PC: Windows OrgChart 2.0 09/28/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Micrografx says it is
now shipping Windows OrgChart, its organization charting program for
Windows.

Micrografx spokesperson Debbie Deal told Newsbytes that Micrografx
acquired OrgChart and a companion program, ABC FlowCharter, from
Roykore Inc., in May of this year. Windows OrgChart is an upgraded
version of Roykore's Instant ORGcharting! product.

OrgChart 2.0 offers a fit-to-page feature that allows the reduction
of large organization charts to one-page size. There's also a "best
fit" specification that automatically resizes all the fonts.

Other features include the ability to have multiple typefaces in a
single box, read-only file locking, and the ability to have
same-level managers represented on the same line of the chart.
Automatic line drawing and box alignment are also included. Each
manager position includes an icon that allows mid-level managers to
be added. Adding a level automatically re-routes the connecting
lines, and users can link detailed notes or even photos with any
job. The information or pictures can be displayed by clicking on
the box.

Micrografx says the program will output charts to any Windows
printing device. Deal told Newsbytes OrgChart has a suggested retail
price of $149, with owners of Instant ORGcharting able to upgrade
for $49.95 plus shipping and handling by calling Micrografx' inside
sales line.

System requirements include DOS 3.0 or higher; 1MB of RAM, with 2MB
being recommended; a hard disk; Windows 3.0 or higher; a 286 or
higher CPU; a mouse; and a EGA, VGA, or 8514/A graphics display.

(Jim Mallory/19920925/Press contact: Katrina Krebs, Micrografx,
214-994-6247, 800-733-3729)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

Iomega Predicts Lower 3Q Earnings 09/28/92
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Iomega Corporation, maker of
removable media data storage devices, announced today that it
expects its 1992 third quarter net earnings to be lower than the
same period last year.

The company says it projects revenue for the quarter, which ends
September 27, 1992, at slightly over $37 million, about the same as
last year's 3Q revenue.

For the same period last year, net income was $4.2 million, or $0.26
per share. Iomega says net income for this year's 3Q is expected to
be in the range of $0.10 - $0.15 per share. While Iomega's
commercial sales have increased, that was more than offset by a $2.3
million decline in sales to the federal government. With federal
money tight, other companies have also been reporting a similar
falloff in sales to government agencies. Iomega says higher
operating expenses and lower gross margins were the principal cause
for the reduced earnings.

According to Iomega spokesperson Paul Slack the higher operating
expenses are primarily increased investment in research and
development, as well as additional sales and marketing expenditures
to support the company's recently announced tape product and
removable storage products based on Floptical technology. Iomega
says it also increased its investment in its European operations,
and began to invest in the development of thin film head technology.

In the first quarter of 92, Iomega reported sales of $33.1 million,
and net income of $1.8 million, or $0.11 per share. Sales of its 90
megabyte (MB) 5.25-inch products were strong, but government sales
were off about $2.6 million during that period, said the company.
First quarter operating expenses were also up over the same period
the previous year, due to the cost of European operations and sales
and marketing expenditures.

Recently Newsbytes reported that Iomega had acquired a license from
San Jose, California-based Insite Peripherals to develop,
manufacture, and sell Floptical products. Many industry experts
think floptical drives mounted in personal computers are the wave of
the future. Floptical drives can read and write to 720K, 1.44MB and
21MB diskettes, and could replace hard disks in laptop and notebook
computers.

(Jim Mallory/1920925/Press contact: Paul Slack, Iomega Corporation,
801-778-1000)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00017)

 ****Motorola/Apple To Offer Newton Newsstream Receiver 09/28/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The
information society appears to have arrived. Motorola
has announced plans to offer a radio-based receiver like the
Newsstream for the Apple Newton Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA). The device will allow the Newton to receive wireless
communication.

Newsstream started shipping last month for DOS-based computers
and has been dubbed "Information on the Move," by Motorola. The
company says users can use the unit by itself, connect it to a
computer, and download information captured by Newstream to a
computer via the serial port.

Motorola representative Ken Countess said Motorola's
collaboration with Apple is similar to the collaborative effort
with Hewlett-Packard that produced a Newsstream unit integrated
with an HP 95LX Palmtop. However, Countess said it is more than
likely that the Newton Newsstream-based unit will not be
integrated as the HP Palmtop and Newsstream units are. The new
receiver will also work with Apple Macintosh computers,
Motorola added.

Pocket pagers already provide a limited version of Newsstream-
type access by allowing users to receive text messages typed in
on a computer terminal by an operator. However Motorola says
the Newsstream unit offers 32 kilobytes of memory storage
capacity and up to 40 locations for messages.

Receipt of the latest stock quotes, mail messages, and price
updates to an entire sales force via a "group call" are the
types of applications Motorola presents as example uses for
Newsstream. Subscription to a news service that transmits the
information such as EMBARC is necessary. Despite the seemingly
instantaneous nature of the unit, EMBARC services come in
"standard" three hour transmission service, "express" that
takes one hour, and "priority" which takes fifteen minutes.

Upon receipt of a message, a tone or visual alert is activated,
in much the same way pagers work. A single "AA" battery offers
1000 hours of continuous "on" operation and the amount of
information in memory doesn't effect the battery life.

But the concept Motorola announced has been used by truck
drivers on the road for over a year. Cue announced last July a
tiny data receiver for the hand-held Sharp Wizard computer that
allows truckers to receive messages from a dispatcher on the
road, even if the trucker is not at the vehicle.

The communication is made possible by the satellite radio
network, currently in use by pagers. The network covers one
million square miles and reaches over two hundred million people.
The message travels by satellite to over 290 radio stations and
is immediately broadcast over the FM signal of each station,
who itself covers 8,000 square miles.

In the trucking industry, it's important for drivers to be able
to communicate with a base as loads can be picked up in transit
that increase profit margins without significantly increasing
costs, according to Cue. In conjunction with a software package
called Trucktrack, Cue said the Sharp Wizard can receive up to
100 standard messages, with up to 100 customer records. The
message can be sent from any telephone in the US or Canada.

Apple and Sharp announced the Newton in May and Apple has
displayed a sleek, black case for the Newton which is small
enough to fit in a shirt pocket and looks very much like
the new police radar detectors for automobiles. However, no
working units or prototypes have been available for viewing to
date. Reports are the Newton is to be available by the
holidays, but Newsbytes was unable to confirm those reports
with Apple.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920925/Press Contact: Ken Countess,
Motorola, 305-475-5603; Tricia Chan, Apple, tel [phone],
fax [phone]; Kristin Donaldson, Cue, tel [phone], fax
714-833-9336; Public Contact, 800-542-7882)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00018)

Sun Secretly Backs Addamax In Suit Against OSF 09/28/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The Open
Software Foundation (OSF) says it is appalled at Sun's behavior
in secret financial backing of a suit brought against the OSF,
Digital Equipment Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard by tiny Unix
software developer Addamax.

The Addamax suit, filed in April of 1991 charges "unlawful,
unfair and deceptive business practices," and the OSF says the
bottom line is the suit challenges its right to exist.

Sun's support of Addamax came to light due to a recent court
order, an action the OSF says Addamax opposed, which revealed
Sun's multi-million dollar financial backing of the suit. An
official statement released by Sun confirms the company
knowingly backed Addamax financially in the suit.

The statement said, "Sun was requested by Addamax to provide
assistance in the form of a loan guarantee to help fund
expenses associated with the lawsuit. Because Addamax has been
a vendor to Sun and it appears to be raising serious issues of
importance to the industry, we agreed to do so." Sun
representative Kim Miller said Addamax is a supplier to Sun of
Unix security software for a division of the US Federal
Government.

OSF was founded under the National Cooperative Research Act
which the foundation says was designed to enable US companies
compete in the world market by allowing competitors to engage
in joint research and development to minimize expensive
duplication of effort.

However, the OSF has released products as well. In October 1990
the OSF released its OSF/1 operating system, which is
compatible with Unix System V, and is targeted mainly at mini
and micro computer systems. At the Cebit '91 show in Germany
Ronald Hankison, director of IBM's Kingston Programming
Laboratory said that IBM had a commitment to the OSF to
implement OSF technology across its System/390 product line.

Addamax President Peter Alsberg said about the suit, "OSF and
its sponsors have forced independent software vendors (ISVs) to
offer their technology under terms, often below development
costs, that never would have been agreed to if the ISVs could
negotiate individually with OSF sponsors and members." Addamax
says the OSF, by its own admission, represents about 70 percent
of the worldwide market for Unix software, which Alsberg
claims allows OSF, its sponsors, and members to unlawfully
restrain trade and lessen competition.

Addamax said because of actions on the part of OSF, it had to
close its Rockville, Maryland office in 1989 and reduced its
staff from 80 to 15. OSF says it has open evaluation processes
for software and the problems resulted when Addamax's security
software technology was not selected during the evaluation
process.

Computer Intelligence/Infocorp Analyst Terry Bennet said the
question is why would Sun back Addamax undercover. "One would
think they would either publicly join the suit or stay away
from it," Bennet said. OSF says Sun backed the suit secretly in
order to discredit it by making the Addamax suit appear to be a
"simple effort of a small, independent software vendor." The
suit sparked controversy and in February the US government was
reportedly investigating OSF's technology acquisition practices
to see if they might be improper.

When asked if the revelation that Sun is backing Addamax will
effect the outcome of the suit, Bennet said no. "The court
cannot consider Sun's backing. The case has to be judged purely
on the merits of the suit as brought." Bennet said he didn't
think the suit would effect anyone's buying decisions either.

However, Bennet said vendors might become more cautious about
exposing themselves to Sun as a business partner after seeing
the company's behavior here. On the other hand, Bennet
reasoned, some companies may want to deal with Sun if they
think the giant might come to their aid in legal matters.

In referring to Sun's actions Bennet added, "It's widely agreed
that this is a very litigious age, but this is certainly a new
level of endeavor."

(Linda Rohrbough/19920928/Press Contact: Carrie Dillon, Sun,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Robert Morris, Addamax,
217-359-0700; Terry Bennet, Computer Intelligence/Infocorp, tel
503-690-9117, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00019)

 ****Virtual Reality Star Trek Centers Planned For Malls 09/28/92
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Computer
software company Spectrum Holobyte, mall real estate lessees
Edison Brothers Entertainment, and Paramount Pictures,
producers of the "Star Trek" television series, say you'll be
able to visit a virtual Starship Enterprise in your local mall.

The three companies made the announcement in Hollywood and say
the new mall Star Trek attractions will be like a store that
you pay to get into with virtual reality attractions,
restaurants, and merchandise areas inside.

Visitors to the "Star Trek" virtual reality centers will choose
among a number of game scenarios and characters they want to
portray. Representative of Paramount Pictures James Arnold
said some attractions will require users put on a helmet to
move into a virtual reality scene. Paramount says it plans to
recreate many of the familiar parts of the USS Enterprise such
as the bridge, the holodeck, the transporter room, and
engineering but wouldn't say which, if any would be physical
replicas.

The Star Trek virtual reality attractions are expected to
incorporate software created by Spectrum HoloByte Inc., the
Alameda, California-based entertainment software company that
holds the license for computerized game versions of home
computer and video game software based on the "Star Trek: The
Next Generation."

Spectrum Holobyte announced in January of this year it had
obtained the license rights from Paramount to the characters and
story line. The company said it plans to release a Star Trek
game on Nintendo's Super NES and anticipated CD-ROM player, on
the Philips/CD-I interactive system, and on both Apple and IBM
compatible personal computers.

Arnold said information as to where the Star Trek centers will
appear first is not being released, but he did say mall goers
could expect to see them in six months to a year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920928/Press Contact: James Arnold, Paramount
Pictures, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Tom Byron,
Spectrum Holobyte, 510-522-3584, fax [phone])


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

SWIFT II Coming Online 09/28/92
TORONTO, CANADA, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- SWIFT II, a new network for
the Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is
coming online. And just in time, many in the banking industry say.

Over the last few years, a number of major banks in the US and
elsewhere have talked seriously about leaving the SWIFT system,
which lets member institutions transmit international payments
and statements and make other financial transactions among
themselves. The major banks, however, despairing of the high cost
of using SWIFT, have considered leaving it in favor of their own
networks. That could seriously hurt the network's finances, just
as it is working to open new markets the majors can't open, in
places like Russia and Africa.

The new network is based on Northern Telecom DPN-100 packet
switching systems, with 75 DPN-100 nodes and 4,750 ports. The
network currently serves 3,700 institutions in 83 countries,
handling over 1.5 million messages per day. The system works
using Frame Relay technology.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920928/Press Contact: Northern Telecom
Kathleen Franklin, 703/712-8535)


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

PacTel Hires Investment Bankers 09/28/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Pacific
Telesis hired Salomon Bros. and Lehman Bros. to assist in its
study of splitting itself up.

Five months ago, the company had publicly suggested it might
break up into regulated and unregulated entities. Since then, the
company's stock price has hardly moved, mainly due to skepticism
in the markets concerning the company's intentions. The new move
could raise the price by showing that the company is seriously
studying the proposal. Since Salomon and Lehman could earn huge
fees in any fund offerings, they would not likely propose doing
nothing. PacTel insisted no deadline has been set on its plans.

The problem in any break-up is that its regulated entities --
local phone operations in California and Nevada, and a directory
unit -- represent 90 percent of the company's revenues. But the
move would increase the market value of its unregulated
operations, especially its international and cellular units. If
the move is taken, it could prove a model for the other regional
Bells, which otherwise have been arguing they need regulatory
relief in their current forms.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920928)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00022)

Hayes Defiant in Sierra Suit 09/28/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Saying its
opponents are accusing it of things it is not doing, Hayes
Microcomputer Products said it will "continue with its public
education campaign" despite a judge's order.

Hayes has been arguing in ads and other materials that Sierra's
Time Independent Escape Sequence, or TIES, can cause a modem to
escape into the command mode when users don't want it to. This is
because, Hayes argues, the sequence could be initiated by
incoming data. Hayes' own Escape Sequence with Guard Time, on
which it holds patents valid until 2002, allows modems to escape
into the command mode only when a user explicitly touches the
escape key.

Courts enjoined Hayes from claiming that modems with TIES can
erase of destroy data. Hayes says it never made the claim. The
courts also enjoined Hayes from using a "Time Bomb" metaphor
Hayes said it was dropping in any case. And the courts did not
stop Hayes distributors from sending out "test kits" designed to
test whether an escape sequence could cause trouble. "We see this
as a clear victory," said Hayes founder Dennis Hayes.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920928/Press Contact: Peggy Ballard, Hayes,
404-840-9200)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00023)

 ****Okidata Launches Fax/Printer/Scanner/Copier Unit 09/28/92
MT. LAUREL, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Okidata has
announced a multifunction desktop machine that combines the
functions of a printer, fax machine, copier, and graphics scanner
in a single box about the size of a laser printer.

The Doc-It is meant to work with Intel-based PCs running the DOS
operating system with or without Microsoft Windows. It comes in two
models, the Doc-It 3000 offering 300-dot-per-inch print resolution
and using Hewlett-Packard's HP-PCL4+ page description language, and
the Doc-It 4000 providing 400-dot-per-inch resolution and the newer
HP-PCL5 plus Microsoft's TrueImage, a PostScript-like page
description language.

HP-PCL5 and TrueImage are available for the lower-priced model at
an extra cost, company spokesman Gene Grunza said.

The peripheral box contains the works of a printer and a graphics
scanner in an enclosure roughly 17 inches square by 8-1/2 inches
high, Grunza said. It connects to a control card that fits in a PC
expansion slot. This card holds the fax modem and provides the
interface between the PC and the printer.

Incoming faxes can be captured as files on the PC, with the option
to have them printed automatically on receipt, Grunza said.

The Doc-It 3000 has a suggested retail price of $3,999. The Doc-It
4000 has a suggested retail price of $4,999. Both products include
a one-year warranty, as well as a five-year warranty on the
light-emitting diode print head.

Okidata said the Doc-It machines will be sold through JWP
Information Services and selected ComputerLand locations in major
centers in the United States starting in October. Grunza said Oki
Electric subsidiaries in other countries are evaluating the
machine, but the U.S. operation is the first to launch it.

(Grant Buckler/19920928/Press Contact: Gene Grunza, Okidata,
609-235-2600 ext. 7235)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00024)

UK: Dell Slashes 10-15% 09/28/92
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Dell has
slashed UK pricing on all its machines by between 10 and 15
percent. The direct-sell company claims that the reductions are
part of its continuing policy of passing on the savings it
achieves through efficient operations to its customers, but it
is also responding to market pressure.

David Matthews, Dell's product manager for standard systems,
said in a prepared release, "Today's moves reinforce the position
of the 486 as the first choice processor for the business user.
We want to provide Dell customers to upgrade to higher levels of
computing power at very attractive prices."

Examples of the price cuts are the Dell System 486D/25, which
comes with 4 megabytes (MB) of memory, a 120MB hard disk, color
VGA monitor and DOS plus Windows 3.1 pre-installed. This system
falls from UKP 1,449 to UKP 1,249. The top of the range System
486D/66, meanwhile, which comes with 4MB of memory, 170MB hard
disk, color VGA, mouse and pre-installed DOS/Windows 3.1 falls
from UKP 1,909 to UKP 1,659.

(Steve Gold/19920928/Press & Public Contact: Dell U.K. - Tel:
0344-860456; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00025)

Panasonic Launches New Notebooks, Portable Division 09/28/92
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Panasonic has
launched a trio of notebooks, plus a new division dedicated to
marketing these and upcoming technologically advanced portable PCs.

Panasonics' new 386SX-based CF-1000 features low 3.3-volt power
consumption, as well as exceptionally long battery life of up to 11
hours. The new 386SL-based CF-480 and CF-480C come with an
integrated trackball and the ability to connect to an optional
docking unit. The CF-480C also provides an active matrix TFT color
display. Each of the three PCs comes with a slot for a V.32 bis
14,400/9600 bps fax modem.

The compact, lightweight notebooks are the first in a new line of
PCs aimed at replacing Panasonics' existing series of 8088, 286 and
386 portables, said John Meaney, national sales and marketing
manager for the new Panasonic Computer Division, newly established
in Fort Worth, Texas.

Meaney told Newsbytes that the division was formed due to company
dissatisfaction with the practice of selling portables alongside
office equipment out of Panasonic headquarters in Secauscus, New
Jersey. "That situation just didn't work," he commented.

Panasonics' new line will be targeted at travelling professionals,
stated Meaney. Marketing efforts will focus on field force
automation and desktop replacement in the corporate market, he
added.

Of the initial entries, the CF-1000 and CF-480C are slated to ship
in November, and the CF-480C in October. The CF-1000 and CF-480
come with a choice of 60 MB or 120 MB hard disk drive, while the
CF-480C will be available in 80 MB and 120 MB versions.

Meaney told Newsbytes that the five-pound CF-1000 is based on the
25 MHz Am386SXLV chip from Advanced Micro Devices, a company that
is the first to offer 386 chips capable of 3.3-volt operation.

The CF-1000 also uses Cirrus Logic's SL-GD LCD VGA Controllers,
billed as the first VGA controller to allow major interface
operation at either 3.3 volts or the industry standard 5 volts.
According to Meaney, 3.3 volt operation brings a 65% reduction in
power consumption.

Also specific to the CF-1000 is an detachable floppy disk drive
that can be easily replaced with a second NiMH battery, letting the
user work for an additional three to five hours without battery
recharging.

The six-pound CF-480 and CF-480C are based on Intel's I386SL/25 MHz
microprocessor with cache memory, said Meaney. The integrated
trackball on these notebooks can be superseded by an external mouse
via a built-in PS/2 mouse port. The docking unit available for
each offers one full-size and one short-size 18-bit AT slot.

Like the CF-1000, the CF-480 and 480C use NiMH batteries. Meaney
told Newsbytes that the CD-480 provides about five-and-a-half hours
of continuous operation from a single charge, while the 480C
provides up to four hours per charge.

The CF-480 and 480C are also equipped with a resume function that
lets users turn off the computer without exiting the program or
storing the document on the screen, picking up where they left off
without rebooting or reloading the software program. A sub-battery
supplies up to 60 minutes of operation even when the main battery
is removed for recharging.

The color screen on the CF-480C displays up to 256 colors out of a
palette of 185,000. The CF-480 and CF-1000 each use a monitor that
shows 16 shades of gray at 640 by 480 resolution or 64 shades of
gray at 320 by 200 resolution.

Also according to Meaney, all three computers are equipped with an
84-key sculptured keyboard. Emulating a 101-key AT layout, the
keyboard includes an integrated numeric keypad.

Priced at $2,699 (80 MB) and $2,999 (120 MB), the CF-480 comes
standard with 2 MB of RAM, expandable to 20 MB. Priced at $4,999
(80 MB) and $6,299 (120 MB), the CF-480 comes standard with 4 MB of
RAM, also expandable to 20 MB.

The CF-1000 is being sold for $2,299 (60 MB) and $2,699 (120 MB).
The most economical of the three new notebooks comes standard with
4 MB of RAM, expandable to 12 MB.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920928; Press contacts: Ron Tomczyk,
Panasonic, tel [phone]; Mandy O'Donnell, Creamer Dickson
Basford for Panasonic, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00026)

Electronic Arts/Japan's Victor Musical In Joint Venture 09/28/92
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- In an
effort to take advantage of the huge market for entertainment
software in Japan, Electronic Arts and Victor Musical Industries,
Inc. (VMI), of Japan have announced a development and publishing
joint venture.

Holly Hartz, spokesperson for Electronic Arts, told Newsbytes
that there are two significant aspects of the deal. "One is that
we have joined with a very powerful and huge entertainment
company in Japan." The other important aspect is that "this
really solidifies our worldwide publishing, development and
distribution. Because now we have Japan covered. And that is
a very important market for us. It was very important to be
there with a Japanese partner."

In order to target the Japanese market, the two companies will
create a new company, called Electronic Arts Victor (EA Victor).
The company is set to begin operations in November. Initial
capitalization of the venture is claimed by the companies to be
in the region of $10 million.

Electronic Arts is reported to be the majority shareholder in the
venture, which will be headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

The company plans to convert Electronic Arts' library of products
into Japanese and publish these titles in the Japanese market.
Additionally, it plans to create and publish original titles for
both the Japanese and worldwide markets.

The company says that, initially, products will be developed for
the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, "leading
CD platforms," NEC 9801, MS-DOS, and FM Towns.

Electronic Arts' President and CEO Larry Probst, said, "This
joint venture is an integral part of our company's expansion
into international territories and significantly enhances our
presence in the Japanese market. This new venture is an important
event for Electronic Arts. It allows us to develop and translate
products locally, which is a key factor to success in the Japanese
market."

EA Victor will be headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, and will
begin with a staff of 35 people, to include product development,
sales, marketing and administrative personnel. The chairman
will be Steve Salyer, also vice president, business development
at Electronic Arts. Its president and CEO will be Satoshi Honda,
also a director of VMI.

Hartz told Newsbytes that the first products will be released,
"Very soon....in the December quarter. So it will be before
Christmas."

The company says that the products will be released for the
Sega Genesis and will feature "John Madden Football 92,"
"Electronic Arts Hockey," "Road Rash," and "Team USA Basketball."

(Ian Stokell/19920928/Press Contact: Holly Hartz, Electronic
Arts, 415-513-7510)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

Creative Tech In China Venture, WordPerfect Bundle 09/28/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- In an effort
to take advantage of the potentially lucrative market for
multimedia products in China, Creative Technology Ltd. of
Singapore, parent company of Creative Labs Inc., has set up a
joint venture. At the same time, Creative Labs has announced
an agreement with WordPerfect that calls for the bundling of
Creative's Sound Blaster audio system with the WordPerfect
Presentations 2.0 presentation graphics package.

The joint venture will be based in Beijing, China, with Creative
Technology holding 70 percent of the shares. The joint venture
is called Beijing Chuang Tong Multimedia Computer Ltd. Other
shareholders are China-based NewStone Co., which holds 20
percent, and China Da Heng Corp., which holds 10 percent.

Chuang Tong will distribute Creative's multimedia products,
including the company's Sound Blaster, Video Blaster, and
Multimedia Upgrade Kit.

According to the company, the joint venture will also develop
Chinese language multimedia CD-ROM software, and develop
multimedia CD-ROM software that provides information on
Chinese philosophy, art, tourism and literature for the
international market. It will also develop, manufacture, and
distribute computerized digital musical instruments based on
General MIDI (musical instrument digital interface).

The joint venture will also market and distribute Creative
Technology's PJS Chinese operating system and PJ Views, its
Chinese word processing software, in China. The company says
that Chuang Tong will have an initial workforce of 20 employees,
comprised largely of marketing, and reasearch and development
staff.

K.S. Chay, president of Creative Technology Ltd., will be
appointed as Chuang Tong's chairman. Wang Jizhi, chairman
of NewStone Co., will assume the position of general manager
of the joint venture.

According to WordPerfect, the agreement with Creative Labs
"provides an opportunity for WordPerfect to offer enhanced sound
to its users, taking advantage of the upgraded software's new
sound capabilities. WordPerfect Presentations 2.0 now supports
Sound Blaster and includes over 100 MIDI (musical instrument
digital interface) sound clips."

David Moon, senior vice president of product development at
WordPerfect, said: "Our collaboration with Creative Labs is
significant in several respects. Teaming up with the leader in
sound products is a great way to launch into the multimedia
marketplace."

WordPerfect says that WordPerfect Presentations is scheduled
to begin shipping by the end of October 1992.

Competition in the multimedia sound board market is getting
fierce. In June Newsbytes reported that Creative Labs had sued
Media Vision, maker of the Thunderboard audio card, claiming the
company reverse-engineered its Sound Blaster product in order
to produce the Thunderboard.

Media Vision fired back a few days later with its own suit
charging Creative Technology with restraint of trade, unfair
competition, and monopolization.

Just last week, Newsbytes reported that Creative Labs would
build software drivers so its Sound Blaster multimedia sound
card can be used with IBM's OS/2 Multimedia Presentation
Manager/2.

(Ian Stokell/19920928/Press Contact: Benita Kenn, Creative
Labs Inc., 408-428-6600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

Olivetti's Troubles Continue 09/28/92
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The boardrooms of Olivetti are
not the most cheerful places to be, judging from the company's
first half figures just released. The figures show the Italian
computer giant's books are a sea of red ink, with losses caused
by falling sales and demand.

During the half year to June 30, 1992, Olivetti reported a loss
of 93,400 million lire ($75 million) on sales of 3,750,000
million lire ($3,000 million). The figures compare with a loss of
$73,700 million lire on sales of 3,940,000 million lire for the
first half of last year -- losses increased 27 percent on a sales
slump of five percent.

So what went wrong? According to Olivetti officials, the fall in
operating profits contributed to the group's overall position in
Europe with its increased losses. The company claims that it is
taking steps to cut the costs of production, and that a major
economy drive is now under way.

While Olivetti's officials refused to project the losses forward
for the full calendar year, sources close to the company suggest
that the full year figures could be equally bad, making this
the second consecutive year that the Italian computer company has
turned in a loss.

(Steve Gold/19920928/Press Contact: Olivetti U.K. - Tel:
081-780-8232)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00029)

UK: British Firms Need To Computerize, Survey Shows 09/28/92
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- According to a survey
commissioned by IBM, more than 50 percent of Britain's business
have no computer. The figures make for some interesting reading,
especially in the computer reseller industry.

The survey, carried by the MORI research company, concluded that
only 46 percent of British firms have a PC, while an astonishing
47 percent of companies with ten or less staff do most of their
administration tasks by hand.

Detailed examination of the figures, however, suggests that these
non PC-equipped companies are not as non-computer literate as may first
appear. In the early 1970s, many British companies turned to
time-sharing computer bureaus to service their computing needs.
Even today, Newsbytes notes, many companies still use these
bureaus. MORI's survey also throws up another interesting
statistic -- of the 47 percent that have no PC, the majority have
no plans to computerize their administration tasks.

Digging deeper into the statistics reveals that only 25 percent
of small firms who are not computerized believe that a computer
will be the answer to their problems and help them manage their
work better. More than two thirds of the non-computerized firms
believe that a computer would not be cost-effective.

(Steve Gold/19920928/Press & Public Contact: IBM - Tel: 071-928-
1777; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00030)

 ****Windows NT Will Be Delayed, Says Microsoft 09/28/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation says it won't make its target date for Windows NT, which
the company had said would come to market by the end of 1992.

The new date is now "early 1993," with Microsoft officials saying
that it "needs more time to respond to customer suggestions for
improvements in the Windows NT system." The software developers kit
(SDK) went to more than 20,000 corporate users and software
developers in early July. Newsbytes has learned that the beta
version is presently in manufacturing and is expected to be shipped
in mid-October.

"Our goal is to ship a very high-quality product, rather than meet a
particular date," said Microsoft spokesperson Collins Hemingway.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes that based on the number of
comments received by the SDK testers, the company will also get lots
of recommendations from beta testers, causing the release date to be
pushed back. The spokesperson said Microsoft is targeting the first
quarter of 1993 for release. Microsoft director of business
development and marketing, Dwayne Walker, told Newsbytes
that the company had sold more than three times the SDK's in 90 days
than expected.

Walker would not confirm that the final product would ship in the
first quarter, but told Newsbytes that by the end of November or in
early December he probably would be able to set a shipping date.
"It's software, and anything can happen. The Next major milestone is
COMDEX (a major trade show held in Las Vegas in November). We'll be
showing over 300 32-bit Windows NT applications at COMDEX," said
Walker.

According to Walker, Microsoft is very bullish on NT as well as
Windows for Workgroups, which is scheduled to ship before the end of
92.

(Jim Mallory/19920928/Press contact: Collins Hemingway, Microsoft,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00031)

New For Unix: Virtuoso - Page Layout For Next 09/28/92
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Altsys Corporation
has announced an upgraded version of Virtuoso, a design and
production program for use with Nextstep.

Nextstep is a graphical user interface and development environment
for Steve Jobs' Next personal computer. Nextstep supports fontware
fax, color display, DOS floppy disks, and twisted pair Ethernet, and
Next workstations use Motorola's 68040 as a central processing chip.

The company says the new version of Virtuoso, which is scheduled to
ship in October, includes text wrapping around objects, multiple
columns and rows, copyfitting, automatic hyphenation, linked text
blocks, tabs, and professional typographical controls. The company
was demonstrating Virtuoso at Seybold San Francisco last week.

Altsys, the company that developed Fontographer and Aldus Freehand
for the Macintosh and Windows, announced the first version of
Virtuoso at last year's Seybold trade show in San Jose.

According to Altsys product manager Rusty Williams, the company used
what it had learned developing its other graphics products to design
Virtuoso's feature set and interface. "We have listened to our
customers and have implemented their suggestions to redefine the
traditional drawing program," said Williams. "With Virtuoso, artists
can now access all of the tools they need for single-page designs in
one easy-to-master program. "It's a single-page layout program, for
advertisements, brochures, anything that's on a single page,"
Altsys spokesperson Meaghan Hogan told Newsbytes.

In addition to text handling capabilities, Virtuoso also includes
basic drawing tools, including a polygon/star creation tool, a
freehand tools, which can be used as a variable-weight pen, drag and
drop color, PostScript printer support, and fill and line control.

Other features include editing in a full color preview mode, 100
levels of Undo and Redo, zooming to 16X magnification, and the
ability to import TIFF (tagged image file format) files. Virtuoso
can also import and export files in the EPS (encapsulated
Postscript) format, and in Aldus Freehand and Adobe Illustrator
formats.

To use Virtuoso, you need Nextstep 2.x. The company says it will
release a Nextstep 3.0 version in the fourth quarter, and expects a
Nextstep 486 version of the first quarter of 1993. The Nextstep 486
operating system is designed to allow Next and Intel 486-based
computers to interoperate.

Hogan told Newsbytes Virtuoso has a suggested retail price of $695
and can be ordered direct from Altsys Corporation, or through Next
dealers. Hogan said the program is also available to run under Sun's
Solaris system.

(Jim Mallory/19920928/Press contact: Meaghan Hogan, Altsys
Corporation, 214-680-2060, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00032)

Caere Gets OCR Patent 09/28/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Caere,
makers of the popular optical character recognition package
(OCR) Omnipage, says it has been awarded a patent by the US
Patent Office on the algorithms used to perform the OCR (optical
character recognition) processes in its software applications.

Caere says the patent covers the use of polygons to identify
character attributes and the basic method of identifying test
and non-text portions of the page, the company's Anyfont
technology. Caere says these technologies eliminated the need
for office workers to measure each page and type in the
coordinates of the starting and end point of the text portions
to be recognized and opened up the widespread use of OCR
technology.

Caere's products which incorporate the Anyfont technology
include Omnipage, Omnipage Professional, Omnipage Direct,
Typist Plus Graphics, and Faxmaster. The company also
introduced two new products: a file and retrieval software
application called Pagekeeper and Image Assistant, an image-
editing product for both Microsoft Windows and the Macintosh.

Newsbytes asked Caere representatives if the company was
planning to pursue any patent infringement suits now that it
officially holds a patent to Anyfont. While Caere said it will
defend its patent against infringement, the company's
representatives said they know of no current plans to defend
the new patent.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920928/Press Contact: Larry Miller, Caere,
tel [phone]; JoAnn Johnston, Regis McKenna for Caere, tel
415-354-4496, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00033)

 ****Big Macintosh Price Cuts Herald New Products 09/28/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Apple
Computer has announced it will lower its suggested retail
prices (SRP) for the second time this year on the majority of
its product line, this time including the Quadra. Price cuts
in the fall of the year by Apple have traditionally heralded
new Apple products and this year looks as though it will follow
the pattern.

This round of price cuts are especially significant because of
the size of the cuts. The majority of the cuts were above 25
percent and many cuts over 30 percent were announced, and not
just on low-end Macintoshes.

The price cuts are: Macintosh Classic II with 4 megabytes (MB)
of memory and a 40 MB hard disk (HD) reduced from $1,699 to
$1,079, a 36 percent cut; the Macintosh Classic II (4MB/80HD)
cut from $1,849 to $1,209, or 35 percent; the Macintosh LC II
(4MB/40HD) reduced from $1,699 to $1,239, or a 27 percent
decrease; the Macintosh LC II (4MB/80HD) lowered from $1,849 to
$1,349, or 27 percent; the Macintosh IIsi (3MB/40HD) dropped
from $2,499 to $1,729, a 31 percent cut; the Macintosh IIsi
(5MB/80 HD) cut from $2,999 to $1,999, a 33 percent drop; the
Macintosh IIci (5MB/SD) dropped from $3,299 to $2,539, a
reduction of 23 percent; the Macintosh IIci (5MB/80HD) cut from
$3,999 to $2,719, a 32 percent drop; the Macintosh IIci
(5MB/230HD) reduced from $4,599 to $3,089, a drop of 33
percent; the Quadra 700 (4MB/SD) cut from $5,199 to $4,219, a
reduction of 19 percent; the Quadra 700 (4MB/80HD) reduced from
$5,899 to $4,669, a 21 percent drop; the Quadra 700 (4MB/230HD)
dropped from $6,499 to $5,039, a 22 percent cut; the Quadra 700
(4MB/400HD) down from $7,199 to $5,849, a 19 percent decrease;
the Quadra 950 (8MB/230HD) cut from $8,499 to $7,359, a 13
percent drop; and finally the Quadra 950 (8MB/400HD) cut from
$9,199 to $8,169, a drop of 11 percent.

Industry analyst Dan Ness of Computer Intelligence/Infocorp
told Newsbytes the Apple price cuts again this year are proof
the fall is the best time to buy an Apple computer. Ness says
Apple has done this type of price cutting for many years now
for the purpose of increasing the company's market share and
to positively impact the company's fourth quarter and it has
always worked.

Fall price cuts have traditionally preceded the announcement of
new products from Apple Computer. Apple is expected to offer a
new line of Powerbook Macintosh computers next month.

Ness said the cuts put the Macintoshes more in line with the
competing IBM and compatible personal computer (PC) market.
Struggling to differentiate themselves, Apple Computer has
historically done more to make the Macintosh different.
However, Ness maintains the company is now switching to
emphasis on compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), multimedia,
and tie-ins to larger corporate mini and mainframe computers
such as the VAX and the IBM AS400 to differentiate the
company's products from PCs.

John Sculley recently said Apple has the advantage of not
competing in a commodity market like the PC market. No computer
company likes to think of itself as being in a commodities
market, Ness said. However, the sound capability, user
interface, and network capability that used to differentiate
the Macintosh is being duplicated on the PC's, Ness added.

Apple also announced that Merisel and Tech Data will distribute
seven Macintosh software products. They are Macintosh System 7
Group and Personal Upgrade Kits, At Ease software, Macintosh PC
Exchange, the Quicktime Starter Kit, Appletalk Remote Access,
Appleshare Server 3.0 software, and the newly released Apple
Font Pack.

Telephone support for the seven products will be provided by
Apple. One year of telephone support is offered free for
Macintosh PC Exchange and the Quicktime Starter Kit, while 90
days of free support is offered for the remaining five, Apple
said.

Apple added that successful sales for the five months that
Ingram Micro has distributed its products helped spur the
decision for the company to add new distribution channels. The
company says, however, it continues to offer its products
through value-added resellers, systems integrators, independent
systems vendors, and consultants.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920928/Press Contact: Lisa Byrne, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Dan Ness,
Computer Intelligence/Infocorp, tel [phone], fax
619-587-8809)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00034)

BoCoEx Index 09/28/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- Boston Computer
Exchange for the week ending  September 25,  1992.

Machine                      Main  Closing     Price      Ask     Bid

                            Drive    Price    Change

IBM AT 339                 30 MgB      400                600     200

IBM PS/2 Model 30 286      20 MgB      500                900     300

IBM PS/2 Model L40SX       60 MgB     1000               1200     900

IBM PS/2 Model 50Z         30 MgB      550                700     325

IBM PS/2 Model 55SX        30 MgB      850                900     800

IBM PS/2 Model 60          40 MgB      600                900     325

IBM PS/2 Model 70 A21     120 MgB     1550               1600    1100

IBM PS/2 Model P70        120 MgB     1650               1900    1200

IBM PS/2 Model 80         110 MgB     1400               1600    1100

IBM PS/2 Model 80          70 MgB     1100               1200    1000

IBM PS/2 Model 95         160 MgB     3000               3500    2600

Compaq Portable II         20 MgB      425                500     375

Compaq Portable III        20 MgB      500                600     250

Compaq Portable 386       100 MgB     1000               1200     900

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     1550               1650    1300

Compaq Deskpro 386s        40 MgB     1000               1200     700

Compaq Deskpro 386/33      84 MgB     1850               2250    1400

Compaq DeskPro 486/33     120 MgB     2200               2300    2100

Compaq DeskP 486DX2 50    340 MgB     3400               3500    3300

AST Prem Exec 386SX20      40 MgB      975               1000     950

NEC UltraLite 286          20 MgB      700                900     775

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     1675   down 50     1850    1300

Macintosh II X             80 MgB     2450               2750    2000

Macintosh II CX            80 MgB     2350               2700    2000

Macintosh II CI            80 MgB     2800  down 300     3200    2460

Macintosh II FX            80 MgB     3900  down 100     4400    3500

Macintosh Quadra 700      160 MgB     3550  down 100     3700    3400

Macintosh Quadra 900      160 MgB     4150  down 100     4400    3900

Macintosh Portable         40 MgB      700                800     400

Macintosh Powerbk 100      20 MgB      850                900     700

Macintosh Powerbk  140     40 MgB     1350   down 50     1450    1300

Macintosh Powerbk 170      40 MgB     2900               3000    2800

Apple Imagewriter 2                    200                225     175

Apple Laserwriter 2 NT                1300               1500    1200

HP Laserjet II                         850                950     550

HP Laserjet III                       1000               1200     900

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-2000 SXE         40 MgB      650

Toshiba T-2200 SX          80 MgB     1400               1500    1300

Toshiba T-3100 SX          40 MgB     130

Toshiba T-3200             40 MgB      650  down 100      800     600

Toshiba T-3200 SX          40 MgB     1150               1300     700

Toshiba T-3200 SXC        120 MgB     2800  down 200     3100    2600

Toshiba T-4400 SX         120 MgB     2450               2500    2200

Toshiba T-5100             40 MgB      900               1200     800

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.

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

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

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: [phone], In Alaska and Canada 1-800-437-2470,FAX:
617-542-8849.

(BOCOEX/19920928)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00035)

SoundByte News - On Seybold 09/28/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 SEP 28 (NB) -- The news
this week is from Seybold's  Seminar in San Francisco where video
editing and desktop pre-press publishing technology broke new ground.

Adobe announced their new Adobe Premier 2.0 product for the Macintosh for
on-line and off-line video editing on the Mac.  The product is designed to
make complex digital compositions with layers of Adobe Photoshop edited
images and painting frames. Adobe has also agreed with Apple to make more
Type 1 fonts available on the Macintosh and they are designing plug-in
support for images from Kodak Photo CD products. In other Adobe news, Sun
Microsystems is adopting Adobe font-ware for their line of workstation
computers.

If DuPont makes you think of chemicals and presidential candidates, then
get ready for Better Living Through Electronic Pre-press Technology.  The
Delaware chemical giant is releasing a series of publishing hardware tools
through its Crosfield division. The Crosfield Magnascan PostScript drum
scanner and MagnaSetter color output printer are modular upgradable SCSI
devices. The scanner can handle 20 by 25 inch pages and the image setter
produces PostScript output in dazzling colors.

Fractal Designs added Fractal Design Sketcher to its Painter and Color
Studio family of programs.  The new program is aimed at serious artists who
need to paint and edit images, retouch photographs while working in gray
scales.  This is for Windows low-tech users and at $149 is entry price. The
program features pencils, crayon, airbrush modes and even an auto-Van Gogh
mode that adds Van Gogh-like effects to drawings without having to cut off
your ear.

If drawing with a mouse is like writing with a rodent, you'll be interested
in a new product from Wacom on the input side of desktop art. Wacom
introduced new versions of its cordless digital tablets for artists who
want to work with brush-like tools on a computer.  The lightweight cordless
pens are sensitive to the users hand pressure and respond by changing line
thickness, color density or brush shape and size.  It actually feels like
working with a brush and operates with major platforms like, NeXT, Mac,
Windows based PC technology.

Microsoft is making a new Design Pack for its Publisher program loaded with
new fonts, clip art and document templates.  Based on user feedback, the
Redmond software house made Design Pack to answer requests for more tools
for Publisher.  At the same time, Microsoft is also issuing Publisher in a
CD-ROM version with the Publisher program, Design Pack and all the
documentation on a single CD.

Seiko is introducing a Personal ColorPoint PSC thermal transfer color
printer.  The PostScript compatible 300 dot per inch printer handles plain
paper or overhead transparencies and costs less than four thousand dollars.

NeXT is finally delivering NeXTSTEP 3.0 with an assortment of tools and
kits.  The object oriented developers tool system includes a database kit,
three dimensional graphics kit, phone kit and indexing tools.  One buyer,
Chrysler Motors, is taking THOUSANDS of copies of the system for use
throughout the company.  And you thought some other car maker was working
with the power of intelligent engineering.

Recognita of Budapest is releasing a new optical character recognition
system for CTOS on Unisys computers that is capable of working with 80
languages including Greek.  The system is designed to handle all types of
diacritical markets in text and can switch from one language font to
another within one document.

The Association of Imaging Service Bureaus kicked off a major campaign to
seek high level images setting equipment for three desk top pre-press
demonstration centers in Moscow, Warsaw and Kiev.  In an effort to help
freedom of the press get a boost in the former communist countries, the
AISB is being joined by Aldus, 3M, Adobe, National Printing Equipment
Association and other corporate sponsors in getting hardware donations for
the project.

Finally, a local San Francisco prognosticator, named Scallion, is
circulating a newsletter detailing his predictions for the inevitable
upcoming earthquakes in the Bay area.  Scallion's predictions come in
digitally re-mastered maps showing fault lines and future land
configurations after the Big One.   The images are so vivid and compelling
that a hoard of followers, the Scallion Battalion, are fleeing the Bay area
for future water-front resort areas of Nevada and the western Rockies.
Fault lines or faulty logic, earth motion or emotion, the power of print is
staggering.

From what is soon to be 40 fathoms beneath the sea, this is Alex Randall
with SoundByte News.

BoCoEx Index News

The Compaq  Deskpro 486's were hot items on the secondary market this week
with the DX2 50 Megahertz model trading at $3400 and the 33 Megahertz units
on the block for $2200. Volume was serious as these models make their way
into the secondary market.  NEC Ultralite 286 units were the volume leader
of the week with trade closing right around $700 for the laptop.  Toshiba T-
2000 SXE's were also moving in lots as individual buyers picked up the
units for $750 and volume lots closed at $650.

Macintosh 2 models took a price drop across the board with the 2CI leading
the way, off $300 at $2800 while the 2FX, Quadra 700 and Quadra 900 all
lost $100 each at prices of $3900, #3550 and $4150 respectively.  The
PowerBook 140 was a mover off $50 trading at $1350.

(Alex Randall/19920928)